The living room had become a wreck of scattered furniture, broken wood, and overturned belongings, yet Beast Eda continued searching through the debris. She pounced onto the treasure chest beside the fallen front door and sniffed at a book lying across its lid, her enormous black eyes scanning the room as her claws scraped against the wood. A steady clicking sound soon caught her attention, drawing her gaze toward King, who stood farther down the hallway with the pen in his paws.
"Oh, what lovely thing do we have here? It's just so dang shiny. Oh, my. Oh, dear."
King clicked the pen repeatedly, letting its little light sparkle in the dimness. Eda's attention fixed entirely on the glowing object, and she began cooing at it before screeching and lunging toward King.
[Play Courage - Kingdom Hearts II Music Extended]
He immediately bolted down the hallway with the pen held above his head, leading the beast away from Luz, who was busy finishing a large light glyph on the living room wall. Eda pursued him with her claws scraping against the floor, but when King ducked around a corner, she slid across a scattered pile of books and papers. Her momentum carried her straight into the wall, where she struck it with a heavy crash and gasped as Luz threw a blanket over her head.
"Sorry, Eda. But it's for your own good!"
Luz returned to the glyph and finished tracing its final lines, preparing to activate the spell. Before she could touch it, however, several Heartless emerged from the shadows around the living room. Their dark bodies and glowing yellow eyes stood out against the dim interior, and their red fingers curled as they advanced toward the group.
"Gah! Heartless!" King cried.
Sora summoned his Keyblade and moved into position between the approaching creatures and his friends. "Don't worry, we've got this!"
He began channeling light energy through the Keyblade, its radiance growing steadily as the Heartless lunged toward them. Luz remained beside the glyph, waiting for his signal while the creatures closed the distance. Sora gathered the energy into a concentrated sphere, its brilliant glow illuminating the damaged room and the figures moving through it.
"Luz! Now!"
With a grunt, Luz slammed her hand against the glyph, activating its magic as Sora simultaneously unleashed the enormous sphere of light from his Keyblade. The two spells converged in a blinding radiance that flooded the living room, engulfing Beast Eda and the charging Heartless. Eda's scream rang through the house as the light consumed the creatures, destroying the Heartless in an instant. The brilliance spread across the room until the entire scene faded into white.
[End Courage - Kingdom Hearts II Music Extended]
The room gradually fell quiet as the last traces of the light spell faded. Eda lay in her nest, her feathers receding as her body returned toward its familiar shape. A straw rested between her lips, and when she finally stirred, she sat upright with a startled cry, still partially transformed.
"Ahh!"
Eda slurped from the straw, and the remaining traces of her transformation disappeared. Her feathers receded completely, her limbs returned to their usual shape, and she settled back into her familiar appearance. She rubbed her forehead with one hand, blinking as she tried to make sense of her surroundings.
"W‐What happened? Oh, I have the worst headache."
The potion lay on the floor beside the nest. Eda spotted it, leaned over, and snatched it up, inspecting the container with the satisfaction of someone who had finally recovered a misplaced possession.
"Hmm, I was looking for that."
King approached the nest, his small feet padding across the floor. "Actually, we found an extra one in your closet."
Eda's expression changed as she turned toward him. "King? King?! You stole my elixir?! I ought to break every bone in your--"
King raised a paw to his mouth and leaned closer, lowering his voice. "Shh! Over there."
Across the room, Luz sat cross-legged on the floor with the pen in her hand, carefully tracing another light glyph. The thunder rumbled beyond the walls while she worked, its low sound accompanying the faint scratching of the pen against the surface beneath her. Once the design was complete, she pressed the glyph into activation. A bright orb rose into the air and joined the other floating lights scattered throughout the room, illuminating the nest and the surrounding clutter with a gentle glow.
Sora had been watching her technique with growing interest. He crouched beside Luz and held out his hand for the pen. "Ooh, lemme try."
Luz passed it to him, and Sora drew his own glyph, following the pattern she had shown him. He activated it, watching the resulting ball of light lift from the floor and drift toward the others.
"Coooool."
Luz giggled as Sora continued to admire his creation.
From her nest, Eda watched the two of them with an incredulous look. The growing collection of lights had spread across the room, their glow mingling with the faint flashes of lightning beyond the windows.
"Wow. How is she doing that?"
King looked up at the floating orbs. "I don't know, but she did it all on her own. Hey, I, uh, kind of messed a bunch of things up back there. And I just wanted to say I'm sorry."
Eda lowered the potion into her lap and regarded him with a stern expression. "Well, you better be. I got a long list of disgusting chores with your name on it. But it's not entirely your fault."
[Play Dearly Beloved ~Reprise~ - Kingdom Hearts II Extended Soundtrack]
Luz and Sora had finished drawing their glyphs and walked over to the nest, joining King beside Eda. The witch shifted against her blankets, holding the elixir in one hand as she looked between the three of them.
"I haven't been completely honest with you guys. When I was younger, I-I was cursed. I don't know exactly how it happened; all I know is that if I don't take my elixir... Well, that's why people call me the Owl Lady. No one likes having a curse, but if you take the right steps, it's manageable."
Luz listened closely, her gaze moving to the potion in Eda's hand. "Whoa. So are you okay?"
Eda adjusted herself in the nest, making sure the blankets were settled around her. "There's nothing for you to worry about. It's all under control, and as long as no one steals my elixir ‐King‐, then I'm fine. But, hey, look at this. Luz doing magic. Good on you, kid."
Luz glanced toward the glowing orbs suspended around the room, a pleased smile spreading across her face. "I had some encouragement from a great teacher."
King looked at her with a fond, slightly embarrassed expression. "Oh, you."
[End Dearly Beloved ~Reprise~ - Kingdom Hearts II Extended Soundtrack]
The quiet conversation was interrupted by Hooty's voice echoing from somewhere beyond the room.
"Hey, hey! Is anyone there?! Hello?! Hoot?! Danger detected! Hoot!"
The warning startled everyone, and Eda sat up straighter in her nest, clutching the potion as she looked toward the doorway. "Hooty, what danger?!"
A Heartless suddenly burst through the door; the one that commanded the others earlier launched across the floor directly at Luz. She had barely turned toward the noise when the creature sprang at her, its yellow-fingered claws reaching for her. Luz recoiled in alarm, scrambling backward. Fear tightened her face, and she raised her arms instinctively to shield herself.
"Heartless! Sora!" Luz shouted.
"Heartless?!" Eda also shouted.
Sora moved before the creature could reach her. He summoned his Keyblade and rushed forward and slashed across the Heartless with a swift strike, splitting it in half. A glowing heart emerged from the dissolving creature and floated upward, vanishing into the air.
Sora lowered his Keyblade and surveyed the room. "That SHOULD be the last of them."
Hooty's voice returned from beyond the door, sounding considerably less alarmed. "Sora's right. No more danger detected. Now, can someone help me?! I'm on the floor! It's cold!"
King's ears lowered as he recognized the voice. "That voice. That horrific voice!"
Luz got to her feet and brushed the dust from her clothes, then turned toward the doorway. "We'll take care of him. You stay in bed."
Eda leaned forward in her nest, her brows drawing together as she looked at Sora and the Keyblade in his hand. "Hey, wait! What was that thing just now?!"
Sora let the Keyblade disappear and turned toward her. "I'll tell you about it tomorrow. It's a long story. Everything's fine now."
Once the others had left Eda's room, the door swung shut behind them, leaving the witch alone in the quiet of her nest. She let out a weary sigh and settled back against the blankets, the elixir resting within reach beside her. The long night had taken its toll, and she closed her eyes, allowing herself to drift into sleep.
Eda found herself standing in an empty void, surrounded by darkness that seemed to stretch endlessly in every direction. A solitary door stood before her, its surface faintly visible against the blackness. Indistinct whispering carried through the emptiness, growing more pronounced as she approached. The familiar sound made her hesitate, and she stared at the door with dread.
"No, not this memory again."
The door slowly opened, revealing a wavering shadow on the other side. Two circles of light glimmered near the upper portion of its indistinct form, while a pure white light shone from behind it, obscuring whatever lay beyond. Eda remained in the darkness, her eyes fixed on the figure as the whispers continued.
"You! You're the one who cursed me, aren't you? Who are you? Who are you?!"
The dream dissolved, and Eda abruptly sat upright in her nest with a gasp. She looked around her room, taking in the familiar blankets and the quiet surroundings before releasing a slow breath. The elixir remained beside her, and she settled back against the nest, still shaken by the memory.
In the living room, Hooty had been returned to his proper place in the doorway. Luz had wrapped bandages around the claw marks left on his body, carefully securing them as she stood beside him.
"Welcome to the boo‐boo buddy club, Hooty."
Hooty seemed pleased with his new bandages, his long body resting against the frame. "Finally, I get to be a part of something."
On the couch, King sat with his demon book open across his lap, drawing the Heartless he had encountered earlier. Sora sat beside him, watching as King added details to the illustrations.
"Wow. Those Heartless will make a great addition to my demon book."
Luz walked over to the couch, looking down at the drawing before turning her attention to Sora. The night's events had left her with questions, and she had yet to receive an explanation about the creatures that had attacked them.
"Speaking of, you never told us what the Heartless are, Sora."
Sora leaned back against the couch, his exhaustion evident as he answered. "Like I told Eda, I'll explain tomorrow. It's been a long night, and we all need sleep." He yawned before continuing, "Plus, it's a long story."
Luz nodded, though her curiosity remained. "...Ok."
Sora rose from the couch and headed toward the stairs, making his way upstairs to get some rest. Luz watched him leave, her gaze following him with a concerned look.