Kingdom Hearts: Gate to Paradise

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Kai frowned. "Virie's right, Merlin. We could be playing right into their hands. Whatever they let us go for, if it's related to Kingdom Hearts maybe we should get as far from it as we possibly can."

Merlin nodded. "It's true, it does seem the Order has you in their plans, but we really don't have much other choice. We could hide you, but that would only result in countless more lives being lost. Our only course of action is to find Kingdom Hearts and save who we can in the process. I know it's difficult.. and how i wish so much didn't rest on the shoulders of someone so young and innocent. But destiny waits for no one I'm afraid." Merlin said with a grim look in his eyes. A sadness hidden there.

"But the least i can do is show you a thing or two about magic that can help on your journey." And Merlin pulled a small charm from thin air. green sparks of light and a warm aura trailing off it as it moved through the air like some manner of firefly or something that seemed out of place in the real world. but he closed his hand and look to Virie in question. "Of course.. you've got to be willing."
 
Virie slowly nodded, still trying to absorb the fact that they had absolutely no choice but to jump straight into the jaws of the lion. She understood that Merlin was being honest and was telling them what was best but that only served to solidify the cold, hard truth in front of her that despite coming to a world like this, there were no choices. Even with the freedom to go wherever she wanted and do whatever she wanted, her hands were more tied than ever, forcing her into a direction that she feared would be the end of both of them. At least he was going to try to help prepare them but how much magic could she actually learn before they had to go? She had a feeling that that would be extremely soon. Still, she slowly rose from her chair, ready to get through as much as she could. If her lack of ability to do so much as defend herself got Kai killed out there... She refused to accept that kind of thing but a little voice tugged in the back of her mind, reminding her that that wasn't so far fetched at all. Worst of all, the name of that little voice was Reality Check.
 
Merlin smiled when Virie rose from her chair, but a mixture of sadness and pride welled in his eyes. Then he looked to Kai in question. "And what about you, my boy? Would you have her go out into the universe alone?"

"Not a chance." Kai said quickly in reply. "wherever she goes, I go."

"So it's true then." Merlin said with a knowing smile, then opened his palm once more. The glowing green charm flashed brighter than before and he held it out to Virie. "This is a magical charm. You're sure to find others on your journey, but this one will come in handy as it carries the magic to heal your allies." Merlin said, then he placed it on the table in front of her. "To use this spell all you have to do is focus on what you want to heal. Look deep inside you and search for the soothing magic that lies dormant inside you. Think of something like a spring. Now it won't recover EVERYTHING but it can help recover a great deal of non-lethal wounds and cuts. "
 
"Is it really that easy to learn magic?" Virie asked, picking up the little charm curiously. She'd imagined that magic was the kind of thing that took years to learn, not something that could be done with the aid of a simple object. If it were that easy, everyone would do it. A healing spell, hm? In one sense, she was still rather disappointed in the fact that it wouldn't really help her defend herself but she probably wouldn't be able to fight well even if she could shoot fire like Leon or something. Maybe just healing suited her better than that after all. But still, she couldn't only be that. She had to make herself more than that. There was no way that she could stomach going through all this while hiding in the back. Even if she could heal Kai, it seemed like a crime in itself to let things be like that.

"How do I get the strength to fight?"
 
"Well yes." Merlin started, then got a very smart look in his eye as he stood from his seat and the entire platform, empty table and all, slowly began to rise. "It takes talent."

Kai looked around them as the main room fell away below them and he noticed the ceiling getting closer and closer. Some part of him wanted to panic, but the rest of him was smarter than that..or should it be said.. more intuitive. Merlin was a wizard.. he wouldn't crush them into the ceiling. This was another trick, but to what end? "...what kind of talent?"

Merlin stroked his beard then winked and placed his hands behind his back. "It takes heart." He answered vaguely as the three of them vanished into the veiling but they weren't in the cave. It was as if they'd simply passed into another room. Around them the floor was ludicrous, random patchwork tiles of strange colors and hues that provided them a floor with the addition of their platform and the table to complete it. The walls were like that of a different building all together. Walls wooden and windows stained glass with sunlight coming in through them though you couldn't see outside. The ceiling was taller than even the house they'd entered and seemed to turn black in the shadows of it's reach.

The main floor was clear, but the walls were filled with upturned furnature, sofa's, lamps, tables, dressers, you name it and it was there. Balancing on the leg of a chair was an entire set of china seeming to defy gravity as each cup and dish was balanced perfectly on the handle of the tea kettle.

"Where are we?" Kai asked, testing the floor outside the platform before taking a walk to the base of one of the stained glass windows. There was movement, like something large dancing in the wind with pinpricks of light shining through and into the stained glass panels painting the room in it's many colors. Tree's? What about Traverse Town? What about the cave?

"You're in my practice room. It's here that I come to test new spells and apparatus without the worry of trashing my home of course!" Merlin answered in a very matter of fact tone, before turning to Virie to finally address her last question. "Magic is a lot like a muscle. The more you use it, the stronger it will become. Your charm will help you learn healing magic, but that's the easy part. You have magic in you, strength that lies hidden beneath the surface and waiting for it's chance to come out. The Keyblade knows that but the hard part will be finding it. Sometimes it takes something a simple as will to use magic, but those spells are weak, and unpredictable. What you want, Virie, is the magic that comes from the heart. Magic that is triggered by strong emotions like the need to prove yourself to your peers, or need to protect someone you care about.. " He winked. "All you need to do is find what it is you're really fighting for. Is it for the loved ones you've lost? Your home? A pet gerbil? Revenge? What is it that drives you, child? When you close your eyes, what is it that has kept you from giving up since you've gotten here?"
 
Virie didn't say a word as Merlin went about showing off his theatrics, hopping them to the next room. Her attention was a lot more focused on his words. He said that magic takes power of the heart but her heart certainly didn't feel so strong. While she tried to put on a strong face, she usually just wanted to hug her knees and cry. The room was extremely odd, almost nothing seeming to behave how it should. Merlin didn't seem to find it out of place at all but she had little time to consider that either as he posed a question, one that she had no idea how to answer. She wasn't the kind to give up by nature, just shaken to the core from the kind of stuff that had happened. There were a million reasons for her to keep going, too many to count, too many to decide just one. She didn't really care about proving herself or something scary like revenge but she couldn't leave Kai alone to go and do something reckless and she was doing this to try to fix everything. Nevermind the face that she was constantly being told that more than one world hung in the balance of her going off and doing something that seemed completely out of her reach. She was so confused and it weighed down hard on her chest.

"I don't know..." she mumbled, angry at herself for not having been able to come up with a solid answer to so simple a question, one that any child should have been able to without a second thought.
 
Merlin frowned and shook his head. "Well, until you figure that out.. You won't be able to use the keyblade or magic to it's full potential. Though perhaps I can help you... just a little. Practice is as good a teacher as any and since you've got a little more time until your escort shows up it'll do you some good to use your tome constructively. And better here to keep you out of trouble then out there." Merlin raised his wand, and a strange wind swept along the walls and furniture.

Kai looked up, the thought pulling at the back of his mind for a while now. "Leon and Yuffie aren't still fighting that guy are they?"

"Oh heavens no, my boy. I actually sent a message to them shortly before you two were finished playing on the rocks in the lake." He said with a slight nod.

"We weren't playing! Virie almost fell in those things were so sli---" Kai said turning his back to an arm chair as the breeze swept past him. Then he paused. "What was that?" He got his answer immediately as something bumped him in the back as the armchair hopped forward. Kai blinked stupidly as he looked back at it. "...THIS is practice? an armchair?"
 
Virie stared at the ground, sensing Merlin's disappointment like she'd completely missed the answer she was supposed to give but she really wasn't sure. But it was no new news that she wouldn't be able to use magic and the keyblade to their fullest. He didn't even need to tell her that for her to know.

"Escort?" she asked blankly, still troubled. It seemed that she'd have to add not knowing the answers to supposedly simple questions to her list of things she'd failed at since her arrival. Really, how could she not be sure what kept her going? It seemed to defy all reason. It should be completely obvious. If he didn't know, how could it be keeping her on her feet still instead of her breaking down? She turned over the charm in her hand absentmindedly as though it was going to help tell her the answers but it wasn't going to. It didn't have a mind of its own, just a charm. It was only a tool but no matter how good a tool it was, it was still a tool in the hands of someone who managed to be more of a burden than a help. Unless you counted that supposed invisible potential of the keyblade which didn't seem to be coming out any time soon.
 
Kai was uttering something inaudible from under the seat cushion of the arm chair which now had secured itself over his head. Merlin ignored this, and at the same time more things were starting to come to life around them and began floating about the room one by one, save for the tea set which took flight in formation much faster than the larger objects and began raining piping hot tea on them. Merlin waved his hand and his wand turned into an umbrella while he offered kind words to tyr to help rather than destroy virie's already low self esteem.

"There there.. it's not meant to all come to you at once. The funny thing about the worlds and people you'll meet on your journey is that the majority of them will have something to teach you about yourself. Your heart will be what brings light to the darkness no matter where it reaches. Whether you know how to or not, it will guide your way. Not everything warrants a clear explanation." Merlin smiled. "That's what we call Magic, after all. And it lives inside you."

"As for your escort, she's a special type of creature i pulled from the same world as Leon and Yuffie. A bit...full of energy so i apologize ahead of time, but she'll get you where you need to go until you get the hang of things. For now, work on dispatching the furniture in this room by any means necessary. If you can't use magic, use your cunning, girl!" He beamed.
 
Virie looked at Merlin, confused, then down at the greenish charm in her hand and back up at Merlin again. Destroy the furniture? That wouldn't be too hard with magic but all she had was a healing spell. A weapon would make it easy too but her grand weapon was a tiny key that was seemingly getting rustier by the second. She assumed that the furniture would come back after since this was Merlin's magic room but found it frustrating that she didn't even know how to get to the point where she should be worrying about having broken things. She wasn't given too much time to think as the hot tea began to pour down. Pretty sure that Merlin wasn't going to let her under the umbrella, she dashed off after the random pieces of furniture with the teapot in hot pursuit. Running off to the nearest floating chair, she hurled it towards the teapot, horribly missing but found that the furniture seemed to float like party balloons. She paused for a moment, forming a little idea, one she wasn't sure would work but she just wasn't strong enough to break this stuff with her hands. she'd only manage to hurt herself. That pause cost her a bit, though, as boiling tea drenched her blouse and as much as it hurt, there was no way she was taking it off. She did, however, scream and collapse on the ground with the seemingly never emptying teapot left to do its bombing runs on her. After about the sixth run of being burned with the scorching hot tea, Virie picked herself up and began systematically dashing around to every piece of furniture in the room, hurling them at the teapot and its friends. She never actually hit it but managed to keep it occupied enough that it only burned her a few more times before she ran out of ammunition in reach.

"Okay," she breathed. Now was the time to test her theory and find out whether she was going to be doomed to be assaulted by the teapot till she passed out or not. Running away from it in a pretty random zigzag pattern about the room, she eventually ran right behind Merlin and turned heel, placing him firmly between the teapot of doom and herself, then reared back her foot and booted him in the shin.
 
Kai heard the scream. Heard the girl fall to the ground with a thud on the odd flooring and pulled his head free of the arm chair with a sharp gasp for air. Then thrust his palm toward the chair, his staff blaring into existence and forming with the end pointing to the chairs back. In a sharp blue blaze the chair was frozen, but when he turned to approach Virie, she was already up and on her feet again, running around and hurling anything she oculd get her hands on to fend off the air strike. Nothing hit, Kai grew worried.

A sharp strike to the boys stomach from lamp followed by the table soaring in out of no where had Kai air born in seconds, and soon Kai was pressed against the wall with the table threatening to crush the life out of him. Or hold him in place..he wasn't sure.

Merlin watched Virie with just as much curiosity. Though when the assault began to near him, the old wizard couldn't help the feeling that perhaps he should move. Though the wizard was wise, he was sometimes over confident. He chose instead not to move, focusing on the teakettle and the cups in passing, and as Virie passed he paid her no more attention than if someones child were to run pass you on it's way to do something more important than sticking around. His umbrella began to tilt forward but as he did His shin got such a strike the old wizard couldn't help but to let out a pained wail.

"OH!" The old wizard exclaimed, only seconds before the teakettle and it's air squadron were whizzing past him and virie like bullets to crash and shatter on the ground. Merlin hit the deck and covered his head until the danger was past. Then he quickly stood to dust himself off, grumbling. "Why you little...! CLEVER girl...though I hope next time i get to train you i'll be wearing some form of leg protection...I wonder if the casual shin guards had been invented yet...? What time am i in...." He said straightening up and trailing a little off track before coming full circle to nod toward Virie. Smiling to her. "Cheap trick."

Kai slumped forward as the table lost it's life as well, falling over onto the ground as the table collapsed onto it's side. Kai gasped for breath, but was fine otherwise.
 
Virie breathed a sigh of relief, felling on her butt. Merlin seemed to be both pained and pleased. Sure, it was a cheap trick like he'd said but she really couldn't fight to save her life, unable to even best the flying teapot normally. Given how drenched she was, she was sure that if it had been a real enemy, she'd be dead twenty times over.

"Hey, you said by any means necessary. I can't do so much as swing a sword or shoot some fire," Virie huffed as the sound of the floating furniture crashing filled the room, incuding a piano that landed all of a few feet away from her head. She saw it coming but was far too exhausted to get to a safer distance. She clutched the green charm Merlin had given her before and her body was covered in a dull green glow. The pain slowly began to subside but the soreness wasn't going anywhere. Her mind wandered in everywhich direction to the islands to her family to Kai dueling with the table and Yuffie and Leon who had managed to get away from the guy out in town. After a few seconds, the light subsided, seeming to be convinced that it wasn't going to do any more good, bringing her attention to other things.

"Can I pleeeeeease get a change of clothes? I'm completely soaked..."
 
Merlin gave a nod, standing upright and pulling out his wand. "I suppose you've earned that much for passing my test so creatively.. Now let's see.." He began to think.

Kai stood to examine the chair, then took a seat back in it like it was supposed to. Though it appeared he'd made a mistake. Merlin glared at him, arching a brow, and Kai couldn't help but to return the look of dissatisfaction in kind. "...What?"

"Plenty of things you may be my boy, but a gentleman seems to be beyond you." Merlin said, gesturing toward Virie with his wand.

"Aaand.. what about you, OLD MAN?" Kai suggested, leaning forward.

"I'm not the one changing her." Merlin said, and the room got suddenly quiet.

It was then that Kai noticed someone else in the room with them. Silent and almost invisible in the rafters over head. It was the tail of a cat... long and mint green with two yellow stripes. It wasn't a cat though, as it raised with the sudden attention, curling up and just pass the hanging fabrics of white and black split hakama the woman wore. Her feet were bare, and skin a caramel brown from what he could see in the dark of the rafters. Anything beyond her knees was nearly invisible, save for the silvery cloud gray eye that almost glowed in the light.

"Virie, Kai, meet Halibel, or Hali for short."
 
Virie let out a sigh, enjoying her few moments of rest despite how uncomfortable and exhausted she was. Plus, a change of clothes meant that she'd actually have a change of clothes instead of being doomed to wearing a tattered skirt and a ripped blouse for the rest of this adventure/ordeal. Then Kai did something that apparently got Merlin annoyed as the subject somehow wandered over to who was going to change her. Her face went as red at a tomato.

"I can change myself, thank you very much!" she huffed, figuring that as wiped out as she was, she'd force herself. She did not need the two men discussing that sort of thing. Wait, that wasn't right. Merlin was probably a wizard not too unlike the Fairy Godmother. If he wanted to, he could just wave his wand and she'd get new clothes like Kai. The HAD to have heard that way out of context, making a fool of herself as usual. Much to her surprise, the two men dropped it. Since when did people actually listen to her, much less powerful wizards? Obviously, there were other reasons. Craning her neck over, she looked up where Kai was looking and sure enough, they had a visitor... one that didn't seem 100% human.

"Um... Hi?" she greeted, unsure of what to say but she was perfectly well interested in changing the subject away from her earlier statement so the random formalities it was.
 
"Change yer self, hm?" A cool purr came from the girl, her voice soft but somehow seeming to be consciously held back. "Where's tha' fun in that? Sleepy eyed boy is cute.. Hali let him change her if white haired girl don't mi---" She started, feline slits opening wider as she leaned down, but there was a sharp CRACK like a whip and the felines sentence was cut off.

"Hali!" Merlin snapped, and not a moment too soon as Kai seemed a bit... uncomfortable.

"Fine fine!" The voice raised in pitch, and she jumped to the ground landing soft on all fours. Her hair long and wild, sharing the same hue of mint green as her tail with a pair of large feline ears to match. But that was were the feline ended and the human began, her bangs were parted to the one side over a young feminine face, eyes were upturned and eyelashes were long and full around her large gray eyes. She stood only a little taller than virie, but lacked a great deal of viries modesty, wearing no more than what seemed to be a tied cloth over her bust. "Hali is pleased to meet you! er... officially!"
 
"Ah... Nice to meet you too," Virie replied, thankful that Merlin knew when things were going in a bad direction and had enough sense to stop it. Of course, this let off a whole brand new bag of worms given Hali's... general attitude and what they were probably going to have to deal with the whole way through. She seemed the type that absolutely loved mischief, treating the world around her, specifically her and Kai in this case, as her personal ball of yarn. Not to mention the volumes that her... style of dress or the lack of it spoke. Virie could only hope that Hali didn't make it a trip goal to slowly start stripping her down, something that seemed all too likely. Honestly, the twinkle in the feline's eyes put her on guard a hundred times more than Merlin and his teapot assault squadron. Kai was likely in for no kinder a ride than she was. Just how did people like this end up coming out of the woodwork? Note to self. DO NOT let Hali meet Yuffie any time they were on the same world.
 
"Yea.. Nice to meet you Halibel." Kai said keeping his distance and hands in his pockets, a bit less observant than Virie was, the girl seemed otherwise harmless if a bit...energetic. That being noted, he saw her as no real threat and a genuine curiosity came upon him. "So... A cat girl?"

"Miqo'te " Hali corrected, ears flicking instinctively toward the one who she was focused on. "Hali is of the Miqo'te. "

"And...the Miqo'te... are Cat people?" Kai said, trying to understand.

"Miqo'te are Miqo'te!" Halibel corrected again with a bright fanged smile. "But Hali special, Sleepy eyed boy will see."

"Cool." Kai couldn't help it, this was the first 'hybrid' of human and animal they'd seen that wasn't trying to kill them, and while he admired her, he couldn't help to think how cute virie would be with a white pair of ears and tail of her own. The thought roused a slight chuckle that was soon dismissed in favor of a proper introduction. "By the way, Halibel, My name isn't .. sleepy-eyed boy.. and while Virie's hair is a beautiful shade of white, Her name isn't white haired girl either. Her name is Virie, and my name is Kai. Right?"

"Aye-Aye! Kai! and Virie!" She said a bit excited to have proper titles.

"Yes yes, there will be plenty of time to get acquainted on your journey." Merlin interrupted, knowing full well the Halibel was warming up to them, and if left alone, she'd have them all sitting and talking for days. He only wished he could warn the two of some old "habits" he had to break Halibel of prior to teaching her the particular kind of magic she specialized in. But things were always more fun when found out on your own. ...Most things at least.

"Virie, you remember the Guide I spoke of? Well! you're looking at her." Merlin smiled, walking up beside Halibel who seemed distracted by Virie's clothing.

"..Hali change Virie?" The feline asked with a curious flick of her ears.

Merlin shook his head and peered over the rim of his glasses toward Virie, he hadn't forgotten her little outburst, and with a wise grin he pulled up his wand. "It would appear not, and thinking on it it would be better for her to get some "travel worthy" garmets of her own anyway. Now-now stand clear."
 
Halibel seemed to be so energetic. She was kind of just doing whatever she wanted to whoever she wanted. Thankfully Merlin managed to cut in before she actively tried to begin the stripping as she highly doubted that the feline was going to do so much as find a private room, something more on the lines just just ripping off chunks of what she was wearing and calling it good given the fact that even her ripped attire was more than what Hali was wearing. Virie dragged herself to her feet, scooting a few steps back in the process, closer to Kai and away from Hali. Why, oh why did they have to be at the mercy of someone like this as a guide? She was going to be lucky to not have a heart attack by the end of this.

"I'm ready," she said, putting on as much of a smile as possible. Hopefully Merlin has enough sense to give her something that wasn't as... revealing as his friend there. and hopefully Hali had enough sense to not make "adjustments".
 
Hali plopped down where she stood, crossing her legs and arms as her fun had been taken from her. adjustments? Perhaps slowly, but not all at once. She could sense Virie's caution.. not that it wasn't well warranted, but it would make stripping the girl down to more "appealing" clothing would take time and work in between their journey through worlds.

Kai turned around since "modesty" was something of a sensitive subject all of a sudden. Not that he made it a habit to peek on Virie when she changed, but it seemed there were more pressing things for him to worry about than if Virie wore lacey underwear or not.

All were set, and Merlin raised his wand. "Now then, this magic can be a bit finniky, so i would suggest you envision clothing you're used to wearing for the enchantment to keep you from winding up..well.. let's just say you won't very much like the chill on the air." Merlin warned, Hali's ears and tail both perked up instantly. "The magic will do the rest in altering it to help protect against the darkness, though it's still clothing so it won't protect you from more than a few spells or lesser blows from mutts and what have you. Anyway! On we go!" And he gave a slight flick of his wand, sending a tiny spark of light sweeping and flitting through the air as light as a feather, before landing gently on Viries chest and she was suddenly covered in a veil of threads comprised almost entirely of light. The entire process of sewing and mending and hemming, altering, all of it that would usually take hours happening magically in mere seconds while keeping her modesty in tact.
 
Virie caught Merlin's warning and made the extremely bad mistake of imagining the results for a split second. Thankfully, the sound of the scissors getting to work at a furious pace brought her to attention quick enough to avert the disaster. Her thoughts drifted a little towards the fact that her skirt and blouse weren't exactly the greatest of things for running around and beating down heartless. Nor were sandals good for running in. To go to her usual dress was just asking for trouble. Still, there was a limit to just how much she was going to go off the beaten path. Her fashion sense wasn't so amazing so she mostly just stuck with what she knew, just some adjustments, starting with a looser black skirt to allow herself to move better and a black blouse with a purple shawl. She figured that'd be similar enough to be comfy but a lot warmer. White stockings were added just for extra cover since this stuff was supposed to protect her from being burnt to a crisp and the sandal was traded for some brown boots, the light sort but it'd still protect her feet a lot better. Running around in the streets barefoot hurt a lot more than running in the sand. Just for good measure, she added a brown belt so she'd have something to hang her key on. There was no way she was going to carry it around in hand all the time even if it returned to her magically.
 
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