"Ah, here we are." Merlin said, coming to a stop.
The boys blinked and looked around, they were in a dead end alley and there was nothing there.
Sora and Roxas exchanged looks before Sora spoke. "Uh…Merlin?"
"Yes?" The wizard said, turning to face them.
"There's nothing here."
"Oh?" Merlin blinked for a moment as if it had just occurred to him that Sora was right, his beard lifted in what must have been a smile as he raised his walking stick and struck the cobblestones with its tip. One moment there was a stone wall before them and then there was not.
The boys stood there staring dumbly at the archway that had appeared, Merlin waved them in. "Come on along come along, we have a lot to do."
They followed him through the stone arch and turned to see that same stone archway standing by itself with a view of the alley seen beyond it. Around its edges was just empty space. Neither of them said anything, they didn't know what they could say. They turned to look ahead, there was a large, crooked tower sitting on an island in the midst of a lake with no discernable pathway to reach it and Merlin was striding towards it easily. They hurried to catch up.
"What do you think will happen this time?" Roxas asked uncertainly.
Sora's eyes were alight. "Maybe alligators will come up and make a bridge for us, or the water is an illusion and we can just walk across, or maybe there's an invisible path, or may—"
"Sora, stop please, you're making my head hurt. Let's try to stay realistic." Roxas pleaded.
Merlin took the first step out over the water, several cobblestones flew out from beneath the surface to meet his foot and as he walked a bridge began to materialize. Merlin stopped and turned to gaze calmly at the boys.
"Come along, don't tarry. The bridge isn't permanent after all."
With this bit of prodding they caught up to him and followed Merlin's easy stride across as the bridge formed before them and melted back into the water behind them. Sora looked over at Roxas, who was muttering to himself.
"This isn't happening, this is all a dream."
Sora smiled and patted him on the back. "It's okay, you're not crazy."
Roxas shot him a glance that said that he was not helping, Sora had the distinct feeling that Roxas would much rather have been crazy than have this be real.
Merlin pushed open the door and led them inside to a living room that looked as if a very cleanly tornado had touched down in its midst. There were stacks of books, scrolls, manuscripts, parchments, models, and everything imaginable lying everywhere all stacked very neatly, if haphazardly around the room.
"Who are you?" A sharp, shrill voice called out.
Both boys jumped, Merlin looked upwards. "Ah Archimedes, kindly come down and say hello to our two guests."
Sora looked up to see a small owl sticking its head out of a wooden bird house that hung from the ceiling staring at them curiously with big yellow eyes.
"You have a talking pet owl?"
The owl had moved out
onto the small perch attached to its house and now puffed up
indignantly. "Pet owl, I beg your pardon!"
Merlin chuckled as
the owl ducked back inside its house in a huff. "Oh come now
Archimedes, he's just a boy."
Archimedes stuck his head out and looked around. "Boy? I see no boy."
Sora frowned as Merlin leaned close and whispered to him. "Don't mind him; he gets cantankerous when he's been out all night."
"He's an owl; he must go out every night." Roxas pointed out.
"Oh," Merlin blinked and chuckled again at this sudden revelation. "Come, let's have lunch."
He led them through the maze of books to a table with a tea set and platters of cookies and sandwiches laid out upon it. The boys took their seats and watched as Merlin tried to sit on mid-air. He frowned when he felt nothing beneath him and turned to look around in confusion. There was a great red armchair sitting behind him and he smiled fondly at it, beckoning it with a finger. The chair stood up and walked up behind him in a sort of bouncing drag; his chair found, Merlin sat down.
"Now, we have tea, the sandwiches and cookies are fresh so please help yourselves."
As he spoke the teapot picked itself up and scuttled over to each boy's cup in turn and poured them a cup.
"Sugar?" Merlin inquired.
"Yes please." Sora said eagerly, wondering what would happen next.
Merlin clapped, "sugar!"
A small pewter pot danced out across the table towards Sora, he watched in fascination as it took off its lid and began heaping out sugar into Sora's cup.
"Say when lad."
"When," Sora called.
The sugar pot promptly stopped and danced over to Roxas and began pouring out sugar for him as well. He said when almost immediately.
Merlin had turned to stand and offered a cup to Archimedes' house, the owl's foot shot out and grasped the cup, vanishing again without a word.
"Now," Merlin said sitting down. "What do you know about magic?"
Roxas swallowed his sandwich. "Not a lot."
"Well that's no matter; the King of course wants the two of you to have some basic grasp of a few essential spells, simple healing, defensive, offensive, and support magic; nothing that the village fool couldn't wrap his head around."
"Yes but we have a village idiot." Archimedes' supplied from above their heads.
Merlin scowled up at him. "Now Archimedes he didn't mean any harm."
It was then that Merlin looked at his teacup; the sugar pot had piled a small mountain of sugar upon it and was even now piling more sugar into the already inundated cup.
"When, when! Blast it all when!" He bellowed.
The pot jumped in alarm and scampered away hurriedly, cowering behind the teapot. Merlin viciously swept away the sugar with his beard, scowling at the sugar pot. Sora and Roxas couldn't help themselves, they burst out laughing; after a moment Merlin joined in the laughter, taking off his spectacles and wiping his eyes as he seated himself again.
"Forgive me; I'm afraid magic gets the better of me at times." He eyed them severely, expressly Sora. "And don't either of you get any ideas into your heads that magic will solve all your problems, because it won't. As a matter of fact in my experience it frequently compounds them. That is why a certain amount of maturity and discipline is required in the execution of the arcane arts."
Roxas looked over at Sora's eager face, half-heartedly eating his sandwich. He wondered if Sora was capable of being mature or disciplined for that matter. Not for the first time he found himself wondering if this was a good idea.
There was a chime and Archimedes stuck his head out of his house. "Who is it now?"
Merlin frowned, stroking his beard. "I'm not certain; Archimedes would you mind letting our new guests in?"
"I would." The owl stated plainly.
Merlin sighed and looked up at the owl, lighting a pipe and clenching it in his teeth as he and Archimedes eyed each other.
"I'll turn you into a human."
"Hah! You wouldn't dare!"
"I would, so help me I would."
Archimedes puffed up for a moment before lifting from his perch and flying out through a window set high in the wall expressly for that purpose.
Merlin chuckled as he sat back in his chair puffing out smoke rings. "That gets him every time, remarkable."
A few moments later Archimedes fluttered back through his hole and alighted on a small perch besides the table, ruffling his feathers as he cleared his throat.
"Well?" Merlin asked.
"There are two men from the Elites with two girls and a chocobo here who say they are the boys' brothers."
"Kairi and Namine," Sora exclaimed excitedly.
"Ah, and the men would be Leon and Cloud, well then let them in of course."
Archimedes' feathers fluffed. "I did, now I bid good day to all of you, good day!"
With that he lifted off and tucked himself away into his house hanging from the ceiling yet again. There was a knock on the door and Sora got up excitedly to answer it, he threw the door open with a bang and was greeted by Leon and Cloud.
Leon smiled at Sora. "Did you really think I'd make you wait any longer?"
Behind him, Big Red chirped excitedly at the sight of the boys, Cloud held onto newly fitted reins and kept the big bird in check as Leon stepped aside.
Kairi smiled at Sora. "Hi Sora, you've grown."
Sora didn't say anything; he wrapped Kairi in a hug she returned it as he squeezed her, tears stinging his eyes.
"I missed you." He said.
She looked up at him and smiled warmly. "Silly, we shared a paupu remember? There was no way we'd never get to see each other again."
Namine grinned and leaned between the two. "Hi Sora."
Sora smiled sheepishly, "sorry."
He hugged her too, Namine giggled. "It's okay; we all know you have a crush on my sister."
Leon ruffled Sora's hair, wrapping an arm around his head. "You didn't seriously think I'd make you wait any longer to see them did you?"
Sora pushed Leon off, "actually yes, I did."
Leon snorted as Merlin and Roxas joined the party in the entryway.
Merlin stroked his beard. "Hmm, it seems we are going to have an easier time of the first lesson than I thought."
Everyone looked at one another, not sure what to make of the old wizard's comment, he turned from them and beckoned them back inside the tower.
"Come along come along, the lessons won't teach themselves and we have an audience now after all."
Big Red tried to follow them inside but Merlin pointed his stick in the bird's nose.
"Not you my friend, I'm afraid I can't have you running about my home."
The chocobo chirped sadly, warbling at Sora who came over and stroked the chocobo's head gently.
He frowned at the harness strapped around Red's body. He went around and began removing all the straps, Red chirped, this time happily. Kairi moved to help him, standing next to him as they tried to figure out which buckles to remove first.
Leon snorted. "And he was worried that she'd forgotten about him."
"Are they really that close?" Roxas asked.
Cloud shrugged, "stupid question."
Roxas flushed a little, but seeing how much Sora was smiling as he and Kairi unharnessed Red it was a bit of a stupid question.
Namine stood besides him, "those two have always been close. I think their hearts call out to one another no matter how far apart they are."
Roxas didn't say anything, as Sora and Kairi finished finally Merlin cleared his throat.
"Well now that's all over with, come along. We haven't got all day."
The group followed him once again as they made their way inside, Archimedes flew down and perched upon the tip of Merlin's hat, bobbing up and down as they made their way through the maze of odds and ends towering over their heads. Sora pointed towards the table where they'd eaten, the tea pot was jousting with the sugar pot. Kairi giggled, calling Namine's attention to it as well who smiled faintly as she watched the tea set battle itself. Merlin led them to the far side of the maze and then up a winding set of stairs that led them up to another level, this one completely empty and immaculate though it was well lit by comparison.
"Ah here we are then, now Leon, Cloud, I believe the two of you know how to use combat magic already?"
Cloud nodded, Merlin smiled. "Splendid, splendid, then you shall demonstrate the basics."
He tapped the floor and with a pop, a dresser appeared in the center of the room. Everyone, even Leon and Cloud, exchanged uncertain glances; no one was sure what was going to happen next. Merlin tapped his stick against the wood floor again and the dresser rose up, hovering above the floorboards with its drawers clattering menacingly at the assembled party.
Merlin chuckled merrily. "Now then, let's begin!"