summer days, fading away…
normal disclaimer applies
twilight town gang
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Fading away…

Twilight Town, no, this couldn't be Twilight Town, it wasn't possible. Or maybe it was possible, Roxas didn't know, but it really didn't matter. He was back, and that thought had dominated his mind completely. It had been a while since Sora had visited any of the worlds, after peace was restored, so he wondered what changed about Twilight Town over the time.

Roxas knew what changed about Sora, Kairi, and Riku. Sora and Kairi married, Riku married Selphie, and they were happy. Things stayed that way for a long, long while. Roxas watched them grow up, age, while he stayed young, because he was a Nobody, and Nobodies don't grow up. Roxas watched Sora and Kairi's children grow up, and feel a fatherly love towards them.

But things didn't stay that way for long. Kairi started to grieve and cry, the kids cried too. Because in the end, nothing was immortal, not even the Keyblade Master. Maybe that was why he was back, here at the place he was born, Twilight Town, because his other half, the one that could wither away, was gone. It was how life was though, Roxas understood.

To the people in Twilight Town, he was just another stranger that found his way to their staid town. They always had strangers, so it didn't really matter. Walking over familiar places, he couldn't help but smile. They were familiar, but different at the same time. The Sandlot seemed to be the same though.

It was the dead of winter right now. Twilight Town really wasn't itself during the winter, cold, wet, the streets were slippery, you can't run around without tripping and falling flat on your face. So he floated around, seeing the sights. Nothing changed so far, so with butterflies fluttering in his stomach, he made his way down the familiar path to the Usual Spot.

What Roxas saw though horrified him. The wood was burned down, only ashes left of what used to be crates and a couch. So cold hard reality smacked him in the face, if Sora and his friends changed, everything in Twilight Town would change. "Hey kid, what are you doing there? It's dangerous!" A man yelled, and Roxas turned to look.

The man was in his late thirties, his eyes though, looked like those of an old man's. "Kid, get out of there. It's dangerous." The man repeated, and Roxas could only respond by walking over to the man. "What happened there?" He pointed at the remains.

"Walk with me, kid." The man replied, and a small smile stretched across his weary face. "You're new here aren't you?" The blond boy nodded. "Well, once, a long time ago, there were three kids. Two boys and a girl. They were best friends." And me. Roxas added bitterly, but listened as the man continued with his story. "What were their names?" He asked.

"Hayner, Pence, and Olette." The man replied. "Stop asking questions if you want to hear the story, kid. Anyways, they were the best of friends. One day though, the Disciplinary Committee, as those jerks called themselves," The man clenched his fists slightly, "Set this place on fire. Thought it was a good way of getting back. The results were devastating. One of them died in the fire, nothing was ever the same after that."

The man didn't know it but he had started to cry. "Pence died, and everything just fell apart." He seemed to be talking to himself now, so Roxas came to his own conclusion that the man was the leader of the Twilight Town Gang, Hayner. I mean, who would have the guts to call Seifer and his lackey's jerks? Hayner, that's who, "Olette was never the same. Poor girl. She doesn't talk much now, people think she's gone insane, but I know she's still there."

"So that's what happened here kid, I'm running late." Hayner chuckled, "See you around." He waved, and was gone into the distance, leaving Roxas pondering over what happened. Smiling sadly, the blond boy whispered quietly to himself, "Summer ended for them too."

Somewhere far away, two boys and a girl helped another boy up from the ground. "I'm Hayner." The tallest boy declared with a grin. "Name's Pence, nice to meet you." The ebony haired boy said, extending his hand. "Just call me Olette." The girl smiled. "I'm Roxas, a pleasure to meet you all."

Summer days…

foot-notes: this started out with just the cover art on my dA, and then, somehow the plot formed in my mind when i was locked in a closet for who knows how long. leave a comment, i would appreciate it, and my plot bunnies thank you too.

about the ending: i believe in other dimensions, i shall say no more.