Silver Linings
Chapter 10: I Wanted To Meet You.
A/N: Okay, it's been about a week since the last update. Here's Chapter 10! Roxas is still stuck in the Matrix-I mean The Grid-I mean virtual Twilight Town. He has a lot of boss fights to finish today! Riku will be there to lead him along, but Lambda has some searching to do. Mickey's bouncing around the worlds again, with a little help from Yen Sid. Neither of them are fully aware of the Time Break or the crisis it represents, but at least Mickey's not totally at the mercy of randomness like he was a dozen years ago. Also, I have re-named Hayner's gang the "Usual Suspects." It contrasts with the "Disciplinary Committee," and I'm honestly surprised that it's not canon. I'll probably fix the previous chapter to reflect this change.
VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
In the real Twilight Town: Tram Common...
Lambda had put up her hood to hopefully avoid the Organization as she searched the town for Mickey. Her scans showed he was nearby, at least... wait, he just shot off to an adjacent world. He probably got on Yen Sid's train. Well, Lambda would ask the sorceror about that after checking on the Time Break again.
The rip in reality Tager had come through was huge now; it almost completely blocked off the main road to Station Heights. It was also definitely three-dimensional now, with its edges spiking in all directions to form a roughly ovoid shape. It was still expanding, though the rate of it was almost imperceptibly slow. A swirling image of metal walls could be seen through it, distorted by the way it was shown on the spikes. Lambda opted to take a detour through the Sandlot and Side Alley to get to the Station Tower rather than get too close to the Time Break. On the way, she passed by Seifer's gang, who were split into two groups. Seifer and Fuu were discussing something in whispers, while Rai and Vivi were taking turns hitting a white ball to try and keep it in the air as long as possible. Fuu looked up when Lambda passed by. "Who?"
Lambda stopped and turned, not removing her hood just yet. "I'm Lambda. I'm just passing through; there's someone I need to meet, and they just took a train out of town."
Seifer shook his head. "'Out of town?' There aren't any trains that leave town, except the one that goes to the beach. It's a little late in the summer to be going there, so what are you really looking for?"
Lambda laughed softly, not intimidated by Seifer's tone in the slightest. Still, he deserved at least a little explanation. "I understand your suspicion. After all, Twilight Town doesn't get visitors very often, does it? I did come to town on a train, though; there's a special line that doesn't just go to another town. It goes to another world."
"Now you're talking crazy, y'know?" Rai and Vivi had put their Grandstander practice on hold to join the conversation/interrogation. "The ghost train isn't real, y'know?"
"That's what it's called? It's real, alright, but it doesn't run on a schedule, as far as I know. I didn't get all the details from the man who owns it."
Seifer growled. "Okay, let's get straight to the point. Are you involved with that crazy rip in the air on Market Street? I'm Seifer, and as a member of the Twilight Town Disciplinary Committee, I need all the information I can get about it. Tell me everything you know. Now."
Lambda sighed. "Oh. That. I guess it would be pretty hard to miss the Time Break blocking the road. I'm looking for my friend to help stop that thing from spreading before it becomes an actual problem, so I can't afford to be held up here. We can do introductions when I come back, if there's time. One thing you do need to know, though: do not attempt to pass through the Time Break, or even touch it. If you do, it will spread even faster." Lambda jetted off towards the stairs, knowing that seeing her levitate would shock these kids long enough to let her escape without too many more questions. Off to the Mysterious Tower!
VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
Virtual Twilight Town: The Usual Spot...
Roxas woke up the next day from another bevy of strange images strung together with static. That boy, "Sora," had the same Keyblade Roxas had used yesterday, and he'd fought some huge monsters with it. He'd also shot a beam from it at "Keyholes," seeming to lock them from a distance. Weird. These dreams had been plaguing Roxas' sleep for as long as he could remember. It was always the same Sora, but his surroundings were always changing. Roxas had never been in his own dreams, and he knew he'd never met any "Sora." Fearing he might be going crazy, he'd never told the other Usual Suspects.
Today, Roxas pushed his way into the Usual Spot, but found no one there. A note in Hayner's handwriting explained where the gang had gone. "Roxas, you're late! Get down to the Sandlot and Struggle! Don't forget, the beach trip is tomorrow! -Hayner!"
"Oh, shoot! That's today!" Roxas dashed out. He nearly tripped over a stick in his haste. Picking it up, he was reminded again of the Keyblade from yesterday. "Keyblade, huh?" Swinging the stick around a few times in different ways, Roxas couldn't get it to transform into that powerful weapon again. Not that he had expected to manage it. Maybe he was going crazy. "What a mess..." Roxas tossed the stick over his shoulder, but didn't hear it clatter against the wall. He turned to see that the discarded stick had struck squarely in the chest of a man in a black coat. Where did he come from? "Sorry...about that..."
The mystery man said something in a deep, almost creepy voice, then turned and walked away towards the Sandlot. "Can you feel Sora?" Before Roxas could respond, the man was out of sight.
"What was that all about?" Roxas mumbled. Was the Sora from his dreams a real person, or was Roxas just going crazy some more? As Roxas looked at the stairs where the hooded man left, he heard the faint cheers of a crowd. "Oh, yeah, I almost forgot again! I've gotta move it!" Roxas dashed down the stairs to the tournament.
VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
Virtual Twilight Town: Struggle Sandlot...
The black-hooded man wasn't at the Sandlot. He was tall enough that it shouldn't have been hard to locate him even in the crowd that gathered here once a year, but there wasn't a trace of black in the whole area. At least Roxas had arrived in time to sign up for the preliminaries, snagging the last spot on the roster. Hayner ran up as Roxas finished signing his name. "Yo, Roxas! How late did you sleep in, anyway?"
Roxas hesitated. "...I didn't sleep well last night."
"Was it because of yesterday's memory thief?"
"Sort of. He didn't show up again, if that's what you're wondering." No need to mention how Roxas had fought him off if he didn't have to. But should he really be keeping important stuff like this from his friends?
"That's good. Anyway, we both have to get to the finals! That way, whoever wins, the Usual Suspects split the prize!"
"Isn't there only one trophy?"
"Yeah, but they don't call it the Four Crystal Trophy for nothing, y'know? The crystals come off, y'know? ...Darn it, I sounded like Rai just now, didn't I?"
"Yeah, that was a pretty good impression," Roxas laughed. "Anyway, don't worry. Seifer has nothing on me this time. This Struggle's in the bag."
Olette walked up to them. "You've never been in the Struggle before, have you? You just moved here this year, so you haven't seen it. It's not like fighting in a street brawl."
"How does it work?" Roxas asked.
Pence ran up to the rest of the group, huffing and puffing. "Phew, that's why I'm not signing up! Anyway, Roxas, each combatant gets an Orb Carrier. You strap it to your back, and each Orb Carrier generates exactly one hundred smaller Orbs that get knocked all over the arena when you take damage. The point is to get all 200 Orbs, or to have more than your opponent when the two minutes are up. Beating your opponent up is secondary, and knocking them unconscious is really hard with Styrofoam. Feel free to knock them down, though, since they'll be trying to grab Orbs too."
"Thanks, Pence! I guess I'll get the hang of it during the prelims." Roxas grinned.
"If you don't pick it up fast enough, I'll breeze right by you, Roxas!" Hayner boasted. "I've been in five Struggles!"
Olette giggled. "But you didn't even get to the finals once, Hayner!"
"C'mon, Olette! Don't tell him that! How am I going to inspire awe and majesty if he knows that?"
"Too late. I hope you've been practicing for this as much as I practiced for the brawl yesterday," Roxas chuckled.
"That, I can guarantee. First round's starting! I'm up!" Hayner jumped onstage and strapped a blue half-sphere Orb Carrier to his back like a backpack. His opponent was a small child who was making his Struggle debut today; his Orb Carrier was red. Too bad for the kid. Hayner won handily, with a score of 156 to the boy's 32, leaving 12 Orbs unaccounted for on the ground. "Woot! I've still got it!"
Roxas also had an easy time breezing through the prelims, since he never had to fight either Hayner, Seifer, or Vivi, who was also participating for some reason. Vivi always seemed too meek to enjoy beating people up with Styrofoam clubs, but he won his two matches without even getting hit, same as Seifer.
After all the scrubs were pruned from the bracket, only four fighters remained. Whoever emerged victorious among Seifer, Hayner, Vivi, and Roxas would go on to fight the defending champion, Setzer...and would have to contend with his screaming throng of fangirls. But first, there was an intermission to allow the fighters to rest. The blond announcer called out, "Okay, the finalists have been determined! You all have one hour to rest and buy any supplies you need for the finals! Your Orbs are on the line, so get stocked while you can! The Struggle will continue at 12 o' clock noon!" Roxas left the area to go to Tram Common and buy some Potions.
VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
Virtual Twilight Town: Tram Common...
No sooner had Roxas entered the area than he nearly ran right into a blonde girl in a pristine white dress and equally white sandals, who looked about his age. "Sorry, um... Who are you?" Come to think of it, the whole area was unusually silent. Roxas looked over the stranger's shoulder at the old lady's shop, and her cat was just frozen in the middle of grooming itself. "What's going..."
Roxas found himself shushed by the girl's finger pressing against his lips. "My name is Namine." She released his mouth and clasped her hands in front of herself, but said no more.
Roxas scratched his head, confused. "Okay, Namine, I'm Roxas. What's going on, though?"
"I wanted to meet you at least once." As though that explained everything, the mysterious Namine simply turned and walked past Roxas toward the arena. When Roxas turned to follow her, with his previous shopping plan forgotten, she was nowhere to be found. Suddenly, the still and silent crowd began shuffling and shouting over each other again.
"That's so weird! Did Namine...stop everything? What is she?" Roxas ran back to the crowd.
VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
The Virtual Sandlot again...
"Hey, Roxas! I thought you were going to buy Potions?" Hayner called him over.
"I... had a change of plans." Hayner didn't seem to have noticed anything wrong. Was this why the Usual Suspects hadn't backed Roxas up when the thief attacked yesterday? Because they were stopped?
Olette looked at him funny, but then smiled. "Well, that's good. There's only a minute or two left before the finals start!"
Roxas did a double take. "What?! I just left a minute ago!"
Pence chuckled. "You probably think that because you were spacing out again."
"Well... Maybe." It's either that or I'm going crazy...again. Well, time to test that theory. "Have any of you guys heard of someone named Sora?"
"Who?" Olette asked. "She sounds like a cute girl. Have you been seeing someone and not telling us?"
Roxas turned as red as Pence's jersey. "No way! Sora's a guy, for starters, and I've been having weird dreams about him for weeks, like flashes of his life, and never anything about me. I've never met anyone named Sora, but it's always the same boy, every night, and I'm getting sick of watching that goofball. And today I've been seeing weird people around town who talk about him and then just walk away. Am I going crazy?"
"To put it like Fuu would...yes." Hayner flatly stated.
Roxas growled. "Remind me why we're friends?" The possible argument was interrupted by the start of the Struggle.
"Okay, it's time to introduce our combatants!" The announcer's voice boomed. "First, meet the leader of Twilight Town's 'Disciplinary Committee' and a regular finalist... Seifer!" Seifer smirked with his usual confidence.
"Second, leader of the 'Usual Suspects' and a local attitude problem... Hayner! He's gotten farther this year than ever before!" Hayner growled at this intro, but Olette noted that this was exactly why he was called the attitude problem.
"Third, coming completely out of nowhere for the Disciplinary Committee... Vivi! He must have trained really hard for this year's Struggle!" Vivi said nothing, but had his yellow eyes (the only feature visible beneath his hat) locked squarely on Roxas. The blond boy wondered why Vivi was so interested. For some reason, the younger boy's gaze made Roxas shudder.
"And lastly, the newest member of the Usual Suspects and a local favorite who didn't actually steal our photos... Roxas! This is his first time in the Struggle, and he's clearly looking to win!" Roxas realized everyone was looking at him, and he hastily put on a grin. Why did the announcer have to mention the [Blank] Incident? Sure, it was only resolved yesterday, but it was really awkward to bring it up now.
"So, who will win this sweltering summer Struggle? Who will take home the grand prize? This is the summa cum laude of Struggle: the Four Crystal Trophy!" A cloth was removed from the trophy, revealing the swirling designs capped with four round crystals of red, green, blue, and yellow. The announcer continued, "And who will get the chance to take the Champion's Belt from our defending champion, Setzer?" Setzer whipped out the thick belt right on cue, showing off its golden plate for the crowd amid the squeals of his name from every girl in town who wasn't part of the two main gangs. The man knew how to keep up appearances, Roxas had to admit. His skills with a Struggle Sword were probably pretty decent, too, but Roxas was determined to dethrone the champ today.
"Now, Roxas and Hayner take the first match. Step onstage, combatants!" The two finalists from the Usual Suspects jumped onstage and received their Struggle Swords from the portly manager, then faced each other. The announcer called the start of the match. "And now, the moment you've all been waiting for! Let's..."
"STRUGGLE!" The last word was joined by the whole crowd, right as Roxas and Hayner leaped towards each other. Only Hayner intended to actually strike, though; Roxas stopped short and did a Reversal to get behind Hayner. The older boy's swing met nothing but air, and Roxas combo'd him while he was off balance, knocking thirty Orbs directly out of Hayner's pack. Roxas picked up the Orbs, as Hayner picked up himself up from the floor.
"It's not over yet, Roxas! C'mon!" Hayner swung laterally, but Roxas blocked it and got him again, knocking twenty-five more Orbs out to fall on Roxas' head and get absorbed into his pack. This time, though, Hayner lunged back in with a powerful thrust, and Roxas lost twenty Orbs. Hayner wasn't quick enough to grab them before Roxas got them back, though, and when time ran out, the score was 155 to 45, Roxas' favor. Hayner fell over when time was called.
"And the winner is Roxas! Not even friendship can slow this guy down!"
Roxas ran to Hayner's side, wondering if he was injured. "Aw, I lost! I can't believe it!" Nope, he was just being dramatic; good.
"Sorry, man. I guess it wasn't so different from a street brawl after all?" Roxas pulled Hayner to his feet.
"No worries. I guess I taught you well!" Roxas and Hayner shook hands amid the cheering crowd, though Roxas couldn't remember Hayner ever teaching him anything. He decided to leave Hayner's bad-boy image intact...for now.
The next set of fighters took the stage. "The next match is... Seifer versus Vivi! Look at those sparks fly! I guess Seifer didn't expect to fight one of his own boys!" Well, Seifer was certainly sending sparks flying. Vivi wasn't even looking at the fight, and was still staring at Roxas.
"Why does Vivi keep staring at me?" Roxas murmured to Olette. The girl couldn't hear him over the crowd, though.
"Hey! You should respect your elders!" Seifer called, finally getting the younger boy's attention.
"Three, two, one... STRUGGLE!" At once, Vivi launched at Seifer, displaying far more speed and precision than he had during the prelims. In perfect silence, he swung at Seifer from several angles that the leader could barely block. However, after the combo, Vivi went back to a rest position, allowing Seifer to knock him aside, which caused Vivi to drop a trio of red Orbs.
"You're mine!" Seifer ran for the Orbs, expecting Vivi to be downed by his last attack... However, Vivi was not only still active, he was right in the way. In a blur of motion, Seifer was thrown through the air. He landed on the other side of the arena amid a cluster of twenty of his own blue Orbs.
"I...I'm not sure what just happened," the announcer sounded unsure for once, "But it seems the winner by knockout is... Vivi! What a positively blistering comeback!" Vivi gave back his Struggle Sword and waddled off the stage as though what he had done was perfectly normal.
Rai and Fuu picked up Seifer and carried him out of the area. As they passed the Usual Suspects, Seifer woke up from momentary unconsciousness and spoke to Roxas. "That's not Vivi. Thrash him."
Roxas wondered, "It's not Vivi? Then...who is it?" Seifer must have known Vivi well enough to see some difference in the battle, but what?
Rai came back from the Tram Common a minute later. "Vivi's a good kid, y'know? If he'd actually knocked out Seifer, he'd have said he was sorry later. Crush that fake for us, y'know?"
"Outsider..." Fuu murmured, leading Rai back to their leader.
A few minutes later, the final match was set up. "Let's get ready for the final round! Roxas versus Vivi! Both of our combatants are a major surprise; my money was on Seifer versus Roxas for this match, and I have to pay up after this! Ha ha! Okay! Ready... Set... STRUGGLE!" Roxas made a point to dodge Vivi's first attack, noting that his opponent's Struggle Sword actually enlarged as it was swung, growing to be even larger than Vivi himself. Did Vivi know magic or something? Was this against the rules? Whatever it was, Vivi left himself open like last time after the club shrank back to its normal size. Roxas took advantage of the opening with a combo, making sure to keep an eye on his opponent even as he ran to collect the Orbs that dropped. It turned out to be a good precaution; Vivi cartwheeled in front of Roxas and recollected the last group of Orbs, then spun around as his club continued to grow. Roxas fled from the two spinning swings and a truly enormous stab, then caught Vivi during the pause afterward. It seemed that Vivi had to stand still to prepare another of those giant swings. But before Roxas could land the next blow, a strange distortion rippled through the air around them. Roxas jumped back a bit.
The timer on the left side of the crowd was frozen at fifteen seconds. The crowd itself was paused and silent, some of them seeming to float off the ground in mid-bounce. Vivi, on the other hand, was still moving, though he didn't do much besides blinking his eyes. Then, white energy began to stream towards Vivi from somewhere, obscuring him from view. When the energy faded, Vivi was gone, replaced by another white jumpsuit-creature like the thief from yesterday. "Again?" Roxas tried to swing his Struggle Sword at the creature, but met with no more success than before. Instead, two identical creatures dropped out of the sky and joined the attack. Roxas backed away, wishing that the Keyblade from yesterday would also appear again...
"Roxas, use the Keyblade!" That voice! Roxas temporarily forgot the fight and looked up. On one of the rooftops, Namine was peering down at him with an expression of deep concern. There was no time to ask any questions, though, because the creatures took that moment to charge at Roxas. The boy put his arms up in a futile effort to protect himself from the blows...but they never struck. Instead, there was a blinding flash of Light, which faded to reveal that Roxas was standing in a completely different place.
VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
The Station of Serenity...
Power sleeps within you. That was the voice that announced the arrival of the Keyblade! This time, it heralded the arrival of a shining sword that appeared right in front of Roxas. If you give it form... A staff topped with three blue spheres, connected at an angle like cartoon mouse ears, appeared to the left of the sword, relative to Roxas. It will give you strength. A red and black shield with the same mouse symbol as the other weapons flashed into being on the right. Choose well.
Roxas noticed that the creatures from earlier were standing on thin air around the platform Roxas stood on, which had a picture of the same Sora from his dreams. The boy appeared to be sleeping peacefully, but held the Keyblade in his hand. Next to Sora were four images of his friends, all of whom featured prominently in Roxas' dreams. There was Riku, Sora's best friend and rival, Donald Duck, the short-tempered magician, Goofy, the knightly dog who only used a shield in combat, and that red-headed girl Sora liked. Roxas didn't know her whole name, since the dream scenes always cut out halfway through anyone saying "Kai-," but he knew she was really important to Sora. But back to the matter at hand.
The creatures seemed to be standing still, but they were swaying back and forth, waiting for Roxas to make his choice. Roxas instinctively knew they weren't really the same creatures; they were only symbols in this dream. But he still needed a strong weapon to defeat them, so he approached the sword.
The Power of the Warrior. Invincible courage. A sword of terrible destruction. Is this the form you choose? The voice echoed as Roxas laid his hand on the sword's hilt. Roxas paused at that description, but nodded and grasped the weapon more tightly. He needed that strength to defeat these weirdos who kept coming back and attacking him. And if he only destroyed the right things, then this "Power of the Warrior" couldn't be a bad thing, could it? Your path is set. Keep your Light burning strong. The sword vanished in a flash of Light, replacing itself with the Keyblade. Roxas grinned; the sword itself hadn't felt as right in his hands as the "Kingdom Key" did. The weapon's balance was better now than it was yesterday, and Roxas was ready for the enemies as they strode onto the platform. They didn't even last as long as the thief from yesterday.
As the last white creature vanished, a door appeared at the edge of the platform above Sora's head. It was standing up with nothing behind it, but Roxas could tell that opening this door was important. The voice confirmed it. Be careful. Beyond that door lies an entirely different world. But don't be afraid. Don't stop walking. And don't forget: you are the one who will open the Door. Huh? Something felt wrong about that last statement, like the voice was referring to someone else the whole time. Sora, perhaps? How could Roxas be connected to Sora so intimately that this voice, who sounded more and more like "destiny" personified, could confuse one for the other? Still, Roxas recalled how Sora handled doors in the other dreams, and pointed the Keyblade at the center. Sure enough, Light collected at the tip of the Keyblade and shot a beam of that pure power at the door. There was an audible click, and the door swung open to reveal a blaze of Light so bright that Roxas couldn't look at it directly. He shielded his eyes with his free arm as he stepped through.
VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
The Mysterious Tower...
"Ah, Lambda. Why have you returned?"
"I'm looking for King Mickey. We need his help-and his Keyblade-to stop this universe from colliding with the one I came from."
"Oh dear. Mickey did come here not long ago. He wished to borrow my Star Shard again to travel from world to world, to fix the damage the Heartless are even now wreaking everywhere. I made sure to also give him the manual this time-the last time he 'borrowed' the Star Shard, he had no clue how to control it, and it made tracking him down quite a hassle as it tossed him randomly amongst the stars. Rather than let him try to steal it again, I sent him off with proper instruction."
"So he's off on another world? Is it still possible to track him down? This is kind of important. Two universes could disappear if I can't catch up to him."
"Fear not. As long as he plans his destination, I can trace him. Catching up to him will be another matter, of course, but I have faith you can do it." Yen Sid once again called on his magic to create a swirling cloud and a scrying image, showing Mickey running through a town covered in sand. "Use this image to set the destination of the Corridor of Darkness, Lambda. Go quickly, or you'll miss your chance."
Lambda created a Dark Corridor, having watched Riku and the Organization do it several times now. She rushed through and closed the portal behind her, leaving Yen Sid to resume his meditation.
VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
Agrabah: Bazaar...
The first thing Lambda noticed as she set foot in this new world was a blast of dry heat. "Oh, that's right. We visited Agrabah in Castle Oblivion. I guess the heat back then was accurate..." Aside from the heat, though, there wasn't much resemblance beyond the color scheme here. For one thing, every surface seemed to have some damage and wear. For another, more obvious thing, every surface was also covered in a sea of sand. Huge piles of sand sat everywhere Lambda looked, from the market stalls that could be selling either plates or sand, to the large dune by the town gate that showed signs of people sweeping it up. There wasn't anyone on the streets right now, and all the windows and even the town gate were boarded up. "I guess there was a sandstorm or two. Or five, from the looks of things. Is another one coming soon, or did one just pass? I've got to find Mickey soon..."
In a stroke of luck, Mickey charged out of a nearby tunnel and ran right up to the town gate, leaping straight over the high walls. He didn't seem to notice Lambda at all, which was odd since she was still dressed as a member of Organization XIII. Come to think of it, the Black Coat wasn't really a good choice for a search mission in the desert. Lambda summoned Murakumo and dismissed the Black Coat, to reduce the insulation and improve her abilities enough to follow Mickey over the wall.
That mouse moved fast! When Lambda hit the dune outside Agrabah, Mickey was already so far away she could barely see him, although the area was very flat and level. She shot off after the King, who seemed to be making a beeline for the cloud of sand brewing on the horizon. Hopefully Mickey knew what he was getting into.
Lambda finally caught up with her quarry because he stopped in some half-buried ruins. He held up a hand without even turning, and pointed to the far end of the ruins where sand was being kicked up by a massive Heartless. "How did that Heartless get that big?! Is that what's causing the sandstorms?"
"That Antlion got lucky. It got the lion's share of the Darkness in this world, and was able to manifest as a much larger Heartless than most."
"Would you say it got the 'Antlion's share?'" Lambda chuckled, but Mickey didn't join in.
"This is no time for jokes! We've got to defeat that thing before it stirs up another sandstorm!"
"I'll help, Your Majesty!" Lambda started scanning the enemy and determined that its weakness was its face. Attacking the stack of gears that made up most of its body would be ineffective.
"Please, just 'Mickey' is fine. Let's go!" Mickey summoned his Keyblade and charged in, delivering several spinning strikes to the Antlion. Lambda supplemented his offensive with summoned swords. For the first few hits, it seemed the giant Heartless hadn't even noticed them while it continued to swim through the sand in aimless curves, but eventually it dug down out of sight. A few seconds later, it burst back out of the sand and hovered upright in midair. Lambda's efforts to shoot his face from below were turned aside by the powerful tornado the Antlion generated as it spun around. There had to be some magic involved, since simple wind wouldn't have stopped Sword Summoner EX. Lambda held back as she tried to determine a better way to attack the monster.
A few chunks of ruined buildings were sucked into the tornado, and all of them were launched directly at either Lambda or Mickey. Lambda hit them right back with her Petals as Mickey dodged others with a super-high somersault. They didn't expect the returned projectiles to do any more damage than their own attacks, but somehow the rocks got caught in the tornado and clocked the Antlion on the head one after another. More chunks continued to shoot out, and the pair of warriors continued to return them to the sender. After five hits, the Antlion fell to the ground and was halfway buried in the sand, seemingly dazed. Not wanting to waste this chance, Lambda and Mickey unleashed everything they had on its face while it was stunned, with Mickey shooting orbs of Light that bounced off the Antlion only to curve back around and strike again while, Lambda used two giant Calamity Sword attacks in quick succession (the IDEA Engine had a refined targeting protocol that enabled her to drop a Calamity Sword right on the enemy's head, regardless of distance). The giant Heartless finally exploded, releasing a huge heart into the sky.
"Good job, Lambda! Thanks for your help!" Mickey dashed over to her at his usual full speed.
"Yeah, that's great, but I actually need your help. There's a sort of rip between my universe and this one in Twilight Town. It's called the Time Break, and it's spreading. We have to close it before it gets too big to contain, or both universes will disappear. I need you to use the Keyblade on the Time Break at the same time my contact on the other side, Kokonoe, attacks it."
"Sure, I'll help! This time I can get us right where we need to go!" Mickey reached into a pocket of his Black Coat and pulled out a star-shaped crystal with five rounded points. "The Star Shard can get us right there faster than using a Corridor of Darkness!"
"Okay. It's in Twilight Town's Tram Common, right between there and Station Heights. Try not to land on the Time Break, okay?" Lambda knelt down and grasped Mickey's shoulder as he raised the Star Shard above his head.
"Alakazam!" Mickey's magic word caused the Star Shard to erupt in a blinding flash of Light, and then the two travelers were careening through the stars. They bounced in random directions as a streak of Light, always getting closer to their destination on average even with such a chaotic flight path. They were indeed moving quickly, though. It only took a few seconds, or at least it only felt like a few seconds, before they crashed into Tram Common between the still-closed Synthesis Shop and the Armor Shop.
"...Remind me never to travel by Star Shard ever again," Lambda muttered as she tried to get her bearings. She couldn't get stomachaches, thankfully, but that flight left her dizzier than she'd ever been before. It took fifteen seconds for her to stop stumbling around and collect her thoughts well enough to call Kokonoe. "Kokonoe, come in. I've got Mickey here. Are you and Tager ready to seal your side of the Time Break?"
"We've been ready all night! Put this on speaker again; Mickey will need to hear this to time it right." Lambda set the call on her external speaker. "Get in position and wait for my signal. If we don't do this right at the same time, it'll just waste energy."
"Right! I see it now! Yikes, that's scary!" Mickey re-summoned his Keyblade and pointed it at the Time Break. Light gathered at the end of it, but waited for Mickey's command to fire.
"Okay, Tager's in position. 3... 2... 1... and CLICK! Now, Mickey!" Mickey fired the beam of Light, and the Time Break began to glow in a chaotic rainbow as it flew. It made contact while the Time Break was still glowing; success! The rift began to release sparks of electricity as it rapidly shrank to nothing. Before it closed completely, Kokonoe sent, "Thanks, Lambda. That's one down!"
"One? Are there more?" Lambda wondered aloud. Her radio crackled again.
"Unfortunately, one of my enemies has been making Time Breaks of his own. We closed this one, but it'll take some doing to close all the rest. I know there's still one in the Boundary, for example; the one you originally fell through. We've only bought a little time with this. Relius Clover won't give up on it, whatever he hopes to accomplish with these."
Lambda shuddered at the thought of that man, even though she'd never met him. He was basically only a concept in Lambda's programming, sitting alongside her general database of Azure Timeline knowledge, but he was the scariest concept she could imagine.
Mickey tried to frown. As usual, he only succeeded in making a sort of "frustrated smile." He asked, "Do you have any idea where to find the next Time Break, Kokonoe?"
"I've tracked the signal the radio's using to reach you. Unfortunately, that only tells me so much about your end. I'll have Tager pass through the next Time Break from our side to figure that out, and contact you with the coordinates. Lambda, I'm sending you a radio." Sparks of electricity fizzled around Lambda's hand, and she was suddenly holding a simple walkie-talkie. "Give that to Mickey so he can work with us. And get back to Riku, okay?"
"Affirmative, Master Kokonoe... Wait, what did I just say?"
"...Okay, I didn't think you got that from the other Lambda. I'll delete the control protocol assignment on my end; there's no point in putting your will on a leash when you're doing so well without it." There was a sort of pressure in Lambda's head for a few seconds, and then it felt like a weight she'd never noticed had lifted off her shoulders. "Go on, get. You have a promise to keep."
"Sure thing, Kokonoe. Lambda, out." She dashed back to the Mansion to meet back up with Riku.
VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
The Station of Awakening...
Beyond the door was another identical stained-glass platform. Roxas walked to the center, wondering what sort of trial waited here.
"Get ready, Roxas! They're here!" Roxas whipped around to see the black-hooded man from the start of the day, only to watch him vanish in a burst of Darkness (and there was that capital letter again). For some reason, Roxas expected more of a slow, swirling effect, but almost as instantly as the mystery man vanished, he was replaced by something a lot more worrisome.
A giant head, lacking any sort of face but marked with a strangely familiar emblem, rose up from beyond the edge of the platform. It was followed by a massive white creature similar to the ones from earlier (who had also had this emblem on their heads, come to think of it). As soon as the creature's full stature stomped onto the platform, rational thought blanked out of Roxas' head. All he could see was a vision like the Sora dreams, of a similar platform and Sora fleeing from an equally-large black monster. The dreams had never happened within other dreams before, and certainly not while Roxas was in danger! The boy unknowingly repeated the actions Sora had done, and only came back to himself while he was whirling his arms to avoid plummeting off the platform's edge into nothingness. Regaining his balance, Roxas decided that if flight wasn't an option, then the only thing left to do was fight. He summoned his Keyblade, having finally remembered how to do it without a catalyst, and stood his ground while he looked the monster over for weak spots.
Unfortunately, the weakest part of the beast was its head, and before Roxas could find a way to climb up there, the monster made the first move. Its limbs remained stationary, but Roxas was briefly surrounded by thorns of black and white energy (they weren't quite Darkness, but they definitely weren't Light). Roxas found himself yanked into the air, his limbs extended in an X shape by balls of thorny energy restraining him. The boy struggled to free his limbs, even though doing so would cause him to fall about ten feet to the glass, but he couldn't make any headway before the beast, which Roxas suddenly knew was a Twilight Thorn, leaned its head in close. The enemies' foreheads were almost touching when the Twilight Thorn sent a message to Roxas' mind as the...Dusk had done earlier.
We have come for you, my liege. Do not trouble Number VIII any more.
"Why do you things keep calling me your liege? And who is 'Number VIII?'" Roxas glared as he yelled at the Twilight Thorn.
Your resistance will be met with force. The Twilight Thorn leaned away and drew a massive fist back to punch Roxas. As he did, Roxas struggled against his bonds, and realized that they were only at full strength when the monster was motionless. He could move his limbs! Roxas made full use of his new mobility to "jump" over the punch and clock the monster on the head with his Keyblade. He didn't think he did that much damage, but the monster reeled back and spun away like a top.
As it stopped spinning and floated over the edge, Roxas found his limbs locked securely again. He couldn't pull away as the beast's arms stretched and grabbed the boy in both fists. The energy holding him still vanished, but it hardly mattered in the monster's grasp. Roxas was tossed straight up into the air, and the Twilight Thorn prepared to punch him as he fell back down. Thinking quickly, Roxas angled himself to fall slightly forward and came down Keyblade-first on the giant's head, doing a lot more damage with the added momentum. Roxas landed lightly on the glass, and the monster slid off the platform like spilled water flowing downhill. Roxas ran to the edge to make sure it was gone, but not finding any sign of it didn't reassure him. He ran back to the center of the platform to have more room to dodge, but as soon as he made it there, the whole platform rumbled and tilted! The Twilight Thorn used its insane strength to flip the entire platform so it's fathomless height stretched above rather than below, and Roxas' last-ditch effort to dig the Keyblade into the edge failed. Roxas began to fall endlessly, but the monster wasn't done with him yet. It waited below, hoisting a giant energy bomb over its head with both arms. In a truly desperate maneuver, Roxas threw the Keyblade straight at the bomb with a wild yell. It worked well enough; the bomb exploded, dealing massive damage to the Twilight Thorn and stunning it. The shockwave also flung Roxas backward, to land on a new identical platform. The Keyblade wedged into the glass by his head, and the Twilight Thorn crashed into the platform last, apparently unconscious.
Roxas shoved himself to his feet, yanked the Keyblade out of the floor, and whaled on the monster's head for six swings. Then the beast rose to its feet without any aid from its arms. "How many times do I have to beat you?" Roxas growled.
The Twilight Thorn didn't respond verbally, but sent streaks of thorny energy out to try and spear Roxas. He used a Reversal to dodge, but gravity seemed to be taking the day off. The latest improbable aerial feat performed in this fight caused the boy to flip into the air and flow around more streaks, getting closer to the beast's weak point. Roxas got into range and hacked away as he flipped and bounced around the monster's head, and something in the Twilight Thorn finally gave way. Roxas fell to the ground as gravity finally reasserted itself, and the beast seemed to deflate as it fell to its knees.
Uh-oh. Sure, the monster was dead, but its corpse was large enough to crush the whole platform! Worse yet, the Keyblade vanished from Roxas' hand, and he saw a vision of the same thing happening in Sora's hand. The dead monster finally collapsed on top of Roxas, releasing a plume of Darkness. While the beast had no weight of its own, and faded away as the Darkness thickened, that Darkness itself threatened to suffocate Roxas.
There was no air, no Light, no hope... Roxas flailed blindly and desperately, searching for any support in the Darkness. Just as he was about to give up completely, a thin, warm hand grasped his own. Light poured out from where the two were connected, and Roxas found himself in a white space with strange, crown-like objects floating in place. Across the room, casually sitting on a white cube, was the blonde girl from before: Namine.
VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
The White Space...
"You saved me... Thank you." Roxas nodded and grinned gratefully.
"I just wish I could do more. After all, Roxas... Do you remember your true name?"
"What...?" Roxas couldn't make sense of that question. Before he could even ask for an explanation, though, the mystery man reappeared.
"Say no more, Namine."
"But if no one tells him, Roxas will-" Whatever was going to happen to Roxas was interrupted by the man.
"It's best he doesn't know the truth."
"Since when is that ever for the best?" Roxas yelled. "Give me some answers already! Who are you people?"
The man gestured silently, and Roxas heard a strange rushing sound from behind him. He turned to stare at the round portal of Darkness that had just appeared.
Big mistake. As soon as Roxas' attention was off the hooded man, he was shoved into the portal and back to Twilight Town.
VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
Virtual Twilight Town: Struggle Sandlot...
Roxas opened his eyes in the Struggle arena, though the crowd was still paused. No one was on the stage with him.
Suddenly, Roxas heard slow clapping. It wouldn't have been loud normally, since the person in question was wearing leather gloves. In this unnatural silence, however, the mocking sound was deafening. Roxas whipped around to glare at the intruder. "Are you that guy again?"
"Roxas, alright! Fight fight fight! I would never have guessed even you could beat the Twilight Thorn. That's another cool toy you've taken from the Organization... The boss won't be happy, but then he won't be frustrated either. That's just what he's like." Okay, this was not the same person from before. For one thing, his Black Coat (why were all these common words turning into proper nouns for Roxas this week?) had thinner sleeves, and his voice had a completely different tone and attitude. At Roxas' blank look, the new stranger sighed. "You really don't remember? It's me! You know, Axel." The stranger removed his hood, revealing bright jade eyes with small teardrop tattoos underneath and a long mane of the reddest red hair that was ever styled into spikes. The man obviously expected to be recognized, but although Roxas should remember if he'd met someone like this, he didn't know this man at all. Roxas tensed as the man stomped up the steps to the arena past the still-paused crowd. "Talk about Blank with a capital 'B.' Man, oh man, even the Dusks aren't gonna crack this one." The man splayed his fingers on both hands, and a whirl of fire heralded the appearance of his unique ring-shaped chakrams.
Roxas stepped back from the aggressive action, but then the Keyblade appeared in his hand. "Again?"
Axel smirked. "Orders are orders. You're coming with me, conscious or not. Then you'll hear the story." He settled into a relaxed pose, chakrams held loosely at his sides, but Roxas could tell that Axel could react in the blink of an eye; he projected years of experience and confidence.
Roxas finally had enough of these strangers butting into his life and attacking him with their cryptic nonsense. He threw the Keyblade right at Axel's face, yelling, "What's going on?"
Axel hopped sideways, his green eyes never straying from Roxas' blue ones. The coated man's smirk only widened when the Keyblade vanished in midair before hitting the wall, only to reappear in Roxas' hand. "Number XIII: Roxas. The Keyblade's chosen one! You want to fight me? For what?"
"Unfreeze the town and get out of here. Stop saying things that don't make any sense!" Roxas swung the Keyblade aggressively to the side.
"You're worried about the town? It's his creation, right? Which means we don't have time for a Q and A. I'll be taking you in now." Axel flung his left chakram at Roxas, who parried with the Keyblade and sent it bouncing upward. In the space between the ring's disappearance and when it reappeared in Axel's hand, Roxas charged forward and swung down, only to be stopped on the flat side of Axel's other chakram. "Seriously, Roxas, you're making a mistake. Stand down before I have to hurt you!" Roxas had to jump back when Axel got his other weapon back and lashed out with it, not waiting for a response.
"Okay, you asked for it!" Roxas dashed forward, then slipped behind Axel with a Reversal. Unlike every other enemy so far, however, Axel turned with Roxas' slide, and still managed to block the following strike.
"I've been watching you fight the Dusks. I know your only trick by now!" Axel suddenly threw both chakrams, creating a whirling blaze of fire in the air in front of him. Roxas was scorched and thrown back by the attack. "Did I ring any bells yet? You should know how I fight, too!"
"..." Roxas couldn't respond through the pain of his burns, but he reached deep inside for his last reserve of strength, hoping he could end this. A burst of power lit his Keyblade up in an aura of Light that doubled its reach, and the pain of his wounds faded temporarily. Even though Axel had an extra weapon, he couldn't keep up with Roxas' next wild rush or the pillars of Light that followed. Roxas didn't seem to notice that even his own attacks were capped with the emblem of the Nobodies as they rolled outward in all directions, throwing Axel backward to land on his knees. "Tell all your cryptic buddies to leave me alone!" Roxas yelled as fatigue started to catch up to him again.
Axel panted as he pushed himself to his feet. "A Limit Break, huh...? I guess you're still in there after all." An unidentified emotion began to creep into Axel's tone as he continued to talk. "But you always think you can just do whatever you want. Well, I'm sick of it." He stood ramrod straight, glared right at Roxas, and pointed his chakram forward. "Go on, you just keep running! But I'll always be there to bring you back!"
"Why do you care so much what I do? I'm not your friend or anything." Roxas readied his Keyblade for a final offensive, but paused when he saw tears, not tattoos, on Axel's cheeks.
"We were friends, once. But these people keep coaxing you away from me, and you keep following them! Sora, too! Why does everyone follow them?!" Axel readied his chakrams and charged forward, as Roxas did the same. Just as they approached melee range, though, a beam of energy dropped down and forced them apart.
A swirl of data similar to what Roxas saw the first time the Keyblade appeared fell away to reveal a man in a red cloak and facial wrappings that obscured every detail except an amber left eye and a confident, tight-lipped smile. The instant Axel saw him, the red-haired man snarled. "So it was you!" He immediately flung a flame-wreathed chakram at the newcomer, but the enigma didn't even try to dodge. The weapon was repelled on a momentary barrier, and the man turned to address Roxas, ignoring Axel as he caught the rebounded chakram.
"Roxas, this man speaks nonsense!"
"Obviously, but..." Roxas trailed off as Axel yelled over the enigma's shoulder.
"Roxas, don't let him deceive you!"
"Roxas! He is the only deceiver here!"
"Roxas, come with me! Now!"
The two continued to try to influence Roxas, and their voices blurred into a nightmarish repetition in Roxas' over-stressed mind. "Roxas...Roxas...Roxas..."
Roxas just wanted things to be normal again. He wanted Hayner... Pence... Olette... X... Who? No! Roxas straightened up as the red-garbed man fiddled with something under his cloak.
"Hayner! Pence! Olette!" Roxas called at the top of his lungs, and for once the world responded. A bright flash faded to reveal a screaming crowd, and Vivi toppled over in front of him. The Struggle timer stopped counting down at 0:13 as Roxas looked around in confusion.
VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
Now back to our regularly-scheduled program...
The Struggle announcer was just as confused. "I'm not sure what just happened! But... The winner by knockout is Roxas!" Roxas was led off the stage in a daze, leaning against Olette and Hayner as he tried to figure out what just happened. His burns were gone, though he was sure he hadn't used a potion or healed them any other way. There were no signs of damage to the stage from the flame attacks, and no Corridors of Darkness (and there was another important term he shouldn't know). But he clearly remembered all of those crazy fights. How much was a dream, like the Station of Awakening, and how much was real?
Roxas gradually became aware that Olette was repeatedly calling his name. "Roxas, it's starting! Go take Setzer down a peg for me, okay? Those girls are getting really annoying."
"SETZEEERRR!" Yes, those fangirls were definitely annoying. Now Roxas had a clear goal again, at least for the next few minutes: to deflate the ego of the silver-haired champ in the Struggle finals.
"I'll get him, Olette. Just watch!" Roxas ran up to the stage.
"Play fair, now! You're at the top of the bracket!" The portly manager told the two fighters as he handed them their Struggle Swords.
"There's only room for one up here," Setzer remarked as he took his sword.
"Well, then... May the best man win!" The manager retreated before the announcer started counting down from ten.
Roxas was still wondering about the last two days, and he almost didn't hear when Setzer tried to strike a deal. "Hey, Rucksack. How about you throw the match for me? Let me win and I'll make it worth your while."
Setzer only let Roxas hear the offer, but Hayner was going to yell, "Roxas, focus!" anyway. Roxas snapped out of his reverie immediately and got into a fighting stance.
"Get real! And the name's 'Roxas!' You won't beat me with underhanded tricks like that!"
"Such a shame. I suppose you think you're in the 'right,' here. Well, whatever you think is right, you're wrong. And that is a big mistake." The silver-haired man smoothly slid into his own stance.
"If you said that a few minutes ago, I might have thought you meant something by it. But you're just throwing empty words around." Roxas ducked under a horizontal swing and attacked with an uppercut, but he was blocked. Cheating aside, Setzer did know his way around a Struggle Sword.
"What are you babbling about, Rucksack? No matter. I like gambling on tougher odds anyway." Setzer rushed forward with a series of stabs. Roxas used a Reversal to dodge, and Setzer almost didn't realize he'd missed until the fifth stab brought him to the edge of the platform. Thirty seconds into the match, neither combatant had landed a blow.
"That's Roxas!" The blond jumped in with greater speed than he'd used against Vivi or even Axel, having gained power from the dream but not being weighed down by a real weapon. Setzer crashed to the ground from Roxas' aerial strike, then skidded away from the combo finisher. Roxas gathered the thirty Orbs that scattered around while Setzer composed himself.
"This isn't what we agreed on, Rucksack." The soon-to-be-former champ glowered from across the arena. Twenty seconds left.
"I didn't agree to anything, Sucker." Roxas ran forward as Setzer flew at him with a spinning attack.
"My name is 'Setzer,' you ungrateful-!" Roxas used a Reversal to dodge the spinning charge, and used Setzer's momentum against him, knocking him all the way out of the arena. A bell rang three times, signaling the end of the match.
"Amazing! We have a winner, people! For the first ring-out in seven years of Struggles, I present to you, Roxas! Our new Struggle champion!" The announcer ran onstage and lifted Roxas' arm up high, passing him the Champion's belt. Roxas held the belt aloft with both hands as the crowd chanted his name. As he let his arms down, the manager handed Roxas the Four Crystal Trophy, which was a little heavier than it looked.
Setzer was about to walk away in disgrace, but turned and thrust a finger at the new champ. Whatever defiant speech he was about to give, though, was lost as the Usual Suspects ran past him to join Roxas onstage. "Roxas!" The boy was surrounded by cheering fans, good friends, and valuable trophies, and to top it all off, Setzer was left spinning and stumbling from having his thunder stolen. Yeah. Life was good.
VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
A/N: Sorry this update took a little longer than intended to get here. To make up for it, this chapter has almost 10,000 words! I heard that the last chapter felt a bit like filler, so I packed a bunch of epic battles into this one. Tell me what you think in reviews or PMs!