A/N: So I had the greatest pleasure of getting the chance to witness the KH Orchestra World Tour Concert in London this past week, the first of which I hope is many to come. It feels really weird being that close to Yoko Shimomura. But yeah, if one's nearby you, definitely take the chance to see it. You won't regret it. Anyway, speaking of music, it's time to dance!
Chapter 27
Vicarious Sin, Part 1
As they exited the forest, they soon came across the path leading upwards to the mountains. There was a more pressing matter however. Luna was the first to notice it and shook Sora's shoulders. Sora looked up at where Luna was pointing and his mouth parted slightly. In the sky, faint as though it may have been, was the shadow of something heart-shaped.
"Now that's a strange sight," Caleb murmured. "From here it almost looks like a mirage."
"I think it is," Aya said. "Kingdom Hearts… Caleb, it's Kingdom Hearts!"
"I know," Caleb replied. "This is what countless Keyblade Wielders fought and died for. It feels like I only saw it a few months ago, but that makes sense considering my consciousness was cut off from my body."
"When Kingdom Hearts appeared, it could be seen all over the world. Its appearance would spell the end of the world. That's what the Seeress Pandora predicted and it came true," Aya said.
"Pandora?" Luna asked. "Didn't expect that name to pop up anytime soon."
"You know her?" Aya asked.
"Not really. We found a letter written by her to someone else in a tomb somewhere," Luna explained. It wasn't just anyone either, Sora thought as he continued looking up at the sky, it was Kohle. He supposed he should try asking now that he had the opportunity to talk to people who had been in the war.
"Do you guys know someone named Kohle?" Sora asked.
"I… don't think so," Aya said, looking to Caleb with a questioning glance.
"Yeah, should we know him?" Caleb asked.
"No, it's nothing." Sora shook his head. He guessed if there was anyone who was going to give him answers, it would be from the man himself. He had to wonder though why he even cared. He had plenty of his own problems at the moment and he didn't need to make them even more complicated. If anything, the less he knew of Kohle the easier it would be to fight him if it came to that.
"Uh, it just disappeared, kupo!" Kupopo squirmed. Sora looked up to see that the mirage could no longer be seen.
"We need to find those heart pieces and quickly," Luna said. "But we're only at two out of seven and we have no idea how long it'll take us to find the others. Sora… do you think-"
"Of course we can. No matter how difficult the task, we have to overcome it. We have no right to complain when there are people who are suffering much worse than us right now. I have no right to complain when I'm the one who caused this," Sora said.
Luna giggled and nodded. "Yeah! Remember what Yeul said? We're the Warriors of Light. So let's protect the light, darn it."
Sora gave her a thumbs up and then looked towards the mountain. "Hope you guys like climbing."
"Oh, you know the answer to that," Luna groaned. Sora laughed and gestured for them to continue onward.
Conical Hill, Millhaven
Millhaven was a small town surrounded by pine trees but that only added to its strong community bonds, or at least that's what Astra experienced in her time there. Everyone seemed to know each other pretty well, something that was pretty much impossible in a city like Alexander.
A conversation with a banker lead her to a conversation with a school teacher which had led her to a conversation with the town's sheriff. Just on Main Street alone she had received more help and warmness than what anyone in Alexander could have probably given her. After asking about the Ringmaster and carefully avoiding the topic of a dragon, she found herself standing in front of the Millhaven Circus just on the outskirts of town.
She walked over to the gates of the circus and grabbed the padlock that was keeping the circus barred off from the rest of the world. Astra quickly unlocked it with her Keyblade and opened the gate only slightly so that she could squeeze through.
There were quite a few tents inside the circus and just as many pathways to take. If Astra had to guess, she would say the dragon would be in the biggest tent which would be to her right. She hurried over to the big top, a long red and white striped tent, and peered inside. The showiness and glamor of the circus revealed itself to her as she took in the wide open space with some awe. Spotting a pile of wooden crates on her left, she entered the tent and quickly made to hide behind them.
"I still can't believe it. An actual dragon? How in the world did you find something like this, daddy?" the ringmaster's assistant asked, slowly moving around the cage. The dragon was lying down and his face was out of Astra's view but she had no doubt of the pain and sadness it was going through.
"When you have as many connections as me, dumpling, the world is your oyster. We must prepare to open what will be the biggest show of our lives!" exclaimed the ringmaster. Astra assumed by the nickname he had given her that she was his daughter, which would have made sense given her youthful and child-like features.
"But are you sure about this, Mr. Gravelli? Controlling something like this… I'm not so sure. Doesn't it seem kind of angry?" asked someone who looked like a clown.
"We have some of the best trainers around. I guarantee you, we will get results by the end of the month," replied the Ringmaster.
"You won't even have that, you ass," Astra whispered. She watched as the group of circus members walked out of view before exiting from her cover and making her way towards the cage. She quickly checked to make sure no one else was around before walking to the front where the dragon could see her. "Don't worry. I'm going to get you out of here."
The dragon looked up and extended its head out towards her. She reached in between the bars and stroked his head for a while, causing the dragon to glow the same shimmering green it had before.
"You know what? I've done some thinking on my way here. It's not right that I find my family and friends if I can't help someone else find theirs. I'm going to help you find your family. You deserve that much," Astra said. She walked over to the gate at the front and pulled up the latch on both ends of the gate. She bent down and hooked her fingers around the grate, exerting force on her muscles in order to lift the gate up.
"Who are you?"
Astra let out a huff of annoyance and let go of the bars, turning around to see the Ringmaster's daughter. Astra imagined that, if the audience who came here weren't here to see the Ringmaster in action, then they were there to see his daughter. She was a young girl with flaxen hair and blue eyes. Though the stage lights shone and sparkled myriad dazzling colors, it was her who would be the greatest light of them all. That's what Astra felt as she herself became enamored by the girl's appearance, so much so that she had almost forgotten to reply.
"Ah, listen, you shouldn't be here right now and-"
"Are you trying to take our dragon? Dad said he found it as a present for me," the girl said. "I won't let you take it! Thieves aren't welcome at our circus."
"I wouldn't say that. Besides, am I really stealing it if you stole it in the first place?" Astra asked.
"What do you mean?"
"I'm sorry to tell you this but this dragon doesn't belong here. He belongs out in the wild, free like he was before your father captured him," Astra said.
"What? But daddy told he managed to tame it and bring it here," explained the girl.
It's in a cage you stupid- Astra cut her own thoughts off and calmed herself. The girl was young and Astra's impatience was just another reason she wasn't good with kids. Still, she imagined most kids would be quick to pick up that something was wrong based on the cage and the dragon's sad expression.
"I'm sorry, but what your dad's told you isn't true and I think you know that deep down as well," Astra said, hoping that maybe the girl was simply in denial. "Let me ask you question, sweetie." Aaaaaaaand she wouldn't be doing that again any time soon. "What's your name?"
"I'm Grace. Grace Gravelli, the daughter of the greatest ringmaster on earth, Guglielmo Gravelli," she announced with a proud smile.
"Gooly- what the balls… whatever, I don't care. Listen, Grace, don't you think he deserves to be with his own kind? With his family?"
The girl averted her baby blue eyes from Astra and looked toward the dragon. Whether she was re-evaluating her kinship with her animals and realizing for the first time that the animals she trained may have stories just as tragic or even worse than the dragon's, or whether she was struggling with some inner conflict, Astra had time for neither. For all she knew, the ringmaster or one of his cronies could be arriving any time soon and she and the dragon needed to get far away from the circus before then. Because of this, Astra didn't wait for a response. She turned her back on the girl and went back to trying to pry open the gates.
"Wait a second. Daddy's coming back soon," Grace said, putting a hand on Astra's arm to stop her. "If he sees it missing he'll come after you right away."
"So what do you propose then?" asked Astra.
"Come back at night, say… seven? By then I'll have managed to get dad and the rest of the staff away from the tent and you'll be free to sneak in."
Astra thought about this for a moment before biting her lower lip and nodding. "Thank you."
Grace gave a smile revealing her pearly white teeth and beckoned for Astra to follow with her hands. "Here, you can stay in my room until its time. I have the perfect idea!"
They were almost to the apex of the mountain when they discovered an entry point that led them straight to a cave. Sora tried to look further in but all he could see was darkness from the entrance.
"Think he's in there?" Aya asked.
"Only one way to find out," Balthier replied. The group headed into the dark cave, lighting up their Keyblades in order to illuminate the area. The first thing they found as they went farther in was that the cave was home to the same Quartz crystals that they had found in the Nereid's Cave on their way to Gravity Falls.
"Beautiful…" Aya said, holding her Keyblade up to one of the stones to look at her reflection. "Ooh, Caleb, can I have one? Can I have one?"
"What do I look like, a miner?" Caleb asked. "Let's keep going. I'm not sure I like this silence."
The group soon reached an open space within the cave to find it already lit by torches. Also in the room near the back was a boombox sitting on top of a giant rock.
"Janus' work?" Sora asked.
"Or something else," Balthier said. The sky pirate walked over to the walls and gently dragged his fingers across the wall, pausing to take notice of the indentations of claw marks he had found. He looked back at the group to tell them off his discovery but a furrowed brow took over his curious expression upon seeing the shadow behind them. His hand made for the gun in his holster. "Aya, behind you!"
Aya spun around and screamed as an unusual creature swung at her head. She tripped and fell backwards with the creature's arms swinging over her. It was a bear, albeit not one they had ever seen before with eight heads and a dozen limbs on its body.
Kupopo flew forward to check if Aya was alright before looking at the others. "I think we just invaded its home, kupo!"
"Janus disturbed it first," Sora said. "Hey, we don't want to hurt you, okay? We just want back what's ours."
The bear heads all let out a synchronous roar causing the group to cover their ears. Sora took Aya's wrist and quickly dragged her back.
"Yeah… somehow I get the feeling he doesn't want to make friends right now," Sora said.
"That's fine by me," Caleb said, summoning his Keyblade Indra's Calm. Sora had to admire the Keyblade for a moment, even if they were up against an imposing threat. It was green and yellow in theming with its length zigzagging up as a yellow lightning bolt and the head a green cyclone.
Aya summoned her own Keyblade next, simply called Mhaya. It was a beautiful sea blue which had its end shaped like a fish hook. "Let's do this, Mhaya. Guys, it doesn't matter how many heads this thing has. We're gonna deal with 'em one by one if we have to and make minced meat out of them."
"Okay, I don't even want to imagine what it's like to eat bear meat so how about we not do that," Luna replied while summoning Dream Seeker.
"Hey, you're travelling all by yourselves, right? Who knows when you might be forced to do something you never thought you'd do. It's survival 101," Caleb said.
"Yeah right. I'd sooner eat my dog Pascal's food than risk my neck hunting a bear," Sora said. Caleb ran forward and ducked underneath one of the Multi-Bear's swiping arms and swung upwards, striking the creature and sending it backwards. With Caleb knelt low to the ground, Aya ran and jumped onto his shoulder launching her into the air.
"Things are about to get grizzly for you, bear!" she yelled as her Keyblade slammed down on the middle of the bear's heads. She landed back on the ground before swinging upwards, unleashing a burst of wind that launched the Multi-Bear into the air.
Luna cartwheeled past Aya and Caleb before jumping into the air and smashing the Multi-Bear back to the ground. "Hmm, that pun was pawssable at best, Aya."
"Oh, for the love of…" Caleb rolled his eyes and grimaced.
"Hehe, I see what you did there. 'Fur' the love of…? Nice one!" Sora joined in with a big grin on his face.
"I can't believe I'm stuck with a bunch of children," Caleb murmured with a shake of his head. Out of nowhere, the Multi-Bear jumped in between him and the others and swung its razor sharp claws. Unable to evade in time, Aya could only raise her arms in defence and screamed in pain as the claws dug into her left arm.
"AYA!" Everyone yelled. Aya backed away to Balthier and clutched her arm and pursed her mouth shut in an attempt to null the pain.
Caleb turned his attention back to the enemy once more with an angry glint in his eyes and then headed in to attack again, this time with Sora. The bear charged forward but Sora rolled out of the way while Caleb sideflipped. Sora pivoted quickly and struck when he was behind the bear, knocking him forward so that Caleb could deliver a diagonal strike from the Multi-Bear's right shoulder to its lower left side.
The bear fell backwards, its faces landing in front of Sora. It was as Caleb raised his Keyblade in an attempt to finish off the Multi-Bear that Sora noticed something weird with its eyes. Its pupils were a milky white, and although it could have easily been one of the many features of this strange creature he had never seen before, it still didn't sit right with Sora.
"Wait. Stop!" Sora yelled, thrusting his Oblivion Keyblade forward to intercept Caleb's attack.
"The hell? Why'd you do that?" Caleb asked, seemingly frustrated by Sora's meddling.
"Something isn't right here. I don't think he's doing this of his own will," Sora said.
"What's that supposed to mean? How do you know that?" Caleb asked. Sora forced down his irritation and looked down to the bear's heads instead.
"His eyes. It's something about them. Luna, you can see it, right?" Sora asked, motioning for her to come over. Luna caressed Aya's shoulders and gave her a nod before walking over to Sora. It didn't take her long to examine the bear before confirming with a nod that she understood what he meant.
"I don't have the ability to see a Chimera's true form anymore, and I doubt it would work on this guy since he isn't one, but I definitely think there's something wrong with him. Janus might have manipulated him somehow," Luna said.
"Your point being?" Caleb asked.
Sora frowned. "What?"
"That's all the more reason to put this thing out of its misery then. I won't let it hurt Aya anymore or you guys for that matter," Caleb said. "Don't worry. If you can't bring yourself to do it, then you don't have to. You don't even have to watch."
Why was it so easy for Caleb to say something like this? Was it past experience talking? All those times he had to take a life, be it for himself or for Aya must have surely hardened him. It would be easy for Sora to travel down the same path. It would be so easy because… in the same way that Caleb cared for Aya, he cared for Luna. But rather than looking at extremes, there had to be a middle ground somewhere. He wouldn't be like Caleb, because he knew that wasn't what Luna would want.
"No. I won't let you do it," Sora refused.
"Do you understand what you're saying?" Caleb asked, stepping up to Sora probably in hopes that his taller stature might intimidate Sora into backing down. Sora stayed firmly in place and looked directly into Caleb's eyes.
"I do. If it's being manipulated then that means there's a chance it can be saved. I don't know how it worked in your world and I don't care but in this new one, we don't give up just because things look gloomy at first sight. As long as even a single person believes in the cause they're fighting for then there's always hope. If that bear even has a shred of his old self still inside then we'll keep fighting until we bring that side of him back out," Sora said. He glanced sideways at Luna who smiled at him warmly.
"You'd risk your friends' lives over trying to reform something that might be a lost cause?" Caleb asked. "I'm sorry, but that's just not how the real world works. There's a time when enough is enough. If you think you owe it to yourself to keep trying, you'll only find yourself disappointed by humanity. That's a constant cycle I cannot afford to live by. Sorry."
Caleb attempted to swing again, but Sora was quick and fired of a jolt of thunder which zapped Caleb's hand and disarmed him. Caleb gritted his teeth and glared at Sora who seemed unfazed by this reaction. Shaking his head, Caleb whipped around and took back off in the direction they had come from.
"Caleb? Caleb, come back!" Aya yelled. Caleb stopped and looked to his side.
"Are you coming Aya?" he asked. She shook her head. Sora couldn't see the expression on Caleb's face but he could easily imagine it being one of disappointment. With that, he left, leaving an uncomfortable aura in his wake.
Aya took a few steps forward while clutching her arm. "Caleb…"
"Let him go, Aya. I doubt he'll leave you alone for long. He'll be back," Sora said. At least, he hoped Aya was enough to convince him to turn back. There was no doubting that Caleb would be a valuable asset if they were to take on Janus.
Hearing growling, Sora looked down at the Multi-Bear to see it slowly getting back up. "Did you hear me? I won't give up on you. I know you're in there somewhere."
Once the Multi-Bear had managed to fully stand up and shake off its apparent dizziness, it lunged for Sora. Sora somersaulted over him and drop kicked the bear from his back, sending it stumbling forward. Luna transformed her Keyblade into a Bo Staff. She spun it around quickly and executed several overhead strikes with the weapon, knocking the Multi-Bear off its feet and sending it rolling into the wall behind it.
"Way to go, Luna!" Sora laughed as Luna posed with the staff behind her. They looked over to the Multi-Bear who was getting back up from the attack. "Please tell me it's on our side now."
This time, the bear galloped towards Sora and swept off his feet. Sora flew backwards into Luna, sending the both of them down. As the bear lumbered towards them, Aya moved in between them and deflected the bear's incoming paw away.
"Bad! Bad bear!" Aya pointed at him, managing to keep her stance while at the same time grasping her injured left arm with her right hand. The Multi-Bear backed away at this with a surprised look on its faces. "That's right. Now sit!"
The bear immediately carried out the command. Sora stared on perplexed for what seemed like a good while before shooting a look at Luna. "That was easy."
"Too easy," Luna replied. "But I'll take it. Maybe we're getting through to him. I don't suppose you were an animal tamer in a past life, were you, Aya?"
"Actually, I'm just hoping this doesn't backfire," Aya said, keeping her eyes on the bear while speaking. She walked over to the back of room where the boombox was and pressed the play button. She started bobbing her head to the song and looked at Luna. "Hey, isn't this song pretty good? Dance with me, guys."
"What?" Sora asked, completely dumbfounded by her request. Aya skipped over to him and grabbed his hands.
"We must dance! Dance with me!" Aya commanded, nodding her head in the direction of the bear. Sora looked at it to see it also moving its head back and forth to the disco rhythm. It was… enjoying it?
"It's a pretty funky beat. Come on, Sora, Balthier!" Luna joined, stepping from side to side and clapping along with the rhythm.
"I can't believe this is saving us. I won't," Balthier replied. Nonetheless he complied. If Luna's dancing could be described as energetic, Balthier's was anything but. He even had a look on his face that screamed 'stop the world, I want to get off'.
As they moved to Aya's rhythm of "One, two, three, clap", they could see that the bear was starting to snap out of its hypnosis. It swooned from side to side, jerking its heads every now and then as one does when they're trying to stay awake.
"It's working! It's really working!" Luna announced excitedly, adding some pirouettes in between her sidesteps.
"Ooh, that's pretty fancy, Luna," Aya commended as she finger pointed along with Sora.
"Thanks. I took a few ballet lessons back in the day," Luna told her.
A few seconds later, the Multi-Bear stopped nodding its head and let out a groan. "What… happened to me?"
"We did it!" Aya jumped up and down with Sora.
"You mean you did! How did you know that would work?" he asked.
"I didn't. I hoped," Aya replied.
Luna ran over to the bear and after checking its eyes knelt down. "How do you feel?"
"Probably the same way the wolf felt after the woodcutter cut granny out of him," the Multi-Bear answered. His eyes glazed over Aya's injury for a moment before asking, "Did I do that?"
"It's okay. You weren't yourself," Aya said as she made to cover her arm again. "Do you remember what happened?"
"I… I remember that I was just waking up after taking a nap when I spotted someone over there, by the boombox. Terrible music started playing and that's when I lost consciousness. I'm sorry, I don't remember much after that," the Multi-Bear said.
"The music… right, there was another cassette tape in the radio when I swapped it with the other one," Aya said. Sora walked over to the boombox and took up the cassette tape, flipping it around to read the label.
"'PWQUBBQBCBVRYTWNAMMR=XION?' What's this supposed to mean?" asked a bemused Sora, his eyes almost bulging out of their sockets.
"Oh, I think I heard BBQ in there. Is there a barbeque, kupo?" Kupopo asked.
"Yeah, no, that's not likely," Luna dismissed. She turned to look at the Multi-Bear. "You don't mind if we take that tape for further analysis, do you?"
"No objection from me. Keep that infernal thing far away from my home, thank you very much. And I should thank you for saving me and in such style at that. Truly, I have never seen such complex dance moves since, well, the "Disco Girl" music video. It's my favorite song," the Multi-Bear told them.
"I guess we should really be thanking BABBA then," Aya said. "I'll be sure to buy more of their albums in appreciation."
"We think the perpetrator might still be here," Sora said after pocketing the cassette tape. "Is it alright with you if we head farther in?"
"Of course. You're welcome to come visit any time you like," replied the Multi-Bear.
"We'll try," Sora said. He very much doubted they would be coming back this way again what with their important mission but the last thing he wanted after helping the bear was to let it down again.
"If only Caleb were here. He gave up too soon," Luna said. Aya sighed and looked back to the entrance they had come from. Sora watched from afar before walking up to her and placing a hand on her shoulder. He wouldn't force her to go ahead if she didn't want to. Both of them knew that if Janus was up ahead then it would only get harder from here on out. Still, there was fire burning in Aya's brown eyes. Those eyes brimming with determination was all he needed to know her thoughts on the matter.
Sora let his hand drop to his side and looked towards the path at the back of the room that led deeper in.
Mountain Trail, Gravity Falls
With some difficulty, Caleb managed to make his way back down the uneven mountain and let out a massive sigh of relief only when he finally touched level ground. He was about to continue on but something stopped him. He turned around to see the mountain he had come from, a gargantuan reminder of what he had left behind.
Aya… no, even Sora, Luna, Kupopo and Balthier, he had abandoned them when they had probably needed him most. Going against Janus was a fool's folly—that much he was sure of, but leaving by Aya behind was he not also responsible for anything that happened to her?
"What am I doing? How could I leave you behind?" Caleb asked. Now that his anger had calmed, all that was left on the surface was guilt. He hadn't realized it until now but with each step he took away from the mountain, he could feel his heart tugging in the opposite direction.
Flashback
"Do you have any fives?" Caleb asked as he looked down at his own hand.
"Go fish," Aya said with a shake of head. Caleb drew another card from the deck. A queen. He placed it among the six cards he already had and looked back up. Other than their voices, all they could hear was the soft crackle of flames from the fire they had made and the occasional chirping of crickets somewhere in the trees.
"Do you have… any queens?"
Caleb almost spluttered with laughter. "You have a strange intuition when it comes to this stuff, don't you?"
"Yup, I have ESP. Call me Mystic Aya," Aya said, drilling her index fingers into her temples.
"Oh do tell me what's in my future then, wise Mystic Aya?" Caleb said, handing the card over.
"Hmm, I see in your future a peaceful one, one where you don't have to worry about looking after others, after the balance of light and dark, after me. You can do whatever you want and the first thing you decide to do is fulfil your lifelong dream of establishing your own restaurant chain. Your food will be known far and wide and you'll be the pride of whichever town you decide to settle in. A great place for the family supported by a beautiful wife and two little tykes. That's what I see for you."
"Wow, you're worse that I thought," Caleb said.
"Huh? I thought I did well. I mean, I'm not exactly Seer material but still, isn't that what you'd want?" Aya asked.
"What I want and what I need are two different things. I could never forget about you, Aya, or anyone that needed my help. I might not be able to set up a restaurant like I'd dreamed of doing, but you're way more important than some silly dream," Caleb said.
"Don't call your dreams silly," Aya said.
Caleb shook his head. "But it's true. You're right here in front of me. That dream for all I know is far away or may not happen at all. I have to protect what matters to me and that starts right here and right now. Say, what about your dreams, Aya?"
"Ooh, nice deflection, buddy," Aya said with a grin.
"Huh? No, I was just-" But Aya's chortle caught him off guard. "Whatever. You have threes?"
"Oh, come on, I was just bantering around. Here, you finally got me," Aya said, handing over two cards with a value of three. "As for my dreams. Let's just say… I wish for a world where you didn't have to fight for my sake."
End Flashback
"Maybe I should go back..." Caleb said. He nodded to himself and was about to start walking again when he heard something behind him. He spun around and his eyes widened at the sight of Janus walking up to him. Caleb took a few steps back and looked back at the mountain. "Wait, but then-"
"It's a trap?" Janus finished for him with a smile.
A/N: So can the group recover the journal before it's too late? What will happen to Caleb and what of the fate of Astra's dragon friend? Find out next time on Paved With Gold and thanks for reading once again.
