Fanfiction ► KH: After Dawn
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Haha, I thought I was the only one annoyed by that huge face! Glad it's gone already^^
And it's a really good chapter!!!
And it's a really good chapter!!!
Yes, finally a new chapter and a good one too. Grace got to be the one who saved a world for a change. Great.
And the secret boss is Al Mualim from Assasins Creed isn't it?
And the secret boss is Al Mualim from Assasins Creed isn't it?
No, it's not Al Mualim. Um, was there an offical name for the guardian Heartless that was with Xehanort's heartless in the last few battles of Kingdom Hearts?
No there wasn't a name for that Heartless. And please don't say that the secret boss is Altair.
Also I was wondering if your story is only focusing on Grace. I thought it was divided to where The Commandeer was Graces nemisis and Xehanort was Sora's nemisis. By the way is Xehanort gonna make an appearence in the story at all?
Also I was wondering if your story is only focusing on Grace. I thought it was divided to where The Commandeer was Graces nemisis and Xehanort was Sora's nemisis. By the way is Xehanort gonna make an appearence in the story at all?
Yeah, so I admit I've had this done for about a week now but I've been able to work on the next chapter which will take some time to work on. While this chapter isn't really necessary, I felt there would be some gaps in the next chapter if I didn't write it.
So Morgana is defeated and time is rightfully restored to Atlantica. The heroes head back to the Flying City but things are not well in other places of the universe...
“Tidus…hey, Tidus! Are you listening?” asked Wakka, a tan-skinned boy with red hair.
“I’m listening,” mumbled Tidus, a lighter-skinned boy with blonde hair and blue eyes, sitting at his desk, his arms folded across it, leaning his head down.
“No you’re not,” frowned Wakka, “I was just saying how weird it was that Sora, Kairi, and Riku have gone missing again. First it’s Riku and Sora, then Kairi goes missing, then they come back, and now they’re gone. Don’t you think something’s up?”
“I don’t know,” shrugged Tidus.
“Selphie is really worried though,” remarked Wakka, “I’ve never seen her this uptight.”
“Hmmm…” Tidus said, slightly interested. He started to get up. “Well, I got practice. See you later.”
“Yeah, act like you don’t care, ya,” snorted Wakka as Tidus left the classroom. Although he didn’t show it, Tidus was a little worried. Sora, Riku, and Kairi had disappeared without a trace again. He remembered Sora’s mother being harassed by the police for not reporting to the school that Sora was gone but she continued to reassure everyone that Sora was fine, but she too showed signs of being worried.
Tidus ballgame practice went well up until a group of girls walked up to the bleachers to watch the practice. There were four of them: one with long blonde hair in several braids all over her head and brilliant green eyes, another with dirty blonde hair in a set of pig tails, and the third with light grey hair and dark eyes. But it was the fourth girl, the one with short brown hair with one green eye and one blue eye that caught him. She smiled when Tidus looked at her. He lost all other train of thought; his eyes were only for her; she was all that mattered in the world.
“Heads up!”
The ball came spinning at his head, the force knocking Tidus off his feet. “Ugh…” he moaned and he could hear the laughter of the girls. He picked himself up and looked over towards the bleachers but the girls were gone.
“Are you okay?” asked his teammate that threw the ball.
Tidus nodded but didn’t take his eyes off the bleachers. Even after practice he couldn’t stop thinking about the girl with different eyes. As he walked down the street to his house lost in thoughts, a great brown dog with blue eyes passed him on the sidewalk. He suddenly stopped and watched the dog. The dog stopped as well and looked back at with his deep piercing blue eyes. They held each other’s gaze for a few seconds, then the dog started to walk off again. Tidus continued to watch the dog for a few seconds more, then went on his way, puzzled by why he had stopped to look at the dog in the first place. Maybe it was the strange sense of familiarity he had felt. Strays weren’t all that uncommon in the village but a great dog like that walking out in the streets would have been caught by now.
The TV was on Tidus got home, his father, Jecht, watching some sports game, a bottle of beer in his hand, the remote in the other. He said nothing to his father as he went up to his bedroom, throwing his backpack down on the floor. He jumped on his bed and looked up at his ceiling. The girl reminded him of Sora; their blue eyes looked almost exactly the same. Then it hit him; that reason of familiarity from the dog. The dog and Sora both have the same piercing blue eyes, could they be…
What was he thinking? They’re was no way the dog and Sora were the same person or being, could they?
“Hey,” Jecht swaggered into the room, the beer bottle in his hand still, “How was school?”
“Fine,” Tidus replied with his eyebrows raised. Jecht rarely cared about his son’s social life or anything else except what their was to eat and his mother.
“Any thing strange happen?” Jecht asked.
Tidus was quiet for a moment, deciding whether or not to respond. “I saw a cute girl.”
Jecht snorted. “Was she looking at you?”
“She was, until I got hit in the head,” he muttered.
Jecht roared with laughter and took another swig of his bottle. “Bet she laugh.”
“I think so,” remarked Tidus, “But she disappeared before I could look.”
“What did she look like?”
“Brown hair. Two different eye colors though,” Tidus admitted. He didn’t see his father lower the beer bottle slightly.
“Any thing else you saw?” Jecht asked.
“I ran into this great brown dog on my way home. Probably just a stray though,” replied Tidus.
“What kind of dog?” inquired Jecht.
“I dunno,” shrugged Tidus.
“You sure it was even a dog? It could have been a wolf,” suggested Jecht.
“I’m pretty sure I would know if it was a wolf,” remarked Tidus.
“So you say,” Jecht walked away, sipping the beer bottle again. Tidus watched him limp out the door back to the television. Talk about if anything strange happened today.
************************************************************************
Chen was awaken from her mid-afternoon nap by the sound of her doorbell. Wondering if she had ordered anything, she opened the door, and found a large brown dog sitting at her doorstep. The dog’s ears perked up and he started to wag his tail when Chen opened the door. Before she could stop to consider her decision, she allowed the dog inside, and he walked in and curled up beside the fireplace as if he belonged there.
Chen studied the dog carefully. She had seen him before but she couldn’t put in her mind where or when. But yet he was very familiar. She was very sure it was a he and he didn’t prefer dog food, due to the fact there was more wolf in him than dog. He wanted cooked chicken, fried in butter, with lots of onions. How odd she knew what the dog wanted, let alone a strange preference. She watched him for a few more seconds then got up to start cook dinner.
About an hour later, she sat a plate of chicken down on the floor. The dog got up from his spot at once and went to her. He licked her hand and wagged his tail before chowing down on his portion. She watched him carefully as she ate her dinner, even long after she herself was done. When the dog was finished, he walked back to his designated spot and sat there for the rest of the evening. Chen continued to watch him from time to time and he didn’t move until she got up and got ready for bed.
When Chen reached her bedroom, he was already curled up at the end of her bed. He looked up when she entered, waged his tail, and laid back down when she started to pull back the covers. He did not move again for the rest of the night. Chen smiled to herself as she turned out the light, pleased with this new and strange, yet oddly familiar company. The phrase ‘self-appointed guard dog’ came to mind. But as she fell to sleep, she had this odd sensation that, he would not be there the next morning and it frightened her.
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Tidus would say (if asked) that he would be having a bad day. He failed his math exam (greater than or less than sings weren’t something he easily understood), got a C+ on his English essay (though who would like to learn about some old, dead guy was beyond him), and he got a write up for chewing gum. Now he was facing the serious tone of Selphie.
“I got it!” she cried suddenly as they were sweeping the classroom floor. “We’re going to investigate what happened to Kairi and the others!”
“We?” Wakka raised an eyebrow, “Since when did Tidus and I volunteer, ya?”
“I self-appointed you,” Selphie smiled triumphantly, “We’ll start by asking Sora’s mom about what happened. Then we’ll move on to investigating the children’s island.”
“The children’s island?” Tidus asked.
“Of course! Don’t you remember? Sora, Riku, and Kairi were supposed to leave on a raft almost two years ago on an adventure. What if they did it this time?” she reasoned, “If they really left the islands, who knows where they could’ve gone.”
“I think you’re taking this way too seriously Sel,” remarked Wakka.
“I should be!” Selphie shouted, “Because if you haven’t notice, nobody else seems to care around here that three of our classmates have gone missing again! Don’t you agree with me Tidus? Tidus? Are you listening?!” She threw her notebook on top of his head.
“I hear you! I hear you!” cried Tidus, “I’ll go talk to Sora’s mom…later…”
“Oh you will!” Selphie’s eyes sparkled, “Thank you Tidus! Thank you so much!” And she skipped off to wash the chalkboard.
“Ya know, I think she was just trying to get you to talk to Sora’s mom,” remarked Wakka.
Tidus didn’t say anything and finished with his chores before leaving school. As he traveled down the street on his way home again, he turned the corner and came face to face with the two color eyed girl from yesterday. “AH!” he jumped several inches in the air.
The girl made no movement and continued to look at him without noticing his surprised expression. “Do you remember me?” she asked.
“Huh?” he stared at her once he calmed down.
“Do you remember me?” the girl repeated.
“Um…” Tidus started to think very hard. He was sure he would remember a girl with eyes like hers. “Did you go to school with me?”
The girl sighed and looked into his eyes again. “Do you remember the Dream?” she asked.
“The dream?” he asked. The way she said it make those two simple words important, something vital. The words held on to his tongue like the edge of a waterfall but he couldn’t see the bottom. It was something very important, yet he did not know what.
“You were the Dream. You were the memory the Fayth pulled together,” the girl explained.
“Faith?” he asked even more confused than ever, but what she was saying somehow sounded right.
“You don’t remember anything do you?”
Tidus looked up at the girl. She had turned away from him and he could hear a sob. Suddenly she took off, her dress whipping the wind.
Her dress…Tidus suddenly remember the end of a purple dress dancing across the water. Rainbow colored lights were everywhere and there was an ere singing voice, a hymn of sorts.
“Wait!” he called after the strange girl and started to run after her, but she had already disappeared.
After running aimlessly for four blocks, Tidus came to a halt to catch his breath. He panted for a few seconds, hands on his knees, his backpack weighing him down, when he felt something strange, unnatural. The air suddenly got cold, although it was well into the eighties that afternoon, and a wave of fear was starting to creep over him. The shadows seem to grow and he could feel a dark source of energy pulsating nearby. His hands were shaking as he looked around and then he saw it, a creature surely born from nightmares.
The word monster came into Tidus’s mind at once, but he was sure there was a better word for what he saw before him. “Demon spawned from the depths of hell” was a more fitting title. The creature was human like in structure with its large muscular arms and chest, but its skin was as black as the darkest night, and its eyes were yellow and pupilless. It had huge, long, claws at the end of each finger and its mouth contained a broad grin of fangs. There was a heart shaped emblem across its chest and instead of ears, it had long antennas pulled back over its head. The yellow eyes found Tidus and it started to growl in a low voice.
Tidus was shaking all over now. His legs went numb, almost like they were glued to the ground. The demon sensed his fear and hesitation and jumped. Tidus screamed. He waited for his body to be ripped to shreds. But it didn’t came. Tidus opened his eyes.
A man had stepped in front of him, blocking the monster’s attack with a huge long sword. The man wore a red rob and his left arm hung in the side of the robe limp. He could not see the man’s face but Tidus was widely impressed with his ability to lift the sword with only one hand. The man threw the monster off and the creature gave a howl, and ran off.
“A-auron,” Tidus mumbled, the name of the man before him automatically coming out of his mouth.
“So you’ve started to remember,” the man turned to face him. He had streaks of grey hair and a scar across the left side of his face but his posture was firm and imposing. “That’s a good sign at least.”
“W-what was that thing?” Tidus trembled, staring at the spot where the creature once was.
“We call it the Guardian,” explained Auron, “It is the strongest of all the purebred Heartless and as such, is the reliable servant of Xehanort, which means he is here too.”
“I don’t understand,” said Tidus.
“You will in time, once your memory comes back some more,” Auron tucked his sword away in his cloth belt. “We need to find Jecht first, then get to Chen’s house. If we hurry, we should be able to get her out of here before any more show up.”
Tidus nodded, somewhat reluctant, and followed Auron back to his house.
“Auron!” Jecht called from the doorstep when they got to Tidus’s house. Tidus saw he was carrying a sword. “So you’re here too, eh?” Jecht stretched his shoulders, “It’s that bad?”
“I’ve seen the Guardian,” Auron said bluntly, getting to the point quickly, “Xehanort can’t be far behind. We need to act quickly.”
“You ready for this kid?” Jecht asked Tidus.
“Me? Ready for what?” Tidus asked him dumbfounded.
“To fight!” Jecht grinned, “Here; this is yours.” He handed Tidus the sword.
Tidus stared at the sword. It was made of blue crystalline and it reminded him of the ocean. Something came back to him…
“I used this to fight Sin, right?” Tidus asked, a little uncertain.
“That a boy,” Jecht continued to grin and started to walk down the street with Auron in front of him. Tidus gripped the sword and dropped his backpack. Something told him he wouldn’t need it for a long time.
************************************************************************
Chen awoke that morning and was pleased to see the dog had not moved from his spot. He followed her around the rest of the day, even to the grocery store, where she got a few raised eyebrows from the neighbors but she didn’t care. When she got home and the groceries were all put away, she sat down on the couch, the dog facing her siting at her legs, wagging his tail. “Who are you?” she asked, knowing full well that he couldn’t answer her.
Much to her surprise, the dog got up and went upstairs, coming back down a few seconds later with a ball in his mouth. The dog dropped the ball in her lap and nudged it with his nose gently, looking into her eyes intently. “You want to play ball?” she asked, picking up the ball.
The dog whined and continued to look into her eyes. She once again saw familiarity in those eyes, eyes that reminded her of…
Chen looked at the ball. It was one of Sora’s, one his father had given to him when he was very little. She stared at the dog. “Mich-”
The dog started to growl, but not at her, at the front door. There was then a knock on the door. Chen got up slowly and walked towards the door. The dog’s growl was fiercer, as if saying don’t open the door. She was within arm’s reach of the doorknob but she decided not to open it.
The door exploded, throwing Chen to the back of the hallway, up against the wall. The smoke and dust cleared, and there was a man in black armor standing where the door once was. The man took a step forward just when the dog jumped on him. They fought and broke apart but the dog wasn’t a dog anymore; it was a man.
“Michael,” Chen whispered and her head started to throb.
Michael drew his sword just as the Black Armored Knight summoned his Keyblade. They clashed tearing both the kitchen and the living room apart. Michael went to Angelus form and he threw the Knight into the wall, creating a large hole to the outside. The Knight got up quickly, raised his Keyblade to continued, but stopped when he heard the arrival of others.
“Michael!”
There was a sudden wave of black smoke and the Black Armored Knight disappeared.
“Michael!” Auron called again, climbing through the wreckage of the house. Jecht climbed in after him, while Tidus waited outside, looking at the hole in the house with awe.
Michael went to Chen at once, picking her up off the floor. Her eyes were still closed but she whispered with a tiny hint of a smile, “I knew you would come back.”
Michael managed a weak smile back, and said, “I’m your angel remember.”
“Michael,” Auron had finally reached him, “Was he here?”
“No,” Michael shook his head, carrying Chen out of the house, “His Apprentice was. I need to get her out of here before she goes into memory shock,” he gave a nod to Chen, “But if you have any idea as to why, I’d like to hear it.”
“Just one,” replied Auron, “Xehanort would use her as bait to lure out the Keyblade Master.”
“Just as I feared,” agreed Michael.
“The Gullwings should be here any minute, but that doesn’t mean we still won’t run into problems down here,” replied Jecht.
Tidus watched as the men and the angel carrying the woman started down the street. He followed after them just as he felt the same unnatural coldness in the air. He looked around and saw a figure in a black, his face hidden beneath a hood, staring down at them from the top of a house. Tidus saw the figure’s mouth break into a large smirk and snap his fingers. The shadows grew and something dark crawled out of them. There were more monsters coming out of the shadows, Heartless. Though they did not feel as powerful as the Guardian had, Tidus couldn’t feel just as uneasy.
“Time to fight!” Jecht pushed Tidus forward.
Tidus steadied himself and drew the blue sword. “Okay,” he reassured himself, “This is going to be easy. Like hell…”
One of the Heartless lunged at him and he countered by taking a swing…and slashing right through with ease. It was hard to believe how easy Tidus found it. There was a lingering sense of having done something like this before. The sensation excited him and he knew he could do it. With every attack, memory flooded back to him like a stimulus, but there was a large chunk of it still missing, but what was it?
“That a boy!” Jecht cheered, patting his son on the shoulder, as he defeated his seventh Heartless.
“Yo!”
Tidus looked up and saw Wakka running towards them, his favorite volleyball in his hand. A Heartless tried to jump him but Wakka took it out with a vicious throw from his ball. “So do you remember, yet?” Wakka asked Tidus.
“Not everything,” he admitted.
More Heartless were appearing and they found themselves surrounded. “Eh, we’ve been in tougher situations than this, ya?” Wakka said getting back to back with Tidus.
“Oh yeah?” asked Tidus with a small grin on his face, “Since when?”
“Um…I can’t think of when right now,” Wakka faked a smiled, “I’ll get back to ya on that one.”
Several of the Heartless jumped on top of them and Tidus braced for impact. But it never came and instead Tidus heard several girl voices.
“Y!”
“R!”
“P!”
“It’s showtime!”
Tidus saw a white, yellow, and black blurs driving away the Heartless. Several sparks of magic shot from the blurs pushing the Heartless back further. “What is that?” Wakka asked stunned.
Tidus shook his head and rejoined in the battle against the Heartless. He slashed through two of the monsters and looked up at the house where he had seen the man in the black coat. The man was still smiling, this time with amusement. The white blur zoomed pasted him and he suddenly grabbed the blur with his hand. The blur screamed and Tidus realized it was the girl with two colored eyes. He had a sudden adrenaline rush; before he knew it he was on top of the roof with the man in black coat. “Let her go!” he thundered, gripping his sword tighter.
The man in the black coat smiled, showing unnatural white teeth. Tidus lunged to attack and he threw the girl at Tidus’s face, followed by a hard kick to the stomach. Tidus was thrown from the roof but he held his arms around the girl to protect her. They landed down in the pavement. Tidus expected the pain to be worse but he didn’t feel anything broken at least. He slowly got up, holding the miniature version of the girl in his arms. “Yuna, are you alright?” he asked.
The girl looked up at him, baffled. “You remembered my name.”
“I’ll take that as a yes, and I’m sorry,” Tidus said.
“I thought you really forgot,” she was starting to cry.
“Oh Yuna, I could never truly forget you,” Tidus shook his head, “I love you too much.” He bent down and kissed her. There was a spark of light and she transformed back to her true size. She wiped her tears away and wrapped her arms around Tidus.
“Yunie!” the yellow blur transformed back into the girl with the bikini top, “We got rid of the Heartless.”
Yuna nodded and helped Tidus up off the ground. Jecht came over and shoved Tidus forward a few inches. “Good job son,” he grunted, “You’re a true fighter.”
“Thanks…Dad,” Tidus steadied himself. There was a roar from above and a large red airship descended from the clouds. The airship landed in the middle of the street, the engines humming gently as a large door from the hull opened up.
The girl with long braids and a boy about Tidus’s age with dirty blonde hair stepped down from the hull. “Get onboard!” called the boy, “Buddy reckons we got about five minutes before the local authorities show up.”
Yuna took Tidus hand and led him inside the ship. Michael turned to the girl, carrying Chen, and asked, “Do you have a medical ward?”
“Yes,” nodded the girl, “Right this way sir.” She led him inside just as Tidus and Wakka heard a cry.
“Hey! Where do you think you’re going?”
Tidus and Wakka turned around and saw Selphie running towards the ship, her whip in hand, and a backpack in another.
“Aww man,” Tidus made a face, “I forgot about her.”
“Well,” Selphie huffed, “I thought we were going to find Kairi and the others together?”
“Umm…” Wakka scratched his head and looked at Tidus with a loss for words.
“Let her come if she insists,” Auron said as he walked passed them to board the ship.
“Who was that?” Selphie asked, her anger subsiding.
“We’ll explained later,” said Tidus, “Are you coming or what?” He turned to head back into the ship.
“Of course I am!” Selphie picked up her bag and marched after him and Wakka. The door closed behind them and the ship took off, heading back into the clouds.
Michael followed the girl with pigtails back to the medical ward. He asked to be left alone with Chen and he sat her down in one of the beds. By that point he was already back in his human form and was reaching for Chen’s hand. As soon as she felt his touch, she griped his hand. “I remember,” she whispered.
“Everything?” Michael asked.
“Everything,” she replied. She took a deep breath and opened her eyes, which were filling with tears, “I want to see her. You didn’t bring her with you, did you?”
Michael shook his head, “She’s with Sora now.” He leaned over so that his forehead was touching hers. “I have to go,” he said just before kissing her forehead, “B eacf hay,” he spoke in Angelican before kissing her lips. He got up to leave.
“Me too,” Chen said closing her eyes, “Fuzz head.”
Michael managed a smile but it quickly vanished by the time he got up to the bridge. Almost all of the ships occupants were there, including the new arrivals. “Alright everybody listen up!” shouted a young man with a blonde mohawk and overalls covering his tattooed body, “I am Brother, Captain and Pilot of this Airship, the Celsius, home to the Gullwings. We go where I say, got it? Good! This is our navigator Buddy,” he pointed behind him to a dark skinned man with goggles, “and our intelligence gatherer, Shinra,” he nodded to a small figure at a computer desk. “And of course our three lovely ladies, Yuna, my kid sister Rikku, and Paine,” he gave a hand to the girls. “And then we got our freeloaders, Penelo, Van, and skyboy,” he said turning his back slightly.
“Hey, we’re not freeloaders, got it?” said the boy, Van.
“Who’s skyboy?” Tidus asked Yuna.
“Cloud,” Yuna nodded to a guy sitting in a chair in the back of the crowd, sleeping, “We picked him up a couple weeks ago. Don’t know where he’s from but he’s useful when we need help.”
“Before I forget, I have a few rules to go over,” said Brother, “Rule number one,” he counted off his fingers off, “No smoking. Rule number two, no drinking!” He grabbed the bottle of beer that Jecht was taking out. “Rule number three, no partying, unless I say so. Rule number four, no sleeping on the job. Rule number five, I make all decisions on where we’re going, got it?”
“I need to get to the Flying City as soon as possible,” Michael announced.
“The Flying City is too far,” argued Brother, “You’ll go where I decide where we go.”
“Then take me to a world with a transport station,” said Michael.
“Why should I?” asked Brother.
“Because he’s the Angelus Prince and he’s been given full rights to commandeer any vessel within reason,” explained Auron.
Brother made a noise that sounded like a groan. “We can take to Radiant Gardens,” suggested Yuna, “You might be able to get transport there. Is that alright Brother?”
“If Yuna thinks it’s alright, I think it’s alright,” sighed Brother.
“All right!” squealed Rikku, “Adventure time! Let’s go, go, go!”
“I’ll say when it’s time to go!” shouted Brother, “Buddy, set our coordinates for Radiant Gardens!” Brother took his seat at the front of the bridge while Yuna took Tidus up to the cabin.
The widows showed nothing but an infinite blackness speckled with white dots. “Isn’t it pretty?” said Yuna.
“Not as pretty as you,” Tidus remarked.
Yuna squeezed his hand tighter and they continued to look outside, not knowing what else laid out there, but they knew they could make it through.
*Secret boss update: yeah, it's Altair. But Sora's gotta beat him, so come up with a strategy to take the assassin down!
Prince of Persia's coming out! and so it KH RE: CoM! I love christmas!
So Morgana is defeated and time is rightfully restored to Atlantica. The heroes head back to the Flying City but things are not well in other places of the universe...
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO:
Y, R, P & COMPANY
THE DESTINY ISLANDS
Y, R, P & COMPANY
THE DESTINY ISLANDS
“Tidus…hey, Tidus! Are you listening?” asked Wakka, a tan-skinned boy with red hair.
“I’m listening,” mumbled Tidus, a lighter-skinned boy with blonde hair and blue eyes, sitting at his desk, his arms folded across it, leaning his head down.
“No you’re not,” frowned Wakka, “I was just saying how weird it was that Sora, Kairi, and Riku have gone missing again. First it’s Riku and Sora, then Kairi goes missing, then they come back, and now they’re gone. Don’t you think something’s up?”
“I don’t know,” shrugged Tidus.
“Selphie is really worried though,” remarked Wakka, “I’ve never seen her this uptight.”
“Hmmm…” Tidus said, slightly interested. He started to get up. “Well, I got practice. See you later.”
“Yeah, act like you don’t care, ya,” snorted Wakka as Tidus left the classroom. Although he didn’t show it, Tidus was a little worried. Sora, Riku, and Kairi had disappeared without a trace again. He remembered Sora’s mother being harassed by the police for not reporting to the school that Sora was gone but she continued to reassure everyone that Sora was fine, but she too showed signs of being worried.
Tidus ballgame practice went well up until a group of girls walked up to the bleachers to watch the practice. There were four of them: one with long blonde hair in several braids all over her head and brilliant green eyes, another with dirty blonde hair in a set of pig tails, and the third with light grey hair and dark eyes. But it was the fourth girl, the one with short brown hair with one green eye and one blue eye that caught him. She smiled when Tidus looked at her. He lost all other train of thought; his eyes were only for her; she was all that mattered in the world.
“Heads up!”
The ball came spinning at his head, the force knocking Tidus off his feet. “Ugh…” he moaned and he could hear the laughter of the girls. He picked himself up and looked over towards the bleachers but the girls were gone.
“Are you okay?” asked his teammate that threw the ball.
Tidus nodded but didn’t take his eyes off the bleachers. Even after practice he couldn’t stop thinking about the girl with different eyes. As he walked down the street to his house lost in thoughts, a great brown dog with blue eyes passed him on the sidewalk. He suddenly stopped and watched the dog. The dog stopped as well and looked back at with his deep piercing blue eyes. They held each other’s gaze for a few seconds, then the dog started to walk off again. Tidus continued to watch the dog for a few seconds more, then went on his way, puzzled by why he had stopped to look at the dog in the first place. Maybe it was the strange sense of familiarity he had felt. Strays weren’t all that uncommon in the village but a great dog like that walking out in the streets would have been caught by now.
The TV was on Tidus got home, his father, Jecht, watching some sports game, a bottle of beer in his hand, the remote in the other. He said nothing to his father as he went up to his bedroom, throwing his backpack down on the floor. He jumped on his bed and looked up at his ceiling. The girl reminded him of Sora; their blue eyes looked almost exactly the same. Then it hit him; that reason of familiarity from the dog. The dog and Sora both have the same piercing blue eyes, could they be…
What was he thinking? They’re was no way the dog and Sora were the same person or being, could they?
“Hey,” Jecht swaggered into the room, the beer bottle in his hand still, “How was school?”
“Fine,” Tidus replied with his eyebrows raised. Jecht rarely cared about his son’s social life or anything else except what their was to eat and his mother.
“Any thing strange happen?” Jecht asked.
Tidus was quiet for a moment, deciding whether or not to respond. “I saw a cute girl.”
Jecht snorted. “Was she looking at you?”
“She was, until I got hit in the head,” he muttered.
Jecht roared with laughter and took another swig of his bottle. “Bet she laugh.”
“I think so,” remarked Tidus, “But she disappeared before I could look.”
“What did she look like?”
“Brown hair. Two different eye colors though,” Tidus admitted. He didn’t see his father lower the beer bottle slightly.
“Any thing else you saw?” Jecht asked.
“I ran into this great brown dog on my way home. Probably just a stray though,” replied Tidus.
“What kind of dog?” inquired Jecht.
“I dunno,” shrugged Tidus.
“You sure it was even a dog? It could have been a wolf,” suggested Jecht.
“I’m pretty sure I would know if it was a wolf,” remarked Tidus.
“So you say,” Jecht walked away, sipping the beer bottle again. Tidus watched him limp out the door back to the television. Talk about if anything strange happened today.
************************************************************************
SORA’S HOUSE
Chen was awaken from her mid-afternoon nap by the sound of her doorbell. Wondering if she had ordered anything, she opened the door, and found a large brown dog sitting at her doorstep. The dog’s ears perked up and he started to wag his tail when Chen opened the door. Before she could stop to consider her decision, she allowed the dog inside, and he walked in and curled up beside the fireplace as if he belonged there.
Chen studied the dog carefully. She had seen him before but she couldn’t put in her mind where or when. But yet he was very familiar. She was very sure it was a he and he didn’t prefer dog food, due to the fact there was more wolf in him than dog. He wanted cooked chicken, fried in butter, with lots of onions. How odd she knew what the dog wanted, let alone a strange preference. She watched him for a few more seconds then got up to start cook dinner.
About an hour later, she sat a plate of chicken down on the floor. The dog got up from his spot at once and went to her. He licked her hand and wagged his tail before chowing down on his portion. She watched him carefully as she ate her dinner, even long after she herself was done. When the dog was finished, he walked back to his designated spot and sat there for the rest of the evening. Chen continued to watch him from time to time and he didn’t move until she got up and got ready for bed.
When Chen reached her bedroom, he was already curled up at the end of her bed. He looked up when she entered, waged his tail, and laid back down when she started to pull back the covers. He did not move again for the rest of the night. Chen smiled to herself as she turned out the light, pleased with this new and strange, yet oddly familiar company. The phrase ‘self-appointed guard dog’ came to mind. But as she fell to sleep, she had this odd sensation that, he would not be there the next morning and it frightened her.
************************************************************************
THE SCHOOL
Tidus would say (if asked) that he would be having a bad day. He failed his math exam (greater than or less than sings weren’t something he easily understood), got a C+ on his English essay (though who would like to learn about some old, dead guy was beyond him), and he got a write up for chewing gum. Now he was facing the serious tone of Selphie.
“I got it!” she cried suddenly as they were sweeping the classroom floor. “We’re going to investigate what happened to Kairi and the others!”
“We?” Wakka raised an eyebrow, “Since when did Tidus and I volunteer, ya?”
“I self-appointed you,” Selphie smiled triumphantly, “We’ll start by asking Sora’s mom about what happened. Then we’ll move on to investigating the children’s island.”
“The children’s island?” Tidus asked.
“Of course! Don’t you remember? Sora, Riku, and Kairi were supposed to leave on a raft almost two years ago on an adventure. What if they did it this time?” she reasoned, “If they really left the islands, who knows where they could’ve gone.”
“I think you’re taking this way too seriously Sel,” remarked Wakka.
“I should be!” Selphie shouted, “Because if you haven’t notice, nobody else seems to care around here that three of our classmates have gone missing again! Don’t you agree with me Tidus? Tidus? Are you listening?!” She threw her notebook on top of his head.
“I hear you! I hear you!” cried Tidus, “I’ll go talk to Sora’s mom…later…”
“Oh you will!” Selphie’s eyes sparkled, “Thank you Tidus! Thank you so much!” And she skipped off to wash the chalkboard.
“Ya know, I think she was just trying to get you to talk to Sora’s mom,” remarked Wakka.
Tidus didn’t say anything and finished with his chores before leaving school. As he traveled down the street on his way home again, he turned the corner and came face to face with the two color eyed girl from yesterday. “AH!” he jumped several inches in the air.
The girl made no movement and continued to look at him without noticing his surprised expression. “Do you remember me?” she asked.
“Huh?” he stared at her once he calmed down.
“Do you remember me?” the girl repeated.
“Um…” Tidus started to think very hard. He was sure he would remember a girl with eyes like hers. “Did you go to school with me?”
The girl sighed and looked into his eyes again. “Do you remember the Dream?” she asked.
“The dream?” he asked. The way she said it make those two simple words important, something vital. The words held on to his tongue like the edge of a waterfall but he couldn’t see the bottom. It was something very important, yet he did not know what.
“You were the Dream. You were the memory the Fayth pulled together,” the girl explained.
“Faith?” he asked even more confused than ever, but what she was saying somehow sounded right.
“You don’t remember anything do you?”
Tidus looked up at the girl. She had turned away from him and he could hear a sob. Suddenly she took off, her dress whipping the wind.
Her dress…Tidus suddenly remember the end of a purple dress dancing across the water. Rainbow colored lights were everywhere and there was an ere singing voice, a hymn of sorts.
“Wait!” he called after the strange girl and started to run after her, but she had already disappeared.
After running aimlessly for four blocks, Tidus came to a halt to catch his breath. He panted for a few seconds, hands on his knees, his backpack weighing him down, when he felt something strange, unnatural. The air suddenly got cold, although it was well into the eighties that afternoon, and a wave of fear was starting to creep over him. The shadows seem to grow and he could feel a dark source of energy pulsating nearby. His hands were shaking as he looked around and then he saw it, a creature surely born from nightmares.
The word monster came into Tidus’s mind at once, but he was sure there was a better word for what he saw before him. “Demon spawned from the depths of hell” was a more fitting title. The creature was human like in structure with its large muscular arms and chest, but its skin was as black as the darkest night, and its eyes were yellow and pupilless. It had huge, long, claws at the end of each finger and its mouth contained a broad grin of fangs. There was a heart shaped emblem across its chest and instead of ears, it had long antennas pulled back over its head. The yellow eyes found Tidus and it started to growl in a low voice.
Tidus was shaking all over now. His legs went numb, almost like they were glued to the ground. The demon sensed his fear and hesitation and jumped. Tidus screamed. He waited for his body to be ripped to shreds. But it didn’t came. Tidus opened his eyes.
A man had stepped in front of him, blocking the monster’s attack with a huge long sword. The man wore a red rob and his left arm hung in the side of the robe limp. He could not see the man’s face but Tidus was widely impressed with his ability to lift the sword with only one hand. The man threw the monster off and the creature gave a howl, and ran off.
“A-auron,” Tidus mumbled, the name of the man before him automatically coming out of his mouth.
“So you’ve started to remember,” the man turned to face him. He had streaks of grey hair and a scar across the left side of his face but his posture was firm and imposing. “That’s a good sign at least.”
“W-what was that thing?” Tidus trembled, staring at the spot where the creature once was.
“We call it the Guardian,” explained Auron, “It is the strongest of all the purebred Heartless and as such, is the reliable servant of Xehanort, which means he is here too.”
“I don’t understand,” said Tidus.
“You will in time, once your memory comes back some more,” Auron tucked his sword away in his cloth belt. “We need to find Jecht first, then get to Chen’s house. If we hurry, we should be able to get her out of here before any more show up.”
Tidus nodded, somewhat reluctant, and followed Auron back to his house.
“Auron!” Jecht called from the doorstep when they got to Tidus’s house. Tidus saw he was carrying a sword. “So you’re here too, eh?” Jecht stretched his shoulders, “It’s that bad?”
“I’ve seen the Guardian,” Auron said bluntly, getting to the point quickly, “Xehanort can’t be far behind. We need to act quickly.”
“You ready for this kid?” Jecht asked Tidus.
“Me? Ready for what?” Tidus asked him dumbfounded.
“To fight!” Jecht grinned, “Here; this is yours.” He handed Tidus the sword.
Tidus stared at the sword. It was made of blue crystalline and it reminded him of the ocean. Something came back to him…
“I used this to fight Sin, right?” Tidus asked, a little uncertain.
“That a boy,” Jecht continued to grin and started to walk down the street with Auron in front of him. Tidus gripped the sword and dropped his backpack. Something told him he wouldn’t need it for a long time.
************************************************************************
SORA’S HOUSE
Chen awoke that morning and was pleased to see the dog had not moved from his spot. He followed her around the rest of the day, even to the grocery store, where she got a few raised eyebrows from the neighbors but she didn’t care. When she got home and the groceries were all put away, she sat down on the couch, the dog facing her siting at her legs, wagging his tail. “Who are you?” she asked, knowing full well that he couldn’t answer her.
Much to her surprise, the dog got up and went upstairs, coming back down a few seconds later with a ball in his mouth. The dog dropped the ball in her lap and nudged it with his nose gently, looking into her eyes intently. “You want to play ball?” she asked, picking up the ball.
The dog whined and continued to look into her eyes. She once again saw familiarity in those eyes, eyes that reminded her of…
Chen looked at the ball. It was one of Sora’s, one his father had given to him when he was very little. She stared at the dog. “Mich-”
The dog started to growl, but not at her, at the front door. There was then a knock on the door. Chen got up slowly and walked towards the door. The dog’s growl was fiercer, as if saying don’t open the door. She was within arm’s reach of the doorknob but she decided not to open it.
The door exploded, throwing Chen to the back of the hallway, up against the wall. The smoke and dust cleared, and there was a man in black armor standing where the door once was. The man took a step forward just when the dog jumped on him. They fought and broke apart but the dog wasn’t a dog anymore; it was a man.
“Michael,” Chen whispered and her head started to throb.
Michael drew his sword just as the Black Armored Knight summoned his Keyblade. They clashed tearing both the kitchen and the living room apart. Michael went to Angelus form and he threw the Knight into the wall, creating a large hole to the outside. The Knight got up quickly, raised his Keyblade to continued, but stopped when he heard the arrival of others.
“Michael!”
There was a sudden wave of black smoke and the Black Armored Knight disappeared.
“Michael!” Auron called again, climbing through the wreckage of the house. Jecht climbed in after him, while Tidus waited outside, looking at the hole in the house with awe.
Michael went to Chen at once, picking her up off the floor. Her eyes were still closed but she whispered with a tiny hint of a smile, “I knew you would come back.”
Michael managed a weak smile back, and said, “I’m your angel remember.”
“Michael,” Auron had finally reached him, “Was he here?”
“No,” Michael shook his head, carrying Chen out of the house, “His Apprentice was. I need to get her out of here before she goes into memory shock,” he gave a nod to Chen, “But if you have any idea as to why, I’d like to hear it.”
“Just one,” replied Auron, “Xehanort would use her as bait to lure out the Keyblade Master.”
“Just as I feared,” agreed Michael.
“The Gullwings should be here any minute, but that doesn’t mean we still won’t run into problems down here,” replied Jecht.
Tidus watched as the men and the angel carrying the woman started down the street. He followed after them just as he felt the same unnatural coldness in the air. He looked around and saw a figure in a black, his face hidden beneath a hood, staring down at them from the top of a house. Tidus saw the figure’s mouth break into a large smirk and snap his fingers. The shadows grew and something dark crawled out of them. There were more monsters coming out of the shadows, Heartless. Though they did not feel as powerful as the Guardian had, Tidus couldn’t feel just as uneasy.
“Time to fight!” Jecht pushed Tidus forward.
Tidus steadied himself and drew the blue sword. “Okay,” he reassured himself, “This is going to be easy. Like hell…”
One of the Heartless lunged at him and he countered by taking a swing…and slashing right through with ease. It was hard to believe how easy Tidus found it. There was a lingering sense of having done something like this before. The sensation excited him and he knew he could do it. With every attack, memory flooded back to him like a stimulus, but there was a large chunk of it still missing, but what was it?
“That a boy!” Jecht cheered, patting his son on the shoulder, as he defeated his seventh Heartless.
“Yo!”
Tidus looked up and saw Wakka running towards them, his favorite volleyball in his hand. A Heartless tried to jump him but Wakka took it out with a vicious throw from his ball. “So do you remember, yet?” Wakka asked Tidus.
“Not everything,” he admitted.
More Heartless were appearing and they found themselves surrounded. “Eh, we’ve been in tougher situations than this, ya?” Wakka said getting back to back with Tidus.
“Oh yeah?” asked Tidus with a small grin on his face, “Since when?”
“Um…I can’t think of when right now,” Wakka faked a smiled, “I’ll get back to ya on that one.”
Several of the Heartless jumped on top of them and Tidus braced for impact. But it never came and instead Tidus heard several girl voices.
“Y!”
“R!”
“P!”
“It’s showtime!”
Tidus saw a white, yellow, and black blurs driving away the Heartless. Several sparks of magic shot from the blurs pushing the Heartless back further. “What is that?” Wakka asked stunned.
Tidus shook his head and rejoined in the battle against the Heartless. He slashed through two of the monsters and looked up at the house where he had seen the man in the black coat. The man was still smiling, this time with amusement. The white blur zoomed pasted him and he suddenly grabbed the blur with his hand. The blur screamed and Tidus realized it was the girl with two colored eyes. He had a sudden adrenaline rush; before he knew it he was on top of the roof with the man in black coat. “Let her go!” he thundered, gripping his sword tighter.
The man in the black coat smiled, showing unnatural white teeth. Tidus lunged to attack and he threw the girl at Tidus’s face, followed by a hard kick to the stomach. Tidus was thrown from the roof but he held his arms around the girl to protect her. They landed down in the pavement. Tidus expected the pain to be worse but he didn’t feel anything broken at least. He slowly got up, holding the miniature version of the girl in his arms. “Yuna, are you alright?” he asked.
The girl looked up at him, baffled. “You remembered my name.”
“I’ll take that as a yes, and I’m sorry,” Tidus said.
“I thought you really forgot,” she was starting to cry.
“Oh Yuna, I could never truly forget you,” Tidus shook his head, “I love you too much.” He bent down and kissed her. There was a spark of light and she transformed back to her true size. She wiped her tears away and wrapped her arms around Tidus.
“Yunie!” the yellow blur transformed back into the girl with the bikini top, “We got rid of the Heartless.”
Yuna nodded and helped Tidus up off the ground. Jecht came over and shoved Tidus forward a few inches. “Good job son,” he grunted, “You’re a true fighter.”
“Thanks…Dad,” Tidus steadied himself. There was a roar from above and a large red airship descended from the clouds. The airship landed in the middle of the street, the engines humming gently as a large door from the hull opened up.
The girl with long braids and a boy about Tidus’s age with dirty blonde hair stepped down from the hull. “Get onboard!” called the boy, “Buddy reckons we got about five minutes before the local authorities show up.”
Yuna took Tidus hand and led him inside the ship. Michael turned to the girl, carrying Chen, and asked, “Do you have a medical ward?”
“Yes,” nodded the girl, “Right this way sir.” She led him inside just as Tidus and Wakka heard a cry.
“Hey! Where do you think you’re going?”
Tidus and Wakka turned around and saw Selphie running towards the ship, her whip in hand, and a backpack in another.
“Aww man,” Tidus made a face, “I forgot about her.”
“Well,” Selphie huffed, “I thought we were going to find Kairi and the others together?”
“Umm…” Wakka scratched his head and looked at Tidus with a loss for words.
“Let her come if she insists,” Auron said as he walked passed them to board the ship.
“Who was that?” Selphie asked, her anger subsiding.
“We’ll explained later,” said Tidus, “Are you coming or what?” He turned to head back into the ship.
“Of course I am!” Selphie picked up her bag and marched after him and Wakka. The door closed behind them and the ship took off, heading back into the clouds.
Michael followed the girl with pigtails back to the medical ward. He asked to be left alone with Chen and he sat her down in one of the beds. By that point he was already back in his human form and was reaching for Chen’s hand. As soon as she felt his touch, she griped his hand. “I remember,” she whispered.
“Everything?” Michael asked.
“Everything,” she replied. She took a deep breath and opened her eyes, which were filling with tears, “I want to see her. You didn’t bring her with you, did you?”
Michael shook his head, “She’s with Sora now.” He leaned over so that his forehead was touching hers. “I have to go,” he said just before kissing her forehead, “B eacf hay,” he spoke in Angelican before kissing her lips. He got up to leave.
“Me too,” Chen said closing her eyes, “Fuzz head.”
Michael managed a smile but it quickly vanished by the time he got up to the bridge. Almost all of the ships occupants were there, including the new arrivals. “Alright everybody listen up!” shouted a young man with a blonde mohawk and overalls covering his tattooed body, “I am Brother, Captain and Pilot of this Airship, the Celsius, home to the Gullwings. We go where I say, got it? Good! This is our navigator Buddy,” he pointed behind him to a dark skinned man with goggles, “and our intelligence gatherer, Shinra,” he nodded to a small figure at a computer desk. “And of course our three lovely ladies, Yuna, my kid sister Rikku, and Paine,” he gave a hand to the girls. “And then we got our freeloaders, Penelo, Van, and skyboy,” he said turning his back slightly.
“Hey, we’re not freeloaders, got it?” said the boy, Van.
“Who’s skyboy?” Tidus asked Yuna.
“Cloud,” Yuna nodded to a guy sitting in a chair in the back of the crowd, sleeping, “We picked him up a couple weeks ago. Don’t know where he’s from but he’s useful when we need help.”
“Before I forget, I have a few rules to go over,” said Brother, “Rule number one,” he counted off his fingers off, “No smoking. Rule number two, no drinking!” He grabbed the bottle of beer that Jecht was taking out. “Rule number three, no partying, unless I say so. Rule number four, no sleeping on the job. Rule number five, I make all decisions on where we’re going, got it?”
“I need to get to the Flying City as soon as possible,” Michael announced.
“The Flying City is too far,” argued Brother, “You’ll go where I decide where we go.”
“Then take me to a world with a transport station,” said Michael.
“Why should I?” asked Brother.
“Because he’s the Angelus Prince and he’s been given full rights to commandeer any vessel within reason,” explained Auron.
Brother made a noise that sounded like a groan. “We can take to Radiant Gardens,” suggested Yuna, “You might be able to get transport there. Is that alright Brother?”
“If Yuna thinks it’s alright, I think it’s alright,” sighed Brother.
“All right!” squealed Rikku, “Adventure time! Let’s go, go, go!”
“I’ll say when it’s time to go!” shouted Brother, “Buddy, set our coordinates for Radiant Gardens!” Brother took his seat at the front of the bridge while Yuna took Tidus up to the cabin.
The widows showed nothing but an infinite blackness speckled with white dots. “Isn’t it pretty?” said Yuna.
“Not as pretty as you,” Tidus remarked.
Yuna squeezed his hand tighter and they continued to look outside, not knowing what else laid out there, but they knew they could make it through.
*Secret boss update: yeah, it's Altair. But Sora's gotta beat him, so come up with a strategy to take the assassin down!
Prince of Persia's coming out! and so it KH RE: CoM! I love christmas!
Tidus and Yuna are so cute^^ I love this chapter!!!
And since I hardly know who Altair is, don't expect a strategy from me...
And since I hardly know who Altair is, don't expect a strategy from me...
First of all I need to know if by a strategy you mean that you want me to write out the whole battle cause i don't understand what you mean.
Man it's been a long time. I really need to know what you mean by giving you a strategy if I'm gonna do it. By the way found this thread on page three, updates needed and looked forward to. And that lost chapter was great.
Well, this chapter was suppost to be done by Christmas. Looking back there's no way I could have finished it by then. So I changed the deadline to New Year's Day. Didn't happen either. It wasn't done until four days ago after editing. So enjoy it readers: consider it a very late christmas present.
The gang is heading back to the Flying City but what surprises are waiting for them there?
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE:
THE HELIOS BALL
“Wha-what do you mean we’ve been here for two months?!”
Sora, Grace, Jane, and the gang were back on the Strahl heading back towards the Flying City. Hardly anyone had taken little notice of the digital calendar posted next to the pilot’s seat in the cockpit, until Balthier recently noticed they had somehow skipped two months into the future. So far, Jane was the only one freaking out over it.
“Um, are you sure the calendar isn’t broken?” Grace suggested, “We were only on Atlantica for three days.”
“Yes, but the time storm speed time up on Atlantica. When Jane corrected the time flow, the surrounding space had to adjust. Judging by the size of the time storm, we’re lucky it only adjusted by putting us two months into the future,” explained Balthier.
“We traveled through time? Cool!” Joey looked amazed.
“No, that is not cool!” screamed Jane, “We’ve been gone for two months! Which leaves me with one month to prepare for the Helios Ball, one month to make Sora here a respectful member of the Angelus royal family! He can’t even change his hair yet!”
“Hey, at least I can change my eyebrows!” Sora shouted from the bathroom. Jane had been teaching Sora how to use his Angelus powers, but she was starting him out small. While the eyebrows had been an improvement, he had shown everyone how he’d changed them from brown to white and had gotten it down well, but the excitement had died down significantly and he was spending most of his time in the bathroom.
“Not to mention I’m a world delegate! I have appointments to keep! People to negotiate with!” she cried, then sighed, “Daddy’s gonna kill me…”
“So, um, what’s the Helios Ball?” asked Grace.
“It is the most important gathering of all the world delegates at the Imperial Palace on the Winter Solace. All the Royal Family, Chasers, and Keyblade Users are the opening dance-”
“Dance?” Grace asked, her face suddenly white.
“As in dance dance, with girls?” asked Joey.
“Yes, which means you should probably start looking for dance partners,” suggested Jane.
“But-but- I don’t know how to dance,” squealed Joey.
“Don’t worry, I’ll schedule dance lessons for everyone. One more thing I have to do,” Jane moaned as she walked down the hallway.
Grace walked back to her bunk, lost in her thoughts. A dance…true St. Peter’s had held dances before in conjunction with the Genius School but a formal dance with adults in the Imperial Palace? What would she wear? She wasn’t sure how she was suppose to act, or be proper, let alone dance. Could she pull it off in a month?
There was a knock on the door, and all the girls came in the room, with the exception of Jane and Fran. “We heard the news,” said Ling sitting down next to Grace.
“Rather, we heard Jane carrying on about the Helios Ball,” remarked Mitch.
“But the point is, what are we going to do about this dance?” Anemone looked harassed, “We need to pick out dresses, set appointments for our hair and nails, not to mention find a date. If I had three months notice, I would have been able to pull something off, but a month? Might as well announce that the dance is tomorrow.”
“I’m sure the Princess will be able to help us,” said Clarise.
“Wait, you guys are going too?” asked Grace.
“Well you and I have to go,” explained Kairi.
“I have to go because I’m the Princess,” Lucy raised her hand.
“I have to go because I’m Keeper of the Earthern People,” Ling raised her hand.
“We have to go because…” Anemone paused for a second to think, “Well Balthier said we had to.”
“Which leaves Mitch and Margot behind,” said Clarise.
“I’m going because Riku will more than likely ask me to be his partner,” said Mitch.
“And I’m not staying home alone,” Margot folded her arms.
“Who am I suppose to ask to be my partner?” asked Grace.
“Roxas, of course!” smiled Lucy.
“And how am I suppose to ask him?” asked Grace.
“Um…” Lucy opened her mouth, then closed it.
“Jane could use one of her spells,” suggested Ling.
“But Sora or Roxas can’t control the transformations. No one even knows what sparks them in the first place,” said Mitch, “Besides Sora has to participate in the opening dance, so that leaves Roxas out of the question.”
“And don’t you remember how the Federation acted when he suddenly showed up in the Inquiry?” remarked Anemone, “It won’t be a pleasant experience.”
“Maybe you should ask your Dad?” suggested Clarise.
“Yeah, I think I’ll ask him,” agreed Grace.
“Who are you taking, Ling?” asked Kairi.
“I was going to ask Sam, but…” Ling was red in the face, “If it’s been two months since we’ve last seen or heard from each other…he’s probably mad. Who are you taking, Anemone? Pence?”
“He’s with Sam and the others on Radiant Gardens,” said Anemone, “I’ll send him an e-mail, I guess, or whatever they use to communicate with between the worlds.”
“I wonder if Matti will ask me to the Ball,” Clarise said quietly.
“Of course he will! Why wouldn’t he?” Anemone looked appalled.
“Who’s going to take you, Lucy?” Grace asked.
“Well…” her face went bright pink, “There’s this guy…I know…”
“OMG! Are you telling us you have a secret boyfriend?” Anemone whispered.
“No, no, no! Nothing like that!” Lucy shook her hands, “He’s just a guy. I don’t even know if he would like this kind of dance thing…” she looked a bit worried, “He’s more into rock and punk and stuff like that…”
“Oh one of those guys,” Anemone smiled, “I gotcha.”
“Do you think any of the guys know how to dance?” asked Grace.
“Our guys? Nope, defiantly not,” replied Mitch.
“Balthier might know how to dance,” said Clarise.
“I wouldn’t doubt it but I’m surprised they can walk on their own two feet,” smirked Anemone.
Meanwhile, in the boys quarters, Matti said, “So about this Ball, are we expected to go?”
“Most of us have to,” replied Riku, sitting down on his bed.
“Do we have to wear funny suits?” asked Tai.
“Probably,” answered Sora.
“We have to dance though,” moaned Joey.
“Dancing is easy,” said Matti, “You just grab the girl and lead her, while trying not to step on her toes.”
“I don’t think it’s that simple,” remarked Sora.
“We’re coming up on Alluria. We should be docking in about five to ten minutes,” Balthier’s voice echoed across the intercom.
The boy jumped out of their beds and took there places with the girls in their seats. “This the Strahl. Requesting permission to dock. We are transmitting our ID now,” Balthier said into the radio.
“Roger that,” the radio crackled. There was a brief pause then the radio crackled again, “Permission grated to dock at pier 48-i79. We have been asked to alert the Angelus Prince and Agent Black Wings of your arrival.”
“That’s fine,” Balthier replied into the radio.
“You will also be asked to provide identification for everyone on board upon arrival,” the voice over the radio added.
“Copy that,” said Balthier and he turned off the radio. He then turned to Fran, “Security’s gotten tighter since we last left.”
She nodded and adjusted a few of the controls to ease the ship into the docking station. There was a rocking motion as the ship descended down into the planet of Alluria and finally came to a stop once they finally docked. Balthier led them out of the ship into the air lock, a long airtight glass and steel pathway heading down towards a metal door. The door hissed opened and beyond it, the hallway split into two with a sign and an Angelus guard posted at the split. The sign digitally flashed in several languages reading: “Passengers with IDs ->; Passengers without Ids <-; Please note all passengers must surrender all weapons, electronic or metallic devices before passing into the Bioscan before continuing.”
“You guys need to go left,” Balthier directed, “We’ll met back on the other side.” He, Fran, and Jane went down the right hallway, while everyone else went down the left side.
Further down the hallway was what seemed a metal detector with an Angelus guard posted next to it. “Oh it’s you guys,” grumbled the guard.
“You!” Sora gasped recognizing the Private.
“Yeah me,” smirked the Private, “I’ve been stuck here since they increased security a month ago. All the heads think we’re gonna be under attack or somethin’.” He then noticed Sora’s bandage, “What happened to you, Hotshot? Trip over your Keyblade?”
“Got thrown,” muttered Sora.
“Whatever you say,” the Private got up from his seat and held out a large plastic bin, “One at a time. Any thing that will trigger the Bioscan goes in here.”
Sora was up first. He dropped his necklace in the bind and held up his Keyblade. “What about this?” he asked.
The Private went back to his seat, flicked a switch and nodded for Sora to go through. Sora passed through the scanner without a problem and grabbed his necklace from the bin. It proceeded like that after him, the only hold up being with Joey and him emptying the contents of his pockets, which somehow contained enough gizmos and gadgets to almost fill the bin. When Margot was finally finished, they proceed down the hallway until they reached a door that read, “Identification Verification Room. Please be ready to provide the necessary information.”
“What’s all this for?” grumbled Donald, “Don’t they know who we are yet?”
“Guess we just can’t use our stupid Juno ID cards anymore,” muttered Grace.
The door hissed opened and there standing in a glass room. Beyond the glass room were several guards in white uniform watching computer screens, a few watching the new arrivals come in. Sora stepped forward first and almost at once, two machines emerged from holes in the floor, one for a handprint and the other for an iris scan. Sora pressed his hand on the print machine and gazed directly into the scanner. Both machines went at once; a message flashed on the eye scanner that said, “Verifying identity. Please wait.” There was a beep and a flash of green light. A glass door in front of him that no one had noticed earlier opened and Sora stepped through it. As soon as he did, the door closed behind him, waiting for the next person to pass through.
Grace was up next. She pressed her hand on the hand print machine and gazed into the iris scan. The message flashed but then was followed by a buzzing noise. Another message flashed on the iris scan. “File corrupted. Please try again.”
Grace frowned and pressed her hand again on the machine and gazed into the scanner. The machine buzzed again. “File corrupted. Too many matches. Initializing backup verification.”
Two more machines popped out of the floor. One of the machines had a microphone; the other had a needle with a clear tube attached. “Name please,” said the machine with the microphone.
“Grace Porter,” she said into the microphone.
“Full name please,” the machine repeated.
“Lady Grace Alexandira Porter,” she said, getting more annoyed. She watched at the machine did a sound wave check, using a sound file it had probably gotten from the Inquiry.
“Voice harmonics matched. Please provide a blood sample for further verification,” said the machine.
Grace cringed, although she knew that was most likely the other machine was used for. She rolled up her sleeve and the machine with the needle moved forward. She bit her lip as the needle pierced her vein, but it was quicker than she expected. The machine spat out a gauze and bandage for her when it was done and checked her blood. The machine flashed the message, “match” and Grace gave a sigh of relief as the glass door opened for her. No one else had any problems going through the machines; why did it have a corrupt file for her?
When everyone was finished, they were led up a flight of stairs into the sunlight. Balthier, Fran, and Jane were waiting for them. “What took you guys so long?” asked Jane.
“Grace got stuck in the identify room,” explained Tai.
“That’s what happens when you have too many family members serving for the Knights. Everything matches the same,” remarked Balthier.
“So you mean I have to go through that every time I come here?” Grace asked.
“Not all the time. Sometimes the machines will give you a break,” he replied.
Grace groaned just as a small hover car pulled up to the station platform. “Sora!” There was a cry as the car door slid open and Sora’s mother ran out, grabbing her son in a tight hug. Everyone was so shocked that they didn’t notice Prince Michael and Luke step out after her.
“Oh sweetheart! What did you do to your head?” Chen asked as she let Sora go, noticing his bandage.
“It’s nothing,” Sora’s face went red with embarrassment, “It’s just a scratch.”
“If it wasn’t a scratch you wouldn’t need a bandage wrapped around your head!” Chen cried, “What were you doing? You!” She rounded on Balthier. “What the hell were you doing when this happened?”
“Why is it my fault?” Balthier looked confused, “Michael, tell her it’s not my fault.”
“Honey-” Michael tried to place his hands on Chen’s shoulders but she glared at him.
“Stay out of this Fuzz Head,” she fummed.
“Chen, sweetheart, he’s fine-”
“He is not fine, he could have brain trauma-”
“He already has enough brain trauma,” Michael muttered.
“Mom, really I’m fine, and it’s not Balthier’s fault,” Sora reassured her.
“Um, Father?”
Jane had finally spoken up. Chen broke away from Sora and hugged Jane. “Oh Jane…I missed you,” she sobbed. She pulled back away from Jane just a bit to give her some space.
“Mommy?” Tears were swelling up in Jane’s eyes and she suddenly hugged her mother, crying.
“Um, when did Mom remember about Jane?” Sora asked his father.
“When I went to pick her up her memory unmodified itself on it’s own,” Michael explained.
“But why did you-?”
“Later,” Michael interrupted him with a look that told Sora he didn’t want anyone else to hear.
“Dad,” Jane finally said when she had finally stopped crying, “I need to hold an emergency summons in the Federation as soon as possible. They need to be debrief on what happened on Atlantica.”
“I will call a summons after I officially announce your return,” replied Michael.
Jane frowned but nodded and followed her mother, father, and brother into the car.
“Where’s Dad?” Tai asked Luke.
“He’s in the lab. He was too busy to come. Don’t worry about,” Luke added when he saw Grace’s face, “He’s very close to finishing up the vaccine but if we don’t make it back before he finds the ‘overwhelming, conclusive’ test results, he’ll mope around the house for a week, taking the dog as his only company, or dogs…oh! And you’re friends from Radiant Gardens are back!” Luke added to the others.
“Sam!” Ling squealed excitedly and jumped in the car next after Grace, Tai, and Luke.
They took the hover car back to the Flying City. Sora and Jane were first to get off with their parents, followed by the next stop at the Xavier Institute. Soon only Grace, Tai, and Luke were left in the car. Five minutes later, the car stopped in front of the Porter Mansion. Luke opened the door and they walked into the familiar old house crowd with dogs waiting to check out their new visitors. Grace noticed the place was starting to look a little dustier but was still in remarkably clean shape.
“We didn’t know when you would be back, so we’ve been trying to keep it tidy,” said Luke walked into the kitchen.
“Tidy huh?” Grace asked. There were several dishes waiting to be washed in the sink and the room smelled faintly of rotting fish.
“Those are just the plates the Professor’s been using; he brings them out every once in a while,” Luke took out an air freshener from the cupboard and sprayed it around the dishes, “I tell ya, once your Dad gets on something, he goes after it and doesn’t stop until he gets it.”
“Does he even know we’re here?” Grace asked.
“I buzzed down to him, so I think he subconsciously knows you’re here,” explained Luke as he picked up the phone, “You can go down and see him if you want, but don’t be surprised if he kicks you out. Tell him I’m ordering Sushi!” He called to Grace as she went down into the lab.
Grace walked down the familiar hallway of white, pausing once just to enter the passcode at the airtight door. “Welcome back, Lady Grace,” said the female voice of Alex’s computer, Phoenix, “Shall I alert the Professor of your arrival?”
“That won’t be necessary,” Grace replied, taking a pair of goggles from the rack and going through the second airtight door. She found her father looking over a huge pile of notes spread across the table. He looked as if he hadn’t shaven for days and there were heavy circles under his eyes.
“Dad?” Grace called to him. He didn’t look up or made any motion that he realized she was there. “Dad?” she called again.
“Not now sweetheart,” He waved his finger at her like he was chastising a child without looking up from his notes, “Daddy is busy right now.”
“O-okay,” Grace turned away towards the door but didn’t take a step forward, “Um, Luke’s ordering Sushi-”
“That’s fine. I’ll be up later,” Alex said, still not looking up from his notes.
Grace sighed, and started to head back upstairs. “Gracey?” She turned around and saw her father had dropped the pencil he was holding and he was looking at her. “I’ll be up in a few minutes, okay?”
Grace managed a smile and went back upstairs into the kitchen. “So?” Luke asked, “Did he say anything…at all?”
“He said he’s coming up in a few minutes,” Grace replied.
Luke stared at her. “He actually looked at you?”
“Yes,” Grace nodded, looking surprised.
“Wow…do you know how long it takes me to drag him up here? Even when he’s sleep deprived and hasn’t eaten in a week?” Luke looked amazed.
Alex came up just after the food arrived. Luke watched him as he came up and sat down, grabbing a container of food. “What?” Alex asked him, “The next test results won’t come out for a few more hours. I can get something to eat.”
“What did you do?” Luke asked Grace incredulously.
“I didn’t do anything,” Grace replied grabbing the food container out of his hand.
Alex started to chuckle and Grace and Luke looked at him. “You remind me of how I was with my older sister,” he explained.
Luke frowned, “Yeah, but she isn’t my older sister.” He took back the food container from Grace.
Grace rolled her eyes and passed the eggrolls to Tai.
************************************************************************
THE GALACTIC FEDERATION HEADQUARTERS
“…the fact that the time storm when unnoticed for so long and accelerated time so quickly on a small world tells me that this wasn’t an ordinary time storm. Something else caused it,” Jane told the world leaders with Judge Zaida presiding over them. Michael and Sora watched from the side as the world leaders looked worried.
“No one has such power to cause a time storm,” remarked a world leader.
“No Hume has the power to cause a time storm,” corrected Jane, “What I am speaking of is something inhuman. If that is so, I suggest this counsel approves my request to raise the Galactic Security to Level Nine.”
There was a sudden uproar in the room, which was only silenced until Judge Zaida called them to order. “Your Highness, you know the law says we cannot raise the Galactic Security to Level Nine unless there is a significant potential threat to the World Order.”
“But there is!” Jane argued, “Heartless are still running around! The Nobodies are showing up everywhere! And let’s not forget the Commander! The Chasers have been sent on missions one right after the other without stop unless they are called in by the Counsel. It’s almost like the Unborns attacks of a decade and a half ago, or has this Counsel forgotten?”
“Your Highness, with all due respect, there is no evidence that Xehanort is behind these events,” said another world leader.
“So you would rather wait until there is a ‘significant potential threat to the World Order’ to act?” Jane frowned, “Then I ask that Counsel to raise the security level to Eight a few days before the Helios Ball.”
There were a few nods of agreement from the Counsel, and Judge Zaida nodded, “Request accepted. We will raise the security level to Eight approximately five days before the Helios Ball. This Counsel has been dismissed.”
Jane was still in a fowl mood even after she stepped down from the stand. “I can’t believe this! ‘A significant potential threat’?! So Heartless and Nobodies aren’t good enough.”
“But if they’re so scared, why won’t they do anything?” asked Sora, as they walked down the hallway.
“They’re afraid to lose trust in their people,” replied Michael, “When the Galactic Security is raised to level nine, the world leaders must increased the security of their own worlds and inform their close military and public advisors of the Order. The Angelus Knights are called to prepare for war against the threat. But mainly level nine shows that the Federation is losing its control of the situation. The last time level nine was ordered, was right before you showed up.”
“But it’s better to act now then later,” added Jane, “If the Counsel doesn’t do anything, they’re going to have a disaster on their hands.”
“Then why don’t we do something?” asked Sora.
“There’s not much we can do,” Michael replied, “The Knights know that something is going to happen and are preparing for it as best as they can. They have Intelligence going through all communications and are sending spies to every world, looking out for danger. Which reminds me…I need to talk to you two once we get home.”
“Why do we have to wait?” Sora asked.
“It’s classified,” Michael answered as they were led outside into a hover car. The hover car brought them to the Imperial Palace, a building of stone, wood, and brick, painted white on the outside. The Palace was closed off by an iron gate and pillars of brick, with Angelus guards standing watch around the perimeter. Stone statues and carvings decorated the roof and grounds, with a golden statue of angel standing in the rose garden in the back of the grounds.
The entrance hall of the Palace was starting to be lit for the coming night. The crystal chandelier shined down upon the checkered marble floor, mahogany staircase, and several pictures, two of which showed the current King and Queen in their coronation robes. Olette was standing in front of the grand staircase, talking with Chen and Lady White. They stopped as soon as Sora, Jane, and Michael stepped inside.
“Good afternoon Uncle,” Olette bowed, “Still no word of my father?”
“No, but he should be back in the next few days,” replied Michael.
“We were just discussing the preparations for the ball,” said Chen, “And since Jane is on the committee board for the event, Lady White and I were hoping to discuss some ideas with her.”
“I need to speak with Jane for a few minutes about the emergency session, okay honey?” Michael said as he pulled Jane and Sora into his study. He locked the door as soon as they were inside. “I don’t want to worry your mother,” he tucked the key away, “but you must promise me, whatever I tell you, must not leave this room.”
Jane nodded almost at once but Sora continued to look at his father’s face: strained with fear in his eyes. “Sora?” His father was waiting for him.
Sora nodded and sat down next to Jane on the couch in front of the fireplace. Michael sat across from them in a chair angled towards the fire. “When I went back to check on your mother two months ago, I felt like there were Heartless in the area, so I stayed in my Transmira form. Your mother’s memory had not fully recovered either when she saw me, nor did I expect it to come back quickly. I was only with her for about a day when she was attacked by the Black Armored Knight-”
Sora was on his feet. “What?” he shouted.
“-sent by Xehanort,” Michael finished.
“But…but why Mom?” asked Sora.
“He wanted to kidnap your mother in order to get to you, Sora. If it weren’t for your friends, I wouldn’t have been able to save her on my own,” explained Michael.
Sora’s fists were shaking with rage; he wanted to hit something badly, take out his Keyblade and beat up the couch when Jane asked, “Did you see him?”
“No; but his guardian Heartless was there and I did feel his presence for just a short bit,” replied Michael.
Sora was quiet for a moment then asked, “Is Mom safe here?”
“The Flying City is the safest place for her now. But the thing about your mother…” Michael broke into a weak smile, “she would rather go down fighting than be taken quietly. That’s one of the reasons why I love her. Either way though…I can’t risk losing her again. And for that matter, I want you to stay in the Flying City Sora.”
“But- I’m the Keyblade Master! What if a world needs me?” Sora stared at him with shock.
“The Chasers will handle it,” Michael said calmly.
“I’m as good as any! You can’t make me!” Sora yelled, already on his feet, Jane watching them carefully.
“You are not a Chaser yet,” Michael said, his voice rising, “You are still young.”
Sora summoned his Keyblade, wanting to strike his father but in the blink of an eye, Michael had already gotten to his feet, went to Angelus form, drew his rapier and had it at Sora’s throat. Jane’s hands were over her mouth so they wouldn’t hear her gasp. “It seems Terra and I have both gone too easy on you,” Michael said lowering his rapier slightly, “Not only can you not control your Angelus powers, but your rage is unchecked. That is why, as both your father and the Crown Prince, I am ordering you to stay in the Flying City, at least until the end of the Helios Ball. I am hoping within a month’s time, the Teachers will get you to learn a thing or two.” He pulled his rapier back into its scabbard.
Jane stared at her father incredulously. “The Teachers? You want to send him to the Teachers? They’ll kill him…”
“The Teachers are very interested in Sora. They want to see what he can do and what he can’t,” Michael explained, unlocking the doors to his study.
“Um…what are the Teachers?” asked Sora.
“The Teachers are a pair of martial arts experts that teach the Royal Family and the Elite Knights how to defend themselves. They’ve been teaching me since I was very little. If they are interested in you, they won’t go easy on you,” explained Jane walking up the staircase, “One more thing to add to my to-do list,” she sighed.
“How long is it now?” Sora asked. She stopped, took her hands, parted them so they were about three feet apart.
“That long,” she replied.
************************************************************************
THE PORTER MANSION
Grace was awakened in the middle of the night by a bang, a crash, a muffled cry, a few more bangs, and another crash. Thinking wildly that the delivery man that was suppose to bring her and Tai’s things from the Strahl had finally shown up and tried breaking into the house, she reached for a small blanket, crawled over a few of the puppies, and went out of the bedroom. Luke emerged from his bedroom, pulling his beater shirt on with a puppy sitting on his shoulders, yawning, “Wazitsit?”
Alex stumbled out of the kitchen, with an odd smile on his face and Pongo leading him like a seeing-eye dog. “I did it!” he shouted, “I’ve beat the virus! The vaccine works!”
“I knew we would do it!” Luke jumped.
Grace ran down the stairs and into her father’s arms. “That’s great!” she hugged him.
“Where’s Tai?” Alex asked.
“Still sleeping, hopefully,” replied Grace.
“Well, let him sleep then,” said Alex, “We can have a quiet celebration and make it up to him in the morning. Do you want to see the vaccine?”
He took Grace and Luke down into the lab. He hooked up a bioscope to a large computer screen. Under the light of the bioscope, he took a pietre dish of human cells and, taking a small bottle of the vaccine, he injected the clear liquid into the pietre dish. They watched as the weakened strains of the virus floated around, trying to attached themselves to healthy body cells. A few managed to infect the body cells and started to reproduce but it wasn’t long before the white blood cells recognized them as invaders and attacked them. Alex pulled up another pietre dish of human cells and injected another sample of clear liquid. The sample of the virus that floated around in the pietre dish was more potent and was quickly taking over healthy human cells. The white blood cells were picking them up slowly but the virus had the upper hand. Alex took a different sample of the vaccine and injected into the sample. With this sample, there was a different strain of virus with the bird flu that quickly attached itself to other uninfected body cells. The bird flu virus seemed to be slowing down, almost acting as if it was confused of this new visitor. This gave some time for the white blood cells to regroup and take out all the infected cells until finally both viruses were gone.
“Oh my God…” Luke’s knees sank to the floor, “You actually did it Professor.”
“No, we did it,” Alex took Luke’s shoulder and shook it. He then took what looked like a wine bottle out and started to pour drinks, “Tomorrow, we’ll present our finds to the Order and prepare for human testing.”
Alex handed Grace a glass and she looked at it curiously. “What?” Alex asked, “It’s okay if I say so.”
Grace took a sip of the wine, made a small face, and said, “You better get washed up if you’re going to the Order.”
“So I haven’t shaved in a day or two? I had a job to do,” Alex said sheepishly as he drank down his glass.
“Yeah, but Boss, what would Aqua say if she saw you?” asked Luke.
Alex considered this for a moment and said, “Good point. Cheers.” He tapped Luke’s glass and drank the rest of the wine.
Grace didn’t remember when she fell asleep but the last thing she remembered was what Alex and Luke were going to tackle next for the Knights and if it would be finding something called Atlantis. She awoke to Tai poking her in the arm the next morning. “Stop that,” she moaned, throwing the blanket over her. She could hear Alex and Luke snoring next to her.
“We’re you drinking last night?” Tai asked picking up the empty wine bottle.
“No- I mean, yes! Sort of…” Grace slowly got up and took the wine bottle away from him. “We were celebrating Dad’s latest achievement.”
“Oh…because Princess Jane is here to pick us up for our dance lessons,” explained Tai.
“What?” Grace’s eyes shot open. “What time is it?”
“9 o’clock. I got your clothes here,” Tai held out her Trans-Drive clothes for her.
“Thanks,” she jumped into the bathroom and started to change, leaving the door opened enough so that they could talk, “Is Luke coming with us?”
“He suppose to, but Jane says if he’s sleeping let him be,” replied Tai.
“Hmm…” Grace stepped out of the bathroom fully dressed. “Pongo! Look after the boys okay?” she called as she took Tai’s hand and they left the kitchen. The dog barked in reply and took a position next to the slumbering scientists.
Jane was waiting outside in her formal dress next to the floating car. She seemed to be waiting for Luke but when she realized he wasn’t coming, she sighed and slammed the car door behind her.
The whole group was there, including Sam, Miki, Hayner, and Pence. Grace and Tai said hello as they started to discuss their adventures together. Sam and Miki reported that there wasn’t anything new about the underground labs or the strange room but the Heartless were starting to act up. “They aren’t much of a problem,” remarked Sam, “Usually the town’s defense system keeps them out but once in a while, one sneaks in.”
They stopped talking as soon as they got into the imperial palace. Princess Jane led the group back through the magnificent hallways into the ballroom. The ballroom was as big as a theater. Red velvet curtains were pulled back from the tall glass windows and doors that lead out onto the stone balcony in front of the rose garden. A crystal chandelier decorated with golden lights sparkled above them just beneath a ceiling panted with Ultima sitting in the clouds, surrounded by angels. The marble dance floor shined their reflections back as they joined Sora, Olette, Michael, Chen, and an older woman near the staircase that led to the balcony above.
“We are present and accounted for, Madame,” Jane said to the woman, “Most of us, anyway. You may began.”
“Thank you my Lady,” the woman bowed. She straightened her glass that made her eyes look twice as big. Her hair was extremely frizzy and went everywhere it wanted to. She wore several shawls and on her feet were ballet flats. “I am Madame Mirabella. I will be, for the next several weeks, your dance instructor. Dancing is not just an art. It is a form of communication between two partners in perfect harmony. To be one with one another, to feel the rhythm of the music, that is dancing,” Madame Mirabella took a deep breath as if she just enjoyed something exhilarating.
“If she’s going to go on like this all day, I quit,” mumbled Sora.
“What was that young man?” Madame Mirabella’s eyes perked up, “Are you volunteering to go first? Excellent!” She pulled Sora out from the crowd. Donald and Goofy started to laugh as Sora grimaced. “Any one want to be his partner? How about you?” She dragged Grace next to Sora. “Now, you put your hand on her waist, right here and take her hand,” She moved Sora’s arms around so that his left hand was on her waist and was holding up her left hand. “And you put your arm on his shoulder, like that.” She placed Grace’s hand on Sora’s shoulder. “Good. Now…one, two, three, one, two, three- no, no, no!” She broke Sora and Grace apart. “You, the gentleman, are supposed to lead her, not the other way around. Try again; lead gently…one, two, three…”
The second attempt at dancing was better until Sora stepped on Grace’s foot. “Ouch!” she cried.
“Sorry,” he apologized and they went at it again until Madame Mirabella was satisfied.
“My dear, if I may say so, I suggest you do not ask this man to be your partner,” Madame Mirabella whispered into Grace’s ear before turning back to the others. “Now, I want you each to pick a partner and do the same thing. I will be coming around to correct your postures.”
Almost immediately everyone reached for a partner. Joey was left alone without anyone so Madame Mirabella placed him aside until she was done checking everyone’s posture. She then began to play a waltz on a CD player and she took Joey’s hands as everyone attempted dancing around the ballroom. They did that for about fifteen minutes until Madame Mirabella clapped her hands. “You all did very well. Now I will see you again in two days time. Ladies, I want to see you with ballet flats. Gentlemen, dance shoes. We need to break you in early so you won’t feel uncomfortable on the night of the ball. And those of you who will be in the opening dance: we will start practice for that next week. You will need to have chosen a partner by then. Meanwhile, Chasers and Keyblade Users work on your individual selections.”
As soon as Madame Mirabella disappeared, Grace rounded on Jane, “What does she mean individual selections?”
“Oh, right…the Royal Family, the Chasers, and Keyblade Users do individual dances the first hour of the Ball,” explained Jane, hiding behind Sora incase Grace attacked.
“Great, something else to worry about,” moaned Grace.
“We have to pick a dance?” groaned Sora.
“Don’t worry; I’ll work on it,” Kairi patted his shoulder.
Things didn’t get much better the rest of the day. After having lunch, Grace and Tai were dropped off at the Porter Mansion. Their luggage was sitting outside and it seemed that Alex and Luke had left on some sort of business. Grace carried her stuff upstairs and started to unpack. She was going through her books, when The Golden Compass grabbed her eye. She sat down on her bed and started to read, all the way to the sixth chapter, when Alex came in, carrying a box of books.
“How did your presentation go?” Grace asked.
“Excellent,” Alex smiled, “We got the approval to start on human testing.” He had cleaned up his face and the circles underneath his eyes were disappearing. He sat down next to her with the box of books.
“What’s all that for?” she asked.
“Well, I’ve been going through your school records from Juno. You’re one of the brightest in the class I see,” he remarked.
“And…?” Grace wasn’t sure where he was going with this.
“Although you’re a little behind by Galactic Federation standards, you got potential. You could easily get into the Angelus Knight Academy, if you want to become a Knight or Chaser. The examination is in three weeks, just before the Helios Ball, and I can get you in as under Home schooling, but I got to prove it. Are you interested?” Alex asked.
“You think I could be a Knight like you?” Grace asked curiously.
“No,” Alex shook his head, “I think you could be a Chaser like your mother,” he smiled.
“Okay, I’ll take the exam. But what’s going to be on it? Is it hard?” Grace asked.
“To say it would be hard would be an understatement. You should know the basics, but you’re lacking in your History, your Earthern and Galactic History. And there are several subjects that you haven’t taken yet, so I got you some books you can study from and we could use a few of the chapter reviews they have as proof as your Home schooling,” Alex started to take out the books, “I got you Geometry, Western Civilization for Earthern history, the Galactic Federation since 1015 for Galactic History, Understanding High Angelican, Freshman English, Geoenvironmental, High School Physics, Avaiton Basics, A Guide to Magicks, and I got you a book on Russian Ballet Dances in case you wanted to use one for the Helios Ball.”
“Do I really have to know all this stuff?” Grace stared at the pile of books assembled in front of her.
“The test is randomized so it’s best to at least now a bit of everything,” explained Alex, “A few of your friends will be studying for the examination too. Sora, Lucy, Ling, Anemone, Clarise, and Sam have to take it, and I believe Joey and Miki both volunteered to take it.”
“Sora has to take it? I feel so bad for him,” Grace grimaced.
“He’ll do fine, hopefully,” Alex started to get up, “So get started on all of the first chapters and do the chapter review if they have any. I want a full report of your work by dinner.”
“Hey, Dad?” Grace called before he left the room.
“Yes, sweetheart?”
“Would you be my partner for the opening dance?” she asked.
“Sorry, but I’ve already said yes to another girl,” he blushed, Grace knowing full well he was thinking of her mother.
“Great,” Grace mumbled as soon as he left, opening the book on Geometry, which seemed to be the hardest.
************************************************************************
The next few days passed in a blur. With the Helios Ball fast approaching, dance lessons were scheduled almost every other day. Almost everyone was improving, even Joey (who had stopped stepping on Clarise’s feet by the third lesson), but for some, like Sora, it was still a long way to go. While they weren’t dancing, Sora, Grace, Lucy, Ling, Anemone, Clarise, Joey, Sam, and Miki were in the royal library studying for the Angelus Knight Academy Examination. Day after day, they poured over books to help them with their work, but no one had bigger loads than Sora or Grace.
Sora had daily lessons with Jane on using his Angelus powers and had succeeded so far in turning half his hair white. He would have been struggling with his studies if Kairi and Jane hadn’t helped him out. Besides the dancing, he was dreading the meeting with the fabled ‘Teachers’.
When she wasn’t studying or taking dance lessons, Grace could be found in her family’s ballroom, practicing for the Helios ball. She had picked out a piece from the Russian ballet The Firebird called the Firebird Suite. She had been practicing so hard, it was even making Kairi jealous. But she still had no dance partner for the opening dance. Her thoughts were turning back to Roxas, so much so that after dance practice a week later, she suddenly asked Sora, “Hey Sora, who’s your dance partner for the opening dance?”
Sora raised his eyebrows. “Um…Kairi,” he replied.
“Oh, right…I forgot,” she blushed, and walked away quickly, leaving Sora confused.
“What was that about?” Sora asked himself.
“You are such a dufas,” Kairi rolled her eyes, who had watched the scene.
“What?” Sora asked her.
“Isn’t obvious?” Kairi sighed, “She wanted to ask Roxas to be her dance partner.”
“But he can’t! I- we can’t!” Sora struggled with the words.
“Not for the individual dances,” Kairi pointed out, “Which reminds me, we have to practice.”
“Yeah, the Waltz of the Sugar Puff Fairy,” Sora muttered.
“Dance of the Sugar Plum Princess,” Kairi corrected him.
************************************************************************
Grace was so unfocused later that night that she got her dates for Earthen History and Galactic History mixed up. She almost tore apart her textbook in frustration.
“Hey,” someone knocked on her door.
“What?” she snapped.
It was Luke. He backed away from her door just an inch but his face was unchanged. “Do want to take a break for fifteen minutes and come with me on my errand run?” he asked.
Grace shrugged and followed him downstairs and out the door. “Where’s the taxi?” she asked.
“We’re taking a short cut,” Luke said and he suddenly pulled Grace next to him, “Hold on,” he winked at her, his eyes glowing with a bluish tint, as he suddenly lifted off the ground with her.
Grace gave a small cry and grabbed his jacket as Luke lifted them both above the city skyline. “What are you doing?” she screamed.
“Bending my acceleration due to gravity,” he explained over the cold night air. He carried them the city toward the edge of town and down into the grounds of an older building.
“Never grab me like that and fly me across town like that again,” Grace frowned as soon as they touched the ground.
“We weren’t flying,” Luke explained, “Well, you were.”
He opened the door and led her inside. They traveled down a hallway past classrooms and offices, until they reached a pair of oak wood doors at the very end. Luke raised his hand to knock but a voice from the other side of the door answered, “You may come in Luke and Miss Porter.”
Luke smiled as he opened the door. They stepped into a larger study with the windows looking back into the garden outside. An elderly man was sitting behind the desk in a wheelchair: Professor Xaiver. “I have the files here for Professor Porter,” Professor Xaiver, handing Luke a pile of manila folders, “He should find everything he needs in these.”
“Thank you sir,” Luke gave a small bow and turned to leave.
“Oh and Lady Porter,” Professor Xaiver called before she left the room with Luke, “You may want to speak with Captain Balthier with your problem. He’s right down the hall, third door on the left.”
Grace nodded politely, not knowing what he was talking about, until she walked down the hall and got to the second door on the left. “Oh!” she cried with realization. She told Luke to wait for her at the front door, and knocked on the third door on the left.
“Come in,” she heard Balthier call from the other side of the door. Grace opened the door and found Balthier sitting at a desk looking over port papers. Fran was putting away clean clothes; she looked up briefly when Grace stepped inside.
“Yes?” Balthier looked up from his papers.
“Um…I have a question,” she said. She hesitated for just a second and her eyes wandered to the bandaid on his right arm. “What did you do to your arm?”
“Ah…I just bumped it,” he explained, hastily covering up the bandaid, “Was that your question?”
“Oh no! Um…would you be my dance partner for the opening dance?” Grace said quickly.
Balthier looked mildly surprised and a small smile was starting to form on his face when he turned to Fran. “Let me see…Fran do you mind if Grace borrows me for one dance?”
Fran smiled. “One dance. I’m sure I’ll find another dance partner for the opening dance.”
“Permission granted,” Balthier smiled back at Grace.
“Thank you,” she grinned and she was so happy she skipped back to Luke at the front door. But there was still the problem of who would be her partner for the individual dance. The only one who wouldn’t have been taken would have been Joey, but he was having trouble enough just by himself. But with only three weeks away from the ball, desperate measures called for desperate needs.
************************************************************************
The very next day, Sora was taking out of the Imperial Library by Jane without an initial explanation. She lead him outside into a flying car looking a little pale. “What’s going on?” he asked.
“The Teachers want to met with you, right now,” explained Jane as the car pulled away from the Palace, “I don’t know what they want to do, but just remember to breathe.”
“To breathe?” Sora raised an eyebrow.
Jane nodded, “It’s the best advice I can give you.”
The flying car brought them to a large house near the Angelus Military Barricks. It was only a one story, with a large garden of bonsai trees and a pond full of coy fish. Jane stepped through the stone walkway and pulled the long and thick tassel of purple and red rope. A bell chimed from inside. A few seconds later, a middle aged Asian looking man in a blue gi with long, uneven hair opened the door. He smiled warmly at them both and bowed to each of them, “Princess Jane, Prince Sora, welcome.”
“Good day Master Po,” Jane bowed, “I brought my brother as requested.”
“Yes, Master Wong is very anxious to met him,” Master Po replied, “This way please.”
Master Po led them though a wooden hallway, passed several paper doors, into an indoor courtyard. Light from condensed magical energy orbs lit up the room. The outer perimeter of the room was a wooden walkway. The inner perimeter dropped down about two feet and the floor was covered in slate. Weapons of all sizes and shapes decorated the wall. Sitting in the middle of the floor, with his back facing them, was a monk in a white gi.
“Master Wong, our new student is here,” called Master Po.
“Good,” Master Wong said without looking up, “Leave us.”
Master Po bowed, asked Jane if she would like some tea, and left Sora alone with Master Wong. “I’ve been following your journey, Keyblade Master,” Master Wong slowly raised his head, “I would say you are impulsive, brash, reckless, and a fool if best, but for a fool you did a lot of good.” He got up and faced Sora. His eyes were sharp and cold like steel but he wore a small smile. He walked towards Sora and grabbed his right arm so quickly, Sora didn’t have time to jump back. Master Wong pressed hard on a pressure point just between Sora’s hand and wrist and the Keyblade appeared in his hand. Master Wong swiftly took the Keyblade from his hand and started to look over it.
“Did you there are many legends of the origins of the Keyblade?” Master Wong balanced the Keyblade with his finger, “They all agree that it was the Goddess Ultima was the one that forged the Keyblade but as to how she did it, that is a mystery. Some say it was pulled straight from her heart, that it is her heart. Another is it is the life essence of the Keyblade Masters who had wield it before. Others say the metal came from the great crystal of the Atlantians. One story even claims that the Keyblade is like the aeons; it is forged from the souls of the dead, the pyreflies.” He swung the Keyblade and it returned to Sora’s hand. “But that is unimportant now. You are the Keyblade Master, and I will ask you to a duel.”
Master Wong raised his arm and one of the many weapons along the wall, a staff, shuttered and floated towards Master Wong’s hand. He swung it down and took a defensive stance against Sora. Sora was the first to lunge; Master Wong blocked and parried as Sora jumped out of the way. They fought back and forth, parrying and blocking, until Master Wong knocked Sora down to the floor. “You have no set pattern; good. That makes it harder for your enemies to guess your next move, but you are still weak.”
Sora rolled out of the way just in time before Master Wong slammed his staff down where his head once was. They picked up the fight again, harder and faster now, until Sora caught Master Wong in a block. “If your so strong, why aren’t you a Chasers?” he asked.
Master Wong threw his block off. “I am not the Chosen One, Keyblade Master,” he lowered his staff, “Your heart is strong, but your physical being is not. And that is my duty: to make your body as strong as your heart. You are very well for one who has not had any formal training, but you are still lacking.” He switched his staff to his left hand and bowed.
Sora lowered his Keyblade and bowed as well. “From now on, when you enter these grounds, I am your teacher; you are my pupil. You will refer to me as Sensei or Sir, and I do everything I say. If you fail to do so…fifty pushups. Understand?”
“Yes…sir,” Sora replied.
“You sound uncertain. Although a warrior should be cautious, holding your head high when about to engage in battle shows your spirit. Do not shield your spirit. Twenty pushups!” ordered Master Wong.
Sora grudgingly got on his hands and started his round of twenty pushups. When he was done, Master Wong clapped his hands and an iron dummy raised from the floor. “I want you to destroy this dummy without hitting it. In order to do this, you will have to raise your stamina and your strength to its peak. I doubt you will get it done today so for every time your physically hit it, fifty pushups. You may begin.”
And so Sora started his task of destroying the iron dummy without hitting it. He lost count how many times he ‘accidentally’ hit the dummy and he had done so many pushups, he was dripping in sweat. He got up after another round of pushups, dizzy and out of breath. “You’re not breathing enough,” Master Po had returned to the training grounds with Jane. “Relax,” he told Sora, “Inhale…exhale…try it.”
Sora took a deep breath as Master Po demonstrated and exhaled out his nose a few times. His focus came back and he felt steadier on his legs. “Much better, yes? You’re muscles need oxygen in order to function properly. You should not deprive them of that vital resource.” Master Po then nodded to Master Wong, who returned the nod.
“That is all for today. I will expect better results, two days from now,” Master Wong looked from Sora to Jane, who nodded in agreement. He turned back to Sora, “You are dismissed.” Master Wong bowed and Sora bowed to him as well.
“That was the hardest thing I ever done period,” Sora said as they left the Teachers’ house, “Master Wong makes beating Xemnas a walk in the park.”
“Oh ho! You haven’t had Master Po yet,” said Jane as the floating car door opened for them, “If you think Master Wong is strict, you try meditations with Master Po. He’ll make you redo everything if you mess up anything.”
“Well now I got this, the examination, and the stupid dance to worry about,” Sora sighed.
“Welcome to the ever expanding to do list,” Jane said as they got into the car.
“Did yours ever go down?” Sora asked.
“Yeah, a little,” Jane replied, “But I still got about…” she counted out numbers under her breath, “…a hundred things to do before the Ball.”
************************************************************************
About two days later, Anemone suddenly slammed her book shut, breaking Sora’s trace of attempting to memorize the sine, cosines, and tangents of triangles. “That’s it! No more! If I have to learn one more thing about the French Revolution, I will cry ‘Let them eat cake!’”
“What’s your problem?” Grace looked up her book of Magicks.
“Oh c’mon Porter! Isn’t it obvious?” Anemone looked somewhat appalled.
“Is what obvious?” Ling asked with raised eyebrows.
“They adults are trying to keep us busy so we don’t go out and try to save the universe, at least until the Ball is over,” Anemone explained.
“But why would they do that?” asked Lucy.
“To keep us safe. Everyone knows that Sora’s the Chosen One; he’s the only one who can beat Xehanort. They don’t want to lose him to the likes of Father,” explained Anemone.
“Did something happen?” Ling asked.
Clarise shifted in her seat as Anemone turned to her. “Go on; tell them,” she encouraged her sister.
“This morning…I had a strange feeling. A sense of premonition I guess,” Clarise was staring at the floor, “I felt that Father was extremely pleased about something.”
“Like what?” Sam asked.
“I’m not sure,” Clarise shook her head.
“So that’s why I have declared for us ladies, we are going on a shopping date,” explained Anemone.
“We do have to pick out dresses,” admitted Miki.
“So what are we suppose to do?” asked Sam.
“I don’t know! Whatever you guys do on a day off,” Anemone rolled her eyes.
“All right! Hey, Joey!” Sam called to the other side of the table.
“Hmmm?” Joey was still preoccupied with his book on advance rotational motion physics.
“We’re going to do guy stuff tomorrow. Want to come along?” asked Sam.
“No, I’ll be busy trying to synchronize some Nobody blood tissue with the stem cell plasma membrane,” he replied not looking up from his book.
“I’m sorry, my translator was turned off. Did you say you wanted to come along with us? Good! Met you bright and earlier with the other guys at nine,” announced Sam.
“Okay,” Joey mumbled, still not aware of what he agreed to. He suddenly looked up, his glasses askew. “What?!”
************************************************************************
The next day, as Grace was getting ready to go shopping with the girls, Alex knocked on the door. “Sorry to bother you, but I thought you would need this,” he handed her a handful of eroes.
Grace quickly counted the money in her head, then said carefully, “Dad, I know this is a lot of money, but I don’t think this is going to be enough for a nice formal dress.”
“Well, the thing is,” Alex paused for a moment as if hesitant to say anything, “I already got a dress for you.”
“Oh…how do you know it fits me?” Grace asked.
“It will!” Alex said quickly, “But if there is any adjustments to be made, I sure your mother can fix it. The only problem is I have to find it, so while you’re out, me and Luke are going to look for it.”
“Wait, what am I looking for?” asked Luke, who was passing the bedroom at that time.
“We are going to find the dress,” repeated Alex.
“What dress?” Luke asked confused.
“The dress,” Alex repeated again with more stress in his tone.
“Oh, that dress!” Luke finally understood what Alex was getting at but he still looked a little confused and said, “But doesn’t it-”
“We’re going to find it today,” Alex irrupted him, “Got it?”
“Yes,” Luke turned to Grace, “We are going to find that dress today for you so you may wear it to the ball. It’s a pretty dress; I think you’ll like it.”
“Um sure,” Grace said sensing the tension between the two of them, “But this is still a lot of money.”
“It’s for you to buy Christmas presents,” explained Alex.
“Christmas presents?” Grace asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Yeah, Christmas presents.” Alex was not picking up her look of confusion.
“What’s Christmas?” she asked.
“Um Professor, I don’t think she knows what you’re talking about,” Luke picked up on her confusion.
“Christmas is a big holiday that we all celebrate, all the worlds celebrate…except Juno…” Alex looked down on his daughter sadly.
Grace opened her mouth to say something cheerful when the doorbell went off downstairs. “You better go,” Alex said not looking at her, “Your mother wants a handheld back massager.”
Grace started to head down the stairs trying not to think of her father looking so sad, when Luke gently pulled her arm back. “Listen, don’t sweat about the Christmas thing,” he said, “We’ll tell you all about it when you get back.”
Although this reassured her somewhat, Grace couldn’t help but feel a little down as she joined the girls in the car. “What’s wrong Gracey?” Margot asked after she was quiet for a while, “You look really sad.”
“I know,” Anemone flashed her teeth, “She doesn’t know what kind of dress she wants to wear.”
“No!” Grace folded her arms, “It’s not that. Besides, my dad already picked out a dress for me.”
“Ooh! What color is it?” squealed Lucy.
“I don’t know,” replied Grace, “My dad and Luke have to find it.”
“Hmph,” Jane rolled her eyes, “That will take all day.” She looked out the window as the car came to a stop in an uptown department store section. “Here we are!”
“Finally!” Anemone waltzed into the store, “The sweet smell of freshly pressed dresses, perfume, leather, and jewelry!”
“Ah Princess!” the Angelus store clerk smiled and kissed Jane’s hand, “What brings you here to my shop today?”
“The Ball of course,” Jane smiled, “Can you show my friends and I your latest dresses?”
“But of course!” The store clerk’s smiled widened, “I’ll take you back to our private dress room and have a dolly sent on it’s way.”
They were led back by assistant into a back room with several dressing room and mirrors. They waited for about two minutes until a dolly cart of dress was sent back and everyone except Grace and Margot (who had a dolly of smaller dresses just her size) made a mad dash for dresses. Grace was given the job of sitting on the futon in the middle of the dress room and critiquing the outfits. She said things like:
“Too lacy.”
“That one looks too big on you Lucy.”
“Um, Mitch…I’m not sure if this ball has any dress codes, but I think that dress is a little too low in the back for you.”
“Are you going to be able to breathe in that dress?”
“That doesn’t look like it will go right with your hair.”
“Too high.”
“In all honestly, that one makes you look fat.”
“I think that one looks cute.”
Finally, all the girls had decided on a dress and picked out matching shoes. As Jane paid at the checkout counter and collected money from the girls, Kairi asked, “So what was it you were feeling so down about, Gracey?”
“Well…do any of you guys know about Christmas?” Grace asked.
Kairi and Olette nodded, Jane looked shocked, but everyone else looked sad or confused.
“I haven’t celebrated Christmas since I was very little,” Ling said sadly.
“Me neither,” remarked Mitch, staring at the floor.
“Daddy always said it was stupid holiday so we never celebrated it,” Anemone frowned.
“It was also one of those forbidden things,” added Clarise.
“So…what is Christmas?” asked Lucy.
“In Christianity, Christmas is the appointed holiday of the Son of God, Jesus Christ. But to everyone else who celebrates it, Christmas is one of those very few times of year when people can enjoy be together with their friends and family,” explained Jane.
“The shops would always close down on Christmas Eve,” Olette reminisced, “And it would snow almost three feet the week before, so we would have the sandlot decorated in snowmen.”
“I would put up a Christmas tree and put a Paopu fruit at the top for a star,” smiled Kairi.
“Grandma always watches those dorky Christmas specials she saw on TV when she was little,” grinned Jane.
“I remembered my mother gave me a homemade sweater my first Christmas,” sighed Ling.
“Oh man! I almost forgot about the presents!” moaned Miki.
“Presents? Like for a birthday?” asked Margot.
“Sort of,” Jane tried to explained, “You give presents to everyone you know on Christmas.”
“So that’s what my Dad meant when he said my mom wanted a back massager,” remarked Grace, “He wanted me to get her one for Christmas. But then what does he want then?”
“Maybe you’ll think of something as we shop around,” suggested Jane.
“Wait; we’re seriously celebrating this Christmas day?” Anemone asked with raised eyebrows.
“C’mon!” Clarise tugged her arm, “This might be fun. And Father isn’t around to say no.”
Anemone rolled her eyes, sighed and allowed Clarise to pull her down the street after the other girls.
************************************************************************
Fifteen minutes earlier and three streets away, the boys were getting out of their floating car on their trip into town. “Okay men,” Sam stepped out of the car first and was studying his reflection from a shop window, “First order is we find an Orange Julius or whatever these Angelus have for a fruit smoothe store. Then we walked down the street to the shops while attracting ourselves to other girls, got it? Only person exempted from this is Tai.”
“Um, attracting ourselves to other girls?” Sora raised an eyebrow.
“I’m cool with that,” Matti shrugged.
“Yeah, because unlike other girls, Clarise wouldn’t kill you if you were looking at another girl,” said Riku.
“On second thought, that’s a bad idea,” Matti told Sam, “Can’t we do something else?”
“I guess we can go shopping,” sighed Sam. He then saw something in the toyshop across the street. He then bend down next to Tai and said, “Hey, I see Santa Claus in there. Do you want to see him?”
“Santa Claus?” Tai looked up at him puzzled, “Whose that?”
“You don’t know about Santa Claus?” Sora looked shocked.
“I’m with Tai. Who is Santa Claus?” Matti asked.
“Well, unlike you or Tai, I’ve been studying my Earthern history,” Joey flashed his glasses, “Santa Claus is an old man in a red suit that gives presents to good boys and girls on a sleigh pulled by flying reindeer or caribou.”
“Does he really?” Tai’s eyes brightened up at once.
“Uh…yeah. So you want to go see him?” Sam asked.
Tai shook his head and five minutes later he was in line at the toy store with a group of other boys and girls to see Santa. “So if Tai didn’t know about Santa Claus before, does he automatically get put on the nice list?” Sora asked.
“Um…Sora, Santa Claus doesn’t exist,” remarked Joey.
“Yes he does!” Sora looked extremely offended, “I’ve seen him!”
“Sure you did, but tell us, was that before or after Naminé modified your memories?” Sam snickered.
“But I saw him! I did! I did!” Sora insisted.
“Sora, I told you when you were eight, Santa Claus doesn’t exist,” Riku explained.
“He said that when I went to see him!” Sora remembered, “And he told me to tell you to give you his regards.”
“Well, maybe he does exists,” Matti suddenly said. Everyone looked at him. “I mean, where’s the evidence that he can’t?”
“Reindeer don’t fly for one,” Joey pointed out.
“But they could, couldn’t they? From what we’ve experienced about magic, flying isn’t all that impossible,” Matti remarked.
Joey opened his mouth as if he was going to say something then closed it slowly.
“He can’t do it all in one night,” Riku reasoned.
“Maybe time isn’t an issue for him,” Matti questioned, “Maybe his magic makes him fast.”
Riku looked like he wanted to argue some more but dropped it when Tai came out with a peppermint candy cane looking happy. They quietly decided they wouldn’t bring the subject up with Tai around and soon forgot about it when they found an Orange Julius. They did some Christmas shopping until an Angelus Knight caught them, shuffled them into a car, and told them to stay home until further notice.
Five streets down, the girls were being flagged down by Commander James. “Sorry to interrupt your shopping ladies,” he said taking a second to catch his breath. He looked as if he’d been running for several blocks, “But you need to go home now.”
“What is it? What happened?” Jane tried to read his face.
Commander James looked around to make sure no one else was looking, then passed her a bunch of photographs. As she went through them, her face got more and more pale. Finally, she looked up at him. “When did this happened?”
“Yesterday,” his face looked grim, “The Angelus Intelligence is trying to keep it quiet but sooner or later, there’s going to be a leak.”
“What’s going on?” Grace asked and Jane passed her the pictures.
The first picture was that of a set of large missiles. The second picture showed one of the missiles zooming directly towards a small moon like world. The third picture showed a great explosion after the missile hit and the fourth showed that there was nothing left of the small world. “What does this mean?” Grace asked.
“It means the Commander has successfully created a nuclear weapon. He can now launch against any world he chooses,” Commander James said quietly.
Clarise gasped.
“Your premonition,” Lucy remembered.
They were quiet as they got into the flying car that was brought down for them. After five minutes of silence, Jane tried to cheer them up by saying, “Don’t worry! I recognize that planet. It’s just a moon; there’s no life on it, so no one was hurt.”
Everyone seemed a little better after Jane said that, but then Grace asked, “How did you get those pictures so fast?”
Commander James was quiet for a second, wagering whether or not he should say anything. “The Commander sent the pictures to us,” he replied.
“So he’s calling out the Angelus,” remarked Mitch.
“No,” Jane shook her head, “He’s calling out the Federation.”
What little happiness that was left in the car vanished. The only sound that could be heard was the soft hum of the car engine as it sped them back to their homes. Grace was first to be dropped off and as she got out of the car, she remembered something. “Oh rats!” she cursed.
“What?” Lucy poked her head out of the car door.
“I forgot to get my Dad something for Christmas,” she groaned.
“Gracey, I think he already got his Christmas present,” said Lucy.
“What?”
“You.”
Grace looked at her stunned. “He hasn’t had a Christmas with his daughter for fourteen years. This year he finally has a Christmas with her. I think that a good present enough,” Lucy explained.
Grace started to smile. “Thanks Lucy.”
“No problem,” she smiled back and closed the car door.
As Grace entered the house, she found her father pacing back and forth in front of the stairs, Luke and Tai sitting at the bottom watching him. “Did you hear-?” Grace started to ask but her father cut her off.
“Yes, we got word before you did,” Alex said still pacing back and forth, looking very worried, “And it has to happen at the worst time too.”
“What about the Federation? Wouldn’t they be able to do something?” Grace asked.
“The Angelus don’t want the Federation to get into a panic right before the holidays and the Helios Ball,” explained Luke, “If the world leaders are scared that makes the worlds scared, like a tremor running up and down a chain, which leads to chaos, and that’s the last thing anyone wants. Well, at least we got that vaccine done.”
“Speaking of getting things done,” Grace started to change the subject, “did you find my dress?”
“Your dress?” Alex stopped pacing and looked puzzled for a brief second, “Oh! Your dress! We found it right before we got word about the Commander. I put it up on your bed so you can try it on.” He started to lead Grace upstairs to her room.
“What? I don’t get at least a thank you for going through the attic, which is filled with junk from the past two centuries?” Luke asked, looking offended.
Alex gave him a warning look, but Grace ignored it and said, “Thank you Luke.”
Grace’s palms were sweaty as they climbed the stairs up into her bedroom. Her heart was thumping against her chest as a wave of anticipation swept over her. She involuntarily held her breath as her father opened the door for her. What she saw next, she couldn’t help but silence her gasp by putting her hand over her mouth.
On Grace’s bed was the most beautiful dress she had ever seen. She reached out to touch it, almost afraid that it would fall apart as soon as laid a finger on it. The dress was a creamy white color but it seemed to give off a glowing slimmer as she weaved her fingers through the fabric. The fabric felt soft like cotton but had a subtle silky feeling. Gemstones like diamonds were spread across the fabric adding to the glowing shimmer. Although the dress had no shoulder straps and was cut far enough off to cover any cleavage, a piece of lace hung around the top of the dress.
“Do you like it?” Alex asked.
Grace nodded feverishly, afraid to speak as if it would ruin the moment.
“Why don’t you try it on?” suggested Alex.
“Shoes?” Grace asked, so excited to string anything else together.
Alex smiled at her, as if he was expecting the question and took from her vanity a box that wasn’t there that morning. He opened the box and pulled from the box a pair of glass shoes, with a crystal star on the top of each shoes.
“Are those glass slippers?” Grace couldn’t believe her eyes.
“Memory glass,” Alex explained, stretching the side of the shoe like rubber. As the shoes slowly molded back into place, he continued, “Fits any size and won’t break as easily as Cinderella’s. The best dancing shoes you’ll ever wear.”
“Who’s Cinderella?” Grace asked.
“I’ll tell you later,” said Alex and he left her room so she could change.
The dress fitted Grace perfectly. There was nothing to hem, nothing to fix. As she started in the mirror, she could feel some sort of magical power flowing through her. She noticed the smell of bleach and was a little damp from a recent washing and she saw a subtle by faint hemming across the top of the dress across her dress that had been covered up with gemstones. She also noticed she looked very good in the dress. Thoughts came to her such as what would Roxas say if he saw her in this dress. She found herself blushing and she shook the thoughts away. Without hesitation, she took off the dress, only stopping once so she didn’t accidentally unharmoniously leave it on the floor and placed it carefully with the shoes in the closet.
“Any thing wrong?” Alex asked as she came out of her room.
“No, it fits fine,” Grace shook her head. She then looked up at her father. “Thanks Dad,” and she kissed him on the cheek. He blushed slightly as he did whenever Aqua was around; perhaps that kiss reminded him of hers.
“Hello? Anyone home?” A familiar voice echoed from downstairs. Grace and Alex climbed down the stairs, one after the other as Tai ran into Aqua’s arms after she walked through the door.
“Mommy!” he smiled as she hugged him.
“Hello sweetheart,” she smiled down at him, “Have you been a good boy?”
“Have you heard the news?” Alex asked as Aqua hugged Grace.
“No, I just got in. And can you clean my armor when you got the time?” she handed the armor piece from her shoulder to him and kissed him on the cheek. Alex went beet red and seemed to forget what he was going to tell her. “So what news?” she asked and Alex was brought back down to reality. He told her about the Commander and her face dimmed a bit like a fading light bulb. “That’s not good,” Aqua sat down on the stairs, “But yet it doesn’t surprise me. The Heartless are becoming more active; they probably sense all the worry coming from the Federation. Not only that, but the Nobodies are disappearing.”
“What do you mean ‘disappearing’?” asked Grace.
“They’re not showing up as more, on any world. The Nobodies are suppose to be more intelligent than the Heartless, so maybe they sense the tension with all the worlds,” explained Aqua. She started to yawn. “I’m tired,” she got up and stretched, “I’ll take a nap while you start on dinner. Make something special, okay?” she winked at Alex, “I’m sick of eating rations.”
Luke gave a small moan and Alex wordlessly took off to the kitchen, leaving Grace and Tai behind at the stairs. “The Nobodies are disappearing,” she repeated, “I wonder if Alex and Xigbar are keeping them back.” She looked at Tai who shrugged.
“Gracey! We need you and Tai to help us in the kitchens!” called Luke.
“Coming!” she called back. Before she descended the stairs into the kitchen, she wondered, now that the Commander had succeeded in creating a workable nuclear weapon, how close was he from finishing his plans?
************************************************************************
The next week went by so fast, Sora had his Tuesdays mixed up with his Thursday. Hours went by quickly in the library as they studied for the Angelus Knight Academy Examination. Lucy and Joey had already completed most of they’re studying and were compiling a large pile of complicated notes as study guides with handwriting so tinny, Sam swore he would need a microscope to read them. Anemone snapped at anyone who disturbed her, as she was extremely keen to beat her sister score wise this time, so they left her alone at a table by herself. In their dance lessons, everyone had finalized the dance steps for both the opening dance and the individual dances, and were now working on getting the timing right. Despite this accomplishment, Sora wished his lessons with the Teachers were going better.
Sora was still unable to smash the iron dummy without touching it. He’d lost count of how many pushups he had done and would come home sore and stiff, collapsing on his bed out of exhaustion. Mediation with Master Po wasn’t any better either. If Sora’s back wasn’t straight enough as he sat in Lotus position, he would get a slap on the shoulder with a stick and have to count to one hundred. But at least after a week he was getting less slaps. The frustration was getting to him more and more, and finally he snapped during his training with Master Wong. He struck the iron dummy again, his Keyblade went spinning out of his hands across the floor, and Master Wong ordered, “Fifty push-ups!”
Sora clenched his fist and summoned his Keyblade again. “No!” he shouted with his blood pulsing in his ears, “No more damn push-ups!” He lunged forward to attack Master Wong.
Master Wong summoned his staff and blocked Sora’s blow before he struck. They exchanged blows and parried for about thirty seconds until Master Wong got Sora into a guard lock. “You must control your anger,” said Master Wong, as he put pressure on Sora.
Sora pushed back but Master Wong was stronger and he threw Sora off, tumbling in the wall. He got up quickly, summoned another Keyblade, and this time Master Wong was thrown into a guard lock against Roxas. They broke apart, landing a few feet away from each other. Master Wong started to smile slightly. “I was hoping I would face you sooner or later,” he said, “Let us see if one of the Organization’s best can beat me.”
Roxas roared with fury and slammed his Keyblades down on the floor a fraction of a second after Master Wong jumped out of the way, causing the wood to crack. They chased each other across the room, smashing more of the floor and a support beam after Master Wong threw Roxas into it. There were cuts all over Master Wong, small scratches and cuts in his clothing, and Roxas had a bloody lip. They came back into another guard lock just as Master Po and Jane opened the training room door. “What are you doing?” Master Po looked incredulously from Master Wong to Roxas, then stopped on Master Wong, “Are you trying to kill him?”
Roxas looked up at Jane, whose face was pale with fear and shock. Roxas’s distraction gave Master Wong the chance to grab his head and push him away. As he did, sparks of blue energy erupted from Master Wong’s hand and Roxas tumbled backwards, changing back to Sora. Jane rushed over to help him up as Master Wong approached him. “If your anger can make you that powerful to go up against me, then soon you will be ready. But you must learn to control both your power and emotions,” he started to turn away from Sora but hesitated, “A message to your other self: that was the best duel I’ve had in some time.”
Sora and Jane both watched him go and Sora looked back at the iron dummy. He wasn’t sure why, but he knew that he was close to smashing that iron dummy.
************************************************************************
Study, dance, study, dance…those two things were the only things Grace seemed to do anymore. She barely had time for anything else, even for meals. She had about six days to go before the Angelus Knights Academy Examination and she didn’t want to let her father down. Occasionally, when she wasn’t busy, she would notice her parents disappear into the ballroom. She could only surmise they were practicing for the ball but when she tried to ask what kind of dance they were doing, Alex would smile and say, “It’s a surprise.”
Even harder to crack was who was Luke’s dance partner. Grace and Tai attempted several times to get it out of him, but ever time he would mumble, “None of your business,” and walk away. Grace even suspected that her father knew who he was taking but thought it was better not to ask.
It was later that night Aqua asked to see Grace’s dance. “Okay, it’s not completely finished yet,” she said as she put her ballet flats on, “I still have a few kinks to work out, but it should be ready for the ball.” She started the CD and took her position in the middle of the ballroom. She waited until the music began to start dancing. Now that she had an audience watching, she knew she had to make ever step right. Her feet moved across the floor gently, her arms flowing with the music. As the music got faster and more climatic she added her jumps and leaps. Finally at the climax, she leaped up for her double spinning jump. That’s when she realized something was wrong. She wouldn’t land right and she couldn’t stop now that she was in the air.
“Gotcha!” Luke appeared out of nowhere, catching her at the last second. Aqua looked white in the face, as if she had been holding her breath for the last few seconds.
Grace frowned and pushed Luke away. “Sorry, I just slipped, that’s all,” she reassured Aqua, though she realized her own hand was shaking. She grabbed it to stop it.
“Yeah, but whose to say it won’t happen again,” said Luke, “You might be able to land something like that with sneakers outside in the grass, but you’ll end up breaking your leg in Memory glass shoes in a ballroom dance floor on your own.”
“Honey,” Aqua said quietly, “I think Luke is right. You need a dance partner, that way he can catch you if you slip up.”
“I’ll be fine,” Grace said firmly as she gathered up her stuff, “Besides everyone else is taken.” And that was that, Grace decided for herself.
************************************************************************
After dance lessons the next day, Luke pulled Jane aside from everyone else. Sora waited for her at the door and couldn’t help but listen in.
“What do you want?” Jane frowned.
“I need a favor,” said Luke. Jane’s expression changed; Luke sounded serious for once. “I need you make it so that anyone who doesn’t have a dance partner for the individual dances can’t perform.”
“I’m sorry,” Jane shook her head, “I can’t do that with only a week left. I have to get the list of dances to the Conductor by Wednesday anyway. Why do you ask?”
Luke looked as if he was considering whether or not he should tell her. “It’s Grace,” he finally said, “She has this crazy jump in her dance. I don’t think she’ll be able to land it on her own. I keep on thinking she’s going to break her leg or her hip or…her neck.”
Jane sighed sadly. “I’m sorry Luke, but there’s nothing I can do.”
Luke watched her join Sora and started to sulk off after Grace and Tai. Sora meanwhile, was lost in thought, thinking about what he’d heard. It sounded just like Grace to try something crazy, even if it meant getting hurt. This wouldn’t be happening if he could only…well, that was it then. He knew what he had to do.
“What’s with you?” Jane asked him, studying his face.
“Jane, can I talk to you for a second?” And he told her his plan.
************************************************************************
It was later that night in Alex’s study, as Alex, Aqua, and Luke were talking, when the window suddenly opened. They all got up at once, Aqua even drawing her Keyblade, when Roxas stepped out of the shadows of the cold night air with a sour looking Jane behind him. “For the record, this was totally not my idea,” Jane folded her arms, glaring at Roxas.
Alex eased up a bit, Aqua lowered her Keyblade, but Luke did not lower his guard. Their eyes were still focused on Roxas. “I have a favor to ask,” Roxas was first to break the silence.
Alex studied him for a moment, and then said, “You want to be my daughter’s dance partner.”
“That’s part of it, but I need her chorography to practice,” explained Roxas.
Luke grumbled something under his breath, pulled a disc out of his pocket, and handed it to Roxas.
“Do you think you can do it in less than a week?” asked Aqua.
“Yes,” Roxas said confidently.
Alex was still studying Roxas’s face but then he smiled. “You have my permission then.”
“Thank you,” Roxas gave a small nod of the head and followed Jane back outside to go home.
************************************************************************
“Xine, I’m back,” David opened the door to Xine’s bedroom. Unlike pervious days, the floor wasn’t covered with the remains of ripped apart stuffed animals, and clothes weren’t thrown all over the floor. Only the bed was unmade but that was a far cry from what it usually was. David could walk worry free into the room; Xine was in a good mood. He found her humming a tune in the bathroom with a pair of scissors in her hands.
“You-you cut your hair?” he asked seeing the long locks all over the floor.
“Don’t you like it?” she asked smiling back at him the mirror. “This is how it was when I first joined the Organization.” It was short only going a little ways past her ears and parted to the side.
“It’s lovely,” replied David.
Xine smile widen then she saw the box he was carrying. “Oh, David! Did you get me a new dress?” she asked with wide eyes. She took the box from his hands and opened it up.
“Do you like it?” he asked.
Xine pulled out a silver dress that shimmered like rhinestones. She felt the fabric and twirled around holding the dress. “It’s perfect. I guess I have to ask you for another favor then.”
“Oh?” David raised an eyebrow.
Xine hanged the dress up next to her mirror and held out her hand to David. “Will you be my dance partner?”
David took her hand. “Of course.”
************************************************************************
“Okay, if I study any more my brain will explode,” said Sam, the day before the Angelus Knights Academy Examination.
“This would be so less stressful if I could take a practice test,” complained Joey, flipping through a book on quantum physics.
“They don’t have a practice test?” asked Lucy.
“My dad says the test has so many subjects in so many languages, it hard to make a generic one,” explained Grace, throwing aside her study guide on Geometry.
“Hey spike head!” Jane called Sora as she came into the library, “It’s time for your lessons with the Teachers.”
“Good luck,” Ling said as he got up off the seat. Sora gave them a thumbs up as he left with Jane and ten minutes later he was back in the training room with Master Wong. He summoned his Keyblade and faced down the Iron Dummy again.
It was about five or six rounds of push-ups later, Sora realized the push-ups weren’t as hard as they usually were. His arms felt stronger and he knew his endurance was higher. After another round of push-ups, he got up and raised his hand. Master Wong looked at him with surprise. “Yes?”
“You said I had to destroy this Iron Dummy without hitting it, right?” asked Sora.
“That is correct,” replied Master Wong.
“Okay,” Sora closed his eyes and concentrated. He took a few steps back away from the dummy, about a sprint away. He concentrated hard on his Keyblade remembering what Master Wong told him. If he could concentrated the kind of power he had when he got mad the other day, maybe, just maybe….
Sora could feel the power flowing from him down through the Keyblade, and then… he had it! He sprinted forward, jumped into the air, gave a battle cry, and swung his Keyblade down with so much power it was glowing. The force from the swing exploded the dummy and sent a cloud of dust across the room. Sora dropped on the ground, out of breath, but grinning. He heard the sound of clapping.
Master Wong was applauding. “Excellent. You finished it sooner than I expected. This move…could easily kill a man.”
Sora lowered his Keyblade. “What? There’s no way-”
“Let me finish,” Master Wong interrupted, “You could also use it to vanquish a small group of Heartless or critical blow to a powerful one. For now…I have nothing else to teach you. You may go, but if you ever need a sparing partner, Master Po and I will always be here. And good luck on the exam tomorrow.”
“Thank you Sensei,” Sora bowed. Master Wong returned the bow and disappeared into another room, joining Master Po for tea.
************************************************************************
The next day was the day of the Angelus Knight Academy Examination. At seven o’clock in the morning, Chen dragged Sora out of bed as she usually did on a school morning and threw him into the shower, much to the surprise of Michael and Jane. She reassured them it happened on a daily basis. He grumbled as he got out, got dress, and grabbed something for breakfast.
Aqua got Grace up at six thirty as Alex would be overseeing the exam and needed to be there early and had breakfast ready for her after she got dressed. Tai had left a homemade good luck card on the table for her and she tucked it in her pocket just before she left.
The group gathered at the steps of the Angelus Knights Academy Admissions Building, a large brick building in a small college campus like structure. There were other kids there, mostly Angelus and children of World Leaders. Many were eying Anemone and Clarise suspiciously, until Anemone started cracking her knuckles, edging for anyone to just hint at wanting a fight, and they backed off.
“Agh! Let’s get this over with already!” moaned Ling, “At this rate we won’t get out until three o’clock!”
“Okay, just double checking, but does everyone have two number 2 pencils?” asked Joey, “I brought extra just in case.”
“I hate to burst your bubble Joey, but I don’t think the Angelus’s definition of a number 2 pencil is the same as ours,” remarked Miki.
“You don’t think we have to write in pen?” trembled Lucy.
“How would we correct our answers then?” asked Anemone.
“Maybe it’s on a computer,” suggested Sam.
Before they could discuss the test any further, the doors to the Admissions building opened up and out stepped a surly looking Angelus woman. “May I have you attention please!” her voice thunder over them, silencing anyone still talking, “We are ready to begin the examination process. I will now form you into lines. Persons with the last name starting with A-H, please line up over here,” she pointed to the left side of the entrance door. “Persons with the last name starting with I-M, please line up over here. Persons with the last name starting with N-Saaadfnereni, please line up over here. Persons with the last name starting with Saabdlrfenit-Z, please line up over here. If you have no last name, go into the line matching the first letter of your first name. Please remember to have your processing papers and ID ready.”
After they were all lined up correctly, the lines started to move slowly into the building. Each person was greeted by an Angelus at the front of the line, had their processing papers double checked and ID confirmed and given an index card with their seat number on it and a sealed envelop. Sora noticed his was thicker than others. After everyone was given a seat number and an envelop, they were lead down into a large lecture hall. Each person was sitting with an empty seat between them and the rows were shifted so that the next person in front was diagonal from the one behind him or her. Grace saw her father standing up front with Judge Brenton and another female Angelus she didn’t recognize. The female Angelus from outside joined them and they waited until everyone was seated and quiet to begin.
“Welcome to the Angelus Knights Academy Examination,” greeted the second female, “Believe it or not, whether you are require to take this test as the son or daughter of a world leader or wish to join the Angelus Knights Academy, this is the most important examination you will take. This exam tests everything you have ever learned and it the gives the Federation an insight onto the education quality of your world. You are not only helping yourself but the World Order.”
“The overall score is based out of one hundred,” explained Alex, “For those of you trying to get into the Angelus Knights Academy the cut off score is 65. Any one that scores a 64 or less will be unable to join the Academy until they retake the test and pass next year. To determine that score, for the test subjects you will be tested on you will receive one point for every correct answer and zero points for every wrong answer. The number of questions you get right out of the total number will be converted to a score out of ten. You will each be tested on ten core subjects. One of the subjects will be writing, a second will be on the dominant language you have selected when you signed up to take the test, and the other eight are randomized based on your home world. The ten scores will be added up to your overall score to determine your pass or fail.
“For everyone else, there is a composite score that is based on a different grading scale. This will show us where your strengths lie and what your weaknesses are. For these scores, you will still receive one point for every correct answer, but you will lose half a point for every wrong one. For every blank one you will receive zero points. Your scores for each subject will be tallied out of one hundred percent.”
“Please be aware that this does not guarantee you a place in the Angelus Knights Academy,” explained Judge Brenton, “All applicants will still have to pass a physical examination, a security background check, a mock battle, and an interview with a Judge to receive a place in the Academy.”
“Also that anyone caught cheating at any time by any means,” said the strict Angelus woman, “Will immediately have their test destroyed, dismissed from this room to be properly disciplined, and will never set foot on this campus again.” She eyed them all as if they were all capable of such a crime. “If at any time, for any reason, you wish to have your test cancelled, we properly destroy your answer sheet, but know that you will be unable to retake the test until next year.”
“Any more questions?” asked the second Angelus woman. “No? Then please open up your envelopes. Inside, should be the test booklet in the language you chosen to take the test in, a multiple choice answer sheet also in the same language, two pencils to mark your answers, two sheets of scratch paper, a scientific calculator, and an eraser. If you are missing one of these items or the test booklet or answer sheet in not in the right language, please raise your hand.” She looked around the room to see if anyone needed help. “You have about five hours to finish the test but we encourage to take your time. In about an hour we will be taking our first five minute bathroom break. If at any time, you need to sharpen your pencil or use the bathroom, one of the proctors will take your test until you are ready to continue. Please remember to write your name and ID number clearly on the test booklet and the answer sheet and erase your answer completely from your answer sheet if you decide to change it. You may begin in…three…two…one”
There was the sudden scurry of papers flipping, pencils grinding, and calculators being punched in. Grace had never seen a test so complex. The school exams seemed so easy; here she was having problems trying to read the tiny print but at least she could work everything out on scrap paper or the book. Sora was so nervous, his knees wouldn’t stop shaking. By the tenth question, he remembered what Joey had told him about eliminating answers he knew weren’t right and that helped things. Grace saw that Lucy was shaking so badly she could see her from across the room, but once she got going, her confidence grew.
Not to Grace’s surprise, Joey finished early, well into the third hour. She saw the strict Angelus watching him like a vulture as he left the room, but she knew if anyone could ace the test easily, it was Joey. Miki, Anemone, Clarise, and Ling left in the fourth hour, Grace following them out fifteen minutes later. Sam was next to join them after her, followed by Sora. Lucy came out five minutes before the test was to officially end. “Sorry, but I had to triple check my answers,” she apologized.
“Thank God that’s over,” Sam gave a sigh of relief.
“Yes! Now it’s time for the slumber party!” cheered Anemone.
“Slumber party? What slumber party?” asked Grace.
“The slumber party Jane throwing so we can ready for the ball tomorrow,” explained Ling looking excited.
“Wait a second!” said Sora, “I was throwing a party for the guys tonight!”
“So?” asked Anemone, “You’ll be in your room and we’ll be in Jane’s room. And look at the timing.” A floating car had pulled up next to the curb to take them to the palace. “C’mon Clarise! We need to rejuvenate!” She dragged her sister in first after her.
The rest of the gang was waiting for them at the Imperial Palace. Sora took the boys into his bedroom to play video games and the girls went to Jane’s bedroom to discuss what style their hair would be or what color their dress was. Grace decided not to tell anyone about her dress and keep it a surprise and found it a bit dull after awhile, thinking it might be better to join the guys and beat them at Halo. By the way Miki was yawning, she was probably thinking the same thing, so Grace started a conversation about sci-fi books with her and that carried them until the pizza came. By the time they went through their third serving of ice cream, Grace and Kairi started a pillow fight and they chased the other girls around the bedroom until Chen came up and told them to calm down. After they cleaned up the mess they made and Margot had fallen asleep, Grace, Lucy, Ling, and Mitch decided to have a sisterhood meeting. Jane lit a candle and they dimmed the lights, forming a circle around the candle.
“Welcome fellow sisters to this meeting of the sisterhood,” Mitch said in mystic voice, “As of now, you are all part of the sisterhood and we go by these rules; rule #1: we do not submit to male authority.”
“Unless it’s Dad,” remarked Grace.
“Ditto,” added Olette.
“Agreed,” added Jane.
“Or someone like Commander James,” added Miki.
“I second that,” agreed Ling.
“Does Balthier count?” asked Clarise.
“He’s not a dad though,” remarked Anemone.
“He’s as good as,” Lucy suddenly said firmly.
They were all quiet for a second until Grace said, “Agreed. Continue Mitch.”
“Rule #2: women are as equal to men. We will not tolerate any female in distress because of inequality,” continued Mitch.
“Amen to that,” remarked Jane.
“Rule #3: any male wishing to ‘go out’ with any member of the sisterhood must meet to the standards of the other members of the sisterhood. Interventions will be held if necessary. Rule #4: all members of the sisterhood must sustain their virginity until the age of eighteen. And finally rule #5: the sisterhood will always be there for a sister in need,” finished Mitch.
“So in regard to rule number three, all our dance partners are approved by the sisterhood?” asked Olette.
“Well technically they’re not ‘going out’ with us,” explained Ling, “But the majority of the male dance partners we know and trust.”
“I still like to know who Jane’s going with,” smirked Anemone.
“For your information, we are not going out and he owes me, so he’s paying me back for helping him,” remarked Jane and refused to say anymore on the subject.
“Well what about Lucy? Who are you taking?” asked Olette.
“It’s a secret,” she replied, spinning her fingers.
“Nothing’s a secret to the sisterhood,” remarked Mitch.
“Okay! But…he doesn’t want anyone to know,” Lucy flustered.
“The important thing is can we trust him?” asked Grace.
Lucy looked directly into her eyes and nodded.
“Girls! It’s time for lights out!” Chen’s voice called for the hallway.
“Eleven thirty already,” Jane said as she looked at her clock. She started to dim the lights as they got into their sleeping bags. “Good night everyone!”
“G’night!” some of them grumbled as the lights flickered off and they all fell asleep.
On the other side of the palace, the guys were still up. They’d played video games all night until their hands hurt from all the button mashing and Tai fell as sleep on top of Sora’s bed. Sam gathered them around in a circle like they were out camping. “Okay, since the girls have this little ‘sisterhood’ going on, I’ve decide to enact a fellowship if you will,” he explained.
“Fellowship?” Joey raised an eyebrow.
“It’s better than the ‘brotherhood’,” remarked Sam, “Anyway, I say we elect Sora as our leader, since he’s the Keyblade Master and all.”
Sora looked at him. “Am I suppose to say something?”
“You say…I accept your nomination,” replied Sam.
Sora shrugged and repeated, “I accept your nomination.”
“Good! Now we have to imply some rules. Any suggestions?” asked Sam.
“We don’t take any crap from anyone?” suggested Matti.
“No, don’t do that one,” Riku shook his head.
“How about we must always act like a gentlemen?” suggested Pence.
“That’s doable,” agreed Hayner.
“We still need more,” said Sam.
“We do not believe that girls are always better than boys…at some things.” said Hanyer.
Joey rolled his eyes as Matti added, “Agreed.”
“Okay, let me think of one. Oh! We must lose our virginity by the age of eighteen!” suggested Sam.
“Can there be exceptions?” Joey raised his hand.
“Like what?” asked Sam.
“I have this deal with my grandfather, that if I keep my virginity until I turn eighteen, he’ll pay for my first year of college,” explained Joey.
“We can bend the rule for that,” Riku nodded his head.
“That’s three,” Sam counted off, “We still need some more.”
“Um, we cannot spit in front of a lady unless they spit first,” suggested Joey.
“That’s a good one,” agreed Pence.
“What about we must always save a damsel in distress?” suggested Sora.
“That’s is so like you,” grinned Riku.
“I kinda like that one,” Sam started to smirk, “So then it’s settled. Those will be our five golden rules of the Fellowship.”
“Wait a sec’, when were the rules golden?” asked Hayner, “I thought our fearless leader was suppose to decide that.”
“Well…I’m second in command,” replied Sam.
“Since when where you second in command?” Riku asked throwing a pillow at him.
Sam threw a pillow back at him which ended up hitting Matti and soon almost everyone was hitting pillows at each other, until Chen came in and told them to quiet down and get to bed.
************************************************************************
As soon as they all got up the next morning and had breakfast, the girls started to get ready for the ball, while the boys went outside and sat in the sand by the pool. “Are we suppose to be doing something?” asked Sora.
“Nope,” Sam shook his head as he applied some more suntan lotion, “Not until two at least.”
“I wonder what the girls are doing,” Sora wondered, looking up towards his sister’s room.
The girls were all rushing around in a beauty room next to the ballroom getting ready for the bath. The only ones not rushing around were Grace, Mitch, Miki, and Margot. “Okay guys, I only got five baths, so were going to draw straws to see who goes first,” said Jane, “Is there anyone who would rather go last?”
Grace, Mitch, Miki, and Margot all raised their hands as they weren’t waiting around in bathrobes. Anemone, Lucy, Ling, Jane, and Clarise drew straws to go first, while everyone else waited around outside on pink futons. About a half an hour later, Aqua, Fran, and Chen showed up to get ready. “Why aren’t you girls in your bath robes?” asked Chen.
“We don’t feel the need to run around just yet,” replied Miki.
“Oh, and here I was think you girls were afraid of getting your underarms waxed?” smiled Aqua.
Grace’s eyes went wide at once. “We have to get our underarms waxed?”
“Honey, with the kind of dress you’re wearing, Nair isn’t going to cut it,” explained Aqua.
“Oh great,” moaned Grace.
“C’mon, into the bath we go,” Aqua dragged her daughter into the bathroom of tubs after the girls got out. The water was warm and full of bubbles as Grace, Aqua, Kairi, Olette, and Fran each had their legs shaved and scrubbed until their skin and hair were silky smooth.
“What are the guys doing?” asked Grace as a servant scrubbed her hair.
“When it comes to dances, men have little to worry about,” explained Aqua, “They don’t have to do their nails or hair and have less to shave then we do. When I last checked, the boys were all lounging around the pool. Your father on the other hand, was going to pick up your test results and should be around here by noon.”
“Even better news,” Grace mumbled.
After everyone had taken a bath and was in a fluffy white bathrobe, it was time for the underarm waxing. Grace and Kairi volunteered to go first. “One at a time or both at once?” asked the wax lady.
“Both,” said Grace.
“Ditto,” nodded Kairi.
The wax lady had them raised their arms above their heads. Grace took Kairi’s hand and took her mother’s with her right, while Kairi squeezed Chen. “Ready?” asked the wax lady.
Grace and Kairi both nodded and a second later, the wax lady and her assistant ripped off the paper. Kairi screamed and Grace cried, “Oh shi-!” Their cries echoed all the way outside.
“What was that?” asked Matti.
“Girls getting waxed,” replied Luke who had just arrived carrying his Angelus uniform in a dry cleaning bag.
By the time the girls were getting started on their nails, Alex had arrived and gathered both the boys and girls in front of the grand staircase. “Sorry to disturb you guys,” announced Alex, “But I have the test results for the Angelus Knights Academy Examination.”
“Is this going to take long because my nails are still drying,” frowned Anemone.
“I won’t be long, I promise,” reassured Alex, “The good news is, you all passed. But before I give you your individual scores, I must say, no one has ever beaten or matched my score of 93 until today. Sora, you received a 75.” He handed a results paper to Sora. “Sam, you got an 80. Ling, you received an 85. Anemone and Clarise both received a 90. Grace, Lucy, and Miki both matched the high score of 93. And Joey, I have to tell you, we triple checked your scores, made sure the score reader wasn’t malfunctioning, but we can now say, without a doubt you achieved a perfect score of 100. Congratulations.”
Joey turned bright red as he took the results paper from Alex and everyone started to applaud. “Now I leave you to get ready,” Alex said just as Michael came out of his study.
“Guys, into the showers. You’ll be tan enough tonight,” he ordered, “Ladies, continue getting ready. And Sora,” he pulled Sora aside, “I’m proud of you.”
Sora returned the compliment with a smile and headed with the other guys into the showers. After they were all scrubbed down in the showers, the boys were given a white bathrobe and joined Michael, Alex, Balthier, and Terra in a large changing room. “What now?” asked Sora.
“The fun part,” replied Michael in a sarcastic tone.
“We get waxed,” explained Luke, not looking happy.
A male servant came out and said flamboyantly, “Gentlemen, it is now time to wax your legs. So lets see them.”
The male servant each examined their legs, telling Tai to go to the side of the room. He stopped when he saw Sam’s legs. “Oh my! There’s no hair of them!” He looked up at Sam, “Would like something else to be waxed off?”
“No thank you,” Sam said firmly and went to join Tai.
“I’m good too,” Luke lifted his legs to show he had no hair on them.
“You actually shave?” Hayner raised an eyebrow.
“No,” Luke grinned, “I just came prepared.”
If there was one rule the boys could have added to the golden rules of the Fellowship, it would be there is no shame in crying when your legs are getting waxed. Sora figured it could have been worse as they only had the lower part of the leg waxed off and nothing else.
On the other side of the palace, the girls were drying off their nails and starting to do their hair. Aqua pulled Grace into a separate room, so they could have some ‘motherly daughter time’. “How do you want your hair?” Aqua asked pulling out a bag of hair curlers and hair spray.
“Can you make it a little curly?” she asked.
“Of course,” Aqua plugged in the hair curler, “Do you want it up or down?”
“Down,” replied Grace as her mother rubbed a glob of detangler through her hair.
“Are you nervous?” Aqua asked as she started curling Grace’s hair.
“A little,” said Grace.
“You’ll be alright,” Aqua reassured her, “No matter what, we’ll still love you.” She pulled out the curl from the curling iron. “Is this curly enough?” she asked lifting the curl.
“Can you make it a little bouncier but longer, like the Greek girls?” asked Grace.
“I can do that,” she weaved magic through Grace’s hair and the curl became as bouncy and long as she described it.
It took about an hour to do Grace’s hair. Then it was time to get on the dress and the shoes. Aqua had already changed into her dress, a light blue one with ruffles at the end of the hem that reminded Grace of sea foam. Aqua added a little bit of make up to bring Grace’s eyes out. “Oh before I forget, you father got you this.” Aqua pulled out a small star shaped diamond necklace and placed it around Grace’s neck. “Now you’re ready.”
Aqua took Grace’s hand and led her out of the women’s beauty pallor, up through the hallways, past servants making the final preparations, until they reached the stairs leading down into the ballroom, where the couples for the opening dance were gathered. Alex and Balthier were first to see them. “There are my two lovely princesses,” Alex greeted them. He kissed Aqua and hugged Grace. He was wearing the same Angelus Knight uniform he wore to the Inquiry but he had it decorated with various metals and he hadn’t changed his hair to white yet.
Balthier was looking at Grace, with a loss for words. He broke his stare when she smiled at him. “You’re very lovely,” he said and took her arm to start lining up. He too was wearing an Angelus Knight uniform but he wore fewer metals than Alex.
“Thank you,” Grace remarked, “And you’re very dashing.”
Balthier started to chuckle and he eased up a bit. “Gracey!” she heard someone call.
Kairi walked towards her in a brown-layered dress that reminded Grace of chocolate truffle, Sora behind her in a navy blue Angelus Uniform with a golden key badge under his left breast pocket. Sora’s mouth dropped as soon as he saw Grace. “Oh my gosh,” Kairi studied Grace, “That dress is so beautiful.” She noticed Sora’s mouth was hanging opened, and with a sigh, pushed it up so that it closed. He snapped back into reality.
“You…you look-” Sora struggled to find the words. He looked at Kairi for help.
“What?” she looked at him oddly, “I’m not going to get jealous.”
“You’re-” But Sora didn’t get the chance to say it for just then the orchestra started to tune, the signal for the line up. The Royal Family was to lead out first, starting with the King and Queen, then the Princes with the Crown Prince before his brother, followed by the grandchildren in order of lineage, then the Chasers, albeit only one, and finally the Keyblade Users. Essentially: King Mark and Queen Alexis, Prince Michael and Chen, Terra and, much to everyone’s surprise, Fran, Sora and Kairi, Jane and, another surprise, Luke, Olette and Hayner, Alex and Aqua, Grace and Balthier, and finally, Riku and Mitch. All the Angelus were in uniform, while the rest of the men were in tuxedos. The Queen was wearing a heavy green dress and she and her husband were both wearing silver crowns. Chen was in a yellow dress with a white shawl. Fran’s dress was a different shade of yellow but it was less conservative than Chen’s. Jane was wearing a dark blue dress with diamonds covering over her chest, waist, and tinny patches of fabric in the shirt and her hair was up in a pony tail with a purple rose in her hair. Olette’s dress was the color of a peach and went down below her knees.
“He’s going with Jane?” Grace was shocked as she looked at Jane and Luke. “But I thought they hated each other?”
“Opposites do attract,” Mitch remarked behind her. She was wearing a red dress with black fishnets on her legs and arms with high, thick-heeled shoes. Her ferret, Marshmallow, was curled up around her neck. She smiled with amusement when she fully saw Grace. “A white dress? Interesting. I have to say, I wouldn’t predict you to be wearing white.”
“Welcome Ladies and Gentlemen to the 652nd Helios Ball. Please stand for the Opening Ceremonial Dance.” The announcer’s voice echoed all the way down the hall and Grace felt a shiver down her spine. Balthier sensed her tension, and took her hand warmly.
“Sora!” Jane hissed in his ear, “Your hair!”
He was the only one with Angelus powers that didn’t have his hair white. He grumbled, pulled his hand through his hair, and it changed white. The other Angelus were growing their wings just before the orchestra began. The curtain rose and the audience, which Jane had estimated to be well over three hundred, started to clap. The line descended down in the ballroom below under the glowing crystal chandelier. The music was slow at first but picked up as the King and Queen took the dance floor. Their dance segment was only thirty seconds long and there was nothing too exciting, such as a jump or leap, but they finished well and received a warm applause as they stepped aside for the next set of dancers. The music picked up for the Princes and there were a few more leaps. Sora had never seen his mother dance so energetically and she smiled every time his father caught her. Their dance segment was a little longer and after a quick bow and applause, the next set of dancers took the floor.
Sora ignored the hundreds of people in the room and focused on the dance. He only needed to catch himself once and Kairi gave him a smile after they finished without a mistake. He did not notice what Grace saw between Jane and Luke: a good balanced chemistry and well focused synchronization with each other. She also noticed the way Luke looked into Jane’s eyes at the end, a look of wanting something forbidden.
Alex and Aqua were up next. They too danced flawlessly together; Grace noticed a little flirting towards the end, but she was used to it by now. She was in the final round and took a moment to breathe before Balthier took her arm. She didn’t have to worry about screwing up; Balthier was a good dancer and he made sure she was in good synchronization. For the final sequence of the dance, the partners came back together on the dance floor and finished in three rings of a circle. The crowd began to applause as the dancers took their bows.
“Once again Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the 652nd Helios Ball,” announced Judge Zaida. She was wearing a dark dress and her hair was done up. Sora thought it was odd to see her without her armor. “More than six and a half centuries ago, the Galactic Federation, which was then known as the World Republic, created this ball to increase the harmony between the worlds. This ball is an offering of friendship and peace to all the leaders. Tonight we put aside our many differences to preserve justice, integrity, and honor. I invite you all to relax and enjoy the many performances we have tonight. Thank you.”
There was another round of applause and the Angelus King and Queen took the dance floor again for their individual dance. Grace wasn’t paying attention. Instead she was focused on two men in black suits sitting at the bar. One of them had flaming red hair. She broke away from Balthier and walked towards the bar. “What are you doing here Hothead?” she asked.
Axel smirked when he heard her voice. “I thought you would recognize me-” He turned and looked at her. He seemed stunned by her and he looked her up and down twice. “-Princess. Wow, to think you would be wearing a dress.”
“Cut it out,” she folded her arms, “What are the two of you doing here?”
“Our job, thank you very much,” Axel picked up a drink, “So, do you like my disguise?” It was now her time to study him. He had managed to pull his hair back and had his black tattoo markings around his eyes hidden with cover-up.
“It’s a lot better than his,” Grace remarked. Xigbar had replaced his eye patch with a pair of sunglasses and had his scars covered faintly with cover-up.
“Everyone’s a critic,” he mumbled, turning back to his drink.
“If you haven’t heard,” Grace continued, “Marluxia’s alive.”
“What?” Axel almost jumped out of his seat. Xigbar turned but didn’t jump as Axel had. “How?”
“I don’t know,” Grace shook her head, “But I think he’s on our side.”
“This is the guy who want to use Sora to take over the Organization. You can’t trust him,” Axel said firmly.
“I understand that,” said Grace, “But is there anyone else we know from the Organization that is still around. We know Demyx is one of them. Who else could have survived?”
Axel shook his head. Xigbar swirled the drink in his glass around then said, “One, maybe two more.”
Axel was focused on other things, “When I get that freaking pansy, I’m gonna-”
“Reno? Is that you?”
Commander James had appeared and was looking at Axel as if he had found an old friend. Axel stared at him as if he recognized him as well. “No,” Commander James shook his head, “You’re his son. Gosh, time has been good to you.”
“As to you Commander James,” Axel rolled his eyes.
“You know this guy?” Xigbar whispered to Axel.
“Shut up,” he hissed as Commander James sat next to him.
“How’s your mom?” Commander James asked.
“She died…years ago,” Axel played with his cup. He then got up to leave.
“Ah c’mon man wait,” Commander James tried to follow him, but Axel was already heading outside.
“You knew his father, Commander James?” Grace asked him.
“A long time ago. We were in the same squad. Your friend was only a kid back then. The things Reno could do with fire…” Commander James smiled slightly as a drink was brought to him, “Well, it’s easy to understand where his son gets his powers from.”
“Grace.” Sora had appeared. “There’s someone who wants to meet you.” He took her hand and led her back through the crowd. They finally stopped somewhere near the staircase as a tango like tune started to play. Grace looked up and saw her parents dancing. She looked around and saw Donald with another duck with a bow in her hair holding hands. Goofy was waltzing with a cow in a frilly dress but the person Sora had led her too, was a mouse. He had big round ears unlike a real mouse and was as tall as Grace’s waist. Next to him was a female mouse, who was watching her parents dance.
“Grace,” Sora cleared his throat, “This is His Majesty, King Mickey and his wife, Queen Minnie.”
Grace curtsied and the King held out his hand. She shook it gently and said, “Pleased to meet you, your Majesty.”
“No, the pleasure is mine,” said the King, “I’ve been waiting a long time to meet you Grace. Your mother tells me a lot about you. It’s good we have you here.”
“You heard about what the Commander’s planning?” Grace asked.
“Yes, and it does not bode well. This is not a safe time for the Order,” remarked the King.
There was a round of applause for Grace’s parents and Kairi appeared behind Sora. “C’mon! We’re up next!” And she dragged him onto the dance floor.
Grace watched as Kairi forcefully put Sora in position and the music began. They started to dance around the ballroom gracefully, just as someone next to Grace said, “They make such a lovely pair.”
Grace looked to her right and saw a young woman a few years older than her in a yellow dress watching Sora and Kairi closely. “They dance so beautifully,” the woman remarked, “No one can take their eyes off them. Of course no one could take their eyes off you either, Lady Porter.” She turned and smiled at Grace.
Grace stared at her with a loss for words.
“Ah cherie,” Lumiere had appeared out of nowhere next to Grace, “I see you have met Princess Belle.”
“Belle?” Grace asked as she shook the woman’s hand, “One of the Seven Maidens of Heart Belle?”
“Something like that,” Belle continued to smile, “I hope you do well on your dance. Good luck.” She waved and joined hands with a handsome man a few feet away.
“By the way Mademoiselle, I am to inform you there are two more dances just before yours,” Lumiere said as applause broke out for Sora and Kairi, “If there are any preparations to be made before hand, please do them now.”
“Yeah,” Grace muttered, “And make a complete fool of myself.”
As Sora and Kairi bowed for the crowd, Kairi whispered in his ear, “You better get ready. Jane told me to give this to you,” she passed him a slip of paper with symbols on it, “She said it was a extended dipartialion summoning spell but it may have some side effects. Do you have everything else that you need?”
“Yeah,” Sora nodded, “And if anyone asks-”
“You’re in the bathroom,” Kairi finished and disappeared back into the crowd as Sora went to the men’s restroom.
As Luke and Jane danced across the room in a jazzy tune, Grace nervously paced across the punch pool, tearing apart napkins. Aqua stopped her from ripping apart a sixth one and said reassuringly, “Calm down. You’re going to be okay. Even if you screw up, no one will stop talking about how pretty you look, and we still love you.”
Grace nodded, too afraid to speak for she feared that if she did she would pass out. She went over her dance moves in her head again and again, completely ignoring the rest of Luke and Jane’s and Hanyer and Olette’s dances. It wasn’t until someone took their hand around Grace’s waist and pushed her out towards the dance floor that she realized it was time. “C’mon. It’s our turn.”
Grace looked up into the face of the one pulling her towards the dance floor. Even in the change of red uniform and red masquerade mask, she could tell with his dirty blonde hair and blue eyes who it was. “What are you doing here?” she asked looking horrified.
“I’m your dance partner,” Roxas smiled reassuringly back to her.
“But I wrote down that I was the only one-”
“Jane is the one who finalizes the list of dances. She could easily slip in a name or two,” explained Roxas.
“But my dance moves-”
“Don’t worry,” he continued to reassure her, “I’ve studied all your moves. Luke got me a recording. Just pretend I’m not here.” He took his position behind her, raising his arms like hers to begin. “I will catch you though,” he promised just before the music began.
All fear and anxiousness had disappeared; it was like something had clicked between the two of them. They dance across the dance floor like the Prince cashing after the Firebird. The entire crowd was mesmerized to the spot, watching the two of them dance. Even Axel wandered back inside to watch.
Joey watched them from the very edge of the crowd, not noticing the girl approaching him. He didn’t hear her until the clicking of her shoes stopped and he found Naminé standing next to him. She smiled as she watched the dancers, humming the tune of the music. Joey eyed her closely, cleared his throat, and asked, “Are you waiting for someone?”
“No, not really,” she shook her head. Even though it was Kairi’s dress, she looked beautiful in it. Naminé turned back to him. “Why do ask?”
“No reason,” Joey turned quickly away. He quickly looked around for something to talk about. He looked up and saw a berry like plant hanging above them. When he realized what it was, his chest filled with dread.
“What’s wrong?” Naminé asked, seeing the look on his face.
“Um…it’s-”
She followed his eyes and looked up at the ceiling, spotting the plant. “What is that?”
“According to Sam, it’s mistletoe,” explained Joey, “When two people stand underneath it, they’re suppose to- to- kis-kis-” He struggled with the words.
“Suppose to what?” she asked.
“Kis-kis-ki-kis,” he could feel himself turning red.
“Kiss?” Naminé suggested.
He stopped stammering and blushed.
“Is that a bad thing?” she asked.
“No, I didn’t say it was-” And without warning, she leaned over and met his lips with hers. Soon they were outside in the gardens where no one could bother them.
Back on the dance floor, Grace was starting the jump. A bubble of fear tried to erupt inside of her, but Roxas was there, Roxas would catch her. She jumped; she ignored the crowd’s gasps. She spun perfectly, not slipping her turn, and Roxas caught her at the end, just as he said he would. They finished with him leaning Grace down to the floor in his arms, both of them breathing heavily with adrenaline. The crowd went wild as they stood up and did their bows. Grace was so glad it was over, she didn’t care that Roxas led her away from the crowd and out into the gardens. They stopped at the fountain, sat down next to the water, taking deep breaths. Finally, they suddenly started laughing. They didn’t stop until a minute or so later, when Grace leaned her head on Roxas’s shoulder.
“I’m so glad you’re here,” she said.
“Me too,” he said, reaching for her hand. He looked at her. “You look like a Princess.”
“Do I?” She asked. She looked at him for a moment. “Well, you look like…a fire dancer.”
“A fire dancer?”
“It was from a book I’d read. Dustfinger I think his name was. He could tame fire unlike any man, make fire flowers just as easily as he could breath fire,” explained Grace.
“Interesting guy,” mused Roxas. He started to get up. “We better go back. Sora’s suppose to be in the bathroom.” He smirked and held out his hand for her. She took it and allowed him to lead her back inside.
Another dance had started; it was Lucy and her partner. Grace watched them as they came back inside. She thought Lucy looked cute in her pink dress but she couldn’t keep her eyes off the young man Lucy was dancing with. “I’ve seen that guy before,” Grace said, suddenly feeling uneasy.
Roxas looked towards Lucy and her partner and stopped. “I’ve seen him too, but where?”
The young man was wearing glasses and looked as if he’d recently had a haircut. But what stood out most were his eyes, his brilliant green eyes. She had seen those eyes before…
“Olette,” Grace whispered, “Olette has those eyes.”
“What?” Roxas asked her.
“That’s Olette’s brother. Rather…his Nobody,” Grace realized. She then felt the presence of another Nobody. Was it Axel or Xigbar? No, it wasn’t them. Naminé? No, hers wasn’t this strong. She scanned the crowd and saw what she had been dreading. There was no mistaking it. She had cut her hair and was in a silver dress but those cold eyes were still the same. She flashed her eyes in Grace’s direction, smiled wickedly, and looked away. “She’s here too. No,” Grace shook her head, “No, not her. Not now.”
Roxas had spotted her as well, and was leading Grace away. “C’mon. We’ll find the others.”
“But they’re everywhere,” Grace pointed out, “How are we going to find them in time? If she’s here, the Commander might be not far behind.”
“Gracey!”
Ling and Sam had appeared behind him. Ling looked wonderful in her blue, green, and black dress. “Have you seen the guy Lucy’s dancing with? I swear he looks so familiar,” remarked Ling, “Sam disagrees with me. But, on my God, you and well, him, danced so well-”
“Ling, that’s Demyx, the Nobody of Olette’s brother,” interrupted Grace, “But that’s not the worst of our problems-”
“What? He’s a Nobody?” Ling stared incredulously back at Lucy and her partner.
“She’s right. I just did a facial comparison,” said Sam, “He’s Demyx. But you said that wasn’t it.”
“Xine’s here too,” explained Roxas.
“But-but- no! She can’t be here!” cried Ling, “Gracey! We got to get everyone out of here. They’re all in danger.”
“We need to alert the King and Queen first of all,” suggested Sam, “Let’s go.”
They pushed though the crowd as fast as they could, ignoring the disgruntle remarks of the guests, finally reaching the King and Queen at the other end of the room. “Your Majesty, I pardon the interruption, but we have a serious problem,” Sam started to say.
“Serious problem?” asked King Mark, “How serious?”
“Extremely,” replied Sam, “Urgent serious problem.”
The King was eager to hear what he had to say but the Queen was looking at him oddly. “Sam?” she asked, staring at him as if she was remembering something long ago, “Bumblebee Sam?”
Sam had forgot the extremely urgent serious problem momentarily. “Alexis? Alexis Stars?”
“Sam, look,” Ling was shaking his arm, trying to get him to look back at the dance floor. He turned away from Queen Alexis, and Grace and Roxas followed his eyes back to the dance floor.
Lucy and her partner had stopped dancing. Demyx was looking around the room, Lucy staring at him. “What’s wrong?” she asked.
Demyx looked back at her, looking fearful. “Get down,” he whispered.
Roxas suddenly grabbed Grace and pulled her to the floor. A split second later, Sam and Demyx did the same thing to Ling and Lucy.
There was an explosion from the ceiling, the crowd was screaming as a gas streamed down from above. For what Grace was expecting, the gas did not knock her unconscious or make her choke. In fact, she, Ling, Queen Alexis and Sam were still standing, but Roxas, who had changed back to Sora, and King Mark were doubled over on the ground.
“I can’t get up,” Sora managed to say, as he struggled in vain to get to his feet.
“Oh crap,” said Sam, as he engaged his armor. He had his visor over his head, studying the gas. “It’s tri-carbon monoxide. It’s usually harmless, but in this concentration it caused short-term immobility in Angelus up to thirty minutes, less in half-breeds. The Commander dubbed it the ‘Breaking Wings’ gas.”
“Is there a cure?” asked Ling.
“It was still experimental when I last checked,” added Sam.
“Why isn’t it effecting me?” asked Grace.
“You’re too human to be effected,” replied Ling, “But if this is effecting the Angelus, that means the guards, the Knights, all the security-”
“Has been wiped out,” finished Grace.
“Everyone get down!” Sam shouted, pulling Grace and Ling down to the floor again. Another explosion went off, a pulsating wave of energy that cleared the smoke away. Grace recognized it at once as a Demajickfier Pulse, but Sam was on the ground unconscious.
“Sam? Sam!” Ling shook him, but he didn’t wake up.
Miki rushed over out of nowhere, almost tripping in her green dress and checked his pulse. “He’s fine. That last explosion also had an EM pulse in it. His initial restart will be in two minutes.” She looked up and studied the room. “The doors are locked; they’re keeping us in. No doubt the Commander is behind this one.”
“Great, he’s attacking and we’re all unarmed,” cursed Grace.
“Not entirely,” said Ling as she pulled her fire fan out of her dress. She lifted up the shirt and pulled out a dagger. She gave the dagger to Grace, just as Miki lifted up her skirt and pulled out a LASERlight.
“Who else can fight?” asked Grace.
“Mitch is good, Riku can fight a little, Fran is ready but she’s trying to find Balthier and make sure he’s okay, Anemone and Clarise are up, Matti’s got Margot and Tai somewhere safe, Donald and Goofy are with the King but no one seen Joey or Kairi since you and Roxas started dancing. I estimate there’s about two minutes before we can use Keyblades, and five for someone like your Dad to get moving again. But a lot can happen in that-”
There was the sound of gunshots, more screams, and shattered glass. “Good evening ladies and gentlemen.” Grace look up and saw David striding across the dance floor with a magnum in his hand. He tossed it back to an armed soldier in black a few feet away. Grace looked around and saw that soldiers were appearing everywhere around the room, coming out of thin air. David continued to stride across the floor towards Xine as the crowd backed away from him and the soldiers. “We are tonight’s entertainment. I just love quoting the Joker, don’t you?” he smiled at the crowd. “There is nothing to worry about. As long as you willingly cooperate, no harm will come to you. So then, let’s get started. First thing first: where is Princess Jane?”
“What?” asked Grace, “Why isn’t he asking for me or Sora?”
“He’s taking a hostage,” explained Miki, “Haven’t you learned anything yet?”
There was a muffled cry; one of the guards was dragging Jane to her feet and pulling her towards David and Xine.
“No! Let her go!” Chen got up and walked towards the guard dragging Jane. Another guard pointed the barrel of a gun at her and she stopped.
“We will not hesitate to shoot you or your daughter, Chen, if you give us any incentive to do so,” David said calmly, taking Jane by the arm, “Now go back to your husband.”
Chen glared at him but reluctantly went back to Michael, who was trying with all his might to get up.
While they were preoccupied, Grace sneaked through the crowd to Donald and Goofy. “Are you okay?” Goofy asked.
“I’m fine,” Grace replied, “I got idea.” And she told them her plan.
“Now we move to step number two,” David announced to the crowd, “The Commander has dubbed this person as the Mouse. But you all know her as Lady Grace Porter, the daughter of Lord Alexander Porter. Where is she?”
“I’m right here,” Grace stood up.
Her parents both stared at her. “Gracey, don’t,” Alex whispered, still struggling under the effects of the gas. She ignored him and continued to walk towards David and Xine.
David gave Jane to Xine. He smiled at her with satisfaction. “My, aren’t you beautiful tonight?” remarked David.
“Let Jane go,” Grace said.
“We will,” David reassured her, “Don’t worry.”
“Let everyone go,” she said firmly, just before he reached for her arm.
“As I said, we will,” David said.
Grace raised her arm quickly with the dagger Ling gave her in her hand just before David had the chance to grab her. Just before she swung it down, someone grabbed her arm from behind, forcing her to drop the dagger. “Clever Mouse,” the Commander’s cold voice echoed behind her, “But not clever enough.”
“Get off of her!” Donald jumped up to whack the Commander with his staff, but he moved out of the way and he went flying into Goofy. Ling got up and threw her fire fan but David caught it before it could reach its target and she was grabbed by guards.
Riku and Mitch stood up to help but the Commander raised his free hand. “Come any closer, and I drop this,” he showed them a small vial he was wearing around his wrist with a clear liquid inside, “A specially concentrated form of the Avian Bird Flu. Once it combines with the gases in the air, it becomes air borne and you will all be infected, save for the Angelus, but in their weakened state they too may be infected. Now, this is what I demand-”
Before he could go on any further, something like a shot of water broke the vial’s chain from the Commander’s wrist. They all watched in horror as the vial started to drop to the floor but a wave of water caught it and brought it back to Lucy’s dance partner, the Nobody Demyx. He sealed the vial inside a ball of water, breaking the vial inside the water, until there was nothing left of the contents. “What did you do you fool?” the Commander fumed.
“I just diluted the virus. It’s now as harmless as the common cold,” Demyx explained. He then shouted, “Your turn Axel!”
“All right!” Axel came down from the ceiling in a blaze of fire, separating Grace from the Commander. He pushed the Commander back, giving Xigbar the chance to get Grace away from David and Xine.
David started to go after Grace, but Sam got up and fired several energy projectiles at him. He got out of the way just as Sam shouted to the crowd, “Attention everyone! Keyblades are back on!”
“Yes!” Aqua grinned, summoning her own Keyblade. Alex was slowly getting to his feet, grabbed a sword from an unconscious Angelus guard, and joined the fight.
In the meantime, Sam shot through one of the doors leading out into the garden. “Everyone else! Please exit this way!” he shouted, jumping out of the way as the crowd tried to get out of the ballroom.
King Mickey freed Ling from the guards and turned his attention on the Commander, who was fighting against Riku and Mitch. He rushed forward to join in the battle, just as Ling called, “Your Majesty! Wait!”
Balthier and Fran were now joining the battle as well. Fran stabbed a man in the side with a dagger and kicked another with her high hell shoes. Balthier knocked one solider out with the barrel of his gun, and was about to hit another, when a solider pointed his gun at his head. There was a clicking noise behind the solider and he saw he wasn’t the only one having a gun pointed to his head. “Now, what were you going to do?” Commander James asked pointing the gun at the soldier’s head.
The solider reluctantly dropped his gun and held his hands up.
“Thank you, Charles,” said Balthier and he took aim and shot another solider in the leg.
Kairi and Joey came back inside the ballroom after hearing the screams, the gunshots, and other sounds of chaos. “Oh my God,” Kairi gasped. Before Joey could say anything to stop her, she summoned her Keyblade, knocked out a solider and rushed towards Sora.
“Sora, are you okay?” she asked when she reached him.
“Yeah,” he managed to say, “Just help me get up, please.”
Grace saw that Xine still had Jane with her. Although Jane had gotten some of her strength back, she still couldn’t break free from Xine. Grace took after, with Sora and Kairi close on her trail. “Stop Xine!” Grace called after her.
“Oh Mouse, I grow tired of our game,” Xine pouted, “I wish I could just catch you and kill you and be done with it.”
“Let Jane go,” Grace demanded, extending her Keyblade toward her.
“Fine. You can have her!” Xine threw Jane at Grace. Grace caught Jane just before the force threw her off her feet and Xine closed in with her needles bared. But something came flying by just before Xine struck, knocking her back.
Luke caught Xine by her throat and held her up as if it was nothing. Grace could see the streaks of blue crisscrossing his arm and reaching up his neck. He looked as if he wanted to murder.
“Luke, no,” pleaded Jane, “Don’t do it.”
Luke loosened his grip slightly. Xine started to smile and broke free of Luke’s grip. She slashed his face and jumped away as Sora and Kairi tried to hit her. Luke collapsed, falling backwards slowly, but Jane caught him at the last second. She held him in her hands as his chest went up and down, out of breath. She rubbed his back and kissed his forehead gently, as Sora, Kairi, and Grace went after Xine again.
King Mickey was close on the Commander’s heels. The Commander dodged every one of the King’s attacks, until David cut in and fought the King himself, giving the Commander the chance to summon Heartless. Terra saw the Heartless emerging from the floor and got to his feet. “Oh please,” he muttered, “Don’t insult me.”
“Father, you’re not well,” Olette pleaded, grabbing his arm. He shook her off gently and summoned his Keyblade.
“Stay back,” Terra ordered her and he saw out of the corner of his eye she made a face somewhere between a pout and biting her tongue. Just like her mother…
Aqua and Alex were back to back, surrounded by a swarm of Heartless, a swarm that was closely closing in on them. “Honey, are we in trouble?” Alex asked, extending his sword.
“Not yet,” replied Aqua as she sent a wave of lightning out to the Heartless in front of her. Another Heartless jumped on Alex; he slashed it with the sword just in time but missed the one trying to grab him from behind.
There was a flash of something white that cut the Heartless in half behind Alex. He looked just in time to see a hand of cards return to the hand of a man in a black coat. “You,” Alex said, stunned as the man in the black coat took off his hood. The man had short light blond hair with blue eyes and earnings.
“Is that how you greet your old partner Alex?” the man asked, “By forgetting his name? It’s all right, my new name is Luxrod now.”
“I know that,” Alex shook his head, “But what are you doing here?”
“Saving your ass, as I always did,” Luxrod explained, “It seems you have a problem.”
“Problem is an understatement my old friend,” Alex remarked as he slashed through another Heartless. “But I would gladly accept your help.”
Luxrod smiled, “Like good old times,” and cut through a Heartless with his cards.
As the battle in the ballroom went on, more and more of the Angelus were recovering to help take down the soldiers and the Heartless. Judge Zaida made an amazing come back by getting to her feet and throwing her spear through two Heartless at once in front of Joey and making him faint.
Somewhere in the chaos, King Mickey, Donald, and Goofy were fighting David and Sora, Kairi, and Grace were battling Xine. They managed to lead them towards the center of the room. Near the windows out to the gardens, Mitch, Ling, Lucy, Demyx, and Riku were fighting the Commander with everything they had. Just as Riku tried to throw a critical blow with his Keyblade, the Commander smiled and disappeared. Riku recovered his Keyblade quickly and scanned the room. He saw Grace going in for a heavy blow to Xine with no one behind her. “Look out!” he called.
Grace heard him but didn’t stop. Suddenly, someone grabbed her from behind and threw her into the arms of a solider. “Get her out of here! I will not leave empty handed!” she heard the Commander order.
The solider dragged Grace toward the door, but as she struggled she managed to get one of her shoes off and smack the solider in the head with it. “Why you little wench!” the solider cursed as she tried to run off. He grabbed her arm and threw her into the wall. As she stumbled to get up from getting hit in the head, the soldier pointed his weapon at her. “I’m sure the Commander won’t mind if shot your legs so you won’t run off again!” He started to pull the safety off…
There was a sound of something cutting and the next thing Grace knew, a blade was slicing through the soldier’s rib cage. He shuttered and fell and the one holding the sword at the other end was Grace’s father, but she did not see her father in his eyes. Instead she saw something cold and fearful, blank and dark in those eyes, something so empty and terrifying it could not have been her father. Her father wasn’t cold, he wasn’t dark or any of those things. She didn’t believe it and in her shock her eyes started to water.
Alex saw her staring at him, afraid and terrified. He tried to recompose himself: he tossed the knife away as if it might burn him and gently held out his hand. “Grace,” he called her name gently. She didn’t come to him at first; she was afraid that look in his eyes would come back, but it didn’t, and slowly she took his hand and crawled into his arms. He lifted her off the ground and turned back to the center of the room, where the Commander, David, and Xine were completely surrounded.
“Request to retreat sir?” David asked with caution.
“Retreat?” Xine raised an eyebrow, “I say we fight to the death!”
“Agreed,” added the Commander, “We do not surrender or retreat without just cause. I made a miscalculation, that’s all,” he glared at Axel, Xigbar, Demyx, and Luxrod in turn.
“Father!”
Anemone and Clarise broke through the ring of Keyblade Users and Angelus towards the Commander. “Father please,” Clarise begged in French, “What you’re doing is wrong.”
“Wrong?” The Commander shook his head, also speaking in French, “It is these fools who are wrong! They think they can wait around, twiddling their thumbs while Heartless tear apart their worlds! They do nothing! The Chasers do nothing! But I shall do something! I will show them what it takes to destroy the darkness forever, even if I have to force the worlds to see it! If not, then they are no better and deserve to die with the darkness into the abyss of hell itself!”
“You’re mad,” Clarise sobbed and Anemone tried to comfort her.
“Don’t listen to him Clarise,” Anemone glared at her father with mutiny, “He was mad to begin with. Shall I go on? Forcing mother to give birth to altered twin girls when he couldn’t have a son! Suppressing any from of cultural uniqueness if he didn’t like it! Taking parents away from their kids when they displayed uniqueness!”
“Anemone-” the Commander began to say but she went on.
“Torturing a little girl until she started to scream every time she heard a Heartless! Kidnapping a girl so he could dive into her brain so he could get information on a battle between good and evil to the point where she almost died! And for what?” Anemone spat at her father’s feet, “To start a godforsaken war that you have to be victor of and rule the universe?!”
“What that memory held was not just a battle-” the Commander fumed, red with furry.
“I don’t care what you say anymore! Go to hell!” Anemone finished as if that was that.
“It’s over Commander,” said Michael, “Give up. Zaida, say what you have to say.”
“Thank you Prince Michael,” Judge Zaida, “By order of the High Judges of the Galactic Federation Court and the appointed Chasers, I hereby place you, Commander Antonio Nevue, and your associates, under arrest for conspiracy against the Federation, attempted kidnapping, the bombing of a Royal Palace, unauthorized use of nuclear weapons, among other charges. Anything defiant to say?”
“As I have said,” the Commander smiled, “I do not surrender.” He waved his hand and the three of them disappeared into black smoke. “Do not be so hard to judge, Angel,” the Commander’s voice echoed as the smoke began to fade, “You will see my reasoning in time.”
“I forgot he could do that,” Sora lowered his Keyblade.
“That’s alright,” Zaida lowered her spear but then pointed at Demyx, “We have two more criminals to bring in.”
“What?” he asked incredulously. He looked over at Luxrod but he was already disappearing.
“Stop him!” order Michael but he was already gone.
“Demyx, formally of the Organization XIII, I place you under-”
Lucy stepped in between the spear and Demyx with her arms extended out. “No! You can’t!” she shook her head.
“Princess Lucy, you are already under enough suspicion just by association. Step aside,” ordered Judge Zaida.
But Lucy did not leave Demyx’s side. Grace saw her trembling and broke free from her father and joined her. “But he save her!” Grace argued, “Not just this time but when she fell off the cliff. Doesn’t that count for anything?”
“Lady Porter,” Judge Zaida lowered her spear slightly, “He was involved with a terrorist cult!”
“How many times do we have to tell you people?” Xigbar cringed with annoyance, “We were not terrorists!”
“By definition you were,” Miki pointed out.
“My point is,” Judge Zaida interrupted, “He was involved with a group of individuals who sought to disrupt the balance of our worlds. He is a dangerous individual. His being is even dangerous.”
This time Sora stepped between Zaida’s spear and Demyx. “He saved us by destroying the virus. He saved Lucy. He fought with us. That’s good enough for me. I grant him immunity. I can do that right?”
“You can’t grant him immunity,” remarked Anemone.
“He technically can grant him temporarily immunity,” corrected Alex.
“You’re not helping honey,” frowned Aqua.
“He’s right though,” Judge Zaida withdrew her spear, “Once a member of the Royal Family or Keyblade User grants an individual temporary immunity, we can’t touch him for 24 hours.”
Most of the kids gave a sigh of relief but some of the grown-ups grumbled. Demyx started to back away from the crowd but Lucy grabbed his arm. “I can’t stay,” he told her.
Lucy nodded and brushed away the tear that was starting to trickle down her face. She dropped his arm and he started to walk off again, but stopped when he heard someone walking towards him.
It was Olette. She stopped a few feet from him and they faced each other.
“Hi Lettie,” Demyx greeted, finding it hard to look at her.
“You son of a bitch!” Olette suddenly blurted out. She then ran up to him and punched him in the stomach, but he didn’t back away or showed any signs of getting hurt. “Why did you leave me? I could have handled the truth! I could’ve helped you!” She started to cry and she grabbed her head, as if it was throbbing in agony. She collapsed just before Hanyer caught her, but she was still looking at Demyx, her brother. “I wouldn’t have cared what you were!” she continued to sob, “I would still love you Danny! I still love you big brother!”
Demyx watched her cry in Hanyer’s arms, not knowing what to say. “I see you found Dad,” he managed to say after a while, “Is he taking good care of you?”
Olette nodded.
“That’s good to hear,” Demyx’s eyes flashed to Terra for a moment, “Be good for him.” He turned into a freshly summoned Corridor of Darkness. “I’ll see you later.”
“Danny, wait!” she pleaded but he had already disappeared. She grabbed her head again and started to cry.
Alex rushed over and checked her pulse. “She’s going into memory shock. The memory modification that was placed on her is starting to unwind. We need to get her to a hospital.”
“Or what?” asked Hayner.
“She’ll become unstable,” replied Alex.
“Is anyone else severally injured?” Judge Zaida asked.
“Joey’s unconscious but you did that him, so he’ll be around sooner or later,” remarked Miki, “But other than that, we’re okay. The Angelus King didn’t take too well to the gas but Queen Alexis says some bed rest will do him well.”
“Give the boy my apologies when he wakes up,” said Judge Zaida, “But what now?”
“We need to get out of here,” King Mickey said firmly.
“I’ll say,” remarked Sam, “The place is a wreak.” He was right. There was shattered glass everywhere, the floor was cracked, and part of the crystal chandelier was sparking.
“No, what I mean is, you guys need to get outta here,” stressed the King, “The Flying City isn’t safe.”
“The King is right,” agreed Judge Zaida, “The security has been compromised. We cannot risk another attack while the children are here. Captain Balthier, Commander James,” she called to Balthier and Commander James, “are your ships ready to depart?”
“If she’s fueled and stocked, yes,” Balthier replied.
“Same here,” added Commander James.
“Then depart at once,” Judge Zaida ordered.
“Wait, we’re leaving?” asked Sora, “Why?”
“As I said,” Judge Zaida said firmly, “There was a breach in our security. Until we are back to our full potential we cannot sustain another attack, and next time it could be Xehanort. You are not ready for him Keyblade Master, none of you are. My suggestion is find a safe world and stay there until you receive word from us. Prince Michael,” she turned to Sora’s father, “I suggest your daughter leaves as well.”
“Yes,” Prince Michael nodded.
“What about Luke?” Grace asked. Jane was still holding Luke lying on the ground.
“Luke will be fine sweetheart,” Alex reassured her.
“Honey,” Chen rubbed her daughter’s shoulders, “You have to go.”
Jane nodded slowly but she did not take her eyes off Luke. “Don’t worry,” he assured her, “I’ll be okay.”
“You’re such a big stupid jerk,” she whispered. She squeezed his hand and let her mother led her out the door.
“Can we come out now?” Matti asked coming out with Tai and Margot from a closet underneath the staircase. “What on earth did you guys do?” he asked incredulously as he looked around the ballroom. Everyone ignored him.
The good-byes were extremely short. Grace hugged her father tightly before she left. “I’m sorry I can’t spend Christmas with you, Mom, and Luke,” she said.
“That’s okay honey,” he smiled at her, “As long as you’re safe, nothing else matters.” He kissed her forehead and Aqua grabbed her for a tight squeeze. Luke nodded in her direction as if he hated to do anything to acknowledge her leaving.
Chen hugged both her children before leaving. Michael kissed Jane good-bye and waved in Sora’s direction. He waved back and took Kairi’s hand as they stepped into the floating car to the gate terminal.
By the time they boarded the Strahl, everyone was nodding off to sleep, except for Lucy, who had disappeared somewhere, Grace, who wandered off to look out at the stars, and Sora, Donald, and Goofy who were discussing something in secrecy. Balthier and Fran got the ship going, but there was a problem.
“Right now, we are heading somewhere but we don’t know where yet,” Balthier explained as he came out of the cockpit, “Any suggestions?” he asked Sora, Donald and Goofy.
“We got one,” Sora passed a slip of paper to Balthier.
He read the paper and looked mildly amused. “Interesting,” Balthier passed the slip of paper to Fran, who seemed surprised, “Seems safe enough though. Have any of you seem Lucy?”
They shrugged and Balthier went down the hallway into the kitchen. He found Lucy at the table, writing in her diary. Her eyes were puffy and her cheeks were wet. He knocked on the door, giving her time to put her diary away. She looked at him when he came in as if she was expecting something.
“Don’t worry I’m not here to yell at you,” he reassured her, “I can’t exactly say I didn’t have a secret love at your age either. But if you want to talk,” he sat down next to her, “I’ll listen.”
“No interruptions?” she asked quietly.
Balthier shook his head. Slowly, Lucy leaned back to rest her head on his chest and started to cry but she told him everything.
Sora found Grace where he’d expect her to be, looking out at the stars. Moo-Moo had jumped up and curled in her lap, her shoes laid else where, having lost one in the attack. “I heard you and Balthier talking. Where are we going?” she asked.
“It’s a surprise,” he smiled at her, “But there is a guy there that I know who absolutely loves surprises. He lives for them.”
“Can you divulge the name of this ‘Surprise Guy’?” asked Grace.
“Oh he has many names: King of the Pumpkin Patch, Knight of Nightmares. A little eccentric and doesn’t always knows what he’s getting into, but you’ll like him. I guarantee that.”
*Uniforms and dresses:
The Angelus Uniform: Military like; dark blue, almost navy blue. (I guess the US Air Force uniform would be the closest) All the Angelus males are in this uniform, all the other guys are in tuxes.
Grace: Grace's dress is essentially a wedding dress (we'll learn even more about the dress later). The closetest one in the Feb/March 2009 Brides magizine is the Eve of Milady one in the front pg 85, only it's not as poffy.
Lucy: Her dress is pink with black poka dots, like the one on the front cover of Cosmo Girl Prom Winter/Spring 2009 edition.
Kairi: Her dress is a chocolate color and looks like the one on page 36 in Cosmo Girl Prom but it's a little darker.
Anemone: Anemone's dress had to be black. Her hair wouldn't go too well with any other color. Her dress is on page 136 of Cosmo Girl Prom, Sydney's Closet.
Aqua: Her dress is blue and is called tony Bowls Le Gala on page 146 of Cosmo Girl Prom.
Ling: Ling's dress had to be colorful because she is such a colorful person. It's a mix and match of green blue, black, and white by Dave & Johnny on pg 165 of Cosmo Girl Prom,
Jane: Jane's dress had to look like one a princess would wear.Nothing said princess better than the blue dress by flirt on pg 189 of Cosmo Girl Prom.
Clarise: Clarise is dress is purple and one that went well with her hair. It's by Fire & Ice and is on pg 66-67 of Cosmo Girl Prom.
Mitch: Mitch's dress was hard to find. I knew what her's would look like but nothing I looked at matched exactly. the closetest one is the red one of Bella Prom by Venus on pg. 172 of Cosmo Girl Prom.
Miki: I never had time to put Miki's dress in. It would be either pink or red.
Margot: I didn't see any girl's dresses in the bride's magazine, but if I had time to put it in it would be either light blue or green.
***coldman i wil pm youl laterl
The gang is heading back to the Flying City but what surprises are waiting for them there?
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE:
THE HELIOS BALL
“Wha-what do you mean we’ve been here for two months?!”
Sora, Grace, Jane, and the gang were back on the Strahl heading back towards the Flying City. Hardly anyone had taken little notice of the digital calendar posted next to the pilot’s seat in the cockpit, until Balthier recently noticed they had somehow skipped two months into the future. So far, Jane was the only one freaking out over it.
“Um, are you sure the calendar isn’t broken?” Grace suggested, “We were only on Atlantica for three days.”
“Yes, but the time storm speed time up on Atlantica. When Jane corrected the time flow, the surrounding space had to adjust. Judging by the size of the time storm, we’re lucky it only adjusted by putting us two months into the future,” explained Balthier.
“We traveled through time? Cool!” Joey looked amazed.
“No, that is not cool!” screamed Jane, “We’ve been gone for two months! Which leaves me with one month to prepare for the Helios Ball, one month to make Sora here a respectful member of the Angelus royal family! He can’t even change his hair yet!”
“Hey, at least I can change my eyebrows!” Sora shouted from the bathroom. Jane had been teaching Sora how to use his Angelus powers, but she was starting him out small. While the eyebrows had been an improvement, he had shown everyone how he’d changed them from brown to white and had gotten it down well, but the excitement had died down significantly and he was spending most of his time in the bathroom.
“Not to mention I’m a world delegate! I have appointments to keep! People to negotiate with!” she cried, then sighed, “Daddy’s gonna kill me…”
“So, um, what’s the Helios Ball?” asked Grace.
“It is the most important gathering of all the world delegates at the Imperial Palace on the Winter Solace. All the Royal Family, Chasers, and Keyblade Users are the opening dance-”
“Dance?” Grace asked, her face suddenly white.
“As in dance dance, with girls?” asked Joey.
“Yes, which means you should probably start looking for dance partners,” suggested Jane.
“But-but- I don’t know how to dance,” squealed Joey.
“Don’t worry, I’ll schedule dance lessons for everyone. One more thing I have to do,” Jane moaned as she walked down the hallway.
Grace walked back to her bunk, lost in her thoughts. A dance…true St. Peter’s had held dances before in conjunction with the Genius School but a formal dance with adults in the Imperial Palace? What would she wear? She wasn’t sure how she was suppose to act, or be proper, let alone dance. Could she pull it off in a month?
There was a knock on the door, and all the girls came in the room, with the exception of Jane and Fran. “We heard the news,” said Ling sitting down next to Grace.
“Rather, we heard Jane carrying on about the Helios Ball,” remarked Mitch.
“But the point is, what are we going to do about this dance?” Anemone looked harassed, “We need to pick out dresses, set appointments for our hair and nails, not to mention find a date. If I had three months notice, I would have been able to pull something off, but a month? Might as well announce that the dance is tomorrow.”
“I’m sure the Princess will be able to help us,” said Clarise.
“Wait, you guys are going too?” asked Grace.
“Well you and I have to go,” explained Kairi.
“I have to go because I’m the Princess,” Lucy raised her hand.
“I have to go because I’m Keeper of the Earthern People,” Ling raised her hand.
“We have to go because…” Anemone paused for a second to think, “Well Balthier said we had to.”
“Which leaves Mitch and Margot behind,” said Clarise.
“I’m going because Riku will more than likely ask me to be his partner,” said Mitch.
“And I’m not staying home alone,” Margot folded her arms.
“Who am I suppose to ask to be my partner?” asked Grace.
“Roxas, of course!” smiled Lucy.
“And how am I suppose to ask him?” asked Grace.
“Um…” Lucy opened her mouth, then closed it.
“Jane could use one of her spells,” suggested Ling.
“But Sora or Roxas can’t control the transformations. No one even knows what sparks them in the first place,” said Mitch, “Besides Sora has to participate in the opening dance, so that leaves Roxas out of the question.”
“And don’t you remember how the Federation acted when he suddenly showed up in the Inquiry?” remarked Anemone, “It won’t be a pleasant experience.”
“Maybe you should ask your Dad?” suggested Clarise.
“Yeah, I think I’ll ask him,” agreed Grace.
“Who are you taking, Ling?” asked Kairi.
“I was going to ask Sam, but…” Ling was red in the face, “If it’s been two months since we’ve last seen or heard from each other…he’s probably mad. Who are you taking, Anemone? Pence?”
“He’s with Sam and the others on Radiant Gardens,” said Anemone, “I’ll send him an e-mail, I guess, or whatever they use to communicate with between the worlds.”
“I wonder if Matti will ask me to the Ball,” Clarise said quietly.
“Of course he will! Why wouldn’t he?” Anemone looked appalled.
“Who’s going to take you, Lucy?” Grace asked.
“Well…” her face went bright pink, “There’s this guy…I know…”
“OMG! Are you telling us you have a secret boyfriend?” Anemone whispered.
“No, no, no! Nothing like that!” Lucy shook her hands, “He’s just a guy. I don’t even know if he would like this kind of dance thing…” she looked a bit worried, “He’s more into rock and punk and stuff like that…”
“Oh one of those guys,” Anemone smiled, “I gotcha.”
“Do you think any of the guys know how to dance?” asked Grace.
“Our guys? Nope, defiantly not,” replied Mitch.
“Balthier might know how to dance,” said Clarise.
“I wouldn’t doubt it but I’m surprised they can walk on their own two feet,” smirked Anemone.
Meanwhile, in the boys quarters, Matti said, “So about this Ball, are we expected to go?”
“Most of us have to,” replied Riku, sitting down on his bed.
“Do we have to wear funny suits?” asked Tai.
“Probably,” answered Sora.
“We have to dance though,” moaned Joey.
“Dancing is easy,” said Matti, “You just grab the girl and lead her, while trying not to step on her toes.”
“I don’t think it’s that simple,” remarked Sora.
“We’re coming up on Alluria. We should be docking in about five to ten minutes,” Balthier’s voice echoed across the intercom.
The boy jumped out of their beds and took there places with the girls in their seats. “This the Strahl. Requesting permission to dock. We are transmitting our ID now,” Balthier said into the radio.
“Roger that,” the radio crackled. There was a brief pause then the radio crackled again, “Permission grated to dock at pier 48-i79. We have been asked to alert the Angelus Prince and Agent Black Wings of your arrival.”
“That’s fine,” Balthier replied into the radio.
“You will also be asked to provide identification for everyone on board upon arrival,” the voice over the radio added.
“Copy that,” said Balthier and he turned off the radio. He then turned to Fran, “Security’s gotten tighter since we last left.”
She nodded and adjusted a few of the controls to ease the ship into the docking station. There was a rocking motion as the ship descended down into the planet of Alluria and finally came to a stop once they finally docked. Balthier led them out of the ship into the air lock, a long airtight glass and steel pathway heading down towards a metal door. The door hissed opened and beyond it, the hallway split into two with a sign and an Angelus guard posted at the split. The sign digitally flashed in several languages reading: “Passengers with IDs ->; Passengers without Ids <-; Please note all passengers must surrender all weapons, electronic or metallic devices before passing into the Bioscan before continuing.”
“You guys need to go left,” Balthier directed, “We’ll met back on the other side.” He, Fran, and Jane went down the right hallway, while everyone else went down the left side.
Further down the hallway was what seemed a metal detector with an Angelus guard posted next to it. “Oh it’s you guys,” grumbled the guard.
“You!” Sora gasped recognizing the Private.
“Yeah me,” smirked the Private, “I’ve been stuck here since they increased security a month ago. All the heads think we’re gonna be under attack or somethin’.” He then noticed Sora’s bandage, “What happened to you, Hotshot? Trip over your Keyblade?”
“Got thrown,” muttered Sora.
“Whatever you say,” the Private got up from his seat and held out a large plastic bin, “One at a time. Any thing that will trigger the Bioscan goes in here.”
Sora was up first. He dropped his necklace in the bind and held up his Keyblade. “What about this?” he asked.
The Private went back to his seat, flicked a switch and nodded for Sora to go through. Sora passed through the scanner without a problem and grabbed his necklace from the bin. It proceeded like that after him, the only hold up being with Joey and him emptying the contents of his pockets, which somehow contained enough gizmos and gadgets to almost fill the bin. When Margot was finally finished, they proceed down the hallway until they reached a door that read, “Identification Verification Room. Please be ready to provide the necessary information.”
“What’s all this for?” grumbled Donald, “Don’t they know who we are yet?”
“Guess we just can’t use our stupid Juno ID cards anymore,” muttered Grace.
The door hissed opened and there standing in a glass room. Beyond the glass room were several guards in white uniform watching computer screens, a few watching the new arrivals come in. Sora stepped forward first and almost at once, two machines emerged from holes in the floor, one for a handprint and the other for an iris scan. Sora pressed his hand on the print machine and gazed directly into the scanner. Both machines went at once; a message flashed on the eye scanner that said, “Verifying identity. Please wait.” There was a beep and a flash of green light. A glass door in front of him that no one had noticed earlier opened and Sora stepped through it. As soon as he did, the door closed behind him, waiting for the next person to pass through.
Grace was up next. She pressed her hand on the hand print machine and gazed into the iris scan. The message flashed but then was followed by a buzzing noise. Another message flashed on the iris scan. “File corrupted. Please try again.”
Grace frowned and pressed her hand again on the machine and gazed into the scanner. The machine buzzed again. “File corrupted. Too many matches. Initializing backup verification.”
Two more machines popped out of the floor. One of the machines had a microphone; the other had a needle with a clear tube attached. “Name please,” said the machine with the microphone.
“Grace Porter,” she said into the microphone.
“Full name please,” the machine repeated.
“Lady Grace Alexandira Porter,” she said, getting more annoyed. She watched at the machine did a sound wave check, using a sound file it had probably gotten from the Inquiry.
“Voice harmonics matched. Please provide a blood sample for further verification,” said the machine.
Grace cringed, although she knew that was most likely the other machine was used for. She rolled up her sleeve and the machine with the needle moved forward. She bit her lip as the needle pierced her vein, but it was quicker than she expected. The machine spat out a gauze and bandage for her when it was done and checked her blood. The machine flashed the message, “match” and Grace gave a sigh of relief as the glass door opened for her. No one else had any problems going through the machines; why did it have a corrupt file for her?
When everyone was finished, they were led up a flight of stairs into the sunlight. Balthier, Fran, and Jane were waiting for them. “What took you guys so long?” asked Jane.
“Grace got stuck in the identify room,” explained Tai.
“That’s what happens when you have too many family members serving for the Knights. Everything matches the same,” remarked Balthier.
“So you mean I have to go through that every time I come here?” Grace asked.
“Not all the time. Sometimes the machines will give you a break,” he replied.
Grace groaned just as a small hover car pulled up to the station platform. “Sora!” There was a cry as the car door slid open and Sora’s mother ran out, grabbing her son in a tight hug. Everyone was so shocked that they didn’t notice Prince Michael and Luke step out after her.
“Oh sweetheart! What did you do to your head?” Chen asked as she let Sora go, noticing his bandage.
“It’s nothing,” Sora’s face went red with embarrassment, “It’s just a scratch.”
“If it wasn’t a scratch you wouldn’t need a bandage wrapped around your head!” Chen cried, “What were you doing? You!” She rounded on Balthier. “What the hell were you doing when this happened?”
“Why is it my fault?” Balthier looked confused, “Michael, tell her it’s not my fault.”
“Honey-” Michael tried to place his hands on Chen’s shoulders but she glared at him.
“Stay out of this Fuzz Head,” she fummed.
“Chen, sweetheart, he’s fine-”
“He is not fine, he could have brain trauma-”
“He already has enough brain trauma,” Michael muttered.
“Mom, really I’m fine, and it’s not Balthier’s fault,” Sora reassured her.
“Um, Father?”
Jane had finally spoken up. Chen broke away from Sora and hugged Jane. “Oh Jane…I missed you,” she sobbed. She pulled back away from Jane just a bit to give her some space.
“Mommy?” Tears were swelling up in Jane’s eyes and she suddenly hugged her mother, crying.
“Um, when did Mom remember about Jane?” Sora asked his father.
“When I went to pick her up her memory unmodified itself on it’s own,” Michael explained.
“But why did you-?”
“Later,” Michael interrupted him with a look that told Sora he didn’t want anyone else to hear.
“Dad,” Jane finally said when she had finally stopped crying, “I need to hold an emergency summons in the Federation as soon as possible. They need to be debrief on what happened on Atlantica.”
“I will call a summons after I officially announce your return,” replied Michael.
Jane frowned but nodded and followed her mother, father, and brother into the car.
“Where’s Dad?” Tai asked Luke.
“He’s in the lab. He was too busy to come. Don’t worry about,” Luke added when he saw Grace’s face, “He’s very close to finishing up the vaccine but if we don’t make it back before he finds the ‘overwhelming, conclusive’ test results, he’ll mope around the house for a week, taking the dog as his only company, or dogs…oh! And you’re friends from Radiant Gardens are back!” Luke added to the others.
“Sam!” Ling squealed excitedly and jumped in the car next after Grace, Tai, and Luke.
They took the hover car back to the Flying City. Sora and Jane were first to get off with their parents, followed by the next stop at the Xavier Institute. Soon only Grace, Tai, and Luke were left in the car. Five minutes later, the car stopped in front of the Porter Mansion. Luke opened the door and they walked into the familiar old house crowd with dogs waiting to check out their new visitors. Grace noticed the place was starting to look a little dustier but was still in remarkably clean shape.
“We didn’t know when you would be back, so we’ve been trying to keep it tidy,” said Luke walked into the kitchen.
“Tidy huh?” Grace asked. There were several dishes waiting to be washed in the sink and the room smelled faintly of rotting fish.
“Those are just the plates the Professor’s been using; he brings them out every once in a while,” Luke took out an air freshener from the cupboard and sprayed it around the dishes, “I tell ya, once your Dad gets on something, he goes after it and doesn’t stop until he gets it.”
“Does he even know we’re here?” Grace asked.
“I buzzed down to him, so I think he subconsciously knows you’re here,” explained Luke as he picked up the phone, “You can go down and see him if you want, but don’t be surprised if he kicks you out. Tell him I’m ordering Sushi!” He called to Grace as she went down into the lab.
Grace walked down the familiar hallway of white, pausing once just to enter the passcode at the airtight door. “Welcome back, Lady Grace,” said the female voice of Alex’s computer, Phoenix, “Shall I alert the Professor of your arrival?”
“That won’t be necessary,” Grace replied, taking a pair of goggles from the rack and going through the second airtight door. She found her father looking over a huge pile of notes spread across the table. He looked as if he hadn’t shaven for days and there were heavy circles under his eyes.
“Dad?” Grace called to him. He didn’t look up or made any motion that he realized she was there. “Dad?” she called again.
“Not now sweetheart,” He waved his finger at her like he was chastising a child without looking up from his notes, “Daddy is busy right now.”
“O-okay,” Grace turned away towards the door but didn’t take a step forward, “Um, Luke’s ordering Sushi-”
“That’s fine. I’ll be up later,” Alex said, still not looking up from his notes.
Grace sighed, and started to head back upstairs. “Gracey?” She turned around and saw her father had dropped the pencil he was holding and he was looking at her. “I’ll be up in a few minutes, okay?”
Grace managed a smile and went back upstairs into the kitchen. “So?” Luke asked, “Did he say anything…at all?”
“He said he’s coming up in a few minutes,” Grace replied.
Luke stared at her. “He actually looked at you?”
“Yes,” Grace nodded, looking surprised.
“Wow…do you know how long it takes me to drag him up here? Even when he’s sleep deprived and hasn’t eaten in a week?” Luke looked amazed.
Alex came up just after the food arrived. Luke watched him as he came up and sat down, grabbing a container of food. “What?” Alex asked him, “The next test results won’t come out for a few more hours. I can get something to eat.”
“What did you do?” Luke asked Grace incredulously.
“I didn’t do anything,” Grace replied grabbing the food container out of his hand.
Alex started to chuckle and Grace and Luke looked at him. “You remind me of how I was with my older sister,” he explained.
Luke frowned, “Yeah, but she isn’t my older sister.” He took back the food container from Grace.
Grace rolled her eyes and passed the eggrolls to Tai.
************************************************************************
THE GALACTIC FEDERATION HEADQUARTERS
“…the fact that the time storm when unnoticed for so long and accelerated time so quickly on a small world tells me that this wasn’t an ordinary time storm. Something else caused it,” Jane told the world leaders with Judge Zaida presiding over them. Michael and Sora watched from the side as the world leaders looked worried.
“No one has such power to cause a time storm,” remarked a world leader.
“No Hume has the power to cause a time storm,” corrected Jane, “What I am speaking of is something inhuman. If that is so, I suggest this counsel approves my request to raise the Galactic Security to Level Nine.”
There was a sudden uproar in the room, which was only silenced until Judge Zaida called them to order. “Your Highness, you know the law says we cannot raise the Galactic Security to Level Nine unless there is a significant potential threat to the World Order.”
“But there is!” Jane argued, “Heartless are still running around! The Nobodies are showing up everywhere! And let’s not forget the Commander! The Chasers have been sent on missions one right after the other without stop unless they are called in by the Counsel. It’s almost like the Unborns attacks of a decade and a half ago, or has this Counsel forgotten?”
“Your Highness, with all due respect, there is no evidence that Xehanort is behind these events,” said another world leader.
“So you would rather wait until there is a ‘significant potential threat to the World Order’ to act?” Jane frowned, “Then I ask that Counsel to raise the security level to Eight a few days before the Helios Ball.”
There were a few nods of agreement from the Counsel, and Judge Zaida nodded, “Request accepted. We will raise the security level to Eight approximately five days before the Helios Ball. This Counsel has been dismissed.”
Jane was still in a fowl mood even after she stepped down from the stand. “I can’t believe this! ‘A significant potential threat’?! So Heartless and Nobodies aren’t good enough.”
“But if they’re so scared, why won’t they do anything?” asked Sora, as they walked down the hallway.
“They’re afraid to lose trust in their people,” replied Michael, “When the Galactic Security is raised to level nine, the world leaders must increased the security of their own worlds and inform their close military and public advisors of the Order. The Angelus Knights are called to prepare for war against the threat. But mainly level nine shows that the Federation is losing its control of the situation. The last time level nine was ordered, was right before you showed up.”
“But it’s better to act now then later,” added Jane, “If the Counsel doesn’t do anything, they’re going to have a disaster on their hands.”
“Then why don’t we do something?” asked Sora.
“There’s not much we can do,” Michael replied, “The Knights know that something is going to happen and are preparing for it as best as they can. They have Intelligence going through all communications and are sending spies to every world, looking out for danger. Which reminds me…I need to talk to you two once we get home.”
“Why do we have to wait?” Sora asked.
“It’s classified,” Michael answered as they were led outside into a hover car. The hover car brought them to the Imperial Palace, a building of stone, wood, and brick, painted white on the outside. The Palace was closed off by an iron gate and pillars of brick, with Angelus guards standing watch around the perimeter. Stone statues and carvings decorated the roof and grounds, with a golden statue of angel standing in the rose garden in the back of the grounds.
The entrance hall of the Palace was starting to be lit for the coming night. The crystal chandelier shined down upon the checkered marble floor, mahogany staircase, and several pictures, two of which showed the current King and Queen in their coronation robes. Olette was standing in front of the grand staircase, talking with Chen and Lady White. They stopped as soon as Sora, Jane, and Michael stepped inside.
“Good afternoon Uncle,” Olette bowed, “Still no word of my father?”
“No, but he should be back in the next few days,” replied Michael.
“We were just discussing the preparations for the ball,” said Chen, “And since Jane is on the committee board for the event, Lady White and I were hoping to discuss some ideas with her.”
“I need to speak with Jane for a few minutes about the emergency session, okay honey?” Michael said as he pulled Jane and Sora into his study. He locked the door as soon as they were inside. “I don’t want to worry your mother,” he tucked the key away, “but you must promise me, whatever I tell you, must not leave this room.”
Jane nodded almost at once but Sora continued to look at his father’s face: strained with fear in his eyes. “Sora?” His father was waiting for him.
Sora nodded and sat down next to Jane on the couch in front of the fireplace. Michael sat across from them in a chair angled towards the fire. “When I went back to check on your mother two months ago, I felt like there were Heartless in the area, so I stayed in my Transmira form. Your mother’s memory had not fully recovered either when she saw me, nor did I expect it to come back quickly. I was only with her for about a day when she was attacked by the Black Armored Knight-”
Sora was on his feet. “What?” he shouted.
“-sent by Xehanort,” Michael finished.
“But…but why Mom?” asked Sora.
“He wanted to kidnap your mother in order to get to you, Sora. If it weren’t for your friends, I wouldn’t have been able to save her on my own,” explained Michael.
Sora’s fists were shaking with rage; he wanted to hit something badly, take out his Keyblade and beat up the couch when Jane asked, “Did you see him?”
“No; but his guardian Heartless was there and I did feel his presence for just a short bit,” replied Michael.
Sora was quiet for a moment then asked, “Is Mom safe here?”
“The Flying City is the safest place for her now. But the thing about your mother…” Michael broke into a weak smile, “she would rather go down fighting than be taken quietly. That’s one of the reasons why I love her. Either way though…I can’t risk losing her again. And for that matter, I want you to stay in the Flying City Sora.”
“But- I’m the Keyblade Master! What if a world needs me?” Sora stared at him with shock.
“The Chasers will handle it,” Michael said calmly.
“I’m as good as any! You can’t make me!” Sora yelled, already on his feet, Jane watching them carefully.
“You are not a Chaser yet,” Michael said, his voice rising, “You are still young.”
Sora summoned his Keyblade, wanting to strike his father but in the blink of an eye, Michael had already gotten to his feet, went to Angelus form, drew his rapier and had it at Sora’s throat. Jane’s hands were over her mouth so they wouldn’t hear her gasp. “It seems Terra and I have both gone too easy on you,” Michael said lowering his rapier slightly, “Not only can you not control your Angelus powers, but your rage is unchecked. That is why, as both your father and the Crown Prince, I am ordering you to stay in the Flying City, at least until the end of the Helios Ball. I am hoping within a month’s time, the Teachers will get you to learn a thing or two.” He pulled his rapier back into its scabbard.
Jane stared at her father incredulously. “The Teachers? You want to send him to the Teachers? They’ll kill him…”
“The Teachers are very interested in Sora. They want to see what he can do and what he can’t,” Michael explained, unlocking the doors to his study.
“Um…what are the Teachers?” asked Sora.
“The Teachers are a pair of martial arts experts that teach the Royal Family and the Elite Knights how to defend themselves. They’ve been teaching me since I was very little. If they are interested in you, they won’t go easy on you,” explained Jane walking up the staircase, “One more thing to add to my to-do list,” she sighed.
“How long is it now?” Sora asked. She stopped, took her hands, parted them so they were about three feet apart.
“That long,” she replied.
************************************************************************
THE PORTER MANSION
Grace was awakened in the middle of the night by a bang, a crash, a muffled cry, a few more bangs, and another crash. Thinking wildly that the delivery man that was suppose to bring her and Tai’s things from the Strahl had finally shown up and tried breaking into the house, she reached for a small blanket, crawled over a few of the puppies, and went out of the bedroom. Luke emerged from his bedroom, pulling his beater shirt on with a puppy sitting on his shoulders, yawning, “Wazitsit?”
Alex stumbled out of the kitchen, with an odd smile on his face and Pongo leading him like a seeing-eye dog. “I did it!” he shouted, “I’ve beat the virus! The vaccine works!”
“I knew we would do it!” Luke jumped.
Grace ran down the stairs and into her father’s arms. “That’s great!” she hugged him.
“Where’s Tai?” Alex asked.
“Still sleeping, hopefully,” replied Grace.
“Well, let him sleep then,” said Alex, “We can have a quiet celebration and make it up to him in the morning. Do you want to see the vaccine?”
He took Grace and Luke down into the lab. He hooked up a bioscope to a large computer screen. Under the light of the bioscope, he took a pietre dish of human cells and, taking a small bottle of the vaccine, he injected the clear liquid into the pietre dish. They watched as the weakened strains of the virus floated around, trying to attached themselves to healthy body cells. A few managed to infect the body cells and started to reproduce but it wasn’t long before the white blood cells recognized them as invaders and attacked them. Alex pulled up another pietre dish of human cells and injected another sample of clear liquid. The sample of the virus that floated around in the pietre dish was more potent and was quickly taking over healthy human cells. The white blood cells were picking them up slowly but the virus had the upper hand. Alex took a different sample of the vaccine and injected into the sample. With this sample, there was a different strain of virus with the bird flu that quickly attached itself to other uninfected body cells. The bird flu virus seemed to be slowing down, almost acting as if it was confused of this new visitor. This gave some time for the white blood cells to regroup and take out all the infected cells until finally both viruses were gone.
“Oh my God…” Luke’s knees sank to the floor, “You actually did it Professor.”
“No, we did it,” Alex took Luke’s shoulder and shook it. He then took what looked like a wine bottle out and started to pour drinks, “Tomorrow, we’ll present our finds to the Order and prepare for human testing.”
Alex handed Grace a glass and she looked at it curiously. “What?” Alex asked, “It’s okay if I say so.”
Grace took a sip of the wine, made a small face, and said, “You better get washed up if you’re going to the Order.”
“So I haven’t shaved in a day or two? I had a job to do,” Alex said sheepishly as he drank down his glass.
“Yeah, but Boss, what would Aqua say if she saw you?” asked Luke.
Alex considered this for a moment and said, “Good point. Cheers.” He tapped Luke’s glass and drank the rest of the wine.
Grace didn’t remember when she fell asleep but the last thing she remembered was what Alex and Luke were going to tackle next for the Knights and if it would be finding something called Atlantis. She awoke to Tai poking her in the arm the next morning. “Stop that,” she moaned, throwing the blanket over her. She could hear Alex and Luke snoring next to her.
“We’re you drinking last night?” Tai asked picking up the empty wine bottle.
“No- I mean, yes! Sort of…” Grace slowly got up and took the wine bottle away from him. “We were celebrating Dad’s latest achievement.”
“Oh…because Princess Jane is here to pick us up for our dance lessons,” explained Tai.
“What?” Grace’s eyes shot open. “What time is it?”
“9 o’clock. I got your clothes here,” Tai held out her Trans-Drive clothes for her.
“Thanks,” she jumped into the bathroom and started to change, leaving the door opened enough so that they could talk, “Is Luke coming with us?”
“He suppose to, but Jane says if he’s sleeping let him be,” replied Tai.
“Hmm…” Grace stepped out of the bathroom fully dressed. “Pongo! Look after the boys okay?” she called as she took Tai’s hand and they left the kitchen. The dog barked in reply and took a position next to the slumbering scientists.
Jane was waiting outside in her formal dress next to the floating car. She seemed to be waiting for Luke but when she realized he wasn’t coming, she sighed and slammed the car door behind her.
The whole group was there, including Sam, Miki, Hayner, and Pence. Grace and Tai said hello as they started to discuss their adventures together. Sam and Miki reported that there wasn’t anything new about the underground labs or the strange room but the Heartless were starting to act up. “They aren’t much of a problem,” remarked Sam, “Usually the town’s defense system keeps them out but once in a while, one sneaks in.”
They stopped talking as soon as they got into the imperial palace. Princess Jane led the group back through the magnificent hallways into the ballroom. The ballroom was as big as a theater. Red velvet curtains were pulled back from the tall glass windows and doors that lead out onto the stone balcony in front of the rose garden. A crystal chandelier decorated with golden lights sparkled above them just beneath a ceiling panted with Ultima sitting in the clouds, surrounded by angels. The marble dance floor shined their reflections back as they joined Sora, Olette, Michael, Chen, and an older woman near the staircase that led to the balcony above.
“We are present and accounted for, Madame,” Jane said to the woman, “Most of us, anyway. You may began.”
“Thank you my Lady,” the woman bowed. She straightened her glass that made her eyes look twice as big. Her hair was extremely frizzy and went everywhere it wanted to. She wore several shawls and on her feet were ballet flats. “I am Madame Mirabella. I will be, for the next several weeks, your dance instructor. Dancing is not just an art. It is a form of communication between two partners in perfect harmony. To be one with one another, to feel the rhythm of the music, that is dancing,” Madame Mirabella took a deep breath as if she just enjoyed something exhilarating.
“If she’s going to go on like this all day, I quit,” mumbled Sora.
“What was that young man?” Madame Mirabella’s eyes perked up, “Are you volunteering to go first? Excellent!” She pulled Sora out from the crowd. Donald and Goofy started to laugh as Sora grimaced. “Any one want to be his partner? How about you?” She dragged Grace next to Sora. “Now, you put your hand on her waist, right here and take her hand,” She moved Sora’s arms around so that his left hand was on her waist and was holding up her left hand. “And you put your arm on his shoulder, like that.” She placed Grace’s hand on Sora’s shoulder. “Good. Now…one, two, three, one, two, three- no, no, no!” She broke Sora and Grace apart. “You, the gentleman, are supposed to lead her, not the other way around. Try again; lead gently…one, two, three…”
The second attempt at dancing was better until Sora stepped on Grace’s foot. “Ouch!” she cried.
“Sorry,” he apologized and they went at it again until Madame Mirabella was satisfied.
“My dear, if I may say so, I suggest you do not ask this man to be your partner,” Madame Mirabella whispered into Grace’s ear before turning back to the others. “Now, I want you each to pick a partner and do the same thing. I will be coming around to correct your postures.”
Almost immediately everyone reached for a partner. Joey was left alone without anyone so Madame Mirabella placed him aside until she was done checking everyone’s posture. She then began to play a waltz on a CD player and she took Joey’s hands as everyone attempted dancing around the ballroom. They did that for about fifteen minutes until Madame Mirabella clapped her hands. “You all did very well. Now I will see you again in two days time. Ladies, I want to see you with ballet flats. Gentlemen, dance shoes. We need to break you in early so you won’t feel uncomfortable on the night of the ball. And those of you who will be in the opening dance: we will start practice for that next week. You will need to have chosen a partner by then. Meanwhile, Chasers and Keyblade Users work on your individual selections.”
As soon as Madame Mirabella disappeared, Grace rounded on Jane, “What does she mean individual selections?”
“Oh, right…the Royal Family, the Chasers, and Keyblade Users do individual dances the first hour of the Ball,” explained Jane, hiding behind Sora incase Grace attacked.
“Great, something else to worry about,” moaned Grace.
“We have to pick a dance?” groaned Sora.
“Don’t worry; I’ll work on it,” Kairi patted his shoulder.
Things didn’t get much better the rest of the day. After having lunch, Grace and Tai were dropped off at the Porter Mansion. Their luggage was sitting outside and it seemed that Alex and Luke had left on some sort of business. Grace carried her stuff upstairs and started to unpack. She was going through her books, when The Golden Compass grabbed her eye. She sat down on her bed and started to read, all the way to the sixth chapter, when Alex came in, carrying a box of books.
“How did your presentation go?” Grace asked.
“Excellent,” Alex smiled, “We got the approval to start on human testing.” He had cleaned up his face and the circles underneath his eyes were disappearing. He sat down next to her with the box of books.
“What’s all that for?” she asked.
“Well, I’ve been going through your school records from Juno. You’re one of the brightest in the class I see,” he remarked.
“And…?” Grace wasn’t sure where he was going with this.
“Although you’re a little behind by Galactic Federation standards, you got potential. You could easily get into the Angelus Knight Academy, if you want to become a Knight or Chaser. The examination is in three weeks, just before the Helios Ball, and I can get you in as under Home schooling, but I got to prove it. Are you interested?” Alex asked.
“You think I could be a Knight like you?” Grace asked curiously.
“No,” Alex shook his head, “I think you could be a Chaser like your mother,” he smiled.
“Okay, I’ll take the exam. But what’s going to be on it? Is it hard?” Grace asked.
“To say it would be hard would be an understatement. You should know the basics, but you’re lacking in your History, your Earthern and Galactic History. And there are several subjects that you haven’t taken yet, so I got you some books you can study from and we could use a few of the chapter reviews they have as proof as your Home schooling,” Alex started to take out the books, “I got you Geometry, Western Civilization for Earthern history, the Galactic Federation since 1015 for Galactic History, Understanding High Angelican, Freshman English, Geoenvironmental, High School Physics, Avaiton Basics, A Guide to Magicks, and I got you a book on Russian Ballet Dances in case you wanted to use one for the Helios Ball.”
“Do I really have to know all this stuff?” Grace stared at the pile of books assembled in front of her.
“The test is randomized so it’s best to at least now a bit of everything,” explained Alex, “A few of your friends will be studying for the examination too. Sora, Lucy, Ling, Anemone, Clarise, and Sam have to take it, and I believe Joey and Miki both volunteered to take it.”
“Sora has to take it? I feel so bad for him,” Grace grimaced.
“He’ll do fine, hopefully,” Alex started to get up, “So get started on all of the first chapters and do the chapter review if they have any. I want a full report of your work by dinner.”
“Hey, Dad?” Grace called before he left the room.
“Yes, sweetheart?”
“Would you be my partner for the opening dance?” she asked.
“Sorry, but I’ve already said yes to another girl,” he blushed, Grace knowing full well he was thinking of her mother.
“Great,” Grace mumbled as soon as he left, opening the book on Geometry, which seemed to be the hardest.
************************************************************************
The next few days passed in a blur. With the Helios Ball fast approaching, dance lessons were scheduled almost every other day. Almost everyone was improving, even Joey (who had stopped stepping on Clarise’s feet by the third lesson), but for some, like Sora, it was still a long way to go. While they weren’t dancing, Sora, Grace, Lucy, Ling, Anemone, Clarise, Joey, Sam, and Miki were in the royal library studying for the Angelus Knight Academy Examination. Day after day, they poured over books to help them with their work, but no one had bigger loads than Sora or Grace.
Sora had daily lessons with Jane on using his Angelus powers and had succeeded so far in turning half his hair white. He would have been struggling with his studies if Kairi and Jane hadn’t helped him out. Besides the dancing, he was dreading the meeting with the fabled ‘Teachers’.
When she wasn’t studying or taking dance lessons, Grace could be found in her family’s ballroom, practicing for the Helios ball. She had picked out a piece from the Russian ballet The Firebird called the Firebird Suite. She had been practicing so hard, it was even making Kairi jealous. But she still had no dance partner for the opening dance. Her thoughts were turning back to Roxas, so much so that after dance practice a week later, she suddenly asked Sora, “Hey Sora, who’s your dance partner for the opening dance?”
Sora raised his eyebrows. “Um…Kairi,” he replied.
“Oh, right…I forgot,” she blushed, and walked away quickly, leaving Sora confused.
“What was that about?” Sora asked himself.
“You are such a dufas,” Kairi rolled her eyes, who had watched the scene.
“What?” Sora asked her.
“Isn’t obvious?” Kairi sighed, “She wanted to ask Roxas to be her dance partner.”
“But he can’t! I- we can’t!” Sora struggled with the words.
“Not for the individual dances,” Kairi pointed out, “Which reminds me, we have to practice.”
“Yeah, the Waltz of the Sugar Puff Fairy,” Sora muttered.
“Dance of the Sugar Plum Princess,” Kairi corrected him.
************************************************************************
Grace was so unfocused later that night that she got her dates for Earthen History and Galactic History mixed up. She almost tore apart her textbook in frustration.
“Hey,” someone knocked on her door.
“What?” she snapped.
It was Luke. He backed away from her door just an inch but his face was unchanged. “Do want to take a break for fifteen minutes and come with me on my errand run?” he asked.
Grace shrugged and followed him downstairs and out the door. “Where’s the taxi?” she asked.
“We’re taking a short cut,” Luke said and he suddenly pulled Grace next to him, “Hold on,” he winked at her, his eyes glowing with a bluish tint, as he suddenly lifted off the ground with her.
Grace gave a small cry and grabbed his jacket as Luke lifted them both above the city skyline. “What are you doing?” she screamed.
“Bending my acceleration due to gravity,” he explained over the cold night air. He carried them the city toward the edge of town and down into the grounds of an older building.
“Never grab me like that and fly me across town like that again,” Grace frowned as soon as they touched the ground.
“We weren’t flying,” Luke explained, “Well, you were.”
He opened the door and led her inside. They traveled down a hallway past classrooms and offices, until they reached a pair of oak wood doors at the very end. Luke raised his hand to knock but a voice from the other side of the door answered, “You may come in Luke and Miss Porter.”
Luke smiled as he opened the door. They stepped into a larger study with the windows looking back into the garden outside. An elderly man was sitting behind the desk in a wheelchair: Professor Xaiver. “I have the files here for Professor Porter,” Professor Xaiver, handing Luke a pile of manila folders, “He should find everything he needs in these.”
“Thank you sir,” Luke gave a small bow and turned to leave.
“Oh and Lady Porter,” Professor Xaiver called before she left the room with Luke, “You may want to speak with Captain Balthier with your problem. He’s right down the hall, third door on the left.”
Grace nodded politely, not knowing what he was talking about, until she walked down the hall and got to the second door on the left. “Oh!” she cried with realization. She told Luke to wait for her at the front door, and knocked on the third door on the left.
“Come in,” she heard Balthier call from the other side of the door. Grace opened the door and found Balthier sitting at a desk looking over port papers. Fran was putting away clean clothes; she looked up briefly when Grace stepped inside.
“Yes?” Balthier looked up from his papers.
“Um…I have a question,” she said. She hesitated for just a second and her eyes wandered to the bandaid on his right arm. “What did you do to your arm?”
“Ah…I just bumped it,” he explained, hastily covering up the bandaid, “Was that your question?”
“Oh no! Um…would you be my dance partner for the opening dance?” Grace said quickly.
Balthier looked mildly surprised and a small smile was starting to form on his face when he turned to Fran. “Let me see…Fran do you mind if Grace borrows me for one dance?”
Fran smiled. “One dance. I’m sure I’ll find another dance partner for the opening dance.”
“Permission granted,” Balthier smiled back at Grace.
“Thank you,” she grinned and she was so happy she skipped back to Luke at the front door. But there was still the problem of who would be her partner for the individual dance. The only one who wouldn’t have been taken would have been Joey, but he was having trouble enough just by himself. But with only three weeks away from the ball, desperate measures called for desperate needs.
************************************************************************
The very next day, Sora was taking out of the Imperial Library by Jane without an initial explanation. She lead him outside into a flying car looking a little pale. “What’s going on?” he asked.
“The Teachers want to met with you, right now,” explained Jane as the car pulled away from the Palace, “I don’t know what they want to do, but just remember to breathe.”
“To breathe?” Sora raised an eyebrow.
Jane nodded, “It’s the best advice I can give you.”
The flying car brought them to a large house near the Angelus Military Barricks. It was only a one story, with a large garden of bonsai trees and a pond full of coy fish. Jane stepped through the stone walkway and pulled the long and thick tassel of purple and red rope. A bell chimed from inside. A few seconds later, a middle aged Asian looking man in a blue gi with long, uneven hair opened the door. He smiled warmly at them both and bowed to each of them, “Princess Jane, Prince Sora, welcome.”
“Good day Master Po,” Jane bowed, “I brought my brother as requested.”
“Yes, Master Wong is very anxious to met him,” Master Po replied, “This way please.”
Master Po led them though a wooden hallway, passed several paper doors, into an indoor courtyard. Light from condensed magical energy orbs lit up the room. The outer perimeter of the room was a wooden walkway. The inner perimeter dropped down about two feet and the floor was covered in slate. Weapons of all sizes and shapes decorated the wall. Sitting in the middle of the floor, with his back facing them, was a monk in a white gi.
“Master Wong, our new student is here,” called Master Po.
“Good,” Master Wong said without looking up, “Leave us.”
Master Po bowed, asked Jane if she would like some tea, and left Sora alone with Master Wong. “I’ve been following your journey, Keyblade Master,” Master Wong slowly raised his head, “I would say you are impulsive, brash, reckless, and a fool if best, but for a fool you did a lot of good.” He got up and faced Sora. His eyes were sharp and cold like steel but he wore a small smile. He walked towards Sora and grabbed his right arm so quickly, Sora didn’t have time to jump back. Master Wong pressed hard on a pressure point just between Sora’s hand and wrist and the Keyblade appeared in his hand. Master Wong swiftly took the Keyblade from his hand and started to look over it.
“Did you there are many legends of the origins of the Keyblade?” Master Wong balanced the Keyblade with his finger, “They all agree that it was the Goddess Ultima was the one that forged the Keyblade but as to how she did it, that is a mystery. Some say it was pulled straight from her heart, that it is her heart. Another is it is the life essence of the Keyblade Masters who had wield it before. Others say the metal came from the great crystal of the Atlantians. One story even claims that the Keyblade is like the aeons; it is forged from the souls of the dead, the pyreflies.” He swung the Keyblade and it returned to Sora’s hand. “But that is unimportant now. You are the Keyblade Master, and I will ask you to a duel.”
Master Wong raised his arm and one of the many weapons along the wall, a staff, shuttered and floated towards Master Wong’s hand. He swung it down and took a defensive stance against Sora. Sora was the first to lunge; Master Wong blocked and parried as Sora jumped out of the way. They fought back and forth, parrying and blocking, until Master Wong knocked Sora down to the floor. “You have no set pattern; good. That makes it harder for your enemies to guess your next move, but you are still weak.”
Sora rolled out of the way just in time before Master Wong slammed his staff down where his head once was. They picked up the fight again, harder and faster now, until Sora caught Master Wong in a block. “If your so strong, why aren’t you a Chasers?” he asked.
Master Wong threw his block off. “I am not the Chosen One, Keyblade Master,” he lowered his staff, “Your heart is strong, but your physical being is not. And that is my duty: to make your body as strong as your heart. You are very well for one who has not had any formal training, but you are still lacking.” He switched his staff to his left hand and bowed.
Sora lowered his Keyblade and bowed as well. “From now on, when you enter these grounds, I am your teacher; you are my pupil. You will refer to me as Sensei or Sir, and I do everything I say. If you fail to do so…fifty pushups. Understand?”
“Yes…sir,” Sora replied.
“You sound uncertain. Although a warrior should be cautious, holding your head high when about to engage in battle shows your spirit. Do not shield your spirit. Twenty pushups!” ordered Master Wong.
Sora grudgingly got on his hands and started his round of twenty pushups. When he was done, Master Wong clapped his hands and an iron dummy raised from the floor. “I want you to destroy this dummy without hitting it. In order to do this, you will have to raise your stamina and your strength to its peak. I doubt you will get it done today so for every time your physically hit it, fifty pushups. You may begin.”
And so Sora started his task of destroying the iron dummy without hitting it. He lost count how many times he ‘accidentally’ hit the dummy and he had done so many pushups, he was dripping in sweat. He got up after another round of pushups, dizzy and out of breath. “You’re not breathing enough,” Master Po had returned to the training grounds with Jane. “Relax,” he told Sora, “Inhale…exhale…try it.”
Sora took a deep breath as Master Po demonstrated and exhaled out his nose a few times. His focus came back and he felt steadier on his legs. “Much better, yes? You’re muscles need oxygen in order to function properly. You should not deprive them of that vital resource.” Master Po then nodded to Master Wong, who returned the nod.
“That is all for today. I will expect better results, two days from now,” Master Wong looked from Sora to Jane, who nodded in agreement. He turned back to Sora, “You are dismissed.” Master Wong bowed and Sora bowed to him as well.
“That was the hardest thing I ever done period,” Sora said as they left the Teachers’ house, “Master Wong makes beating Xemnas a walk in the park.”
“Oh ho! You haven’t had Master Po yet,” said Jane as the floating car door opened for them, “If you think Master Wong is strict, you try meditations with Master Po. He’ll make you redo everything if you mess up anything.”
“Well now I got this, the examination, and the stupid dance to worry about,” Sora sighed.
“Welcome to the ever expanding to do list,” Jane said as they got into the car.
“Did yours ever go down?” Sora asked.
“Yeah, a little,” Jane replied, “But I still got about…” she counted out numbers under her breath, “…a hundred things to do before the Ball.”
************************************************************************
About two days later, Anemone suddenly slammed her book shut, breaking Sora’s trace of attempting to memorize the sine, cosines, and tangents of triangles. “That’s it! No more! If I have to learn one more thing about the French Revolution, I will cry ‘Let them eat cake!’”
“What’s your problem?” Grace looked up her book of Magicks.
“Oh c’mon Porter! Isn’t it obvious?” Anemone looked somewhat appalled.
“Is what obvious?” Ling asked with raised eyebrows.
“They adults are trying to keep us busy so we don’t go out and try to save the universe, at least until the Ball is over,” Anemone explained.
“But why would they do that?” asked Lucy.
“To keep us safe. Everyone knows that Sora’s the Chosen One; he’s the only one who can beat Xehanort. They don’t want to lose him to the likes of Father,” explained Anemone.
“Did something happen?” Ling asked.
Clarise shifted in her seat as Anemone turned to her. “Go on; tell them,” she encouraged her sister.
“This morning…I had a strange feeling. A sense of premonition I guess,” Clarise was staring at the floor, “I felt that Father was extremely pleased about something.”
“Like what?” Sam asked.
“I’m not sure,” Clarise shook her head.
“So that’s why I have declared for us ladies, we are going on a shopping date,” explained Anemone.
“We do have to pick out dresses,” admitted Miki.
“So what are we suppose to do?” asked Sam.
“I don’t know! Whatever you guys do on a day off,” Anemone rolled her eyes.
“All right! Hey, Joey!” Sam called to the other side of the table.
“Hmmm?” Joey was still preoccupied with his book on advance rotational motion physics.
“We’re going to do guy stuff tomorrow. Want to come along?” asked Sam.
“No, I’ll be busy trying to synchronize some Nobody blood tissue with the stem cell plasma membrane,” he replied not looking up from his book.
“I’m sorry, my translator was turned off. Did you say you wanted to come along with us? Good! Met you bright and earlier with the other guys at nine,” announced Sam.
“Okay,” Joey mumbled, still not aware of what he agreed to. He suddenly looked up, his glasses askew. “What?!”
************************************************************************
The next day, as Grace was getting ready to go shopping with the girls, Alex knocked on the door. “Sorry to bother you, but I thought you would need this,” he handed her a handful of eroes.
Grace quickly counted the money in her head, then said carefully, “Dad, I know this is a lot of money, but I don’t think this is going to be enough for a nice formal dress.”
“Well, the thing is,” Alex paused for a moment as if hesitant to say anything, “I already got a dress for you.”
“Oh…how do you know it fits me?” Grace asked.
“It will!” Alex said quickly, “But if there is any adjustments to be made, I sure your mother can fix it. The only problem is I have to find it, so while you’re out, me and Luke are going to look for it.”
“Wait, what am I looking for?” asked Luke, who was passing the bedroom at that time.
“We are going to find the dress,” repeated Alex.
“What dress?” Luke asked confused.
“The dress,” Alex repeated again with more stress in his tone.
“Oh, that dress!” Luke finally understood what Alex was getting at but he still looked a little confused and said, “But doesn’t it-”
“We’re going to find it today,” Alex irrupted him, “Got it?”
“Yes,” Luke turned to Grace, “We are going to find that dress today for you so you may wear it to the ball. It’s a pretty dress; I think you’ll like it.”
“Um sure,” Grace said sensing the tension between the two of them, “But this is still a lot of money.”
“It’s for you to buy Christmas presents,” explained Alex.
“Christmas presents?” Grace asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Yeah, Christmas presents.” Alex was not picking up her look of confusion.
“What’s Christmas?” she asked.
“Um Professor, I don’t think she knows what you’re talking about,” Luke picked up on her confusion.
“Christmas is a big holiday that we all celebrate, all the worlds celebrate…except Juno…” Alex looked down on his daughter sadly.
Grace opened her mouth to say something cheerful when the doorbell went off downstairs. “You better go,” Alex said not looking at her, “Your mother wants a handheld back massager.”
Grace started to head down the stairs trying not to think of her father looking so sad, when Luke gently pulled her arm back. “Listen, don’t sweat about the Christmas thing,” he said, “We’ll tell you all about it when you get back.”
Although this reassured her somewhat, Grace couldn’t help but feel a little down as she joined the girls in the car. “What’s wrong Gracey?” Margot asked after she was quiet for a while, “You look really sad.”
“I know,” Anemone flashed her teeth, “She doesn’t know what kind of dress she wants to wear.”
“No!” Grace folded her arms, “It’s not that. Besides, my dad already picked out a dress for me.”
“Ooh! What color is it?” squealed Lucy.
“I don’t know,” replied Grace, “My dad and Luke have to find it.”
“Hmph,” Jane rolled her eyes, “That will take all day.” She looked out the window as the car came to a stop in an uptown department store section. “Here we are!”
“Finally!” Anemone waltzed into the store, “The sweet smell of freshly pressed dresses, perfume, leather, and jewelry!”
“Ah Princess!” the Angelus store clerk smiled and kissed Jane’s hand, “What brings you here to my shop today?”
“The Ball of course,” Jane smiled, “Can you show my friends and I your latest dresses?”
“But of course!” The store clerk’s smiled widened, “I’ll take you back to our private dress room and have a dolly sent on it’s way.”
They were led back by assistant into a back room with several dressing room and mirrors. They waited for about two minutes until a dolly cart of dress was sent back and everyone except Grace and Margot (who had a dolly of smaller dresses just her size) made a mad dash for dresses. Grace was given the job of sitting on the futon in the middle of the dress room and critiquing the outfits. She said things like:
“Too lacy.”
“That one looks too big on you Lucy.”
“Um, Mitch…I’m not sure if this ball has any dress codes, but I think that dress is a little too low in the back for you.”
“Are you going to be able to breathe in that dress?”
“That doesn’t look like it will go right with your hair.”
“Too high.”
“In all honestly, that one makes you look fat.”
“I think that one looks cute.”
Finally, all the girls had decided on a dress and picked out matching shoes. As Jane paid at the checkout counter and collected money from the girls, Kairi asked, “So what was it you were feeling so down about, Gracey?”
“Well…do any of you guys know about Christmas?” Grace asked.
Kairi and Olette nodded, Jane looked shocked, but everyone else looked sad or confused.
“I haven’t celebrated Christmas since I was very little,” Ling said sadly.
“Me neither,” remarked Mitch, staring at the floor.
“Daddy always said it was stupid holiday so we never celebrated it,” Anemone frowned.
“It was also one of those forbidden things,” added Clarise.
“So…what is Christmas?” asked Lucy.
“In Christianity, Christmas is the appointed holiday of the Son of God, Jesus Christ. But to everyone else who celebrates it, Christmas is one of those very few times of year when people can enjoy be together with their friends and family,” explained Jane.
“The shops would always close down on Christmas Eve,” Olette reminisced, “And it would snow almost three feet the week before, so we would have the sandlot decorated in snowmen.”
“I would put up a Christmas tree and put a Paopu fruit at the top for a star,” smiled Kairi.
“Grandma always watches those dorky Christmas specials she saw on TV when she was little,” grinned Jane.
“I remembered my mother gave me a homemade sweater my first Christmas,” sighed Ling.
“Oh man! I almost forgot about the presents!” moaned Miki.
“Presents? Like for a birthday?” asked Margot.
“Sort of,” Jane tried to explained, “You give presents to everyone you know on Christmas.”
“So that’s what my Dad meant when he said my mom wanted a back massager,” remarked Grace, “He wanted me to get her one for Christmas. But then what does he want then?”
“Maybe you’ll think of something as we shop around,” suggested Jane.
“Wait; we’re seriously celebrating this Christmas day?” Anemone asked with raised eyebrows.
“C’mon!” Clarise tugged her arm, “This might be fun. And Father isn’t around to say no.”
Anemone rolled her eyes, sighed and allowed Clarise to pull her down the street after the other girls.
************************************************************************
Fifteen minutes earlier and three streets away, the boys were getting out of their floating car on their trip into town. “Okay men,” Sam stepped out of the car first and was studying his reflection from a shop window, “First order is we find an Orange Julius or whatever these Angelus have for a fruit smoothe store. Then we walked down the street to the shops while attracting ourselves to other girls, got it? Only person exempted from this is Tai.”
“Um, attracting ourselves to other girls?” Sora raised an eyebrow.
“I’m cool with that,” Matti shrugged.
“Yeah, because unlike other girls, Clarise wouldn’t kill you if you were looking at another girl,” said Riku.
“On second thought, that’s a bad idea,” Matti told Sam, “Can’t we do something else?”
“I guess we can go shopping,” sighed Sam. He then saw something in the toyshop across the street. He then bend down next to Tai and said, “Hey, I see Santa Claus in there. Do you want to see him?”
“Santa Claus?” Tai looked up at him puzzled, “Whose that?”
“You don’t know about Santa Claus?” Sora looked shocked.
“I’m with Tai. Who is Santa Claus?” Matti asked.
“Well, unlike you or Tai, I’ve been studying my Earthern history,” Joey flashed his glasses, “Santa Claus is an old man in a red suit that gives presents to good boys and girls on a sleigh pulled by flying reindeer or caribou.”
“Does he really?” Tai’s eyes brightened up at once.
“Uh…yeah. So you want to go see him?” Sam asked.
Tai shook his head and five minutes later he was in line at the toy store with a group of other boys and girls to see Santa. “So if Tai didn’t know about Santa Claus before, does he automatically get put on the nice list?” Sora asked.
“Um…Sora, Santa Claus doesn’t exist,” remarked Joey.
“Yes he does!” Sora looked extremely offended, “I’ve seen him!”
“Sure you did, but tell us, was that before or after Naminé modified your memories?” Sam snickered.
“But I saw him! I did! I did!” Sora insisted.
“Sora, I told you when you were eight, Santa Claus doesn’t exist,” Riku explained.
“He said that when I went to see him!” Sora remembered, “And he told me to tell you to give you his regards.”
“Well, maybe he does exists,” Matti suddenly said. Everyone looked at him. “I mean, where’s the evidence that he can’t?”
“Reindeer don’t fly for one,” Joey pointed out.
“But they could, couldn’t they? From what we’ve experienced about magic, flying isn’t all that impossible,” Matti remarked.
Joey opened his mouth as if he was going to say something then closed it slowly.
“He can’t do it all in one night,” Riku reasoned.
“Maybe time isn’t an issue for him,” Matti questioned, “Maybe his magic makes him fast.”
Riku looked like he wanted to argue some more but dropped it when Tai came out with a peppermint candy cane looking happy. They quietly decided they wouldn’t bring the subject up with Tai around and soon forgot about it when they found an Orange Julius. They did some Christmas shopping until an Angelus Knight caught them, shuffled them into a car, and told them to stay home until further notice.
Five streets down, the girls were being flagged down by Commander James. “Sorry to interrupt your shopping ladies,” he said taking a second to catch his breath. He looked as if he’d been running for several blocks, “But you need to go home now.”
“What is it? What happened?” Jane tried to read his face.
Commander James looked around to make sure no one else was looking, then passed her a bunch of photographs. As she went through them, her face got more and more pale. Finally, she looked up at him. “When did this happened?”
“Yesterday,” his face looked grim, “The Angelus Intelligence is trying to keep it quiet but sooner or later, there’s going to be a leak.”
“What’s going on?” Grace asked and Jane passed her the pictures.
The first picture was that of a set of large missiles. The second picture showed one of the missiles zooming directly towards a small moon like world. The third picture showed a great explosion after the missile hit and the fourth showed that there was nothing left of the small world. “What does this mean?” Grace asked.
“It means the Commander has successfully created a nuclear weapon. He can now launch against any world he chooses,” Commander James said quietly.
Clarise gasped.
“Your premonition,” Lucy remembered.
They were quiet as they got into the flying car that was brought down for them. After five minutes of silence, Jane tried to cheer them up by saying, “Don’t worry! I recognize that planet. It’s just a moon; there’s no life on it, so no one was hurt.”
Everyone seemed a little better after Jane said that, but then Grace asked, “How did you get those pictures so fast?”
Commander James was quiet for a second, wagering whether or not he should say anything. “The Commander sent the pictures to us,” he replied.
“So he’s calling out the Angelus,” remarked Mitch.
“No,” Jane shook her head, “He’s calling out the Federation.”
What little happiness that was left in the car vanished. The only sound that could be heard was the soft hum of the car engine as it sped them back to their homes. Grace was first to be dropped off and as she got out of the car, she remembered something. “Oh rats!” she cursed.
“What?” Lucy poked her head out of the car door.
“I forgot to get my Dad something for Christmas,” she groaned.
“Gracey, I think he already got his Christmas present,” said Lucy.
“What?”
“You.”
Grace looked at her stunned. “He hasn’t had a Christmas with his daughter for fourteen years. This year he finally has a Christmas with her. I think that a good present enough,” Lucy explained.
Grace started to smile. “Thanks Lucy.”
“No problem,” she smiled back and closed the car door.
As Grace entered the house, she found her father pacing back and forth in front of the stairs, Luke and Tai sitting at the bottom watching him. “Did you hear-?” Grace started to ask but her father cut her off.
“Yes, we got word before you did,” Alex said still pacing back and forth, looking very worried, “And it has to happen at the worst time too.”
“What about the Federation? Wouldn’t they be able to do something?” Grace asked.
“The Angelus don’t want the Federation to get into a panic right before the holidays and the Helios Ball,” explained Luke, “If the world leaders are scared that makes the worlds scared, like a tremor running up and down a chain, which leads to chaos, and that’s the last thing anyone wants. Well, at least we got that vaccine done.”
“Speaking of getting things done,” Grace started to change the subject, “did you find my dress?”
“Your dress?” Alex stopped pacing and looked puzzled for a brief second, “Oh! Your dress! We found it right before we got word about the Commander. I put it up on your bed so you can try it on.” He started to lead Grace upstairs to her room.
“What? I don’t get at least a thank you for going through the attic, which is filled with junk from the past two centuries?” Luke asked, looking offended.
Alex gave him a warning look, but Grace ignored it and said, “Thank you Luke.”
Grace’s palms were sweaty as they climbed the stairs up into her bedroom. Her heart was thumping against her chest as a wave of anticipation swept over her. She involuntarily held her breath as her father opened the door for her. What she saw next, she couldn’t help but silence her gasp by putting her hand over her mouth.
On Grace’s bed was the most beautiful dress she had ever seen. She reached out to touch it, almost afraid that it would fall apart as soon as laid a finger on it. The dress was a creamy white color but it seemed to give off a glowing slimmer as she weaved her fingers through the fabric. The fabric felt soft like cotton but had a subtle silky feeling. Gemstones like diamonds were spread across the fabric adding to the glowing shimmer. Although the dress had no shoulder straps and was cut far enough off to cover any cleavage, a piece of lace hung around the top of the dress.
“Do you like it?” Alex asked.
Grace nodded feverishly, afraid to speak as if it would ruin the moment.
“Why don’t you try it on?” suggested Alex.
“Shoes?” Grace asked, so excited to string anything else together.
Alex smiled at her, as if he was expecting the question and took from her vanity a box that wasn’t there that morning. He opened the box and pulled from the box a pair of glass shoes, with a crystal star on the top of each shoes.
“Are those glass slippers?” Grace couldn’t believe her eyes.
“Memory glass,” Alex explained, stretching the side of the shoe like rubber. As the shoes slowly molded back into place, he continued, “Fits any size and won’t break as easily as Cinderella’s. The best dancing shoes you’ll ever wear.”
“Who’s Cinderella?” Grace asked.
“I’ll tell you later,” said Alex and he left her room so she could change.
The dress fitted Grace perfectly. There was nothing to hem, nothing to fix. As she started in the mirror, she could feel some sort of magical power flowing through her. She noticed the smell of bleach and was a little damp from a recent washing and she saw a subtle by faint hemming across the top of the dress across her dress that had been covered up with gemstones. She also noticed she looked very good in the dress. Thoughts came to her such as what would Roxas say if he saw her in this dress. She found herself blushing and she shook the thoughts away. Without hesitation, she took off the dress, only stopping once so she didn’t accidentally unharmoniously leave it on the floor and placed it carefully with the shoes in the closet.
“Any thing wrong?” Alex asked as she came out of her room.
“No, it fits fine,” Grace shook her head. She then looked up at her father. “Thanks Dad,” and she kissed him on the cheek. He blushed slightly as he did whenever Aqua was around; perhaps that kiss reminded him of hers.
“Hello? Anyone home?” A familiar voice echoed from downstairs. Grace and Alex climbed down the stairs, one after the other as Tai ran into Aqua’s arms after she walked through the door.
“Mommy!” he smiled as she hugged him.
“Hello sweetheart,” she smiled down at him, “Have you been a good boy?”
“Have you heard the news?” Alex asked as Aqua hugged Grace.
“No, I just got in. And can you clean my armor when you got the time?” she handed the armor piece from her shoulder to him and kissed him on the cheek. Alex went beet red and seemed to forget what he was going to tell her. “So what news?” she asked and Alex was brought back down to reality. He told her about the Commander and her face dimmed a bit like a fading light bulb. “That’s not good,” Aqua sat down on the stairs, “But yet it doesn’t surprise me. The Heartless are becoming more active; they probably sense all the worry coming from the Federation. Not only that, but the Nobodies are disappearing.”
“What do you mean ‘disappearing’?” asked Grace.
“They’re not showing up as more, on any world. The Nobodies are suppose to be more intelligent than the Heartless, so maybe they sense the tension with all the worlds,” explained Aqua. She started to yawn. “I’m tired,” she got up and stretched, “I’ll take a nap while you start on dinner. Make something special, okay?” she winked at Alex, “I’m sick of eating rations.”
Luke gave a small moan and Alex wordlessly took off to the kitchen, leaving Grace and Tai behind at the stairs. “The Nobodies are disappearing,” she repeated, “I wonder if Alex and Xigbar are keeping them back.” She looked at Tai who shrugged.
“Gracey! We need you and Tai to help us in the kitchens!” called Luke.
“Coming!” she called back. Before she descended the stairs into the kitchen, she wondered, now that the Commander had succeeded in creating a workable nuclear weapon, how close was he from finishing his plans?
************************************************************************
The next week went by so fast, Sora had his Tuesdays mixed up with his Thursday. Hours went by quickly in the library as they studied for the Angelus Knight Academy Examination. Lucy and Joey had already completed most of they’re studying and were compiling a large pile of complicated notes as study guides with handwriting so tinny, Sam swore he would need a microscope to read them. Anemone snapped at anyone who disturbed her, as she was extremely keen to beat her sister score wise this time, so they left her alone at a table by herself. In their dance lessons, everyone had finalized the dance steps for both the opening dance and the individual dances, and were now working on getting the timing right. Despite this accomplishment, Sora wished his lessons with the Teachers were going better.
Sora was still unable to smash the iron dummy without touching it. He’d lost count of how many pushups he had done and would come home sore and stiff, collapsing on his bed out of exhaustion. Mediation with Master Po wasn’t any better either. If Sora’s back wasn’t straight enough as he sat in Lotus position, he would get a slap on the shoulder with a stick and have to count to one hundred. But at least after a week he was getting less slaps. The frustration was getting to him more and more, and finally he snapped during his training with Master Wong. He struck the iron dummy again, his Keyblade went spinning out of his hands across the floor, and Master Wong ordered, “Fifty push-ups!”
Sora clenched his fist and summoned his Keyblade again. “No!” he shouted with his blood pulsing in his ears, “No more damn push-ups!” He lunged forward to attack Master Wong.
Master Wong summoned his staff and blocked Sora’s blow before he struck. They exchanged blows and parried for about thirty seconds until Master Wong got Sora into a guard lock. “You must control your anger,” said Master Wong, as he put pressure on Sora.
Sora pushed back but Master Wong was stronger and he threw Sora off, tumbling in the wall. He got up quickly, summoned another Keyblade, and this time Master Wong was thrown into a guard lock against Roxas. They broke apart, landing a few feet away from each other. Master Wong started to smile slightly. “I was hoping I would face you sooner or later,” he said, “Let us see if one of the Organization’s best can beat me.”
Roxas roared with fury and slammed his Keyblades down on the floor a fraction of a second after Master Wong jumped out of the way, causing the wood to crack. They chased each other across the room, smashing more of the floor and a support beam after Master Wong threw Roxas into it. There were cuts all over Master Wong, small scratches and cuts in his clothing, and Roxas had a bloody lip. They came back into another guard lock just as Master Po and Jane opened the training room door. “What are you doing?” Master Po looked incredulously from Master Wong to Roxas, then stopped on Master Wong, “Are you trying to kill him?”
Roxas looked up at Jane, whose face was pale with fear and shock. Roxas’s distraction gave Master Wong the chance to grab his head and push him away. As he did, sparks of blue energy erupted from Master Wong’s hand and Roxas tumbled backwards, changing back to Sora. Jane rushed over to help him up as Master Wong approached him. “If your anger can make you that powerful to go up against me, then soon you will be ready. But you must learn to control both your power and emotions,” he started to turn away from Sora but hesitated, “A message to your other self: that was the best duel I’ve had in some time.”
Sora and Jane both watched him go and Sora looked back at the iron dummy. He wasn’t sure why, but he knew that he was close to smashing that iron dummy.
************************************************************************
Study, dance, study, dance…those two things were the only things Grace seemed to do anymore. She barely had time for anything else, even for meals. She had about six days to go before the Angelus Knights Academy Examination and she didn’t want to let her father down. Occasionally, when she wasn’t busy, she would notice her parents disappear into the ballroom. She could only surmise they were practicing for the ball but when she tried to ask what kind of dance they were doing, Alex would smile and say, “It’s a surprise.”
Even harder to crack was who was Luke’s dance partner. Grace and Tai attempted several times to get it out of him, but ever time he would mumble, “None of your business,” and walk away. Grace even suspected that her father knew who he was taking but thought it was better not to ask.
It was later that night Aqua asked to see Grace’s dance. “Okay, it’s not completely finished yet,” she said as she put her ballet flats on, “I still have a few kinks to work out, but it should be ready for the ball.” She started the CD and took her position in the middle of the ballroom. She waited until the music began to start dancing. Now that she had an audience watching, she knew she had to make ever step right. Her feet moved across the floor gently, her arms flowing with the music. As the music got faster and more climatic she added her jumps and leaps. Finally at the climax, she leaped up for her double spinning jump. That’s when she realized something was wrong. She wouldn’t land right and she couldn’t stop now that she was in the air.
“Gotcha!” Luke appeared out of nowhere, catching her at the last second. Aqua looked white in the face, as if she had been holding her breath for the last few seconds.
Grace frowned and pushed Luke away. “Sorry, I just slipped, that’s all,” she reassured Aqua, though she realized her own hand was shaking. She grabbed it to stop it.
“Yeah, but whose to say it won’t happen again,” said Luke, “You might be able to land something like that with sneakers outside in the grass, but you’ll end up breaking your leg in Memory glass shoes in a ballroom dance floor on your own.”
“Honey,” Aqua said quietly, “I think Luke is right. You need a dance partner, that way he can catch you if you slip up.”
“I’ll be fine,” Grace said firmly as she gathered up her stuff, “Besides everyone else is taken.” And that was that, Grace decided for herself.
************************************************************************
After dance lessons the next day, Luke pulled Jane aside from everyone else. Sora waited for her at the door and couldn’t help but listen in.
“What do you want?” Jane frowned.
“I need a favor,” said Luke. Jane’s expression changed; Luke sounded serious for once. “I need you make it so that anyone who doesn’t have a dance partner for the individual dances can’t perform.”
“I’m sorry,” Jane shook her head, “I can’t do that with only a week left. I have to get the list of dances to the Conductor by Wednesday anyway. Why do you ask?”
Luke looked as if he was considering whether or not he should tell her. “It’s Grace,” he finally said, “She has this crazy jump in her dance. I don’t think she’ll be able to land it on her own. I keep on thinking she’s going to break her leg or her hip or…her neck.”
Jane sighed sadly. “I’m sorry Luke, but there’s nothing I can do.”
Luke watched her join Sora and started to sulk off after Grace and Tai. Sora meanwhile, was lost in thought, thinking about what he’d heard. It sounded just like Grace to try something crazy, even if it meant getting hurt. This wouldn’t be happening if he could only…well, that was it then. He knew what he had to do.
“What’s with you?” Jane asked him, studying his face.
“Jane, can I talk to you for a second?” And he told her his plan.
************************************************************************
It was later that night in Alex’s study, as Alex, Aqua, and Luke were talking, when the window suddenly opened. They all got up at once, Aqua even drawing her Keyblade, when Roxas stepped out of the shadows of the cold night air with a sour looking Jane behind him. “For the record, this was totally not my idea,” Jane folded her arms, glaring at Roxas.
Alex eased up a bit, Aqua lowered her Keyblade, but Luke did not lower his guard. Their eyes were still focused on Roxas. “I have a favor to ask,” Roxas was first to break the silence.
Alex studied him for a moment, and then said, “You want to be my daughter’s dance partner.”
“That’s part of it, but I need her chorography to practice,” explained Roxas.
Luke grumbled something under his breath, pulled a disc out of his pocket, and handed it to Roxas.
“Do you think you can do it in less than a week?” asked Aqua.
“Yes,” Roxas said confidently.
Alex was still studying Roxas’s face but then he smiled. “You have my permission then.”
“Thank you,” Roxas gave a small nod of the head and followed Jane back outside to go home.
************************************************************************
“Xine, I’m back,” David opened the door to Xine’s bedroom. Unlike pervious days, the floor wasn’t covered with the remains of ripped apart stuffed animals, and clothes weren’t thrown all over the floor. Only the bed was unmade but that was a far cry from what it usually was. David could walk worry free into the room; Xine was in a good mood. He found her humming a tune in the bathroom with a pair of scissors in her hands.
“You-you cut your hair?” he asked seeing the long locks all over the floor.
“Don’t you like it?” she asked smiling back at him the mirror. “This is how it was when I first joined the Organization.” It was short only going a little ways past her ears and parted to the side.
“It’s lovely,” replied David.
Xine smile widen then she saw the box he was carrying. “Oh, David! Did you get me a new dress?” she asked with wide eyes. She took the box from his hands and opened it up.
“Do you like it?” he asked.
Xine pulled out a silver dress that shimmered like rhinestones. She felt the fabric and twirled around holding the dress. “It’s perfect. I guess I have to ask you for another favor then.”
“Oh?” David raised an eyebrow.
Xine hanged the dress up next to her mirror and held out her hand to David. “Will you be my dance partner?”
David took her hand. “Of course.”
************************************************************************
“Okay, if I study any more my brain will explode,” said Sam, the day before the Angelus Knights Academy Examination.
“This would be so less stressful if I could take a practice test,” complained Joey, flipping through a book on quantum physics.
“They don’t have a practice test?” asked Lucy.
“My dad says the test has so many subjects in so many languages, it hard to make a generic one,” explained Grace, throwing aside her study guide on Geometry.
“Hey spike head!” Jane called Sora as she came into the library, “It’s time for your lessons with the Teachers.”
“Good luck,” Ling said as he got up off the seat. Sora gave them a thumbs up as he left with Jane and ten minutes later he was back in the training room with Master Wong. He summoned his Keyblade and faced down the Iron Dummy again.
It was about five or six rounds of push-ups later, Sora realized the push-ups weren’t as hard as they usually were. His arms felt stronger and he knew his endurance was higher. After another round of push-ups, he got up and raised his hand. Master Wong looked at him with surprise. “Yes?”
“You said I had to destroy this Iron Dummy without hitting it, right?” asked Sora.
“That is correct,” replied Master Wong.
“Okay,” Sora closed his eyes and concentrated. He took a few steps back away from the dummy, about a sprint away. He concentrated hard on his Keyblade remembering what Master Wong told him. If he could concentrated the kind of power he had when he got mad the other day, maybe, just maybe….
Sora could feel the power flowing from him down through the Keyblade, and then… he had it! He sprinted forward, jumped into the air, gave a battle cry, and swung his Keyblade down with so much power it was glowing. The force from the swing exploded the dummy and sent a cloud of dust across the room. Sora dropped on the ground, out of breath, but grinning. He heard the sound of clapping.
Master Wong was applauding. “Excellent. You finished it sooner than I expected. This move…could easily kill a man.”
Sora lowered his Keyblade. “What? There’s no way-”
“Let me finish,” Master Wong interrupted, “You could also use it to vanquish a small group of Heartless or critical blow to a powerful one. For now…I have nothing else to teach you. You may go, but if you ever need a sparing partner, Master Po and I will always be here. And good luck on the exam tomorrow.”
“Thank you Sensei,” Sora bowed. Master Wong returned the bow and disappeared into another room, joining Master Po for tea.
************************************************************************
The next day was the day of the Angelus Knight Academy Examination. At seven o’clock in the morning, Chen dragged Sora out of bed as she usually did on a school morning and threw him into the shower, much to the surprise of Michael and Jane. She reassured them it happened on a daily basis. He grumbled as he got out, got dress, and grabbed something for breakfast.
Aqua got Grace up at six thirty as Alex would be overseeing the exam and needed to be there early and had breakfast ready for her after she got dressed. Tai had left a homemade good luck card on the table for her and she tucked it in her pocket just before she left.
The group gathered at the steps of the Angelus Knights Academy Admissions Building, a large brick building in a small college campus like structure. There were other kids there, mostly Angelus and children of World Leaders. Many were eying Anemone and Clarise suspiciously, until Anemone started cracking her knuckles, edging for anyone to just hint at wanting a fight, and they backed off.
“Agh! Let’s get this over with already!” moaned Ling, “At this rate we won’t get out until three o’clock!”
“Okay, just double checking, but does everyone have two number 2 pencils?” asked Joey, “I brought extra just in case.”
“I hate to burst your bubble Joey, but I don’t think the Angelus’s definition of a number 2 pencil is the same as ours,” remarked Miki.
“You don’t think we have to write in pen?” trembled Lucy.
“How would we correct our answers then?” asked Anemone.
“Maybe it’s on a computer,” suggested Sam.
Before they could discuss the test any further, the doors to the Admissions building opened up and out stepped a surly looking Angelus woman. “May I have you attention please!” her voice thunder over them, silencing anyone still talking, “We are ready to begin the examination process. I will now form you into lines. Persons with the last name starting with A-H, please line up over here,” she pointed to the left side of the entrance door. “Persons with the last name starting with I-M, please line up over here. Persons with the last name starting with N-Saaadfnereni, please line up over here. Persons with the last name starting with Saabdlrfenit-Z, please line up over here. If you have no last name, go into the line matching the first letter of your first name. Please remember to have your processing papers and ID ready.”
After they were all lined up correctly, the lines started to move slowly into the building. Each person was greeted by an Angelus at the front of the line, had their processing papers double checked and ID confirmed and given an index card with their seat number on it and a sealed envelop. Sora noticed his was thicker than others. After everyone was given a seat number and an envelop, they were lead down into a large lecture hall. Each person was sitting with an empty seat between them and the rows were shifted so that the next person in front was diagonal from the one behind him or her. Grace saw her father standing up front with Judge Brenton and another female Angelus she didn’t recognize. The female Angelus from outside joined them and they waited until everyone was seated and quiet to begin.
“Welcome to the Angelus Knights Academy Examination,” greeted the second female, “Believe it or not, whether you are require to take this test as the son or daughter of a world leader or wish to join the Angelus Knights Academy, this is the most important examination you will take. This exam tests everything you have ever learned and it the gives the Federation an insight onto the education quality of your world. You are not only helping yourself but the World Order.”
“The overall score is based out of one hundred,” explained Alex, “For those of you trying to get into the Angelus Knights Academy the cut off score is 65. Any one that scores a 64 or less will be unable to join the Academy until they retake the test and pass next year. To determine that score, for the test subjects you will be tested on you will receive one point for every correct answer and zero points for every wrong answer. The number of questions you get right out of the total number will be converted to a score out of ten. You will each be tested on ten core subjects. One of the subjects will be writing, a second will be on the dominant language you have selected when you signed up to take the test, and the other eight are randomized based on your home world. The ten scores will be added up to your overall score to determine your pass or fail.
“For everyone else, there is a composite score that is based on a different grading scale. This will show us where your strengths lie and what your weaknesses are. For these scores, you will still receive one point for every correct answer, but you will lose half a point for every wrong one. For every blank one you will receive zero points. Your scores for each subject will be tallied out of one hundred percent.”
“Please be aware that this does not guarantee you a place in the Angelus Knights Academy,” explained Judge Brenton, “All applicants will still have to pass a physical examination, a security background check, a mock battle, and an interview with a Judge to receive a place in the Academy.”
“Also that anyone caught cheating at any time by any means,” said the strict Angelus woman, “Will immediately have their test destroyed, dismissed from this room to be properly disciplined, and will never set foot on this campus again.” She eyed them all as if they were all capable of such a crime. “If at any time, for any reason, you wish to have your test cancelled, we properly destroy your answer sheet, but know that you will be unable to retake the test until next year.”
“Any more questions?” asked the second Angelus woman. “No? Then please open up your envelopes. Inside, should be the test booklet in the language you chosen to take the test in, a multiple choice answer sheet also in the same language, two pencils to mark your answers, two sheets of scratch paper, a scientific calculator, and an eraser. If you are missing one of these items or the test booklet or answer sheet in not in the right language, please raise your hand.” She looked around the room to see if anyone needed help. “You have about five hours to finish the test but we encourage to take your time. In about an hour we will be taking our first five minute bathroom break. If at any time, you need to sharpen your pencil or use the bathroom, one of the proctors will take your test until you are ready to continue. Please remember to write your name and ID number clearly on the test booklet and the answer sheet and erase your answer completely from your answer sheet if you decide to change it. You may begin in…three…two…one”
There was the sudden scurry of papers flipping, pencils grinding, and calculators being punched in. Grace had never seen a test so complex. The school exams seemed so easy; here she was having problems trying to read the tiny print but at least she could work everything out on scrap paper or the book. Sora was so nervous, his knees wouldn’t stop shaking. By the tenth question, he remembered what Joey had told him about eliminating answers he knew weren’t right and that helped things. Grace saw that Lucy was shaking so badly she could see her from across the room, but once she got going, her confidence grew.
Not to Grace’s surprise, Joey finished early, well into the third hour. She saw the strict Angelus watching him like a vulture as he left the room, but she knew if anyone could ace the test easily, it was Joey. Miki, Anemone, Clarise, and Ling left in the fourth hour, Grace following them out fifteen minutes later. Sam was next to join them after her, followed by Sora. Lucy came out five minutes before the test was to officially end. “Sorry, but I had to triple check my answers,” she apologized.
“Thank God that’s over,” Sam gave a sigh of relief.
“Yes! Now it’s time for the slumber party!” cheered Anemone.
“Slumber party? What slumber party?” asked Grace.
“The slumber party Jane throwing so we can ready for the ball tomorrow,” explained Ling looking excited.
“Wait a second!” said Sora, “I was throwing a party for the guys tonight!”
“So?” asked Anemone, “You’ll be in your room and we’ll be in Jane’s room. And look at the timing.” A floating car had pulled up next to the curb to take them to the palace. “C’mon Clarise! We need to rejuvenate!” She dragged her sister in first after her.
The rest of the gang was waiting for them at the Imperial Palace. Sora took the boys into his bedroom to play video games and the girls went to Jane’s bedroom to discuss what style their hair would be or what color their dress was. Grace decided not to tell anyone about her dress and keep it a surprise and found it a bit dull after awhile, thinking it might be better to join the guys and beat them at Halo. By the way Miki was yawning, she was probably thinking the same thing, so Grace started a conversation about sci-fi books with her and that carried them until the pizza came. By the time they went through their third serving of ice cream, Grace and Kairi started a pillow fight and they chased the other girls around the bedroom until Chen came up and told them to calm down. After they cleaned up the mess they made and Margot had fallen asleep, Grace, Lucy, Ling, and Mitch decided to have a sisterhood meeting. Jane lit a candle and they dimmed the lights, forming a circle around the candle.
“Welcome fellow sisters to this meeting of the sisterhood,” Mitch said in mystic voice, “As of now, you are all part of the sisterhood and we go by these rules; rule #1: we do not submit to male authority.”
“Unless it’s Dad,” remarked Grace.
“Ditto,” added Olette.
“Agreed,” added Jane.
“Or someone like Commander James,” added Miki.
“I second that,” agreed Ling.
“Does Balthier count?” asked Clarise.
“He’s not a dad though,” remarked Anemone.
“He’s as good as,” Lucy suddenly said firmly.
They were all quiet for a second until Grace said, “Agreed. Continue Mitch.”
“Rule #2: women are as equal to men. We will not tolerate any female in distress because of inequality,” continued Mitch.
“Amen to that,” remarked Jane.
“Rule #3: any male wishing to ‘go out’ with any member of the sisterhood must meet to the standards of the other members of the sisterhood. Interventions will be held if necessary. Rule #4: all members of the sisterhood must sustain their virginity until the age of eighteen. And finally rule #5: the sisterhood will always be there for a sister in need,” finished Mitch.
“So in regard to rule number three, all our dance partners are approved by the sisterhood?” asked Olette.
“Well technically they’re not ‘going out’ with us,” explained Ling, “But the majority of the male dance partners we know and trust.”
“I still like to know who Jane’s going with,” smirked Anemone.
“For your information, we are not going out and he owes me, so he’s paying me back for helping him,” remarked Jane and refused to say anymore on the subject.
“Well what about Lucy? Who are you taking?” asked Olette.
“It’s a secret,” she replied, spinning her fingers.
“Nothing’s a secret to the sisterhood,” remarked Mitch.
“Okay! But…he doesn’t want anyone to know,” Lucy flustered.
“The important thing is can we trust him?” asked Grace.
Lucy looked directly into her eyes and nodded.
“Girls! It’s time for lights out!” Chen’s voice called for the hallway.
“Eleven thirty already,” Jane said as she looked at her clock. She started to dim the lights as they got into their sleeping bags. “Good night everyone!”
“G’night!” some of them grumbled as the lights flickered off and they all fell asleep.
On the other side of the palace, the guys were still up. They’d played video games all night until their hands hurt from all the button mashing and Tai fell as sleep on top of Sora’s bed. Sam gathered them around in a circle like they were out camping. “Okay, since the girls have this little ‘sisterhood’ going on, I’ve decide to enact a fellowship if you will,” he explained.
“Fellowship?” Joey raised an eyebrow.
“It’s better than the ‘brotherhood’,” remarked Sam, “Anyway, I say we elect Sora as our leader, since he’s the Keyblade Master and all.”
Sora looked at him. “Am I suppose to say something?”
“You say…I accept your nomination,” replied Sam.
Sora shrugged and repeated, “I accept your nomination.”
“Good! Now we have to imply some rules. Any suggestions?” asked Sam.
“We don’t take any crap from anyone?” suggested Matti.
“No, don’t do that one,” Riku shook his head.
“How about we must always act like a gentlemen?” suggested Pence.
“That’s doable,” agreed Hayner.
“We still need more,” said Sam.
“We do not believe that girls are always better than boys…at some things.” said Hanyer.
Joey rolled his eyes as Matti added, “Agreed.”
“Okay, let me think of one. Oh! We must lose our virginity by the age of eighteen!” suggested Sam.
“Can there be exceptions?” Joey raised his hand.
“Like what?” asked Sam.
“I have this deal with my grandfather, that if I keep my virginity until I turn eighteen, he’ll pay for my first year of college,” explained Joey.
“We can bend the rule for that,” Riku nodded his head.
“That’s three,” Sam counted off, “We still need some more.”
“Um, we cannot spit in front of a lady unless they spit first,” suggested Joey.
“That’s a good one,” agreed Pence.
“What about we must always save a damsel in distress?” suggested Sora.
“That’s is so like you,” grinned Riku.
“I kinda like that one,” Sam started to smirk, “So then it’s settled. Those will be our five golden rules of the Fellowship.”
“Wait a sec’, when were the rules golden?” asked Hayner, “I thought our fearless leader was suppose to decide that.”
“Well…I’m second in command,” replied Sam.
“Since when where you second in command?” Riku asked throwing a pillow at him.
Sam threw a pillow back at him which ended up hitting Matti and soon almost everyone was hitting pillows at each other, until Chen came in and told them to quiet down and get to bed.
************************************************************************
As soon as they all got up the next morning and had breakfast, the girls started to get ready for the ball, while the boys went outside and sat in the sand by the pool. “Are we suppose to be doing something?” asked Sora.
“Nope,” Sam shook his head as he applied some more suntan lotion, “Not until two at least.”
“I wonder what the girls are doing,” Sora wondered, looking up towards his sister’s room.
The girls were all rushing around in a beauty room next to the ballroom getting ready for the bath. The only ones not rushing around were Grace, Mitch, Miki, and Margot. “Okay guys, I only got five baths, so were going to draw straws to see who goes first,” said Jane, “Is there anyone who would rather go last?”
Grace, Mitch, Miki, and Margot all raised their hands as they weren’t waiting around in bathrobes. Anemone, Lucy, Ling, Jane, and Clarise drew straws to go first, while everyone else waited around outside on pink futons. About a half an hour later, Aqua, Fran, and Chen showed up to get ready. “Why aren’t you girls in your bath robes?” asked Chen.
“We don’t feel the need to run around just yet,” replied Miki.
“Oh, and here I was think you girls were afraid of getting your underarms waxed?” smiled Aqua.
Grace’s eyes went wide at once. “We have to get our underarms waxed?”
“Honey, with the kind of dress you’re wearing, Nair isn’t going to cut it,” explained Aqua.
“Oh great,” moaned Grace.
“C’mon, into the bath we go,” Aqua dragged her daughter into the bathroom of tubs after the girls got out. The water was warm and full of bubbles as Grace, Aqua, Kairi, Olette, and Fran each had their legs shaved and scrubbed until their skin and hair were silky smooth.
“What are the guys doing?” asked Grace as a servant scrubbed her hair.
“When it comes to dances, men have little to worry about,” explained Aqua, “They don’t have to do their nails or hair and have less to shave then we do. When I last checked, the boys were all lounging around the pool. Your father on the other hand, was going to pick up your test results and should be around here by noon.”
“Even better news,” Grace mumbled.
After everyone had taken a bath and was in a fluffy white bathrobe, it was time for the underarm waxing. Grace and Kairi volunteered to go first. “One at a time or both at once?” asked the wax lady.
“Both,” said Grace.
“Ditto,” nodded Kairi.
The wax lady had them raised their arms above their heads. Grace took Kairi’s hand and took her mother’s with her right, while Kairi squeezed Chen. “Ready?” asked the wax lady.
Grace and Kairi both nodded and a second later, the wax lady and her assistant ripped off the paper. Kairi screamed and Grace cried, “Oh shi-!” Their cries echoed all the way outside.
“What was that?” asked Matti.
“Girls getting waxed,” replied Luke who had just arrived carrying his Angelus uniform in a dry cleaning bag.
By the time the girls were getting started on their nails, Alex had arrived and gathered both the boys and girls in front of the grand staircase. “Sorry to disturb you guys,” announced Alex, “But I have the test results for the Angelus Knights Academy Examination.”
“Is this going to take long because my nails are still drying,” frowned Anemone.
“I won’t be long, I promise,” reassured Alex, “The good news is, you all passed. But before I give you your individual scores, I must say, no one has ever beaten or matched my score of 93 until today. Sora, you received a 75.” He handed a results paper to Sora. “Sam, you got an 80. Ling, you received an 85. Anemone and Clarise both received a 90. Grace, Lucy, and Miki both matched the high score of 93. And Joey, I have to tell you, we triple checked your scores, made sure the score reader wasn’t malfunctioning, but we can now say, without a doubt you achieved a perfect score of 100. Congratulations.”
Joey turned bright red as he took the results paper from Alex and everyone started to applaud. “Now I leave you to get ready,” Alex said just as Michael came out of his study.
“Guys, into the showers. You’ll be tan enough tonight,” he ordered, “Ladies, continue getting ready. And Sora,” he pulled Sora aside, “I’m proud of you.”
Sora returned the compliment with a smile and headed with the other guys into the showers. After they were all scrubbed down in the showers, the boys were given a white bathrobe and joined Michael, Alex, Balthier, and Terra in a large changing room. “What now?” asked Sora.
“The fun part,” replied Michael in a sarcastic tone.
“We get waxed,” explained Luke, not looking happy.
A male servant came out and said flamboyantly, “Gentlemen, it is now time to wax your legs. So lets see them.”
The male servant each examined their legs, telling Tai to go to the side of the room. He stopped when he saw Sam’s legs. “Oh my! There’s no hair of them!” He looked up at Sam, “Would like something else to be waxed off?”
“No thank you,” Sam said firmly and went to join Tai.
“I’m good too,” Luke lifted his legs to show he had no hair on them.
“You actually shave?” Hayner raised an eyebrow.
“No,” Luke grinned, “I just came prepared.”
If there was one rule the boys could have added to the golden rules of the Fellowship, it would be there is no shame in crying when your legs are getting waxed. Sora figured it could have been worse as they only had the lower part of the leg waxed off and nothing else.
On the other side of the palace, the girls were drying off their nails and starting to do their hair. Aqua pulled Grace into a separate room, so they could have some ‘motherly daughter time’. “How do you want your hair?” Aqua asked pulling out a bag of hair curlers and hair spray.
“Can you make it a little curly?” she asked.
“Of course,” Aqua plugged in the hair curler, “Do you want it up or down?”
“Down,” replied Grace as her mother rubbed a glob of detangler through her hair.
“Are you nervous?” Aqua asked as she started curling Grace’s hair.
“A little,” said Grace.
“You’ll be alright,” Aqua reassured her, “No matter what, we’ll still love you.” She pulled out the curl from the curling iron. “Is this curly enough?” she asked lifting the curl.
“Can you make it a little bouncier but longer, like the Greek girls?” asked Grace.
“I can do that,” she weaved magic through Grace’s hair and the curl became as bouncy and long as she described it.
It took about an hour to do Grace’s hair. Then it was time to get on the dress and the shoes. Aqua had already changed into her dress, a light blue one with ruffles at the end of the hem that reminded Grace of sea foam. Aqua added a little bit of make up to bring Grace’s eyes out. “Oh before I forget, you father got you this.” Aqua pulled out a small star shaped diamond necklace and placed it around Grace’s neck. “Now you’re ready.”
Aqua took Grace’s hand and led her out of the women’s beauty pallor, up through the hallways, past servants making the final preparations, until they reached the stairs leading down into the ballroom, where the couples for the opening dance were gathered. Alex and Balthier were first to see them. “There are my two lovely princesses,” Alex greeted them. He kissed Aqua and hugged Grace. He was wearing the same Angelus Knight uniform he wore to the Inquiry but he had it decorated with various metals and he hadn’t changed his hair to white yet.
Balthier was looking at Grace, with a loss for words. He broke his stare when she smiled at him. “You’re very lovely,” he said and took her arm to start lining up. He too was wearing an Angelus Knight uniform but he wore fewer metals than Alex.
“Thank you,” Grace remarked, “And you’re very dashing.”
Balthier started to chuckle and he eased up a bit. “Gracey!” she heard someone call.
Kairi walked towards her in a brown-layered dress that reminded Grace of chocolate truffle, Sora behind her in a navy blue Angelus Uniform with a golden key badge under his left breast pocket. Sora’s mouth dropped as soon as he saw Grace. “Oh my gosh,” Kairi studied Grace, “That dress is so beautiful.” She noticed Sora’s mouth was hanging opened, and with a sigh, pushed it up so that it closed. He snapped back into reality.
“You…you look-” Sora struggled to find the words. He looked at Kairi for help.
“What?” she looked at him oddly, “I’m not going to get jealous.”
“You’re-” But Sora didn’t get the chance to say it for just then the orchestra started to tune, the signal for the line up. The Royal Family was to lead out first, starting with the King and Queen, then the Princes with the Crown Prince before his brother, followed by the grandchildren in order of lineage, then the Chasers, albeit only one, and finally the Keyblade Users. Essentially: King Mark and Queen Alexis, Prince Michael and Chen, Terra and, much to everyone’s surprise, Fran, Sora and Kairi, Jane and, another surprise, Luke, Olette and Hayner, Alex and Aqua, Grace and Balthier, and finally, Riku and Mitch. All the Angelus were in uniform, while the rest of the men were in tuxedos. The Queen was wearing a heavy green dress and she and her husband were both wearing silver crowns. Chen was in a yellow dress with a white shawl. Fran’s dress was a different shade of yellow but it was less conservative than Chen’s. Jane was wearing a dark blue dress with diamonds covering over her chest, waist, and tinny patches of fabric in the shirt and her hair was up in a pony tail with a purple rose in her hair. Olette’s dress was the color of a peach and went down below her knees.
“He’s going with Jane?” Grace was shocked as she looked at Jane and Luke. “But I thought they hated each other?”
“Opposites do attract,” Mitch remarked behind her. She was wearing a red dress with black fishnets on her legs and arms with high, thick-heeled shoes. Her ferret, Marshmallow, was curled up around her neck. She smiled with amusement when she fully saw Grace. “A white dress? Interesting. I have to say, I wouldn’t predict you to be wearing white.”
“Welcome Ladies and Gentlemen to the 652nd Helios Ball. Please stand for the Opening Ceremonial Dance.” The announcer’s voice echoed all the way down the hall and Grace felt a shiver down her spine. Balthier sensed her tension, and took her hand warmly.
“Sora!” Jane hissed in his ear, “Your hair!”
He was the only one with Angelus powers that didn’t have his hair white. He grumbled, pulled his hand through his hair, and it changed white. The other Angelus were growing their wings just before the orchestra began. The curtain rose and the audience, which Jane had estimated to be well over three hundred, started to clap. The line descended down in the ballroom below under the glowing crystal chandelier. The music was slow at first but picked up as the King and Queen took the dance floor. Their dance segment was only thirty seconds long and there was nothing too exciting, such as a jump or leap, but they finished well and received a warm applause as they stepped aside for the next set of dancers. The music picked up for the Princes and there were a few more leaps. Sora had never seen his mother dance so energetically and she smiled every time his father caught her. Their dance segment was a little longer and after a quick bow and applause, the next set of dancers took the floor.
Sora ignored the hundreds of people in the room and focused on the dance. He only needed to catch himself once and Kairi gave him a smile after they finished without a mistake. He did not notice what Grace saw between Jane and Luke: a good balanced chemistry and well focused synchronization with each other. She also noticed the way Luke looked into Jane’s eyes at the end, a look of wanting something forbidden.
Alex and Aqua were up next. They too danced flawlessly together; Grace noticed a little flirting towards the end, but she was used to it by now. She was in the final round and took a moment to breathe before Balthier took her arm. She didn’t have to worry about screwing up; Balthier was a good dancer and he made sure she was in good synchronization. For the final sequence of the dance, the partners came back together on the dance floor and finished in three rings of a circle. The crowd began to applause as the dancers took their bows.
“Once again Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the 652nd Helios Ball,” announced Judge Zaida. She was wearing a dark dress and her hair was done up. Sora thought it was odd to see her without her armor. “More than six and a half centuries ago, the Galactic Federation, which was then known as the World Republic, created this ball to increase the harmony between the worlds. This ball is an offering of friendship and peace to all the leaders. Tonight we put aside our many differences to preserve justice, integrity, and honor. I invite you all to relax and enjoy the many performances we have tonight. Thank you.”
There was another round of applause and the Angelus King and Queen took the dance floor again for their individual dance. Grace wasn’t paying attention. Instead she was focused on two men in black suits sitting at the bar. One of them had flaming red hair. She broke away from Balthier and walked towards the bar. “What are you doing here Hothead?” she asked.
Axel smirked when he heard her voice. “I thought you would recognize me-” He turned and looked at her. He seemed stunned by her and he looked her up and down twice. “-Princess. Wow, to think you would be wearing a dress.”
“Cut it out,” she folded her arms, “What are the two of you doing here?”
“Our job, thank you very much,” Axel picked up a drink, “So, do you like my disguise?” It was now her time to study him. He had managed to pull his hair back and had his black tattoo markings around his eyes hidden with cover-up.
“It’s a lot better than his,” Grace remarked. Xigbar had replaced his eye patch with a pair of sunglasses and had his scars covered faintly with cover-up.
“Everyone’s a critic,” he mumbled, turning back to his drink.
“If you haven’t heard,” Grace continued, “Marluxia’s alive.”
“What?” Axel almost jumped out of his seat. Xigbar turned but didn’t jump as Axel had. “How?”
“I don’t know,” Grace shook her head, “But I think he’s on our side.”
“This is the guy who want to use Sora to take over the Organization. You can’t trust him,” Axel said firmly.
“I understand that,” said Grace, “But is there anyone else we know from the Organization that is still around. We know Demyx is one of them. Who else could have survived?”
Axel shook his head. Xigbar swirled the drink in his glass around then said, “One, maybe two more.”
Axel was focused on other things, “When I get that freaking pansy, I’m gonna-”
“Reno? Is that you?”
Commander James had appeared and was looking at Axel as if he had found an old friend. Axel stared at him as if he recognized him as well. “No,” Commander James shook his head, “You’re his son. Gosh, time has been good to you.”
“As to you Commander James,” Axel rolled his eyes.
“You know this guy?” Xigbar whispered to Axel.
“Shut up,” he hissed as Commander James sat next to him.
“How’s your mom?” Commander James asked.
“She died…years ago,” Axel played with his cup. He then got up to leave.
“Ah c’mon man wait,” Commander James tried to follow him, but Axel was already heading outside.
“You knew his father, Commander James?” Grace asked him.
“A long time ago. We were in the same squad. Your friend was only a kid back then. The things Reno could do with fire…” Commander James smiled slightly as a drink was brought to him, “Well, it’s easy to understand where his son gets his powers from.”
“Grace.” Sora had appeared. “There’s someone who wants to meet you.” He took her hand and led her back through the crowd. They finally stopped somewhere near the staircase as a tango like tune started to play. Grace looked up and saw her parents dancing. She looked around and saw Donald with another duck with a bow in her hair holding hands. Goofy was waltzing with a cow in a frilly dress but the person Sora had led her too, was a mouse. He had big round ears unlike a real mouse and was as tall as Grace’s waist. Next to him was a female mouse, who was watching her parents dance.
“Grace,” Sora cleared his throat, “This is His Majesty, King Mickey and his wife, Queen Minnie.”
Grace curtsied and the King held out his hand. She shook it gently and said, “Pleased to meet you, your Majesty.”
“No, the pleasure is mine,” said the King, “I’ve been waiting a long time to meet you Grace. Your mother tells me a lot about you. It’s good we have you here.”
“You heard about what the Commander’s planning?” Grace asked.
“Yes, and it does not bode well. This is not a safe time for the Order,” remarked the King.
There was a round of applause for Grace’s parents and Kairi appeared behind Sora. “C’mon! We’re up next!” And she dragged him onto the dance floor.
Grace watched as Kairi forcefully put Sora in position and the music began. They started to dance around the ballroom gracefully, just as someone next to Grace said, “They make such a lovely pair.”
Grace looked to her right and saw a young woman a few years older than her in a yellow dress watching Sora and Kairi closely. “They dance so beautifully,” the woman remarked, “No one can take their eyes off them. Of course no one could take their eyes off you either, Lady Porter.” She turned and smiled at Grace.
Grace stared at her with a loss for words.
“Ah cherie,” Lumiere had appeared out of nowhere next to Grace, “I see you have met Princess Belle.”
“Belle?” Grace asked as she shook the woman’s hand, “One of the Seven Maidens of Heart Belle?”
“Something like that,” Belle continued to smile, “I hope you do well on your dance. Good luck.” She waved and joined hands with a handsome man a few feet away.
“By the way Mademoiselle, I am to inform you there are two more dances just before yours,” Lumiere said as applause broke out for Sora and Kairi, “If there are any preparations to be made before hand, please do them now.”
“Yeah,” Grace muttered, “And make a complete fool of myself.”
As Sora and Kairi bowed for the crowd, Kairi whispered in his ear, “You better get ready. Jane told me to give this to you,” she passed him a slip of paper with symbols on it, “She said it was a extended dipartialion summoning spell but it may have some side effects. Do you have everything else that you need?”
“Yeah,” Sora nodded, “And if anyone asks-”
“You’re in the bathroom,” Kairi finished and disappeared back into the crowd as Sora went to the men’s restroom.
As Luke and Jane danced across the room in a jazzy tune, Grace nervously paced across the punch pool, tearing apart napkins. Aqua stopped her from ripping apart a sixth one and said reassuringly, “Calm down. You’re going to be okay. Even if you screw up, no one will stop talking about how pretty you look, and we still love you.”
Grace nodded, too afraid to speak for she feared that if she did she would pass out. She went over her dance moves in her head again and again, completely ignoring the rest of Luke and Jane’s and Hanyer and Olette’s dances. It wasn’t until someone took their hand around Grace’s waist and pushed her out towards the dance floor that she realized it was time. “C’mon. It’s our turn.”
Grace looked up into the face of the one pulling her towards the dance floor. Even in the change of red uniform and red masquerade mask, she could tell with his dirty blonde hair and blue eyes who it was. “What are you doing here?” she asked looking horrified.
“I’m your dance partner,” Roxas smiled reassuringly back to her.
“But I wrote down that I was the only one-”
“Jane is the one who finalizes the list of dances. She could easily slip in a name or two,” explained Roxas.
“But my dance moves-”
“Don’t worry,” he continued to reassure her, “I’ve studied all your moves. Luke got me a recording. Just pretend I’m not here.” He took his position behind her, raising his arms like hers to begin. “I will catch you though,” he promised just before the music began.
All fear and anxiousness had disappeared; it was like something had clicked between the two of them. They dance across the dance floor like the Prince cashing after the Firebird. The entire crowd was mesmerized to the spot, watching the two of them dance. Even Axel wandered back inside to watch.
Joey watched them from the very edge of the crowd, not noticing the girl approaching him. He didn’t hear her until the clicking of her shoes stopped and he found Naminé standing next to him. She smiled as she watched the dancers, humming the tune of the music. Joey eyed her closely, cleared his throat, and asked, “Are you waiting for someone?”
“No, not really,” she shook her head. Even though it was Kairi’s dress, she looked beautiful in it. Naminé turned back to him. “Why do ask?”
“No reason,” Joey turned quickly away. He quickly looked around for something to talk about. He looked up and saw a berry like plant hanging above them. When he realized what it was, his chest filled with dread.
“What’s wrong?” Naminé asked, seeing the look on his face.
“Um…it’s-”
She followed his eyes and looked up at the ceiling, spotting the plant. “What is that?”
“According to Sam, it’s mistletoe,” explained Joey, “When two people stand underneath it, they’re suppose to- to- kis-kis-” He struggled with the words.
“Suppose to what?” she asked.
“Kis-kis-ki-kis,” he could feel himself turning red.
“Kiss?” Naminé suggested.
He stopped stammering and blushed.
“Is that a bad thing?” she asked.
“No, I didn’t say it was-” And without warning, she leaned over and met his lips with hers. Soon they were outside in the gardens where no one could bother them.
Back on the dance floor, Grace was starting the jump. A bubble of fear tried to erupt inside of her, but Roxas was there, Roxas would catch her. She jumped; she ignored the crowd’s gasps. She spun perfectly, not slipping her turn, and Roxas caught her at the end, just as he said he would. They finished with him leaning Grace down to the floor in his arms, both of them breathing heavily with adrenaline. The crowd went wild as they stood up and did their bows. Grace was so glad it was over, she didn’t care that Roxas led her away from the crowd and out into the gardens. They stopped at the fountain, sat down next to the water, taking deep breaths. Finally, they suddenly started laughing. They didn’t stop until a minute or so later, when Grace leaned her head on Roxas’s shoulder.
“I’m so glad you’re here,” she said.
“Me too,” he said, reaching for her hand. He looked at her. “You look like a Princess.”
“Do I?” She asked. She looked at him for a moment. “Well, you look like…a fire dancer.”
“A fire dancer?”
“It was from a book I’d read. Dustfinger I think his name was. He could tame fire unlike any man, make fire flowers just as easily as he could breath fire,” explained Grace.
“Interesting guy,” mused Roxas. He started to get up. “We better go back. Sora’s suppose to be in the bathroom.” He smirked and held out his hand for her. She took it and allowed him to lead her back inside.
Another dance had started; it was Lucy and her partner. Grace watched them as they came back inside. She thought Lucy looked cute in her pink dress but she couldn’t keep her eyes off the young man Lucy was dancing with. “I’ve seen that guy before,” Grace said, suddenly feeling uneasy.
Roxas looked towards Lucy and her partner and stopped. “I’ve seen him too, but where?”
The young man was wearing glasses and looked as if he’d recently had a haircut. But what stood out most were his eyes, his brilliant green eyes. She had seen those eyes before…
“Olette,” Grace whispered, “Olette has those eyes.”
“What?” Roxas asked her.
“That’s Olette’s brother. Rather…his Nobody,” Grace realized. She then felt the presence of another Nobody. Was it Axel or Xigbar? No, it wasn’t them. Naminé? No, hers wasn’t this strong. She scanned the crowd and saw what she had been dreading. There was no mistaking it. She had cut her hair and was in a silver dress but those cold eyes were still the same. She flashed her eyes in Grace’s direction, smiled wickedly, and looked away. “She’s here too. No,” Grace shook her head, “No, not her. Not now.”
Roxas had spotted her as well, and was leading Grace away. “C’mon. We’ll find the others.”
“But they’re everywhere,” Grace pointed out, “How are we going to find them in time? If she’s here, the Commander might be not far behind.”
“Gracey!”
Ling and Sam had appeared behind him. Ling looked wonderful in her blue, green, and black dress. “Have you seen the guy Lucy’s dancing with? I swear he looks so familiar,” remarked Ling, “Sam disagrees with me. But, on my God, you and well, him, danced so well-”
“Ling, that’s Demyx, the Nobody of Olette’s brother,” interrupted Grace, “But that’s not the worst of our problems-”
“What? He’s a Nobody?” Ling stared incredulously back at Lucy and her partner.
“She’s right. I just did a facial comparison,” said Sam, “He’s Demyx. But you said that wasn’t it.”
“Xine’s here too,” explained Roxas.
“But-but- no! She can’t be here!” cried Ling, “Gracey! We got to get everyone out of here. They’re all in danger.”
“We need to alert the King and Queen first of all,” suggested Sam, “Let’s go.”
They pushed though the crowd as fast as they could, ignoring the disgruntle remarks of the guests, finally reaching the King and Queen at the other end of the room. “Your Majesty, I pardon the interruption, but we have a serious problem,” Sam started to say.
“Serious problem?” asked King Mark, “How serious?”
“Extremely,” replied Sam, “Urgent serious problem.”
The King was eager to hear what he had to say but the Queen was looking at him oddly. “Sam?” she asked, staring at him as if she was remembering something long ago, “Bumblebee Sam?”
Sam had forgot the extremely urgent serious problem momentarily. “Alexis? Alexis Stars?”
“Sam, look,” Ling was shaking his arm, trying to get him to look back at the dance floor. He turned away from Queen Alexis, and Grace and Roxas followed his eyes back to the dance floor.
Lucy and her partner had stopped dancing. Demyx was looking around the room, Lucy staring at him. “What’s wrong?” she asked.
Demyx looked back at her, looking fearful. “Get down,” he whispered.
Roxas suddenly grabbed Grace and pulled her to the floor. A split second later, Sam and Demyx did the same thing to Ling and Lucy.
There was an explosion from the ceiling, the crowd was screaming as a gas streamed down from above. For what Grace was expecting, the gas did not knock her unconscious or make her choke. In fact, she, Ling, Queen Alexis and Sam were still standing, but Roxas, who had changed back to Sora, and King Mark were doubled over on the ground.
“I can’t get up,” Sora managed to say, as he struggled in vain to get to his feet.
“Oh crap,” said Sam, as he engaged his armor. He had his visor over his head, studying the gas. “It’s tri-carbon monoxide. It’s usually harmless, but in this concentration it caused short-term immobility in Angelus up to thirty minutes, less in half-breeds. The Commander dubbed it the ‘Breaking Wings’ gas.”
“Is there a cure?” asked Ling.
“It was still experimental when I last checked,” added Sam.
“Why isn’t it effecting me?” asked Grace.
“You’re too human to be effected,” replied Ling, “But if this is effecting the Angelus, that means the guards, the Knights, all the security-”
“Has been wiped out,” finished Grace.
“Everyone get down!” Sam shouted, pulling Grace and Ling down to the floor again. Another explosion went off, a pulsating wave of energy that cleared the smoke away. Grace recognized it at once as a Demajickfier Pulse, but Sam was on the ground unconscious.
“Sam? Sam!” Ling shook him, but he didn’t wake up.
Miki rushed over out of nowhere, almost tripping in her green dress and checked his pulse. “He’s fine. That last explosion also had an EM pulse in it. His initial restart will be in two minutes.” She looked up and studied the room. “The doors are locked; they’re keeping us in. No doubt the Commander is behind this one.”
“Great, he’s attacking and we’re all unarmed,” cursed Grace.
“Not entirely,” said Ling as she pulled her fire fan out of her dress. She lifted up the shirt and pulled out a dagger. She gave the dagger to Grace, just as Miki lifted up her skirt and pulled out a LASERlight.
“Who else can fight?” asked Grace.
“Mitch is good, Riku can fight a little, Fran is ready but she’s trying to find Balthier and make sure he’s okay, Anemone and Clarise are up, Matti’s got Margot and Tai somewhere safe, Donald and Goofy are with the King but no one seen Joey or Kairi since you and Roxas started dancing. I estimate there’s about two minutes before we can use Keyblades, and five for someone like your Dad to get moving again. But a lot can happen in that-”
There was the sound of gunshots, more screams, and shattered glass. “Good evening ladies and gentlemen.” Grace look up and saw David striding across the dance floor with a magnum in his hand. He tossed it back to an armed soldier in black a few feet away. Grace looked around and saw that soldiers were appearing everywhere around the room, coming out of thin air. David continued to stride across the floor towards Xine as the crowd backed away from him and the soldiers. “We are tonight’s entertainment. I just love quoting the Joker, don’t you?” he smiled at the crowd. “There is nothing to worry about. As long as you willingly cooperate, no harm will come to you. So then, let’s get started. First thing first: where is Princess Jane?”
“What?” asked Grace, “Why isn’t he asking for me or Sora?”
“He’s taking a hostage,” explained Miki, “Haven’t you learned anything yet?”
There was a muffled cry; one of the guards was dragging Jane to her feet and pulling her towards David and Xine.
“No! Let her go!” Chen got up and walked towards the guard dragging Jane. Another guard pointed the barrel of a gun at her and she stopped.
“We will not hesitate to shoot you or your daughter, Chen, if you give us any incentive to do so,” David said calmly, taking Jane by the arm, “Now go back to your husband.”
Chen glared at him but reluctantly went back to Michael, who was trying with all his might to get up.
While they were preoccupied, Grace sneaked through the crowd to Donald and Goofy. “Are you okay?” Goofy asked.
“I’m fine,” Grace replied, “I got idea.” And she told them her plan.
“Now we move to step number two,” David announced to the crowd, “The Commander has dubbed this person as the Mouse. But you all know her as Lady Grace Porter, the daughter of Lord Alexander Porter. Where is she?”
“I’m right here,” Grace stood up.
Her parents both stared at her. “Gracey, don’t,” Alex whispered, still struggling under the effects of the gas. She ignored him and continued to walk towards David and Xine.
David gave Jane to Xine. He smiled at her with satisfaction. “My, aren’t you beautiful tonight?” remarked David.
“Let Jane go,” Grace said.
“We will,” David reassured her, “Don’t worry.”
“Let everyone go,” she said firmly, just before he reached for her arm.
“As I said, we will,” David said.
Grace raised her arm quickly with the dagger Ling gave her in her hand just before David had the chance to grab her. Just before she swung it down, someone grabbed her arm from behind, forcing her to drop the dagger. “Clever Mouse,” the Commander’s cold voice echoed behind her, “But not clever enough.”
“Get off of her!” Donald jumped up to whack the Commander with his staff, but he moved out of the way and he went flying into Goofy. Ling got up and threw her fire fan but David caught it before it could reach its target and she was grabbed by guards.
Riku and Mitch stood up to help but the Commander raised his free hand. “Come any closer, and I drop this,” he showed them a small vial he was wearing around his wrist with a clear liquid inside, “A specially concentrated form of the Avian Bird Flu. Once it combines with the gases in the air, it becomes air borne and you will all be infected, save for the Angelus, but in their weakened state they too may be infected. Now, this is what I demand-”
Before he could go on any further, something like a shot of water broke the vial’s chain from the Commander’s wrist. They all watched in horror as the vial started to drop to the floor but a wave of water caught it and brought it back to Lucy’s dance partner, the Nobody Demyx. He sealed the vial inside a ball of water, breaking the vial inside the water, until there was nothing left of the contents. “What did you do you fool?” the Commander fumed.
“I just diluted the virus. It’s now as harmless as the common cold,” Demyx explained. He then shouted, “Your turn Axel!”
“All right!” Axel came down from the ceiling in a blaze of fire, separating Grace from the Commander. He pushed the Commander back, giving Xigbar the chance to get Grace away from David and Xine.
David started to go after Grace, but Sam got up and fired several energy projectiles at him. He got out of the way just as Sam shouted to the crowd, “Attention everyone! Keyblades are back on!”
“Yes!” Aqua grinned, summoning her own Keyblade. Alex was slowly getting to his feet, grabbed a sword from an unconscious Angelus guard, and joined the fight.
In the meantime, Sam shot through one of the doors leading out into the garden. “Everyone else! Please exit this way!” he shouted, jumping out of the way as the crowd tried to get out of the ballroom.
King Mickey freed Ling from the guards and turned his attention on the Commander, who was fighting against Riku and Mitch. He rushed forward to join in the battle, just as Ling called, “Your Majesty! Wait!”
Balthier and Fran were now joining the battle as well. Fran stabbed a man in the side with a dagger and kicked another with her high hell shoes. Balthier knocked one solider out with the barrel of his gun, and was about to hit another, when a solider pointed his gun at his head. There was a clicking noise behind the solider and he saw he wasn’t the only one having a gun pointed to his head. “Now, what were you going to do?” Commander James asked pointing the gun at the soldier’s head.
The solider reluctantly dropped his gun and held his hands up.
“Thank you, Charles,” said Balthier and he took aim and shot another solider in the leg.
Kairi and Joey came back inside the ballroom after hearing the screams, the gunshots, and other sounds of chaos. “Oh my God,” Kairi gasped. Before Joey could say anything to stop her, she summoned her Keyblade, knocked out a solider and rushed towards Sora.
“Sora, are you okay?” she asked when she reached him.
“Yeah,” he managed to say, “Just help me get up, please.”
Grace saw that Xine still had Jane with her. Although Jane had gotten some of her strength back, she still couldn’t break free from Xine. Grace took after, with Sora and Kairi close on her trail. “Stop Xine!” Grace called after her.
“Oh Mouse, I grow tired of our game,” Xine pouted, “I wish I could just catch you and kill you and be done with it.”
“Let Jane go,” Grace demanded, extending her Keyblade toward her.
“Fine. You can have her!” Xine threw Jane at Grace. Grace caught Jane just before the force threw her off her feet and Xine closed in with her needles bared. But something came flying by just before Xine struck, knocking her back.
Luke caught Xine by her throat and held her up as if it was nothing. Grace could see the streaks of blue crisscrossing his arm and reaching up his neck. He looked as if he wanted to murder.
“Luke, no,” pleaded Jane, “Don’t do it.”
Luke loosened his grip slightly. Xine started to smile and broke free of Luke’s grip. She slashed his face and jumped away as Sora and Kairi tried to hit her. Luke collapsed, falling backwards slowly, but Jane caught him at the last second. She held him in her hands as his chest went up and down, out of breath. She rubbed his back and kissed his forehead gently, as Sora, Kairi, and Grace went after Xine again.
King Mickey was close on the Commander’s heels. The Commander dodged every one of the King’s attacks, until David cut in and fought the King himself, giving the Commander the chance to summon Heartless. Terra saw the Heartless emerging from the floor and got to his feet. “Oh please,” he muttered, “Don’t insult me.”
“Father, you’re not well,” Olette pleaded, grabbing his arm. He shook her off gently and summoned his Keyblade.
“Stay back,” Terra ordered her and he saw out of the corner of his eye she made a face somewhere between a pout and biting her tongue. Just like her mother…
Aqua and Alex were back to back, surrounded by a swarm of Heartless, a swarm that was closely closing in on them. “Honey, are we in trouble?” Alex asked, extending his sword.
“Not yet,” replied Aqua as she sent a wave of lightning out to the Heartless in front of her. Another Heartless jumped on Alex; he slashed it with the sword just in time but missed the one trying to grab him from behind.
There was a flash of something white that cut the Heartless in half behind Alex. He looked just in time to see a hand of cards return to the hand of a man in a black coat. “You,” Alex said, stunned as the man in the black coat took off his hood. The man had short light blond hair with blue eyes and earnings.
“Is that how you greet your old partner Alex?” the man asked, “By forgetting his name? It’s all right, my new name is Luxrod now.”
“I know that,” Alex shook his head, “But what are you doing here?”
“Saving your ass, as I always did,” Luxrod explained, “It seems you have a problem.”
“Problem is an understatement my old friend,” Alex remarked as he slashed through another Heartless. “But I would gladly accept your help.”
Luxrod smiled, “Like good old times,” and cut through a Heartless with his cards.
As the battle in the ballroom went on, more and more of the Angelus were recovering to help take down the soldiers and the Heartless. Judge Zaida made an amazing come back by getting to her feet and throwing her spear through two Heartless at once in front of Joey and making him faint.
Somewhere in the chaos, King Mickey, Donald, and Goofy were fighting David and Sora, Kairi, and Grace were battling Xine. They managed to lead them towards the center of the room. Near the windows out to the gardens, Mitch, Ling, Lucy, Demyx, and Riku were fighting the Commander with everything they had. Just as Riku tried to throw a critical blow with his Keyblade, the Commander smiled and disappeared. Riku recovered his Keyblade quickly and scanned the room. He saw Grace going in for a heavy blow to Xine with no one behind her. “Look out!” he called.
Grace heard him but didn’t stop. Suddenly, someone grabbed her from behind and threw her into the arms of a solider. “Get her out of here! I will not leave empty handed!” she heard the Commander order.
The solider dragged Grace toward the door, but as she struggled she managed to get one of her shoes off and smack the solider in the head with it. “Why you little wench!” the solider cursed as she tried to run off. He grabbed her arm and threw her into the wall. As she stumbled to get up from getting hit in the head, the soldier pointed his weapon at her. “I’m sure the Commander won’t mind if shot your legs so you won’t run off again!” He started to pull the safety off…
There was a sound of something cutting and the next thing Grace knew, a blade was slicing through the soldier’s rib cage. He shuttered and fell and the one holding the sword at the other end was Grace’s father, but she did not see her father in his eyes. Instead she saw something cold and fearful, blank and dark in those eyes, something so empty and terrifying it could not have been her father. Her father wasn’t cold, he wasn’t dark or any of those things. She didn’t believe it and in her shock her eyes started to water.
Alex saw her staring at him, afraid and terrified. He tried to recompose himself: he tossed the knife away as if it might burn him and gently held out his hand. “Grace,” he called her name gently. She didn’t come to him at first; she was afraid that look in his eyes would come back, but it didn’t, and slowly she took his hand and crawled into his arms. He lifted her off the ground and turned back to the center of the room, where the Commander, David, and Xine were completely surrounded.
“Request to retreat sir?” David asked with caution.
“Retreat?” Xine raised an eyebrow, “I say we fight to the death!”
“Agreed,” added the Commander, “We do not surrender or retreat without just cause. I made a miscalculation, that’s all,” he glared at Axel, Xigbar, Demyx, and Luxrod in turn.
“Father!”
Anemone and Clarise broke through the ring of Keyblade Users and Angelus towards the Commander. “Father please,” Clarise begged in French, “What you’re doing is wrong.”
“Wrong?” The Commander shook his head, also speaking in French, “It is these fools who are wrong! They think they can wait around, twiddling their thumbs while Heartless tear apart their worlds! They do nothing! The Chasers do nothing! But I shall do something! I will show them what it takes to destroy the darkness forever, even if I have to force the worlds to see it! If not, then they are no better and deserve to die with the darkness into the abyss of hell itself!”
“You’re mad,” Clarise sobbed and Anemone tried to comfort her.
“Don’t listen to him Clarise,” Anemone glared at her father with mutiny, “He was mad to begin with. Shall I go on? Forcing mother to give birth to altered twin girls when he couldn’t have a son! Suppressing any from of cultural uniqueness if he didn’t like it! Taking parents away from their kids when they displayed uniqueness!”
“Anemone-” the Commander began to say but she went on.
“Torturing a little girl until she started to scream every time she heard a Heartless! Kidnapping a girl so he could dive into her brain so he could get information on a battle between good and evil to the point where she almost died! And for what?” Anemone spat at her father’s feet, “To start a godforsaken war that you have to be victor of and rule the universe?!”
“What that memory held was not just a battle-” the Commander fumed, red with furry.
“I don’t care what you say anymore! Go to hell!” Anemone finished as if that was that.
“It’s over Commander,” said Michael, “Give up. Zaida, say what you have to say.”
“Thank you Prince Michael,” Judge Zaida, “By order of the High Judges of the Galactic Federation Court and the appointed Chasers, I hereby place you, Commander Antonio Nevue, and your associates, under arrest for conspiracy against the Federation, attempted kidnapping, the bombing of a Royal Palace, unauthorized use of nuclear weapons, among other charges. Anything defiant to say?”
“As I have said,” the Commander smiled, “I do not surrender.” He waved his hand and the three of them disappeared into black smoke. “Do not be so hard to judge, Angel,” the Commander’s voice echoed as the smoke began to fade, “You will see my reasoning in time.”
“I forgot he could do that,” Sora lowered his Keyblade.
“That’s alright,” Zaida lowered her spear but then pointed at Demyx, “We have two more criminals to bring in.”
“What?” he asked incredulously. He looked over at Luxrod but he was already disappearing.
“Stop him!” order Michael but he was already gone.
“Demyx, formally of the Organization XIII, I place you under-”
Lucy stepped in between the spear and Demyx with her arms extended out. “No! You can’t!” she shook her head.
“Princess Lucy, you are already under enough suspicion just by association. Step aside,” ordered Judge Zaida.
But Lucy did not leave Demyx’s side. Grace saw her trembling and broke free from her father and joined her. “But he save her!” Grace argued, “Not just this time but when she fell off the cliff. Doesn’t that count for anything?”
“Lady Porter,” Judge Zaida lowered her spear slightly, “He was involved with a terrorist cult!”
“How many times do we have to tell you people?” Xigbar cringed with annoyance, “We were not terrorists!”
“By definition you were,” Miki pointed out.
“My point is,” Judge Zaida interrupted, “He was involved with a group of individuals who sought to disrupt the balance of our worlds. He is a dangerous individual. His being is even dangerous.”
This time Sora stepped between Zaida’s spear and Demyx. “He saved us by destroying the virus. He saved Lucy. He fought with us. That’s good enough for me. I grant him immunity. I can do that right?”
“You can’t grant him immunity,” remarked Anemone.
“He technically can grant him temporarily immunity,” corrected Alex.
“You’re not helping honey,” frowned Aqua.
“He’s right though,” Judge Zaida withdrew her spear, “Once a member of the Royal Family or Keyblade User grants an individual temporary immunity, we can’t touch him for 24 hours.”
Most of the kids gave a sigh of relief but some of the grown-ups grumbled. Demyx started to back away from the crowd but Lucy grabbed his arm. “I can’t stay,” he told her.
Lucy nodded and brushed away the tear that was starting to trickle down her face. She dropped his arm and he started to walk off again, but stopped when he heard someone walking towards him.
It was Olette. She stopped a few feet from him and they faced each other.
“Hi Lettie,” Demyx greeted, finding it hard to look at her.
“You son of a bitch!” Olette suddenly blurted out. She then ran up to him and punched him in the stomach, but he didn’t back away or showed any signs of getting hurt. “Why did you leave me? I could have handled the truth! I could’ve helped you!” She started to cry and she grabbed her head, as if it was throbbing in agony. She collapsed just before Hanyer caught her, but she was still looking at Demyx, her brother. “I wouldn’t have cared what you were!” she continued to sob, “I would still love you Danny! I still love you big brother!”
Demyx watched her cry in Hanyer’s arms, not knowing what to say. “I see you found Dad,” he managed to say after a while, “Is he taking good care of you?”
Olette nodded.
“That’s good to hear,” Demyx’s eyes flashed to Terra for a moment, “Be good for him.” He turned into a freshly summoned Corridor of Darkness. “I’ll see you later.”
“Danny, wait!” she pleaded but he had already disappeared. She grabbed her head again and started to cry.
Alex rushed over and checked her pulse. “She’s going into memory shock. The memory modification that was placed on her is starting to unwind. We need to get her to a hospital.”
“Or what?” asked Hayner.
“She’ll become unstable,” replied Alex.
“Is anyone else severally injured?” Judge Zaida asked.
“Joey’s unconscious but you did that him, so he’ll be around sooner or later,” remarked Miki, “But other than that, we’re okay. The Angelus King didn’t take too well to the gas but Queen Alexis says some bed rest will do him well.”
“Give the boy my apologies when he wakes up,” said Judge Zaida, “But what now?”
“We need to get out of here,” King Mickey said firmly.
“I’ll say,” remarked Sam, “The place is a wreak.” He was right. There was shattered glass everywhere, the floor was cracked, and part of the crystal chandelier was sparking.
“No, what I mean is, you guys need to get outta here,” stressed the King, “The Flying City isn’t safe.”
“The King is right,” agreed Judge Zaida, “The security has been compromised. We cannot risk another attack while the children are here. Captain Balthier, Commander James,” she called to Balthier and Commander James, “are your ships ready to depart?”
“If she’s fueled and stocked, yes,” Balthier replied.
“Same here,” added Commander James.
“Then depart at once,” Judge Zaida ordered.
“Wait, we’re leaving?” asked Sora, “Why?”
“As I said,” Judge Zaida said firmly, “There was a breach in our security. Until we are back to our full potential we cannot sustain another attack, and next time it could be Xehanort. You are not ready for him Keyblade Master, none of you are. My suggestion is find a safe world and stay there until you receive word from us. Prince Michael,” she turned to Sora’s father, “I suggest your daughter leaves as well.”
“Yes,” Prince Michael nodded.
“What about Luke?” Grace asked. Jane was still holding Luke lying on the ground.
“Luke will be fine sweetheart,” Alex reassured her.
“Honey,” Chen rubbed her daughter’s shoulders, “You have to go.”
Jane nodded slowly but she did not take her eyes off Luke. “Don’t worry,” he assured her, “I’ll be okay.”
“You’re such a big stupid jerk,” she whispered. She squeezed his hand and let her mother led her out the door.
“Can we come out now?” Matti asked coming out with Tai and Margot from a closet underneath the staircase. “What on earth did you guys do?” he asked incredulously as he looked around the ballroom. Everyone ignored him.
The good-byes were extremely short. Grace hugged her father tightly before she left. “I’m sorry I can’t spend Christmas with you, Mom, and Luke,” she said.
“That’s okay honey,” he smiled at her, “As long as you’re safe, nothing else matters.” He kissed her forehead and Aqua grabbed her for a tight squeeze. Luke nodded in her direction as if he hated to do anything to acknowledge her leaving.
Chen hugged both her children before leaving. Michael kissed Jane good-bye and waved in Sora’s direction. He waved back and took Kairi’s hand as they stepped into the floating car to the gate terminal.
By the time they boarded the Strahl, everyone was nodding off to sleep, except for Lucy, who had disappeared somewhere, Grace, who wandered off to look out at the stars, and Sora, Donald, and Goofy who were discussing something in secrecy. Balthier and Fran got the ship going, but there was a problem.
“Right now, we are heading somewhere but we don’t know where yet,” Balthier explained as he came out of the cockpit, “Any suggestions?” he asked Sora, Donald and Goofy.
“We got one,” Sora passed a slip of paper to Balthier.
He read the paper and looked mildly amused. “Interesting,” Balthier passed the slip of paper to Fran, who seemed surprised, “Seems safe enough though. Have any of you seem Lucy?”
They shrugged and Balthier went down the hallway into the kitchen. He found Lucy at the table, writing in her diary. Her eyes were puffy and her cheeks were wet. He knocked on the door, giving her time to put her diary away. She looked at him when he came in as if she was expecting something.
“Don’t worry I’m not here to yell at you,” he reassured her, “I can’t exactly say I didn’t have a secret love at your age either. But if you want to talk,” he sat down next to her, “I’ll listen.”
“No interruptions?” she asked quietly.
Balthier shook his head. Slowly, Lucy leaned back to rest her head on his chest and started to cry but she told him everything.
Sora found Grace where he’d expect her to be, looking out at the stars. Moo-Moo had jumped up and curled in her lap, her shoes laid else where, having lost one in the attack. “I heard you and Balthier talking. Where are we going?” she asked.
“It’s a surprise,” he smiled at her, “But there is a guy there that I know who absolutely loves surprises. He lives for them.”
“Can you divulge the name of this ‘Surprise Guy’?” asked Grace.
“Oh he has many names: King of the Pumpkin Patch, Knight of Nightmares. A little eccentric and doesn’t always knows what he’s getting into, but you’ll like him. I guarantee that.”
*Uniforms and dresses:
The Angelus Uniform: Military like; dark blue, almost navy blue. (I guess the US Air Force uniform would be the closest) All the Angelus males are in this uniform, all the other guys are in tuxes.
Grace: Grace's dress is essentially a wedding dress (we'll learn even more about the dress later). The closetest one in the Feb/March 2009 Brides magizine is the Eve of Milady one in the front pg 85, only it's not as poffy.
Lucy: Her dress is pink with black poka dots, like the one on the front cover of Cosmo Girl Prom Winter/Spring 2009 edition.
Kairi: Her dress is a chocolate color and looks like the one on page 36 in Cosmo Girl Prom but it's a little darker.
Anemone: Anemone's dress had to be black. Her hair wouldn't go too well with any other color. Her dress is on page 136 of Cosmo Girl Prom, Sydney's Closet.
Aqua: Her dress is blue and is called tony Bowls Le Gala on page 146 of Cosmo Girl Prom.
Ling: Ling's dress had to be colorful because she is such a colorful person. It's a mix and match of green blue, black, and white by Dave & Johnny on pg 165 of Cosmo Girl Prom,
Jane: Jane's dress had to look like one a princess would wear.Nothing said princess better than the blue dress by flirt on pg 189 of Cosmo Girl Prom.
Clarise: Clarise is dress is purple and one that went well with her hair. It's by Fire & Ice and is on pg 66-67 of Cosmo Girl Prom.
Mitch: Mitch's dress was hard to find. I knew what her's would look like but nothing I looked at matched exactly. the closetest one is the red one of Bella Prom by Venus on pg. 172 of Cosmo Girl Prom.
Miki: I never had time to put Miki's dress in. It would be either pink or red.
Margot: I didn't see any girl's dresses in the bride's magazine, but if I had time to put it in it would be either light blue or green.
***coldman i wil pm youl laterl
I think I just killed my eyes... Seriously... It hurts ^^ I love reading your chapter, though. It was REALLY good!
That was really long. But it kept me reading for a while, thanx. Sorry about my impatience, can't wait for the next chapter. And Sora picked up an awsome new power, good for him.
By the way what happened to Sora's friends? Y'know Tidus, Wakka, Selphie, Cloud, and all the other's that helped save Sora's mom.
By the way what happened to Sora's friends? Y'know Tidus, Wakka, Selphie, Cloud, and all the other's that helped save Sora's mom.
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They'll show up later (Cloud maybe even sooner). There are still new charcters both original and Disney to make their appearance before the story is over.
Oooo, Cloud. Does that mean Sepheroth's gonna make an appearance? Grace would have a tough time beating him, if she could. But it'd be a good chance for Sora to try out his new technique.
Hey sorry to double post but I just had another thought. If Yuna is Sora and Janes great great grandmother, what's their encounter gonna be like. I'm also assuming that Tidus is their great great grandfather, and they're friends.
That really is kinda messed up^^ I hadn't thought of that yet... Can't wait to see what'll happen!!!
Y'know I would really like Grace to fight Sepheroth. She'd lose but I would show her how much stronger she has to become and Sora would put up a better fight after his training.
I don't understand how a chapter this short took such a long time to do. But it's done!
After the attack by the Commander at the Helios Ball, Sora suggests heading to Halloween Town to spend Christmas, but all is not well in the town of spooks and nightmares...
Grace lifted up the witch costume with a mixture of horror and disgust. “I’m not wearing this,” she shook her head and dropped the costume back in the trunk of other costumes Donald had conjured up.
“Then pick something else,” Donald said, his patience wearing thin.
“Why do we have to dress up?” Grace asked.
“We have to! It’s Halloween Town,” explained Sora as he snapped a pumpkin shaped eye patch over his left eye, “We have to go incognito.”
“Fine, I’ll wear the stupid costume,” Grace picked up the witch costume again, “I just don’t see why we can’t go in our normal clothes.”
“Halloween derives from an old Pagan holiday in which people would dress up as ghouls or goblins or any variety of monster to scare away evil spirits,” Joey explained reading from a book as he walked into the room.
“I know what Halloween is Joey,” Grace said as she put the costume on, “It was one of the few holidays we did celebrate on Juno.”
“Well I’m just saying maybe these inhabitants of this world dress up as monsters to scare away evil spirits, and by you guys dressing up your blending in,” reasoned Joey.
“Actually they’re all monsters,” remarked Sora, “Ghosts and goblins and headless horsemen and so on.”
“Sure,” Joey rolled his eyes, then looked back at him, “Really?”
“Absolutely!” smiled Goofy, “They celebrate Halloween all year long. Why else would it be called Halloween Town?”
“So we came to Halloween Town to celebrate Christmas?” Grace raised an eyebrow, placing a pointed hat over her head. “That’s completely ironic.”
“We’re ready!” Jane, Anemone and Clarise came down in witch coustumes. Jane studied Sora’s costume. “What are you suppose to be? The Vampire Keyblade Master?”
Sora waved her off then said, “Who said you all were going with us? We’re just checking everything out to make sure it safe.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Anemone was now waving him off, “We want an adventure after all that studying we did. Besides, Balthier said we could.”
“Fine, but don’t touch anything, don’t say anything, nada!” Sora mimicked sealing his lips shut.
“Don’t tell me to shut it,” Jane looked harassed.
“I wasn’t telling you to shut-”
“Children, behave,” Balthier walked into the room. “Don’t be out for more than a few hours. If we don’t hear from you in six, we will send someone out to look for you.”
“Um…can it not be me?” Joey raised his hand.
“Just be careful,” Balthier warned, “There are Heartless on this world. Nothing you haven’t seem before but still…oh, and Grace I was suppose to give you this from the King.” He handed her blue star patch. “When you get the chance have Clarise sew it on with the string Edina gave us. It will allow you to go into the Wisdom Drive Form. Good luck.” He waved them off and opened the door to the outside.
The world outside was unlike anything Grace had ever seen. The sky was gray with overcast as a bleak sun tried to shine through the thick mist across the land. The ground was dark and dead and anything that sprang from the soil looked poisonous, as if it carried the presence of death with it. There was an oddly shaped hill in the distance, where the top had seemed to curl like a whip and beyond the ‘Curly Hill’ was the outskirts of a town. To add more to this dismal scene was the fact Balthier had landed the Strahl at the edge of a graveyard.
“What a lovely morning,” Grace remarked with extreme sarcasm.
“Come on,” Sora called, leading the way, “We got to get into town.”
“He’s leading us through the graveyard,” Anemone looked shocked, “Is that…right?”
“As long as we don’t step on anybody’s grave,” Jane took after him, Donald, and Goofy down the path.
The path into town zigzagged through the graveyard up to the Curly Hill. They saw not ghost or goblins appear to scare them though Grace could have sworn she heard the graves whispering. No Heartless appeared either, at least not until they reached the edge of the graveyard. Three kids in masks came tumbling out of nowhere, screaming as they ran away from what looked like a swarm of ghost Heartless. Sora was first to draw his Keyblade and swing at the Heartless. Grace summoned hers as well and took down two, while Donald and Goofy finished off the rest. Jane and Anemone looked disappointed not to fight but Clarise whipped some sweat off her forehead.
“Hey guys!” One of the kids was getting up. “Look! It’s Sora!”
“Sora? Where?!” another jumped on top of the kid in red who had spoken first.
“Right there you idiot!” The third, a girl in a witch’s costume, hit the second boy in purple.
“Lock, Shock and Barrel,” Sora folded his arms.
“What are you up to?” Donald also folded his arms.
“Not trouble if that’s what you think!” said Lock, the one in red.
“Sally gave us a job to find flowers for her wedding,” the girl, Shock, said romantically.
“A wedding?” Goofy asked.
“Haven’t you heard?” the boy in purple, Barrel, jumped up and down, knocking off his mask. “Jack and Sally are getting married! It’s all the town can talk about!”
“The Mayor going on about it like it’s a national holiday,” Lock rolled his eyes.
“Everyone’s getting ready. It suppose to be set the day after Christmas,” explained Shock.
“Wow,” Sora said with surprise, “Jack and Sally are really getting married.”
“Who are they?” Grace asked.
“Jack’s the friend I told you about, Jack Skellington,” explained Sora, “Sally’s his girlfriend.”
“We better go and see if they need any help,” suggested Donald.
“Uh-huh,” Goofy nodded.
Halloween Town looked just as bad as the graveyard. The houses were dark and old. Stone and iron gates closed off some of the bigger houses from the rest of the town, but all the houses were facing into the square. The square itself seemed to highlight the world’s empathize on death. There was a guillotine and deathly traps that sprang out every once in a while kept the girls away from the edge. A fountain in the shape of a demon flushed a greenish liquid out of it’s mouth in the very center of the square. The inhabitants seemed to be an odd mixture of monsters. Three vampires using umbrellas to block out the sun were going over a long guest list. Two witches on broomsticks were hanging up banners all over the square. A werewolf was rolling a barrel of ale across the road. A band of ghouls were rehearsing wedding songs. But the oddest of these inhabitants was a tall skeleton in a suit discussing something with a short man with two faces. The short man seemed to be wearing his happy face.
“Hey Jack!” Sora called.
The skeleton turned around and broke into a large grin when he saw Sora. “Sora! Donald! Goofy! I was hoping you would visit soon! Oh, and you brought some young witches with you!”
“This is Grace, my sister Jane, Anemone and Clarise,” Sora introduced, “So, you and Sally are getting hitched?”
“That’s right! Isn’t it wonderful?” Jack smiled, “But before I go into the details, I would like to ask you something?”
“Okay, what-” But before Sora could inquire anymore, someone screamed, “Heartless! They’re attacking again!”
A swarm of ghost, and now, flying ghoul Heartless appeared in the square and all of the townsfolk took off except for Jack. “Broken bones! Here we go again!”
“Again?” Goofy asked just as a ghoul came flying towards him. He whacked it away with his shield, just as Jack threw a fireball at another. The Heartless didn’t take long to be beaten but Jack looked worried.
“That’s the third time today already those pesky Heartless have attacked the town,” Jack sighed, his bony face looking crestfallen, “At this rate we won’t have anything done in time for the wedding.”
“Why don’t we take care of the Heartless for you? That way you can get ready for the wedding worry free,” suggested Grace.
“Would you?” Jack’s skeleton grin was coming back. “That would be great!” He took Grace’s hand and shook it. “Thank you! Thank you! Oh, and Sora, before I forget, would you like to be my Beast Man?”
“Uh sure,” nodded Sora, “But don’t you mean-”
“I knew you would say yes!” Jack said happily, “Now you better get to Dr. Finkelstein’s Lab. Sally’s getting all the attire ready. She’ll be wanting to get your measurements right away!” And with that Jack Skellington took off towards the graveyard.
“So, Beast Man, huh?” Jane elbowed Sora gently in the stomach.
“Knock it off!” Sora hissed, “I know what he means.”
“We’d better go to Sally’s and get you fitted,” Goofy grinned. Sora folded his arms and frowned all the way to Dr. Finkelstein’s Lab but loosened up once they got inside.
Dr. Finkelstein’s Lab was like a tower shaped like a triangle and at the top was an observatory of sorts pointed at an angle towards the sky. The entire structure of the house was made of metal and was dark and eerie, and the thought of a mad scientist living there came to Grace’s mind. They entered a lab or at least what was once a lab. On one side, a man with a pointed noise, pointed teeth protruding out of his mouth, small beady eyes covered in dark glasses, a white lab suit, and black gloves covering his tiny hands, sat in a wheelchair, pouring over books. At one point, the top of his skull popped opened and he scratched his brain deep in thought. The side of the room he was on was still organized.
On the other side of the room, fabric and sewing patters were everywhere and an old fashion sewing machine and spinning wheel were next to a lab table. A woman sat at the sewing machine and sighed. Her skin was a light shade of blue and she had stitches on various parts of her exposed skin. Her hair was red but of the consistency of yarn and string and she wore a dress sewn together from various fabrics. She looked up when they entered the room. “Sora, Donald, Goofy,” she smiled, “It’s nice to see you again. And who is this?”
“This is Grace, Anemone, Clarise, and my sister Jane. Jack told us you would need us,” said Sora.
“So Jack told you he wanted you to be his Best Man, correct?” Sally asked.
Sora nodded and Sally started to take out a measuring tape.
“Do you need help with anything Miss Sally?” asked Clarise.
“Not right now,” Sally shook her head, “I’m just waiting for my dress to arrive from Valentinestown. It should have been here by now. I need to get started on any alterations that need to be done.”
“Maybe we could go and check on the shipment for you,” suggested Sora as Sally took down his measurements on a piece of paper.
“That would be such a huge help to me,” said Sally. She took out a delivery confirmation slip. “The shipment should have arrived at Christmas Town. Maybe you should start there,” she suggested.
BOOM! A sudden explosion from behind them shook the room. Dr. Finkelstein waved the dust away and threw his tinny fists down in fury. “Dog garn it! This circuitry should be working! It’s flawless!” He picked up the burned remains of a plug, “Perhaps there’s too much voltage running through the circuit…” he said thoughtfully.
“What’s the Doctor working on?” asked Goofy.
“Jack asked him to work on the lightning for the wedding. He wants the entire square decorated,” Sally smiled slightly, “I think only a few candles will suffice but Jack likes everything to be over the top.”
“That sounds like Jack,” remarked Sora.
“We’d better hurry if we want to catch that shipment in time,” Grace tugged at Sora’s arm and dragged him towards the door.
“We’ll check in later Sally,” Sora called as he broke from Grace’s hand and went out the door.
“Do be careful!” Sally called as the door shut with a slam.
They went back out to the Square and back into the graveyard. “Hold on a second, I thought this world was just Halloween Town. Why is there a Christmas Town?”
“Um…” Sora, Donald, and Goofy stopped and tried to think of an answer.
Jane shook her head and pulled out her copy of the Worlds Archive. “The name of this world as registered by the Galactic Federation, is called Holidaysburg, or the Holiday Lands of Olde.”
“So this world is made up of holidays,” remarked Clarise thinking aloud, “Does that mean every holiday has a town just like Halloween Town.”
“Just the main ones,” Jane skimmed the Worlds Archive, “The smaller, less celebrated holidays are made up of a village.”
“Well if the citizens of Christmas Town take their holiday to heart as much as the folks of Halloween Town do, then I better get on a pair of snow boots,” Anemone said, studying her shoes.
“BOO!”
They all jumped a few feet in the air, Anemone wailing so loudly, Sora was sure she would wake the cemetery. Jack Skellington started to laugh behind them. “I’m sorry. I couldn’t resist,” he grinned, “That was the best scream I’ve heard in ages!”
Anemone folded her arms and frowned.
“So, did you speak to Sally?” asked Jack.
“We did,” replied Sora, “We’re on our way to Christmas Town to make sure she gets her wedding dress.”
“Sally wedding dress still hasn’t arrived? I wonder if it got caught up with all the presents in Sandy Claws’s workshop,” Jack said thoughtfully, “I’d better come with you. I have to get Sandy’s RSVP. He still hasn’t sent his reply back but he must be very busy. It is that time of year.” He started to walk off through the graveyard to the edge of forest.
“Sandy Claws? As in Santa Claus?” asked Jane.
“Santa Claus doesn’t exist,” Anemone rolled her eyes.
Sora, Jane, Donald, and Goofy stared at her.
“What? He doesn’t!” she stared blankly back at them.
“Yes he does! I’ve seen him!” Sora insisted.
“Not to mention he’s the world delegate of this world,” added Jane, “When he’s not busy.”
“Well?” Anemone turned to Grace and Clarise looking for support.
“I’m going to be smart and keep my mouth shut on this one,” replied Grace.
“Sorry sis, but I’m with Grace on this one,” said Clarise.
Anemone looked at them with disbelief.
“I’m sorry to interrupt your conversation, but shouldn’t we be getting going?” Jack called from the forest.
They walked towards him and the forest. The forest was dark and dead like the rest of the world; not a single leave laid on a tree branch. Jack lead them deeper into the forest down an path that looked as if rarely anyone traveled on. They stopped at a clearing. “Wait,” Jack held them back and took a step forward.
All most at once, a spawn of Shadow, Soldier, and a mummy like Heartless appeared. “Watch the Wight Knights!” Sora shouted as he took down a Soldier.
“The what?” Grace asked, just as a mummy tried to jump on top of her. She jumped out of the way but it scratched her with its long sharp hands. She figured those were the Wight Knights.
The battle was over when Jane stabbed the last of the shadows with her dagger. She looked up at the trees. “That’s weird,” she remarked.
Grace looked at the trees as well. Each of the trees surrounding the clearing were big and wider than the other trees of the forests and were marked with different signs. One tree had a heart on it, another had a four-leaf clover, and another had a turkey on it. Each of the tress had a small golden doorknob on the engravings. The tree in front of them had a Christmas tree on it, the doorknob replacing one of the tree ornaments.
“We have to hurry,” insisted Jack, “There could be Heartless in Christmas Town as well. Poor Sandy Claws…dealing with all of this so close to Christmas.” He pulled on the doorknob and the tree opened up like a doorway. Jack jumped inside and disappeared. Sora, Donald, and Goofy jumped in after him.
“Where did they go?” Clarise asked as Grace looked inside the tree. The tree was hollow but there was no bottom. Then there was a light. Grace leaned over to see the light better and there was a sudden gust of wind. It pulled her down into the tree, taking Jane, Anemone, and Clarise along with her.
The light got better as the wind carried them down the tree and they tumbled out into the light. Grace and Jane landed on top of Sora, while Anemone landed on Donald, and Clarise landed on Goofy. Sora shook Grace and Jane off and they got up to see their new surroundings.
It was as if they hand landed on a completely different world. The ground was covered a thick layer of snow. All the trees were evergreens and down the hill was a brightly lit village. Jack was already on his feet and striding down to the village. They took after him down into the village.
Christmas Town was like something out of a snow globe. The houses were all made of brick and lit with Christmas lights and candles in the window. The town was filled with the smell of cakes, pies, and cookies, peppermint and cinnamon. A small carousel stood in the center of the town and beyond it was a large factory.
Jack approached the factory with caution, the others following slowly behind him. As soon as he reached the carousel, another swarm of Heartless spawned, this time joined up by two Toy Solider Heartless. Jack took out one of the Toy Soldiers with a blast of his magic, and Grace chased after the second. The Toy Soldier jumped away from her, hiding in its toy box, peaking out of it every time it landed. Once Grace caught up with it, it sprung out of the box and shot her with its toy gun. She managed to recover and hit it, but it got away again, jumping right in front of Sora. He hit it hard on the backside and it disappeared. Finally, Donald chased the last one off with it’s magic.
“Where are all these Heartless coming from?” asked Grace.
“I don’t know,” replied Sora, “It’s not like there’s Maleficent and Pete around to rally them. Something has to be causing the Heartless to act up like this.” He looked over her shoulder and saw Jack was already entering the factory. “Hey Jack! Wait up!”
They followed Jack inside the factory. The factory was well lit and was filled with the smell of gingerbread. Red and white wallpaper decorated the walls with garland. They walked inside an entryway and found Jack in a room on the left. It was a large office, the walls still covered in garland and red and white wallpaper, but there was a fireplace on the back wall. A small table was in the middle of the room and behind the table, sitting in a green armchair with a very long list of names, was an old, heavyset man. He wore a coat of red with white fluffy trimming and the hat upon on his head was of the same material. His beard was long and white and his cheeks very rosy.
“Ah Jack,” he said not looking up from his list, “I thought I would be seeing you again. You’re not here to persuade me to let you take over Christmas again?”
“Oh no, Mr. Sandy Claws,” Jack bowed apologetically, “I wanted to know if you got our invitation, for my wedding. You still haven’t RSVP.”
“Your wedding?” the man looked up from his list and glanced at an opened letter on the corner of his desk, “Yes, yes. Day after Christmas is it? Well, it won’t be so busy them, I suppose. Maybe I can come for the ceremony and stay for about a half an hour for the reception.”
“Thank you Mr. Claws!” Jack bowed again, “It would truly be an honor to have you there. But there is one more thing. Sally’s wedding dress was supposed to arrive in Halloween Town by now, but it still hasn’t arrived. We were wondering if it came through here.”
The man looked away again from the list thoughtfully. “It’s possible the package could have gotten mixed up in with all the present deliveries. Why don’t you ask the elves?” he suggested, “They should have an accurate listing of everything that’s come through here.”
“You are truly wonderful Mr. Claws! I’ll ask the elves straight away!” Jack took off to the factory entrance, leaving the others behind.
“So children,” the man in red turned to the gang, “would you like to see if you’ve made the nice list?”
Sora, Jane, Donald, and Goofy nodded eagerly but Anemone asked with raised eyebrows, “Wait, your Santa Claus?”
“You must be Anemone,” Mr. Claus looked at her carefully, “To answer your question yes, I am.”
“But Father said you didn’t-”
“Your father told you a lot of things that were not true,” Mr. Claus said calmly, “You cannot be blamed for your narrow minded outlook on the world but I suggest you begin to change it. You have come a far long way Anemone from where you were.”
“Thank you, sir,” Anemone started to blush and looked at the floor.
“Mr. Claus,” Clarise spoke up, “Do you know why the Heartless are so active here?”
“Yes, those Heartless have been pesky as of late,” Mr. Claus agreed with a nod of the head, “But even I cannot say for sure why. It seems to me, there are forces, ancient dark forces, at work, wouldn’t you agree Grace?”
Grace was surprised to hear her name and she nodded.
“Well, I have to get back to work. Christmas is only a few days away and I’m still very busy. Jack should be on the second floor of the factory in the Wrapping Room,” explained Mr. Claus and he got back to work checking his list.
They left Mr. Claus in his office and went into the Toy Factory. The Toy Factory was filled with short elves with pointed hats building all kinds of toys, painting toy horses, making gingerbread cookies, and filling stocking with goodies. They climbed the stairs overlooking the assembly and entered a room filled with wrapped boxes of all shapes and sizes and colors. Three elves were shooting toys into empty boxes as they appeared from an assembly belt, two collected the boxes and placed them into an area marked for delivery and one elf oversaw the process. Jack was speaking with the head elf.
“A wedding dress?” The elf flipped through his charts, “Hey Marty! Where did you put all those unknowns at?”
“Over in the corner!” shouted one of the collectors.
The head elf pointed a pile of unboxed packages lying in the right hand corner of the room away from the range of the present guns. They sorted through the packages until Donald picked up a large but light package. “Is this it?” he asked.
Jack took the package and opened it up with his long bony fingers. He pulled a white wedding dress. He quickly placed it back into the box and wrapped it together with a spare piece of wrapping paper. “We need to get back to Halloween Town as quickly as possible. Gentlemen! Ladies! Let’s go!” Jack railed and lead them back out of the room.
More Heartless were waiting for them as soon as they left the factory. “Don’t these guys ever give up?” asked Grace as she knocked aside a Shadow.
“I don’t think they know how to,” remarked Goofy.
As soon as Sora finished off the last Heartless, they moved back up the snowy hill just as it began to snow. They traveled back through the tree into the forest. Just as soon as they jumped out of the tree, even more Heartless appeared. They were not match for the gang as they went back through the forest and graveyard into Halloween Town. The square was quiet as they crossed it to Dr. Finkelstein’s lab and the same light snow they had seen in Christmas Town was falling here as well.
Sally was waiting anxiously for their return. She looked relieved when they all came into the lab and Jack presented her with the package. She took out the wedding dress carefully and placed it over a makeshift skeleton she had borrowed from Dr. Finkelstein. “The alterations shouldn’t take long,” she said as she looked over the dress, “But I’m so glad you were able to pick up. I probably wouldn’t have gotten to it done with everything else.”
“Yes,” nodded Jack, “I still have to memorize my vows, but it shouldn’t take long either.”
“Jack, I was thinking, since we don’t have much to do for a few days until the wedding, would you like us to do a Heartless patrol, just to make sure the Heartless don’t cause too much of a fuss?” suggested Sora.
“Here we go again,” Donald folded his arms and muttered.
“Why, Sora, that would be wonderful! You guys are really such a big help!” grinned Jack, “You can start tomorrow. There’s no sense in starting now that the sun it setting, but if we need you, will give you a call. Hmmm…how would I do that?” Jack pondered, taking his bony finger to scratch his skull.
“Maybe you could shine a light out of the observatory?” suggested Grace.
“Genus!” agreed Jack, “So, if we need you, we’ll shine a light out of the observatory. Yes, that would work! Gentlemen, ladies, I wish you good night. We’ll see you in the morning.”
“Now look what you’ve gotten us into,” Donald grumbled to Sora as they walked back to the Strahl, “A wedding and guard duty!”
“They need our help,” argued Sora, “What am I suppose to say? ‘Sorry, we can’t help you’?”
“Maybe Joey can help us out by setting up an Anti-Heartless signal like he did in Juno,” suggested Clarise.
“He could do it but getting him into Halloween Town is the problem. The locals will probably scare him to death,” remarked Anemone.
“I don’t know,” said Grace, “Joey can pull through if he really wants to.”
They finally made their way back to the Strahl just before it got too dark. As soon as they got inside, they took off their costumes and Sora and Grace went to talk to Joey about the Anti-Heartless signal.
“An Anti-Heartless signal for the town square?” Joey asked as he looked up from his bio-scope. “How big is the square?”
“About a hundred yards,” replied Grace.
“And you need it the day after Christmas?” Joey repeated for clarification.
Sora nodded. “It’s for Jack and Sally’s wedding. The Heartless keep on popping up every fifteen minutes and it’s just a problem for everyone trying to get ready.”
Joey pulled out a notebook full of calculations and studied them. “I can have the signal finished by the day of the wedding but I’ll have to set it up myself.”
“You don’t have to do that,” said Grace, “We can do it if you give us instructions.”
“No,” Joey shook his head, “Something could go wrong. You might put a wire in the wrong place and instead of blocking the portals, increase them. It’s better if I went and set it up.”
“Okay, you get to work on that,” said Sora, “We’ll take care of the Heartless until then.”
The next few days went by quickly. Sora, Grace, Jane, Anemone, Donald, and Goofy took the duty of Heartless patrol in groups, switching every half-hour or so. Whatever reason the Heartless had in Halloween Town, they were sure to harass the citizens on a daily basis. The patrol group would chase them out but fifteen minutes later another swarm of Heartless would appear. Jack would help on occasion but he was so busy with everything else going on, they tried not to ask him for help. Clarise would help Sally in Dr. Finkelstein’s lab with all the dresses and would come back to the Strahl with her fingers wrapped tightly in bandages from pricking her fingers too much. Dr. Finkelstein finally got his lightning right and by Christmas Eve he and his hunched back lab assistant was lighting up the square. It was about that same day, that Matti stopped Clarise and held her back from leaving the Strahl to bring back Sora’s “Beast” Man outfit.
“Listen,” he said looking worried, “I don’t want you going out there any more than you have to. It’s getting dangerous.”
“I understand that,” she said breaking away from his grip.
“You shouldn’t go out there alone either. At least let me come with you so I can protected you,” insisted Matti.
“Believe it or not, I can take care of myself,” Clarise said firmly, “I much stronger than you Montag!”
Matti took a step back from her. For a brief second, she was sad to see him so taken aback, so sad, but he was the one who had to listen. “Please, for once, be the one understanding. I’ve always known more about the Heartless than you and there’s no one who understands my father better than me than Anemone. I know what I’m getting into so please-” She looked up but he was already gone. “…stay here, where it’s safe.” She whispered to the air.
Did he hear her? Clarise asked herself this as she walked through the graveyard. Ever since Radiant Gardens, when they went down into that room, she had felt as if something bad was going to happen. She felt that her father’s plans were only the beginning, that there was something else lurking in the shadows and whatever it was, it was going to happen soon. Matti couldn’t understand what she was feeling, she doubt anyone could, not even Anemone.
“I sense there’s something in the wind,
That feels like tragedy’s at hand.
And though I like to stand by him,
Can’t shake this feeling that I have.
The worst is just around the bend,
And does he notice my feelings towards him?
When will he see, how much he means to me?
I know it’s not to be.
What will become of my dear friend?
Where will our actions lead us then?
Although I like to join the crowd in their enthusiastic cloud,
Try as I may, it doesn’t last
And will we ever end up together?
No, I think not.
It’s never to become,
For I am not the one.”
And as she walked underneath the Gilutone Gate into town, she did not notice from the shadows, a man in a black coat watching her.
************************************************************************
Christmas morning dawned crisp and bright. A fresh layer of powered snow covered the land, giving the pumpkins in their patches a frosty color. Jane kicked all the girls out of bed early while Sora did the same with the boys. If it wasn’t for the great anticipation of opening presents, there would have been quite a few unhappy kids. All the nose drew Balthier and Fran from their quarters and they tried to calm everyone down before they opened presents.
Because it would take a long time to go through what everyone got, even with Matti recording everything on his camera, he put together a sideshow of the best presents. Sora received a nice pair of brand new sneakers from his father (his current ones were starting to get a hole in them and started to smell) compatible with all of his drive forms. Grace got a new Keychain from Sora. Goofy got Donald a new staff and in turn, Donald got Goofy a new shield. Kairi was given a new dress handmade by Clarise. Riku also got a new pair of shoes from Kairi. The girls got Lucy another diary, this one with a fingerprint scanner so no one else could open it. Sam sent Ling a pair of gold earrings. Riku got Mitch several wristbands decorated with spikes. Anemone got a bottle of expensive perfume from Pence. Clarise got a pair of new hairclips Matti, but she had set them aside and not worn them yet. Joey received an omni disc drive for his computer from Jane. Matti got a set of camera equipment from Balthier and Fran. Margot received an art kit set from her brothers. Sora got Jane several ribbons for her hair. Balthier got a pair of gold barrels for his guns. Matti wasn’t sure what Balthier got Fran, but whatever it was, she blushed, and quickly shoved the item back in the box.
While Balthier and Fran went to cook breakfast, the kids sat in front of the TV and watched Christmas movies. After breakfast and several hours of Christmas specials, Sora, Grace, Donald, Goofy, Jane, and Clarise went back to Halloween Town for the wedding rehearsal. Anemone decided to stay behind but Mitch volunteered to go along. “You know, I could really live in a place like this,” she remarked as they passed through the iron gate into town. Grace and Jane started at her.
Donald, Goofy, and Jane went out for Heartless patrol as the wedding rehearsal went underway. Everything was going well, even the bride and groom to be seemed to be enjoying the moment, when all of a sudden the lights sparked, causing the banner to catch on fire. It was quickly put out with some water from the town fountain and Dr. Finkelstein went to see what went wrong.
“That’s odd,” he said studying the wet and burned wires, “It looks like someone has tampered with the rubber tubing.” His beady eyes went right to Lock, Shock, and Barrel.
“It wasn’t us!” squealed Shock.
“We didn’t touch nothin’!” cried Lock.
“We haven’t even moved,” remarked Barrel.
“That’s right,” nodded Grace, “They’ve been here the entire time.”
“And before that, they were with me and Sally,” added Clarise, “Someone else must have messed with the wires more recently.”
“Do you think it was a Heartless?” suggested Donald.
“Wouldn’t we have sensed the Heartless though?” asked Sora.
“Not necessarily,” remarked Mitch, “We’re still not sure if it even was a Heartless.”
“Well whatever it was, it’s long gone now,” declared Jack, “Shall we continue with rehearsal?”
The rest of rehearsal went smoothly, but still the thought that Heartless and someone else was trying to ruin Jack and Sally’s wedding made the gang uneasy, so much so, that Sora and Grace went to check on Joey to see if he had finished his Heartless jammer.
“It’s finished,” said Joey as he checked the frequency harmonics, “All I have to do now is hook it up, which means I’m going to need a costume.”
“I’m sure Donald has something for you,” said Grace.
“But are you sure this is going to work?” asked Sora.
Joey squinted his eyes. “When hasn’t any of inventions work?”
“Um…” Sora thought hard, “Never?”
“That’s right,” Joey smiled. “Never.”
************************************************************************
The day after Christmas and the day of Jack and Sally’s wedding were about as bright as it could be in Halloween Town. The sun managed to burn through the mist that had covered the land from the night before and the tinniest hint of blue could be seen through the usually gray sky. Donald had found Joey a zombie costume he could wear although he muttered he would rather preferred to be a mad scientist. Sora thought Dr. Finkelstein might get a tad upset if they brought along another mad scientist though.
Sora, Grace, Donald, Goofy, Jane, Joey, Clarise, Anemone, and Mitch left early for the wedding, as Sora need to be there to go over last minutes details and Joey needed time to set up his equipment. It was odd that even as they went through the graveyard, they didn’t not see a single Heartless, but it may have been a sign of good luck.
Just as Sora expect, Dr. Finkelstein watched Joey as he set up the Heartless Jammer equipment. “However did you get the idea of jamming the Heartless portals?” asked Dr. Finkelstein.
“My grandfather discovered that the Heartless traveled through a portal that was essentially a hole between two different oscillations of EM waves. As long as one of the waves is cancelled, no portals can form,” explained Joey as he hooked up a speaker device over the executioner’s stage.
“Fascinating,” Dr. Finkelstein rubbed his chin, “Perhaps we should discuss this discovery of your grandfather’s in further detail.”
“Maybe later,” said Joey as the square started to fill with townsfolk. Sora sulked out of Dr. Finkelstein’s lab wearing a hairy tailor suit, his “Beast” man costume. He sulked even more when Anemone almost rolled onto the ground laughing but he faked a smile as Jack walked by in a nice tailored tuxedo suit.
The mayor had switched into his happy face and as he raised his tinny hands the crowd silenced. Even the trio of trick or treaters were quiet. “Deathly departed,” greeted the Mayor, “We gather here today to celebrate the otherworldly bonding of Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King,-” there was a cheer from the crowd, “-and Miss Sally. Ladies and gentlemen, vampires and werewolves, ghouls and goblins, may I give you the bride!”
One of the witches started playing wildly on an organ the Wedding March in a horrific harmony. The Flower Girl was a mummy; as she proceeded down the walkway, she threw out dead flowers and a snake or two. A small ghoul took the place as the ring bearer and his mother cried with joy as he walked by, remarking how scary he was. Finally came the bride. Sally looked stunning in her wedding dress; she had created a few small tears here and there and covered some spots with cobwebs, but the dress itself was beautiful. The trail of her dress was carried by ghosts, Jack’s ghost pet Zero holding up the end.
“How are we doing Joey?” Grace asked quietly as Sally passed by.
Joey pulled out one of his gadgets. “Signal is up at 109%,” he replied reading the small screen, “No errors found.”
The wedding continued on; Joey gave them a brief update of the jammer every so often. It seemed as if nothing could shattered the happiness brought by the ceremony, though it suddenly went cold and cloudy as Jack said his vows. Joey gave his report but Clarise shivered and asked, “Are you sure that’s right?”
“Of course it’s right,” Joey looked upset, “I have two sensors with me, just in case one of them is wrong, and right now they’re saying the same thing.”
Clarise nodded but shivered again.
“Are you okay Clarise?” Anemone asked.
“It’s just it got really cold all of a sudden,” Clarise replied, rubbing her arms together.
Grace looked up at the sky just as Sally said her vows. Something wasn’t right, she thought, this coldness seems unnatural. The clouds were churning, as if trying to create a storm. She silently summoned her Keyblade with her hand behind her back. “I’m going to have a look around,” she said, “I’ll be back.” She caught Sora’s eye as she broke free from the crowd. He looked a little worried too; had he sense that ominous presence?
“Do you Jack Skellington, take Miss Sally, to be your afterlife wife, in sickness and death…”
Grace was at the graveyard entrance when she suddenly heard something. She turned around to look.
“I do.”
That was when she saw him, a figure in a dark cloak. Was it Organization XIII or something else?
“And do you Miss Sally, take Jack Skellington, to be your afterlife husband…”
The figure smiled at her. He had unnaturally white teeth and they were all perfectly straight.
“I do.”
Then he disappeared into a black smoke. Her Keyblade was quivering or was that her, shivering at the unknown?
“I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride,” announced the mayor. Jack and Sally leaned together for that binding kiss but they never got it that far. The mayor suddenly screamed, switching to his upset face, and pointed at something on the town hall steppe.
It was a huge Heartless, bigger than a man, but unlike most Heartless, it had a mouth, a mouth with long sharp teeth. It grinned monstrously down upon the crowd and then jumped down to the ground. It gave a bone shattering roar and the townsfolk scampered. Sora drew his Keyblade as the Heartless turned on him. He jumped out of the way from his claws and hit the Heartless’s underside. The Heartless didn’t like that and countered by throwing Sora off. Someone caught Sora before he fell back; it was Jack.
“Where’s Sally?” Sora asked.
“She safe with the rest of the townsfolk,” replied Jack as he helped Sora up. Donald and Goofy joined them with their weapons ready. “Now gentlemen, I believe we have some business to take care of.”
As Sora, Donald, and Goofy went off to fight the Heartless, Clarise, Anemone, and Mitch were trying to move Joey from his spot. “I don’t understand,” he said in shock, “How could that Heartless get through?”
“We’ll figure that out later, after we get out of here!” Anemone gave him a shove and he tumbled into Mitch. Mitch started to drag Joey away from the battle but she stopped when someone blocked their path. It was the man in the black coat. No one moved; it was as if his presence had frozen them.
The man in the black coat looked down at Joey’s helpless face and whispered, “Nice try.” His voice was cold and icy, like ice stabbing the heart. He then looked up at Clarise then Anemone. He beckoned her towards him. Anemone stood transfixed at him and slowly she took a step forward. Clarise grabbed her arm and she stopped moving.
“Don’t look at him!” Clarise cried and Anemone snapped out of her trance. She backed away from the man but he stepped forward to grab her. Suddenly he stopped and turned around.
Grace had her Keyblade pointed at him, her breath heavy from running back from the graveyard. “Don’t move or I’ll-” But before she could finish, he had knocked her away. Before Grace could get back on her feet, the man grabbed her arm and pulled her close to him so he could get a better look at her.
“Teresa?” she heard him whisper, sounding unsure of himself.
Just then Sora came flying in, knocking the man away from Grace. He stood in front of her as she got on her feet, taking a guard stance. “Are you okay?” he asked.
Grace nodded and summoned her Keyblade.
The man dusted his coat off, frowning, then disappeared and reappeared in front of Sora. In a mere second, he knocked Sora’s Keyblade out of his hand and grabbed his arm. As soon as he touched Sora, he started to scream. Sora had never felt pain like this before; it was as if his head was trying to split in two. His entire body ache as the feeling of a thousand hot pins struck him all over.
“Let my brother go!”
Jane jumped in and kicked the man in the black coat away from Sora. The man stumbled for a second, then gathered himself as Sora went flying back into Grace. Jane raised her hands in front of her, ready to do a Summoning.
“Those eyes…so you’re his sister,” the man whispered to himself as he faced Jane. He started to smile and disappeared again. Jane broke from her stance, looking around her cautiously. She sensed the man coming behind her but she wasn’t fast enough and her picked her up and carried her off.
“Jane!” Grace shouted as the man disappeared into the graveyard. She turned back to Sora, who was still on the ground. “Sora, c’mon! That guy took Jane! We have to catch him!” He moaned as she rubbed his arm. “Sora-?” She turned him over so that she could see his face, but it wasn’t Sora who was lying in pain before her.
“Dammit!” Grace cursed. She looked around.
The monster of a Heartless had disappeared and the villagers were starting to peek out of their hiding places. Mitch, Anemone, Clarise, and Joey ran up to Grace, each with a few scratches here and there, but other than that fine. “What happened to him?” asked Clarise. “And when did he changed to Roxas?”
“It was that guy,” explained Grace, “He took Jane! I’ve got to get him before he leaves the world! Donald, Goofy, where are you?”
“Over here!” Donald called. He and Goofy rushed over, Goofy limping a bit. “We managed to drive that Heartless off before it caused any more trouble.”
Goofy leaned down to get a good look at Roxas. “He doesn’t look so good,” he remarked.
Joey took Roxas’s pulse. “His heartbeat is very high and he has a slight fever,” he said.
Mitch also leaned down, waving her hands in the air slowly. “I sense powerful dark magic. I believe this transformation was caused by that man in the black coat.”
“Great! That’s good to know!” Grace said sarcastically, “Now, I’m going after that guy so he doesn’t take off with Jane. Donald, Goofy, c’mon!”
The three off them left the town square and into the graveyard, just as the clouds above rumbled with thunder and rain started to fall.
************************************************************************
Jane struggled and struggled against the hold of the man in the black coat but no matter what she tried his grip did not waver as he dragged her further and further into the graveyard. She kicked and punched and even bit but nothing stopped the man from taking her to their unknown destination. She even dragged her feet in the ground but that didn’t work either. “You’re messing with wrong girl dude! I swear, you’re gonna regret ever kidnapping me!”
The man merely smiled at her evilly. That was when Jane got really ticked off and countered by spitting in his face. That caught the man by surprise and he looked Jane directly in the face. Jane smug look of victory disappeared at once. What she saw underneath that face was so something so terrifying and horrific, what small part of her brain that hadn’t froze up kept her from vomiting. She began to scream. The man in the black coat placed his hand over her mouth to muffle the scream and then…darkness.
************************************************************************
Grace, Donald, and Goofy heard Jane’s scream once they got to the graveyard. “Jane!” Grace shouted and drew her Keyblade.
“Over there!” pointed Donald.
The man in the black coat was holding Jane’s head between his hands. He looked up when he saw the trio coming, dropped Jane’s limp body, and disappeared into the darkness. Grace was first to reach Jane. “Jane! Jane!” she shook Jane’s shoulder and she slowly came back to consciousness.
“I saw his face,” Jane said as she started to come around, “But…”
“But what?” asked Grace, “What did it look like?”
“It…I don’t remember,” she replied, her eyes getting wide, “I don’t remember! He…he must’ve modified my memory!”
“Calm down. We need to get you back to the Strahl,” said Grace as she helped Jane up. “It’s not that far…”
“In fact it’s even closer!” Goofy pointed up to the sky.
Grace looked up and saw the bright engine lights of the Strahl lit up the graveyard. The cockpit door opened with Matti waving at them to get in.
“There’s no other explanation,” Jane said five minutes later in the medical ward to the others and Balthier as the Strahl hovered into space, “My memory was modified. Obviously, that man didn’t want any one to recognize him.”
“Are you sure he just didn’t hypnotize you though?” asked Jeoy.
“I wasn’t hypnotized,” Jane shook her head, “Because I remember what I felt and it was terrifying. There was a monster beneath that coat.”
“Do you think Sora saw it too and that triggered his transformation?” asked Clarise, looking over at the still barely conscious Roxas.
“No, all man did was grab Sora’s arm and he started screaming,” explained Grace.
“It’s obvious we are dealing with something none of us have ever faced before,” Balthier furrowed his eyebrows, his hand to his temple. “Are you sure it wasn’t an Angelus?”
“This was no Angelus,” said Mitch, “This was evil, evil to the nth power.”
“Could it have been Xehanort?” asked Grace.
Everyone was quiet. She knew they were all thinking the same thing. “But if it was Xehanort, he had an easy chance to kill Sora right there. Why would he let it slip by?” asked Anemone.
“It could have been his apprentice, you know, the Black Armored Knight,” suggested Joey, “It could explain why he was able to get pass the Heartless Jammer. Remember, Axel and Xigbar were able to get through mine. This guy was at least as strong as a human Nobody, if not stronger.”
“But what about the Heartless?” asked Goofy.
“Once a portal is opened, anything can get in or out. That guy must’ve opened the portal for the Heartless,” explained Joey.
Roxas gave another moan and they all fell silent again. “Why hasn’t he changed back yet?” asked Balthier.
“It could be a spell of some sort,” suggested Mitch.
“Can’t you break that spell?” Balthier asked Jane.
“That memory modification zapped me of my energy. Even if I wanted to use a dipartation spell, in his condition I wouldn’t even try it,” said Jane.
Roxas moaned again and Grace asked, “Don’t you have him on something?”
“The sedative should be taking effect now,” said Balthier checking the medical bag above Roxas’s bag.
“And Naminé?” Joey asked.
“She’s fine,” said Balthier, “No pain whatsoever.”
“Poor Jack and Sally,” sighed Clarise, “I hope they’re okay. We had to leave without saying good-bye.”
“Oh, don’t worry about them,” Goofy said reassuringly, “I’m sure they’ll understand.”
“Well, Jane, you and Roxas rest up. Everyone else, get something to eat. Fran should be almost done with dinner,” said Balthier.
They all left the room, except for Jane and Roxas, heading down to the galley for dinner. Matti was waiting outside for Clarise. Clarise stopped when she saw him but they didn’t speak until they were both alone. “I’m sorry about what I said the other day,” Clarise said holding her arm.
“No,” Matti shook his head, “You were right. You are a lot stronger than you seem.”
Clarise nodded, then she suddenly started to cry and ran into Matti’s arms. “Oh Matti, I was so scared, so, so scared when that man tried to beckon Anemone to him. And when he looked at me, if was as if, as if there was a monster looking at me, and all I could think about was you!”
They stood there for a moment, Clarise crying and Matti at a loss for words. Finally, Clarise couldn’t cry anymore, so they went down to the galley together.
************************************************************************
Roxas finally woke up hours later in the medical ward with his head throbbing. He was trying to put together the dream he had; something about the Chasers.
“Are you okay?”
He looked up and saw Grace sitting next to him.
“Yeah,” he nodded.
“You looked like you were having a bad dream,” remarked Grace.
“Maybe,” he said quietly. He looked over and saw Jane sleeping soundly on the bed next to him. “What about her?”
“She’ll be fine,” replied Grace, “But you may not be. Balthier ordered Joey to come up with a way to change you back.”
“Which means I don’t have that much time left. Well, better make some good use of it,” he leaned closer to Grace to kiss her.
“You want to be on the Naughty list,” Grace smiled just before he kissed her.
Ten seconds later, Joey and Naminé came in the room, Joey pushing forward a large machine. “Sorry to interrupt the moment, but since Roxas is up and awake and still under the effect of sedation, Balthier wants to get this done,” said Joey when Roxas and Grace broke apart.
“What is that?” Roxas asked staring at the large machine.
“Oh don’t worry, you probably won’t remember it,” explained Joey as he started placing electrodes on Roxas’s head and chest, “But Jack Skellington would have a laugh about it. Essentially, I’m going to shock you back to Sora.”
“Shock me back?” Roxas asked with worry. Grace looked a little nervous too.
“As I said, don’t worry. You won’t feel a thing and it won’t blow your teeth out,” Joey explained calmly as he turned the machine on, shocking Roxas with a strong current of electricity but with a low voltage. He fell back into his bed and Joey quickly turned off the machine. Roxas sat back up again but this time he was Sora.
“Hey…I didn’t feel anything,” he said.
“Good,” Joey smiled. He then turned to Naminé who was now Kairi. “Did you?”
“Not a thing,” she smiled.
“Well, my work here is done,” Joey said pulling off the electrodes and pushing the machine out of the room. He had almost reached the door, when Tai came rushing in with something in his hand, almost tripping on his shoelaces in the process.
“Sorry!” he called back to Joey as he went pass him. He stopped in front of Sora’s bed trying to catch his breath. When he finally had a moment, he lifted up his hand. “It’s the Astropass! It’s glowing again!” He gave the Astropass to Sora.
Sora held it between his hands feeling the Astropass pulsate. He closed his eyes and concentrated. “A pirate ship,” he said.
“The Black Pearl?” Grace asked as she took the Astropass from his hands.
“No,” Sora shook his head, “But it’s familiar. I’ve seen it before.”
“I think I see a fairy,” Grace said as she concentrated on the Astropass before it stopped glowing.
“With wings? And talks by tinkling? Like the sound of bells?” Sora asked specifically.
“Something like that,” Grace replied.
“That must be Tinkerbell!” Sora declared, “And that pirate ship must be Hook’s! Looks like we’re off to Neverland.”
“Neverland?” Tai asked with confusion.
“Uh…I’ll explain it once we tell everyone where we’re going,” Sora reassured him.
“That fairy…Tinkerbell,” Grace said quietly, “She had a light but it looked like it was going out. Does that mean anything to you?”
Sora shook his head but then something came back to him, striking him like lightning. It had came from the dream and was only a sentence, but the words in a voice similar to Roxas’s shook him.
“…please erase me.”
************************************************************************
Jane of a large town called London had had a rough night. She had barely escaped the air raid over Britain with Nanna-Two into the bomb shelter set up behind her back yard. Now that the all-clear signal had sounded, she walked back inside with the Saint Bernard as her mother Wendy carried her little brother Danny up to bed. He had been all worn out from the epic Peter Pan story her mother had recited so well, the story of how Pan and his followers, the Lost Boys had stolen Captain Hook’s treasure and caused the Jolly Roger to fly off into the clouds. It sounded as if her mother was there…but that wasn’t possible. Peter Pan was just make believe and Jane was far too old to be concerned with make believe.
“Honestly Mother,” she said quietly as they went up the stairs, “I don’t know why you fill his head with silly stories.”
“But they aren’t-” Wendy started to explain but there was a knock at the door. She gave Danny to Jane. “Take care of Danny, will you?”
Jane took Danny in her arms reluctantly and carried him up the stairs as Wendy went back to the door. There was an army official at the door. Wendy almost dreaded to think of what he was about to say. “Yes?” she asked, hoping for the best.
“Evacuation, mum,” the man got to the point, taking out his smoking pipe, “Your children are scheduled on the morning train.”
“So soon?” Wendy took a moment to breathe. “But I haven’t even told them.”
“The sooner the better, if you ask me,” the man added before leaving, “Good night, mum.”
“Yes,” Wendy nodded, “Uh, good night.”
When Wendy entered Jane’s room a few seconds later, Jane was taking off Nanna-Two’s helmet and hanging up on her coat rack. Wendy gave herself a moment to prepare and came into the room. “Jane, dear?” she called her daughter over. Jane came to her mother at once seeing the worried look in her eyes. Wendy took Jane’s hands in her own sitting down at her clothes chest at the foot of the bed. “Will you promise me something?” She hesitated for a second then said, “Promise me you’ll watch over Danny, whatever might happen.”
“What?” Jane looked at her mother shocked.
Wendy sighed. She could not bare to look into Jane’s eyes as she said, “You and your brother are going away for a while.”
Jane pulled away from Wendy. “Away? But where?”
“All the children are being evacuated to the country,” explained Wendy, “It’s so dangerous here. But you’ll be safe there, both of you.”
“I’m not going!” Jane stomped her foot, “I’m staying here!”
“But dear, an order has been issued. Every child must go,” Wendy tried to explain but she could see the tears forming in Jane’s eyes.
“But Daddy said that I’m supposed to…”
“I know dear, but you can take care of Danny. Tell him Peter Pan stories. He needs them, Jane, and so do you. Please, dear. Promise me,” Wendy said calmly but Jane wouldn’t have any of it.
“No! I will not promise!” Jane ran to the other side of the room in a rage.
“Oh Jane, we’ll be together again,” reassured Wendy, “You must have faith.”
“Faith? Trust? Pixie dust?” Jane gave a hollow laugh and kicked a pillow on the floor. “Those are just words from your stories. They don’t mean anything.”
“Yes, they do,” a small voice came from the door. Danny has stumbled in, half asleep. He was still wearing a green hat Wendy had made and a Peter Pan doll. “Peter Pan says they’ll make you fly.”
“Daniel,” Jane huffed, “Story time is over!” She threw open the curtains to show the dark city outside. “Look! It’s a war. Peter Pan isn’t real and people don’t fly!”
“They do too!” Danny insisted with his lip trembling and his eyes big and round.
“Oh, come on, Daniel! Grow up!” shouted Jane.
“Jane!” Wendy called but she marched right over to her brother.
“It’s just a lot of childish nonsense!” Jane carried on.
“You’re lying!” cried Danny and he ran off back to his bedroom.
“Jane, how could you treat your brother that way?” Wendy asked. Jane fell silent and folded her arms. “You think you’re very grown-up but you have a great deal to learn,” Wendy said as she crossed the room and went to Danny’s bedroom to console him.
The dog went out behind Wendy and Jane slammed the door shut. Jane sunk to the floor about to cry but she wiped them away. What would crying do? She looked across the floor and saw the Peter Pan doll on the floor. She picked herself off the floor, grabbed a coat nearby and picked up the doll. She stared at in her hand and looked out the window. Out in the night sky, she could see two stars twinkling brightly. Could one of them be the fabled path to Neverland? Her mother thought so. In the window next to her, she was showing Danny the stars. They disappeared back inside and Jane couldn’t help but smile. The smile was broken by the wail of an ambulance. She looked down across the city and saw smoke and fires from the recent raid. It was too much to take in and she closed the window, sitting down on the bed nearby. She held up the doll. “Peter Pan. Pixie Dust. Childish nonsense,” she sobbed and threw the doll back on the floor. She started to cry and before she went to sleep, thought of one more person her mother had told her off: Sora the Keyblade Master, but he was probably more of that childish nonsense. Slowly, she cried herself to sleep unaware of the time storm roaring in the atmosphere above.
PS: I don't think Sephiroph is going to show up in this book. There's just too much going on. As for Sora and Jane meeting their great-grandparents...it will be formality first with Jane and Sora would freak out before she did. And the next chapter is underway and is going good so far. I'm not sure if the Never Land segmient will be one or two chapters but at the end something will happen that really gets the ball rolling.
After the attack by the Commander at the Helios Ball, Sora suggests heading to Halloween Town to spend Christmas, but all is not well in the town of spooks and nightmares...
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR:
A DEATHLY WEDDING
“You have got to be kidding me.”A DEATHLY WEDDING
Grace lifted up the witch costume with a mixture of horror and disgust. “I’m not wearing this,” she shook her head and dropped the costume back in the trunk of other costumes Donald had conjured up.
“Then pick something else,” Donald said, his patience wearing thin.
“Why do we have to dress up?” Grace asked.
“We have to! It’s Halloween Town,” explained Sora as he snapped a pumpkin shaped eye patch over his left eye, “We have to go incognito.”
“Fine, I’ll wear the stupid costume,” Grace picked up the witch costume again, “I just don’t see why we can’t go in our normal clothes.”
“Halloween derives from an old Pagan holiday in which people would dress up as ghouls or goblins or any variety of monster to scare away evil spirits,” Joey explained reading from a book as he walked into the room.
“I know what Halloween is Joey,” Grace said as she put the costume on, “It was one of the few holidays we did celebrate on Juno.”
“Well I’m just saying maybe these inhabitants of this world dress up as monsters to scare away evil spirits, and by you guys dressing up your blending in,” reasoned Joey.
“Actually they’re all monsters,” remarked Sora, “Ghosts and goblins and headless horsemen and so on.”
“Sure,” Joey rolled his eyes, then looked back at him, “Really?”
“Absolutely!” smiled Goofy, “They celebrate Halloween all year long. Why else would it be called Halloween Town?”
“So we came to Halloween Town to celebrate Christmas?” Grace raised an eyebrow, placing a pointed hat over her head. “That’s completely ironic.”
“We’re ready!” Jane, Anemone and Clarise came down in witch coustumes. Jane studied Sora’s costume. “What are you suppose to be? The Vampire Keyblade Master?”
Sora waved her off then said, “Who said you all were going with us? We’re just checking everything out to make sure it safe.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Anemone was now waving him off, “We want an adventure after all that studying we did. Besides, Balthier said we could.”
“Fine, but don’t touch anything, don’t say anything, nada!” Sora mimicked sealing his lips shut.
“Don’t tell me to shut it,” Jane looked harassed.
“I wasn’t telling you to shut-”
“Children, behave,” Balthier walked into the room. “Don’t be out for more than a few hours. If we don’t hear from you in six, we will send someone out to look for you.”
“Um…can it not be me?” Joey raised his hand.
“Just be careful,” Balthier warned, “There are Heartless on this world. Nothing you haven’t seem before but still…oh, and Grace I was suppose to give you this from the King.” He handed her blue star patch. “When you get the chance have Clarise sew it on with the string Edina gave us. It will allow you to go into the Wisdom Drive Form. Good luck.” He waved them off and opened the door to the outside.
The world outside was unlike anything Grace had ever seen. The sky was gray with overcast as a bleak sun tried to shine through the thick mist across the land. The ground was dark and dead and anything that sprang from the soil looked poisonous, as if it carried the presence of death with it. There was an oddly shaped hill in the distance, where the top had seemed to curl like a whip and beyond the ‘Curly Hill’ was the outskirts of a town. To add more to this dismal scene was the fact Balthier had landed the Strahl at the edge of a graveyard.
“What a lovely morning,” Grace remarked with extreme sarcasm.
“Come on,” Sora called, leading the way, “We got to get into town.”
“He’s leading us through the graveyard,” Anemone looked shocked, “Is that…right?”
“As long as we don’t step on anybody’s grave,” Jane took after him, Donald, and Goofy down the path.
The path into town zigzagged through the graveyard up to the Curly Hill. They saw not ghost or goblins appear to scare them though Grace could have sworn she heard the graves whispering. No Heartless appeared either, at least not until they reached the edge of the graveyard. Three kids in masks came tumbling out of nowhere, screaming as they ran away from what looked like a swarm of ghost Heartless. Sora was first to draw his Keyblade and swing at the Heartless. Grace summoned hers as well and took down two, while Donald and Goofy finished off the rest. Jane and Anemone looked disappointed not to fight but Clarise whipped some sweat off her forehead.
“Hey guys!” One of the kids was getting up. “Look! It’s Sora!”
“Sora? Where?!” another jumped on top of the kid in red who had spoken first.
“Right there you idiot!” The third, a girl in a witch’s costume, hit the second boy in purple.
“Lock, Shock and Barrel,” Sora folded his arms.
“What are you up to?” Donald also folded his arms.
“Not trouble if that’s what you think!” said Lock, the one in red.
“Sally gave us a job to find flowers for her wedding,” the girl, Shock, said romantically.
“A wedding?” Goofy asked.
“Haven’t you heard?” the boy in purple, Barrel, jumped up and down, knocking off his mask. “Jack and Sally are getting married! It’s all the town can talk about!”
“The Mayor going on about it like it’s a national holiday,” Lock rolled his eyes.
“Everyone’s getting ready. It suppose to be set the day after Christmas,” explained Shock.
“Wow,” Sora said with surprise, “Jack and Sally are really getting married.”
“Who are they?” Grace asked.
“Jack’s the friend I told you about, Jack Skellington,” explained Sora, “Sally’s his girlfriend.”
“We better go and see if they need any help,” suggested Donald.
“Uh-huh,” Goofy nodded.
Halloween Town looked just as bad as the graveyard. The houses were dark and old. Stone and iron gates closed off some of the bigger houses from the rest of the town, but all the houses were facing into the square. The square itself seemed to highlight the world’s empathize on death. There was a guillotine and deathly traps that sprang out every once in a while kept the girls away from the edge. A fountain in the shape of a demon flushed a greenish liquid out of it’s mouth in the very center of the square. The inhabitants seemed to be an odd mixture of monsters. Three vampires using umbrellas to block out the sun were going over a long guest list. Two witches on broomsticks were hanging up banners all over the square. A werewolf was rolling a barrel of ale across the road. A band of ghouls were rehearsing wedding songs. But the oddest of these inhabitants was a tall skeleton in a suit discussing something with a short man with two faces. The short man seemed to be wearing his happy face.
“Hey Jack!” Sora called.
The skeleton turned around and broke into a large grin when he saw Sora. “Sora! Donald! Goofy! I was hoping you would visit soon! Oh, and you brought some young witches with you!”
“This is Grace, my sister Jane, Anemone and Clarise,” Sora introduced, “So, you and Sally are getting hitched?”
“That’s right! Isn’t it wonderful?” Jack smiled, “But before I go into the details, I would like to ask you something?”
“Okay, what-” But before Sora could inquire anymore, someone screamed, “Heartless! They’re attacking again!”
A swarm of ghost, and now, flying ghoul Heartless appeared in the square and all of the townsfolk took off except for Jack. “Broken bones! Here we go again!”
“Again?” Goofy asked just as a ghoul came flying towards him. He whacked it away with his shield, just as Jack threw a fireball at another. The Heartless didn’t take long to be beaten but Jack looked worried.
“That’s the third time today already those pesky Heartless have attacked the town,” Jack sighed, his bony face looking crestfallen, “At this rate we won’t have anything done in time for the wedding.”
“Why don’t we take care of the Heartless for you? That way you can get ready for the wedding worry free,” suggested Grace.
“Would you?” Jack’s skeleton grin was coming back. “That would be great!” He took Grace’s hand and shook it. “Thank you! Thank you! Oh, and Sora, before I forget, would you like to be my Beast Man?”
“Uh sure,” nodded Sora, “But don’t you mean-”
“I knew you would say yes!” Jack said happily, “Now you better get to Dr. Finkelstein’s Lab. Sally’s getting all the attire ready. She’ll be wanting to get your measurements right away!” And with that Jack Skellington took off towards the graveyard.
“So, Beast Man, huh?” Jane elbowed Sora gently in the stomach.
“Knock it off!” Sora hissed, “I know what he means.”
“We’d better go to Sally’s and get you fitted,” Goofy grinned. Sora folded his arms and frowned all the way to Dr. Finkelstein’s Lab but loosened up once they got inside.
Dr. Finkelstein’s Lab was like a tower shaped like a triangle and at the top was an observatory of sorts pointed at an angle towards the sky. The entire structure of the house was made of metal and was dark and eerie, and the thought of a mad scientist living there came to Grace’s mind. They entered a lab or at least what was once a lab. On one side, a man with a pointed noise, pointed teeth protruding out of his mouth, small beady eyes covered in dark glasses, a white lab suit, and black gloves covering his tiny hands, sat in a wheelchair, pouring over books. At one point, the top of his skull popped opened and he scratched his brain deep in thought. The side of the room he was on was still organized.
On the other side of the room, fabric and sewing patters were everywhere and an old fashion sewing machine and spinning wheel were next to a lab table. A woman sat at the sewing machine and sighed. Her skin was a light shade of blue and she had stitches on various parts of her exposed skin. Her hair was red but of the consistency of yarn and string and she wore a dress sewn together from various fabrics. She looked up when they entered the room. “Sora, Donald, Goofy,” she smiled, “It’s nice to see you again. And who is this?”
“This is Grace, Anemone, Clarise, and my sister Jane. Jack told us you would need us,” said Sora.
“So Jack told you he wanted you to be his Best Man, correct?” Sally asked.
Sora nodded and Sally started to take out a measuring tape.
“Do you need help with anything Miss Sally?” asked Clarise.
“Not right now,” Sally shook her head, “I’m just waiting for my dress to arrive from Valentinestown. It should have been here by now. I need to get started on any alterations that need to be done.”
“Maybe we could go and check on the shipment for you,” suggested Sora as Sally took down his measurements on a piece of paper.
“That would be such a huge help to me,” said Sally. She took out a delivery confirmation slip. “The shipment should have arrived at Christmas Town. Maybe you should start there,” she suggested.
BOOM! A sudden explosion from behind them shook the room. Dr. Finkelstein waved the dust away and threw his tinny fists down in fury. “Dog garn it! This circuitry should be working! It’s flawless!” He picked up the burned remains of a plug, “Perhaps there’s too much voltage running through the circuit…” he said thoughtfully.
“What’s the Doctor working on?” asked Goofy.
“Jack asked him to work on the lightning for the wedding. He wants the entire square decorated,” Sally smiled slightly, “I think only a few candles will suffice but Jack likes everything to be over the top.”
“That sounds like Jack,” remarked Sora.
“We’d better hurry if we want to catch that shipment in time,” Grace tugged at Sora’s arm and dragged him towards the door.
“We’ll check in later Sally,” Sora called as he broke from Grace’s hand and went out the door.
“Do be careful!” Sally called as the door shut with a slam.
They went back out to the Square and back into the graveyard. “Hold on a second, I thought this world was just Halloween Town. Why is there a Christmas Town?”
“Um…” Sora, Donald, and Goofy stopped and tried to think of an answer.
Jane shook her head and pulled out her copy of the Worlds Archive. “The name of this world as registered by the Galactic Federation, is called Holidaysburg, or the Holiday Lands of Olde.”
“So this world is made up of holidays,” remarked Clarise thinking aloud, “Does that mean every holiday has a town just like Halloween Town.”
“Just the main ones,” Jane skimmed the Worlds Archive, “The smaller, less celebrated holidays are made up of a village.”
“Well if the citizens of Christmas Town take their holiday to heart as much as the folks of Halloween Town do, then I better get on a pair of snow boots,” Anemone said, studying her shoes.
“BOO!”
They all jumped a few feet in the air, Anemone wailing so loudly, Sora was sure she would wake the cemetery. Jack Skellington started to laugh behind them. “I’m sorry. I couldn’t resist,” he grinned, “That was the best scream I’ve heard in ages!”
Anemone folded her arms and frowned.
“So, did you speak to Sally?” asked Jack.
“We did,” replied Sora, “We’re on our way to Christmas Town to make sure she gets her wedding dress.”
“Sally wedding dress still hasn’t arrived? I wonder if it got caught up with all the presents in Sandy Claws’s workshop,” Jack said thoughtfully, “I’d better come with you. I have to get Sandy’s RSVP. He still hasn’t sent his reply back but he must be very busy. It is that time of year.” He started to walk off through the graveyard to the edge of forest.
“Sandy Claws? As in Santa Claus?” asked Jane.
“Santa Claus doesn’t exist,” Anemone rolled her eyes.
Sora, Jane, Donald, and Goofy stared at her.
“What? He doesn’t!” she stared blankly back at them.
“Yes he does! I’ve seen him!” Sora insisted.
“Not to mention he’s the world delegate of this world,” added Jane, “When he’s not busy.”
“Well?” Anemone turned to Grace and Clarise looking for support.
“I’m going to be smart and keep my mouth shut on this one,” replied Grace.
“Sorry sis, but I’m with Grace on this one,” said Clarise.
Anemone looked at them with disbelief.
“I’m sorry to interrupt your conversation, but shouldn’t we be getting going?” Jack called from the forest.
They walked towards him and the forest. The forest was dark and dead like the rest of the world; not a single leave laid on a tree branch. Jack lead them deeper into the forest down an path that looked as if rarely anyone traveled on. They stopped at a clearing. “Wait,” Jack held them back and took a step forward.
All most at once, a spawn of Shadow, Soldier, and a mummy like Heartless appeared. “Watch the Wight Knights!” Sora shouted as he took down a Soldier.
“The what?” Grace asked, just as a mummy tried to jump on top of her. She jumped out of the way but it scratched her with its long sharp hands. She figured those were the Wight Knights.
The battle was over when Jane stabbed the last of the shadows with her dagger. She looked up at the trees. “That’s weird,” she remarked.
Grace looked at the trees as well. Each of the trees surrounding the clearing were big and wider than the other trees of the forests and were marked with different signs. One tree had a heart on it, another had a four-leaf clover, and another had a turkey on it. Each of the tress had a small golden doorknob on the engravings. The tree in front of them had a Christmas tree on it, the doorknob replacing one of the tree ornaments.
“We have to hurry,” insisted Jack, “There could be Heartless in Christmas Town as well. Poor Sandy Claws…dealing with all of this so close to Christmas.” He pulled on the doorknob and the tree opened up like a doorway. Jack jumped inside and disappeared. Sora, Donald, and Goofy jumped in after him.
“Where did they go?” Clarise asked as Grace looked inside the tree. The tree was hollow but there was no bottom. Then there was a light. Grace leaned over to see the light better and there was a sudden gust of wind. It pulled her down into the tree, taking Jane, Anemone, and Clarise along with her.
The light got better as the wind carried them down the tree and they tumbled out into the light. Grace and Jane landed on top of Sora, while Anemone landed on Donald, and Clarise landed on Goofy. Sora shook Grace and Jane off and they got up to see their new surroundings.
It was as if they hand landed on a completely different world. The ground was covered a thick layer of snow. All the trees were evergreens and down the hill was a brightly lit village. Jack was already on his feet and striding down to the village. They took after him down into the village.
Christmas Town was like something out of a snow globe. The houses were all made of brick and lit with Christmas lights and candles in the window. The town was filled with the smell of cakes, pies, and cookies, peppermint and cinnamon. A small carousel stood in the center of the town and beyond it was a large factory.
Jack approached the factory with caution, the others following slowly behind him. As soon as he reached the carousel, another swarm of Heartless spawned, this time joined up by two Toy Solider Heartless. Jack took out one of the Toy Soldiers with a blast of his magic, and Grace chased after the second. The Toy Soldier jumped away from her, hiding in its toy box, peaking out of it every time it landed. Once Grace caught up with it, it sprung out of the box and shot her with its toy gun. She managed to recover and hit it, but it got away again, jumping right in front of Sora. He hit it hard on the backside and it disappeared. Finally, Donald chased the last one off with it’s magic.
“Where are all these Heartless coming from?” asked Grace.
“I don’t know,” replied Sora, “It’s not like there’s Maleficent and Pete around to rally them. Something has to be causing the Heartless to act up like this.” He looked over her shoulder and saw Jack was already entering the factory. “Hey Jack! Wait up!”
They followed Jack inside the factory. The factory was well lit and was filled with the smell of gingerbread. Red and white wallpaper decorated the walls with garland. They walked inside an entryway and found Jack in a room on the left. It was a large office, the walls still covered in garland and red and white wallpaper, but there was a fireplace on the back wall. A small table was in the middle of the room and behind the table, sitting in a green armchair with a very long list of names, was an old, heavyset man. He wore a coat of red with white fluffy trimming and the hat upon on his head was of the same material. His beard was long and white and his cheeks very rosy.
“Ah Jack,” he said not looking up from his list, “I thought I would be seeing you again. You’re not here to persuade me to let you take over Christmas again?”
“Oh no, Mr. Sandy Claws,” Jack bowed apologetically, “I wanted to know if you got our invitation, for my wedding. You still haven’t RSVP.”
“Your wedding?” the man looked up from his list and glanced at an opened letter on the corner of his desk, “Yes, yes. Day after Christmas is it? Well, it won’t be so busy them, I suppose. Maybe I can come for the ceremony and stay for about a half an hour for the reception.”
“Thank you Mr. Claws!” Jack bowed again, “It would truly be an honor to have you there. But there is one more thing. Sally’s wedding dress was supposed to arrive in Halloween Town by now, but it still hasn’t arrived. We were wondering if it came through here.”
The man looked away again from the list thoughtfully. “It’s possible the package could have gotten mixed up in with all the present deliveries. Why don’t you ask the elves?” he suggested, “They should have an accurate listing of everything that’s come through here.”
“You are truly wonderful Mr. Claws! I’ll ask the elves straight away!” Jack took off to the factory entrance, leaving the others behind.
“So children,” the man in red turned to the gang, “would you like to see if you’ve made the nice list?”
Sora, Jane, Donald, and Goofy nodded eagerly but Anemone asked with raised eyebrows, “Wait, your Santa Claus?”
“You must be Anemone,” Mr. Claus looked at her carefully, “To answer your question yes, I am.”
“But Father said you didn’t-”
“Your father told you a lot of things that were not true,” Mr. Claus said calmly, “You cannot be blamed for your narrow minded outlook on the world but I suggest you begin to change it. You have come a far long way Anemone from where you were.”
“Thank you, sir,” Anemone started to blush and looked at the floor.
“Mr. Claus,” Clarise spoke up, “Do you know why the Heartless are so active here?”
“Yes, those Heartless have been pesky as of late,” Mr. Claus agreed with a nod of the head, “But even I cannot say for sure why. It seems to me, there are forces, ancient dark forces, at work, wouldn’t you agree Grace?”
Grace was surprised to hear her name and she nodded.
“Well, I have to get back to work. Christmas is only a few days away and I’m still very busy. Jack should be on the second floor of the factory in the Wrapping Room,” explained Mr. Claus and he got back to work checking his list.
They left Mr. Claus in his office and went into the Toy Factory. The Toy Factory was filled with short elves with pointed hats building all kinds of toys, painting toy horses, making gingerbread cookies, and filling stocking with goodies. They climbed the stairs overlooking the assembly and entered a room filled with wrapped boxes of all shapes and sizes and colors. Three elves were shooting toys into empty boxes as they appeared from an assembly belt, two collected the boxes and placed them into an area marked for delivery and one elf oversaw the process. Jack was speaking with the head elf.
“A wedding dress?” The elf flipped through his charts, “Hey Marty! Where did you put all those unknowns at?”
“Over in the corner!” shouted one of the collectors.
The head elf pointed a pile of unboxed packages lying in the right hand corner of the room away from the range of the present guns. They sorted through the packages until Donald picked up a large but light package. “Is this it?” he asked.
Jack took the package and opened it up with his long bony fingers. He pulled a white wedding dress. He quickly placed it back into the box and wrapped it together with a spare piece of wrapping paper. “We need to get back to Halloween Town as quickly as possible. Gentlemen! Ladies! Let’s go!” Jack railed and lead them back out of the room.
More Heartless were waiting for them as soon as they left the factory. “Don’t these guys ever give up?” asked Grace as she knocked aside a Shadow.
“I don’t think they know how to,” remarked Goofy.
As soon as Sora finished off the last Heartless, they moved back up the snowy hill just as it began to snow. They traveled back through the tree into the forest. Just as soon as they jumped out of the tree, even more Heartless appeared. They were not match for the gang as they went back through the forest and graveyard into Halloween Town. The square was quiet as they crossed it to Dr. Finkelstein’s lab and the same light snow they had seen in Christmas Town was falling here as well.
Sally was waiting anxiously for their return. She looked relieved when they all came into the lab and Jack presented her with the package. She took out the wedding dress carefully and placed it over a makeshift skeleton she had borrowed from Dr. Finkelstein. “The alterations shouldn’t take long,” she said as she looked over the dress, “But I’m so glad you were able to pick up. I probably wouldn’t have gotten to it done with everything else.”
“Yes,” nodded Jack, “I still have to memorize my vows, but it shouldn’t take long either.”
“Jack, I was thinking, since we don’t have much to do for a few days until the wedding, would you like us to do a Heartless patrol, just to make sure the Heartless don’t cause too much of a fuss?” suggested Sora.
“Here we go again,” Donald folded his arms and muttered.
“Why, Sora, that would be wonderful! You guys are really such a big help!” grinned Jack, “You can start tomorrow. There’s no sense in starting now that the sun it setting, but if we need you, will give you a call. Hmmm…how would I do that?” Jack pondered, taking his bony finger to scratch his skull.
“Maybe you could shine a light out of the observatory?” suggested Grace.
“Genus!” agreed Jack, “So, if we need you, we’ll shine a light out of the observatory. Yes, that would work! Gentlemen, ladies, I wish you good night. We’ll see you in the morning.”
“Now look what you’ve gotten us into,” Donald grumbled to Sora as they walked back to the Strahl, “A wedding and guard duty!”
“They need our help,” argued Sora, “What am I suppose to say? ‘Sorry, we can’t help you’?”
“Maybe Joey can help us out by setting up an Anti-Heartless signal like he did in Juno,” suggested Clarise.
“He could do it but getting him into Halloween Town is the problem. The locals will probably scare him to death,” remarked Anemone.
“I don’t know,” said Grace, “Joey can pull through if he really wants to.”
They finally made their way back to the Strahl just before it got too dark. As soon as they got inside, they took off their costumes and Sora and Grace went to talk to Joey about the Anti-Heartless signal.
“An Anti-Heartless signal for the town square?” Joey asked as he looked up from his bio-scope. “How big is the square?”
“About a hundred yards,” replied Grace.
“And you need it the day after Christmas?” Joey repeated for clarification.
Sora nodded. “It’s for Jack and Sally’s wedding. The Heartless keep on popping up every fifteen minutes and it’s just a problem for everyone trying to get ready.”
Joey pulled out a notebook full of calculations and studied them. “I can have the signal finished by the day of the wedding but I’ll have to set it up myself.”
“You don’t have to do that,” said Grace, “We can do it if you give us instructions.”
“No,” Joey shook his head, “Something could go wrong. You might put a wire in the wrong place and instead of blocking the portals, increase them. It’s better if I went and set it up.”
“Okay, you get to work on that,” said Sora, “We’ll take care of the Heartless until then.”
The next few days went by quickly. Sora, Grace, Jane, Anemone, Donald, and Goofy took the duty of Heartless patrol in groups, switching every half-hour or so. Whatever reason the Heartless had in Halloween Town, they were sure to harass the citizens on a daily basis. The patrol group would chase them out but fifteen minutes later another swarm of Heartless would appear. Jack would help on occasion but he was so busy with everything else going on, they tried not to ask him for help. Clarise would help Sally in Dr. Finkelstein’s lab with all the dresses and would come back to the Strahl with her fingers wrapped tightly in bandages from pricking her fingers too much. Dr. Finkelstein finally got his lightning right and by Christmas Eve he and his hunched back lab assistant was lighting up the square. It was about that same day, that Matti stopped Clarise and held her back from leaving the Strahl to bring back Sora’s “Beast” Man outfit.
“Listen,” he said looking worried, “I don’t want you going out there any more than you have to. It’s getting dangerous.”
“I understand that,” she said breaking away from his grip.
“You shouldn’t go out there alone either. At least let me come with you so I can protected you,” insisted Matti.
“Believe it or not, I can take care of myself,” Clarise said firmly, “I much stronger than you Montag!”
Matti took a step back from her. For a brief second, she was sad to see him so taken aback, so sad, but he was the one who had to listen. “Please, for once, be the one understanding. I’ve always known more about the Heartless than you and there’s no one who understands my father better than me than Anemone. I know what I’m getting into so please-” She looked up but he was already gone. “…stay here, where it’s safe.” She whispered to the air.
Did he hear her? Clarise asked herself this as she walked through the graveyard. Ever since Radiant Gardens, when they went down into that room, she had felt as if something bad was going to happen. She felt that her father’s plans were only the beginning, that there was something else lurking in the shadows and whatever it was, it was going to happen soon. Matti couldn’t understand what she was feeling, she doubt anyone could, not even Anemone.
“I sense there’s something in the wind,
That feels like tragedy’s at hand.
And though I like to stand by him,
Can’t shake this feeling that I have.
The worst is just around the bend,
And does he notice my feelings towards him?
When will he see, how much he means to me?
I know it’s not to be.
What will become of my dear friend?
Where will our actions lead us then?
Although I like to join the crowd in their enthusiastic cloud,
Try as I may, it doesn’t last
And will we ever end up together?
No, I think not.
It’s never to become,
For I am not the one.”
And as she walked underneath the Gilutone Gate into town, she did not notice from the shadows, a man in a black coat watching her.
************************************************************************
Christmas morning dawned crisp and bright. A fresh layer of powered snow covered the land, giving the pumpkins in their patches a frosty color. Jane kicked all the girls out of bed early while Sora did the same with the boys. If it wasn’t for the great anticipation of opening presents, there would have been quite a few unhappy kids. All the nose drew Balthier and Fran from their quarters and they tried to calm everyone down before they opened presents.
Because it would take a long time to go through what everyone got, even with Matti recording everything on his camera, he put together a sideshow of the best presents. Sora received a nice pair of brand new sneakers from his father (his current ones were starting to get a hole in them and started to smell) compatible with all of his drive forms. Grace got a new Keychain from Sora. Goofy got Donald a new staff and in turn, Donald got Goofy a new shield. Kairi was given a new dress handmade by Clarise. Riku also got a new pair of shoes from Kairi. The girls got Lucy another diary, this one with a fingerprint scanner so no one else could open it. Sam sent Ling a pair of gold earrings. Riku got Mitch several wristbands decorated with spikes. Anemone got a bottle of expensive perfume from Pence. Clarise got a pair of new hairclips Matti, but she had set them aside and not worn them yet. Joey received an omni disc drive for his computer from Jane. Matti got a set of camera equipment from Balthier and Fran. Margot received an art kit set from her brothers. Sora got Jane several ribbons for her hair. Balthier got a pair of gold barrels for his guns. Matti wasn’t sure what Balthier got Fran, but whatever it was, she blushed, and quickly shoved the item back in the box.
While Balthier and Fran went to cook breakfast, the kids sat in front of the TV and watched Christmas movies. After breakfast and several hours of Christmas specials, Sora, Grace, Donald, Goofy, Jane, and Clarise went back to Halloween Town for the wedding rehearsal. Anemone decided to stay behind but Mitch volunteered to go along. “You know, I could really live in a place like this,” she remarked as they passed through the iron gate into town. Grace and Jane started at her.
Donald, Goofy, and Jane went out for Heartless patrol as the wedding rehearsal went underway. Everything was going well, even the bride and groom to be seemed to be enjoying the moment, when all of a sudden the lights sparked, causing the banner to catch on fire. It was quickly put out with some water from the town fountain and Dr. Finkelstein went to see what went wrong.
“That’s odd,” he said studying the wet and burned wires, “It looks like someone has tampered with the rubber tubing.” His beady eyes went right to Lock, Shock, and Barrel.
“It wasn’t us!” squealed Shock.
“We didn’t touch nothin’!” cried Lock.
“We haven’t even moved,” remarked Barrel.
“That’s right,” nodded Grace, “They’ve been here the entire time.”
“And before that, they were with me and Sally,” added Clarise, “Someone else must have messed with the wires more recently.”
“Do you think it was a Heartless?” suggested Donald.
“Wouldn’t we have sensed the Heartless though?” asked Sora.
“Not necessarily,” remarked Mitch, “We’re still not sure if it even was a Heartless.”
“Well whatever it was, it’s long gone now,” declared Jack, “Shall we continue with rehearsal?”
The rest of rehearsal went smoothly, but still the thought that Heartless and someone else was trying to ruin Jack and Sally’s wedding made the gang uneasy, so much so, that Sora and Grace went to check on Joey to see if he had finished his Heartless jammer.
“It’s finished,” said Joey as he checked the frequency harmonics, “All I have to do now is hook it up, which means I’m going to need a costume.”
“I’m sure Donald has something for you,” said Grace.
“But are you sure this is going to work?” asked Sora.
Joey squinted his eyes. “When hasn’t any of inventions work?”
“Um…” Sora thought hard, “Never?”
“That’s right,” Joey smiled. “Never.”
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The day after Christmas and the day of Jack and Sally’s wedding were about as bright as it could be in Halloween Town. The sun managed to burn through the mist that had covered the land from the night before and the tinniest hint of blue could be seen through the usually gray sky. Donald had found Joey a zombie costume he could wear although he muttered he would rather preferred to be a mad scientist. Sora thought Dr. Finkelstein might get a tad upset if they brought along another mad scientist though.
Sora, Grace, Donald, Goofy, Jane, Joey, Clarise, Anemone, and Mitch left early for the wedding, as Sora need to be there to go over last minutes details and Joey needed time to set up his equipment. It was odd that even as they went through the graveyard, they didn’t not see a single Heartless, but it may have been a sign of good luck.
Just as Sora expect, Dr. Finkelstein watched Joey as he set up the Heartless Jammer equipment. “However did you get the idea of jamming the Heartless portals?” asked Dr. Finkelstein.
“My grandfather discovered that the Heartless traveled through a portal that was essentially a hole between two different oscillations of EM waves. As long as one of the waves is cancelled, no portals can form,” explained Joey as he hooked up a speaker device over the executioner’s stage.
“Fascinating,” Dr. Finkelstein rubbed his chin, “Perhaps we should discuss this discovery of your grandfather’s in further detail.”
“Maybe later,” said Joey as the square started to fill with townsfolk. Sora sulked out of Dr. Finkelstein’s lab wearing a hairy tailor suit, his “Beast” man costume. He sulked even more when Anemone almost rolled onto the ground laughing but he faked a smile as Jack walked by in a nice tailored tuxedo suit.
The mayor had switched into his happy face and as he raised his tinny hands the crowd silenced. Even the trio of trick or treaters were quiet. “Deathly departed,” greeted the Mayor, “We gather here today to celebrate the otherworldly bonding of Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King,-” there was a cheer from the crowd, “-and Miss Sally. Ladies and gentlemen, vampires and werewolves, ghouls and goblins, may I give you the bride!”
One of the witches started playing wildly on an organ the Wedding March in a horrific harmony. The Flower Girl was a mummy; as she proceeded down the walkway, she threw out dead flowers and a snake or two. A small ghoul took the place as the ring bearer and his mother cried with joy as he walked by, remarking how scary he was. Finally came the bride. Sally looked stunning in her wedding dress; she had created a few small tears here and there and covered some spots with cobwebs, but the dress itself was beautiful. The trail of her dress was carried by ghosts, Jack’s ghost pet Zero holding up the end.
“How are we doing Joey?” Grace asked quietly as Sally passed by.
Joey pulled out one of his gadgets. “Signal is up at 109%,” he replied reading the small screen, “No errors found.”
The wedding continued on; Joey gave them a brief update of the jammer every so often. It seemed as if nothing could shattered the happiness brought by the ceremony, though it suddenly went cold and cloudy as Jack said his vows. Joey gave his report but Clarise shivered and asked, “Are you sure that’s right?”
“Of course it’s right,” Joey looked upset, “I have two sensors with me, just in case one of them is wrong, and right now they’re saying the same thing.”
Clarise nodded but shivered again.
“Are you okay Clarise?” Anemone asked.
“It’s just it got really cold all of a sudden,” Clarise replied, rubbing her arms together.
Grace looked up at the sky just as Sally said her vows. Something wasn’t right, she thought, this coldness seems unnatural. The clouds were churning, as if trying to create a storm. She silently summoned her Keyblade with her hand behind her back. “I’m going to have a look around,” she said, “I’ll be back.” She caught Sora’s eye as she broke free from the crowd. He looked a little worried too; had he sense that ominous presence?
“Do you Jack Skellington, take Miss Sally, to be your afterlife wife, in sickness and death…”
Grace was at the graveyard entrance when she suddenly heard something. She turned around to look.
“I do.”
That was when she saw him, a figure in a dark cloak. Was it Organization XIII or something else?
“And do you Miss Sally, take Jack Skellington, to be your afterlife husband…”
The figure smiled at her. He had unnaturally white teeth and they were all perfectly straight.
“I do.”
Then he disappeared into a black smoke. Her Keyblade was quivering or was that her, shivering at the unknown?
“I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride,” announced the mayor. Jack and Sally leaned together for that binding kiss but they never got it that far. The mayor suddenly screamed, switching to his upset face, and pointed at something on the town hall steppe.
It was a huge Heartless, bigger than a man, but unlike most Heartless, it had a mouth, a mouth with long sharp teeth. It grinned monstrously down upon the crowd and then jumped down to the ground. It gave a bone shattering roar and the townsfolk scampered. Sora drew his Keyblade as the Heartless turned on him. He jumped out of the way from his claws and hit the Heartless’s underside. The Heartless didn’t like that and countered by throwing Sora off. Someone caught Sora before he fell back; it was Jack.
“Where’s Sally?” Sora asked.
“She safe with the rest of the townsfolk,” replied Jack as he helped Sora up. Donald and Goofy joined them with their weapons ready. “Now gentlemen, I believe we have some business to take care of.”
As Sora, Donald, and Goofy went off to fight the Heartless, Clarise, Anemone, and Mitch were trying to move Joey from his spot. “I don’t understand,” he said in shock, “How could that Heartless get through?”
“We’ll figure that out later, after we get out of here!” Anemone gave him a shove and he tumbled into Mitch. Mitch started to drag Joey away from the battle but she stopped when someone blocked their path. It was the man in the black coat. No one moved; it was as if his presence had frozen them.
The man in the black coat looked down at Joey’s helpless face and whispered, “Nice try.” His voice was cold and icy, like ice stabbing the heart. He then looked up at Clarise then Anemone. He beckoned her towards him. Anemone stood transfixed at him and slowly she took a step forward. Clarise grabbed her arm and she stopped moving.
“Don’t look at him!” Clarise cried and Anemone snapped out of her trance. She backed away from the man but he stepped forward to grab her. Suddenly he stopped and turned around.
Grace had her Keyblade pointed at him, her breath heavy from running back from the graveyard. “Don’t move or I’ll-” But before she could finish, he had knocked her away. Before Grace could get back on her feet, the man grabbed her arm and pulled her close to him so he could get a better look at her.
“Teresa?” she heard him whisper, sounding unsure of himself.
Just then Sora came flying in, knocking the man away from Grace. He stood in front of her as she got on her feet, taking a guard stance. “Are you okay?” he asked.
Grace nodded and summoned her Keyblade.
The man dusted his coat off, frowning, then disappeared and reappeared in front of Sora. In a mere second, he knocked Sora’s Keyblade out of his hand and grabbed his arm. As soon as he touched Sora, he started to scream. Sora had never felt pain like this before; it was as if his head was trying to split in two. His entire body ache as the feeling of a thousand hot pins struck him all over.
“Let my brother go!”
Jane jumped in and kicked the man in the black coat away from Sora. The man stumbled for a second, then gathered himself as Sora went flying back into Grace. Jane raised her hands in front of her, ready to do a Summoning.
“Those eyes…so you’re his sister,” the man whispered to himself as he faced Jane. He started to smile and disappeared again. Jane broke from her stance, looking around her cautiously. She sensed the man coming behind her but she wasn’t fast enough and her picked her up and carried her off.
“Jane!” Grace shouted as the man disappeared into the graveyard. She turned back to Sora, who was still on the ground. “Sora, c’mon! That guy took Jane! We have to catch him!” He moaned as she rubbed his arm. “Sora-?” She turned him over so that she could see his face, but it wasn’t Sora who was lying in pain before her.
“Dammit!” Grace cursed. She looked around.
The monster of a Heartless had disappeared and the villagers were starting to peek out of their hiding places. Mitch, Anemone, Clarise, and Joey ran up to Grace, each with a few scratches here and there, but other than that fine. “What happened to him?” asked Clarise. “And when did he changed to Roxas?”
“It was that guy,” explained Grace, “He took Jane! I’ve got to get him before he leaves the world! Donald, Goofy, where are you?”
“Over here!” Donald called. He and Goofy rushed over, Goofy limping a bit. “We managed to drive that Heartless off before it caused any more trouble.”
Goofy leaned down to get a good look at Roxas. “He doesn’t look so good,” he remarked.
Joey took Roxas’s pulse. “His heartbeat is very high and he has a slight fever,” he said.
Mitch also leaned down, waving her hands in the air slowly. “I sense powerful dark magic. I believe this transformation was caused by that man in the black coat.”
“Great! That’s good to know!” Grace said sarcastically, “Now, I’m going after that guy so he doesn’t take off with Jane. Donald, Goofy, c’mon!”
The three off them left the town square and into the graveyard, just as the clouds above rumbled with thunder and rain started to fall.
************************************************************************
Jane struggled and struggled against the hold of the man in the black coat but no matter what she tried his grip did not waver as he dragged her further and further into the graveyard. She kicked and punched and even bit but nothing stopped the man from taking her to their unknown destination. She even dragged her feet in the ground but that didn’t work either. “You’re messing with wrong girl dude! I swear, you’re gonna regret ever kidnapping me!”
The man merely smiled at her evilly. That was when Jane got really ticked off and countered by spitting in his face. That caught the man by surprise and he looked Jane directly in the face. Jane smug look of victory disappeared at once. What she saw underneath that face was so something so terrifying and horrific, what small part of her brain that hadn’t froze up kept her from vomiting. She began to scream. The man in the black coat placed his hand over her mouth to muffle the scream and then…darkness.
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Grace, Donald, and Goofy heard Jane’s scream once they got to the graveyard. “Jane!” Grace shouted and drew her Keyblade.
“Over there!” pointed Donald.
The man in the black coat was holding Jane’s head between his hands. He looked up when he saw the trio coming, dropped Jane’s limp body, and disappeared into the darkness. Grace was first to reach Jane. “Jane! Jane!” she shook Jane’s shoulder and she slowly came back to consciousness.
“I saw his face,” Jane said as she started to come around, “But…”
“But what?” asked Grace, “What did it look like?”
“It…I don’t remember,” she replied, her eyes getting wide, “I don’t remember! He…he must’ve modified my memory!”
“Calm down. We need to get you back to the Strahl,” said Grace as she helped Jane up. “It’s not that far…”
“In fact it’s even closer!” Goofy pointed up to the sky.
Grace looked up and saw the bright engine lights of the Strahl lit up the graveyard. The cockpit door opened with Matti waving at them to get in.
“There’s no other explanation,” Jane said five minutes later in the medical ward to the others and Balthier as the Strahl hovered into space, “My memory was modified. Obviously, that man didn’t want any one to recognize him.”
“Are you sure he just didn’t hypnotize you though?” asked Jeoy.
“I wasn’t hypnotized,” Jane shook her head, “Because I remember what I felt and it was terrifying. There was a monster beneath that coat.”
“Do you think Sora saw it too and that triggered his transformation?” asked Clarise, looking over at the still barely conscious Roxas.
“No, all man did was grab Sora’s arm and he started screaming,” explained Grace.
“It’s obvious we are dealing with something none of us have ever faced before,” Balthier furrowed his eyebrows, his hand to his temple. “Are you sure it wasn’t an Angelus?”
“This was no Angelus,” said Mitch, “This was evil, evil to the nth power.”
“Could it have been Xehanort?” asked Grace.
Everyone was quiet. She knew they were all thinking the same thing. “But if it was Xehanort, he had an easy chance to kill Sora right there. Why would he let it slip by?” asked Anemone.
“It could have been his apprentice, you know, the Black Armored Knight,” suggested Joey, “It could explain why he was able to get pass the Heartless Jammer. Remember, Axel and Xigbar were able to get through mine. This guy was at least as strong as a human Nobody, if not stronger.”
“But what about the Heartless?” asked Goofy.
“Once a portal is opened, anything can get in or out. That guy must’ve opened the portal for the Heartless,” explained Joey.
Roxas gave another moan and they all fell silent again. “Why hasn’t he changed back yet?” asked Balthier.
“It could be a spell of some sort,” suggested Mitch.
“Can’t you break that spell?” Balthier asked Jane.
“That memory modification zapped me of my energy. Even if I wanted to use a dipartation spell, in his condition I wouldn’t even try it,” said Jane.
Roxas moaned again and Grace asked, “Don’t you have him on something?”
“The sedative should be taking effect now,” said Balthier checking the medical bag above Roxas’s bag.
“And Naminé?” Joey asked.
“She’s fine,” said Balthier, “No pain whatsoever.”
“Poor Jack and Sally,” sighed Clarise, “I hope they’re okay. We had to leave without saying good-bye.”
“Oh, don’t worry about them,” Goofy said reassuringly, “I’m sure they’ll understand.”
“Well, Jane, you and Roxas rest up. Everyone else, get something to eat. Fran should be almost done with dinner,” said Balthier.
They all left the room, except for Jane and Roxas, heading down to the galley for dinner. Matti was waiting outside for Clarise. Clarise stopped when she saw him but they didn’t speak until they were both alone. “I’m sorry about what I said the other day,” Clarise said holding her arm.
“No,” Matti shook his head, “You were right. You are a lot stronger than you seem.”
Clarise nodded, then she suddenly started to cry and ran into Matti’s arms. “Oh Matti, I was so scared, so, so scared when that man tried to beckon Anemone to him. And when he looked at me, if was as if, as if there was a monster looking at me, and all I could think about was you!”
They stood there for a moment, Clarise crying and Matti at a loss for words. Finally, Clarise couldn’t cry anymore, so they went down to the galley together.
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Roxas finally woke up hours later in the medical ward with his head throbbing. He was trying to put together the dream he had; something about the Chasers.
“Are you okay?”
He looked up and saw Grace sitting next to him.
“Yeah,” he nodded.
“You looked like you were having a bad dream,” remarked Grace.
“Maybe,” he said quietly. He looked over and saw Jane sleeping soundly on the bed next to him. “What about her?”
“She’ll be fine,” replied Grace, “But you may not be. Balthier ordered Joey to come up with a way to change you back.”
“Which means I don’t have that much time left. Well, better make some good use of it,” he leaned closer to Grace to kiss her.
“You want to be on the Naughty list,” Grace smiled just before he kissed her.
Ten seconds later, Joey and Naminé came in the room, Joey pushing forward a large machine. “Sorry to interrupt the moment, but since Roxas is up and awake and still under the effect of sedation, Balthier wants to get this done,” said Joey when Roxas and Grace broke apart.
“What is that?” Roxas asked staring at the large machine.
“Oh don’t worry, you probably won’t remember it,” explained Joey as he started placing electrodes on Roxas’s head and chest, “But Jack Skellington would have a laugh about it. Essentially, I’m going to shock you back to Sora.”
“Shock me back?” Roxas asked with worry. Grace looked a little nervous too.
“As I said, don’t worry. You won’t feel a thing and it won’t blow your teeth out,” Joey explained calmly as he turned the machine on, shocking Roxas with a strong current of electricity but with a low voltage. He fell back into his bed and Joey quickly turned off the machine. Roxas sat back up again but this time he was Sora.
“Hey…I didn’t feel anything,” he said.
“Good,” Joey smiled. He then turned to Naminé who was now Kairi. “Did you?”
“Not a thing,” she smiled.
“Well, my work here is done,” Joey said pulling off the electrodes and pushing the machine out of the room. He had almost reached the door, when Tai came rushing in with something in his hand, almost tripping on his shoelaces in the process.
“Sorry!” he called back to Joey as he went pass him. He stopped in front of Sora’s bed trying to catch his breath. When he finally had a moment, he lifted up his hand. “It’s the Astropass! It’s glowing again!” He gave the Astropass to Sora.
Sora held it between his hands feeling the Astropass pulsate. He closed his eyes and concentrated. “A pirate ship,” he said.
“The Black Pearl?” Grace asked as she took the Astropass from his hands.
“No,” Sora shook his head, “But it’s familiar. I’ve seen it before.”
“I think I see a fairy,” Grace said as she concentrated on the Astropass before it stopped glowing.
“With wings? And talks by tinkling? Like the sound of bells?” Sora asked specifically.
“Something like that,” Grace replied.
“That must be Tinkerbell!” Sora declared, “And that pirate ship must be Hook’s! Looks like we’re off to Neverland.”
“Neverland?” Tai asked with confusion.
“Uh…I’ll explain it once we tell everyone where we’re going,” Sora reassured him.
“That fairy…Tinkerbell,” Grace said quietly, “She had a light but it looked like it was going out. Does that mean anything to you?”
Sora shook his head but then something came back to him, striking him like lightning. It had came from the dream and was only a sentence, but the words in a voice similar to Roxas’s shook him.
“…please erase me.”
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A FEW LIGHT YEARS AWAY FROM HALLOWEEN TOWN
Jane of a large town called London had had a rough night. She had barely escaped the air raid over Britain with Nanna-Two into the bomb shelter set up behind her back yard. Now that the all-clear signal had sounded, she walked back inside with the Saint Bernard as her mother Wendy carried her little brother Danny up to bed. He had been all worn out from the epic Peter Pan story her mother had recited so well, the story of how Pan and his followers, the Lost Boys had stolen Captain Hook’s treasure and caused the Jolly Roger to fly off into the clouds. It sounded as if her mother was there…but that wasn’t possible. Peter Pan was just make believe and Jane was far too old to be concerned with make believe.
“Honestly Mother,” she said quietly as they went up the stairs, “I don’t know why you fill his head with silly stories.”
“But they aren’t-” Wendy started to explain but there was a knock at the door. She gave Danny to Jane. “Take care of Danny, will you?”
Jane took Danny in her arms reluctantly and carried him up the stairs as Wendy went back to the door. There was an army official at the door. Wendy almost dreaded to think of what he was about to say. “Yes?” she asked, hoping for the best.
“Evacuation, mum,” the man got to the point, taking out his smoking pipe, “Your children are scheduled on the morning train.”
“So soon?” Wendy took a moment to breathe. “But I haven’t even told them.”
“The sooner the better, if you ask me,” the man added before leaving, “Good night, mum.”
“Yes,” Wendy nodded, “Uh, good night.”
When Wendy entered Jane’s room a few seconds later, Jane was taking off Nanna-Two’s helmet and hanging up on her coat rack. Wendy gave herself a moment to prepare and came into the room. “Jane, dear?” she called her daughter over. Jane came to her mother at once seeing the worried look in her eyes. Wendy took Jane’s hands in her own sitting down at her clothes chest at the foot of the bed. “Will you promise me something?” She hesitated for a second then said, “Promise me you’ll watch over Danny, whatever might happen.”
“What?” Jane looked at her mother shocked.
Wendy sighed. She could not bare to look into Jane’s eyes as she said, “You and your brother are going away for a while.”
Jane pulled away from Wendy. “Away? But where?”
“All the children are being evacuated to the country,” explained Wendy, “It’s so dangerous here. But you’ll be safe there, both of you.”
“I’m not going!” Jane stomped her foot, “I’m staying here!”
“But dear, an order has been issued. Every child must go,” Wendy tried to explain but she could see the tears forming in Jane’s eyes.
“But Daddy said that I’m supposed to…”
“I know dear, but you can take care of Danny. Tell him Peter Pan stories. He needs them, Jane, and so do you. Please, dear. Promise me,” Wendy said calmly but Jane wouldn’t have any of it.
“No! I will not promise!” Jane ran to the other side of the room in a rage.
“Oh Jane, we’ll be together again,” reassured Wendy, “You must have faith.”
“Faith? Trust? Pixie dust?” Jane gave a hollow laugh and kicked a pillow on the floor. “Those are just words from your stories. They don’t mean anything.”
“Yes, they do,” a small voice came from the door. Danny has stumbled in, half asleep. He was still wearing a green hat Wendy had made and a Peter Pan doll. “Peter Pan says they’ll make you fly.”
“Daniel,” Jane huffed, “Story time is over!” She threw open the curtains to show the dark city outside. “Look! It’s a war. Peter Pan isn’t real and people don’t fly!”
“They do too!” Danny insisted with his lip trembling and his eyes big and round.
“Oh, come on, Daniel! Grow up!” shouted Jane.
“Jane!” Wendy called but she marched right over to her brother.
“It’s just a lot of childish nonsense!” Jane carried on.
“You’re lying!” cried Danny and he ran off back to his bedroom.
“Jane, how could you treat your brother that way?” Wendy asked. Jane fell silent and folded her arms. “You think you’re very grown-up but you have a great deal to learn,” Wendy said as she crossed the room and went to Danny’s bedroom to console him.
The dog went out behind Wendy and Jane slammed the door shut. Jane sunk to the floor about to cry but she wiped them away. What would crying do? She looked across the floor and saw the Peter Pan doll on the floor. She picked herself off the floor, grabbed a coat nearby and picked up the doll. She stared at in her hand and looked out the window. Out in the night sky, she could see two stars twinkling brightly. Could one of them be the fabled path to Neverland? Her mother thought so. In the window next to her, she was showing Danny the stars. They disappeared back inside and Jane couldn’t help but smile. The smile was broken by the wail of an ambulance. She looked down across the city and saw smoke and fires from the recent raid. It was too much to take in and she closed the window, sitting down on the bed nearby. She held up the doll. “Peter Pan. Pixie Dust. Childish nonsense,” she sobbed and threw the doll back on the floor. She started to cry and before she went to sleep, thought of one more person her mother had told her off: Sora the Keyblade Master, but he was probably more of that childish nonsense. Slowly, she cried herself to sleep unaware of the time storm roaring in the atmosphere above.
PS: I don't think Sephiroph is going to show up in this book. There's just too much going on. As for Sora and Jane meeting their great-grandparents...it will be formality first with Jane and Sora would freak out before she did. And the next chapter is underway and is going good so far. I'm not sure if the Never Land segmient will be one or two chapters but at the end something will happen that really gets the ball rolling.
Wow. that was good. You consider that short? I can't wait to find out how Sora reacts that will be hilarious. Just a thought I have but I don't think that guy in a black coat was Xehanort either, I think he might be a dark form of Ven or something cause he didn't want Jane to recognize him so she knows who he is and he knows Teresa.
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