SEE CHAPTER ONE FOR (MOST) DISCLAIMERS
PLEASE READ & REVIEW, AND TEND TO THE TROPE PAGES
-CHAPTER START-
Twilight Town
As Sora, Donald, & Goofy entered the plaza, one of the electric trams whizzed by.
"Oh, cool!" Sora said excitedly. "The trams are still here!"
"Sora, it hasn't been that long…" Donald replied.
"Kinda feels like it…"
"Maybe you're feeling what Roxas feels 'cause he misses home" Goofy suggested.
"…Actually, I ran into Roxas in the Sleeping Worlds. It was like… seeing into his Heart for the first time."
"And he was in the datascape, too" Donald replied, bringing up a "minor" adventure that took place not long before the Dimensional Defense Force entered the scene.
"Uh-huh" Goofy nodded. "It was a test to see if your data version was ready to face the hurt that ya carry inside."
"Was I ready?" Sora asked. "I do know 'hurt'… When I lost Riku and Kairi, and later when I lost the Keyblade, and you guys had to go on without me like that… Having no-one to turn to was the worst kind of hurt. But that just shows how much you mean to me. Carrying around a little hurt can't be all that bad. Hurting is part of caring."
Donald and Goofy turned to each other. "He sounds like Data-Sora did" the mage remarked.
"Of course" Goofy replied. "Any Sora is still Sora."
"So, wait…" Sora spoke up. "If Roxas feels something, then we're in the right place. I'm gonna find him!"
…
'Do you seek our liege?'
Suddenly, several whirling white portals heralded the arrival of a pack of Dusks. Sora, Donald, & Goofy drew their weapons, but the foot-soldier Nobodies did not attack.
'…We serve Lord Roxas still.'
Confused and curious, Sora slowly lowered his weapon. …And then, he and the Dusks simultaneously reacted to a sudden powerful dark presence, turning to face the direction of it. As the Nobodies retreated through their wispy portals again, a trio of familiar faces came running out from a corner across the plaza.
"Hayner? Pence? Olette?"
(BATTLE MUSIC: Kingdom Hearts 1.5 – "Shrouding Dark Cloud")
And then, the heroes saw what was chasing the local trio: a massive column of black & purple Darkness spotted with dozens of glowing yellow eyes – a horde of Shadows melded into a gestalt entity called a "Demon Tower".
"Hello-Sora-goodbye-Sora!" Hayner spat out as he & his friends ran past Sora, away from the gestalt-Heartless.
"Go!" Sora shouted to the trio. "We'll handle this!"
Sensing the Keyblade-wielder, the Demon Tower gathered together in front of Team Sora, rearing up over them like a huge black serpent, its component Shadows constantly wriggling around and climbing up over each other to maintain their combined form's structure. The Demon Tower's countless eyes turned red as it lunged at the heroes, trying to ram them; Goofy was shoved back when he blocked with his shield, while Donald & Sora narrowly leapt out of the way.
Sora and Donald returned fire with Fire and Blizzard blasts, killing a couple of the Demon Tower's component Shadows but doing very little to the compound being as a whole. Sora dashed in and started landing blows with his Keyblade, until the Demon Tower swung its 'body' at him, bashing him away. While Sora got back on his feet with a Cure spell, Goofy came in with a 'Goofy Tornado', using the edge of his shield to repeatedly slash & bash at the gestalt monster. Donald blasted the Demon Tower with a few Thundara strikes, and then a recovered Sora threw his Keyblade in a Strike Raid.
Having lost more Shadows, the Demon Tower reared up and then crashed down at the hero trio, scattering into a swarm of Shadows that tried to pick them apart from all directions. In response, Sora was enveloped in a golden flash as he assumed his Master Form, the transformation flinging Shadows away. He then used his twin Keyblades to start slashing and blasting through Shadows at a prodigious rate, culling their numbers quickly. Finally, the remaining Shadows reformed into the Demon Tower, now in much poorer shape. After looming over them for a few seconds, the Demon Tower then sank into the ground, retreating through a shadowy portal, giving up the fight for now.
(MUSIC END)
"Thanks for the save, Sora" Hayner said as he, Pence, & Olette came over.
"Man, it feels like it's been ages since I saw you guys!" Sora said.
"So," Pence spoke up, "does this mean that weird stuff's going down again?"
"You kidding, Pence?" Hayner replied. "When have we ever seen a tornado of shadowy blobs before? It's not 'weird'; this is underprecedented!"
"There's no 'der'…" Olette muttered.
"Hm, I guess it is" Pence brought a hand to his chin. "The creates from the last time were bright white. These things must be new. Man, I can't wait to get to sleuthin'."
"Actually," Sora replied, "the white things – the Nobodies – were new for us, too, when we first encountered them here in Twilight Town. But the black creatures, the Heartless? I'd already been fighting them for a long time when I first met you three. They're the O.G. bad guys, and the Nobodies were the newcomers."
"Whatever's going on," Olette said, "you wouldn't be here unless you had a good reason."
"Which is…?" Hayner asked.
"Well," Sora replied, "actually, we're looking for Roxas."
"Roxas?" Olette asked.
"Hmm…" Hayner pondered. "That's funny… I don't know any Roxas, but the name sounds familiar."
"Maybe we bumped into him somewhere" Pence suggested.
"Uh…" Donald looked over at Goofy. "That's one way to put it…"
"Actually," Goofy spoke up, "he mighta been friends with another version of ya."
He pulled out a picture from the Digital Twilight Town, of the local trio and Roxas posing in front of the old abandoned mansion.
"This photograph…" Olette murmured.
"We've got the same one" Pence said.
He pulled out another picture – identical except for the lack of Roxas.
"Oh, yeah!" Hayner looked up. "The other Twilight Town!"
"It's like one of those 'spot the differences' puzzles… except really easy. I guess in that town, we're friends with this 'Roxas' person."
"…Sora. Let us help you track Roxas down."
"Really?" Sora grinned.
"Sure. He seems like a pretty cool guy."
"Yeah. He is."
"Great" Pence replied. "Then let's all go ask around town. If alternate-us knew Roxas, then maybe alternate-other-folks did, too."
"Sora," Olette said, "you three should go to the place in the photo. It's the old mansion. The three of us'll cover places in town."
-Scene Break-
Reaching the small forest just outside town on the way to the old mansion, Team Sora found something odd: a trail of various fruits winding along the forest floor, toward a tree. And climbing the tree was a pack of Powerwilds, clawing up towards…
"Look!" Goofy pointed out. "On that branch! The Heartless have him surrounded!"
Indeed, what looked like a rat with bluish-grey fur (Rattus disneyus) was cornered by the Heartless, quivering in fear. As Sora summoned his Keyblade, the Powerwilds sensed it and jumped down, moving in to surround the hero trio. One of them lunged at them, but Donald zapped it with Thundara.
"Careful with your Fire magic here!" he told Sora. "We don't want to start a wildfire!"
Goofy threw his shield so that it ricocheted amongst the trees, taking out three Powerwilds as it went. Sora destroyed another monkey Heartless with a Water spell, and then used his Keyblade to block a Powerwild's claw-swipes and a counterblow to slam it into a tree. Donald brought his staff down on one Powerwild's foot, and as it hopped around in pain, he hit it in the face with a Blizzara spell.
Several more Powerwilds leapt down from the trees above. Sora quickly fired a wave of Light-type Sagitta Magica that destroyed all but one, which was smote by a Thunder blast from Donald. As two more leapt at Goofy from the sides, Donald cast an Aerora barrier around his old friend, the swirling winds shredding at the Heartless and tossing them away, letting Goofy finish them off. Sora zipped about with a few Sonic Blade strikes, cutting down a few more of them. Finally, the last two Powerwilds tried to retreat, but a Blizzaga 'shotgun' blast from Donald got them both.
With the coast clear, the rat scurried down the tree and ran over to Sora, looking up at him with gratitude.
"Well, take care" Sora waved with a smile, he and his friends turning to leave. Looking around at the fruits all much bigger than him, the rat turned and ran after them. Climbing up Sora's back, he sat atop the teen's head and grabbed a few locks of hair.
"Whoa!" Sora suddenly spun around, marching back toward the fruits against his will, bending down to pick one up.
"Lookie!" Goofy pointed out. "That little feller's parked on your head!"
"Sora, you've been hijacked!" Donald said as Sora was made to pick up another fruit.
"Okay, okay!" Sora looked up at his puppeteer. "We'll help you pick up the fruit. But could you let me-me do it? Please?"
Before long, they had the multiple fruits gathered in one neat little pile.
"So, what are you gonna do with all this, anyway?" Sora asked the rat.
The rat started making charades, like a chopping motion with one tiny hand.
"Waving?" Goofy asked. "Nope. Hmm… Chopping? …You're gonna cook with 'em?"
The rat nodded, smiling.
"You know how to cook?" Sora asked.
The rat grinned, giving a tiny thumbs-up.
"Well, okay… You be careful going home. Good luck with your meal!"
-Scene Break-
The trio reached the old abandoned mansion, cutting down a small pack of Shadow 'squatters' in the front yard. Standing before the old oak doors, looking up and around at the mansion, Sora struggled to make sense of the clues that had led him here. His gaze focused on an upstairs window, lacy white curtains blowing in the breeze… and for a moment, he felt like he was someone else…
"Whaddya think, guys?" he asked. "This place is even creepier than I remember."
"Well," Goofy replied, "they do say that this mansion is haunted…"
"Ohh, how come so many old mansions gotta be haunted?" Donald asked, shivering.
"Hey, guys!" Hayner called out as he, Pence, & Olette arrived on the scene.
"So, how'd it go?" Sora asked them. "Did ya get any leads?"
"Nope, 'fraid not" Pence replied. "The asking-around thing was a total bust."
"Yup" Hayner agreed. "This old mansion is our last hope."
"You guys ready?" Olette asked.
"Another Twilight Town awaits!" Pence was excited.
The sextet headed inside, making their way into the basement. Soon, they reached the old laboratory that contained the multi-screen computer terminal, and the digitizer leading to the 'other' Twilight Town. Pence hurried over to the terminal, having a seat in the chair.
"The password was… sea-salt ice cream, right?" He inputted the command, and sure enough the screen changed to the main desktop. "Okay, I'm in. Let's get that transporter working…"
However, as he keyed in commands, the screens began to flash red, the main screen full of "Error" and "Data Not Found" messages.
"Oh, man… The transporter's been protected."
"Protected from what?" Sora asked.
"Nosy people like us, I'd guess. We can't use it to get to the other Twilight Town."
"Why not!?" Hayner asked. "It worked before! We sent Sora there!"
"Well that was then, and this is now."
"And there's no other way?" Olette spoke up.
"None that I know…"
Suddenly, Sora's Gummiphone started ringing. Pulling it out, he answered it to reveal Ienzo – the 'Somebody' of Zexion, now allied to the cause of stopping Xehanort."
"Hello, Sora. You wouldn't happen to be in front of a computer?"
"Huh? Well, yes… but how did you know?"
"I was tinkering with Ansem's computer here in his main lab – you know, to decrypt the Code that was left in it? And I noticed that someone had logged in from another terminal. I figured it might be you."
"Well, sorta. We have some friends here in Twilight Town, and one of them is pretty computer-savvy."
"Hi, there" Pence spoke up. "I'm Pence, the one who logged in."
"Good. As long as it's a user that we know we can trust."
"Yup. But, I'm kinda stuck here. One of the programs is protected, so… I can't run it."
"Which program?"
"The transporter to the other Twilight Town!" Hayner cut in. "It's the only way to find Roxas. You gotta help us!"
"…Another Twilight Town? And a 'transporter'?" Ienzo pondered. "Okay… A virtual town inside the computer, made of data."
"A datascape!" Jiminy Cricket popped out of Sora's hood. "Fellas…"
"We've seen one" Goofy spoke up. "That's what we used once to investigate Jiminy's journal."
"Maybe I can do something. Pence, let's get a network set up."
For the next while, the two users worked together from both ends to get things connected.
"Okay, sharing is finally enabled."
"Were you able to fix it?" Sora asked, snapped out of his near-doze.
"Now that our two computers have been successfully networked together, I can take control of the terminal there and change the privileges…"
"And Roxas?"
"Yes. For the virtual world to be completely realized, Ansem the Wise would've included Roxas' full data in the construction. Meaning, somewhere on your machine, there's a log of that data that… Well, basically, we can decipher Ansem's Code more quickly, and we can analyze the virtual Twilight Town while we're at it."
"Okay. Great! I'm not good with computers, so… do what you gotta do, Ienzo."
The young man gave a mirthful smirk. "Glad you're following along. Don't worry, we'll handle it. Chip & Dale will be helping me out on this end. I'll call you back as soon as we know anything more."
"Thanks!"
"Oh, before I forget, a bit of troubling news. It's about one of the Organization's former members. You knew him as Vexen – but to us, he was Ansem's apprentice, Even. He was recompleted like the rest of us, but hadn't regained consciousness yet. Then, sometime after Lea left to meet up with you all, Even vanished. Aeleus and Dilan – the two you knew as Lexaeus and Xaldin – went out looking for him, but he's just gone… And I'm starting to worry."
"You think he's on their side?" Sora asked, concerned.
"I think it's a real possibility. Even was always rather gung-ho about seeking knowledge without much regard as to what he had to do to get it… He's a devious researcher. You should be careful."
"All right. Thanks." Sora hung up.
"Oh no!" Hayner suddenly shouted. "We got work! I totally forgot!"
"Really?" Pence called to him as he started hurrying toward the exit. "But what about all this?"
"Hey, both are important. We're gonna need some cash to go to the beach. And don't forget the pretzels; gotta buy four now."
"…Ohh, I get it."
"He's thinking ahead" Olette said with a grin.
"Later, Sora!"
"See ya, Hayner!"
"Bye, Donald, Goofy!"
As Hayner and Olette left, Pence called out to them again: "And since I'm manning the computer here, you guys are in charge of earning my share!"
"No pretzel for Pence!" Hayner replied with a grin, with Olette giggling as she followed him out.
-Break-
Sora, Donald, & Goofy left the mansion, starting to head back toward town. However, as they left through the old black iron gates…
"So, you think you can bring Roxas back?"
Sora stopped and turned… and there, leaning against the stone wall, clad in a black cloak, smirking with folded arms, was Xehanort's Heartless. And then, from a nearby black portal, the old leader of Organization XIII appeared to stand beside his other-self.
"Ansem and Xemnas?"
"Roxas should never have existed in the first place" Xemnas explained. "What you seek is impossible."
"Roxas does exit" Sora retorted. "His Heart's inside my Heart."
"And in the unlikely event you did manage to separate the two, where is it you think you can put his Heart?"
"Well… Roxas used to live in the other Twilight Town, right? So, I'm just gonna put him back there."
"Do you even realize what you are saying?" Xehanort's Heartless stepped forward. "The other Twilight Town is just data."
"A Heart can live anywhere, even inside data! There are Hearts all around us!"
Goofy was pondering. "Ansem and Xemnas used to be part of the same person, right? But look. Now they exist separately just fine. If they can do it, then I don't see any reason why you and Roxas can't find a way."
"So…" Xemnas said. "The Captain of the King's Royal Guard is smarter than he appears. I suppose one wouldn't get to such a lofty position without a good head on one's shoulders…"
"In that case," XH said, "by all means."
"Nothing would please us more than Roxas' return, of course."
"You wish" Sora scowled. "He'll never answer to you again."
"Still so blind. A Nobody is what's left behind when one gives his Heart to darkness. There is only one way to bring Roxas back, which is for you to give your Heart up as well. Sora… Have you finally decided to call upon the darkness?"
"Go on, then" XH smirked. "The shadows are never out of reach."
On cue, a squad of Neoshadows emerged behind Team Sora. Xemnas then gestured, and several Dusks emerged to supplement them.
"Now," the two halves of Xehanort said together, "set your Heart free…"
They vanished through a Corridor of Darkness, and the minions they'd summoned went on the attack. A Dusk flew around behind Sora and tried to box him in with two Neoshadows, but Sora used a trick the Links had taught him and lashed out with a Light-charged spin attack that flung the two Heartless back and killed the Nobody. Goofy blocked a Neoshadow's diving strike at Donald, letting the mage blast it with a Fira spell.
Sora blitzed across the field with a quick series of Sonic Blade strikes, destroying two Neoshadows and another Dusk. Donald charged Goofy's shield with Thunder magic, letting the Royal Knight bash & zap baddies at the same time, taking out a few more Nobodies. The remaining Dusks tried to ambush Sora while he was distracted taking out a Neoshadow, but he rolled to dodge their flying tackles and quickly cut them down. Goofy used his shield to launch Donald high into the air, and the Royal Mage rained down a wave of Fira and Blizzara blasts on his way down, taking out more Neoshadows. Finally, the last Neoshadow chose to retreat, slipping through a black puddle-like portal and fleeing the scene.
"I still can't think… of how we're gonna do this…" Sora held a hand to his chest.
"It can't be impossible" Donald replied. "I mean, those two girls from the Bureau – Alicia & Laicixa… They coexist, right?"
"…Wait a moment!" Goofy thought. "Alicia came back using one of the Organization's old empty Replica bodies as a new vessel for her Heart! So we could do the same with Roxas!"
"Yeah!" Sora grinned, but then his smile dropped. "But… Didn't she use the only one Ansem's lab had left? So, we'll have to get our hands on a new empty Replica body, somehow…"
"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it" Donald replied. "At least we have an idea for a method that should work."
"I don't know what Ansem & Xemnas want," Sora said, "but I think we'd better tell the others to watch out."
-Break-
Arriving back in town, Team Sora was hurrying through the plaza…
"Well, bless my bagpipes!" a Scottish accent called out. "It was you laddies who rescued my chef!"
"It's Uncle Scrooge!" Donald pointed out an older duck wearing a blue outfit, a top hat, little glasses, and a simple brown cane, carrying a pale-pink box under one wing/arm.
"Wait…" Sora asked. "Didn't he sell ice cream in Hollow Bastion?"
"That's right" Goofy replied. "But Uncle Scrooge here's what you might call a world traveler."
The trio hurried over to the older duck. "How are ya, Uncle Scrooge?"
"Oh! Hello, Sora! You're lookin' hale & hearty. I heard ye were on another grand adventure with theses two. I hope Donald isn't making a menace of himself."
Donald slumped. "Why would you have to say that?"
"So, Uncle Scrooge," Goofy chimed in, "what's that you were sayin' about a chef?"
"Och! Right, right! The chef of me bistro here wanted to show ye his appreciation, so he baked this for ye."
He held out the box, opening it up to reveal a scrumptious fruit-topped pastry!
"Cake!" Sora grinned. "The whole thing? It's for us!?"
Suddenly, Scrooge's top-hat wiggled.
"Ay there, settle down" Scrooge told it. "The chef wants ye to know it's not a cake, but a tarte aux fruits."
"He does?" Goofy asked, confused.
"Ah, why keep it under my hat?" He lifted his hat, to reveal the rat that Team Sora had helped earlier.
"May I introduce ye to Remy – me top chef!"
"Oh!" Sora leaned in. "It's you!"
"Uncle Scrooge," Donald said, "you opened a bistro in Twilight Town?"
"Aye" the older duck replied. "It all started a little while ago, when I was enjoying one of the best meals of my life. And when I asked to speak with the chef, I met this wee genius. As it turns out, Remy wanted to expand his culinary horizons. So, I thought: that's an opportunity. And I financed the whole operation. Now, then, why don't you three have a seat and we'll whip up something for ye? I'll even give ye a discount on account of bein' family! A small discount, mind ye…"
As Sora, Donald, & Goofy sat down to a nice meal, Hayner & Olette came over, with Hayner heading to Scrooge.
"Hey, boss" the boy said. "Done with the posters."
"Aye, good work, kids" Scrooge replied.
"You guys work for Uncle Scrooge here at the bistro?" Goofy asked.
"He gave us a short job putting up these special posters" Olette replied. She unrolled a poster, showing an old-timey movie poster. "Mr. McDuck's hosting an open-air film festival in the courtyard. Cool, huh?"
"You did all this, Uncle Scrooge?" Donald asked.
"Of course, laddie! Provide a bit of entertainment, and then give folks a nice, cozy place to relax. Like me bistro here. They'll all be happy, an' hungry, an' eager to spend their money."
Donald sighed.
"Gawrsh, he sure is canny" Goofy remarked to Sora. "I always wondered how he keeps customers comin' into his businesses over and over."
"Yeah, I'm no businessman," Sora replied, "but I sure wouldn't wanna be one of Uncle Scrooge's competitors." He turned to Hayner & Olette. "I need to warn you guys. The Heartless and the Nobodies might come back for more, so stay on your toes."
"Sure" Hayner replied. "But don't we have you guys to take care of 'em for us?"
"You have to leave again?" Olette asked.
"I'm afraid so. There are people out there who need our help."
"It's our job" Donald said.
"But we'll definitely be back" Goofy assured them.
"Man, when you gonna slow down?" Hayner asked.
"Sorry" Sora replied sheepishly. "Just do me a favor… I know how Roxas feels. To be lost. But Donald and Goofy… and Kairi… brought me back by wishing with all their Hearts. So… I was hoping the three of you would do the same, and pray for Roxas."
"What, that's it? That's no favor. We'll all wish! I'm wishin'."
"Me and Pence, too!"
Sora grinned. "Thanks."
…On a rooftop overlooking the bistro, two silver-haired figures stared down at the carefree gathering. Behind Ansem & Xemnas, Xigbar emerged from a portal.
"Aren't you making it a little too obvious?" he asked them.
"We were instructed to guide him" Xemnas replied.
"Yes…" Xehanort's Heartless smirked. "Just look at them. They wouldn't get far if we did not spell it out."
"Fair enough" Xigbar said. "But let's not forget how many times Sora still managed to rain on our parade."
"If he wavers from the path we lay, we kill him."
"But in that case, we'll have to find ourselves another vessel."
"That is why we never have just one iron in the fire" Xemnas said.
-CHAPTER END-