The three teenagers helped Aqua up to her feet. A wave of dizziness passed through her head as she straightened herself up.
"Oof…" Aqua mumbled. She felt herself lurch forward. Her hand flew to the side of her suddenly aching head.
"Whoa there," said the meaty boy as he and the blond boy caught Aqua, keeping her upright.
Aqua gripped the blond boy's hand tightly as he and his friends helped her find her footing once more. The wave of dizziness quickly died and left her head. "Thank you," said Aqua as she looked at the three teenagers gratefully.
The blond boy grinned. His brown eyes beamed brightly at her. "Hey, no need to thank us!" He placed his hand on his chest. "I'm Hayner!" he chirped. He then pointed at the meaty boy with the workingman's cap and the girl in the orange dress. "And that's Pence and Olette!"
Aqua gazed at the meaty boy and the girl in the orange dress. Smiling cheerfully at her, they waved.
Hayner crossed his arms over his chest. "We've never seen you around here before. What's your name?"
"My name is Aqua," Aqua replied.
Hayner chuckled. "Nice to meet you, Aqua! Welcome to Twilight Town!"
"Twilight Town?"
"Our home!" said Pence, jumping in.
"Would you like us to show you around?" Olette kindly asked. "We'd be happy to do so!"
Aqua paused and thought for a moment. She wasn't sure what to say. Having only arrived in this new world, as she correctly guessed, she wasn't sure about what she should do. How safe was this…Twilight Town anyway?
Hayner seemed to sense her reluctance. "Is something wrong?" he asked
Aqua vigorously shook her head. "N-No! It's just…" she trailed off.
"Yes?" asked Olette, coming up to her side.
Aqua sighed. "I'm sorry. But I'm just…overwhelmed right now."
A concerned look scrunched up on Pence's face. "Overwhelmed? About what?"
Olette shot Pence a disapproving look. "Pence!" she chided.
Pence's eyes widened. He looked at Olette, seemingly offended.
Olette smiled warmly at Aqua. "Don't listen to him. You don't have to tell us anything if you don't want to."
"Oh!" Aqua began, "I wasn't—"
"Hey," said Hayner. "Why don't you tell us later after we show you around town? Maybe you'll feel better then?"
Aqua shrugged. "I suppose it wouldn't hurt."
Hayner beamed. "Great! Come follow us, Aqua! There's tons to see around here!"
Aqua followed Hayner to a door in the tiny room she had spent with them since her arrival.
An arm nudged her side.
"Hey, Aqua, have you ever tasted sea salt ice cream?" asked Pence.
Aqua shook her head. "I've never heard of it."
Pence grinned. "Then it looks like you're in for a treat!"
…
"Well, what do you think?"
Aqua took another quick and dainty bite off her sea salt ice cream. "Mmm!" she said. "It's salty, but sweet too!"
Hayner grinned as he took a bite off his own sea salt ice cream. "So, do you like it?"
Aqua nodded. "It's delicious! I love it!"
"Sea salt ice cream is one of the local specialties around here!" added Pence. "Everyone loves it!"
Olette giggled. "Even us!"
The three teenagers laughed together, and Aqua smiled as she watched them.
What kind people, thought Aqua as she smiled at Hayner, Pence, and Olette. After she'd arrived at the Usual Spot – the name that they'd christened their hangout site – they took her out to Market Street and gave her a tour around the area. Aqua's eyes glowed as she took in the sights of all the various shops that sprawled all along Market Street – candy shops, armor shops, potion shops, accessory shops, and other shops of all sorts. It was upon passing by an ice cream shop that Pence insisted he and the others treat Aqua to some ice cream, despite Aqua's protests that she did not want them to give her anything. But Pence was stubborn; he told Aqua that she was officially his guest, and that he was obligated to make her feel as comfortable as possible during her stay in Twilight Town. Not wanting to offend Pence, Aqua let him buy her a sea salt ice cream.
After the four of them were finishing the last pieces of ice cream left on their sticks, Hayner asked, "So Aqua, if you don't mind me asking you…"
"Yes?" responded Aqua after gobbling up the last piece of ice cream on her ice cream stick.
"If you're not from Twilight Town, where do you come from then?"
"Yeah! The fact that you came flying out of a hole in the wall is a sure sign that you're definitely not from around these parts!" said Pence.
Aqua looked nervously down at her ice cream stick. "Umm…" she began.
This is going to be tricky, she thought. She knew she could not tell these people that she came from the Land of Departure. One of the most important rules of being a Keyblade wielder who traveled the worlds was that they were forbidden to tell common folk about the existence of other worlds. Breaking this rule risked disrupting the balance of order in the Realm of Light.
"I…um…I'm just from beyond this town!" said Aqua. Her answer caused her to mentally groan. Lying was not one of her fortes. "There's a really tiny town about several miles away from this town. That's where I come from!"
A surprised look grew on Pence's face. "Really? I didn't know that!"
Olette shook her head. "But that can't possibly be true. Twilight Town is the only known existing town for miles around."
Three pairs of eyes were suddenly staring hard at her. Aqua tried to sneak a look away from them, but it was hard to do so.
Aqua, you idiot! They've caught your bluff!
Her lips parted so that she could speak, but not a single word came out.
A lopsided grin grew on Hayner's face. "Really, Aqua, if you don't want to tell us what world you come from, it's totally fine!"
Aqua became alarmed and confused. "Y-y-you're not supposed to know that!" she sputtered.
"And why not?" asked Pence.
The ice cream stick Aqua was holding slipped out of her fingers. "I'm sorry," Aqua answered. "But that's something I can't tell you."
Hayner glanced at Aqua skeptically. "Where are you really from, Aqua?"
"Yeah! And what brings you over here to Twilight Town?" asked Pence.
Aqua stiffened in uncertainty.
Olette reached across the table she, her friends, and Aqua were sitting around inside the ice cream shop and placed her hands on top of Aqua's. "If there's something on your mind, you can tell us," she said kindly. "We may not know how to help you with whatever's bothering you, but, we can certainly be there to listen to what you have to say."
Hayner and Pence nodded in agreement.
Aqua sucked in her breath. "It's a rather long story," she said quietly. "But, here's how it goes…"
…
"Gosh, you've been through an awful lot," said Hayner as he, his friends, and Aqua were walking down the slanted sandy red cobblestone streets towards the Sandlot, Twilight Town's town square.
Pence's face contorted with vexation. "How can somebody do something so evil? I mean, really! That's just wrong!"
"There are people like that, Pence," Olette stated. "That's just the way life is like. There are bad people and good people in every world."
After having told them the story of her traumatic ordeal of her homeland being attacked, being captured, and almost being tossed into the Realm of Darkness, Aqua had generated much discussion amongst Hayner, Pence, and Olette.
"It's a good thing that Keyblade wielder came in at the nick of time to save you Aqua," said Olette.
"But now that you got away, I'm sure those guys are going to be looking for you, won't they?" asked Hayner.
Aqua nodded. "I suppose so, unfortunately." She had come to realize that just because she was now in another world, it did not guarantee she would be safe from Master Xehanort and Vanitas, who Aqua was certain wanted to make sure she was gone completely.
"Then," said Hayner in a serious voice, "We've got to do whatever we can to protect you from these guys! You're not going back home until it's absolutely safe!"
"Yeah!" shouted Pence in agreement.
Aqua smiled gratefully at Hayner and his friends. "Thank you," said Aqua. "You've been so kind to me since I arrived here."
"Don't mention it," said Hayner. "You can stay here with us for as long as you want and need to."
"But the question now is, while Aqua is here, where can she stay?" pointed Pence. "I know for a fact that among us three, not a single one of has extra room for another person in our own homes, and all the rooms in the town inns are occupied at the moment."
It was a question that lingered on in their minds as they set foot onto the periphery of the Sandlot.
"You know," said Aqua, "I don't really need a roof over my head to be comfortable. If there's a gentle hill nearby and a tent I could borrow, I could set up a camp and that would be enough for me to—"
"Don't be ridiculous, Aqua," interrupted Hayner. "We'll find you a place comfortable for you to stay in that you'll feel so at home."
Pence jumped in. "Besides, it's probably not a good idea for you to camp outdoors anyway, at least not ever since the night those guys in black hoods came."
"Guys in black hoods?" Aqua asked nervously. "What do you mean?"
"Twilight Town was recently visited by a shady group of people—a bunch of guys in long black coats with their faces covered in hoods," explained Hayner.
Olette jumped in. "They came one night not too long ago when everyone was asleep, and they attacked our local disciplinary squad."
Aqua gasped. Her hands flew to her mouth.
"Not to worry though!" assured Hayner. "Our disciplinary squad came out in one piece, but since then we've been cautioned against hanging outside late in the evening for the time being."
A/N: ...So...what do you think? Did this excite you? If it did, then good. If it did not, it means I'm a poor writer...
Starting in the next few chapters, you're going to meet a bunch of new characters. Who these characters are, well...you're just going to have to wait and see! ;-)
Happy reading!
-gt²
