Spirit stayed up the entire time, and was tired beyond belief. He was about to get something to drink, but something tackled him from behind and sent him to the floor.
"I was right, you are glompable!" Spirit's ears perked, and he looked behind to see Marie.
"You're okay!" he said joyously.
"You looked after me, so of course I'm okay!" she hugged him affectionately and then helped him back up. "I thought I had lost you..." he said, teary eyed.
"You could never lose me..." her voice faded slightly as her mood changed "I have a confession..."
"?" Spirit's ears perked slightly in curiosity.
"What Zeetan said was true..." she continued "I am... not a mortal... I am the goddess of water from my planet... I can never die, truly... and I am ageless... immortal... but it seems you are a Gaia..."
He looked over, remembering Zeetan's last remark "Son of the Gaia of heart... while deities created the universe, it was the Gaia's job to protect the universe..."
"I know who the Gaias are. They're a part of our beliefs on Zarconia... I just can't believe I am one." Spirit went silent, trying to grasp all that had happened "That demon... I think he's the same one from the battle for existence that happened around the beginning of time."
Marie shrugged "I could tell you, but most of my memories from that time have been wiped away."
Spirit looked at Marie and smiled. "Whoever he is, we'll stop him together."
"Yes..." she held his hand "But first, we both need rest... I can tell by the rings in your eyes that you stayed up for me... and I am not fully recovered..."
He nodded, heading back to the bed as she curled up by him with a smile "We'll worry about Zeetan later..."
Sleep came rather fast for them both, as they shared an ominous dream. Through the darkness, they struggled, wrapping itself around their body, binding them, until each reached out towards one another, and both hands touched. A light surrounded them, shielding from the darkness, and they smiled at one another, what started as a nightmare ended in a pleasant dream. Surely, this was a sign of the light prevailing. Soon the dream ended, as Spirit woke up to prepare waffles as usual, Marie waking up by the smell of the griddle
"I hope you're not tired of these yet." he said, as they sat together at the table. Without speaking, Marie went through the stack like a wood chipper.
"Guess you're not." he laughed.
"I could never get tired of these!" As Spirit watched her, he kept wondering if she remembered what he said the night before. He was too shy to ask, but something inside told him she did. She interrupted his thoughts "You know, Zeetan will probably be a lot more powerful when we see him again. It might be good if we found some friends to help out."
Spirit nodded, wondering if she already had some people in mind.
"And I know the perfect way to travel the universe!" she said, showing a hand enveloped in blue "like most Klonians, I am a master of dimension traveling!" she said with a wink "And I think there's someone who can help..." she said, taking a sip of milk "It is said that the wielder of the Keyblade has the power to lock the heart of worlds... so the worlds don't get taken over by heartless... I caught legend of this on Traverse Town... a world parallel distant from earth...but with my portal, we can cross over in seconds... someone there may be able to point us out in the right direction.." she paused "But Traverse Town is one of the worlds where heartless reside..."
Spirit shook his head. "So is this one, apparently. Let's go to Traverse Town and find a way to stop them." Marie looked pleased with his determination, and focused her energy into a blue portal. Spirit hopped through, and Marie followed, disappearing into the vortex. They ended up in the middle of a night-drenched city, with nothing but a few lamps and shop windows for light. Spirit stared at the old European style buildings, trying to spot anyone they could talk to.
"Looks almost deserted."
Marie nodded "Ever since the gateways between the worlds were sealed, not many come to this place." "But few still do." a mysterious voice said. Spirit and Marie whipped around, only to see a man in a black cloak. Marie worked up her confidence, and approached.
"Scuse me, Mister" she said "We were wondering if the wielder of the Keyblade was around this town... like someone who has known or see him..." she paused, wondering if this stranger could be trusted "The heartless have returned... as well as a horrible power..and we need help..." her voice started sounding a little timid, this figure standing tall, the mysterious air that surrounded him, as she stepped closer to Spirit "You think we can trust him?"
"I don't know..." he whispered in her ear. The man lifted back his hood, revealing his red, spiked hair. "Sure, I know where you can find him." he said in a sly tone. "There's a nearby world called Twilight Town. He should be there."
Marie stepped out cautiously from behind Spirit. "Umm... Thanks."
"No problem, and the name's Axel." He then lifted his hood up and disappeared like he was merely an illusion.
"Let's be careful, he could be leading us into a trap." Marie said and created another portal as they jumped through like before. Emerging in a new world, they found a magnificent city, drenched in the red hews of sunset. Marie stared on wide-eyed
"This place is beautiful!"
Spirit nodded "I wouldn't mind having a home here if it wasn't for the one we have in the city..."
She smiled, sniffing the air, as she spotted a few cloaked figures in the distance "Hmm, maybe they are friends of Axel? They sure dress the same!"
She waved out to them, catching their attention as she called out to them, but then noticed their sun glazed eyes and cold stares.
"M-meep..."
They all moved in, seemingly hovering above the ground. One came forward with a massive tomahawk, but it was blocked by something. A young boy now stood before them, holding a key-like sword.
"You two okay?" he asked. The boy then repelled the massive weapon, and struck the wielder with the key. The man vanished, leaving nothing but his cloak behind. All the others saw this and vanished into the shadows.
"Those creeps shouldn't bother us anymore." he said "By the way, my name's Sora."
Both Spirit and Marie could tell he was who they were looking for.
"So, you're the keyblade master?"
"Sure am!"
"Yay!" she cheered, glomping Spirit in glee "We found him!"
Sora stared on, scratching his head at the blushing Zarconian as he smiled "So what do you two need me for?"
"Oh, yes..." Marie composed herself "The Heartless have returned"
"!"
"As well as Zeetan... a terribly strong, dark force... we were able to avoid our demise from him by some miracle..." she added.
"But it's up to us and anyone who can help to take control and stop Zeetan!" Spirit said "We need people who are masters of combat, and able to fend away the darkness... seeing how you're the wielder of the keyblade... will you be our friend?"
"I dunno what combat has to do with friendship, but sure." Spirit and Sora shook hands, but as they did, a swarm of Heartless appeared from behind. They all had wings, and wore flight goggles.
"Air Soldiers!" Sora exclaimed. Suddenly, Spirit's sword appeared in his hand, arriving out of necessity. Sora was surprised, but knew that this wasn't a time to ask questions. The three began to hack away at the Heartless, not noticing their sheer numbers. As the last were vanquished, they all stopped and breathed heavily.
"You two... Are really good..." Sora panted.
"Of course..." Marie breathed deeply, her lungs burning from the work as she smiled "but it surprised me that Spirit here has picked up the art of combat this quickly... he's better than me only after a few days of practice, while I on the other hand have been fighting for years..."
"Awww, I could never be better than you" Spirit said, forcing a smile, blushing up "I saw you in combat, and not a lot of enemies could handle that typhoon you threw!"
"Yeah..." she paused, looking to Sora "You're quite the fighter too, and this is much more than combat... there is a special bond when fighters band together to vanquish evil... and as friends think alike, making them able to work as a team..."
"Yeah, I know what that's like." Sora said, trying to stand up.
"Let's get back home now." Marie summoned another portal, and signaled for Sora to go through.
"Beats the heck out of the Gummi ship." he stepped into it without second thought, and Spirit and Marie did the same. Once they arrived, Sora looked through the house with a sense of amazement "All you need is an arcade, and this place would be perfect." Spirit shook his head "No, there's something else that already makes it perfect." Spirit said, giving Marie a glance.
She nodded, blushing in glee "But this place could use a bit of touching up, if we're going to have more people here! I wonder what we could do? First it would be good to get more ingredients, I'm sure that we couldn't eat waffles for breakfast, lunch and dinner for weeks on end..." she chuckled "Not even I can do that!"
He paused, then nodded "There should be a food market somewhere in the city..."
He then looked somewhat worried "Problem is, I don't have much money."
Marie now had the same look on her face "That is a problem."
Sora reached into his pockets, and pulled out a few golden spheres "When you travel between worlds as-much as me, it comes in handy to have some extra cash."
Spirit smiled happily at this "That solves the money issue; now for ways to make this place seem more like home."
Marie sat a moment, rubbing her chin "Maybe a rec room!" she said "You know, a tv with video games, dart board... corner with a shelf of books and magazines... bean bag chairs! Oh, and we couldn't forget a pool table!" she thought, already laying out plans in her head "That room can be painted green, the kitchen can stay as it is, with an added pantry of course!" she became more eager with every detail "That room can be a lounge, having a television..." She just felt so full of ideas, Spirit could tell. "This room needs some furniture, purple colored, a few posters in your room! And let's add a few beds to each room as a guest room!" she paused, finally taking a breath from talking too much as she calmed "And of course... my bedroom... Spirit..." she looked to him "I want to live with you..."
He blushed intensely at these words, but was also extremely happy "Sure, you can live here..."
Marie could tell he was really shy, but glomped him out of habit. Spirit looked at her and smiled, hints of red still in his cheeks.
"Second thought, cancel the bean bag chairs, you're soft enough." she said while petting him on the head. Spirit couldn't help but purr from this, even if the situation was uncomfortable for him.
"Reminds me of Kairi and me." Sora thought to himself.
"Oh yeah..." Marie blushed, realizing he was watching as she forced a smile "I was here a few weeks... but now, I actually want to settle down with you for good..." she said, as Sora handed her his golden spheres "You two can build a pantry, I'll go to buy the food and paint, then we set to work tomorrow!"
They nodded, as she ran out the door, leaving them two to set to work. She returned a few hours later with a wagon full of an assortment of meats, vegetables, fruits, and spices, and a few cans of paint with brushes. As she entered inside, she said "I'm back" with a hint of cheer, handing Sora the leftover money, as she began to sort out and carried foods to the pantry. Spirit helped her out by nature, and then went to help Sora paint. The two finished surprisingly fast, and he decided to celebrate with a big meal. "How did you become such a good cook?" Marie asked.
"When your 'parents' are an abusive king and queen, you learn how to do things on your own very quickly."
She nodded, as the three ate a great feast, and with full stomachs, headed off to bed. Since there was only a bed and a couch, Spirit and Marie had to share that night, but they got used to it by now, end even started to enjoy the habit Marie developed. As night approached fast, they both talked, of the present, of how they first met, and mostly, of their future plans.