A Dark Key to Bright Places

Disclaimer: Trust me I don't own the rights to any of the involved properties found in this story. They all belong to either Disney or Square Enix. I fear the mouse too much to tread on his toes.

Chapter 6

For Star Butterfly the past week had been the most taxing period of her life. Breaking a wild warnicorn, no problem. Fighting a horde of monsters, piece of cake. Even Moon the Undaunted herself could be caught off guard by her daughter's tenacity. But these were uncharted waters for the blond hellion.

"I haaaate books. Uuughh, why is this so hard to find."

Lounging back in the library, the table she sat at had towers of books obscuring her person. Moaning pitifully, she rubbed her tired eyes and glared at the massive library around her.

"Stupid library. REVEAL YOUR SECRETS TO ME!" Head slamming onto the table in despondence and aggravation, Star eyed the towers of literature surrounding her.

"Aarghh, I wouldn't even have to do this if stupid Glossaryck would just tell me where to go."

Since she had discussed Celena with the little blue man a week ago, Star had been trying to find the key in the tapestry. When she had tried to get Glossaryck to tell her where it was, he had been decidedly unhelpful. When she asked her mother about it, Moon had been dubious about the entire ordeal. Star had tried to explain the situation but with Glossaryck either pretending she was crazy or just flat out ignoring them, Moon wasn't willing to put too much effort into hunting down a relic that may or may not exist. Regardless of it being a possible family heirloom.

The only direction she'd been given was being directed towards the library. Particularly the section dealing with the many different accounts written about previous queens and their accomplishments. The problem was that unlike the biographies she had read through before, the "Ode Section" of the library was full of accounts of questionable validity. Written by multitudes of different bards, poets, and historians throughout the centuries, the texts were often written in an outdated form of speech, might feature exaggerated feats, and had a tendency to be vague in terms of date and locale.

Having spent a week combing through a dusty library, Star was beginning to get fed up with her lack of results. This was the most time she'd ever spent trying to read anything. And all it was serving to accomplish was to prove to her that it was a waste of her time. Sure she had a number of places that Celena had visited but most of them didn't match up with anything on any of the maps she could find. It had been over a hundred years since that time. Looking to the places she'd written down, she decided to take a break. Taking her notes with her, Star made her way to the kitchens.

"If Glossaryck would help then this would be so much easier. But nooo he has to be a pain in the butt like always. I am not crazy!"

A knight passing by gave the girl an odd glance, before quickening his pace. Star gave the man the stink eye and blew a raspberry at his back. Huffing she continued stomping onwards, grumbling to herself. Looking down to her list she began to go over which destination she should try to visit first. Some of these places were really dangerous and she'd have to sneak her way past her Mom to get there. Others she was unsure of their actual locations, she recognized the dimensions they were in but had no idea where in those dimensions they were. Those remaining would be the best places to check out first but the difficulty lay in choosing which one.

Her preoccupation with her list inevitably left Star distracted. Which allowed the door of the kitchen to swing open right into her head. Thick or not Star's dome was not appreciative of the trauma, given the splitting headache she now sported.

"OOWW! What the heck hit me?" Clutching her now bruised head, Star's question was answered by a yellow dress. Or at least that's what Star could see of her, given her injured state on the ground.

"That's Heckapoo actually. Should really watch where you're going." Looking up Star was face to face with the forger of the dimensional scissors.

"Ow. Hey Heckapoo, was there a Commission meeting today?"

In response Heckapoo, pulled out a bag of chips and popped a few in her mouth.

"Nah, Moon just wanted to ask me about some new scissor holders is all. Figured I'd raid your spicy corn chips while I was here. What's got you so worked up? I could hear you muttering from down the hall."

"Nothing I'm just trying to find some really old history junk and …. Heeey wait a minute. If you heard me down the hall, why'd you open the door on my head?"

Rolling her eyes and popping a few more chips in her mouth, Heckapoo didn't seem too bothered by Star's annoyance.

"Should've watched where you were going. I can't see through doors. Anyways what junk are you trying to find?" Star huffed at the dismissal but handed over her list of locations.

"I'm looking for something that Great-great Grandma Shy owned. Glossaryck said she hid it somewhere and that only someone that needed it could find it but now he won't help me look for it. I looked all over the library for places that she went but I don't know where a bunch of these places are."

Looking the list over, Heckapoo moved back into the kitchen. Gesturing for Star to follow they sat at a table. Pulling out a pen from seemingly nowhere, Heckapoo proceeded to make corrections or additions to the list.

"That place was blown up like twenty years ago, that's still there but they changed the name to this, ooh wow that's a dragon nest at this point, that's not a city it's like a floating pirate dock."

This would go on for a while as Heckapoo made her way down the list to give Star further direction. When she finally got to the end the paper was absolutely littered with notes. Heckapoo looked pretty pleased with herself.

"There you go. That should even us out for the door thing. Though a bit of advice, I'd go with your gut for the first place you go. Celena was a pretty powerful queen; if you need to have this thing then whatever's drawing you to that place should lead you there."

"Thanks Heckapoo! This is great! See you later, bye!" Star ran off in excited frenzy, snack completely forgotten.

Heckapoo just shrugged and grinned to herself. Reaching back for a chip idly, her hand found only empty air. The sound of loud snacking on said chips let her know she'd been caught. The little blue man holding her bag of chips gave a burp after devouring some more of her chips.

"So I take it that you listened in on my meeting with Lekmet and Omnitraxus. A meeting I am fairly certain you weren't invited to." Heckapoo's face morphed to a scowl in response.

"Yeah and I still don't get why the old folks brigade are the only ones that need to know about this. I mean shouldn't you have told me and Moon at least? Star's her daughter and dimensional travel is supposed to be my biz. So why are we left in the dark?"

"Don't take that tone with me young lady. We both know that you aren't in any way interested for Moon or Star's sake. You just want to see that key again."

Heckapoo's nails had become rather interesting all of a sudden.

"Heckapoo leave it alone. None of us were able to follow Celena and we all tried. You, Omni, Lekmet, Rhombulus and I all tried. None of us could go to wherever that key took her. It's outside of our domain, I don't think I have to remind you what happened last time you meddled with it."

Lowering the neck of his robe, a silver scar became visible on Glossaryck's chest. Gleaming against the natural blue of his skin it was a very evident reminder of one of Heckapoo's follies. One that she had not forgotten, given the shamed look she had when she spotted it. Eyes darting away quickly to the ground upon its reveal. But not enough to drive the point home. Eyes narrowing, whether in guilt or rage was anyone's guess, Heckapoo looked back up to her creator.

"That's why we should be looking into it though! You made me to make sure that interdimensional travel is kept safe right? This should be something I look into. I mean if that key is actually beyond you; then what if there are more out there! You said it yourself, whatever Celena saw out there scared her to death. She refused to talk about it, even on her deathbed. If someone came here with another one of those keys and wanted to just take over, then we wouldn't be able to stop them. Or maybe there's something worse out there! We need to know."

Glossaryck shook his head, a sad smile on his face. Hovering over to Heckapoo, he pat her hair. In action that shocked her out of her mood, it had been forever since he'd last done this. Centuries, if not longer. Instinctually she leaned into his small blue hand, eyes closing as Glossaryck spoke up.

"You've been around for quite some time. You've seen and done so much in your time that you seem to think that you know it all. So I can understand why this might frighten you."

Heckapoo's eyes shot open and she made to protest. But Glossaryck placed a hand over her lips, stopping her.

"There is nothing wrong with fearing the unknown. It's perfectly natural and I did my best to give you and the others natural mindsets. While still allowing you the kind of psyche required for each of you tasks, of course. But for me, I've been around even longer. I've been around so long that I've let myself forget or even repress a lot of knowledge. But it's still there, lingering in the back of my mind. So that even if I think I'm encountering something for the first time, a sense of déjà vu in the back of my head lets me know that I've been there, done that. So when that key first popped up and I was hit with a sensation I had long sense forgotten; it was exhilarating. It scared me at first and I'll admit that it still scares me now a little. But I trusted Celena back then and I'll trust Star now. After all it's all we can really do anyways."

As Heckapoo pondered her creator's words, Glossaryck disappeared chips in hand. Left to her own thoughts, Heckapoo walked off.

'I'm still certain it needs to be found. But… well it's not like we don't trust the Butterflys a lot already. I'll just keep an eye on it and see where things lead. I mean heck unless something goes wrong on an interdimensional level it's not my problem.'

Xxx

After the meeting with Heckapoo, Star had immediately gone to see her father. Without any dimensional scissors of her own, she wouldn't be able to travel to another world without help. And between the two of them, her dad was far more likely to lend her a pair of dimensional scissors.

When she did locate her father, Star found King River sword fighting with a white monkey atop the tallest tower in the castle. A sight that had her completely flabbergasted, mouth hanging open ready to catch flies.

"What ho, you blasted ceature! This shall be the last time you get the better of me."

The monkey screamed its defiance back at the king. Atop its head was a little jester hat, and perched on that was King River's crown. The monkey shrieking again, waved its sword violently. How or where it had gotten the weapon was as much a mystery as why her father was actually dueling the little simian. So Star stood there and took in this most bizarre and confusing spectacle until her father took notice of her.

"Ah hello Star, if you give me a moment I will be right with you. Once I best this white haired rat!" The indignant scream from the white monkey displayed its displeasure.

Shaking her head, Star tried to clear the bamboozlement from it. Attempting to intervene in order to speed up the process of the scissors, Star spoke up.

"Wait, wait, wait, why exactly are you fighting with a monkey?"

"Well because he has my crown of course!" Looking at her as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Ok, but why does he have your crown?" By now the monkey was just sitting there idly, sword in its lap, picking its nose as it waited for them to finish up.

"Because it's challenging me dear, it thinks it should be king. Do you know I found it rummaging through your mother's undergarments the other day?"

Grossed out at far more info than she wanted to know, Star faux gagged. Looking to the monkey she saw he was now blowing his nose on some piece of garment. A piece of garment that looked suspiciously like ladies' fabric. Unsure of whether to be disgusted, horrified, or enraged, Star decided that going with all three would be the best course of action. With a smile that belied her inner rage she calmly walked up to the little varmint. The monkey was wary, its eyes picking up something unnatural from Star's face.

"Now Mr. Monkey would you be so kind as to give me that crown." Hand held out Star gave her best patient smile.

The monkey was having none of it though, promptly going into a rage and raising his sword. Star remained as calm as could be though.

"Now Mr. Monkey I know that this isn't what you want but I promise you that –" Giving a deep gasp she pointed behind the monkey.

"Oh my gosh! Giant eagle!"

The monkey didn't even blink. One eyebrow raised, he placed the sword into the stonework and leant on like a cane. The look on his face clearly stating that he was unimpressed with her bluff. Or rather what he thought was a bluff. It wasn't. Which was why he disappeared into the beak of an enormous bird a second later. King River howling all the while.

"HAHAHAHA! Thank you Barty my old friend. I don't suppose you could spit my crown out?"

With a slight ding the crown hit stonework, falling out of the beak of the enormous bird. The monkey screeching in terror within. Star wasn't sure if she should intervene or not.

"Umm Dad, is he gonna eat the monkey?"

"Hmm well, while he might want to and I definitely want him to, I suspect Foolduke might be a tad upset. Aaaaw Barty go ahead and spit him out."

With a disgruntled look, the eagle spat out the awful little simian. Who was extremely quick to scamper away. Hopping right off the side of the tower in order to flee. Watching him go Star remembered why she had originally come to see her father.

"Oh Daddy, could I borrow the scissors for today? I wanted to go visit some places great great Grandma Celena went to when she was travelling."

Stroking his beard in thought, King River gave his daughter his attention.

"Did you ask your mother?"

"Well not exactly but I did talk with Heckapoo and she seemed ok with it. She even gave me the list of places!" Pulling out the list she pointed out Heckapoo's notes.

River looked the paper over intensely, hmming and hahing over it for a moment. Then handing it back to Star, River raised his hands in acceptance.

"Works for me. But do try to be back before dinner. You know how your mother can be. And of course be careful." Handing the scissors over to a now bouncing Star, the girl nodded her head.

"Of course Daddy, I'll bring my trusty friend here." So saying Star pulled a large morning star out of seemingly nowhere from behind her back.

"HA HA that's my girl! Well you have fun. I need to go back and see that your mother remembers to eat sometime today."

Waving goodbye to her father, Star returned to her list of places to visit. Biting her lip she wrestled with her choice for the first place to visit. So without a care in the world she covered her eyes with one of her hands and proceeded to play eenie meenie minie moe in order to leave it to chance. Though in this case when the wind picked up and moved the paper just a tad, destiny might be more accurate. When Star opened her eyes, her finger had landed on the dimension of crystal. In particular a place known as the Jeweled Maw.

"Neat!"

Xxx

Walking through the portal, Star stood outside of an enormous cavern. From its upper lip hung a carpet of vines that dangled in such a way to form teeth. The wind whispered through the vines, a hollow, shrill sound that sent shivers up Star's spine. But rather than fear, it was her namesake that shone in Star's eyes.

"That. Is. So. Cool. Spooky cave, check, ancient family heirloom, check, chances that this place is rigged with booby traps and full of deadly creatures?" A shrieking sound that was most definitely not the wind emanated from the cavern.

"EEEEEH! Treasure Hunt! Treasure Hunt!" Chanting to herself Star charged headfirst into the unknown. Completely unaware of the shadowy figure following in her wake.

When Star entered the cave she found it full to the brim with lilac crystals. With the exception of a thin path leading further into the cave, the crystals ate up every inch of the walls, ceiling and floor. Hundreds of them, maybe even thousands, making a carpet of fangs.

Doing her best to stay on the small path, Star looked in awe at her surroundings. Moving through the cavern, the path seemed to get smaller and smaller.

'Or are the crystals getting bigger?'

Star narrowed her eyes suspiciously at the gemlike cave growths. Looking carefully at the crystals closest to the path, Star took a step forward. The moment her foot touched the ground the crystal indeed grew almost imperceptibly. If she hadn't been looking right at it then she wouldn't have noticed until she was walking on the stuff. Looking ahead Star could spot an exit, the crystals not appearing to spread any further into the cave.

Chewing on her morning star in thought, Star tried to gauge the distance. Thinking things through was never her strong suit though. With a shrug of her shoulders, Star booked it towards the exit. With every step the crystal grew more and more, inching ever closer to her feet. Eventually she was starting to run on more crystal than path. Their sharp edges were beginning to wreak havoc on her boots. The exit only a few yards away, the crystals began to jump in length. In a last ditch effort Star used her morning star to pole vault to the exit.

Flying through the air as the crystals moved to impale her, Star might have had second thoughts about this venture. And when one of the crystals caught the side of her leg, she was definitely wondering why she hadn't brought any armor. But all that doubt went right out the window when she landed past the exit with only a thin scratch on her leg to show for the peril she had just been in. Turning back to the crystal laden room, Star blew raspberries at the place.

"Hah! Showed you, you stupid booby trap!"

Doing a little victory dance, Star started towards what she thought was the next room. But it seemed the cave had taken offense to her earlier boasting, as with a sudden click, the ground fell out from under her. Unseen the single small crystal that had seen to Star's scratch drank the small drop of blood it had taken. Turning red, it and its fellows rescinded their earlier growths. A figure in a dark coat coming through not even a moment later, their feet never touching the ground. Looking into the hole, the person's lips cracked into a wry grin before he continued with tailing the princess.

Xxx

Plummeting downwards Star let loose a shocked scream. The tunnel she'd fallen into curved slightly, turning the drop into more of an extreme slide. Star's scream became one of excitement rather than terror. Exiting the tunnel to a much larger room, the slide continued to carry Star ever farther down. Taking in her surroundings, Star saw a tranquil river beneath her and glowing blue lichen clinging to the walls, illuminating the cave. When the slide finally leveled out, it dropped her off on a rock in the middle of the river. Ahead of her series of similar stones made a path leading farther down the river.

Humming a tune to herself Star made her way from stone to stone. This would continue without interruption for a while. When the river began to widen, Star was confronted with an issue. The path had diverged, and unfortunately not into just two paths but ten. Looking them over, a few of the paths seemed to stand out more than the others. On a few of the stones were large salamanders, easily bigger than any Star had ever seen. Around the size of a large dog, the creatures payed Star little mind. More than content to give a simple passing glance and return to their business.

Chewing on her weapon in contemplation, Star noticed a ripple in the water. Whatever it was spooked the salamanders as they all froze. For one unlucky soul this would be too late. A moment later and a massive, purple three clawed pincer speared out of the water, ensnaring a hapless amphibian. Its pained cries and thrashing were to no avail as the claw retreated back to the depths, its prey successfully captured. Star, with eyes as big as dinner plates, remained perfectly still. The claw alone had easily been as big as she was, who knows how big the rest of the creature might be.

The moment that the water stilled again the salamanders began to rush in, fleeing down one of the paths. Figuring that would be the best way to go as well, Star went to follow them. Or rather she would have if she hadn't noticed the little rabbit creature. On one of the paths farther away from the fleeing salamanders, a cream and green colored rabbit with great big ears, danced from rock to rock. Hopping from foot to foot and jumping between the stones, the little rabbit's ears would skim the water sending ripples out across the surface. Which served to attract the attention of whatever was lurking beneath, if the bubbles heading in its direction were any indication.

Star didn't even consider her next course of action, one moment she was noticing the impending doom of a precious bunny and the next she was moving to save it.

"Oh no you don't!" Leaping from stone to stone, occasionally skipping some in her haste, Star moved like a madwoman to rescue the bunny.

The bubbles were still ahead of her though, racing towards the rabbit who continue its little dance farther down the cavern. A sleepy little grin on its face as it continued on, ignorant of the danger it was in. Star had caught up with the bubbles at this point but the bunny was now within the reach of the claw. With its prey in range, the claw lunged out to snatch the little bunny. But Star was having none of that.

"HIYAH!" Steel met claw as Star's weapon came down in a great arc, smashing it away from the hapless bunny.

Even above the water, Star could hear the shriek of pain that her blow had elicited. The monster beneath was not going to just let such an attack go unanswered, nor was it willing to let its meal escape. A second claw came from the water and attempted to crush Star, its now wounded fellow continuing its bid to grab the rabbit. Star found herself hard pressed to both dodge the new claw and protect the bunny. The bunny on the other hand seemed blissfully unaware of its current predicament, moving from stone to stone down the path. And so it went, Star leaping from her own aggressive crustacean stalker to defend the irritatingly ignorant bunny, the bunny leading them further and further down the path and into the cave.

Eventually the whole debacle led Star to a shoreline, with an entryway that was just wide enough for her to get through. Apparently the river bed was beginning to shallow because the creature beneath was beginning to take shape. The closer they got to the shore line, the more of its form became visible until all three participants were on the sand itself. There the creature was revealed to be a monstrous lobster, that while primarily orange was a true rainbow of festive colors all transitioning into each other. Its full form revealed pushed Star to move even faster towards her exit. Scooping up the bunny as she passed, Star rushed towards their salvation. Blinking its little eyes up at the blond girl, the bunny smiled and snuggled closer. Even with a monster bigger than a carriage on her tail, Star couldn't help but coo over the cute little bunny.

The lobster seeing its prey about to escape, gave a deafening shriek. Opening its massive pincers, a ring of green fire appeared at its edges. Shrinking to the center, the flames coalesced into a burning orbs that was promptly sent screaming after Star. Glancing behind her at the noise, Star spotted the balls of burning death. Eyes growing to dinner plates, Star spun and slung her weapon at the incoming doom. Spinning end over end it collided with the spheres even as Star made it to the doorway. When the morning star hit the spheres, they exploded with enough force to send Star flying down the exit.

"TUCK AND ROLL!" Star's cry preceded her actions as she flew into a hallway, hitting the ground and rolling.

Holding the little bunny up, she cuddled it against her face.

"Who's a cute little danger magnet? You are!" The bunny smiled up at Star before hopping out he arms and making its way down the hall.

"Woah wait for me!" Star ran off, following the twirling bunny down the hall.

On the shoreline the lobster leaned in, gazing through the entryway as Star and the rabbit left. Turning around back to the waters, a bubbling noise spread from its mandibles. Its snickering was cut short however when it came face to face with a figure in a dark coat. The lobster's eyes grew wide for a moment before lighting up with joy, its whole body bouncing. The figure laughed at the creature's exuberance.

"I suppose it has been quite a while. It's good to see you too." Patting the lobster on its head, they continued on their way.

Xxx

Star and her new bunny friend kept following the hallway down deeper into the cave. The little bunny had continued its dance, twirling and hopping as it went and Star had taken to mimicking her new friend's moves. But eventually they reached a door and the dancing had to come to an end, as the oddity of seeing a door so deep in a cave dawned on Star.

"Who the heck puts a door in a cave?" Looking up at the blond girl, the bunny giggled at the look of confusion on her face as the wheels turned and her mind buffered, buffered ….. ding! There it was.

"Grandma Shy!"

Practically kicking down the door, Star's exuberance was full force even as she found herself in a very dimly lit room. The lichen had not followed them from the hallway and its light did not spread far inside.

"Dang it, I can't see anything. Where's the light in here?"

"Here you go." A silvery voice almost whispered, before the room was lit by an enormous chandelier overhead.

"Oh hey that's much better. Thanks, now I can ….." Eyes open wide Star turned around, looking for the speaker. But only the little bunny was present.

"Bunny?" Covering its little mouth with one of its ears, the bunny giggled at her guest's face.

"Yee~s? Though I suppose I should introduce myself. My name is Luna, and I must say I am so glad to see you princess Butterfly. It's been so long since I have had any visitors and you have been an absolute treat my dear. Welcome to the private study of Celena the Shy." The bunny grinned as it twirled around with its ears held out in presentation.

Taking in her surroundings Star found herself in a three storied circular room. The two stories above had railed walkways with doors leading elsewhere. Where she was standing at ground level, the floor was well polished wood, furs and rugs scattered here and there. A desk with writing implements and a variety of jars held what looked like candy sat against a wall, and a fireplace to one side was surrounded by a rather comfy looking set of chairs and a table already set with hot tea and cookies.

Feeling something slip into her hand, Star looked down to see one of Luna's ears holding her hand. Being lead towards the fireplace and the comfy chairs, Star's brain caught up with the situation.

"Woah, woah, woah! Hold up! What's going on? I mean what is this place and what are you?"

Smiling up at the girl, Luna kept pulling them towards the fireplace.

"Dear, I already told you. This is Lady Celena's private study and my name is Luna. Now as for what I am, I am what's known as a –" A new voice cutoff the little rabbit, gravelly and with a bit of age.

"A Spirit. A type of dream eater that the original keybladers created in order to assist them with maintaining the balance of worlds and keeping the darkness in check." Turning around swiftly in response, Luna was quick to place herself in front of Star, her ears held wide to cover as much of the girl as she could.

The newcomer was a tall individual, wrapped in a dark coat with the hood pulled up. Given the white beard though it was safe to say he was a man. Star was completely lost now, but given Luna's reaction it was safe to say that whoever this was they weren't supposed to be here. The little rabbit looked to their intruder ready to pounce.

"Who are you and how did you get in here? What have you done with Sunny?" Star looked down to the rabbit.

"Sunny? Is there someone else down here?" The stranger answered before Luna could though.

"She means the big lobster back at the river. Still can't believe that's what Celena named the big guy; and I didn't do anything to him. Seriously Luna, I know it's been a while but have you forgotten me already? Give ya a hint." Holding his hands out to the side, a purple flash lit in each before revealing a pair of weapons almost resembling crossbows appeared. Each of them just the same color as the light that birthed them a moment ago.

Luna's breath hitched for a moment, looking at the weapons her ears dropped to floor. Eyes moving from the weapons to the strangers face, her lip quivered afraid to voice the question. The stranger reached up to his hood and let it fall back. The man was roguish looking, an eye patch covered one eye, with a nasty looking scar creeping up the cheek opposite it. Despite the white hair the man's face didn't appear all that aged. He certainly didn't look any older than Star's father. A glowing blue crystal hung around the man's neck.

He grinned at the little rabbit before letting his hands drop and the weapons disappear.

"So did you miss me Hop Along?" Holding back no more, Luna shot forward at the stranger and for a moment Star wondered if this was about to get messy. But was proven wrong when Luna ended up latching onto the man with her ears, holding tight and crying.

"MASTER BRAIG!" Sniffling into his coat Luna clung desperately to the man.

Using one hand to cradle the Spirit and the other to pat her on the head, Braig tried to calm her.

"Hey, hey, come on now this isn't exactly gonna make a good first impression on Celena's successor is it?"

"Daww, I have no idea what is going on. But that is so cute!" Star's comment, had Luna freezing like a deer in headlights. Creaking her ears free from the death hold they'd held on Braig a moment ago, Luna dropped to the ground. Her back to Star she wiped her eyes, before turning around and coughing into her hand. Braig's wolfish grin still shone with amusement at the whole ordeal. Her throat cleared Luna spoke up.

"Sorry about that dear. I just was overwhelmed for a moment there. I had thought Master Braig dead for nearly a hundred years now. Anyways, I'm afraid I haven't even given you the chance to introduce yourself." Picking up on the cue, Star went into princess mode for a moment giving a small curtsy. Moment passed miss bubbly incarnate came back to the fore.

"Hi there, I'm Star Butterfly! I'm here looking for something my Great, Great Grandma Shy used to own. Any chance one of you knows where a big key is? Kinda flowery, supposed to take you to places no one's ever seen before? Ring any bells?" Braig and Luna looked to each other for a moment, a knowing look passing between them. Luna looked back to Star, and walked her towards the fireplace again.

Sitting Star down in one of the chairs, Luna made a cup of tea for the princess. Braig following behind sat in the chair opposite, ignoring the sour look Luna gave him as he sat in her chair. In fact it may have only further amused him further if the gleam in his eye was any indication. Making herself and Braig a cup as well, Luna stood there, a cup on each ear and her little hands on her hips.

"Ahem?" Braig laughed to himself before waving his hand in the air. The cups raised out of Luna's hands before she herself was lifted into Braig's lap. Much to her chagrin.

"Hey! I am not a doll!" Braig brought the cups to himself and Luna, taking a sip for himself. He looked down to the peeved rabbit before patting her on the head. Laughing at her aggravation.

"Come on now, there's only two chairs and I figured you'd rather sit in my lap than me sit in yours. Besides, if I remember you never seemed to mind before. Anyways, Star right? Let's take a look at you." Braig gave Star a once over looking at her closely. Taking the blatant stare as a challenge, Star stared back even harder. Noticing, Braig raised an eyebrow and stared back even harder with his one eye. Widening their eyes the two would keep this up until they broke out laughing, Luna shaking her head at Braig.

"Hahaha, yes! Someone who gets humor! Celena hardly ever laughed at my antics!" Luna snorted and looked up at the man.

"That's because you just think you're funny." Braig mumbled something about party poopers and looked back to Star.

"I can definitely see a lot of Celena in the face but if I had to guess you got a lot from your family outside the Butterfly's. If I recall that would be your Dad's side right? Butterfly's a family name that passes down from your mom. But those eyes, those are definitely from further back. I remember seeing blue eyes that sharp, there's a fierceness in them that they both had. Maybe not the cold streak he had but I'm getting sidetracked. You wanted to know about the keyblade right? The big key of Celena's?" Star had so many more questions at this point but she had to start somewhere.

"Right! So like a week ago, I woke up out of nowhere and I was pumped! I mean like I'd just sent a whole bunch of monster crying home to mommy pumped! But then the next day, I keep feeling like I need to find something. Like I'd lost something important. So I started looking all over seeing if I could jog my memory, when I saw my Mom's wand." Braig had reached for a cookie at this point, slowly nodding as the princess continued her story at break neck speed with no concern whatsoever for the bodies necessity for oxygen.

"It wasn't what I was looking for though, but it felt so close. Soooo I started looking through books for stuff on the queens, not really reading but like flipping through the pages and then I saw IT! The key in Grandma Shy's tapestry that she was looking at, but the only other person that could see it was Glossaryck. He said something about being trouble, but it feels like I'm always in trouble. Anyways he also said that I was only able to see the key because I needed it, cuz apparently Grandma Shy put a curse on it." Luna was beginning to be concerned as the girl's lips turned blue.

"Which is super bad because curses are some dark stuff, I would never have guessed Grandma Shy did dark magic. But anyways, I figured if I needed it than Glossaryck would help me find it. Cuz if you tell someone they need something and make it sound all purposely vague and spooky then you should totally help them find it right? Well apparently he doesn't think so. So I had to go back to the library and dig up all this stuff on Grandma Shy to figure out where all she'd been and then I ran into Heckapoo who actually helped me! I picked a place to visit and here I am talking to an old man and a talking rabbit, and is anyone else feeling lightheaded?" Braig laughed uproariously, while Luna looked at Star with panic. Her light voice snapping out.

"Breath, Star!" The princess leaned her head back into the chair and let her lungs do their work. Luna shook her head and swatted Braig's shoulder, the man having to put his tea on the table as he still shook with laughter. Luna spoke up since Braig wanted to be a child.

"Well it sounds like you've been very busy dear. So let's start things off, as I'm sure you have a bunch of questions for us. Now as Master Braig has already explained what I am, allow me to explain who I am. Master Braig helped Celena create me to assist her as she traveled to worlds inaccessible to anyone else from her world. When Lady Celena decided to leave behind her adventuring amongst those worlds she left me here to protect what she had collected and written down. Including the key that you seek. That particular item is known as a keyblade, and it was through its power that Celena was able to see these far off worlds." Star nodded to let Luna know she was listening, still trying to catch her breath as she was.

"If Celena's spell is calling out to you then something has entered this world. Something from outside; nothing should be able to enter this world. Not after Lady Celena locked it with the keyblade. Which means that we need to get you ready for whatever you need to fight." Star at this point was looking intently at Luna nodding along, but Braig spoke up.

"Easy there Luna, it's not what you think. It woke me up too, that feeling that Star described. Though not for the same reason. It's something I've been looking for; for a very long time. The good news is that if we can find it then we'll have one of the one of the most powerful weapons to ever exist on our side. The bad news is that there are others looking for it, and they'll have felt it too. So you'll need to get a crash course on how to use a keyblade. I'm not much of one for a blade but I'm betting you know a thing or too." The shining smile that Star gave was more than enough of an answer, as Braig carried on.

"Good, I figured as much after having seen you back there against Sunny. But you'll still need to learn how to use the magic in the keyblade. It came easily to Celena but I think she struggled with the more structured form of magic. Something you'll have to get used to." Star raised her hand wiggling it back and forth, Braig raised a brow.

"Yes?"

"So I have a gazillion questions. Who are you? How old are you? Cuz it sounds like you knew Grandma Shy. What about my eyes? Did you know another Butterfly? What's everyone so scared of? I mean you make it sound like something is coming to get us. Is it why Grandma Shy hid the key?"

Braig leaned back in the chair chuckling, his eyes glazing over in remembrance. Closing his eyes for a moment, Braig heaved a sigh before looking back to the princess.

"That's a lot of questions there missy. Well let's go down the list shall we. My name is Braig Centurio. I'm over a thousand years old. Your eyes well, let's just say that I knew the two that your family got them from. Seemed a lot of talented keybladers back then had blue eyes now that I think about it, HAH! But those two; theirs weren't that naïve royal blue. They weren't Butterflys back then, just a young man from the islands and a girl gifted with an innate sense for magic. Celena's keyblade was actually a keepsake of that girl's, the keyblade of a fallen friend. Your eyes definitely take after her more than him but I saw bits of him in you. Those looks of defiance and the thrill of victory back in the cave. But I'm getting sentimental here, you asked what everyone was so scared of? Why Celena closed off your world and stopped going on adventures." Star scooted forward, completely enthralled in what she was being told so far.

"Well that's partly my problem. You see I tried to keep Celena away from certain worlds, but I didn't tell her why. There are worlds out there; ruled by an Empire, and the people at the top are just as old as I am. Several are far stronger than me too. But Celena didn't know that, she just knew I was keeping secrets from her. When she went looking for them, she got in over her head faster than she could handle. I stepped in and managed to get her out, but by then it had gotten out of hand. I'd gone over with her before what she would need to do should the worst happen. Looks like she took my advice. I barely made it out of that scrap, pretty much just been sleeping it off for the past hundred or so years." Following along so far, Star had an eager look in her eyes. She asked another question before Braig could go any further.

"So we're gonna kick their butts?" Braig's face lost any sense of joviality. With his one good eye he made sure that Star knew he wasn't joking when he spoke next.

"Star when we get to the point that you are out there amongst the worlds, you have to promise me that if you get the attention of anyone from the Celestial Empire; you'll run. If they catch you, you'll only have one choice; work for them. Because any other option will end with either your death, or the death and enslavement of everyone you've ever known."

Gulping to herself Star was beginning to finally question what she'd gotten herself into.

A/N: So yeah I'm a day late. I've been sick for the past week or so and I'm not getting much better. Hopefully I'll have the next chapter ready next Friday but I can't promise that I'm afraid. So a lot of hints dropped in this chapter. I have put a great deal of work into the history of this setting so there's a lot to cover. Heckapoo isn't exactly fond of the keyblade, or rather she doesn't appreciate the fact that it can go to places she can't. Braig is an interesting character who's lived a very long time. Most of it without any master but himself. To give you an idea of what all I've got down, the timeline on my profile is a little over 3,000 words long. That still leaves another 9,000 left of what I've written so there's plenty for y'all to see. Cookies to those that can guess who Star's ancestors are. Up next we're skipping ahead. Marco and Star will both have some experience under their belts and we'll get to see their first meeting. Marco will have saved a number of worlds during that time but it probably won't be any that many people will recognize or be too sorry were crossed off the list without a chapter dedicated to them. Hope you all enjoyed the chapter. See you soon!