Author's Note: An apology to everybody. I was grounded from the internet
for TWO WHOLE MONTHS!!!! Argh! But here's the next chapter, just to make
everybody happy. And don't worry, soon everything will start to make sense.
Hopefully...
Secrets of Memories
Chapter 6: Welcoming Committee at the Castle
"Der...is this the right way to the train station?" Goofy wondered aloud as Sora, Donald, and he trudged through the gloomy streets of a rather deserted area of Twilight Town.
"Why?" Donald asked grumpily; he was sopping wet, thanks to a game of tag that Sora started that ended with Donald cannonballing into a huge, muddy puddle of street water.
"I sure don't see any train station and if I can't see the train station, I sure can't see the bell tower," Goofy said, looking around.
Sora froze and his sky-blue eyes scanned the scenario before him. Goofy was right; he couldn't see the bell tower and that meant that they were nowhere near the train station.
"Oh great," Sora sighed. "Now we're really in deep trouble."
"Maybe we made a wrong turn," Goofy suggested, looking behind him to the street they were walking through.
Sora looked at the royal knight. "Goofy, we made lots of turns."
"Oh...right."
"Do we have to retrace our steps?" Donald muttered hopelessly.
Sora looked behind him as well.
"I don't' think that's a good idea," he answered. "We might get even more lost in the...in the...never mind."
They continued walking for an hour, with Donald complaining that his feet were going to peel off and he'd have to walk on stumps. Sora told him that it was really gross and that he was getting images in his head. Donald merely glared.
"Hey look, that there's a castle!" Goofy exclaimed and pointed at the huge castle that suddenly loomed before them.
Sora froze and stared. Where did that come from?
"That is big," Donald commented, looking up. "Where did it come from?"
Sora shrugged. "I don't know but let's go. Maybe whoever lives there can give us some directions."
"You sure its safe to go there?" Goofy asked, looking at the gloomy castle. "It looks sad. Sad and silent."
"Somebody has to be there?" Sora answered. "Come on."
He slowly approached the huge gates that led to the towering castle. He knocked on the marble doors that towered over him and he yelled, "Hello? Is anybody there?"
Nobody answered and the doors creaked open. Sora immediately jerked back but nobody was there. Nobody.
"Hello?" Sora called out as he peered into the huge, empty courtyard that lay between the gates and a staircase that led most likely to the doors of the castle.
"Looks like nobody's been here for years," Goofy stated as he peered above Sora's head.
"Let me see, let me see!" Donald yelled and scrambled up Goofy's back. He peered over the knight's head and said, "Very dusty."
He was right; the cold gray stone floor was covered in fine dust. The few trees that stood in the courtyard were bent over, gnarled, and very much dead. A rusty fountain stood in the very center; it was of mermaids and dolphins.
Everything was covered in grime. It was not very pretty, not pretty at all.
And the worst part was...the silence. An odd silence that hovered in the air, with a haunting, whistling wind. Donald shivered as a wind blew behind them and hitched himself onto Goofy's neck.
"This is so weird," Sora commented. "Hello?"
There was no answer. Sora, Donald, and Goofy inched into the courtyard, towards the staircase.
The door shut quietly behind them. Those three did not notice that nor did they realize that the door had just locked itself.
"Sora?" Goofy said. "This place feels...weird. I'm pulling out my shield."
With that, he kept the shield in front of him and inched forward. Because the shield was in front of him, however, he could not see a thing. What a surprise; he tripped.
"Yah!" Goofy exclaimed as he hit the ground and the shield clattered madly on the stone. A huge cloud of dust billowed from underneath him. Donald, who had been clutching onto his neck, bounced away, squabbling.
Sora jumped literally six feet into the air and came down in a spin. He swung the Keyblade out in front of him and went into fight-mode, ready to take on...nothing. It was only Goofy who was trying to get up and Donald, who was rubbing his bum painfully.
Sighing, Sora called the Keyblade back into him and helped Goofy up. Donald muttered angrily to himself as he joined them.
"There really is no reason to panic, you guys," Sora told them. "I mean, what is there here that can be scary-"
From the castle itself, a strange, ringing sound flew through the air. Sora jumped and looked about nervously.
"What was that?" Donald asked.
"It sounds like...uh...a bell," Goofy replied.
"How can it ring by itself?" Sora wondered in puzzlement. "I mean, nobody answered the door."
"And nobody shut the gates and locked them behind us," Goofy pointed out, looking behind him.
"What?" Donald shrieked.
Sora saw that the doors were shut and, of all things, locked.
"What is going on here?" Donald grumbled angrily. "If this is a joke, I'm not laughing."
"No joke," Sora answered, calling the Keyblade back to his hands, his sky blue eyes watching everything in the courtyard warily. "Something's up. If nobody answered the gates, then nobody's in the castle. That means that nobody could've touched that...bell or whatever it was. I think somebody is here, but I have no idea who. Why don't we go in?"
"What?"
Sora, who had started forward, turned around and replied, "Donald, let's go see who or what rang that bell thing."
Donald gaped at him. "This is an empty castle!"
"Yes," Sora replied. "Nobody answered the doors and shut the doors behind us. Yet something or someone definitely rang that bell. Why don't we go see if somebody really is in the house but just didn't hear us."
"Yeah! Great idea!" Goofy said happily.
Donald muttered, "What if there's something evil in the house?"
"Like a ghost?" Sora grinned. "Is Donald afraid of ghosts?"
"No, of course not!" Donald retorted angrily, brandishing his staff in the boy's face.
"Are ghosts real?" Goofy asked curiously.
"Either they are or they aren't," Sora replied as he headed for the staircase that led to the doors of the castle. "Man, whoever built this place must've really loved heights. I'd never build my doors up high."
"So Sora...are ghosts real or not?" Goofy questioned again.
"I really don't know," Sora answered. "But if they're real, they're real, and if they're not...then the Search Ghosts are pure heartless and they're made based on what people say about ghosts."
"My but are you wise in the matters of the supernatural," Donald grumbled. "Don't like this place. There's something really weird about this castle..."
"I wonder if anybody's in here?" Sora wondered as he reached the door. He knocked loudly and called out, "Hello, is anybody there?"
The doors creaked open. Nobody had answered.
"Hm...that's funny, nobody's here and the door's left unlocked," Sora noticed. "This castle is like, open to all visitors, literally."
"But why aren't there anybody here besides us?" Goofy asked curiously.
"Maybe 'cause this place scares everything out of people!" Donald exclaimed.
"But it doesn't scare me," Goofy replied in confusion.
"Nobody's in this main hall either," Sora butt in. "Come on, let's look around."
They entered the house, with Sora in the lead and Donald staying as close as humanely possible to Goofy and looking around nervously. All three of them did not notice the doors shut and lock behind them.
A man, whose face was shadowed by a dark hood, watched as the three warriors enter the castle. A sinister smile played on his hidden face as a cold, deep voice said, "Yes, Nobody answered the door. Nobody locked the door. And Nobody shall follow you until the Guardian is captured and the first part of our plans are carried out. Let us see how well you three can fight against Nobody."
The tall, dark oak doors in the empty room eased open and a strange voice hissed.
"Take four. Follow them," the man replied coldly. "Do not let him out of your sight. When the Guardian is caught, welcome our three guests. If a problem arises, he will look into it."
The voice hissed again and the door slowly closed.
"Let us see how well you can fight against Nobody."
~*~
"Just my luck they're going to the Silent Castle," Aozora muttered to himself as he picked his way through the water-splattered street. Unknownst to him, this was the very same section of the street where Sora started a game of tag that ended with a very furious, drenched duck. Aozora also did not notice the scorch marks that riddled some of the walls of apartment buildings next to the flooded street. The duck, apparently, was a wizard and had lost his temper so completely, he tried to hit Sora with Fire, missing every single time by a wide margin and scorching whatever the fireballs hit.
Aozora also did not notice the cold eyes trailing him, watching his every move. He was headed to the Silent Castle and those eyes knew he was not supposed to. The plan must not fail.
Aozora was lost in thought, wondering about the Dream Heart's words. He barely noticed the shadows, the shadows that seemed to bubble on the street. He was not aware of the glowing yellow eyes that followed his every move. He was too intent on sorting out what the Dream Heart had said for, as to what he knew, the Dream Heart most definitely did not make any sense.
But he always mentioned memories, Aozora told himself. He always mentioned memories. Was there something that happened in the past that's coming back now? Was there something in my memories that can help the Light defeat the Dark? What kind of memories was he talking about? My childhood? My 'second' childhood? My years with my mentors? The years I spent searching? Or the time I spent with Ashita, Yuri, and Orion?
He failed to notice the fact that he had taken the wrong turn and continued to walk, slowly yet with long strides.
And that guy, the one with my face, my voice, who is he? Aozora wondered. How can we look so alike when we haven't even met each other...well, besides that mad fall from the apartment building. How can we have such similar faces, similar hairstyle, and voices? There's no way we can be related, no way. Somebody would've told me...
A wave of sadness hit him. He just remembered that he did not remember much about his family and that everybody he had been close to had been taken away from him. They would certainly not be able to answer his questions about his past. What was he to do?
"If only I can remember," he said bitterly. "If only I can remember..."
The sharp noice of an aluminum can clattering against the street surface jerked him away from his thoughts. Aozora looked up in surprise, noticing an empty soda can roll down the street to his feet. His eyes ended up surveying the whole scenario.
The first thing he noticed was that he was the only one on the street. The street was completely devoid of all life. The second thing he noticed was that he was headed in the wrong direction.
"Dammit!" he swore as he looked around. "Where am I?"
If there was one thing he knew, it was that he was quite a distance away from the Silent Castle. Whether or not it was a bad thing, he did not know. But how did the can roll down a street that was quite flat? Unless someone had kicked it, it would've been some strange magic that pushed the can to his feet. Some very strange magic.
Ashita said that there were some dark sorceresses that wandered through the darker parts of Twilight Town. Might one of them be here, who could've pushed the can to his feet, who might by watching him right now?
Aozora looked around him nervously. He had never been to this part of Twilight Town before and most definitely he was alone, a very bad thing when you don't know where you are in a place where everyone and everything congregates here or there or anywhere at any given time.
He did not believe what Ashita said when his friend told him that werewolves even came to Twilight. Werewolves? As if.
And yet there could be somebody around, somebody with power, the raw power of magic. He had not believed that someone in Twilight Town would actually have magic; he had not much faith in wizards or sorceresses. That was until he was befriended by the three warriors: Yuna, Rikku, and Paine.
Yuna most definitely had magic in her. He wouldn't call her a sorceress because she didn't seem evil but what other title is there for someone of her status and power? He did not know but he recalled the odd aura of magic that hovered about her.
And her odd, mismatched eyes, so sad...
And that kid had known the one who made her so sad, Aozora thought. He had known that person, someone called Tidus. Yuna was looking for him and that kid knew something. That was really weird. Especially what they said about the age gap.
But then again, this universe was weird. Weird, cruel, and full of unjust. Plenty of cruelty and plenty of injustice.
The universe had taken away his past. He knew no past; he doubt he would have a future. Aozora was only aware of the now, what was happening now.
"...and it would be me who would decide what to do when the time comes," Aozora mouthed silently.
A hazy memory of another past, of a mentor who always went about in a black cloak and hood. Only the bottom part of his head could be seen; Aozora had never seen his eyes or the rest of his head. The mentor was tall, a friend of Aozora's other mentor who was rarely willing to take in a pupil, to take in a pupil and teach that pupil the...what?
Aozora grimaced as he concentrated as hard as he can on that blank spot. What had his mentor taught him?
He had taught him something related to what he had just mouthed. Something on decisions, choices, choices to be made when the time came to make them. But what else?
"I wish I knew," Aozora whispered, looking to the twilight sky. "I wish I knew."
The impact of an aluminum can at the back of his head made Aozora turn around-angrily-only to see...nothing. He could see nothing, nothing as far as he could see-
He called for his Keyblades but was too late, as a wave of white creatures, the like one he saw days before, swarmed all over him. He yelled for help and punched and kicked at the white creatures as they fought to keep him from moving.
"Get. Away. From. Me!" he yelped as the white creatures bounded all over him, piling on top of his head and forcing him onto the ground. The white creatures yanked at his legs, pulled at his arms, and he gave way unwillingly, trying with all his might to fight them off.
"Help! Is anybody there? Help!" he yelled as white creatures buried him, their intention made clear in that they wanted him silent, immobilized, and unable to do anything except breathe.
"Somebody! He-" his voice was muffled and he was 'drowned' by the white creatures.
~*~
He peered over the edge of the apartment building, hoping that Aozora had reacted well to the can he threw at the blond child's head.
The pile of Nobody on him sickened him. He knew what he had to do now. The blond child was now rendered helpless by the Nobody. And only three people can help him.
He turned in the direction of Silent Castle and, silently and without another thought, jumped over apartment buildings as he made his way to the Silent Castle and hoped that the three people he now counted on did not share Aozora's fate.
~*~
"... you do exceptionally fine work, Shanks," his client stated admiringly as he watched the Nobody tie up the blond child. "I will pay you five thousand munny as soon as we place the device on him."
Shanks nodded in happiness. Munny was one thing. Shanks never had much munny before but when his client first contacted him, saying that Shanks would be paid well, he felt like he was on cloud nine. Then he received his first payment, merely for using the whistle to call the Heartless to stop the Dream Heart. It was a hefty bag of gold and Shanks had it tucked away in the broken down shanty. And now he was being paid more.
The second thing was what they planned for the blond-haired kid Shanks hated so much. He did not know that his client had smiled at his idiocy at having a grudge against a kid who did nothing more than fight him in only one meeting, but Shanks was very much eager to help the client when he learned that his client was keen on doing something to the blond-haired kid. And so they were.
"This device sends out a very powerful signal," his client said. "The Heartless, they cannot hear this signal but the Nobodies can. That is what we're keen on. We must make sure the Heartless do not hear the signal for this is something for the Nobodies. The Heartless are keen on the same thing we are searching for and we cannot tip them off. They have a very powerful master, who can use anything within his dark powers to try and get to what we are searching for first. These Nobodies, Shanks," his client said, gesturing to the white creatures, "can take on the shapes of anything. They are shape shifters. They appeared as Heartless when you summoned them to stop the Dream Heart; if they appear in their true white forms, the Heartless will know of our whereabouts. The Heartless have a white form themselves, to infiltrate our forces. They, those white Heartless, are immediately eliminated upon doing so. These Heartless don't know what they're up against. Such as the device we have created."
"I see," Shanks answered. "And what true purpose will the device serve us?"
"Wherever this blond child is, the device will emit a signal for the Nobodies," his client answered with a dark smile. "We are intent on following that signal until the blond kid and the three warriors he is with reach Hollow Bastion. There, our plans will be carried out and you may have the pleasure of destroying the blond child yourself."
"Thank you!" Shanks cried out. "I've waited for so long and I will wait more, until the time has come! Let's get the device on him!"
"Calm down, Shanks-" the client began.
A sudden, cold hiss interrupted and a white Nobody approached. Its flat head bore the sign of the Nobody and his mouth, filled with rows of fine teeth, opened up to emit a strange hiss. The white creature continuously swayed back and forth. Shanks did not know or understand what was going on but his client apparently did; his client was nodding to the Nobody's hissing.
"The Heartless aren't aware of us but they are doing exactly what we don't want them to do," his client told Shanks. "They're headed for our three friends. I highly doubt my 'friend' has enough to stop the Heartless. Take four and go. Stop the Heartless. Then carry out the rest of the plan."
The Nobody hissed again and promptly, four Nobodies detached themselves from the huge dog pile on Aozora and followed the first one away. The client smiled rather darkly.
"These Heartless have never been a match for us, Shanks; do you understand?" the client told him. "The only factors the Heartless have that we don't are the ability to create multiples of themselves very quickly and that they have many different forms, so that they can use many types of elements in one battle. All we have is the ability to shape shift and...the ability to do more than take a heart. Now, let us go place the device on our young friend."
With that, the client and Shanks walked towards the dog pile. Slowly, the Nobodies broke away from the pile and stood a little way, out of respect for the client. The pile gradually got smaller, until only one Nobody remained, who was busy tying Aozora's arms. The Nobodies had stuffed a rag into his mouth; the boy kept sending out muffled cries of rage as the client and Shanks approached.
A gleam of hatred shone in Shanks' eyes and his hands just itched to grab his neck and strangle him to death.
"Patience, Shanks," the client told him. "We must stick to our plans."
Shanks nodded as the child looked up at them with wariness. No trace of real fear could be seen on his face.
"Render him unconscious," the client spoke softly.
The Nobody's hand, long, tapered to a tip, and very much like a dagger, swung forward. The flat of the hand hit Aozora on the head and he fell forward, knocked out.
"Very good," the client said. "Where shall we place the device?"
~*~
"I don't like this place, Sora," Donald said for the fifth time, his eyes peering around the hallway they were walking through. His flat feet slapped ominously on the marble floor as the trio passed by locked doors carved out of oak. Many locked carved doors.
(Makes you think of Matrix Reloaded, doesn't it?)
"How long is this hallway?" Goofy wondered, looking all about him.
"I think I see a door," Sora answered, peering ahead to what seemed to be double doors. "Hey, that's a double door!"
"Finally!" Donald shouted.
Sora bolted to the doors and tried to pull open the doors but they were locked as well.
"Not another one!" Sora groaned. "This is the seventy-sixth time these doors aren't opening!"
"You've actually counted?" Goofy asked in awe.
"It was boring walking through these empty hallways with nothing but rows of locked doors," Sora offered an explanation.
"Paranoid," Donald muttered under his breath.
Sora, apparently not hearing Donald's little comment, looked to Goofy and suggested, "Charge these doors."
Goofy very eagerly ran at the doors and slammed himself against them. He bounced back by the impact and landed on the marble floor. His shield, which was on his right arm, flew off and skid to Donald's feet.
"Goofy, I mean with your shield..." Sora started to say.
The doors silently opened.
"Never mind," Sora added.
"That felt great!" Goofy said cheerfully as he picked himself up. Donald handed him his shield and the knight hooked onto his right arm again.
Sora peered out the doors and stared at what seemed to be a very spacious balcony that overlooked much of Twilight Town. The wall bordering the balcony was high and, as Sora stepped outside and looked up, he could see a tower of the Silent Castle rise up against the rest of the castle. He turned to the balcony before him, unaware of the white creature watching him from above.
"What is this place?" Donald wondered as he followed Sora onto the balcony.
"Look!" Goofy yelped as he pointed to the center of the balcony. "That there's some black splotches!"
"Where?" Sora demanded.
"There!" Goofy answered and bolted out to the balcony to show Sora. Behind them, the double doors slammed shut and all three of them could hear the click of a lock.
"What was that?" Sora demanded. Donald looked about him warily, holding his staff up, ready to fight against whatever there was. Goofy continued to the black splotches. Leaning down, he poked at the splotches and when he lifted his finger, black goop dripped down to the marble floor.
"This looks like the stuff we found where we saw the Heartless were headed towards," Goofy stated.
"What does that mean?" Donald demanded, approaching his friend and 'debate' partner.
"'Member how all them Heartless were headed for that spot behind the train station?" Goofy asked. When Sora and Donald nodded, he added, "This was the same we found on the floor when we got to that place. Didn't it come from the Heartless?"
"Good point," Sora agreed, leaning over to see. "Hey, it does look like it came from the Heartless! But who could've done that? I mean, how can anyone around here destroy the Heartless...besides us."
"What about that kid those three people from the bell tower told us?" Donald questioned. "They said he's got keychains."
"You mean he can use the keychains?" Sora demanded. "He's a keyblade master? Or wielder? Or both?"
"Wow, I'd like to meet this guy," Goofy commented.
"We already did," Sora reminded him.
"Oh, yeah, that's right, we did," Goofy answered.
"Where's that kid?" Donald grumbled.
Goofy, always curious, looked about their surroundings. The knight had a feeling something was going wrong, totally wrong...
"What if it wasn't that kid?" he asked.
"What?" Sora obviously did not hear Goofy's question.
"Der...um...what if something else killed the Heartless?" Goofy repeated, with more detail.
"Goofy, how's that possible?" Donald asked.
"What are those?" Goofy answered, pointing to the left of the balcony.
A creaking sound, the sound of a footstep, made Sora turn around very, very slowly. He could see strange shapes in the shadows, with flat heads, dagger- like hands, long, elastic bodies, and continuously dancing feet. As each of the strange shapes stepped forward, Sora could see that the creatures were white, white with fine rows of teeth and a strange ensign on the top of their flat heads...just like the one on the face of the Dream Heart!
As Sora, Donald, and Goofy backed into each other, the creatures spread themselves out, in a circle around the three warriors. The creatures moved strangely. Their bodies were in one place in the air at all times yet they were flipping around in slow cartwheels. They were practically defying gravity. And they were always moving about, even though they were' standing' in one place; they cartwheeled even though they were in one place.
"Look!" Donald squawked, pointing at the dagger-like hands of the white creatures. Sora narrowed his eyes and ended up staring in total shock.
Black, goopy liquid dripped from the dagger points of the creatures. They had somehow slaughtered the Heartless, who somehow ended up on this balcony for some unknown reason.
"They killed the Heartless?" Goofy gaped.
"This is insane!" Sora exclaimed. "This can't be true!"
The creatures continued to dance circles around the trio.
"Are they going to attack?" Goofy whispered.
A white creature, slightly larger than the rest, threw back its head and from its mouth issued a high whistle.
The white creatures, with their dagger-like hands before them and ready to continue their deadly slaughter, leaped at Sora.
Secrets of Memories
Chapter 6: Welcoming Committee at the Castle
"Der...is this the right way to the train station?" Goofy wondered aloud as Sora, Donald, and he trudged through the gloomy streets of a rather deserted area of Twilight Town.
"Why?" Donald asked grumpily; he was sopping wet, thanks to a game of tag that Sora started that ended with Donald cannonballing into a huge, muddy puddle of street water.
"I sure don't see any train station and if I can't see the train station, I sure can't see the bell tower," Goofy said, looking around.
Sora froze and his sky-blue eyes scanned the scenario before him. Goofy was right; he couldn't see the bell tower and that meant that they were nowhere near the train station.
"Oh great," Sora sighed. "Now we're really in deep trouble."
"Maybe we made a wrong turn," Goofy suggested, looking behind him to the street they were walking through.
Sora looked at the royal knight. "Goofy, we made lots of turns."
"Oh...right."
"Do we have to retrace our steps?" Donald muttered hopelessly.
Sora looked behind him as well.
"I don't' think that's a good idea," he answered. "We might get even more lost in the...in the...never mind."
They continued walking for an hour, with Donald complaining that his feet were going to peel off and he'd have to walk on stumps. Sora told him that it was really gross and that he was getting images in his head. Donald merely glared.
"Hey look, that there's a castle!" Goofy exclaimed and pointed at the huge castle that suddenly loomed before them.
Sora froze and stared. Where did that come from?
"That is big," Donald commented, looking up. "Where did it come from?"
Sora shrugged. "I don't know but let's go. Maybe whoever lives there can give us some directions."
"You sure its safe to go there?" Goofy asked, looking at the gloomy castle. "It looks sad. Sad and silent."
"Somebody has to be there?" Sora answered. "Come on."
He slowly approached the huge gates that led to the towering castle. He knocked on the marble doors that towered over him and he yelled, "Hello? Is anybody there?"
Nobody answered and the doors creaked open. Sora immediately jerked back but nobody was there. Nobody.
"Hello?" Sora called out as he peered into the huge, empty courtyard that lay between the gates and a staircase that led most likely to the doors of the castle.
"Looks like nobody's been here for years," Goofy stated as he peered above Sora's head.
"Let me see, let me see!" Donald yelled and scrambled up Goofy's back. He peered over the knight's head and said, "Very dusty."
He was right; the cold gray stone floor was covered in fine dust. The few trees that stood in the courtyard were bent over, gnarled, and very much dead. A rusty fountain stood in the very center; it was of mermaids and dolphins.
Everything was covered in grime. It was not very pretty, not pretty at all.
And the worst part was...the silence. An odd silence that hovered in the air, with a haunting, whistling wind. Donald shivered as a wind blew behind them and hitched himself onto Goofy's neck.
"This is so weird," Sora commented. "Hello?"
There was no answer. Sora, Donald, and Goofy inched into the courtyard, towards the staircase.
The door shut quietly behind them. Those three did not notice that nor did they realize that the door had just locked itself.
"Sora?" Goofy said. "This place feels...weird. I'm pulling out my shield."
With that, he kept the shield in front of him and inched forward. Because the shield was in front of him, however, he could not see a thing. What a surprise; he tripped.
"Yah!" Goofy exclaimed as he hit the ground and the shield clattered madly on the stone. A huge cloud of dust billowed from underneath him. Donald, who had been clutching onto his neck, bounced away, squabbling.
Sora jumped literally six feet into the air and came down in a spin. He swung the Keyblade out in front of him and went into fight-mode, ready to take on...nothing. It was only Goofy who was trying to get up and Donald, who was rubbing his bum painfully.
Sighing, Sora called the Keyblade back into him and helped Goofy up. Donald muttered angrily to himself as he joined them.
"There really is no reason to panic, you guys," Sora told them. "I mean, what is there here that can be scary-"
From the castle itself, a strange, ringing sound flew through the air. Sora jumped and looked about nervously.
"What was that?" Donald asked.
"It sounds like...uh...a bell," Goofy replied.
"How can it ring by itself?" Sora wondered in puzzlement. "I mean, nobody answered the door."
"And nobody shut the gates and locked them behind us," Goofy pointed out, looking behind him.
"What?" Donald shrieked.
Sora saw that the doors were shut and, of all things, locked.
"What is going on here?" Donald grumbled angrily. "If this is a joke, I'm not laughing."
"No joke," Sora answered, calling the Keyblade back to his hands, his sky blue eyes watching everything in the courtyard warily. "Something's up. If nobody answered the gates, then nobody's in the castle. That means that nobody could've touched that...bell or whatever it was. I think somebody is here, but I have no idea who. Why don't we go in?"
"What?"
Sora, who had started forward, turned around and replied, "Donald, let's go see who or what rang that bell thing."
Donald gaped at him. "This is an empty castle!"
"Yes," Sora replied. "Nobody answered the doors and shut the doors behind us. Yet something or someone definitely rang that bell. Why don't we go see if somebody really is in the house but just didn't hear us."
"Yeah! Great idea!" Goofy said happily.
Donald muttered, "What if there's something evil in the house?"
"Like a ghost?" Sora grinned. "Is Donald afraid of ghosts?"
"No, of course not!" Donald retorted angrily, brandishing his staff in the boy's face.
"Are ghosts real?" Goofy asked curiously.
"Either they are or they aren't," Sora replied as he headed for the staircase that led to the doors of the castle. "Man, whoever built this place must've really loved heights. I'd never build my doors up high."
"So Sora...are ghosts real or not?" Goofy questioned again.
"I really don't know," Sora answered. "But if they're real, they're real, and if they're not...then the Search Ghosts are pure heartless and they're made based on what people say about ghosts."
"My but are you wise in the matters of the supernatural," Donald grumbled. "Don't like this place. There's something really weird about this castle..."
"I wonder if anybody's in here?" Sora wondered as he reached the door. He knocked loudly and called out, "Hello, is anybody there?"
The doors creaked open. Nobody had answered.
"Hm...that's funny, nobody's here and the door's left unlocked," Sora noticed. "This castle is like, open to all visitors, literally."
"But why aren't there anybody here besides us?" Goofy asked curiously.
"Maybe 'cause this place scares everything out of people!" Donald exclaimed.
"But it doesn't scare me," Goofy replied in confusion.
"Nobody's in this main hall either," Sora butt in. "Come on, let's look around."
They entered the house, with Sora in the lead and Donald staying as close as humanely possible to Goofy and looking around nervously. All three of them did not notice the doors shut and lock behind them.
A man, whose face was shadowed by a dark hood, watched as the three warriors enter the castle. A sinister smile played on his hidden face as a cold, deep voice said, "Yes, Nobody answered the door. Nobody locked the door. And Nobody shall follow you until the Guardian is captured and the first part of our plans are carried out. Let us see how well you three can fight against Nobody."
The tall, dark oak doors in the empty room eased open and a strange voice hissed.
"Take four. Follow them," the man replied coldly. "Do not let him out of your sight. When the Guardian is caught, welcome our three guests. If a problem arises, he will look into it."
The voice hissed again and the door slowly closed.
"Let us see how well you can fight against Nobody."
~*~
"Just my luck they're going to the Silent Castle," Aozora muttered to himself as he picked his way through the water-splattered street. Unknownst to him, this was the very same section of the street where Sora started a game of tag that ended with a very furious, drenched duck. Aozora also did not notice the scorch marks that riddled some of the walls of apartment buildings next to the flooded street. The duck, apparently, was a wizard and had lost his temper so completely, he tried to hit Sora with Fire, missing every single time by a wide margin and scorching whatever the fireballs hit.
Aozora also did not notice the cold eyes trailing him, watching his every move. He was headed to the Silent Castle and those eyes knew he was not supposed to. The plan must not fail.
Aozora was lost in thought, wondering about the Dream Heart's words. He barely noticed the shadows, the shadows that seemed to bubble on the street. He was not aware of the glowing yellow eyes that followed his every move. He was too intent on sorting out what the Dream Heart had said for, as to what he knew, the Dream Heart most definitely did not make any sense.
But he always mentioned memories, Aozora told himself. He always mentioned memories. Was there something that happened in the past that's coming back now? Was there something in my memories that can help the Light defeat the Dark? What kind of memories was he talking about? My childhood? My 'second' childhood? My years with my mentors? The years I spent searching? Or the time I spent with Ashita, Yuri, and Orion?
He failed to notice the fact that he had taken the wrong turn and continued to walk, slowly yet with long strides.
And that guy, the one with my face, my voice, who is he? Aozora wondered. How can we look so alike when we haven't even met each other...well, besides that mad fall from the apartment building. How can we have such similar faces, similar hairstyle, and voices? There's no way we can be related, no way. Somebody would've told me...
A wave of sadness hit him. He just remembered that he did not remember much about his family and that everybody he had been close to had been taken away from him. They would certainly not be able to answer his questions about his past. What was he to do?
"If only I can remember," he said bitterly. "If only I can remember..."
The sharp noice of an aluminum can clattering against the street surface jerked him away from his thoughts. Aozora looked up in surprise, noticing an empty soda can roll down the street to his feet. His eyes ended up surveying the whole scenario.
The first thing he noticed was that he was the only one on the street. The street was completely devoid of all life. The second thing he noticed was that he was headed in the wrong direction.
"Dammit!" he swore as he looked around. "Where am I?"
If there was one thing he knew, it was that he was quite a distance away from the Silent Castle. Whether or not it was a bad thing, he did not know. But how did the can roll down a street that was quite flat? Unless someone had kicked it, it would've been some strange magic that pushed the can to his feet. Some very strange magic.
Ashita said that there were some dark sorceresses that wandered through the darker parts of Twilight Town. Might one of them be here, who could've pushed the can to his feet, who might by watching him right now?
Aozora looked around him nervously. He had never been to this part of Twilight Town before and most definitely he was alone, a very bad thing when you don't know where you are in a place where everyone and everything congregates here or there or anywhere at any given time.
He did not believe what Ashita said when his friend told him that werewolves even came to Twilight. Werewolves? As if.
And yet there could be somebody around, somebody with power, the raw power of magic. He had not believed that someone in Twilight Town would actually have magic; he had not much faith in wizards or sorceresses. That was until he was befriended by the three warriors: Yuna, Rikku, and Paine.
Yuna most definitely had magic in her. He wouldn't call her a sorceress because she didn't seem evil but what other title is there for someone of her status and power? He did not know but he recalled the odd aura of magic that hovered about her.
And her odd, mismatched eyes, so sad...
And that kid had known the one who made her so sad, Aozora thought. He had known that person, someone called Tidus. Yuna was looking for him and that kid knew something. That was really weird. Especially what they said about the age gap.
But then again, this universe was weird. Weird, cruel, and full of unjust. Plenty of cruelty and plenty of injustice.
The universe had taken away his past. He knew no past; he doubt he would have a future. Aozora was only aware of the now, what was happening now.
"...and it would be me who would decide what to do when the time comes," Aozora mouthed silently.
A hazy memory of another past, of a mentor who always went about in a black cloak and hood. Only the bottom part of his head could be seen; Aozora had never seen his eyes or the rest of his head. The mentor was tall, a friend of Aozora's other mentor who was rarely willing to take in a pupil, to take in a pupil and teach that pupil the...what?
Aozora grimaced as he concentrated as hard as he can on that blank spot. What had his mentor taught him?
He had taught him something related to what he had just mouthed. Something on decisions, choices, choices to be made when the time came to make them. But what else?
"I wish I knew," Aozora whispered, looking to the twilight sky. "I wish I knew."
The impact of an aluminum can at the back of his head made Aozora turn around-angrily-only to see...nothing. He could see nothing, nothing as far as he could see-
He called for his Keyblades but was too late, as a wave of white creatures, the like one he saw days before, swarmed all over him. He yelled for help and punched and kicked at the white creatures as they fought to keep him from moving.
"Get. Away. From. Me!" he yelped as the white creatures bounded all over him, piling on top of his head and forcing him onto the ground. The white creatures yanked at his legs, pulled at his arms, and he gave way unwillingly, trying with all his might to fight them off.
"Help! Is anybody there? Help!" he yelled as white creatures buried him, their intention made clear in that they wanted him silent, immobilized, and unable to do anything except breathe.
"Somebody! He-" his voice was muffled and he was 'drowned' by the white creatures.
~*~
He peered over the edge of the apartment building, hoping that Aozora had reacted well to the can he threw at the blond child's head.
The pile of Nobody on him sickened him. He knew what he had to do now. The blond child was now rendered helpless by the Nobody. And only three people can help him.
He turned in the direction of Silent Castle and, silently and without another thought, jumped over apartment buildings as he made his way to the Silent Castle and hoped that the three people he now counted on did not share Aozora's fate.
~*~
"... you do exceptionally fine work, Shanks," his client stated admiringly as he watched the Nobody tie up the blond child. "I will pay you five thousand munny as soon as we place the device on him."
Shanks nodded in happiness. Munny was one thing. Shanks never had much munny before but when his client first contacted him, saying that Shanks would be paid well, he felt like he was on cloud nine. Then he received his first payment, merely for using the whistle to call the Heartless to stop the Dream Heart. It was a hefty bag of gold and Shanks had it tucked away in the broken down shanty. And now he was being paid more.
The second thing was what they planned for the blond-haired kid Shanks hated so much. He did not know that his client had smiled at his idiocy at having a grudge against a kid who did nothing more than fight him in only one meeting, but Shanks was very much eager to help the client when he learned that his client was keen on doing something to the blond-haired kid. And so they were.
"This device sends out a very powerful signal," his client said. "The Heartless, they cannot hear this signal but the Nobodies can. That is what we're keen on. We must make sure the Heartless do not hear the signal for this is something for the Nobodies. The Heartless are keen on the same thing we are searching for and we cannot tip them off. They have a very powerful master, who can use anything within his dark powers to try and get to what we are searching for first. These Nobodies, Shanks," his client said, gesturing to the white creatures, "can take on the shapes of anything. They are shape shifters. They appeared as Heartless when you summoned them to stop the Dream Heart; if they appear in their true white forms, the Heartless will know of our whereabouts. The Heartless have a white form themselves, to infiltrate our forces. They, those white Heartless, are immediately eliminated upon doing so. These Heartless don't know what they're up against. Such as the device we have created."
"I see," Shanks answered. "And what true purpose will the device serve us?"
"Wherever this blond child is, the device will emit a signal for the Nobodies," his client answered with a dark smile. "We are intent on following that signal until the blond kid and the three warriors he is with reach Hollow Bastion. There, our plans will be carried out and you may have the pleasure of destroying the blond child yourself."
"Thank you!" Shanks cried out. "I've waited for so long and I will wait more, until the time has come! Let's get the device on him!"
"Calm down, Shanks-" the client began.
A sudden, cold hiss interrupted and a white Nobody approached. Its flat head bore the sign of the Nobody and his mouth, filled with rows of fine teeth, opened up to emit a strange hiss. The white creature continuously swayed back and forth. Shanks did not know or understand what was going on but his client apparently did; his client was nodding to the Nobody's hissing.
"The Heartless aren't aware of us but they are doing exactly what we don't want them to do," his client told Shanks. "They're headed for our three friends. I highly doubt my 'friend' has enough to stop the Heartless. Take four and go. Stop the Heartless. Then carry out the rest of the plan."
The Nobody hissed again and promptly, four Nobodies detached themselves from the huge dog pile on Aozora and followed the first one away. The client smiled rather darkly.
"These Heartless have never been a match for us, Shanks; do you understand?" the client told him. "The only factors the Heartless have that we don't are the ability to create multiples of themselves very quickly and that they have many different forms, so that they can use many types of elements in one battle. All we have is the ability to shape shift and...the ability to do more than take a heart. Now, let us go place the device on our young friend."
With that, the client and Shanks walked towards the dog pile. Slowly, the Nobodies broke away from the pile and stood a little way, out of respect for the client. The pile gradually got smaller, until only one Nobody remained, who was busy tying Aozora's arms. The Nobodies had stuffed a rag into his mouth; the boy kept sending out muffled cries of rage as the client and Shanks approached.
A gleam of hatred shone in Shanks' eyes and his hands just itched to grab his neck and strangle him to death.
"Patience, Shanks," the client told him. "We must stick to our plans."
Shanks nodded as the child looked up at them with wariness. No trace of real fear could be seen on his face.
"Render him unconscious," the client spoke softly.
The Nobody's hand, long, tapered to a tip, and very much like a dagger, swung forward. The flat of the hand hit Aozora on the head and he fell forward, knocked out.
"Very good," the client said. "Where shall we place the device?"
~*~
"I don't like this place, Sora," Donald said for the fifth time, his eyes peering around the hallway they were walking through. His flat feet slapped ominously on the marble floor as the trio passed by locked doors carved out of oak. Many locked carved doors.
(Makes you think of Matrix Reloaded, doesn't it?)
"How long is this hallway?" Goofy wondered, looking all about him.
"I think I see a door," Sora answered, peering ahead to what seemed to be double doors. "Hey, that's a double door!"
"Finally!" Donald shouted.
Sora bolted to the doors and tried to pull open the doors but they were locked as well.
"Not another one!" Sora groaned. "This is the seventy-sixth time these doors aren't opening!"
"You've actually counted?" Goofy asked in awe.
"It was boring walking through these empty hallways with nothing but rows of locked doors," Sora offered an explanation.
"Paranoid," Donald muttered under his breath.
Sora, apparently not hearing Donald's little comment, looked to Goofy and suggested, "Charge these doors."
Goofy very eagerly ran at the doors and slammed himself against them. He bounced back by the impact and landed on the marble floor. His shield, which was on his right arm, flew off and skid to Donald's feet.
"Goofy, I mean with your shield..." Sora started to say.
The doors silently opened.
"Never mind," Sora added.
"That felt great!" Goofy said cheerfully as he picked himself up. Donald handed him his shield and the knight hooked onto his right arm again.
Sora peered out the doors and stared at what seemed to be a very spacious balcony that overlooked much of Twilight Town. The wall bordering the balcony was high and, as Sora stepped outside and looked up, he could see a tower of the Silent Castle rise up against the rest of the castle. He turned to the balcony before him, unaware of the white creature watching him from above.
"What is this place?" Donald wondered as he followed Sora onto the balcony.
"Look!" Goofy yelped as he pointed to the center of the balcony. "That there's some black splotches!"
"Where?" Sora demanded.
"There!" Goofy answered and bolted out to the balcony to show Sora. Behind them, the double doors slammed shut and all three of them could hear the click of a lock.
"What was that?" Sora demanded. Donald looked about him warily, holding his staff up, ready to fight against whatever there was. Goofy continued to the black splotches. Leaning down, he poked at the splotches and when he lifted his finger, black goop dripped down to the marble floor.
"This looks like the stuff we found where we saw the Heartless were headed towards," Goofy stated.
"What does that mean?" Donald demanded, approaching his friend and 'debate' partner.
"'Member how all them Heartless were headed for that spot behind the train station?" Goofy asked. When Sora and Donald nodded, he added, "This was the same we found on the floor when we got to that place. Didn't it come from the Heartless?"
"Good point," Sora agreed, leaning over to see. "Hey, it does look like it came from the Heartless! But who could've done that? I mean, how can anyone around here destroy the Heartless...besides us."
"What about that kid those three people from the bell tower told us?" Donald questioned. "They said he's got keychains."
"You mean he can use the keychains?" Sora demanded. "He's a keyblade master? Or wielder? Or both?"
"Wow, I'd like to meet this guy," Goofy commented.
"We already did," Sora reminded him.
"Oh, yeah, that's right, we did," Goofy answered.
"Where's that kid?" Donald grumbled.
Goofy, always curious, looked about their surroundings. The knight had a feeling something was going wrong, totally wrong...
"What if it wasn't that kid?" he asked.
"What?" Sora obviously did not hear Goofy's question.
"Der...um...what if something else killed the Heartless?" Goofy repeated, with more detail.
"Goofy, how's that possible?" Donald asked.
"What are those?" Goofy answered, pointing to the left of the balcony.
A creaking sound, the sound of a footstep, made Sora turn around very, very slowly. He could see strange shapes in the shadows, with flat heads, dagger- like hands, long, elastic bodies, and continuously dancing feet. As each of the strange shapes stepped forward, Sora could see that the creatures were white, white with fine rows of teeth and a strange ensign on the top of their flat heads...just like the one on the face of the Dream Heart!
As Sora, Donald, and Goofy backed into each other, the creatures spread themselves out, in a circle around the three warriors. The creatures moved strangely. Their bodies were in one place in the air at all times yet they were flipping around in slow cartwheels. They were practically defying gravity. And they were always moving about, even though they were' standing' in one place; they cartwheeled even though they were in one place.
"Look!" Donald squawked, pointing at the dagger-like hands of the white creatures. Sora narrowed his eyes and ended up staring in total shock.
Black, goopy liquid dripped from the dagger points of the creatures. They had somehow slaughtered the Heartless, who somehow ended up on this balcony for some unknown reason.
"They killed the Heartless?" Goofy gaped.
"This is insane!" Sora exclaimed. "This can't be true!"
The creatures continued to dance circles around the trio.
"Are they going to attack?" Goofy whispered.
A white creature, slightly larger than the rest, threw back its head and from its mouth issued a high whistle.
The white creatures, with their dagger-like hands before them and ready to continue their deadly slaughter, leaped at Sora.