OHITHAR. Yes, it's another update, courtesy of yours truly, whom is back from Sakuracon! WOOT.

Enjoy.

In Another Galaxy

By FlikFreak

Part Four: Legend's Proof

The rain pattered against the window like a soft lullaby. Unwilling to further her already bad mood, Sarah flipped the blinds to simulate a far more pleasurable field of flowers outside instead. She fell into the chair nearby as Delbert was putting on his coat. "Thanks for listening, Delbert…it helps."

Delbert bit his lip and placed a comforting hand on Sarah's shoulder. "It's going to be okay," he said. "You'll see." He stood upright. "Besides, if Sora has to stay any longer, perhaps he'll help set Jim on a straighter path."

Sarah smiled weakly. "I'd be sad to see Sora go," she replied quietly. "He's been helping me out all day and never asks for a single thing in return. I don't know why, but…for some reason everything just seems better with him around. I guess it's because he smiles so much."

"He is rather cheerful," Delbert commented. "He's been separated from his friends, he hasn't been to his home or to proper civilization for two years…it's a wonder that boy keeps a smile on his face." He paused, glancing around the room. "Just where did he go off to, anyway?"

Sarah glanced at the staircase. "He went up on the roof to see Jim about ten minutes ago," She explained. "I think he said he was worried about him."

Delbert nodded thoughtfully. "At least Jim has someone to talk to."

Sighing, Sarah pulled out a small locket. "I keep dreaming one day I'll open that door, and he'll be just the way he was…that smiling, happy little boy holding a new pet and begging me to let him keep it."

"Almost there," Jim said over the rain. "You're going to be okay, mister."

Sora wasn't so sure. The man was in bad shape; he wouldn't last much longer. The least he could do would be to bring him inside and out of the rain, but beyond that he wasn't sure. I could heal him, he thought bitterly, But even if it did help…I'd be meddling. I can't interfere…

They didn't even have to push open the door. Delbert Doppler was just on his way out when they reached the doorstep, and the scholar didn't hesitate to gasp in shock. Sarah, whom had been sitting at the table near the window, cried out in astonishment. "James Pleiades Hawkins, what is-"

"Mom, he's hurt!" Jim interrupted.

Sarah rushed forward, and Delbert abandoned his trip home out of concern for the stranger. Sora bit his lip and examined the man closely. His wounds were too deep; he wouldn't last much longer at this rate. Why, he silently pleaded. Why can't I…

The old alien coughed hoarsely and reached for the chest that had also been dragged in. "Me chest, lad…"

Sora glanced toward the article in question and moved it closer to the man. It was surprisingly light for something so large. The dying man tapped the combination lock buttons a few times and the top hissed open. "He'll be comin' soon," he wheezed as he pulled a round object hastily wrapped in cloth from inside. "I can't let them find this!"

"Who's coming?" Jim asked.

His response came immediately. The stranger grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and pulled him downward. "The cyborg!" Sora heard him reply, his voice quickly fading. "Beware…the cy…borg…"

With one last choked moan of pain, the wounded alien fell to the ground lifelessly, leaving Jim with the mysterious article in his hands. Sora shuddered as he felt the aura of the room darken. Sarah gave a silent gasp as she realized that the man would never again rise to his feet.

There was no time to mourn the man's passing away as a light filtered through the windows. Sora felt a familiar prickle up his spine and had half a mind to summon the keyblade, but he kept his fists closed. There was no use in calling forward a beacon to the heartless if there weren't any to begin with. He knew better than to endanger a place needlessly.

Suspicious, Jim crept forward and made a narrow opening in the blinds to peer through. Sora discretely found his own place to look outside, and what he saw wasn't what he liked. Along with several humanoid shapes, there were also familiar black creatures with those all-too-familiar beady yellow eyes that glowed like light bulbs…

"Heartless!" Sora gasped.

Jim's eyes widened, and judging by the expression on his face Sora assumed that he wasn't about to question that any further. Securely placing the round object in one of his jacket pockets, he spun around and grabbed his mother's arm. "Come on, we've gotta get out of here!"

Delbert was just peering out of the peephole of the door when a bright flash of violet light blasted through the door, scattering wood splinters everywhere. He quickly followed after the others. "I believe I'm with Jim on this one!" He cried.

Sora clenched his teeth. Between heartless and bandits, he didn't particularly feel like fighting…especially alone. He hesitated momentarily, just long enough for the familiar shadow heartless to catch sight of him. They lunged at the boy, and Sora kicked one of them off before slamming his back into the wall, getting rid of another. He was just about to call the keyblade when Jim called to him from up the stairs. Sora wasted no time in following.

"After him! After him!"

Sora and Jim frantically made their way to Delbert and Sarah, whom were in the window and poised to leap into a carriage below. Jim shoved them out before the pirates could reach, and Sora followed, utilizing his ability to glide as discretely as he could to land safely in the cramped foot space of the small carriage. Delbert wasted no time in urging his horse – or whatever it was – forward at a breakneck pace.

Sarah gave one long look back at the inn burning to the ground and shoved her face into her hands. Sora noticed Jim only giving her a sad glance before returning to the object he had been entrusted with.

Sora clenched his fists in anger.

Jim didn't know what to think. Yesterday, he found Sora in a ravine, unconscious from a crash in his escape pod. Today, he had been entrusted with a mysterious round object and was promptly ambushed by not only brigands, but monsters from a story that Sora had told. Sora didn't seem too happy to see them…in fact, he seemed as though he recognized them.

"Stupid shadows," he heard the boy mutter as they walked up to the front door of Delbert's manor. Jim began to ask him more, but Sora seemed too upset to delve further into the matter.

The living room was large, cluttered with mountains of books, and overall quite cozy. Sarah had been seated near the fireplace with a coat placed over her to keep her warm, and while Jim rejected the offer purely from depression, Sora rejected it for the odd explanation that he had been through worse. A knock on the front door caused Delbert to leave for a while, and Sora busied himself with a star-shaped keychain that he had pulled out of his pocket. Jim, on the other hand, fetched the sphere from its resting place on the table and unwrapped it, revealing a similarly shaped artifact riddled with circular and linear designs. What is this thing? He wondered.

Delbert returned shortly. "I just spoke with the constabulary," he said. "Those dastardly pirates and their monster pets have vanished without a trace. I'm sorry, Sarah…I'm afraid the old Benbow Inn has burned to the ground."

A long, sorrowful silence followed Delbert's announcement, and Jim could see Sora's eyebrows furrowing. He made his way over to the boy, tossing the sphere. "It's not like it's your fault," he said.

Sora only shook his head. "I could have done something…"

"Like what?"

"I dunno. Fight, maybe."

"Against those heartless and the pirates?" Jim said, doubtful. "I'm pretty sure you could try, but I doubt you'd win."

The foreigner muttered something about world order and said nothing more on the subject.

Delbert, clearly upset about the silence, cleared his throat. "Certainly a lot of trouble over that odd little sphere…"

Jim's eyes traveled to the artifact in his hand, and he lazily prodded at a few of the circular shapes on it. Odd…whenever he prodded at them, they made a strange blipping sound. Maybe it's some sort of mechanism? He wondered. There was another beep – one a bit louder than the rest, and he grinned. Experimentally, he began to push on one side…yep, it turned.

"What're you doing?" Sora asked, his previous disgruntlement having completely evaporated.

"Dunno," Jim replied. "I think it's some sort of container or something." Another twist and part of the object clicked. Maybe if he turned this part…

Another click, this one louder than the rest, and a loud whirr accompanied the sudden drain of light from the room as numerous glowing green particles flew from out of the sphere. What the…

Delbert gave an offhand yelp of protest before realizing what Jim had done. Sarah sat upright, nearly dropping her coat, and Sora jumped a bit at the sudden development. "What did you do?" Sora demanded, eyes wide and jaw gawking open.

"I opened it?" Jim replied, barely knowing what had happened himself.

The particles spread into a net shape around the room, filling the center with various sphere-like shapes. Delbert gave a small gasp of surprise. "It's a map!"

A map? Jim echoed. A map of what?

"Look, this is us!" Delbert cried, pointing to one of the planets. "The planet Montressor!" He apparently pointed too close, and his finger made contact with the hologram, causing the map to surge in one direction. Planets and other spatial formations flew by. "That's the Magellanic Cloud! And…the Coral Galaxy! That's the Cygnus Cross...and that's the Kerian Abyss…"

"What is all this?" Sora asked offhand. "I know it's a map, but…what's it for?"

Sora soon found his answer when a lone green planet, circled by two rings, appeared, the other planets and formations nearby blinking out until it stood alone. Delbert's eyes widened. "Wait, what's…this is…it's…"

Jim felt that childish smile climbing up his face. "It's Treasure Planet!"

"Impossible!" Delbert exclaimed, his eyes wider than saucers. "Flint's Trove! The loot of a thousand worlds! Do you know what this means?!"

"It means that all that treasure…" Jim grinned and tossed the sphere in his hand. "…it's just one boat ride away."

"No way!" Sora cried, smiling brightly, both he and Jim ignoring Delbert's sudden rambling about the discovery. "That much treasure could buy anything!"

It was then that Jim felt an idea rising in his head. If he could buy anything, then maybe…of course. He closed the map, prompting a surprised cry from Delbert as the light returned to the room. "Mom, this is it! This is the answer to all our problems!"

Sarah's expression promptly went from awed to worried. "Jim, there is absolutely no way I'm letting you-"

"But don't you remember?" Jim interrupted. "Those stories?"

"That's all they were, Jim! Stories!"

Jim shook his head. "They were more than stories, Mom! Sora says there's truth to every legend! And look, we found proof of this one!" He held the map forward to demonstrate. "Besides, with that treasure, we can rebuild the Benbow a hundred times over if we wanted to!"

"But this is…it's just…oh, for…" Sarah gave a long sigh. "Delbert, would you please tell Jim how ridiculous this is?"

Delbert regained his composure and straightened his glasses. "It's preposterous, traversing the entire galaxy alone," he explained in a most formal and fatherly voice.

Sarah nodded, only worsening Jim's sulk. "Now, at last we hear some sense."

"Which is why I'm going with you."

"Delbert!?"

Jim didn't know whether to be shocked or overjoyed, but he was smiling anyway as Delbert rushed from table to table, scooping various things into a bag. "I'll use my savings to fund an expedition…commission a ship and hire a captain and crew…"

"You're not serious, are you?" Sarah asked.

It was perfectly clear, however, that the scholar was. "All my life I've been waiting for an opportunity like this and here it is, screaming!" He began to cheer for himself on the spot. "Go Delbert! Go Delbert! Go Del-"

"Okay, you're both grounded!"

Nearby, Sora winced. "Wow, Jim…I don't think you're mom's too keen on this."

"She's not," Jim replied.

"But think about it," Sora said, grinning. "Remember what you said? And besides…earlier tonight she was going on about how she could barely manage. Maybe if you…"

Jim furrowed his eyebrows. Sora had a point. He turned to Sarah. "Mom…I know I've messed up a whole bunch in the past, and I know I've let you down…"

Sarah's gaze softened. "Jim…"

"But this is my chance to make it up to you," Jim continued. "I want to set things right."

Sora nodded. "Yeah. Come on, Mrs. Hawkins."

Delbert cleared his throat a little. "Sarah, may I see you for a moment?"

Nodding, the woman went with Delbert a few feet away and they began muttering. Jim and Sora exchanged glances. "You think she'll let me?"

"I think so," Sora replied. "With Dr. Doppler convincing her I don't see how she wouldn't."

Jim laughed humorlessly. "Would your parents let you do anything like this?"

Sora chuckled. "Of course not. But then again, I really didn't have any choice."

He didn't…? But then why is he…

Sarah turned back to Jim, interrupting his thoughts. "Jim…" She began, her eyes full of exhaustion. "…I just don't want to lose you. You're all I have left."

He smiled. "You won't, Mom. I'll make you proud. Promise."

Nodding, Sarah turned to the other boy in the room. "What'll you do, Sora?"

Sora bit his lip and looked at the floor for a moment before answering. "Well…I know my friends aren't on Montressor. Without the Excalibur they can't travel between planets, so…I guess I'll come along. Besides…my friends aren't the only things I'm looking for right now."

"Be careful," Sarah replied, smiling.

Delbert smiled hopefully. "Well, there we are then." He clapped his hands together and moved toward the window. "We'll begin preparations at once. Jim, Sora, soon we'll be off to the spaceport!"

Later that night, everyone was sleeping soundly in their given beds. Delbert had several guest rooms to offer, but even then most of them were crowded with books and other tools of astronomy. Sora ended up sharing a room with Jim, and once again allowed the boy to utilize the mattress for his resting needs.

"You sure about this?" Jim asked. "I mean, you don't even know where your friends are. And with those pirates and black monsters…well, it'll be pretty dangerous."

"I laugh in the face of danger," Sora jested. "To be honest, Jim, I've been through a lot worse than this. I'm lucky to be alive even now."

Jim laughed. "What kind of stuff do you go through?"

Sora shrugged. "Well, I've done so much I don't really remember all of it…one time I was up against a thousand or so heartless at once."

"You're joking."

"Nope."

"I don't really see you as the fighting type, Sora…you really fought that many?"

"It's true. My friends would vouch for it if they were here."

"What'd you do, swing a sword at them?"

The thought of it made him laugh. Sora had tried holding an actual sword once, and it didn't work out quite that well. The keyblade was much lighter and easier to handle, probably because it had chosen him specifically and adjusted itself to suit him. "Well, not a sword, but something like it. I have it with me right now."

Jim snorted. "Where do you have it, your pocket? I haven't seen you with so much as a pocket knife since we first met. You sure you didn't lose it in the crash?"

"Nope. Still have it."

"Whatever," Jim mumbled, turning over in his bed. "You can show it to me tomorrow. G'night."

"'night," Sora replied as he placed his hands behind his head and stared at the ceiling. With any luck, I won't have to show you.

So, there's chapter four. Tune in next time for the long-awaited spaceport...and Sora's chosen surname. XD