Chapter 20
Stargazing
"Would you care to dance Sora? Oh, is this a bad time?"
Before Sora could answer Colette's question on the type of food his mother used to make, he was interrupted by Kairi who had just asked a seemingly baffling question.
"Uh, kinda-"
"Of course not. You two enjoy yourselves. I'd probably be doing the same if I didn't have Stephanie criticizing my every move." Colette laughed.
"I can imagine it must be hard moving on when your daughter's still clinging on to her father." Kairi understandably acknowledged.
"She's not the only one, but sometimes you really have to let loose and I have a little fun. Besides, I don't think he'd want us moping about the past," Colette said. "But Stephanie's against the idea as you can imagine. She'd rather I not move forward if it meant I ended up forgetting about her father, but that's just impossible, I couldn't forget. She's all the proof that he ever existed… anyway, I digress. Go and be free unlike me."
"Thanks Colette," Kairi said before dragging Sora on to the dancefloor. "You do know it's customary for the maid of honor and the best man to dance, don't you?"
I'll get you back for this Leon, Sora thought as he became increasingly intimidated at the thought of having to dance in front of everyone. He couldn't even dance to begin with, especially with slow moving songs such as what was blearing out of the instruments that more of the broomsticks were playing at the front. At least with a fast paced song, there was some room for silliness involved so it didn't seem like you had to follow any particular rhythm.
Sora placed one hand on Kairi's waist and the other in her hand. His hands felt as if they weren't his own, and he was worried that he was going to do something to mess this up.
"You're not a robot Sora, you're a Keyblade Master. This should come naturally to you. On second thought, just follow what I do." Kairi whispered.
"I'm not exactly sure how it should come naturally to me Kairi." Sora said in the same tone as he looked down to follow Kairi's feet but Kairi didn't seem to like this and used her finger to lift Sora's chin back up to meet her face.
"Well they use the same kind of principle, don't you think? Dancing and fighting, you have to learn to let your body move you in both of them. If you didn't know that, how in the world you defeated Xehanort, the Organization and Maleficent again I'll never know." Kairi said.
"Adrenaline and lots of it." Sora said sarcastically.
"That's some pretty lucky adrenaline then." Kairi leaned into him so that their bodies were pressing against each other at this point.
Okay, this is getting weird. I know this is a slow song but… Sora almost laughed. Kairi was his best friend, he had known her since she first arrived on the islands and that was a long time ago. So why was he acting so awkwardly in front of her right now? Was it the dancing or being so close to her or even the look she was giving him, and what was up with that look anyway? If Sora could run into a corner and cry he would have.
"You smell great today Kairi… uh, not that you don't always smell great. I mean- er-" Sora immediately regretted saying that. He wanted to compliment her in order to make up for his bad dancing but after it had come out of his mouth he had wondered if it was too candid. It had also come out completely wrong.
"Aw, you're so cute when you're all embarrassed. Just relax, you're doing fine." Kairi said.
Sora's face turned a bright red color but he tried his best to ignore the compliment. "Well I suppose now's the time to practice as any." he said letting Kairi lead the dance by twirling both herself and him around before continuing their sidestepping.
The song soon came to an end and Sora and Kairi uncoupled with Sora letting out a laugh. Kairi was surprised at this. "Is something funny?" she asked.
"It wasn't so much funny as it was fun. That was great! You know, I just might have a knack for this sort thing." Sora bragged.
"You still have a long way to go my friend, but you started to get the hang of it at the end. I guess I can give you points for that." Kairi said.
"Because who knows what I'd do without them," Sora chuckled before looking at the house. "You don't mind if I get some fresh air for a while, do you? All the action here is kind of making me dizzy."
"Sure. I kind of want to talk to Colette about something anyway. You'll be coming back to dance, right?" Kairi asked. Sora was sure his dancing had been awful so he had no idea why Kairi would ever have wanted to dance with him again.
"Sure, oh and speaking of which I'll just grab some of this…" Sora walked over to the plate containing the shish kebabs and took the whole dish. He smiled and put his finger to his lips silently asking her to keep quiet before rushing into the house. The real reason he had left was much different. He made his way through the hallway, past the empty living room and out the front door.
"Sora!" Luna yelled in surprise as the spiky haired teen held out the dish of kebabs. Sora watched Luna's contorted face as she seemed to struggle between accepting it or not. Finally she reached out and picked one up giving him her thanks. "Oh this is yummy!" she commented after taking a bite.
"Not your kind of party?" Sora asked.
Luna shook her head. "I just needed some time to think. It really is amazing. I've met so many new people today. Guess what? I had such an amazing discussion with the librarian about a list of recommended books I could read. She's a big fan of the mystery novel genre just like I am! We both love a good whodunnit! It's amazing how two people from different walks of life can share the same passion in a single thing."
"Yeah, it is. Our worlds aren't as separated as we think they are. Actually, have you heard of Atlantis?" Sora decided to ask. That the tale of the forgotten city was known by both Kairi and Judge Frollo, two different people from two different worlds, seemed to warrant some consideration. It wasn't unheard of fairy tales spreading, especially when the worlds had once been connected. If Atlantis was that wide known among the residents of both worlds then maybe it, like the fairy tale about the Keyblade War, was a remnant of the old World.
"Atlantis? Yeah, I've heard of it. My mom told me about it once. A floating island in the sky with technology more advanced than anywhere else. It was eventually deemed unworthy by the gods and was eternally damned to the ocean's depths." Luna described before taking another bite out of the kebab. "Why'd you bring it up?"
"No reason. Just some nut who thinks the place exists." Sora said.
"Even if it did exist, it's unlikely you could find it. But I wouldn't say impossible. I was able to see the stars after all." Luna said.
"Was? You still are Luna. Unless… Astra?"
Luna confirmed Sora's guess with a single nod. "She says it's too dangerous for me. She thinks that I don't you owe you or the others anything but the fact is I do. Until now I was undecided about it. Do I deserve all this you've given me? Do I deserve to be free when so many others who have done nothing wrong are confined to their own worlds? Who am I really? I have so many questions, and I don't know how I'd feel if I left them unanswered. That would be a worse crime in my opinion. And then I heard your speech and I thought to myself, how could I abandon Leon and the others when they've done so much for me? So I think I'm going to decline Astra's offer. I can't walk away from this after everything I've seen, I just can't."
There was a brief pause, if only to admire the sound of lively folk dance music playing behind them. Sora soon grinned. "You think too much."
Luna's jaw dropped for a second. "Oh, wow, thanks for the support."
"No problem. Seriously though, if you continue on you're going to put Pooh to shame." Sora pointed out.
"Hahaha! I must think… think… think…" Luna tapped her index finger against her right temple. "But I'm not sure I can stop my thoughts."
"True, you can't stop thoughts— that's impossible. But you can stop thinking about thoughts." Sora started walking across an invisible tightrope, spreading out his arms and interchanging his left foot and right foot with each step.
"Stop thinking about thoughts?" Luna repeated.
"Right! Thoughts are like memories. They're all connected so one thought leads to another and another and another like a chain. That chain is the thinking part. The trick is to break that chain before it goes too far."
"And how do I do that?" Luna asked.
"Just stop thinking. Don't bother thinking about the how or why, just do it! It's that simple." Sora exclaimed. It's really not! Something inside his head wanted to scream.
"And I suppose this is your philosophy Sora?" Luna asked with a prying stare.
"I find it works for me."
In the past maybe… I can only hope it works for you.
"Okay. If you can do it then so can I. Thank Sora," Luna said before continuing in a sort of sing-song voice. "Stop thinking 'bout the little things and your worries will seem so far away. Well I have started running again, not like I hadn't gotten enough of that in the Realm of Darkness."
"Then you're already well on your way then. You coming back in soon? I seriously have to get Riku on the dancefloor… and I kinda wasn't supposed to bring this away." Sora gestured to the plate in his hands.
"Yeah, I'll be there in a second. Mmm, might as well take a second while I try to stop thinking. Actually I think I'm starting to think about food now." Luna said snatching a second shish kebab from the plate.
"Fatty."
"At least's it's a one up from shorty," Luna rebutted. Her smile lasted from the moment Sora turned his back and started walking to the moment he re-entered. Her smile faded and she looked at her left. "I know you heard everything. You can come out Astra."
A second pillar crumbled to the floor with Lea escaping almost certain death once again. He should have known the gods of Olympus certainly would not have messed around, especially one as bloodthirsty as the God of War. The man (if he could even be described as such) oozed the hubris equivalent to a thousand burning suns and usually in most cases hubris led to downfall, but not this one. Ares, though his appearance may have led one to believe otherwise, was highly cunning and quick on his feet.
"Look, I told you that I came in through the wrong entrance. Okay, maybe I shouldn't have used a corridor of darkness here but there was no way I could have possibly predicted my skull being bashed in by a hammer just because I made a flashy entrance." Lea complained.
"You know I've always wanted to fight a Keyblade Wielder but I must say this isn't what I had in mind. You are boring!" Ares boomed.
"THANK YOU, you finally see that. I am boring. So why waste your time on me again? Surely your efforts would be much better suited to doing whatever a God of War usually does." Lea offered. It would be like Even to put him in such a position. If he didn't know any better he'd have guessed that the scientist wanted him dead.
"Have my annoying sister preach her wisdom and meddle in my affairs constantly?"
"Oh, well- siblings… gotta love 'em." Lea shrugged uneasily only to throw himself out of the way to avoid a spiralling battle-axe heading his way. He landed back on the ground and summoned his chakram to throw them at Ares. The battle-axe flew up into the air and raced back to Ares who spun it around like a windmill. The two chakram hit against the axe and were easily deflected away at different angles and distances in the circular room.
"Was that a declaration of war boy?" Ares egged on. The axe slowly stopped spinning until it came to a complete halt allowing him to grasp it with both hands again.
"Well I had to try, otherwise what kind of Keyblade Wielder would I be?" Lea said putting on a different tone entirely. He liked to think he had two completely different personalities for these situations. His days in the Organization had demanded he keep a cool, calculating demeanour with an unreadable personality impossible to discern from voice or facial expression. In truth, he had never really found a personality he could be proud of until he had met Roxas and Xion. Before that, it was just easier for him to do his job when he acted out the idea of having no heart.
"Now we're talking. Throw everything you've got at me!" Ares roared with mighty grin.
"I WILL HAVE NO SUCH THING!"
The sudden third voice boomed like thunder causing the floor underneath Lea's feet to shake. It was a voice that could shake fear into the hearts of many men, worse so than Ares. Nine pillars of light shot down from the ceiling to nine of the twelve chairs around the room before disappearing and soon being replaced by the gods of Olympus. They exuded an aura that made Lea pale in comparison. Though he felt somewhat inferior under their might, he held his ground and looked on with a smirk.
"Sit down brother. You make a fool of yourself, not that it would be the first time." Athena said chuckling. Ares growled at her before letting out a frustrated growl, allowing his weapon to disappear from his hand, and teleporting onto his seat.
"I'm sorry about that. My son has quite the truculent attitude as you can see. Sometimes he can't help but act on impulse. I'm afraid you had quite the bad luck in meeting him. At least we arrived on time." Zeus laughed. Was this supposed to be funny to Lea? As if he could just wave away with a magic wand the fact that only seconds ago he had and almost certainly would have faced an imminent death?
"Hey, there was no rush, I only almost died," Lea said before getting down to business. He produced the puzzle box that had frustrated so many who had touched it in his hands. "Since I don't think I'm wanted here by some, I'll get down to business. You gave this Sora didn't you?"
Zeus leaned into his chair and rubbed his chin. "You're not going to tell us your name first young man?"
"Oh, er- it's Lea," Way to be cool Lea, way to be cool. He was so used to acting things out as he had planned them that if anything in reality intervened in the scenario he had played out in his head he would immediately be thrown off track. "So, about the box…"
"Yes, if I recall correctly the man who brought this here seemed rather fascinated by it. He told me nothing else other than to give it to the Keyblade Master, Sora. He believed that if there was anyone who could solve it, it would be him. As for what's inside or how to open it, that I do not know. I would suggest thinking outside of the box however." Zeus said.
"Thinking outside the box?" Lea repeated, ignoring the obvious pun.
Zeus nodded. "Rather than asking how to open it, the better question to ask would be how it came into existence. Once you've answered that question, you may be able to figure out the intent of its creator which will serve as a clue in opening the box. Unfortunately my knowledge of such objects is limited at best, however I do remember myself giving a box at one point to Hephaestus' daughter for her birthday. Well, she was more adopted than related by blood but that's a story best heard with some hot cocoa in my opinion."
"But how am I supposed to know where to start? This thing could be ancient for all I know." Lea said with gritted teeth. Zeus' laughter was annoying at best, and it sounded phony to his ears for some reason, even if it really was authentic.
"My son Hephaestus is the god of such crafts. He may carry the answer you seek. He is usually busy in his forge but I shall take you to see him." Hera said. True to her word, within seconds Lea had been teleported from the council of gods and had reappeared in a room worthy of the flurry of dancing flames. The hot air blasting from the furnace in front of him and the slightly tilted cauldrons suspended in the air breathing magma into the stream below told him he was in Hephaestus' dominion.
Hephaestus himself watched over these devices like a lighthouse. Quite muscular in size, Lea could imagine the man easily breaking him apart like a toothpick. It really must have been intimidating being a lowly mortal in the presence of gods for him to start thinking about the many ways his life could be ended. He looked down in surprise at said mortal before raising a questioning brow at Hera.
"Don't you think it's a bit too hot in here? How can you even stand this heat? At least tell me the salary is good?" Lea asked.
"The enjoyment of creating something new each time is a reward within itself though it is true I probably have no need for sunbathing after this… Athena, how is it this mortal has scaled the mighty Olympus?"
"My guess is that the rules of this world do not apply to him. He is outside our world's system and so he is exempt from its rules." Hera guessed.
"Correctamundo, and now you're thinking with portals. Got it memorized?" Lea asked before brandishing the puzzle box. "The old guy with the majestic beard told me you might have the answers to my prayers. You wouldn't have any idea how this came into existence, would you?"
Hephaestus lifted his hand and took the small shape from Lea's hand with the tips of his fingernails, holding it towards him and inspecting it closely. "Ah yes…" he said after a while, "I'm afraid it's an item of over worldly material. Certainly not from here but I have seen its likes before. It's the same metal normally used for Keyblades."
"What? Are you sure?" Lea asked.
"I'd never forget it. When my eyes were first drawn to the Keyblade it had piqued my interested. I even tried to recreate the thing myself many times, all of them ending in failure. A weapon that not even I could create… it shocked me to the core it did. That was a long time ago but a fine weapon like that never escapes your mind while working. I doubt I would even be able to recreate this let alone a Keyblade. In fact…" Hephaestus without any warning tossed the puzzle box into the fiery inferno of the furnace.
"Hey hey hey, I kinda needed that!" Lea exclaimed completely dumbfounded.
"If there is anyone who knows what they are doing in this regard, it would be Hephaestus." Hera said just as curious to see where this was going as Lea was judging from her expression. Hephaestus picked up a pair of tongs from one of the tools next to him and reached into the fire, slowly drawing the glowing red box out from the fire before setting it down. It set the instrument in his hand down and picked another, this time a mallet. He swung downwards hard and fast onto the box. There was an instantaneous clang as the two objects made contact, with the mallet consequently being repelled away from the box.
"Just as I thought. It's not malleable. I used a considerable amount of force as well, but it seems there's some magic in use here that caused my mallet to be knocked back like that. Whatever it is, it doesn't want me touching it," He said watching as the box returned to its normal dull color. He picked it up again, and then set it down. "It's also cool, like it hasn't been heated recently."
"Just what are we messing with here?" Axel mumbled under his breath. How could one little box contain so much mystery?
Luna avoided Astra's eyes as she walked towards her, almost as if she was scared to look into her eyes and tell her best friend what she had clearly overheard anyway. A part of her felt like she had betrayed Astra somehow. But how could she have? It wasn't as if the world was centred around Astra after all, and Luna had her own voice, she just had to prove it to her best friend now.
"You know it's rude to spy on other people's conversations." That's how she would start this off, by highlighting this sacred breach of trust. She would make Astra feel the guilty one here and from there it would be easier for Luna to explain her reasoning… hopefully.
That's how she remembered her mother winning arguments against her father—guilt tripping him and forcing him to play on the defensive from there on out. It was often hilarious to Luna at a young age to see her dad stumbling about looking for explanations while her mother's wry features came out at their fullest, a smug smile knowing it was going to win. She closed her eyes and held that memory dear to her heart. It was more important than ever now to never let go of these memories, though whether she deserved to hang onto them in the first place was debatable.
"The key to good eavesdropping is not getting caught so I guess I'm just not good at it, or maybe I don't try to be. Your friend didn't notice though so maybe I'm at least partly good… or it's just Sora." Astra said.
Ouch! You can't expect me to defend us both Sora.
"Shish Kebab? It's delicious." Luna held up the second one she had received from Sora in hopes that it would be able to butter Astra up.
"Nah, I've already eaten. There's this pretty good restaurant down by the gardens which served some damn good stake." Astra said licking her lips. Luna nodded and held it to her side. The next question was going to be difficult to ask.
"Astra… do you have something against Sora?" Luna probably didn't want to hear the answer to this question, but knowing now would eventually save her the trouble of finding out later.
"Oh, we've finally arrived at the moment of truth. Of course I do Luna. How many times has he put you in danger or made you suffer?" Astra asked. She had hooked her right hand around Luna's arm gently but there was a look of urgency in her eyes that juxtaposed the action.
"I suffered long before Sora. I knew what the dangers were, the moment I saw my first Heartless. Of course it was going to be dangerous, but that's a danger I chose to put myself in, not because he forced me. I've… I've never felt more alive in Alexander than I do now." Luna asserted. Perhaps it had been too wild of an assertion. She certainly felt alive when she had arrived home from school every day to her parents or when she had visited Aunt Kit and helped her in her deliveries. But she had always wanted more. Even now, that thirst hadn't been satisfied. It was insatiable. Did that make her ungrateful and selfish in the long run? Was she only to be satisfied completely by the things she had?
"You don't mean that… Alexander is our home." Astra said.
"Not mine. You know, I've always felt losing my memory was a bad thing. I'd wake in the Gummi Ship at night after having some abstract dream and I'd wonder what I had done to deserve all of it. The fact that had no memories to even make sense of these dreams was painful. But now, I'm starting to wonder if it was better my memories had stayed gone, because this feeling in my chest is a lot more painful than it ever has been. At least when I had no memory, I had pieces I could pick up and gaps I could fill in. I thought I could grow and become the person I was supposed to be. Now… there are no gaps for me to fill… and I don't know who I am, or don't want to know," Luna raised her head up to look at the sky. "The only thing I have now is this. The sky, the stars… my dreams…" Alice had created her own world, her own adventure. She had fallen into it, been swept away by it. Why couldn't Luna do the same?
"But not me." Astra nodded as if it was a statement, not a question.
Well, the guilt tripping tactic had just completely backfired.
"Astra, if you're asking me to choose between my best friend and my life, please don't. Aren't you at least happy for me? You of all people should know how I feel." Luna protested. Her arguments with Astra were few and far between but when they did come into play, the looming presence of Astra's overprotectiveness became annoying at times. Of course, she had not always thought this way, especially not at the start of their friendship. She was eternally grateful for Astra, and now that she thought about all Astra did for her, she was having doubts again as to whether she should just go with Astra. How could she reject her best friend's offer and still have the decency to act the role of the good friend.
"I… fine. It's okay." Astra finally said after some hesitation.
"Astra, come with us. Sora wanted the three of us to go on a vacation to see other worlds. Just the three of us. That's what you wanted anyway, isn't it?" Luna pleaded.
"It's not that simple. I told you that you were about to be thrown in the middle of something you shouldn't be involved in." Astra said.
"But you're involved in it? You know about the people who poisoned Sora…" Luna didn't want to jump to conclusions, but from what Sora had told her and how Astra's dislike for Sora, she couldn't help but entertain a certain line of thought in her head.
"I don't want to be involved. But I can see that your dead set on staying and if I know you well enough I probably can't change your mind about that. I am going to keep you safe though." Astra said.
"Likewise. So does that mean you'll come with us then?" Luna asked sanguinely.
"I can't. I just can't. I've already given you the simplest explanation I could manage. Just teach yourself to jump in and out Sea Salt, so that when the time comes, you jump out before it's too late." Astra advised. Within seconds, an armor-clad figure had appeared in front of her. Luna gawked in amazement at her friend's new appearance and walked around her slowly, taking in each detail in awe.
"Wow, that's awesome. How'd you get it?" she asked.
"At a yard sale. Oh come on, it's not that good. It's pretty uncomfortable at the end of the day but I use it to travel to other worlds so I don't really have much of a choice." Astra replied.
"Should have bought a Gummi Ship at that yard sale instead," Luna joked. Astra laughed, let out a soft but audible sigh and summoned her Keyblade only to have Luna put her hands around Astra's wrist. "Please don't go. We've barely spent any time with each other."
Luna could sense Astra staring deeply back into her eyes for a second or two before replying, "I'm heading off to Alexander. Head there if you want to see me. You know where I'll be Sea Salt." Astra gave Luna another hug from inside her armor and before Luna knew it a corridor of light had opened up and Astra had disappeared through it. For a moment, Luna had seriously considered following her but her hesitation lasted a moment too late. The light was gone, and her friend along with it. Alexander… there was more waiting for her than Astra there. Aside from Aunt Kit and her parent's house, one particular building stood out in her mind that probably had the answers to her questions. But now wasn't the time to think about that. She took another bite out of her second shish kebab before heading back in.
So that's our wedding wrapped up and next chapter we'll... well, you'll see. I'll say that I've started some inner competition to see how far I can get into this trilogy before KH3 comes out. I think I have a pretty good chance of finishing it all if I keep this pace up. Till next time, ciao.
