Author's Note: Sorry for the long wait…again, but here's another long chapter for you. I hope everyone has a lovely Valentine's Day!
Chapter 5: Believing in Your Dreams
The sound of water beating against wood drowned my ears in a rhythmic beat. But, the room spun with every creak as the ship moved with the ocean waves. I gripped the sides of my head and tightly shut my eyes in a vain attempt to cease my dizziness. Suddenly, the door to the room flew open to reveal a couple of pirates as they tossed a young girl into the room. They quickly slammed the door before I could even stop them. I helped the girl get back on her feet. She had golden brown hair, blue eyes, and wore a light blue dress.
"Are you okay?" I asked as she brushed herself off.
"Oh, yes. Thank you." she politely replied with a radiant smile.
I returned the smile and introduced myself, "My name is Angel."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Angel. I'm Wendy." she said with a curtsy.
I giggled at her cuteness when the door opened yet again. The same pirates brought a red headed girl this time. But, something wasn't right. There was an emotionless entranced look in her eyes and she didn't even move an inch. I was too worried about the girl to try and escape this time. Wendy knelt by the girl and examined her before turning to me with a worried expression.
"Do you think she is alright?" Wendy asked concerned.
"I'm sure she'll be fine." I lied, but she seemed to believe me.
A ball of sparkling light shot into the room and stopped between us, floating in midair. The light dimmed so we could see a fairy. Not just any fairy, but Tinker Bell.
"Tinker Bell!" Wendy exclaimed with relief, "Peter must be nearby then."
"Tinker Bell and Peter Pan? That must mean we're in Neverland." I thought aloud.
"Yes and we're on Captain Hook's ship." Wendy explained while Tink bounced up and down in agreement.
"Captain Hook! Tinker Bell, can you go get Peter Pan and bring him to us?" I asked the glowing pixie.
Tinker Bell became engulfed in a golden light again and zoomed out of the room leaving a trail of pixie dust behind her. A few minutes later we heard voices from below us. Wendy and I rushed over to the grate in the floor that was right beside the entranced girl. We spotted the owners of the voices now and it was Peter Pan, Sora, Donald, and Goofy.
"Peter? Peter Pan?" Wendy called out hopefully.
"Wendy?" Peter Pan exclaimed with joy.
"Sora, are you guys okay?" I asked anxiously.
"Angel, is that you?" Is anybody else up there with you?" Sora asked hopefully.
I glanced over to the zombie-like girl then back to Sora, "Yes, but she-"
"Kairi? Kairi!" Sora called out to his friend.
Amazingly, her hand moved slightly which made Sora grin from ear to ear. The door suddenly slammed open and revealed three pirates. Two of them grabbed Kairi and Wendy while the last one came at me. I was going to put up a fight, but the pirates holding Wendy and Kairi each held a knife to their necks. I begrudgingly agreed to come quietly.
"Wendy! Hey let's get up there!" I heard Peter shout before the pirates took us away.
They pulled us down a hallway and up some stairs that led to the deck of the ship. It was night time but the ship was brightly lit by lanterns. The pirate holding me came to a stop before the mast while Wendy and Kairi were taken through a door.
"Where are they taking them?" I demanded from the pirate as he pulled out a rope.
"It's not them you need to worry about, deary." he smirked showing his rotted teeth, some with gold caps.
I summoned my Keyblade and knocked out the pirate. Several Heartless surrounded me before I could go after Wendy and Kairi.
"Hold on, Angel. We're coming!" Sora yelled from across the deck with Donald, Goofy, and Peter Pan in tail.
"Don't worry about me. They took Wendy and Kairi through that door." I pointed out.
"But…" Sora began to argue until Goofy cut him off.
"We'll help her out, Sora." Goofy butted in while he and Donald took out a few Heartless.
"Come on, Sora. They'll be fine." Peter urged ad he flew passed us.
"Alright, but we'll be back soon." Sora gave in and followed Peter.
Donald, Goofy, I slashed away at the seemingly endless wave of Heartless. We finished off the last few when footsteps approached us from behind. I whirled around with my Keyblade ready and came face to face with Captain Hook and his right hand man, Smee.
"You again!" Hook bellowed with his hook pointed at my face.
"What does he mean by "again"?" Donald asked tapping his foot with arms crossed, but I was saved by Sora showing up at that moment.
Hook turned to Sora with a mischievous smile, "Quite a codfish, that Riku, running off with that girl without even saying goodbye."
"Run off where? Tell me, where did he go?" Sora demanded adamantly.
"To the ruins of Hollow Bastian, where Maleficent resides. But you won't be going there." Hook snidely replied as he pulled out a glass box containing Tinker Bell.
"Maleficent? Is she the one behind all this?" I cried as I remembered the hurt she caused me.
"I'll be the one asking the questions!" Hook yelled at me. He then added, "Unless you intend to leave your little pixie friend behind. Hand over the Keyblade and I'll spare your lives."
"Not happening." Sora stood his ground.
"Very well. The plank it is then." Hook growled as a faint ticking grew louder and louder.
Hook stiffened up and cried out about a crocodile taking his hand. He sprinted off into his quarters leaving Smee in charge. Smee used Tink as leverage to force Sora to walk the plank. I felt helpless as the crocodile awaited Sora's fall and Tink gazed at us pleadingly.
"Fly, Sora! Just believe and you can do it!" a familiar voice encouraged.
Sora closed his eyes and jumped off the plank. I gasped as Sora flew up into the night sky while Peter stole Tink back and set her free. A brilliant smile was plastered on Sora's face and amusement sparkled in his blue eyes as he flew. All because he simply believed and sometimes that's just enough.
Flashback
A beautiful white castle glowed radiantly in the night. I admired its magnificence from afar in a small clearing. A movement from beside me broke my entranced gazing as I noticed some Unversed escaping. I quickly chased after them into a much smaller clearing with a water fountain. There was a bench opposite of the fountain where a young woman and Terra were. The Unversed stopped behind them and waited to strike at any moment.
"Terra, behind you!" I warned.
He looked at me then turned to the Unversed in a flash, "Unversed!"
We fought off the Unversed together in a matter of seconds. It felt so right being by his side again working together. My heart started beating faster as Terra gave me a triumphant smile.
Before either one of us could say anything, the young woman began to sob, "I can't believe…not anymore…"
Terra stood by me perplexed as how to comfort her then, I noticed her appearance. The pink dress she wore was torn in several places and her hair was a mess. Suddenly a mist appeared before the disheveled woman.
"Strength of heart is important, but that's not all you need." a disembodied voice echoed.
"There's nothing left to believe in…nothing." the young woman cried as the mist took the form of any elderly woman.
"Nothing, my dear? Oh, now, you don't really mean that." the elderly woman consoled.
"Oh, but I do. It's just no use." the young woman wept.
"Nonsense! If you'd lost all your faith I couldn't be here, and here I am." the elderly woman exclaimed, "Oh, come now, dry those tears. You can't go to the ball looking like that."
"The ball? Oh, but I'm not-" the young woman tried to argue.
"of course you are. But we'll have to hurry." the elderly woman urged as she took out a wand, "Now what were those magic words? Oh, yes! Bibbidi-bobbidi-boo!"
As she waved her wand, sparks flew all around. Some danced around a pumpkin turning it into a charming carriage. Others encircled the young woman and transformed her torn dress into an elegant white ball gown. Her hair had also been tamed back into a bun while her feet were adorned with glass slippers.
"Oh, it's beautiful dress." the young woman cooed.
Terra stared in amazement at the magical transformation. Instantly, I grew envious of the young woman and self conscious of myself as her beauty outshined everything around her. I convinced myself I was overreacting because Terra loved me and that's all that mattered.
"Why it's a dream come true!" the young woman exclaimed excitedly as she admired her reflection in the water fountain.
"Yes, but like all dreams I'm afraid this can't last forever." the elderly woman warned, "You'll have only till midnight, and the spell will be broken and everything will be as it was before."
"Yes, I understand." the young woman replied as she climbed into the carriage. She waved to us as the carriage rode off to the palace.
"Her heart was full of light. Why didn't I see it?" Terra mumbled somberly. He turned to the elderly woman with a look of disbelief and asked, "What did you do? I can hardly tell she's the same person."
She turned to us in shock as if just noticing us and asked, "Who are you?"
"Terra and this is Angel." Terra introduced putting his arm around my waist causing me to blush.
The elderly woman smiled and asked, "Terra, in your heart, do you believe that dreams can come true?"
"I do." he replied gazing at me amorously and added, "But I also believe you have to make an effort to make them come true."
"Yes, of course. But sometimes just believing in dreams is easier said than done. Cinderella believes her dreams can come true. I wanted her to see that she is right." the elderly woman explained.
"So that's what made her shine. Faith in her heart that anything is possible." Terra reflected on as he stared at the castle.
"Where did she go?" I asked curiously.
"To the royal ball at the palace. Go. And when you see her dancing you'll know that she believes, and that will help you to believe, too."
As we were walking to the palace, Terra pulled me into a warm embrace. When we pulled apart, he gave me a heartfelt smile and took my hand guiding me to the palace. The castle was even more beautiful up close, but we couldn't admire it for long because Cinderella was surrounded by Unversed.
"Not here, too!" Terra yelled frustrated as he destroyed them all with ease.
"Are you alright?" I asked Cinderella.
"Yes, thank you." Cinderella replied and looked at Terra, "I've met you before…"
"I'll take care of them. You wait right here with Angel." Terra instructed with authority, earning an eye roll from me.
Cinderella approached Terra's retreating figure and pleaded, "Please, may I go with you? I so want to go to the ball."
"Uh…All right." Terra agreed flustered which caused jealousy to boil up inside of me again, "But stay behind me and close to Angel or you'll get hurt."
Cinderella nodded and a bewildered Terra asked, "You're not worried?"
"Didn't you tell me it was important to stay strong?" Cinderella countered with a sweet smile.
"Oh, um…I guess I did." Terra replied even more flustered than before.
"Well, we better hurry if we want to get there before midnight." I urged through gritted teeth which I forced into a smile when Terra gave me a curious look.
Terra and I summoned our Keyblades as we entered the palace. Terra stood in front taking down any Unversed that appeared. I stayed within close proximity of Cinderella and took out any that slipped passed Terra. After slaying many Unversed we arrived in the ballroom with Cinderella safe and sound. She thanked us and joined the prince on the dance floor. Watching them dance was even more magical than watching Cinderella's transformation.
"Maybe just believing is enough." Terra mumbled thoughtfully.
"I guess so." I whispered admirably, not wanting to take my eyes off the dancing duo. But, Terra's alarmed voice forced me too.
"Unversed!" Terra alerted me before rushing to a man that was nearby, "Tell me. How do I get up there?"
Terra indicated the balcony on the opposite side of the room. That's when I noticed the Unversed myself and the height of the balcony we would have to be on. As we followed the man's directions and reached the balcony, a much larger Unversed appeared. Three large instruments revolved around it as the Unversed waved its hands back and forth like a maestro. Without warning, Terra scooped me up in his arms and jumped from the balcony just as the Unversed struck the spot we once were standing. I clutched on to Terra's shirt for dear life until we safely made it to the ground and he gently set me on my feet. By now the Unversed had disrupted the party and it was up to us to get rid of the party crasher. Once we found its weakness, we attacked it several times before it came crashing down.
"Thank you. You saved us all." the man we met earlier said, "The guests were just starting to enjoy themselves."
"Well don't give up just yet." Terra reassured when he noticed Cinderella and the prince were chatting happily and holding hands, "Tell me something. Have you always had a problem around here with those monsters?"
The man explained how a boy in a mask showed up and the monsters seemed to obey him. But the boy hadn't been seen since. Before we could press for more information, the clock struck midnight causing Cinderella to leave in a hurry. In her haste, she left behind a glass slipper while descending the stairs. As we were observing the scene, we spotted Aqua at the bottom of the stairs and rushed down to meet her.
"Ven ran away from home." she informed us with worry etched in her voice.
"What?" Terra asked in disbelief as I let out a gasp.
"He left to go find you, Terra. Do you have any idea why?" Aqua asked.
"No…" Terra murmured but realization struck his face, "Actually, just before I left, he tried to tell me something. I should have listened to what he had to say."
"I'm sure he's fine, Terra." I tried reassuring him.
"Did you manage to locate Master Xehanort?" Aqua asked inquiringly.
"No, but it seems he's looking for pure hearts filled with light." Terra said.
"What does he need pure hearts for?" I inquired skeptically.
"Yeah." Aqua agreed.
"All I can tell you is that his search hasn't taken him here." Terra directed toward Aqua before walking away. I rushed to catch up and almost ran into him when he stopped, "Aqua. You still have the same dream?"
Aqua gave him a confused look and answered, "Well, yes."
"There's this girl here - her name is Cinderella. She made me realize how powerful it is just to believe. No matter how impossible things seem a powerful enough dream will always be enough to light the darkness. If you see her, give her my thanks." Terra spoke with his heart.
"Will do." Aqua replied as her and I exchanged glowing smiles.
We both knew that he would make it through this dark time now. I quickly waved goodbye to her and took Terra's hand in mine. He gave me an affectionate peck on the lips as we exited the palace. Even the glowing castle surrounded by sparkling stars paled in comparison our love.
Flashback end
Sora and Peter were now on the ground and suspiciously standing in front of a door. The same door that Hook entered when running away from the crocodile. Peter knocked on the door and stifled a laugh.
"Is that you, Smee?" Did you finish them off?" Hook asked with a shaky voice.
"Aye, Captain. They walked the plank, every last one of them." Peter said imitating Smee's voice perfectly.
Hook scrambled out of the room and frantically looked around. Peter snuck up behind him and poked him in the back with his dagger.
"P-Peter Pan - blast you!" Hook bellowed angrily pulling out his sword.
Peter blocked his attacks as we joined in the fight to help. It didn't take long to gain the upper hand and Peter sent him flying into the ocean. We watched in amusement as he swam as fast as he could with the crocodile in hot pursuit. I noticed Sora looking slightly glum so I nudged Donald and Goofy.
"Uh, Kairi couldn't wake up, so maybe she's really lost her-" Goofy was stopped by Donald and I shushing him.
"Sora." Peter called trying to snap him out of it.
Sora the perked up, " I still can't believe it. I really flew. Wait 'til I tell Kairi. I wonder if she'll believe me. Probably not."
"Well there's only one way to find out." I told him.
"You can bring her to Neverland sometime. Then she can try it herself." Peter offered.
"If you believe, you can do anything, right? I'll find Kairi. I know I will. There's so much I want to tell her - about flying, the pirates, and everything else that's happened." Sora rambled ecstatically.
His eyes danced with excitement just like when he was flying. It all came from the power of believing. Just like Sora believed he will find Kairi, I know I will find Terra.