Chapter 20
Mystery Girl #2

"Where exactly could the gate to the Organization's home world be?" Mike asked as we were walking down a large hill near the center of town. We were headed for Tram Common, the main district, to ask around for information. Mike was travelling with me, as well as Kaitlin, Ana, and Donald. Sora led the group consisting of Goofy, Chris, and Xion.

"I'm not sure, Mike. Let's just ask around like usual, alright?" I answered. We spent several hours asking the residents about the Organization, their home, or if they saw any of their members clad in their black hoods. Nothing; nobody seemed to have heard anything about them.

We met back up at a snack shop, Donald buying some ice cream for everyone. It was blue in color, and was salty… but kind of sweet as well. The clerk told us it was the town's specialty, Sea-Salt. I liked it, and bought myself another. "Any luck, any of you?" Kaitlin asked, sounding exhausted.

"Nope." Came the reply from the three other people. We sat in silence, finishing up our ice cream. I was on the last bite, savoring it, when I saw a familiar figure run near the far wall. It was the chunkier one of the group that antagonized me on my first visit. I believe his name was Pence.

"Hey, get back here!" I shouted. I wanted to talk to that guy, find out where his companion was. Hayner was the one I wanted to punch. I bolted towards him, abandoning my friends. He saw me, and I must have looked angry, because he took off screaming towards this giant crack in the wall of the town.

"DON'T KILL ME! PLEASE!" He screamed, entering the forest behind the crack. I followed, rushing past trees until I saw this mansion randomly appear through some trees. I mean, what sane individual- wait, scratch that. Who in this quest have I yet to meet that is perfectly sane? Not even me; I know what I am.

I cornered him near the large gate that guarded the mansion. "I'm not going to kill you, Pence." I said. Hayner's the one who's gonna get his face punched in for punching in mine last time. I added on that second part in my head. However, curiosity got the better of me. "What is this place?" I asked.

Pence seemed to calm down a little after I mentioned no killing. "It's an abandoned mansion that, well, is just here. Nobody knows who lives there. There is, however, a mystery surrounding it…"

"What mystery?"

"They say, at about five in the afternoon every day, you can see a girl in the second story window. Creepy, right?"

"Yeah… hold on…" I pulled my IPod out of my pocket, and quickly brought up the lock screen, to check the time. It was 5:02. I glanced up at the second-story window, and did see a girl; she had a plain white dress on and blond hair that hung past her shoulders.

"Well, I'm going to head back… I'll see you later, I guess…" Pence said. He walked off, back towards the town. I, however, turned towards the gate. What did Sora say about the Keyblade…?

(Flashback)

The Keyblade is a really cool weapon, Zack! It's indestructible, it can harm heartless, and it can open any lock!

(/flashback)

My bow had appeared in my hand before I actually thought about it. A Keyblade seems to work more on instinct than thought. I aimed an arrow at the gate's oversized lock, and launched it. The gate unlocked with a loud click, and I walked forward into the front door.

I was greeted with a ruined entryway, with overturned furniture and broken glass scattered around. Everything was coated with a fine layer of dust, sending up little clouds as I stepped around. I walked up the left staircase, to get to the western window-room I saw the girl in. The door was old and coated with filth.

"This is crazy. I was just seeing things; there's no way I saw that girl. The door does not look like it's been used in ages." Either way, I grabbed the knob with a hand, and opened it slowly. I was, genuinely, surprised at what I saw. I had stepped into a white room, clean and free of dirt and grime. The walls, floor, everything was the same pearl-white color, giving the furniture a slight iridescence. The walls had several pictures, drawings on them, with familiar figures. I saw the same girl sitting at the far side of a table, drawing in a sketchbook. Collecting myself, I said, "Who… are you?"

She seemed startled, and dropped her pencil in surprise. "I'm Naminé. Who are you?"

I decided to sit down, at the other side of the table. "My name's Zack. Mind if I ask what you're doing? I mean, in here, the mansion."

"I'm drawing."

"But why are you in the mansion? Surely there are much better places to draw than this dusty place."

"I'm bound to the mansion. Organization XIII wanted me for my… talents. And so they prevented me from leaving this room until someone comes to get me." She gestured towards the door. "Since you opened that door, I am obligated by the spell they placed to follow you."

"You don't have to- wait. Did you say the Organization XIII?" This was the first solid lead I had all day, even if it was from an odd girl in a mansion.

"Yes. They wanted me to work for them because I have the power to control and rewrite other people's memories. When I refused, they locked me up."

"Do you know where their home world is?"

"Yes. The entryway is in this world, and yet it is not at the same time. The gateway will only appear in the alternate version of Twilight Town." Rather quietly, she added on, "Roxas's version…"

Ignoring the last sentence, "Can you take me there?"

"Yes. Follow me, then…" She got up, and walked towards the door. When she stopped before it, she said, "I can only leave with you. You have to exit the room first." I walked out, and Naminé grabbed my arm, walking with me on my way out. She led me across the mansion, to a large room that had the floor lowered into some sort of techno-lab. We walked down a few dark hallways, until she stopped near a computer with multiple screens.

"This will take me to the other version of the world?"

"It will take us, yes. Remember, my spell. I can't go anywhere I want; it has to be with the one who opened the door."

"How do we fix that? Not that I don't mind your company, of course."

"The spell ends when the one who placed it on me is dead. It was… the organization's Number eight… I think his name was Saïx." She inputted a number of key commands on the computer, and a light flashed nearby. She grabbed my arm, and we walked into it.

(A/N: And so, Naminé appears! I thought up of the whole "imprisoned" thing as a reason she worked for the organization, since she didn't seem willing to throughout KH: CoM and KHII. Will I find the home world of the organization? Will my friends be able to find me? And will I get to punch Hayner in his bratty little face? Find out next time! ~Nano.)