A/N: Guess what, guys? I'm not dead! I apologize for not updating much sooner, but I'm behind on a lot of things lately. Hopefully, this chapter will make up for it. It gets a bit technical at the beginning, but bear with me.
Ready, set, read!
Chapter 7: Conflicted Philosophy
Darth Vader stood on the bridge of his hulking flagship, the Executor, looking over the hodgepodge of six diverse creatures standing before him. Each and all had permission form Vader himself to be aboard the Super Star Destroyer, but none were welcomed warmly by the ship's crew. "Bounty hunters." muttered Admiral Firmus Piett to two of his fellow crewmembers. "We don't need their scum."
"Yes, sir." one of the crewmembers agreed automatically.
"Those rebels won't escape us." Piett added, though whether it was to himself or to the crewmember he was not entirely sure.
Piett turned again to face the odd assortment of creatures that stood together on the Executor's bridge. They were quite a sight, gruff and battle-hardened as they were by their years of experience in their field. Even in the presence of Darth Vader, the bounty hunters did not flinch. The Empire had files on each of the bounty hunters, and Piett mentally reviewed this information as he looked over the creatures.
The first bounty hunter was IG-88. IG-88 had originally been programmed to be an assassin droid, but his creators had made a fatal flaw in his design: they had programmed such autonomy and such capacity for thought into the droid that IG-88 had achieved what only a few droids had done before. He had achieved sentience. Unbeknownst to even the Empire, however, IG-88 had downloaded this programming into three identical replicas of itself. The IG-88 now aboard the Executor was IG-88B, the most experienced bounty hunter among his counterparts. IG-88B had a reputation for always completing his mission with precision and expedience that one would expect from a droid, but with competence and ingenuity often only found in organic beings.
The second bounty hunter was called Dengar. Dengar was a cybernetically enhanced human, equipped with a blaster rifle and blaster pistol sidearm, as well as a wide array of explosives. His body was protected by modified versions of Imperial Stormtrooper armor, and his head was covered with thick facial wrappings that left only his face visible. Dengar's true power, however, lay in his mind. The Empire had ruthlessly experimented on Dengar, undergoing a procedure that removed all of Dengar's emotions, save for three: rage, hope, and, accidentally, loneliness. His inability to feel guilt or remorse made him a cold and efficient killer, a powerful tool of destruction.
Next came the bounty hunter Bossk, Trandoshan in species. Trandoshans were humanoid reptilian creatures, covered in thick scales as strong as any armor. Bossk wore a yellow spacesuit that was obviously too small for him, perhaps having once belonged to a human. Bossk was an aggressive and skilled bounty hunter, notorious for his pleasure in hunting and skinning Wookiees for their pelts. Wookiee hunting was considered suicidal by most, but Bossk had been making sport of it for many years. Bossk had agreed to join the other bounty hunters aboard the Executor for exactly one reason: the opportunity to win the pelt of Chewbacca, one of the most slippery Wookiees of all.
The next two bounty hunters were Zuckuss and 4-LOM, two comrades that scarcely went on missions separately anymore. Zuckuss was a Gand, an insectoid creature that breathed ammonia rather than oxygen. To survive in oxygen-rich environments, Zuckuss wore an ammonia-filled respirator over his face. Zuckuss's body was draped in a heavy cloak, under which was hidden an even heavier set of battle armor. Zuckuss was known as "The Uncanny One" by other bounty hunters due to an innate connection to the Force. This connection allowed Zuckuss to sense the presences of individuals and their motives (his "intuition," he called it). This, combined with Zuckuss's more contemplative and tactical nature, made him a very efficient killer.
4-LOM was different. He was a protocol droid—much like C-3PO, though his head resembled that of a Gand—with a flaw in his system that drove him to constantly override and update his own programming. As a droid, 4-LOM was practical to a fault, often arguing against Zuckuss's intuitive tracking skills. However, the droid could not argue with the Gand's success, and partnered with Zuckuss in order to learn the secret of intuition for himself. 4-LOM also demonstrated a certain sense of compassion rarely found in machines. He had bonded very closely to Zuckuss over the years, and even considered the Gand to be his best friend.
The sixth bounty hunter aboard the Executor, however, was in a class of his own.
Not much was known about the mysterious Boba Fett, save for his reputation as the greatest bounty hunter to ever live. No part of his body was visible beneath his helmet and armor, which had been crafted by the great race of warriors called the Mandalorians. Fett's armor was equipped with innumerable weapons and additional features, but the seasoned bounty hunter was familiar and proficient with each. Boba Fett was the only person in the room who might have stood on equal ground with Darth Vader in terms of the intimidating presence and ruthless reputation.
Boba had a flawless record for getting the job done, and many Imperials believed that he would be the one to bring in the Millennium Falcon and its passengers. Boba had a personal vendetta against Solo, who had managed to escape three bounty hunters that Fett had subcontracted. Now, Fett was determined to get the job done right, by doing it himself.
Piett highly disapproved of using bounty hunters to find the Millennium Falcon, but knew he could not say so. These hunters were hand-picked by Lord Vader himself, and those who defied Vader's orders lived only long enough to regret it. As one of Vader's higher officers, many people considered Piett's days to be numbered anyway, and the recently promoted admiral had no desire to join his predecessor in death.
All this information cycled through Piett's mind in an instant, and no sooner had it done so than Piett heard the voice of a crewmember of the Executor. "Sir, we have a priority signal from the Star Destroyer Avenger."
Piett forced himself to look away from the bounty hunters. "Right." said the Admiral before following the crewmember to a computer console not far away.
As Piett tended to the transmission from the Avenger, Darth Vader addressed the bounty hunters. "There will be a substantial reward for the one who finds the Millennium Falcon. You are free to use any methods necessary, but I want them alive." Darth Vader pointed a black-gloved finger specifically at Boba Fett and added, "No disintegrations."
Boba Fett did not move. "As you wish." he replied coldly. Of course, Boba had every intention of taking the Millennium Falcon's passengers alive. He was already working on a contract for the Tatooine crime lord Jabba the Hutt, who wanted Han Solo to be delivered to him unspoiled. If Boba could pull this off, he would receive bounties from both the Empire and from Jabba.
Darth Vader was distracted from the bounty hunters as Admiral Piett practically came running up to him, calling his name as a child does when showing his parents a new gift. "Lord Vader!" Piett cried as he strode beside the Dark Lord of the Sith. "My lord, we have them!"
Riku and King Mickey sat alone on a large tree root that jutted forth from the marshy ground of Dagobah, forming a natural bench only a scant few yards from the dreaded cave. Riku could still feel the presence of darkness in that cave interacting with the darkness in his own heart, but King Mickey's powerful aura of light managed to negate most of the cave's effects. The rest of the companions had gone back to Yoda's hut, and Mickey was quiet as a mouse (which he was) as he waited for Riku to speak. In the distance, the croaking of a thousand alien swamp creatures could be heard all around.
Riku stared at the ground. He could not bear to look at the diminutive lord of Disney Castle, who was watching him with a concerned and attentive face. There was so much Riku wanted to say, but he had no idea where to begin… or even if it was a good idea to tell Mickey at all.
At last, he took a deep breath. "How much did you hear?"
"Huh?" Mickey asked, still looking concerned.
"In the cave." Riku explained. "Before you rescued me… how much did you hear?"
"Gosh… not a lot." Mickey shrugged. "I just felt a bunch o' darkness appear in the cave, so I ran in after ya." Mickey placed a hand as close to Riku's shoulder as he could reach. "Ya can't let everything Xehanort says get to ya."
"But everything he said was true!" Riku exclaimed, a bit louder than he'd intended. "He knows… everything. My heart's an open book to him—something for him to read whenever he gets bored. He knows all my thoughts, my feelings, my fears… my wants."
"We've already talked about that, Riku." Mickey offered. "It's Xehanort that wants darkness. You use dark powers because you're turning Xehanort's influence into a weapon for light."
"Arrgh!" Riku growled, for a moment forgetting to whom he spoke. "You still don't get it! It's not darkness I want! I hate darkness! What I want is nothing but light, but darkness seems to be the only way to get it!"
King Mickey remained patient with his former apprentice. "You can't get light from darkness, Riku. You know that."
Riku stopped and took a deep breath. "Your Majesty, I—forgive me. I shouldn't have yelled at you."
"It's all right, Riku!" Mickey assured him with a warm smile. "You're just stressed, that's all."
"Oh, you have no idea." Riku sighed. He still could not face Mickey as he went on, "It's just… I'm not the Keybearer I should be. I want things I know I shouldn't want… I feel things I know I shouldn't feel."
"Don't be afraid of your feelings, Riku." Mickey said. "Ya gotta face your feelings and let your heart guide you. Those feelings are yours and nobody else's."
Riku chuckled dryly. "That's where you're wrong. I know somebody else who feels exactly the way I do. The only difference is… he got what he wanted."
Mickey's ears drooped. and his face fell. "It's Sora, isn't it?"
Riku nodded. "That's what I want, Your Majesty. I want the one thing that Sora's always had, that means more to both of us than anything else in the worlds. I want Kairi. I want her heart to belong to me, not to Sora. She's had my heart and Sora's ever since we were little kids. But she only picked one of us… and it wasn't me."
King Mickey did not look surprised; only sad. Riku did not notice this, however, as he continued speaking. "It should've been me… it would've been me. I risked everything for her, but she picked Sora because I was evil. By the time I even figured out who I was again, it was already too late. If I hadn't been so stupid… she might be carrying my baby right now."
Riku threw out his arms and shot two massive bursts of Dark Aura from his hands, shouting all the while. These bursts crashed into the nearby trees, splintering the trunks and scattering a score of flying creatures from the branches above. Mickey said nothing during this display, but only looked more dejected than ever.
At the end of his great outburst, Riku threw himself back onto the tree root and buried his face in his hands. "I'm sorry," he apologized, "but I'm just so tired of living this way. I'm hopelessly in love with by best friend's wife. And Xehanort's using that to kill me inside every day. I don't know what to do."
Finally, King Mickey did speak. The mouse king placed a comforting hand on Riku's back and said softly, "It's all right, Riku. I know."
Riku looked up at Mickey, tears stinging the back of his eyes but stubbornly refusing to fall. "You knew? For how long? Why didn't you say anything?"
"I guess I kinda always knew." Mickey answered. "I just pretended I didn't. I didn't wanna hurt you, Riku, but I guess I'll hurt you worse if I don't get involved."
"I don't see what you can do." Riku said with an exasperated sigh.
Mickey's ears drooped even lower and he shook his head. "I don't either, Riku. This was never supposed to happen."
"Huh?" Riku questioned, suddenly sitting up. "What do you mean?"
"Whelp," Mickey explained, "if the worlds were perfect, everybody would have their own One True Love, like Sora and Kairi or me and Minnie. But sometimes, hearts get paired up wrong. Some folks never find their One True Love… and some people fall in love with people who never love them back. It's sad, but—"
"Don't tell me any more." Riku barked angrily, rising from his seat upon the tree root. He was outraged. He had loved Kairi since before he'd known what love really was… and now Mickey was telling him that it was all a mistake? Some sort of cosmic hiccup that was never supposed to happen? Riku couldn't believe it. He didn't want to believe it. And Xehanort, still present in the darkest shadow of Riku's heart, didn't want him to believe it either.
Riku was already starting to give in.
By this point, Riku was certain that he would be known as the greatest mistake to ever be born into the worlds. The keyblade had originally chosen him, but due to his mistake of falling into darkness, it had instead gone to Sora. He had made the mistake of getting caught in Maleficent's web of deception. He had made the mistake of joining with Xehanort and nearly killing his best friend. And now, on top of everything else, it turned out that his feelings for Kairi—every bit of which were as strong as Sora's—were a mistake. Why, who was to say that Riku's very heart wasn't one big mistake? What if Riku was a mistake in and of himself? How much better would the worlds be without Riku?
Yes, Riku. Now you understand. crooned the voice of Xehanort's Heartless from the dark fathoms of Riku's heart. You are a creature of darkness—an outcast from the realm of light. But the darkness has no prejudices, no false pretenses. It will accept you for what you are. Give in, Riku. You know it is in your heart.
Riku paused. Perhaps it was in his heart. Perhaps he would be doing the worlds a favor if he embraced the darkness. It would certainly be easier—even Yoda had said that. Perhaps...
Xehanort's voice was suddenly cast out from Riku's heart, melted away by the warmth of King Mickey's reassuring pat on the back as he said, "I know it's gotta be hard, Riku." There was a kind smile on his face as he said, "But you can't let Xehanort get ya down now! I know he's probably making you feel worthless, but it's not true! Remember the Horned King? Without you, we never woulda beat him. You're just as much of a hero as Sora."
"And yet Sora still got the girl." Riku replied dryly.
King Mickey sighed and his kindly smile slowly drew downward into a frown. "I'm sorry, Riku. Kairi's heart belongs to Sora… nothin' can change that."
Riku sighed and looked away from the mouse king. "I know." he muttered. "That just doesn't make it any easier."
"Gosh, Riku." Mickey said sadly. "I wish there was somethin' I could tell ya. But ya just gotta be strong. Please… promise me you'll never give in to the darkness... not even for Kairi."
Riku nodded, but at the moment, he didn't know if he really meant it. "I'll do my best."
Mickey's large ears perked up at this, and his old smile returned. "That's my pal!" he said cheerily, hopping off the tree root and heading back to Yoda's hut.
"Your Majesty?"
Mickey turned around to face Riku, whose dejected expression had developed into a blatantly curious one.
"What is it, Riku?" the mouse king queried.
"When you rescued me from Xehanort's Heartless," Riku began, "did he say anything to you? Anything about me?"
Mickey froze. The diminutive king knew all too well what Xehanort had said: He will spawn the greatest darkness the worlds have ever seen, and you won't even realize it until it's already far too late. Still, Mickey didn't know if it would be a good idea to tell Riku this. On the one hand, Riku was under far too much stress already, and Xehanort was already encroaching too deeply into Riku's heart. On the other, Mickey knew that if he withheld this information, the effect it would have on the worlds would be catastrophic. He knew that the smart thing to do would be to tell Riku, but he couldn't convince himself that it was the wise thing. The right thing.
In the end, there was nothing for Mickey to do but shake his head.
"Nothin'. Nothin' at all."
The Millennium Falcon was on the run.
Captain Lorth Needa watched with great satisfaction as his Imperial-II class Star Destroyer rained heavy cannon fire down upon the Falcon. With the Avenger on its tail and the asteroids up ahead, Needa knew the Falcon would soon be overwhelmed.
At least, that was his hope.
Captain Needa knew that the asteroid belt was only so wide, and could only provide a challenge to the Millennium Falcon for so long. Even now, the once impregnable wall of asteroids was dwindling into a few widely spread masses of space debris. Unless the Falcon could be apprehended quickly, it would soon make a jump to hyperspace and thus be lost for a good while to come.
Needa knew that such news would not please Lord Vader.
The Sith Lord seemed to be pressuring Needa harder with each successive transmission he sent to the Avenger. Vader seemed to be obsessed with the Millennium Falcon, and was unyielding in his desire for Needa to capture it. Captain Needa couldn't help but wonder why.
Of course, he could not know that the reason for Darth Vader's obsession happened to be a pregnant queen from a world beyond this galaxy. Needa had no way of knowing that Kairi was the only person left that Vader considered a true friend. She was Vader's only connection to the man he had once been, and the Sith Lord was determined not to be the one to kill her.
All Captain Lorth Needa knew was that if he didn't deliver the Millennium Falcon to Vader, then very bad things would happen to him.
That was why, as Needa gazed out the cockpit of his Star Destroyer, a feeling of cold dread washed over him.
The Millennium Falcon had emerged from the asteroid field unscathed. It would be going into hyperspace at any given moment. Needa could almost feel Darth Vader's wrath crushing his throat as the Falcon cleared the last of the asteroid field. The experienced Imperial captain even counted down in his head as the seconds ticked away, certain that the Falcon would disappear into lightspeed at any time.
Five… four… three… two… one…
Something was wrong.
Instead of blasting off into lightspeed, the Millennium Falcon only continued to sit there in the cold vacuum of space. Another massive blast from the Avenger's cannons struck the Falcon, causing it to visibly jerk forward. Another hit like that, Needa knew, and the Falcon would be done for.
No sooner had the order come out of Needa's mouth to fire on the rear of the Millennium Falcon than did something quite unexpected occur. Rather than disappearing into lightspeed, the Millennium Falcon abruptly turned around. Needa could scarcely believe his eyes.
The Falcon was headed straight toward them!
Captain Lorth Needa's training kept him from panicking, but he was unable to suppress his shock as he called to his men, "They're moving into attack position! Shields up!"
Several shots were fired at the oncoming Millennium Falcon, but in their own state of panic, none of the gunnery officers were able to land a hit on their target. The Millennium Falcon accelerated forward, and it looked to Needa as though it were going to try to ram the Avenger's command bridge. Lorth Needa and all the pilots aboard the Avenger quickly ducked, acting purely on defensive instinct. In this state, with heads down and eyes shut, no one saw as the Falcon sped past the command bridge of the Avenger. The roaring of engines and bursts of blaster fire were replaced with an eerie silence. Captain Needa stood up, and immediately wished that he hadn't.
The Millennium Falcon was nowhere to be seen.
Needa began to panic. The Falcon was gone. Where could it be? Surely it hadn't jumped to lightspeed behind the Avenger, where the asteroid belt would surely crush it. No, the Millennium Falcon was out here in space somewhere. It had to be. If it wasn't, then…
Needa didn't want to think about it.
It took all of Captain Lorth Needa's military training to crunch down his fear, but he was finally able to compose himself. He turned to the Avenger's tracking officer and ordered, "Track them. They may come around for another pass."
As the tracking officer checked his console, Needa silently prayed to whatever galactic deities might be out there to hear him. He desperately hoped that the Millennium Falcon would make another pass. Lord Vader wanted that ship, and the Dark Lord of the Sith was not reputed to be a patient man. Needa even began to wonder if it really was a man inside that sinister black shell. Could any man be so dreadfully cold and heartless?
Needa was beginning to think that underneath Darth Vader's mask was the face of a monster.
Captain Lorth Needa had just begun picturing what sort of monstrous face could be hiding beneath Lord Vader's mask when the tracking officer suddenly said, "Captain Needa, the ship no longer appears on our scopes."
"They can't have disappeared." Needa declared. "No ship that small has a cloaking device."
The words were but small comfort to Captain Needa, who, while his face remained as stony and determined as he'd always been trained to keep it, was still sufficiently rattled. What if the Falcon did have a cloaking device? What if it had somehow disappeared? What would Lord Vader do then?
The Dark Lord of the Sith became more of a monster to Needa's mind with each passing second. Each passing microsecond.
"Well," the tracking officer shrugged, "there's no trace of them, sir."
Before Needa could respond, or even open his mouth, or even fully register what the officer had just said, another voice reached his ears. This one came from the Avenger's communications officer, who now looked up from his console to address the captain. "Captain, Lord Vader demands an update on the pursuit."
Captain Lorth Needa's heart froze in his breast, and for a moment, it seemed as though the man were dead, unable to even fall. But then, Needa's heart began to beat again. Louder and louder, faster and faster it went, until the poor Imperial captain was sure that the whole command bridge could hear the echoing of his heartbeat. Lord Vader… he thought, suddenly gripped with an inexplicable feeling of intense nausea. His head swam as he finished his thought: Lord Vader wants an update now? Now, of all times? What can I tell him?
In the end, there was but one option for Captain Lorth Needa to take. He took one last breath as he turned to his first officer, who was standing close at hand. "Get a shuttle ready." Needa instructed. "I shall assume full responsibility for losing them and apologize to Lord Vader. Meanwhile, continue to scan the area."
"Yes, Captain Needa." the officer replied promptly. Still, no matter how brief the officer's statement had been, Captain Needa could hear the anxiety in the officer's voice. Taking responsibility for himself was already enough to get the Imperial captain killed, but assuming accountability for the entire crew? Lorth Needa was a dead man already. The facts that he drew breath and that his heart still hammered in his chest were but mere detail, which Lord Vader would attend to shortly.
There was no more doubt in Needa's heart as he left the command bridge that the Dark Lord of the Sith was indeed a monster.
A monster that Captain Lorth Needa would have to face alone.
To anyone who might have been watching, the scene currently taking place on Dagobah would surely have been a strange and rather comical sight.
Luke Skywalker was standing on his hands in the middle of a small area of clear, muddy land. Yoda sat atop Luke's right foot, providing instructions from his lofty—albeit rather smelly—perch. A few feet away from Luke, two relatively large stones sat side by side in the muck and mire. Donald Duck was seated atop one of the stones, resting from all the "hard work" (as he called it) he had exerted by walking to this place, a mere fifty yards from Yoda's hut; actually, it was in the exact spot where the party had first encountered Yoda. Mickey, Riku, Taran, and Goofy were standing a good distance from Luke and Yoda, giving them plenty of room to conduct the former's training. R2-D2 was a fair distance form the training ground, and came to rest beside King Mickey (R2-D2, unlike C-3PO, seemed to recognize his friends from the Battle of Naboo).
Very slowly, Luke painstakingly raised his right hand, grimacing slightly as the entirety of his weight shot into his left arm. "Use the Force, yes." Yoda instructed his pupil from his perch atop Luke's foot. "Now… the stone."
Luke concentrated harder, reaching for the stone not pinned down by Donald Duck. He formed a mental picture in his mind, and poured all his conscious thought into that single image. In another moment, the mental image became reality, and the rock slowly rose from the ground, suspended in midair by the Force.
"Feel it." Yoda instructed Luke.
In the Force, Luke could sense the stone's texture and weight as clearly as if he were holding it in his hand. It was dry on top and slippery on the bottom, Luke now knew, and wasn't nearly as heavy as he'd thought.
Taran of Caer Dallben was intensely focused on Luke's lesson. While he was a Keybearer, and therefore had no access to the Force, Riku had told him to pay careful attention. Any wisdom Taran could pick up would be good wisdom, especially when it came from Master Yoda. Riku had been careful to warn Taran about Yoda's prejudices and detached attitude, which the young Keybearer apprentice was advised to avoid. Still, Taran could learn much here—particularly from the occasional debates held by Master Yoda and King Mickey.
Suddenly, a low bubbling sound reached Taran's ears. Taran let out an audible gasp as he turned around, only to watch Luke Skywalker's X-wing fighter sinking into the peat bog in which it lay. This sudden sinking caused one of the X-wing's four wing-mounted laser tips to puncture the emergency water landing apparatus of the Cygnus. The air bags that kept the Gummi ship afloat now collapsed, sending the Cygnus to join Luke's X-wing in the murky depths of the peat bog.
The gasp that Taran had issued forth from his mouth now managed to break Luke's concentration, just as he had been lifting the stone over Donald Duck's head. "Concentrate!" Yoda tried to warn Luke, but it was too late.
Everything crashed to the ground.
First, Luke lost his balance, sending his body sprawling and turning Yoda's warning into a howl of "Concentraaaaaaaate!"
The stone that Luke had been lifting fell a microsecond after Luke did; it fell on Donald Duck's head with a mighty thump. "Wak!" Donald quacked in pain and anger, leaping from his seat and hopping up and down, waving his fists about. "What's the big idea? Why I oughtta—"
Donald's shouts were quickly silenced when the magician looked upon the capsized Cygnus and X-wing. "Oh no…" Donald quacked. "How are we gonna get outta here now?"
Luke looked just as hopeless. "We'll never get 'em out."
Yoda and Mickey both stepped forward. "So certain are you?" Yoda asked indignantly. The diminutive Jedi Master had recovered from his fall, and now faced Luke with what everyone thought was a look of disapproval of Luke's very existence. "Always with you it cannot be done. Hear you nothing that I say?" Yoda questioned a bit more harshly than a teacher would normally scold a student.
"Don't worry, fellas." King Mickey added, countering Yoda's negative remark with a positive one that was so characteristic of the mouse king. "We'll get 'em out, you'll see."
"Masters," Luke addressed the two (Mickey was a bit surprised that Luke also regarded him as a master, since he had always gone by the title of king, on this planet at least), "moving stones around is one thing." Luke motioned toward the capsized ships. "This is totally different."
"No!" Yoda insisted. "No different! Only different in your mind! You must unlearn what you have learned."
"Is…" Taran asked hesitantly, stepping up beside Luke. "Is it really possible?"
King Mickey gave Taran a nod and a smile. "Sure it is. Anything's possible… if you believe."
Luke sighed, obviously unconvinced. "All right. I'll give it a try."
"No!" Yoda said sharply. "Try not. Do. Or do not. There is no try."
As Luke halfheartedly closed his eyes and gestured toward his X-wing, Mickey looked to Taran. "Go ahead, Taran. Try to get our ship outta the water. I know ya can!"
Taran smiled at the king, appreciating this luxury that Luke did not have. Mickey believed in Taran and trusted him to meet all expectations. Yoda did not have such faith in Luke. Yoda had no expectations; he had requirements, and he seemed very doubtful that Luke would be able to meet them.
This reflected in the education that the two pupils were receiving. Taran, like all Keybearer apprentices, had been taught to draw strength from the love and support of his friends and allies. Luke was being trained as a Jedi, and as such was being trained to go about his tasks on initiative alone. He was being taught to ignore the support of friends and trust only in the Force, because depending on friends would mean forming attachments, which would mean violating one of the most ancient of Jedi codes.
It was not difficult to understand why Taran had a more positive outlook than Luke did.
Taran took his place on the edge of the peat bog, directly in front of where the Cygnus had sunk. He decided that a Magnet spell would be best, and would be most efficient in drawing the Cygnus out of the muck. Taran summoned his keyblade (for using magic without one was a technique that not even Master Sora had learned) and concentrated.
Instantly, a swirling mass of magical energy appeared over the place where the Cygnus now rested in the marsh. Taran focused all his strength of heart into that mass, and was amazed to see the tip of one of the Cygnus's wings now emerging from the mire. Behind him, Taran could hear his friends whooping and cheering him on—even his master, Riku, who was not known to get excited over things of this nature. Ahead, Taran could see the nose of Luke's X-wing coming forth, but Master Yoda offered no praise. The diminutive Jedi Grand Master remained as stoic as the nearby trees as he watched the progress of the two apprentices.
Suddenly, Taran felt his mental reserves begin to drain. Though the Cygnus was just over a third of the way out of the peat bog, Taran could not find the mental strength to maintain his spell long enough to raise it any higher. At last, on the verge of fainting from exhaustion, Taran was forced to release his spell. The Cygnus slowly sank back into the dense muck.
Luke had already released his hold on the X-wing, and it was already fully submerged in the depths of the peat bog. He turned from the bog and dropped on the ground beside Master Yoda. "I can't." he panted. Obviously, his own mental reserves had been as strained as Taran's. "It's too big."
Taran did not fall, but only sighed wearily as he approached King Mickey. "He speaks truth, Your Majesty. I cannot lift our ship any more than he could lift his."
"You did great, Taran." Mickey assured the boy. "Low-level magic doesn't usually work on stuff that big. I think you might have a real thing for magic!"
Taran's face lit up. Having grown up at Caer Dallben under the care of the greatest sorcerer in Prydain (excluding, of course, the now deceased Horned King), Taran had always had an affinity for magic. The thought that he might one day be as powerful as his master was a great joy to him. "Do you think so?"
"I know so!" Mickey assured him.
A scant few feet away, Yoda was not praising his own pupil. If anything, he was scolding him. "Size matters not." he told Luke firmly. "Look at me. Judge me by my size, do you? Mm?"
Luke shook his head, knowing better than to judge the Jedi Grand Master by stature alone. Yoda and King Mickey were classic examples of the adage, "Size doesn't matter."
"Mmmm." Yoda acknowledged, approving Luke's negative response. "And well you should not. For my ally is the Force. And a powerful ally it is. Life creates it, makes it grow. Its energy surrounds us and binds us. Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter." As he spoke this last sentence, Yoda pinched Luke's shoulder. With a sweeping motion of his hands, Yoda went on, "You must feel the Force around you! Here, between you… me… the tree… the rock… everywhere! Yes, even between the land and the ship!"
Riku was about to speak to Taran, but Mickey Mouse beat him to it. "Magic is the exact opposite." the king explained. Riku shrugged and deferred to Mickey's wisdom—after all, Mickey was Taran's official magic teacher. Riku was Taran's master in name alone; in reality, Taran received tutelage from all the Keybearers (including, albeit rarely, some instruction from Sora during visits to Radiant Garden).
"Magic," Mickey explained, "comes from your heart. It comes from inside you, not outside. That's why we can use magic even on worlds where magic doesn't usually exist. The problem lots o' Keybearers have is that they try to use their heads to use magic. That'll work a little, but the heart is where the real power is. Ya understand?"
Taran nodded, clutching a hand to his breast. "The heart. I must remember that."
Mickey smiled. "I got faith in ya, and so does everybody else!"
Taran looked to Luke, who seemed to be more downhearted than ever. Taran wondered if Yoda had ever heard the words positive reinforcement before, and whether the term might improve his educational technique. After a moment, a dejected Luke Skywalker stood and walked away from the peat bog. "You ask the impossible."
Yoda sighed, finally deciding that a demonstration was in order. The Jedi Grand Master closed his eyes and outstretched his tiny hand toward the X-wing.
Everyone gasped in surprise (except for, most notably, King Mickey) as the fighter began to rise from the bog, dripping murky water from its hull. The ship now hovered a few feet above the bog, and everyone could see the moss and fungi that now draped over it. Donald quacked in shock before he sprinted away from the area where the X-wing was about to land. The ship landed softly upon the muddy ground, and Yoda opened his eyes. The Jedi master said nothing, but looked to King Mickey sternly, his long ears now pointing toward Mickey like accusing fingers.
Mickey looked a bit surprised to see this facial expression from Yoda. He realized that Yoda had not only lifted the ship to demonstrate for Luke, but also to challenge Mickey. It was an unspoken contest, to see whether the philosophy of the Keybearers or of the Jedi was greater.
Mickey answered Yoda's gaze with a gentle smile as he approached the edge of the peat bog. In spite of themselves, everyone (even Luke, who had returned to the site after hearing the gasps from his friends) rushed to observe King Mickey. It was not often that the lord of Disney Castle displayed his full mystical might, but it was always an amazing spectacle for those that could observe.
King Mickey began with a simple outstretching of his left arm. He pointed his gloved finger downward and gestured in a slow circular motion. This continued for a second or so before the bog began to react. The dense water of the bog began to swirl about, faster and faster, until a small whirlpool was created. This small whirlpool soon developed into a localized maelstrom, reaching the bottom of the deep bog. As everyone could now see, Mickey had cast a powerful Aeroja spell upon the entire Gummi ship, creating a vacuum that removed all water from its immediate proximity. The Cygnus was on a patch of dry land, surrounded on all sides by a wall of muck kept in check only by Mickey's spell.
With his left hand still moving in a circular pattern, keeping the Aeroja spell around the Cygnus, Mickey gestured upward with his right arm. A Magneja spell appeared just above the Gummi ship, drawing it up from its resting place. Once the Cygnus was safely above the surface of the peat bog, Mickey dismissed the Aeroja spell. The displaced water of the bog came rushing to fill the space that the Cygnus had once occupied, and in a moment, it was as though the ship had never been in the bog at all. Like Luke's X-wing, the Cygnus was covered in moss and fungi, but still it remained suspended in midair by Mickey's Magneja spell.
With his now free left hand, Mickey motioned toward the large patch of empty land just beside Luke's X-wing. An immense Gravija spell appeared there, drawing the airborne Cygnus down toward it. Mickey kept his Magneja spell strong, however, which reduced what would have been a great crash to a very soft landing as the Cygnus touched the ground. With a final wave of his hands, Mickey dissolved all of his spells.
Mickey looked with satisfaction at the two ships, one X-wing and one Falcon Lv. 10 class Gummi ship, that now stood side by side on the damp ground. The mouse king had met Yoda's silent challenge, and with a good deal more finesse than Yoda had demonstrated. All of King Mickey's friends gathered around him and offered their enthusiastic congratulations, which the mouse king humbly accepted.
Luke was still stunned by the two masters' respective displays of power. "I don't… I don't believe it." he marveled.
Yoda snorted. He was a bit incensed by what he perceived as an arrogant show of force by King Mickey, but in his deepest of hearts, he was saddened by Luke's response. Luke didn't believe it. The boy had no faith in what he could not physically see.
In the end, the Grand Master of the former Jedi Order could only say, "That is why you fail."
A/N: Well, there you have it. For all of you who dislike Riku's feelings toward Kairi, you should be releived to know that he has finally taken some action. How effective this action will be has yet to be discovered, however, so you'll have to sit tight.
A GENTLE REMINDER: PLEASE REVIEW! My updating a bit later than normal allowed the previous chapter to garner twelve reviews, my highest count to date. Keep it up! It is always good to know that you care. I do apologize to those of you whom I usually treat with a review for your stories, but as I've said, I'm very behind. I will try to get to you soon, and I hope to update fairly soon as well (knock on wood, cross fingers, throw salt over left shoulder, etc.).
Until next time, Lord Moldybutt signing off.