Sora continued staring at his phone, letting the end tone ring out and the screen fade to black.
"He'll be okay," consoled Donald.
"Yea," Sora agreed with a smile, "he always is." He stored his phone in his pocket and grabbed the wheel of the ship. "So, where to next?"
"We have to load up on supplies. Maybe we can bring some of these ingredients back to Remy and get more items," Donald suggested.
"So, Twilight Town?" Sora asked.
"I don't know if we should-" Goofy began.
"Yea! Let's do it! Plus, I can show Pence the games we've collected," decided Sora. "And besides, it happens to be very close."
"That's because you've been heading straight for it since we left the toy world," noted Goofy. Sora glanced down at the coordinates.
"Oh," Sora tittered, "I guess I have." He was constantly being drawn back to Twilight Town, one way or another. "Donald does have a point, though," he concluded.
Sora didn't fight it. Sure, being there made him feel a little sad, but lately, many things did. There was a strange comfort in the city's sweet melancholia, a safe haven for lost hearts and broken things.
"You're not tryin' to do any of that stuff Riku just warned you about, are ya Sora?" Goofy asked.
"What?" Sora asked indignantly. "Will you guys just trust me? I'm not trying to do anything reckless. I made a promise."
They finished their errands in record time, visiting the bistro first, followed by the Moogle shop, before finishing off the day at the armory, where they had spent most of their munny. They found the usual crew hanging in the Tram Common, killing time and goofing off with little to no care, just like always. Just like they were supposed to.
"We're so glad you're here!" Cheered Olette.
"Yea, we were just about to head over to that Haunted Mansion," added Pence. "There has reportedly been some unusual activity there lately, and people have been spotting men in black leather coats all over town."
"The Organization!" Exclaimed Sora.
"Wak!" Donald quacked simultaneously.
"You should beware of those guys, they're bad news," Sora asserted.
"We figured," said Hayner "Kairi was taken by one of them right in front of us, remember?"
"Right," said Sora, "Actually, about that guy- he's alright. I mean, he's good. He's on our side now."
"That's right! He and Kairi are learnin' to use the keyblade together!" Added Goofy. Hayner, Pence, and Olette were all rendered speechless.
"He has a keyblade?" Questioned Hayner.
"And you trust him with Kairi?" Olette probed.
"Wait a second, Kairi has a keyblade?" Demanded Pence. Sora held up his index finger and opened his mouth.
"Excuse us one moment," said Sora, pulling Donald and Goofy into a side huddle. "Let's try not to be too loose-lipped about our secrets, okay?"
"It's okay," said Olette over his shoulder, giggling softly. "You can trust us."
"What, do they give hand things out in the cradle where you come from?" Pence mumbled.
"Maybe you should try whispering if you don't want to be loose-lipped," Donald quipped.
"Well, I guess if Kairi's okay with him…" Hayner said. Sora spun around.
"What, her word is good enough but not mine?" Sora teased.
"Do you really want us to answer that?" Asked Pence. Sora snickered, the rest joined in after him.
"Listen, you guys, I really think you should stay here while we check out the Mansion. If the Organization is here, you don't want to be caught up in the crossfire," Sora said with authority.
"Aw, no fair! If you hadn't of gotten here we would have been there already," Pence complained.
"Yea, and you already would have been in need of our rescue!" Argued Donald.
"Hm. Speak for yourself, Duck. I bet I could take you, one on one," Hayner challenged.
"You wanna try it pal?" Donald countered, readying his battle stance.
"Whoa there!" A voice cut in before Sora could. A round man ran up to the group and keeled over, gasping for air. "Nobody is going to be fighting here. If you wanna struggle, bring it to the Sandlot."
"Aw, man, how do you find me every time?" Hayner barked, turning and kicking an imaginary rock to his side with full momentum.
"It's my job to make sure troublemakers don't litter our calm streets with violence. Bring that violence back where it belongs, to the struggle arena!" Asserted the gentlemen, standing upright. He was a brunette man with brown eyes and a brown mustache who wore a green shirt paired with a yellow vest that was too small for him. Sora recognized the man, but his name eluded him.
"So, you're saying, you're stalking us," challenged Hayner.
"N- no, what I'm saying is-"
"What I think he's saying is that he always knows when more than three kids are loitering around the center of town, am I right?" Pence guessed.
"That's right," Seifer charged while approaching the growing lot, shadowed by his hollow henchmen, plus Vivi. "And because the Disciplinary Committee is on it." His scowl locked onto Sora. "Heard you were back."
"What do you want Seifer?" Confronted Hayner.
"Word around town is these newbies here have something to do with the guys in the black hoods," Seifer said, glaring at Sora. The pudgy man took the moment to quietly slip away, plainly intimidated by the horde of contentious teenagers.
"And what, you're here to interrogate them?" Olette sneered.
"What are people saying about the black hoods?" Sora asked, ignoring the enmity.
"What's it to you?" Asked Seifer.
"Suspicious," Fuu accused.
"Yea, it's like every time someone sees a black hood, everyone knows you'll show up, ya know?" Said Rai, shaking his fist.
"It's a lot to get into," Sora hesitated, fighting the urge to meet hostility with hostility. "Seifer, right?" Sora tried one of his most charismatic smiles.
"Yea?" Said Seifer.
"I think we got off on the wrong foot. I'm Sora, this is-"
"Like I care."
"Okay then." Sora gave up on the antagonizer, turning his back on the so-called 'Disciplinary Committee,' and addressed Olette. "What exactly has the Organization done?"
"Nothing, exactly," Olette replied.
"Hey! I will not be ignored!" Growled Seifer.
"No one has been able to talk to any of them," Olette continued, ignoring Seifer. "Everyone knows each other here, so they're scary for that alone, and they've frightened a few people by disappearing into black holes like the one we saw."
"They also say they have this weird, uncomfortable energy about them, and it doesn't help that they also look so menacing," Pence added.
"Don't act like you don't hear me!" Seifer snarled.
"Uh, fellas?" Goofy interjected, pointing at a hooded figure standing next to the alleyway. Everybody gasped. The figure spotted Sora and sprinted toward the tunnels.
"Hey! Stop right there!" Sora called as he, Donald, and Goofy began the chase, instantly dropping the heated conversation and the disgruntled rivals who remained hollering behind them. His companions followed the mysterious man below ground. Sora, instead, opted for Station Heights, whizzing past the preoccupied citizens and dodging the playing children. He turned left for the alleyway where, luckily, he caught the man slipping out of the forgotten tunnel outlet.
"Nice try," Sora said, pointing his keyblade directly at the figure's obscured face. "Who are you and what are you doing here?" The unidentified man lifted his hood, revealing a mop of red spikes. "Axel? I mean, Lea?" Sora stood up straight and disarmed himself.
"Lea?" Echoed Donald breathlessly, trailing up the tunnel entrance behind Goofy.
"Hey guys, long time no see!" Lea said nonchalantly.
"What are you doing here, Lea? Aren't you supposed to be with Kairi and Merlin?" Asked Goofy.
"Is this the kind of greeting I get? No hello? No nice to see you, glad you're well, how's the keyblade treating ya?
"Why did you run?" Asked Sora instead.
"I… I wasn't sure it was best if your friends there saw me." Lea was dissembling. Sora narrowed his eyes.
"Surely Merlin doesn't think this would be the safest place to hide her?" Sora said, a shift in his tone. Lea released an exhausted sigh.
"Of course not," Lea said, sincerity in his expression.
"Then, what are you doing here?" Asked Sora.
"Heard there might be some black cloaks still sniffing around this old joint. I came to see what all the fuss was about," Lea replied coolly.
"Have you considered the fact that you may be that black cloak?" Asked Sora.
"Heh. Gee, you may be right," Lea said, scratching the back of his neck.
"So, uh…" Sora struggled, searching for a casual, dispassionate way to approach the obvious subject, "how's Kairi doing? Is she safe?"
"Kairi's great!" Lea replied a little too quickly. "She's a natural, misses you terribly, and she has no reason not to feel safe!"
"She told you she missed me?" Sora said, thrown off track momentarily.
"Well, not in words, per say… Look, I'd love to stay and chat, but I actually gotta get back." Lea summoned a dark portal, biting his lip as he tried to mask the discomfort.
"Why did you run if you could do that?" Goofy asked, his tone devoid of any misgivings that Sora may have been feeling.
"Don't wanna scare people," Lea said. "Later," he saluted them before disappearing into the other realm.
"That was… that was weird, right?" Sora asked after the darkness had completely evaporated. Donald shrugged and shook his head.
"I think you may have just spooked him, Sora," Goofy said.
"Yea, you were all over him with those questions," Donald added. "Maybe if you weren't so intense, he wouldn't have acted so strangely."
"I wanted to see Roxas. He… was the only one that I liked."
"Maybe…" Sora said, not entirely convinced.