Chapter Forty One: Course

Hayner threw up his hands at the thought of the homework looming over him. "Man! Why did the school year have to start so rough this year?" Almost every class had decided the end of Summer meant students needed to put their nose to the grindstone. It was enough to make his head spin.

Pence sighed as he walked at his side, "Hayner, if you just looked over the summer reading…"

"Man, who's got time for that?" Especially when there were games to play, movies to see, beaches to relax on.

"Well, I do remember someone saying he was bored for weeks," Olette chided as she kept pace next to him.

And Hayner could only groan at the realization that yes, there were more than a few days he spent in the hideout lounging on a couch and racking his brain on what to do. But that couldn't be all that was on his mind, right? He looked up and tried to think of what else had happened.

And then noticed one of the big mysteries he had pondered over the summer.

"Hey. They're on the clock tower again." he pointed up to the top of the hill where it stood over the train station. At the ledge near the clock face where dark figures gathered in the afternoon. A mystery that had been bugging him all summer.

And one that Pence and Olette had written off as the former crossed his arms and shook his head. "Again? Hayner, it's just shadows. The door going up to the clock tower is locked to everyone."

Normally, Hayner would leave it at that. The shadows simply sat near the ledge, hardly moving in the afternoon. But today? "Not this time! They're moving way too much for it to be shadows." He could see clearly now how two shadows, or rather people, were frantic as they talked with the smaller one that was already there.

And as Olette and Pence followed where he looked, they realized the same. "Those are really people," Olette murmured as she took a step back. "Have they been going up there all this time?"

Hayner called out as he broke into a run up the hill, "Let's find out!"

"Hayner, wait!" Pence was shouting behind him, though the footsteps from him and Olette made it clear they were just as curious. And why wouldn't they? There were rumors of people in black cloaks in town, but nobody knew who they were or what they were up to. Gasping for breath as the three of them reached the top of the hill before the train station, Hayner tried to catch a glimpse of the three strangers.

He got more than a glimpse, as he saw the scene before him in the plaza and murmured at the spectacle.

"Woah…"

It was like watching a comic book come to life. There were six people in black robes, three had their hoods down and were fighting the other half who had theirs up. The brown haired man was swinging a dark, gnarled blade against another with a huge blue claymore. The power between the two shook the plaza, bricks coming loose from the station building and falling to the ground. The redhead had tried to intervene, tossing flaming chakrams at the one with the claymore. Yet those were deflected by gusts of ice directed by a hooded man with a shield. The cold hissed as it came into contact with the heat, spraying a gathering mist.

Yet that was nothing compared to the fight between the blonde haired kid and his opponent. The boy was a blur, alternating using his sword that looked like a key to attack and casting bolts of fire with it. Or at least he tried for, as fast as he was, he could barely keep up with the figure that seemed to teleport around him with each strike, a glowing keyblade of his own in hand. With a wave, the figure conjured glass shards around him and sent them towards the blonde haired kid. A strike that knocked him back towards the three of them watching from the alley.

Olette gripped Hayner's arm and pleaded, "We shouldn't be here! This looks dangerous!" And as much as Hayner wanted to participate somehow, he knew there was nothing he could do.

But then, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted something the blonde kid had dropped. A red stone that glinted like fire. Hayner reached down and picked up the stone, heat radiating in his fingers.

"Please! I need that!"

Only for the boy to cry out, reaching for the stone. Hayner froze there for a second, kneeling with the stone in his hand.

A second later, he tossed the gem to the boy who caught it.

Olette and Pence grabbed him and pulled Hayner back into the alley, just as the blonde kid's opponent appeared in front of him in a flash. They watched as the stranger pointed the glowing keyblade down at the blonde boy scrambling to his feet and chuckled. "A fair showing, Roxas, but futile. Even trained, you are but a pale reflection of a neophyte. If he could hardly understand the power of the keyblade, what hope do you have?"

Roxas made his answer clear in a flash of red and a shout.

"Come on! IFRIT!"

It was the only warning before the explosion of flame from the plaza. Even from their hiding place, Hayner, Pence, and Olette could feel the heat. Hayner risked a glance and saw an orb of fire hovering above Roxas. Soon, a horned beast erupted from the fire and bellowed flame at the stranger with the glowing keyblade.

As the hooded strangers turned their attention to the summoned creature, the red-headed man grinned and twirled his chakram. "Hey Erxart! This might be what we need to get out of here!"

Running towards Roxas, Erxart gave a nod back to his friend. "Sounds good to me! Cover me, Axel!"

Giving the spiked disks a spin, Axel directed the flame Ifrit spread across the battlefield. Blocking the way of the man with the claymore and the other with the shield. Even as the latter tried to mitigate the damage with frozen gales, Ifrit just kept spewing fire as he fought the boy with the glowing keyblade. Granted, though Ifrit charred the plaza with every step, the boy was hardly hit as he teleported around every swipe of claw or ball of flame.

But it was enough of a distraction for Erxart to get close to Roxas, and as he approached he waved his hand. A portal of shadow appeared, and as soon as Axel got close, the three jumped in.

"Hayner!"

Olette's cry got him to realize just how close the flames were spreading. Having seen enough, Hayner followed her and Pence away from the scene. The three of them did not bother to stop until they reached their clubhouse in one of the alleys. Pence flopped down on one of the couches as he caught his breath. "I'd..say that's enough excitement…for one school year."

Hayner nodded as he tried to sort out the chaotic brawl the three of them had just witnessed. Even if he finally got to see that the shadows were real people, he was no closer to understanding who they were or what they wanted.

Slowly, Olette took a step towards him and asked, "Why did you help him?"

Well, that was one thing Hayner was sure about. Putting his hands on his hips, he explained, "Just seemed like Roxas was fighting with all his heart." Even if it was for a moment, he could tell that the boy was doing everything he could to survive. "No way I could leave someone like that in a jam."

Twilight Town's fire department arrived later to put out the fire. From what Hayner heard, the damage would take out the tram for a week. There wasn't any sign of the other people in black cloaks however. The only trace were eyewitness reports stating that the three defeated the beast before vanishing into shadows.

"...and by the time you showed up, Axel and Erxart had left to go find Roxas."

Ventus was quiet as the group listened to his recollection of everything in Ansem's labs. From his encounter with Xehanort as Xemnas to Naminé awakening her keyblade, the group was quiet. When the silence was broken, Merlin was the one to ask, "You're sure this was Aqua's keyblade that Naminé awakened?"

Holding out her hand, Naminé called the weapon to her with a nervous smile. "Erm, tadah?"

The Fairy Godmother looked over the silver and gold keyblade Naminé held. "Yes, that does look rather close to the keyblade I saw Aqua with when I met her."

Standing from her seat, Yuffie crossed her arms and gave a firm nod."Okay, whatever you have in you, heart or not, it's good."

Tapping her cheek, Aerith offered, "Or at the very least powerful."

Naminé furrowed her brow, since Roxas was also a nobody with a keyblade. Yet the few times they had met, he didn't seem as callous as the other Organization members. Perhaps there was something different about them, perhaps there wasn't. "Whatever it is, it's something worth holding onto," she concluded as she gently held the blade across both her hands. "Even if I'm not totally sure where to start with using this."

Stroking his beard, Merlin eyed Ventus. "Well lad, perhaps you could teach her?"

"Sure!" Ven nodded, a smile slowly growing on his face as he turned to Naminé. "I can teach you what I know about skills, command styles, shotlocks and..." As he continued on, she could hardly suppress a smile of her own at his enthusiasm.

"Maybe make it a date?"

And then that enthusiasm stumbled as Yuffie brought up that distinct possibility, leaving Ventus and Naminé tight-lipped, wide-eyed, and blushing.

Yet neither of them could bring themselves to look away from each other.

Leon placed a hand on Yuffie's shoulder with a sigh. "That's enough. Still, it's definitely good that you have the strength of heart to wield a keyblade." Narrowing his eyes, he glanced over to Ventus. "But we can't forget the bigger problem. That Xehanort guy you mentioned is probably back and running the Organization." Letting go of Yuffie, Leon pointed towards Naminé "And he wants to get his hands on her to keep keyblade wielders under his control."

Naminé's face fell as she realized her hope from this morning was slipping away. Even with the acceptance, it wasn't fair to ask everyone to put themselves at risk on her behalf. As the keyblade vanished from her hands, she slowly wrapped her arms around herself. "I can't stay here. I'd be endangering all of you."

Aerith stood up and shook her head as she pointed out, "But going on your own might leave you vulnerable. Not to mention, you'd need some place safe to rest."

Either stay in a single location that the Organization would attack, or go on the run until they catch her and Ven exhausted. There wasn't an easy solution that came to mind, as Ven scratched the back of his head in thought. "The safest place I can think of is the lanes between. But I'm not sure staying in a glider in between missions is really safe."

Then again, there was more than one way to travel the lanes. Starting, Naminé glanced over and asked, "Yuffie, you said that the Gummi Ship worked well in the lanes between, right?"

They all looked to Cid, who crossed his arms as he chewed on his toothpick with a grimace. But eventually he held up his hands and admitted, "Camping there would be a good idea, but I can't keep lending you kids my ship." He pointed over to Yuffie, "You know Chip and Dale?"

"They went back to Disney Castle," she recalled before holding a finger up and correcting, "er…Disney World. More or less the same."

Waving off the debate, Cid continued, "Either way, if you talk to them, they can set you up with something you can use to camp out in. Given the munny you get fighting heartless and the like, I imagine you'd be good for it."

Leon shrugged and looked to Ventus, Naminé, and Yuffie. "So just one more night in Cid's ship. I'm sticking with you three in case the Organization tries to nab her again."

Naminé nodded, satisfied there was some kind of plan that would keep everyone safe. Yuffie similarly let out a sigh of relief. Yet Ventus furrowed his brow and murmured, "If it's alright there's one place I'd like to stop by first thing in the morning."

Cid clicked his tongue and held up a finger, "Just one?"

Nodding, Ventus pulled out his wayfinder and explained, "Xemnas said that a part of Terra couldn't follow him past the keyblade graveyard." He held the charm to his chest and closed his eyes, "I want to see if it's still there."

Glancing from the charm in Ventus' hand to his face, Cid pondered for a moment, then grumbled, "If you can get there and back with my ship in one piece, go right ahead."

And so, Ventus, Naminé, Yuffie, and Leon prepared to set off into the stars for the night.

Meanwhile, Exart led Roxas and Axel into the dark, guided by a stirring in his heart.

And stars apart from all of them, in Castle Oblivion, children tried to rest before they reached the exit of the warped Labyrinth.

And for Sora, such rest was not coming easily.