Into the simulated town they go – enjoy!
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Roxas and Naminé were both marveling at the seemingly solid forms they now assumed, as they stood in the computer room of the digital Twilight Town.
"Isn't it strange to feel like we actually exist?" Naminé commented.
"Yes, it's been a while since I've felt this way," Roxas replied, almost wistfully.
Soon Kairi, then Sora had appeared in the room.
"Okay, so we have to look for that paper, right?" Naminé asked.
Sora nodded.
"Well, then, where to start?" Roxas asked, folding his arms over his chest.
"We may as well look around here," Kairi suggested, getting down on her hands and knees.
"Okay, then," Roxas said, following suit. The four began scouring the room, looking high and low for any suspicious scrap of paper.
"What happened to the computer here?" Kairi asked, raising her eyebrows at the sight of the chaotic pile of ruined screens and keyboards.
Roxas smiled sheepishly. "Uh, that would be my fault," he admitted. "I, uh got a bit – angry."
"I see," Kairi grinned.
"We don't seem to be having any luck here," Sora observed.
"Yeah, that's for sure," Roxas added. "I hope we don't have to do this in every single part of the town…"
"Wait, wait," Naminé said, putting a hand to her temple. She was kneeling, her eyes squeezed shut. Sora, Kairi, and Roxas all stared at her as she murmured something incomprehensible. After a few moments, her eyes slowly opened.
"I think I know where we need to go," she stated.
"You do?" Sora asked incredulously.
"Yes, I believe the document we are looking for might reside somewhere with Hayner, Pence, and Olette."
"Really?" Roxas asked. He was a bit nervous at the thought of seeing his old friends, but curious all the same.
"Well, let's go!" Kairi urged. "We don't have lots of time to waste."
"Kairi's right," Naminé said. Then turning to Roxas, she asked, "Where do you think they might be?"
"Well, when I lived here, we hung out at a place we called 'The Usual Spot'."
"Okay, why don't we head there first," Naminé decided. She began to lead the way up the stairs and out of the room. The rest followed, and they were soon on their way to Roxas's old hangout.
They had made their way mostly in silence, occasionally making small talk, or just commenting on something they had seen along the way. As the four approached the entrance to the "Usual Spot", they strained to hear the sound of voices. Roxas cautiously pulled the curtain back, and they all peered into the empty room.
Roxas's eyes wandered across the scene before him. It looked exactly the same as he remembered it. A heaviness fell upon him as he realized this wasn't his – it never was. It was all fake, just an imaginary world for him to reside in while Sora was regaining his memories. Roxas didn't belong anywhere – he was never even supposed to exist. A lump formed in his throat, and in an unsteady voice, he said, "Well, I guess they're not here."
By this time, Sora, Kairi, and Naminé had wandered into the room, looking around for anything that resembled the document Sora and Kairi had found in the real world. Noticing the strange quality of Roxas's voice, Naminé looked up at him.
"Roxas, what's wrong?" she asked, genuinely concerned.
"It's nothing, really," he tried to assure her, sniffing, and blinking his tears away. She placed a tentative hand on his shoulder, not really knowing how to comfort him.
Sora had looked up too. "You're remembering what life was like before you found out you were a nobody, aren't you."
Roxas hesitated, then nodded.
"I'm sorry this all had to happen, I truly am – if there had been another way to restore Kairi's heart –"
Roxas interrupted him to say, "Don't worry about it, you did what you had to do, and DiZ did what needed to be done to help you. These circumstances were pretty much unavoidable." He paused. "Well, we'd better go look somewhere else if we want to find the gang."
"Yes, I'm pretty sure one of them has the paper. I don't think it's in this room," Naminé agreed. Soon the four had made their way out of the "Usual Spot" and were contemplating where to go when they heard someone call out.
"Roxas! You're back!" Roxas turned at the sound of Hayner's voice. Hayner, Pence, and Olette came jogging into view. Roxas's face lit up at the sight of his old friends. He rushed forward, grabbing all three of them in an embrace. "I missed you guys."
"What, is a week or so too long to be away from your friends?" Hayner joked.
"This strange man with red cloth wrapped around his face said you might be gone for a while," Olette informed him. "That's the only way we knew what had happened with you."
"Yeah, it was a uh, sudden family vacation…" Roxas invented.
"And it looks like you've brought some people back with you," Pence noticed.
"Um, yeah, I was visiting some cousins," Roxas said. "Meet Sora, Kairi, and Naminé."
"Hi!" Sora said, putting his hand out to shake Hayner's. "Pleased to meet you!"
"Same here," Hayner replied, a little wary of Sora's enthusiasm. "Roxas, you never talked about having cousins before…"
"Yeah, I guess it just never came up…" Roxas said, hesitantly. Eventually everyone else had exchanged greetings when suddenly Pence exclaimed, "Oh, Roxas, I forgot to tell you…" He rummaged around in his pockets, and finally extracted a slightly crumpled piece of paper. "The man who talked to us wanted us to give it to you, but I'm not really sure why." He handed the paper over, and Roxas took it with a slightly shaking hand. Could this possibly be the same thing that Sora and Kairi had found earlier? He glanced at the paper to find – absolutely nothing on it.
"It's blank," he uttered.
"I know," Pence said. "I don't really know what it's for, but the guy said it was pretty important."
"Well, thanks, I guess," Roxas said.
"We were on our way to the sandlot," Hayner announced. "D'you guys wanna come with us?"
Roxas turned to Sora for an answer. "Y'know, we were kind of planning on doing some things…um," Sora scratched his head, "family stuff…"
"Yeah," Roxas affirmed. "Sorry, guys."
"That's alright," Olette said, looking a bit disappointed. "I guess we'll see you around then!" She gave a little wave, and she, Pence and Hayner made their way down the steps that led to the sandlot. When they were gone, Sora turned to Roxas.
"We found it!" He said, taking the paper out of Roxas's hand.
"But there's nothing on it!" Roxas exclaimed.
"What are you talking about?" Sora said. "It clearly has writing on it."
"Let me see it," Naminé interjected, stepping forward. Sora held it out to her, and she scanned it quickly. "I'm sorry, but I don't see anything."
"I can see it," Kairi remarked, looking over Sora's shoulder.
"Maybe you can see it because you actually exist," Roxas said sarcastically.
"Either way, we should probably read it," Kairi advised.
"Why don't we sit down on the steps and I'll read it out loud," Sora said. The four made themselves comfortable at the top of the steps, a beautiful view of the town spread out below them. Sora cleared his throat, and began to read.
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I know that cut off kind of short, but I wanted to keep all of the chapters about the same length. The next chapter will pick up right where this one left off.
I hope you liked it! Please review, 'cause I love feedback!