Chapter 41: Deliberation

-April 16, 2009-

Elena's POV

When morning broke, it was evident that no one had slept that night. It was so silent and tense you felt like you were drowning. It was almost a collective robotic movement as everyone ate breakfast.

Reluctantly Donald spoke through the negative environment, "We're heading back to Traverse Town to make sure there's no permanent damage to the gummi ship and we can continue our mission. It's going to take about a day to get back but hopefully it's just going to be a smooth ride."

Sylvia dropped her spoon into her cereal bowl with narrowed eyes, "Are you fucking with me? I wouldn't have left my bed if I knew this was gonna be a day off!" She all but threw her dishes into the dishwasher of the kitchen and stormed down the hall.

I felt bad for Donald who winced and continued eating slowly. No one made eye contact. This was just great. I motioned for Kassy and Hazel to follow as I put my dishes away and lead the two to our room.

Sylvia was sitting on the bed, arms wrapped around her raised knees, her head buried in the middle.

I combed through the side table drawer, grabbing a pad of paper and a pen. I sat on the bed, staring down my confused friends. Even Sylvia had looked up, interested.

"Alright, so here's the plan. We've been here for two weeks. We need to figure out what the hell is going on. Let's brainstorm." I focused my gaze on Hazel, "Let's start with you. What happened after you went comatose?"

Sylvia protested, "Why her first? Bitch, my story is better!"

I snorted, secretly relieved she was back to her old self, "I have the pen: I'm in charge. Ah ah!" I held the pen away from her grabbing hands, "Hazel first. Then you."

She pouted, and settled back into all of the pillows, not leaving any for the rest of us. Not that I cared, "Alright, Hazel, what's your story?"

She relived the tale of her adventure. I scribbled notes throughout. Kassy put a hand to her chin in deep thought, "So, Hook's crew knew Sage's mom? What do you think happened?"

Hazel shook her head, "He didn't say. And I didn't ask. I was a little preoccupied with being there in the first place. Now I'm feeling I should have. If… If Kingdom Hearts is real… Why would she not have told me?"

"Same thing with me!" Sylvia sat up excited and immediately launched into her own telling of her adventure, "I wanna know if her mom and mine were partners in crime or something!"

"Hm… I'm concerned more with something else." I mumbled, staring down at the notes in my hand.

Kassy put a hand on my foot with a smile, "It'll be okay!"

I frowned, looking back up at my friends, "That's just it. I don't know if it will be. What of these Maidens? Who are they? The original maidens… Who were they? And what do they have to do with us? And what do your moms have to do with this?"

Sylvia rested her chin on her knees, hands bouncing her feet up and down slightly, "Darkness and Heartless… And are they bad? If this thing with our eyes is dangerous we need to find out if things could go wrong…"

I immediately glared at her as soon as I heard Kassy start to hyperventilate. Hazel dragged her into her arms, calming her down more easily, "Must you have no warning for negativity? This needs to be an informative session, not a turnout for breakdowns."

Sylvia's eyes blazed, "Hey, I am being informative! Even realistic! We have to consider the idea of this being dangerous even I know that!"

Hazel sighed, stroking Kassy's hair, "She's right you know… Hey! I know!"

Everyone glared at her use of a dramatic pause, "Oh, you guys don't have a sense of humor. I know who we should talk to! Merlin!"

"That's right!" Kassy exclaimed, with a wide grin, "And he's our next stop! After Deep Jungle is the second trip to Traverse Town remember?"

Sylvia put her hands behind her head, settling back into the pillows, "You think he'll have the answers? I thought this game was really insistent on riddles and shit. Are we really sure we'll get a straight answer?"

I sighed, "We have to try. I bet King Mickey would have the answers. But there's gonna be no time to ask him when Riku, him, and Sora close the door later."

Kassy deflated in Hazel's arms at the mention of Riku. Sylvia immediately sprung on her, sitting up and leaning forward towards the brunette, "Speaking of the silver ass, you didn't tell us what happened with Alice."

Her eyes blazed for a moment before she turned her gaze away, "He came through a darkness portal and got Alice. End of story."

Sylvia snorted, "Bullshit. Try again."

She held her ground for a moment before sighing her defeat. She told the tale in more detail, "And I told you I was telling the truth. I didn't know how I made the portal myself. One minute I was sitting there wishing I could sneak out to help you guys fight, the next I was surrounded by darkness. I tried to find my way out and next thing I knew I was falling. And I fell on Sora."

"And what of the shadow Heartless?" Sylvia's eyes narrowed further.

"Well… It first happened on Destiny Islands…" Kassy relived her time on the island, "Something is happening and I'm scared."

I ran a hand through my hair, and finished writing, "We all are Kass. And I'm thinking for you, that you're somehow leaking power to control the Heartless…"

Sylvia grinned, "That's fucking sweet! Can you summon one right now?"

I smacked the back of her head, "You're an idiot. This could potentially be a bad thing. Which we won't let happen. Right girls?"

Lightened silver eyes rolled, "Of course! You fucking stupid or something? Merlin should help and if not we'll figure something else out. Hollow Bastion Library! Maleficent probably has something do with the Heartless Maiden. She'll know something!"

Kassy let out a shuddering breath, quietly whispering, "I hope so…"

Sylvia laid back down in her nest of pillows, "I don't know about you guys but I'm buying alcohol when we get to Traverse Town. I'm gonna need it."

Hazel stole a pillow from under her, "You don't need it, you need an AA meeting."

Sylvia pouted, "Bitch."

"Jerk." She grinned.

Arguments turned to games and laughter. A relief from the horrible times we've had. Maybe things would be okay after all. We could only hope.