And we're back again, with Chappie Eleven of TSA.
Anxclof: ...you sound like a fucking TV announcer...
Me: Shut up. Grah. Anyway, this one's one of my favorites, because Char gets massively humiliated by the fairies. (grin)
Char: (rolls eyes)
Me: So, yeah. More witty stuff at the end of the chapter. (sweatdrop) Sorry if I'm not too enthusiastic - I just worked my ass off at swimpractice and I'm a little tired.
Disclaimer- (insert witty disclaimer here)
When the four of them had entered the room, they saw the fairies at once. There were three, one clad in blue, one in red and the other garbed in green, clustered in a circle and chatting amiably amongst themselves.
"Me, you guys, Riku and the King," Sora murmured. "I don't care who this Organization is or what it's planning…"
Oh, soon you will, Sora. Soon you will.
"With the five of us," Sora went on, and then glanced over at Char. "I mean, six of us, there should be nothing to worry about, right?"
"Don't underestimate your opponents, Sora," the redhead said, crossing her arms in her standard indifferent stance.
"Don't you think he knows that already?" Donald glared at her yet again. "And I haven't seen you doing what we've been doing!"
"Oh, I beg to differ." The duck gave her a look that requested further explanation, but Char had already turned away.
"Hey, fairies!" she called, and Sora winced at the rough tone of her voice. The three of them turned, looking indignant at being referred to in a group like that.
"Well, I never!" the red one huffed.
"My dorky friend, here, needs new clothes for the journey ahead." Char shoved Sora hard in the back as she spoke, causing the brunette to nearly stumble as he was forced to stand in front of the fairies. "D'you think you could conjure up some or whatever?"
"Impudent," groused the blue fairy.
"But it is Sora," the green-clad one pointed out timidly.
"And Donald and Goofy, too," Goofy added.
The red one, who seemed to be their leader, sighed in reluctant consent. "I suppose, then, dears." She glared in Char's direction. "But for now, this one will have to be punished."
And with a flick of the hand, she had whipped out her wand and cast something on Char before the girl could react.
There was a brief flash of light, and when it cleared the Keyblade wielder couldn't help but crack up laughing.
"It's… pink?" he choked out into his hand, near tears with his amusement. Donald was rolling around squawking in laughter as well; Goofy looked as though he were torn between sympathy and near hysteria.
Char's temper ignited at once, and she crossed her arms instinctively, only to be greeted with a flash of garishly pink leather. "Argh, dammit!" she swore, tugging angrily at the sleeve as though that could revert it back to black at once. The fairies exchanged a smug glance.
"Give me that!" The redhead snatched the green fairy's wand and pointed it at herself. "Change back, you stupid thing!" She waved the wand frantically, trying to cast the way the red fairy had. "Change… back!"
"It won't work, dear," the blue fairy said.
"Oh, great." Char snarled and practically threw the wand back to the green-clad fairy. She barely caught it, looking alarmed at Char's temper.
"Char, calm down,"Sora said, wiping the tears out of his eyes. "It's just a coat." Hesitantly, he added, "You… are wearing something underneath that, right?"
"Of course," Char huffed indignantly, letting her arms drop freely to her sides. She noted the faint blush growing on Sora's cheeks and had to remind herself: No matter how much this kid had been through – what would lead most teens on a rapid, spiraling ascent to maturity – he was still a teenager, and a male teenager at that.
"Okay, so, this stupid coat aside," Char muttered, "could you please help Sora? He needs better traveling clothes."
"Of course," said the red fairy, turning aside; but Char caught the triumphant look on her face.
"I'll do the designing," added the green one, heading up to stand with her comrades in front of Sora.
She flicked her wand, which merely turned Sora's clothes green.
"Ohhh, that will never do!" The blue fairy cast as well; Sora's clothes had now morphed from emerald green to a pale blue, not unlike the shade of Char's eyes.
"Now, now, dears," reprimanded the red one, and cast her own spell. For a brief moment Char thought his clothes were going to turn pink like hers, but she was disappointed: His jacket ended up only looking a reddish-pink.
"But don't you like this better?" Poof; green.
"Hold on!" Poof; red.
"Are you certain?" Poof; green.
"Blue!" Predictably, blue.
Things continued to go on like this, with Donald and Goofy sniggering to themselves, until Sora had had enough. "Would you just decide?" he implored, holding his currently-green-sleeved arms out for emphasis.
The fairies gasped and murmured amongst themselves. "Sorry," the brunette added hastily, lest he suffer Char's fate.
"Alright then," the red fairy said at last. "Together now, dears. And no more squabbling!"
Three wands lifted as one, and the three spells combined to create an almost blinding flash of light. When it cleared, Sora was revealed to be wearing a mostly black ensemble, with gold lining along the collar, decorative silvery sleeve designs, and, to Char's relief, longer pants.
"Oh, perfect!" the green fairy tittered.
"He does look very dashing." Was it just Char, or did the blue fairy cast her a suggestive look as she spoke?
Sora straightened after getting a good look at himself, and the Kingdom Key appeared in one hand.
"Now," the red fairy said, "those aren't ordinary garments. They have very special powers." She cast yet again, and a dark golden orb formed in front of Sora. "Take the orb, dear."
Tentatively Sora reached out and took the orb in his hand, which promptly disappeared within his skin.
"And watch what happens…"
Suddenly, Sora seemed to lift in midair; he arched back, and a sound not unlike that of breaking glass was heard. The others made as if to help him, but when the light cleared, Donald and Goofy merely looked surprised.
Sora's black outfit had been replaced by a red one, and the areas that had been any other color were now black. "Whoa…" Sora's gaze was instantly drawn to the lavender Keyblade in his previously-free hand; the weapon had a wing-like hilt and a crescent moon-shaped charm at the end of its chain.
"Two Keyblades," Goofy murmured in awe.
"This journey's gonna be twice as difficult as your last," said the blue fairy, causing Sora to sigh and slump slightly.
"Your garments also have other powers." This was the red fairy. "But you'll have to discover what they are as you continue on your journey."
Sora straightened. "Okay, I'll do my best. And thanks a lot!"
"Oh, and there's something else for you, from Master Yen Sid."
Donald and Goofy looked excitedly at each other. "Oh boy!" the duck squawked.
For a brief moment, Char considered reprimanding his blatant mood again, but thought better of it. This was a powerful wizard's tower after all – the King's teacher, for the love of Kingdom Hearts – so the Organization doubtless couldn't get past.
Right?
Shaking these thoughts out of her head, Char sighed. "Well, I would've had to get rid of this thing anyway." And with that she had unzipped the coat and tossed it off to the side.
Sora had instinctively shielded his eyes despite her previous statement that she was in fact wearing something beneath the coat, but now he hesitantly lowered his arm.
Char was wearing a dark brown shirt with golden lines zigzagging down the front on either side of where the jacket parted over a high-cut white top. On her short sleeves were two zigzagged patterns of red and orange, beneath two golden arches that connected from her white collar to over her shoulders. The green fingerless gloves were still intact, of course, and she wore long black pants with golden stripes winding around the knees and black shoes.
"Well, what're you staring at?" she asked irritably at the look on Sora's face. "I sure as hell wasn't going to wear that stupid pink coat on the rest of our journey, just as you weren't planning on using those short-shorts." She smirked at his pout. "Now," she said, turning back toward Donald and Goofy; the former looked slightly less suspicious now that she was no longer wearing the Organization coat, but still paranoid. She couldn't blame the duck; Roxas, after all, never wore the coat in his time in Twilight Town, but he was in the Organization nonetheless. Goofy just looked confused at both the humans' change in appearance. "We should go see what Yen Sid has for us."
"Oh, right!" Donald instantly dove through the door.
Sora sighed as he tapped the treasure chest nearby with the Kingdom Key, which gave him a Hi-Potion. "He's a little too overeager, isn't he?"
Goofy shrugged.
Yen Sid was waiting at the crescent moon-shaped window for them; he turned and gestured for them to join him, which they did.
As the four of them stopped in front of the window, Yen Sid lifted a finger. A reddish air vehicle with yellow stripes and wings soared upward, and stopped in front of the window to hover before them. Char felt the breath catch in her throat.
A Gummi ship… She had to remember that she wasn't using portals of darkness to get around anymore.
"Alright!" Donald said, grinning. "It's the Gummi ship!"
"Yeah," Char said. "We can go between worlds now."
One of Sora's eyebrows raised. "And you know this how? You've never ridden one before, have you?"
The redhead rolled her eyes. "I didn't live in a freaking cave before I met you guys, you know."
"Heh… right…" The Keyblade master quailed a little at the look on her face.
Char relaxed and sighed.
"So," Sora said after a moment of awkward silence, turning to Donald and Goofy. "Are you guys ready to go?"
The two nodded, and the trio straightened up to face Yen Sid. Char did the same so as not to look too rude.
"Now, now, just a moment."
The four of them sagged slightly.
"Due to your previous efforts, the worlds have gone back to their original states. That means the pathways between them have disappeared."
Sora groaned, though not so much out of anger as of worry for the worlds. "So we have to do all that again…?"
"How do we get around?" asked Donald.
"Do not fear," said the wizard. "If what the King suspected proves true, the worlds have prepared new pathways along which you may travel."
"Yeah," Goofy murmured thoughtfully. "Because how else would them Heartless get from world to world?"
Yen Sid nodded. "The pathways may be utilized by unlocking special gates. How these gates are opened, I'm afraid I do not know…
"However, the Keyblade will serve as your guide. When a beam of light radiates from the Keyblade, return to the Gummi ship."
Sora nodded. "Gotcha."
"And remember –" The wizard held up a finger for emphasis as much as for silence. "The worlds may at times seem far apart and out of reach, but nevertheless remain connected by invisible ties. As do our hearts."
"Our hearts are connected," mused Sora; Char guessed he was thinking of Kairi and Riku.
"But be warned: as you proceed, the Heartless and the Nobodies will be using their own paths. They will be attempting to link their dark pathways to the gates between the worlds. You may have to fight them off using the Gummi ship."
Char grinned. "No problem."
"But that's not fair!" Donald growled.
Yen Sid looked amused again, and then turned serious. "This is all the information I can give you. Go forth, Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Char." He looked to each of them as he spoke their name.
"Right; let's get going!" Sora said.
They all straightened again. "Master Yen Sid, we appreciate the help!" Goofy said, and he, Donald and Sora all saluted with one hand. Char chose to do a slightly more smart-alecky two-fingered salute and followed them back toward the stairs.
"Howdy, Sora!" one of the chipmunks squeaked.
"It's your favorite Gummi engineers here, ready for duty – Chip…"
"…And Dale!"
"Do these guys ever shut up?" Char sighed, leaning over from her seat to prop her cheek against her upraised fist.
"They're real good fliers, though," said Goofy, settling back in his own seat.
Donald was currently reading through the Gummi manual. "It doesn't look too different from last time," he said.
"So, this won't be a problem, right?" Sora put his hands behind his spiky head in a nonchalant gesture.
"Don't forget what Yen Sid said about the Heartless, though," Char reminded him.
"I know, I know…" Sora sighed and looked out at the map. He gave a start of disappointment. "Only one?"
"Wait…" Goofy murmured. "I think it's one we know!"
"It looks a lot like Hollow Bastion, eh?" Donald asked, leaping into his own seat beside Char. The redhead growled and edged away at the duck's charge.
For some reason, the fact they were heading for Hollow Bastion seemed to set Char even more on edge than usual. Sora turned his head to look at her and tilted his head to the side. "Char, you okay?"
"Hm?" It was like she snapped out of a trance. "Oh. Yeah. Fine."
You don't look fine to me, the brunette silently replied. "We're going to meet all sorts of friends there," he said, trying to cheer her up. "Leon, and Yuffie, and Merlin…"
"Oh yeah, I remember you didn't have any magic when we were fightin' all the Heartless, Donald!" the dog said to the mage.
Donald growled and crossed his arms. "Don't remind me."
"Well, maybe Merlin will help us out with a few spells," Sora said.
Char shrugged. "Maybe. I don't see how it'll help, though – the only magic I'd think we really need is healing."
In a flash, Donald was on his webbed feet in the chair, glaring daggers at her. "What did you say?"
"Aw, crud," Sora muttered. "Goofy, take the wheel." The dog nodded and, with the manual open next to the control panel, began to slowly make his way toward Hollow Bastion.
"Seriously – did you even see yourself back there on those stairs?" Char was saying. "We don't have that many Potions, y'know. Healing magic helps more than that stupid Thunder or whatever, if you ask me."
Donald was so steamed he couldn't even muster a good retort. Sora felt the instinctive sense of danger that he'd built up over his last journey go on high alert, and quickly stepped between them before an actual physical fight could start. "Alright, guys, that's enough," he laughed nervously.
"I'll give you 'enough'," Char muttered through clenched teeth, still staring down the duck.
"We don't want any arguments breaking out before this journey's even started, remember?"
After a few moments, the redhead and the mage turned away from each other with indignant 'hmph's; Sora was reminded of the day in the Deep Jungle when he and Donald had done the exact same thing to one another. He wondered if they were going to see Tarzan again this time around.
"Come on," he said, more softly. "We should be going."
Donald huffed and stormed back to the cockpit, but Sora couldn't help but notice the look in Char's eyes. Anger, of course, but beneath it lay something that was much less petty than her temper.
"Are you sure you're okay with going to Hollow Bastion right now?" he asked, feeling nervous for some reason. He always got like this with girls – even with Kairi, who he'd known since he was five. "Because, you know, you could stay inside the ship and wait while we –"
Char's head shot up, but she looked surprisingly calm. "I can give you two good reasons why you should let me go with you." As she spoke, she held up two fingers. Her hands clenched into fists, and one blade appeared in one hand, then the other. She hefted them to brace in a guarding position…
…right in front of Sora's face…
WHOA…
"Gotcha," he managed at last.
Char grinned, letting the weapons vanish and her arms fall to fold across her chest. "That's what I thought."
Heh. You tell Sora who's boss, Char!
Char: With pleasure... (smirk)
Sora: Ack, no, wait -
Char: (pounces)
Sora: (in background) GYAAAAH!
Everyone Else: ...
Me: And if anyone wants a pic of Char in her normal outfit, just tell me in a review, because God knows with over 500 hits on this I need more reviews. (sweatdrop)
Anxclof: ...yeah...
Falcon: Geez... I had no idea Char could be so...
Anxclof: Predatory?
Falcon: (nods faintly)
Me: Next chapter's Hollow Bastion!