This chapter decided to be stubborn and fought me a lot. But I managed to get it written regardless. I hope that you enjoy it.
While he certainly enjoyed spending time with his friends, there were certain things that Pence liked that they weren't as excited about. Investigating the strange and mysterious phenomena around Twilight Town was one such example. He always hoped to find at least one real Wonder. And if he wanted to be honest, he did technically have one thing that he could almost consider a Wonder: everyone and everything connected to Sora and his friends.
No one knew where he came from or where he'd apparently disappeared to now. Just like no one knew where Kairi, Donald, Goofy, and Ienzo were from. And even Roxas, Xion, and Lea were connected to Sora and equally mysterious. They knew that Roxas came from another Twilight Town, but Pence wasn't convinced that the other two were from that same place. He was currently building a theory that there must be at least a third world out there. One where the other strange people were from. And they might even use those dark portal things to move between the different worlds since both Kairi and Lea-when-he-was-evil showed up through them. Pence had an entire notebook in his room where he was collecting his information about all of these mysterious things, but he wasn't ready to bring any of it forward. And he certainly wasn't ready to ask Roxas or Xion about it.
But in addition to his investigations, Pence had a fondness when it came to computers. He liked tinkering with them and exploring the possibilities. The only problem was that the others didn't understand his fascination. They supported him, but they didn't feel the same way.
But Pence had a new long-distant friend who shared his interest in science, technology, and computer. And he would occasionally send Pence small tasks that he could help with over the shared network. Mostly tedious and easy tasks, but ones that Ienzo assured him was helpful to whatever big project he was working on.
And on the days where the others were busy or no one had any real plans for what they wanted to do, it was easy enough for Pence to head to the Old Mansion and access the computer system. There were advantages to knowing about a secret high-tech underground lab.
They'd finally repaired the crack in the wall surrounding the town, but Pence knew there were other ways out. A quick trip through the Underground Conduit would bring him out to the forest, as long as he didn't mind the smell. It wasn't as nice as the actual Underground Concourse with the path to the Sunset Terrace, but the Underground Conduit wasn't exactly meant for the public.
Not many people went to the forest anymore regardless. No one wanted to risk spending time there. There were dark monsters with yellow eyes lurking in the shadows. Different than the white squiggly things, but still dangerous. They didn't always attack, but it was a constant threat to keep in mind. And they were yet another reason why Pence didn't head to the Old Mansion more often than he did. It wasn't safe.
Though he had noticed that the creatures seemed to show up more back when Sora was in town. Almost like they were attracted to the boy. Or his Keyblade.
Definitely something to ask about sometime in the future. And another observation for Pence to add to his notebook when he got home.
The Old Mansion was a mysterious place. No one seemed to remember who used to live there. The building simply existed beyond the town limited, abandoned and nearly forgotten. A constant feature that had been there for as long as anyone could recall. People rarely thought about it. Except for kids telling the occasional ghost story about it and the Wonder of Twilight Town that turned out to be a white curtain instead of a mysterious pale figure, there was no real reason to think about the place.
It was there. Old, empty, and in relatively good shape for its age. Some of the stone structures out front had collapsed, but there weren't any leaks in the room, collapsing floors, or crumbling walls. Even the numerous unicorn carvings and such were intact. And there were a lot of unicorns when Pence actually started poking around and looking. Whoever built the place or lived there previously clearly liked the creatures. But for as long as Pence could remember, he did not recall anyone ever mentioning who actually built the Old Mansion or who might have once called it home.
Perhaps not one of the Wonders of Twilight Town, but at least a mystery. Like Sora, Roxas, and all the others were a mystery.
But the important thing was that the Old Mansion had been more or less abandoned for ages. And weird stuff happened there. Hidden labs. A portal to an alternate Twilight Town. Scary men in black coats. Which meant that anything new or different about the place was bound to be interesting.
Which was why Pence was both surprised and excited when he stepped out of the forest and discovered stacks of crates outside of the building.
Naturally, Pence couldn't resist immediately poking his head into some of those crates. He couldn't help it. The temptation was too strong. Investigating was in his nature. And while some of them seemed to contain books and stacks of paper, others held computer equipment. Very expensive-looking, high-tech equipment. Stuff far beyond any technology that Pence had ever seen outside of the secret lab. Part of him wanted to snatch up some of the equipment and mess around with it.
Not exactly steal it. Just… borrow some of it. He'd bring it back. Eventually. No one would have a chance to miss it. Not with all those other boxes.
"And what do you think that you are doing?"
Pence jumped, scrambling away from the crates and stammering out apologies. A tall figure strolled out of the Old Mansion. Long blue hair, scars across his face, and a calculating frown, he didn't look familiar. Certainly no one that Pence had seen growing up. Yet another mysterious stranger connected to the Old Mansion
At least he wasn't wearing one of the Black Coats of Kidnapping.
The strangers suddenly hesitated, studying Pence carefully. His frown deepened for a moment.
"You… seem vaguely familiar. Not the one of the individuals that Sora defended from the Nobodies, but I've seen you around the town," he said quietly.
"You know Sora?"
Nodding briefly, he said, "Not as well as some. Our paths have crossed a few times."
A stranger who knows Sora. While it didn't technically mean anything, it fit the pattern. Unusual people who show up without warning who know Sora? That fit the description of the others. People like Kairi, Roxas, Xion, and Lea. And since those four also knew each other, then…
"Are you another friend of Roxas?"
Grimacing, the young man said, "Not exactly. We've had a… difficult history. I have made mistakes in regard to Roxas and Xion… and Lea. I am here partially to try and make up for those mistakes."
"Well, if you're at least trying to be better, then I'm sure they'll forgive you someday." Reaching out a hand, he said, "My name is Pence. Nice to meet you."
He smiled wryly. Then he stepped closer, took Pence's hand, and shook it carefully.
"Isa." After a moment, he added, "I believe that Ienzo mentioned you. 'A local contact,' as he described it."
"You know Ienzo?"
"Much better than I know Sora. Ienzo, Even, and Master Ansem are the ones who wanted some work done on site and I volunteered. That is the other reason that I am here."
Pence grinned at the news. It was nice to hear that Master Ansem was doing all right after they rescued him from the other scarier man in black. None of them had heard anything about him since that dramatic rescue.
"So you're here to help fix things up?" asked Pence. "Like just the building or upgrading the systems too? Can I help with anything?"
Isa stared at him thoughtfully for a few moments. Then he gave him a brief nod.
"Riku helped drop everything off, but he needed to head home. If you wish to help move everything inside, I wouldn't be opposed to the assistance. It would make things easier."
Pence took a second or two to glance around at the numerous stacks. The crates came in a variety of sizes. He poked around until he found one that seemed to be a decent size without being too heavy to manage.
"Did you invite the others to help you move in?" he asked, hefting the box into his arms. "I mean, Roxas doesn't like coming out to the Old Mansion. He's mentioned that before. But the others would help." Heading towards the front door, Pence added, "Especially if you pay them or buy them pizza. That's kind of traditional when it comes to helping people move."
Wincing, Isa admitted, "I… haven't told them yet."
"What?" he asked, nearly dropping the crate as he stumbled.
They'd called it a day earlier than normal. Pence had his own plans for after school and Olette wanted to work on an extra-credit project. While they could have found something to do with Hayner, Roxas and Xion ended up going home instead. They only paused long enough to wave at Gina through her shop window before heading around back towards the stairs.
Roxas made it through the door first, which immediately summoned Lea from his room. He'd clearly just finished getting dressed after a shower. His hair was still damp. The young man grinned at them as the pair hurried inside. Lea took a moment to ruffle their hair before flopping face down on the couch with a tired groan.
Giggling, Xion sat on the edge and said, "Long day?"
"Maybe," he mumbled into the cushion before lifting his head. "And what about you two? Good day at school?"
Roxas shrugged and said, "It was all right. There was some weird math thing that we talked about. Xion was better at it than me."
"I'll help you with it later," she said.
Roxas smiled at her and nodded. He preferred to think about that part of the day. It was better than dwelling on how some of the other students still looked at them strangely or snickered when they asked certain questions. He never knew which questions would get that reaction. And if they didn't ask questions about some of the stuff, then they would risk messing up on the assignments.
Roxas didn't know what the consequences would be for failure on school assignments, though something told him it wouldn't be as serious as what would happen in the Organization if they failed in their purpose. No one would threaten to turn them into a Dusk if they could not prove their use. But he didn't want to find out regardless.
That meant that he and Xion had to ask questions. And that meant that sometimes the other students would snicker, roll their eyes, and scoff at them. Roxas and Hayner spent a lot of time glaring venomously at people. But he didn't want to dwell on that. He would rather look on the bright side. And that meant focusing on Xion's growing confidence and self-esteem every time that their teachers told her that she did something right. Not to mention how they were surrounded by friends in their corner of the classroom, keeping the more judgmental students at a distance.
"How about you two finish your homework now?" suggested Lea. "Get it out of the way early. Then we'll figure out what to eat afterwards."
"You just want to take a nap," said Roxas dryly.
Chuckling under his breath, Lea said, "You caught me."
Before they could tease him further, a cheerful song chirped out. Lea groaned quietly as he sat up and dug around in his pocket. As soon as he pulled out his Gummiphone and answered it, Lea's expression shifted to one of surprise.
"Isa? Everything all right?"
Roxas fought back the scowl that tried to form at the name. He and Xion promised to give him a chance. They would give Isa a second chance despite how much Roxas wanted to beat Saïx's face in. He was Lea's friend once and he did try to help them in the end. Isa would have a lot of work head of him, but they needed to give him that chance. Which meant that Roxas needed to set aside his instinctive anger.
Unfortunately, unlike Ansem the Wise, he couldn't just avoid the man and pretend that he didn't exist.
"I'm quite fine, Lea. I simply have some news that I wanted to share," said Isa. "While things are progressing slowly at the castle, they want someone to work on repairing, updating, and improving the secondary site. And I volunteered for the job."
Frowning as he leaned over Lea's shoulder, Roxas asked, "Secondary site?"
The screen suddenly twisted and moved as someone surprised Isa enough to wrestle his Gummiphone away. There was a muffled question from the young man before the screen seemed to settled. Then an unexpected face popped into view.
"He's moving into the Old Mansion," said Pence. "He's going to fix up the place. And judging by some of the stuff he's packed, I think he's planning to stay for quite a while."
"Pence? What are you doing?" asked Roxas.
Grinning, he said, "I'm helping him move a few boxes in. Then I was going to get on the computer and check on a few things that Ienzo was talking about last time."
Roxas began to strongly regret never telling his friends the whole story about his and Xion's past. Part of it was the habits that the Organization drilled into him about keeping a low profile and secrecy and another part of it was because everyone talked about the world order thing. But he really wished that he'd at least warned his friends about Isa and some of the others. Roxas hoped that Pence didn't somehow end up best friends with Isa because no one needed that extra complication.
Abruptly the screen jerked again as Isa plucked the Gummiphone from the boy's hands. Xion joined them to crowd around the small device. Sparing her a concerned look, Roxas leaned against her in an attempt to comfort her. Saïx was always worse to her than he was to Roxas. He didn't want her to get upset.
"You're moving to Twilight Town?" asked Lea.
Nodding, Isa said, "Yes. At this very moment."
"When did you plan to tell us?"
"When it became relevant. Which is obviously now."
"And you couldn't mention this last time that we talked?" said Lea with a small laugh.
Roxas took a deep breath and let it out slowly. As much as he still wanted to beat Isa up, knocking the man to the far side of Twilight Town and back again with his Keyblades, Roxas had to admit that it seemed to make Lea happy. His face split into a bright smile at the idea of his oldest friend being on the same world. And he and Xion wanted Lea to be happy. That was part of the reason why they were giving Isa a second chance.
Roxas exchanged looks with Xion. The silent communication left them both in agreement. They could deal with Isa existing in Twilight Town. Neither of them spent much time near the Old Mansion and it would be easy to keep their distance if they spotted him in town. A temporary solution, but one that was manageable.
Their paths would cross eventually. He was quite aware that they couldn't avoid Isa forever. But maybe a little while longer.
The Gummiphones were handy devices overall. Portable and durable methods of communication that worked between different worlds. Definitely useful for a group who tended to be scattered around and who ended up fighting something dangerous almost constantly. There were numerous perks to the things.
Unfortunately, they were limited to contacting other Gummiphones. Which meant that when Ileana tried to contact Lea, she didn't have much luck. Especially since their apartment didn't have a telephone. There was no direct way for the principal to contact him. A rather serious oversight. Lea didn't even know anything was wrong until Gina was there waiting for him when he returned to the building.
Thank goodness that he did provide her shop's phone number when he was filling out all the paperwork to register the half-pints for school. It was clearly the smartest decision that he'd made that day.
By the time that he made it to the school, Lea found a small crowd outside the principal's office. Roxas and Xion were perched on a pair of chairs, unharmed and annoyed. A fact that immediately reassured Lea. The anxiety that had blossomed the moment that Gina told him that something was wrong eased and the beating in his chest slowed.
But in addition to the half-pints, he could spot their new trio of friends and a few adults who must be their various parents judging by the way they were glaring at the kids. He could tell that he was arriving towards the end of some lectures. All the teenagers looked a little scuffed up and in various states of emotional discomfort.
And a short distance away from the others was another teenage boy and a frustrated mother. Not anyone that Lea recognized. He wore a red jacket and his black hair was a bit on the longer side. And he was at least close to the same age as the local trio that Roxas and Xion befriended. But the dark-haired teenager was nursing a black eye, a busted lip, and disheveled clothes. And he refused to meet anyone's gaze, including his unhappy parent.
Lea glanced between the strange boy and his half-pints a few times. Then, once he was certain, he sighed and ran a hand through his hair.
"Fighting?" he asked.
"Yep," said Hayner proudly, earning a sharper glare from his mother.
"Did he deserve it?"
Crossing his arms, Roxas muttered darkly, "Yes."
Lea didn't have to ask who won. Nor did he have to ask if Roxas and Xion held back. If either of them went after the teenage boy with their Keyblades and magic, they would have left behind far more damage than a back eye. Considering this would be their first fight against an opponent who wasn't actually that dangerous, they'd done a good job at not mangling the kid.
"Vincent did not deserve to be ganged up on like that," said the boy's mother sharply. Then, glaring at the now-identified teenager, she added, "Though we will be discussing some of his behavior when we get home. You know better. I did not raise you to act like that."
"To be fair," said Olette quietly, "Pence and I weren't really fighting. We were just trying to break it up before someone got hurt."
Before Lea could ask for any further details or the other adults in the room could demand his name, Ileana opened the door. Just as professional and strict as the last time he met the woman. He filed into the room with Roxas and Xion. The half-pints claimed the two waiting chairs while he took up position behind them.
"Getting called to the principal's office," he said. "I would have thought something would have changed over the years. Used to end up in trouble a lot as a kid. Still feels the same."
Sighing tiredly as she moved back behind her desk, Ileana said, "I am afraid that we had a bit of a disturbance today. It took me some time to unravel the sequence of events. From what I've been able to determine, a few students that I haven't identified yet were making some comments. Eventually Vincent said something particularly unkind to Roxas and Xion."
"Unkind" was apparently an understatement based on the way Roxas's hands curled into fists in his lap and Xion clutched her hands to her chest. Lea was already considering what he should do about this Vincent person in retaliation. He could hunt the boy down and set his hair on fire. Or he could drag Vincent into the surrounding forest for Heartless to chase. Or he could toss him to Even and the others for a test dummy.
Lea immediately suppressed a shiver at that idea. No, using the boy as a test subject was not a line he was going to cross. Too many bad memories with that one.
"Roxas lashed out, causing Vincent to retaliate by taking a swing at him. Xion attempted to help and Hayner joined them by tackling Vincent. Pence and Olette became involved soon after. The others students scattered by the time Tackett interfered. Thankfully, the fight didn't last long." Ileana shook her head. "Vincent clearly didn't realize how quickly he would be outnumbered."
Lea nodded, trying to keep a straight face. If that Vincent boy thought that being in a fight with maybe five opponents was tough, with Roxas and Xion purposefully holding back, he would ever survive against a swarm of Heartless.
That meant he would just have to set the boy's hair on fire. It was the only option that would be truly humane.
"Now, Vincent has admitted to provoking them and there were witnesses to this fact," she continued. "And we're willing to overlook a few missteps due to their… special circumstances."
Right. The whole "raised in a cult" thing. That backstory was definitely a good idea. It could excuse almost anything. Lea was increasingly proud of it.
"But we don't want to encourage fighting in our school. I've already spoken with the other parents about today's incident. Vincent's mother isn't happy about his injuries, but she is more upset about his behavior and has promised to handle it appropriately. I reminded her that we have a low tolerance for anything that could be considered bullying. But I want to ensure that you speak with Roxas and Xion about how violence is not always the answer. I don't want a repeat of this incident."
Keeping a straight face after her comment about violence was a challenge. Fighting had been their entire lives prior to moving to Twilight Town. That was not a lesson that was going to stick.
"I'll talk to them," he said carefully.
"Then we'll settle for a warning this time for everyone involved."
Lea recognized a dismissal when he heard one. Or at least a potential exit. And he didn't want to linger any longer than necessary. Ileana might be acting reasonable and understanding, but she was still a principal. Lea's early teenage years had taught him to be wary of them. They could sneak up on him with an unexpected trap to trick Lea into confessing to some form of mischief. It was safe to leave before she could verbally trap them.
By the time that they made it back to the hallway, the rest of the crowd had dispersed. Parents dragging their children off to scold and lecture them. Perhaps with some ending up grounded.
Lea waited until they were outside. He wanted to be certain that there would be no lurking teachers to overhear. And it gave him a chance to see how the half-pints were handling things after Ileana's explanation. He noticed that Roxas and Xion moved a little stiffly, uncertain of what would happen next.
But they relaxed when his hands settled on their shoulders while they walked, squeezing them reassuringly.
"Thanks for not breaking the brat," he said, "but next time… Either let him throw the first punch or wait until you're away from school. It gives you a better defense if anyone gets upset about it. Don't start the fight if you can help it, but you can certainly finish it."
"It felt weird punching someone," said Roxas, flexing his hand with a grimace. "I don't like it as much as using my Keyblades. It hurt."
Glancing towards him, Xion said, "Not as much as it hurt Vincent. He went down hard."
"Do you even know how to punch properly?" asked Lea.
Crossing his arms stubbornly, Roxas said, "Plenty of Heartless have tried punching us. And Sora saw people like Hercules throwing punches." Pausing a moment, he added, "And then there was the time that Lexaeus hit me."
"Wait, what?"
"He was teaching me about Limit Breaks."
Lea shook his head. Note to self: have a serious and clearly overdue conversation with Aeleus.
"Okay," said Lea slowly, "I guess I need to ask so I know how much to terrorize the kid later. What exactly did he say that caused you to try punching him?"
And that question immediately darkened the mood. Roxas glared at the ground as they walked and Xion clutched her clasped hands back to her chest. Lea would definitely be getting them ice cream after this. They needed something to cheer them up.
"He called us stupid," said Roxas, sharp and quiet.
Eyebrows shooting up, Lea asked, "What?"
"Some of the other kids were talking about all the questions we ask and kind of laughing about it. Then Vincent said something about how we keep asking about things that only idiots don't know," said Xion quietly. "And that we take remedial history because we're too stupid for the normal class with everyone else."
Well, that settled it. Vincent was going on the list of people that Lea needed to burn to death. A full-on, Castle Oblivion-level, Organization's assassin type of assault. Incineration from the inside out.
…Okay, maybe Lea wouldn't murder the brat. But if he ever encountered the boy alone, he could certainly find a way to traumatize Vincent.
He shoved down his anger. Then he tugged both of his half-pints towards the closest place to sit. Which turned out to be the edge of a ramp. Lea took a moment to carefully consider what to say. He needed to handle this right. Because Lea could not let them believe that boy's words for even a moment. This conversation couldn't even wait until they made it up to the clocktower.
"You are both incredibly smart," he said firmly. "Vincent has no idea what he's talking about. None of them do."
Not meeting his eye, Roxas said, "More than just Vincent think that. They just didn't want to stick around long enough to get hit."
"And he's right," added Xion. "We don't know things that everyone else does."
"How old do you think they are? The other kids in your classes?" asked Lea.
"I don't know." Roxas shrugged weakly. "Fifteen? Sixteen?"
"And you two?"
"Well, Sora was about fourteen when he lost his heart, so—"
"Two years old," interrupted Lea, making them both look at him. "You both have existed for about two years. And that's only if you include the time that you spent in Sora's heart. But if you only include the time that you had your own bodies and existences, then it is only a year and a couple of months. I don't know if Roxas is still counting the exact number of days, but that's a rough estimate."
Lea shifted slightly, pausing as he scratched the back of his head. It was hard to believe that he'd only known Roxas and Xion for that long. They'd made such a huge impact to his life.
"I can guarantee that when Vincent was your age, he was still learning his colors and shapes. You can't expect to know everything that it took someone else fifteen years to learn. That doesn't mean either of you are stupid. Not knowing something and asking questions doesn't make anyone stupid. You're just catching up. You take remedial history because you need a little extra help catching up with that specific subject." He smiled encouragingly. "But you're both very smart and you learn fast. They have a head start, but you'll catch up soon."
The smiles that they gave him weren't as strong and bright as Lea would have preferred. But they were actual smiles, which warmed something deep inside. His reassuring words managed to cheer them up. It felt good to get this part right.
"And next time, wait to attack people like Vincent until you're outside of the school. Less chance of upsetting the principal or teachers," he added. "Well, I think we could all use some sea-salt ice cream after that. How about we grab some and head up to the clocktower?" Smirking, Lea suggested, "Or we could try kidnapping that Vincent kid since apparently that's my specialty?"
That comment earned him some groans mixed with laughter before the pair knocked Lea over. Thankfully, his recent Heartless battles had gone well and he wasn't too battered to enjoy the impromptu roughhousing. He simply chuckled as he tried to wrestle Roxas and Xion off. Not that he was trying to hard to get rid of them. Lea was perfectly happy being partially trapped under two wiggling and laughing Keyblade wielders.
Especially since he had long since discovered that the pair were ticklish.
Lea suspected that if he could lift his head away from the squealing and squirming kids, he would probably spot at least someone staring at the spectacle. Roxas and Xion were both trying to keep him pinned while twisting away from his attempts to find ticklish ribs. Their play-fighting in the middle of Twilight Town wasn't exactly subtle, even if they weren't on one of the more populated streets.
But they were laughing and playing. Roxas and Xion were two of the most dangerous people that he'd ever met and they were playing around like actual kids. He couldn't complain about that.
"So just the ice cream then?" asked Lea once he could catch his breath, still chuckling.
Being a normal kid means dealing with both the good and the bad about the experience. And that includes occasionally other kids being jerks. Teenagers aren't always the nicest people. I'm sure that Vincent will outgrow this stage eventually. But after that reaction, it may take a while before anyone else makes those kinds of comments near Roxas, Xion, or the Twilight Trio.