A/N: This is a fanfic that does not attempt to be serious, or even about the series. It unabashedly stars real humans—namely, my dearly beloved sister WOWZAcoolBEANS, for whose birthday this humble fic is a gift.
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
There were two reasons why, for the first time in her life, Cybele was grateful for her sister's debilitating motion sickness.
First, it meant that Lenore and Riku spent the gummi ship flight to Twilight Town in a tense-yet-unbroken truce. Riku was obviously unwilling to apologize to the girls: perhaps because he was proud, but more likely because he sensed their acknowledgment, however grudging, that his methods were effective. But Norah was not about to let him confuse effectiveness with acceptable behavior. In the infrequent moments when she moved from her position—doubled over in the passenger's seat behind Sora—it was to level a Terrible GlareTM at the silverette in the shotgun seat. At least she didn't have the energy to pick a real fight. For some reason Sora and Riku didn't seem to be speaking to one another either, and although the ride to Twilight Town was smooth and free of barrel rolls Cybele suspected Riku hadn't quite recovered from his own queasiness. He seemed content to clench his jaw and spend the ride in silence.
Second, by taking care of Norah, Cybele was able to keep her mind occupied with something other than the tumor of dread festering in her stomach. She hadn't mentioned the foreboding feeling to Lenore, as mentioning anything related to digestive organs was taboo while the older girl was anywhere near a boat, an airplane, or (apparently) a gelatinous spaceship. But Cybele had seen her sister play through Kingdom Hearts. Within the first half hour she had learned—in addition to the fact that three mushrooms, two coconuts, and a raw seagull egg would be sufficient to feed three adolescents on a sea voyage of indefinite length—what usually happened to unlocked worlds overrun by swarms of Heartless.
Cybele didn't have the faintest idea where her world's Keyhole might be; she wasn't quite sure how the whole Keyhole business even worked in 'real life.' As far as she knew, her world was huge—the Keyhole could be in Bangkok or Alaska or some African jungle just as easily as in her backyard. She and Norah could search their whole lives and never find it, whereas the Heartless could pop up wherever they liked and outnumbered the sisters by hundreds of thousands.
The odds seemed… poor.
"Is this the best vacation ever yet?" she whispered to Lenore, breaking the flight's tense silence just as the ship's computer connected with the port at the Twilight Town train station and the teleport circle began to hum.
"Come on," Sora said. Cybele hadn't noticed he was beside her until his half-gloved hand landed on her shoulder. There was something so reassuring about his smile. She picked herself up; Norah put a bit of weight on her arm then stood as well. "You come too," Sora said, pointing an imperious finger at Riku, who dragged himself out of his seat like there were lead weights on his wrists and ankles. "…Wait, nuh-uh, not a chance. We can't leave like this!" Sora said, looking back and forth between Cybele, Lenore, and Riku, and shaking his head.
"What, Sora?" Riku asked with a weary sigh.
Sora pointed his finger at each of them in turn. Riku: "You're scowling." Norah: "You're grimacing." Cybele: "You look like someone just ate your puppy."
"We never had a puppy. I think she made that face when our mom killed her goldfish with dish soap, though." Lenore said, chuckling; Cybele swatted her on the arm.
"See, that's it! This ship runs on smiles, don'tcha know." Sora grinned and bounced up and down on the balls of his improbably large feet in excitement. "Now, let's all apologize and be nice, okay?"
When neither Norah nor Riku seemed inclined to follow Sora's advice, Sora turned to Lenore, crossed his arms, frowned grumpily and lowered his voice to a gruff, mocking baritone. "Lenore, I am sorry for attacking you like a crazy person in your garden! Sometimes my incredibly shiny hair invades my brain and overrides my better judgment, so I cannot be held accountable for my otherwise inexcusable actions."
Then he spun around and faced Riku, voice pitched in a high falsetto. "That's okay, I forgive you, Riku! And I am sorry for giving you so many mean looks, but it's impossible to look at you without narrowing my eyes like I'm glaring angrily, because your hair is just so shiny!"
Back to the low voice; "Why thank you, Lenore. I must say, you and your sister have hair that is remarkably shiny as well; if it appears that I am glaring at you at some point in the future, know that I am merely doing my best to admire it while shielding my sensitive eyes from its brilliant glow!"
High voice; "Oh stop it, you! Now you're just flattering me."
Low voice; "I mean every word! Would I lie to someone with such fabulous hair? And don't even get me started on your perfect wit, or your sister's impeccable fashion sense—"
"Sora!" Riku sputtered, face turning red.
"All right, all right," Sora laughed, taking mercy on his mortified friend. "But this apology counts for real, okay? No more grouching, no more fighting. We've got Heartless butt to kick." He threw them all a grin and stepped onto the transport circle, 99% sure that he could count on them to follow without tearing out each others' jugulars.
They landed in the Twilight Town train station, and Cybele was more than a little staggered. The station itself was nothing special, but still… Seeing the ticket counter, the bulletin board, the trash bins overflowing with crumpled posters and popsicle sticks, and the warm-colored walls bathed in the orange light of the setting sun glinting through the wide glass doors was like some strange déjà vu. The world of her favorite game had come alive around her with an accuracy and perfect sensory detail no dream could emulate. It was dizzying, exhilarating, more than a little terrifying, and her brain was having trouble catching up.
Sora handed Riku a jingling orange pouch. "We're high on Munny and low on Potions, so we should probably stock up. Remember to stop by the Accessory store and pick up some basics. Emphasis on defense." Riku left for Market Street while Sora, Cybele, and Lenore boarded the blue-starred train no one else in the station could see.
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
"Welcome back, Sora. Welcome, Lenore and Cybele," the sorcerer said when they arrived at his tower. They hadn't told him their names yet. It didn't seem to matter. He stood among the cypress trees that lined the edge of his private floating hillock, contemplating the stars. Lenore couldn't tell whether he had truly been expecting them, or whether there was simply nothing left that could surprise the wise old wizard who had made the miraculous his trade.
"Master Yen Sid," Sora replied, bowing politely; the wizard acknowledged him with a slight nod. "We hoped you could help us. You see, Riku and I stopped at their world on our way to—"
"Sabrie, yes. I have been in correspondence with His Majesty," he said. "Surely, my former apprentice informed you that there is little time to lose."
"I know that, but… well, we got kinda swamped with Heartless while we were in New Town. We still haven't found the pathway to Sabrie, and if we could close New Town's keyhole while we look for it, that would be great, but to do that we needed to come here and equip, and we could use a little help teaching Lenore and Cybele some magic, and…" Sora babbled. One of Yen Sid's bushy grey eyebrows arched, the only change in his otherwise stony expression. "They're Keyblade wielders too, and their world is in danger. Can you help?"
"I am sorry, but their world is gone. From this very terrace I saw the star fall, overrun and consumed by the Heartless."
The look on Yen Sid's face could have been sympathetic. It could also have been taciturn, disapproving, early-morning-sleepy, or dead.
"I'm so sorry!" Sora burst out; he seemed very close to tears. "We should have stayed! I could have helped! I'm so, so sorry!"
"There was nothing we could do," Lenore said, putting a hand on her silent sister's trembling shoulder. "To be honest… we could tell this was coming before we even left. With that many Heartless, even you and Riku were getting badly roughed up. Cybele and I wouldn't have stood a chance. We owe you for getting us out of there, otherwise we would've just gone down with the rest of the world."
"That is true," the sorcerer agreed. "You are untrained, inexperienced, clumsy, and foolish; a danger to yourselves and others." Sora, Lenore, and Cybele's jaws dropped into identical expressions of horrified shock at his brusqueness, but he let a tiny smirk creep onto his mouth: the first smile Lenore had seen him wear. "But your hearts are strong. The weapons you hold are proof enough of that. And it is those who learn from the mistakes they make who walk the truest paths afterward." His smile became a bit more nostalgic as he fingered the brim of his silver-starred hat.
"Can we… I mean…" Cybele began, swallowing heavily. "Will we be able to bring it back?"
"Certainly," he replied. "Just as Sora did before you. The time for that has not yet come. Kingdom Hearts will test you when it deems you worthy, and the path to what remains of your home will open. But first, you must grow strong."
"Then… should we send them to see the King? I know Kairi is there training now," Sora said, remembering Riku's accusation in New Town and feeling a little guilty.
"Sora, you of all people must know that strength in combat or magic alone will bring you only so far. No, the training Lenore and Cybele require cannot be found in the barracks of Mickey's castle. Take them with you to Sabrie. Content your reluctant friend with the knowledge that I have prescribed it, and that there, the strength of their hearts will grow. I will give you what help I can to prepare. Some magic, to begin…" he glanced at Lenore's shredded jeans and the sorry state of Cybele's favorite vest. "And the fairies will see to a change of clothes, I think." With a snap of his fingers Yen Sid opened the tower doors and ushered the three of them inside.
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Riku came to meet the other three at the tower, toting two shiny new sets of magical jewelry, four glistening blue ice pops, and enough Potions and Ethers to heal an entire platoon. "Moogle or no moogle," he said to Sora when he met him at the side of the tracks, "we'll be well-stocked in Sabrie."
Off at the foot of the tower, Lenore and Cybele were practicing magic with Yen Sid. Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather had already changed the girls' clothes, with a great deal of excitement on Cybele's part and not so much on Lenore's. For a full ten minutes the three fairies had debated about the color and cut of every tiny accessory on Cybele's body. The argument over which color would be proper for her beaded vest grew so heated that Cybele herself had to step in, saying that she liked the vest multicolored, the way it was. They seemed to think this was a reasonable compromise, and all three shot the outfit through with brilliant primary colors.
After seeing the way they fawned and fussed over Cybele, Lenore had almost forbidden the fairies to come near her. Cybele loved clothing, but Lenore had never been one for fashion of any sort, and, though shredded, she was sure her jeans and t-shirt were preferable to whatever the colorful fairies would come up with if she let them. After they explained how the magic in the clothes would improve her speed, stamina, and balance, and how they could withstand just about anything without a stain or tear or offensive odor, and how they would be able to change to suit whatever world they landed in, and how she could eventually access different Forms… Lenore still wasn't convinced. In the end, all three fairies had to swear a solemn vow not to stray from the approved tee-and-jeans aesthetic before Lenore would consent.
The result in both cases was little more than an embellishment on the clothes the girls had worn there, with the exception that their shoes had inflated in size. Cybele had gained a pair of asymmetrical arm guards. Lenore had gotten fingerless gloves. The caption on Lenore's shirt had disappeared: the fairies had disagreed about what it ought to say, and in the ensuing magic fight the shirt had apparently decided enough was enough, and now bore only a large white question mark. Lenore didn't really mind.
Riku inclined his head politely to Yen Sid as he approached, and the sorcerer signaled for his two temporary apprentices to pause their casting. "Greetings, Riku. His Majesty informs me that much gratitude is owed to you and your superior strength of heart."
"His Majesty is kind, and speaks too kindly of me. I can only hope whatever good I've brought about is enough to balance the damage that I've done." Riku's words were bitter and formal, but it was obvious in his face that the thought of King Mickey's praise warmed him. "I've brought a peace offering for your students," he said, and held up the ice cream and the gear.
"You may have them in a moment," the sorcerer replied, then gestured him away. Riku retreated among the cypress trees. Yen Sid pointed a commanding finger toward Cybele. "Continue."
Cybele nodded and raised her hand above her head. "Thunder!" she shouted. Electricity crackled around her, harmlessly striking the grass at random. The master nodded approvingly and gestured for her to proceed. She bit her lip and hesitated.
"Something wrong?"
"N-no," she said. Her hand came up in front of her and she frowned in concentration. "Mm… Magnet!" she said without conviction. A tiny orb of magic appeared in front of her, flickered, and died.
"Again."
"Magnet!" The same result.
"Again," he said. His stern expression never changed. Cybele's shoulders tightened with frustration.
"Magnet!" she shouted. The orb sustained itself for a few seconds, long enough to pulse slightly before, with a slight, stinging headache, Cybele let it die.
"Acceptable." He turned away and pointed to Lenore.
"Fire!" By no means as effective as Sora's demonstration in the garden earlier on, Lenore nonetheless managed to produce an acceptable spiral of flame. At the sorcerer's approving nod, she moved on to her second spell.
"Defense!" She pushed her hands outward. Only the movement of the grass around her feet and the sudden sound of wind betrayed the invisible shield that sprang up around Cybele.
"Interesting. I didn't believe I had instructed you how to direct your shield to guard another. I presume you intended to shield your sister?"
"Learning to shield her was sort of the point, sir," Lenore said. The wizard nodded.
"Very well. Riku, you may conduct your business. May I send your regards to His Majesty?"
"I'd be very grateful," Riku responded, and Yen Sid moved to leave.
"But… wait!" Sora shouted, halting the sorcerer's steps. "What about the pathway? If New Town is gone, how are we supposed to find Sabrie?"
Yen Sid turned to Cybele looking confused. "Haven't you told him?" She called his confused look and raised him an utterly bewildered eyebrow. "Ah, of course! You would not yet know. Come, show me what is in your pocket."
Cybele reached into the left hand pocket of her shorts and pulled out 34 cents and her plastic school ID.
Yen Sid glared at her.
She smiled sheepishly, dug around in her right pocket, and produced the glass-inlaid box of playing cards Lenore had given her that morning (was it really only a few hours ago? It seemed so much longer) along with the brass keychain. The sorcerer gestured for her to remove the lid.
"Speak the name 'Sabrie' and draw a card from the deck," he instructed, and she did as she was told. The card she drew was at least laid out like a standard playing card, but it looked wrong in several ways. Although the emblem in the corner was clearly a heart, the card was inked in black instead of the hearts' usual red; the number 11 surmounted it. In the center of the card, rather than eleven neatly spaced black hearts, there was a single round seal like the stylized face of a clock. Its spiked, sinister hands pointed to eleven o'clock, and a web of black stretched between them.
Sora's Keyblade appeared of its own accord and landed in his hand with a jingle as the card rose to the sky in a halo of light. One rather impressive light show later, the card floated back down into Cybele's hand and the glowing outline of a keyhole faded from the dusky sky.
"Your world was a crossroads; the axis at which a thousand worlds converged," the sorcerer said. "The two of you possess knowledge that even I do not. No, Riku, do not ask it of them," Yen Sid warned when Riku shot the two of them a deeply skeptical look. "For although you have amazingly powerful knowledge, knowledge that could alter the fate of this and every world… you do not yet have the wisdom to use it well. Hold it close, and guard it as you guard the Cards of the Crossroads. Until you restore your home, that deck is the sole lifeline that ties a thousand worlds to the Light. Now go."
The tower doors shut firmly, and no more questions could be asked. Cybele looked from Sora to Riku to Lenore and back again, but all of their faces just reflected her own confusion. She shrugged her shoulders. At some point, things just get too weird, and one must start to roll with the punches.
"… Well, what are we waiting for? The ice cream is melting!" Sora said, and started walking back toward the starry train. "Come on, I know the most awesome place to eat it, you guys have got to see it before we leave. You can see the whole town from up there!"
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
The impromptu garden tea party, cheerfully christened the "Unbirthday" party by a grinning Oscar Vessalius, was vibrant with chatter and the glistening clink of teacups and forks against saucers and pastry plates.
"I'll tell you clearly this time," Elliot growled at the chipper blond sharing the trunk of the tree against which he was seated. "Your uncle lacks the dignity of a duke! He really does!"
"Ah… maybe you're right," Oz chuckled and stretched his arms over his head. "But everyone is smiling! And the sun feels good, doesn't it? If you just sit in the dark reading all day you'll go blind, and have to get big thick glasses like Leo has."
"You don't need glasses if you're blind, idiot." Then again, his servant didn't really need his glasses either… He smiled slightly, thinking of Leo. Although he seldom admitted it out loud, Elliot was truly grateful for his servant's devotion. After his strange nightmares, only talking with him or working on their latest collaboration—which they had just decided to name "Dearly Beloved"—could distract him. Without his friend and servant by his side, he startled at every noise and jumped at every shadow.
Although, if Elliot hadn't been so on-edge, he might not even have noticed the quiet skittering noise in the garden's foliage and the one shadow that didn't shift along with the leaves in the breeze.
He was on his feet in a moment. On account of his jittery mood, he had propped his sword up against the trunk of the tree between himself and the Vessalius brat, so it was close at hand. He drew it and thrust into the roots of the bush where the black thing was squatting. The shadow zipped away toward the center of the tea party, dodging between feet and the legs of tables or chairs. Some of the people milling about jumped backward with squeaks of surprise or slight alarm, clearing the way for the shadow to run straight for the feet of Xerxes Break, who drew his sword from where it hid within his cane and drove it nonchalantly through one of the creature's lamplike yellow eyes. It dissolved where it had stood, leaving no trace behind.
"No need to worry, everyone. Go back to your tea," Break said, and flapped his too-long sleeves in the direction of the central table and the teapots steaming upon it. The whole thing happened so quickly that most of the partygoers hadn't even noticed; they glanced up briefly at his announcement and returned to their conversations. Of the few who had seen the thing, only Oz and Elliot seemed remotely interested. The nobles among them tittered nervously but did nothing, and the members of Pandora shot each other knowing glances or tactfully averted their eyes.
"What the hell was that thing?" Elliot strode over to Break, sword still free and swinging in his hand. Oz followed, nervous but excitable like a child who'd found an exciting insect but wasn't sure whether or not it would bite. In a way, Elliot supposed that was exactly what had happened. The shadow thing had been buglike in many ways—as black and rounded as an ant, and as easily squished.
"Just a nuisance, young master Nightray, nothing more. Certainly nothing with which you should concern yourself." Break had turned away toward the long central table and helped himself to a plate of some no-doubt-sickening confection. Elliot couldn't identify it, but it was dome-shaped and frosted a peachy orange-pink.
"Break…" Oz prodded. "Come on, was it dangerous? Have you seen one before?"
Break let out a long-suffering sigh. "I would tell you if there was anything to know, Oz. Yes, I've encountered these creatures before; no, they don't appear to be terribly dangerous. They pop up from the Abyss, seemingly at random, and are similar in most ways to Chains. The only differences our researchers have noted thus far is that they lack the speech capability and rudimentary intelligence possessed by even low-level Chains, and they need not form a contract to remain outside the Abyss. We've decided to call them the Unchained. As I said, they seem to be nuisances only. Anyone with the slightest weapon proficiency can take one down with ease."
"But if things are starting to escape from the Abyss…"
"My darling Oz, malevolent creatures have been escaping from the Abyss since long before you were born. The only difference is that these are easier to dispatch. An entire division of Pandora has been created to research the Unchained. Until it is determined that they pose a significant threat, I suggest you focus on finding—"
"Big brother Xerxes!" Sharon Reinsworth hurried over, carrying her voluminous skirts so that she wouldn't trip over them in her haste. Several voices were exclaiming in shock, many more than had noticed the Unchained earlier on. "Come quickly…"
Break immediately set off, following his young mistress; Oz followed Break out of curiosity and habit, and Elliot followed Oz out of indignation at the rude interruption. At the far end of the garden two of the delicately set tables had been upturned. Shards of broken china glinted in the manicured grass. Gilbert and Liam stood among the wreckage looking confused; at their feet lay four unconscious bodies, draped atop one another.
"Break!" Gilbert said, looking uncharacteristically relieved at the sight of his employer.
"Xerxes! We didn't know what to do!" Liam said. He was holding a pair of silver sugar tongs that had somehow been badly bent. Elliot noticed Gilbert was holding his gun strangely too, with the barrel resting in his palm and the handle protruding outward "They just sort of… fell from the sky."
"Are they dead?" Break asked, nudging the nearest body roughly with the silver tip of his cane. The body in question responded by shifting slightly so that its arm flopped limply onto the grass. Elliot couldn't quite discern the maybe-corpse's gender; its facial features seemed feminine, and beneath the piled body of its discernibly female companion, he thought he could see the unmistakable swell of breasts, but it was dressed in mannish mid-length trousers and had shorter hair than he had ever seen on a woman other than his sister.
"No, just unconscious." Gilbert mimed whacking them over the head with the butt of his gun. "What should we do with them?"
Break snapped his fingers. A pair of lower-level Pandora members appeared on either side of him. "Reno, Rude." They brought their hands up to their foreheads in salute. "Take these four to your supervisor and have him store them in the holding rooms until they wake up."
"Wait!" Elliot said, moving over to the pile of bodies and pulling the one discernible female into his arms. "You can't just do this to a lady, it's barbaric!"
"I apologize for my manners, young master Nightray," Break said. "Reno, Rude? Would you please escort our unexpected guests to your supervisor, then bring them some place to rest and recover from their exhausting travels?"
"Yessir," they said in unison. The redheaded goon scooped the girl out of Elliot's arms and threw her over his shoulder, then grabbed her androgynous companion around the waist and hoisted them both up. "If you'll excuse me," he said with an impish wink toward Elliot. The two of them carried the four newcomers away as though they weighed nothing, and left Elliot fuming with rage.
