Chapter 204 - 2.81 A friendly Visit
Sora laid in the spaceship and had an unusual nightmare. It was from his days back on Earth and involved the day he raced into the burning Orphanage. He tossed and turned but Brie was having her own nightmares so she didn't wake up or notice. Sora's good dream was his family living peacefully on Exteria away from all the war and bloodshed, free from responsibilities as King and Queen. Brie's was similar, but she saw another child, a beautiful blue haired girl with golden eyes.
Eventually, they found themselves in the all too familiar white space they were accustomed to when dreaming and a god or goddess would visit.
"Xander? What are you doing here sweetheart?" Brie said while gently putting her hand on his cheek.
"Mom, Dad, I miss you both and I need your help! Athena has me on a trial to get back to our realm and poor Diana's been waiting 3 weeks now and I haven't been able to find the way! There's these incredibly strong opponents Athena created to test me and if she leaves to try and find me–"
"Woah, slow down kiddo. Take a deep breath, you're talking too fast," Sora said while hugging him.
Ok, so Athena has you on a trial and you two are separated. Can't Hope help you find the way?" His dad continued.
"I left Hope with Diana so she didn't feel alone. She's not allowed to leave to help me and if she does Athena said she'll be teleported back to the realm and it'll be more uncomfortable each time. I'm sure she hasn't tried and is more focused on training and stuff."
Brie laughed. "That sounds like her, she's a smart young woman. Ok, well where are you now in Paradise? Can you pinpoint a location?"
"Yes, I think I'm headed in the right direction. When we were in our realm, Nova was always to the west, correct?"
"I think it was more southwest sweetie. Remember how almost each corner had a different realm, it wasn't just a perfect square for us to observe," Brie smiled.
"Oh! That's right, I totally forgot about that." Xander said while facepalming. "I've probably headed too far south and need to head Northwest a bit."
"Do you remember what the largest planet and easiest to see was from our realm in the Nova Universe?" Sora asked with a smile.
"Nexus. That's where you guys just left isn't it?"
"Good, yes. Ok. So it sounds like you have a good plan. How long did Athena say it could take?" Brie asked while finally hugging her son. "I miss you too by the way, we love you very much. I know it's a lot more difficult for you, but don't stress about us, ok?"
"I won't mom, I love you both! Nana Fena said it could take a day or a year and that it wouldn't be easy. Some of these fights have been really tough and I'm not using any eye magic. I think you should start training without your time magic as well dad."
Sora smiled. "Sounds good. Keep up the good work, we'll say hi to everyone for you two. Now go find your girlfriend!"
"Er, about that. So, in order to block out her visions of me, we got your mom's blessing to be a couple as god and goddess. Diana wanted to get the Athena blessing right away, we kind of had a big fight about it, but we worked through it!"
"That's good, your mom and I don't always agree on things but the important thing is you work with her and listen to her. Sounds like you're doing a great job of that!"
"Well, I kind of have these amazing parents who made it really easy to learn from," Xander smiled.
"I love you! I think I know where I have to go!" Xander said.
*****
"We're here Mama!" Emery said while bouncing on the bed.
"How long have you been up for buddy?" Sora laughed while rubbing his eyes.
"Uncle Pride knocked on the door and it woke me up. We hung out in the piloting area and I got to see the galaxy! It was really cool! I didn't want to wake any of you up so I just kind of snuck out." Emery said excitedly, but nervously.
Brie laughed. "It's ok sweetie as long as you're with a party member or an adult, it's ok for you to be awake if we're napping or your sister is napping. You two are very close but you don't have to spend every waking moment together."
Emma sat up and put her hands on her hips and had a pouty face.
"How come he gets to have all the fun?"
"You can do the same sweetie!" Sora said cheerfully.
"You both should continue just growing up the way you are. If you want to do something, just ask us first and depending on what it is, your mother and I will make a decision on it for you ok?"
"Otay!" Emma cheered.
"Sis, come check this out! Pride's about to land the spacecraft!"
The two bolted out of the bedroom excitedly.
"I can't believe Athena is putting them through such a tough challenge. Poor Diana has been sitting alone for three weeks as a new goddess. That can't be easy," Brie said with a frown.
Sora lifted her chin up and smiled. "If anyone would know, it would be you." He said before kissing her.
"But I'm sure they'll be just fine! Think about it, they're already been gone for about four months or so up there, so they still have plenty of time with each other. It's crazy because it's only been a couple of hours for us. That part of it will forever blow my mind… like what if we were in Meadowsong? I don't even want to think of that math."
Brie had the cutest expression on her face as she was trying to calculate the amount of time that would pass in MeadowSong for someone in Paradise.
"Yeah, nah. I don't even want to attempt that," She giggled.
"Well, it looks like we're home. I was thinking of maybe taking a trip to the vampire settlement with the kids, what do you think?"
"That's a great idea babe! But shouldn't we wait until Xander's home?"
"We can just make it a one day trip. We could head out tomorrow, stay the night and Xander would be home the following day!"
"Sounds great to me! I'll let Camilla know we're coming."
Brie texted Camilla and she responded excitedly. They were glad the Lockheart family was coming to visit.