(A/N): It's my birthday today so I'm giving you guys a gift. The next chapter in my story one day early! In case you haven't figured it out I try to post every Wednesday. Now since it's my birthday I'd really like some reviews people! So review!
Chapter 10: Yen Sid
"I have to thank you for defending my castle, please if there's anything you guys need don't hesitate to ask." Prince Alan said as he walked out of his castle.
"Aw I just in a day's work for us, no reward needed." Sore assured the prince.
Sol stepped up next to Sora. "Now wait a sec Sora. Our ship is low of food supplies. I didn't take into account your bottomless pit of a stomach when I stocked it." Sora chuckled sheepishly putting his hands behind his head. Then Sol turned to face Alan, "If you could spare some raw ingredients for us that'd be greatly appreciated."
"No problem I'll have the staff prepare a box or two of ingredients for you." Alan turned and left heading to the kitchen to talk to his staff. Belle then addressed the group. "I take it with the keyhole locked you'll be leaving as soon as you get your supplies."
All five teens nodded their heads yes while Sora spoke up, "We need to help as many worlds as we can."
"I understand, you guy should go and pack up, the staff will have what you need packed before you know it."
Sora and Riku decided to take the chance to turn it into a competition to see who could pack and get back down here the fastest. Sol stood next to the other boys saying that he'd smoke them with his awesome packing skills and be back down before either of them were even done packing. Sora and Riku accepted his challenge. Luna and Belle sighed and whispered something that sounded like "boys" while Kairi stood at the starting line giving the countdown. When she reached go the three boys took off like rockets with Sora in the lead thanks to his Quick Run ability. Luna placed her head in her hand and sighed.
"How can you encourage them Kairi?" Luna asked as she twirled her hand. Magic shot off after the boys.
"It's good for Sora to have a friendly rivalry, it makes him smile. I guess we should head up to pack also." Kairi said heading after the boys.
"No need, out things will be here shortly." As if on cue two small packs came flying down the hallway landing in front of Luna and Kairi. "It pays to learn a little domestic magic." Luna advised. Kairi slung her overnight pack onto her shoulder and waited for the boys to finish their race. While she waited Alan appeared carrying four small boxes with him. He set them down between the two girls and told them that there should be enough food to in there to last them a month, or two weeks since they had to feed Sora. It wasn't long after Alan came back that Kairi could hear the fast footfalls of people running. She looked down the hall and she could see Sora, Riku, and Sol were neck and neck. Sora was on the left and with the assistance of Sol they were squishing Riku in the middle, keeping the silver haired boy from pulling ahead. Riku was smart though, he stopped running causing the other two boys to fall into the gap he created. He then leaped over his fallen friends and raced to the finish line, claiming victory. With a groan Sora and Sol crossed over to their friends staring at Riku their faces asking how he could do that to them.
"Well now that everyone is packed and ready it's time for us to get moving." Luna said. They all exchanged goodbyes promising to visit once the worlds were once again safe. Sol reached into his coat pocket and pulled out the device that activated the gummi ship's transporter. In a flash of bluish-white light they five and there boxes disappeared from the world.
Sol took the boxes from the transporter and went to the kitchen to store all the food that Prince Alan had given them. Kairi went to the cabin to go find something to do but was stopped by Sora.
"We need to figure out where to go still," he told her. Kairi went back to stand with Riku and Luna. They discussed the worlds that were close to their current location. They still wanted to go to a world that Sora had never been to but most of the surrounding worlds he had already visited but hadn't sealed the keyholes. As they were debating between the Pride Lands and some world called Experiment's Paradise Sol came back into the room.
"We're going to see Master Yen Sid. Roxas and Naminé can do some sort of astral projection. That means it's time."
Sora and Kairi glowed pale gold as their Nobodies appeared in the physical realm.
"It's time what do you mean by that?" Naminé asked
"You guys have power right now but there is much more that can be unlocked." Luna said.
"Yeah well I and Sora already have a special power, we can Drive." Roxas said happily.
All seven agreed though that it'd be a wise choice to see if the old wizard knew anything about what was going on with Roxas and Naminé. Sora went to the autopilot and set it for Mysterious Tower with a roar the gummi ship's engines came to life sent the ship towards their destination.
All members of the crew found themselves sitting in the cabin trying to fight off boredom. They had three hours to kill before they got to the home of Yen Sid. It was Riku that came up with an idea to kill the time.
"I know you guys told us how you learned about other worlds and how why you were sent to Destiny Islands, but you have never said anything about your home." Riku was staring at the two golden eyed warriors sitting on the couch.
"Hmm sounds like story time. Luna you get to do it this time." Sol said never once looking up from his book.
"Okay, you guys really want to know more about us?" Three heads nodded yes while Naminé and Roxas appeared, they too were interested in hearing a story. "I'll tell you about a mission me and Sol were sent on during our time in the mercenary group called Knights. It's actually when we first met, about a year or so before we ended up at Disney Castle."
Luna walked through the door leading to the main room where the Knights dealt with requests. She had been called in for the newest mission. Her partner was the bookworm Sol. She was annoyed that the captain was sending her out with such a useless ally. Wasn't she strong enough to deal with a couple of monsters on her own? The captain was sitting behind the counter talking with another potential customer. Her soon to be partner was sitting in a chair book in hand like always. If he wasn't such a bookworm Luna would have thought him cute with his shaggy brown hair and chiseled face. Like her, he wore the Knights uniform of black shirt and pants with a blood red overcoat. On the back of the coat would be two swords crossed over a shield, the symbol of their group. Attached to his waist was the standard long sword. Approaching him she noticed a parchment in his lap, no doubt the mission's details. She cleared her throat to get his attention. His booked slammed shut and he got up handing her the parchment. Breaking the seal Luna read the full details of what they were going to be doing. Like she knew before it was a simple killing mission. They were to go to some ruins north of the city and clear out all the monsters for some mages of the king. By the time she was done reading the orders Sol was gone. With a sigh she headed out of the building figuring she could at least get ready before she had to find the man again. Luna got out the door to find Sol standing next to a pair of chestnut brown horses. Both horses were ready with saddles and the normal pack of items they got for missions. Silently Sol climbed onto one of the horses waiting for her to do the same.
Great not only does he do nothing but read, he's a mute.
Since Luna still had the scroll, with the map, she took the lead.
After an hour or two of riding Luna thought she was in hell. At least when she was partnered up before her companion would talk to her. But as one would guess Sol was reading a book as they rode towards their destination. She couldn't stand the silence any longer.
"What is so interesting about that book you're reading?"
Luna waited for the brown haired boy to answer. After a few polite seconds of waiting she asked him again. She tried two more times getting louder each time. It was evident that he was ignoring her. She led her horse up next to his and took the book out of his hands. He started daggers at her and reached to take the book back.
Finally a reaction.
"Now, what is so interesting about this book?" Luna asked once again.
"Why do you care?" was all Sol said in return.
"Because you've had your nose in it since I've seen you."
Sol rolled his eyes. "If you really want to know it's a journal of an explorer who traveled around these parts. I thought it'd be nice to know more about the ruins we're going to. Unlike some people, I do research on the places I'm sent."
Luna was silenced. She tossed him back the journal. He was right; research on the ruins would be great. The people who built it most likely put traps in, if the book had clues on how to avoid them that meant that Luna would continue to live at least a little longer. Let's face it, life as a mercenary was a dangerous one. She could, and should have a few times, die at any moment on a job.
Still not wanting to sit in silence Luna probed Sol's mind to find out what he had learned about their destination. He confirmed the existence of traps, no surprise to either of them, and that it was only a one story building so they wouldn't have to worry about a basement full of monsters. The reason they were sent out was because it had once been home to a group mages. Magic wasn't something the normal person practiced but the mages of the king paid insane sums of money for magical artifacts, hence why the two were sent out to clear the way for the mages. Luna had learned a simple fire spell so she didn't have to carry around a tinderbox or resort to rubbing two sticks together like a fool. After learning all Sol knew about the ruins she asked more personal questions. She found out he dabbled in magic and he knew three spells actually. He had come from a family in the slums. He joined the Knights because he had gotten letters from his elder sister telling him about all the good times she had while she was with them. His older sister had gone off a few years back to join a more famous mercenary group and she had stopped sending letters. Of course he questioned her just as much. She, like him, came out of the slums. Luna joined the Knights because they were the only group around that would actually send a girl out on missions and take in anyone no questions asked. Unlike Sol she was an only child and her parents had died long ago. They spent the next few hours talking about jobs they had done and the idiots that they had worked with before. It wasn't long until they found themselves outside of the ruins.
Luna drew her long sword as she walked up to a wooden door. Sol was behind her sword in hand. One of the things she learned was that he wasn't the strongest guy out there. Rather he looked for weakness and fought defensively. He was the exact opposite of her. Luna made a weakness in her opponent by chopping off limbs. With the loud creaking sound that accompanied any old door the two made their way in. Luna was instantly glad she had a companion. Standing in the middle of the room was a Behemoth King. The creature was known for killing groups of people with ease. Sol tapped her shoulder and pointed to a hallway. She followed behind him as they very carefully made their way over. Once they were in the hall Sol used the hand signs taught by the knights.
Lead, monster, trap.
At the end he pointed to a mark on the floor. It was a magical symbol colored green. Luna had seen it before, anything that walked across it would trigger the trap and be inflicted with deadly poison. Luna smiled at Sol. He was brilliant; if they could get the Behemoth King to walk over it they could make quick work of the large monster. Luna only saw one problem with the plan. How were they to get over the trap themselves so that they could lead the Behemoth King to it? She asked Sol the question. He reached into his pack and drew out a red crystal. Her mouth dropped in awe at the artifact he held. It was a transport stone. It could teleport them only a few feet due to its small size but she was sure it could get them over the glyph. Their plan set the two started to make noise to attract the monster. They heard and felt it coming at them before they saw the Behemoth King charging down the hallway. Sol touched the stone to Luna and moved them, not over the glyph, but behind the charging monster. A flash of green light let them know that the trap had been triggered. Wasting no time Luna ran forward and starting her assault on her foe. Since the glyph's poison had done most of the work the two warriors felled one of the stronger monsters known to man. After the defeat of the Behemoth King killing the Flans, Goblins, and other random monsters that plagued the ruins was child's play.
When they had gotten back to headquarters Luna had a newfound respect for Sol. After submitting their report the captain called them to his room after hours to congratulate them on a job well done. He also informed them that if they could take down such a strong monster together that they could expect to be paired up again for future missions.
The alarm signaling that they had arrived at their destination sounded breaking the silence that had accompanied the end of Luna's story. Everyone headed over to the transporter and beamed down to the world below.
Kairi stood before a wooden door that had a crescent moon and star on them. The tower that they were attached to was crooked. It went up then it slanted to the right and then straightened out again at the top. How the tower stood like that Kairi didn't know. Sora led them up into the tower. They went up the spiral staircase and went through a few circular rooms before they came to a room that had bookshelves and pictures on the walls. There was a wooden desk in the middle of the room and a green door off to the right of them probably leading to Yen Sid's chambers. Behind the desk in a large wooden chair sat a man with a beard dressed in a blue robe with a pointed blue hat that had the same star and moon shapes that the entire tower seemed to sport.
"Hello Master Yen Sid" Sora, Luna, and Sol said in unison.
"How do you know him?" Sora asked his two friends.
"They trained under me for a few months when I visited Disney Castle a year ago. I've been expecting you for quite some time," the bearded man said. "I'm going to assume that Roxas and Naminé have been able to project themselves into the physical world."
As if to demonstrate Roxas and Naminé appeared in the room, ghostly as ever.
"Yes we can. We were wondering if you know anything about it," Roxas said with his arms crossed over his chest looking right at the old wizard.
"Yes" Yen Sid said stroking his long beard, "It means that you two are finally ready for bodies of your own."
"You mean we'll be able to exist on our own again?" Naminé asked happily, her face in a mixture of shock and glee.
"Yes for the year that you two have been living in Sora and Kairi your spirits strengthened and you started to create your own hearts. Once your hearts were complete you had enough strength to be able to project yourselves into the world like you are doing now. All you are missing now are bodies for your soul and heart to reside in." Yen Sid said as he got up and moved over to the two spirits. "We will all need to work together for this spell. When Sol and Luna were here I trained them for this moment. Sora. Riku. Kairi. You will need to channel your powers into one of us so that we have the necessary power."
The three mentioned nodded their heads and went to stand behind one of the stronger magic users. Sol, Luna, and Yen Sid stood in a triangle around them and power flowed out of their bodies and swirled around them. Riku stood behind Sol, Sora behind Yen Sid, and Kairi behind Luna Keyblades in hand as they sent their energy toward the casters. Each caster had their eyes closed as they drew as much power as their bodies could handle. At once their eyes opened up. No longer were their eyes golden, instead pure blue energy covered the eyes. Slowly the three raised their hands and pointed them inwards palms facing the Nobodies. Kairi could hear a small chant in an unknown language. A blue light shot out of Sol's hands, a white beam came from Luna, while a black beam came from Yen Sid. Kairi watched in awe. In the center where the three beams met she could make out the outline of two people. As she watched the outlines became more prominent and darkened. She felt her power draining though as Luna continued to draw off her for the creation spell. Already Sora and Riku and broken their connections and where kneeling on the floor trying to catch their breath. A small amount of pride welled up inside Kairi. She was now sure she was magically stronger then the two boys.
Energy continued to swirl between the three casters around the bodies being made. White, blue and black mixed together in the center creating a very dizzying design. Kairi soon broke off feeling far to drained to continue. The three remaining didn't seem effected at all by the shear amount of energy they were using. In fact each of them had a ghost of a smile on their faces. Then together they shifted their positions and moved the beams outward without ever disconnecting from each other. The result was a Sol's beam intersecting Yen Sid's while the black beam of Yen Sid was pouring into Luna's white beam which was sent into Sol's blue. Inside the resulting triangle Kairi could see the bodies of Roxas and Naminé though they were still slightly transparent. Kairi noticed Yen Sid move one of his hands towards his robes. When the hand came back out it held a small blue orb and with a quick flick of his wrist it landed directly in the center between the two bodies. Runes shot out of the orb and laid themselves on the ground making a circle. The edges of the triangle the beams created were touching the circle. Sol and Luna both changed the incantations they were speaking. Now rather than hearing the three voices combined Kairi couldn't make out who was saying what as each seemed to be trying to speak louder than the other. In another minute the incantations stopped and the energy in the room started to dissipate. Sitting in the middle of it all was a golden sphere with runes drawn all over. Yen Sid, Sol, and Luna all stood still looking at the orb before them. Yen Sid slowly nodded his head. Sol and Luna's weapons came out in the familiar flash of light. They moved quickly to the sphere cutting an X shape in it. Light poured from the cocoon at the slash marks. The energy unraveled revealing the two former Nobodies. Roxas and Naminé were standing their eyes closed like they were asleep. The two started to fall only to be caught by Sol and Luna. The two warriors took the reborn couple through the door off the side of the room into a bedroom. There they laid the sleeping blondes down and shut the door silently behind them.
"They should wake in a few hours. Their hearts and souls need time to adjust." Yen Sid told everyone.