Chapter 133: Annual Festival
Sora, Riku and Hikari stood in awe at the transformation of the town square; a stage was build where the town hall stood, red banners flowed all around the square and the crowd each held a glass lantern with a firefly lightening them up. "What's with the lanterns?" Riku asked Hikari.
"The lanterns are a form of respect." Hikari told him, holding Steve the Chocobo in her arms before explaining further. "It's supposed to explain that even though your love one's light has disappeared, a part of their light will always be with you and cherished."
"To remember the light that was once there." Sora looked at the lanterns. Before long, he looked at all of the people holding the lanterns, each holding their own grief with a glass, containing light that was stolen from them. Within the crowd, he spotted Ventus near the stage. "Hey! Ventus!" Sora called out.
The keybearer turned around from his name being called, mainly to see Sora, Riku and Hikari just away from the crowd. He pushed his way to the back of the crowd so that he could join the others. "Hey guys." He greeted. "Where's Kairi?"
"She's back at the house resting." Riku informed him.
"Resting?" Ventus' grin dropped as he looked at the others in confusion. "What did you guys do in Destiny Islands?"
"We ran into a bit of trouble." Riku explained. "We had to go to Radiant Garden to prevent a crazy Nobody from taking over. From that and still recovering from her former injuries, I can't really blame her for taking a break."
Sora hummed in agreement before looking back. "Maybe I should head back?"
"Don't worry, Sora." Ventus' grin returned as he assured the others, "Donald and Goofy are preparing for the task ahead, they said that they were going to head to the quarters. I'm sure that they will be able to look after Kairi."
Sora smiled grateful at his friends' action, making him feel slightly more secure about Kairi's safety. He felt slightly guilty though as he asked, "Won't they wanna come to the festival?" he asked.
"They said that you guys could use the break, despite the fact that you've just come back from having a break at Destiny Islands." Ventus chuckled. "I swear those two know more then they tell sometimes."
Sora grinned at this. "That's Donald and Goofy for you."
"Yeah." Riku added. "You can always count on them to relax, no matter where you are."
The crowd cheered as they watched Max on the stage, flipping his skateboard about as he managed to perform a 720° angle spin with the very little ramps that were provided. Without problem, Max made a prefect landing, making the crowd go wild.
"Is Brian here yet?" Hikari asked Ventus.
Ventus nodded. "He doesn't seem to be in the talking mood though."
Hikari sighed at this. "He must have confronted Daniel about his past. If he's angry then Daniel must have avoided telling him again."
"You mean Daniel always avoided telling Brian anything?" Riku questioned.
"He's always been like it, even before the Recon accident." She told him as she petted Steve in her arms. She kneeled down to the ground and placed Steve on the ground, allowing the chocobo to walk. "Steve. Go give Brian some company." She instructed. She smiled as Steve 'kwek' in response before going to find her master.
The crowd cheered as Max finished off his performance before heading backstage, allowing Scott to take to the stage. "Thank you Max! If I could open a show like that, I would have my own world." He grinned before looking at the excited crowd. "WELCOME! To the fourth Annual Festival!" He yelled, the crowd cheering in response.
Sora cheered along with the crowd, feeling excited only to clap too hard against his claw, making him grunt in pain. Maybe I shouldn't clap so hard. He thought.
No sooner did he grunt had Riku shot around to look at his in concern. "You alright?" His eyes were mainly on his shadowed claw.
Look who doesn't trust you! After everything you've been though. The tormenting voice returned once more.
Sora couldn't help but feel slightly annoyed by his friend's reaction. "I just clapped too hard." He told him.
Riku keep on with his glances. "You sure?"
"Riku! I'm fine." Sora glared at him, raising his voice slightly. "Don't just assume that I'm going to bite every time I'm in pain. I'm still human!"
"Sora, calm down—"
"I'll calm down when all of you drop your concern on me!" He proclaimed before walking off, suddenly not feeling in the mood to watch the festival. He could hear his friends call for him but he continued on.
It's just you and me now. And soon it will just be me! The voice laughed, his voice fading out.
"You wait!" Sora muttered. "As soon as the cure is done, you'll be gone forever."
Steve ran his way through the exciting crowd, running through people's legs, nearly getting stepped on before finally making it backstage. She sighed in relief before wondering through the backstage, kweking in joy as she recognised a pair of white conserves boots with black strips. She jumped up and cheered as she landed on the person's lap.
Brian broke out of his daydream as he looked down at Steve on his lap. He sighed as he started to pet his chocobo. "What am I going to do?" He muttered, shaking his head. He looked up to see Max and Vaan approach him from the distance. "Nice show, Max." I told him.
"Thanks, man." Max grinned as he greeted his friend. "Have you calmed down a bit?"
Brian looked away at this. "Yeah. I'm fine." He muttered. He frowned from the striking pulsing pain in his head as his memories reorganised themselves, hearing multiple voices crossing in his mind. The memories only made him yell in frustration, slamming his fist down next to him. "I can't do it."
"Can't do it?" Vaan looked at him in surprise. "This sounds nothing like you."
Brian huffed at this. "Don't I know it."
"Brian, you have to go on! What will your brothers say if you don't sing the song of tribute?" Vaan kneeled down to his height, looking at his friend's in concern. "C'mon man, you can tell me—"
"I think we should just leave him be and find Hikari." Max quickly advised as he looked in the crowd. "Hey! Isn't that Balthier talking to your girlfriend?" he pointed out.
Vaan jumped up from Brian's side and quickly jumped to Max's side, looking through the crowd. "Why can't Balthier just leave her alone?" Vaan said with anger, he quickly looking back at Brian before adding. "I swear, he's worse than you." He told him before running through the crowd.
Max sighed before looking back at Brian. "You wanna talk?" He offered.
"No." Brian replied bluntly. "I've just got a headache."
Max sighed at his friend's stubbornness before he told him. "Hikari told me about you recovering your memories."
Brian shot up at this, looking at Max straight in the eye. "She what?"
"She told me that you nearly blackout at Destiny Islands and that you've been getting headaches and illusions from all of the memories discovered." Max mentioned before standing by his friend. "If there is anything that I can do then—"
"Just aid with the backstage crew." Brian told him, looking at him with a sorrow expression. "I just need to get my mind in place."
"Well, you better get it in mind quick." Max informed him. "Scott is going to introduce you soon." He nudged the red curtain slightly to see Scott telling jokes to the crowd, the crowd laughing and cheering along. "Oh! One more thing!" Max quickly turned back to his friend. "I remembered what name you called out."
Brian raised an eyebrow at this. "Who was it?"
"Some girl named Aiddie." Max told him, noticing Brian look at him with a shock expression. "Who's Aiddie, Brian?" he asked.
"Thank you! Thank you! Now it's time to get the songs out!" Scott announced, the crowd cheered with excitement.
"I'll talk to you later." Brian nudged Steve off his lap as he jumped off his seat, grabbing his guitar as he rushed onstage, ignoring Max and Steve's calls.
"Ladies and Gentlemen! It's time to hold your lanterns up for this year's tribute song to our departed loved ones." He instructed, watching as the crowd lifted their glass lanterns in the air. "Now give it up for Little Devon's very own, Brian Devon." With the sound of applauses and the crasy screams from the teen girls, Brian came on the stage and stood in front of the microphone. Scott chuckled before leaning over to his brother. "Don't worry lil bro." Scott nudged in the arm. "Once this is out of the way, I'll give you the rum." He grinned cheekily.
"I don't think drinking is going to help." Brian chuckled slightly.
"Well, it might." He chuckled before nudging him to the microphone slightly, creating a loud echoing noise. Scott laughed at the deadly glare he received from the Aversion Endless. "Sing like it's your last." He laughed before heading backstage.
"What?" Brian just shook his head; he could smell the hint of rum from Scott's breathe so the thoughts of his brothers casually drinking didn't calm him down. Scott's last comment caught him off guard though, confused as to why Scott would say such a thing, maybe a way to motivate him?
The sound of the crowd brought Brian's focus back as he grinned back at the town people. "How are you guys doing?" He asked, receiving a couple of cheers as a response. "Even though this man made world has only been going on for four years, we have already accomplished so much." The crowd agreed as they cheered. "But accomplishment doesn't always come easy. We have lost—" He halted his speech, frozen in shock as he looked out in the crowd.
Upon one of the rooftops stood a young woman, around Brian's age, with neck length dark brunet hair with a blue highlights at the front. She stood silently as she watched the show from above, smiling strongly back at him. "Aiddie…" Brian looked at her in shock. He had lost her in the darkness nearly two years ago; there hasn't been any sign of her ever since then. How could she be possibility standing in the crowd now? He only gasped in disbelief as he watched her wave at him, giving him thumbs up. Surely, he could be running over right next to her and spin her around like crazy if his feet wasn't stuck.
"Brian." Scott called from the curtain. "What are you doing?"
The young mage looked around, seeing that the crowd looked up at him in confused as some discussed whether he had gain stage fright from travelling the worlds. He quickly looked up to where Aiddie was, only to find that she was no longer there. Had he imagined it? The white mage he had cared dearly for? Are his memories taunting him with one of things that made him happy no matter what dangers were ahead? He shook his head. "Sorry about that, guys." He quickly told the crowd. "With all the travelling I've been doing lately, I've been caught off guard things out of place." He coughed nervously. "Anyway, we have lost many love ones and I, personality, want to make this song out to all of the friends and family I have lost in the past. That without them, I don't know who I am." With his words spoken, he set the guitar up and began to play.
Yesterday I died, tomorrow's bleeding
Fall into your sunlight
The future's open wide beyond believing
To know why hope dies
He was remained of his past live, his life in the future, where he was in the Order under Colonel Devil's control, feeling that he was meant for something else within the dark world but his hope slowly began to die from every escape attempt that failed.
Losing what was found, a world so hollow
Suspended in a compromise
The silence of this sound is soon to follow
Somehow sundownAnd finding answers
Is forgetting all of the questions we call home
Passing the graves of the unknown
The struggles of his amnesia, when passing Angel's grave and never remembering her face, all of the questions he had asked about himself when he had first came to Little Devon, only to forget what he was looking for or why he was here after his accident. The pain of hearing his master's name and never knowing why, causing anger towards his father model. But now he remembered that the world felt so hollow went he had died.
As reason clouds my eyes, with splendour fading
Illusions of the sunlight
And the reflection of a lie will keep me waiting
Love gone for so long
All of the reasons and answers he had received from Daniel and the others, clouding him with lies and becoming someone he wasn't, becoming a lie himself.
This day's ending is the proof of time killing all the faith I know
Knowing that faith is all I hold
Brian sighed as the piano began to play, his memories telling him his former story. How he had fled the Order and crashed on Shadow's Cove to find his master, Sora, promising him to take him to the resistance and to teach him more magic. How that one action had lead him to meet lots of people, such as Hikari, Max and the others. How he had met Aiddie..
BOWBOWBOW
"Daniel! Kyle! Listen to this." Takeru called them from the security room, turning up the TV screen that was showing the Annual Festival.
The Two Devon Brothers halted as they heard Brian sing along to his playing. Kyle sighed at this, looking at his brother in regret. "We should have told him the truth." The automail teen told him.
"We did what we had to do." Daniel quickly told him as he held the Gorilla's Hand and Sea Salt Ice Cream in his hands. "He's gathering his memories back now. He should be fine after the battle."
"You and I know that is a lie, Daniel." Kyle glared at him, halting his older brother. "He's still our brother. Why lie to him?" He asked him.
Daniel placed the items on the table and looked back at his sibling. " Remember what Captain Riku had told us about Brian, how he was different from other Endless?" Kyle nodded as a response. "Two souls for one heart, he said. Now surely, I'm not going to be the one to tell him his faith when we're near to end of our mission."
"We should tell him, Daniel." Kyle repeated.
"No." Daniel shook his head. "We won't." He picked up the items again. "It's best that he doesn't know."
Kyle glared at his brother. "Sometimes, you're just as bad as father."
Daniel slammed the items on the table and reached over to grab Kyle by the shirt, pulling him close to his angered face. "I wouldn't kill our mother out of jealousy!" He yelled.
"You would kill your brother though." Kyle spat at him. "Surely, that was why you were so persistence for me to go on the Recon Mission with him." He glared.
No words were said as the lights went out in the Devon House.
BOWBOWBOW
And I've lost who I am
And I can't understand
Why my heart is so broken
Rejecting your love
Without love gone wrong
As the song picked up again, the town people began to wave their light lanterns in the air. Hikari and Max waved one in the air for their respected members of family; Riku was hugging Hikari from behind as they listened to Brian's song.
Life
Less words
Carry onBut i know
All i know
Is that the ends beginningWho I am from the start
Take me home to my heart
Let me go
And I will run
I will not be silencedAll this time spent in vain
Wasted years
Wasted gain
All is lost
Hope remains
And this war's not over
'All this time spent in vain'….
The very words struck his heart as he began to hear his father sing this song, remembering that this was the song that he used to play on this very guitar when he thought he was on his own.
There's a light
There's the sun
Taking all the shattered ones
To the place we belong
And his love will conquer
He slowed the song down, playing slowly on his guitar as he said the last of the lyrics.
Yesterday I died; tommorrow's bleeding
Fall into your sunlight.
As soon as he stopped playing, the crowd went wild, cheering and clapping madly as some of the crowd became teary. Brian remained in place though, rethinking the lyrics over. "There's a Light, there's a sun taking all shattered ones to a place we belong…" He thought it over before shaking his head; Knowing that he will have to think about it later after the festival has finished. He looked back at the crowd and grinned. "Thank you. Now for something a bit more upbeat." He grinned. "But before I do, I have an announcement to make."
Max's ears picked up at this as he quickly turned to Ventus. "Hey! Why don't we leave these two alone? We can quickly say hello to Vaan and the others." Max chuckled nervously, including a 'ah-yuck' as he dragged Ventus away from Hikari and Riku.
"Max! Where are you going?" Hikari questioned as she expressed with her arms, only to receive no reply. She only shook her head as she looked back at Riku, only to see him completely red. "What's wrong?" She asked before looking where he was looking, only to gasp in shock.
On the stage, was a huge picture of her and Riku in the gummi ship closet, covered in cake, cream, pie fillings and numerous amounts of pastry, with their arms around each other, looking as if the shot was captured a mere second before they had kissed as they were mere inches away from each other, looking at each other with warmth expression. "This people, is Hikari's Alliance with the Wielder of Dawn!" He laughed.
Hikari stood there in shock before glaring at the friend with boiling anger. "WHAT?"
"I'll would like to thank Max for the picture. " Brian told the audience. "And I would like to inform Hikari that this is worth 5 points for me and you lose three points for messing my gummi ship up in the first place!" He said as he clicked his fingers for the bright, flashing scoreboard to appear once more.
Hikari: 8 Brian: 9
"WHAT?" Hikari was literally steaming with anger now.
"Yeah….I'm gonna find Sora." Riku quickly escaped, scared of what the angered Hikari might do in her time of rage.
"And without further, I'll give you Scott who will play the next song while I'll run for my live once more. Haven't you guys missed this?" He laughed before waving to the crowd 'bye' as he legged it off stage, just as Hikari jumped onto stage, sword in hand as she began to chase him around the town square.
Scott claps at the joke, turning the picture off. "Well, I'm happy for you guys." He told the enraged female in the crowd before picking the guitar up. "Let's rock and roll!" He shouted, the crowd yelled in excitement as a response. Scott began to play, only to hear that the amp wasn't picking the guitar up as he strum. "Brian! There's something wrong with your guitar. Can you come up here?" he asked.
Brian was currently being held off the ground by his shirt with a blade to his neck. He chuckled nervously as he looked at the angered Hikari. "I'm needed on the stage." He told her, as best as he could anyway.
"Next time, Brian!" She glared before letting him go and went bursting through the crowd again. "HEY MAX! Don't you wanna hang?"
With the angered Hikari out of the way, Brian quickly jumped back onto stage. "There shouldn't be a problem—" He was halted and cut off by the sound of Scott's gasp as a stone sphere impacted his shoulder. "Scott!" He ran over to his side to see that the sphere had got into slightly, nothing that Kyle couldn't handle. He looked in the direction to where the shot could have been made, only to turn around to the crowd in a panicky way. "Everybody! Run!"
Multiple amounts of stone sphere shoots out from atop the rooftops, taking out the lights and blew out one of the amps. The crowd began to panic as they began to scatter like mice; some of them got stuck when one of the lights fell. Ventus quickly dived and grabbed one of the citizens before they got crushed by the lights.
"Look at the cattle run, boys!" Everyone turned to the sound of the western voice, to see Major Snake standing on the rooftops alongs with other members of the Order. "I didn't think such a small world would have so much prey!" He laughed.
N/A: Let's the true festival begin! Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter.
Kingdommad