Kingdom Hearts: Daybreak Academy

Chapter 7: Pendulum

The clock tower's pendulum swung from daybreak to nightfall. It rattled the foundation of the building, rocking it back and forth, but the towers never fell. Ever. It was a monument to stability and fortitude. From inside, there was always a swaying feeling, but the students and teachers always grew accustomed to it. The motion would quickly fade into the background as one would become acclimated, but there was always one place that was affected more than others: the Union Master chambers.

Galeo found himself in that room again, but this time Astrid stood beside him in front of the masters. He was glad to see her again, which is something the young blonde could not say was mutual.

Invi was the first to speak. "I'd like to start by thanking you both for coming on such short notice."

Astrid nodded silently and was about to speak, but was cut off by Galeo, who casually threw his hands behind his head and said, "You're welcome."

None of the masters seemed to find it amusing, save for Ava whose lips bent slightly into a restrained smirk. Astrid gave Galeo a displeased side glance because she feared facing possible consequences for his lack of respect. Master Invi did seem a bit bothered by the sudden outburst, but she ignored it and continued speaking.

"Astrid, when Ava told me that you wanted to perform your first dive into the Sleeping Worlds by yourself, I was skeptical at first, but you handled yourself admirably in Traverse Town. I am sorry for underestimating your skill in combat. I should have known better considering your lineage. However, when you showed me the creature you intend on seeking as your partner, I knew that you would have a difficult journey ahead of you. I cannot in good conscience allow you to undergo it alone and your Union Master agrees."

Ava nodded.

Invi continued to say, "I know you would prefer to work alone, but there was an interesting development yesterday."

Astrid kept her eyes trained on Master Invi with respectful intent. Her chest rose and fell shakily as she struggled to hold back her anxiety. She could not hold herself back from asking, "What development?"

Invi turned to Gula. "Galeo can't read," he said plainly.

Astrid turned to Galeo with a wary look on her face. The more she learned about him, the more of an enigma he became.

Ava picked up from where Gula left off. She had a stronger interpersonal compass than her colleague. "Seeing as how he cannot read, we felt that it would be appropriate that he make his first few dives with a partner."

No. Astrid wanted so badly to protest, but she bit her tongue. Literally. The muscle stung from being caught between her incisors.

Ava continued. "And seeing as how you have quite the difficult task ahead of you, considering the Dream Eater you will be hunting material for, and all; Master Invi, Master Gula, and I have come to the decision that it would be in your best interest to allow Galeo to accompany you into the Realm of Sleep using your dreams. You can construct the Sleeping Worlds and he can aid you in combat. Consider it a mutually beneficial partnership."

The petite woman offered Astrid a gentle smile. It was difficult to say no to her master. Astrid had declined assistance from her peers in the past, even at Ava's request, but doing so in front of her colleagues...it almost felt outright disrespectful. The young blonde was more than capable of disrespect, but she thought of her family name. She could not disrespect a Union Master. Then she thought of her family name once again. She could not sully it by accepting aid from some vagabond. The choice was impossible. There was no choice. A compromise had to be made.

The masters waited patiently for a response. Ira and Aced had been silent the entire time. A decision had already been made by three of the masters. Their protests would have been null. Their presence at this meeting was simply a formality. Still, having all five Union Masters before her placed an unbearable pressure upon Astrid's shoulders. However, nothing could offset the weight she felt from her household.

"I decline."

The room went quiet for a moment. While most of the masters' faces were unreadable, Ava was disappointed. It was clear to the observant eye that when she heard Astrid's response, she let out a small gasp as her head tilted backward slightly. It was very subtle, but it was there.

Ira was the first to speak. "Young Astrid, as a council, we have agreed to respect your decision, but would you please explain why you have decided against the advice of your masters?"

Insubordination. That's what he said. That's what Astrid heard him say at least. She hesitated to answer. Her mind raced to formulate one that would not disrespect the Union Masters any further.

Astrid fought the urge to break eye contact with the masters, but succumbed to it. Her eyes darted to the side as her ankles twisted inward slightly. She bit her bottom lip only for the briefest of moments before responding. "I...I need to do this alone…"

Ira and the others were quiet for a moment. He spared a glance at Ava, then at Invi, before looking forward and nodding. His blue hair shook slightly with the motion of his head. "I understand. Well then, that settles it. Astrid, thank you for your time. You may resume your day."

Astrid gave a gracious nod, turned around mechanically, and exited the chamber. As soon as the door shut behind her, she felt like she could finally breathe again.

Now only Galeo remained in front of the masters. He had watched Astrid as she turned away from the council. Her face, it was somehow so perfect, yet so...broken. The boy could tell something was bothering her, but he hadn't the slightest clue what.

Ira had waited for Astrid to leave before turning his full attention to the boy. "Now, then. What to do with you..." The master of the Unicornis union gazed at him intently through the eerie crimson eye holes on his mask. Galeo's head whirled back around to face in front of him.

"We've already tested his ability in combat. Let's just send him to the mountains where he can help patrol." Aced had finally made his opinion known.

Invi shook her head. "It takes more than brute strength to be tasked with such a responsibility."

Ava chimed in as well. "He hasn't become a master yet either."

Having been immediately shut down, Aced crossed his arms and exhaled slowly.

"At the end of the day, it doesn't have to be Astrid," Gula pointed out. "We could just send him with another wielder from his union. After all, Ava did want Brain to make the dive with Astrid. Let's not forget that Dani needed to be taught to read as well."

"Ah, yes. Your hand picked street rat." The disdain in Invi's voice was clear.

Gula glared at Invi. He was ready to respond when Galeo said, "But Dani's not a rat." All of the union masters turned toward him, surprised by the sudden outburst. It wasn't made in anger, frustration, or disdain. It was an innocent observation. He was confused.

Ira hesitantly responded, "Yes…" He then turned to Gula and said, "I agree with you. Galeo can make the dives in the Realm of Sleep with Danika, just until she teaches him to read so that he can channel the power of the Book of Fantasies into his own dreams"

Gula nodded. "Very well. Can we adjourn this meeting then?"

Ira was silent for a moment. He turned to his face, peering at the wanderer until he finally spoke, but it wasn't to Galeo. "I think it wise that we observe his first dive."

Ava chimed in, "I agree."

Gula shrugged. "Yeah, I guess."

"It would be a great opportunity to see his prowess on full display." Aced smiled, showing his excitement.

They all turned to Invi. "Very well," she said.

The union masters all stood from their seats and made their way around the table. Galeo stood in the same spot until Gula came up to him and asked, "Are you ready for your first visit to a Sleeping World?"

"You bet'cha!"

The slightest smirk appeared on Gula's lips. With a gentle nudge, he began leading Galeo out of the Union Masters' chamber, following his fellow monsters into the hallway.

Once outside, Galeo realized that Dani had been waiting outside for them. She stood upright in their presence and politely greeted her master. "Master Gula. Is everything alright?"

He nodded. "Yes. Thank you for waiting. I'd like you to come with us to the Ark. Galeo will be making his first dive."

Her internal reaction was shock. Dani was surprised to hear that Galeo would be entering the Realm of Sleep so soon, but she did not let it show in her expression. Instead, she just nodded and followed everyone else.

In just a few minutes, Galeo, Dani, and the union masters reached the Ark, but the walk there seemed to stretch on for much longer than it actually was. The silence was deafening and also gripping. They were all incredibly tense, except for Galeo, who leisurely walked among the older wielders with his hands held behind his head. He was actually very excited for his first dive.

When the party reached the Ark, the lights were already on in the large chamber. Someone else was already there. Invi pointed that out.

"I suppose someone is currently in the Realm of Sleep," she said.

"I'll go check who," Ava said.

While she went to investigate, the rest of the group faced each other, all except Galeo who was looking up at the giant machine before him in complete awe. He had never seen anything like it before.

Unbeknownst to him, Ira had been speaking to him. Gula turned to Ira and said, "Give him a second to process it. This is new to him."

Ira nodded.

After a few moments of Galeo staring up at all of the lights and wires, he finally made an audible sound in the form of an extended "wow…"

Gula placed a hand on his shoulder, getting the boy's attention. When Galeo turned his head, he was met with the face of a leopard a few inches away. The two were of similar height so they were at eye level to each other.

Galeo had a confused look on his face, which Gula intended to clear up. The master asked, "Are you alright, Galeo?"

"Yeah." He looked up and asked, "What is this?"

"The Ark," Gula answered. "This is the machine that we use to enter the Realm of Sleep."

Galeo's eyes went wide. "Really?! How does it work?!"

Dani wanted to advise Gula about making the explanation as simple as possible, but she knew better than to make her master look foolish in front of his colleagues. She had nothing to worry about, though as Gula waved Galeo's question away.

"It's complicated," he said simply. "All you need to know is that to enter the Realm of Sleep, you need two things: a Book of Fantasies and one of these pods." He placed his hand on the glass surface of the pod, patting it softly. "You can hop into one of these and we'll use Dani's Book of Fantasies to make the dive. Does that make sense?"

"Yeah! Let's do this!"

At that moment, Ava rejoined the group. Ira noticed and asked, "Did you see who else was here?"

Ava nodded. "Yes. It seems Astrid is hard at work collecting Dream Pieces."

"I see." Ira turned his attention back to the others and said, "Let's have Galeo and Dani use pods beside Astrid. This way we can monitor all of their dreams."

The others agreed and went to wear Astrid lay asleep inside her container. As the blonde came into view behind the glass door, Galeo watched her curiously. He thought to himself just how strange it was that even in her sleep, she looked as though something was bothering her.

This time, Ira was able to catch his attention as he told Galeo, "Go ahead, young Galeo. Climb into the pod." Someone had already opened it for him. It was the pod right beside Astrid. He did as he was told and went into the metal container. Dani did so as well, climbing into the other pod next to him. She had placed her Book of Fantasies on a rectangular platform between the two capsules.

Once both Leopardus members were resting with their backs against the inside of the metal containers, Ira told Galeo, "Now, remember. You will be entering Dani's dreams. In order to do that, you must concentrate on Dani in order to enter her dreams. Close your eyes and allow yourself to drift into sleep. May your heart be your guiding key."

Galeo nodded. "May my heart be my guiding key…" The glass door slowly fell over him and shut with a small push of air. The boy closed his eyes and thought of Dani. In the background, he could feel himself being swayed and it brought him back to a memory buried so deep in the recesses of his mind that he did not know it was there. It felt like he was being rocked to sleep by the tower itself, and soon, he lost consciousness.


Author's Notes

Shhhh. He's sleeping guys. That's all for these A/N. I'll see you guys in the next one!

QOTC: If you could invent your own Dream Eater, what animal would you base it on?

Responses to Reviews:

WolfieRed23: The merpeople! I haven't decided whether I'll do world transformations for the different characters since these worlds are in their dreams, so there isn't really a World Order that they need to protect. Idk, I might change my mind though.

Antex-The Legendary Zoroark: Very astute observations! I made so many changes to the lore of the original KHx and KHUx story that I needed a main character who was a complete stranger to my version of Daybreak Town for the reader to learn about this world from their point of view. It seems to be doing as intended!

ShadowWolf223: Do you mean the key trick or the fact that Galeo can't read? Which were you talking about when you said that's a curveball?

Silver Kitsune Lunaria: I'm so sorry that it wasn't clear why it's such a big deal that Galeo can't read in the last chapter. I hope that this chapter cleared it up a little bit. I won't be visiting any Final Fantasy worlds as none of them have appeared in Kingdom Hearts, but stay on the lookout for the collaboration project between WolfieRed23 and I. It's called Kingdom Hearts: Dual Destinies and it has much more Final Fantasy representation than Kingdom Hearts as a series has had.

Keychains: I know right?! I'd love to see more Kingdom Hearts SYOCs being made and updated. I'll do my best to keep this train rolling!

FallenFeather92: All is forgiven!