Guilt stabbed into my heart every time I glanced at Sora. I'd been avoiding him, and I could tell he was hurt by that. But honestly, I didn't know how to act around him anymore. I was so confused. On one hand I had my betrayal with the Organization, and on the other I had the memories of happy…love-filled days with that boy, Roxas (that resembled Sora so much it was a bit disconcerting). We still had our mission though, which I was extremely thankful to use as a legitimate distraction. Leading the way through the sun-kissed cobble stone streets of Twilight Town, I expertly steered us to the gang's Usual Spot under the train tracks.
They weren't there. We searched all over, until finally we found our way to where we started our adventure. Through the crack in the wall and the shaded woods, we crested the hill towards the old mansion. Here I saw three figures lying face down in the grass, Dusks swirling menacingly over their heads. Instantly I recognized them as Hayner, Pence, and Olette.
Sora rushed over, quickly dispelling the enemy and kneeling by Hayner's side. I skidded to a stop next to Olette and gingerly helped her into a sitting position as Sora asked, "What are you three doing up here? What happened?"
With a soft grunt, Hayner pushed himself upright. Rubbing the back of his head tenderly he answered, "We were looking for Kairi when we got attacked by those things…"
"You didn't have to do that –"Sora began, but was cut off by Hayner saying, "Yeah we did! She's our friend too, you know!"
Olette's hand resting in my own gave me a small squeeze. I looked down into her softly smiling face as Sora muttered, "You're right…I'd never thought of it like that before."
"But…why look here?" I asked, recalling that all the inside held was dust, and broken glass.
"This place seems to get some pretty strange visitors," Pence said pointedly, eyeing the four of us.
Olette rolled her eyes at him and continued, "We thought this place might be the gateway to some kind of…alternate Twilight Town."
"What do you mean?" Donald asked, scratching his head.
"Can we see that crystal of yours Fai?" Pence asked.
Raising a brow, I pulled out the munny pouch and retrieved the shining blue crystal. Olette simultaneously tugged an identical pouch from her own pocket and said, "I made this pouch myself, no one else should have it. So why are there two of them?"
"And the trophy Seifer gave you with the crystals on it is the only one of its kind." Pence added.
"So…where'd you get them?" Hayner asked, folding his arms in front of his chest as he scrutinized us.
"Well…" Sora wondered, resting his chin on his hand in thought. Realization dawned on me after a moment's pause. I said quickly, "The King gave us the pouch when he gave us munny for the train."
"Yeah, and the crystal was inside!" Sora nodded eagerly.
"But then…where'd the King get it?" Pence wondered.
"See?! There's got to be another town out there like this one!" Olette cried excitedly. "That would explain everything, it makes perfect sense!"
All three of them gazed over at us expectantly. Finally Sora asked unsurely, "It does…?"
"Well yeah, it's probably where everything is that keeps going missing." Hayner answered plainly.
When none of us responded Pence hinted, "Like wherever Kairi was taken…?"
"Or the Organization," I added, my eyes lighting with understanding. It did make sense. If Nobodies weren't supposed to exist, then of course they'd be somewhere you'd never think to look. But our excitement was cut short as a swarm of Dusks appeared completely surrounding us. I called my Keyblade out, ready for a fight, when a small blur of black jumped into the fray, dispensing with two of them in an easy swing. As all of us caught sight of two large, round black ears, we cried in unison, "Your Majesty!"
He quickly ushered us inside, holding the enemies at bay as we made sure to keep Hayner, Pence, and Olette out of danger. Once inside, the King joined us with a broad grin on his face. The others quickly explained what we learned as we headed down to the only place that didn't fit in such an old, crumbling mansion; the place where we'd woken up.
It was a little strange being back here after so long, but now that I was really looking at everything, I wasn't surprised. Our beginning was going to be the gateway to the end.
"Oh no," Sora wailed, looking up at the impressive array of whirring computer screens in the far side of the small basement room. "How are we supposed to get any information out of that?"
Pence stepped forward, cracking his knuckles as he said easily, "Leave that to me!"
We all watched as his fingers danced over the keyboard. But then the disheartening sound of a warning rang out. Frustrated, Pence tried again, only to be met with the same problem. Turning to look at us he said, "I can't go any further without a password, sorry guys. Any ideas on what it could be?"
Silence fell over our group as we all thought. My mind wandered from one possibility to the next, never settling, until I remembered what else had been stored in the box with the picture that "supposed Riku" left us as a clue. Stepping up to his side I said, "Try sea salt ice cream."
"Are you sure?" Mickey asked warily. I nodded to which Pence shrugged and muttered, "Alright, here goes nothing."
And with one last tap of the enter key, the screens all lit up with green confirmation notice. Sora happily patted me on the back as he asked, "Well?"
"Looks like this controls the portals over there. It'll take you into the alternate Twilight Town." Pence answered, still tapping away.
Sharing a grin, Sora bounded over and situated himself inside and called, "Let's go!"
The gang decided to stay on this side. A wise choice, I thought. I didn't know how I'd handle seeing an identical me when there wasn't supposed to be one. After saying our farewells, we all stepped into the device. When the switch was flipped, I felt my body tingle as we were sent through the small portal. And in one blink of an eye, it was over.
"Are we…back in the same place?" Sora asked, glancing around unsurely at the identical room.
"No, look!" Goofy called, striding over to the computer where Pence had been sitting. The seat was vacant, and all the screens had been smashed; completely destroyed. Who would've done that?
"So this is the other Twilight Town…" Sora mumbled softy, also gazing at the wreckage. "…Roxas' Twilight Town."
For a brief moment, the look in Sora's downcast eyes didn't look like his, making a shiver pass up my spine. It was such a…painful look. The King called over from the exit, "C'mon fellas! It's time to find what we've been looking for."
With a start, Sora's eyes met my own, and in that moment I watched as his arm moved to reach out to me. It caught me off guard. I couldn't stop him from touching me even if I'd wanted to try. But I didn't need to. As his hand neared my own, he paused, confusion knitting his brows together. Averting his gaze he brushed past me, following after Donald and Goofy into the next room without a word.
Once I'd forced myself to pick up my feet and trail after, I found myself looking at some sort of Dark Corridor. But it wasn't closing. It seemed that this was the pathway between this world and the Organization's. Donald was gung-ho about jumping straight in there and giving them a "one-two". But I insisted that we go into town and re supply. Because, who knew what we might find. In the end they agreed with me, and we set out for town.
The whole place was exactly the same as it had been on the other side. The same dust in the old mansion, the same shaded woods leading to the same crack in the wall, and the same town square. I gazed around in awe, wondering just how this was all possible. And then I heard from around the corner, three familiar voices asking, "Excuse us, but have you seen these boys? They've been missing for a while now. Maybe you recognize them?"
"Roxas has blonde hair, blue eyes, about yay tall."
That definitely caught my attention. Striding around, I caught sight of Hayner, Pence, and Olette. They were exactly the same! But…no, they weren't. These kids – this whole town – were something entirely different. Olette, her voice thick with emotion continued, "Our other friend was coming back from the doctor when he went missing. He's really sick. His name's Faitouru, so if you happen to see him…just let him know his friends and family really miss-…"
It was like I'd just been slapped full-on the face. She'd said my name! As the last of her sentence died away, I realized through my shock that all three of them were gaping over at me. A sharp pang ran through my heart at the same time my mind began to swim. And then, all the air in my lungs was knocked away as their bodies slammed into my own, one after the other.
Three pairs of tearful eyes gazed at me in utter relief as Pence cried, "Where have you been, Fai?!"
"We were so worried!" Olette said into my shoulder.
"Is Roxas with you?"
"Wh-what?" I stammered, completely taken aback.
"We thought maybe he ran away to look for you when he found out you were missing." Hayner answered, wiping stubbornly at his eyes.
I couldn't breathe. My voice had completely gone as I stood there, letting them berate me with questions and exclamations about my returning. Finally Olette gasped and cried, "Your parents have been so worried about you!"
"Yeah dude, your Mom's been a wreck." Pence added.
My parents? I suddenly had a vision of the dimple cheeked woman that I'd run into a while back in the normal Twilight Town with her husband.
"Thank you all so much for bringing him back to us!" Olette offered suddenly rounding on my companions who'd been dead silent through this entire exchange. Afraid of what I'd see, I craned my neck and saw Donald looking absolutely livid, Goofy standing utterly confused, the King at a loss for words, and Sora…I couldn't see his eyes under the shadow of his bangs, but looking at the tension in his shoulders, I could tell he was upset. What was he thinking? What should I do?
The suspicion that had been festering against me ever since Phil had told Sora not to trust me had just been confirmed and then exploded. Somehow, in this alternate Twilight Town, I had friends and a family I didn't know about. If there was that, then there had to be more than just those secrets floating around somewhere.
Wrapping her arms once more around my still frame, as if she thought I was some sort of apparition, Olette laughed happily and said, "You can tell us all about what's happened when we get you back home, c'mon!"
Panic swelled in my chest as she started tugging me away. This was happening, and I didn't have the heart to stop it. They were so happy to see me, and…deep down I think I was just as happy to see them. And then I felt another hand on my wrist, effectively stopping her from marching me off. Looking around wide-eyed I saw Sora looking down on us blankly.
"He can't go with you…"
Hayner stepped up to him so they were nose to nose and asked defiantly, "Oh yeah, and why not?"
Still without any emotion in his voice Sora replied coldly, "He has something he needs to take care of."
His face growing red with irritation Hayner asked not backing down, "And who the hell are you to say what he needs to do or not do?"
The situation was going downhill fast. I could see Donald and Goofy stepping closer threateningly as even Pence and Olette did the same. I had to do something before they started ripping each other apart!
"He's right guys," I said wincing as both Olette's and Sora's grips grew tighter. "I'm sorry I haven't kept in touch, but…I really have something I need to take care of."
"Seriously? But Fai…" Pence started, his voice cracking and dying. Olette turned and continued, "Are you sure? Are you better now?"
Setting my lips into a hard line, I nodded and asked, "Could you tell Mom and Dad that I…that I love them, and I'll try to visit soon?"
"Well, sure, but Faitouru…" Hayner started, his shoulders slumping slightly as his hand pressed into my shoulder.
Unable to reach up and pat his hand reassuringly, I nodded and put on my nicest not scared smile. Then I turned to the others and said, "Don't worry, okay? These guys are taking good care of me."
They all looked over my shoulder to the others doubtfully, but after a moment, I felt Olette's trembling hand release me. Finally she whispered, "Alright…"
Unable to speak anymore, I lowered my gaze and let Sora pull me away. My heart was burning for me to turn back, but I just concentrated on keeping my feet moving in whatever direction we were going. But then my steps faltered as I heard Hayner call after my retreating back, "Hey Fai, you never told us if you'd seen Roxas!"
If my heart stopped beating just then, I wouldn't have been surprised. Sora's hand gripped even tighter, making me wince. There was no way I could say anything without upsetting him. And honestly, I didn't think I wanted to. I had no idea where the blonde boy was. Setting my jaw, I kept my head bowed and pretended not to hear what he'd just said, allowing Sora to drag me off.
The sound of my heart beating was in my ears the whole time we wove through the streets. Only when we stood next to the hole in the wall did we finally come to a stop. What came next, I didn't even see coming. Shutting my eyes tightly in pain as a fist to the side of my face sent me sprawling to the ground, I heard something crack sickeningly. Fighting back the tears, I didn't get a chance to catch my breath before Sora took a fistful of the front of my shirt, wrenched me back up, and hoisted me off my feet. Next thing I knew, the back of my head was slamming painfully against the brick wall next to the crack leading to the mansion.
Why was he doing this to me?! In all the years I'd known him, he'd never gone off the handle like this, even when we were betrayed and hurt by people we thought we trusted. What made me so different? I was his best friend…right?
As I peered down at him through tear-filled eyes, I saw Sora's own brimming with anger and confusion; but mostly hurt. Shaking me roughly he growled through gritted teeth, "Explain."
How could I when even I had no idea what was going on? I tried prying his fingers loose. I couldn't think or breathe. My best friend reared back his fist again, readying a punch when the King cried out, "Sora, let him go, he doesn't know!"
For a brief moment, he still held me suspended, debating the second punch, and then he released me unceremoniously. I dropped into a heap on the ground, gasping and coughing. As I sat there, Sora ordered us to head back to the old mansion to take care of the Organization once and for all. Sora and Donald took off without glancing once back at me, while Goofy hesitated unsurely before also disappearing through the crack after them. The King was the only one that stayed by my side as silent tears rolled down my cheeks.
When I found my voice again I choked out miserably, "I really don't know what's going on…"
Placing his hand on my shoulder he said quietly, "Don't worry, we'll figure this out..."
Rubbing at my neck, I nodded slowly, and carefully wiped the tears away, careful of the cheek bone that Sora might have possibly broken. The King, as we strode through the woods offered to use a healing spell, but I refused. Maybe I felt like I deserved this pain.
Turned out that in his anger, Sora had gone into the portal without waiting for the King and me. I felt my heart skip a beat at the thought of him recklessly fighting alone against whatever was on the other side waiting for us. Without wasting any more time, I jumped in, and immediately regretted it. As soon as I felt the consistency of the air change, I knew this Dark Corridor wasn't like the others. With the other corridors I'd been through, I was at least able to fight against the Darkness for a minute, but this…I stood no chance.
My feet dragged me about six steps forward before I collapsed face-first. From far away I could hear the King calling my name and shaking me, but I couldn't move. Everything was growing fainter as time passed.
Your Destiny is calling you.
An intense burst of energy wrenched me half back into the real world. What was that just now?
Sora's voice caught my attention as he asked tearfully, "Axel…what were you trying to do?"
Axel? Had that been his power just then?
The Nobodie, a smile evident in his voice said, "I wanted to see Roxas…he was…the only one I liked. He made me feel…like I had a heart. It's kind of funny, you make me feel…the same–"
He cut himself off and changed tones to one of business as I felt another burst of energy appear, "Kairi's in the Castle Dungeon now go!"
He really had turned out to be an okay guy, I thought as I let my mind slip once more into the Darkness.
