Realm Hearts
chpt.4: Sunset's Twilight
The Struggle Festival had come to a close, with Roxas rising as the new Struggle King for the next year. Now with only a day to go before the big end of summer beach party being held Saturday, the Usual Spot gang was seeking out an idea on what they could do to fill the dull Friday.
And to everyone's surprise, Hayner actually had a good idea.
"Check it out, guys" says Hayner, letting his three friends read the pamphlet he had brought with him.
"The Sunset Park Annual Scavenger Hunt?" asked Olette.
"Yeah, it's been a yearly tradition anyone who's anyone would want to give a try. Read below and see what I mean" says Hayner.
The threesome do as asked with Pence being the one to read aloud. "Seek out the seven hidden symbols scatter about for a chance to win a most desired prize. Solve the riddles written inside the pamphlet to fine the symbols and uncover their secret message. Rules dictate you must include the location you found the symbol at and what is hidden beneath to be rewarded for finding solving the riddle."
"Is it that simple?" asked Roxas, hearing of this scavenger hunt thing for the first time.
"It's harder than you might think" says Olette before explaining the finer points. "The mayor is the one who writes the riddles and he can be quite crafty in his writing them. In fact, I haven't heard of anyone figuring them out since he took office seven years ago."
"So there hasn't been a scavenger hunt winner in seven years then?" asked Roxas, getting a nod. "Is the prize really that great for him to make it so hard for everyone?"
"You better believe your butt it is" says Hayner. "The grand prize winner get to have any one wish granted by the mayor himself."
"Within reason, of course" quickly toss's in Pence. "After all, he can't grant miracles."
"Yeah, really otherwise I'd wish for no more school forever" joked Hayner.
"So what would YOU wish for then that he could grant?" asked Olette.
Hayner thinks about this for a moment, then grins as he eyes Roxas. "I'd ask him for a rematch with Roxas for the chance of becoming the Struggle King for this year."
"You're still sore you lost?" asked Roxas.
"You'd only lose again, Hayner. Especially if Roxas decides to dual wield those Struggle Bats again" says Pence.
"Well you won't know until you try" counters Hayner. "And what about you, anyways? What would you wish for, Pence?"
"Well. I'd ask if I could have a free years supply of Sea Salt Ice Cream so that way the four of us could snack on our favorite snack whenever we wanted, as much as we wanted" says Pence.
"Wow, that's a really nice thing you'd do for us" says Olette.
"Yeah, I guess that would be better than my wish" admits Hayner.
"Thanks guy. And what about you, Olette?" asked Pence.
Olette blush's and looks away, though Pence notices her eyes quickly looking at Roxas for quick moments before looking away again. "Sorry guys, but that's a secret" she says then giving them a wink. "And you, Roxas?"
"Actually, I'm not sure" he admits, his sad tone not going unnoticed by the others. "The one thing I would want to ask for is something I know the mayor couldn't grant me."
"Oh Roxas..."says Olette, placing her hand on his shoulder, knowing he was thinking of his memories.
Hayner's response is a little different; throwing him into a choke hold and saying "Stop being so depressing, man. You'll kill the mood."
"Hayner?" says Pence, sounding exasperated.
Roxas shakes his head, then smiles and says "No, he's right. Now's not the time to think about that. Let's go do that scavenger hunt. If nothing else, it'll be a fun way to spend the day, even if we don't can't win the scavenger hunt."
"Heh, now you're talking, man" says Hayner, letting Roxas out of the hold. The four friends then thrust their hands into the air, giving off an excited cheer before heading out to catch the train.
(later that morning; Sunset Park)
"Oh yeah, we're finally here" cheers Hayner as he steps off the train, throwing his hands into the air while cheering aloud.
"How about letting us get out before the train leaves?" asked Pence as Hayner was blocking them from advancing themselves. Once they were all outside the train, Pence ask "So, where should be begin?"
"Well, I was thinking we should split into two groups and see what we can find. It'll increase our chances considerably" says Hayner.
"That's a good idea, but why not each of us going off to search instead?" asked Roxas.
Hayner chuckles nervously as he pulls out a second pamphlet and says "Well, actually, I only grabbed two of them earlier. In hindsight, I should have grabbed four, huh?"
"Well, it can't be helped now, can it?" says Pence. "So unless we can find a stand with more of them to take, we'll have to do the two way split."
"Cool and I'm calling Pence as my partner" says Hayner.
"And why's that?" asked Olette, just curious.
"Because he's the smartest one among us" says Hayner. "Anyways, we'll go on ahead" he adds before shoving the second pamphlet into Roxas hand, then turns to run down the steps leading from the loading platform into the town itself.
"Guess we can't argue with him about that now. Good luck, guys" says Pence before following after Hayner.
Olette huffs while placing her hands on her waste, saying "While I do agree that Pence is the smartest member in the group, I still can't help but think we were just insulted though. Oh well, I'd rather be partnered up with you anyways, Roxas."
"Thanks, Olette" says Roxas.
Olette then moves to stand beside him, asking "So what's the first riddle then?"
Roxas opens the pamphlet and sees on one side the list of the seven riddles and on the other seven spaces made available to write down where they found the symbol as well as a stamp spot, likely meaning the symbol held a stamp they would need to use on the pamphlet as well.
"Let's see. It says..."Either up or down I climb, yet the number changes each time." Any ideas on what that means?" asked Roxas.
Olette repeats the riddle several times aloud while taking on a thinking pose, then sighs and says "I haven't the foggiest, to be honest. It just goes to show you the mayor can be really devious. And worse is the fact that as the first riddle, it's also the easiest to answer or so he would say anyways."
"Well, let's head down and into Sunset Park and maybe something will stand out we'll notice and make the connection with" says Roxas, getting a nod, then they both proceed to walk down the steps. "By the way, just how close has anyone ever come to winning this scavenger hunt anyways?"
"I think the closest was either three or four years ago. Someone managed to figure out the first four and came very close to getting the fifth riddle solved, only being off by a block I think."
As they turn a corner, they see Rai busy walking up and down the steps while Fu watches him from the bottom, appearing to be rather bored. "Man, the number just doesn't make sense, ya know. Each time I walk these steps, the number keeps changing, ya know?"
"Pointless" says Fu in her monotone way.
"Hey guys, are you here for the scavenger hunt too?" asked Roxas as he and Olette walk down to join them.
Rai turns around and says "Whoa, you can scare a cat by sneaking up like that, ya know?"
"Huh? Oh, sorry about that" says Roxas.
"No problem" says Fu.
"And no, we ain't here for that scavenger hunt, ya know. We just killing time while we wait for Seifer to get back, ya know?" says Rai.
"And where's Seifer at anyways?" asked Olette.
"Business" says Fu, not feeling the need to go into detail.
Rai then returns to his walk back up the steps and Roxas ask "What are you doing anyways, Rai?"
"Counting the steps, ya know. They keep changing with each walk, ya know" says Rai.
"You do know why that is, don't you?" asked Olette. "The designer did it deliberated, making each step having various length bricks placed down as steps, even shifting the patterned upon the same level to throw people off. I'm not sure why he did this but that's what I heard. Also, if you look at the step arrangement, you'll see what I mean."
Rai and Fu do as she suggest and they quickly see what she meant. The steps on one level stood out more than the steps next in the line and even saw how the length on one side differed from the one on the opposite side, each brick laid being a different length than the ones around it.
"Man, that's just freaky, ya know" says Rai.
"Good eye" says Fu, giving Olette an encouraging grin.
"Either up or down I climb, yet the number changes...wait, this must be the answer" says Roxas before looking around.
"Huh? What are you talking about, Roxas?" asked Olette as she and the others look at him.
"The riddle for the scavenger hunt. It said either up or down I climb, yet the number changes each time. I think it's referring to these steps here do to the way they're arranged making the number going up or down differ depending on how and where you step" says Roxas.
Olette thinks about then, then her eyes light up and says "Yeah, you're right. That was a brilliant deduction, Roxas."
"You should congratulate Rai instead of me. After all, he's the one who made me think of it with his counting quest" says Roxas.
Rai chuckles and rubs the back of his head, saying "Always glad to help."
"So, where do you think the symbol is?" asked Olette.
Roxas looks around, not seeing anything that stood out or looked like the symbol. Then he notices an odd color mixed in with the green of a bit of shrubbery placed along the steps. Walking over to it, Roxas push's the leaves and branches of the shrub to the side, finding the symbol at the end of a stick jabbed into the ground with a small box next to it. "Here, I found it."
Olette runs over and opens the box, finding a stamper and an ink dabber inside. She inks up the stamper and places it's green colored mark onto the pamphlet "OK, that's one down for us. So, what's the next one?"
"Let's see" says Roxas as he reads reads down the list. "In this corner, the ghost awaits. A mass of white to be thrown towards your space."
"So, any ideas?" asked Olette.
"I wish" says Roxas. "Let's just go look around and see what we can find."
Olette nods and they both run back down the steps, past Rai and Fu, and head off under the gate arch into Sunset Park.
"So, you think we should go with them?" asked Rai.
"No need" was Fu's response. Besides, she felt Olette would prefer it being just the two of them anyways right now and as her oldest friend, who was she to interfere unless the need arose.
For the next hour, Roxas and Olette did a very detailed search of the area beyond the station gate, looking for any sign of the symbol or anything that made them think of the riddle in the pamphlet But so far, nothing was sticking out to them. "Maybe we should either skip this one for now or head to another area? What do you think, Roxas?"
"Yeah, maybe you're...wait, have we checked that back alley over there?" asked Roxas, noticing a path leading into a darkened path.
"I don't think so?" says Olette.
"Then lets check there and if we can't find anything in there, then we'll just skip this one for later" says Roxas before walking into the alley with Olette right behind him. As the made their way through the alley, they fail to see anything relating to the riddle, but Roxas does spy another alley within the alley.
"Hm, I wonder where this one goes?" wonders Roxas as he turns and heads into the second alley, then is sent flying back as a large white ball comes flying out from the darkness, slamming him hard against his face.
"Roxas" cries Olette, running over to him as he sits up, rubbing his sore nose. "Are you OK?"
"Yeah..." he says, standing after another moment. "But what the heck was that?"
Olette kneels down and picks up the white ball and holds it out before herself. "I think its a volley ball. But what's it doing in a place like this?"
"Hey, my ball" comes the voice of Vivi as he comes waddling out from the second alley. He stops, seeing Roxas and Olette, and says "Oh, hey guys. What are you doing here?"
"We're taking part in the scavenger hunt and came back here to look for clues. What about you, Vivi?" asked Olette.
"I was using this storage alley for some training" was Vivi's reply.
"Training? What kind of training?" asked Roxas.
"I throw the ball at the back wall as hard as I can, then see if I can dodge it as it rebounds back towards me. A lot of us kids come back here to try this...to help build up are reaction time" explained Vivi, then noticing the redness on Roxas face. "Oh no, don't tell me I hit you with my ball?"
"Don't worry about it. It didn't hurt at all" lied Roxas, who felt that it had actually hurt a lot. He was actually surprised Vivi could throw with such power. "You know, Vivi. If you keep practicing like this with throwing the ball, you just may have a shot at some major league baseball action when you get older."
"You think so?" asked Vivi, getting a nod from Roxas. "Thanks Roxas, that's a pretty nice thing to say. But I'm still sorry I hit you on the rebound. To be honest, it's a problem many of us have where we throw hard enough to send it back and nearly hitting someone, if not hit them outright. Luckily, there's a dumpster back here also we can hide behind when that happens."
An idea pops into Olette head as she shows Vivi the pamphlet and ask "Say Vivi, by any chance have you seen this symbol anywhere within the alley?"
Vivi looks to where's she's pointing, thinks for a moment, then says "Oh yeah, I did see something like that. Painted onto the dumpster I think."
"Then let's go check it out" says Roxas as he heads into the alley with Olette and Vivi following after him. Once they had reached the dumpster, Roxas looks it over and soon finds the container tucked back behind the dumpster and with some effort, Roxas pulls it free and they get their second stamp.
"Alright, two down and five to go" says Roxas as he and Olette high five each other.
"So, on to the next riddle then. Let's see..." she says before looking at what was next on the list. "Drip drop, beneath the ground your not. Drip drop, the sounds like ghost don't stop. Please tell me we're not going to a cemetery."
"I think the clue may be in the drip drop double usage in the riddle. Maybe the underground channel?" suggest Roxas.
"Yeah, good thinking, Roxas. Let's go check it out" says Olette.
Roxas nods as they go to move, but he stops and looks back at Vivi, asking "Hey, you wanna come with us? After all, it was because of you that we solved the second riddle."
Vivi shakes his head, saying "Thanks, but I'm going to stay here and train some more. Good luck with the hunt though."
After a final set of goodbyes, Roxas and Olette leave the alley and head off to the Under Tunnel Pathway. This Pathway was mainly used as a water drainage system for when there was a heavy raining falling to channel the rain water into the ocean. But it was also a means to allow people to travel between Twilight Town and Sunset Park without using the trains, though traveling the maze like passageway did take a good deal longer, assuming of course you didn't get turned around and lost inside.
And for the next forty minutes, the twosome explored the under path carefully, making sure not to get lost though this wasn't easy given the size and multitude of pathways one could walk into. Luckily, there was also a color coding layered upon the wall, alerting them as to when they were crossing over from Sunset Park's section into the Twilight Town proper section.
And then, they heard it. The ghost like sounds echoing through the underground. And the sounds come so suddenly that Olette latches onto Roxas while saying "Boy, that really is scary, huh?"
"Yeah" says Roxas, nodding. "I think it's coming from over here." He then leads her over into a solitary room where indeed, the echo's were at their loudest.
"Do you really think this place is haunted?" asked Olette.
Roxas doesn't answer right away, instead looking around and then taking notice of something. "Say, you don't think all those echo's are coming from above, do you?"
"Huh? What makes you think that?" asked Olette.
"Well, there are several water drainage grates located in this room alone and if my guess is correct, we're right under the main street of Sunset Park. People coming and going throughout the day, possibly chatting while doing so, might be hear-able down here like an echo which would make one think that it could be a ghost" explained Roxas.
After a moment of listening to the echo's a little more closely, Olette realizes that "You're right, it is just some sound reverberation coming from up above." She then breaths a sigh of relief while placing her free hand over her heart. "Boy, and here I thought I was going to have a heart attack."
Roxas grins at her, asking "So, you gonna let go of me now or what?"
Olette blush's, realizing she was indeed still holding onto him and quickly lets him go, moving away a few feet while trying to stammer something out, but not having much luck. Roxas laughs a little, then looks around and quickly spots the symbol painted below a low hanging drainage pipe. After walking up to it and digging inside, he finds the container with the next stamp inside.
Once they were back outside in Sunset Plaza, Roxas ask "So, what's next on this list?"
"Let me see" says Olette as she pulls the pamphlet back from her bag and reading it. "Reflect within me your true self, contained within a serene sea of flowers."
"Well, that narrows is down to...anywhere" says Roxas who had noticed there was a far amount of gardens and water fountains set up all over Sunset Park since their arrival.
"Wait, I think I have an idea" says Olette. "Have you ever heard of the six mysteries of Sunset Park?"
Roxas shakes his head, saying "First time actually. What about it?"
"Well, there have been six mysteries that have plagued Sunset Park for many years. And now that I think about it, we've visited three of them already. The mystery of the walking steps at the train station. The attacking ball in the back alley ways. And the ghost voices within the underground pathway. The other three speak of a ghost appearing within the fountain located inside New Bloom Garden, a mysterious bouncing bag at Sunset Watch, and a mystery train that pass's through the station."
"You don't think...?" asked Roxas.
Olette nods, saying "I wouldn't put it past the mayor to use the old mysteries as his source for the scavenger hunt. At the very least, we should have a look around."
"Alright, I guess we head to New Bloom Garden next" says Roxas as the run off.
It doesn't take them long to reach the Garden where they quickly look around, focusing mostly on the fountain. "I'm not seeing any symbol anywhere" admits Roxas.
"Me neither" agreed Olette. "Keep looking around here. I'm going to get a better view from a higher vantage point." And with that, she turns and heads out of the garden, looking for a way to get a a better look from above.
"Man, I was wondering when she'd give us some alone time" comes a familiar voice, making Roxas spin around to see Axel stepping out from a wall of flowers.
"Hey, it's you, Access. What are you doing here?" asked Roxas.
"My name's AXEL, not ACCESS. Got that memorized?" yells Axel.
"Oh yeah, sorry" says Roxas.
"Anyways, I came here because there was something I needed to talk with you about" says Axel, his tone becoming more serious.
"What is it?" asked Roxas.
"It's about you...and the Keyblade" says Axel.
"Huh? How do you know about the Keyblade? Axel, just who are you?" asked Roxas.
Meanwhile, Olette had made found some stairs, allowing her to get to a higher vantage point. She was about to yell out to Roxas, letting him know where she was when she sees Axel. "Hey, isn't that the guy Roxas battled in the first round?" Curious as to what was going on, she keeps silent and watch's them.
"Because I've encounter a Keybearer way back when, about ten years ago, give or take a few months. In many ways, you remind me of that guy. You have the same...look about you, feel about you" says Axel. "Besides, the fact you know kind of verifies my words based on your response."
"Anyways, as you already know, I am Axel. I'm am a member of a group called Organization XII. We're a group of people who...well, let's just say we're different from your average person. And we've been looking for someone like you, Roxas. We need your help to be honest."
"Like what, Axel?" asked Roxas.
"Sorry, I can't tell you now. Besides, I doubt I'd be able to properly explain it to you now anyways. That is something our leader would be better at. Just know that, as a Keybearer, you have a power few others have and it is a power that can change both the world and the lives of people in that world. But for right now, we have a more immediate threat" says Axel.
"And what would that be?" asked Roxas.
After a moment's pause, Axel ask "You've seen them, haven't you? You've seen the Heartless."
"The heart...less? Just what in the world is that?" asked Roxas.
"Creatures born from the deepest darkness, beings that crave hearts and will seek them out."
"They seek hearts and are born from darkness...wait" says Roxas as he recalls a few days back, he had found Olette being attacked by some shadow creatures. Above, Olette was thinking along the same lines as him. "You mean those shadow creatures are Heartless?"
Axel chuckles, then says "Funny you should call them shadow creatures as that is what the really are; the Shadows, the lowest and weakest of the Heartless that exist. And the very fact that you really have seen some means that time is likely running out for this world."
"OK, you need to start explaining all this to me" yells Roxas. "What do you mean that times running out for this world?"
Axel sighs, then says "When Heartless begin to appear in a world, it means the barrier that protects the world has begun to weaken. If left unchecked, they'll continue to appear in greater and greater numbers with even more powerful Heartless than just the Shadows. And soon, it will get so bad that the whole world will be sucked into the darkness, forever lost as they say and all the people will be turned into Heartless and continue the process into other worlds."
"No, it can't be. I won't let that happen" shouts Roxas.
"And how do you plan on stopping it?" asked Axel. "Until today, you knew nothing of the Heartless and even less about the Keyblade, the power of one's heart in a physical form. I bet you didn't even know that the Heartless is actually a heart that has been separated from it's body, having been transformed into that dark monstrous form and having forgotten it's truth, seek other hearts in an attempt to regain what it has lost when it is what it lost. Tell me, Roxas, how will you stop it?"
Roxas clench's his fist, glaring at Roxas for a moment before letting out an exasperated sigh. "I don't know. No matter what I say, it doesn't change the fact that I just don't know."
Axel feels a pang of guilt for Roxas and walks forward, placing his hand on Roxas shoulder. "Cheer up, man. I, luckily, happen to know what to do. All we need to do is find the Keyhole."
Roxas looks up at him and ask "Keyhole?"
"Yeah, that's right. The Keyhole; or to put it a better way. The door that leads to the heart of this world. If we can find the key hole in question and you use that Keyblade of yours to seal it up, it will restore the world's barrier to full strength and the Heartless won't be able to appear here again."
"So there is hope. Please Axel, tell me where I can find this Keyhole?" asked Roxas.
"Actually, I have no idea myself. Though I can assure you that both me and my comrades are looking into it. As soon as we find it, we'll let you know so you can take action" says Axel.
"But do we have time though?" asked Roxas.
"Maybe? How many times have you encountered Heartless, Roxas?"
Roxas thinks about it, then says "Well, there was that one instance where I found them attacking my friend, Olette. And then there was that weird event when I found myself facing that giant one that was white/gray in color with a blue colored scarf on it."
"A...wait, are you saying you encountered a Twilight Thorn too?" asked Axel, getting an "I guess..." as an answer from Roxas, not sure what a Twilight Thorn was. Axel thinks for a moment, then says aloud to himself "Now why would they send..."
"Axel?" asked Roxas.
Axel shakes his thoughts from his head, then says "Never mind, don't worry about it. I can assure you that giant one wasn't a Heartless, but a Nobody."
"What's a Nobody?" asked Roxas.
"Nothing you need to worry about...not now anyways. Back to the matter at hand, if you've only encountered the Heartless once so far, then we have plenty of time to look before things get bad."
"I hope your right. So, what should I do until you and your friends can find it?" asked Roxas.
"I suggest you keep living your daily life in order to avoid making your friends worry. And if at all possible, keep this a secret from everyone as well. We don't want to scare them now, do we?" asked Axel.
Roxas shakes his head, saying "No, not really."
"But you should also keep your eyes open as well, Roxas. Look for anything that make have a shape similar to that of a key hole as the Keyhole of this world won't be something obvious or even of a regular key hole size. Also, I'm told you're Keyblade will resonate when close to one as well."
"I understand" says Roxas as he calls his Keyblade out.
"Well, I need to be getting back and see if anything has been found yet. I'll be back, Roxas" says Axel before turning and leaving.
Roxas allows the Keyblade to disappear again as he stands there, alone. Was what he had just been told true? If so, then he had a lot of work to do. "Roxas, did you find anything?" asked Olette as she comes running up to him.
"Huh? Oh, no. Sorry, I haven't seen anything. We should probably keep looking around, huh?" says Roxas before returning to looking.
"Say, Roxas..."
"Hm, what is it?" asked Roxas, looking back at her.
"Oh, nothing. It's nothing really. Well, we better get to work while the afternoon's still young" says Olette before looking around herself. She wanted to tell him that she had overheard everything Axel had said from above. But she also wanted Roxas to confide in her as well. And if he didn't feel comfortable doing so, then it wasn't her place to make him talk. But still, a thought did linger in the back of her mind. And that thought was if he trusted her or not?
After ten more minutes of looking, Olette found their target not in or around the fountain itself, but hidden within a side fountain placed upon the wall; just behind the stream of water falling down.
The next riddle; "Jump, jump, in inanimate bag goes. From the watch of the setting sun you'll know." As Olette had figured before, this one was located up upon Sunset Watch where long ago a group of kids had been freaked out by a mysterious jumping bag when had turned out to be a prank a friend was playing on them for a laugh. They found the next stamp hidden in a bush behind a bench.
The next riddle; "Oh ye aboard thy phantom rider, dare to take thy trip a-strider." This one had confounded Olette till she realized it may have been talking of the ghost train which had actually been Twilight Town's first automated train car, built nearly twenty years ago. Back then, no one was aware of it being automated and thus had led many to believe this train to be controlled by a ghost. And while all the trains now were automated, the original "ghost" train still existed, though it was now used to give tourist an explorer's view of the full Twilight Town experience via an hour long tour.
"If we hurry back to the station, we might catch it in time" says Olette as she and Roxas race back to catch their train.
It doesn't take them long to reach the station and after a moment of looking around, they spot their train, which stood out from the others with its weird coloring and design, on it's own special tour track. A moment later, the two of them had managed to run aboard and were looking around.
"Here it is" says Roxas as he reaches under one of the seats, pulling a box out. "And with this, we have six of seven."
"Great, now let's get the stamp and get off the train before..." says Olette, stopping as she hears the door sliding shut followed by a chime ringing out and the train beginning to move forward.
"We get to take a special tour of Twilight Town" says Roxas. It looks like they would be going no matter what. A few minutes later, the two of them had sit down as there wasn't anything better to do and Roxas was peering outside, making the most of their current situation. "So, will we being going all the way around back to Sunset Park?"
Olette shakes her head, saying "We'll make a stop off at Twilight Station, where we can get off if we want to." Roxas nods and what follows is a few minutes of quiet. In this time, Olette ponders if she should tell Roxas that she overheard his and Axel's talk. "Um...Roxas..."
"Say, what about that last riddle?" asked Roxas at the same moment. "If the first six where based on some old fables from Sunset Park, then what about the seventh?"
"Good question" says Olette, looking inside the pamphlet "Oh empty halls, echo's abound. Waiting for it's family to come around."
"O-K, so any ideas about that one?" asked Roxas.
Olette thinks for a moment, then says "It must be the seventh wonder then."
"The what?" asked Roxas.
"In addition to the six fables of Sunset Park, there's also a mystery back in Twilight Town itself, at the old mansion to be more specific. Together, they are known as the seven wonders in the twilight. And according to this one, people have often said they can see the form of a girl dressed in white standing at a window up on the second floor. But many have since come to believe that it's simply the drapes being blown around by wind, likely from a hole either in the wall or ceiling."
"Would it be a good spot to use for the scavenger hunt?" asked Roxas.
"Well, seeing as no one goes there these days, I would say so. Though it wouldn't be a practical one seeing as only the mayor has the key to get passed the front gate. So unless he unlocked it for today or if the box is outside the walls, we'll be pretty stuck" says Olette.
"Unless he just expects people to figure it's there" suggest Roxas.
"Maybe..." agreed Olette.
After another moment's pause, Roxas as "So, what were you going to say before?"
"Huh? Well, I...oh, nothing really" says Olette, having a case of cold feet.
"Hey, come on. Tell me" pleads Roxas.
Olette shakes her head and says "Nope...but maybe I'll tell you tomorrow. When we're at the beach or after. So just wait till then, OK."
"Sure thing" says Roxas before turning back to looking outside the train.
Olette sighs, wishing she had more of a backbone right now. But it would be OK, she knew it. After all, she would tell him that she knew tomorrow when the chance arose...along with another thing she had been wanting to tell him for some time too.
After a while, they finally arrived at the station. By now, the sun had started to set so they wasted no time in heading out into the forest and soon found themselves standing outside the old mansion again.
"Do you think those thing's are still around here?" asked Olette.
"I don't know, but if they are..." says Roxas as he holds his hand out, summoning forth his Keyblade. "I'll give them a good thrashing." They then begin to look around for the scavenger box and Roxas was glad Olette had brought up the Heartless attack as it gave him an excuse to call out his Keyblade to see if it would react to this hidden keyhole Axel had spoken of. Little did Roxas know was that Olette had also thought that, which is why she had brought it up, though she was also worried about more Heartless appearing too.
"No sign of it" she says.
"And the gate's locked tight too" adds Roxas. "I guess it was just about guessing the clue location correctly, unless we were wrong about it."
"I guess we should go turn it in then and see what he has to say" says Olette, already turning to leave.
"Yeah..." says Roxas as he goes to follow, but the Keyblade suddenly jerks in his hand, aiming itself at the lock upon the gate. Roxas, and Olette as she turns back from hearing his surprised voice, can only watch in stunned surprise as a light glimmers on the tip of the key, then shoots out like a beam, hitting the lock and causing it to be released.
"Roxas, what did you do?" asked Olette.
"It wasn't me, but my Keyblade" he says as he walks up and presses on the gate, finding it easy to open. "I guess this thing can unlock any lock it's used on, regardless of it's size or shape."
"Should we go inside and look around?" asked Olette.
Roxas shakes his head and says "No, since I doubt we'll find anything seeing as it was locked before." He then shuts the gate back up then walks over to Olette. Let's just write down that we came here and see what the mayor has to say."
"Yeah, good idea" agreed Olette.
As they walk back into the forest, Roxas ask "By the way, why do we have an old mansion here anyways? Did someone important use to live here?"
"I don't really know myself. But I remember reading one time that there use to be this prominent family that lived here in Twilight Town. But the family was devastated by tragedy nearly twenty years ago or so. The mother and the father were killed in an accident, leaving behind their two children; brothers. The older, they say, ran away while the younger was left alone and was soon taken under the tutelage of some older man who was passing through. They left and were never seen again" explained Olette.
"Such a sad story" says Roxas, allowing himself to look back one last time at the mansion. Weird though, he thought. Why did this place make him feel lonely all of a sudden?
As they reenter Twilight Town's Market Plaza, Olette looks at him and ask "Say Roxas, I feel like we're forgetting something..."
(meanwhile, back over in Sunset Park)
"Roxas, Olette, what's taking you guys so long?" yells Hayner as he and Pence sit patiently at the terminal, waiting for their friends to return. Well, Pence was sitting while Hayner was standing and pacing around like a mad man.
"Maybe they had better luck than we did" says Pence, looking at their nonexistent stamp collection for the pamphlet"
Meanwhile, Vivi had arrived and was standing next to Fu as they both watched Rai finish walking back down the steps for the thousandth time. "The count still isn't making any sense, ya know?"
Vivi and Fu look at one another and both saying in agreement "Idiot."
to be continued...
AN: A reply to my guest reviewer. Sorry, but I can't grant your wish for Roxas to NOT join the Organization in this fic as becoming a member of their group, even if only for a time, is needed in order for Roxas to be properly introduced to it's members in a proper way, to say nothing of Xion.
Having said that, I can also say his time with the Organization won't be for the remainder of this fic, but instead just for fifteen or so chapters (maybe a few more if it's needed) before he leaves them and meets up with some important KH characters.
And one last thing. I'm sure you all know Xion's story from 358/2 Days. Well, forget it as this version will have something different where she's concerned. I can't say what it is now, but I'll give you a hint and say that instead of being a Replica of Sora (yet looking like Kairi with black hair), she will instead be more like another character from the KH storyline. Who? Well, you'll find out by the end of the Xion and the Organization arc which begins in chapter 6.
But I'll give you a shout out cookie if you can guess correctly though, in the chapter the reveal happens.