Aerith led the group back through the gates of Traverse Town and straight to the Accessory Shop.
"Cid, Tidus, we found some-" Aerith's comment was cut short when she realized no one was in there.
Sora peeked underneath the counter. "Wonder where they went."
Kairi noticed something on the ceiling and started leaping, reaching for the object. Aerith watched in amusement, finally asking, "What are you doing?"
"There's a ladder up here," Kairi said between jumps.
Sora went over and bent down, lifting Kairi onto his shoulders. "That better?"
"Not quite…" Aerith leapt up onto the glass table and climbed on top of them both. Finally, the ladder lowered for them. An odd cat-like creature with a giant red pom-pom poked its head out from the hole in the ceiling.
"Kupos, what are you doing?"
Aerith screamed, startled, and the three collapsed back onto the floor. Sora stood first, brushing himself off and helping up the two girls. He climbed the ladder and reached out, poking the odd red ball that hung from the creature's forehead.It immediately recoiled, making an annoyed noise.
"Kupo! We moogles do NOT like it when people do that."
Aerith laughed. "We're looking for the owner of this shop, Cid. Or his apprentice Tidus, if you please."
The moogle nodded, still looking warily at Sora. "There's a secret waterway in the alley in the second district. Sometimes Tidus and Cid spar there. Have fun swimming, kupos."
"Thank you," Kairi said to the moogle. The three left and made their way to the Waterway.
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"Come on, kid, you can swing a little harder. It's not gonna hurt me."
"But you're getting so old!"
"Hey!"
Sora ran forward. "Hey Tidus, that was great! That spinning move was awesome."
Tidus lowered his blue sword and rubbed the back of his neck modestly. "Heh…thanks." Cid grunted and flung his spear aside.
"What do you guys need?" he asked.
Kairi and Aerith stepped forward, presenting the odd Gummi. "We found this when we…did something to Tarzan's world."
"What exactly did you do?"
"Well," Aerith began, "it's really odd. There seems to be an item- and this happened in Balamb too, and at the Coliseum- and this item glows, and then these petals grow out of it- I sound silly."
"No, keep going," Cid urged. "Lemme guess- your Bloomstaff reacts?"
"Yes!"
Cid crossed his arms, looking very serious. "Your weapon's real special. It seals the blooms at the centers of the world."
"Blooms?"
"Every world out there has a bloom, little lady," Cid said. " It's what's at the heart. There's probably one in this town too."
"Blossom Hearts…" Aerith murmured to herself.
"Yeah, you could call 'em that I guess," Cid continued. "It was in Edea's reports."
"What does it say?" Kairi asked.
"The Thorns are getting on account of those Blooms being open," Cid said with a bit more fervor. "Stupid Thorns…" He grumbled some other nastier words until Sora interrupted with a question of his own.
"What happens to a world once the Thorns are done with it?"
Tidus, who had been silent the whole time, mumbled the answer. "It disappears…and everyone in it disappears and is lost forever…"
"What!"
"That's why the Bloomstaff's so important, little lady," Cid finished, glancing over at the now departing Tidus. "So seal those Blooms."
There was a moment of silence until Kairi held out the Gummi once again. "And this?"
Cid examined the Gummi closely and started guffawing. "You guys don't even know the basics!" He started slapping his knee as he three of them stared. When Cid noticed this, he hastily straightened up and walked over to a wall of the waterway, where a medium sized box rested. "I'll fix your little ship with this Navigation Gummi," he said, "But in return you guys need to take this to the old storage house at the Third District." He handed the box off to Sora.
"Do we have to?" Sora asked. In return, Cid just smacked him on the back of the head.
"Where is it?" asked Aerith.
"There's important stuff in there," Cid said, "so the door's hidden in the back. It might take a bit to find. And then you'll need to use some fire magic to open it, okey doke? Oh yeah, and there's another small house right at the entrance- I'll be in there." With that, he left the keybladers and the chosen Bloomstaff wielder with the box.
Cid was about to swim through the gate when the ground shook, making him splash into the water, unleashing another string of curses. Sora almost dropped the box as Kairi fell down and Aerith tripped. Three loud knells sounded, startling everyone.
"The gizmo shop bell!" Cid exclaimed, emerging from the water as a soggy mess. "That's a little bit suspicious. Maybe check it out after you put away that box for me?"
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"Maybe check that out after you put away that box for me?" Sora mimicked, in a high pitched voice. "Oh I forgot to mention- it weighs a ton and I only asked you because I'm fat and lazy and old and-"
"Oh here!" Kairi reached over and lifted the box from Sora's arms, attempting to carry it herself. "Oof…"
Sora just took the box right back again. "That's not yours to carry," he said cheerfully. "I'll stop complaining. So where's this old house?"
Aerith led them across the Third District, looking all around her for a door. She disappeared down a darker looking corner and called back, "Here it is!" She watched as the redhead poked Sora, in a feeble retalitation attempt,and rolled her emerald eyes at them. "Are you guys coming?"
Soranodded his head and rushed over with Kairi. The door was wooden and old, with a fading picture of flames on it. "Gee," Sora said sarcastically, "It would be so hard figuring out the magic to open it if Cid hadn't told us. Wait, I know- ice."
"Doof," Kairi muttered. "You're starting to sound more like His Majesty." She cast the fire spell on the door and it began to glow as it opened for the three of them.
They all stepped through the door to see a small cavern, barely lit. There was water surrounding a small island in the center. On the island rested an ancient stone house, which looked as if it had been untouched for centuries. "I guess that's the storage room," Aerith sighed. "Think you can get this box across those moving stepping stones?"
Sora nodded. "Hopefully there's nothing really breakable in it," he said. With some effort, the brunette tossed the box onto the first large platform and hopped after it. "Whoa!" He almost fell as the green mound moved back and forth, making him sway clumsily.
Sora finally found his footing and held out a helping hand to Aerith and Kairi, who leapt across with a bit more grace than Sora had. The group continued like this, throwing the box ahead of them and then jumping after it. Finally they made it to the main island.
Aerith ventured around the side and pulled back the cloth that served as a door, entering into the old house.
It was filled with many boxes of various sizes, junk from years gone by. Dust particles floated around, lightened by the beams that entered through the holes in the roof. It was old and musty and oddly enchanting. Aerith closed her eyes and breathed in the smell- it was like an old book.
"There's something about this place…"Aerith opened her eyes with a gasp and saw Cloud, standing in front of her. "Are you real this time?" she whispered. Cloud continued as though he hadn't heard her.
"Remember the secret place back home?" He looked over now, at her, through her, and gave a small smile. "This house reminds me of home."
Aerith was confused as she reached out a hand. "Cloud?"
"Aerith?"
She opened her mouth to say more when the Cloud dissolved in front of her, and there was nothing more in the house than dust. Sora and Kairi eyed her with curiosity. "Are you alright, Aer?" asked Sora. "We've put the box away- time to check out that bell, I think."
Aerith shook her head to clear it. "I'm fine. Let's stop by Cid's first though." They left the empty house, Aerith last, the emerald-eyed girl taking glances over her shoulder in hopes for someone that wasn't ever there in the first place.
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As soon as the door had shut, a Thorn popped up out of nowhere right in front of Aerith's face, making her fall backwards. The flower girl quickly had her Bloomstaff come, but she knew the Thorn would do some damage before she was ready-
"Hyah!" The Thorn was annihilated by a strong kick from…Tifa? Aerith jumped up in surprise, eyes wider than dinner plates.
Her long lost friend just swatted a stray piece of hair back over her shoulder and grinned. "There you are," she said casually. "What's going on?"
"TIFA!" Aerith put her staff away and jumped forward, enveloping Tifa in an enormous hug. When she had finished with that, Aerith started poking the fist fighter on the cheek repeatedly. "I'm not dreaming, am I?"
"Cut that out, Aer," Tifa ordered, swatting at the finger. "And you better not be dreaming- it took ages to find you."
Aerith grinned. "Tifa!" she exclaimed happily. It felt incredible, just saying her name. Because saying it meant she wasn't gone like the rest of the island, and she wasn't a figment of imagination, and she was here and alright. Aerith started to giggle but was cut short by another thought. "Wait, Tiff, where's Cloud?"
"He's not with you?" Tifa eyed Sora and Kairi, who stood a little behind Aerith. Her dark ruby eyes flickered back to Aerith and she smiled. " Cloud's a big boy, he can take care of himself. He must have made it off the island." She laughed, spinning around happily. "We're finally free! And Cloud's probably looking for us right now, I'm sure of it!"
Aerith laughed, but there was a small part of her that was suspicious of Tifa's odd appearance. "Tifa, what have you been doing since-"
"Just leave it all to me, okay?" Tifa continued. " We'll all be together again soon…"
Another Thorn rose from the ground, unbeknownst to Tifa. Aerith immediately jumped over and slashed it. She turned around to Tifa's shocked face. "Maybe we'd be better off working together?" Aerith suggested quietly.
"Aerith?"
"I've been looking for you for so long, with Sora and Kairi's help," Aerith said, motioning back to the two.
Tifa calmed down a bit and looked over at the two keyblade wielders. "Where are they from?" she inquired cautiously.
Sora waved cheerfully. "We're from-"
"We searched so many places and worlds looking for you," Aerith interrupted.
Tifa gave her a level stare. "I never would have guessed," she murmured.
"And guess what?" Sora butted in again. "Aer's the chosen Bloomstaff girl!"
"This is a 'Bloomstaff'?"
Much to Aerith's surprise, her hand was empty, and the vined staff was now in Tifa's grasp. The dark haired girl held it up to examine it. "It's like those sticks we all played with back home," she finally said.
"Oh, you should give that back now," Aerith replied, reaching out for her weapon. How on earth did Tifa get it? Tifa handed it back to her with a small chuckle, and Aerith relaxed once more.
"So you're coming with us, right? We need to find Cloud," she said cheerfully. "We've got this great ship, although I do wish it weren't such a harsh shade of red…just wait and see it!"
"Aerith," Kairi interrupted quietly, "I don't know if there's room…"
"What?"
"She left!" Sora cried suddenly. And he was right; the Third District was totally empty.
Aerith sighed heavily and then smiled. "At least she's alright! And who knows? Maybe," her voice grew a bit softer, as though she were wishing on one of the stars, "Maybe we'll find Cloud too…and then we'll all be together."
Kairi started running up the stairs. "Hey, here's the small house that Cid was talking about."
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"Hey Cid, your little box turned Sora's arms to jelly," Aerith called out as they opened the door. Tidus glanced down from his place atop a large crate and laughed.
"But there were only a few hammers in there."
Kairi shook her head as Sora flopped down onto the bed in the corner. Aerith wandered inside and finally settled in a chair by the small center table. Kairi moved one of Sora's feet and perched on a corner of the bed.
"Hey," Cid asked, breaking the silence, "you ever hear of Maleficent? I heard from some of the people that she was here."
The name held no meaning for Aerith, and she shook her head. "Who is she?"
"A witch, a total witch," Tidus answered. "It's her fault this town has so many Thorns."
Cid nodded. "The boy's right. Don't take her lightly. She's been using Thorns for years. We lost our world, thanks to her."
"That was nine years ago," Tidus said quietly.
"How old were you, Tidus?" Aerith asked.
"Thirteen."
Four years younger than she, Sora, and Kairi were now. Aerith shuddered. "That must have been horrible."
"I got out safely," Tidus said, trying to sound offhanded. "Can't say the same about many others, but me and Cid are alright." He fell silent again. "I miss some of the people there," he finally admitted.
"That's awful," Sora replied angrily. Kairi patted his foot and turned back to Cid.
"Our queen was very wise," Cid told them. "Her name was Edea. She spent her whole life studying the Thorns."
"Is it possible that we can find her research and figure out a way to get rid of the Heartless?" asked Kairi.
"I think Maleficent stole most of it," Tidus replied. Cid nodded in agreement, but with his affirmative nod, the cigar he had been smoking fell out of his mouth and onto the floor. The mechanic was so startled, he hopped up and down, letting out what could only be described as an out of character squeal. Peals of laughter came from the younger inhabitants of the little house as Cid cursed repeatedly.
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Tifa watched all this laughter with a look in her dark eyes that was somewhere between envy and longing. She looked up at the statuesque witch beside her, wondering if the path she had chosen was right or not. Maleficent smiled condescendingly down at the young girl. "You see?" the witch pointed, "It's just as I told you before. While you toiled away, trying to find Cloud, Aerith replaced you with those two other ruffians. It would seem she values them even more."
Tifa shook her head, knowing Aerith hadn't acted like that earlier. Maleficent continued, leaning in closer to her ear. " You're better off without her help. What is a flower girl compared to a martial artist such as yourself? Do you think you need anybody's help?"
"No…" Tifa replied.
"That's right, child. You are an independent and self-sufficient young lady, who will never be easily replaced." The witch smiled. Tifa was starting to believe her every word. "Think no more of her, and come with me," she beckoned softly. "And then you willfind what you're searching for…"
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"Stop laughing or I'll uninstall that Gummi," Cid threatened. Aerith unsuccessfully tried to calm herself, resulting in several gasped breaths. "Anytime you're ready you can leave." Cid growled.
Sora jumped up off the bed. "Let's go check out that bell now," he said, pointing a finger at the ceiling in a victory pose. Kairi laughed at him, tears streaming down her cheeks from so many funny things.
"The one in the Second District?" Tidus questioned. " It's all boarded up- no one can get in there. But if you do," he finished, "try ringing it three times; I've heard legends."
Aerith nodded and they all turned to leave. "Aerith," Tidus called out suddenly. "If you see anyone on another world, maybe that looks like their from mine- that is, if you see someone named- no. No, forget it." The blond waved a hand and returned to his place on a crate, the three watching him curiously.
"Tidus, are you sure? Because I promise, we'll-" Aerith reached out an arm, wanting to help the young man.
"No, that's ok."
"Suit yourself," Sora finally said. He held the door for the two girls and the three of them left to go to the Gizmo Shop.
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"I'm not going on that ladder."
Aerith sighed. "It's perfectly steady now, Kairi," she said adamantly, trying to convince the stubborn redhead. She climbed up to the top of the building, demonstrating its safety to the violet-eyed girl below. "See?" But Kairi still shook her head. "You went on the one in the Accessory Shop!" Aerith pointed out, exasperated.
Sora waved a hand. "Just go on, Aerith. I'll get her up there." The brunette walked towards Kairi, an amused glint in his eye. Kairi fiddled with a zipper at the bottom of her dress as she backed farther away. "Kairi," Sora said in a singsong voice.
Before the redhead could escape, she was lifted off the ground and Sora was carrying her up the ladder over his shoulder, so that her legs dangled down Sora's back and her head was upside down, looking through his armpit as he climbed.
"Sora!" she shrieked.
"Should have just gone up yourself in the first place," Sora continued, in the same singsong voice.
"I hate you."
Sora lifted her onto the roof and, pausing, grabbed her hand in his. He kissed it, imitating a fine gentleman, and mockingly bowed low. "You don't mean that, dear."
This silenced a now blushing Kairi until they had rejoined Aerith.
"I can't get this wood to break," Aerith informed them, ignoring the amusing scene they had played out.
Sora walked over, examining the wood closely, a half-gloved hand tapping on his chin. Finally, reaching no other conclusion, he charged the wood, fully thrusting himself into it with his shoulder. Aerith laughed and followed suit, with Kairi staring blankly at the two of them. But in the end Kairi shrugged and also ran forward. Much to everyone's surprise, this final blow caused the wood to splinter and break.
"Yes!" Behind the wood was the cord to the giant bell. Aerith reached out and pulled it once, listening to the deep gong.
"My turn!" Sora jumped forward and pulled it the second time, delighted when he heard the sound. Kairi pulled it a third time, a faint contented look on her face.
The Bloomstaff suddenly appeared in Aerith's hand and led her forward, out onto the open roof. Below the entrance to the second district, there was a fountain with a tiled mural decorating the wall. Like a spinning cube, the picture rotated from its original design, ending as a green mural with vines and flowers on it. Like water, a shimmery glow covered it, beckoning Aerith's staff.
"Come on!" Sora exclaimed, jumping without hesitation off of the building.
"Sora-"
"Hey, found a chest!"
Kairi rolled her eyes and leapt off the building, Aerith following close behind.
They continued forward to the glowing mosaic when suddenly the ground shook and a Thorn appeared to block their way.
"Didn't we already beat that one?" asked Kairi.
Aerith nodded, but she still ran forward to strike it. With one blow from her and a fire spell from Sora, the Thorn collapsed. Aerith was about to run and seal the bloom in Traverse Town when the Thorn rose again.
As the three watched in shock, the purple Thorn flipped completely over, becoming an even bigger, heavier armored version of itself.
Aerith looked around for something to dent its armor with and her eyes finally rested on a giant sign above the closed hat shop. If she could knock it loose and have it fall onto the Thorn, it would greatly damage it. She grinned and started running away towards it.
Kairi glanced back from her position, dancing around the foot. "Aerith what are you doing?"
"Lead it over here!" Aerith yelled, climbing the sign quickly and starting to loosen it. Sora caught on and leapt up, clanging his keyblade against the Thorn's head.
"This way, Ironsides," he yelled, grabbing Kairi and running up some steps to the hat shop. Aerith finally swung once more and watched as the hat shop mascot's arm connected with the core of the Armor Thorn, making it spin and collapse. Kairi immediately returned to the feet and soon they were both eliminated as Aerith and Sora each took a gauntlet.
The body by itself was a bit tougher. Even with the blow from the sign, the group was still left dodging cannon blasts. Sora threw his keyblade at the Thorn desperately, but it only grazed the side of the helmet and clattered away to the far side of the plaza.
"Thunder!" Kairi shouted, raining down bolts of lightning onto the armored creature. Its cannon was damaged and it retreated, wanting to recharge.
"Oh no you don't!" Aerith cried. She clicked in the spikes on her staff, grasping it from one side, and then threw it similarly to Sora. This time, though, the weapon hit solidly and the Thorn was finally defeated. Aerith grinned as the Bloomstaff reappeared in her hand. She turned to the fountain and watched as it resonated with her weapon.
From the mosaic emerged a small golden bell, floating before them. It began to glow and the transparent petals emerged. Aerith pointed the Bloomstaff forward, and sealed the world.
"Well," she said after a pause, "Shall we move on now?"
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Here you go, next chapter! I think I may have made it a bit funny; I was in a good mood today. Let me know what you guys think! Sorry I've stopped the whole quote at the beginning thing lately- it's hard to find one sometimes.
-Silver Miracles