"Hey Hayner, Pence, Olette! How's it going". Hayner smiled
"Better now that you're back, things felt weird without you… I dunno, I'm probably being odd, I just don't know why, you ever feel like that?". Sora nodded
"Yeah, things just haven't felt the same since I left, but I'm back, I hope you don't mind, but I needed to ask some questions, that cool?". Pence spoke up
"Of course man! What do you need?" Sora was now overcome with discomfort, not knowing how to even approach the subject "well… We think we're missing someone, and we feel like you might know them, can you look at a picture for me?" They all nodded and Pence spoke for them all.
"Hand over the photo, man" and Sora handed them the picture, he saw their eyes light up "he… He seems so familiar! But I swear we haven't ever seen him, this is so weird". Hayner and Olette doubled down on Pence and they asked Sora about him
"What can you tell us about him?" But Sora must not have thought it all through, because he stumbled out
"W-well, I don't really know, I just, well, I kinda thought you guys would know him, he's kinda important, his name is Roxas". Pence nodded and asked
"How?" Sora explained how they thought Roxas was a twin of Ventus, a boy who went missing, and they were hoping to find Roxas, so they could find Ven, Sora left out how everyone else seemed to call him Roxas, just to avoid confusion. Suddenly, the Twilight Trio seemed to just realize that another boy was there, so Hayner asked
Sora, who's the new kid?" Sora didn't get to respond because Arthur did first, for some reason getting offended at being called a kid
"Hey! I've got a name, and it's Arthur!" Hayner played along to his aggression and said
"Okay Arthur, no need to get all worked up about it, tell me about Ventus" Arthur had to think long and hard before he came up with something.
"Back then, me and Ven would train under a keyblade master, to become one ourselves, but something happened, something I don't remember, we got split up, and now I'm on a mission to find him, I don't remember much about him, it seems my heart does though". Pence spoke up
"So you don't remember him, but you feel the urge to find him?" Arthur nodded and added
"I couldn't explain it, that's why I need to find him, so he can explain this all, it's so odd, I've never felt this way before" Hayner smiled
"I get that man, now that I've heard about this Roxas guy, finding him is my top priority, ya know?" They all shared a laugh after Pence said
"Hey! Don't forget about me now!"
They all went to the Usual Spot, a place where they hung out, Sora began remembering more about Roxas, but he kept himself quiet as Hayner, Pence and Arthur bonded together.
After a while Arthur got bored and decided to walk around the town, much against the advice of all people present, but Arthur just wanted to sit on a rooftop and enjoy the night he had there, while Sora, Donald and Goofy talked more to Hayner, Pence and Olette. It wasn't an easy task to climb the high wall, it was a vast grey wall that separated the forest from the town, it also functioned as the platform for the train tracks. When he stood on the wall, he saw the sun set, everything faded into the background, then, something clicked in his mind.
It was an autumn evening, Arthur was on the edge of a plot of land, he felt a tap on his shoulder, he turned to see a girl, medium length blue hair, taller than he, she had this pleasant smile that made him relax into her gaze "hey Arthur, what's gotten you out here? You never come out here, unless you're sad". As soon as she said that, Arthur felt anguish and held his heart, tears welled up in his eyes as he hunched over, his breath escaped him when he needed it the most, Aqua immediately lifted his head by placing her hand under his chin. They made eye contact and he said to her
"I just feel so empty… It's scary, Aqua". She nodded and said
"We'll always be there for each other, you may not have a Wayfinder, but you're just as important to us, no matter what anyone says". Suddenly a voice called out
"I second that!" The duo turned back to see a man taller than Aqua, buffer than both Ventus and Arthur combined, he had chocolate brown hair "Arthur, we're all going to be okay, that includes you and Ven" Arthur smiled, his feelings of worry and woe abated deep down, and he could stomach everything else down, Arthur hugged Aqua, and Terra joined in, here, in this land, his heart felt at home, here in this land, he felt safe, like never before, like nothing could hurt him, like… Like his friends would always be there. They all jumped when something shook them.
"Hey! No one invited me to a group hug, what's goin on?" They all pulled away to see a smile infected Ven, any doubt Arthur once had were immediately eviscerated by that smile
"Nothing Ven, I'm just happy you're all here" Ven smiled and Terra and Aqua couldn't help but also smile 'everything is going to be okay, as long as I have them, I'll be okay'.
Arthur stirred, he was sitting against a lamp post, he groaned How did I get here? Suddenly, as soon he thought that, another voice piped up "sheesh, you okay kid? You sure like to nap, don't know what the higher ups see in you" he mumbled the last part so that Arthur could not hear him, but he could, because this guy was bad at talking quietly. Arthur summoned his blade to his hand and held it out, in a defensive position, making the man step back with his hands up. Arthur got a look at the… Man? Boy? Teen? Yeah, he was a teen, his hair was blond and spiked up, he also had a black coat, black gloves. "woah kid, calm-"
"I'm not a damn kid!, My name's Arthur" He seriously disliked being called a kid, it was as if people said it to make him feel inferior, and for Arthur, that would just not do.
"Okay, okay, sheesh, don't you have any thanks for me? You nearly fell over the side, I saved you-"
"Thanks, now leave". Demyx was not happy with that answer
"Fine, I see how it is, farewell then". He stepped through a corridor of darkness before stepping through and vanishing. In the background Arthur heard Sora yell out for him, when he turned around Sora looked at him with worry
"Arthur, where were you? You've been gone for hours! We were worried". Arthur looked down, feeling ashamed of himself for making his idol worry so much about him. Then, he felt guilty
"I… I remembered them… I-I remembered my friends". Sora was about to praise him but he saw Arthur looking down, with a pained look on his face, before he whispered "Ven is going to get hurt, and everything will be my fault… He's going to suffer, and I'm too stupid to stop it". The tone in his voice immediately changed the atmosphere, it was depressing, sad, all the things the hero trio hated, despised. Although Donald would never admit it, it crushed him to hear Arthur thinking of himself this way. Goofy tried his best to make Arthur smile, but soon realized it was useless, the three shared a worried look, Arthur wasn't feeling good, so they weren't feeling good. Everytime Sora tried to cheer up Sora, he couldn't find the words, even if he did have the words, Arthur was clearly stuck in his head, which wasn't helping him out of his mood. Suddenly though, he just stopped, It was as if he was in a resting state, standing still, only breathing, but not moving, or speaking At first, Sora and his friends didn't notice this, as not much had changed, but then Sora noticed it as he went to hug Arthur, but got nothing back, no bear hug, nothing. It was as if no one was inside, as if Arthur was a hollow shell, that thought scared Sora, and Goofy and Donald caught on to his panic. Sora began shaking him violently, Sora didn't understand what possessed him to act that worried, but a part of him was breaking, seeing Arthur like this, Arthur fell back, he didn't even sharply gasp when he hit the concrete floor, his pupils dilated and became larger, and he was just… Gone.
Hayner looked at the worried boy in front of him "he just passed out? There was no warning, nothing?" Sora nodded frantically, and thinking it over he nodded "Sure, we could look after him, you going to be okay?" Sora nodded and turned and ran away while yelling.
"Yep, let me know when he wakes, thanks! Bye!" He ran so fast Hayner had no chance to ask how he would even manage to contact Sora, Hayner looked at Arthur and sighed.
"What happened to you Arthur?".