Fellowship & Fairydust

Ugh. What’s the point in all this? Here I was outside on the boat with Leroy waiting for that dragonfly, Evinrude, those mice sent with backup for a plan to capture those overgrown lizards. It was a big joke if you ask me. We could take them and that Medusa woman down no problem. But no! The mice prefer to just focus on getting Penny out of this place, the newbie Keybearer is a bloody coward, and the Princess is too noble for her good. What a hassle. And what’s more, that dragonfly was taking way too long. What was keeping him?

As I sat there staring at the night sky, something was gnawing at me. I couldn’t get that image out of my mind. That silver-haired girl… twice now did I see that girl when looking at Kairi. Who was she? Why did she seem so familiar? And what was it about Kairi that made me see her? And if that wasn’t enough, there’s that voice I heard while I was unconscious. I could swear I had never heard that voice before, and yet it seemed to know me. What’s more, is that for some reason hearing that voice made me feel… comforted.

I couldn’t help but growl in frustration. I finally got one piece of the puzzle that was my memories, only to be presented with more questions. I wanted so badly to just rip that Keyblade Princess’s heart out in hopes it’ll help answer those questions. And yet something in the back of my mind keeps urging me not to. Why can’t anything about this be easy!?

I was brought out of my thoughts when Leroy started tugging at my jacket. “Hey, hey! Look over there!”

I looked over to where the experiment was pointing and saw a figure wearing a black coat, normal-sized unlike us, standing a few meters from the boat. I could sense some kind of strange aura emitting from them. I wasn’t sure if it was coming from the person themself or from the coat they were wearing, but either way, it seemed to be masking their scent to some degree, I couldn’t get a good read on their darkness or light. I wasn’t sure why, but something about that person rubbed me the wrong way. And apparently, I wasn’t the only one who found them suspicious, as I heard a low growl coming from Leroy. He certainly looked like he was ready to get the jump on the figure if it wasn’t for this boat being surrounded by water.

Then we saw a few Heartless appear before them and they seemed to be directing them somewhere. So this figure was the one controlling the Heartless here? I couldn’t help but wonder just what they were up to. Then I could swear the figure glanced in our direction as if they noticed us, only to start walking away as if we were nothing to be concerned about. Okay, there was something about them that I didn’t like, and I just couldn’t put my finger on it.

Then suddenly some of the flying Heartless charged right at us one of them ramming right into me. Fury flared up inside me and was unleashed as I dispatched the Heartless in one swoop. Was this black-coated freak mocking me?! That’s it! Screw waiting around for that stupid dragonfly, this creep was going down!

As my Keyblade blazed into my hand I leaped into the air slicing through any Heartless in the sky, and those that tried to escape me by descending were destroyed as I spun myself in a funnel dive. Something about that move was familiar as I used it, but I decided not to dwell on it as I landed on some of the wet mud. 

As Leroy landed next to me I ran forward, cutting through any Heartless that dared to stand in my way. The crystal hearts flew up into the sky joining the stars as I tore through the grass and undergrowth to get at my target. Red Nocturnes, Blue Rhapsodies, they all fell to me as I ran towards my target. Several Shadows and Soldiers were also felled by my rage as I approached my target. “You dare to mock me?” 

“It wasn’t that difficult.” The hooded figure said. “All necessary to get what I came for.”

“Shut up.” With a snarl, I leaped up to attack the figure. As I brought my weapon down I made contact with something hard that I had not seen until I had attempted to strike this person. Confusion filled my mind until a thought came to me. A barrier? But this seems nothing like the protection spell I knew of.

I swear the figure had a smug look under their hood. As they raised their hand up I saw something forming… an arm cannon? How was that possible? With a smirk, the figure pointed the weapon at me and it fired. 

 

CLAIR’S POV

I couldn’t believe it. Not only did the help Bernard said was coming fail to show up, but Mortem disappeared sometime during the night with that red creature. Leroy, I think he called it. Now, all we could do was watch from Penny’s pocket while she was dragged to a rock at the edge of the bayou.

“All right, you little brat. You’re going to go down into that hole and you’re going to dig until you find me that diamond.” Mr. Snoops was ordering her while I frowned from the pocket the four of us were hiding in. “And no sassing me.”

“Uh-uh, Snoops.” Madame Medusa corrected him. “That is no way to speak to our Miss Penny.” The woman even sold the act by hugging the child, though I had seen enough to know she had no affection for the girl.

It was horrible seeing this happen before our eyes. She was acting like a kind overprotective mother when she was a horrible grunsu. “If only I were six feet taller,” I muttered under my breath.

While Snoops got the bucket ready, Medusa looked at Penny. “Now, my dear, you’re going to find the big shiny diamond for your Auntie Medusa aren’t you?”

“Teddy doesn’t like it down there.” Penny protested while backing away. “He’s afraid, aren’t you Teddy?”

“Ah, tsk-tsk. Poor Teddy.” In a flash, the woman swiped the toy out of Penny’s arms. “I’ll just keep him up here with me where he’ll be safe.”

Penny gasped, reaching for him, pleading, “No, give him back! He’s mine!”

Medusa pushed her back with her foot, nearly sending us all down the Black Hole. “You get down there and find me that diamond or you’ll never see the teddy again!” All false sincerity was gone from her voice.

With a nod, Penny agreed. “All right. All right. I’ll go.” As she climbed into the bucket, we were lowered into the dark abyss. I can’t believe that woman is doing this to her. Clutching the inside of the pocket… Why was I feeling this way? I hadn’t felt angry, except with Jezebel. I still remember what she did years ago.

 

Harthyn…

Eight years ago…

“Why are you wearing that thing?” Jezebel Bruja was asking me before class started. 

Smiling, I said, “A traditional Hocamli dress for my presentation. I wanted to share what I love about my ancestors.”
“Should you really be wearing that? I mean you’re only half-Hocamli. Shouldn’t this sort of thing be for someone who is a-hundred-percent Hocamli?” 

“Why should that matter?”

Frowning, Jezebel said, “Because the Hocamli is a proud people, unconquered and a symbol of this nation’s might. You only carry half of the Hocamli genetic code in you. If your code isn’t perfect, then you shouldn’t claim a right.”

“I am Hocamli. My grandfather said so.”
“Your grandfather is a liar. It’s been proven that unless your genetic code is a hundred percent match you are not of a certain nationality. Which means you can’t be wearing that dress, and… what the heck is this?”

“A book about Hocam– what are you doing?” 

Snatching the book about Hocamli legends away Jezebel began tearing the pages out. “This book is garbage just like you. If your parents didn’t care to make someone with a pure genetic code then you are trash.”

 

Present-day…

“Clair?” Kairi asked. 

I snapped out of it, glancing at her. “Huh?”

“Are you okay?” Kairi asked with concern.

“No,” I admitted. “I can’t believe that woman. She’s just as horrible as Jezebel.”

“Jezebel?”

“More like the daughter of Zundyss. She’s been tormenting me for years.” Looking down, I reminisced on the memory some more. “She… made me ashamed of being myself.”

“You shouldn’t be ashamed,” Kairi told me. “Whatever she said about you, ignore it. She doesn’t know you.”

“She’s right. That Jezebel has no right deciding what you should be ashamed of.” Miss Bianca added while we continued to be lowered. 

I glanced at the two for their words of encouragement. “Thanks. But now’s not the time to worry about my past.” Pushing my emotions down, I looked out the pocket into the dark abyss. “We need to find that rock.”

“Right.” Kairi nodded in agreement. As we reached the bottom of the dark cave we exited Penny’s pocket while she took a lantern the creeps up above sent down with us. It gave us some light in this place.

“What a horrible place,” Bianca said as we began looking around.

As I poked my head around one of the rock things sticking out of the ground like a tooth I let out a scream. What? What would anyone else do if they saw someone’s skeleton sitting in a dark cave with a sword run through their chest?

Kairi quickly hurried over. “Penny, we wouldn’t happen to be looking for treasure pirates hid, would we?”

“Yep.”

That explains a lot. I had to take a deep breath to calm myself down because that was terrifying. Please don’t make coming across dead bodies a recurrence in the future. I don’t want to have to keep stumbling across the final resting grounds of random people. 

“Come on. We gotta find that diamond so we can get out of here.” Bernard said as he started using a spoon to dig inside a chest.

“I already looked in there. Medusa doesn’t want those little ones.” The kid told him.

At that moment we felt the cave rumble, and that’s when I noticed a giant hole in the ground. “Please tell me that’s not what I think it is.” Just looking at it made me feel like I was staring at the mouth of a beast preparing to devour us all.

“Oh, dear… I think it is.” Bianca replied as she looked at it with me.

Penny ended up confirming our fears. “That’s where the water comes in.” With a shiver, she added, “I’m afraid to go over there.”

“if I were a pirate, that’s where I’d hide the Devil’s Eye,” Bernard said as he started to walk over.

“And lose it forever. No one would ever get it back.” I deadpanned. But I could see there was space on the other side.

Kairi then began to move to the wall. “We need to get over there. “If there’s a chance the diamond’s on the other side we have to take it.”

“But we don’t know when that thing’s going to blow.”

“Part of the risk of being a Keyblade bearer.”

Why did that not make me feel better while at the same time it did? This was so confusing. Guess if that was part of the calling I would have to answer. Moving to the wall, I began to follow her across. 

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