Chapter 41
Try Moving Forward
Waves swept across the shore, white foam bubbling over sand and Keres' toes. She remained still, her knees bent and hands at her sides. Sand gathered between her fingers, creating tiny mounds. If she closed her eyes she could convince herself she was back on Destiny Islands. But she wasn't.
Hawaii wasn't the island, not her island anyway. Hearing the waves made her miss it, but it was likely she'd never see it again. Even given the opportunity she wouldn't take it. Not with the darkness inside her. Regardless, she wondered how much the islands changed. Was the paopu tree still sturdy enough to hold her? Would the sunsets be the same?
"How long are you going to keep us here?" The darkness' voice crept through her mind, filling her thoughts like an invasive mist.
She didn't reply. Instead, she breathed in through her nose, the tinge of salt and flowers melding together as a calming wave. Then she released her breath and looked up at the stars. Their light shimmered weakly between the clouds. Any of them could be her next destination. Her fingers twitched in the sand, the tingle of darkness prickled across her palm. It was eager, hungry for its release. All it needed was permission and a Corridor would form.
Keres remained still. Where would she go? Hinata's promise remained in her heart, despite the darkness' greatest efforts to snuff it out. It settled in the back of her mind like a dying ember, still there, flickering with warmth and possibility. She didn't know what Hinata planned, if she even had anything in mind other than blind determination. Perhaps that was all she needed. Keres wanted to believe that, but the darkness mocked the very idea. Blind determination wouldn't make up for everything Keres destroyed. Hinata may be able to look past her monstrous form, but would the others?
"They hate you." The darkness' voice sent chills down her neck as if it were whispering right in her ear. "Find a world we can make our own. You will be untouchable. Safe. No one will stand in your way. Isn't that what you've wanted?"
Darkness seeped through her. She felt it moving through her veins like ants forming their tunnels in the earth. Her heart accelerated, her breaths stuttered.
"Anywhere you want," it promised.
Keres raised her stained hand. It trembled, her fingers curling.
"You want Lilo to be safe, don't you?" it asked.
Gritting her teeth, Keres lifted her other hand, gripping her wrist with enough force her knuckles went white.
"You'll finally be happy." Its words dripped like honey. "Stop fighting us."
Tendrils of darkness sprouted in front of her. Its black inky vines writhed over the damp sand. A Corridor flickered to life, wavering in and out.
"Where do you think it leads?" it asked. Keres could hear the grin in its voice.
Her chest heaved. "STOP!" Her scream tore through the night and she collapsed on the sand in a heap.
The Corridor shattered, pieces disintegrating into pure darkness before hitting the ground. Keres curled in on herself, her breaths deep and hoarse. Chills crawled over her and the once sweet tone in the darkness' voice turned sharp and low.
"You will regret this…" was all it said.
Keres knew she would. She laid there, allowing the white foam of the waves to sweep around her. Behind her, she heard a chitter from a creature, but she didn't move. A wet nose sniffed her, just inches away from her arm. Then a furry paw rested there.
"Leave me alone," Keres muttered. She stared blankly at the ocean, unmoving.
Soft steps moved around her. She saw the indents of prints appear in the sand, but not the one creating them.
"Houdini, right?" she asked, and the invisible creature paused. "You need to stay away from me."
Houdini whined and the sand beneath him sank. Faint warm breaths tickled Keres' arms, then soft fur pressed against her hand.
"Please," Keres pleaded.
White, shimmering magic sparked to life, revealing Mr. Fluffy Bear in Keres' hand. She sat up with a start, staring at the worn stuffed bear. Paw prints imprinted the sand as Houdini respected Keres' wishes and went away. Tears pricked the corners of her eyes. Her vision blurred and with a sudden release of breath, she hugged the bear tightly to her chest.
Time passed. Keres' eyes were heavy with exhaustion. She laid on the beach, curled up and drifting in and out of sleep with Mr. Fluffy Bear tucked beneath her chin. Heavy footsteps thudded against the sand, approaching from behind. Keres twitched, the darkness flashing to attention, but Keres tensed, intent on remaining still. She listened, making out a faint set of scuttering steps. They were familiar, leading the larger one to her.
The darkness' laugh rumbled through her, beating against her heart with a sickening drum. "That rodent came back for you."
Keres dug her fingers into Mr. Fluffy Bear's plush back. "Stay back."
The steps paused.
"Ah, we-ah thought you were asleep," a voice, thick with an accent, called back to her.
She knew that voice. The memories of him showing up with his creatures in the midst of battle rushed to the forefront of her mind. So this was Jumba. Had Houdini led him to her? Why hadn't he listened to her?
Her muscles ached, convulsing with minute tremors that only showed a fragment of her fight for control. One finger straightened, then another. They bent back with unnatural flexibility, urging the rest of her fingers to follow. Mr. Fluffy Bear fell to the sand. The darkness breathed into her, its chill settling over her bones and she sat up, her head lolling forward as even then, she continued to resist.
Jumba talked. His words fell on absent ears. The darkness was the only thing Keres heard. It cursed her. Sharp waves of pain throbbed through her, starting from her heart and coursing across her limbs. She'd put off leaving for too long and the darkness was tired of waiting.
Keres' voice tumbled out of her with words she didn't choose: "You should have listened when you had the chance." She laughed, the sound stilted.
"Now!" Jumba yelled and a needle pierced through Keres' neck.
Unknown serum streamed into her system and the darkness shrieked. Keres covered her ears, as if that would dampen the cries of terror and rage inside of her. The corners of her vision darkened, the edges of her tunneling vision swirling together into a dizzying display. Jumba stepped in front of her, his four eyes peering at her with curiosity and suspicion.
"Thank… you." Keres managed the words before her eyes rolled back and everything went dark.
She woke up. Her eyes couldn't see anything beyond blurred light. Her lungs burned. The crisp air flicked against her lungs like sparks of a flame. She wheezed for a full breath, hot tears forming at the corner of her eyes.
Her fingers curled against the floor. It was cool to the touch, smooth. Metal. Jumba had taken her somewhere. She turned her head, her neck stiff. Reflection of light bounced off the glass wall. Through it she could make out the fuzzy forms of computers and medical equipment. Another lab.
After everything, she ended up right back where she started.
She focused on her battered reflection in the glass. Grains of wet sand clung to her. It mixed with her hair and coated her skin. A thin line of dried blood trailed from her neck where the needle pierced her. Her icy fingers pressed against it, feeling the heat radiating from it. Whatever they injected her with, it didn't blend with her as well as the Organization's serums did.
Except, perhaps it did. She closed her eyes and listened. Machines hummed, equipment beeped out of sync with the other. Jumba muttered to himself somewhere out of sight. Houdini's claws clicked across the floor, still invisible. There was nothing else; no whispers or threats coating her subconscious. Whatever they put inside of her, it silenced the darkness.
Keres grinned, her breath releasing. She sat up, her head wobbling softly side to side until she steadied it with her hand. "Jumba?" she called out for him.
Heavy footsteps approached, followed by Houdini's tiny quick ones. "Aha!" Jumba clapped his massive hands together. He walked in front of the glass, wearing a vibrant unbuttoned Hawaiian shirt that took Keres a moment to take in. "The girl has woken up! How do you feel?"
She hesitated before answering. "I… don't know yet. What did you put in me?"
"Ah, it was a neural neutralizing serum." He waved his hand in a circular motion, recalling, "I developed it to pacify my more, uh, unruly experiments." He motioned towards her, his large mouth spreading into a wide grin as he chuckled. "But look at how fast you woke up! I could have used a much stronger dose than that."
Keres didn't say anything in reply. Her eyes flitted around, absorbing the information. The Organization used serums on her to sedate her, but none of them made the darkness fall completely silent.
While Keres pondered this, Jumba turned away to a nearby monitor. A diagram of Keres' body appeared on the large screen. It showed an outline of her, dark matter swirling around inside as lines of alien language popped up in thinly rimmed boxes. Jumba held his hand to his chin, his voice ridden with pride: "You are quite an impressive monster. Whoever made you really knew what they were doing."
Keres flicked her eyes to him. She didn't tell anyone what she was. "How…"
"You're a clone, no?" Jumba zoomed in on the diagram, smaller white particles appeared. "Your telomeres are a dead giveaway. But, how say, alarming how much darkness they fused into your cells." He looked over his shoulder towards Keres. "They must have wanted a real killer beast!" He guffawed, the sound ricocheting off the walls and surrounding Keres.
Her hands tightened in her lap, her eyes shutting tight to block out his laughter. She hadn't worried before, but now she wondered what exactly Jumba wanted with her.
Wiping his eyes, Jumba asked, "Who made you? Was it old Kido? I didn't think he was this good yet!"
He enjoyed this. That's all she was to him, to any scientist, an experiment to toy around with. All the destruction she caused, all the death, the pain, and he had the gall to be amused. He continued working at his monitor, his back to her. Whispers echoed in her mind: "Kill him..."
So the darkness wasn't completely gone. Keres looked away, her nails dug into her palm to distract herself from the intrusive urges. He only suppressed the darkness, she was a fool to believe it was actually gone. Still, he was different from the Organization and once upon a time, helped her fight against them.
"It…" she hesitated. Jumba paused his typing and looked over his shoulder at her. "The Organization made me."
He turned around to completely face her, his four eyes blinking. "Not… Organization Thirteen?" All Keres managed was a nod before Jumba's entire disposition changed. He threw up his arms and roared, "Those amateur upstarts?!" In a rage, he flipped a chair, careening it across the lab. His chest heaved and he rubbed his hand over his head. "What sort of trick do they think they are pulling? It explains the mess! Sloppy, unprofessional!"
Keres scrambled back. Whatever rage she unlocked wasn't what she intended, but it at least showed the distaste Jumba had for the Organization. He continued on his rant, throwing anything within reach. Everything he praised about Keres' creation suddenly turned into flaws. How quickly the tables turned. She watched him pace, listening for any bits of information she could glean about the Organization and their methods, but it quickly dissolved into nothing more than cheap pot shots. She wondered if the comments should offend her, but they really only confirmed what she suspected: she was a flawed creation from the start.
"Jumba…" she said his name. "Jumba?" He didn't stop and she sighed. "Are you done insulting me?"
Jumba stopped just short of throwing another seat, blinking as he came back to his senses. "Ah…" He rubbed his head. "No, no, I am here to help you. It is fortunate, in fact, that they were sloppy. Makes it much, much easier for me to help."
She looked away. The concerns about his intentions with her withered down slightly.
"The little girl, ah, Lilo, told me you are unable to control yourself." The excitement in his voice filled the lab, getting louder and more confident with each word. "Soon I will have a device that will suppress this excess darkness. See, your cells are self replicating the darkness. No matter how much you use, more will come."
"So this… device. It would let me keep control?" Keres asked.
"Exactly!" Jumba motioned towards her. He reached up to his upper arm. "It will attach here. Buttons will control the amount you allow through. Darkness keeps replicating, but with this, you only react to certain amount at a time."
Keres nodded, eyes narrowed in thought. "But wouldn't that be dangerous? It keeps making more of itself and I'm not using any to get rid of it. At some point, wouldn't it be too much?"
"Ah, yes, yes, good point." He wagged a finger, about to sit down before he realized he'd thrown his seat a few minutes prior. "You will come back here. Use this chamber to release the darkness."
She looked around the large confining room.
"It is my testing chamber," Jumba explained. "Each of my creations experimented with their powers here. It is indestructible!"
Keres stood up, her legs shaking. She stumbled to the side, but balanced herself. Holding out her hands, she took in a deep, long breath. Sparks of electricity flickered around her fingertips. Meeting together, the sparks arched into a violent bolt. Red hot metal burned, its ashy metallic scent suffocating the room. As quick as it appeared, the lightning flashed away and Keres looked around at the blackened scorch marks along the walls and floor.
"A moment," Jumba advised before Keres could speak.
Thick clear ooze seeped out from between the tiles. It globbed over the walls, turning black as ash and burned bits of metal mixed into it. Then it slunk back into the seams, leaving the walls pristinely clean.
"Do you have anything else?" Jumba asked and Keres spun around to face him. "Your darkness should return to full power soon. Then you can really show me what you can do!"
Keres nodded, at a loss for words. She looked around at the room, a sense of ease washing over her. No matter how powerful, she'd be kept at bay in here. Jumba went back to work at the monitor while she took it all in. She attempted more spells, even attacked the glass directly. Any crack, any marred surface, the ooze repaired it. Houdini watched with fascination. Keres could see the prints of his paws pressed against the other side of the window, his body still rendered invisible.
It didn't take long for Keres to reach her limit and she sat back down, sweat gleaming on her skin. "What do you think, Houdini?" she asked, looking over at the paws against the glass. "Do you think Jumba can really make something like that?"
With a sparkling magic, Houdini appeared. His big glassy eyes stared back at Keres and he nodded, his ears bouncing. Keres smiled softly.
Jumba glanced over his shoulder. "Your body produces a large amount of darkness on its own, thanks to that amateur Organization tampering with your cells. It shouldn't be hard at all to make a device to filter out this excess and keep you more in balance." He turned around, leaning his back against his desk. "I tell you. In the old days, I would have much rather modified you to make such a thing impossible - then no living creature in the universe could stop you!" He cackled, his back arching as he laughed maniacally. "Ah," the laughter died down and he wiped tears from his eyes, "but I am reformed."
"You really were an evil genius, weren't you?" Keres asked, starting to become amused by his antics.
"Still am!" he countered, offended. "Just, not as devious as before."
Keres let out a huff of breath, the corner of her mouth smirking.
"So, you know this Organization well, then, yes?" Jumba asked.
She hesitated before nodding, her smirk falling. "You?"
Jumba sighed. He slumped to the ground, sitting down with his back against his desk. "They have been trying to get their hands on my experiments for a very long time. I often wondered who would capture me first, the Galactic Federation or the Organization!" He laughed. "After coming to Hawaii, I thought I finally lost them. But I was smart and cautious. And I invented a scanner to be alerted to their presence. I believe the last time they were here was only a year ago. Well, until today." He motioned towards her. "I was looking into an alert when little girl tell me you ran away."
"I set off the scanner?" she asked and Jumba hummed, wobbling his head back and forth.
"I am unsure," he admitted. "But you are their creation. So you setting it off is not unlikely."
There were enough of the Organization's fingerprints inside her to be recognized as them. Or maybe the scanner sensed something else. She hadn't the slightest idea where Saix disappeared to. His Corridor might have been enough to set off the scanner. Since she arrived, she hadn't been sure why Saix would lead her back to Hawaii, but now, she found it possible he knew of Jumba's abilities all along. He knew she'd find help. But why would he want that for her? He was part of the reason she was created in the first place.
"But I wonder how you arrived," Jumba said.
Keres snapped her attention back to him.
"Are the Organization somewhere here on the island?" he asked.
"I… don't know," she replied, her finger picking at the cracks in James' bracelet. "One of the Members, Saix, released me and opened a path for me. It led here. I don't know where I was before. Just a lab."
"I see." Jumba rubbed his chin. "This pathway led you out of the lab. Is this lab in Hawaii? It can't be! My scanner… Unless they were settled there before my scanner was created. My device watches for incoming visitors, not ones already here." With a groan, he stood up and went further into his lab. "I must change the scanner's parameters."
"The path might not have been made in Hawaii," Keres called after him. "It's hard to explain, but it's a portal that can travel across different worlds."
"Eh, it is still good to double check!" Jumba replied, already gathering his tools. "Better safe than sorry I always say!" He carried his large bag of tools to the desk across from Keres' chamber. Houdini scurried and grabbed one of the tossed away chairs, bringing it over for Jumba to sit. "Thank you Six-oh-four." Jumba patted Houdini on the head. He spun his seat around and began taking apart the scanner.
Keres watched him work. He muttered to himself, holding out his hand for tools that Houdini quickly retrieved for him. Sparks flew, the walls flashed with blue light. The entire lab felt different from the Organization's. Large, colorful devices stood at varying heights around the space. The walls curved towards the vaulted ceiling, where lines of electric lights brightly illuminated the room. Above the desks, Keres spotted hand drawn pictures taped to the wall, as well as printed photographs of what appeared to be random people at the beach. Despite all the lab equipment and seemingly sterile environment, stuffed animals poked out from under desks. There was even a rag doll sitting on top of a seat, its limp stuffed arms on the keyboard as if it were another scientist along with Jumba.
"Does Lilo come in here?" Keres asked.
Jumba paused, he lifted his protective metal mask to look around the lab. "Ah, yes, little girl enjoys seeing my work. She come here to learn about my experiments. She and Six-two-six have captured many of them!"
"Six-two-six," she repeated. "Is that Stitch?"
"Yes, yes, Stitch," Jumba waved his hand, getting back to work. "He left shortly after the Organization did. They've tried to capture him many times!"
"Lilo said he was helping someone."
"I do not recall man's name," Jumba told her. "Six-two-six seemed to believe he could help him stop the Organization. Haven't heard much since. It must be going well."
It was reassuring to know there were others aware of the Organization. Though, Keres wondered what would become of anyone that tried to threaten them. The only ones she trusted to succeed with the venture were Sora and Riku. Perhaps Sora was the man Jumba referred to. She could only hope.
Jumba tossed aside his tools and picked up the scanner. "Finished!"
"Already?" Keres asked. "How did you-"
"Shush, let us try it out."
He reinserted the scanner in its designated console. The computer monitor above it blipped on, a map of Hawaii appearing. White pulsing rings swirled around the map, until an opaque circle blinked and everything zoomed in on the location.
"AHA!" Jumba slammed the desk with both of his hands. "There they are!" He pointed to the dot, looking back at Keres with wild eyes. "What did I tell you?! They have been here the whole time!"
Keres got up to her feet. She walked up to the glass and pressed her hands against it, getting a better look at the map. There it was, a base hidden beneath a mountain.
"What do we do about it?" Keres asked.
The darkness in her mind hissed, its voice returning. "We burn it to the ground…"
"We burn it to the ground!" Jumba repeated the words unknowingly, hitting the desk again. He laughed brutishly. "Let this be the last time this Organization messes with me, Jumba Jookiba, Evil Genius!"
He ran further into the lab, his feet thudding heavily against the floor. Excited ramblings filled the lab as he began gathering supplies and making a plan. Keres didn't say anything. He agreed with her darkness, and she couldn't deny the temptation to do the same. The whole time, the Organization had a base here. Was that where Xigbar and Saix were trying to take her initially?
"What are you called?" Jumba asked, standing right in front of the glass.
Keres startled out of her dazed stupor, seeing him standing there with arms full of supplies. "I-I'm Keres."
He nodded in acknowledgement. "You will come along, Keres."
"I… Oh, okay." She took in that information as Jumba went right back to gathering things.
He yelled back at her while he paced around the lab. "We will need a team! A select few of my experiments will do. We just need to find where little girl put them. And one we will have to convince. He works with Gantu and Dr. Hämsterviel, but his hacking abilities will be just what we need to bleed the database dry!"
Keres nodded, absorbing it all. The darkness festered with excitement in the pit of her stomach, making her sick. "What about the device? Will that be done in time?"
"Ah, yes, yes," Jumba assured her. "You will have everything you need. But ah! You will also need your energy. Six-oh-four!" Houdini rose to attention. "Ready her room in the chamber."
With a chirp, Houdini scurried over to the monitor by Keres' chamber. He climbed up onto the stool and pressed a few buttons. The tiles in the floor rumbled. Sections lowered, sliding away as furniture raised up in its place. A small bed appeared, along with a bedside table and a lamp. In the other corner rose a shower and toiletries, before being concealed by folding walls.
"How often do you keep people here?" Keres asked.
"I have six hundred and twenty-seven experiments!" Jumba reminded her, but somehow that didn't quite explain it enough for her. "Now, get your rest. We will begin the hunt tomorrow!"
Before Keres could even reply, the lights to the entire lab dimmed to black. She hadn't even noticed Jumba and Houdini slipping out towards the door as she was too taken aback by the appearing room around her. Two lights remained. The bedside lamp carried a warm golden glow, but it couldn't touch the dense blackness on the other side of the glass. The other light bloomed underneath the makeshift bathroom, causing silhouettes to show through the folding walls separating it from her bedroom.
Now alone, the darkness talked freely, teeming with anticipation for their upcoming 'hunt', as Jumba put it. Keres didn't know what to think. She swayed side to side, exhaustion weighing heavily over her. She didn't entertain the darkness' whims as it chittered about all the things it wanted to do to the Organization Replicas. If she tried to focus on any one thing it said, she was overcome with a dizzying sensation that made it difficult to think. She was too tired, that's all it was. She hoped.
Dragging her feet, she went to take a shower, detangling her hair and washing away the bits of sand still caked to her skin. The heat of the water helped clear her mind. She wasn't sure what Jumba had in mind for the following day. Recruiting specimens and tracking down the Organization's lab, she was starting to get excited. Her heart fluttered at the prospect of joining a team, even if for a little while.
Cleaned up, she made her way to the bed. Mr. Fluffy Bear sat on top of the comforter. Keres laughed breathily. It seemed Houdini and Lilo were set on making her keep that worn down thing. She picked it up, running her thumb along its fuzzy cheek. Then she got into the bed, her muscles releasing a wave of praise for finally having something soft and welcoming to rest on. She looked out at the lab from beyond her chamber. Thin streaks of moonlight streamed through far away windows, attempting to illuminate the lab, but to no avail. Bits of dust danced in its light, sparkling like stars.
Keres watched them dance, her eyelids heavy and body drifting into a deep trance. It didn't take long before she fell asleep.
Starlight illuminated the dirt path to the Benbo Inn. The air was crisp, fresh from the drizzle of rain earlier in the evening. It was a beautiful night, different from the way Sam remembered Montressor. She recalled the thin layers of dust painted over every surface and the murky clouds of exhaust from ships flying past. A small part of her believed Montressor was different from the distaste she held for it. As if her pain masked its true qualities.
She walked along the path with Ben and Hinata, trailing two steps behind. The Benbo's silhouette appeared on the horizon. Golden light warmed its windows, beckoning weary travelers into its walls. Sarah had been doing well for herself since the reopening. Even with closing time approaching, the restaurant bustled with life.
Coming closer, Sam recognized her mom through the window. She stopped midstep, allowing the others to go on ahead. Her mom delivered meals to a window side table, unaware of Sam watching her. She smiled at the customers, even laughed. Sam's jaw tightened. Even without being inside, Sam could imagine the sound. It'd been years since she'd heard her mom's laugh, but the memory of it rang in her mind with pristine clarity. All that time, no matter what she and James did, her mom withered away. It was as if she'd forgotten anyone else existed. But there she was, working, laughing, doing something with herself. Sam should have been happy for her, and a small part of her was. Another, larger part of her couldn't understand what she'd done wrong. Why wasn't she able to make her mom happy?
A sharp, chilling breath filled her chest and she looked away. Tears glistened in her eyes and she cleared her throat, roughly wiping them away.
"Sam?" Hinata approached her.
"Just," Sam put up her hand, "give me a minute. Alright?"
Hinata nodded, deciding against saying anything else. Instead, she waited beside Sam, looking up at the stars. Ben already disappeared inside, getting them a table. It left the two of them in comforting silence.
"It's dumb," Sam sniffed, wiping at her nose, "after I left here I tried to convince myself it didn't exist anymore. Mom, the shop, James… I was too far away for it to catch up to me."
A long stretch of silence went before Hinata replied, "It's not dumb. I think… it's what you needed to do to keep moving for a while."
"Maybe." Sam ran her hand through her hair. "It didn't last though, did it?"
Hinata looked towards Sam, then towards the Benbo. "We don't have to do this."
Sam shook her head. "As much as I want to forget this place… I want to find my dad more." She took in a deep, long breath. "I can do this."
"Then I'm right behind you," Hinata told her. A soft smile spread across her face when Sam looked back at her. "Let's find your dad."
Sam returned the smile and nodded.
Together, they went towards the Benbo and went inside. Instant warmth greeted them with a cheer from the patrons. They recognized Sam and she waved a half salute in response, surprised at the bustling excitement. Her mom wasn't in the dining room at the moment. Sam took the opportunity to acclimate to the surroundings and followed Hinata to their table where Ben awaited them.
Once seated, Sam pressed her earpiece. "Hey, Lupe?"
Only a moment passed before Lupe's voice came through. "I'm here. What do you need?"
"I was just… wondering if you'd be able to take notes or something when I'm talking with my mom," she explained.
"Sure thing!" he replied. "I was planning on it already anyways."
Sam's mouth twitched with a short smile.
"You got this, Sam," he encouraged and Sam huffed out a short laugh.
"Thanks," she replied, removing her hand from her earpiece.
Her fingers drummed against the table. Ben tried to keep the spirits up, suggesting things on the menu and asking about them. Hinata took care of answering his curiosities while Sam looked around the inn. The kitchen doors swung open and Jenna walked through them with a pitcher in her hands. Sam's chest ached, her heart drummed out of sync with waves of nerves. This was it.
She got out of her seat, her legs heavy and slow. Walking over, she dragged her feet, forcing them to move. Jenna's back was to her and Sam stopped an arm's length away. Her throat went dry, her tongue swelling. "Mom," she forced the word out, her voice dull and short.
Jenna froze. She turned around, her eyes flickering with a range of emotions at the sight of her daughter. The rest of her expression remained unchanged and she let out a shaking breath. "Jane. It's… good to see you."
"I need to talk to you after work," Sam told her, unable to hold her mom's gaze. "Alright?"
"Y-yes, of course," Jenna stumbled over her words. Sam noticed her hands trembling around the pitcher. "Anything you need."
Sam twitched. Anything she needed… She swallowed the cutting remarks in her throat and nodded. Without another word, she turned around and went back to the others, letting Jenna continue to work. She slunk back into her seat, only then releasing the breath held captive in her chest. Ben and Hinata both watched her, until Hinata directed Ben's attention to something on the menu, giving Sam a moment to collect herself.
Sarah arrived shortly after, ready to take their orders. As she retrieved Sam's menu, she smiled gently and said: "I'm glad you're here, Sam."
Sam strained a smile, looking away. "Thanks for taking her in…"
"I was happy to," Sarah told her, tucking the menu under her arm. She looked over to where Jenna was serving another table. "It's good to see her trying. She's done well for herself here."
There wasn't much Sam could say to that. It hurt to hear, even though she knew it shouldn't have. She nodded, following Sarah's gaze towards her mom. Sarah put her hand on Sam's shoulder, giving it a small squeeze before walking away. A lump choked Sam's throat and she breathed in deeply.
"Do you want us here when you talk to her?" Hinata asked and Sam nodded before the words even left.
Hinata accepted the answer without saying anything else. Their late dinner consisted of very few words shared between them, even Ben quieted down and seemed preoccupied inside his thoughts. An hour passed before the final patron left the Inn and Sarah locked the door. She and Jenna got to work cleaning the dining room while Sam fidgeted in her seat. Hinata got up and offered to help with the cleaning, recalling her time working there even though Sarah didn't remember such a thing. With the extra help, everything was taken care of and Jenna approached the table.
She untied her apron and carefully folded it over the back of a chair, before sitting down. Her thin hands folded in her lap and she sat with her back straight and poised. Sam shifted in her seat to face her, trying her best to keep her expression leveled.
She took a breath and reached into her pocket, pulling out a metal locket. Its bluish tint shone under the firelight of the hearth, accentuating the engraving of Montressor's planet symbol on its surface. It clinked against the table and Jenna's eyes drifted from Sam towards it.
"It's about dad," Sam told her.
Jenna didn't speak. Her shoulders released a tension that cascaded over the rest of her body. The straight posture curved into a slump, like losing most of its will to keep her up at all. Her gaze flitted away.
This was the version of her mom she remembered. Sam bristled, as if all the previous tension from her mom went and wormed its way into her. Still, she needed information and her mom was the only person that could provide it. "Did James ever show you this?" she asked, sliding over the locket.
Jenna hesitated before picking it up. Her slender fingers traced the indentation, but she didn't open the clasp. "Yes."
Sam waited for more, but there wasn't. She chewed on her tongue. Resentful remarks swirled in her head, each one biting at the bit to be released. Instead, she closed her eyes and took a breath, spreading out her hands. She could get mad later. Opening her eyes, she pressed further, "Did anything in the recording stick out to you?"
Nothing. Sam sucked in her lips, then opened her mouth. She could see Hinata watching her mom, a mixture of confusion and pity in her eyes. That's all it ever was for her mom.
"Breathe." Lupe's voice came through the ear piece.
Sam breathed in deeply, desperately trying to ground herself. "Clarisse said you seemed to recognize her world when she told you about it. And she said the droids in the recording are from her galaxy."
Jenna's brow furrowed, a deep sorrow washing over her eyes. "We shouldn't talk about this."
Sam's hands slammed against the table and everyone jumped. "Like hell we won't! You know something!"
"Sam!" Ben exclaimed, but Sam pushed her hand against his face to shut him up.
"If you know something, you need to tell me right now." Sam's eyes burned with passion and resentment. "I'll find him with or without your help, but you could make it a hell of a lot easier if you just got over yourself!"
"Jane, please," Jenna said with a soft, shaking voice. "I… there is nothing I can give you."
"Why?" Sam pressed.
Jenna looked up at her, eyes hollow. "Your father made his choice to leave."
Sam scoffed. "You don't know that!"
Jenna stood up from her seat, her entire body trembling. "I'm sorry." She turned to leave, her hand steadying her against tables as she walked.
"You can't stay like this!" Sam got out of her seat, yelling after her. "Do you even care how much we've lost? I'm trying to get something back and all you say is 'sorry'?!"
Jenna paused. She leaned against a table for support, head drooped forward and hand over her mouth. Sam waited, her face flush with anger and eyes stinging with tears. Her chest heaved and she swallowed hard, trying to reign herself back in.
Hinata's hand settled on her shoulder. A warm comfort spread through her and it took everything in Sam not to break. Hinata walked past and went around to be in front of Jenna.
"I know you're trying to protect her," Hinata said.
"She's all I have left…" Jenna whimpered into her hand.
"Then why do you keep pushing me away?" Sam asked, her voice shuddering with sobs. "All I've done since dad left is try to make you care. But you never have!"
Jenna shook her head. "I'm so sorry…"
Sam rubbed at her eyes, sniffling. "I'm done. I can't keep doing this with you. Every damn time I keep expecting you to change. If you're not going to help me find dad, then I'm leaving and I'm not coming back."
"No, Sam," Lupe said with a firm tone that shook Sam out of her tunnel vision. "We need that information. Don't close the door yet."
Ben stood up and walked up beside her. Lupe's voice came out of him. "Let us talk to her."
Sam looked over at him, both impressed and embarrassed he intervened. It was the perfect interruption to take her out of the moment and she nodded, getting her leveled thoughts back. She took a few steps back and lowered into a seat.
"Jenna, we want to help," Hinata said. She gently grabbed Jenna's arm and helped her sit down. "I don't know if you realize but Jarith might be trapped in another galaxy right now."
Jenna listened, her gaze distant.
Lupe joined, using Ben's body to kneel in front of Jenna. "We think he might be on a world under a Separatist Blockade. Have you heard of that before?"
That got Jenna's attention. She blinked, looking up at them.
"Which could mean he didn't get a choice in whether he could come back or not," Lupe continued to explain.
"If you have any idea where he could be, we could help him," Hinata added. "He might even be able to come back."
Jenna's shoulders heaved and she broke. Her sobs filled the inn. Lupe stood up, giving her space while Hinata rested her hand on Jenna's back, gently running her thumb back and forth. Lupe looked back at Sam and made his way to her.
"All this time," Sam muttered, "she actually thought he abandoned us."
"Can you blame her?" Lupe asked. "Clarisse said the blockades keep communications from going through. Anything from either of them got intercepted. She might have thought he died until she saw the recording with him alive."
"Then she assumed the worst," Sam finished the thought and Lupe nodded. She let out a long breath and shakily moved to stand, until Lupe offered his hand to help steady her. Going over to the table, she grabbed the locket and went back to her mom. "Look… Mom, I…" She knelt down in front of her where Lupe was before. "I don't know what dad will be like now or what will happen, but I know he never would have left if he knew he couldn't come back. And I think you do, too." She held out the locket again and Jenna looked at it through her reddened eyes. "Please."
Jenna turned her hand over, accepting the locket. She ran her finger over the indentation once again, but this time undid the clasp. The hologram of the vision flickered to life. The domed underwater world came into view, sea life swimming just outside the confines of the gel-like walls. Droids walked past, their feet clanking against the marbled floors. Then Jarith came into view, gazing out into the sea outside. Jenna reached out to touch him, her finger going through the hologram.
"Anything you can tell us," Sam urged.
Jenna nodded, closing the locket. Her tears dried against her cheeks, unwiped. She stared at the closed locket, before curling her fingers around it and holding it close. "Glee Anselm… his homeworld. That is where he is."
Sam grinned, then it fell. "You knew. This whole time."
"Yes." Jenna replied. "He promised to be back…"
"And you just kept waiting," Sam said and Jenna averted her eyes. Sam stood up. She backed away, unsure what to feel. Her mind hurt with all her thoughts pulling in different directions. With a nod, she simply said, "I'm going to get him back."
Jenna didn't reply. She retreated back into her mind, her eyes going distant. Sam let out a breath, recognizing the look. The anger in her chest sparked, but fizzled out almost immediately. She was too tired to fight anymore.
"Thank you," Lupe said to Jenna, still getting no response.
"We'll leave tomorrow morning," Hinata told everyone. "Sam, you can stay here tonight."
Sam wordlessly nodded, already moving to head upstairs.
"Jane." Jenna said. Sam paused at the stairwell and Jenna held out the locket.
Sam waved her hand dismissively. "Keep it. I-um, I made it for you."
Jenna blinked and looked down at the locket as Sam went up the stairs.
Back in the synthetic Twilight Town, Sam lounged on Lupe's couch. Metal shards and wires covered the coffee table, each one precisely placed in line with the hologram above them. Blue light dusted over them and along the walls in the dimly lit room. Sam idly picked up a piece, laying on her back as she half heartedly added it to the partly created device in her hands.
She could hear muffled voices from Lupe's room. He listened in as Hinata and Ben went back to Clarisse to settle the details of where to find Glee Anselm. Then they'd be off. Though another galaxy meant a long trip, an anxious one at that. Sam already felt restless.
Chirithy toddled into the living room and hopped up onto the couch beside Sam. "Can I be of any assistance?"
Sam huffed out an amused breath. "You already organized everything. I think I'm good." She paused and glanced over. "But, thanks."
It took the decline rather well and watched as Sam worked. She didn't put much thought into her movements, her mind instead replayed the evening before over and over again. It kept her up all night. Once she got her dad back, things would change. She'd be able to prove to her mom that they weren't given up on. Maybe that'd get her out of the god awful slump. Or make it worse since she'd realize all the time she lost. Sam's grip tightened and a screw careened to the other side of the room.
"I've got it," Chirithy assured her, disappearing and reappearing around where the screw landed. It hopped around, searching, while Sam sighed and ran her free hand over her face. "Aha, here it is." It turned around and tilted its head. "Sam, are you alright?"
"I'm fine," she muttered.
Chirithy hummed, reappearing on the couch. It placed the screw back in its rightful place on the table. "You've made good progress on the tracker. I think it'd be ok if you wanted to take a break."
The device slipped from Sam's hand onto the table with a thud. "Thanks."
Chirithy watched her for a moment more, its round head tilting this way and that. Then it disappeared in a puff of purple smoke. Sam heard it talking with Lupe, whispering something or other about her. Lupe's head poked out from his room and Sam lifted a hand in greeting.
"Don't just look!" Chirithy whispered loud enough for Sam to hear.
Lupe slipped back into his room. They talked a moment more and Sam sighed.
"You guys know I can hear you, right?" Sam called and they quieted down.
"Oh yeah?" Lupe asked. "What's the last thing I said?"
Sam hesitated, before snorting and throwing up her hands. "Ok, I don't know exactly what you're saying, but I know you're talking about me."
Lupe snickered and walked out of his room with his hands stuffed in his coat pockets. "Nah you're hearing things. Hina and Ben should be back soon, then we'll be on our way."
"Great," Sam said in a way that sounded sarcastic, but it wasn't meant to be.
He looked over the table, nodding. "Looks like you got a bit done. I think."
She snorted again. "You have no idea, do you?"
He scrunched his mouth and shook his head. Sam rolled her eyes with a scoff.
Lupe looked around the apartment, puffing his cheeks and blowing out air. Then it seemed like an idea came to him and he walked over, smacking Sam's knee. "Come on, I've got an idea."
She peeked up at him, but didn't move.
"Come on," he laughed, motioning his arms despite them being in his pockets. "It'll be great."
"Fiiiine," she groaned, getting up.
They left the apartment and went down the stairs, each step rattling and vibrating the entire stairwell. Twilight Town was calmer than usual. Whatever festival they'd been celebrating finally seemed to end and things were getting back to normal. Sam followed after Lupe, her gaze settled on her feet while Lupe smiled at nearly every person they passed.
"There you are!" a girl's voice jolted Sam's attention. She looked up to see a slender blonde link her arm with Lupe's. She smiled sweetly, but had a layer of worry in her green eyes. "I was beginning to think you were sick."
Lupe chuckled, rubbing the back of his hair. "Yeah, sorry about that Anise. I hadn't meant to make you worry. I've been a bit busy."
Anise giggled and assured him it was fine. She didn't even acknowledge Sam there beside him. Normally, Sam would have assumed it meant the girl was trying to show off, mark her territory with a guy or something stupid like that. The type of thing Sam saw all the time when she was in school. But this didn't seem like that. The longer the interaction went, the more stilted it felt. Anise's eyes weren't quite right. They lacked a certain life about them. Did Anise even know she was there?
"Hey," Sam greeted slowly, her brow arched when Anise took a moment to see her.
"Oh! Hello!" Anise replied, her eyes finding Sam's. "I didn't see you there. Are you a friend of Lupe's?"
"Something like that," Lupe replied before Sam could engage more. He slid his finger under Anise's chin and tipped her face up. "I'll check in with you soon, ok?"
Anise giggled and clasped her hands together in front of her, beaming an incredibly sweet smile. "Sure! That sounds great."
Sam blinked. It was like Anise didn't even react to the affection. Lupe continued on and Sam took one more look between him and Anise before following after him.
Catching up, she asked, "Sooo, is that the girlfriend Hinata was telling me about?"
Lupe chuckled. "Hina spotted me with her, huh? Wonder when that happened?" He noticed Sam still looking at him expectantly and he shrugged. "We're not dating. Anise is just a friend."
Sam leaned forward, brows raised. It was nice to have something else to talk about besides Montressor. "You sure? Cause I don't see a lot of people doing whatever you did to just a friend."
He ruffled his hair, blowing out a breath. "It's, ah," a suave smirk curved his mouth, "it's complicated."
"Hah! Sure." Sam rolled her eyes. "Well it sure seems like she's into you."
She didn't see the way his smile fell slightly.
"Yeah?" he asked, stuffing his hands in his pockets.
"I mean, it was like she didn't even see me until I said something and I was right there."
Lupe hummed. He seemed thoughtful for a moment before perking up and changing the subject. "So about my idea…" He sped up to be in front of her and walked backwards. "How do you feel about training?"
Sam groaned, throwing back her head. "Please tell me that's not your idea. You're like Hinata. Finally get free time and the first thing she wants to do is spar."
Lupe snickered. "Let's make a game out of it. You win, and I'll tell you anything you want about Anise."
She perked up at that idea. "And if you win?"
His brow raised as if it were obvious and Sam looked away, annoyed.
"Do I look like I want to talk about my mom?" Sam asked.
"Then you better make sure you win," Lupe goaded, grinning when she glared up at him.
"Can't we train Avan some more or something?" Sam asked.
"Come on, just give it a try," Lupe said, nudging her with his elbow. He spun around on his heel and led the way. "I'll even let you get the first move."
"Oh wow, can't wait," she grumbled, still following him regardless.
Sam set up the training console. DiZ liked to have them training in the coliseum mockup, but that seemed too massive for what her and Lupe were wanting. Behind her, Lupe whispered with Chirithy, going through strange medal trinkets and attaching them to Lupe's Keyblade. She didn't know what they were going on about and tried to tune them out while she searched for a new arena.
She flipped through a forest environment and even one set under the water, but settled on a simple round room. It was larger than the sparring room on the Highwind, but small enough to not feel overwhelming. They'd have their space to move around without things in the environment getting too distracting. With a few select buttons, the arena through the window glitched into a new setting.
"This ok?" she asked, turning around.
Lupe got up, his Keyblade at the ready. He looked through the window at the arena before rustling her hair. "What, you didn't like the underwater one?"
Sam swatted him away. "If you're going to be so picky, why don't you pick one?"
He snickered. "Nah it's fine. Simple works." He swung his Keyblade over his shoulder. "Ready?"
She nodded, then glanced back at Chirithy putting the medals away in its bag. "What were those things?" she asked, motioning her head towards it.
Lupe held out his Keyblade, showing five slots beside the hilt. A distinct medal settled in each slot, shimmering with different colors of aura. "They're my spells. They basically enhance the blade."
"Huh," Sam looked at them. Each medal had intricate art decorating its surface with either gold or black metal trimming it. "Cool."
Pressing the button, a white light encapsulated them and they reappeared in the center of the arena. Sam pulled out her staff, clinking the two halves together. She went to the far side of the room while Lupe did the same on the opposite end. They turned around, facing the other. Sam's heart accelerated. She hadn't been nervous about sparring before but realized she'd never battled a Keyblade Wielder before either. She shifted her weight. Now wasn't the time to be getting cold feet.
"As promised, you get the first move," Lupe said, motioning towards her.
Her mechanical arm whirred to life, the crystal's light seeping out from the seams. A burst of energy shot from her palm and Lupe leapt into action. He sidestepped, the shot blasting into the wall. Sparks and chunks of rock spewed into the arena. Lupe's Keyblade ignited with magic. A ball of sparking electricity formed in front of him, shooting out an arch of lightning. Sam stood her ground, smirking. She reached out her hand and captured the bolt in her palm. It absorbed into her arm, circling it with blinding light.
She grimaced, sliding back from the force. Seeing her distracted, Lupe fired another spell, this one swiping with a blade of wind. It slammed Sam's waist, throwing her across the room. The remaining power of the lightning boomed against the floor. Scorch marks laid in its wake. Sam rolled back to her feet, aiming and firing a barrage of blasts in Lupe's direction. His blade came up, blocking each and every shot and sending it flying in another direction.
Sam growled, ducking to miss one of her stray shots. "Can't you even get hit?!"
"I'm sure at some point I will!" Lupe replied with a stupid grin that only spurred Sam on.
She swung her staff, separating it. Lupe fired another spell. Several bolts of lightning spired from the ceiling. Sam weaved between them, ice crystals covering half of her staff. Coming out from the storm, she yelled, throwing her staff towards him. As expected, he spun out of the way and it pierced the wall behind him. Shards of ice formed around it, crawling across the ground. Lupe's foot slipped forward, realizing all at once that he now stood on a layer of growing ice. He smirked towards Sam, impressed.
The staff shook, crystals shattering around it before it flew back into Sam's hand connecting with the other half of her staff. Another spell swirled through the air, dark clouds surrounded the room, shrouding the lights. Thunder rumbled, concealing the sounds of footsteps. Sam's arm helped her see, but only what was directly in front of her. She turned as she walked, a charged shot at the ready.
She stepped on the ice, gasping and sliding forward. Lupe snickered, the sound giving Sam just enough to go off of. She fired at the sound, clouds billowing out of the way and revealing the walls. At the sight, she went haywire and shot in every direction, dissipating the clouds. She didn't see Lupe.
Her chest heaved and her fingers tightened around her staff. He had to be somewhere.
"On your left!" Lupe yelled and Sam spun around, lifting her staff and clashing it against Lupe's Keyblade.
She skidded back, the force of the blow more powerful than she ever would have expected from him. "Why'd you tell me?" she demanded, barely having the chance to defend for another blow.
"Just making it fair!" Lupe countered with a strain in his voice, unrelenting with his attacks.
One attack, then another, each one destabilizing Sam until she fell to the ground, her staff clanking away. She scrambled back, arms burning. A shot fired from her palm and Lupe hit it away about to come in for another hit. Sam winced, waiting for it to come, but it never did. She opened her eyes, looking up. He stood above her, Keyblade limp at his side. Sweat dripped down his face, his chest heaving, but he smiled, shrugging.
"You did good," he told her.
She looked away. Of course he won. And now he stood there expectantly for her to pour her heart out. The last few puffs of the dark clouds wisped away, leaving the room visible again. Shards of the wall lay scattered across the floor along with blackened scorch marks scarring every place a deflected shot landed. It really had been quite the battle.
Wiping the sweat off her brow, she fell onto her back and stared up at the ceiling. Entire lights were blown out, raining a trail of sparks from the severed wires.
"What are you expecting me to tell you?" she asked, breaths labored. Lupe didn't say anything and her chest tightened. "You dragged me out here and put me up to this. You don't have anything to say about it?"
Still no reply, though she heard Lupe walking.
She groaned. "I don't know what you're looking for. My mom never cared. You saw it last night. That's it."
"Was she always like that?" Lupe asked softly.
"What does it matter?" she asked, blinking back a mixture of tears and sweat. "My mom stopped living the moment my dad left. Didn't matter what happened to me or to James, she didn't do anything. She might as well have been missing along with him." She scoffed and laughed bitterly. "She didn't even come and see me when I lost my fricken arm. Took two years before I finally left."
Lupe sat down and laid back on the opposite side of Sam, their heads barely touching. "You had to drop out, didn't you?"
Of course he already knew. Sam sighed. "Someone had to keep a roof over our heads."
"But you're still a tech genius," Lupe said and Sam choked out a half laugh.
"Mostly cause of my dad," she replied. "School didn't really teach anything like that. And it's not like I made a lot of friends there anyway. Humans aren't exactly popular back on Monstressor."
Lupe hummed. "You and Sarah seemed to be doing pretty well for yourselves."
"Yeah, well we both happened to know people that went on that Treasure Planet Expedition," she said.
"Hinata for you," Lupe said.
"Jim for Sarah," she finished. "Without them, both of us were sunk."
"But you managed to keep the shop going for a while before Hinata got there."
"Barely," she admitted. "Sometimes James would get his hands on some money that helped out. But we were scraping by until Hinata showed up."
Lupe was quiet for a while and Sam almost thought he'd gotten his fill, before he said, "You had to grow up on your own."
Sam nodded. "Yeah. Yeah I guess I did."
"And you resent your mom for that."
Sam's eyes stung and she cleared her throat. "Wouldn't you?"
"I… don't know," he answered honestly. "I don't really remember my family."
Her gaze flitted around the wrecked arena. "Not even little things?"
"I know I had one," he replied. "Siblings, maybe?" He let out a breath. "I know I miss them."
A tear streamed down Sam's cheek. "I… I'm sorry."
"I didn't mean to make it about me," he said.
"You didn't." Sam shook her head. "I miss my family, too."
They sat in silence for a while, both lost in their thoughts.
"I think that's part of the reason I get so mad around my mom," Sam broke the quiet. "I grew up thinking she cared about me. About all of us. Then… turns out the only one she really loved was my dad. Rest of us didn't matter anymore. Not enough to do anything about it." She ran her hand over her face. "I know she's broken. And I know she's finally trying, but why now? Why not then? It feels like the only thing pulling her out of it is the fact my dad might be alive. Which… only makes things worse."
Lupe hummed. He didn't seem to have an idea of what to say in reply and Sam didn't blame him. Talking things out about her mom hurt, her body ached and eyes burned, but it also relieved a tension inside her. Someone knew, someone even possibly understood. She breathed a sigh of relief, closing her eyes.
"Thanks… for listening," she whispered.
"Of course," Lupe replied with a smile in his voice. He let the quiet linger before saying, "You wanna know how I met Anise?"
Sam smirked. "I thought I had to win to learn such privileged info?"
Lupe snickered. "This one's on the house."
She chuckled too. "Well alright. Tell me how you met her."
"It was a while ago before I met you guys. I didn't know what to do with myself when I first woke up in Twilight Town. Chirithy and I had no idea how we even showed up there or who we were before. So one day I was just wandering the streets and this girl from the candy shop noticed me and offered me a free candy."
"And that was Anise?" she asked.
"Yeah," he replied with a fond laugh. "It made my day, honestly. Someone reaching out to help a stranger. After that I started going to her shop to buy candies whenever I felt sad and eventually we started talking. I offered to help out once and carried a heavy box into her shop, and she offered me to stick around and I hung out inside the shop with her. She taught me how to serve the customers and put me to work," he laughed. "She even made fun of me when I messed up. But it was fun and a great way to kill time. I… think it's cause of her I was able to land on my feet and get on track before I met you guys."
"Wow," Sam said. "And you're not dating her?"
Lupe snorted and Sam sputtered into a laugh with him. "You're not letting that go, are you?"
"Definitely not," Sam told him with amusement still heavy in her voice. "But she seems nice. I'm glad you had her."
"Me too," he agreed.
An intercom flickered to life, Ben's voice coming through it. "Hello? Check, check… Is this thing working? I don't see the light."
"Oh my god." Sam pressed her hands against her face.
"Ah! There we go," Ben cleared his throat. "We're officially on our way to Glee Anselm! We will be arriving in approximately… fifteen hours. So make yourselves comfy, put on a movie, and enjoy the ride!" The hum of the intercom switched off and they were left alone again.
Fifteen hours until they reached her dad. The nerves surged inside of her and she let out a shaking breath. She pushed herself to sit up, hissing at the way her muscles throbbed.
"I'm going to spend the entire time in a hot bath," Sam said and Lupe chuckled.
"Can't say I blame you." He stretched his arms. "But if you get out before then, the offer's still up to train Avan. We should probably get him ready since it'll be his first mission." He stood and offered his hand to Sam, helping her up.
"Good call," she said, looking around. "I should probably call Jim, too." She blew out a breath. "Guess it's good we have such a long ride till we get there."
Lupe smiled softly at her, then looked out towards the glass window that led back inside the lab. "Hey Chirithy! You can bring us back when you're ready."
White light covered them and they reappeared back inside the lab. Sam thanked Lupe for the training and made her way back to her room. She glanced back at him once before she left completely, smiling to herself.
**Author's Note: Thank you so much for reading!
I forgot to mention in the previous chapter, but everything on Hawaii with the experiments is all based on the Lilo and Stitch tv show! You can find the whole thing on Disney+ it's super cute. Houdini is from ep23 in the first season. And Mr. Fluffy Bear appears in ep2. There will be a good handful of experiments in the next couple chapters, I'll make sure to cite their episodes (if they have one) in the author's notes. It's just fun to see where they came from!
And in case anyone is curious or confused about Stitch's whereabouts, he is indeed helping Sora out right now. Remember when you find him in KH2 in Hollow Bastion? He falls onto Ansem's computer and then becomes a summon. So in this story, he left to try to find a way to stop the Organization and ran into Sora along the way. So they are working together to do it.
I'm really enjoying going back and forth between Keres and the others. This has been something I've been nervous about, but now that we're here, I'm having a lot of fun. Keres is blossoming into her own and everyone else is diving deeper into themselves and growing from it.
Glee Anselm is coming up next for our Highwind Crew and it's going to be such a blast. I've been brushing up on my Star Wars for it and I think I've got things outlined. Jarith is going to be interesting too.
Anyway, thank you again for reading! If you enjoyed it, please don't forget to leave a comment with your thoughts!
Have a fantastic week!**