Kingdom Hearts: Daybreak Academy
Chapter 9: Smile
7 years ago
The Brightcrest compound was a monument to legacy. The legacy to one of the noble founding families in Daybreak Town. To Astrid, the manor felt less as a home and more like a prison with its high walls around the courtyard. Guard towers stretched to the heavens at every corner of the perimeter with scary-looking men and women who would glare down at her sternly as if telling her not to approach them.
The employees that worked in the house were different from the guards, but Astrid could not say if it was for better or worse. They were all smiles and "Yes, m'lady. My pleasure, m'lady." Their smiles were forced and tense. Astrid could tell by the twitching of their cheek muscles when she stayed in the room for too long. And it wasn't just in the house. Everyone in town was the same. The merchants. The cooks. The carpenters. Everyone.
It was a blustery autumn day. The sky was gray, a color Astrid was accustomed to seeing on the interior walls of her home. She had been out in town with her mother shopping for a new dress. It was the dress she would wear for her next recital. In all honesty, she dreaded it. While she had no fear of the stage, she hated the cramping of her cheek muscles from all of that nonsensical smiling. Maybe she just hated to smile? Or hated smiles in general? Well, not all smiles.
As Astrid and her mother entered the main foyer of the Brightcrest estate, a pair of servants approached them from either side to help them hang their coats and hats. The maid that had accompanied the two noble ladies into town followed them through the main doorway and closed the door behind them.
Astrid's mother turned to the maid and spoke her name. "Helena." Her voice was flat and cold, sounding like a metronome if it could speak. Her face lacked any significant expression either as she looked at her servant no different than she would a stranger.
"Yes ma'am," the woman said politely.
"It's time for my daughter's fencing lessons. Take her to go change and meet Sir Jigen in the training room."
"Yes ma'am," she repeated dutifully. Helena then turned toward Astrid and bent forward to meet the little girl at eye level with her hand offered. "Come, young miss. Let us go. We don't want to be late." There was that smile that Astrid abhorred deeply. She simply looked up at Helena, nodded, and took her hand, allowing the maid to lead her to her room and assist her in getting dressed.
As they made their way through the halls of the manor, Astrid saw many of the same smiling faces she'd known all her life as servants stepped aside for her. As crowded as the house was, Astrid rarely ever had to wait for anyone to move out of her way. If she did, she never saw that person again. The only exceptions were her parents, and her grandmother, the latter of which was standing in the middle of the hallway speaking to one of the kitchen maids.
Without meaning to, Astrid had rushed forward, releasing Helena's grip. "Ah! Young, miss!"
She called out ineffectively as Astrid approached her grandmother, calling out to her, "Nana!" Though she had not realized it, Astrid was smiling.
Astrid's grandmother, Celestia, was a woman who was past her prime, yet she had aged rather gracefully. Her shoulder-length silver hair had been pinned up against the back of her head while a single strand strayed from the rest, hanging off the edge of her face all by itself. The woman's eyes had seen many things over her lifetime and dulled with each experience to a cloudy brownish color, yet there was some sort of spark in them. Her ruby red lips were kept in a soft smile as she spoke. She seemed at easy. Every part of her did. Her jaw did not look pained at all as all the others did. Then she noticed Astrid approaching down the hall and her delightful demeanor shifted to excitement as she turned to the seven-year-old girl and greeted her. Her tall posture slumped slightly as she placed a hand on her hip.
"Astrid, darling! Off to sparring lessons are we?"
Astrid's smile fell slightly. This did not go unnoticed by Celestia, who simply changed the subject to one she knew Astrid would enjoy. "Well, once you're finished with them, why don't you meet me in the garden for a stroll? These old bones need exercise every now and then." She gave the subtlest of winks.
Astrid's smile returned with newfound brightness as she nodded her head and said, "Okay!"
Helena had reached Astrid just as the young girl had begun talking with her grandmother, but knew better than to interrupt their conversation. She also knew taking too long would upset Astrid's mother. "Madam Celestia, I apologize for the young missus' outburst. We must be on our way."
Celestia let out a soft chuckle as she waved away the concern with her gloved hand. "It's no bother, Helena. There's nothing wrong with an old woman and her granddaughter talking. Or is there?"
The maid stammered nervously, thinking she had offended the matriarch of the house. "N-n-n-no Madam. I-I just did not want the young miss to be t-tardy is all…"
Celestia began laughing, which made Astrid giggle. She shook her head and said, "All is well Helena. Thank you for looking after my granddaughter. Well, you should be on your way then."
Helena bowed and said, "Of course, Madam." She placed a firm hand on Astrid's shoulder and said, "Come now, young miss. We must be on our way."
"O-okay…" Astrid said as she marched forward along with Helena's gentle push. She turned her head back to see a smile she always liked.
Galeo and Astrid stood ready to fight, the foreigner positioned closer to their enemies. Astrid looked forward but watched it carefully from the corner of her eye, silently criticizing his form, if you could even call his ape-like stance a form. His wild and energetic bouncing filled her with anxiety as he passed his weight back and forth between his feet. Stranger than his savage stance, the strangest thing about him was his face. He was…smiling. He seemed excited for the fight. How brutish, Astrid thought to herself.
Galeo noticed the sideways glance and turned his head toward his begrudging ally. He flashed her a large reassuring smile before facing forward. Astrid did her best to ignore him. Instead, she focused on the Kooma Panda who seemed to be preparing for a powerful charging attack by winding its arm.
"Keep your eyes on the enemy!" She ordered. Her eyes never once moved away from the caped ursa.
"Huh? Oh, yeah!" Galeo had carelessly dropped his guard. When he turned his head back toward the Kooma Panda, the monster had already left its spot and charged forward across the plaza yard.
Unlike Galeo, Astrid had been ready. She quickly changed her stance, holding her Keyblade out in front of her as a barrier formed around her. She intended to take the Kooma Panda's attack head on and counter with a scattershot of glass-like projectiles. Though, it would not defeat her foe, it would give her the opening she needed to deliver a much needed critical attack to weaken it. Or rather, it would have.
Acting solely on reflex, Galeo sprang forward to intercept the bear's attack. He swung his Keyblade in a wide inward arc, striking the Kooma's round belly with all his strength. The strike slowed the monster's attack but it also seemed to anger it. A large paw pressed against Galeo's chest, knocking the air out of his lunges as he was launched backward against the transparent dome that shielded Astrid. The glass-like structure cracked from the great force.
"You dunce!" She yelled as he fell to the ground below her. He'd weakened her defense while preventing her from counterattacking. He would get caught in the blast. Frustration simmered within Astrid as she tried her best to remain calm and composed under the stressful circumstances. She looked down at the blundering boy. Her eyes were as harsh as a winder tundra as she glared at him in silent scrutiny. In doing so, Astrid had failed to notice the Kooma Panda's next attack.
Astrid came back to her senses when she felt the ground beneath her feet shake. The Nightmare had begun lifting a slab of the floor beneath them, causing Astrid to lose her balance. Without a clear mind, her reflective barrier began crumbling around her into the very shards she had intended on launching at the Kooma Panda. She curled over, shielding her face from the sharp pieces to avoid any serious lacerations. As her defenses crumbled, she could feel the ground beneath her turn her over. The Dream Eater intended on crushing her with the large slab of torn cobblestone. Fortunately, Galeo came to his senses in time and used the, now, horizontal ground to push off and carry Astrid out of harms way once again.
The two Keyblade wielders rolled around on the ground as the chunk of ground toppled down and broke apart in front of the Kooma Panda. When the tumbling stopped, Astrid found herself on her back with Galeo's filthy scarf on her face as he covered her. The scent of grime and forest pine was repulsive to the young noble. She struggled her way out from underneath Galeo, calling him a slew of names, none of which he knew the meaning of. He just blinked at her emptimindedly, unsure of what had just happened.
"You must truly be dense, you unruly savage! I'll say it once more. Leave! You'll only get in the way!" She turned away from him to face her enemies. The constant distraction of conversation was unsettling her, but she needed Galeo to understand that he was being a hindrance to her.
"What do you mean?" He asked innocently. "We're helping each other. I saved you back there and you broke my fall with your invisible wall. Thanks for that, by the way," he said with an energetic smile.
Unbelievable! He thought she had created a barrier simply to help him. What a fool he was. What did she do to deserve a punishment like this? Especially since the Masters had gone ahead and ignored her decision by sending him. Was this a test?
Astrid bit her lip as she resolved to ignore him for the duration of the battle. She tried working with him, but he merely got in the way. She would take care of the matter herself and then deal with him afterward. However, it would be difficult to defeat so many enemies on her own. The young girl had already used so much of her magic, she only had one more spell in her before she would collapse from exhaustion. Astrid needed to make it count.
Without another word to Galeo, Astrid began running around the incoming Pricklemanes who had been slowly hobbling toward them since Kooma Panda's initial charge. They had yet to close the distance until then and Astrid intended to maintain her distance. As she ran past one of them, it tried to swing its spiked tail at her, narrowly missing.
While turning, the Prickleman felt something grab its tail, making the monster's red eyes widen with surprise. It was Galeo who had taken hold of the tail with his left hand. The boy flashed a mischievous grin as he stepped around the Pricklemane, pivoting on his foot to use its momentum to drag the Pricklemane around him. The boy looked rather odd, swinging it around like a flail. He knocked the other Pricklemane back before tossing the one in his hand like an uneven pair of bolas. Galeo's makeshift weapon slammed right into the Kooma Panda, causing it to tumble backwards.
That was just the opening that Astrid needed. While Galeo took care of the lone Pricklemane, cutting through it with his Keyblade, Astrid used hers like a wand. She concentrated her magical powers into the weapon, creating a stream of water from the tip. She then began to twist around, wrapping herself in the ribbon-like stream before gathering it in the tip once more and launching a ball of water.
"Water!" Astrid chanted.
The spell flew toward the two remaining Nightmares, exploding on impact against the Kooma Panda's round stomach. The edges of the whirlpool whipped against the Pricklemane, making it cry in pain, but the spell was not enough to destroy either of the monsters. In spite of that, it was enough to bring Astrid to her knees on the verge of blacking out. She winced in pain as her knees hit the hard cobblestone. Only her Keyblade kept her from collapsing completely, but that did not help for very long. The world went sideways just before she passed out.
Author's Notes
At last! I have returned! If I could put gifs into this, I absolutely would and I'd use the gif of Mushu rising up from the smoke as he yells, "I LIVE!"
Anyway, with all my ridiculous theatrics out of the way, I am so happy to be able to bring this chapter to all of you. I had such a blast writing out this fight because of Astrid and Galeo's dynamic throughout it. Having these two be at odds with each other (moreso Astrid than Galeo) is a situation I find very engaging because you just don't know what either one of them will do next, and at this point, who knows if the two of them will ever see eye-to-eye. Well, I know, but you all will know soon enough too! Will that happen in the next chapter? You'll just have to wait and see.
Question of the Chapter (QOTC): Did you watch the game trailers that were presented at the Kingdom Hearts 20th Anniversary event? If so, what are your thoughts? If not, steer clear of the review section until you watch them!
Responses to Reviews:
WolfieRed23: Indeed there are some shenanigans at foot! No answers yet regarding the "crossing of wires," but there will be soon.
Antex-The Legendary Zoroark: Interesting prediction! We'll find out soon enough if that's what happened or not.
ShadowWolf223: They are the most annoying Dream Eaters in the game, therefore they will be the most annoying ones in this story. So I have decreed it!
Silver Kitsune Lunaria: So your favorite district is the district our protagonists are currently in, which is the 1st District. It's honestly my favorite one too. It feels so cozy and kind of seems like a place that would actually exist. If there were to ever be a place inspired by Kingdom Hearts at the Disney Resorts, I would want this district to be the inspiration.
