The Oracle was not what I expected. True, from what I'd heard of him so far I knew he was young like the rest of us, but I hadn't expected him to look so... well, normal. To look at him without knowing who he was, you'd never have any idea.
"Come, the cave is much warmer," he told me. "The others will be along soon, but we can make use of the wait to discuss things." He gave me a glance and added, "Don't be too concerned. Just ask."
But with all the possibilities I could have asked him, I had no idea where to begin. I just picked at random.
"What'll happen to Calix?" I asked.
"Ah yes, the adult with a second and somewhat more permanent childhood. Though he still fears the Black Guard, since they returned you to Tommy unharmed his opinion of them has improved. He was last seen using your name to get past their members and into the protection of Latissa, who even now is guiding him along the way to turning on his previous allies. I'm expecting to hear from the good doctor Kildare when she asks him if he can take care of him, since he probably won't be too certain if he can handle it. Hows your shoulder, by the way?"
"Healed now," I replied, startled by just how much he seemed to know. How did he do it? "Still a little tender in places, but it'll pass."
He led us into what appeared at first glance to be a home constructed entirely from ice, but was warm to the touch. Evidently it wasn't really ice but something mimicking it perfectly.
"Of course. Kildare is probably the best medic in the entire city. Both here and King City itself. I've had to put myself in his hands a couple of times before. Corporate Security has been trying to get their hands on me for ages, but so far they've failed to do any more than cause a few minor injuries. To tell you the truth, I'd rather they actually tried a bit harder. They're not even challenging any more."
"Think you'll ever finally catch Akira?"
"I certainly hope so," he answered with a certain edge to his tone. "I've got an entire family to avenge, let alone many of the Alliance who've ended up in harms way because of me. There's a lot of payback I have to deal out on him. It's a shame I can only kill him the once. Don't concern yourself with him though – while your friend currently remains in his custody and even believes what he has been told of your friends so far, he will not stay so beyond tomorrow."
"About him... is he going to..."
"Find you? Not himself. Your friend Xion will arrive tomorrow afternoon, sent here by Xemnas as she, like you, is young enough to gain more from the Alliance. She will in turn lead him to your gang, but neither of them will find you unless you let them."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Tommy told you to act – and you have. Rocky has done things that Roxas never would. True, he may not have liked all of those things, such as the unfortunate officer that lost his life, but they happened nevertheless, and they were not the kind of things you would have done had you continued to be yourself. Nearly everyone you have encountered here has met you first as Rocky, and only a small number later as Roxas. Likewise, they will first find you as Rocky, and will only find Roxas too if you decide to show yourself to them, and not only show them Rocky."
"Assault... when he came to see me earlier, he said if I needed advice..."
"He said that you could come to me, and here you are. Ask away."
"Should I tell them?" It had been almost blurted out. "Should I let them find me and tell them what I've done?"
"Your questions rely on the answers to other questions, Roxas. Telling them depends on if you let them find you, and that in turn depends on where you want to go. Remain here, or go back to the Organization."
"Yeah, but... what do you think?"
The Oracle leaned back in his fake-ice chair, closing his eyes. While I waited I realized he must have at least some ability to see beyond the here and now, otherwise how would he have known about the Organization, and Xion's impending arrival? If the Organization ever got wind of that, they'd undoubtedly want to turn him into a Nobody to take full advantage of it.
"You ought to leave, Roxas," he told me at last. "You are one half of another, and neither you or he can be complete without each other. If you remain here, you deprive him of half of what he is, half of what he needs to complete his own tasks. You'll undoubtedly enjoy it here if you stayed, but both you and he have important things in your future that lie away from here."
"I guess that means I've got to let them find me then, and tell them what I've done."
"Find you, yes. But tell them... that remains up to you. But know this, Roxas – your concerns about Axel are not unfounded. Akira's right-hand man, Tamayana, has told him what you might call horror stories about the Alliance and what they may have done. He will not likely receive the revelations well, but be patient – time will heal any rift between you. For a Nobody, he has a knack for being able to care that even I can't see the cause of."
Now I had to ask – he knew about the Organization and Nobodies, but unless someone else had stopped by to talk to him I couldn't see any possible way how he could have found out.
"Just how do you know these things, Oracle?" I asked him. "Do you really see, or is there some trick to it?"
"Do you know, you're the first to actually ask me directly?" he said with a faint smile. "To answer your question... I prefer not to go into too much detail, but theoretically, anyone could take my place as the Oracle. But only one such as you or I could make such wide-ranging use of it."
"You're not a Nobody," I said, thinking on this. "We'd know." He just nodded. "So that means... you're not from this world either, are you?"
"Partly right. I originated from this world, but I've left it and seen others. Don't tell anyone else though – I believe I'm the only one of the locals that even knows there are other worlds out there. I'd also advise you to keep to your original mission restrictions – don't use a dark corridor anywhere anyone would see."
"I can't really use one anyway. I sort of... lost my coat."
"I know. Axel can retrieve it for you, provided neither Akira or Tamayana think he's working in league with you. They'll likely keep it for themselves and try to use it as bait to lure you or him in. If that happens, I'll come up with a plan to retrieve it for you."
"Why not just have Axel use a corridor of his own-" I started, but he held up a hand to stop me.
"We don't know for certain if they're watching his residence inside Akira's tower. If they learn about the dark corridors... to say the least, it would become a serious problem for the Alliance if they begin to control them, let alone the other consequences."
"I guess I didn't think of that," I admitted.
"In my place, you kind of have to. The entire Alliance looks up to me. It encourages me to take care to think of everything." Then he raised his voice slightly and added, "Come, join us. Rocky and I are done."
There were still questions I wanted to ask him, but clearly he'd decided enough was enough. I wasn't going to push him for more; he probably decided it was safer this way. With the Alliance in his hands, they'd probably achieved a great deal more than they would have otherwise, and undoubtedly would continue to do so.
The Oracle took each of the others aside to answer a few questions for them too, then together he let them know about Axel and Xion arriving tomorrow, though he mentioned Xion simply as another friend of mine. After that gave us precise directions to get us down to one of the docks on the outside of the Sea Metropolis, one of the very few docks, and also the entire Metropolis, that was entirely under the control of the Alliance.
I'd expected there to be at least some kind of pursuit on the way back, but it was disappointingly quiet on the way back. Speedboats aren't my favourite kind of transport though. Other ships maybe, but those things just make me ill.
Once back on dry land, we were on our own again.
"What now, boss?" Whisper asked.
"Chinatown," he replied. "The western part of it this time – no doubt the Tea Shack is being watched. No, this time we want our original place there – the take away named after us."
"Headquarters," Sparky told me. "We don't go there often 'cause they know it's one of our places, but they don't watch it. They always check it when they want to find us, so if your mates are looking for us like what the Oracle tells us..."
"Then if they learn that too, that's where they'll come," I finished.
"It's also where the Oracle will direct them, if they manage to find their way to him," Tommy added. "Sparky, the sign needs fixing up. I want you to see to it. Whisper, find me Assault. I need to borrow him off the Oracle again."
"Adam again?" Whisper asked. "What for this time?"
"Something I discussed with the Oracle. We can work without him, but what I've got in mind will go better if he's with us. If he's busy, tell him we need him as soon as possible, tomorrow at the latest."
"Some deadline," he snorted, then he and Sparky both left.
"What about me?" I asked him. "I know the place you mean."
"I know. I also know you've still got a police ID card you stole back in the Winter Wonderland. It should work here in King City too. I've got a special task for you that uses it, if you think you're up to it."
I folded my arms and said, "Wanna try saying that again, boss?"
Tommy chuckled, shaking his head. "I should have known. Alright, listen up, because this isn't simple. Two blocks south of Corporate Plaza is the police HQ for King City, and one further down is the back entrance. Use the ID to get in through that door, then find your way to the server rooms. You'll know the place when you see it, there's racks of stuff all hooked up by cables, and it'll be a bit cold in there."
"As if once wasn't bad enough," I complained. "What do I do in there, rip out all the cables?"
"Close. You'll only have a limited time once you start, so act quickly." He handed me a pair of insulated scissors. "Only go for the power cables, and make sure you cut them right through. As soon as they notice, get out of there – you can hide if you want, but the Oracle reckons you're better off running."
"And doing this does what, exactly?"
"With any luck, it'll knock out their entire computer systems. Since all the branch offices around the city store and access the data in that room, even a few of them going down is going to seriously affect them, and that'll give the Alliance time to strike. The Oracle's already putting out word that they're going to be temporarily crippled so we can take full advantage of it."
"You two put a lot of thought into this. Alright, I'll do it. I'll meet you up at our own HQ."