Chapter 44: We're Off To See The Wizard

-April 17, 2009-

Elena's POV

My head was pounding as I gained consciousness. My vision cleared to Cloud standing above me, a worried expression on his face.

I frowned, sitting up, "What happened?"

His face became blank, "Nothing. You fainted and I caught you before you hit your head."

"You're not telling me everything." His face gave nothing away.

"There's nothing to say." He finally turned his head, bangs falling over his eyes ever so slightly.

"Bullshit." I let out a noise, a crossover between a sigh and a groan, "Fine. Whatever."

His hand cupped my cheek, lingering for a few moments, before he pulled away completely. I mumbled his name, confused.

"I'll see you in the morning." He disappeared over the edge of the building down the ladder.

Sora's POV

The girls are always acting strange. And always cutting themselves off. What are they trying not to say? I sighed deeply. It wouldn't have mattered if I'd asked anyway. They wouldn't tell me. We fought our way through the middle of the Second District. I fiddled with Leon's stone absentmindedly. It only registered in my mind a second later that Kassy had stolen it out of my hands.

"H-Hey! Give it back!" I pouted, running after said female.

"Gonna have to catch me first!" She giggled. I ignored the slight skip of my heart, grinning madly and increasing speed, chasing her around the others.

Sylvia cackled, "Run bitch run!"

"My money's on Sora this time." Hazel shrugged with a grin.

"What?!" Kassy halted abruptly, causing me to fall onto her, "Now wait just- Ah!"

I froze as my fingertips came into contact with the exposed skin of her stomach. My face exploded with heat as soon as I realized the others were laughing. I scrambled off, stuttering out apologies.

Another moment later, I was literally dragged out of my thoughts by Donald and Kassy through the door to the Third District. We fought our way through and stood in front of a large door with a flame on it.

Sylvia, Hazel, and I all fought over who got the honor of sending magic at the door. Finally Donald rolled his eyes, "All of you can do it together!"

The three of us rounded on him with equally angry glares. He held up his feathered hands with a sheepish look. In the end we did listen to him, all holding up our weapons and shouting fire, sending three balls of flames at the door.

Kassy and Goofy stood behind us. Goofy was the first to speak, "Did it work?"

Hazel poked the door, jumping back with a squeal when the door raised itself. Everyone laughed, some more nervous than others, heading through the door. We emerged from the darkness into a large cave-like room with a big weird looking building in the middle of a body of water. Long moving rocks were the only pathway.

Donald and Goofy were the first ones to begin jumping. Sylvia and Hazel grinned at Kassy and were the next to jump, singing a song I'd never heard of, "Following the leader! The leader! The leader! Following the leader wherever he may go!"

Kassy giggled before jumping onto the first rock. She screamed abruptly, flailing her arms. Laughing, I landed close behind her, gripping her biceps to steady her. I ignored my racing heart as my skin came in contact with hers, "You're really clumsy."

"I-I'm working on it…" She stuttered, the tips of her ears turning pink.

"If you're sure…" I grinned, letting her go and hopping the rest of the way across the cavern.

Kassy made her way across a few more rocks before slipping and falling into the water. Her head broke the surface with an intense gasp, "T-That's so cold!"

Everyone immediately began howling with laughter. Sylvia and Hazel hoisted her out of the water. She wrapped her arms around herself, shivering visibly. Donald dried her with a small fire spell and we headed inside the building. Only a circular stone platform stood in the middle of the room.

"There's something about this musty place…" That voice! I whipped around to face the owner. The red head walked past me, hands behind her back, a smile to the ceiling, "It reminds me of the secret place back home, where we used to scribble on the walls. Remember?

"Kairi?" I managed to gasp, reaching out for her.

"Sora?" I looked over my shoulder at Goofy for a moment before turning back to… She was gone?

"Well, well. You've arrived sooner than I expected." Everyone looked over at an old man with a long white beard in a dark periwinkle robe and matching pointed hat.

I walked closer to him, trying to shake off Kairi's appearance and disappearance, "Wha… You knew we were coming?"

The man smiled, "Of course."

I blinked, trying to find anything heavily suspicious, "Are you… a Heartless?"

"He doesn't look like one." Donald frowned.

"Idiots!" Sylvia grumbled, pouting when Kassy smacked her arm.

"Oh, my. No." He chuckled. "My name is Merlin. I am a sorcerer. I spend much of my time traveling. It's good to be home. Your king has requested my help."

Goofy's eyes widened, "King Mickey?"

"Yes, indeed." Merlin nodded, "Donald, Goofy. And who might you all be?"

I smiled, "I'm Sora."

He brightened, "Ah. So, you have found the key. And you girls must be the Maidens and Princesses."

Sylvia smacked Kassy in the arm, "Wait, hold the fuck up! You know who we are?!"

The wizard chuckled, "Indeed I do, Darkness Maiden."

"Jesus Christ, we have a lot to talk about then." She held Kassy away with one hand, who was attempting to attack her.

"I've got loads of notebooks. We're gonna need them." I jumped. When did Elena get here?

"What did the king ask you to do?" Donald's voice broke through the rising tension.

"Just a moment…" Merlin stepped onto the platform, "Presto!" He danced around on both feet as object after object danced out of his bag, slowly growing in size. Soon the room looked like a small home, "There, now. Ahem. Your king asked me to train you in the art of magic. Oh, and one more thing."

Lights twinkled around the room until they gathered around a small purple coach next to the door. After the light dimmed, in place was an old woman in a periwinkle robe, a wand in hand, "Hello. I'm the Fairy Godmother. Your king asked me to help, too."

Elena handed Merlin the book, "Oh, that book... So, Cid asked you to bring this. Thank you. You wish to know what kind of book it is?" Why were the girls looking fidgety? "I don't even know myself. In fact, it's not mine. Somehow it found its way into my bag one day. It was such a curious book, I asked Cid to repair it for me. Well, I guess I'll put it somewhere, for now. This book holds a great secret. The missing pages will unlock it." He pointed to a small brown table next to the bed, "I'll leave the book over there. Do look at it whenever you like. My best regards to Cid for repairing it for me." Kassy held up the stone, "You should ask Fairy Godmother about that."