Obvious Disclaimer: Not mine.
A Monopoly on Emotion
Yen Sid's Tower
Roxas sits across from Goofy and Donald in the train car. Outside the sky is gone, replaced by glowing lights and murky, strange colors. The train rumbles on.
"Roxas, maybe you should tell us who ya are." Goofy says.
Roxas remembers.
He remembers Hayner, celebrating the first day of Summer Vacation. Olette. Pence. Sea Salt ice cream and struggle tournaments.
He remembers black coats and twelve chairs surrounding him. Red hair and green eyes and a dull, throbbing ache in his chest.
Perpetual sunsets mesh with perpetual darkness, castles and clock towers swirl together in a city lit only by a heart-shaped moon.
He remembers he had a best friend. Only now he can't remember who it was.
He remembers two fights, one lost and another won. He remembers the victor.
"Riku."
Goofy watches Roxas crumple forwards, falling off the bench to the floor. He rushes to the boy, who is already getting up from the floor.
"Gawrsh Roxas, are ya okay? What happened?"
"Nothing. Nothing. I just. Remembered something. That's all." Goofy thinks he hears the boy mutter something under his breath. He thinks the boy just said "Riku."
In the end Roxas never tells them where he's from, because the train grinds to a halt. Even if they'd had the time, Goofy is beginning to suspect they wouldn't get a clear answer anyway.
The door slides open and they file out, onto a spit of land that must have lost its world, because the universe is right there. Even Goofy is unnerved by it, it reminds him of the End of Worlds with its broken landmasses. But the tower is before them so they move forward without a word.
Then there are Heartless surrounding them and for once it's Goofy and Donald who have the jump on Roxas. Heartless are business as usual, familiar colors, movements and danger. Brandishing his shield, Goofy is strangely comforted that at least when it comes to Heartless, he and Donald are on par with Roxas. Well, maybe not on par. Roxas is destroying Shadows left and right. The keyblades cut through the Heartless, it's what they were made for. They won't ever be able to compete with that.
When the Heartless are gone, the stolen hearts floating upwards and away, they enter the tower. Everything depicts the stars and moon; the walls are the colors of the universe. They follow the stairs, upwards always, fighting off the Heartless that appear whenever they pause. Goofy represses his foremost thought. "Has something happened to Master Yen Sid, that he would allow Heartless to run rampant in his tower?" But they keep on moving, keep going up, until there is no more up to go. And then they are in the study, and Master Yen Sid is the same as he ever was, sitting imposingly at his desk. Goofy and Donald bow, this is the man that taught their King after all. Roxas only stands there. Master Yen Sid looks the boy over.
"This is not Sora." Donald opens his mouth to explain something, apologize maybe. "I did not expect this." Yen Sid intones gravely. "But when the keyblades are involved, little can be predicted accurately." He pauses and opens a large tome, studying the minuscule print. "Heartless. Donald, Goofy, you know this enemy well. They are always lurking and seeking to capture new hearts. As long as a single heart harbors darkness, there will always be Heartless." Donald's face falls at this, Goofy feels disheartened. As much as they love adventuring, Goofy cannot remember how long it's been since they left home.
"And then there are Nobodies. You have faced them already, I know. When someone with a strong heart and will, whether they be good or evil, are taken by the darkness, the empty shell that is left behind will begin to act on its own. They are empty vessels; their hearts have been stolen away. The spirit goes on even as the body fades from existence, for you see, Nobodies do not truly exist at all. They may appear to have feelings, but this is a ruse, they only pretend to have hearts."
"That's not true!" Roxas leaps forward, fists clench and eyes blazing. "We- They can feel! I know it!" Master Yen Sid says nothing, Donald stares at Roxas with open confusion and Goofy looks appraisingly at their companion.
"Perhaps. We know so little of Nobodies after all. Perhaps you are right." Yen Sid sighs. "I have never admitted to knowing everything. The most powerful Nobodies, I had never seen until recently. They call themselves Organization XIII. They are far different from their Dusk counterparts, far stronger and terribly sinister." Roxas says nothing, but from the corner of his eye, Goofy sees his hands clench.
"Throughout your journeys, the keyblade will guide you from world to world. The corridors that you and Sora opened on your last journey have closed. I have your gummi ship waiting outside. Follow the keyblade!" With that, Yen Sid vanishes.
True to his word, a gummi ship floats just outside the tower. They clamber inside, Goofy taking the navigator's seat while Donald goes to the shooting controls. Roxas says nothing, taking the seat behind Donald.
Within moments of their take off, each of them is wrapped in their own thoughts. Goofy wants nothing more to befriend the boy behind them. It's in his nature. But as he pilots the craft, he cannot help but think. It wasn't supposed to be this way.
AN: Short(er) chapter. It felt so long on Word too. Oh well XD Reviews are always appreciated!