A/N: Spoilers. Some of you may or may not get what you want in this chapter *wink*. Also, if you like what you're reading, please feel free to like and/or review. There's only one or two more chapters left!
Chapter 89
Comfort: For the Girl Who Has Everything
The two Keyblade wielders ducked and weaved as they flung attack after attack at the unstoppable Rhino-shaped Heartless. Jets of red, purple and blue raced forward and smacked against the Heartless' armor, which just seemed to shake off the onslaught of magic.
"FREEZE!" Rhea yelled, pivoting on one foot. She spun around and aimed her Keyblade at the ground. A frosty blue coating sprayed out on the ground as the rhino charged, sending it into a hysteric rampage as it slid across the ground, trying to regain its footing. Sora took advantage of the rhino's instability and emerged from the bushed, swinging his Keyblade in a diagonal swing. The tip of his Keyblade just missed the mark however and he found himself slipping on Rhea's Ice instead.
"Oh, shiitake mushrooms! I didn't accidently get you instead, did I Sora? I'm so sorry," Rhea apologized in a panic. The way she was pleading with him made it seem like she was in more a state of panic than the rhinoceros or Sora was.
"No, it's not your fault. Don't worry!" Sora assured her as he tried to stand back up. He received a little bit of a push when the Heartless slid into him on purpose. The force off the blow was something similar to a punch in the stomach, like his lungs were collapsing in on themselves. Sora was knocked off his feet and sent flying into the grass.
"THUNDAGA!" Rhea cast. The bright purple bolt soared forward, just as the rhino swerved around to meet her. It had mastered the Ice ring and now it was using Rhea's magic against them both. The thunderbolt hit the Heartless' horn before being ejected back out. The sensation of a fine knife cutting across her cheek was felt as tried to leap out of the way of the attack. The magic travelling faster than the sound was what had caused the delay for her, but aside from the sting, she was otherwise uninjured.
Sora somehow found himself back on his feet and looked over to where Luna was, by the lake. His only guarantee was that the Heartless wouldn't dare harm the vessel it depended upon to survive. He took a few deep breaths before heading back into the fray. The first thing he needed to do was break up the Ice Rhea had laid on the ground.
"Fire!" Sora yelled. A chunk of ice broke off and flew up into the air, allowing Sora to bat it at the rhinoceros as it advanced towards Rhea. It's center of balance already sensitive, the additional force sent the rhino spiralling on all fours across the last remnants of Ice.
"Zantetsuken!" Rhea slashed her Keyblade through the air. For the moment, it seemed as if nothing had happened. After all, Rhea had just swung randomly in the air. But then again, that was all she had to do. The rhino's horn soon came clean off and Sora was reminded of something Donald and Goofy had once told him about Rhea's powers. Apparently, a special feature of her Keyblade allowed for her to 'negate' causation, whatever that meant. Sora didn't all understand how that was possible, but if that was what he just witnessed then he was incredibly impressed.
"Sora!" Rhea addressed him suddenly. "Go help Luna. I can hold this thing off but I don't think we can beat it while Luna's heart is like this. It's a stretch, but I think restoring her heart back to the way it was will weaken it."
"But she's not waking up. I don't know what else I can do," Sora replied.
"You'll think of something. Right now, I'm sure Luna's looking for someone to guide her. Speak to her, Sora. Let her hear your voice," Rhea said. The rhino, having recovered from its split horn, made to turn for Sora, possibly after hearing what Rhea had said. Rhea cast Barrier, the rhino's head rebounding off the invisible wall. "Sora, GO!"
Sora nodded, turned heel and sprinted off for Luna. In his short run, he explored the possible ways in his head that he could reach Luna. Once he had finally reached her however, he could come up with nothing that he hadn't tried before. He was stumbling and bumbling his way through as always with no plan and it hurt that he just had to hope something connected with her.
His first thought was one that wasn't without risk. He tapped his hand against his shoulder where Rhea's pauldron had been and deactivated the suit of armor. Already he could feel the darkness gripping into his flesh like thick vines, but he gritted his teeth and still his nerves. He looked down at Luna, opened his mouth, and began to speak.
Luna had never been so nervous in her life. She had made it through her final year of school, passed her exams with flying colors and now she was graduating. Her heart beat faster and faster until it practically felt like it was about to rip out of her chest. Her class was currently being called up to the stage to receive their certificates and she of all people was supposed to be the one making the speech. The speech that many would look back on when they were older and reflect on the years of their lives when things were easy.
"And now a few words from our student council president before she receives her award, I hardly think she needs any introduction but I'm required to say it anyway. Give it up for Luna from Class 7B!"
Luna stiffened like a plank board. Around her were applauses and whistles, but they only served to frighten her even more. She felt a comforting hand on her lap. She looked up to see Astra smiling at her. Luna nodded and she slowly rose from her feet. She could feel the many eyes on her as she travelled across the front of the auditorium and ascended the steps onto the stage. Parents, friends, teachers… the pressure was mounting, but she had to remain calm.
Finally reaching the podium where the microphone was located, she quickly located her parents in the back and waved to them. "Thank you. My fellow students. We've made it! It's been a tough year, and a lot of you have worked incredibly hard to get where you are today. It wasn't easy either, our teachers certainly made sure of that." There were chuckles around the room. Glad that her joke had landed, she relaxed a little and continued. "But I think more than anything, they push us hard because they know we can take it. We're not brittle. We don't bend easily and we don't tear. We're Alexandrians, not only that but the next generation of the bunch. We'll be the ones taking charge of this country eventually, and we need to leave it in the best possible condition as our parents and teachers have left it for us. But, you know, we won't just keep it the same. That would be boring, so let's give it everything we've got and strive to make it even better. Yes, you can take that as an official challenge, adults. Insert drop mic here and stuff."
Another round of laughter. We're doing it girl. Let's finish 'em off!
"So, let me just talk a bit about my experience first, not that yours aren't just as important. Everyone has a story to tell and… well, mine begins a little differently from most of yours. It was a rough patch at first. I was an introvert, I usually studied by myself and I didn't really have any friends. It's hard just thinking about it. Then, I met Astra. She was and is to this very day, my best friend. She made me realize that there really was nothing that I couldn't do if I put my mind to it.
"One friend became two, two became ten and soon I came to be accepted by most of my classmates. I grew out of my shell, and now I'm truly happy… truly… happy…" When Luna looked away from her hands, up to the audience, she found herself looking at an empty auditorium. Her eyes scanned the room, first with mounting confusion. Then, fear. Where had everyone gone? Her parents, the other parents, her fellow graduates, Astra… they were all gone.
Luna made to turn around but froze in sight of someone very similar. The younger Luna reached out to touch her but Luna backed away apprehensively.
"Luna, this isn't where you're supposed to be and you know it," her younger self told her.
"No, you're wrong! I-"
"You never had a graduation. You were never the president of the student council. You're only friend out of all those people was and still is Astra to this day, Need I say more? Your parents-"
"SHUT UP! I HATE YOU!" Luna cried. She dropped to her knees and lay on her side, curling up into a ball. "I hate this feeling. I don't know who I am anymore or what I want. I'm so confused. Please don't make it worse."
"Luna, confronting the past is difficult, but it has to be done so we can move on to the future. You've had it bad, worse than any girl your age deserves, yes, but you're not alone. There are so many people waiting for you on the outside." The young Luna walked over to her older self and sat down beside her.
"I'm sorry. I've been trying to keep the darkness inside you at bay for so long, but it seems in the end I failed. As someone who's supposed to be your light, I've done a pretty poor job of protecting you, don't you think?" Young Luna rested her head against Luna's shoulder and closed her eyes. "I've wanted to do this for such a long time. When you hug someone, it suddenly feels like all your worries are so far away."
There was a long pause, not because Luna was afraid of saying anything, but because she was trying to ascertain as to how she felt. Collating her feelings and thoughts proved more difficult than she expected given how chaotic they were, but Luna's young self was ultimately right. With the girl's warmth by her side, things began to feel more relaxing and soothing. The storm that was her mind had subsided and what was left was a tranquil feeling similar to looking out at a lake.
"It does," Luna finally responded. The scenery around her had changed. She was in her bedroom, sinking into the softness of her bed covers. "I kept fighting, because I didn't want to face the past. When my parents died, I died too. Me? I'm not her. All I know I am is a girl who keeps fighting and going to other worlds, leaving out something that feels like a dream. I suppose it's weird. What most would consider a normal reality, I'm dreaming about, and what some could only dream about, I'm living out in reality."
"Do you feel like—" The young Luna paused for a moment as she considered her question. "—Like you don't deserve the reality you've been given?"
"I don't know. I don't feel like I worked for it. It just sort of… happened," Luna answered. "And besides, I killed my parents. It doesn't matter whether it was some Heartless controlling me at the time or not, it was still my body. I don't deserve this."
"Luna, reality isn't something anyone deserves. It really does just happen. It never really works the way you want it to and there are so many things that are impossible to control. I guess you can say reality is the biggest illusion of all." The young Luna leaned off of Luna's arms and played with her hair affectionately. It was strange. The way her fingers moved and even the slow strokes were identical to her mother's. "So even if you think you don't deserve this reality, it is what it is. What you can control however is how you express that reality. We're all artists in our own sort of way. You've made the most of what you've been given, no matter how strange or unfair it may have seemed. I think your mom and dad would have wanted this for you."
"Mom and dad?" Luna repeated.
The young Luna hummed in confirmation. "They love you a lot, even if they can't express it to you directly. All you have to do though is listen closely, not with your ears but your heart. You'll understand what I mean."
"Listening with my heart, just like Pocahontas said," Luna said. Her eyes closed and she focused, drowning out the room around her. She needed to see past the lies to find whatever truth lay ahead, even if it was ultimately herself that was creating the lie.
She felt a two warm hand on both her shoulders—one tender, one firm. She looked on either side to see her mom and dad looking at her with smiles on their faces.
"Luna, your mother an I are so proud of you," her father said.
"Dad… I let you down. You told me to stay in my room but I- I didn't listen. I thought my opinions were more important than yours and… you were just trying to protect me but I didn't listen. I'm so sorry," Luna choked out in between tears. "Because of me, you'll never be able to fish again or go hiking in the mountains, and mom, you'll never see Kit again-"
"Luna," her mother interjected with a peaceful smile. "Things happen. Even if our last moments with each other weren't exactly the happiest of moments, we're never truly gone. We will always live as long as you remember. As long as you remember, we'll never die. You've never fought because you wanted to forget your past, you've fought because you wanted to make the future one you, I and your father could be proud of."
"Fighting to make the future something we can be proud off…" Luna repeated. "But how can you be so sure that that's really what I've wanted this entire time?"
"How can I know? That's easy. Because you're my daughter," Kay said with a sanguine smile.
Luna smiled back at her and wiped the tears from her eyes. "Okay, I won't run. Not anymore. Even if I don't quite know the destination just yet, it never has been about the destination for me. I'll keep dreaming. That's just who I am, and I'm perfectly fine with that."
"That's my girl. Now hurry along, your friends need you right now," Kay said. Luna had to remind herself that the people talking to her now were not corporeal beings. They were in fact, her heart cobbling up various memories and feelings to recreate them as they were in Luna's mind. Even knowing that, she still felt there was scarcely any difference. They lived inside her and she was their living legacy. Her coming to fruition with this was what mattered at this very moment.
"I love you both," Luna said, as she saw her parents beginning to fade in front of her.
"We love you too, Luna," Ronan said with a smile that showed how impressed he was with her.
"Remember, Luna. You will always have someone by your side," Kay said to her.
Their forms soon vanished, but Luna smiled nonetheless. She could still feel them and all they had given her in her chest. "You're right, mom. I'm not alone, because I have him. The boy I love. His name is—"
Sora's eyes grew big in surprise as Luna's own fluttered open. His complexion softened for a moment, then became a mixture of what Luna could only imagine must have been every single emotion and experience from today hitting him all at once.
Sora shook it off and forced a smile. "Luna, you're-"
Luna smiled at him and pulled him towards her. Their lips met and with them a mixture of passions and reverie. There had only been ever one instance where she had kissed someone, and to this day she still had no idea why she had done so. It was probably loneliness if anything, and the fact that the person next to her was her only friend in the world at the time, that had led her to kissing Astra.
This was much different though. Everything around them was drowned out and in those few seconds where longing met bliss, nothing else seemed to matter in the world. Neither of them could truly imagine what a bad world could possibly be like, because right now reality seemed so far away. She felt like she was dreaming, but she knew she wasn't.
Luna pulled away for air and felt her cheeks increase in temperature. "I'm back."
"Wow! Uh, I mean… I… can't say I was expecting that, but I'll take it," Sora said with a kooky yet adorable grin on his face. "You… didn't hear anything I said, did you? Is that why you woke up?"
"You said something? What was it?" Luna asked.
"Oh, nothing. It doesn't really matter now anyway, I suppose." Sora let out a whistle and looked to his right. "Luna, as pleasant as that was, I have to acknowledge that we're not exactly in the best of situations at the moment. We need to help Rhea fight against the Heartless in your heart."
"Rhea's here?" Luna asked.
"Up there." Sora pointed in Rhea's direction. Nodding at him, Luna stood up and smirked. Sora looked at her in surprise. "Something funny?"
"I feel lighter," Luna said. She darted forward before Sora could stop her—before even she could stop herself—and before she knew it, she was in the fray, guarding against a charging rhino's attack. Two forces collided against one another, striving for dominance as Luna pushed back with all her might. She felt a hand on her own and looked rightward to see her younger self with her. The two exchanged nods before helping to push back.
"I'm... NOT… afraid of you… anymore. Leave my… memories… ALONE!" Luna yelled. A blade of light emerged from her Keyblade that was long in length and a width extending from the back of her blade of the tip of her Dream Seeker's teeth. She leaned into the guard at and angle and slashed diagonally upwards. The ephemeral blade of light cut through as smoothly as a knife through butter before fading and retaining the Dream Seeker's original form.
The Heartless, now in the form of Abraxas once more, turned in surprise, a tinge of horror on his face. "No… but why? Why can't I… feel fear from you anymore? No, that's not— that's not right. I feel fear. Is it… my own?"
"You thought fear could control her—keep her in line so her body wouldn't reject you. Looks like in trying to spread fear, you succumbed to it," Sora said.
"Ha. Ha, ha. Ha, ha, ha. So this is irony." Abraxas looked down to see shaking hands.
"I'm sorry it has to be like this. If there was any other way…" Luna stepped back and looked at Rhea. "Is there a way he can stay here?"
"Luna, you'd let him live with you? After everything he's done?" Sora asked.
"A Heartless that's searching for the meaning behind its feelings… I just think it's…"
"Luna, I'm sorry, but even if you allowed him to stay, there's no guarantee its darkness wouldn't eventually make your heart unstable again, intentionally or otherwise. It may be harsh, but he has to go," Rhea answered.
"Luna, you are truly a strange person indeed." The Heartless shook its head and looked up at her with a small smile. His face was starting to crack like clay, pieces breaking off and turning into tiny grains like sand. Before he completely withered away into dust that rose into the sky like petals in the wind, Luna was left with these last words: "Don't be sad. We had fun, didn't we?"
Sora's eyes left the sky above and wandered back down to where Rhea was. She was still on the ground, wincing in pain. "Rhea, you okay?"
"Sora… it's no worry. Just a graze on the shoulder is all. The darkness was beginning to get to me, I think, but I can feel it withdrawing," she answered.
"Yeah, me too. It's like a pressure of my chest is being lifted," Sora described.
"Will my heart be alright?" Luna asked with a tone of worry. Rhea and Sora looked towards her, the latter glancing questioningly at the former shortly after, also curious to know what would happen in the current state Luna's heart was in.
"Hearts always mend, in time," Rhea answered smiling. "I'm glad we have you back, Luna. The realm of light misses you most dearly."
"Oh, I'm not that important," Luna dismissed, though she blushed at the compliment.
"Are you sure about that?" Rhea asked. If she was going to add anything more to that, it wasn't going to be here and now. Luna figured it was a rhetorical question but she couldn't possibly begin to comprehend what Rhea meant by it.
"Thank you, Luna. You had the courage to do a difficult thing. I'll always remember that courage." The young Luna appeared next to her. Luna looked for Rhea to Sora. It seemed they couldn't exactly see her.
"I should be thanking you. Besides, I've realized something. When you said you were my light, you didn't mean from within me, did you?"
"How did you figure it out?"
"Listening to my heart has its benefits, Dream Seeker, or I suppose I should call you Artemis," Luna said.
The girl next to her smiled and extended her hand. "I saw something of me in you ever since our first meeting. We were both lonely. We just wanted someone to need us. We needed each other. I'm glad what started as needed has grown into a whole lot more."
"I am too. Um, will I ever see what you really look like?" Luna asked, as she reached out for Artemis' hand.
"In the near future, I'm sure. Knowing I am by your side is good enough for now, don't you think?"
"Not really. Now I'm just going to wonder about it even more," Luna groaned.
"Well you do like your mystery novels…" Their hands finally touched, and soon even Artemis was gone. Out of sight, but not out of mind. She would carry with her now not just her own, but Artemis' dreams into the future.
"Luna! Anyone in that head of yours?"
"Ow! That hurt!" Luna cried out. Sora withdrew his fingers from her forehead and grinned.
"Maybe if you were paying attention and not dazing off into la-la land, you might have seen it coming," Sora said.
"Touché. So… how did you get into my heart in the first place anyway?" Luna asked.
"Um, that's…" Sora was about to explain when something else caught his attention. As he moved to scratch the back of his head, he saw his arm looking more transparent than usual. He was fading.
"Sora?" Luna reached for him only to find her hands passing through his chest.
"I think you're starting to wake up, Luna. Your heart's trying to eject all the things that shouldn't be here, which I suppose includes us," Rhea explained. "We'll see you on the other side."
A bright light engulfed Sora's vision once again, resulting in a familiar feeling of floating. He blinked a few times and looked around. He was on the floor of the room Luna had been in. Before he could attempt to sit up, he was pressed back down on the floor again by a clinging Luna. He laughed and lowered his head back to the ground again. He found that he wasn't exactly in any hurry to get up anyway.
The night following Astra's return from a world teeming with pirates had not been the most pleasant. After filing her mission report, Astra gladly sank into her bed and let sleep take her. Her dreams were unpleasant, revisiting the Edinburgh Trader and the wanton destruction that had ensued, resulting in the lives of innocent sailors before being washed away in an instant. She also dreamt of Jack and how she could only watch as he and the Black Pearl were taken away by the Kraken in the ocean's depths.
Astra's eyes shot open and she gritted her teeth in frustration. She had been utterly powerless against the Kraken in both the instances she had fought it. She felt weak. None of those people had to die and yet she was unable to save them. What was being a wielder of the Keyblade if it meant helplessly standing by as things like this happened?
Astra moved her hands up to her face and rubbed her eyes. There was a knock of three on her door. She moved her hands away and slowly got out of her bed before walking over to the door. Her hands stopped just a ways off from the latch before continuing onward a few seconds later.
Jill stood at her doorway, looking strangely anxious, quite different from her usual apathetic and creepy disposition. It still struck Astra as strange that, for how long she had been here, she still knew very little about the woman except that she loved having a red hood over her head. She seemed to keep to herself most of the time, or more specifically with her parrot (that was currently on her shoulder) called Jack, who she claimed to not actually be a parrot but her younger brother put under some sort of potion. As a result, she had been going off in her spare time, trying to find a counteractant. If anything she was extremely dedicated to her cause—that much Astra had learned about her.
"Jill, this is a surprise. This must be the… first time you've come to me directly?"
"Are- are you doing okay?" Jill asked, avoiding eye contact.
"Are you doing okay, is that the question, I think. You hit your head?" Astra asked back.
"Forget it then, I could care less," Jill retorted.
"Couldn't care less," Astra corrected. "Luna beat that one into my head too many times for it to not stick. No, I'm doing alright… actually, no, I just lied. I just had a pretty bad dream. Hey, can I ask you something?"
"Shoot," Jill allowed.
"How do you deal with failure? Like, knowing there should have been something you could have done, but you didn't know what, and in that moment of hesitation, you allow that thing to happen," Astra said.
"Well, I've never much cared for pep talks, but if I had to give advice, I'd say if you want to continue this line of work, be prepared to suffer a thousand failures before you reach success. Things happen. If you couldn't think of a way to save them then, and you can now, it hurts, and understandably so, but what's done is done and you can only move on from that," Jill advised.
"Move on! Move on!" Her parrot squawked in addition.
"Well, I'm not even sure I can get used to something like that. It's not even just that, but the inconsistency of it all. I'm not saying it has to be perfect, but when people die in front of you, it just hurts. I just can't help but think now that I'm not cut out for this," Astra said. "I just wanted to find my friend. I don't know where she is now, but once I find her, I'm sorry but I can't… I can't stay here. You're all like family to me and I love all of you but… seeing death up close made me reassess my priorities on the things I value most to me. This… isn't worth it."
"As long as you've thought your decision through carefully then I'm sure you made the right choice," Jill said. "I can't deny that I won't notice your lack of presence. You've provided quite a level-headed atmosphere in contrast to some of the more annoying people around here. That said, we need you over in the lounge."
Astra frowned. "Is something wrong? You've kind of been on edge from the moment I opened the door."
"I… just come," Jill beckoned. Astra stepped out into the corridor and closed the room behind her before following Jill towards the lounge. An uneasy silence followed where even the usually talkative Astra found it difficult to find anything to say. Yet again, to her surprise it was Jill who continued to the conversation.
"How was your mission? Not good I take it."
"Hmm? Oh." At least this would clear the air of silence prevailing at the moment. Glad that Jill had been the one to bite first, Astra happily followed, divulging her adventure on the high seas.
"So for now he's immortal until we can find a way to take him down without stabbing the heart? I guess we have a lot of thinking to do over the coming days. We'll have to put that matter aside for now though. Something potentially disastrous may have just put a dent in our plans," Jill told her.
"And you're not gonna explain it? You tease."
"Did you not feel the tremor that occurred at 0100 hours last night?" Jill asked.
"What, you mean like an earthquake? Can't say I did. I sleep through a lot of things when I'm really tired," Astra said.
"It was a pretty big earthquake," Jill pointed out. "And even if you did have a bad dream, I don't think that's an excuse. I had a bad dream too and I felt it just fine. I was kind of glad it woke me out of it, to be honest. Anyway, apparently it was felt in other worlds aside from ours as well."
"That's… not normal, I'm assuming?"
"Oh, you think?" replied Jill in a sarcastic tone. Her tone quickly reverted to normal. "We currently have Lysander assessing the damage in other worlds. Things seem fine over here apart from howling cats and dogs in the town. That lasted for quite some time before their owners were able to get them to calm down. I'm amazed you managed to sleep through all that. Anyway, I have a bad feeling about this. Kohle and Rhea haven't come back from wherever they are either."
"Well, if it's affecting all the worlds, surely they must have felt it too?" Astra said. Jill shrugged and continued on her way without saying anything else.
The two soon arrived in the lounge room where everyone else—that being Salome, Alfonso, Desiree and Vyce—were all seated around the bar. Behind the counter, and try as she might, she just couldn't get her head around it, was a Captain Hook decked out in a fashionable bar apparel. She could not believe it when Salome had told her that in exchange for the information Hook had given them, he was granted immunity from his involvement with KRONOS and had even been given a job by Kohle, though she supposed it wasn't much of a job, considering he wasn't paid anything for it. To that extent, it was probably better to refer to it as community service.
"You doing okay, Asty?" Salome asked. There was something always warm and jovial about Salome that could make even the most resilient of people like Astra melt in an instant.
"For now. Thanks for asking, Salome," Astra replied with a small smile.
"Let's hurry this along, shall we? I have a very good idea what that earthquake was about. Unfortunately, it does not spell well for any of us," Alfonso said.
"Let me guess. Something like…'all the worlds have become one again', non?" Desiree said.
"Uh, yes, I was about to say-"
But Desiree interjected again. "You were about to gloat and waste our time. Let us actually hurry this along, or as we French would say, revenons à nos moutons."
"What's that about mutton?" Salome asked.
"Anyway, sorry but I don't understand… what's this about the worlds becoming one?" Astra asked.
"Before the end of the Keyblade War. The worlds as we know them today were instead a single entity. There were no walls between them, and if there were then they were borders made by man. What they're talking about is reverting to that state," Vyce explained in his usual calm tone.
"You know, I'm kind of glad that earthquake happened when it did. I was having a really bad dream until it woke me up," Salome said.
Astra looked at her in surprise. "Really? It's funny… Jill was just telling me how she was glad the earthquake woke her up to."
"Did you have a bad dream, Jillers?" Salome asked while Jill shot Astra a look of annoyance.
"I guess you could say that, but I can't exactly remember what it was about. It felt like… I was drowning in an ocean. What a pain," Jill said, rubbing tha back of her neck.
"You can't be serious? Wait, did any one of us NOT have bad dreams last night?" Desiree asked.
"I think I even remember Lysander saying something to the effect that he hadn't slept well at all, just before he left. For me, it was like I felt a weight crushing down on my ribcage. In the dream I couldn't breathe. When I woke up, I was panicking in a sweat. Like you though Jill, I can't remember the exact details of the dream. Only how I felt about it," Vyce said.
"All of us experiencing nightmares? I doubt it's a coincidence. What else could this be, if not an omen?" Alfonso guessed.
"What the hell? But… why is this happening?" Astra asked.
"I think it's obvious. Sora. Rhea mentioned something to me before he left," Desiree said. "When I asked her where she and Kohle were going, her reply was that a trap had been set for Sora and Luna. That was the last I heard of them."
"Luna? Oh, no. No, no, no. I have to go!" Astra announced. She turned to leave only to stop upon confronting the man at the entrance of the lounge. The look he gave her and the others was not one she had ever expected from him of all the people. It was the look of a man utterly defeated. "Kohle?"
Sora closed the door behind him and turned to face the person who saved his life. Sora still wasn't sure how he felt about Yen Sid. A part of him wanted to yell and attack the sorcerer in front of him right now, but the other side of him still felt appreciative, even surprised, that Yen Sid had come to his rescue. Also in the room was Luna, who played a part in his decision to remain calm, as well as Neuge, Mickey, Rhea and most importantly, Mirage. She had been conversing with the sorcerer when Sora and company had entered the study room.
"So what happens now?" Neuge was first to ask.
"It seems we were too late to put a stop to Xanatos' plans. The Heartless going wild, the earthquake, even the stars that are now invisible to me, all accomplished by one man," Yen Sid said.
"But it wasn't just one man, was it? We all had a part to play in this. We should have seen it coming, but we played by the damn rule book and look where it got us!" Neuge slammed her hand into the wall and looked with fiery eyes at Yen Sid.
"Neuge, surely you can't be suggesting that the reason we lost is 'cause we did things normally?" came Mickey's voice from the back of the room. "Having rules and regulations is what separates us from groups like KRONOS. It was just an unfortunate circumstance, is all. One in which he just happened to play all the cards at exactly the right time."
"Cards which we gave him. He manipulated my pupils and he tries to bring about the end of the world? And then, to make matters even worse, he gets off hook free!"
"He escaped?" Sora asked, his anger seeping through into his voice.
"When we took down his Omnidroid, there was a self-destruct mechanism put in place to stop us from opening the cockpit," Mickey explained.
"I doubt he offed himself so the only other option is that he got away safely," said Neuge.
"All agents of KRONOS carry warp devices like this one. It's not impossible that he got away. In fact, I'd say it's highly likely." Mirage lifted her left arm up to show them the watch on her wrist.
"We should forget about Xanatos for now. If the Moira's Crescent leader is right, and I don't have any reason to believe he's lying, then that seal that Sora unlocked just unleased a whole new problem," Neuge said.
Yen Sid gave a single nod. "Xanatos has accomplished that which Xehanort failed to do. Whereas the latter underestimated Sora and his friends, I believe the former learned from the latter's mistakes. That was in no doubt also thanks to Abraxas."
Rhea frowned. "Wait. What are you saying?"
"Never in all my years did I think this would happen under my watch. Very soon, the Second Keyblade War will begin," Yen Sid said. "Or, if Kohle is correct, then it would be more accurate to say it will continue."
This most certainly caught the attention of everyone in the room, who looked at Yen Sid as if he had just spiked their drink. Sora, Luna and Rhea exchanged quick looks with one another. Everyone seemed at a loss for words, but for Sora was not them. He could only speak for himself and he was absolutely devastated. He didn't regret his choice, even now. He would gladly have saved Luna no matter the price to pay, but the price was certainly nothing to laugh about either. He had possibly just doomed all of humanity to war. Even thinking the word sent a chill down his spine.
"So, you mean to say that it's impossible to stop it now or maybe even lessen the damage?" Mickey asked.
"I'm afraid it is too late to prevent it, Mickey. As for mitigating the damage, there are hardly enough of us, even with Terra, Ventus and Aqua's help."
"I can try and convince Moira's Crescent. Right now, the last thing we need to be doing is squabbling amongst each other," Rhea said.
"I'm glad to have you here, Rhea," Yen Sid said with a warm smile.
"Oh yeah, what happened to Kohle," Sora asked.
"He left soon after. He was quite frustrated over the whole thing, understandably so," Neuge said.
"Then I must be on my way," Rhea said, before turning to Sora and Luna. "I'm so glad the both of you are okay. Don't worry, I'll do everything in my power to convince the others. Sora, don't feel too bad about this. It wasn't your fault. No one can ask of a person to choose between the people closest to him and the entire world and manage to come out absolved from blame."
"I don't know… it might take a while before I come to accept things as you see them. The way I see it now though, I certainly contributed," Sora said. The ray of sunshine he could see at the moment currently stood next to him. She was the only thing giving Sora any sort of justification as to his actions. If he started another war and failed to save her then he could only imagine what state of mind he would be in.
"Look after him, Luna," Rhea said.
"I will," Luna replied, flashing a smile.
"I'll escort ya out," Mickey offered. He walked over and stretched his right arm up to open the door.
"Thank you, your majesty," Rhea said. The two left and the door closed behind them, leaving Sora, Luna, Mirage, Neuge and Yen Sid in the room.
"Neuge, could I ask you to leave for a moment. Luna and you too, Mirage? I have something I want to discuss with Sora," Yen Sid said.
Neuge seemed reluctant at first but upon a nod from Sora, she obeyed and motioned for the other two to follow her.
As soon as the door closed behind them, Sora shot a look at Yen Sid. "What?"
"You were right."
"Excuse me?"
"You were right not to trust me. For all the knowledge I claim to possess, the wisdom to back that up is lacking. Not only have I let you down, I've let everyone down. I try to do what I think is best not just for one person, but for everyone. I've frustrated you and myself in doing so. But you're right. I've also withheld things from you, things I never thought you needed to know. Don't mistake my intentions though, it was not because I didn't trust you with that information. I have never seen you as a pawn in some game to be played with. I did it because I care for you. The life of a chosen wielder of the Keyblade is a complicated one, callous and disregarding of morals, riddled with mysteries and truths that were far too ugly to carry into the present day. Not even I know of most of them, and that is truth. But it was in you that I first saw something innocent and precious, something our past is not. I didn't want to expose you to those dark chapters. You're too good for something like this. When Yeul died and Luna fell into the Realm of Darkness, I could tell that something wasn't right when I next met you. It was as if something inside you had died. Riku and Kairi expressed similar concerns. That's when I'd made my choice. The way you were then, I knew it was only a matter of time before someone tried to exploit those feelings of frustration buried deep down inside, and so after Riku told me that he had met a fellow Keyblade Wielder in Snow White's world, I contacted her immediately, asking for her to train you."
"Neuge…" Sora said in a low voice.
Yen Sid nodded. "I asked her to break you down and build you back up in a way that would make you resistant to those pressures. She would of course have Luna to also contend with, but her main focus has always been on you. I remember her asking me if I wanted to turn a child into a weapon. I did not refute her claim then if only because I imagine Neuge came to her own conclusions based on her hatred for me. It's interesting. At first, she seemed to care very little for you. In fact, I suspect she had motives of her own."
"What do you mean?" Sora asked.
"I imagine she originally accepted my offer because she planned to turn you against me. It turns out she didn't need to do that because I was doing a fine job myself." Yen Sid chuckled at this but Sora's expression remained neutral. "It seems however, that has changed. You and Luna have found a place in her heart. I would say it is akin to a mother's love for her children."
Sora cast his eyes downwards for a moment in thought. Through his own obstinacy, he was unwilling to show even the slightest glimmer of forgiveness, but he couldn't help but be happy inside with what Yen Sid had said about Neuge. "So this whole thing was just an ignorance is bliss thing, then?"
"That's what I had thought, in your case. In fact, when you came to me last week, and told me that you wanted to quit as Keyblade Master, a small part of me existed that was strangely relieved. Decisions like the one I had to make, risking a life to create a new Princess of Heart whilst one of them was unaccounted for, and the one you had to make, choosing a dear friend over all of humanity, was the reason I didn't want to get you involved," Yen Sid answered.
"When you say 'That's what I had thought', you mean—" Sora started, calmer than he had expected.
"My mind has somewhat changed in light of recent events. While I still do believe that you and your friends shouldn't have been involved in this, I understand that my actions certainly did play a part in steering you further into Xanatos' hands. I should have listened to you more, but instead I alienated you from a process that I had involved you in without your input. I can see how that would make you angry, and I apologize."
Sora remained silent. Whatever animosity he had felt previous was simply not there anymore. Maybe he was drained and exhausted or maybe it was because he knew that ultimately, Yen Sid could not take all the blame for what had happened. Still, he said nothing.
"I don't expect you to ever forgive me for my actions. Neuge never did either. I just wanted you see things the way my eyes see them for once," Yen Sid said. He placed both hands on the table, allowing Sora a clear view of a gold signet ring on the ring finger of his right hand.
"I- uh, need some time to think things through, but… I'd be a hypocrite if I dismissed your apology. We both made wrong turns somewhere along the way. I just… I let my anger get to me a lot over the last year and piling all of it on you? Well, it wasn't fair," Sora said. "But don't get me wrong, I'm not necessarily accepting your apology. I would never be for making Rapunzel or anyone else a Princess of Heart, especially when it could mean their deaths if their heart isn't strong enough. But you insisted we go ahead with it instead of searching for Alice."
"I can admit when I'm wrong, but likewise, I don't regret thinking ahead in the worst case scenario. In my mind, at least it gave you the extra incentive to search more thoroughly for Alice," Yen Sid said.
"I guess we're both stubborn then," Sora said. The façade dropped and he let out a small smile.
"Have you thought about taking up your old mantle as a Keyblade Master again? We can sweep the last week or so under the rug," Yen Sid said.
Sora shook his head however. "No, I can't. I just don't know about all of this yet. That and… I'm not ready. My heart's just not in it and I can think of others who would… can I make a recommendation to take my place?"
"You may," Yen Sid allowed.
"Then I'd choose Kairi. She's dedicated—maybe even more so than me. She's worked hard for it as well. I know she'd do better than I ever could," Sora said.
"I agree with you. It has been a long time coming. With a possible war on its way as well, I think we can bypass the Mark of Mastery as well," Yen Sid said.
"Right. Er… thanks for listening," Sora said. He was about to turn and leave, only to shoot another glance at Yen Sid.
"Is something wrong?" the sorcerer asked.
"No… nothing," Sora replied. He turned around again and walked towards the door. For a moment, he thought he had seen a tear roll down Yen Sid's cheek. Maybe he was just tired.
