4To anyone who's ever heard of A Very Potter Musical, A Very Potter Sequel is set for release tomorrow night on YouTube. For anyone who's never heard of it: go and watch it and bask in its amazingness.
I'll admit that I was a little put out by the complete lack of reviews received for this story, and I hope that will change soon - but I am very happy to see the number of hits being paid to the prequels as a result of the new layout, as well as the favourites and alerts being added.
Even if it turns out that no one is reading this, I've had rather enough of it, and I want this story to finally finish like it should, but that doesn't mean I don't want feedback - compliments, criticisms, I'm not picky.
Disclaimer: If I'm on this site, it's obviously not mine.
Chapter Four: Brief Normality
Countless voices converged to become a single buzz. Amy sighed as she strode across the parking lot, asphalt wet as the snow melted in the quickly-rising heat. How was she going to pull this off? At least in excuse for last week, her parents had written a note saying she'd come down with the flu. But what about all the other times she wouldn't be here? Wouldn't they be just a tad bit suspicious if she was out with the flu every other week?
School.
She took the steps two at a time and wandered to a corner between a brick wall and the windows bordering the cafeteria, and set down her pack, sitting and mindlessly fingering the golden puzzle piece that hung from her neck. That was the other thing—how was she going to concentrate on school when she was busy worrying about Jack?
"Todd!" a voice broke her out of her thoughts.
She looked up to see her best friend rushing forth to greet her. "Jimmy!" She rose and they proceeded to poke each other with a short exchange of meows.
"Where have you been? You've been gone fore like two weeks!"
"One week and two weekends," she corrected in a Jack-like fashion.
Jess (for indeed that was her non-drag name) facepalmed, rolling her eyes at her friend. "Yeah, but what happened? You could've at least called or something!"
"Well it was kind of short notice, and where I went doesn't get phone service. I'm really sorry—if I had known when I was going, I would have told you."
"Oh, okay," Jess replied amicably. "What were you doing, anyway?"
Amy thought a moment. She had to word this just right. "...Helping a friend."
"With what?"
"He's dying," she replied with sullen bluntness.
"Oh!" Her best friend hugged her.
"But there is something can be done that might get him better, and that's what I come into the picture."
"Aww." Jess patted Amy's head. "I hope he'll be okay."
"Me too." She sighed, then suddenly perked up. "So, getting off a disappointing subject, where is everybody?" Jimmy shrugged. "Liz?"
"She was feeling kinda homicidal yesterday, so I think she's staying home today."
"Oh. Hope she feels better. What about other-Amy?" The name was too common!
"With Tom."
Stupid boyfriends. Ames frowned, muttering something mutinously about a 'deserter'. "And Rosie?"
"I dunno. I think she went to Sweden."
"Already? Ahh! So it's just us then!" She conjured an imaginary Keyblade, leaning into a fighting stance. "Wanna work on that cosplay?"
"Amy, there are people here."
The young pirate's eyebrow rose. "So?"
"Wow, can't beat that logic!" They grinned. "I just don't feel like it today."
"Oh, okay. Maybe when I see Hilary she and I can do something. You want in?"
"We'll see." So instead, they quoted their favourite YouTube skits until the bell rang. Unfortunately, though, they had no classes together. Time before and between few certain periods were all they had. ...And any time outside of school, but it was rare if it was ever in person—they lived so far away from each other—so it was nearly always in Instant Messaging. Occasionally—very occasionally—by phone, in which case the bills would skyrocket when conversations lasted about three hours.
Classes went, and there were the incessant questions about her absence that bombarded her the whole day and irked her to no end. As she was walking home, nearly suffocating under the huge number of books and papers she had to bring back in order to catch up on the rest of her work, she already missed the Caribbean. But school! She'd already missed so much of it during her original haphazard adventures, and she was still making up some of the work from then! Then a thought hit her. What about the weekends?
—
"No. Absolutely not," her mother rebuked upon hearing the suggestion.
"Why not?"
"You'll be missing church."
"Would you rather I miss school?"
"That's not what I said." She glared at her daughter, who only blinked and crossed her arms, knowing her mother so well that she knew the look was insincere. "But I want you to go to church."
"I'm secure in my faith, Mom," the girl assured her. "And you'll miss me less when it's only the weekends."
"And what about us-time?" her mother put on a playful pout, sticking out her lower lip.
Ames smiled and hugged her. "Just as soon as I get done making up everything that this debate is keeping me from."
"Oh all right. In that case, no T.V. or laptop unless your homework requires it." They released one another.
"Foin," she sulked maturely. Her mother laughed. "So yeah, I was thinking that if I left after dinner on Friday nights, we would have enough time as a family to share our adventures, and I would likewise have more time in a weekend to try to help Jack."
Mom considered her. Her plan did make sense... (of course it did! it always did!) ... "Look at you, making your own decisions like this. You're so grown up!"
She patted her mother on the head. "Yeah, I know" she said modestly. "I gotta go get the rest of my work done. See you in about..." She paused to count on her fingers. "...ten hours. Oh, and dinner. Dinner's good too." Her mother chuckling, she left for an afternoon of boredom.
—
Amy presented her idea to Tia Dalma later that week, and the Voodoo Priestess agreed that it seemed like a sound plan. So, the week went by, and Friday came round once again. Amy led Pongo to the mounting block and swung easily into his familiar saddle. She had been a little late in arriving as her weekend homework had taken her longer than expected to complete—so now she didn't have to worry about boring her behind off waiting for the less experienced riders to saddle up and mount. She swung her leg onto her horse's shoulder and pulled up the flap to adjust the girth, simultaneously giving him a nudge to get going. Adjusting her stirrups, she squeezed him into a trot and joined the lesson.
Jumping was different today. It was deemed warm enough for the horses to jump outside again. Only the most advanced riders, though, for the ring was larger, with more room for error, more eager horses (especially since it was cold) and higher jumps. Thus, only Amy and one other rider were given that privilege, instructed to take a short trail ride while their trainer jumped the young'uns inside. "I'm excited," Amy murmured as they walked down the road. One of Pongo's ears twitched to catch her voice. "It's been so long since we rode outside. I mean the last time I did, it was last summer, remember? And that was my first time."
"Yeah," the younger Molly grinned. "That was funny. You lost both your stirrups."
Amy smirked ruefully. "At least now we know I have a decent monkey grip," she laughed. They turned off the road and onto a gravel drive that led between two crop fields to the crop-and-dairy farm next door.
"You wanna trot?" the young blonde asked.
"When don't I?"
"Good point." And with that, they nudged their horses into a trot and posted to the halfway point before slowing, turning around, and walking back. "Which course do you think Ms Carrol will make us do?"
"I dunno." They threw possible courses at one another, listing jumps and numbers and positions that, like Naval terms, were an impenetrable code to outside ears.
Even though she knew the courses like the back of her hand, it was strange to be jumping outdoors again, and with the cold numbing her fingers and stiffening her joints, Amy found herself wishing to be back in the warmth of the Caribbean, even if it meant not being on the back of a horse. When the time came, Ames steered her faithful steed to the rail and nudged him into a canter. He picked up the correct lead, though he was usually very finicky about this and seemed to prefer the other. She steered him around the corner and to their first jump, giving him a confident squeeze. About three strides away, his strides became curt and bouncier, as if asking 'Are you ready? Are you ready?' and they sailed over the first fence, and six strides to the next.
They rounded the outer ring without any major problems, and steered toward the tighter inner ring, wherein said steed lengthened his stride. One, two, one, two, she counted the rhythm in her head. They sailed over the final jump, and she pulled him up to a stop, giving him a pat on the neck. "G'boy. Not bad for me being so rusty, hey?"
Dinner seemed to fly by, and after a quick shower, a change back into pirate gear, and a thorough goodbye, she was off.
Her judgement left much to be desired, however, for when she appeared in the swamp, instead of appearing on solid ground or near the shack, she fell another ten feet to the sucking mud which closed around her. Hands stuck in the mud, she could not wave the stuff away magically. Hmm, she thought irrelevantly. Gonna hafta work on this later... She squirmed and tried to kick out, but to no avail. She was stuck. "Oh, darnit..." Footsteps on the soggy ground reached her ears, and she looked up. An unfamiliar armored figure was approaching, and in the deceiving dimness of twilight as the sun set, she could not make out its face. "Who's there?" The figure continued closer without answer until, as the shadows deepened, it stood before her. It was a man, she could tell, but that was all. He bent over her and, taking hold of her upper-arms, hauled her out of the muck. "Hey thanks, mate, I appreci—whoa!" she cried out as the man abruptly began to drag her by the arm off in one direction. "You know, you could at least wait until I've finished thanking you before you start dragging me off... Who are you anyway?" Dimly she was beginning to think she'd been kidnaped.
The mystery man didn't answer, and with a sigh, Amy had to follow. After a few silent minutes, they reached firmer ground. There, the stranger reached into a small pack slung over one shoulder on his back and pulled out a flintlock and what looked like a small club. "Whoa, what's that for?" He didn't answer. He instead pointed the pistol sideways and held it to the bulbous end of the club. The gears in her mind began to turn as she started to recognize the action, and she jumped in surprise as the firearm discharged. The flintlock sparked and lit what was actually not a weapon, but a torch. The flames flared, then settled, casting a flickering light on the face of her 'rescuer.' "Oh god, James!" she yelled, a hand over her heart. "You seriously scared me!"
He looked at her in nonchalant concern. "Are you all right?"
"Yeah," she sighed. "I am now. Thanks for getting me un-mucked."
"I wouldn't have had to if you weren't this far out."
"Far out?" It was true. She looked around and saw not a shack in sight. She couldn't even hear the gurgle of the river. "I had a good time riding and I think my mind was still on it when I was coming."
James scoffed. "Teacher was right—your focus does need honing."
She looked him up and down. "What are you wearing, anyway?"
He rolled his eyes. "And attention span." She ignored the comment, circling him observantly. He was in fact wearing some leather sort of armor, which looked to be crudely made, though reliable. Strapped to various parts of his body were layers and layers of leather plating, all held together by a membranous, skintight suit that looked like it didn't breathe. His boots had changed to a tighter and thinner material, and instead of looking tough and piratical, looked almost dainty. His waist was circled by two belts, which were loaded with his weaponry and including a second sword she hadn't seen before. When she stared a moment, taking in the whole get-up, he snapped his fingers in front of her, and she saw he wore fingerless, padded gloves. "Mouth hanging open, love." His hair was longer and bushier, too, and his beard groomed and well-kempt.
She shut it, grinning wickedly. "Got a new fetish, James?"
"If only it were that simple," came his usual growl.
"Er...do I even want to know?"
"I do not even know its purpose," he replied curtly.
"Huh?"
"It was Teacher's idea. She had someone make it. When I asked, all she said was that I'd be needing it."
"So what are you doing out here then?"
"What does it look like? I was taking a hike to try and learn how to move in this wretched outfit, and I heard you make an impromptu landing. Now come along, let's get back and get you cleaned up."
She sighed and followed him, wondering why on Earth Teacher wanted him in armor like this. After perhaps a mile, they reached the shack.
"Ya took longer in coming dan I'd hoped." They looked up to see Tia waiting for them on the porch.
"Well my, uh, estimation was a bit off and..."
"Her mind was adrift," James explained. "She landed about a mile out and managed to get herself stuck in the mud."
"Ya mus' learn focus, chil'!"
"I know. And I wasn't. And I should have. And I will."
"Good. Clean up quickly—we mus' make up for los' time."
She obeyed, Norrington hanging effortlessly from the ladder as he kept an eye on her. "I'm not going anywhere, you know," she said, her back to him, still feeling his gaze as she splashed water over herself.
"I know, but..." He faltered. What, James? What do you need to say? "I missed you."
"You don't deal with this kind of stuff very well, do you?"
He shrugged, sliding into the water. "It's just...it's so quiet when you're not here. There's a certain chaos that accompanies you wherever you go, and somehow its absence seems to turn the world on its end."
"I wasn't gone that long, James." She had her back to him, and could not see his face. "Jeez, what did you do after I left the first time?"
"I thought I'd never see you again after that. I didn't mind. In the Navy, friends part company all the time because they have been assigned to different vessels. But knowing you'd come back — that made it all the more difficult to wait."
—
Later, a now-clean Amy and an armored James sat at the table across from Tia Dalma. A pile of crustacean pincers sat before the mystic. "We will use dese claws ta find another form of Jack. Choose which."
Ames thought a moment. "How about Jack's laugh?" James' eyebrows rose. "What? We could use some laughter."
Teacher nodded, cupping the crab claws into her hands and giving them a shake as she closed her eyes. She murmured an incantation or somesuch in a language foreign to both sets of ears, and the claws dropped to the table in one big clump. Amy sat and inspected them. It would be hard to tell where they pointed depending on which world they were in.
Based on the markings carved into the table, they would be able to discern the position of that world in relation to their own, but without an accurate map of the Realms, that seemed nearly impossible. They would have to go by what they recognized, and hope that the world was correct.
Minutes passed and James came around beside the lass, setting a gloved hand gently on her shoulder. "See anything you recognize, pet?"
"Nmmh..." She pointed to a shape made in the claws. "I know this. It's a rock structure I've seen before."
"Do you know where it is?"
"I think I know the place fairly well, provided it is the correct world."
"How can we be sure?"
"We can't. The only way to know is to go there and find out."
"All right then. Let's be off."
"Now hang on a minute. It's a place with dangers the likes of which you've never seen."
"Same with your cooking." She shot him a withering look.
"I don't want you going."
"What, you want to go alone?"
She wilted a little. As introverted as she was, she did not want to face something new by herself. However, she remained staunch in her position. "You heard me. I'm serious."
"If it's as dangerous as you say, then there is no way I am letting you go alone. And there is nothing you can do to stop me coming." There was a long pause as she registered and accepted his decision. "Where is this place, anyway?"
"Kingdom Hearts."
And so concludes this installment. The next should be out in a week or so. Please take the time to review on your way out. Thank you for reading!