Chapter 8

"Hello, Tori," Oblivion looked at Tori passed the green tinge of Aubade's barrier, "May we come in?"

"I would let you in," Tori kept her head down to her knitting, "but I'm a prisoner in my own house — thanks to your charming friend."

"Oh," Aubade remembered. He stepped up to the house's door gap and placed a hand on the barrier. It was off like a switch.

Once it disappeared, Tori said, "You may come in."

We entered her house once more and Oblivion didn't hesitate to get down to business. She went over to the table and stood opposite Tori. In a calm tone she asked, "Where did Chaos Ripper go?"

Tori still didn't look at us, keeping the even rhythm in her knitting, "And why should I tell you? I bet you could find out where he is with that nice little hacking mind of yours."

Oh no.

I didn't need to see Oblivion's face to know she lost her patience. So I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her away from Tori's reach. "Calm down," I told her. I expected her to talk back at me or shove me off, but instead she stood dead still. Even Tori looked at me.

"Colton, what the hell are you doing?" Tori demanded. I furrowed my brow in confusion, and I looked down. I aimed to grab Oblivion by the waist, but apparently I didn't aim low enough. Boobs are something that most guys my age look at, but do not touch — including myself. No wonder Tori was mad at me. No wonder Oblivion hadn't said anything. But at least we couldn't feel it. I shook my head, letting go of Oblivion. Tori looked at me with disapproval, but at least I got her attention.

"Tori, please help us," I said to my girlfriend after I got over my shock.

"Why should I?"

"Because every player in KHO thinks you're a criminal, but you're not," I never took my eyes off her, "You're my girlfriend, who loves knitting. You're clever, honest and brave. We will clear your name and stop the bounty on your head, but only if you tell us where Chaos Ripper is."

She searched deeply into my eyes. I wasn't sure what she was looking for, but I had nothing to hide from her. It had been a long time since Tori really looked at me. I wish we could have stayed like that forever, but Aubade and Oblivion were counting on me. "Please," I begged.

It was pushy of me, but I needed to hurry before anything worse happened to other players in the game. "Okay," Tori caved in, "He has 3 hiding places: the Garden in the Fifth District, the Fountain Plaza and the Gizmo Shop."

"No wonder the Neoshadows attacked us, we were near him..." Aubade said thoughtfully, "So one of his hideouts is in the sewer?"

Tori shrugged, "I've never been to any of his hideouts so I couldn't tell you."

"Okay, we'll look in the Garden first," Oblivion started to walk out the door.

"Uh, thanks," Aubade told Tori before quickly following after Oblivion.

"Thank you, Tori. I'll make sure you can walk around KHO like a normal player again," I said to her.

As I turned away from her, she took hold of my arm, "Wait."

I looked back at her once more. "Why are you doing this? You don't care about money or leveling up. I can't even imagine you walking around with a Moogle," She asked.

"It's not for me. It's for you, Aubade and Oblivion," I answered, "I'm guessing Aubade would want money, and Oblivion said she wanted to level up. But Oblivion wants justice because her uncle is Pazu Midori."

"Oh, wow," Tori's eyes lit up in surprise, then glowered in realization, "No wonder she's so determined. Reminds me of you, actually."

"We're just looking out for the people who matter to us. I'm sure you would do the same for me," I said. I didn't wait for her to say anything else, but I saw her soft lips form into a sorry smile before leaving. Personally, I didn't believe in my statement. Maybe I was being too harsh on her? I was probably doing what she was doing to me.

I caught up to Aubade and Oblivion at the set of doors leading to the Fifth District. The doors were framed with red and white cubes, with handles that looked like the face of Hockomonkey. To our right were three Moogles; the nearest one being your everyday Moogle merchant; the one in the nearest corner running the Medal Shop; the one farthest from us being in charge of the Flick Rush Colosseum. Speaking of the Colosseum, the building next to us had a red sign with large yellow letters of "COLOSSEUM". The infamous pink Meow Wow balloon floated above us in all its quirkiness.

"Do you think there'll be Neoshadows here, too?" Aubade asked us as a group.

"Yes, I've seen them in the Garden and the Fountain Plaza," Oblivion nodded, "I skipped the Gizmo Shop because of all the Heartless in there. But I'm sure there will be other players searching for the wrong person in the Fifth District."

"True," I nodded. Just like leaving the other districts, I touched the door and we were transported. The Fifth District was almost as small as the Third District, if you didn't know about the huge greenhouse that had a green sign which said "Flower & Plant". Shallow water surrounded the building of the Garden, which came from the source of small gaps in the greenhouse like two windows. In the distance was a clock-like tower, but thankfully we weren't going anywhere near it.

If any of us stepped onto the roof of the Garden, we would have summoned Traverse Town's Boss Battle. Embarrassedly, Aubade and I only battled them once because we were surprised at who it was. Aubade pretended he had never seen that girl before as a joke. It was sad to think Xion was diminished to nothing but a joke.

We walked over a small bridge and stepped through the iron gates of the greenhouse. "I think we should split up," Oblivion said as we walked down the ramp of the Garden, prepared to summon our Keyblades.

"It's too dangerous," I argued, resisting the urge to step ahead of her. I saw her roll her eyes at me and Oblivion ran passed us, reaching the bottom of the ramp and turning to her left. "She doesn't have to act so tough all the time," I muttered under my breath, walking at my causal pace. Aubade snickered. "What's funny?" I demanded.

"She's not much different to you," He answered.

"Tori said something like that," I told him. Before Aubade could say something weird, we heard a shrill cry.

We hurried in the same way she did moments ago, and found her near the second iron gates at the bottom of the garden. She was ready to swing her Keyblade at a Neoshadow. "Stop!" A voice cried. We looked around to see who it was, but no one else was here but us. "Don't hurt me," It spoke again. Oblivion stared in wide-eyed disbelief, and we followed her eye line. She was looking at the Neoshadow.

"I'm a player," It said. A Heartless player.

"You scared me," Oblivion straightened herself up and her Keyblade disappeared.

"I'm sorry, it's what beginner Heartless players are given. Then when I get up to level 25 I evolve into a Novashadow, which isn't much different of course. After that, I get to be in Anti-Form until I make it to a Human Heartless," It explained. It's voice sounded like a guy around Oblivion's age, but it sounded cheerful and peppy compared to hers.

"I see, that's interesting," I tried to be friendly. The situation was quite bizarre, seeing as

Neoshadows should have helped us finish our mission. I only saw a few Heartless players in Traverse Town, but they must have been at a much higher level because they were Anti-Forms.

"I'm only here because my party said we should split up to find the criminal," He looked at me with round, yellow eyes and a southern drawl, "They wanted to cover more ground, but now I think it was a bad move. I have no idea where they could be."

Aubade raised his eyebrows at Oblivion, and she glared back. "Check in your friends list," She then told the Heartless, "Your party members will be at the top of your list. Next to their names, it should say where they are right now."

"Oh, thank you so much," He sighed in relief. He tapped the air with two fingers to show his menu.

While he found his friends, I asked, "Have you seen any Neoshadows around here?"

"Only Heartless players," He kept his eyes on the menu.

"Thanks anyways..." Oblivion said with slight disappointment in her voice. We all started walking back the way we came. Hopefully we wouldn't have to go all the way to the Gizmo Shop in the Second District.

"Wait!" The Heartless player rushed up to us. Or rather, to Oblivion. He asked her frantically, "Have we met before? Your voice sounds familiar."

"I'm a solo player, so maybe not."

"But seriously, I recognize your voice from somewhere," He insisted, "Did you play Legacy of the Duelist by the username of Silent Magician?"