Chapter 42: The Wishing Star
A/N: I do not own Kingdom Hearts. It is the property of Square Enix and the Walt Disney Studios. I also do not own The Dresden Files, which are the property of Jim Butcher.
Hello, hello my dearest readers! Onward with regards to this adventure! Where do we go from here? Let's find out, shall we? Tally-ho!
Lea had never been one to say no to a story, if he was being honest. He liked knowing things and he liked being remembered. That was one of the reasons he had been drawn to Ansem the Wise's castle, and all the mysteries and rumors that were coming out of it. He and Isa, had both been drawn in by the stories of the castle when you got down to it really. And then what they found inside…who they found inside. Lea hoped that Isa might be able to find their friend…wherever she was.
Funnily enough, that misadventure wound up being among the tamest of stories Lea had found himself a part of in the last decade or so. The Organization, the Keyblade…Heartless and Nobodies and traveling to worlds all over the cosmos…Roxas and Xion…Bigfoot…huh, maybe he should start writing a book about all this.
The story Geppetto and Pinocchio told over dinner, of the adventures they'd had before meeting Sora, was one of the absolute weirdest that Lea had ever heard.
"Let me get this straight," Lea said. "You're telling me that Pinocchio was brought to life by someone called the Blue Fairy?"
"Oh, yes," Geppetto said. "It was a bit more than a year ago, and I had spent quite some time carving a very special marionette. He was so handsome, with his new coat of paint. I had never had a child of my own, you see. And I wished with all my might, upon a star, that Pinocchio could become a real boy."
"And I did!" Pinocchio said. "Only, not right away. I had to prove I was good—that I was brave, truthful and unselfish! I got into some trouble though, but Jiminy helped me all the way along."
"So…you had a heart?"
"Yep!" Pinocchio said. "Not many puppets have hearts, but I do. I'm not sure how it works exactly. I've met lots of puppets, but none of them could talk 'cept me. And even back then, I didn't need strings to hold me up."
Lea stole a glance at Roxas and Xion, both of whom were staring at Pinocchio with wide eyes. A puppet…that was what Xemnas and Saix had called Xion. Constantly. For months. As a Replica, Xion had been literally designed to absorb powers and memories from others in the service of the Organization. But she had developed free will…which hadn't been part of the plan. Her draining Roxas's strength had been part of the plan…and when Xion realized just how far Xemnas was willing to go, to twist her body into ways he deemed suitable…
Lea forced himself not to go too far down that path. The last thing any of them needed was for him to get too distracted in the guilt of yesterday. The past was in the past…Xemnas was gone, and even if it hadn't been painful enough, it served the bastard right. And Xion and Roxas were both alive.
"So…if we wanted to," Roxas asked. "Do you think we could talk to this Blue Fairy? If she brought Pinocchio to life, then maybe there could be other people she's brought to life?"
"Golly, it would be nice we could all talk to her," Pinocchio said. "I don't even think I ever got the chance to say thank you, after I became a real boy."
Geppetto scratched his chin and Jiminy thumbed the handle of his umbrella thoughtfully. Lea ran a hand through his hair. Xion and Roxas were Replicas…the endgame of years of twisted experiments from Vexen. Fundamentally, they were the product of a mad scientist—even now Even was a grouch. But they are also his kiddos. Lea stood up and walked towards the door, taking the time to run his hand against Roxas and Xion's heads, lightly ruffling their hair.
"I do think that might work," Geppetto said. "Certainly, I would think the Blue Fairy would know more about these sorts of things than I would, even with the time I spent in Traverse Town. And she did bring Pinocchio to life, so it's certainly possible she's done it before."
"Where's Sora?" Pinocchio asked. "Maybe he would like to see her too! She's very nice!"
Ugh! Lea froze and Roxas and Xion both paled visibly. Geppetto seemed to have noticed this and immediately filled their cups with more water. Even Roxas and Xion weren't so clueless as to miss the cue to drink water so that they didn't have to answer right away. As it happened, they didn't need to answer Pinocchio.
"Sora's missin', I'm afraid," Jiminy said. "To keep things simple, there was…an evil wizard that hurt Kairi very badly…Sora cast a different spell to save her but…well, because of it, he's missin'."
"That's awful," Pinocchio ducked his head down. "Sora helped us out so much. Is there anything I can do?"
"I'm not sure, Pinoc," Jiminy said. "We've been keeping our ears on the ground, listening for any rumor or hint that might tell us where to find him."
"Do you think the Blue Fairy might know?" Pinocchio asked. "Where Sora is? Do you think if we ask, she could tell us?"
It wasn't related to their mission. It wasn't related to their mission…that Master Yen Sid had given them. But then…his instructions had been rather vague and frankly, Lea couldn't see a reason why they shouldn't. The worst that could happen was that the Blue Fairy wouldn't be able to give them any answers on where Sora might be. Or for that matter, what Maleficent might be up to—magic was magic, and even if it didn't work out quite the same way here as it did other places, it was still better than nothing.
oooo
"Do you think the Blue Fairy's missed us?" Pinocchio asked. "I've sure missed her!"
"I suspect that she has," Geppetto said. "You're such a good boy, Pinocchio. I am sure the Blue Fairy has missed you a great deal. But don't you worry, we'll be seeing here again…if this works, and I think that it will."
"Gosh," Jiminy said. "How much longer do you think it'll take?"
Dinner had been several hours ago. It was late enough that Pinocchio should have been asleep, so that he might be able to get up on time to go to school the next morning. Or later that morning—Jiminy wasn't sure whether or not it was after midnight yet. He could still hear the tick-tocking of Geppetto's clocks. Roxas and Xion were standing and glancing at each other. They still looked uncomfortable.
"There! There!" Geppetto said. "The Wishing Star! I'll handle this, children."
"Star light, star bright…first star I see tonight, I wish I may…I wish I might…have the wish I make tonight."
That had been the same little ditty Geppetto had changed back when he had first wished Pinocchio to come to life. It was a long shot, but nobody else could figure out a way to get the Blue Fairy to come and see them. Jiminy shook his head. Once upon a time, he had thought such things as the Blue Fairy were a load of poppycock. How foolish he'd been back then…how selfish and short-sighted…
The Blue Fairy had seen something in him though. She had named him, Jiminy Cricket, to be Pinocchio's conscience. It had been she who had told him to keep Pinocchio on the straight-and-narrow. A task that he…hadn't always done that good a job at. He had overslept his very first day and that had gotten Pinocchio led astray to become an "actor" for the puppeteer Stromboli. And then there'd been the whole mess on Pleasure Island…and then their world had fallen to darkness and Jiminy hadn't been able to help Pinocchio at all for ages. But traveling with Sora and Donald and Goofy for all of their adventures had been something to be sure.
Jiminy missed Sora. He missed him terribly. Sora, a little cocky and a lot naive, but at his core one of the very best boys there could ever be. Jiminy glanced at Roxas and Xion again. They were connected to Sora—Roxas was Sora's Nobody and had gained a heart of his own. Xion was a Replica…from what he could gather, the Organization had tried to create a second Sora, but had goofed up and made a second Kairi instead. Only they hadn't done that good a job—they hadn't even gotten Xion's hair the way it should be.
There was more to the story, Jiminy knew. But Roxas and Xion refused to elaborate on what had truly happened. And Axel didn't like talking about it either. That bothered Jiminy quite a bit—keeping secrets only led to trouble, especially secrets regarding the Organization. But then again…Jiminy remembered how things had been back at the Castle—he had to admit that sometimes Master Yen Sid and Queen Minnie could be harder on Roxas and Xion than he suspected they'd be on Riku or Sora. Now that did make some sense, Roxas and Xion had been part of the Organization at one point—both Organizations in Xion's case. …but they weren't now.
From what little Axel had been willing to tell—that Roxas had gotten killed—things must have been bad. Now…killed…surely Axel meant that Roxas had been forced to rejoin with Sora. That might not be technically killing but then again, if you never got to see someone again or talk to someone again, it really wasn't that much different now, was it?
Jiminy turned back to the window. As bothersome as it was that people who were supposed to be on King Mickey's side were so tightly keeping secrets—and they shouldn't be—he'd worry about that later. Jiminy stared at the sky. The Wishing Star—the star that had summoned the Blue Fairy—was much larger and shinier than any of the other stars in the sky.
"Which world do you think that is?"
It wasn't polite to whisper, and Jiminy wished that Roxas would speak up, out of fairness and manners, but he had to admit it was a good question. Each one of those little twinkling stars was a world in its own right. One of them was Radiant Garden and one of them was Disney Castle and one of them was Destiny Islands, which was where Sora and Riku and Kairi came from. Jiminy had traveled every which way there was on this particular world—though, he wasn't entirely sure he knew what the name of his world was, if he was being truthful—but seeing other worlds in his travels was something he had never ever imagined even in his wildest dreams.
Oh! The Wishing Star! It was flickering…getting bigger, getting closer…but it wasn't getting brighter. What was going on?! This wasn't at all like the last time Jiminy had seen the Blue Fairy.
The Wishing Star fell a little bit, almost like it had tripped. And then it got back up again, so to speak. It got closer and closer and Geppetto stepped away from the window and Jiminy leapt onto Axel's shoulder. The little house filled with light.
There, standing in front of them, was the Blue Fairy. But she did not look as she had the last time Jiminy had seen her. Where she had been tall and beautiful, with porcelain skin and hair the faintest gold and wings of crystal, she was now quite ragged. Her hair was torn as if she'd been thrown into a dozen thorn bushes. One of her wings was crushed, looking like a shattered glass. There were bruises and cuts all the way down her arms. Quite frankly, she looked nearly as badly beaten as poor Xion had been just the other day, after all that funny business with the Cornerstone.
"Oh my goodness!"
"Oh, dear sweet Jiminy…gentle Geppetto," The Blue Fairy said. "How…wonderful it is…to see you again…please…help me…this world…it is in grave danger."
She stumbled and fell. Before she hit the floor, Axel darted forward and caught her in his arms. Geppetto yelped and dashed for his coat. Roxas and Xion gasped in surprise. Pinocchio gave a small cry and ran for the water pitcher.
"What has happened?" Geppetto asked, wrapping his coat around the Blue Fairy's shoulders. "Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear me."
"Oh dear Geppetto," The Blue Fairy said. "I never imagined, not even in the darkest of my nightmares that such things would happen."
"Whatever do you mean?" Geppetto asked. "What sorts of things have happened? What has happened to you?"
"There is the darkest sorcery about," The Blue Fairy said. "Geppetto, you are aware that there are others than I who can use magic."
"Well, of course," Geppetto said. "Why, Pinocchio and I met several powerful magicians in Traverse Town. There was one man, Merlin, quite a character he was."
"Ah yes, Merlin," The Blue Fairy said. "Such a gentle, whimsical soul. If only it were he who I was speaking about."
"Here, drink this," Xion said, handing the Blue Fairy a small vial glimmering gold and green. A Hi-Potion. "This will heal your injuries…ma'am?"
"Sweet child…my injuries are not of a mere physical nature," The Blue Fairy shook her head sadly. "
"Who did this to you?" Roxas asked. "Was it a witch? Maleficent?"
"Don't speak her name, child. Do not speak her name, lest she hear you," The Blue Fairy said. "And come forth…I lack the strength to protect you."
"With due respect ma'am," Roxas said. "It's my job to protect you."
With a flash of light, Roxas summoned both of his Keyblades, one in each hand. A long, black one with jagged teeth—Oblivion. A Keyblade that was silvery-white and very pointy, with a sea-shell charm—Oathkeeper.
"A Keybearer…" The Blue Fairy said. "It has been a very long time since I have seen one of you, noble warrior."
"It's not just him," Xion said, summoning her own Keyblade. "Please, tell us, who hurt you?"
"Yes…it was the wicked faerie. It was one who does not wish to bring life, but only death…and what's more, I suspect that the bridge between life and death has blurred."
"We knew that, already…ma'am," Roxas said. "The lines between life and death blurring. That's why we're here. To see what we can do to fix it. Is there any sort of magic that works that way here?"
Thump!
Jiminy turned around quickly. Pinocchio had fallen to his feet, the pitcher of water had spilled all over.
"Pinoc!"
"Oh, I'm fine Jiminy. That didn't hurt at all…wait a moment, why didn't that hurt? Last time, I tripped, I scraped my knee. And it did hurt a little bit."
"This is not something I wish," The Blue Fairy said. "But as I bring forth life, so too can it be taken away…they took my wand…and they corrupted my magic…so that it might reverse."
"Reverse?" Jiminy said. "But that would mean…"
"Yes…" The Blue Fairy said. "If things continue as they are…then by midnight tomorrow night, Pinocchio…will turn back into a wooden puppet."
oooo
The tension was so thick, Xion felt as if it might be able to be cut with a knife. Pinocchio was crying into Geppetto's shirt. Jiminy Cricket was sitting on a little spool of thread, his face in his hands. Xion felt as if she were going to be sick to her stomach.
"I don't want to be a puppet again! I like being a real boy!" Pinocchio wailed. "Father, help me!"
"Oh my, Pinocchio, my little boy. My little woodenhead," Geppetto said. "My precious woodenhead, you've made me proud."
Looking more closely, Xion could see that Pinocchio's face…something was different. His nose…it was smaller, rounder. It looked more like Mickey's nose than anybody else's. When had it changed?
"When you say he's gonna turn back into a puppet…you mean, he's gonna be wooden but he'll still walk and talk and stuff, right?"
"I'm afraid not…" The Blue Fairy said. "He will lose even that spark of life. He will be nothing more than a doll. Oh, I am so very sorry."
Pinocchio would turn back into a doll? No…he was more than a doll or a puppet. Pinocchio was more than just a puppet. He had a heart. Even if he were turned back to wood…he was still someone who had a heart. And even if he lost consciousness, he'd still be someone with a heart.
She placed a hand to her own chest. She could feel her heartbeat. She could feel that she was alive. Xion turned to Roxas, whose eyes were wide with fear.
They were both alive. They lived in Replica bodies. Replica bodies…empty shells that housed their hearts…but they didn't have a spare Replica body to use for Pinocchio.
Xion had always been a puppet…first for Xemnas and Vexen. Then for Master Xehanort. A weapon to serve the Organization or be destroyed. But Pinocchio was real. They had told their story at dinnertime. Pinocchio had been brought to life so that Geppetto would have a child of his own. She couldn't, she wouldn't allow Pinocchio to lose his humanity, lose his heart, lose his life. She'd figure out a way to fix this…somehow.
From what the Blue Fairy said, Maleficent had taken her wand and done something…bad to it. So if they went to find the Blue Fairy's wand, and fixed it, that could heal the Blue Fairy. And that would mean that the Blue Fairy's magic would be fixed to. So Pinocchio would be alright.
"Is there anything I can do, Blue Fairy?" Xion asked. "Anything at all? How can we fix this?"
"Such a selfless child," The Blue Fairy said quietly. "My magic is being directly opposed…"
"What do you mean?" Roxas asked. "Directly opposed?"
"It's simple," Xion said. She glanced down at her Keyblade, at Kingdom Key. "We do what we need to do to heal the Blue Fairy…and I guess that means we have to kill the Coachman."
Xion wasn't sure who this Coachman guy was, exactly. But from what the Blue Fairy said, he had help. Help from Maleficent and probably Pete and…probably Seifer too. And that probably meant some sort of awful artifact was being used to corrupt Blue Fairy's wand. She had been able to help others in Olympus when she had destroyed Hades's awful mordite sword. So…something the Coachman had might be what hurt the Blue Fairy. If they destroyed it, then everything else would go back to normal.
"Kill him?!" Pinocchio wailed. "I don't know if that can be done! He's big and mean and scary!"
So was the Big Bad Wolf…and Pete…and Doctor XXX…and Hades…and Shan Yu…but that didn't mean that he didn't need to be stopped. Xion felt a lump form in her throat. She had to do this. Pinocchio was so frightened. She had to help him. She was a Keybearer…she needed to light the darkness and make others happy.
"Blue Fairy…your Majesty," Xion said. "Where is the Coachman? And is there anything he holds that might be causing your wand to be corrupted and your magic to…um…I think the word's wane?"
"Good child…it's being held on Pleasure Island…"
That place again…Xion glanced at Pinocchio. He was trembling. Geppetto was trembling too. And the kitty Figaro and the little goldfish Cleo. They were all so frightened. And the Blue Fairy was breathing really heavy…she was hurt so badly, even with healing magic.
I failed the turtles…I can't fail you.
"Jiminy," Xion said. "Can you help us get to Pleasure Island?"
oooo
They wanted to go to Pleasure Island?! No way, absolutely not! Not going to happen! Jiminy would not have it!
"This is the most absolute craziest idea I have ever heard," Jiminy said. "And let me tell you, I heard some real whoppers from Sora."
"You don't have to come with us," Roxas said. "Just showing us the way is enough. Please, Jiminy."
Jiminy yanked off his hat and began walking around in a circle. He glanced at Roxas and then looked back at Pinocchio. He was crying into Geppetto's chest. And Roxas and Xion…well, defiant wasn't really the word. Resolved was more like it. They were going to do this, whether he liked it or not.
"I'm Pinocchio's conscience, and when I'm not being his conscience, I'm more or less Sora's conscience. And what sort of conscience would I be if I let you get into such trouble?"
"My conscience is telling me that if I don't help," Roxas said. "Then there's no point in even having a Keyblade."
Jiminy stared at Roxas. Ohhh…that was exactly the sort of thing that Sora would say. Sora had always been one for helping others. Oooh…what to do, what to do…there was really only one thing to do…but…
"Gosh…it'd be awfully dangerous." Jiminy said. "And…are you two sure you're ready?"
"It's not just gonna be the two of them," Axel said. "You think I'm gonna just stay behind?"
"Certainly not!" Jiminy said. "But odds are, this is a trap! Wasn't the Cornerstone a trap?"
Roxas swallowed hard. From what Jiminy had gathered, there had indeed been a trap in the caverns where Roxas had found his pieces of the Cornerstone with Donald and Uncle Scrooge. Beside him, Xion looked extremely uncomfortable—that's right—she'd been caught in one of the traps Pete and the others had set…and gotten badly beaten for her troubles.
"Even if it is a trap…" Roxas said. "That doesn't change that we need to help them. Please, Jiminy."
Jiminy looked back at Pinocchio and Geppetto, and then again at Roxas, Xion and Axel. His choice was clear…
xxxx
It was a long walk from Geppetto's house to the shoreline, but it was a walk that they had to make. Every instinct was telling Jiminy to turn arond, but he had to keep going.
"Now the thing to know about Pleasure Island is that it's under a terrible curse," Jiminy said. "It's probably even more dangerous than Monstro. Monstro's fierce and mean as they come, but it's nothing personal with him, really. He just eats and eats and eats."
"Right…" Roxas said. "But Pleasure Island is different."
"It's filled with all sorts of temptations. Things that look like the right thing to do at the time, but they're really the wrong thing to do."
"Thank you, but I don't think you have to worry about that," Xion said. "Jiminy, we know the temptations are there. And we know we shouldn't touch them."
"I just don't want any of you making jackasses out of yourselves," Jiminy said. "And…oh, don't look at me like that, Axel. I meant it literally."
"Come again?" Axel said. "What do you mean literally?"
"I mean literally! Now I know that in some worlds, 'literally' means 'figuratively,' but here, it really does mean literally! Don't you remember what Pinocchio said about his friend Lampwick? Now Lampwick was a troublemaker if ever there was one, but I didn't want him to go ahead and turn into a donkey!"
"And the Island did that to him?!" Roxas blurted. "I thought Pinocchio meant the Coachman cast a wicked spell."
"He probably did," Jiminy agreed. "But it was the island itself that done it. The more Lampwick played with temptation, the worse it got for him. He was turned into a donkey and I don't know if there's any way to turn him back. And even if there were…we…we never saw him again."
The kids looked like they were going to be sick and even Axel was at a loss for words, but that didn't matter much. They had reached the shoreline now. Far ahead, they could also see Pleasure Island…and it was shrouded with clouds of darkness, glowing green in the night.
"Don't be afraid, Jiminy," Roxas said. "We'll go together."
A/N: Hello, hello, hello! So that settles things for this next chapter. I recognize that this chapter is much shorter than the last few chapters, but this story just didn't seem to need to be so long.
And now we're on to Pleasure Island! Where will we go from here? I honestly have no idea, haha!
Thank you for reading, my dearest readers! Please, leave a comment if you're so inclined—tell me what you thought!
I appreciate each and every one of you.
