~The 8TH HOUR~

Time

Before too long, Roxas found him stuck once again.

It was more difficult than he thought, he soon realized, too tell his wife and children that he wouldn't be around. He swallowed hard and set the pen down. He hadn't even gotten to see his children grow up. There were many things he had wanted to be able to do with them…

Like when they were older, perhaps learn how to play the Frisbee …or one day take trips to the beach and have some salt sea ice cream. Heck he even wanted to be around to watch them bicker. Fuu was normally very mild and Umi rather responsible, but it would only be a matter of time before she would have to start probing him to do his homework, or drag him around to help her shop…

Soon he found himself puzzled and he scratched his chin.

These were familiar to him as well. Memories from one special summer vacation long ago…but who were with him at that time?

"Urg….so troublesome…" he scratched his head fiercely as his dark blue eyes darted around the room, hoping to find some kind of sign or something to jog his memory. He chewed his lip, trying even harder to pull out the memory, but the more he tried the duller it was.

Why couldn't he remember it? He was sure it was important and he knew that he needed to remember in order to 'progress' he more or less figured that out. Still the memory did not present itself to him. By now he was doubled over, back hunched as he shut his eyes tightly, trying with every fiber of his being to recall.

There are three of us.

For a moment three faceless figures graced his memory, smiling and laughing with carelessness only youth could possess.

Two boys and a girl.

His pen slid off the arm chair and he pushed himself off the chair to retrieve it.

It was summer vacation.

Outside the impossible began to happen. Roxas jumped to his feet as suddenly yellow beams of light began to flood through the drawn drapes and in to the solemn study. He made a grab for the paper h had left on the coffee table before, clutching the pen and paper closely to his chest he slowly made his way towards the drapes.

You even wished it would never end.

The room began to shake and the yellow light that flooded through the drapes intensified all the more. Roxas gulped. "It can't be what I think it is…". He cast a worried glance at the clock. 8:01 in the evening. It was supposed to be pitch black.

You wanted to stay with us, in twilight town forever.

Perhaps it was just the lantern of some trick or treater outside or perhaps a prankster taking advantage of the fact that everyone was out at this time. 'Some strong lamp' Roxas's common sense answered much to his distaste. His fingers flung to the curtains. He'd tell off the youngster at once, the light had nearly blinded him the first time.

The drapes came wide apart with a flurry and Roxas froze, hands out stretched awkwardly for what he saw outside was a large, blood red sun, half risen, half set, permanently nestled on the never changing horizon. He made a strange choking noise and turned once more to the clock as he rubbed his eyes.

There! The clock read 8:02! How could the sun be up? "Wait…there's a logical explanation, I'm sure…maybe the clock's broken, it is rather old" he muttered. But that couldn't be. It had been dark just minutes ago! Maybe….maybe he had fallen asleep, and when he woke up…oh no!

That meant he was out of time!

Roxas began to panic and as he stepped back , he tripped over a stool, landing flat on his back, in the exact same spot he had landed a few hours before with a brown haired monkey on his stomach. He didn't have much time to groan and complain because suddenly a creak resounded throughout his house and before he knew it the floor boards collapsed.

…

"Is he ok…?" comes a timid voice.

He groaned. All he saw was a dull red from under his closed eye lids.

"Naw, I'm sure he's fine. I mean it was just the third floor…" came another voice, loud and cocky.

He groaned. Third floor? What were they taking about.

"JUST the Third floor…? Have you ever fallen from the third floor, hm? Have you, Hayner?" a girls voice followed by an uneasy silence . "Er…well…I'm not that dumb to try that…" the cocky boy again, the one called 'Hayner.

A light guffaw. Apparently the girl was pleased with herself, having made her point. "Oh don't be so snippy , Olette".

"I-! I'm n-not!" a quick retort. She didn't want to come off as a braggart. "Guys, look, he's coming to!".

Roxas opened his eyes slowly. Not the fluttering motion one had when waking up from a pleasant dream, more like the type one had when one lay low and quietly pretending to be asleep, but actually had been awake all the time, listening...

"Roxas! Nice to have you back, buddy!" a hand reached out to ruffle his hair and Roxas shifted upwards, mumbling a quick, "hey, quit it". At the moment he was a bit too dazed to really question what was going on here or to even ask why they knew his name. The sudden twilight in a previously night time land had seen to that. He cast his eyes around and soon figured out what they had been babbling about in concern with the 'third floor'.

All around him lay over turned furniture, some crushed wardrobes, some splintered tables and several floor boards, now visibly broken. He quickly took note of the grandfather clock. It was jutting out awkwardly from beneath a pile of floor boards and was half crushed under his arm chair. He winced noticeably. His idea of 'calm departure' wasn't going to go well at all. Now when Namine came home not only would her husband be gone, her house would be a mess….if there was even a house left there at all…come to think of it, the scenery outside the few, non debris covered windows didn't quite match the scenery in Radiant Gardens. For one thing, there was now a giant clock tower outside…

Looking about absentmindedly he stood up "can you kids tell me what…happened….. here …shit."

All of a sudden the 'kids' were the same height as him if not taller. No….No. Yeah, they were taller.

The trio stared at him with puffed cheeks and reddened faces, as the tubby one stuffed a fist in his mouth and turned away . Giggles wracked the bodies of each and every one.

"Did you hear that, did he just say 'shit'?" Pence gasped in between laughs. "Yeah, yeah I think he did…" Olette added breathlessly. Hayner wagged a finger at Roxas while simultaneously holding his sides together, "now, now, Mister, that's no way for a kid to talk! I think you're a decade early, old man!".

That did it, the other two burst in to peals of laughter ending in hiccups all around.

Roxas was much too occupied to share their amusement and instead darted past the kitchen and in to the powder room in search of the large five foot, full body mirror, which was, much to his dismay broken. Damn, he needed to find another….in the down stairs basement! He took flight once again, passing the gurgling trio as he did . His aim was the kitchen door frame, that's where they kept the key!

He reached up only to find himself a foot or two lacking.

Only then did it occur to him. The key had never been out of reach before, it was only now. Only now that…

Revelation struck.

"I'M SHORT!".

At that time someone tapped his shoulder.

Regretfully he turned around only to have a cone of ice cream nearly shoved in his face. "Oh come, on, shorty" Hayner grinned. At once the jovial laughter was replaced by a smile of knowing from the self proclaimed 'leader' of the trio. "When was the last time you had a summer vacation?".

Roxas blinked before slowly reaching out to accept the sea ice cream. He stared at it longingly, bits of recognition glinting in his eyes every now and then. He looked upwards at the patch of pink sky seen through the large hole in the floor boards.

"I say….way too long ago" he smiled elusively.

Smiles flashed on Pence and Olette's faces as they drew nearer both latching on to Hayner's shoulders to whisper their respective plans.

Hayner smirked before glancing at the dejected grandfather clock poking out of the floor boards. "Well…I say, we have about…forty-five…fifty minutes. C'mon".

He extended a hand.

"Let's have some fun".

And so, the quartet went along, thoroughly exploring Twilight Town and stuffing in every little aspiration they could wanting to make full use of the precious forty-five minutes. They had managed to fit in a game of frisbee, irk some of the village bullies, steal a couple of potatoes in jest only to drop some change when the sellers weren't looking...They had a blast, to say the least, but even happiness had an end.

Infact, Roxas had just finished sliding down the ramp on his newly reaquired skateboard to the cheers of his friends and a gasp of worry from Olette who had covered her eyes at that time, when suddenly their voices cut off in to silence.

They had overstepped the boundary.

The eight hour had fully passed in all pleasantries and happiness.

But there were still three hours to midnight and eight hours til dawn . How turbulent may these hours be?

oOoOoOo

And there's chapter four! As you can see, Roxas has grown backwards, and is now, yup, you guessed it, short( at least for the eight hour)! Here is his brief encounter with Hayner, Pence and Olette.

The stage has changed. How shall the next hours proceed?

Reviews are much welcomed and I shall take votes if ever as to who are the next characters to appear. Also, should Roxas continue as it os, or is there perhaps something still worth living for? You decide.