Quest for the Omnistone

Chapter 56: The Stone

Steven:

We stepped out of the portal and onto the courtyard. I took a moment to breathe in the fresh air before turning to Crystal.

"So, the Land of Departure... Why are we here, exactly?"

"Kingdom Hearts is a peculiar realm. A multiverse within a multiverse," Crystal said, eyes narrowed as she scanned the area. It was as if another creature could jump out from behind the pillars. "So it's the perfect place, hopefully protected from... anything else."

"Halt right there!" We turned around to find Terra in full body armor, his Keyblade pointed at us as he walked down the stairs. He stopped a few meters from us, Keyblade pointed at my chest.

I took out my pistol and pointed it at him, the others doing the same. Had Red Hood beaten us here? Was Orange Hood around somewhere? So much for being a protected realm.

Just when I thought things were going to get ugly, Terra said, "None shall pass without uttering the password."

I lowered my gun in confusion. Password? I glanced at Crystal, who was still in a relaxed stance as she gave Terra an amused look. That's when I knew, Terra was fooling around.

Crystal walked up to him and pushed his Keyblade down with a finger, one hand on her hip as she smirked. "I'm telling everyone here about the time you—"

"No!" Terra stepped forward in a panic before gathering his composure. He cleared his throat awkwardly. "I mean, uh, you may pass through now."

I glanced at Crystal curiously, wondering what she knew about Terra that could make him panic like that. She caught my look and shook her head, trying to hide a laugh as Terra changed out of his armor.

"What brings you guys here?" Terra asked.

"Well, there's this thing we have to make," Max said, walking alongside him as we climbed up the steps to the entrance. "Crystal said this is the place to do it. Where are the others?"

As if in answer, Ven came running towards us, Aqua right behind him. "Crystal! D.T.C! What's up? Are those anemic storm spirit things after you again?"

"Anemic storm spirits?" Johnny asked, raising his eyebrows.

Crystal coughed. "Right, the anemoi thuellai. Um, no Ven. This is about something else." She held up Lee's pouch, where we had put all the other stones I had hidden in the vault. "We have to do a bit of melding magic here."

"And, uh, how do we do that exactly?" Max asked, raising a hand. It then struck me that we were all so focused on getting the gems to make the Omnistone that we didn't give a second thought to the actual process.

As per usual, Crystal was ready with a response. "I'm going to have to spell them together using my Energy. It usually requires a Traveler and a Hood working together as their combined energies are needed to activate the stone. Since I'm both though, I can manage on my own."

"Is it safe?" I asked worriedly. If the stone normally required power from two people, having Crystal do it by herself sounded risky.

She paused way too long for my liking. "Yeah. Easy as pie," Crystal said, flashing us a smile before glancing down at her watch. "Now, I can only do it at midnight tonight. That'll be when the eight moons of the Elemental Solar System turn on their axis perfectly in sync."

"Elemental—?"

"Another time, Johnny," Crystal said. "We still have a few hours before midnight. Right now I have to, uh, prepare a few things. Is my room okay?" She turned to Aqua.