Fellowship & Fairydust

“Heartless?” I asked. “Here?”

A series of crashes and screams answered my question, causing us to look in the direction that they came from. Looking past the people running, I saw about six creatures coming our way. Four of them were black and purples, with reddish vests and huge turbans that covered most of their heads except for their yellow eyes, and they each brandished a huge scimitar. The last two were bigger than we were, with round bodies and orange vests that did nothing to cover their chests. They also had turbans on, but I noticed all six of them had the heart insignia we saw on the ones in space. 

“Bandits and Fat Bandits,” Scrooge said as he cracked his joints ready to fight. “Genie, you and Razoul keep the civilians out of harm’s way. We’ll take care of the Heartless.” Before anyone could protest Scrooge dragged us over to the Heartless, who looked at us as if they were unsure. “All right. Now let’s show these pests what we’re made of.” 

“What?” I asked as the first of the Bandits leaped at us. We all dodged to the side while the others came towards us, swinging their scimitars. Holding up his cane, Scrooge began to parry the blows of one of the Bandits like he had done this all his life. 

I had to scootch back with a cry as another Bandit brought its sword down right between my legs. Any higher and it would’ve cut right through me. Before it could strike again, a long metal blade with a fist at the end appeared through its chest. The monster dissolved in wisps of darkness as a crystal shaped like a heart floated up. I saw Jason had saved me, but he turned and began to attack one of the other Bandits. 

One of the Fat Bandits lumbered toward me, moving with surprising speed for something with its build. I began running through the spells I had been studying briefly. Why couldn’t I think of something good? Recalling one called the Plasma Bolt, I focused on gathering the energy needed in the palms of my hands. Then, I fired it at the Heartless only for it to do nothing against its big belly. The Heartless paused, scratching its head as it looked at me. 

My heart sunk. My spell did nothing? I think I was in trouble. The Fat Bandit then breathed onto one of its fists, covering it in a fire. Before I could react, the Fat Bandit then punched me in the face, throwing me into a cart full of melons. Fruit split around me, covering me in juice and seeds in addition to splinters, making me groan in humiliation and pain. Pulling the shell of melon off my head, I saw the Fat Bandit lumbering towards me for another blow. 

“Clair!” Jason called when he saw what happened to me. Destroying the Bandit and releasing the heart it had consumed, my cousin ran towards me yelling as he held his Keyblade up. The Fat Bandit turned to him, only for Jason to slice it with his Keyblade. However, his attack ended up bouncing off the belly of the Heartless, just like my spell had done. He seemed surprised as his eyes widened. 

“Hit it from behind! Its front is protected.” Scrooge told us as he finished off a Bandit with his cane. 

He’s right. That was why my spell didn’t work. The front was protected, but what other spells could I use? Wait. Now I remember. Aerith told me that to make magic work I had to not only see it, but I had to believe it. Come on, girl. Stop doubting yourself. You’ve been getting better at this. You can do this. Taking a breath, I imagined the effect I wanted the spell to have before I cast it. “Blizzard!”

As the spell flew from my hand, it hit the Fat Bandit from behind, encasing it in ice so it ended up looking like a sculpture. Ducking behind, Jason jabbed and sliced before it shattered and vanished in the wisps, releasing the crystal heart. I gasped as I looked at my hands, cheering for myself. I did it! I did it! I had cast a successful Blizzard spell! 

Looking at the next Fat Bandit with a knowing smile, I decided to put my newfound confidence to use. Focusing my energy into the spell, I cast Blizzard again and froze the ground underneath it. The Heartless slipped and landed on its belly, spinning until I got a close look at its rear end. Picturing the next spell in my mind, I cast the third spell I had learned. “Thunder!” The lightning came down from the clear sky, how I am not sure, and hit the Heartless. “Plasma Bolt!” My next spell finished it off while I looked to see Jason was wrapping up with the other Bandits with Scrooge. 

Focusing myself, I decided to cast one last spell. “Fire!” The fireball flew from my hands and raced towards the Bandit Scrooge was facing, hitting the Heartless and destroying it. With a couple of jabs and a slice, Jason finished off the last Heartless. Whoa. Now I was feeling drained and ended up collapsing on the ground. 

The old duck then came over to me, handing me a vial of something. “Here. Drink this. It will restore your magic.”
With a grateful nod, I took it and began to drink. As the liquid entered my body, I could feel myself being rejuvenated. I had to remind myself my magical abilities were still limited, so I couldn’t cast spells indefinitely. 

In a poof, I then found myself in a chair all bandaged up, the splinters and pain from the battle gone as well. “Now young lady, if you can’t play nice with the other children I’ll have to send you to the principal’s office,” Genie told me as he appeared in a nurse’s outfit. “Now, let’s get those bandages off and send you back to class.” As Genie took the wrappings off me I saw the scratches and splinters were all gone. Come to think of it, I no longer felt sticky. Was I clean now as well?
“Hah!” Scrooge gave Razoul a smug look. “I told you this lad could use a Keyblade. Now, what do you say?” 

With a frown, the guard looked at us. “Very well. I shall take you to see the Sultan. He will settle the matter.”

<Previous Next>