Okay, so I absolutely did not mean for this to almost be 3k words again. Maybe 2k, but these word counts are ridiculous in my opinion. We'll work our way down eventually. Hopefully. -nervously laughs-
Thank you for reading!
The halls of Dark Beauty were all but second nature to Sabrina as she made her way to the throne room. She assumed he would be in the throne room. At the very least, she hoped he would still be in Dark Beauty. They needed to say something to each other before he hid away in the pile of trash known as Mickeyjunk Mountain- if only she had wore flats instead of her strappy heels. She would have been able to walk faster through the halls for the disheartened rabbit.
Sure enough, there he was, sitting on the large throne as he looked over her crown. Sabrina slowed her pacing down to a normal walk as she moved closer to the throne. Oswald didn't even notice her approach until she was five paces away from him. He looked up at her with a jolt, then let out a soft sigh in realizing it was just her.
"It's just you..." he mumbled under his breath. With a shake of his head, he looked up at her and told her, "You should be getting changed. One wrong rip and that dress is done for."
"I think this dress has seen more adventure than what was already expected for it." Sabrina scoffed. "What's a little snag in the brickwork anyway than almost being tossed around by some creature of darkness?"
Despite himself, Oswald gave a small smile. "Fair enough." he agreed. But just like that, his face faded into somberness again. Sabrina mirrored him in a way. The silence coming over them like a heavy blanket.
Sabrina looked over the rabbit to the large stained glass window behind the throne. In it, it featured a depiction of Oswald, his cat wife Ortensia, and a small handful of their bunny children walking up to the recently finished Dark Beauty castle. A bright sun shone over the castle, like a promise of all the good that could be created in Wasteland. Sabrina didn't have a stained glass mural of her own in Dark Beauty- the castle had been finished before she came along. That didn't mean that Oswald hadn't tried to get her a mural, but circumstances just demanded that it wasn't possible. Not that it mattered- Sabrina's attention remained to the cat with a pink skirt.
"She would have loved the parade." the young woman finally said, if only to distract from the dark atmosphere. It really grated on her nerves sometimes if any of them stewed in it for too long.
"You kidding?" Oswald softly snorted. "She would have hand sown every stitch on that dress if she could. Probably would have made sure every grain of rice had your face on it or something. We'd have to retrain her from going too overboard with everything."
That allowed the two of them to share a small laugh. But it was contained, almost cautious. Oswald looked over Sabrina as a sudden thought came over him that made him grimace.
"I want you to stay away from them." he told her.
To this, Sabrina cocked a well manicured eyebrow at him. "Didn't plan on getting attached." she informed him, even folding her arms in front of her chest. A smirk worked its way onto her lips before she mused, "But now that you mention it..."
"Sabrina. Please." the old rabbit then begged. His tone surprising the young woman for a moment. "I don't know how long they'll be here, but I can't allow what other trouble they could cause. I don't want to lose you too."
Sabrina still looked at him like she was only taking his words with a grain of salt. "That bad?"
"Keyblade wielders always are." he replied. He looked up at her with a weary expression that made Sabrina hold herself even tighter. Even the air around them even seemed to become that much more tense. Oswald was the first to shake it off before telling her, "Go get changed. We'll have to reschedule the coronation later."
"Are you going to be at Mickeyjunk for the rest of the day?" the young woman then ventured to ask. The only answer she received was a sullen shake of the rabbit's head and an even more exhausted sigh. Neither of them spoke as Oswald started to leave the throne room, the crown still in his hands, leaving the princess alone in the deafening silence.
. . .
"And at the end of our tour, we come to the famous Founders statue!" Gus happily told Terra, Aqua, and Ven. "Painstakingly recreated by Oswald, this iconic copper statue looks over the entirety of Mean Street and is a stunning focal point to the projectors around it."
Ven gave the gremlin a curious glance before looking at the statue. It was well detailed; depicting a man that looked both kind and carrying the essence of a charming salesman, holding hands with a rabbit Ven understood to be this world's king. Their faces were a bit obscured, though. The lower half of the man's body also looked like vines were trying to overtake him instead. It was still pretty cool to look over either way.
"With all the main areas covered," Gus then told the group, "I am now open to take any questions that you three may have."
"I have a few." Aqua admitted, not wasting any time on the offer.
"Fire away!"
But Aqua hesitated for a moment. She looked at her friends as she thought over her best course of action. When she turned back to Gus again, Aqua opened her mouth to give her question but was unable to voice anything as she saw something come out from behind the Founders statue. They were like small sprites- more than half were blue, while the rest were a dark green. Any question she would have said was taken back by a surprised, "What are those?"
At first, the gremlin gave Aqua and odd look before turning to look where she had her attention. When he realized what it was, he let out a hearty laugh. "Those, my dear, are the Guardians of Wasteland!" he informed them. Said Guardians flew over to the group, almost knowing that they had been introduced. They flew around Terra, Aqua, and Ventus like they inspecting them over. "Think of these little creatures as manifestations of Wasteland's heart itself! We rarely see them topside, though. But you can easily run into a few if you were to visit the Rainbow Caverns."
"Neat!" Ven happily declared as some of the Guardians swirled around him. His bemusement for the creatures was short lived when one of the green Guardians landed near his wrist- the spot almost immediately causing a shot of pain to run through him.
"Do be careful of the Turps- the green ones." Gus then decided to say. "They tend to have a nasty bite when provoked."
"No kidding." the young teen grumbled as he nursed his wrist.
"What are the blue ones called?" Terra asked as he allowed such Guardian to land on the tip of his finger. He had to immediately shake it off- the sensation it gave was similar to a small buzz of electricity.
"Tints." came the proud answer. "They tend to be a bit more benevolent, but are far craftier in my opinion." The gremlin gave a small chuckle before adding, "Much like our de facto princess, Sabrina."
At the mention of the name, Ven looked right at Gus. "You mean that girl? The one who looked really..." (Ven paused for a moment, almost saying something that likely would have gotten Terra all up in his case, so he instead opted for something else.) "Angry?"
"The same." Gus agreed with a nod. "Today was meant to be her metaphorical coronation as Oswald's right hand. While there is some interest toward her attitude getting a minor adjustment, she keeps the old chap level-headed despite all the bad that seems to come to our humble world."
"How could a coronation be metaphorical?" Terra wondered, almost smirking a bit at the idea.
"Well it's quite simple." the gremlin insisted, holding his back a bit straighter. "You see..."
"Uh, if you don't mind," Aqua interjected, "Is it alright if I walk alone for a little bit?"
Terra and Ventus looked at her like it was the first time they were aware she could talk. Gus only stared at her because of the sudden interruption.
"I don't see why not." he agreed.
"One of us should go with you." Terra objected.
"Yeah!" Ven quickly agreed. His movements scaring off the Guardians to somewhere else, not that any of them were paying attention to the sprites at the moment.
"I'll be fi-"
"Take Chirithy!"
Now it was Aqua's turn to give her friend a funny look. Not going to back down easily, Ven cupped his mouth before shouting "Hey Chirithy!"
Not even a second later, the Dream Eater hopped into existence in between the trio and Gus. The gremlin recoiled a bit at the sudden addition to their group.
"You three are just full of surprises..." he remarked under his breath, completely unheard by the others.
Instead, Chirithy looked up at Ven and almost gave him a scowl. "You don't have to shout." it tutted at him. "I'm always nearby in some way or another."
"Sorry..." Ven apologized as he sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. "But I need you to do me a favor. Can you stay with Aqua while Terra and I talk to Gus?"
Chirithy gave a movement that indicated a wary raise of its eyebrow. It eventually let out an almost disappointed sigh before saying, "Sure."
"Great!" Ven happily cheered before turning to Aqua, light almost flickering in his eye as he gave her a determined nod. For a moment, all Aqua could do was mirror Chirithy's sigh. She gestured for Chirithy to follow her, to which the Dream Eater did not object from.
"Now, with that figured out," Gus started back up as Aqua and Chirithy walked away, "Where was I? Ah, yes. The coronation, despite being more symbolic than an actual ceremony, is important because-"
. . .
Aqua let Chirithy lead them back down the south side of Mean Street. It wasn't to anywhere in particular, but just walking around was better than sitting and letting the odd atmosphere of this world get to her. It almost surprised Aqua when the Dream Eater made a dead stop when the two passed by the fire station. Chirithy looked at the building with an intense focus. Aqua looked at the Dream Eater, the fire station, then back again with a small tilt of her head.
"Is something wrong Chirithy?" Aqua curiously asked the Dream Eater.
"Huh? What?" the creature wondered, shaking its head for a moment. "Sorry, I was just distracted by something. It's nothing serious, promise."
Aqua didn't seem so sure by this. She glanced at Chirithy before looking at the fire station. Something about the building did seem a bit off- like there was something hiding behind the facade if you looked close enough.
"Go ahead and follow your instinct, Chirithy. I'll stay right here."
"What?!" the Dream Eater gasped. "Oh no, no, no! I can't do that! Ven wanted me to-!"
That was when Aqua bent down to look the creature in the eyes. "Chirithy, I mean it." she told it with a voice that was both assertive and encouraging. "If there is something at the fire station that is bothering you, you can go check it out. I'll be fine for a few minutes. Honest."
There were many things that Ventus's Dream Eater had come to expect. The outstanding persistence of the people connected to its wielder was the one thing it kept failing to anticipate. Letting out a resigned sigh, it drooped its head in defeat. It picked its head up again to tell Aqua, "I'll be back as soon as possible." before jumping into the air with a flip, disappearing at the apex. Aqua gave the space where the Dream Eater once stood a little smile before she got back up again. If it found anything interesting, it would tell her- she was sure of it.
In truth, Chirithy wasn't sure if it should tell her what it was sensing. The Dream Eater must be mistaken. It must just be lonely to even begin to think that it could be that assumption after so long. Either way, there was something hiding on the fire station's second floor. Good thing that being a Dream Eater meant that no locked room was a problem when you could just appear there. But random appearing was a much easier feat when your Keyblade wielder was nearby, or had been in the area before. Since Ven had yet to do either, Chirithy had to do this the old fashioned way- scoping out the lower section of the fire station to gain access to the second floor. It really hoped Aqua actually was still staying nearby. Who knew what Chirithy was going to find if their own sense of awareness was failing.
Didn't even help that the first floor of the fire station was completely dark. Chirithy very carefully moved around, trying to stay near the walls, as it tried to find some clue to get up to the second floor. Like stairs. Or an elevator. Or even a… Chirithy paused as it looked up a long fire pole that very clearly went up to the second floor. The Dream Eater gave a small sound of confusion before placing its hand on the pole. Chirithy then let out a pout as it started to wrap its stubby little hands and feet around the fire pole. You know what they say; curiosity killed the cat. Not that Chirithy was one- not really. But the adage came to mind with a sudden chill up their spine. As cruel as it sounded, Chirithy just wanted to be wrong about this hunch.
The second floor of the fire station was almost as dark as the first. It took poor Chirithy awhile to even realize that they had found themselves in a closet instead of an actual room. The feeling of something else being on the second floor was even stronger now. Chirithy carefully opened the closet door and almost gasped at the main room. It was an almost full apartment with red carpet and pure white walls. Most of the decor was sparse, but there were still two red couches on the side, matching curtains adorning the windows, and even two sitting chairs with a small, round side table in the main nook. And, sure enough, Chirithy saw what it had sensed all the way from outside.
Another Chirithy.
"I wondered how long it would take for you to show up." the other Chirithy bemused from its spot. It sat at one of the sitting chairs, almost like a plush animal instead of a living creature. It titled its head at Chirithy with a rather bored demeanor. "This was supposed to be a day of happiness, and your little party ruined it."
"Who is your wielder?" Ven's Chirithy asked, hoping that it didn't sound too demanding. For this, the new Chirithy just laughed.
"You mean you can't tell?" it teased. "But I guess, after the Keyblade War, we all became a dying breed. And it's not like all us Chirithy really knew each other unless our wielders crossed paths. Besides you and me, I wonder if there even are other Chirithy left." There was a pause, and then the small question of, "Are there?"
"I don't know." Ven's Chirithy admitted. "I've been disconnected from mine for a long time- if there are any more of us, then I am not the Chirithy to know that."
The new Chirithy let out a disheartened sigh. "I was afraid of that." It looked off to the side for a moment, almost lost in thought. "You asked me who my wielder was," it eventually said, its voice even softer than before, "I don't think I'm allowed to tell you, but maybe just a hint since it's been so long either of us have seen another Chirithy, apparently. They're mad. They're mad at your wielder. At the same time, they're curious. More curious than they have been in a long time."
"But you won't tell me who directly?"
The new Chirithy shook their head. "I'm not allowed to. You'll figure out why later if you stick close enough to your wielder. I'm sure of it."
Ven's Chirithy gave an affirmative nod of understanding. But even with their agreement, there was still something that was still on its mind.
"You're not allowed to leave this apartment, are you?"
For this, the other Chirithy looked away. The only thing that Ven's Chirithy could do was look away as well. It couldn't imagine not being able to be with its wielder, let alone be purposely told to stay in one spot because someone else wanted it to be so. It was all… very weird, but it also wasn't their right to ask too many questions.
"Maybe we can talk again later?" Ven's Chirithy finally asked. The other Chirithy still did not answer, still refusing to look Ven's in the eye now. Giving a sigh, Ven's Chirithy hopped into the air, disappearing at the apex to go back to Aqua.
Aqua did stay fairly close by, thank goodness, and Chirithy was almost relieved to see her again.
"Well?" the Keyblade master wondered. The Dream Eater looked back up at her with a grin.
"It was just my imagination," it said to her, "Nothing more. Let's go to that museum over there! I'm sure it's got a lot of interesting things about this world in it."
If Aqua had caught Chirithy's bluff, she certainly did not let it show. Instead, she offered a kind smile of her own before the two went to the museum.
