Kingdom Hearts 3.5: Passions of Light

Letting Loose

No one's POV
(Back with the Guardians of Light)
They were catching their breathe. Some like Sora, Ventus, and Lea sat on the ground. They sat forming a small triangle. Others like Kairi and Riku just placed their hands on their knees, their backs slightly hunched forward, and recovered their air. Aqua and King Mickey looked towards the battlefield wondering what truly happened after the attack. "I..have run..a lot in other worlds.. but..that we had to..run before..getting hurt by that attack..did not help..." Sora said between breathes. "Yeah..no kidding..." Lea says finally catching his breathe. Lea turned his head back to look at the direction they just ran from, noticing that the king and Aqua were looking towards the same place. "Hey, your Highness" Lea said. King Mickey looked back towards Lea, replying with a simple "Hmm?". "What was that all about? What was that attack?..." Lea asked and the eyes of everyone else followed. Sora was already looking at Mickey and Aqua, because he was in front of Lea's view. In the middle of them was Ventus who raised his head and leaned a little on his back to have a better view of the others. Riku and Kairi straightened themselves and since they were behind Sora and the rest, they looked forward. Mickey frowned and looked towards the battlefield ahead of them. "I've never seen it in action before, but I recognized the attack" King Mickey said. "It is a magic spell of great power. It is a spell capable of great destruction. The only time I saw that attack was years ago, when Donald tried to use it for the first time..." King Mickey said remembering the events of that day. "Did he make it?" Riku asked. "To this day I'm not sure, but he should have never used it..." King Mickey said. Riku and Kairi, looked at each other, knowing there was something else the king wasn't saying. "What happened?" Kairi gently asked. The king sighed and looked back towards the group behind him. "Back when he was just an apprentice magician, Donald believed that magic was easy to wield. He was new to it back then and it didn't help that Yen Sid was his master for a time. Anyway. One day Donald came to the castle with a new spell. He said that it would make him very powerful and that it could help us in the future. Donald didn't think, at the time, that magic could be dangerous, he thought it was fine to use it without precautions. I was skeptical at first but wanted to support my friend, so I told him to try it out..." Mickey said. "That doesn't sound like Donald at all" Sora let out. Riku was about to give him a "love tap" on the head, but realized Sora didn't meant it jokingly or out of disrespect. He just cared for his friend. "Donald decided to use the spell, but wouldn't have guessed how it would end. By the time Donald finished the spell, which he called the "Zhettaflare", not only did he destroy one of the castle's walls but he also endangered himself in the process. He didn't see that the toll such a spell would require was too great to pay. He spent at least a whole week recovering from his wounds... After that, he vowed to never use magic so recklessly again and we all at the castle, including Yen Sid, made him vow to never use that spell again, unless there was no other choice..." King Mickey said. A moment of silence floated around the group as the King looked yet again towards the battlefield. Sora pondered over what he said. He was the only one that seemed to remember that he turned time so that the others would survive. He felt the heaviness in King Mickey's heart as he told the story. He knew that concern all too well. "You're worried that the spell might have taken a great toll on the one who helped us?" Sora asked the king. The king nodded still looking at the battlefield. The group joined the king in watching over the silent battlefield. Aqua looked behind once only to see unwavering eyes set on the epicenter of a war she had fought once before. She then looked back towards the last place she saw the young man. 'I hope he's alright..' she thought to herself. She placed her hand over her heart instinctively.

Out of nowhere Akari appeared just a few inches in front of Aqua. They both let out a low gasp.
(They all gasped actually. The group was surprised to see him, a little spooked by his sudden appearance. "Holy.." Lea gasped, surprised at how fast he appeared.)
Aqua looked straight at Akari's eyes only to see surprise. She thought his sudden appearance just a few inches away from her was on purpose, but by his eyes that seemed unlikely. His eyes were now a little gloomy, saddened. Yet, as Akari's eyes stared into her lovely ocean eyes there was a small glimmer or twinkle, on his own. The pair of eyes lingered as they stayed focused on one another. He then looked away, stopping his cheeks from developing more color. Aqua noticed that he looked afflicted. In truth, she wasn't wrong. He felt ashamed that he had behaved like that in front of the Guardians of Light. He felt saddened by the burdens of his untold past. Burdens he couldn't reveal just yet. "A-Are you...?" Aqua began to ask a little shy. He let out a small and almost forced smile towards her. "Yes, I'm fine.. I-I'm sorry you had to see me like that.. I came to make sure you were safe.." Akari said, stealing glances to her eyes. "Oh! We are fine. We're just a little winded after our run over here" King Mickey said standing besides Aqua. To be honest, he was relieved that Akari had survived the spell. It helped his troubled thoughts, knowing that this newly acquired ally was fine. "Glad to hear" Akari said. He looked behind himself, towards where he had left those of the Organization XIII and then returned his gaze towards the group. His keyblade still in his left shoulder. "Now that I have all their attention, you can all walk towards the battlefield again. I'll distract them as much as possible. At one point I will have to ask you for your help and would be very glad to receive it" Akari said. Sora and Ventus stood up excitedly. Akari smiled as he saw the rest of the group nod at each other, agreeing with him. "What can we help with?!" Sora asked enthusiastically. Akari let out a small laugh and simply replied: "Heh, you'll know soon enough". He walked away towards the battlefield. Lea stood up quickly and looked at him. "Hey buddy!" Lea screamed his direction. Akari looked back. "How are you going to fight them all?!" Lea asked. Akari smiled. "You'll see!" Akari replied. He vanished again to thin air. "Do you really think he'll be alright? Fighting alone?" Kairi asked Riku. Riku smiled and said "I believe so".