Of boxes & foul weather
"So let me get this straight. You are saying that Invi sought you out, put Lauriam under a sleep spell, then had a chat with with you, El? And she told you that Maleficent now has the Black Box the Organization was looking for leading up to the Keyblade War?" Aqua asked over the Gummiphone Lauriam was holding.
Both of them had now made their way down from the tower and were standing just outside the castle gates. Elrena had spent some time telling Lauriam of everything that Invi had revealed to her. Once she had gotten herself sufficiently together to think they had checked with the researchers to make sure nothing bad had happened while they had been distracted by the castle staff. The folks in the castle had been shocked to hear one of the Foretellers had been in the castle without any of them knowing about it. Even in particular was swearing up and down that he would develop a warning system that could warn them of Dark Corridors opening within the castle.
For the moment they did not have the heart to tell them about the machine. Of what their stolen tech had been used for. Though they supposed letting them know was inevitable…
Knowing everyone was safe and having had a moment to plan they had decided to call Aqua, to deal with the most immediate concern on their minds:
"That's the gist of it, Blue." Elrena confirmed. "She suggested that we go and retrieve the box for ourselves. Though she stressed the choice of what to do belonged to us."
"And you truly think it might be a good idea to listen to her advice? I don't know… it might be a better idea to gather more information before we act on this." Aqua said hesitantly.
"We may not have the kind of window to do that. According to Invi Luxu is already searching for the Box. If we wait odds are he'll get it. So if we are going to act on this we need to start right now." Lauriam pointed out.
"But have either of you considered she might be leading us into a trap? What if the Foretellers are waiting for us? Would this be worth that risks when we don't even know what's in the box?" Aqua replied.
Elrena bit her lip, considering how best to proceed. "…Let the two of us chance it." She finally said.
"We were the ones she told us about it. And we both think this is worth pursuing, even if for no other reason than to make sure no one else has this. So it'll be our responsibility, our decision. And if we're wrong… then that'll be on our heads too. You don't have to put anyone else at risk over our hunch."
"I see… and are you absolutely sure about this? Having considered the possibility she might have told you what she did hoping for exactly that reaction?" Aqua asked.
Elrena shook her head. "I don't believe Invi wouldn't do that. Not to me. And… if there is a fraction of truth in what she told me, then a trap would be the very last thing she would want to do."
A moment of silence on the other end of the phone. "…I would very much like to know why you are so certain of that. And why you were the one of all of us she thought safe to approach. And this time I think I wish to have the full story."
Elrena bowed her head, nodding. "You'll have it."
"Good. But since you're going to be busy we can discuss that later." Aqua said.
"If you are confident this is genuine then I agree to let you go get the box for us. But not alone. I'll get you some backup." She added.
"You don't need to do that. Like Elrena said this is our responsibility to handle." Lauriam said.
"I'd rather play it safe and give you some help." Aqua said.
"I see. In that case… thank you." Lauriam said.
"You're still in Radiant Garden?" She asked.
"Yeah. We are." He confirmed.
"I'll have Lea and Isa meet you there. Wait for them." She said.
Elrena gave an annoyed groan. "Really? Those two? Couldn't you send, like… anyone else?"
"Anyone else I might send is busy. Kairi and Terra are going to have their Mark of Mastery exam, Mickey is expected to preside over it with me alongside Yen Sid and Ven is helping me get all of it ready. And I am not about to explain Lea and Isa why I sent Roxas and Xion on a mission with you without involving them. And sending all of them is more than I want to risk at the moment." Aqua countered. "I could ask Donald and Goofy to assist you, but they are out doing their own thing again, so I don't know if I could recall them quickly enough to act on this."
"Besides, I think it might do you four some good to do a mission together. Don't think I haven't noticed how you've been acting towards one another. You could stand to get some of the poison out, before it causes a problem. Very few remedies for that more effective than watching each other's backs in a fight. So I expect you to behave like adults, setting your differences aside long enough to get this done." She continued.
"Unless you're telling me you're unable to do that?" She teased.
Elrena couldn't help but smile. "Alright, alright. You win. We'll do this with them."
"Good." Aqua said simply.
"So… Invi. What else did she tell you? It sounded like there was more than just the box?" She asked next.
Elrena gave a joyless chuckle. "More than you could believe. But the rest of this… not over the phone. I think it would be better that we are all together when we explain it, face to face. This is big, Blue. At least as big as the last batch of revelation bombs we got, if not more. Besides… I think we need to have some more time to process all this. It was an insane amount to take in all at once. Hopefully by the time we come back we have figured out how to explain it all."
"Hmm… somehow I get the impression that when you're saying we you really mean yourself. But alright. I look forward to hearing all about it when you get back." Aqua said.
"One other thing. The light vials Ventus was given. You need to get them away from him. Do not let him use them, no matter what." Lauriam interjected.
"Really?" Aqua asked, surprised. "And why is it necessary to…"
"Do not let him use the vials! He will never forgive himself if he does!" Lauriam said insistently.
"Alright… alright. I'll get that done." Aqua said, slightly perplexed.
"Wait for your backup, then make your move. Get this over with but do it safely. I want everyone to come back from this in one piece, you hear?" She commanded.
"We hear you. We'll get it done." Lauriam said.
"And keep me updated on your progress. That's it for now. We'll see you lot when you get back." She added, then ended the call.
With the call ended, Elrena sighed heavily. "*Looking forward to hearing all about it*… she is going to regret that statement." She muttered.
"Yeah. Everything Invi told you… it's not going to be fun telling all of that to the others." Lauriam agreed. "Especially since most likely it'll lead to us having to spill the beans about everything else we know. I hope they're ready for it. Now it seems they have to be."
"I… may need to take charge of the telling. I don't think I'll be able to hold it together if I have talk about this to them. You I can manage. You are… well, you're safe. But with the others… it's all too fresh. Far too fresh. I'll handle telling Blue my own story when it's time. But the rest of this I think ought to be yours." She told him.
"Understood." He said, nodding.
"But on that matter… from the sounds of it Invi put you through a lot right now, with everything she told you. Are you… I mean, what do you need?" He then asked.
Elrena gave a sad sigh. "Lauriam, what do you want me to say? What can I say? Or you? She saved my life, gave me so much. Now that it's my turn to save her not only does she refuse to let me, but she tells me I might be fated to help destroy her and all he comrades. That it's the reason I'm alive here and now. And that all our lives, every damn thing that has ever happened, has been masterminded to create a big fight to kill monsters from the literal dawn of days that Light caused to exist by mistake. The scale of that is just… absolute bonkers levels of insane. And to top it all off she's done… unspeakable things, just to endure until we are ready. No offense, but what do you think you might say or do that would magically make that alright?"
Lauriam rubbed the back of his head, looking down. "When you put it like that… you're right. Not much I can do. And I can't say I'm much happier about this than you are."
"Should we, uh, tell Even not to bother with the extra replicas? Since she rejected the option?" He asked.
Elrena considered. "No. Let him keep at it for the time being. This is not the final word yet. For all we know she might yet change her mind. So better safe than sorry." She then said.
Lauriam nodded, though his expression was worried. "But… Elrena, if she does not wish to be rescued…"
"I'm not giving her up that easily! I can no more do that than you could with your sister!" She snapped at him, perhaps a bit more harshly than she intended.
"I get what you're trying to do. Like her you're trying to make me accept what's coming, so it'll hurt less then it happens. But I'm not ready to do that yet. Perhaps not at all. She believes she is beyond hope. And perhaps she is even right about that. But until we cross that threshold I'm not about to just roll over and let it happen. You of all people should be able to know why I can't just accept that at the first obstacle." She continued.
"I… I'm sorry. I didn't mean…" He apologized.
Elrena's expression softened. "No… I'm sorry. I shouldn't take it out on you."
She closed her hands as her hands rose to rub her temples. "This all is just… it's so much. I'm not at all okay with this. Not in the slightest. It's all just spinning out of my control and there is nothing I can do."
"Damn. I think this is too big to fit in my box." She said to herself.
"Box?" Lauriam repeated.
"And old survival trick of mine. When I had to deal with hurts, bad memories that I couldn't manage, I shut it out. Buried it deep in the depths of my mind and went on living like it never even happened. That's the box."
"So like an aching tooth you just… removed it?" He asked.
"Rather than dealing with it, yeah. But at times, a lot of times, it was the only way for me to keep it together." She replied.
Her eyes still closed, she winced. "But this… this is too big. Too many dimensions to it. And her… I can't cut her off like that. Not when she's here and alive."
She shuddered her voice cracking. "But the thing is, if not in the box, I don't know how to handle it. That's not how I've ever done it. So how am I supposed to…?"
As she began weeping once more Lauriam went to hug her.
"I don't know what to do. Lauriam, please… I don't know what do." She sobbed.
In the Land of Departure, where the Guardians had relocated for the duration of the Mark of Mastery Exam, Aqua had gathered Lea and Isa into the entrance hall. She had just informed them of their upcoming mission.
"Seriously? You want us… to go on a mission with them?" Lea asked.
"Yes, I am. And no, I'm not going to change my mind about it. Lauriam and Elrena had this same exact protest, and I didn't let them wiggle out of it either. This is what is expected of you, so I expect you to man up and do it. And I'll not hear anything more about it." Aqua said firmly.
"Okay, okay. No need to get all worked up about it. We'll go." Lea said, raising his hands. "Just stunned this option was at the top of your list is all."
"Willingness aside, are you sure it's a good idea to send any of us away, given all the other weirdness going on here?" Isa asked.
"What those two doing sounds risky in the extreme, so they need whatever assistance can be spared. You're what's available, so that is why you're going. And that is why this isn't up for discussion."
She crossed her arms, bowing her head in contemplation. "Nothing else has happened. So I'm hoping this is just all of us freaking out over nothing. And in case it's not… well that is just one more reason to only send you two and keep most of us together. Strength in numbers. And all the more reason to sort this out quickly and with a minimum of hassle, so you can all be back here."
"But that does mean I need you to be on your best behavior out there. We're getting to a point where any animosity within the group could prove deadly. So enough. Whatever issues you four have, put them aside and sort them out some other day." She told them.
"Understood." Isa said, nodding. "We had best get started. We shouldn't keep them waiting."
"Before you do though, I have something for you that ought to help." Aqua said, handing Lea a trio of packages.
"My latest batch of keyblade armors. One for you, and two for them. I trust Lauriam and Elrena can tell you how to prepare them for use." She explained.
"Okay then. I guess we'll have these delivered along the way then." Lea said.
The two of them turned to leave.
"Why do I always get stuck with the icky jobs?" She heard him grumble as he was opening the door.
"Well, it's both of us this time around. And besides, it's one job. I don't think it's too much to ask you to stomach that." Isa replied.
"Well… let's just get it over with. The sooner we do that the sooner it's done." Lea said. Then the door closed and the two were gone.
Aqua gave a frustrated sigh, shaking her head. She truly had little patience for the rivalry between these four. Hopefully her advice had been heeded, by both groups. And hopefully Elrena was right and this calculated risk would prove worth it. Because there was risk, and perhaps more ways than one.
After a while of pacing, pondering and planning, she stopped, looking at the door. Then she proceeded through it, stepping outside. Her eyes lingered on the surrounding landscape, a worried expression on her face.
"This weather… just doesn't make sense." She whispered to herself.
It had all started last night, right after they had returned here. The evening before the wind had picked up, rattling the castle windows far into the night. That night she had been asleep on Terra's arms. But then, at precisely the stroke of midnight she had suddenly jolted awake, an unexplainable sense of foreboding and danger squeezing her chest. On its own she might have been able to dismiss that, but Terra had woken in that instant as well, having the exact same feeling. Stepping outside their room to investigate they had found the others, likewise awoken for the same reason.
The standing theory they all agreed on was that some magical warning system had been set off in the castle, waking all of them at the same time. It made the most sense, though Aqua had never been told of such a system. That of course did not mean such a spell didn't exist here, unknown even to Eraqus. More troubling, however, was the question of what might have set off their hypothetical alarm in the first place?
She, Terra and Ventus had teamed up and searched the castle that same night checking for intruders or signs of a break-in. She had inspected all the magical defenses in the castle, laying new wards of her own everywhere she though they might be needed. She supposed she should have completed the work by going to check the defenses on the castle grounds. But none of them had felt comfortable setting foot outside that night.
After the task was done they had all crammed themselves to one of the rooms so as to be safe. For the remainder of the night they had taken turns keeping watch, two of them staying awake at all times to guard the others, ready to sound the alarm should they notice anything suspicious.
When morning had arrived they had finally dared to take a peek outside, and had beheld what she was seeing now. The air had turned bitterly cold, every surface coated in hoarfrost. The winds were continuing to blow, adding more bite to the chill. Looking up the sky was covered in thick clouds, so dense you could barely even see the sun. Though it was around midday, everything was cast in a gloom, like very late in the evening.
Wintry weather was of course not unknown in the Land of Departure. She had so many good memories of playing in the snow with Terra when they had both still been kids. And when they had had time from their training, more than once had both of them given themselves over to that same playfulness with Ventus. But this… this was unseasonal, particularly as this had appeared practically overnight. This…felt like it heralded something malicious. The forests, hills and valleys of their home were usually so inviting, all but asking for one to take a pleasant stroll. But now… she could not shake the feeling that something bad would happen if she went out there.
Long ago Eraqus had told her this land was sensitive. Attuned to the balance of Light and Darkness in the worlds. She wondered if that had something to do with this. If this change was somehow a symptom of a change in that balance. But if so, she dreaded the possible explanations as to what might have caused such a change.
She truly hoped this was not an ill omen for Terra and Kairi's Mark of Mastery Exam. She also wondered if she should have advised Lauriam and Elrena of this during her call with them. But no, no reason to worry them with something they could not possibly control. And Lea and Isa might save her the trouble anyway. Besides, despite her concerns she did not know if this was truly anything more than a freak change in weather and an unexpected but coincidental glitch in the castle defenses.
A sudden gush of rogue wind hit her suddenly, causing her to yelp. Shivering and her arms wrapped around herself, she hurried inside, shutting the door behind her.
