(no subject)

[keybladesky.livejournal.com]

Who: King Mickey and Sora
What: Discussing the world
Where: Balamb Dock
When: Early evening
Rating: PG


With time to himself, Sora had gone to the dock of Balamb Town. Though it was getting dark, around 9pm, Sora was stood silent, his hands folded behind his head as he watched the ocean. The town seemed to nearly ghostly; no one was about and he was beginning to get a little chilly. Yet, he watched. Silent in thought. Leon was injured. Things with Riku had changed. Seeing Kairi was a rarity. Not to mention his recent brush with darkness and the death of his parents. Nothing seemed normal anymore and, with his head so screwed up, the only certainty was the Keyblade. Not that he felt much like a 'Master' of anything anymore...

Mickey smirked slightly as he watched the boy walking along, as he was sitting casually on a dormer, leaning against the shingles that matched the rooftop of the building, yellow eyes glowing in the darkness of the deepening night. "So.. all alone.. this could be fun." his plan was moving too slowly, especially if he had time to sit back and relax. Larsa's foolish attack on Rabanastre and the loss of Laguna and his silly capital, not to mention Balthier's reluctance to remain corrupted.. well, none of that mattered. Mickey liked it simple, really, once he opened that Door, all would be lost and the Light would be driven from this petty planet, and then the rest of the worlds, in a Heartbeat.

Sora blinked, almost certain he'd heard a voice, lowering his arms and checking around, his fingers twitching but his Keyblade remaining dormant for the moment. Not really seeing anything in the dark, aside from an eerie glowing, he frowned slightly, walking to the end of the dock. The now-sixteen year old Keyblader hummed slightly, in contemplation, his ears remaining the main sense on alert. He'd learnt not to trust his eyes anymore. What you saw wasn't always what was true.

Mickey shrugged slightly, and faded out of where he was, reappearing in the shadows to Sora's left. He hummed softly, then chuckled, "Ah, Sora, so nice to see you again." the mouse revealed himself by taking a step from the shadows, and rested his hands on his hips, swishing his tail. The wound that had taken his Heart had long-since closed, and now he was dressed in regal, if darkly accented, clothing. Truly a King of Dark Hearts, these days.

Swallowing thickly, the teen's bright blue eyes fell on the mouse and he scrunched his nose slightly. "...I can't say I feel the same anymore, King Mickey..." he muttered, his fingers twitching. He'd keep his cool. He wouldn't just attack. Sora had learned that letting his emotions run away with him only affected the way he fought in a bad way. Namely by making his Keyblade erratic. "Why're you here?" His voice was oddly casual and he folded his hands behind his head, even giving a slight smile.

"Hmm? Why not? I've every reason to want to be around Balamb. After all, it is where the heart of this little war is centered, is it not? Poor Leon, drawing so much pain and anguish to his friends and loved ones. It could all end, but he doesn't want it to." he spoke regretfully, but his smooth smile never changed while he watched Sora, raising his brows, "And how have you been, boy?"

Sora gave a shrug before shifting from his feet and sitting cross legged in front of the mouse, leaning back on his hands. "Leon's okay. He's fighting." Something was strangely relaxed about him, even if it hurt to see the King this way. "I've been... okay. Everything is okay." He wouldn't give Mickey any fuel to dig him down. Nothing about Leon or Riku... or his parents. He knew better now. This man couldn't be trusted anymore.

"Hmm? And how's your man?" he leaned forward slightly, "I thought you, Kairi, and Riku may have been slightly.. distressed.. by what became of your island home. Strange, that." his chuckle wasn't apologetic in the least, and he hopped up on a crate, giving a small yawn, though Heartless never truly grew tired. He could feel Sora's Heart pulsing with his life, and a primal part of him hungered for it, to tear it from the boy's twitching body and revel in the energy before it floated away..

"My... man?" Sora blinked rather vacantly at the King before twitching his nose, taking a slow, deep breath in, tilting his head back to look at the starry sky. "Sure we're upset. It's normal. There's nothing left for me there anymore, though, so I'm not gonna let myself become weak, clinging to that place when Kairi and Riku are here with me." Shaking his head, he settled his eyes on Mickey, smiling softly. "So. Hungry?" A smirk came and Sora twitched his nose. He knew what that hunger felt like. Deep, deep down, in the back of his mind, he still felt it sometimes.

Mickey shook his head with a soft smile, "Heartless don't get hungry the way you would think of it, and I've recently had my.. fill.. of what we do consume. I should be fine for the moment, but thank you for your concern." he kicked his feet a bit, and nodded, "Good, it would be good for you to remember to cleave to those that remain. They will be few and far between in the coming storm; I doubt even Riku or Kairi, capable as they are, will escape unscathed. But ah.. these things Leon accomplishes by forcing my hand.. Eventually he shall learn, hmm?"

"I wasn't showing concern." He seemed to hiss these words before toying with one of the spikes that hung by his eyes. "I don't think any of us will get away without pain. I've suffered a lot already; I'm prepared for what else you can deal out, King Mickey." Sora let out a long, intentionally over-dramatic sigh, scrunching his nose up. "Leon doesn't force you to do anything. You've got a mind of your own. You choose to do these things." Shrugging a little, Sora smiled at Mickey. "I would've thought you of all people wouldn't be forced into anything, Your Majesty," he cooed, his voice dripping with teenage sarcasm.

"Mmh, I chose to offer Leon a chance to avoid the bloodshed, simply by sacrificing one, so that many could be spared this. In all honesty, I would have held up my end of the bargain; there are plenty of other worlds to darken without harming a speck of life on Gaia, boy. I'm sure by now he's mentioned this, but that's hardly here nor there at this point." he smirked at Sora's sarcasm, having been told and having done more terrible things than give off a little negativity.

Sora let out yet another dramatic sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose. "You still don't get it. We're not doing this for Gaia. Leon's not doing it for Gaia. It's for all the world. Ones people in Gaia have never seen and probably never will see." Shaking his head, Sora tilted it to one side, blue eyes on yellow. "What's so important about killing Leon anyway? So he 'betrayed' you. So what?! Riku's betrayed me before. He's done stupid stuff that hurt me really, really bad... but he's still my best friend."

"Nothing he did resulted in the continued absence of your Heart, either. Certainly, you were Heartless.. for a time. Someone managed to save you. I had thought that he might be willing to do the same for me, but I was mistaken." the mouse spoke softly, patiently, as if educating a child. "I don't expect you to understand it, Sora. You can go off and gallivant with your friends, play your bedgames and what-have-you, but in the end, I will darken each world personally, and save Leon for the last, so he knows his failure utterly."

Sora blinked a few times, a blush rising on his face as he diverted his glance as his heart rate quickened pace. "B-bedgames? What the heck are you talking about?" Sora shook his head before scrunching his nose. "You can try to take down each world but, as long as there are Keybladers who deserve their Keyblades, you'll always be one step behind." He shifted, bringing his knees up and crossing his arms on them, trying to will-away his flushed feeling.

He lifted one hand, his rusty Keyblade shimmering into being, and when he snapped it to one side, the rust flew off, the item regaining it's former gold-and-silver lustre, a small smile on Mickey's face. "It should be interesting to note that neither side can truly win. This is fundamentally the same as your Keyblade, you know. The Kingdom Key.. of Darkness. That was who I was; trained by Master Yen Sid, the Chosen Keyblade Master of Darkness, as you are to the Light, and yet I never truly allowed myself to embrace it until lately. Always the balancing act, while I allowed Light to run rampant. Is is so strange that some stars need to wink out, to allow Darkness it's place among all that Light?"

Sora scoffed slightly, shaking his head. "Sure, there will never be an end in the battle between Light and Dark, not as long as the worlds continue to thrive, but that's how it should be." Sighing a little, Sora shifted to stand, flicking his hand to the side, allowing his Keyblade to appear, shimmering brightly. "It's wrong. You're wrong. Darkness doesn't need a place amongst the Light. It has its place. Everyone holds darkness in their Hearts. I know this well... but letting yourself fall to it is where you're wrong. The worlds, the stars, they're not chess pieces for you to move about on this stupid chessboard you seem to think we're on, Mickey!"

"Sora, Sora, Sora.." his pitying tone carried the same condescending air it had in the Corridor, "You simply do not understand. No matter, all will be solved when I take my place as the most powerful Heartless master of the worlds." he didn't even speak with anticipation, but the cool assurance that he would succeed. He was even gracious, as he dropped to his feet, Keyblade gleaming in the dim light, "Though I should offer you this chance at a rematch. After all, I so handily defeated you the last time, it would be more like taking the Heart of a crying child. Well, a crying child with a pining girlfriend, and a lecherous friend." his smirk widened, and he shook his head slightly.

Sora twitched his lips into a smirk. "I don't have a girlfriend. As for a lech of a friend, I haven't a clue what you're talking about~" he cooed, chuckling softly, twirling the Key in his hand. "Really, what's the point of a rematch? If you're so set on one, we'll have it at Ground Zero. The door to Kingdom Hearts, alright? Unless you're so desperate to start violence when you know I'm vulnerable and easily beaten. It's, like, nine or something at night; I'm tired, I'm kinda hungry. How's this gonna be any fun when I'll just lose right from the word go?"

"That way I can wave your head around on a stick. But fine, if you'd rather not fight me right now, what -can- we do? I'm quite bored, see. I expected this whole thing to go rather more quickly, but things are being held up, people aren't where I need them to be, blah blah blah. I could buy you a meal, I suppose. After all, you're just a hungry, tired boy, right?" he smirked slightly. Sora really wasn't much of a threat here, when he was in his element.

"I don't need your munny... err... gil. I got what I need up at Garden." Sora glanced over at that building before checking his watch. "And on that note, I'm late to meet Riku. Thanks for earning me five minutes of whining at him... see ya at Kingdom Hearts," he waved his hand in a boldly arrogant and dismissive way, making his Keyblade vanish as he turned to walk away. It was stupid and bold of him to speak down to the King then try to walk away but Sora was still, really, just a bratty kid.

His own Keyblade vanished, and Mickey raised a brow, shaking his head. "Kids these days, heh. Can't even spare time for their hated enemies to have a bite to eat." he sighed, and looked around in a bored manner, "Now what do I do. Arrogant fool.. I could have ripped him in half; I hope he doesn't show his back to every monster he casually chats with.."

Sora looked over his shoulder, frowning in confusion. "Y'know, you almost sounded like the King I once knew just then... until you poited out that you're nothing but a monster." Slipping his hands into his pockets, the boy tilted his head a little. "What do you want from me, huh? Open Kingdom Hearts yourself. You've got a Keyblade, right? Same as mine, right? So, why can't you open it up?"

Mickey shrugged softly, and tapped himself on the nose, walking up to stand beside Sora, shrugging, "You really think it's going to open up for the likes of me alone? It takes Darkness," he touched his wound, and smirked, pressing the same fingers over Sora's Heart, "And Light, to open that Door. Kingdom Hearts represents a duality, a singular person cannot hope to open it himself. So.. one Hero, and one Monster. It's almost like a fairytale, though I don't see a Damsel in Distress. Maybe Gaia can serve that role."

"Or Riku..." he mumbled to himself, giving a childish snort of laughter before shifting to one knee, looking Mickey right in the eye. "Why do you really want this? To turn Gaia and all the other worlds over to darkness or... is there something else? You say you're strong enough to change the worlds yourself... so why Kingdom Hearts?" Sora scrunched his nose up. "The minute the Nobodies get a hint that Kingdom Hearts is going to open, they'll be... all over it."

Mickey shrugged softly and chuckled, "That's what monsters do, Sora. We hurt those that have hurt us in the past, and try our best not to be hurt in the future. After I've had my way with what I want from Kingdom Hearts.. the Nobodies, and the Keyblades.. will no longer be a threat, and the Heartless will be completely bound to my will. You know that a young man, recently changed, named Larsa, attacked the Rabanastran palace? I certainly didn't command it."

"I... hadn't heard." Sora huffed, slumping back to sit on his butt, crossing his legs with a pout. Part of what Mickey said had almost appealed to him. No more Keyblades... no more worry about fulfilling his duties. The chance to just... be a kid. Yet, Sora knew that he'd only get that through ridding the world of the Heartless. Not by helping Mickey open the door to Kingdom Hearts. Sighing slightly, he grumbled and burried his face in his fingerless-gloved hands. "I'm so confused!!"

"Yeah, life's like that. It's worse when you're younger, and it must be terribly confusing to have such responsibility foisted on you. That's just how it goes sometimes." he rested against a small box near Sora, shrugging, his tail making a light rustling against the box, "You won't want to listen to my advice, but it's the same as it always was. Follow your Heart."

"Follow my Heart... hn, that's what I always do. I just... I guess part of me just doesn't want to believe you are what you are." Sora pressed the soles of his shoes together and gripped his toes with both hands, blinking at the floor. Really, he was leaving himself so vulnerable and open to the King. Especially admitting he was desperate to believe Mickey was still good underneath it all...

Mickey hummed gently, and looked up into the sky, shrugging his slim shoulders and idly waving a hand back and forth. Even his white gloves, ever-present, had a dark and dingy look to them. Even so, the King looked much as he did in life, only warped and twisted by his Heartlessness. "Oh, I am what I am. I might be able to talk to you, and control myself to a degree, but I'm not as I was. It's that kind of thinking that will win this conflict for me, Sora." he seemed almost sad to say it, but he was honest this one time.

"No." Sora glared at his feet for a moment before looking at the mouse in front of him. "It's my hope that you're good underneath, that everyone is good underneath, that will win this war for my side. For Leon." He shook his head hard, shifting to stand. "You might think that hoping you're still you is a downfall for me, but it's not. It gives me the strength to want to defeat the Heartless. To bring you back from the place you're in!"

Mickey chuckles softly, and nodded, "Perhaps so.. but have you stopped to consider why I am as I am? Others, such as Larsa and Laguna, are simply pawns of the Darkness, twisted and controlled even if they claim otherwise. Myself.." he gestured, and the day dimmed, shadows growing, and the general area becoming more sinister, before he released it from his hold, "I -am- the Darkness. The chosen Keyblade Master of Darkness, parallel to your Light. We cannot exist separately, though we are given to believing that we are correct while the other is not." Mickey smiled without mirth, "In a way, our conflict is tragic."

Sora looked around as the evening turned to night and back. "Hn, I guess if you are the Darkness, and I am the Light, we should... probably find a way to co-exist. I've learnt that there is no good without bad, no day without night. No Light without Darkness." Sora looked at the King, frowning a little. "What is it, really, that you want to do? You want to plunge the worlds into Darkness, but you say Light has to exist..." he took a deep breath, gritting his teeth, "make up your mind!!" he shouted at the smaller being.

Mickey smiled in the face of the boy's anger, and nodded, "As much Darkness as exists, there will always be that spark of Light to give it meaning. Even if you brighten every world, there will always be shadows for us. Even if I darken every bright ball, there will still be places for you. The Heartless," he idly rubbed his fingers together, "We aren't any more good or evil than you people with Hearts. We simply lack a cricket on our shoulder to help guide us towards the 'right' choices. Instead, we will invariably pick those that benefit us the most, or amuse us at the time. We are Heartless, yes, but not Soulless. Not evil." he gave Sora a hard look, raising a brow, "You aren't killing monsters out there. Dumb, but sentient creatures generally driven on instinct, but not monsters. No more than a rabbit." albeit an exceptionally hard to kill rabbit. "What I want, is for this to have an end. Win or lose, it will stop the pointlessness of it."

Sora frowned, stepping back before simply flopping on his butt again. "I am... I..." Sora was lost. Lost for words, lost for thoughts. He wasn't sure what to say to it. It was true, either way, there would be an end. Something had to happen and it would either be Light or Darkness that thrived. Yet, as long as each existed, then so would the other, and the battle between Light and Dark would never end. Never. Sora resumed his position of his feet pressed together, a pout forming on his lips, as though a child being lectured by a parent. It was difficult to hear these things... especially considering he knew it was all true. Every bit of it. And he had nothing, not a single word, that could combat it.

The Heartless King shrugged again, and smiled slightly, "Ah, don't look so down about it. A few minutes ago, weren't you telling me that you were gonna win, no matter what?" he chuckled softly. "I know it'd be easier to do if you saw me as some kind of puppy-stomping monster, but I'm just what I would be without a Heart to make me care. Most who retain their minds twist themselves, giving in to base urges because they have no reason to stop.." Mickey had only tried to sway others to his cause by any means necessary, "They are evil, yes, but petty."

His eyes seemed to be searching as he looked at Mickey, almost as if he wanted to find a reason. For everything. He'd never truly found out why the Keyblade chose him. Or why he should be the one to face everything. Why should he be the one? Why was he Light when King Mickey was always so much purer than anyone he'd ever known? "I don't understand... why am I Light? You were always way more pure that I was. It just doesn't make any sense..." he mumbled.

"Universal irony, perhaps?" he chuckled softly, "I was always what I was, pure and bright and untouched by the darkness within me. Of course, it existed, as it does in everyone, but maybe that's why it chose me. Perhaps your unique outlook is what the Light craves? Who can tell, for sure?" he sat as well and stifled a little yawn, "I don't pretend to know why things happen, Sora. It's only a good way to give yourself a headache."

Sora huffed a little, nodding slightly. "I sure got one..." he scrunched his nose up, wishing he could take hold of the King's hand and be sure everything would be okay in the end. "So. What now? I don't think I have anymore questions for tonight... and I'm sure you're probably fed up with explaining stuff to me..." The teen pouted a little, his fingers drumming against his shoes.

"Mmh, I'm not exactly fed up. It's been refreshing, to see an old friend and not have it devolve into combat. It's been getting rather droll, honestly." he reached over and tousled the boy's brunette spikes, smirking, "Just remember to come to Kingdom Hearts, hmm? That way we can settle this latest problem of the world's, and it can get onto why exactly there's a giant floating monster the size of a continent over by Zanarkand."

"There's a what?" He blinked at Mickey, as if he'd just revealed something truly, utterly incredible. "A monster the size of a continent?! What is it?!" Sora could hardly believe he hadn't heard about this! But then again, hardly anyone ever went to Zanarkand, only treasure hunters, and the only ones he knew that ever went there went a very long time ago... "Is it Heartless or something else?"

"Nope, it isn't one of mine. Someone went through the whole Summoner's Pilgrimage, and summoned their Final Aeon, and as it turns out, that whole Eternal Calm thing isn't so eternal when you make it stop. Some blue-haired man, and a woman with an aqua-coloured guitar." he shrugged softly, and smiled, "So far it seems dormant, but it is huge, and likely a monster."

"Ugghhh... great!!" Sora flopped to lay back, covering his eyes with an arm. "I'm so tired of this. All it ever comes down to is war, war and more war. Why can't everyone just get along and why can't there just be normal size, normal variety monsters?!" He huffed like a small child and pouted even more like one. Really, he was tired of it all. Keyblade Master, destined to change the world or die trying. That's all he ever was to anybody, really.

Mickey laughed softly, and shrugged, "I dunno kiddo. Either it won't your problem 'cause you're a Heartless, 'cause I've won. Or it won't be -my- problem, 'cause you've won. Focus on the now, and let the future handle itself when -it- becomes the now." It was good, honest advice from the King.

Sora blinked down at him before sitting up with a soft laugh and a genuine smile. "You always did give the best advice~" he chuckled and looked over his shoulder at Balamb Garden. "I should head back... it's getting kinda late." He scrunched his nose up a little before he looked back at the mouse. "I promise I'll be at Kingdom Hearts soon, King Mickey. We'll settle everything there, okay?" A big smile came and Sora kissed the top of Mickey's head before scrambling to his feet and heading back towards Balamb Garden.

Mickey shook his head softly after Sora kissed him, and shrugged. It wasn't a bad idea to keep one's enemies close, but he had the suspicion that the boy thought of him as a friend, still. Hopefully that wouldn't stay his hand when it came down to the last.. Mickey knew it wouldn't keep him held back.