In Twilight Town, the clock tower never chimed before six in the morning, or later than when the sun went down at night. Almost no one knew what the reason was, some didn't even particularly notice such a vague and insignificant oddity, but Sora wondered what they would do if they found out he jammed it just to get some sleep at night.

Sora opened his eyes to the dim sun that seeped in through the translucent clock face, peeking around the gears and cogs that also made an enormous racket, but one he'd actually taught himself to sleep through.

He sat up, stretching his arms above his head and rubbing the sleep from his eyes as he glanced around the square space of the room behind the clock.

Even backwards he could read the time. Six o'clock, the time the sun always rose in the summer. Sora always woke and slept with the sun, there wasn't any light in his little home without it, and it was something that had become so ingrained in him that he became instantly exhausted around sunset, and was wide awake at dawn.

Sora got up off the small mattress he had tucked in the corner, straightening the blankets somewhat and fluffing the pillow before walking over to the old wood chest on the other side of the room.

Just about everything he owned was in that chest. Most of it cast offs or occasionally gifts. He wasn't making enough money, barely enough for food, working for Merlin as a delivery boy.

Sora didn't blame him. The old man didn't make much either, and Sora refused to let on how bad it was, though he suspected the bookstore owner might be able to guess.

Sora pulled out the same outfit he always wore, black shorts and blue t-shirt, hoping that they weren't too dirty yet. He didn't think he'd have time to wash them today, he was already pushing it by hoping that Merlin would let him use his bath. Usually the old man insisted on it, but you never know. All patience runs out eventually.

Sora stepped into his sneakers and ran his fingers through his spiky brown hair before hurrying to the trap door and flipping it open, trying to shut it with one hand while he climbed down the ladder.

This is how every morning began.

"Hey gutter-rat!"

This how most mornings turned to crap.

Sora considered turning around and running, but he wasn't generally faster than Seifer, and sometimes running just made things escalate to blows when they could otherwise stick to insults.

Sora didn't how Seifer always found him. Sure, the town was small, but Sora alternated routes to Merlin's randomly everyday to try and avoid him. Still, somehow he ran into him at least once a week.

"Running off to that old shut-in's house again? Is he still filling your head with that horse-shit about magic and and unicorns?" The blond-haired male in the dark beanie folded his arms over his chest. Rai, the broader, dark haired boy who was standing behind him, started to snigger. But the girl, Fuu, just rolled her red eyes. Or eye– since he couldn't see the other one behind a clump of her silver hair.

Sora balled his hands into fists.

"I'm late Seifer," Sora said steadily, trying to mentally calculate the best way to run if he wanted to keep Seifer from catching up to him. Seifer let out a snort.

"Late? For what? Gutter-rat school? Please. Your life is pointless. You could lie a hole all day and it wouldn't make an ounce of difference."

Sora felt a wave of nausea. Seifer was in a real mood today. Sora could already tell. And the worst part was that Sora didn't feel any stronger today than usual. In fact, he'd felt shaky and sick from the moment he'd heard Seifer's voice.

"I just want to get going," Sora tried again, "I won't bother you. Just let me go–,"

"Your filthy stink bothers me," Seifer cut in, glaring. "Everything about you bothers me, gutter-rat. Because that's what rodents are. A nuisance to be exterminated. And you know what?"

Seifer stepped forward and Sora stumbled back. Seifer grinned.

"I think I feel like squashing a rat."

Sora didn't have time for the panic that tried to rise up in his chest. He bolted, choosing his best guess at a direction for getting away but not really having much of a chance.

He hadn't been eating enough. His body felt exhausted, and Seifer always knew how to run. He caught up to Sora in a matter of minutes and grabbed his by his arm. Using it as leverage to swing a punch right into his jaw.

Sora crumpled.

Seifer laughed, loudly and with a hard edge as his boot connected with Sora's ribs.

"There you go, gutter-rat. Right where you belong." Seifer said as he took his foot and stepped hard against Sora's chest. The weight knocked the wind out of him. "Under my boot."

That's when Seifer kicked him again, and the last thing Sora heard was Rai laughing as Seifer's boot connected with his temple, and everything turned black.


"Get out of the street!"

Sora eyes snapped open to the sound of a shout and the rumbling of something approaching. He barely had time to pull himself up and throw himself onto the curb before the garbage truck came hurtling past him, throwing Sora against the cement.

When Sora look up from falling to stare after the truck, he saw that the driver had stuck his hand out the window and was flipping him off. Sora glared.

Sora gathered himself up, brushing the dirt off his dark shorts and sighing. He looked both ways carefully before dashing across the street.

He was going to be late for sure now. He was always late. He didn't know what it mattered, but Merlin was a real hard-ass when it came to Sora being on time for his lessons. Sora thought it must make him feel more like a teacher that way, instead of an old man with a worthless street-rat student.

Sora reached the old Ivy covered house at the edge of town with only minutes to spare, and he was panting hard when he burst through the door. Stopping to rest his hands on his knees and catch his breath.

Merlin, who was sitting at an old wood table in the center of the houses main room looked up at him as he came in, inspecting him over a cup of tea.

"I thought you might be late again," Merlin commented, lowering his cup back to it's dish. "What happened to you?"

Sora looked up at Merlin in exhaustion for a moment then looked to the side, pressing his mouth together in silence.

Merlin's eyes narrowed. "I see."

Merlin picked up his tea again and brought it to his lips, struggling to avoid soaking his white mustache as he tried to read on book he had laid out on the table at the same time. Sora watched him as he did it, and after a moment Merlin looked up at him expectantly.

"Well? Come in and sit down. You're letting bugs in."

Sora blinked, quickly shutting the door behind him. He walked into the house and took a seat at the table across from Merlin as he asked, "So what are you teaching me today?" and tried to catch a peek at what Merlin was reading, but the old man quickly shut the book before he had the chance.

"We're talking about the Doorways today."

Sora sat very still, conflicting emotion rising up inside his chest.

It wasn't that he didn't like talking about magic. He did and Merlin knew it, but there was a part of him that rebelled against it.

Magic wasn't real. It was the thing that made people call Merlin crazy just because he talked about it. It was a desperate wish, for the world to change even though it wasn't going to.

"Sure," Sora agreed, trying to keep his feelings off his face. "But Merlin, you've told me about them since I was little. Don't you think I already know?"

Merlin gave him a stern look.

"Of course not! What you know is a nursery rhythm compared to what there is to know. Just because you know what they do doesn't mean you understand them, or what would happen if you were to reach the other side of one."

"You mean if you went to Nowhere?" Sora's eyebrows furrowed. "I thought you'd never been there either."

"It's in the books," Merlin said, with a vague wave of his hand.

Sora frowned. He heard that a lot. He wasn't totally sure he believed it.

"So what do the books say then?" Sora asked, raising an eyebrow. "What happens when you go to Nowhere?"

"They say," Merlin began with flourish of stroking his long white beard, "that whoever enters Nowhere will have to find themselves if they wish to secure their heart."

Sora deflated.

"Why is everything written in riddles!" he demanded, throwing this hands up and slouching in his chair. "I swear, none of this can ever be taken literally."

"Or maybe," Merlin cut in speculatively, "You aren't taking it literally enough."

Sora looked up at his from beneath his furrowed brows. "You have to find yourself? How can that be taken literally?"

Merlin shrugged, "Who knows, but magic has an interesting affect on the worlds it exists in. Magic makes things possible that don't seem possible on their own. You never know what it could do, if you were to come in contact with enough of it. Enough to take you across the void into other worlds."

Sora looked down. His heart sank. Why was he even discussing it like he needed an answer. It was all pipe dreams. Foolish childhood nonsense. None of this… none of this was going to fix anything. Other worlds weren't going to fill whatever inside him felt so empty.

"In fact there's something specific about that I wanted to talk to you about–," Merlin was saying when Sora suddenly stood up from his seat.

"I–," Sora swallowed down the tightness in his throat. "I feel sick. I have to go." Sora turned to run out of the room.

"Sora!" Merlin called after him, but Sora didn't stop. He just kept on running, running until his lungs burned and he didn't have enough air left. Then he stopped, looking out at where he was. He'd reached the port, and the sun was still low with the early morning. Sora balled his hands into fists.

Then he threw his head back, and screamed.


Roxas's eyes snapped opened.

What was that? he wondered, looking around his dark bedroom. He could have sworn he'd woken to someone screaming, but all that greeted him was silence. He sighed.

He rolled over, hoping for a few more hours of sleep when he felt something hot on his cheek.

He reached up and touched his skin. When he pulled his hand away, a single tear clung to his fingers. His eyes widened.

Crying?

Roxas quickly wiped the evidence away as if betrayed by the thought of it. Then he shut his eyes tightly and tried to force himself back to sleep. That is until a roar of laughter broke out in the other room.

Roxas groaned, rolling over and pounding on the wall. "Hey Axel!" He shouted sharply. "Could you keep it down?"

There was silence for a few moments, then suddenly Roxas's bedroom door was being thrown open.

"What was that, Roxy?"

Roxas stared daggers at him for the nickname. "I said go to sleep!"

"Oh please," Axel rolled his eyes. "Me and Lea were just having some fun!"

"It's the middle of the night!" Roxas complained, "Can't you and your Somebody just stow it until morning? Doesn't he have his own world to get back to?"

Axel grinned, "Do I detect a little jealousy Roxy? Still bitter that you don't have a Somebody of your own?"

Roxas threw something at him. The first thing he could get his hands on.

Turned out to be his clock, and It barely missed, only to hit the wall with a THUD and bounce onto the floor.

It was a miracle it didn't break, Roxas thought, he should write a love letter to whoever made it.

"Both of you just shut your holes, got it?" Roxas sniped, "I don't care what you do otherwise. Just let me get some sleep."

Axel sighed, "Fine, fine. Geez you don't got to be so sensitive." Axel was still mumbling to himself when he shut the door.

Roxas let out a full breath and fell back against his bed.

His hands were shaking.

Was he jealous? What a stupid question. Of course Roxas was jealous. He'd been jealous everyday of his life. Jealous of all the Nobodies who were normal. Who weren't alone like him, who could leave whenever their Somebody let them. Roxas didn't have someone like that. He didn't have his other half, his somebody.

"Why?" He muttered, only to himself. His jaw tightening as he ground his teeth. "What happened that made me different?"

You'd think he'd be used to it by now. It had been what? Fourteen years, maybe longer, since the day that the found him alone as a child, just lying in the street?

He'd looked about two years old at the time, but that didn't make any sense. A child had never made a Nobody before, children didn't end up in Nowhere. So what was Roxas doing there? If only he knew.

For a time people questioned if he was even a Nobody, but when the portals rejected him, and no Nobody of his own appeared, it was clear he couldn't be a Somebody, which left only one option. But if that was the case…

Nobodies died if their Somebody did. They never existed on their own. So if Roxas was here, then he had to have a Somebody out there somewhere. The only question left was, where had he gone to? And why wasn't Roxas with him?

Roxas sighed. "Pointless." He grumbled rolling over and closing his eyes. It wasn't as if thinking about it had solved his problem so far.

All he could hope was that his Somebody was out there, that he'd find him someday. Otherwise… he'd be stuck like this, alone in Nowhere for the rest of his Somebody's life.

That was the thought that scared him the most.