DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING EXCEPT MY ORIGINAL CHARACTERS!
A/N: I'M BACK! It's TRUE! Chapter 20 has OFFICIALLY ARRIVED!
Yet, BEFORE I let you read, there are a few IMPORTANT Things I wanted to go over.
(1.) CYBERCHASE is a PBSKIDSGO! TV Show about MATHEMATICS. I chose to include its characters for a Crossover in my Story.
(2.) I noticed a mistake on the HINT given during the end of the last Chapter.
I've fixed it, so it now says, "ONCE UPON THE LAST DAY OF A GOLDEN SUMMER... "
(3.) IF you haven't gone back over Chapters 2, 3, and 4, then I recommend you go back over and REVIEW the events that occurred in them.
(4.) ENJOY CHAPTER 20! JUST... DON'T... FORGET... TO... READ... AND... REVIEW!
CHAPTER 20
Lost In A Familiar Town
With his hands folded behind the back of his head, Sora took a few minutes of serene lounging as he dove head-first with his friends. This was the life! No worries or cares; nothing to interfere with his happy-go-lucky, laidback lifestyle. There was only the eternal position of absolute freedom. No chores for his mother to lecture him for not doing. No homework to shove aside until it was due the very next day. No nothing. He just wanted the serene enjoyment of the peacefulness within the Light-filled tunnel to last for eternity.
A shriek of fright seized Sora from his current contemplation. He swept his eyes all around the tunnel of Light. Noticing the terror written on Violet's face, and the determination upon Riku's, the brown-haired Keyblader inquired, "What's going on?!"
Riku summoned his Keyblade. "That's what!"
Puzzled over what his friend meant, Sora moved his point-of-view upward and froze. Straight down the tunnel before them was a strange-looking shadow. The silhouette greatly resembled the shape of a spaceship with a straightened back and curved front. A bowl-shaped extrusion was positioned below the front. For a moment, it appeared that the front of the shape was somewhat glowing. Yet before anyone could speak in regards to it, the shadow simply vanished out of sight.
As the three gave sighs of relief, Sora posed the question. "What was that?"
Riku shrugged his shoulders. "Who knows?"
Violet seemed to be sensing something. "I think," she clarified. "We're about to find out."
No sooner had the angel's words entered the senses of the pair of Keyblade wielding-youths did the tunnel of Light finally come to an end. Out the trio swooped through the opening just ahead of them. The tunnel of Light sealed up behind.
The instant Sora, Riku, and Violet had set foot onto the ground, they immediately took notice of their surroundings. To the amazement of both Sora and Riku alike, the group had landed onto a wooden sidewalk beside a small pile of crates. A set of two, crookedly-shaped lampposts were located to their left with a narrow stretch of road dividing the sidewalk into two sections beyond the second post. On the other side of the shale-stoned street was a single lamppost illuminating all around.
As the group took a few seconds to sweep their field of visions across the current vicinity, they had the undeniable sensation it all felt extremely familiar. Up above, the star-filled sky revealed it was probably late at night. Yet, it was the humungous building that resembled a resort hotel situated on the opposite side of the street which caused Sora's eyes to light up in surprise and perplexity.
"Are we back in… 'Traverse Town'?!" he exclaimed in recognition of the town's layout. He was almost positive they had returned to the currently still-dozing world they had exited from to begin with.
Swiftly turning their eyes to see what Sora had meant, Riku and Violet realized they had just arrived in the same place where they had departed from the world some time ago. The resort hotel was still as lit up as ever in the nightly air and the adjacent garden was no different. Nevertheless, something did seem off.
Riku paused in thought. As he began recalling over what experiences he had had during their last visit to this particular town, the silver-haired teen attempted to piece the whole journey together. From what he managed to connect the dots with, Riku remembered how he had first arrived in a large, marble plaza with a towering fountain at the exact center. The peak of the fountain had the unmistakable imprint of Lady and the Tramp sharing a dinner of spaghetti and meatballs. While he had begun pondering over what had taken place next, Riku recalled a strange-looking robot and a group of preteens. In addition, he also encountered a few more teenagers, a penguin-like person, and even an angel. He hurriedly shoved the memory of his encounter with Violet aside since she was already accounted for. Still, who were those others?
The purple-colored robotic bird. The preteens who had claimed to have seen Sora. The other three allies and… wait! The allies! That was it — the missing piece of the puzzle needed to help Riku finish his recollection! Those three allies were friends of a group called the Cybersquad, which consisted of three preteens named Matt, Jackie, and Inez — and… the purple bird-like robot — Digit LeBoid. They were all from another universe by the name of Cyberspace, which Digit had referred to as "The Final Frontier". Nevertheless, Riku could not recall what the identity of the villain the Cybersquad were charged with constantly having to stop from causing… what was it?
As he continued to rack his brain with limited success, Riku felt someone tug onto the back of his shirt. As he was yanked backward and behind the stack of crates, he yelled, "What the—?!"
A hand was clamped over his mouth before he could finish. Fearful the strange figure in the black-hooded coat had unexpectedly transferred the duo of Keybladers and the angel back to the already-awakened world, Riku desperately tried to resist his apparent captors — with no success. It wasn't until after Violet had leaned in close with a finger to her lips that Riku let out a relieved sigh. He hadn't been apprehended by the mysterious guy in black; Sora and Violet had dragged him behind the crates without any prior notice.
After Sora had removed his hands from over Riku's mouth, the latter whispered, "What happened?"
With a finger in front of her lips, Violet gestured with her other hand to the intersection nearest the group. Peering through an opening in between the crates, Riku spotted what had scared Sora and Violet with enough fear to take cover.
Just around the corner of the resort, a golden-yellow vehicle with silver framework was sitting on the left side of the road. The machine lacked any type of overhead roof, though it still contained a shiny, glass windshield. It had four tires with the capability of travelling across a variety of terrains. As the front of the vehicle was facing their way, the group took note of how the front had a pair of purple-colored cones attached directly above its front fender. In the middle of the points was a steel figurehead. It had a long, pointed chin, an uncanny-looking grin, evil-looking eyes, pointy nose, and even a thin slimmer of hair on top.
"What could it be?" Riku questioned.
Sora shrugged with a blank stare. "Who knows?" he admitted. "I've never seen one before."
Violet nodded in agreement. "It also feels out-of-place."
Sora gave a nod in return. The very sight of the unknown vehicle parked at the side of the hotel was very atypical. Having explored Traverse Town on more than one occasion, Sora was certain such an object wouldn't have been in the town's under-developed state of technological advancement. Therefore, he concluded it had to have been brought from someplace completely different. But… what place could that have been? How would it have gotten there without a single scratch? Furthermore, where was its owner?
Sora was about to suggest taking a closer look when a pair of voices made the three freeze in place. They were positive someone or something was nearby.
"Are you telling me those 'Earth-brats' are still hiding?"
"Yes! I've double-checked this entire town. There's no sign of them."
Mystified and astounded, Sora, Riku, and Violet all stuck their heads out from behind the pile of wooden boxes. The sources for the unfamiliar voices were located not ten feet from where the strange vehicle was situated. A pair of figures were conversing between each other under the light of a well-lit streetlamp from above.
One of the strangers was a tall, slender young man with blackish-purple hair, blue eyes, and slightly-tanned skin. He was wearing a green T-shirt over a light-grey shirt, blue jeans, and red-and-white tennis shoes.
However, the other figure stood out like a sour plum… or lime. His skin was an alien-like, greenish color. His face had a long, pointy chin with oval-shaped eyes and black pupils. On the top of his head was a black wig that seemed a tad small. His outfit consisted of a white-colored shirt, tiny black pants with small feet, a purple-colored cape fastened by a miniature, black bowtie, and a small pocket with three ball-point pens of red, yellow, and blue colored ink. He was a little taller than the other figure with a wider body, though his being was giving the scent of a strong Darkness, which only Riku was able to detect.
As Sora and the others tuned in on the twosome's conversation, they heard the sound of something beeping loudly. The green-skinned figure reached into a hidden pocket and pulled out a hand-sized cellular phone with a bright-yellow color. He pressed a button and held it up to his ear.
"The Hacker here," he answered. As he listened to the voice on the opposite end of the line, the guy — Hacker he had called himself — suddenly gasped in shock. "What?! What do you mean you're 'lost'?! Listen up, you two 'Dunce-Buckets!' You'd better be at the hideout before Ledge and I get there!"
With one swift movement, Hacker clicked the phone off and put it away in his pocket. All the while, Sora, Riku, and Violet were now even more puzzled. Who had this guy named 'Hacker' been talking to? What had he meant by 'the hideout'? For that matter, who was 'Ledge'?"
"Bad news?" the other figure asked.
Hacker nodded. "I don't understand, Ledge," he groaned in depression. "Why can't Buzz and Delete be like you? You're smart, resourceful, and not clumsy. I'm actually glad I decided to give you a second chance."
The other guy, Ledge, nodded. "Yeah," he agreed. "Those other two could never have told the difference between a number and a letter. I'm amazed you've kept them this long."
With a nod in turn, Hacker stood up straight and tall. "Well then, Ledge," he smiled. "Let's return to the hideout. Wicked should be there already."
Ledge nodded as he and Hacker climbed into the front two seats of the vehicle; Hacker was in the driver's seat. As the engine started up, Ledge muttered, "You sure there's nothing going on between both you and 'her'?"
Hacker barely blushed silently as he drove the vehicle around the corner to the left, zoomed straight past the crates concealing Sora and his friends, and disappeared into the shadows further down the street ahead.
Now alone in the vicinity, Sora, Riku, and Violet cautiously proceeded out of their hiding place and across the street to the corner. Looking at where the two strangers had been moments prior, the trio found no trace of their presence with the exception of a small cube of yellow substance. Picking up the unidentified object, Violet rapidly felt it get smashed in her hands. Some of it began dripping down to the street below while the remainder was so sticky it was stuck onto her palms.
"Yuck!" the angel winced with a feeling of sickness. "What is this stuff?!"
Taking a closer examination of the gooey element, Riku concluded it seemed strangely similar to what honey was like. However, even that was not solidified enough to have been formed into a cube-shape like what Violet had touched. The other thing he could think of was butter, but he eliminated that option instantly; butter was too runny in comparison to even honey itself.
"Not sure," Riku summarized. "I've never seen anything so thick until now."
As the silver-haired Keyblader continued to ponder over what could've been combined into such a substance, Sora was in a deep contemplation in terms of how the purple-caped figure of Hacker seemed to possess an appearance he had heard about someplace. All he could understand so far was how the very first name he had heard leave the lips of who happened to be Matt and Jackie was that of "Hacker". Nonetheless, that still failed to answer his current query. What had Matt told him just before the duo of preteens had introduced themselves to Sora?
"Have you seen a tall, green guy with a pointychin, purple cape, and black wig?"
Sora gave a hushed gasp when he realized what Matt had meant in the detailed description. The preteen had been referring to Hacker — the same guy who had just left in the vehicle a few minutes ago. That was the enemy of the Cybersquad — in person!
"That was him!" Sora loudly exclaimed as he pounded his fists together. His eyes were wide with shock the instant he had discovered the hard-to-accept truth.
"That was who?"
Sora whirled around to spot the startled and puzzled faces of both Riku and Violet. Now knowing he had spoken out loud, Sora placed his hands behind his head in an attempt to hinder the awkwardness from showing up on his face. Fortunately, his cheeks failed to become any shade of red.
After a few minutes, the brown-haired youth explained his conclusion. "That green guy with the pointed chin and purple cape," he clarified. "He was 'Hacker', the enemy of our friends."
Riku and Violet stared at each other in surprise when it had occurred to them Sora's statement was probably correct. Matt, Jackie, and Digit had all spoken about a guy by the name of Hacker, who was always trying to take over another universe by the name of Cyberspace. Recalling how the group of preteens had revealed themselves members of a heroic team they had called "The Cybersquad" who were charged to doing their personal best to bring an end to any and all of Hacker's schemes to create chaos, the teenager and angel knew they could not just allow the villain to get away with whatever evil plan he had assembled this time. They had to help — no matter what!
After thinking for a few more minutes, Violet spoke up, "If what you said is true, I suppose we should track down the others. Correct?"
"Yeah, of course!" Sora answered without a moment's hesitation.
Riku simply nodded in response. With a nod in return from the angel herself, the team of Sora, Riku, and Violet hurried down the road leading into a quadrant of the town they were yet to explore. They had returned to Traverse Town, only to find the world was still asleep.
After speed-walking down a long street beyond the comforting light of the gigantic resort, the group rapidly took note of how they had seemingly ventured into what felt to be the spookiest district of the town. The buildings were flooded in shadows with the majority of them having been boarded up. All they could identify through the darkness were what had probably once been a neighborhood of small townhouses, a few hotels, and a vacated lot of dead grass. As they proceeded on with extra caution, Sora noticed how most of the vicinity had lampposts that lacked light-bulbs. For that matter, the ones that still did were poorly lit with the capability of illuminating only a very, very small area.
Finally, after traveling down the road for about ten minutes, Sora, Riku, and Violet rounded a corner and gasped. In the middle of the area before their eyes stood a small, square-shaped fountain with three layers. The water flowing from the interesting-looking spring was calmly collecting inside a suitably-laid basin in the shape of a perfect rectangle. As the duo of Keyblade wielders and the Angel of Dreams gradually approached the pool of water, an old, mildew-covered grate caught their attention. The iron vent was sucking up the water at the same rate the fount was spewing it out.
Sora folded his arms over his chest. "Funny," he murmured to no one in particular. "I don't recall ever seeing this part of Traverse Town before."
Violet swept her eyes around the encompassing scenery. "It's no wonder why," she observed. "This section is, well… a little run-down."
Riku nodded as he placed his hand to his chin in thought. Last he had checked, the spiky-haired Keyblader had traversed the very streets of this town countless times. As a result, Sora should have developed a perfect sense of direction throughout the entire layout of the world. Yet, the sixteen-year-old teenage Keyblade Master-In-Training lacked any knowledge of the group's current whereabouts. Apparently, everything seemed to be identical to everything else. All he could say was, "I see… "
With a sigh, Sora looked down. "Sorry guys," he apologetically announced. "Looks like we're lost."
Riku spun his head to meet Violet's concern-filled eyes. As the silver-haired Keyblade wielder gave a nod, the angel gave one in return. It was official. They had all gotten lost in Traverse Town's maze of streets, squares, wood-built sidewalks, hotels, houses, and so on.
"Hey! Are you guys okay?"
The surprisingly-familiar voice hastily whipped the three from their state of depression and growing hopelessness. They whirled around to spot a preteen standing on the opposite side of where the fountain from them. Thanks to his red backpack and green, turtleneck sweater, Sora, Riku, and Violet were astounded with a combination of relief, recognition, and accomplishment.
It was Matt, one of their friends from the Cybersquad.
Running across the pool of water, Sora reached the preteen in a matter of seconds. At the same time, Riku and Violet quickly strolled around the water along the narrow path of brick-laid sidewalk forming a perimeter for the basin.
Having stormed through the pool, Sora had barely noticed how it was less than ten inches deep. However, the depth was insufficient in regards to the actual temperature of the water. It was as freezing as being in a refrigerator. Talk about ice-cold!
"Man!" a startled Matt exclaimed the moment Sora had reached him. "You must be freezing!"
By the time Riku and Violet had completed their own passage around the basin of water, it was quite clear they had chosen the better option. Sora was shivering with his arms hugging across his chest. Water was continuing to drip from his clothes as his knees were beginning to buckle.
Riku shook his head while Violet did her best to stifle the urge to giggle aloud. For the former, this was just like the time Sora had waded through the ocean during the latest tropical storm. Though the brown-haired teen kept resisting Riku's temptation to go into the ocean during the windiest part of the rainstorm, the silver-haired youth had persuaded it would be for just one minute. Certain nothing serious could occur within a mere sixty seconds of surfing on a series of waves, Sora had voluntarily accepted his friend's challenge.
Unfortunately, this was one of the few practical jokes Riku had ended up regretting. The instant Sora was on the waves, he had tried to keep his balance on the surfboard. As the wind unexpectedly grew faster and more violent, the brown, spikey-haired youth had lost all control of his surfboard and got sucked into the rough-moving waves. Fortunately, Sora had survived thanks to a speedy rescue by a group of spectators who rushed onto the scene of the incident immediately after they had witnessed Sora's plunge.
While he was grateful his best friend was still living, Riku had decided to shove the hurtful memories completely from his head. Now, as he was looking straight at his drenched friend, the silver-haired Keyblader asked, "You alright?"
"N-n-n-o-o-o-o!" Sora chattered with a hint of shock forming in his voice. "T-o-o-o… c-c-o-o-o-o-l-l-d-d-d!"
Violet's eyes were full of fear and concern. She was beginning to take faster gasps of air. For a short minute, it appeared to Riku's perspective as though the angel was starting to shiver with complete alarm and uncertainty.
"This is very terrible!" she finally shouted. "Sora's starting to get hypothermia! He could freeze to death!"
Riku was on the verge of answering when he saw Matt kneeling on the sidewalk with one hand rummaging through the contents of his backpack. After searching around for a couple seconds, Matt pulled out a towel that seemed to be woven from fleece. He called out, "Here! Let's try this!"
Riku carefully assisted Matt with placed the dry towel across Sora's shoulders. A few, nerve-racking minutes went by before Sora was beginning to show symptoms of warmth. With a sigh of relief, the brown-haired Keyblade wielder smiled.
"Thanks," he said. "I was freezing!"
"No problem!" Matt acknowledged with a smile in return. "Just… stay out of that water from now on. Okay?"
"Yeah!" Sora agreed. His body stopped shivering a moment later as he took a deep breath. "That's better!"
Having managed to relax and stay calm, Violet turned to Matt. With a deep breath, the angel inquired, "Where's the others?"
"They're fine," Matt replied. "We've been in hiding since Hacker showed up."
Sora gave a nod. "Yeah," he spoke up. "We saw him by that hotel where we last saw you."
Matt gasped in amazement. "You saw him?!"
"Briefly," Riku confirmed. "He said he was heading from some… 'hideout' with someone named 'Ledge'."
"He was green," Violet explained further. "He had a purple cape and tiny feet."
"Don't forget the pointed chin!" Sora added.
"Yup!" Matt perked up, slamming his right fist into his left palm. "That's Hacker all right! He must be trying to find us."
"But," Sora crossed his arms. "Who's 'Ledge'?"
Matt frowned with uncertainty. He paused in thought for a few moments. All Sora, Riku, and Violet could do was watch with puzzlement as they waited.
"You'd have to ask Inez," Matt stated finally. "She's the only one who really remembers meeting him."
Sora and Riku nodded in understanding. Violet thought for a second before questioning, "So… where are you all hiding?"
"I'll show you," Matt answered as he turned into the direction of a shadow-covered street leading into the unknown. "C'mon!"
Although they had the faintest feeling Hacker might be watching their every move, Sora, Riku, and Violet all followed their friend into the distance. Even if Hacker was attempting to capture the Cybersquad, he would still have to get past two Keyblade wielders and the Angel of Dreams.
It wasn't long before the group had reached an open plaza illuminated by a series of torches. Taken account of the numerous banners of a variety of colors, a number of round tents, and even some maypoles with a few stacks of wooden crates, Riku had the sensation he was now in a carnival. He rapidly took note of how Violet appeared to be considering the same conclusion.
As Matt opened a canvas-made flap for one of the nearby tents, Sora, Riku, and Violet all stepped through and into the interior. They were all pleasantly surprised to find a large group applauding for them the instant they had entered.
"Ladies and Gentlemen," Matt proclaimed. "Our friends — Sora, Riku, and Violet — are back!"
Sora shyly gave a wave in response as he recalled the names of everyone else in the room. The large, robotic bird (near the opening of the tent) was Digit. The smaller, bird-like robot next to Digit was Widget. The two preteens sitting side-by-side were Jackie and Inez. Slider was the skateboard standing beside them, while Fluff was the hockey-loving penguin to Slider's left. Standing hunched over on the far side of the room was the tall, thin young man they had rescued from the rooftop of the resort hotel; Jules.
"Welcome back!" Jackie called.
Inez added, "We missed you guys!"
"Yeah," Slider affirmed. "Things haven't been the same without you guys."
"To be expected," Sora admitted as he calmly placed his hands behind his head.
Riku nodded. "Yeah."
"So," Digit spoke up. "Did you find out what Hacker's up to, Mattie?"
"Not yet," Matt confessed with a shake of his head. "But Sora and his friends have agreed to help."
"We did?" Violet asked. Riku gave her a nod.
"Where's Hacker at now?" Jackie inquired.
Sora explained, "He said something about a 'hideout', but that was it."
"Hmm… " Inez pondered aloud. "Sounds like he's got a home base somewhere in this town."
"The only question is… where?" Slider indicated.
Sora paused to think about where the villain might be. Though he wasn't certain, something told him it might be someplace in the direction he had watched Hacker go. The only question was… what was beyond that point?
"Maybe," Sora spoke up. "He's beyond the hotel?"
"What hotel?" Inez asked.
"The one we rescued Jules from," Sora explained. "That's where we saw Hacker!"
"Good point," Fluff commented.
Violet paused when she realized something. "Wait," she blurted. "Hacker was complaining about how his henchmen were lost around town. Perhaps we could follow them!"
"Good idea!" Matt approved.
"If you say so," Digit added.
"It's settled!" Sora beamed. "Let's find those henchmen!"
"Who are they?" Riku asked.
"Buzz and Delete," Digit clarified. "They're two robots who always are making a mess of everything."
Sora nodded. "Then let's go!"
In the blink of an eye, the entire Cybersquad filed out of the tent with Sora, Riku, and Violet. Yet, the moment they had set foot outside, they froze.
"Oh no!" Sora gasped.
"This is not good," Inez added. "This is not good at all!"
Standing on the opposite side of the square were a pair of greenish-colored robots with black lining around their eyes. One was small and oval-shaped while with other was tall with a long snout and horns that occasionally were buzzing with electricity.
"It's Buzz and Delete!" Digit exclaimed.
A/N: BUZZ AND DELETE?! UH-OH! Whenever those two are around, it means HACKER isn't far away!
As it is, I'm certain you're probably wondering I made Sora swim through cold water. Well... let's just say, it brings more THRILL to the story!
While I'm currently struggling with an unforeseen state of Writer's Block, it has yet to interfere with the progress of THIS STORY!
You know the drill; PLEASE DON'T LEAVE WITHOUT REVIEWING! THE FATE OF THIS STORY DEPENDS ON IT!
This is SoraLego278 saying, "See Ya Later, Keybladers!"