-o- CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE -o-

persona non grata

We emerged from the portal onto the castle terrace in Radiant Garden, where Leon and Sora stood talking and gazing out at the city. Our appearance was clearly the last thing they expected. I felt Sora's eyes lock on mine. I watched the spectrum of emotion that crossed over them, from confusion to disbelief to excitement. I didn't realize until he ran over me that was I still clutching Axel's hands from the journey. Quietly, I unlocked my fingers from his and braced myself as Sora threw his arms around me.

I reveled in his warmth and in the smell of his hair, which somehow still retained that salty, beachy scent. But when we pulled apart, I glimpsed into his blue eyes and felt a strange feeling. There was something different about him. Or maybe there was something different about me that made me inexplicably feel like I was looking at his face for the first time. I bit my lip and shuddered softly in bewilderment.

I gently slithered my body away from him, away from his touch. I smiled like I had nothing to hide. Like none of my feelings were scary or unusual.

"What now?" I breathed. At first it was a quiet question just for Sora, but I blinked out of that strange moment and addressed the rest of the crew. "I mean, what's been going on with you guys? What have we missed?"

Sora turned to Leon, who managed to frown and smirk icily at the same time. "It's a long story," Leon groaned, surveying the lot of us who had just miraculously appeared from an unexpected portal burst. "And this little stunt definitely seems like it makes the story longer. Let's take a walk inside the castle, shall we? Now that the King's Thirteen are truly thirteen again, I'd say we have a lot to talk about."

-o-o-o-o-

Aerith put on a pot of coffee, and we assembled at a round oak table in the Chapel. Riku's head hung low, grimacing glumly as he surveyed the familiar room. Sora gave his report first. Apparently, the others had followed Demona through her portal only to be stranded on another world. Cid had manned his gummi ship on a rescue mission to collect them, and they were attacked so heavily that they had been forced to crash land back at Radiant Garden. Leon and Cid had been working tirelessly to develop better defense systems for the gummi ships, but so far the rest of the King's Thirteen was isolated in Radiant Garden, unable to travel to any other worlds.

I watched Sora's eyes as he spoke; they deadened just a little as his voice fell into a somber tone. My earlier guilt resurfaced twofold.

"And then..." Sora's words came to a strange and sudden halt. All eyes watched as he blinked, scratched his head and stumbled on his words. "Wait, was I saying? I'm sorry I… I can't remember. It's just… Blank."

Goliath narrowed his eyes and watched Sora with a studied concern. I felt myself sweating, a sickness growing in my stomach. Something was wrong with Sora and I had a stinging feeling it was my fault.

Then, I met Axel's eyes across the Chapel table and realized he was stifling a laugh.

Axel coughed to mask his emerging laughter, and then gave a subtle wave of his hand in Sora's direction. Sora's eyes shifted in sudden focus.

"Sorry about that, guys," said Sora, scratching his head. I allowed myself to exhale. Axel coughed out the rest of his laughter.

Leon delicately took over the conversation. "Demona and Maleficent have joined forces. They're using a spell from the Grimorum to increase the reproduction of Heartless. They're concentrating these new forces overwhelmingly along the main thoroughfares of interspace. They are suffocating our main travel routes; cutting off our supply lines. Travelling anywhere by gummi ship at this point is suicide."

"And with no hope of reinforcements, each world is basically waiting to be destroyed," Riku concluded grimly.

"I'm still confused how you guys managed to show up," chimed in Yuffie.

"Kairi and Axel have a trick up their sleeve," Lulu spoke up. "They created a forcefield strong enough to protect us, and we used the Corridors of Darkness to come here."

In a room so full, the quiet that followed was deafening.

Leon spoke first, with a slight smile on his face. "That's… incredible. So many of you? How could you…?" He searched my face and cut his question short. He could tell by the bewilderment in my eyes that I didn't understand how any better than he did. "That certainly changes things."

I shook my head furiously. "I don't see how. I mean, it was hard enough just travelling with half of us, I can't imagine carrying all Thirteen of us… or more…" My growing confidence wavered at the thought that my skill might be the last line of defense.

"Perhaps we could contact Master Yen Sid," Leon offered, mercifully pulling the conversation away from me. "Magic may outweigh technology on this one. Maybe there's a better way to travel than by gummi ship. A way we haven't thought of yet."

Something occurred to me; something I remembered from the last time we were in Radiant Garden. "Scrooge," I blurted. Eyes that had only just stopped staring shot right back to me. I looked around at everyone. "Donald's Uncle Scrooge told me he had an interworld transit system."

Leon frowned. "As far as I know that was only ever speculative. An idea, sure, but Scrooge never had the chance to materialize it."

"Surely it is worth investigating, though?" Goliath pressed.

The reluctance on Leon's face puzzled me. He held his breath for a moment, glancing sideways at at Aerith. She blushed and tried to speak the words he couldn't.

"Scrooge is, well, how do I say this?" Aerith began in her usual calming tone.

"He's flipped his lid," Yuffie said easily, brave enough to spit it out. "He's kind of persona non grata right now. Cid says he's shut himself up in that pub of his ever since we first embarked. We think he's cracked just a little bit."

Launchpad folded his arms and glared at Yuffie. "Hey, you don't know what you're talking about!" he snapped defensively. "Scrooge is the sharpest guy I know, and I'm not gonna sit here and let you insult his character."

Yuffie nodded apologetically. "I'm sorry, that came out wrong. It's just… in the King's last correspondence, he kind of, warned us off him."

Launchpad was scandalized. "Warned you off? Warned you how? What did the King have to say?"

If the room was tense before, it was positively unbearable in that moment.

"It was just three days ago, when we made it back here and used Cid's comm system to reach out to the King," Leon took over explaining. "We gave him our latest brief, and he only told us two things: await further instructions, and stay away from Scrooge."

Launchpad slammed two feathered fists down hard on the wooden table. It echoed in the high Chapel ceiling. He pushed against the table to slide back his chair, and then walked out of the room. His footsteps sounded like the loudest thing.

Goliath cleared his throat. "They are old friends," he justified gently. "He is upset. I must admit, Scrooge did not seem well the last time I saw him. I will make sure Launchpad's alright."

Goliath's footsteps also left the room, and the awkward quiet resumed.

The meeting came to a cobbled conclusion shortly after. Leon and Sora reported to the comm center to try and reach Master Yen Sid while the rest of us wandered our separate ways. Most everyone went to their guest quarters to turn in for the night, hoping things would be clearer in the morning. It was well after midnight at that point. I took off in search of Launchpad and Goliath, and I found them in the garden.

I felt a slight warmth as I remembered my terrified and embarrassing reaction to meeting Goliath here for the first time. It was only a few short hours after that that I'd first been introduced to Launchpad in Scrooge's pub. It gave me a staggering sense of distance; we had all come so far together now. The faces of Selphie, Wakka, and Tidus felt like long lost memories. I had a new family now.

Launchpad smiled weakly at the sight of me. "Sorry if I lost it back there," he began.

I shook my head immediately and cut him off. "You don't have to be sorry. That was all… kind of random. And awkward. I totally understand why you got upset."

Launchpad nodded slowly, still looking dazed and dismayed. "I think I need to go check on the old guy. I mean, I don't want to disobey a direct order but…" He met eyes with me, searching for forgiveness.

"I'll go with you," I offered immediately. Goliath nodded as well, and the three of us took the familiar midnight walk out of the castle and to the town square. The atmosphere of the Wailing Bagpipe was markedly different from my last visit. Less crowded, less lively, and even more dimly lit than before. This didn't bode well; it was like a dark gray cloud was hovering over Scrooge. What could he possibly have done to accumulate such bad omens?

We didn't find Scrooge at his usual booth, but we did find another familiar face in his place. Axel sat relaxed, with a chilled glass in his hand, smiling at us expectantly.

"Took you long enough," said Axel. I felt like his eyes were lingering specifically on me. He tossed back his drink and emptied the rest of its contents in one gulp. "Not only have I been here long enough to deduce that Scrooge has skipped town, but I've already finished my first drink."

"What makes you think he's gone?" I asked, sliding cautiously into the booth to join him. Launchpad and Goliath squeezed in on the opposite side.

"I snuck upstairs to his private apartment. Everything's disheveled, like he packed in a hurry."

Launchpad frowned. "That can't be good. Where would he even go?"

"We must find him," Goliath concluded immediately.

I furled my brow. "It just doesn't add up. Mickey and Scrooge have been friends for decades, and all the sudden he's warning us to stay away from him? Scrooge said he's been living here twenty years- his whole life is here, including three grandnephews and a niece, and he just vanishes? Doesn't leave a note or say goodbye? Makes no sense."

"You think someone made him leave against his will?" Launchpad asked with concern. "Tried to make it look like he fled?"

"Or maybe he really did run in a hurry," Axel suggested. "Because he knew someone was coming for him."

"What do we do?" I asked. "Where do we even begin to look for him?"

"You would do well to get some rest," Goliath suggested in the kind but firm voice of a father. "It's been a long night for your kind. I have a few more hours until the sun rises. I can talk with some of the patrons here, see if anyone knows anything."

Axel shook his head firmly. "No offense, big guy, but I don't think you're our best bet for that type of investigation. You don't exactly have a discrete look."

Even Launchpad, in the depths of his gloom, found that funny enough to laugh at. Goliath cracked a kind smile and nodded in concession. "Perhaps not. But I can certainly do more good while I still have waking hours. I'll take a glide around the city's outskirts, see if there's sign of Scrooge. Perhaps he has not gotten far. The rest of you should get some sleep."

Launchpad heaved a great sigh. "I think I'll stay and have a drink myself." He gently tapped his forehead. "Too many thoughts spinning in the old noggin to go straight to sleep."

Goliath nodded. "Very well. Kairi, may I escort you back to the castle before I move out?"

"Yeah, we've all seen the unfortunate outcome of Kairi not going night-night on time," Axel jabbed. "Lulu's got the shiner to prove it."

I felt redness rush to my cheeks and I rolled my eyes. "I think I'll stay around for awhile, too," I told Goliath. "Maybe I'll have a drink myself."

If the wizened gargoyle disapproved, it didn't show in his eyes. He bowed respectfully to us all before leaving the bar. A young dark-haired woman with a French accent came to take our order. Launchpad ordered a dark beer for himself and Axel ordered me a sparkling pink wine. I made a wrinkled face at the choice, thinking he was making some kind of subtle "princess" joke, but it was actually pretty nice.

The bar was noisy but it somehow felt calm. The sound of laughter, soft conversation, a single violin, clinking glasses… these were the noises of normalcy. These were not the noises of battle, of traversing, of waiting. The world was at war, but as I sat and sipped my rosé with my company, it felt like for the first moment in weeks, I could pretend to be normal.