Another edited chapter! This one is pretty similar to how it was before but tbh it wasn't that bad before so that's fine with me. Enjoy!
Chapter 8: Twilit Memories
Taste, what a bittersweet,
All my, all my life
"Ta da!" Sora steps into the Gummi Ship's cockpit, brightly beaming as he catches the attention of his companions. He spins around to show off the new outfit Yen Sid had given him, imbued with the same sort of special magic the three good fairies had crafted his old clothes with. This new ensemble is also every bit as adventure-ready, consisting of comfortable dark grey slacks, a short-sleeved black jacket with white and red trim, and sturdy gloves and yellow and black shoes to match. As he adjusts the jacket to get a better feel for it's well-woven fabric, Sora flashes another excited grin over to Donald and Goofy, gauging their reactions to it. "So, what do you guys think? Pretty cool, huh?"
"Gawrsh, it sure is!" Goofy agrees enthusiastically. "That new outfit sure does make you look more grown up, Sora. I bet Kairi will be impressed next time she sees ya too."
Sora's confidence quickly breaks into a bright red blush the moment he hears this, a blush that only brightens when he hears Donald and Jiminy chuckling over his obvious embarrassment. "Oh, come on!" he protests, crossing his arms and glancing away. "Do you guys really have to keep saying stuff like that?"
"If you're gonna keep making such a big deal about it, then yep, we do," Donald says with a smug smirk. "Just make sure you don't ruin these new clothes like you did your old ones."
"Hey!" Sora argues as he takes his usual seat in the cockpit. "I took care of my old clothes just fine until-"
"Until you decided it was a good idea to try and take on a pack of flaming Heartless on by yourself," the magician deadpans dryly. "Believe me, we know."
Sora lets out a disgruntled huff at this, wondering just how long his companions intend on keeping the disastrous events of Olympus fresh in his mind. Largely since he'd much rather forget about every awful thing that had happened to him while they were there. He doesn't get much of a chance to stew in that lingering frustration, however, as Jiminy climbs up onto the side of his chair.
"Say, Sora, you remember what Master Yen Sid said about there bein' a special gift that came with your new outfit, don'tcha?" he inquires curiously.
"Oh, yeah, that's right," Sora nods, though his tone soon shifts into confusion. "But… I didn't see anything other than the clothes in that suitcase…"
"Try checkin' your pockets," Jiminy suggests as he hops up to take a perch on Sora's shoulder.
Sora does as he says, searching his new outfit's several pockets before finding something in one of them. He pulls the small, colorful device out, eyeing it with the same sort of fascination Donald and Goofy share as they get up from their seats to get a better look for themselves. "Uh… what is this thing?" Sora asks, staring down his own reflection in the device's tiny glass screen.
"Beats me," Donald shrugs.
"Not a clue," Goofy agrees, scratching his head.
"This right here, fellas, is the Gummiphone!" Jiminy informs. "Chip n' Dale have been workin' on it for awhile now, and they were awfully excited about finishing it. It's a way for us to keep in touch with the others even when we're in different worlds."
"Ya don't say..." Goofy muses, amazed. "That sure is bound to come in handy, don'tcha think so, Sora?"
"Yeah, it is," Sora says, smiling. "Oh! Does Riku have one of these Gummiphone thingies too?"
"Yup," Jiminy nods. "Riku and the king, and once they get their new outfits, Kairi n' Lea will too. You'll be able to call and talk to any of 'em any time you want!"
"Oh boy… Here we go..." Donald sighs, rolling his eyes as he catches the elated grin that spreads across Sora's face the second he hears this welcome news.
"Any time I want… So that means I won't have to wait months to talk to Riku and Kairi again," his smile turns a touch softer, a bit warmer as he holds the Gummiphone close to his heart. "We really will be connected this time, no matter how far apart we are…" He perks up once more, letting out a cheery laugh as he lifts the phone high above his head. "I don't even know how this thing works, but I love it already!"
"Chip and Dale will be glad to hear that," Jiminy says, chuckling. "'Course, making calls isn't all the Gummiphone can do. It can send messages, take pictures, you can even use it to jot down notes! In fact, I might even try writing my journal on it."
"Yeah, ok, pictures and journals, sounds great," Sora cuts in, an edge of eager impatience in his tone as he grips the Gummiphone tightly. "So can we use it to try and call Riku or Kairi already?"
"Not until we find one of those thirteen Keys, you can't!" Donald scolds, surprising Sora as he snatches the phone out of his hands. "Master Yen Sid gave us a very important mission, and we don't have time for you to get distracted from it to play around with your shiny new toy!"
"Now, now, Donald," Goofy interjects, taking the phone from the magician to hand it back over to Sora. "He just got it; it's not fair to take it away from him this soon."
"Yeah, Donald," Sora pointedly agrees as he secures his grip on the phone. "Besides, what if I really need it to call Riku or Kairi?"
"You just saw both of them a few days ago," Donald points out flatly. "Do you need to call either of them right now?"
"Um… well…"
"Maybe we oughta focus on tracking down those Keys like Donald said, Sora," Goofy suggests, far more patiently than the magician had. "There's thirteen of 'em to find and a whole lot of worlds to go looking for them in. This could take awhile…"
"And that means we should start searching now instead of giving Organization XIII a chance to get ahead!" Donald asserts, returning to his seat.
"Ok, fine," Sora relents with a long sigh. Begrudgingly, he puts the Gummiphone away, despite still wanting to get a feel for how the device works later on. And even more importantly, to figure out how to use it to contact his two closest friends whenever he might long for the comfort of their company. "So where are we even supposed to start looking for these Keys anyway?" he asks, reclining back in his chair a bit.
"Well, accordin' to Master Yen Sid, they could be anywhere," Jiminy notes thoughtfully. "So why don't we head to the first world we come across and then go from there? I know it's not a great plan, but it sure is better than nothing. What do ya say, fellas?"
"I guess we can always try it," Sora shrugs, turning his attention toward the ship's star maps. "Ok, so it looks like the closest world to where we are is… Twilight Town…" His voice softens as he slowly lifts a hand to hover over his heart. His thoughts begin to drift at the mere mention of the sunset-soaked town as a strange sense of sudden longing and newfound nostalgia swells inside of him. Both feelings that he can't help but feel aren't entirely his own.
"Sora?" Goofy speaks up when silence has settled in the cockpit for a bit too long. "Is somethin' wrong?"
"Huh?" Sora blinks. For as far away as his almost aching thoughts have taken him, it takes a moment or two before he can fully ground himself back in the present. "Oh, uh, no, I'm ok, it's just… Twilight Town is where Roxas…" he trails off, unsure of how to say everything he wants to. How to say that Twilight Town was where Roxas had spent most of his relatively short existence, where he'd enjoyed his all-too-brief time with his friends… where he'd been robbed of his own existence, forced to become a silent, obscured part of someone else's.
Sora lightly grips the fabric of his shirt directly over his heart, the place where he knows whatever might be left of his Nobody now resides. His Nobody, who he'd never really gotten a chance to know or befriend, despite always wanting to. His Nobody, who, by all accounts, can't even be his own person so long as their hearts are tied and tethered together as tightly as they are.
His Nobody, who he can't help but want to see, want to save, want to somehow separate from himself so he can finally have the life he truly deserves to lead.
"If we go to Twilight Town to look for that Key," Sora begins, his tone devout as he stands to face his companions. "Then there's something else we have to do there too. We have to find a way to get Roxas's heart out of mine!"
"What?!" Donald and Goofy exclaim, mutually surprised by such a daunting mission.
"How are we supposed to do that?" the captain wonders, frowning.
"We'll figure something out," Sora says confidently. "And there's no better place to do that than Twilight Town, trust me."
"But Roxas is your Nobody," Donald reminds skeptically. "So what would getting him out of your heart do to you?"
"...I don't know," Sora replies truthfully. He almost adds that it doesn't really matter what becomes of him so long as Roxas is set free, but that likely won't go over well with either of his companions. Even if he knows it's true after how he'd been the one to steal that freedom away from Roxas in the first place, however unintentional that theft might have been. "I guess that's a bridge we'll cross when we get to it. But if we're already going to be out looking for those Keys, then we might as well try to help as many people as we can too, right?"
"Why do you have to be so obsessed with helping everyone you meet?" Donald grumbles, crossing his arms.
"You say that like it's a bad thing," Sora jokes back, eliciting laughs from Goofy and Jiminy. "So it's decided then," he turns back to the sea of stars surrounding the ship, the Kingdom Key flashing into his hand as he points its tip toward the endless expanse of worlds ahead. He can practically feel Roxas' heart stirring within his own, calling him exactly where he wants and needs to go. And as far as Sora is concerned, that's a call he's more than ready and willing to follow, wherever it may lead. "We're heading to Twilight Town for a Key-" he pauses, only for a moment as his Keyblade opens up a glimmering gate with ease. A gate that he can only hope will bring him closer to bringing his Nobody back than he's ever been before. "And for Roxas."
The top clock tower offers the very best view of Twilight Town by far. The structure rises so high above the sunset soaked city streets and buildings that it gives a perfect perspective of just above everything below it. Which was why it's no wonder that they'd long since singled that lofty perch out as their favorite spot to unwind and relax at the end of their usual lazy, carefree summer days. Even as that summer steadily starts to approach it's all-too-quick end.
Because of that end, a melancholy silence hangs in the air between them as they sit high above the town, snacking on their sea salt ice cream. The evening is warm and peaceful and quiet, but it hardly sets his unsteady mind at ease as he tries and fails to make sense of everything. Of the bizarre white creatures, of the hooded thief who had made off with their hard-earned beach money, of the strange dreams he's been having of that boy with brown hair, blue eyes, and a cheerful smile. A boy he swears he's never seen but he can't help but feel connected to… somehow.
"It's melting." Olette's voice breaks him out of his swirling thoughts. Sure enough, his ice cream is dripping, though he can hardly be bothered to care as he glanced over at his friends. Wondering how in the world they're all so calm and collected, wondering how none of them have noticed what he's been seeing, wondering why none of them can see that something's so clearly wrong.
"…Sorry…" he mutters glumly, his thoughts still lingering on their hard-earned, easily-lost money.
"Cheer up already!" Hayner urges bluntly.
"That was definitely weird though…" Pence notes, puzzled.
"Strange…" Olette agrees with a nod.
"You said it," he sighs absently as he looks out at the impressive expanse before him. He closes his eyes for a moment, finally taking a bite out of his ice cream. Even though it's melted a bit in the summer heat, it's still just as delicious as ever, if not the slightest bit bittersweet in a way he can't quite place.
"It's been awhile since we've all hung out like this, huh?" he asks with something of a small, sad smile.
"Well, we've all had our share of drama lately," Axel shrugs, narrowly skirting around what all three of them are surely thinking. "By the way, I just remembered," he glances over at the pair sitting beside him. "Did you know you should be checking your ice cream sticks?"
"Really?" she asks, leaning forward slightly.
"Yeah," Axel glances down at his own half-eaten bar. "Once you finish your ice cream, see if the stick says WINNER." He takes another bite of his own treat, only to find a blank stick below it. "…Not that I've ever seen one myself."
"So… what happens if you win?" he asks, curious.
"I'll tell ya… that's… a good question."
"What, you don't know?"
"Well, it's gotta be something nifty if you're a WINNER, right?"
"Hm… I guess…"
She laughs over their playful bickering, though she soon shifts the conversation entirely as she glances out towards the sinking sun before them. "Wow…" she says, aptly amazed by the view. "The sun's beautiful today…" They join her in admiring the bright, yet fading glow, a sense of contentment mingled with hints of longing settling upon all three of them as they take it in. "I've seen a lot of sunsets, but today's puts them all to shame," she noted warmly, yet sadly, knowing something the other two don't. Something she can't bear to tell them, a burden she can barely stand to carry herself. "If only things could stay like this forever…"
A sudden idea comes to him at this, a risky one that could only work if only things were different, if only their lives weren't so complicated. If only any of them had hearts. "Say…" he decides to suggest it all the same, just to see what they might say. "What if we all just… took off?"
"What?" she asks, confused. Likewise, Axel glances over at him, raising a curious eyebrow.
"If we ran, I bet we could always be together," he smiles, still daring to hope that such a plan could somehow work, as lofty and impossible as it might seem.
"But… we have nowhere to run…" she shakes her head.
"…Yeah…" he sighs, knowing there's nowhere they could go where they wouldn't inevitably be found and dragged right back. "I guess you're right…"
"What's important isn't that we hang out with each other every day," Axel interjects, his expression unreadable as he stares out at the sunset.
"As long as we keep each other in our thoughts, we'll never be apart, right?" she finishes, her tone sweet and hopeful. "We've got it memorized, Axel."
"Good," Axel nodded, finally smiling, if only slightly.
"I'll have these moments memorized for a long time…" she says softly. Something inside of her aches as she does, a pain she knows she can't shake, not when it comes to what is bound to come next. "Forever…"
"Me too," he agrees as a vow to his two best friends. A vow to hold onto all of the warmth and happiness these simple moments they share together carry for as long as he possibly can… and perhaps even after that. "Forever…"
"Hey, Roxas?"
"Roxas?"
"Ro_as?"
Sora?
"Sora!"
"Huh?" Sora flinches, blinking rapidly as he snaps back into the present at Donald's impatient call. Slightly disoriented, he glances back up at the clock tower he felt like he'd just been sitting on, only to be surprised that they're down in the city's shaded streets far below it instead. Only now does he remember they've only just arrived in Twilight Town, though he can't really recall much after that. That is, save for the distant memories he'd just seen, memories that he'd only ever seen the briefest glimpses of before, now played out fully before his very eyes.
"You've been starin' up at the tower for an awfully long time now…" Goofy notes with clear concern, narrowly managing to anchor his attention back to reality once more. "Did ya see somethin' up there?"
"Y-yeah, I did! I saw-" Sora stops short as he finally looks away from the tower only to glance down at his own hands. And when he does, he's shocked to find they were clad in a pair of dark gloves, his arms covered by the long sleeves of a very familiar black coat. His already panicking mind somehow finds room to wonder how his outfit has managed to shift so drastically, why Donald and Goofy haven't pointed such an alarming change out to him. But those thoughts are all starkly silenced as soon as he catches sight of his reflection in one of the nearby shop windows, only to find that it isn't his reflection at all.
It's Roxas'.
"Sora?" Goofy steps in front of his view of the window, still clearly worried as Donald shares his concern. "Are you ok?"
Sora doesn't answer right away. Instead, he looks to his hand again, only to find that it's clad in the glove he knows he should be wearing instead of one he wouldn't be caught dead in. His reflection, however, still isn't back to normal, as he briefly leaned over to look past Goofy, only to find Roxas still staring back at him instead of himself.
"Y-yeah…" he breathes, shaking his head as he takes a small step back. He gasps, startled as he ends up bumping into a building behind him, still seeing Roxas reflecting in the glass in place of himself, mirroring every bit of confusion he currently feels. "I… I'm fine," he lies, knowing that this isn't fine, that something is wrong, that he has no idea what's happening to him or why or how to make it all stop or—
"You sure don't seem fine…" Pence notes, Hayner and Olette standing close by. He wrenches his eyes shut tight, shaking his head once more to clear it in the hopes that when he opens them again, the only faces he sees will be Donald and Goofy's. But of course, the only one he's met with instead is Axel.
"You two don't look so hot…" he vaguely hears him say. Two? She wonders, knowing she's the only one here. Wait… she?
"Sora!" Donald stands on his tip-toes to snap his fingers right in front of Sora's face. And yet, his only response is a soft groan as he grips the sides of his head. His usually tanned skin has paled considerably, his forehead covered in a thin sheen of sweat as he presses up against the side of the building, breathing heavily all the while. Rare is it for either Donald or Goofy to see Sora in such a shaken, unsettled state, especially in a moment of relative calm such as this, which gives them all the more reason to worry for him even more. "What's happening to him this time?" Donald asks, equally exasperated and concerned.
"Ya don't think it could be… ya know," Goofy lowers his voice down to an apprehensive whisper. "The same thing that happened to him back in Olympus, do ya?"
Donald jolts at this, just as frightened by even the possibility of seeing slip into such immense darkness again as Goofy is. Especially in a place as highly populated with innocent civilians as Twilight Town. "W-well if it is, then we'd better get him out of here!" the magician exclaims, already starting to push Sora along. Goofy is quick to help, but the sudden movement is enough to abruptly throw Sora out of his starkly shifting round of visions, even if he is still very disoriented when he glances back at the pair shoving him down the street.
"W-what's going on?" he asks, trying his best to focus on Donald and Goofy, if only to ground himself in the present instead of being thrust right back to the past. Or rather, to his Nobody's past. "What are you two doing?"
"Getting you somewhere safe before you turn back into that Heartless thing again!" Donald informs sternly, pushing against Sora's efforts to stand still.
"If they were scared of how you were when you were like that back in Thebes, we shouldn't take our chances in a place like this either," Goofy reasons with a fretful frown.
"What?" Sora finally finds enough strength to pull away from the pair, looking between them in baffled offense. "Are you guys serious? That's not what's happening to me!"
"Then what is?" Donald asks, hands on his hips.
"I… don't know," Sora shakes his head, a hand still lightly resting against it. He tries to think of a way to explain it, how to tell them about something he barely understands himself. So instead of explaining it, instead of struggling with the effort to even put it all into words, he decides to wait until his head clears and his heart settles. Until he can figure out how to talk about his Nobody's faded memories melding and meshing with the vibrant world he's standing within. "But this isn't like what happened before," he clarifies, not wanting either of them to worry or fear the idea of the darkness overtaking him once more. "Like I already said, that's something that isn't gonna happen again, not if I can help it."
"But what if you can't help it?" Donald counters crossly. "That's exactly why we should have told Master Yen Sid about it instead of lying like you forced us to do!"
"It wasn't a lie!" Sora retorts, though he's quick to recant as the magician's disapproving scowl deepens. "O-ok, maybe it sort of was. But that doesn't matter! What happened back there really wasn't as big of a deal as you guys like to think it is."
"Well, shucks, call me crazy, but you nearly losin' yourself to darkness does kinda seem like a big deal to us, Sora…" Goofy notes, his tone far less harsh than Donald's but clearly concerned all the same.
"I-it was an accident, ok?!" Sora snaps, glaring back at the pair defensively. "And neither of you have anything else to worry about because I already told you, I'm not going to let it happen again. Which is why we don't have to tell Master Yen Sid or Riku, or anyone else about it, ok? Same goes for anything else that happened in Olympus. All they need to know is we went there, we came back, and…" he sighs, shame slipping into his tone as he looks away. "And that it was a huge waste of time when it came to getting my strength back anyway, so we might as well have not even gone…"
"Aw, don't worry, Sora," Goofy assures, placing a hand on his shoulder. "It's like we keep tellin' ya! You'll get your strength back before you know it!"
"Yeah!" Donald readily agrees. "So quit complaining about it already!"
"I'm not complaining, I just-" Sora stops himself with an irritated huff. "Can we… not have this conversation again, please?" he groans, covering his face with his hands. When he pulls them away a moment later, he spots a small puddle of water on the ground beside him, and as he catches another glimpse of Roxas' reflection in place of his own, his heart suddenly aches with an undeniable pang of genuine homesickness. With a desire to be a part of the world that's filled with memories he treasured so dearly once more. And as Roxas shares that desire with him, Sora decides to shift his focus away from own worries and woes, to the much more noble cause of liberating his lost Nobody instead. "We need to start looking for a way to help Roxas," he asserts as he presses on into the tram common.
"And that Key!" Donald adds pointedly.
"Hm… maybe if we find one, that'll lead to us findin' the other," Goofy theorizes. "Master Yen Sid said those Keys are all 'bout feelings, right? So how does thinking about Roxas make you feel, Sora?"
"Oh, well, uh… it's… sorta hard to say?" Sora shrugs, uncertain. "I mean, I've only time I've ever met him was-" he pauses, skimming a hand over his heart as he thinks about the arduous battle he'd once been forced to wage against his Nobody within it. It hadn't exactly been the best first meeting they could have had, which is why he decides to detail his second encounter with Roxas instead, knowing that's bound to be much easier to explain to his companions than whatever is happening to him now. "...Was in the sleeping worlds. It was like…" he trails off again, fully setting his sights on his Nobody's reflection and wishing that it could be more than just that alone. Wishing that Roxas, the real Roxas could be here, standing by his side instead of merely being a shadow that he casts. "It was like I was seeing into his heart for the very first time…"
Of course, he omits the fact that he's practically feeling exactly the same way now. Sad, hopeful, remorseful, and most of all, absolutely overwhelmed by memories and feelings that aren't his own, feelings that are still so precious and important all the same. He had seen those memories before, in the deepest depths of the sleeping worlds, and he's seeing them now, in the hazy sunset of Twilight Town. So perhaps being here, in a place where Roxas had spent so much time and had so many connections to, is what's stirring up these strange sensations within his heart as a way of guiding him to free his Nobody's like he strives so strongly to do.
On one hand, it's a reassuring sign, one that could lead them to some kind of clues or ideas on how to proceed in such an intensive task. But on the other hand, Sora can't deny that it all still unnerves him. In many ways, it feels like he's walking around in someone else's shoes, even if they're still very much his own. Each and every glance he sees of Roxas' reflection filling in place of where his own should be is like a grim, almost painful reminder that his heart isn't entirely his own, that Roxas is still trapped inside of it, that he needs to find a way to save him and why hasn't he saved him yet, why is it taking so long, why is Roxas not allowed to be his own person when Sora is and why has this not bothered him this much until now?
Sora takes in a tight, shuddering breath in an attempt to silence this racing, almost frantic train of thought. He quickly turns back to face his companions, throwing on a quick, fake smile to set them at ease as he voices a mostly innocent assumption, one that he already largely knows to be true. "Twilight Town was really important to him, so I'm sure we're in the right place to figure something out," he says, his smile turning genuine when Donald and Goofy nod their agreement. He glances toward a nearby window, hardly surprised to find Roxas's reflection staring back at him this time as he whispers him a solemn, earnest vow, one he can only hope his Nobody can somehow hear. "Don't worry, Roxas. I'm gonna find a way to bring you back. I promise."
"Come to us… You are ours..."
He freezes perfectly in place as this unidentifiable, undeniable voice reverberates through his entire body. Neither of his companions notice as his eyes briefly flash a color that decidedly isn't the bright blue they're supposed to be. He almost heeds it, almost begins to follow its peculiar, pulling call, until-
"No! Don't listen to them!"
In an instant, the trance is broken. Sora gasps, stumbling back as if this new voice had physically struck him. A voice that he's heard before, a voice he knows this time. A voice he longs to hear again even as it fades back into the lonely silence of his very own heart.
"That voice…" he says softly, pressing a hand against his chest. "Could it be…?"
"A voice?" Donald exchanges a confused glance with Goofy. "I didn't hear any voice. Did you?"
"Nope," the captain shakes his head. He pauses for a moment, poising an ear up to listen through the usual din of casual conversations filling the town's busy shopping sector. "'Least not any voice talkin' to us."
"Are you sure you weren't just hearing things?" Donald asks, raising a dubious eyebrow.
"I've been hearing things since we got here…" Sora mutters only really to himself. He's been hearing things, seeing things, feeling things that have only served to confuse him, to make him feel like he's barely even here, barely even himself in between it all. And yet, for as bewildering and unsettling as it all is, he can't help but cling onto every last one of those things, knowing that they have to mean something. Though exactly what that something is, Sora has no idea.
"What are you trying to tell me…?" he whispers as he looks at yet another window bearing his reflection. Or rather, Roxas' reflection, which only silently mimics his own words right back at him, providing no answers, no clues, nothing.
Despite his best efforts to remain discreet, Sora's notably odd behavior isn't lost on either of his companions. Donald and Goofy share a troubled glance, still very much believing that behavior to be a holdover from the harrowing time they'd had in Olympus. The kind of time neither of them are very keen on repeating here and now, when their newest journey has only just begun.
"Sora-" Goofy begins, though he doesn't get a chance to voice either of their newfound concerns. Because at that exact moment, their entire conversation is broken by the arrival of another-yet familiar-trio entirely.
"Well, look who it is!"
Sora gasps, startled, as a hand suddenly lands solidly on his shoulder. As anxious and at-ends as he already is, he's nearly ready to whip his Keyblade out at a moment's notice. Though as he takes even a quick glance at who's come to greet them. "Hayner! Pence! Olette!" he exclaims with a bright, excited grin. "I can't believe it! It's been so long!"
"Huh?" Hayner raises an eyebrow. "It hasn't been that long since the last time you guys were in town."
"The last time we were…. Oh… right…" Sora shakes his head, clearing it as best he can. Especially now, in the presence of some of his Nobody's former friends, he finds himself reminded that Roxas' thoughts and feelings resonate so strongly here. Perhaps even stronger than his own thoughts and feelings currently are.
"Donald! Goofy! How are you?" Olette greets the pair with a bright smile.
"Howdy there, Olette," Goofy grins, waving.
"We're good," Donald nods heartily.
"So, what brings you guys to Twilight Town again?" Pence asks, curious. "Don't tell us you're trying to open another portal to a different version of this place, are you?"
Despite this rather joking question, Sora, Donald, and Goofy exchange something of a stiff glance, knowing they can't say too much, lest they break the all too fragile world order. "Um… actually, we're here to find this special Key or something?" Sora begins, though he's quick to jump to their other goal. A goal that, to him at least, is every bit as pertinent as it is personal "But even more important than that-"
"Sora-" Donald is quick to scold, though he's largely ignored as Sora presses on.
"We're… looking for Roxas," he says with a hint of hesitance in his tone. Hesitance that he can't quite pinpoint the source of.
For their part, Hayner, Pence, and Olette exchange an intrigued, but ultimately unknowing look. "Roxas?" Olette asks, tiling her head.
"That's funny…" Hayner says after a moment of thought. "I don't know any Roxas, but... the name sounds familiar."
"Maybe we bumped into him somewhere," Pence guesses with a shrug.
"Uh… that's one way to put it…" Donald notes as he and Goofy look to each other with a shared set of pitied frowns. At the same time, Sora feels a beat of genuine sadness echo through his heart upon hearing that they don't remember him, barely even know who he is. And yet, he remembers them, recalling every bit of the time they'd spent together, however fabricated and falsified as it might have been, as if it had been the realist thing in all the world.
Because to him, that's exactly what it had been.
"Actually," Goofy speaks up. "Roxas mighta been friends with another version of you." The captain pulls a photo out of his pocket, one that they had received quite some time ago, but had made sure to hang onto ever since, just in case.
Hayner takes the picture, allowing Pence and Olette to get a good look at it too. Immediately, surprise fills each of their expressions as they look over it, as if none of them can believe what they're seeing. "This photo…" Olette starts, just as stunned as both of the boys are.
"Yeah, we've got the same one," Pence says, pulling out their own copy of the picture. Sure enough, both images are almost exactly the same, depicting the three of them, posing in front of the gates to the old mansion. Familiar to be sure, though there's one key difference between them. Namely that Roxas is present and smiling right alongside the trio in one, and in the other, he's glaringly absent. "But how-"
"Oh yeah!" Hayner cuts in with a sudden realization as he looks between both photos. "The other Twilight Town!"
"It's like one of those 'spot the difference' puzzles…" Pence notes, glancing over the images a second time. "Except really easy."
"I guess in that town, we're friends with this Roxas," Olette assumes and Sora has to practically resist the urge to shout a joyous 'yes' when she does.
What he does end up saying, however, is something far more reserved, though every bit as sincere. "Yeah, it's… kind of weird and a little hard to explain, but Roxas hung out with you guys a lot in that other Twilight Town. He had other friends too-" Like Axel and someone else… And the mere thought of that someone brings an odd pang of grief to his already perplexed and puzzled heart. "But then… something happened, and uh… well, he's not really around anymore…" Sora sighs, skimming his heart as he tries to bite back the guilt that comes along with saying that. The guilt that comes along with the knowledge that the only reason why Roxas is gone is entirely because of him. "A-anyway, that's why we're here," he finishes, replacing that guilt with a steadfast resolve to finally set things right. To finally pay his Nobody back for the great sacrifice he'd once been forced to make solely for his sake. "To find a way to bring Roxas back, no matter what it takes."
"Wow… this sounds like this is really important to you, Sora," Olette notes as she hands the photo back over to him.
"It is," he nods, closing his eyes. "Very important."
"Well, that settles it then," Hayner says, grinning. "Sora, we're gonna help you track Roxas down."
"R-really?" Sora asks, surprised, but more than glad to hear it.
"Sure," Hayner nods as Pence and Olette readily do the same. "He seems like a pretty cool guy."
"He is," Sora smiles, his heart warmed by the group's willingness to help someone they don't even really know. While he isn't entirely sure, he can't help but think that Roxas feels the same way as he catches yet another glimpse of his Nobody's reflection, only to see it finally smiling back at him.
"Great, then let's all go ask around town," Pence suggests in lieu of any concrete leads. "If alternate-us knew Roxas, then maybe alternate-other folks did too."
"Sora, maybe you three should go to the place in the photo," Olette adds. "It's the old mansion-you've been out there before. The three of us will cover places in town while you guys look for clues over there."
"Ok! Thanks so much, you guys," Sora grins, more than ready to start piecing together some way to help Roxas. "Oh! By the way, I almost forgot; I got this phone thingy that takes pictures!" He pulls the Gummiphone out of his pocket, remembering that Jiminy had detailed photography as one of its many functions. While he still doesn't quite understand most of them yet, using it to take pictures is an easy enough concept for him to grasp. "Wanna snap a quick photo while we're all here?"
The others are all quick to hop on board this idea and in no time at all, they're all set up in a group pose near one of the market's wide brick walls. Of course, since someone needs to actually take the photo for them, which is what Goofy graciously volunteers to do while sitting the photo out.
"Everybody smile!" the captain grins, holding up the phone to snap the photo. Everyone does exactly that, and not long after, the entire group gathers around the Gummiphone, admiring the new photo together.
"Wow, that came out great!" Pence exclaims as Hayner and Olette nod their satisfied agreement.
"Gawrsh, ya know, it sorta reminds me of the other picture," Goofy notes, briefly pulling out the photo featuring Roxas out once more. The two photos, while quite different, are certainly comparable on some level, though Sora can't deny the contrasting senses of both connectedness and longing as he looks between them both. Connectedness to the friends standing by his side right here and right now and a longing to be with the friends he's lost to and had lost once again. And, compelled by that longing, Sora realizes he can't simply stop with bringing Roxas back; he needs to bring him back to those lost friends too.
"Hey, maybe once we do find Roxas, we could take another picture with all of us, together," he suggests with a small, hopeful smile.
"Oh, yeah! It'll be like both pictures combined!" Pence chimes in just as eagerly.
"I like the sound of that," Olette nods warmly.
"Sounds like a plan," Hayner agrees. "But if we ever wanna take that picture, we gotta actually get Roxas here in the first place. So for now, we'd better start asking around. You guys start by checking the old mansion. We'll catch up."
"Got it," Sora says, just as resolved as ever. Hayner, Pence, and Olette share that resolve, each of them carrying the same noble mission as they part ways with the trio: to find a way to bring Roxas back to the life he should have, the life he deserves, no matter what, or where, that way might be.
As they travel through Twilight Town, Sora largely doesn't say a word. Though Donald and Goofy try to get him in on their casual conversations as they stroll through the city's streets, he mostly tunes them out, much to their mutual concern. They ask him what's wrong more than a few times, and in each instance, he simply responds with a terse 'nothing' instead of what's actually true. That he's decided, at least for the time being, to focus less on the present and more on the past-on Roxas' past-instead.
Along their journey through the calm sunset-streaked streets, Sora still finds himself bombarded with even more of Roxas' memories and emotions at practically every twist and turn. His surprise and shock over this phenomenon has largely worn off by now, to the point that he's come to anticipate it, perhaps even appreciate it as it gives him deeper insight into the life and personality of his Nobody, things he's only ever gotten the briefest of glimpses at before.
Sora knows he wants to save Roxas, a goal that, at least for him, takes precedence even over their new mission to collect the thirteen Keys. But the chance to get to know him better, even in an indirect way like this, is something he isn't about to pass up. True, it's still somewhat disconcerting to pass by mirrors and windows and not see his own reflection following alongside him, and he can't deny the spark of unknown fear that runs through him whenever he happened to look down at his attire and catch a peek of Roxas' black Organization cloak instead of his own new clothes. But for the most part, Sora does his best to ignore all that and focus on Roxas, his memories, and whatever message he might be trying to communicate to him through them.
Passing through the rest of the tram common allows him glimpses into warm summer days, odd jobs meant to earn them money for the beach, heading to the shop to buy ice cream after a long day of hectic missions. Even just passing by the sandlot shows him the Struggle, taking Seifer down a peg to claim the trophy and its gemstones they had all split up to share, Axel showing up to bring him back to the Organization he had willingly, angrily abandoned. But most poignant of all is the clock tower, a place so special, where the three of them always came together at the end of every day to talk, laugh, and sometimes just think. It's where ice cream was enjoyed, sunsets were watched, secrets were shared, feelings hurt and friendships built and repaired. Where they'd always come back to, where they'd connected the most. In a way, it almost feels more like home than anywhere else.
In just about every single memory the clock tower has to offer, Sora finds that Axel is usually the most prominent face to appear. He'd shown him the 'icing on the cake', had brought him out of the initial quiet revere of his early existence, had taught him about fun and friendship and all the feelings they'd supposedly never get to know as Nobodies. But just as recurring as Axel in these memories, is another figure, a girl, he thinks, though her face is always obscured by the shadows of her hood. She was also part of the Organization, her and Roxas its youngest, newest members, both of them capable of wielding a Keyblade. But no matter how many times she shows up within those memories, Sora is never, not even once, able to garnish her name. It's as if it had been silence, wiped out, the only thing remaining of her being her voice alone, though even that's become distant and dim compared to everything else within Roxas' memories.
Still, every time she appears, something deep and visceral strangely stirs within his heart, in a way that feels decidedly different from the gentle pulls he feels from Roxas. Occasionally, he'll catch the briefest of flashes of her, the real her, her bright blue eyes, her raven black hair, her kind, playful smile. But they're all so quick and fleeting that they offer nothing really substantial about who she really is at all. For a moment, he almost thinks he sees her standing in place of where he'd grown used to seeing Roxas' reflection instead of his own. But just like seemingly everything else about her, all too quickly she's dimmed, faded, gone.
Forgotten.
It's only as the trio ventures into the underground tunnels that connect the town to the woods that Donald and Goofy finally successfully catch his attention again. The captain asks if he's alright once more, a question that Sora brushes off as succinctly as ever to ward off their concerns. Even so, it makes him almost want to finally tell his companions about what he's been experiencing, even though he knows he's the only one seeing and feeling any of it. But just as he's about to, he remembers what happened in Olympus, he remembers his struggle to stand strong on his own, he remembers his startling slip into darkness, he remembers his continued weakness inside and out… and he realizes that he can't let them know about this. Because if they already fretted over him so immensely, so annoyingly before, then what would they possibly think about something as alarming and inexplicable as someone else's memories overshadowing his own?
So he decides to keep quiet about it, at least for now. Because really, how much harm could one simple secret cause?
Eventually, the trio makes it to the dense forest that lay just on the other side of Twilight Town's tall walls. Much like the town itself, the dusk-covered woods are calm and quiet and feature a path that leads directly to the mansion they're heading for. Like earlier, Donald and Goofy set out ahead first, and though Sora starts to follow them, the moment he takes even a single step forward into the woods, a new voice entirely suddenly echoes through his thoughts.
"Come to us…"
Sora stops, caught off guard by the sudden, almost aggressive pull on his heart, one that feels so different from the usual soft tug he suspects has been coming from Roxas. For a moment, he wonders if this new, almost unwelcome spark of feeling somehow originates from his Nobody's scattered memories, until the strange voice itself confirms that its words don't come from Roxas' past. Instead, they're for him, here and now.
"Sora..." it speaks again, its indiscernible tone barely over a wavering whisper. Yet for as soft and deceptively gentle as it is, its beckoning sound carries an unnaturally commanding sway that, for one reason or another, Sora is completely helpless to resist falling under.
"Come and take your place among us…" it calls and he does as it says, thoughtlessly following the persistent pull on his heart as it practically drags him onward. His hands fall slack at his sides as his steps remain slow yet steady, his expression empty and his eyes wide yet dull and unfocused as he stares straight ahead yet sees nothing at all.
"Sora…" Each time it speaks his name, its intangible reigns of control seem to tighten around him more and more, pushing away his own thoughts and feelings and replacing them with nothing but cold, quiet obedience. Anything other than the voice, the pull, and wherever they're both leading him fades away, including Donald and Goofy as they continue on the path ahead, completely unaware that something was gravely wrong Sora behind them.
"So, do ya really think we'll find any clues that could help us help Roxas at the mansion?" Goofy asks Donald, casual and curious.
"Who knows?" the magician shrugs truthfully. After all, their entire stint here in Twilight Town is based largely on the mere speculation that it could lead them to Roxas, though thus far, they've yet to find anything resembling a concrete solution. "What do you think, Sora?"
The pair briefly glanced over their shoulders at him, though almost as soon as they do, they quickly stop short. Not only does Sora not give them any sort of reply at all, but his stiff, distant manner and cold, vacant expression is more than enough to garnish immediate concern from them both. "S-Sora?" Donald starts, though he receives no response. Sora spares neither of them so much as a single glance, instead heeding only the voice and the voice alone as he continues walking past them both.
"You were born to dwell in darkness..." the voice says, louder, clearer. By now, it starts to sound less like a single voice… and more like many voices speaking all in perfect discordant harmony. "Follow us and you will find your destiny..."
Despite their ominous, downright sinister message, Sora does exactly as these mysterious voices say, following their lead to the point that he's all but incapable of doing or thinking anything else. All the while, Donald and Goofy watch with mutual worry as he continues at a slow, steady pace away from them, completely lost to whatever trance he appears to be under.
"Uh… Sora?" Goofy ventures apprehensively, hurrying to walk alongside him as Donald does the same. "I-is somethin' wrong?"
"Why aren't you saying anything?!" Donald asks, frustrated by Sora's continued silence, a silence that shows no signs of breaking anytime soon. "Normally we can't get you to be quiet, but when we want you to talk, you won't say a word! Figures…"
"Say, come to think of it… you've been sorta outta it ever since we got here…" Goofy muses. "I know you keep saying you're fine, but… are ya sure there isn't something you're not tellin' us about?"
"Because if there is, you know better than to keep it a secret from us!" Donald exclaims sternly. "So spill it already! And snap out of whatever it is you're staring at already! It's creeping us out!"
Despite his companion's earnest urging, Sora still doesn't speak a single word, his gaze still fixated straight ahead as he continues walking as slowly as ever through the woods ahead. Before, Donald and Goofy had only suspected something was off, but now there's no doubt. To confirm their worries even more, Goofy tentatively reaches a hand out, placing it firmly on Sora's shoulder in an attempt at halting him. And yet, Sora completely ignores the gesture and easily pulls right out of his grip. In his continued frustration, Donald is more direct in his approach, grabbing Sora by the hand and planting himself firmly in the hopes that'll finally be enough to stop him in his tracks. Of course, it isn't as Sora simply pulled his otherwise motionless hand away, knocking Donald back onto his tail feathers and setting him off even more.
"What's going on?!" he shouts as Goofy hurries to help him up. For a moment, the two continue watching Sora, his back turned to them as he listens only to the voices. The voices that seem to echo all around him, and from within the depths of his very own heart.
"You are not complete without us… and we are not complete without you…" it assures as softly as ever as its almost painful pull forces his heart and body forward. "You are the final piece that is needed… the most important of them all…"
"For without you, the Kingdom cannot come…"
Donald and Goofy are just about to make another attempt at breaking through to Sora, though they're halted as a large, varied group of Nobodies materializes among the trees straight ahead of them. A shared startled shout instantly rises from the pair as they summon their weapons and prepare for the oncoming fray, though they stop short when they notice that Sora makes no such effort to do the same. Instead, he simply keeps going, his blank, empty manner still unchanged, even despite the danger he's heading straight towards.
"Sora, look out!" Donald warns, taking the liberty of firing off an ice spell to knock back a Dusk that manages to skirt too close to him. And yet, Sora doesn't so much as even flinch, still not calling upon his Keyblade or making any attempt at all to defend himself, much to Donald and Goofy's mutual alarm.
"What's the matter with him?!" Donald exclaims, gripping his staff tightly as he fends off another Nobody from afar.
"Garwsh, I don't know, but look!" Goofy points to the horde of Nobodies just as Sora reaches them. For the briefest of moments, it seems as though the creatures are more than set to attack him, and yet, right before they all rush towards him at once, they stop. In fact, they strangely seem to slither back away from Sora as he passes through their group, as if he isn't even aware of their presence at all.
"They're… not attacking him?" Donald wonders, beyond baffled at this point. Goofy keeps his shield raised as he steps forward a bit to test if the Nobodies really are standing down for some reason. However, the creatures are quick to snap back into their usual aggressive ways upon turning their attention away from Sora and back towards his companions. The pair gasps fearfully as the entire horde rushes for them, completely ignoring Sora, who does the same to them as he continues following the still unseen, still unknown pull on his heart.
"Sora, snap out of it already!" Donald yells past the Nobodies, casting spells at them left and right. "We need your help over here!"
"Y-yeah, please!" Goofy essentially pleads, looking past the Nobodies to focus on Sora. "Like we said before, we're a team! Which means we all gotta stick together, no matter what, Sora!"
As distracted with fighting as they are, neither of them notice as Sora's pace slightly slows at this, his gaze slowly starting to drift back toward his endangered friends. At least until the voices snatch whatever fleeting freedom he might have had away from him once again. "You are ours…" they urge, an edge of hostility slipping into their otherwise calm tone. "And we are yours… Come back to where you've always belonged… Come home to us, Sora… Come home…"
He doesn't understand a word of what they're saying, doesn't know what the "home" they're speaking of even is; in fact, the only thing he is allowed to know is that he has to heed its call, no matter where or why it might be leading him. He has to do as they say, listen to their words, obey with every fiber of his being. And with each forcibly guided step he takes, he gets further away from his frightened companions… and closer to whoever is calling him somewhere far, far away.
"Sora!" Donald shouts desperately as he frantically casts a healing spell after a particularly nasty cut from a Dusk.
"Sora!" Goofy echoes just as tightly, trying his best to ward off the trio of Nobodies pressing against his shield.
"Sora..." the voices ring out in their twisted chorus. Their pull snapping heavily, agonizingly upon his heart with untold, unbridled malice, hatred, darkness, trapping him, taking everything away from him and leaving nothing behind at all, until-
"Sora!"
"R-Roxas?!" Sora gasps, finally stopping dead in his tracks upon hearing his Nobody's unmistakable warning call from nowhere and everywhere all at once. Instantly, his senses and autonomy rush back to him in full force, finally allowing him to think and see and feel the unknown, absolute anguish flooding his heart. The pain and shock of it is almost enough to knock him to his knees, but instead, he barely manages to summon his Keyblade, digging its tip into the ground so he can lean against it for support. His vision spins as he stares at the ground breathlessly, trying to piece together exactly what's happening. And yet, try as he might to recall something more, the only thing he can recall are the voices that said nothing his memories hold onto now and the fading pain that still lightly pulls against his heart, vying for control that it no longer holds over him anymore.
Sora's quickly broken out of his confused, racing thoughts upon hearing a round of frightened, strained cries behind him. Startled, he turns to see Donald and Goofy, still beset by a crowd of Nobodies that shows no signs of thinning out any time soon, despite their best efforts to oust them. And even though his chest still aches from the resounding pain, Sora doesn't hesitate to finally join his companions in the ongoing fray.
Needless to say, Donald and Goofy are more than relieved to see Sora suddenly cut through the wall of Nobodies forcing them back. His Keyblade's initial swift swing is more than enough to take out several of the Dusks at least, though Sora doesn't stop there as he also cut down several of the outliers of the group. Even amidst the ongoing fight, Donald prepares to angrily call Sora out for his earlier unresponsiveness, though Goofy's quick to quell his anger for the time being, allowing their young companion to steadily wipe out the rest of the Nobodies while they take a much-needed breather.
Of course, that doesn't mean that after the fight is over, everything is so easily forgotten. For just as soon as Sora finishes dispatching the last Dusk, both Donald and Goofy practically pounce on him with their barrage of countless questions and concerns.
"What happened to you?!" Donald demands first, stomping his foot down. "We get attacked and you just walk away?! Are you nuts!?"
"I-I… I didn't… I wasn't-" Sora stammers, not knowing how to even explain what had just happened himself.
"Are you ok, Sora?" Goofy asks, calmer, but still clearly concerned as he places a comforting hand on Sora's shoulder. "Is there somethin' ya maybe need to tell us about?"
"No. No 'maybes'," Donald interjects before Sora can even get a word in edgewise. "There is something you're not telling us about and it needs to stop! Something's been up with you ever since we got here and you need to explain it, right now!"
"I… I don't know, I-" Sora cuts himself off, reeling frantically to find an answer that makes any sort of sense. But that's exactly the problem; whatever had just happened to him makes no sense whatsoever, and he's especially hard pressed to figure out some way, any way, to put it all into words. So instead, he decides to go with a much simpler, much safer route instead. "I-I've been seeing Roxas' memories!" he exclaims sharply, his hands clenched in tight fists at his sides. It's only really half true though; because whatever trance he'd just been trapped in had nothing to do with his Nobody. If anything, Roxas had been the one who had somehow broken him out of it when just about no one else could. But this excuse, for however last-minute it might be, is one he can only hope his companions will believe.
"Whaaaaa?!" Donald and Goofy both ask, aghast as they stare at him with wide eyes.
"What do you mean, 'seeing his memories'?" the magician asks, raising a suspicious eyebrow.
"I mean… I've been seeing his memories," Sora shrugs, unsure of how else to put it. "All over town, I've just… it's just…" He sighs, frustrated at how difficult this is to communicate to others when it's still so strange to him as well. "It's almost like his memories are just… lying around everywhere and they keep coming to me from all over. A-and it's not just that! I keep seeing him in my reflection too. I know this all might sound kinda crazy, but… I think he might be trying to tell me something."
"Gawrsh, like what?" Goofy asks, fascinated by this new development.
"I'm… not sure…" Sora admits, crossing his arms. "But whatever it is, I feel like it could help us save Roxas somehow! Or at least I hope it can..." he mutters that last part, not entirely certain of that fact himself. Still, he can't shake the feeling that his Nobody is indeed trying to get some sort of message across to him through his scattered memories. Figuring out exactly what that message is, however is bound to be the hard part.
"So is that why you just spaced out on us like that?" Donald asks, scowling. "Because you were seeing one of his memories?"
"Y-yes!" Sora exclaims, largely without thinking. Another lie, yes, but it's much easier than the alternative: actually trying to figure out the truth behind the dark, whispering voices he'd just as rather forget. "Yes, that's… exactly what that was."
"Well, it musta been a pretty important memory if ya were so caught up in it like you were," Goofy notes. "What was it about?"
"It was about…" Sora begins, trying to come up with yet another convenient lie, despite the fact that each one he tells to pair fills him with more and more pressing guilt. He isn't a fan of lying to anyone to begin with, but to withhold the truth from Donald and Goofy, his two trusted companions and some of his closest friends, is practically unthinkable. Which is why he's half tempted to actually change his tune and tell them the truth in whatever way he can. And yet... just shy of him making the choice to do so, he stops, halted by anxiety or dread or something else altogether. And as a result, he finds himself ultimately fronting another quick fabrication instead. "I-it was about Roxas going to the same mansion we're headed to! Which means we're probably on the right track, so we might as well get going there instead of standing around here, right?"
Donald and Goofy exchange something of a dubious glance at this, but in the end, they both seem to accept it, much to Sora's mingled relief and guilt. "If you say so…" the magician muses before turning back to Sora, wagging a warning finger. "But next time something like that starts happening to you, you'd better tell us! You had us worried sick!"
"Yeah, Sora, you don't have to hide anything from the two of us!" Goofy chimes in warmly. "Specially not somethin' like this. Even if it sounds like it might be a doozy, you know we'll always be here to help ya with whatever it might be!"
"Y-yeah…" Sora smiles halfheartedly. He rubs his arm as he looks away from the pair, knowing that he's already betraying their trust, that he's already hiding something from them, that he's already depriving himself of whatever kind aid they're clearly willing to give. And yet… he stays silent all the same, unsure of what else he can really do. "I know…"
"Now come on!" Donald urges impatiently as he leads on. "Let's get to that mansion before anything else can go wrong!"
Goofy chuckles, amused as he follows after the magician, with Sora falling in line not too far behind them. With the scrutiny of his companions finally off him, he takes another moment to think back on the disconcerting, if not downright horrifying events that had just unfolded. Indeed, the pain within his heart has mostly subsided, though it still beats with the constant tug he's felt since arriving in Twilight Town, one that comes from Roxas and not from some other unknown, unwanted external force. Whatever had ensnared his heart in that moment had been a far cry from the comforting familiarity of his Nobody. It had been cold, uncaring, unquestionably agonizing as it stilled and silenced every single part of him into obeying whatever it was it had to say, forcefully dragging him towards an unknown fate all the while.
He can't even begin to guess who those voices had belonged to or how they had managed to engulf him in such tight control to begin with, but all the same, it frightens him. To think that this unknown, unwavering force had the power to take such quick and steady sway over his body, his mind, his heart so easily is more than enough to set Sora on edge as he fears losing himself to its demanding pull all over again.
But then he remembers who had been the one to break him out of its hold: Roxas. Sora has no idea how, but his Nobody's call had been able to do something to set him free, to wake him up from whatever spell he had been put under. Whatever Roxas had done from within the depths of his heart, it had saved him. And that's a favor that Sora isn't about to let go unpaid.
And yet for as strong as his resolve to help Roxas still was, he can't help but shudder as his thoughts turn back to those unnerving voices one last time. This time, he focuses less on the leeching pull they had forced upon his heart and more on the words they had spoken. He isn't able to remember much of them other than their near constant beckoning for him to follow wherever they might lead. But out of every other faded statement they had said, there's one thing that remains, one claim that still sends his mind practically spinning in confusion and worry each and every time he thinks about it and whatever it might possibly mean, if it even means anything at all:
"For without you, the Kingdom cannot come…"
Ohohoh interesting indeed huh? Looks like Sora is having a bit of... A Time, to be sure, though I feel like things may or may not get even... more interesting in our second half of our Twilight Town trip come the next chapter. But for now I'd LOVE to know what you thought in the REVIEWS since I'm pretty dang proud of this chapter myself. Also, I drew up a cover for this story, so if you'd like to see it better than you can on here, check it out over here: www . deviantart minijen / art / Keys-to-the-Kingdom-797918061 (just take out all the spaces, doesn't like links :P) So, until next time! :)
