Kingdom of Chaos

Chapter 9: Ghost Town

Author: Sketchy Sunshine of OSTOCOM

Rating: PG-13, just to be on the safe side

See chapter one for summary, disclaimer and other goodness. Otherwise, here's chapter nine! XD

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The town appeared on the verge of the twilight. To Sora and his companions, it seemed to have come out of nowhere. The empty fields became paved, then were spotted with small houses and shops. They followed the streets inwards until more and more buildings surrounded them in a cluster of urban life. The spotted trail the white Heartless had left was long gone, but they didn't need it anymore…they had reached their destination.

"Finally, we made it!" Donald said as they walked down one of the cobblestone side streets. Before them stretched a line of shops, all sporting neon signs and beds of flowers. The rafters and plants still dripped drops from the previous night's rain.

"Seems real homely an' pleasant to me," Goofy remarked. He took another glance around at the shops. "But kinda quiet, too. Where is everybody?"

"Maybe it's a holiday or something," Donald suggested, but then thought better of it. "Or maybe they just don't get out much?"

They all sensed the heaviness in the air…this town was afraid. Twilight meant the coming of night, and night meant the coming of dangerous things…of enemies.

"We should find an inn or hotel to stay at," Donald said. He turned to Sora for affirmation, but the Keyblade master didn't answer. He continued forward slowly, lost in his own thoughts. "Sora? What is it?"

Sora stopped, his gaze fixed at the end of the street. He took his breaths long and slow. Finally, he turned back to Donald and Goofy with worried eyes. "Have either of you guys ever been here before?"

Goofy scratched his head. "Mmm…nope, can't say that I have."

"Me neither," Donald added.

Sora folded his arms and looked at the ground. "This isn't right…there has to be something else going on…"

"What do you mean?" Donald asked.

"This town, this place…it all feels really familiar," Sora sighed. He suddenly felt as if he had done something wrong. "I'm certain I've never visited here before. But at the same time, I feel like I know it. The feel of the street, the air, everything…something in me remembers it."

"Well, how can you remember it if you've never been here before?" Goofy questioned.

"That's the problem! I just don't know…" Sora turned away from them, and found himself staring into his own reflection in a puddle. To him, it seemed almost unrecognizable. "I shouldn't feel like I know this place. I mean, when we woke up in that castle, we couldn't remember how we got there. And now in this town, I know I haven't been here before, but it still feels familiar." He turned back to his friends. "Everything from before we closed the door to Kingdom Hearts makes sense. But everything that's happened afterwards is mixed up…we can't remember things clearly. Doesn't that bother you guys?"

The anxiety in Sora's voice was obvious. Since neither could stand to see Sora being depressed, they figured they should make amends. "It is kinda weird…but we've dealt with weird stuff before. It can't be that different, right?" Donald said.

"It's more than just weird," Sora insisted. "Without being able to remember what happened, we have no way of knowing what's real or not. What if this town…this whole world is not as real as it looks? Why would we have been guided here? And what caused us to forget what we did in that castle in the first place?"

"Well, you said so yourself: the person who left that note must have done it. And you were certain they were a friend," Goofy reminded him.

"Yeah…at least it felt like they were," Sora admitted. At the thought of it, Sora pulled the note back out of his pocket. As he reached in, his hand also grabbed something else…the good luck charm Kairi had given him. He looked at both articles carefully, and managed a small smile.

"See? You know Kairi's present's real, and it's still with you," Goofy encouraged him.

"Yeah." Sora squeezed his fingers around the painted shells, as if to remind himself of their tangibility. He was extremely thankful that he had not lost the good luck charm in the castle…the thought of waking up without it was almost unbearable.

Donald was beginning to get a little impatient. "Well, if you feel like you know this place so well, where do we go now?"

Sora was a little annoyed at the comment. "I just said it felt familiar. I didn't say I knew the town like the back of my hand."

Goofy brightened as an idea popped into his head. "Why don't we ask around and see if anyone else has seen Riku and the king?"

"I could've told you that!" Donald said, flustered. "Don't you think we should make sure we're in the right place first?"

Right on cue, the sound of heavy iron bells boomed out over the rooftops, sending startled pigeons to the air. The trio looked in the direction the chiming was coming from. Across an expanse of bricks, shingles and metal, the shadow of a large tower stood high above the other buildings. On both sides were two ornate bells…identical to the sketchbook drawing in Sora's hand.

Sora's face lit up at the sight before them. "There's the clock tower!" he exclaimed. "Maybe we'll meet someone there. Let's hurry there before it gets dark."

"I sure hope it's Riku and the king," Goofy said. "I don't think I want to face any more Heartless."

"Then we'll just have to be careful," Sora said simply, partially trying to convince himself. The three ran through the dimming streets ahead, always keeping their eyes on the clock tower. Sora tried to ignore the underlying feelings of familiarity at this place. There has to be an explanation for it… he reasoned. Sooner or later, this will all start making sense. It has to.

Unfortunately for Sora, the explanation didn't come sooner. Instead, his brief rise in spirits was decimated halfway to their destination. As they passed through a large square with a colossal hotel building, Sora suddenly stopped. Donald and Goofy turned to see their friend wincing and clutching his stomach.

"What's wrong?" Donald cried.

It took Sora a moment to find words. "I just…feel sick all of a sudden," he gasped.
"This whole area feels really familiar…but it feels like something bad happened here."

"And you don't remember anything about it?" Goofy asked worriedly. Sora just shook his head.

Donald furrowed his eyebrows in concern. "Then let's get out of here."

Sora squeezed Kairi's good luck charm again, and felt a small amount of strength return to him. He followed Donald and Goofy out of the square, and the sick feeling left him. However, it was replaced by a sense of unease…the nagging idea that they were being followed.

Sora's feelings were closer than he realized. From a rooftop just above the square, two figures watched him and his companions leave. Both were dressed in the ever-present hooded robes. One, the male, looked down through long, dark-brown hair that was tied back in a ponytail. Beside him stood a woman with short purple hair, and a less-than-pleasant smirk.

Kojix grinned, and summoned two enormous broadswords into his hands. "I can't believe it…he just walked into the town, completely unaware! This will be too easy."

"Let me do it," Alexis turned to the other Organization member with a pout. "It's been too long since I've had any fun."

"You'll take too long," Kojix stated with more than a hint of disgust in his voice.

"You just say that because you want to kiss up to the Superior," Alexis sneered.

"If you're interested in 'kissing up,' then I suggest you both back away," a new voice behind them said. "This is my call."

The two turned, only to find themselves face to face with Zexion. If looks could kill, Kojix would've flattened the entire town within seconds. "How dare you come here, traitor!"

Zexion didn't look any happier to see Kojix and Alexis. "If you want to go around calling people 'traitor,' go talk to Larxene or Marluxia. They'll have to show up at the second Gathering, anyway. I wasn't a part of their scheme."

"I still don't see why that gives you an excuse to butt in on our business," Alexis snapped.

"If you two would think about things instead of slicing up anything that moved, you'd leave too. Did you even stop to consider where we are? What would happen if you destroyed Sora now?" Kojix and Alexis looked like they wanted to respond, but couldn't produce an answer. "From what I understand, the Superior's orders are to kill the Keyblade master's shadow, not the Keyblade master himself."

"Him being here is still a danger," Kojix pointed out. "If the two meet, they'll—"

"Sora knows how to defeat use of force. What he fears most now are illusions." Zexion managed something that could be construed as a smile. "And illusions are my specialty."

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That's it for now! Chapter ten is written, and will be posted Wednesday afternoon.

Check it, I'm doing fanart-ish-type things for this fic here: http : lynxgriffin . deviantart . com (spaces added so that the addy wouldn't be deleted.)

Am considering doing sketches of some scenes…we'll see…

Reviews are greatly appreciated! XD