Sell you a Bridge chapter 325

July 1st 2016 Mysterious Tower, 10:00 PM EDT

"The fuck you say!" Spat Artemis, as I faced her in one of the side rooms of  the tower. My best friend's dark eyes were blazing with anger. "Stay  here? You have to be joking. Because when you told us what you were  planning last night, you didn't mention anything about Wally or I  staying behind! I wouldn't have even listened to it if you had." She  turned to Zee, face pleading. "Please explain to him how stupid this is,  you guys need us!"

I stepped between them. "Yes. We do.  We need you alive when we have our final battle. Which means you and  Wally need training. Just like everyone else. Zee, Drea, and Rana are  linked to me, and they've been learning as I have. Internalizing the  skills I pick up. I need you here training with Master Yen Sid, because  if you aren't you're going to end up dragging us down."

She  looked ready to scratch my eyes out, but Wally reached out and put a  hand on her shoulder. "He's right babe." She froze, whirling on him with  a betrayed look. The redhead just gave a sad smile. "You know it, too.  You saw that fight he had with Jim. We have a lot of power right now,  but not much skill. That makes us a liability."

Artemis  looked back and forth between us. "But...they NEED us. We've been  together since this all started." Her eyes bore into me. Almost  pleading. "Morgan...come on. You guys can't do this alone. We're a  team." The quaver in her voice physically hurt me to listen to. I almost  caved. Leaving like this would be making her watch Jade walk out all  over again. Or her dad. Artemis's abandonment issues weren't simple  things, and I was stepping all over them. I'd known that when I decided  this. But I would rather have her hurt than dead.

Still,  this wasn't the same, and I could try to make her see that. "We are. And  always will be. You've had my back since day one. But the fact is we're  coming up on the big one. Something so far beyond what we've already  experienced it isn't even funny. I have no doubt you would be able to  help us, you've saved my ass more times than I can count. But that isn't  what I'm going to need. It won't matter if you pull off the win over  and over only to fumble the big show."

Stepping forward, I  did something that I rarely indulged in and pulled my surrogate sister  into a hug. She stiffened slightly but didn't pull away, and I could see  in her aura that knowing why I was doing it was breaking her heart. I  could almost see her remembering her goodbye with Jade. I just gave her a  squeeze. "I am NOT leaving you behind. None of us are. We could never.  But we need to do this smart if we're going to survive. That means  making sure our resources are where they will do the most good."

Her  shoulders sagged as she realized she wasn't going to be able to talk me  out of this, her panic melting into despair. Zee stepped up and pulled  me back, wrapping her own arms around Artemis. "We're not Jade, Artemis.  We are coming back. I'm not abandoning my sister. You and I are the  only Heavenly Punishment Elves in the universe. And you know I don't  give up on family. Neither does Morgan. Hell, he brought my mom back  from the DEAD. Kit's here now too. We dove into the Nightside to save  her with no hesitation. No one is getting left behind."

Slowly,  her roiling aura was leashed. It didn't go away, she was still  terrified, but she forced it down. I saw something else restraining the  fear. Trust. Artemis had been through so much with us. Drea and Wally  both stood back letting the three of us have our space. This was a  family thing. Finally, once she relaxed a bit more, she pulled out of  Zee's embrace. She hadn't cried, Artemis rarely did that if she could  help it, but she'd broken a little, before she put herself back  together.

"All right." She said with forced cheer, trying  to willfully brush past her (from her point of view) embarrassing freak  out. We let her have her way, even if I didn't think there was anything  wrong with getting upset. "So, you guys are heading out on your own?  Where are you going exactly? You need to find the last few keyblade  wielders right? Any leads on where they might be?"

I  nodded, happy to be past the emotional stuff. I wasn't really good at  this. Besides I couldn't talk her out of being afraid. All I could do  was come back like I said I would. Well, and stay in touch. Master Yen  Sid had supplied us with phones made from the same shit as the gummi  ships, and they'd let us keep in contact. That should help at least.

"Me,  Rana, Drea, and Zee. We considered bringing Jim, but in the end we  figured he would do better here as a sparring partner for you all and to  help train you. Honestly of all of us he's probably the one who has the  experience to best use the keyblade. Well...him and Roxas. But we need  Roxas and Namine with us to track down the others. The rest of you will  be staying to train. We'll pick you up once we have the rest of the team  and figure out where to go from there."

She sighed, but I  saw her aura twinge with relief. Jim was staying, and some part of  Artemis felt like Jim was less expendable than she was. We didn't feel  that way, of course, but Artemis had serious self esteem issues when it  came to being abandoned. Knowing we were leaving Jim here with her made  her feel better, because no one in their right mind would ever abandon  Jim. He was 'useful' after all. Sometimes I hated the combination of  aura sight and my ability to spot self deception. I really didn't need  to know she felt that way. It seemed way too private.

Deciding  that dragging this out way hurting everyone, I clapped her on the  shoulder. "Alright. Come one. Let's go say goodbye to everyone. We're  not gone yet. Master Yen Sid still has to set up the teleportation array  anyway. He said it'll take a while. Let's enjoy our time together while  we have it." I shot her a teasing grin. "You probably won't get much  downtime while we're gone. Might as well have a going away party before  you get consigned to grueling training for however long we're gone. You  know...while we travel around and have awesome adventures in strange new  worlds."

Sure enough, talking shit was the fastest way to  get my best friend out of a funk. Her eyes narrowed. "You better watch  it. Who knows how strong I'll be once you get back. Just because you're  tougher than me now doesn't mean I won't be kicking your ass when I see  you next." She raised an eyebrow at Zee. "How about it sister mine. You  gonna save your boy from my wrath when you both get back or let me exact  my terrible vengeance?"

Zee shot me an apologetic look.  "Ooh, sorry baby. I can't interfere in terrible vengeance. It's in the  bylaws. Looks like you're doomed." She put a dramatic hand to her  forehead, palm out. "Oh woe is me. To become a widow so young, losing my  greatest love and companion. If only he had followed that most sacred  law. 'Act like a bitch, get smacked like a bitch.' He was truly gone too  soon." She could barely keep the giggle out of her voice, and I rolled  my eyes at their nonsense.

"See this." I said in  annoyance. "This I will not miss. I'm sick of you two ganging up on me."  I looked to Wally for backup, but the redhead looked away casually,  eyes wandering around the room as if he didn't see me look. Despite the  banter I didn't actually mind. I could see Artemis's aura crackling with  happiness and affection, and it really helped me feel better.

We  walked out of the room and headed to where the others were waiting, in a  huge dining room. The massive wooden table was set with tons if  delicious looking food, carried out by brooms with arms and other  ridiculous anthropomorphic cleaning and housework implements. I just  ignored it. We'd been here more than a week, and you got used to the  weirdness. When we entered everyone who was sitting down cheered,  raising a glass without really bothering to stop their feasting.

Cursing  because I was worried about missing the food I bolted for the table,  scrounging up a plate before my daughter or Wally could demolish the  whole damn dinner. Most of us could eat a ton, but the speedster and my  beast of a daughter were the heaviest consumers. Well...if you didn't  count me. I was such a weird mix of entities that my body required could  run off truly monstrous amounts of calories. Luckily it could also run  off ectoplasm if needed, which had been building slowly since I  discovered my obsession.

As I  had that thought, I felt the cold energy inside me writhe a bit at what I  was about to do. Leaving the majority of my friends, even somewhere as  fortified and secure as the tower, was...jarring. I wouldn't be alone of  anything, so it wasn't like I was freaking out about that. I'd just  gotten so used to the lively atmosphere of traveling in a big group. Of  spending time in a crowd of people I knew and trusted and had fun with.

Leaving  so many of them behind, especially Artemis who had been with us almost  constantly, was hard to reconcile. Sure, Artemis had moved in with Wally  when we got back from the OZ, but that wasn't the same. She'd always  been with us when we had adventures. First Reggie got left behind, now  Artemis. It was a lot of changes. Despite being a future dark endless, I  was still a person. A person who didn't deal so well with change when  it came to people he loved.

I  forced myself to focus on the here and now. It would be pure stupidity  to waste my last peaceful hours with my friends worrying about not  getting peaceful hours with my friends.

Sadly,  despite that realization, the time flew by far too fast, and before I  knew it, me my girls, and Roxas and Namine were at the teleportation  array, ready to head out to where we needed to go. Master Yen Sid told  us to be careful and promised to look after everyone, and there were  lots of hugs and tears. Sindella was inconsolable, and had to be  physically pried off of Zee, but in the end we said out goodbyes and  stepped into the circle.

The  transition was jarring. I'd never been in a teleportation array like  this, and it felt wild and uncontrolled despite knowing Master Yen Sid  was brilliant enough to craft a proper spell with much worse conditions  than this.

When  we emerged, it wasn't into a forest, or a mountain or castle. We  stepped through a massive wooden door, coming out into a stone square  full of buildings that looked a bit old fashioned, though not to the  extent they seemed historical. The place was...pretty. Quaint I'd even  say. Zee and Drea were on either side of me, looking around. As I turned  to scan over the area I caught sight of a sign next to the door,  luckily in english. I pointed it out and the others turned to look at  it. "Welcome to Traverse Town." Well, it was nice to know where we were  at least.