//------------------------------// // The Key to Stasis // Story: May Your Heart Be Your Guiding Key // by SoulboundAlchemist //------------------------------// May Your Heart Be Your Guiding Key By SoulboundAlchemist and MicroMiniMouse Chapter 10: The Key to Stasis “Four weeks?!?” I cried in shock. “And you didn’t try calling my phone?!?” “Phone?” Sunset tilted her head in confusion. “What phone?” “Ugh,” I groaned, pinching the bridge of my nose. “You know what, never mind. Doctor, can you fix this?” The only answer I received was the clattering of the DHD cover hitting the floor, as well as the tell-tale whine of the Doctor’s Sonic Screwdriver. “Huh, well, that answers that question,” I muttered. I shook my head before turning to Celestia and the Mane Six. “I can understand Sunset being here, but why are you and the Element Bearers here?” “Training, duh,” Rainbow Dash replied with a roll of her eyes. “We were going through the Kingdom-thingy simulations when the alarm went off for the star-whatsit.” “That’s Kingdom Hearts, and Stargate, Rainbow,” Twilight corrected, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Anyway, since you were gone, Sunset called Princess Celestia to oversee our training. I must admit, the simulator is ama-.” Whatever Twilight is about to say is suddenly cut off by a burst of static over the intercom, followed by a voice. A surprisingly familiar voice, with a Scottish brogue. “As relieving as this reunion is, I believe it would be in your best interest to listen for a moment.” Celestia’s eyes widened. “Merlin? Is that you?” “Indeed it is, Princess,” the now named Merlin replied. “And that item you wanted me to keep an eye on has changed.” “How?” “A keyhole, ringed by a heart has appeared on it,” the Scotsman answered. “About time!” The Doctor exclaimed from within the DHD. “Kairi, you should go take a look. Merlin, you still have full control of the Tower, correct?” “Correct,” came the reply. “Excellent! Would you mind lighting a path to your location?” “Already done,” Merlin responded as a green arrow lit up on the floor. I shrugged before following the arrows, Celestia and Luna hot on my heels. The path led down, deep underground, with cables lining the walls, until we came to a blank wall. “Just step through,” Merlin’s voice came through the wall. “The wall isn’t actually there.” I raised an eyebrow before stepping up to the wall. I raised my hand and pushed it through the wall, watching as the image rippled like water. I pull my hand back and step through to find a large room housing a large crystal, as well as a bank of security terminals on the wall. In front of these security terminals was a bald, bespectacled man, clad in a bespoke suit. “Welcome ladies,” Merlin greeted us, a glint of amusement in his eyes. “Welcome to my Fortified Fortress of For Sure Death.” I raised an eyebrow, recognizing the reference, as Luna raised her hand. She received a nod from Merlin before asking, “Why do you call this room a fortified fortress of for sure death?” “Because of this,” Merlin chuckled, before pressing a button to reveal different traps covering every inch of the room, except around the crystal and the security terminals. “I’m literally the only person who can walk freely through this room without disabling the traps.” Celestia rolled her eyes as Luna yelped in surprise. “Melissa, how long are you going to keep us in suspense?” “Wait, Melissa?” I asked in surprise. “Oi!” Merlin(?) exclaimed. “I thought you weren’t going to tell anyone!” “I believe what I said, was that I wouldn’t tell anyone outside of this room,” the solar diarch replied with a smirk. The supposed Scotsman sighed and rubbed his(?) eyes under his(?) glasses. “I forgot how much you like loopholes,” he(?) muttered before he(?) pressed another button. The image of the bald Scotsman flickered then vanished, before its replaced by a full-figured, pale-skinned young woman of about 18 years of age. She had wavy blonde hair which reached about halfway down her back, with two shorter locks of hair over shoulders and side-swept bangs that framed her face and crystal blue eyes. She wore a white short-sleeved dress shirt with plaid cuffs under a dark raspberry pink vest, with a large plaid bow at her collar. This was accompanied by pale grey capri pants, under which are a pair of plaid pink socks and a pair of heeled brown boots. Finally, to finish her looks, she wore a wrist-watch and pink, oval-framed glasses. “Since Celestia was so kind as to blow my cover,” the girl glared at the grinning solar diarch before turning back to Luna and I with a smile. “I had better introduce myself. My name is Melissa Shield, and before you ask, yes, I used to be a male as well, hence why I borrowed Merlin’s look.” “Makes sense,” I replied with a nod. “I probably would have done the same thing, if I hadn’t met my Shadow.” Melissa raised an eyebrow. “Persona 3, 4, or 5 variant?” “Persona 4, why?” The blond shrugged. “Just trying to figure out how much of a Mary Sue you are.” “Oh, well that ma- HEY!” I glared at the girl who indirectly insulted me. “What? You’re an overpowered version of Kairi,” Melissa shot back. “On top of having the same arsenal as Sora, you also have your music magic and Shadow Dragon Slayer magic, which you’ve made your own spells for. Need I go on?” I opened my mouth to retort, only to close it again as I realized Melissa was right. “Alright, you have a point,” I allowed. “In any case, didn’t you have something you wanted me to see?” “Right, almost forgot,” the blonde responded while nervously adjusting her glasses. “You obviously noticed the giant crystal in the center of the room. What you probably didn’t notice was the person trapped inside.” Now that she mentioned it, I could just barely make out a vague silhouette within the crystal. “OK, I notice it now that you mention it,” I replied with a nod. “I also see a keyhole.” “I noticed that as well,” Melissa replied with a nod. “It showed up at about the same time you got back through the Stargate. I theorize that if you use your Keyblade to unlock it, it’ll release whoever is in it.” “Ah, I get it,” I nodded before turning to Luna and Celestia. “You two should probably leave until we’re sure that whoever is in there won’t attack us.” Celestia nodded before pulling Luna out of the room and raising a gold colored shield in front of the door. I nodded then turned to Melissa to see her igniting a…lightsaber? The blonde noticed my shocked gaze. “What? I’ve been here a long time. Did you really think I wouldn’t come up with a way to defend myself?” I shook my head at that. “Got any extras?” “I’ll make you and Luna ones later,” Melissa replied with an eyeroll. “Now make with the key, key-girl!” I rolled my eyes as I summoned Destiny’s Embrace and pointed it at the keyhole on the crystal. A beam of light shot from the tip into the keyhole, and after a low click was heard, the crystal began to glow before it dissolved, allowing a white-haired young woman to fall to the floor. A soft groan came from the girl on the floor as she slowly got to her hands and knees before looking up at us. The girl looks to have a slim young figure with a height of below average with long, white hair that curls slightly at the ends, with two long wavy strands of hair that frame her face. Her bangs seem to be up in a small ponytail that keep them from covering her forehead. She’s also wearing a sleeveless, ankle-length maroon dress with a pleated skirt. The chest is adorned by a large, pink bow, and similarly colored trimmings frame the rather ample neckline, acting as straps, and circle around the waist. She also wore high-heeled shoes that match her dress, and accessorizes with a small chain necklace with a blue oval gem attached to it, and a bracelet made of white flowers circling her right wrist. As she was getting up, I also managed to spy a Fairy Tail emblem on her left thigh, solidifying my assumption of who this was; Mirajane Strauss, from Fairy Tail. The girl started frantically looking around with a scared expression on her face. “Where am I?! This isn’t my living room!” She demanded in a frantic voice. Melissa and I shared a glance, before stowing our respective weapons. I knelt down in front of her. “Hey, hey, calm down,” I said, trying to calm her down. “We’re all friends here.” The girl then looks at me and her scared expression soon turns to a confused look. “Kairi? From Kingdom Hearts? Wait, okay I have to be dreaming here,” The girl mused, as she then stands up, staring at me the whole time. Melissa then walks over to the girl and pinches her arm. “Ow! Okay, not dreaming. So wait, Kairi is actually here? Or is someone playing a prank on me?” “No prank, this is real,” I replied with a smirk. “Don’t believe me, look down for a sec.” The girl then looks down and quickly jumps at the sight, turning around in a circle trying to get a better look at her dress. “What happened to me?! Why do I look like Mirajane from Fairy Tail?! I’m not Mirajane, I’m Haley!” My eyebrows shot up at that. “Does the name SoulboundAlchemist mean anything to you?” Haley then shoots her gaze up at me with a confused mixed with slightly shocked expression. “Wait, Soulbound?! It’s me! Mini!” I rolled my eyes. “Well yeah, I kinda figured that. I mean you told me your name a while ago.” Her hands then balled up into fists as she shoots an angry glare at me. “What’s that supposed to mean?! Well, I mean you aren’t wrong I guess. What’s going on though?” She then tries to hold in a laugh. “Why do you look like a girl? Not to mention, Kairi?” I grinned. “The same reason you look like Mirajane. But before we go any further, I need to do something.” I looked over towards the door. “Celestia, Luna, it's safe to come back in!” The golden barrier shimmered, before dropping, allowing the two sisters to reenter the room. Haley turned and followed my gaze, eyes widening momentarily before trying to act cool and frantically trying to remember how Mirajane acts. “No, don’t, just don’t do that,” I sighed with a shake of my head. “You act like Mira enough as it is, just be yourself.” She then returns to her normal posture. “Okay fine. Wait--HEY!” She then shoots a death glare at me with balled fists. We all burst into giggles at the “scary” glare. “I do believe introductions are in order,” the giggling solar diarch remarked. “Right,” I replied with a nod. “Everyone, this is Haley, a good friend of mine from my world. Haley, this is Celestia, Luna and Melissa.” “Hello everyone!” Haley smiled, before the reality of my words sunk in. “Wait, YOUR world? Are you saying we’re in a different world?!” Well then, hand meet face, hello there! “Yes Haley, we’re in a different world altogether,” I groan out from where my face rested in my palm. Haley looks around the room, turning in circles before looking at me. “You have some explaining to do, like HOW DID WE GET HERE?! Last I remember I was putting on a necklace I bought on a shady website.” “It wouldn’t happen to be that necklace you’re wearing right now, would it?” I asked with a raised eyebrow. She then looks down quickly grasping the necklace in her hands. “Yes, yes it is.” “Then yes, I know what happened Phineas,” I smiled at my own joke. “Who’s Phineas?” She asked with a confused expression. Oh hello again palm, how are you doing? “You haven’t seen Phineas and Ferb before, have you?” “I live under a rock remember?!” She yells at me with a glare with no heat. “Yes, yes I do,” I sighed. “Good lord, you sound like me and my sister did a thousand years ago!” Celestia gasped out through her laughter. “In any case, it’s a pleasure to meet you Haley, I’m sure that Kairi will be able to get you settled, but for now, I believe I need to go now. The work of a diarch is never done.” “Alright then, see you later Celestia,” I called with a wave as she vanished in a flash of gold light. I then turned back to Haley. “Now, where were we?” She turns to me with another glare. “You were explaining why I look like Mirajane and why you look like Kairi.” “Right,” I said with a nod. “Well, we have the Merchant to thank for that.” She gives me a confused look. “You mean that shady website I went to? Did you go to the same website?” “Huh, not what I thought happened,” I muttered. “No, I bought Destiny’s Embrace from a man at a convention called the Merchant. After I bought it, I suddenly found myself here, during the Nightmare Moon fight.” “Well I mean the shady website I bought from WAS eBay.” She gives me an innocent look while scratching the back of her head. I mentally facepalm yet again. “BUT, the guy I bought the necklace from... His username was the Merchant. I was sitting in my living room watching Fairy Tail when the mail came. That was when I got the necklace and I put it on. Next thing I know, I’m on the floor. You know the rest.” I nodded. “OK, then how did you get into that crystal?” “Wait, what crystal?” She asked with furrowed eyebrows. My eyebrows shot up. “You mean, you don’t know?” She shook her head no. “We found you embedded inside a giant blue crystal, which I’m starting to suspect was actually lacrima crystal,” I explained. “Melissa, how long was the crystal here?” “About a thousand years, give or take,” she replied with a shrug of the shoulders. “Wait, WHAT?!?” I yelled in shock. “Yeah, while the disguise on the Tower was going, everything inside the Tower was put into a sort of stasis,” Melissa explained. “It’s why everything works around here still.” I hear a slight rustle of fabric, followed by a thump, prompting me to turn my attention back to Haley, who had fallen to the floor, shock covering her face.She then grabs the sides of her head, clenching her hair in fists. “I was gone...A thousand years?” Her voice breaking as she said the words. I quickly drop down beside her, pulling her into a hug. “No, not really. I mean, I talked to you about four weeks ago, remember? Right before I went to that convention?” She looks at me and nods. “But still though, four weeks is a long time. I was in there that long? Away from my home for four weeks, trapped in a crystal without knowing?” “I...guess?” I responded. “I mean, time has been a bit funky for me the past couple days. I mean, I lost four weeks to that stupid Stargate malfunction that the Doctor is fixing.” She sighed and looked down. “I guess this is gonna take some time to get used to…”