Video Game: Kingdom Hearts SOS: The Road To Light

While Stratos was sure that something was troubling the girl, he didn't actually understand the depth of the issue. As she began to recount her tale, he was definitely not expecting her to be leading off with how she was married. The idea of marriage was one that always seemed completely far off and maybe a bit unrealistic to Stratos himself, and he never really took into account how much of a life people had before getting their keyblades and fighting the heartless. In fact, that alone made him realize just how little he actually knew about everyone who he had fought alongside, with perhaps a few exceptions. Regardless, he let her continue onward with her story about what these issues were.

It was obvious from the get go that this was not going to be a story with a happy ending. Even as she seemed to have fond memories of the moments leading up to it, Stratos was bracing himself for what it was that was going to happen. As he listened to how she had been attacked by some hooded figures and how her fiance had sacrificed himself in order to save her. While the girl seemed to be breaking down from this memory, Stratos in contrast became more pensive. Of course, these thoughts were completely broken up by her starting to sob and leaving Stratos in an awkward position. He understood that what she went through must have been painful and he did feel sorry that she had to go through it but...he wasn't really that good at comforting people. In fact, the only time he had was with Karina and that was more yelling at her then comforting.

As the boy thought more and more, a thought then occurred to him. "He fell into a hole of darkness right? Well, we also fell through a hole of darkness right? It was on a lot bigger of a scale sure, but we still fell into some giant hole of darkness thing." Waving away the semantics of his comment he then continued. "And we're both alive, and I'm sure the others are too. So he could've ended up here too, and if he did then I'm sure he's still alive too. After all, a guy like him probably wouldn't rest until he found his way out of here and I doubt any kind of darkness could get in his way of finding it." He wasn't exactly sure how much of what he said was any bit true nor if it was actually comforting, but he could hope.

 

Ananta shook her head at Xara. "I...I understand you want to go and all, but....there's things in the darkness." she said, staring at the figures. They all seemed to be standing around or approaching the light. Upon further inspection, Ananta would even say they looked humanoid. "Besides, I sort of want to see what those shadowy figures are in the darkness. Maybe they're my friends..." she said, mumbling the last part.

It had been so long since she saw any of her friends that she was really hoping that maybe, just maybe, they'd have finally decided to try and save her. She doubted it, though. She knew a lot of them had their own problems and a lot of them didn't really care for her either. She wasn't really the most popular person in their group, after all.

 

Xara looked over and squinted in the darkness. She could barely make an outline of what appeared to be a person... "Be careful," the young tween said quietly. "The darkness has a way of distorting what you want to see."

She gripped her keyblade tightly, then took a breath through her nose. Though she was younger than this person, this was the first contact she had with anyone in a while. "Okay. Tell you what. If it's not your friends, I'll beat them to a pulp, and then we'll be on our way. But if they are your friends, let me tag along and let's all get to that light already. Deal?" She looked back at Ananta with a raised eyebrow, but a serious look about her. There was so much confusion in the young girl's mind, but she was desperate to get out of here. She was going nuts seeing nothing but swirling clouds and sand. If that light was a way out, she was going to get a little upset if they missed it.

 

Steel stayed silent as Karina got to her feet. He wasn't really sure if he should bother to say anything about the punishments... well actually no, he just shouldn't, she wouldn't listen to him anyway. Besides, it would seem in rather poor taste to encourage her behaviors with the negative reinforcement that so obviously created it.

"Well I didn't mean we had to work out all of your problems..." He chose instead to respond to her comment on her personal troubles. "I doubt anyone would have the time, or endurance, to punch a rock until all their personal issues are solved. Nevertheless, if you would have us move on then I suppose that's that." So he started after her.

The two walked in silence for a bit longer, Steel considering his options. He knew from the beginning that there was no way this could have gone positively. Now though? He was aware of just how wrong it could go. Not just because she punched him; whatever was holding together was doing a very good job of it. Not a drop of blood on him even. No, the reason was actually much simpler.

She was like the personification of everything he despised.

Reason had done no good: The others he knew had tried and failed. Still, if he had paid more attention to her, to everyone really... well he didn't even know. Not really. When it came down to it, he had pushed for almost no reason other than to see how far gone she was... and in the process had found out just how far gone he was. It wasn't as if he had expected the conversation to go well, but in the heat of the moment, it was him who had caused the most trouble. How long had he been this sadistic, really? If he interacted with the others more extensively, would his actions be equally as provoking? Equally as cruel? Though Karina was something of a minefield to begin with, it still didn't change the fact that he also had reacted badly to a single sentence, and gotten so worked with his speech that he hadn't even asked the question he had meant to in the first place, completely having forgotten the point of his own rant about selfishness.

"What did you even want?" The question slipped out without much thought. He could only hope that he said what he really wanted to this time; regardless of Karina's response.

 

"I'm always careful. That's how I've always acted." Ananta spoke, chuckling at Xara.

She stared at the darkness and sighed. "I can't even fight and have to rely on on...I"m sorry. All I can do is some magic...I think." Ananta hadn't even thought of using magic, honestly. She reached her hand out and shot a small iceball at one of the figures in the darkness, not even sure if it'd make it to the figure before dissipating.

"I'll laugh if that connects." she said.

 

Running along, Glen wasn't making quite as much progress towards the beacon as he would've liked. He'd felt a little weaker before, but now that he was actually running he could notice the lack of speed. He noticed he was tiring out faster too..what had that witch done to them? He was brought out of his thoughts by an ice ball hitting him in the head, causing the ex-keyslinger to come to a halt. Hikaru wasn't in the direction he'd felt the ice ball hit him, which could only mean that there really were others in the realm of darkness with them! It didn't even occur to him that maybe the creature throwing the ice ball might not be friendly, and all thoughts of keeping a low profile went out of his head, he turned and began heading towards the shadowy figure that had hurled the ice ball at him. Besides, they didn't seem to be very far from the light beacon at all, they could get there pretty quickly if things turned bad.

As he got near, he finally saw who it actually was. "Hey, Ananta!" he called out. Of all people, he certainly hadn't expected to find her there. He couldn't quite pick where she'd gone missing, but now that he thought about it he hadn't really noticed her absence, which only made him feel bad. Oh well, at least she'd be found now, and that was the main thing? "Was it you who hit me in the skull with ice?" he questioned, before noticing the other person with Ananta.
He didn't say anything to her, however, he had more important matters to deal with. Besides, Hikaru seemed to be a lot more sociable than he was, maybe he knew who this person was, and if he didn't well then he probably would in a matter of moments.

 

Ananta blinked and ran over to Glen. She hugged him as if he was an old friend and smiled.

"It's been so long, I....I was so scared I'd never see any of my comrades again, honestly..." she said, stepping back and wiping her eye. "How come you're here, Glen?" she asked.

She scratched her head at his question. "Er, I just tossed it really. Didn't aim for you intentionally."

 

Xara ran after Ananta, and then stood back to see the happy reunion. She held the keyblade at her side, seeing that this person wasn't a threat. Apparently his name was Glen. Not wanting to interrupt them, she adjusted the goggles on her head and looked over at the beacon. 'Good, they're still thinking about heading there,' she thought to herself. She took a moment to canvas the area, making sure no weird creatures were coming out of the woodworks to attack them while they were talking. Ananta could do magic though, which was a relief. At least they weren't solely relying on a tween to save their backs if something happened.

 

Xara stood to attention when someone new showed up. She watched their body language and saw they were familiar with one another. Wasteland? What was that?

She snapped back to it when one of the unfamiliar faces introduced themselves. "Oh, uh, I don't think we met yet. M-my name is Xara. I got that letter that called people who wield the keyblade to come help. See?" She held up her kingdom key for the new faces to see and then lowered her arm. "I went to The Land of Departure, this old guy sent me to this world where I turned into a raccoon and then somehow I ended up in here when this archery tournament was going to start... and then I found Ananta, and here we are. I've kind of just been following her around to make sure those weird creatures didn't attack her."

Xara tilted her head and scratched her hair with one finger. "Something tells me I've been here a while..." She looked to the light, feeling a bit antsy to get there. "I hadn't seen anything like that before. Or anyone else really. Ananta kinda told me that the SOS is scattered, and you were the leader I think?" She glanced at Ananta for confirmation to make sure it was Hikaru indeed.

 

Context. Right. She'd need that.

"I mean... well... what did you hope to accomplish by answering Master Yen Sid's summons?"

He honestly had a few ideas. She had dropped enough hints that he could easily put together on his own. Still though, those were just guesses. Even if he got it right, it didn't mean much without some form of confirmation. Of course, some things were obvious.

For example, she definitely didn't come to make friends.

He was pretty sure that she was here to prove something, though he could be wrong about that. After all, her world could've been destroyed for all he knew.

 

Ananta nodded at Hikaru. She walked over and also gave Hikaru a hug, patting his shoulders. "I don't know what happened, but I did disappear back there..." she sighed. "I don't know how long ago that was either."

Hearing Xara, Ananta turned to her and started to think a moment. "Oh, this is Hikaru he's our sort of...unofficial leader?" she chuckled and shrugged. "We don't have a true leader of our group, to be honest. We just do our own thing sometimes."

 

Luna continued to sob until she heard Stratos speak to her. She tilted her head up to listen to the boy's words. "He fell into a hole of darkness right? Well, we also fell through a hole of darkness right? It was on a lot bigger of a scale sure, but we still fell into some giant hole of darkness thing. And we're both alive, and I'm sure the others are too. So he could've ended up here too, and if he did then I'm sure he's still alive too. After all, a guy like him probably wouldn't rest until he found his way out of here and I doubt any kind of darkness could get in his way of finding it." Luna's tears had subsided a bit as she listened to each of his words. The girl looked down as she pondered at Stratos' words and pondered and pondered for a couple moments. Her eyes widened in shock at the sudden realization after continuously and carefully replaying Stratos' words. Why had she not realize this before? Was the answer really that simple?? She looked out toward the horizon and felt a sudden breath of energy coming from the distant west of the two. She reached for her necklace as she gazed out toward the direction where the energy was originating from. "If that's the case, then......Can I really?.......Can I finally believe that you're still walking and breathing?..." Luna felt her lips curl up into a slight smile as another tear cascades down her face. After a moment, a gasp had escaped her lips at another realization. The beacon that was ahead of the two and the path the energy was originating from were completely far apart from each other. The girl looked between the two paths as she realized that a decision was to be made her and now. "Hey? Stratos? Can I ask you a question?" Luna went silent for a couple moments before speaking up again. "If you had to choose whether to find a missing loved one or save the lives of others, what would you choose?" Luna looked up at Stratos as she pondered this question herself. A part of me wants to go find the source of that energy. That energy.......it's so familiar and warm.....it has to be Blake.....it just has to be.... However, another part of me wants to go and find out just what in the world that beacon is...I have to check on the colonies and I still have to find Akira and make sure he's safe.....What do I do? Search for Blake in this realm? Or protect the lives of not only my people but others of other worlds in the realm of light?.......Luna waited until Stratos gave her an answer to his question. She closed her eyes for a moment to calm herself down. However....Protect the others......They need you and the rest of your friends' help......Luna snapped her eyes opened as she looked for the source of that voice. She looked and looked but could not find the source of that oh-so-familiar voice. The girl closed her eyes once more. Is that really your voice??.....Or am I going crazy?...Do I really have any reason to lie dummy? Of course it's really me....More importantly, I felt distress coming from my necklace and I immediately thought of you....This choice.....I know it's a difficult one but you must head toward that beacon....I know you wanna come and find me...Trust me, I wanna find you too but the realm of light is in danger with not only our people's lives at stake but everyone living in the realm are in danger as well.....I-I-I.......I can't leave.....not without you!!.....I'll find you and we'll head to the beacon together-...Luna!!......You and I both know it won't stay long enough for you and I to find each other and get to the beacon in time.....I need you to head there with your friends and rescue the realm of light and all the worlds in it, including ours......I need you to do this.....Do it for me Lunala.....I'll find my way back to you soon....it's a promise...........You better keep your promise.....okay? Promise me you'll be back soon?....It's a promise......you better get going...I believe in you....Tears cascaded down her face as she opened her eyes once more. She wiped her tears away as she rose to her feet. Luna lifted her head up to look at Stratos. "Sorry....I know I asked you the question but you don't have to answer it if you don't want to. I kind of formulated my own answer with a little help." The girl looked back toward the far distance before turning back toward Stratos. "Hey Stratos? How about we go check out that beacon?" Luna smiled a little as she extended her hand out toward him for a handshake as she awaited for his response.

 

Steel listened quietly as Karina explained her predicament. So she was running away from home. He really didn't think very well of her father at this point, but he was sure no one who knew of him did. Nevertheless, it wasn't as if the man mattered all that much, so he could probably just shove thoughts of him to the side. So that left the Fiance. There always seemed to be one of those, be they evil or good. Really though, Steel was just honestly surprised that Karina was basically showing a form of care for a life form other than herself so openly.

"If that is the case, than I simply must ask... How exactly is it, that if all you wanted was to run, you have found yourself with no purpose? Why can't you keep running? I'm being sincere; you've actually made a lot of progress just plowing on through, and to be honest, that's really how it is for most of us." Steel shrugged. "We're all pretty much here mainly for our own benefit, and helping others is really just a nice little feather in our caps." Steel took a deep breath, knowing that if he kept going this way he wouldn't get his point across, and that whatever held him together probably didn't like being tested. It was probably best to say it plainly all the same though. "You're right." He said recalling to mind what she had said earlier. "I don't understand, and I never will. I'm far to self absorbed for that. The truth is, I kinda hate you; not because you punched me, but because I'm so focused on how we're similar, that I completely ignore how we're different. I look at you, and all I see is my own mistakes. There's so much more to other people than that, and yet... "

"... I don't give a flying shoopuff."

"Because everything I ran from is gone, and that's not a good thing. Everyone I hoped to keep safe has vanished into oblivion, but I'm still here... and you know what?"

"Who freaking cares?"

"Boohoo, poor Steel, all his loved ones are gone." He brought up his hand and did an impression of running mouth. "...If any of them even even existed in the first place." A simple shrug, as if he wasn't talking about living breathing people, but a simple batch of cookies that he may or may not have remembered to pick up from the store. "Well, they might actually be around the multiverse somewhere. It's not like any of them will give it much more than a second thought. Believe it or not there are happy endings; it's really as simple as the fact that not everyone is going to get them. Giving up though?" He snorted.

"Well, then it will have been worthless. Nothing more than wasted potential." Steel clenched his fist tightly.

"I hate wasted potential. I already have enough to last me several life times. For example, I'm apparently no better than your loser of a father: I can't seem to get enough of putting people in little roles like life is some sick play and then getting all upset when people don't follow them. Then there's this: This is basically just a rant at this point and it is far from the first time I have done such a thing. In the end though, what it ultimately comes down to is that I have a ton of experiences that have to be worth something, and it'll be damned if I just toss them all out the window because- You didn't ask me a damn thing about all this." Steel cut himself off quite suddenly to take a much longer, and deeper breath. Feeling he had perhaps more than made his point on his own self centered behavior, he moved on to something more relevant.

"I can't tell you how to live your life... heck, I'm not even good at living my own... if you can even call it a life." He winced as the thud echoed in his mind once more.

"Maybe though, if you look in a few more places, or just a bit harder, you might actually find something you want to keep going for, or maybe, you'll just decide you don't need a reason to keep going. That's all assuming you eventually decide you want to keep going of course. The choice is yours in the end." Steel crossed his arms as he looked up the hill. "If you do decide you want to look for something though, could you drag me along? I have some stuff of my own that needs finding... and frankly, doing so without company would be frightfully dull."

He really didn't want to hear Karina belittle his offer, but he wouldn't get anywhere with himself if he didn't put it out there.

"We can stay here as long as you want, but I'm ready when you are."

 

Upon arriving at the beacon Kel's attention was focused on the castle before them. Something like that seemed to be out of place here, though that could be said about a lot of things. Hearing what Dreamer had said about the castle had brought more questions to his wondering mind. Just how was this castle supposed to help them face their 'demons'. It didn't particularly sound pleasant at all and to be honest, he just wanted some answers to his questions.

"How is it supposed to be our salvation or demise?" Kel asked, voicing one of the many things that had been swirling about in his head. Judging from their current situation, salvation could be both getting their keyblades back and getting out of here and demise would be either being trapped here forever or well...death, but could this castle really do all of this? This was a lot to consider with so little to go off of. Kel sighed as he looked around, there were still some of the others missing and it wouldn't be until they had arrived that Dreamer would shed some light on their predicament. Speaking of which, something clearly happened to Steel judging from how he looked and the fact that Karina arrived shortly before him. Well, that must've sucked for him.

 

At this point, the mostly unanswered response from the other two just made Kaida bother reaching out for conversation anymore. They were already there, and the single "yeah" from D'daear made her realize that everyone else was probably feeling about the same as she was. But that just meant she was going to leave them be. So when they had arrived, Kaida had walked a little further and just looked up at the castle for a bit, then she continued her whittling.

It was turning into the shape of a fox slowly, and it was looking alright. The light made it easier for her to work on the finer details, she just kind of sat alone and continued, looking at how the single source of light caused her shadows and the shadows nearby to dance and she just kind of stared at them, feeling a sort of nostalgia for it and she closed her eyes.

"We need even teams though, or this game will be in favor of those with the most players..." a young high pitched voice stated.
"Well, Lemon is over there, we could grab her-"
"Shh don't say her name too loud. She's annoying, and she cheats in most of the games."
"She also hangs out with the crazy man on the mountain. Miss Shen said to stay away from him since he keeps talking about insane things."

Kaida felt the wood shaving land on her legs and she shifted ever so slightly before opening her eyes and making sure she didn't mess up anything.

"But if we don't get another person it can be uneven."
"We can ask someone else, just don't talk to Lemon or she'll get us in trouble again."
"Or she'll hurt us like that time she punched Eyebrows."
"Seriously? It's like she doesn't want any friends."

Kaida shook her head to just get the thoughts out and continued her whittling, her ears ready to listen to any conversations others may have been having.