Chapter 4: Twilight Town - Revisited
"—ke up…"
Who— What…?
"—wake up!"
Aqua? Is that—
"Ash, it's time to wake up!" An unfamiliar voice echoed in the back of his head.
"Who's there…?" The boy tried to ask, but it came out more as a slurred moan.
"Gawrsh do ya think he's okay?" A different voice — distinctly masculine this time — asked in concern.
"I don't know." Another, raspy voice said. This one sounded distinctly annoyed. "Just like the five other times you asked."
Ash groaned as he slowly opened his eyes to see two blurry figures standing in front of him. "Hey, I think he's wakin' up!" the first voice exclaimed.
"Who's there?" Ash repeated his initial question as he gazed out through bleary eyes. As his vision slowly came into focus, he had to rub his eyes to make sure they weren't deceiving him.
"You okay?" A dog-like being asked kindly. It… He was dressed smartly with a green turtleneck, baggy yellow pants and a hat. A large round shield was strapped to his back. Standing beside him was a duck-like being wearing a blue vest and hat. He carried a short staff in his right hand as he crossed his arms and tapped his foot, looking very impatient.
"Did you hear him?" The duck demanded. "He asked if you were okay."
"Er… Y-Yeah," the teen said with a nervous chuckle. He glanced at his surroundings to find himself in a metallic room lined with large pods big enough to house a person. In fact, he himself was currently inside one of these very pods, reclined back for comfort.
He pushed himself up and out of the pod, very nearly tumbling to the ground if not for the dog-being catching him. "Easy does it," the dog said with a grin.
"Thanks… er…"
"Ah," he seemed to realize the problem. "The name's Goofy! This here's my pal, Donald Duck!"
"I'm Ash," The black-haired boy nodded with a small smile. "Ash Ketchum."
"Nice ta meet'cha, Ash!" Goofy said, shaking his hand vigorously. Ash found himself rocking back and forth from the sheer strength behind the dog's handshake.
"Goofy, you're gonna pop his arm right out of its socket," Donald said with an annoyed rise in his voice.
"Oops!" The clutzy dog chuckled sheepishly as he released his hold on the poor trainer. "Sorry!"
"It's fine," Ash laughed, rubbing his shoulder. "I'm used to it. My Pokemon usually…" His eyes widened. "My Pokemon!"
"Gesundheit."
"No, no!" The teen glancing around frantically. "My Pokemon — my friends! Where are they?!"
"You lost your friends?" For the first time since their introduction, Donald's eyes softened.
"That's terrible!" Goofy cried.
Ash ignored them for the time being as he reached towards his belt. Retrieving one of his Poke Balls, he enlarged it before pressing the release button. "Gardevoir!"
Nothing happened.
"No…" Ash retrieved another one. "Charizard!" Again, nothing happened. "Sceptile! Greninja! Heracross! PIKACHU!"
"Hey, calm down," Donald said, patting him on the arm since his shoulder was out of reach. "Where was the last place you saw them?"
"In Pallet Town," The boy said with a grimace. "We… We were fighting the Heartless."
"The Heartless?!" The duck flinched back in shock.
"I remember my vision going black…" Ash continued before pausing. "And then I ended up here; my Pokemon nowhere to be found." He finished, deciding not to mention his encounter with Aqua.
"If you're here…" Goofy mumbled. "Does that mean your world was consumed by the Heartless?"
"Consumed…" Ash repeated the word with a grimace. "So, Aqua was right… My world is… gone…"
"Hey, everything will be fine!" Donald quickly piped in, seeing hopelessness starting to form on Ash's face. "Just because a world is lost doesn't mean we can't get it back!"
The raven-haired teen's head snapped towards him. "Really?"
"Yeah!" Goofy said enthusiastically. "Me and Donald have done it before. I'm sure we could get your world back!"
"We'll help you find your friends too," Donald nodded. "When a world is lost, the residents that the Heartless haven't gotten to are sent to Hub Worlds like Traverse Town or Hollow Bastion. I'm sure we'll find them there."
Ash just stared at them in mute shock for several moments. "Y-You'll really help me? Why? You don't even know me."
"Do we need a reason to help someone?" Goofy asked, puffing his chest out pridefully. "We're the king's most trusted vassals. We can't just ignore someone that needs help!"
"To tell you the truth, we're looking for a friend of ours too," Donald explained sheepishly. "We think he should be nearby though. If you can help us find him, he'll definitely want to help you."
Ash continued to stare at them, a warm smile making its way onto his face. "Donald… Goofy… Thank you."
"You bet'cha!" Goofy exclaimed, throwing him a thumbs-up.
"So, we just have to find your friend," the teen began. "What's his name? What's he look like?"
"His name is Sora," Donald explained. "He has spiky brown hair and wears a red jumpsuit. He also has—"
"Over-sized, banana yellow shoes?" Ash supplied. The two animal-beings glanced at him in surprise.
"Yeah! How'd ya know?" Goofy asked with a flabbergasted look on his face. Ash merely pointed behind them. The duo spun around to see a giant pod with said boy floating inside; a somewhat dopey expression on his face.
"Sora!" Donald exclaimed.
"There ya are!" Goofy chuckled.
Ash merely sweatdropped as the two of them dashed towards the pod. 'Can I really rely on these guys to help me?'
The trainer watched in amusement as the brown-haired boy known as Sora was dog-piled by the two anthropomorphic animals. "Donald! Goofy!" The boy laughed. "Get off!"
The two did so, allowing Sora to finally catch sight of the newcomer. "Oh, who's this?"
"That's right!" Donald exclaimed. "Sora, this is Ash. His world… well… It fell to the Heartless."
"Oh… Oh!" Sora's eyes widened before growing sympathetic. "I'm sorry. I know what it's like. My world was lost too."
"But… you got it back though, right?" Ash questioned, a determined look on his face. Sora saw this and grinned at him.
"Sure did," he said confidently. "It wasn't easy, but it's definitely possible!"
"Sora," Goofy spoke up. "We promised Ash we would help him."
"I'm looking for my friends," the trainer explained quietly. "We… We were separated when our world fell."
If possible, Sora's eyes grew even more sympathetic. "That's… I know what that's like too." He said. "I… Well, I'm still looking, if I'm being honest."
"That's not exactly reassuring," Ash said jokingly, but even to Sora it sounded forced. They were quiet for several moments before the brown-haired boy looked up defiantly.
"We'll definitely find them!" He said, clenching his fist. "Riku and the King… And your friends too, Ash!"
"Well said!" A new voice piped in. Ash watched in surprise as what appeared to be a cricket wearing a suit and tophat hopped onto Sora's shoulder. "Hello there. I'm terribly sorry, I couldn't help but overhear."
"Jiminy!" Sora exclaimed.
"Indeed," the cricket chuckled. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Ash. My name is Jiminy Cricket. I serve as a chronicler for Sora and the gang."
"Chroni— What?" Ash's brow furrowed in confusion.
"He keeps a diary of our adventures," Sora explained with a sagely nod.
"It most certainly is not a diary!" Jiminy cried, an affronted look on his face. "I'll have you know that a good portion of the king's library was penned by yours truly!"
"That's a lot of diaries," Ash said with an impressed look on his face.
"It's not— Oh, fine. Call it what you will." Jiminy gave an exasperated sigh. "But it appears that I'll be chronicling your adventures as well, Ash. Would you mind terribly if I asked some basic questions? Like where you come from and such."
"Er, okay…"
"Splendid!" The cricket exclaimed as he opened a tiny journal. "Let me just find a blank page… Wait… What's this? I don't remember writing this…?"
"What's it say?" Goofy asked curiously.
"It just says, 'Thank Naminé'."
Ash froze as a wellspring of emotions suddenly surged through him before fading just as quickly as it came. 'Wh— What was that?!'
"Ash!" Sora's voice brought him back to reality as he turned towards the concerned gazes of his new friends. "You okay?"
"Do you know who Naminé is, Ash?" Jiminy questioned.
"N-No," he said honestly. "It… well… It seems familiar, but I'm pretty sure I'd remember meeting someone named Naminé."
"Déjà vu, eh? Ah, well." The cricket sighed before glancing at his surroundings. "Well, what do you say we go find out where we are?"
"You guys don't know?" Ash exclaimed in surprise.
Donald shook his head. "No. The first thing I remember is waking up in the pod and finding you and Goofy."
"Well, let's go find out!" Sora said. Ash merely shrugged.
"Sure." He suddenly smirked. "That is, so long as Sora can avoid tripping over his own shoes."
"Hey!" The brown-haired teen cried out indignantly as the others laughed at his expense. "Why does everyone always make fun of the shoes?!"
It had taken them some time to find their way out of the mansion they'd woken up in. It was already sunset by the time they ventured outside and into town. Though for all Ash knew, they could have woken up an hour before sunset.
The party of four (five if you were to count Jiminy) made their way through the charming streets of a small town and eventually found themselves at the mouth of an alleyway.
"Y'know," Sora spoke up as a clock tower rang in the distance. "I think I've been to this town."
Ash took a moment to gaze at the buildings glowing in the early evening light and found himself nodding unconsciously. "It does look familiar..." he mumbled.
"What's it called?" Donald asked curiously. The two boys glanced at each other and shrugged.
"Déjà vu again?" Goofy questioned. Ash smiled apologetically while Sora merely shrugged once more.
"Maybe those pods messed with us more than we thought," the boy said as he pushed past a tarp, revealing a hidden alcove. Immediately, they were met with the gazes of several teenagers. Ash felt himself tense as a wiry blond boy glared at them.
"What do you want?" the blond growled and Ash found himself glaring right back at him.
"N-Nothing!" Sora exclaimed, seeing the anger on his newest companion's face. "We were just wondering what's back here."
"Well now you know," the other boy snapped. "This is our spot."
"What's your problem?" Ash growled in return just as a brunet boy approached them, raising his hands placatingly.
"Please ignore him. He's not usually like this." The boy said sheepishly. "You guys new in town? I'm Pence."
The blond boy sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Hayner." He said gruffly. "And sorry. I'm just in a bad mood now." He shook his head and began making for the exit. "Nice to meet you and all, but we've got stuff to do. Catch you later."
Pence watched his retreating back with an exasperated look on his face. The final teen, a girl, walked up to them with a friendly smile.
"Hi, my name's Olette," she said with a small wave. "Did you guys finish up the summer homework? Independent studies are the worst, am I right?"
"Right… homework…" Sora said grimly, sharing a look with Ash. Both boys shuddered at the mere thought.
"So what're your names?" Pence asked curiously.
"Oh!" Goofy exclaimed and pointed each of them out as he introduced them. "We're Sora, Ash, Donald and Goofy!" he finished, gesturing to himself with a wide grin.
The two teens shared a look, apparently recognizing their names. "Sora, Ash, Donald, Goofy," Olette said. "We just met someone who was looking for you."
"Wait, me too?" Ash blurted out.
"Sure was," Pence nodded. "He seemed to be in a real hurry too. He was wearing this black cloak, so I couldn't see his face. And he had these big round ears." The boy enunciated his speech by placing his hands against his head, as though mimicking animal ears.
The party stared at him in confusion for several moments before something clicked in Donald's head. "The King!" he exclaimed.
"That sounds like him alright!" Sora said excitedly.
"King?" Ash repeated. "You mentioned him a few times already. Who is he?"
"King Mickey!" Goofy explained. "You'll know him when you see him. If he's looking for you too then maybe he knows something about your—"
"Where did you see him?" Sora quickly butt in as Donald smacked Goofy's head with his staff.
"Ix nay on the orld way!" He hissed. The dog quickly covered his mouth and chuckled sheepishly.
"At the station," Olette answered Sora's question, though not without giving them a strange look.
"The station…" Sora repeated, grinning slightly. "Got it. Thanks!"
"No problem," Pence said, matching his grin.
"Well, better get back to that assignment," Olette said, sending them a wink before walking off after Hayner with Pence in tow.
"Oh, boy!" Donald shouted giddily. "The King's looking for us!"
"But… what does he want with me…?" Ash murmured.
"Whatever it is, it must be important," Goofy assured him. Sora nodded
"Yeah! So let's not keep him waiting. To the station!" Sora spun around and walked off before pausing. "...Where is the station?"
Ash shrugged while Donald simply facepalmed.
"That… took longer than it should have," Sora admitted as the quartet approached the train station.
"I knew there was a reason Brock was always our navigator…" Ash murmured before glancing up at the sign hanging over the station entrance. "Welcome to Twilight Town." He read aloud, prompting the others to follow his gaze. "Twilight Town… Why does that sound so… familiar…"
"Yeah…" Sora mumbled.
"Okay, what's going on with you two?" Donald demanded, crossing his arms. "You've been acting weird all day."
"I—" Ash froze as a familiar sound reached his ears. He spun around and saw the same silvery-white creatures that had attacked him in his dream. "Wha— Are those Heartless?!"
"It's not a Heartless I've ever seen before," Sora said, watching the creatures warily. Donald and Goofy pulled out their respective weapons as they watched the standoff cautiously.
Suddenly, one of the creatures lunged at them. Ash was about to yell for Sora to watch out, but the brown-haired boy summoned a familiar key-shaped weapon out of nowhere and slashed the creature in half.
Donald and Goofy reacted instantaneously. The dog rushed forward, barelling his way through the mob with his shield while Donald picked off the stunned creatures with some kind of electric attack.
But Ash's gaze was fixed on Sora. Or more specifically, the weapon in his hands. 'A Keyblade…' So focused was he on his companion, he didn't notice one of the creatures slowly creeping up behind him.
"Ash, watch out!" Sora shouted.
The raven-haired teen stiffened before leaning out of the way of the creature's attack. He pivoted on his heel while simultaneously summoning his Keyblades and with a quick slash, the creature was no more.
"No way…" Sora whispered.
"A Keyblade?!" Donald shouted.
"No! Two of them!" Goofy said in awe.
Ash merely grinned at them. "What do you guys say we take out the trash?" Sora blinked for a moment before returning the grin.
"Let's do it!" he said enthusiastically just as the creatures charged at them once more. The party broke off into pairs. Donald and Goofy took the right flank while Sora and Ash took the left.
As they fought, Ash found himself being drawn to Sora's fighting style. To say he was impressed was putting it mildly. The brown-haired boy was on another level. Despite his newfound skill (which Ash still had no idea where it came from), it didn't change the fact that he'd never used a sword until a few days ago at best. While he was certainly fit — a product of a life on the road — he simply did not possess the muscle strength necessary for sustained combat.
And it showed as he began flagging as the fight dragged on.
"You okay, Ash?" Sora asked with a touch of concern as the four of them found themselves surrounded.
"It's just…" The raven-haired teen panted, sweat dripping down his brow. "There's so many of them."
"They just don't seem to stop, huh?" The brunet chuckled tiredly. "Man… How long were we asleep in those pods for? I can't believe how rusty I am."
'This is him while rusty?!' Ash stared at him incredulously. 'Dear Arceus, what was he like in his prime?!.'
More of the creatures suddenly appeared, doubling the surrounding horde. "Oh, give me a break!" Sora grunted as he very nearly slumped in defeat. One of the creatures lunged at them and just as Ash was about to lose hope, a figured suddenly leaped down from above them and slashed the creature in half.
Before Ash even realized what was happening, the horde of creatures had been destroyed and standing before them was a cloaked figure wielding a Keyblade.
"Your Majesty?!" Donald exclaimed, only to be shushed by the person in question.
"You guys gotta leave — Now." The King ordered in a hushed tone. "The train knows the way." He reached into his cloak and retrieved a bulging pouch before tossing to Sora. "Go. Quickly."
"Your Majesty," Ash spoke up. "About my world…"
"There's no time for that." The King said urgently before pausing. "I'm sorry. I promise that everything will make sense in time. But for now, you need to get on that train."
And then, he was gone just as suddenly as he appeared. The quartet glanced around in shock for a moment. "W-Was that really him?" Sora asked, staring at the spot the king had just been standing in.
"It must have been!" Goofy said confidently.
"At least now we know he's okay," Donald said with a relieved smile. Sora frowned for a moment.
"The King was locked in the Realm of Darkness with Riku, right?" he murmured, causing Ash to glance at him sharply.
"The Realm of Darkness?" The raven-haired teen repeated, vividly remembering the look of loneliness on Aqua's face.
"But we saw him just now…" Sora continued, his brow furrowed in thought. "And if the King's here, that must mean Riku's here!"
"Again, what?" Ash piped in, a confused frown making its way onto his face.
"He's gotta be!" Donald exclaimed while Ash just sighed. "Sorry, Ash. We'll explain everything later."
"We have our first lead," Sora said confidently. "The King is safe and sound. Now we just have to find Riku."
"Don't forget about Ash's friends too," Goofy reminded him.
"Right!" Sora pumped his fist. "Looks like we've got another journey ahead of us, guys!"
"All for one…" Donald held his hand out. Sora and Goofy placed their hands on top of it. They paused for a moment before turning to their newest companion.
"C'mon, Ash!" Goofy urged him. "Yer part of the team now!"
"Yeah, no more frowning!" Donald piped in. "Only happy smiles on this team!"
"You're one of us now, Ash!" Sora said with a grin. Ash stared for a moment before returning it. Stepping forward, he placed his hand on top of theirs.
"Let's try this again," Donald began. "All for one…"
"And one for all!" They chanted together before grinning at each other happily.
Ash was grinning so widely he felt his face might very well split in half. When the teen had first woken up, he'd felt utterly lost. But with his new friends at his side, he was certain that everything would be okay.
"So… where are we going again?" Sora asked sheepishly.
Ash simply sighed. 'Never mind. I'm doomed.'
"It just slipped my mind!" Sora said defensively as the quartet entered the station.
"The King literally just told us to get on the train," Ash deadpanned. "Even my memory isn't that bad. And that says quite a bit."
Sora opened his mouth to retort but was cut off by another voice. "Wait up!" Hayner shouted and the four amigos stopped in their tracks.
"You guys?" Sora asked, a surprised expression on his face. "What is it?"
"We came to see you off." Pence explained. "It just... seemed like something we oughta do."
"Really?" Ash raised an eyebrow. "Well, thanks, I guess." He gave them a grin which they happily returned as Sora made his way to the ticket booth and pulled out the pouch the King had given him.
Olette let out a gasp upon catching sight of it. "What's wrong?" Donald asked. The girl bit her lip as she reached into her pocket and pulled out an identical pouch.
"They're the same!" Goofy exclaimed in surprise. Olette nodded silently, still biting her lip. Sora glanced at the two pouches before shrugging.
"Four please." He said, exchanging the munny for their tickets. As the man behind the booth handed over the tickets, Sora looked towards the train with a sad look on his face.
"I can't help feeling like we won't see this town again..." He murmured, prompting the Twilight Town natives to look at him in confusion.
"Why not?" Donald raised an eyebrow at him.
"Yer thinkin' too much," Goofy said reassuringly.
"I… guess you're right," Sora shook his head as the train pulled into the station.
"Okay!" Donald exclaimed as he, Goofy and Ash stepped inside. Sora was about to do likewise before pausing and turning back towards Hayner and his friends.
"Well… Bye." He said with a smile.
"Hey, Sora…" Hayner spoke up. "You… sure we haven't met before?"
"Positive." Sora nodded. "Why do you ask?"
Hayner shrugged with a grin. "I dunno."
Sora smiled as a tear fell down his cheek, prompting everyone to look at him in concern. Seeing this, he quickly wiped the tears away.
"You okay?" Ash questioned.
"Y-Yeah, don't know where it came from." Sora explained with a shaky grin.
Hayner chuckled. "Pull it together, man."
"Right…" The brown-haired teen murmured as he boarded the train. "See ya!"
"You guys'll come back for a visit, won't you?" Olette asked hopefully.
"You bet we will!" Ash nodded. "No need to worry!" He said this with a wide grin grin as he stole his dear friend's catchphrase. They smiled at him and waved goodbye as the doors closed and the train began moving out of the station.
"We'll definitely meet again…" Why then, were his eyes stinging? Like many things that have been happening recently, Ash didn't know.
A/N: I apologize for the unreasonably long delay. But rest assured that it wasn't just this fic, but all my fics have been on hiatus for the past few months.
But hark! Our Lord and Savior, Auriansmule — The Kicker of Asses — has dragged me back into the fray!
But yeah. I'm starting on the next chapter tonight, so it should hopefully be out faster than this one.
In regards to the poll: whether or not Ash's Pokemon should have a role in the story. 38% of you voted for a big role while 33% of you voted for a small role. 20% of you said no role at all while 7% of you said "Fuck you, the original was better."
In regards to that last one. Respectfully, fuck you too. -_-
Anyway, since a clear majority is in favor of having them play a role — big or small, Auriansmule and I have thought of a compromise. The majority of Ash's Pokemon will play a very minor role. While Ash's on-hand Pokemon (Pikachu, Charizard, etc) — henceforth referred to as the Big Six — will play a fairly large role.
You probably already inferred that much from the dialogue in this chapter. What exactly that role is, I won't say. But you guys are smart. I'm sure you'll figure it out.
On an unrelated note... Those of you who know me, you know what's coming! Shameless self-advertising! If you like my writing style or sense of humor, be sure to check out my other (original) fics. Like I said, it's been a while since I've updated, but that hopefully be rectified within the next month or two. Currently in circulation are:
RWBY/OreImo Crossover - I Can't Be a Huntsman (Kyousuke x Harem) - 12 chapters - 502 reviews
Fire Emblem Awakening Fic - Childcare and Warfare (Robin x Harem) 3 chapters - 134 reviews
Sekirei Fic - Unlimited (Minato x Miya x Harem) - 4 chapters - 165 reviews
My other fics have been discontinued, but if you're into High School DxD, I have Devil Among Devils (Issei x Everyone) - 18 chapters - 952 reviews
I'm sure you're noticing a pattern here. Harem romcoms are my specialty. HAREM IS LOVE; HAREM IS LIFE. MY FANFICS CAN'T BE THIS HAREM. MY FANFICS ARE HAREMS, JUST AS I EXPECTED. BOKU NO HAREM ACADEMIA. GONNA BE HAREM. NO HAREM NO LIFE. ONE PUNCH HAREM.
*gets shot*
Anyway, read and add to that proud review count!
Until next time!
Your King