ShebytheDogDemoness: Hoo, a new face! You didn't read all 63 chapters, did you? And yes, basketballs and rioting crowds do rock…as long as you're not at the other end of those flying orange balls. Thanks for the compliment, though!
Lena-jade: yes, grammar and punctuation are evil! They are truly evil things but I'd only fiddle with the punctuation as sometimes messed up grammar can really show style. And I can't spoil the story; there's other people reading! XP but if you want a hint…read Chapter 65 when it comes out XD!
Kingdom Alchemist: Glad to know people still review the first chapter XD that means this fanfiction's still kicking and screaming, and there's nothing an author likes better than knowing people still give his or her story a chance by reviewing the very first chapter! XP but compliments are welcome. Here's 900 munny for that.
Yes, but please, don't kill me! I know it'll be a month before you people REALLY start hitting all the good stuff (hint hint) and I know some people here will have my head by the time we get neck-deep in awesome crap so please, spare me some and enjoy!
Secrets of Memories Chapter 64: Trail of Twilight
" Lucky the warp hole didn't lead us wrong. That's Traverse Town right there!"
Riku only scowled and marched to the end of the gummi ship. Sally, Tarzan, and Pooh watched him stride off. They could only sigh.
Riku had been acting strangely ever since he had returned to them from wherever-in-hell he vanished to deep in Hollow Bastion. He had returned looking grim and carrying a worn leather-bound book.
" Well, now I know Ansem did have a son," he had simply stated, handing Sally the book, " and his name is Kobi."
He didn't see the shocked look on Sally's face. He instead strode out of Hollow Bastion. That was probably the last time he had talked. After that, he let Tarzan and Pooh take control of their gummi ship again and ignored just about everyone. He tended to his own business, left the people the hell alone, and remained rather ignorant of the wild ride through the warp hole. Tarzan's reflexes were quite useful in dodging Leviathans and shooting meteors; he was so god, Riku couldn't even tell if they had gone through a warp hole or not.
" Traverse Town…" Tarzan mused. " It's been a while."
" Yes it has," Sally agreed. " Dock there. We might as well refuel and head for Twilight Town. Cid's cousin's expecting us and we don't want to be late."
" Why?"
" Pooh, people don't like it if no one keeps to their word. I told him we'd be there in two days, so we've a day to get there. And you wouldn't want to mess with Cid; this guy's a real 'meanie'."
" Wait a second…" Riku strode into the scenario. " Cid's cousin's name is Cid?"
Sally nodded.
" She nodded, Riku," Tarzan informed him.
" Thanks."
Sally strode to the controls and stared through the glass at the large flashing sign that alerted all travelers of Traverse Town. " We're almost there…I wonder who we'll see there, given how most worlds are destroyed and their inhabitants taking up space in this world."
" We won't be seeing some," Riku spoke yet again. " Deep Jungle, Agrabah – actually, screw Agrabah, and Wonderland aren't back yet. And is Halloweentown really destroyed? As in gone forever?"
The poor woman nodded slowly and sadly. " Yes…it no longer exists but in our hearts and memories."
" Typical thing to say," Riku grumbled. Tarzan threw Riku a dirty look but luckily for him, the blindfolded teenager didn't see him. " It's been a while since the last time I came to Traverse Town…I wonder what will happen from there…"
" We'll never find out until we meet with the others," Sally replied. " They would tell us what's going on, I'm sure. We might need to go to Twilight Town, I'm guessing…"
" Why?" Pooh asked from his seat in the little gunner room.
" Where?" Riku and Tarzan asked at the same time.
" Twilight Town, it is the industrial world of this Universe," Sally explained with her infinite patience. " It is one of our 'bases'; it functions in the same way Traverse Town does; we just have different people manning the controls."
" Interesting…" Riku muttered. He felt a tingle up his spine; there was something about that world that bothered him deeply.
" We're docking, just to let you know," Tarzan alerted, bringing Riku out his reverie.
" Well, Tarzan, I must say that your English has improved immensely."
" Thanks."
Riku had to smile at that; he could hear the pride in Tarzan's voice. " I must agree. Your English is getting much better."
Tarzan looked at Riku with surprise. So did Sally. Riku rarely said anything so nice; so far he had been a bitter, angry ass but something has obviously changed about him…
" Is it Ansem's diary, part of his Other Report that's bothering you?" she asked softly, cradling the two tomes in her arms.
Riku's smile was bitter but it was still there. " I got such a kick out of that book; I exploded Vixen's laboratory-"
" His true name is Vexen," Sally interrupted. " Problem is most people enjoy calling him Vixen just to make him angry. His looks are not appealing and his mannerism bothers some; it is natural for us to tease him. The name Vixen implies the odd clash of feminine and masculine in his appearance; sadly, the name stuck."
" Oh."
Tarzan blinked; he had no idea what was going on.
" Hey, look, they're waving at us!" Pooh exclaimed, waddling into the main deck. " I've never seen anyone so happy to see us…"
" Why not?" Sally asked. " We've saved the people, if not their homes. Homes are permanent, in one place, easily destroyed. But nothing is gone, nothing is erased unless the people are gone. We have saved the people; we have saved the world."
Riku listened and bowed his head. Saved the people? There was a heavy note in that, something that tugged at his heart. What about Destiny Islands?
He felt the gummi ship bump to a stop, as Tarzan shut down the engines and Sally opened the door. There was a hiss and a breeze of fresh night air blew in.
" Welcome back, kiddo," Cid said.
""
" Luckily the Heartless have been ignoring us for some time," Leon said calmly once they all settled in the Green Room of the hotel. " This gives us time to group and prepare our defenses."
" All communication lines are open," Aerith added with a smile. " And passage to and fro from many worlds are safer than in the past month; we should be expecting some people soon…"
She looked at Leon intensely, apparently referring to something.
" We've sent the books on to my cousin, Cid Number Two," Cid continued, champing on his bit of stick. " He's in hiding now but he's still in a better position to look through everything. His daughter, niece, and their friend are all excellent warriors."
" But I'm still worried about Hollow Bastion," Cloud mused, his arm around Aerith's shoulders. He looked very thoughtful.
" We can't think about that now," Sally said, looking at Riku. " It's Kingdom Hearts I'm more worried about."
" Kingdom Hearts?" Kobi demanded, sitting up on the bed in the room. " I thought we haven't found it yet!"
" We've found its coordinates," Leon confirmed.
" Finally!" Yuffie exclaimed emphatically. " I mean, I dunno why it's so hard for us to seal those doors, and it's so important that we do so-"
" Once Riku closes the doors, that part of the problem will be all over," Sally said calmly, though worry was blooming in her eyes. " As long as Kairi does her job, we'll have two less things to worry about. It's Sora and our dear Guardian Aozora I'm more worried about."
" We can't do anything about it," Cid input gruffly. " We have no idea where they are now; Sora's gone by gummi ship and Aozora's gone by train. He should be due back in Twilight Town soon but how soon and when and where we have no idea."
" All we can do is hope everybody else gets their jobs done," Lorien muttered darkly as she leaned back in her chair. " If everybody does as they should do, then Sora will be free to open the Door of Light."
" Its only the Society that truly stands in our way," Cloud said softly. " The Heartless and Dusk simply attack; they are attracted to hearts, souls, and the Keyblades. But the Society…well, we all know what they are like."
" They will stop at nothing to keep Sora away from Hollow Bastion," Kobi said quietly, slowly. Riku knew why. " We've seen a host of Heartless there, like nothing you've ever seen before."
" Then we'll have to stop it," Riku concluded quickly. " If Ansem unleashes that force, we're in for serious trouble."
" Not yet," Kobi shook his head. Lorien nodded, then continued for him. " We know how the Society works. They need a trigger, something that will mark the time to strike. Then…they will unleash everything. For a while now, the Society had been gathering forces, strength. The Elite failed to stop Sora and Riku at Castle Oblivion and this failure cost them some. That includes funding; Vexen and Zexion can't use virtual technology anymore. That would make things more difficult, I daresay."
" Virtual technology?" Riku demanded, puzzled.
" Castle Oblivion doesn't exist." Kobi had to smirk at this. " It was meant to bend the both of you under the will of the Society. Of course, everything backfired. Castle Oblivion served as a training ground for you, Riku; as for Sora, I think it was a trigger for his memories."
" Memories?"
" Sora's memories are important to us, Riku," Sally decided to explain a bit. " We're trying to identify some enemies and Sora may hold the key to that. If Kairi breaks through, we may also find out what makes Sora so special to everyone. And lastly, we may find out what the trigger is."
" We already do."
Everyone turned to Lorien. Kobi looked up at her with apprehension but did not stop her.
" Before Zexion interrupted the Gathering with his Chaos, we overheard Marucia, Maleficient, and the Advocate talking about some things. Namely, killing Sora."
" No!"
Riku was up and looking very furious. " They would have to get through me first!"
Lorien looked at him coldly. " There is nothing you can do, unless you accomplish your task. You must close Kingdom Hearts…and halt the flow of darkness! Weaken the forces of the Heartless, Riku. Once Kairi closes the door of In Between – and weaken the Dusk that the Advocate controls – we can move in on Hollow Bastion and take out Crimson, Ansem, and the Advocate. Without them, the Darkness will be easily eradicated."
" It won't be that easy," Sally sighed, as Tarzan and Pooh entered the Green Room with confused looks on their faces. " The task may seem daunting, but it's even harder than that. We must move now, or else Kingdom Hearts will move back to Hollow Bastion. Once it does, the door will be lost to us and Ansem will manipulate it to bring out more Heartless."
" Then lets move," Tarzan suggested, slamming his spear on the ground.
Riku twitched. For a moment, his face showed a weariness he had hidden for so long. But it was gone again, replaced by a black light few had seen.
" Now!"
Riku stormed out of the room. Everyone watched him go. Kobi sighed, then got up. " Get the gummi ship ready. I need to talk to him."
''
Riku leaned against the railing outside the hotel, feeling the night air swirl around him. Were things getting more complicated? More dangerous? Or was it that they were running out of time? Why did they want Sora so badly?
" Life's hard, but try being the son of the enemy," Kobi said quietly, watching his closest friend from the far ages struggle with himself. " Once you find that out, you never look at the world the same way again."
He turned to the blindfolded teenager. " But you…you can only see the darkness. You've changed."
" The long years always change you." Riku stood up and stretched out his arms. " You…are not the carefree little kid I knew back then."
" I gave up on pranks long ago. Though exploding Vexen's laboratory was the greatest moment, what came after…I can't believe my father did that."
" Meddle with the darkness and it will overtake you. If you don't have a light to hold on to, you will be taken."
Kobi sighed and leaned against his staff. " You had Sora and Kairi. What did my father have? Ever since Mom died…what was I to him? What was his light, if not me?"
" I don't know."
Sally, Tarzan, and Pooh quietly filed out of the hotel. Lorien opened the door for them, then kept it open, watching the two teenagers converse.
" If there is one thing I've learned, it's that in times like these, you need a light, something you believe in," Riku said slowly. " I still have Sora, Kairi, Destiny Islands. I don't know what else is out here, but when I was in darkness, it was memories of them that saved me."
Kobi bowed his head. " I don't have much. I used to dream of Hollow Bastion the way it was – Old Citadel. I used to dream of all of us, me, you, Kairi, Naminé, Orion, and Yuri. But those dreams are gone. All I have left…are my friends from Celt Circle, Lorien and Aozora."
" Aozora? The Guardian…"
Lorien watched them. This was such an odd conversation but strangely enlightening. Riku was the one who walked the road of the night; he would know how to counter all the evil.
" Riku, we should go," Sally called out.
" In a minute." Riku turned to Kobi. " You will lose your light, Kobi; I can feel it. But once the darkness moves out of Hollow Bastion, you should go back. I know you will find another light there, another hope."
Kobi looked up in shock. " How do you know?"
Riku smirked. " I don't need to see to know. My darkness can see for me; it sees what most others don't see. Long ago her heart was lost; it is better to give up now than suffer later."
The poor teenager turned pink. Riku was grinning now, as he turned to follow the others. " I'm no fortune teller, but it's a little something I picked up from Sally."
Sally gestured to herself, her mouth forming the question: me?
" I'll see the two of you later. Tell the others I said goodbye."
The four of them left the Second District. Lorien looked quizzically at a gaping Kobi. " Kobi?"
The silver-haired teenager shook his head. " Later…I'm-I'm going to the Third District. Later."
The crimson-haired girl sighed. " Things just keep getting weirder."
""
It was night. Riku knew he could see in the darkness and he loved it.
" Keep the lights off," he told a startled Pooh, as he switched off the light switch the bear had just turned on. Then Riku pulled off his blindfold.
" Hey Riku, I've-" Tarzan turned in his seat and stared at the white eyes which were watching the Universe intensely. " Uh…Riku?"
The silver-haired teenager smiled. " You have a problem?"
The jungle warrior shook his head. " No, I'm just saying that the radar's picked up a…fast gummi ship. Really fast."
" How fast?" Sally demanded, striding to the front.
" Right there!" Tarzan pointed at a speeding silver dot in the distance, dodging meteors and Heartless ships.
" What do I do with it?" Pooh called out.
Riku stared at it. " It looks dangerous…"
" No! Don't shoot it!" Sally shouted, starting everyone. " I've never seen a gummi ship move so fast before…not since thirteen years ago…"
" What are you talking about?" Riku demanded, as a sleek silver ship came soaring into view.
" There's only one silver gummi ship in existence," Sally informed, watching the silver dart. " King Mickey's gummi ship."
" King Mickey's in that gummi ship?"
" No, Tarzan. He is not." Sally watched thoughtfully. " I've seen him; he has not been to Disney. But who's piloting that ship? And why would Chip and Dale let someone else use his gummi ship? What do you think, Riku? Riku?"
He didn't hear her; he was busy watching the gummi ship as it closed in on them. It was beautiful, streamlined and shining. He could see the great engines that powered it and the weapons well hidden under the sleek wings. Who wouldn't be intimidated by it?
" Wait a minute…" His eyes narrowed in on the strip of glass and the three inhabitants at the controls.
The gummi ship flashed by swiftly but he caught a glimpse of a teenager manning the ship. A brunet dressed in black.
He rushed into Pooh's little room and peered out the glass window. The gummi ship was flying towards Traverse Town.
" Riku?" Sally called out as he strode back into the room. " We've detected a warp hole. It will take us directly to Twilight Town. You want to risk it?"
" Why not?" Riku responded as he wrapped the blindfold around his eyes and tightened the knot. " The faster the better. Fire away!"
As the gummi ship quickly approached an ominous swirl of violent colors, Riku could not shake the image of the black-clad teenager from his mind.
Was that Sora?
""
" Who are we expecting again?" Rikku asked lazily, flipping through a small thin book with a brown and yellow cover.
" Sally and Riku," Cid replied, waving yet another customer good bye and good day. " Along with an ape man and a teddy bear. Don't do anything funny to that book, Rikku, or Merlin will have your head."
" Relax, Pops, nothing's gonna happen to this book," the young woman smiled.
" Don't take her word for it," Paine said coolly, striding into Cid's tiny store.
" Be nice, Paine!" Yuna laughed, following her.
" I am."
Cid shook his head, as he turned around and began dumping stuff. He cleared two shelves of rare books before he yelled, " Rikku, where's those two books Cid sent us!"
" Didn't I give them back to you?"
" Well, they're not here right now, are they?" Cid glared at his daughter.
" They're right there," Paine said calmly, pointing at the two ancient books on the countertop.
Cid scratched his bald top. " Oh."
Yuna smiled, shaking her head. She knew how hectic life had just become for her uncle, ever since the Heartless went and attacked their store. They had moved to a much smaller place, in a much safer neighborhood, but the customers were overwhelming them.
" Oh, hey Yuri!" Rikku waved from her seat on a green couch for sale as the brunette girl walked into the store, carrying a bag.
" Hey, Rikku," the teenager smiled. " Hey Yuna, Paine, Cid, how's life?"
" Not bad."
" Great!"
" Bite my ass."
" Dad!"
Cid shrugged, then began to pick up the books he had tossed. " Great, now I have to dock off more for these books."
" That's what you get when you keep tossing them on the floor," Paine replied, adjusting some items on display. " Or, should I say, chuck them?"
Cid only grumbled as Yuri disappeared into the store in search of things to purchase.
The door opened again.
" Hey, person! Welcome to our store!" Rikku shouted out her usual greeting.
" Thanks."
" Sally?" Rikku sat up abruptly, dropping the book in the process.
" Rikku!" Cid barked. " The book!"
Rikku quickly picked up the book, then spotted the three following her. " Uh…and you are?"
The one with a rather bent back stared at her for a bit. " Um…I'm Tarzan."
" Pooh," the little yellow bear with a red shirt and a lost look on his face raised his arm.
" Good, you two are here," Cid was wiping his hands with a rather dirty towel as he strode towards them. " Pooh, Tarzan, we can get you guys home. Yup, Deep Jungle's returned, Tarzan. Pooh, we've found the book. Rikku, if one page in that book's bent, I swear…"
" Relax, Pops, its all good," Rikku grinned as she handed over the book.
" And stop calling me Pops!"
Sally smiled as Yuna and Paine approached them. Yuna cast a glance at the shadowy teenager. " Riku."
The blindfolded teenager looked up. " Huh?"
" I'm Yuna. This is Rikku, that's her father and my uncle Cid, and this is Paine."
" Hey."
" Cid? Wait a minute…"
" Yeah, there's a whole ton of us named Cid, kiddo. That's why I'm here and he's there."
Riku looked totally lost.
" Paine, get Tarzan on the train to Deep Jungle. Rikku, take the book and get Pooh home. Yuna, we're gonna have to talk about Kingdom Hearts."
Rikku made a face. " Why did I give you the book in the first place? You were just gonna give it back!"
Cid waved his hand at her. " Get going!"
" I get to see my friends again?" Pooh asked hopefully.
" Jane…" Tarzan mused. He then looked to Riku. " I guess this is goodbye."
" No, not goodbye," Pooh countered. " Later. We'll meet again later. We'll meet again soon. See you again!"
Riku smiled. " You're right, Pooh. I'm gonna miss you guys but I know we'll meet again."
Tarzan nodded. " Yes, we will see each other again soon. But still, bye Riku."
" Bye Tarzan, bye Pooh, thanks for helping me out," Riku said.
" That's what friends are for," Pooh replied. " At least that's what Christopher Robin told me."
Paine, Rikku, Tarzan, and Pooh left to the back of the store. Cid then turned to Sally, Yuna, and Riku. " He ain't here yet so I suggest you two get yourselves comfortable."
" Who's not here yet?"
" Aozora," Yuna and Sally answered at the same moment.
" What does he have to do with Kingdom Hearts?" Riku demanded with a scowl. He didn't like this Aozora kid at all. " Besides opening Kingdom Hearts."
" He used the Oblivion," Sally offered a point. " And you need that Keyblade in order to close Kingdom Hearts."
" But he's taking a while to get here," Yuna commented with a thoughtful look on her face. " But then again, trouble appears wherever he goes. I wonder what could possibly happen on the train…"
" My question is, did he meet Sora? 'Cuz both of them were on the same damn world but it sure as hell doesn't sound like they're back together again. What the hell happened between them, anyways?" Cid grumbled, champing on a stick and looking remarkably like his cousin at that moment in time. Except for the fact that he was bald.
" I hear they fought over some mission back at Sherwood Forest," Yuna offered. " Sora wanted to do something rather crazy but Aozora wouldn't let him. They had some huge argument and ever since then…then Axel struck…and pretty much everything backfired."
" Axel…" Riku growled
" Say, do you guys want to take a tour of Twilight Town?" Yuna brightened up. " I can take you through all the safe streets of the place; we've heard of a spy for the Society living in the seedy side so I'd rather we stay away from there."
" A spy, eh…" Riku mused. " Um…I think I'll just…look around myself for a bit. Sally, why don't you go on this little 'tour' of hers?"
" Why not?" Sally smiled. " It would be nice to stretch – and restitch – one's limbs in a safe haven for once."
" No world is safe but this place is safer than most," Cid warned. " One of our new recruits, Ashita, is getting better at fighting the damn Heartless and Nobodies. With his help, at least half of this world's safe enough for people to live in peace."
" I'll take you to the train station first, Sally," Yuna grinned, heading for the exit. " No way is a tour of Twilight Town ever complete without checking out the famous train station first."
" Lead the way, Lady Yuna."
They left. Cid then looked at Riku. " Eyes of the storm, eh? It'll be a while before you can unmask yourself. But enjoy what remains of this twilit world. I take your darkness sees for you."
" In most cases, yes," Riku replied staunchly. " I must say, you look incredibly like Cid back at Traverse Town right now."
" Sigh…that's what they always say," the bald man said, touching the top of his head. " I guess its 'cuz we have the same habit of chewing on anything made of wood."
Riku smiled and months of worry began to fade from his face. " I guess I'll see you around."
" Be careful," the man warned. " Don't stay too far and don't go near the castle! There's always been a bit of trouble around that castle and I don't want anyone wandering into it without others helping them out!"
" Relax, nothing's gonna happen to me," Riku waved him off. Fathers!
He headed for the door, then heard a disturbance. Whirling around, his darkness spread, forming the image of an imminent collision with another person.
" Oh my god, I'm so sorry!" he heard a girl gasp in surprise as he slowly got back onto his feet. " I didn't mean to…I didn't see you...honestly, I didn't try to, um, bump into you…that…way."
Riku waved his hand, signaling he was all right. " No, no, I'm fine. It's okay. Are you okay?"
" Well, um…yes."
The darkness still watched for him; the person he had run into was still sitting on the floor, amidst an array of scattered merchandise. She was a teenager, around the same age as he was.
" Here, let me help you…" he held out his hand. She grasped it and he pulled her up.
For the fleetest of seconds, a strange sensation ran up his right arm, a swift warmth. That scar on my right palm must be acting up again, he thought, as she released her hold and brushed off her pants.
She had a bag and was beginning to stuff the items that the collision scattered back into it.
" Here." he scooped up what remained on the floor and placed them in her bag.
" Thank you," she said gratefully. " I'm really sorry about what happened."
" Hey, its okay," Riku assured her that nothing was wrong. " Um…what's your name?"
" I'm Yuri," she said, shifting the bag on her left shoulder. " You're Riku, right? I overheard you guys talking. Seems to be serious business."
" You could say that," Riku said slowly. The name echoed in his mind. Didn't Kobi mention that name before?
" I dunno what else Aozora's gotten himself into but I hope he's okay," she muttered, turning for the door. Then she grinned. " See you around, Riku!"
" Uh…yeah, later," he mumbled back, giving a half-wave as she left the store.
At the other end of the store, he heard chuckling. " What!"
" Nothing…" Cid coughed back, then exploded into peals of laughter.
Riku groaned; he could already guess why the man was laughing. To solidify Cid's point, he was acutely aware that his cheeks were burning. What color they were, he didn't need to know. He already knew.
" Shut up!" Riku snapped and stormed out of the store, Cid's laughter echoing in his ears.
As soon as he had gone, Cid silenced himself. Dark clouds were gathering; that much he saw as Riku opened the door. And they weren't smoke from the factories; they were storm clouds.
It had not rained in Twilight Town for years, as it had never stopped raining in the Thunder Plains back home at Spira. It still had not stopped raining there.
Something was at work here, something dark. Had the Guardian returned?
Chapter 65…" Tell me what the rain knows…"
" You are their light, whether you like it or not."
" I just don't know if I love him…"