A/N: Writing, writing. Not my essay but anyway..
The blinding light faded and Sora's hand left Eleanor's and shifted to her elbows. She blinked a few times until he came into focus in front of her. She looked around. Strange lights and a huge steel room were behind him and a wide window facing out into blackness.
"Welcome aboard the Gummi Ship Miss Eleanor." Goofy set his hands on her shoulders.
"There's no sad faces allowed here." Donald had peeked around her legs.
She looked to Sora last who smiled. "I promise I'll explain everything but come here, there's something you gotta see first."
He pulled her forward in a rush towards the window at the front of the strangest ship she had ever been on. Before them was nothing but darkness. A few distant pinpricks of light were all surrounded them. Directly below them was a gloomy looking little world surrounded in fog. A ghostly skull and crossbones appeared lazily in the white smoke that surrounded the little planet. She leaned in closer to the window until her breath fogged up the glass.
"Is that.." She started.
"Port Royal. And I give you my word that you'll be back before you even know it. For now you get to go on an adventure with me.. er us." His eyes almost glowed in the strangely lit room as he gave her a sheepish smile.
"Don't look like much does it, my world." She let out a long sigh and leaned up against some of the blinking lights in front of her.
"Oh no careful." Sora tried to stop her but a few of the buttons clicked under her hands.
"Welcome back guys!"
".. And girl?"
Eleanor took a stumbling step back as a pair of faces appeared on the window. "They're chipmunks?"
"Who are you?"
"What brings you aboard the Gummi Ship huh?"
"Where did you come from?"
"Does the king know about her Sora?"
"Why are your clothes so funny?"
"What about the Master? Has she seen Yensid?"
Eleanor's head spun with the rapid fire questions the small creatures had thrown her way. They spoke a million times a minute and she was quite sure her brain didn't listen fast enough to understand anything they had said. She turned to Sora desperately as Donald and Goofy dissolved into fits of giggles.
"This is Eleanor from Port Royal. She has light in her heart so yes we need to see Master Yensid as soon as possible to make sure she's safe. No the king doesn't know about her. Does that cover everything guys? Talk slower next time so she can answer for herself." Sora managed through a huge grin.
They rolled their eyes in opposite directions and stood up straight.
"Chip-"
"- And Dale at your service!
"We're in charge of navigation here on the ship!"
"Otherwise these guys would be lost all the time!"
The pair finished each other's sentences seamlessly and spoke one after another almost as quickly as the first time but Eleanor was able to pick up most of the words that spilled from their mouths.
"Er.. Well it's a pleasure to meet you both." She gave them a mock curtsy.
They laughed again and she stole a glance at Donald and Goofy, who had taken seats that had emerged from under the floor.
"Why don't you take a seat Eleanor and we'll set a course to the Master's tower." Chip saluted Sora, who gave them a lazy return salute.
"See ya guys later!" Dale winked and the faces disappeared from the window.
"That was by far the oddest encounter I've had to date." She stood still for a moment while Sora took his seat. "Where shall I sit, it appears were one short."
Goofy squished to the side of his seat and patted the open space. "Smush yourself right here next to me Eleanor and I'll make sure your space legs don't make you too dizzy."
"Space legs?" She looked up at him when she was settled into her space. "That's right this is some kind of flying contraption isn't it?"
Donald scoffed at her. "More than that missy. It's magic and I helped build it."
More laughter filled the cabin of the Gummi ship.
"What's so funny? The longer we just sit here the moretimewewaste.." Donalds words ran together until they were just disgruntled squeaking.
While everyone was laughing, the ship jolted forward and Eleanor hardly noticed her home disappearing into the stars. Lights whizzed by outside the wide window for what seemed like hours. She wandered around the small space, which was full of things she didn't understand. Strange lights and devices she had never seen before. Eventually she returned to the cabin where Sora and Donald were having some kind of argument about flying the ship. Time flew between the four of them. Eventually she ended up sitting on one of the arms of Sora's chair and him on the other, with her knees bumping against his and a bright smile on her face.
"I do apologize but explain it one more time please?" She gave him a sheepish smile and he let out a long exasperated sigh.
"Fine. Only one more time though and you have to swear to actually listen this time."
"I was listening before, it's just too much to take in at once." She said with an indignant huff. "I'm new to all this if you'll recall."
Goofy and Donald stifled a laugh.
Sora shushed them and cleared his throat. "Here it goes. My world was eaten by the heartless and me and my friends were all separated when it happened okay? So here I am, alone in this place called Traverse Town, and that's where I met Donald and Goofy who told me they were looking for their king and this thing called the keyblade so they could lock up the doors to all these worlds. Okay? And so we started traveling together and I was looking for Riku and Kairi and-"
"Long story short?" Donald interrupted.
Sora narrowed his brilliant eyes briefly. "Long story short, Riku was consumed by the same darkness that ate our home. He and the King disappeared and I was put into this sleep by a witch girl and I've been looking for him ever since. Short enough?"
Eleanor nodded thoughtfully. "So these heartless. They are just beings of the darkness, nothing more?"
"Kinda. Ya see, the heartless are created when a strong heart is devoured." Goofy seemed to struggle for the right words.
"Devoured?" She cringed and set a hand over her heart.
Donald nodded cryptically. "Yeah. They want what they don't have."
Eleanor ran a hand through her thick hair, causing a tinkle of bells. "And this Organization you mentioned before. Where exactly do they fit into all this?"
"Well we're still trying to work that one out." Sora patted her knee encouragingly. "But you're picking up fast!"
"Our mission is to track down baddies and take them out. Simple enough right?" A smile lit her face and spread easily to the others.
As silence fell between them all, Chip and Dale appeared on the window, grinning.
"The Master will see you now milady." Dale snickered.
"Get going and hurry back though because we have lots of stuff to do!" Chip hurried to add before they disappeared.
Goofy stood and pressed a big red button on the panel in front of the window and a bright beam of light appeared in front of them.
"More magic teleporting?" She took a few steps towards the bright light.
"The master will want to see you alone." Goofy said encouragingly.
"All you have to do is touch the light and climb the stairs." Donald waved his hands towards the light.
Eleanor's eyes widened. "I am not going alone-"
Sora's hands were suddenly on her shoulder blades. "Don't be scared. I'll go with you, but you have to go up to see the master alone. Okay?" He said quietly in her ear.
She nodded and turned her dark gaze on the blinding light. A hand covered hers and forced it up towards the light.
"We gotta touch it together okay? It'll be just like how we got up here remember? Just bright." Sora grinned back over his shoulder. "Be right back!"
Eleanor forced a hesitation before Sora pushed a little harder on the back of her hand and they were engulfed in the bright light. Her boots touched solid ground and squished grass under her heels. She took a few stumbling steps forward before her eyes popped open. A tower stood before her, with great stone stars encircling it. Eleanor let out a long breath a soft warm breeze rolled over the grassy area. She heard Sora's laughter behind her and turned. They were surrounded by the warmest sunset she had ever seen in her life.
"We are in a completely different world." She breathed.
"Thank you Captain Obvious." The brunette took a few steps towards her and motioned towards the tower. "Go on. I'll be right here waiting for you when you come back okay?"
Eleanor took a huge nervous breath. "Alright then. You won't move a muscle if I need anything Sora you promise you'll be right here."
"Cross my heart."
She searched his brilliant eyes before nodding. She wrung her hands nervously as she crept towards the massive door of the tower. It creaked open in front of her. With one last nervous look at Sora she stepped into the shadows of the tower. Her dark eyes took a moment to adjust before she was able to peek up into the shadows. A spiral staircase twisted up until another door in the wall stopped it. She thought for a minute to run back to Sora, but then clenched her jaw and marched towards the stone steps.
The star shaped door opened to another set of stairs, that were by all means of the confines of the tower structure, completely impossible. They should have been sticking straight out the side of the tower, but instead they were surrounded in some kind of glowing negative space. The door slammed shut behind her, and forced her forward and across the strange staircase towards another door.
Eleanor's steps became shaky and unsure as she neared the next door. It opened to a set of stone stairs that she crept up towards a thick wooden double door. She set her fingertips on the thick grained wood and with no effort at all, the hinges gave and it opened to a room she assumed was at the top of the tower.
"Come in child." A voice drew her into the darkened room. A bearded man sat behind a desk at the end of the room, his hands folded carefully over a book. "You are causing a lot of confusion among the worlds. Come and shut the door behind you."
"Are you Master Yensid?" She closed the heavy door carefully behind her.
"Yes." The Master stood gracefully, his robes shifting around him. He kept his eyes carefully on her. "And you are the incomplete keybearer are you not? Discovered in a world where you shouldn't have been."
Eleanor bit her lip and her fingers immediately wrapped themselves around the ring jack had given her. "Yessir, I suppose I am."
"Hm." He closed his eyes. "Sora is taking liberties, though the light in his heart shines bright with hope. Your keyblade will fill you with light so long as you believe in it. The keybearer will see that you are safe. Heed my warning though child. You will be faced with a choice soon enough and your destiny will depend entirely on what you choose."
"That dream I've been having." She asked in a whisper quiet voice. Eleanor crept towards him. "The dreams about Sora?"
"Yes. The choice you will make will leave you in the darkness. But if your heart remains strong there is hope for you." Yensid let out a breath through his nose and returned to his chair.
A heavy silence settled over the room before three fairies tumbled through the door at the other end of the room and flew in a rush towards Eleanor.
"I thought we heard the voice of a girl." The first in pink said.
"Oh and she's beautiful too." The second in green hovered behind her with a smile.
"Don't know about those clothes though." The third in blue crossed her arms. "Rags if you ask me."
"Er.. Hello." She said quietly.
"Child this is Flora, Fauna and Merriweather. They can help you get changed so we can get you back to Sora as soon as possible." Master Yensid barely looked up from his thick book. "Ladies please take it to the next room. I am very busy."
"Come with us dearie." Flora took her hand and lead her through the door they had tumbled through.
Using what the pirate girl could only assume was magic, the three fairies argued themselves into a frenzy before they changed her old pirate clothes into something entirely new. Her legs were wrapped tightly in black leggings, and high wasted shorts with big brass buttons. A long sleeved rich brown jacket barely skirted the tops of the high shorts and a tight black top with a zip up the front. The fairies worked on braiding her wild curls while she stared at herself in their full length mirror.
"You look like a princess." Merriweather sighed deeply.
"I wouldn't say that." Eleanor scrunched up her nose and tested her new boots.
"It's been so long since we were able to make someone look like a princess hasn't it girls." Fauna finished braiding the girl's thick hair and set it over her shoulder. "You have strength in your heart if you have that blade."
She peeked up at the elderly fairies.
"She's right you know." Flora smiled. "Anyone who has ever wielded one, either past or present has been strong and pure of heart."
She cocked her head to the side. "What do you mean past?"
"Oh once, long ago there were thousands of keyblade wielders. Hundreds of masters." Fauna took a seat on a dresser littered with cloth beside Eleanor. "But where there is light there are bound to be shadows."
"Shadows?"
"Oh yes. There was a war and the keyblade master victorious disappeared into the stars." Flora tutted her tongue as she continued to fuss with the pirate girls clothes.
"Do you know anything about the Organization that Sora spoke about?" Eleanor urged.
Merriweather shivered. "Oh dear. Only that they're nobodies. They can remember their hearts and want to regain their humanity. That and you need to return to Sora or we'll get in trouble for keeping you so long."
"They remember having hearts? So they aren't all bad is that what you're saying." She tried to coax more information from them as she was pushed towards the door.
"No more questions. Get to Sora. We'll see you soon." Flora smiled at her.
"I don't know how ever repay you. Thank you from the very bottom of my heart." She bowed to the fairies. As she slipped from the room Master Yensid stood to greet her.
"Guard your heart carefully child." He muttered cryptically to her, and sank back into his chair. "You wield an incomplete keyblade leftover from a great battle. Remember that as you embark and do not let your guard down."
"Thank you sir." She muttered, and rushed back down the stairs she had come from. Her mind abuzz with magic spells and nobodies and not in a particularly good way either. Her hands were shaking widely after the words of the master. They echoed with remnants of the words the giant shadow monster had said to her in the strange dream. An incomplete heart and an incomplete key. She couldn't quite make sense of any of it.
"Eleanor you okay?" Sora's voice snapped her from her thoughts as she stumbled down the last few steps down to the grass of the tower. "You look scared.."
"I'm fine mate." She kept walking, with a short glance over her shoulder back up at the tower. "Let's go please, let's just go."
He caught her by the shoulders and forced her gaze to meet his. "Look at me will you? Everything's okay now. Look." He held up a flower crown in between his fingers. "This will match your new clothes. You look like a princess."
"He told me my heart was incomplete. What does it mean Sora?"
He set the crown on her head and adjusted it into her thick curls with a smile. "No idea. So don't worry about it!" He grinned. "You seem complete enough to me."
She shook her head and let her gaze fall to her toes. "I can feel a breakdown coming soon. I'm quite sure I won't be composed much longer Sora."
"Let's get back to the Gummi ship and sit down." He looked up at the sky. "Come on Donald. We need to get back up there."
A blinding light hit the ground around them and Eleanor closed her eyes. Sora's hands remained on her arms providing support through his fingertips. As the light faded she took a few steps back and blinked the spots away. Goofy was smiling at her.
"Lookin' sharp!" His voice, though he was trying to be supportive was grating and Eleanor stumbled back.
"Is there somewhere I can go to be alone. Sora please I need to.. I want to.." She took a shaking breath and held her head. Everything was spinning too fast.
Goofy rushed forward. "Come on, come on." He pulled her and her whirling mind back towards the shadowy rooms in the back of the Gummi ship. Sora and Donald crowded after them but she quickly shut the door to the dark room and sank to the floor alone. The silence closed around her and she let out a breath. Her mind finally calmed enough for her to relax after a long moment. She pulled her knees up to her chest.
"Gawrsh are you okay?" Goofy's voice came with a soft knock on the other side of the closed door with a soft knock after a long while.
"You can't stay in there forever, we're getting distress calls from all over." Donald was next.
"Distress. Distress? What does that mean? I'm currently in distress-"
"How about a deep breath okay?" Sora leaned up against the door. "Tell me what's the matter?"
Eleanor took a huge shaking breath that turned into a humorless laugh. "Oh Sora. I haven't even seen all of my own world and now I'm going to other worlds I didn't even know existed? It's a little unnerving don't you think? Can you blame me?"
Without warning, the door she had closed so quickly behind her opened and she tumbled out onto her back. Sora, Donald, and Goofy looked down at her all with blinding smiles. Her tears dried up.
"What's funny?" She managed to say defensively. "I'm having a breakdown and you're smiling."
"Because there's nothing wrong with being afraid." Donald shook his head quickly.
"Ahyuck, that's right! But we're all here to support you." Goofy added.
Sora stood up and held out a hand for her. "And you promised to smile, no sad faces remember?"
Eleanor took his hand. "And you promised to make sure I was always okay."
He pulled her to her feet. "Then I'll do a better job from now on deal?"
She nodded lightly. Eleanor honestly had no idea what to expect out of her impending travels with her three strange new friends and she was terrified to be honest. But, she put on a smile and sat down with Goofy in his chair so they could answer their so called distress calls. She knew Jack would tell her to be brave. To not embarrass him and maybe even throw in something mushy like "Follow your heart love."
The brunette let out a long breath and relaxed as much as she could in the chair.