Operation Box hunt
Elrena and Lauriam were still conversing amongst themselves when a portal opened, Lea and Isa arriving. As soon as they appeared her grief vanished from her face, replaced by a businesslike expression, as if she had donned a mask. So sudden was the shift Lauriam gave her a look of surprise before he had to turn his attention to the newcomers. An exchange of polite but cool greetings followed.
"Just so you know, having you two involved wasn't our idea." Elrena said.
"Noted." Lea said.
"I trust Aqua has told you of what our mission today is?" Lauriam asked.
"The main points." Isa replied. "We are looking for a box in Maleficent's possession. Which she in turn stole from the Foretellers. And that Luxu is also searching for the box, so we need to be on our guard."
"She also did tell us how you found out about this box. About who clued you in." Lea added, giving Elrena a pointed look. Elrena scoffed and looked away with a sour expression on her face, crossing her arms. Lauriam in turn gave Lea a look of warning.
"But there are a number of other things we don't know yet admittedly. Like what are you hoping we'll find inside the Box. Or where we are we to search for it." Isa continued.
"Well… we don't actually know the answers to those questions ourselves." Lauriam had to admit.
"Seriously? You're telling me you're completely winging it? Knowing where to look would be a rather important detail don't you think? How could you possibly forget to ask about that?" Lea asked, dumbstruck.
"There was a lot going on in that conversation. Once I've had the chance to explain the whole deal you'll see why the box might have not been the most pressing thing on my mind. Plus it didn't seem like she had the answer to that question either. Luxu would hardly need to look for the Box if they already knew." Elrena countered.
Lea sighed in frustration, throwing his hands. Isa was quieter, keeping his thoughts to himself. But he too seemed disappointed that they had this little to work with.
Elrena bit her lip. "… I might have an idea though, if you're willing to listen."
"Well, don't keep us in suspense then." Isa said.
"I've heard that people who do bad things like to run home afterwards, because that's where they feel safest. So maybe that's where we should start?" She explained. "It's just a hunch, but…"
Lauriam briefly considered the suggestion. "It might work. As good as place to start as any I say."
Isa pondered for a moment, then shrugged. "It's not like we have any other clues to pursue at the moment. We might as well give this a shot."
"Well… it's better than nothing at all I suppose. I just hope that all this doesn't end up being a massive waste of our time." Lea said, giving a dismissive wave of his hand.
"At the very least we should not be wasting it on standing around. So let's get going." Lauriam said. He summoned his keyblade, about to open a portal for them.
"Wait just a sec. One other thing before we go." Lea interrupted.
"Aqua… asked us to give you these." He said, tossing both of them a package.
Elrena's eyes lit up as she opened the packet, discovering a shoulder guard. "She finished them? Excellent! Ought to come in handy if we end up in a fight. We're better off avoiding one of course. But you never know."
She and Lauriam immediately went to put on their shoulder guards, getting their armors ready to use. Lea meanwhile strapped on his armor as well. Then he stopped, tapping the crystal in the center uncertainly.
"Something the matter?" Lauriam asked.
"No, no it's fine. I just need to…" Lea said before tapering to a halt, staring at his shoulder guard.
Isa observed the moment for several seconds, then put a hand on Lea's shoulder.
"Um… maybe this isn't the right time to let pride get in the way? Odds are we're heading to a dangerous place. So we'll need every advantage we can get." He whispered to Lea.
Lea made a face, unhappy that he would need to stoop so low.
"I… might need some directions on how to make this thing work. Aqua said you two could show me what to do." He then asked reluctantly.
Elrena hid a mocking smile behind her hand.
Giving a sidelong glance at Elrena, Lauriam nodded, trying to keep his tone diplomatic. "It's alright. I'll walk you through it."
"So this is the box you were asking me about?" Hades asked with curiosity, running his hand along the surface of the box.
"Yeah, and your lousy advice had us finding a whole 'nother box. You have no idea how much digging I had to do just to find…" Pete complained.
"Silence." Maleficent cut him off.
"But indeed, despite some complications I have now claimed the box in my name." She said, obviously pleased with herself.
Hades merely shrugged. "So, looks like you've got what you wanted, Sister. What in the Underworld did you drag me here for? Just to brag? Because I've better things to do."
His attention was drawn back to the box, eyes narrowing as he examined it in greater detail. "Although… it does look like that is the great-great-grandmother of all locks on the box."
"Is that it? You're looking for a locksmith?" He said, chuckling.
The satisfied look on Maleficent's face soured somewhat. "In a manner of speaking. Like you noted the box is well protected. To overcome such defenses may require… power. Mine of course is considerable. But to ensure success I believed it prudent to reach out to some old allies. And perhaps to gather some new ones as well. You happen to be the first of several I planned to approach."
"So in other words you aren't able to do this yourself so you need others to help you out." Hades summarized. Maleficent appeared slightly irked that he had put it quite so bluntly.
"And uh, what would your glorified locksmiths be getting in return?" He asked. "You've got to have brought something to the table. You aren't quite so lacking in self-awareness to think anyone would help you out of the goodness of their hearts."
"Not much goodness to have between our compatriots, as you and I know all too well." She replied. "Worry not. I have every intention to offer a fair bargain."
Maleficent's raven flew down to sit on her shoulder, her hand rising to absently pet the bird. "The earlier partnership between our group certainly had potential. If not for Sora and his meddlesome friends we might have been successful in taking over the worlds. Alas, the fools proved stubborn in their resistance. But I believe the Box contains a book, one connected to the worlds themselves. Once I have claimed it and bent it to my will it will become a weapon I can use to tip the balance in our favor. So that is what I offer: With those that assist me I shall share the power. And we can rule all the worlds together! And make Sora and his bothersome minions pay for their interference."
"And those who refuse you will get crushed under your heel, yada, yada, yada. Pretty standard sales pitch from you I'd say. You know, you really ought to spice these things up a little once in a while. There are a few handy tricks to convince reluctant people to take deal I could tell you about… but I won't. Got to keep some trade secrets, right?" He said.
"The last time I listened to you ended up being a massive waste of time." He continued before Maleficent had a chance to speak up. Probably missed out on a whole bunch of opportunities to get rid of Herc the jerk and his pompous daddy. Plus thanks to Sora and his idiot buddies getting involved my own plans of conquering kinda went down the drain. I'm not sure how do you figure some book is going to make a second attempt at the same go any differently. From where I'm standing it sounds like you're grasping at straws. You've just started and already this whole operation feels like it's on shaky feet. And I'm not at all certain I'm interested in throwing my hat in this race for a second time."
"Although, although, although…" He added, tapping his finger to his lip. "I did come across a rather interesting tidbit of news recently. It appears that Sora has gone missing."
"What? The little pip-squeak is out of the picture?" Pete asked, delighted by the news. Even Maleficent appeared intrigued.
"Looks that way. Well, I'm not sure if he's gone gone, since he hasn't passed through the underworld to my knowledge. I would have thrown a party if that had happened. But it doesn't look like he's running around causing trouble either. And apparently his friends are having trouble figuring out where he is." Hades replied.
"Well… that is certainly an auspicious sign for the future. All the more important to act now, while we have an advantage. We…" Maleficent began.
"Well, well… if it isn't the Pawn that thinks she's the Queen." A new voice spoke up, startling all three of them. Maleficent's raven, also spooked, took flight, escaping to sit on a window high above.
"Honestly, I should have known this is where you'd choose to run. I would have saved so much time if I had just thought for a moment. But oh well. I'm here now at least." Said a figure in a black coat, his face concealed behind a hood, walking confidently to the center of the room. "Don't bother calling for your guard-creatures. They're pretty much routed after the first few tried to get in my way."
"Who are you? And how dare you intrude into my home?" Maleficent demanded angrily.
"Can't you guess? Well, you may know about me at least. Perhaps you've even heard a name you could recognize. And I certainly know you." The stranger said. He lowered his hood.
Instantly there was a flash of recognition in Maleficent's eyes. "You. You're one of the ones guarding over the box."
"Oh, bravo! Full marks." He replied, clapping sarcastically. "And the name, as it happens, is Luxu."
"And since you seem to know who I am after all, it doesn't take a genius to figure out what I've come here for." He added.
He pointed at the box. "That does not belong to you. So I suggest you hand it over before there is trouble."
"Oh dear. It looks like you snatching the box has attracted some unwanted guests. Who could have guessed?" Hades commented from the sidelines.
"Quiet!" Luxu and Maleficent said in unison.
Maleficent sneered at Luxu. "Well… my congratulations on tracking me down so efficiently. And on getting past my troops. They aren't the most efficient creatures, but they are certainly sufficient in number to repel a casual intrusion. I must remember to discipline them for daring to flee. Clearly they have grown lax in my absence."
"But as for you… if you think I will simply relinquish this prize, you are a fool. You have make made a terrible mistake in coming here. This is my land, and I will suffer no trespass." She continued.
"So, I suppose trouble is your preference then? That's fine by me. This antic of yours has crossed some lines. Was already thinking you need to be taught a good lesson for trying." Luxu said.
Maleficent smirked. "How very confident, to think that you could best me. Me, the Mistress of all Evil!"
"The Mistress of all Evil? How dramatic." Luxu said, unimpressed. "What you really are is an arrogant moron who is stupid enough to insist she's in charge. Can't even see how you've been used by the real players of this game. At least I have the decency to acknowledge I'm just a piece on the board."
"Now that is just uncalled for…" Hades tried.
"I said quiet! I'm in no mood for you either." Luxu warned.
Maleficent scoffed, stretching her neck. "Pete… stand guard over the Box. No one is to touch it."
"Yes, Ma'am, you've got it! Ain't nobody getting past old Pete!" Her sidekick replied, thumping his fists together.
"And you," She added, pointing at Hades. "stay put, aid me or begone. I care not which you choose. But lay one hand on the Box, and you lose the hand. Here you are no god, so rest assured I can make good on the threat."
With that she spread her arms, becoming an expanding wall of black as she transformed. Once her transformation was complete her dragon form roared at Luxu, spitting a jet of green flame at him. In a blur almost too fast to see he moved out of the way, the flames scorching the rocks where he had been standing. He then summoned his weapon, and charged. The force of their clash caused the whole castle to shake, dust; pebbles and smaller rocks falling from the more ruined portions of Maleficent's home in a most concerning manner.
"Now this seems like a show worth watching. Too bad I didn't happen to bring any snacks." Hades commented, leaning against the wall.
"You ain't going to help her none?" Pete asked, eyeing the violent clash with some concern.
"What? Nah. I don't owe her any notable favors as I recall. If she can handle this she doesn't need my help. And if she can't, well… then she doesn't deserve it. No, I think I'll watch this play out, then decide what is the smart thing to do." Hades replied.
"Say, how come you're not lending her a hand? Since you're working for her, it kind of seems like your job." He inquired.
Pete took one look at the ongoing fight and swallowed with a loud gulp.
"Well, erm… you see, Maleficent wanted me to guard the box. So that's what I aim to do. Can't let her down you know! So, um, mitts off." He explained.
"So that's why you're choosing to stay on the sidelines? Why of course. How very dutiful of you." Hades said, chuckling to himself.
Lauriam, Elrena, Lea and Isa were trudging along in the Corridor of Darkness. There was almost no sound around, every noise they were making sounding unnaturally loud. And the only illumination was from a pinprick of light ahead of them. It seemed both close and very far away, the darkness distorting sense of distance as well as time.
Elrena started slightly when Lea spoke up, breaking the silence: "So… is there anything more you can tell us about you little chat with Invi?"
Elrena sighed loudly. "There is more in fact. But I don't want to talk about it now. And certainly not here. We have a job to do. So let's get it squared away. And then you'll hear a story."
"You know, it just strikes me how convenient this all is. You, meeting up with one of the Foretellers, who somehow knew exactly where and how to seek you out. And now we're going on a treasure hunt based on a tip she provided to you. And you seem totally okay with listening to what she told you. I mean… I've yet to hear you questioning it in the least. A more suspicious person might think something was…up." Lea pressed.
"Oh you are definitely one of the suspicious types. Always that, you…" Elrena muttered, her body visibly tensing, her hand clenching.
"If this were to be a trap like you allude, then the two of us would be caught in it as well. And I don't care for your tone." Lauriam said.
"Not necessarily a trap for you. If you were in on it I'd bet you'd be perfectly safe. And that supposing the trap was even meant for those of us here. For all I know…" Lea continued.
One moment Elrena was continuing to walk forward towards their destination. Next Lea had to come to an abrupt halt as she was right in his face. "Would you just give a rest already!?"
"Since we got recompleted we've been working our butts off to redeem ourselves. We were the ones who warned you about the Foretellers when you didn't even know anything about them. And the Darknesses they carry. Aqua, Terra and Ven are alive because we intervened. We've helped you train and prepare. We've fought at your side and risked death for you. And most everybody already accepts that. They accept that we are not their enemy. And then there is you with this, this… insane conspiracy theory mindset of yours! Viewing everything we do with suspicion." She berated him, thumping his chest with her finger several times for emphasis.
"And yeah, we acted hastily with the mirror. We messed up, I admit it. But we told you before and I'll tell you again: We'll do everything we can to make up for it. And either way, that doesn't warrant whatever this is! So what is your problem!?" She continued.
Lea rolled his eyes. "Oh, I don't know. Maybe because I've worked with a version of you before and I know full well you're capable of betrayal if it suits you."
Lauriam opened his mouth to protest but Elrena was quicker: "So could you, you utter, utter jerk! And if the rest of the Guardians treated you the way you're treating us, they'd have thrown you out the moment you showed your face to join them!"
"And for the record, I could plan to betray the Organization, because I was never with the Organization. Not truly. The side I was really on I never betrayed." She added.
Lea shrugged. "Okay. Actually that part I can buy. And I suppose in a way that is exactly the problem I'm having with you. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that you have some kind of bond with Invi. And you hid it until we stumbled across it. You haven't even tried to explain what is going on between you two. In fact when I asked about it you claimed it was *no business of mine*. Well with everything going on now I'm feeling like making it my concern. If I don't get a straight answer from you how am I supposed to know which side you are really on? And if I don't know that then how am I to trust you?"
For several seconds Elrena was dumbstruck. Then she burst out into a humorless laugh. "Oh for the love of…seriously? You're going to pull that on me? What I've gone through today and you really want me to… you really are a piece work, did you know that?"
She pursed her lips, then shrugged to herself. "Okay then. You wish to have an answer about who she is to me? If that's the price of you leaving me alone then I'll give you one."
"Elrena, you don't need to…" Lauriam tried.
"Oh, but I think I do. There is no other way to get him to shut his mouth. And I've had quite enough of him." She interrupted him. "If he insists on twisting the knife, then let's get it over with. Once and for all."
"You really think you're special for regarding me with suspicion, huh?" She said, her and Lea glaring at each other. "Well that's where you are wrong. I've survived far worse than you. As a child, my own people threw me out of my home. Not because I had done anything. I was just different, and when darkness began to destroy our home they decided to blame me for it, when in truth I was innocent. I was just a child, and they threw me out to die. And I would've, deserted by everyone I had once loved. Only… she found me, saved me. And more than that. When everyone else had denied me their compassion she gave me hers. She helped me back to my feet, gave me hope so I could live again. She taught me to be a wielder, everything I know about that role. That is who she is to me."
Elrena's admissions seemed to give Lea some pause, his expression becoming contemplative. "Well if that's the case… then why should I believe that you'd ever pick her over us?" He nevertheless asked. "By rights you should be totally loyal to her. It's either that or you don't even have enough sense of gratitude to be moved by it. Which would make you even more dangerous to the rest of us. So how exactly does that support the notion that you can be trusted?"
Elrena sighed. "You know… you're right. I've been loyal to her. I still am. But the Guardians have also earned my loyalty. I've agonized over who I would choose if I had to, knowing there is no good choice. But the part that you don't get is that she has solved that problem for me in the worst way possible."
She bowed her head, trembling. "She has come here to die. They all have. And they're trusting us to be their executioners. That's what she told me."
She turned her eyes to Isa. "A while back you speculated that the Darknesses inside them are the true enemy. You were right. And they believe the only way to defeat that Darkness is to take it with them. And they believe it's the destiny of all of us to do it.
"Elrena that's…" Isa tried, at a loss for word.
"Do you get it now, you oaf? I won't betray you, because I don't wish to, and no one I'm loyal to wants it either. And yeah, I wanted to be loyal to her too. But I only wished to save her. It's no more than what you would want to do for those dear to you. But I may not be able to, because she refuses me. Do you even get what that means?" She told Lea.
"It's just… brutally ironic, isn't it? She gave me so much. Everything I have. And in return I may end up…" She said, her voice quivering.
Fighting back tears she shook her head, throwing her arms. "I've had enough. I have no time for this, and you're not worth it."
"I have work to do today, so I'm going to go with him" -she pointed at Lauriam- "and we'll get it done. You don't want to help? Then go back. I don't care. I'm not looking for your forgiveness. I'm not looking for your approval. I don't even require your trust. If you choose to withhold them? Too bad. I'll just make do without then. I've toughed it out through lot worse, believe me. And I already have those things everywhere it counts."
With that she left, heading towards the exit from the corridor. Lauriam gave and angry look at Lea, and hurried after her. Lea and Isa stayed where they were, at a loss.
"Well, that might have gone better." Isa said, rubbing the back of his head.
"At least she didn't tear my head off." Lea said.
"I believe she was at least considering it." Isa replied.
"Yeah. It looked to me like she was." Lea said with a joyless chuckle.
"I pressed her pretty hard. I had my reasons. Good reasons in my head. But I have to say, I didn't expect anything like that." He said, sounding tired.
"No. Me neither." Isa concurred quietly.
"Perhaps she had a point. Maybe we've treated them unfairly." He added.
"You too, huh?" Lea asked.
"I'm just listening to what she was telling us, Lea. If I was judged solely on what I did when I was a Nobody, what right would I have to stand here today? Maybe we should be focusing what they have done now, as humans, rather than what went before. And maybe we should at least allow them to show they're trustworthy." Isa told him.
Lea was quiet for a time.
"Come on. We should go lend them a hand at least. It's what we came here to do." He said then.
And so Lea and Isa ran after them.
The four of them emerged on the winding stone road leading to Maleficent's castle. As soon as they arrived a horde of Maleficent's goblin creatures rushed at them. Thinking they were being attacked they called their weapons, preparing for a fight. But to their confusion the creatures just ran past them, squealing piteously, many of them dropping their weapons as they fled.
"What the-? Where are they off to in such a hurry?" Elrena asked, staring after the fleeing creatures.
Just then there was a loud boom in the distance. Turning their eyes towards the castle, the four of them noted the flashes and sparks coming from within, one of the castle walls cracking as they watched.
"Uh oh." Isa breathed. "That has got to be Luxu."
"Then that means we're running out of time. Let's move!" Lauriam said and took off running along the rocky road.
"Well, what do you know? Looks like your hunch was right. And on the first try no less." Lea commented to Elrena as they ran.
"Well, I do get an occasional flash of inspiration." Elrena replied.
Lea paused. "Elrena, I…"
"No." She cut him off sternly. "Now we focus on the mission. Anything else will wait its turn."
Lea nodded and they hurried towards the castle.