Inspiration Music for Chapter 3: "Transcendence", by Lindsey Stirling; Les Misérables' song, "At the End of the Day"; Beauty and the Beast's song, "How Does A Moment Last Forever", by Celine Dion; The Phantom of the Opera song, "The Phantom of the Opera".
Song for Chapter 3: "Listen to the Rain" by Enya; "Artemis", "Between Twilight", "The Upside", "Transcendence", and "Underground", by Lindsey Stirling; Titanic's song, "My Heart Will Go On", by Celine Dion.
Warning! This chapter is Rated T for mild sensual content.
*.*.*
Jane Leeway sat in a secluded area. One of the waterfall caves, on the planet Tython, was so blissful and quiet. She preferred it this way. Away from the Jedi. Away from everything that might crash her world. She took a look at the scenery. She assumed the Jedi Temple had been restored. But who knew, right?
Jane, in her human form, had curly, brunette hair with light blonde highlights in her hair. She had pale skin and was donned in brown Jedi robes, complete with its own flowing cloak to keep her warm. In her animal form, she took on the form of a Dalmatian.
She was comforted by her Dalmatian form, even the brown eyes she had kept on her irises. It was a trick she learned, since becoming a shapeshifter, but that didn't mean shapeshifters didn't stick with one color for their irises, sometimes two for that outer ring around the irises.
These days, Jane carried with her a lightsaber with its own wooden cased hilt. She turned on the beam, surprised at how yellow her lightsaber crystal color was. Yes, she preferred being a Jedi Sentinel, even if she wasn't allowed in the Jedi Order. It was Parker Dooley and the scarred lioness Katrina that helped train her in the ways of the Jedi, with their own rules, too: that married couples could create lightsabers and be able to fight in combat with them.
How Katrina and Parker did it remained a mystery. But Jane was glad they did it, so anyone could become a Jedi. Whether they were married or not.
Jane smirked, wondering what could be better.
She looked up, spotting a ball of light—a huge firefly—fly past her. No! It couldn't be. These gigantic fireflies were known throughout one part of the Portal Realm, often to bring lovers back together.
Jane stood up, lightsaber in hand. She wasn't in any danger. And so, she turned off her lightsaber, putting the wooden cased hilt back on her utility belt. She darted off after the firefly, finding her way through a rippled portal, straight to an island she knew only in legends.
This was the Mysterious Island. She couldn't believe how far she'd come or what awaited her there. But here she was, on the shores of the Mysterious Island, not knowing what dangers lay ahead.
She turned her heel, spotting a man asleep on the beach. "Oh no! Braxton! Braxton! Is that you?" She turned him around, recognizing his face. She caressed his face, worried about him, "Oh Braxton, wake up."
Braxton spat out water, coughing and sputtering. He looked up at her, surprised to see her, "Jane, you dyed your hair blonde, along with brunette. I thought you liked your silvery hair?"
Jane smiled, kissing him on the lips. "Oh Braxton, I've missed you."
"Where am I? Where are we? How did you get here?" Braxton asked, liking resting on her lap.
"There's a lot to tell you," Jane said, getting him to stand up. "But first, we ought to find you shelter." She looked up, right as a blue-rimmed portal opened up. She gasped at the moving images that appeared in the portal. They revealed a town, filled with peasants. It was the perfect place to lay low.
She turned to Braxon, saying, "See? We'll find you somewhere to rest."
"Good," Braxton coughed, "because I've been meaning to take some rest for a long time."
Jane laughed. "As do I, Braxton. As do I."
.
Seraphina transformed into her Oriental Cat form. She was quick to do so, as she neared a green-rimmed portal, revealing a town that was all too familiar to her. It was France. The town was filled with peasants.
Memories flooded her mind. Memories from her past that she couldn't ignore. She was a kitten when she lived in France. The French Revolution was years away. She remembered being a beggar girl, learning how to shapeshift, and was treated poorly for it.
That was why she became a beggar. Because she was different.
She opened her eyes, surprised she remembered all of this. She looked back at the burning city, the First Base. This was all her fault. Sure, Frodo Baggins and his wife Bethany Baggins were responsible for destroying the grey tabby cat Cyndera and the brown house cat Patton's armory, but it was Seraphina's fault for setting the whole city on fire.
This was all her fault. No! She couldn't face this! Not now!
"Seraphina! Sera, come back! Wait!" it was Cooper. He had transformed into a golden house cat, looking for her. Oh, she loved his bronze locks of hair in his human form… no, Seraphina needed to think. She wasted no time. She looked at the portal, jumping through it, not looking back at Cooper as he raced through the portal with her. "Seraphina, stop! Stop! Why—"
Seraphina shook her head. She backed away. "Please stop! Darth Ordar might come back!"
"Who is he? Why did you turn to the Dark Side?" Cooper asked, worried about her.
Seraphina shook her head. "I'm sorry. Just please. Leave me alone!" She ran off, not looking back, surprised Cooper didn't stop her.
"Wait. Seraphina!" Cooper called out. It was too late. Seraphina fled. Cooper stood there, miffed. All he could say was, "Seraphina, why did you burn our town? Our city?" He let a tear fall down his face. Determination reached his eyes. He would find Seraphina, stay with her. He couldn't leave her now.
He wouldn't. They were too close not to get away from each other.
.
Jane brought Braxton to the first house they saw. It was on the edge of town. The house had a friendly garden with chickens roaming the porch. Jane smiled, delighted they had come to this town. It was worth coming to see what perks this town had.
Jane sat Braxton on the porch, giving him a bench to sit on. She knocked on the door. There was no answer. Jane tried again, hoping for a response this time. "Please open up! My husband is ill! We need a place to sleep!"
The door opened up, revealing an elderly man. "My, my! What is the meaning of this?"
Jane looked at him, asking him, "Please sir, my husband Braxton needs a bed to sleep. He's ill. He was on a shipwreck, and then we came here. I don't know how to describe it, but he needs your help."
"Oh. Please, bring him in," the elderly man said, helping Jane with Braxton.
"Thank you," Jane said, leading the elderly man and Braxton inside the house, where a bed awaited Braxton.
"There's been a lot of strange things happening today. Yours is quite the story. Found him on a shipwreck, did you?" the elderly man asked, curiously.
"Yes, it's a long story," Jane admitted. "I found him, after being inside a cave. A firefly led me to him."
"Huh. That must be some firefly," the elderly man said.
Jane looked at him, shocked. "Do you believe me?"
"Well, you have my sympathies. This town might not be so willing to agree with you. They might think you've gone mad," the elderly man said.
"Who are you?" Jane asked, surprised.
"Father!" a young woman with brunette hair and wearing a blue dress entered the house.
The elderly man smiled, telling Jane, "We'll speak more later." He turned to the young woman, telling her, "Ah Belle! Back from another adventure! Where did you go to this time?"
"Two lovers in Verona," Belle said, happy to talk about the book she borrowed.
"Ah! That must be quite the tale," the elderly man said, intrigued. He sat down in front of his music box.
Jane stared at them. Where had she heard this story before? "If you're Belle, then he's…"
"How does a moment last forever?" the elderly man sang, as he worked on his music box.
"You're Maurice," Jane said to the elderly man. He turned and faced her.
"That's right. And who are you?" Maurice said, confused.
"I'm Jane and this is my husband, Braxton Leeway," Jane said.
"Well, you're both welcome here any time," Belle said, willing to get some hot water, and some medicine, for Braxton.
"Thank you," Braxton said, weakly. "The both of you."
"Shh! You need to rest. You need to recover your strength," Jane said to Braxton, letting him sleep.
.
Seraphina ran inside an abandoned theatre. The stage was redone, but there was so much plaster on the walls. Broken chandeliers and broken cushioned chairs lined the rows. Even the balconies were broken. She hadn't seen such a place in shambles.
It almost made her want to… no. She couldn't see this place fall apart! Not now! Could she?
Woosh!
Seraphina looked around, surprised to see a mysterious Phantom clambering up the balcony. This man was so mysterious and even wore half a white mask over his pale-skinned face. Who was this man? Why did he intrigue her so?
"Why don't you go after him?" that voice. That deep, masculine, purring voice. She recognized this voice. No!
She spun around, facing the male golden house cat, donned in a black mask over his face. "No. Darth Ordar!" The masked golden cat nodded, pleased to see her. He showed her his brown spots and soft, furry white belly.
"Come on, Sera," Darth Ordar said, inching closer to her. He whispered to her, "You know you want me. I'm your mate, remember?" He moved his hands around her waist, purring, "Your boyfriend's behind me. Look!" he spun her around, right as Cooper showed up.
"Sera?" Cooper asked. Seraphina looked around, lowering her arms. Darth Ordar had gone. Cooper looked around, asking her, "What are you doing here?"
"Nothing. I thought…" Seraphina said, looking around for her masked cat. "…he looked a lot like you, but with brown spots on his body. Yours is plain golden color. You both have white bellies. How?"
Cooper shook his head. He had an inkling who she was talking about. "It's Darth Ordar, isn't it?"
Seraphina nodded. "He was here. He was…"
Cooper extended his paw. "Come on, Sera. Let's get out of here, before the Phantom of the Opera shows up."
"He…" Seraphina said, looking around one last time, as the masked man stared at her from the balcony. She looked at Cooper with a sigh. Did she have to go with him? "But I thought…"
"Sera, come on. We'll talk more at a pub," Cooper said, serious. His paw still extended to her.
Seraphina sighed in vain, taking his paw. In haste, they made their way out of the theatre. Cooper looked at the theatre one last time, closing the door behind him.
*.*.*
References:
Belle and Maurice come from the Disney live-action version, "Beauty and the Beast". The Phantom/Erik comes from "The Phantom of the Opera".