Chapter 5: The Quest

The ball of light led Marissa and Riley downstairs and into a maze of corridors. Slowly, the kids were getting more and more frustrated and scared. Maybe leaving the room wasn't such a great idea to begin with. Maybe they should have gone to Shelby's room and got her to investigate the ghost ball. She was the one who watched Ghost Adventures and Ghost Whisperer, not Marissa.

"How are we supposed to get back to our room?" asked Riley in a hushed whisper, as if he was afraid to be overheard by the ghost ball. "We didn't leave a trail of breadcrumbs or anything."

Marissa turned her head towards Riley but kept her eyes on the ghost ball. "Riley, we're not going back to our room. I think the ball is leading us somewhere." She spoke in a hushed whisper too because she didn't want Xehanort finding them.

"I think the ball is lost," remarked Riley in a stubborn tone, narrowing his eyes at the glowing ball.

The ball came to a stop at an antique elevator that looked very similar to the one she saw in that movie Titanic, except it had an iron grille for a door. As the kids came to a stop in front of the elevator, the ball entered. The grille door squeaked and slid open, revealing a small elevator corridor that didn't look safe. Riley took one look inside and turned to walk off, but Marissa stopped him by grabbing onto his backpack.

"Come on," she said impatiently, pulling him towards the elevator. "I told you the ball is leading us somewhere. Everything's gonna be fine."

"Marissa, wait," said Riley nervously, eyeing the elevator like he was expecting a bomb to go off. "You don't know the last time that thing has been inspected."

Marissa rolled her eyes and snorted. "Would you just relax?" she demanded, giving him a furrow-browed look. "Where's your sense of adventure?"

Riley paused, looked left and right down the hall, and then proceeded into the elevator. After he walked in, the door slid closed behind him and he stared warily at the ghost ball. He couldn't help but feel that he made a mistake, but it was too late to turn back now.

"This is against all my better judgment," he remarked as the elevator started going up, up, up.

…

Meanwhile, Jeff found himself at the end of the corridor and bumped right into a panel of wood. He noticed that there was a draft and felt at the seam. Jackpot. He pushed the panel open and found himself in a dimly-lit hallway full of portraits and other works of art, sighing in relief that he was out of that long stairway. Pushing the panel closed, he picked up one of the candelabras and started making his way down the hall.

He glanced towards the window and noticed that the rain was pouring down, sheeting the windowpane. Then, he glanced over at the paintings. Shelby would love to have paintings like these in our house, he thought, smiling at the thought of his daughter. Still, the thought of his daughter didn't shake that uneasy feeling that was welling up in his stomach.

"Hello!" he called, his voice echoing in the hall. "Is anyone home!"

His brow furrowed in fear as he stared at the two busts—a man and a woman—and walked past them. As he walked, he couldn't help but feel someone was watching him. He wasn't a wimp, but he didn't want to look back to confirm his feeling. Nothing about this house was right, he decided with a shake of his head. Something was very wrong with this house. Why did he bring the kids to this place?

A creaking sound got his attention and he glanced over to see a big wooden door. His eyes widened in shock when he saw that the door was contracting like it was breathing. As he walked closer, the door seemed to swell even more. He racked his brain to find a logical explanation.

"Those must be termites," he whispered to himself, in a way to reassure himself. "Some big-ass termites. That's all."

Eyeing the door warily, he reached over and grabbed the doorknob, twisting it. He opened the door and—

…

Marissa and Riley followed the ball out of the elevator and up to where they assumed was the attic. Marissa kept her eyes on the orb and opened a door, revealing a corridor with stone steps and walls. She hugged herself, feeling the chill in the air, and carefully walked up the stairs with Riley clinging to her arm. As they ascended the steps, they noticed the ball of light disappear through another wooden door.

Looking at each other, Riley and Marissa grabbed hands and the boy reached for the doorknob, revealing—

…

As soon as Jeff opened the door, he heard the ringing of an old telephone and noticed the old instrument sitting on a column in the middle of the room. A wave of relief went through him. Maybe it was the police or, hopefully, Xehanort calling to look for him. He quickly walked over to the device and picked up the receiver, holding the phone to his ear.

"Hello?" he said in greeting, waiting for whoever was on the other end to respond.

Click.

Whoever it was had hung up. Jeff pulled the phone from his ear and gave it a distasteful look. Was someone pulling a prank on him? Was this seriously a prank call? Well, it wasn't funny. He wasn't laughing.

"Jack-off," he whispered to himself as he hanged the phone up.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a mirror and decided to face it, smoothing his suit and straightening his tie. Even though he was having a pretty creepy night, he had to admit that his suit stayed in order. There wasn't a thread out of place. He smiled proudly and nodded, feeling confident.

Suddenly, he heard a loud squawking and nearly jumped out of his skin. He let out a loud gasp, looked up, and saw a huge black crow sitting on top of the mirror. God, did he feel like an idiot, getting scared over a crow. He chuckled and wagged his finger at the crow as if to reprove it. The bird cocked its head at him and gazed at him with dark beady eyes.

Jeff ignored it and looked back at the mirror. What he saw made his heart go into the double time. His face was decaying and he could see the shape of his skull through the decaying skin. He watched in morbid curiosity as the decaying face seemed to crack as he opened his mouth to let out a loud scream. Tearing his eyes away, he childishly threw himself to the ground and frantically felt at his face. Nothing felt wrong.

Forcing himself to his feet, he looked into the mirror again and saw that his face normal again. A cold sweat trickled down the back of his shirt. His face was bright red and sweat started going down his temples. Mystified, he felt at his face and did his best to wipe the sweat away.

Panting, he drew away from the mirror and turned around. He noticed another hall and decided to walk down it. The further away from that freaky mirror, the better. All he wanted was to find his kids and get the hell out of this house of horrors.

…

As the kids walked into the room, they could see that the place was full of boxes and crates. The light from the orb revealed that the room had a low ceiling and there was dust everywhere. Among the boxes and crates, there were other antiques, clothes, paintings, and books. It looked like no one had been in this room for years, but it was clearly a room full of memories.

Marissa broke away from Riley and decided to look through the boxes. She noticed a dusty porcelain mask and pulled it out to examine it. There was crack going up the nose of the mask. It looked like it was going to fall apart any minute, so she placed it back in the box. She got up and walked away from the box, when she noticed a beautiful silver-colored dress covered in a black veil. Mesmerized, she walked over to the dress and gently ran her fingers down it. It looked like a dress fit for a princess.

As Riley looked around, a painting of a woman dressed in a 19th century gown caught his eye. He walked over to it and examined it. The woman in the painting looked very familiar. She had a heart-shaped white face, soulful brown eyes, and dark brown hair tied up in a complicated updo. Then, his eyes widened when he realized why the woman looked so familiar.

"Marissa!" he called out, feeling his legs weaken beneath him.

The girl came running over to his side and stared at the portrait, gasping out in shock. "Shelby!?" she exclaimed, clapping a hand to her trembling mouth.

"What are you doing up here?" snapped a deep and commanding voice, causing the kids to whirl around to look behind them.

Standing behind them, holding a lantern, was tall man with blond hair and sharp blue eyes. He was dressed in a black suit and had a frown on his handsome face. He looked pretty nervous. In the lantern light, the kids could see he was sweating. He pulled out a white handkerchief and mopped at his forehead. He placed the cloth back into his pocket and fixed his sharp eyes on the kids. Marissa found herself wondering why he was so scared.

"You're not supposed to be up here!" he snapped again, his voice raising in pitch. "This is unspeakable! Unspeakable! You two have to leave now!"

Marissa ignored his words and pointed towards the painting. "Who is that?" she demanded, giving the man a glare of her own. Even though she was only seven, she wouldn't let herself be afraid of someone like him.

"That's none of your business," replied the man, giving her a stony look. "Come on, get out of here. It's way past your bedtime." He gestured at the kids to follow him, but they refused to move.

"Her name was Gaia," said a soft, melodious voice of a woman. The kids looked over the man's shoulder and saw a blue-haired woman walking up behind him. She was carrying a plate of chocolate chip cookies. "Is anyone hungry? Does anyone want a cookie?"

Marissa and Riley both smiled and reached towards the plate to grab a cookie. The woman gave them a gentle smile and nodded at them, encouraging them to take as much as they wanted. Being that they were young, the kids only needed one cookie each. Once Marissa took a bite, she felt her body getting warm and tasted absolute heaven. The cookie was so moist and delicious. She had never had such a good cookie before.

"Cookies!?" sputtered the man, chewing on his bottom lip. "Don't offer them cookies, Aqua! They're trespassers! Trespassers don't get cookies! This is none of their concern!"

Letting out a frustrated growl, the woman, Aqua, turned on him with a glare. "It is their concern, Ventus!" she snapped, stomping her foot in emphasis. "They're involved!"

Marissa and Riley exchanged a confused look before turning to look at the two adults again. What were these freaks talking about?

"Involved in what?" asked Riley, grabbing onto Marissa's arm.

Aqua and Ventus stopped arguing and looked at the children. Marissa and Riley could read pity and fear in their eyes. Taking a deep breath, Aqua set her plate down on a nearby box and walked back into the moonlight. The kids froze when they saw the woman was…translucent. She rose up off the floor and blue, shimmery dust seemed to infuse her pale, see-through form.

Ventus was beside himself. He placed a hand to his forehead and groaned. "Oh, what are you doing, Aqua?" He sounded so tired and done. "Now, you've done it!"

Marissa started quaking in terror. The blood drained out of her face and her heart started skipping. "You're a-a-a—" she couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence.

Aqua gave her a gentle smile and floated back to the ground. "Ghost?" she finished, keeping her voice calm and sweet for the terrified girl. "It's okay, honey. You can say it."

Marissa wordlessly shook her head and hid behind Riley, who was thunderstruck. In the back of the boy's mind, he noticed that the roles were reversed right now. Usually, he'd be the one who was deathly afraid, but right now, he was too frozen to even scream. The kids watched as the woman landed on the ground, without making a sound, and turned back into a normal-looking woman.

"Aqua," snapped Ventus, walking over and grabbing the woman by the arm. "We have to stay in line."

"Oh, relax, Ven," she snorted, placing a loving hand on his arm. "We all want to break the curse, don't we?"

"Well, then, leave it up to the master," replied Ven, shaking his head at her, "and stay out of this." He walked away from Aqua and placed a hand on Riley's shoulder. "'Til death do us part.' I wish."

Aqua gave him a scowl before giving the kids a kind, maternal look. "It's okay, kids," she said in a soft tone, reaching over and patting Marissa on the head, stroking the girl's curly hair. "I didn't mean to scare you."

"Are-are you all dead?" Marissa asked in a high-pitched voice.

"Yup," replied Aqua with a small nod. "It's been one hundred and thirty-two years since the curse fell on us. One hundred and thirty-two years since she died." She trailed off and gazed over the kids' heads.

"Who died?" asked Riley, hugging Marissa close to him.

"Gaia," answered the blue-haired woman, pointing at the portrait behind them.

Marissa turned and looked at the portrait. She could see Shelby in the woman's sweet face. "She looks just like my sister," the young girl whispered, wishing Shelby was there right now.

"Some say they are one and the same," replied Aqua in a wistful voice, her blue eyes full of sadness.

Ven decided to let himself be known again. "Quiet, Aqua," he hissed, lightly tapping his wife on the arm. "Are you being paid to advertise everything that happened here?"

"Who was she?" demanded Marissa, giving Aqua a scared look.

The blue-haired woman smiled. It looked like she was reminiscing. "Gaia was the heart of this house," she answered in that same wistful tone. "She grew up here with us. She was our friend. We loved her so much."

Ven groaned and rolled his eyes. It seemed that he hated how sentimental Aqua was sounding. Upon hearing him, Aqua turned and gave him a fiery glare.

"Oh, you loved her too, you insensitive toad!" she cried out in a shrill tone.

Ven shrugged and turned away from everyone. "Sure, I liked her," he admitted, trying to redeem himself. "She was a wonderful conversationalist. She had a certain wit and charm."

Then, the blond man broke off and wiped a tear away. He tried to stay in control of his emotions. "But, there's no need to be sentimental," he continued in a thick voice. "She's back. The curse will be broken. You'll see."

"But what if it's not her?" demanded Aqua in an anxious tone, wringing her hands. "Did you ever think of that?"

"It's not for us to question," replied Ven in a resolute tone, wrapping an arm around Aqua's waist. "The master knows best."

Marissa and Riley couldn't shake the confusion still. They didn't understand. What was the curse? Who really was Gaia? Was she among the dead at the mansion? There were so many questions that weren't answered. It seemed that Aqua was trying to evade all the important ones.

…

Suddenly, Aqua tensed up in fear and she glanced over her shoulder. She appeared to sense something the others could not. She grabbed the kids by the arms and ushered them behind a pile of trunks.

"Hide!" she whispered in a fearful voice. "Hide right now! Don't come out until we say so, do you understand?"

The two children didn't question her. They hugged each other and tried to make themselves as small as possible. Once Aqua was satisfied that they were hidden, she ran out from behind the trunks and went over to stand next to her husband. She tried to not to tremble when Xehanort stepped out of the shadows and approached the two of them.

"The children are not in their room," he said in a cold voice. "Have you seen them?"

"Children?" asked Aqua, trying to sound as ignorant as possible. "What children?"

Xehanort's eyes narrowed. "What children?" he repeated as if he couldn't believe he was hearing such a stupid question. "Her sister and the sister's friend. The children she wasn't supposed to bring. Along with that brainless father of hers." He walked over and picked up the plate of cookies.

Aqua and Ven forced a smile, and they both grabbed a cookie. "Thank you, sir," she said in a pleasant tone, taking a bite out of the cookie.

Xehanort fixed the couple with a cold scowl. "If I had to listen to another word from that insufferable food," growled the old man, his free hand clenching into a fist, "I think I would have burst."

"Of course, sir," agreed Ven, trying to sound as menacing as Xehanort. "What a fool!"

Aqua stayed silent but nodded in agreement. Honestly, she was too afraid to say anything, lest she gave away the kids' position. She glanced over to the pile of trunks as Xehanort continued ranting about the young woman and her father.

"Did I not tell her to come alone?" he demanded, agitatedly pacing the attic. "Is it really too much to ask for a little cooperation? A little order?"

Aqua almost sighed in relief when he didn't get too close to the pile of trunks that the kids were hiding behind. She didn't know what Xehanort was up to, but whatever it was, it wasn't good. She and Ven carefully watched as the old man came to a stop in front of them.

"If you find the children," remarked Xehanort in a calmer tone, "bring them to me."

"Yes, sir," said the husband and wife in unison, bowing and curtseying respectively.

"The final arrangements have been made," announced the old man, heading towards the door. Aqua noticed that he paused, like he knew that something wasn't right, but then he opened the door and started to leave. "Nothing further will interfere with the master's plan." With that said, he walked out and shut the door behind him.

Marissa and Riley came out from their hiding spot and stared at Aqua and Ven, trying not to tremble in fear. The two adults walked over to them and pulled them close. Aqua wrapped her arms around a shaking, sobbing Marissa and Ven wrapped an arm around Riley's trembling shoulders. The two adults may have been afraid of Xehanort, but they would not let anything happen to these kids. No matter what, they would protect them.