Chapter 22

Twilight's View

Madoka smiled. Her mother worked late tonight, but not too late, so they were lucky that she didn't have to miss dinner. The entire family came together to enjoy dad's cooking: grilled fish and rice in a lemon sauce! Yum!

"So? How was school today?" Tomohisa asked his daughter.

After swallowing a big bite, Madoka launched into her explanation. "Well, it started off kinda normal, there was this thing between Sayaka and Hitomi about Kyosuke, and it was upsetting a bit, but then I got to have lunch with Homura. That was really fun, and it really picked up my mood."

"Ever since she transferred, it seems like that Homura is the only thing on your mind." Her father said.

"Ham-rah! Ham-rah!" Tatsuya said as he picked at the rice.

"And it's spreading." Junko said. Everyone laughed a bit at that.

"I guess, she's just so fun to be around. We hit it off really well and really understand each other! We have so much in common! She's so sweet and kind! She's really great. I like her a lot!"

"I'd like to meet her." Junko said. "Why don't you invite her over for dinner tomorrow?"

"Yeah, that sounds like an excellent idea!" Tomohisa said.

"Well… we uh... already have plans tomorrow..."

"Oh?" Junko gave a sly grin. "So you're already dating?"

Madoka's blushed hard. "N-no, it's not like that! She was in the hospital for a long time, and missed a lot of school, so she's really struggling in her classes. So we're going to go to the library to study and help her catch up!"

"Still sounds like a date to me! As you peruse through the books, thinking the other's thoughts are on the material, only to reach for something at the same time. Your hands touch, and you meet each other's gaze, only to see the passion blazing in their eyes and-"

"Mama!" Madoka was certain that her entire face had turned as pink as her hair. There was a moment of silence, before everyone at the table laughed, even Tatsuya.

"If you think that's risque, you should hear how your father and I met."

"I don't think either of them are old enough for that." Tomohisa chided his wife in a half-serious manner..

"What's that mean?" Madoka asked.

"When your older." Both her parents said with a wink and grin towards each other. That really sent Madoka's mind spiraling with all the possibilities.

Fortunately, it was all forgotten when Tatsuya suddenly shouted. "Risky! Risky!"

"Also a word for when your older." Tomohisa said, and everyone laughed again.

The rest of the meal continued, with Junko talking about her day and then Tomohisa related his experience of taking Tatsuya to his doctor appointment. After the meal was finished, Madoka found herself yawning.

"It is pretty late." Tomohisa said. "We all need our rest."

"And you don't want to be tired for your date with Homura tomorrow!"

"Mama! It's not a date!" Madoka protested, but Junko only grinned in response as she headed towards her bedroom.

Madoka went to hers and quickly changed into her pajamas. As she climbed into bed she wondered if the term 'date' was more appropriate than she initially believed. Despite all the joking, Madoka had to admit that she couldn't wait for tomorrow. Thoughts of spending more time with Homura softly lulled her to sleep.

Madoka awoke, first to her usual morning tiredness, then to confusion. When she turned, she saw Sayaka asleep next to her. What was Sayaka doing in her bed? They weren't having a sleepover, were they? She couldn't recall anything of the sort.

Then she saw another bed next to hers and noticed Mami and Nagisa were sleeping in it. Why was there another bed in her room? Then she saw the couch were Kyoko was snoring away on. She didn't have a couch in her room either. But… this wasn't her room. It was a hotel room. Where were Mama and Papa?

As Madoka placed her hands to her head, she felt something on her cheek. And then it all came back to her. She gasped and leaped out of the bed, rushing into the bathroom to examine herself in the mirror.

Sure enough, they were there. The rough scar tissue on the left side of her face. It was real. It was all real. Her family was dead. Her entire world was dead. They were on a completely different world.

Madoka leaned forwards, feeling a pain in her chest. Her eyes began to blur, and she felt hot tears run down her face again. She had failed to save them. She had run off without telling Papa, and now he and Tatsuya were dead.

The tears didn't last as long as yesterday, and she managed to force herself back up. After wiping her eyes, she noticed a shadow. She turned to see Nagisa standing at the entrance of the bathroom.

"You're awake?" Madoka asked.

"You were crying again." The younger girl observed.

"It's fine… I'm fine." Madoka said. She tried to inject confidence into her voice, but was certain that she failed miserably.

Nagisa rushed over to Madoka and embraced her.

"T-thanks." Madoka leaned over and returned the hug.

"We can go wake up Sayaka." Nagisa said.

"No. Please, don't tell her."

"Why? You don't look well."

"I'm just groggy, and I don't want to worry anyone needlessly. I'm fine. Promise."

Nagisa didn't look convinced, but nodded.

"Your hair is a mess." Madoka said. "Want me to comb it?"

"I would love that."

They pulled up some chairs and Madoka got to work. It was fairly relaxing, all things considered, and Nagisa seemed to like the sensation, leaning back as Madoka ran the comb and brush through her long white hair. Madoka felt a twinge of jealousy. She wished she could pull off long hair like Nagisa's. And then again, her thoughts turned to Homura. She had nice hair too. She had also come up again in her dream. And it sounded like they were… friends? Maybe more than that? Again, it had felt so real. Like a memory more than a dream.

But, they weren't that close in reality. They had barely spoken to each other until the Heartless attacked. Homura was an enemy in real life. Though, even there, looking back, she had seemed so very sad. It bothered Madoka in a way she wasn't sure how to explain.

"Hey, Madoka?" Nagisa asked, drawing Madoka out of her pondering.

"Yes?"

"What do you think about all this?"

"What do you mean?"

"Like, all the things that have happened recently. It's been only a day for us, but a few more for you."

"It's… all so big. I honestly don't know what to think. At first, all I had on my mind was summer vacation. I'd be hanging out with you guys, going on a trip with my family. And now..." Madoka paused.

"Too bad it couldn't have happened earlier in the year." Nagisa quickly said.

"Why?"

"Because if were going to save the world, at the least it could come with an excuse to skip school!" She laughed. "Now we have to waste our vacation days."

"Yeah, I really needed a break back then." Madoka said, laughing along with her. There was another moment of silence, before Nagisa spoke again.

"You know? At least, if we have to travel around the multiverse to save our World, the five of us still get to be together."

"Yeah. I guess that's one silver lining." Madoka said. She finished working out all the tangles in Nagisa's hair, and did up her pigtails. "All done!"

As she said those words, she heard sounds from the bedroom. The others were waking up.

"Madoka?" She heard Sayaka ask. "Madoka? Where are you?"

She sounded worried. Both of them hurried out of the bathroom.

"Right here!" Madoka said. "We were just doing our hair."

"Ah. Good idea! If you don't mind..." Mami said.

"Nah, go ahead!" Sayaka said. "Mine's simple. I won't take long."

"Mine won't take long either." Mami said as she entered and closed the door behind her.

Mami's preferred hairstyle was more complex than the others in their group, though she always seemed to pull it off so perfectly. Madoka supposed she must have had a lot of practice.

"Madoka… how are you feeling?"

"I'm fine." She said. This time it sounded more convincing. At least the puffiness of her eyes had worn off. "How'd you sleep last night?"

"Alright. You?"

"Just fine. Some normal dreams." Madoka said. She didn't like lying, but making Sayaka worry felt worse.

"And done!" Mami said. She stepped out of the bathroom fully dressed, and with her hair already done in it's fancy drill style. Perfect, as usual.

"Yeah, were about ready to get moving ourselves." Sayaka said.

"Well… most of us it seems." Nagisa said, looking at Kyoko still snoring on the couch.

"Still asleep?" Madoka asked.

"Well, then I guess we'll just have to go on without her." Mami said.

"What?!" Everyone exclaimed.

Mami gave a gentle smile that still seemed to hold a hint of mischief. "Oh, don't worry, we'll come back for her. After we've eaten breakfast!"

"Wha-what? Breakfast? I'm up, I'm up!" Kyoko shouted.

The void seemed to go on forever. The darkness felt thick, almost like pushing through a patch of very tall grass. In spite of this, Homura forged on through the gloom until the miasma faded. She then found herself standing in a very bizarre location.

She was on a balcony that was part of a massive white castle. The entire location looked incredibly eerie. The castle was oddly shaped, and bone white. Strangely shaped towers jutted out of it from it like the fingers of a skeleton.

Looking up, she saw a sky obscured by red clouds. Beneath that was a sprawling modern city, so large she couldn't see the edge of it, lit by glowing neon lights and LED signs. The castle she was in appeared to float weightlessly over a glowing green pit in the center of the city.

"So… welcome to the World that Never Was!" A voice said behind her.

Homura turned to see a man in a black coat. He was middle-aged, with numerous scars on his face. One of his eyes was yellow, while the other was covered in an eye-patch. His graying hair was tied back in a ponytail, and his ears were slightly pointed.

"Who are you?"

"The name's Xigbar. Welcome to the Organization."

Even up close, this girl didn't look like much, but he had seen her in action. There was definitely a lot of power hidden beneath that unassuming surface.

"So, how was you're little excursion on Olympus? Did you find what you needed? Action? Excitement? Any twists in the tale?" He already knew the answer, but her reaction would be informative.

"Madoka is alive." Homura replied flatly.

"Ah! Some good news! Congratulations!" Xigbar cheered.

"Where is Xehanort?" She asked, looking away.

"Dunno where the old coot's gotten off to, but you have me to keep you company! How's about a treat to celebrate your success! I think there's some sea-salt ice cream somewhere here..."

"Not interested." Came Homura's flat reply. "If she's alive, I need to get going."

No emotion. Or, more accurately to say, guarded emotions. Suppressed beneath the surface. She had been very expressive at times on Olympus, mostly in the presence of Sora or when alone, but that was probably a given considering whom she was traveling with. As much as Xigbar hated to admit it, Sora's ability to connect with others was awe-inspiring. But that wasn't part of the plan. Sora had his own Hearts to connect to, and Xigbar's job was to make sure he and everybody else stayed on track.

"Hey, why with the hastiness?" Xigbar said, he then grinned nonchalantly. "Don't you want to meet the other members? Granted, many of them are out on missions, but there's currently a few here right now."

Homura resisted the urge to roll her eyes. This guy came across like someone way too old trying to present themselves as 'one of the kids'. She'd seen his type before, and their kindness was alway fake. Still, she supposed humoring him wouldn't hurt. "Fine," she sighed.

"Right this way." He gestured, leading her through several hallways. As they walked, Homura's skeleton comparisons felt more and more apt. The entire castle felt skeletal. There didn't seem to be much in the way of decorations, only the strange symbol that appeared to be a cross mixed with an inverted heart. There were no paintings, no plants, tapestries, vases, statues, or any other sorts of luxuries. It was entirely minimal. Sterile. This place was clearly constructed with a purpose in mind, function over form. In that way, it reminded her of her old apartment, the one she had lived in before the Goddess subsumed Madoka. She'd discarded such trivial notions as aesthetics to focus on her quest. Perhaps those that designed this place thought similarly, she mused.

Eventually, Xigbar led her to what appeared to be some sort of lounge. Here, there was furniture, though it was the same white color as the rest of the castle and extremely minimal in its design. Even the potted flowers were completely white.

There were three other occupants of the room, all wearing black coats like Xigbar. One was a man with long dirty blonde hair. He was sitting at a couch looking intently at a holographic screen displaying scientific data of some kind. He didn't appear to react to Homura's arrival. On the other side of the room was a woman with bright blonde hair, reclining on a sofa. She was casually tossing a yellow dagger back and forth between her hands. The third was a dark skinned young man with silver hair, looking about the same age as Homura or maybe a little older. He was currently staring out the window, seemingly paying no attention to went on behind him. Homura turned to see that Xigbar had apparently vanished before turning back to the others.

"So, whose brat is this?" The woman said, turning towards Homura.

"I would assume it's a new member. Obviously." Said the man, sounding irritated at being interrupted from his studies.

"Ugh, where do they find them all? A kid? Seriously?" The blonde woman said. She looked at her with an expression of disgust like Homura was something nasty she had stepped in. It unpleasantly reminded her of the kids at Homura's school before Mitakihara. "You don't look like much."

Homura decidedly instantly that she disliked her. But she wasn't about to start an argument and give her the satisfaction she probably wanted.

"What, got nothing to say, or are you not even capable of talking? They really must be scraping the bottom of the barrel here if they're bringing in some loser like you!"

Now Homura really didn't like her. She turned away from the blonde girl and headed towards the boy staring out the window.

"Hey! Don't ignore me!"

"Will you keep it down, Larxene? Some of us have work to do!"

"Oh like anyone really cares about your stupid project, Vexen." Larxene shot back.

"What I do is vital to ensuring a true victory. But I shouldn't expect such a pettifogging mind like your own to understand."

"Oh wow! A grown man playing with dolls! So important!"

"I rest my case."

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

Homura put them both out of her mind and approached the boy.

He turned to greet her. "Can I help you?"

"I'm looking for Xehanort."

"Speaking."

Homura paused at this. Though vastly apart in age, there were a lot of similarities between him and the other Xehanort. Was he a son? Grandson?

"The, um… older Xehanort."

"Ah. I believe he's in the library at the moment. I can show you the way, if you like." Unlike the other two, this young Xehanort's voice was even and calm, and his expression was neutral. He gestured with his hand. "Come with me."

Despite Kyoko's protests, breakfast was kept quick and simple. Everyone was anxious to get moving, to continue to the next step of their quest. They had a wizard to meet with and a lot of questions that needed answering.

However, while walking through Twilight Town, they passed a structure, and a high pitched voice called out to them.

"Wow, I didn't expect to see another one here, kupo!"

The group turned to see a strange creature standing in front of a stall. It was small, and furry, looking like strange mixture of cat, rabbit, bat, and fairy. Between it's long ears was a tall antennae that connected to a fuzzy red ball.

"Aww… you're so cute!" Nagisa squeed.

"That's a Moogle." Said a familiar voice behind them. Hayner and his friends had arrived.

"My name is Elmina, kupo," the Moogle introduced himself. "We Moogles are experts at synthesis and crafting. Some of us also run shops."

"What did you mean by… another one?" Madoka asked.

"Another Keyblade Wielder, kupo!"

"Wait, how did you know?"

"Moogle's eye, kupo! I can tell! May I see it?"

"Um… sure." Madoka held out her hand, and Crystal Clarity appeared in a dance of flower petals. Even now, it still felt so perfect in her grip.

"Now that's a Keyblade with a lot of potential. I wish I could help improve its power, kupo, but I'm not that skilled at Synthesis." Elmina said.

"Synthesis?" Sayaka asked. "What's that?"

"Combining magical materials to create or improve magic items, kupo. I'm not that skilled at it though. But if you're traveling from World to World, you might meet some Moogles who are. You'll likely come to a city called Radiant Garden at some point. The Moogle there is a master of Synthesis, kupo. Ask them."

"I'll be sure to..."

"Hey, that doesn't mean I don't have anything that might be able to help you on your way! I run a store, kupo! We have lots of gear, like Potions. Adventurers really need Potions!"

"Potions? Okay, this really is an RPG!" Kyoko said, grinning. "Do they do what I think they do?"

"Drink them and they restore your vitality, healing your injuries."

"I knew it! What else ya' got?"

"Potions are about the only concoction I have at the moment." Elmina said. "I do have other things that might be useful for your quest."

"Like what?"

"Well, for example, how are you planning on carrying all this gear in the first place, kupo?" The Moogle reached towards a shelf, and pulled out an item that looked like pouch of some sort.

"Introducing the Inventory!"

"Really?" Kyoko said, grinning even wider.

"Top of the line of Mooglecraft, kupo! This extraspacial pouch allows you to hold much much more in it than it's meager size would indicate. Sure, there are similar bags that can hold more, but, this keeps the necessary items at the ready." Elmina seemed to be getting into a sort of excited 'sales pitch' mode. "When your fighting a Malboro and wind up poisoned, do you want to waste time rummaging through a bag for an Antidote while the toxins wreak havoc on your body, kupo? No, you're a pragmatic adventurer! You want what you need ready to go when you need it. And thus, the Inventory! Merely indicate certain items to be prepared beforehand, and then pull them out of those slots on the go. No need for wasting precious time in the middle of combat!"

"He certainly does make a good pitch." Nagisa said.

"They're only 100 Munny apiece too! Don't need to worry about fashion either! Stick one in an enclosed space on you and that will become the Inventory, kupo! You can use it with pockets, sleeves, cleavage, hats, bags, backpacks, satchels, pant legs, anything that could work with your style."

The Moogle clearly had them sold on it. Mami bought one for each of them, as well as several potions. As she was discussing the price with Elmina, something in the shop caught Madoka's attention. It wasn't anything special, just a notebook, with an accompanying set of pencils and erasers.

"Something caught your eye, kupo?"

"That sketchbook." Madoka said.

"Ah! Of course. I don't see why not." Mami said.

As the group walked towards the train station, Madoka looked over the sketchbook. The cover had a depiction of Twilight Town's clock tower on it. Inside the pages were blank, though the inside of the cover had a spot to place tools like pencils and erasers, which Madoka took advantage of. She then decided to try out the Inventory thing. After placing some potions into it, she also tried it with the sketchbook. Though it seemed to big for the pocket of her jacket, it surprisingly went in easy. It really was convenient.

When she looked up, the group had arrived at the outside of the train station. Though this should have been pleasant, something felt off to Madoka. She felt anxious. She looked around, to see that the others were feeling uneasy as well.

"Going off on your little adventure, I see."

A raspy, yet seemingly light-hearted voice filled the air, but it set off the alarm bells in Madoka's head even more. The group turned to see a man covered head to toe in a black coat. The hood obscured his facial features, but they could tell he was smiling nonetheless.

Mami put herself in front of the group. "Who are you? What do you want?"

"Me? Oh I was just in town and happened to stumble upon you. Then I decided 'why not take a look at the new Keyblade Wielder while I'm here?' So here I am."

Pence glared at the man. "You're from that… black coat group, right? The ones who are Sora's enemies?"

The men looked at Pence in silence, causing the young boy to take a step back in fear.

The man turned to Madoka and the others. "Yeah," the man continued in a jovial voice. "I just wanted to let you know that you shouldn't really be heading to that Wizard's place. He won't lift a finger to help you out, and he'll get you roped in to his problems. At best, you'll get some mumbo-jumbo speech about the responsibility of a Keyblade wielder, and wouldn't that be a waste of time?"

Kyoko snarled. "Thanks for the head's up, tall, dark and edge-lordy, but we'll take our chances."

Even though Madoka didn't have her Keyblade in her hand, she could still feel Crystal Clarity reacting to this man's presence in a similar way to Maleficent. He was an enemy, one looking for an excuse to pick a fight with them. But why?

"If you wanted to help your world so badly, you really ought to just come with me. Unlike that dumb old wizard, I've got plenty of time to help you out. Hell, I can help you find Maleficent, and we can take her out together. What do you say?" The man held out his hand towards the group.

"Guys," Hayner said to the group. "Don't trust him. These black coat guys? They've hurt some of our friends. They're just bad news. And dangerous."

Madoka nodded and turned to the cloaked man. "Sorry, but we must refuse."

She tried to bow politely, but her tension was leaking into her voice. The man put his hands on his side for a second, then shrugged. "Well, I expected that. Plan B it is!" He snapped his fingers.

Madoka jumped back and yelped as several laser shots fired into the space she just was. Mami immediately shot three muskets in the direction of the shot, and a strange creature with a purple bodysuit and grey skin fell from its perch on a nearby building. It disappeared, only for several more of them to appear by the black coat man holding crossbows and floating in the air.

As the the girls got out their weapons, several more silvery beings surrounded them. They looked like silver jackets that had come to life. They weaved in and out, dancing around the group in a circle.

"I'll just have to see what makes you tick, Madoka." The man whispered before a dark vortex engulfed him and vanished.

The younger Xehanort led Homura through the castle. As they walked, Homura took in the sights. Though she initially admired the castle's efficient design, the place felt more eerie the more she walked. The place was beginning to feel… hollow. They passed nobody else on their way to their destination. The sound of their footsteps echoed as the only sound in the place. It was... uncomfortable.

Homura placed these thoughts out of her mind, as the Young Xehanort gestured towards a room. "He should be in there."

"Thank you." She said, but he had already departed. Homura ran her hands through her hair and then pushed open the door, leading to another white room. Here, there were several shelves stacked with various books. Xehanort was currently looking through several books at once, but closed them when Homura approached.

"Ah, Homura. I must confess you are back sooner than I had anticipated. I take it your mission was fruitful then? Do we have any information on Madoka?"

"I suppose you could call it that. I searched throughout the World, but could find no trace of her there. After that, I encountered Maleficent as you said." Homura paused, as she recalled how horribly that encounter had gone, before gritting her teeth and aggressively forcing the memory down. She couldn't afford to let something like that distract her. "She mentioned encountering Madoka prior, though she and Pete believed they had left her for dead. This was disproved when I questioned Hades, who revealed that she is alive. Though I still do not know her whereabouts."

"Then it was a success, regardless! Now that we know young Madoka still lives, we can proceed with the difficult task of locating her and saving her. There is a World we must visit, one where we will be able to find the information we seek. Are you ready to depart?"

Homura was about to affirm, when she recalled her experience in the dark portal earlier.

"I'm… not sure. "

"Is something the matter?" Xehanort asked, raising an eyebrow.

Homura bit her lip. "Are we using the portals?"

"Ah, that would explain it. One must be cautious when traversing the Corridors of Darkness. To those who have yet to master it, the Darkness can eat away at the body and mind. I should have a black coat made for you."

Homura recalled the cloaks that all the others were wearing. She had thought it was a uniform of sorts.

"What for?"

"They have the property of protecting the wearer from the effects of exposure to the Dark Realm. Though don't worry, we won't be traveling using the corridors. They would be ineffective in getting us to where we need to go." Instead, Xehanort summoned his Keyblade, and pointed it at the the library door at the entrance. A white beam shot out of it and the door glowed.

"After you."

Homura followed his directions and opened the door, only to find something completely different than that castle on the other side moments before. Now, she was in a sprawling, lively city with strangely designed buildings. Creatures of all shapes and sizes walked the streets, some human and others… not so much. Wares of every kind were being sold here: jewels, potions, clothes and strange fruit. Homura thought she had seen everything, but even she had to gasp in awe. Out of curiosity, she looked up, only to see that, rather than a sky, more of the city was arching over her. In fact, it looked as though the city was built in the inside of a ring.

Xehanort, smiling knowingly, followed behind her. He closed the door behind him, walked in front of Homura and grinned. He then lifted his arms, as if he were a stage performer, and spoke. "Welcome to Sigil, City of Doors."

So yeah, not limiting my self to Disney/Square Enix worlds. Sigil works really well with Kingdom Hearts when you think about it. It's a world situated perfectly in balance between light and darkness and order and chaos. The doorways in the city can lead to perhaps anywhere in the multiverse. People from all sorts of worlds come to the place to trade goods, ideas and philosophies. It's like the perfect place to add to Kingdom Hearts and I have a lot of plans for it. Sigil comes from Planescape, a D&D campaign setting dealing with multiversal travel and conflicting and connecting philosophies. Even if you don't play the tabletop game, I'd recommend trying to get your hands on the CRPG Planescape: Torment. It's a really beautiful and flavorful game, definitely worth a play.

Thanks to The Name Of Love for beta-reading and idea sounding!

~Dragonexx