Long chapter up ahead so won't spare you an opening, just know that this was a difficult chapter to write when it came to knowing where to split it up.
Chapter 55
Town of Wonders
Sora ended up falling out of the bed the same way he had fallen out of it last night, his head hitting the floor first followed by the rest of his body. Sora winced and rolled over on his back to find his attention fixed on the ceiling fan. It had been two days since the events at the Grid and Sora wasn't sleeping well. His dreams involved Ansem's sacrifice, much in the same light of his own when he had gone to rescue Kairi once.
Now that he thought about it, he had sacrificed himself in the hopes of saving Kairi but had there really been any reason for Ansem to sacrifice himself, or Tron or even Auron for that matter? In a way even Luna had risked her own life to protect him going after Abraxas on her own, something that he would never have let go if it had resulted in her demise. He didn't feel that he had been in some kind of danger like Kairi had been at all and all these deaths felt utterly pointless to him. It only caused him more hurt and suffering. Well, he wouldn't let the rest of his journey be like that. He would get stronger, and he would keep others from giving up their own lives.
In the end, he secretly felt it was a case of finding it easy to do but when it came to watching others, he couldn't understand or rather didn't want to understand why they chose to do it. It may have been something selfish on his part but was it really selfish to wish for a friend's safety?
After this he and Luna had met up with the others and were to no surprise immediately harassed with questions regarding where they had been. Sora answered the first few questions and then tuned out feeling that he faced an endless amount of questions, or at least it felt like it at the time. This left Luna to answer the remaining questions as best as she could for them both. He felt sorry for having to let her take all the heat especially when she was just as tired as him but she seemed to be imbued with more energy at the moment and she was doing a wonderful job anyway.
Feeling it wasn't fair to them both, Kairi was first to inform them on everything that had happened while they had been in the system. A Behemoth Heartless had appeared in the Great Maw and had been approaching the town. Everyone opted in to help, even Cloud and Stitch and with their combined efforts they managed to take down the Behemoth though it had been quite difficult. Upon hearing this, Sora immediately knew why the Behemoth had appeared in the first place and he didn't need Leon and Riku's discussion to piece it together. Maleficent had used the attack as a warning to discourage them from further action. The timing had been too perfect and it wouldn't have been much of a stretch to say that either she or Abraxas had made it so Sora and Luna were sent into the Grid. The warning was mainly for him and her, the only two who had gone of searching for the King.
Unfortunately for Maleficent, it had had the adverse effect on the two. Now they were more enthusiastic than ever to set off, find the King and hopefully defeat Maleficent while they were at it. Her scare tactics had only worked in the way that it had showed that Maleficent was capable of commanding even the most powerful of Heartless now, something that she had not been able to do before and if she could summon one Behemoth, Sora could only imagine the powers she had at her disposal now compared to the last time they had fought. Still Sora was quite amused that her reputation had gone up from Xehanort's puppet to being a potential threat, it was an improvement to say the least.
Sora eventually stood up and slouched over to the bedside table to grab the puzzle box that had been placed there for a while. He sat on the bed and twisted it in the dark. Zeus had said that Abraxas had given him the puzzle box but Abraxas was gone so he couldn't ask him about it. That left Maleficent. Considering her and Abraxas had been in collusion it was possible that she also knew of its secrets. For a moment he entranced by the object, staring deeply into it. How many times by now had he expected the puzzle to open just by him looking at it? Probably a hundred by now. It had become something of an obsession to him, almost like this illogical thing which didn't fit and didn't make sense in this world. He wanted to delve into its contents and uncover whatever it revealed, be it good or bad. It could be a ticking time bomb for all Sora knew and he would still be interested in getting it open. The light pouring from the curtains signalled the start of a new day.
A rainy day. He added further after peering through the velvet curtains. He tossed the puzzle box in the air for a while before opening the window. He wondered if this would work. If it did then that was great but if it didn't and he broke it then this wouldn't exactly be the smartest thing he had ever done. He questioned the cube's purpose but could see no reason to hold on to it. With that he lowered his hand and let it drop falling from his window on the second floor all the way to the ground. It landed somewhere beneath his window so he couldn't see the consequences of his actions from his room. He would have to go down and see.
He exited the room and set off down the hallway while whispering to himself how stupid he had been for doing that. His relationship with the inanimate object had been like having a pet and just all of a sudden kicking it for no reason other than to see what would happen next. He pressed the button on the elevator and waited impatiently. He bided his time by copying Donald and stamping his foot up and down.
"Thanks elevator. I appreciate it," He cursed the elevator after realising that it wasn't working. That left the stairs as the only way of going down and by the time Sora reached the bottom floor, his legs ached and he felt like going back up and to his bed just to get some shuteye.
No one was at the reception to see him walk awkwardly out nor did anyone see him searching frantically for the puzzle box in the rain from the comforts of the warm and cosy lounge.
"Well at least it's alright." Sora's relief as soon as his eyes caught the object was immeasurable. He had truly thought that the puzzle box would have been broken when he had found it. He was glad to know the thing was sturdy enough to withstand a fall but then he thought of even more things. What about using magic? It was worth the try though he would have to do it away from the hotel. The park opposite was probably the best place to do so.
He set the puzzle box in between the swings and the climbing frame and took a few steps back just in case before summoning his Keyblade.
"Fire." He shot the first projectile out at the box, once again thinking of how stupid he was and that it would probably break. Instead, the box absorbed the magic and… nothing else happened apart from that. Sora walked up to the puzzle box and grabbed hold of it before immediately dropping it again.
"Ahh, ooh, hot hot hot!" He yelled loudly while jumping about. The rain acted as a buffer, concealing his yells though if anyone from the hotel was to look out exactly towards the park, they would no doubt see a boy screaming and jumping around like a monkey. Eventually he felt his hands lower in heat with the help of the chill wind and rain. He rubbed his chin unenthusiastically as he looked down at the puzzle box. Well he had learned one thing, not to play with fire… well that and the box seemed to take in heat energy.
"This is gonna be a long day." Sora murmured before aiming the Keyblade at it once again.
"He's gone, now this is just ridiculous. First Hades and now Abraxas, let's just face it Maleficent, you are bad luck." Pete took a jab at Maleficent but took extra precaution to stay back as far as possible. This had come after everyone else in the large circular room had made it their mission to input one of their own comments after hearing the news that Abraxas was gone.
"And how exactly are we supposed to complete the plan now? Weren't he supposed to take care of the fools wielding the Keyblade?" Hook asked suspiciously, "Then he ends up getting taken out by some inexperienced girl. Shiver me timbers is there even any point anymore?"
Kuja smiled twirling a rose around in between his fingers, "What's ironic is that even though we keep sending the Heartless at her she doesn't seem to get weaker or show fatigue, in fact she's getting stronger and it can prove a threat to her plans if we let her become as strong as Sora or even Riku."
The woman in the back, named Yzma and someone who wasn't exactly the most praiseworthy figure in the room, scoffed at this notion, "Then keep them separated. If you want you can try some of my potions, I'm sure they'll prove to be quite intriguing to you."
"Well let's just say for now that if they were wiped out by the Keyblade wielders, then they were weak. The ones who are strong are those that will live on. And those that don't will drown in a world of shadows and despair." The man by the shadows laughed a cruel laugh, he was Dr. Facilier, his idea of fun consisted of playing with other villains by offering them the choice of picking tarot cards. That said, he was one of the most mysterious, claiming several times to have 'friends on the other side'.
"If only it were that simple to weed out the weak but we must stick together if we hope to accomplish our goal," Kuja stated firmly, "You can leave the rose to me. I will deal with her before she can fully bloom."
"Seems to me buddy like you have some kind of infatuation with the kid. I'd be real creeped out if I was her." Pete laughed.
"I would be infatuated with her too if she beat me as badly as she did you, but that would never happen." Another more husky voice belonging to a tall man named Seymour taunted enraging Kuja.
"And how would you win then huh? It seems we're both underestimating her and given enough time she could be a lean mean Heartless killing machine."
"You two ladies can fight somewhere else but let's focus on the matter at hand aye? I personally see nothing wrong with the plan as it is now and if we had to rely on one rascal who, if me memory serves me correctly, most of us did not trust because he never took of his hood, then it wasn't much of a plan to begin with." Hook slammed his unhooked hand onto the table prompting a response from Maleficent.
"True, but I hadn't finished before you so welcomingly interrupted me," Maleficent glared at Hook before continuing, "We are of course assuming he's gone in the first place?"
Everyone showed signs of confusion on their face. Their unspoken questions were answered when a portal appeared and Abraxas stepped out, drabbed out completely in his black coat and his hood over his head like always.
He extended his arms out, "TA-DA! And you thought I was gone from all your lives. Don't worry, I'd never stop bugging you nor would I let you stop thinking about who could possibly be behind this hood. What am I thinking? Why am I working with you all? These mysteries I am sure you all ponder. But what matters is that I am alive and dead at the same time."
"Alive and dead? Didn't know you were one for riddles." Kuja sneered.
"As I said, there are many questions you might ponder when you come face to face with me, indeed even I myself consider me to be a mysterious enigma," Abraxas dropped his arms and then walked over to Kuja before swinging over him. He liked how it always annoyed the flamboyant man— it always brought a smile to his face. "Of course to you all I am actually alive having just revealed myself to you."
"Not all of you Mr. Introverted." Yzma scorned breathily.
"Would you like me to bare it all?" Abraxas questioned before laughing, "Just kidding. Anyway to you I'm alive, but to them, I'm dead by Luna's hands. I've made too much sound so I think it's best if I slip back into the shadows and let Maleficent and you guys handle the rest of the operation. Y'know since I've done about ninety percent of the work since we started."
"Wait a second there buddy," Pete put his hand out before slamming it onto the table, "We want answers and we want them now. Where's the princess?"
"The… princess?" Abraxas shook his head confusedly.
"Don't talk like you don't know nothin', you were the last person to come into contact with her weren't you? An' now she's missing when me and that Xanatos fella go to find her." Pete recounted the events that had transpired on his second visit to Wonderland with David Xanatos.
"Oh, that princess. She has a name you know? Alice…" Abraxas was about to say more when Hook interrupted.
"Who cares what her name is? The point is that you were last person she saw." The pirate scurried over to him quickly and pointed his hook at Abraxas' face.
"You would do best to remember names captain. Also I was not the last person who saw her, that would be Sora and Luna though I can't say they were the ones who kidnapped her. That said, I have no idea who did so if you know what's best you will put your hand- er hook away from my face right now." Abraxas said unfazed by Hook's threatening stare. The captain quivered slightly before drawing back and storming off walking out of the door and down the dark corridor while muttering some Abraxas didn't really feel like trying to understand.
"So you're saying you didn't do it. It's okay if you thought ahead and kidnapped her-"
"What part did you not understand when I said I did not kidnap Alice?" Abraxas said calmly at Seymour before looking over at Maleficent with a smile, "Your show Maleficent. Time to show me that my services are still warranted."
Maleficent gave an evil smile, "Why of course… and I know just where to start."
It was early in the morning, from what Luna could remember it had been 8:00am on the dot when she had left her hotel room. Luna met the morning air with a smile as she felt the chill and drizzling rain hit against her hand and down her face. She didn't mind light rain, especially now of all times. It helped to cool her down and allowed her a breather for thinking. Her thoughts primarily rested with Sam and Quorra, and as she walked down the pale street and past the shops downtown she reminded herself that the two were probably in a better place, hopefully with the sun shining and a cool breeze as its companion. Hopefully Sam did not take his father's last act too badly and even if he were, he had Quorra to keep him company. When she thought about it that way, she wasn't disappointed that Quorra had not come along with them instead for Sam would need all the support he could get.
She decided to shift away from the topic and instead her eyes moved across the street. She could see a café and restaurant on opposite sides of the street as she walked, a grocery store was stationed right next the café with fruit set in stands outside of the shop giving off a rather fruity smell which raced through the rain and protruded Luna's nostrils. She had remembered Leon telling her at one point about how they were investing a lot into agriculture to make it the garden that people knew and loved once again. The problem with that was that most of the soil had become infertile after Maleficent had taken over, the Great Maw being one particular example which meant they had to pick specific spots, these spots meant a reduction in the amount of yield produced compared to ten years ago. She dug into her pocket and pulled out some munny that Sora had given her. She bent down and examined each of the prices, the munny in her hand wasn't enough to by a watermelon per say but an apple would suffice.
She soon walked in and walked out having spent some of her munny on a bag containing two apples. She pulled one of them out of the bag and took a bite as she continued her journey downtown. For now the construction workers would be off work until the rain stopped so she was actually able to appreciate the visual appeal of the town, even if the rain and cloudy sky made things seem dull. Going further down the street, she eventually stopped at a bookstore. It had been the only other thing that had intrigued her going down the road other than the school which had been on a different road completely but still rather big enough that she could see it. She opened the bookstore and stepped inside.
She took another bite of her apple as the musky smell of books both first and second handed swam around in the air. It was a rather small shop, but the number of books more than made up for it which seemed to surrounding reaching far above her height. She walked up to the wooden counter and rang the bell. A pop was heard and Merlin the wizard appeared behind the desk.
"Someone this early in the morning?" He yawned and rubbed his eyes before squinting, "Luna?" He pressed his hand against his robe pocket before pulling out his spectacles and putting them on, "Why hello there dear, what can I do for you?"
"Merlin? You own this store?" Luna asked while looking around the store amazed.
"Well… this and the apothecary store. I can't be the only one who doesn't do something around here to help y'know? By the way, the strangest thing happened a few days ago. I had made an apple as golden as gold itself for the express purposes of tricking Cid into eating it. You see it was a prank in that anyone who ate the apple would have a giant bunch of zits bursting out of their face. But for the life of me I can't find that apple. I was sure I had placed it in my cupboard…" Merlin scratched his head and Luna suddenly felt queasy as she looked down at her own apple.
"Can't say I know anything about that but your books are rather weird Merlin. No offence but I was sucked into one of them." Luna said.
"It wasn't one of mine until recently. I had found it somewhere but I can't really remember, it's been too long," Merlin reflected before looking back up, "So is there anything you want to buy dear?"
"Oh, no I was just checking this place out. It's just a feeling so I'm not sure whether it's true or not but I feel like I used to have some admiration for books. So I was wondering if maybe I read something that I had read before-"
"You might have a chance at remembering something," Merlin finished for her before warning, "While I must say you're a very bright girl I would be careful when dithering with memories if I were you."
"What do you mean?" Luna asked.
"Memories are strange things. Wonderful to have yes, but strange. Fragile even. Just make sure that when you pursue them, you keep others and their worries for you in your mind." Merlin said going over to the bookshelves and looking over each title.
"I would never worry anyone while looking for my memories. I mean I want them, but I don't want them so much that I would sever my ties with my friends in the process. Plus seeing other worlds is something that I really love doing so I'm not going to waste it." Luna reasoned. She respected the people she had met too much to abandon and if given a chance to find out about herself tomorrow in exchange for never seeing her friends again she would never take it.
"Of course, I can see that you value your friends very much like Sora. In fact, as a present I'll hand you a book for free. It was actually written by me and from my own personal adventures involving one of my own pupils. The King is also present in it. I think it'll be quite a read for you." Merlin handed her the book he had taken from the shelf. The words The Sword and the Stone appeared on its hardback front cover with nothing but a sword stuck in the ground as an illustration. It was quite a thick book and as she skimmed through she could see a lot of detail put into each page.
"You wrote this? It must have taken you awhile…" Luna closed the book and placed it into the bag along with the other apple.
"It's probably one of my greater accomplishments. If anything I would really like to end up writing a book one day which chronicles my life and my accomplishments. Maybe even some of the spells that I created." Merlin spoke.
"Oh, speaking of which, how is teaching Palom and Porom going?" Luna asked.
"Quite well. Porom is a delightful and bright student full of promise." Merlin replied with a smile.
"And Palom?"
"Palom… well, he uh, has the potential for showing promise I suppose." Merlin said through some careful and choice words.
Luna laughed before waving, "Well, I've gotta get going. I'll see you at the house later okay? Oh and thanks for the book by the way."
"Of course, take care now." Merlin waved back and watched as she exited the shop before disappearing again with another sharp pop.
Luna took off again towards the school while going into the bag once again and fishing around for the second apple to pull it out. She walked across the increasingly busy street and suddenly she felt a lot more aware of herself. Each person she passed seemed to be carrying an umbrella or at least sporting a rain jacket but she had chosen to go in her red dress. Thankfully there were no Heartless about for her to run about only to trip on her dress instead.
Guess they can't stand the rain. She joked heading down the street leading to the school. The gates were closed for the weekend but Luna pressed her face against the bars anyway to get a good look at the school. She had never been here before and she could already tell that a lot of money and time had been put into the building. It was easily the biggest building in the downtown area and she was sure with David Xanatos' funding, the place would no doubt expand into something greater. As much as Sora and Riku were wary of the man, it wasn't as if he was the only one involved, the whole town was and working together could have only been achieved by the resources Xanatos provided. If she could describe him, selfish would not be one of those words.
She also thought of Stephanie while she watched the school from afar. This was where she went to school for five days a week and where she hung out with friends more her age and even learnt the things that a normal kid would. Yet Luna couldn't even remember her own childhood or the happiness associated with making friends or eating a packed lunch in the cafeteria or school yard. She was jealous in a way of Stephanie and although her father had left her at a young age she seemed to be constantly happy all the time. Maybe it was for her mother, who possibly found it hard to smile at times due to her husband and Stephanie felt it appropriate to take on the smiles for both of them, to keep her mother happy and herself. She couldn't even begin to understand what that kind of burden was like.
After a few more minutes, she walked past the school, her hands sliding across each bar as she did so before turning down another road and walking on. She didn't know where she was going, only that this walk was much needed. It didn't take long before she came across a remote area rather different from anywhere else in the town she had been. This was one of the places where the soil was fertile judging by the various plants dug into the ground. She soon stopped at a dirt road, something rather close up catching her eye instantly. Immediately she ran through the crops and down the hill keeping her feet as far apart as possible so as not to trip. The next time she stopped she arrived at a big lake. On the other side, what looked like barren purple land seemed to occupy its borders and beyond. She walked to the edge of the lake and scooped up one of the rocks by the side of the water.
Might as well give it a try. Luna swung her arm forward and threw the rock at the water. She frowned when it hit the water and sunk quickly below the water's rippled form. She tried again. And again. And again but every time she tried it, each rock just landed in the water and sank.
"Aren't you getting a bit wet there? I'm not sure it was a good idea to come without an umbrella." Luna turned around and smiled at Max.
"And what brings you around here old timer?"
"Old? I greatly resent that," The two chuckled as they watched the rain drops form more and more inconsistent ripples along the water's surface, "Your technique is all wrong by the way. Let the master show you how it's done."
"Okey-dokey, teach me oh wise one." She curtsied, stood back up straight and watched intently as Max instructed and showed her how to skim stones. Following what he had told her, Luna grabbed one of the smoother rocks out of the group of them lying by the water and held her index finger at the side of the rock farthest from her. She then turned to the side with her non-dominating hand being her left one facing the water. She inched her feet apart from each other until they were shoulder's length apart and then she flicked her wrist forward sharply. She grinned as the rock slapped against the water three times before sinking into the water on the fourth.
"I did it!" She exclaimed jumping up and down before looking at Max, "By the way, you dodged my question. What are you doing here?"
Max shrugged, "This is where I usually come if I need to think about things. I saw you coming this way and I decided to follow."
"Well looks like I've taken your secret spot. Sorry." She said as she examined him curiously, "So what's the deal between you and your father?"
Max appeared baffled by the question, "What are you talking about? There's noth-"
"You can quit the theatrics. I know you aren't happy and besides… you're not exactly the best actor." She was determined to find out the truth today, even if it meant pestering him and stalking him all day… well maybe not all day.
"I guess I can tell you, but you can't tell my dad about anything I'm about to say, promise?" He watched Luna zip her lips tight and throw away an imaginary key before continuing, "My dad has this expectation of me. He's a knight and he would like nothing more than for me to follow in his own footsteps."
"And he said all this to you?"
"No, but I can tell he's thinking it. The way he feels so proud of me when I'm studying to become a knight and the way he talks about it to everyone in the castle and the town… It's embarrassing and annoying. I just want to sneak out and do something, I don't know, something fun with all the other kids my age," Max picked up a rock and chucked it at the water, "Parties and nightclubs, even a girlfriend or something like that. That would be great, but I always feel like my dad's shadow is constantly watching me. Expecting to do these things and I don't want to disappoint him because I want to make him happy. I know… I know he's looking out for my best interests but still, he doesn't understand. And because of that he constantly embarrasses me and ruins any chance I have of making friends."
Luna nodded and looked up into the sky. Would the rain ever stop? "I think it's all in your head."
"What?" Max was about to throw another rock when he stopped.
"You only think you have to do those things because you assume that's the only thing he'll respect you for. You want to make him proud? Well you can start by being your own man for one thing," Luna picked up her own rock and threw it at the water watching it hurtle and bounce, "I'm pretty sure Goofy will be happy whichever path you take in life Max."
"That still doesn't solve the problem of him embarrassing me. Get this, I walk up to this girl one day with the intention of asking her out and then out of nowhere my dad pops out and starts chatting about me as a baby and how I used to bawl a lot. Uh, don't tell anyone else about that either." Max told her.
"Okay, that's pretty embarrassing," Luna almost choked on laughter, "But you know. You have to remember that he was a teenager once as well, and he was probably crazy and in love and you'll probably end up like him someday when you're grown up."
"So you're saying I'll end up like my dad? Ahyuck, that would be bad," He then covered his mouth when he realised what had happened, "Oh no, it's already starting."
"I'm guessing that didn't help your confidence huh?" Luna sweat a bullet though the rain would make it hard to pick out from any other droplet on her face, "Look that's not what I meant. It's just you have to put yourself in his shoes sometimes. Maybe one day you'll be so proud of your son that you want to tell the whole world but… I can guarantee you that he was probably just as indecisive as you when it came to choosing what he wanted to do for his career."
"You think so?" Max asked.
"Yeah, even adults were kids at one point. Why don't you go talk to him about it, I'm sure he'll stand by you whatever your decision is," Luna grinned and picked up another rock, "Y'know, I think this could help me with my Keyblade throwing."
Sora headed back to the corridor his room had been on in the hotel having not really accomplished much regarding the puzzle. What he had learned was that the puzzle took in the temperature of whatever type of magic had been thrown at it. He had tried the weathering technique that Riku had taught him by repeatedly heating and freezing the object but it didn't reduce or even expand in size. On closer inspection, there weren't any cracks either; it looked the same as always. A few more magic spells like thunder, gravity and cure were used but they had no effect on the box. He sat on the merry-go-round and kicked his feet of the ground over and over again in puzzlement. Each time he made a complete rotation he expected something to happen. Maybe it was an egg or something like that which would only hatch in certain conditions? Well if it was an egg, it didn't look the slightest like one.
His stopped kicking at the ground when he saw a skateboard on the ground a few feet away from him. For him it served as a neat distraction, to take his mind away from the annoying complexities of the puzzle. He hopped onto the skateboard and started down the street towards Merlin's house. He swerved in between lampposts and street signs summoning his Keyblade and hooking around them in order to gain more speed. He eventually passed by Merlin's house and raced past the group of Heartless in front of him. He grinded to a halt and watched as the beams of light erupting out of the ground took care of the Heartless, confirming that the security system was working.
After a few more minutes of skateboarding around town and pulling off several aerial tricks, he came to a halt back at the park. Of course he had gone back to the hotel after to check up on things with Luna however he had completely forgotten that the elevator had stopped working and so had to drag his body up the huge number of steps once again. He limped past his own room and took a corner to see Palom, Porom and Kairi standing outside her door.
"Hey, what's up?" Sora enquired pretending to hide his tiredness by leaning against the wall and folding his arms.
"No need to try and act cool Sora. Those stairs are a pain huh?" Kairi winced just thinking about them. Sora was glad he didn't have to keep up the act and slumped to the ground, "Well we wanted to see if Luna wanted to come along with us for some shopping. I would have asked you to come along but I know how you and Riku are with that kind of thing."
"And yet you drag me along." Palom mumbled only for Porom to shake her head and sigh.
"She in there?" Sora asked but when Kairi replied with a no, he bit his lip and laughed, "Guess she had the same idea as me then. I went out for a while to check up on this." He handed Kairi the puzzle. "I guess she must have slipped out while I went off skateboarding. I'm sure she'll be fine, don't worry."
"So did you find anything out?" She asked as she twisted it around. Palom made for an attempt to grab it out of her hands but she pulled back quickly sending Palom to trip over himself and hit the floor.
"Well, it absorbs the temperature of the magic thrown at it for a short while. Other than that, not really. It doesn't change shape or resize or anything like that when it's hit." Sora said.
"I've been thinking, you've said it was like a Rubik's cube before right? Well maybe it needs to be solved in a certain way or done under a certain time." She asked twisting each face randomly. Sora didn't even know why she bothered when she had never been good at figuring the things out.
"If that's the case, then we're screwed. I'm no mathematician but there are probably thousands of combinations that could work for that. No to mention there's nothing on any of the faces. No symbols, no colors…" Sora shrugged.
"Yeah, it's- it's weird. And you say that you got this from that guy in the cloak huh?" Kairi asked giving it to Porom to see if she could try and figure it out. Palom tried once again now that it was out of Kairi's hands but a whack on the head from Porom sending him cowering once again.
"Well, Zeus said he gave it to him and told him to give it to me. If he was still alive maybe I'd be able to find out what this was all about. Still, I'm glad he's out of my life. Now I just need to focus on Maleficent," Sora stretched and paused before lowering his arms and gave a smile to the girl coming round the corner, "Good morning Luna. You're looking soaked today."
Luna blushed and dragged her soaked self towards them, "I guess you guys were waiting for me? Sorry 'bout that, I went out for a while to see some of the town. Here, look at this!" She put her hands excitedly in her bag and pulled out the book Merlin had given her, "Merlin let me have it, The Sword in the Stone. Seems interesting. Also brought some apples which were extremely juicy by the way." Upon hearing the word 'apple' Palom held his mouth to prevent himself from puking.
Kairi and Porom exchanged looks before walking over to Luna and pushing her into her room.
"Hey, what are you doing? I just had to climb a whole bunch of stairs y'know." Luna appeared baffled by the girls' actions.
"Girl time, and by that I mean it's time for you to get dressed," Kairi said closing the door behind them. Sora was about to say something to Palom when the door opened again revealing Kairi's head, "Sorry about that. Please wait here for a while." With that she closed the door again.
"What just…"
"Don't know, don't care. I'm outta here, gonna go find Riku." Sora waved and walked off quickly and without look back.
Palom looked at the door and then at the departing Sora before shouting, "Hey, wait for me!"
Luna placed the dress tightly in Yeul's palm, "There. I think that would look perfect on you Yeul."
"I think I look quite stupid in it actually." Yeul frowned but held onto the dress regardless.
Luna shook her head slowly, "N-No, you don't. Even Kairi and Porom agree, it adds something to you, like a whole new layer of personality."
"The smell of fresh breeze?"
"Sorry?"
"That's how Porom described it. The smell of fresh breeze." Yeul's facial expression never altered or stirred from its normal melancholic one. After Kairi, Luna and Porom had exited Luna's room and found neither of the two boys there, they resorted to looking for a new fourth candidate. The person they had ended up finding in the end was Yeul who both Luna and Kairi had wanted to talk to anyway so it seemed the perfect opportunity.
"I… guess. Huh, how do you think I would look in a gothic outfit? Would look pretty good taking out some Heartless in style while wearing some black boots and fishnets no?" Luna said eyeing the gothic column.
"Don't even joke about that," Kairi had overheard her and joined in on the conversation quickly, "It gives me the shivers just thinking about it."
"Only because you know I'd look cute in it," Luna beamed extending her hand out and making a v sign before laughing, "Oh I'm just kidding. You know I'm not like that."
"Well to be fair, it's not like you really know you're not like that so…" Kairi lulled her head to the side.
"True," Luna smiled before gasping, "I may have even loved vampires and werewolves! That would have been… something alright."
Kairi grinned, "You get to see so many worlds while you're searching for your own while me… well I'm here keeping the town safe along with Riku. I'm kind of jealous."
"Well it is something else. I wish you could see it but you'll be coming with us when we head to Twilight Town right?" Luna asked.
"Yes, and then Riku and I are thinking of splitting up and heading in the opposite direction to search for the King. It might help if we broaden the search but we also have to make sure the others can handle everything here while we're gone. The only problem then is that background radiation that's popping up near worlds and spreading around," Kairi rustled her carrier bags which were already stacked with items such as potions and ethers, "Even if we separate again, I'm glad I met up with you Luna. And you too Yeul, it's not every day we get to hang out like this. Just the four of us girls."
"We should do it a lot more and bring Aerith, Yuffie, Tifa, Rinoa and Stephanie to come along too." Luna smiled.
"Uh, I wouldn't bring Yuffie along if I were you. Too impatient and giddy, trust me," Kairi swiped her hand aside, "Now let's get back to Porom. She's probably wondering where we've gone off to by now. Race you there!"
"Through the shop? I'm not sure that's-" But Kairi had already started her dash and Luna wasn't about to let her win without putting up a fight, "Let's go Yeul."
Yeul didn't respond. Instead she looked to the gothic line of clothes stacked on the wall and gave a nod of interest before turning and running off after them.
Next time, Max sorts out his daddy issues or at least hopes to, a long needed conversation and the gang head off to Twilight Town. See you then.
