The calm of the ocean gave off a quiet, serene feeling. All around, an endless blue. But if you squinted your eyes just a bit, you would see the faintest hint of land off in the distance and maybe even the etchings of Twilight Town, which stood upon that land's very edge.
A ripple pass's over the waves, originating from one who was walking atop the surf. "This world has been connected, soon to become fully eclipsed within the darkness, unless he rises up and takes action."
The figure then produces a metal vial from his coat and pops the cap off, then turning it on its side to allow the liquid contents to pour out from within. Upon hitting the water, a series of ripples arise from the contact point followed by an eerie glow while dark storm clouds begin to form above. "Of course, a little push never hurt either..."
Thunder rumbles as he returns the vial to a pocket, then he spreads his arms wide while proclaiming outwards "Now, all the pieces are in place. All that's left is to set back and use the pawns to help capture the knight..."
Realm Hearts
chpt.5: When the Darkside Comes...
"OH YEAH, now this is what I'm talking about" shouts Hayner as he and the others finally arrive at the beach, seeing plenty of other people having already arrived and claimed their own spots. "The surf, the sun, and...all those hot girls in the bikini's too. Watch out world, cause Hayner has arrived."
Pence walks up, a towel draped over his shoulder and around his neck, and says "So, you think there's any good spots left for us to set up shop in?"
"I'm sure if we hurry, we'll find something good" says Olette, wearing an orange one piece with her towel being both wrapped up and neatly held against her chest, feeling a little shy with all the guys around and glad she had chosen to wear this over that two piece she had bought before, even if the one piece was a little tight on her now when compared to last year.
"Hey, what about over there?" suggest Roxas, seeing a descent sized spot still unclaimed.
"That'll work" says Hayner before breaking into run. "Last one there's a rotten egg."
"And now we know what we can expect from him today" says Pence with a sigh, knowing that Hayner was going to somehow embarrass them in some fashion, though he then realizes that act was unavoidable. He then runs off after him.
Roxas and Olette follow as well, but they decide to walk rather than run in order to keep from getting heat exhaustion. Plus, Hayner had voted Roxas to carry the large umbrella so they could have a shady cool spot to relax under...well, more like forced.
"Say, Roxas...?" says Olette, speaking up suddenly.
"Hm? What's up?" he asked, looking at her.
"Well, I was wondering...maybe a little later, you and I, just the two of us...could..." says Olette, planning on asking him if they could sneak off later and head over to the light house for some privacy.
She knew they had already planned on going there tomorrow anyways to help Roxas finish up his home work, by doing the essay portion of it, but she wanted today to be special. Today, she was going to go ahead and let him know that she had overheard his and Axel's talk. She was also going to return to him something she had that she'd been meaning to return for some time, but hadn't. And, she was going to tell him something she considered the most important of all; how she felt about him.
Roxas is curious as to what she's going to say, but something catch's his eye and makes him look back towards Hayner and Pence. "Oh no..."
Seeing that his gaze had shifted, Olette looks towards the direction he was looking, asking "What is...oh no."
Oh no was right as Hayner was having a squabble with Seifer as the both of them had arrived at the open spot at the exact same moment and only took notice of each other as they were throwing the large sheet down to rest upon the sand.
"Sorry, loser, but we got here first" says Seifer.
"Whatever man, we saw it first and thus have the first claim" throws back Hayner.
"What did you say?" says Seifer in a more menacing tone as he and Hayner's heads collide in some weird showing of power.
"I think you know what I said" was the reply.
"Oh man, a rumble on the beach, ya know" says Rai excitedly.
Pence, meanwhile, raises his hands up, trying to defuse the situation. "Now, now guys, can't we just share the spot. I mean, it is big enough for the both of us and..."
"NO" shout both Hayner and Seifer in unison, looking at him quickly enough with faces that would make anyone shrink back.
"OK, OK, I'll keep quiet then" says Pence, backing away as the two boys return to their point blank range stare off.
Fu, who was wearing a two piece, looks to see Olette and Roxas walking up and moves to join them, saying "Children", a comment on how Seifer and Hayner were acting.
"We better do something, or else those two will get us thrown off the beach" says Olette, knowing that any serious problems would bring the beach patrol and with them, even more trouble.
"I have an idea, I think..." says Roxas before stepping forward and placing his hands on both Hayner and Seifer's heads, pushing them apart.
"What's the deal, Roxas?" shouts Hayner.
"Are you looking for a fight or something?" adds Seifer.
"Look guys, instead of butting heads all day long, why not settle this in a more productive way" suggest Roxas.
"We're listening" they both say in unison again.
"You know, it's eerie how they can be so against one another yet have such great unison in their words and thinking patterns when the need arises" notes Pence, getting a nod from Rai.
"Well, since we're at the beach and all, why not make a series of challenges to make the most of it. You know, settle your rivalry once and for all...at least for this year anyways. We can have a surfing competition, a volley ball match, build a sand castle, and other such beach activities" says Roxas.
"Hey, that sounds like a good idea" says Hayner.
Seifer grins and says "I can work with all of that...just as long Hayner's ready to lose each one."
"We'll see who does the more losing today" says Hayner before the two boys do something no one expects; the fist pump with one another.
Olette looks at Fu and says "You know, those two would likely be each others best friend if only their personalities didn't keep getting in the way."
"Agreed" says Fu.
"OK, so what do we do first?" asked Hayner.
Seifer looks out towards the ocean and says "It may be to soon for the surfing contest, seeing as the waves aren't that good yet."
"How about doing the sand castle building now" suggest Rai, getting their attentions. "Then we can not only see who has the better design but then we can test to see which one stays intact the longest, ya know."
"Works for me" says Seifer.
"Yeah, let's do this" agreed Hayner.
"OK, you boys go ahead and get started while me and Fu go find some buckets to help build them with" says Olette, then both girls turn and head to the stands to see if there were in buckets available.
"Today's going to be a good day, I can just feel it" says Roxas as he fun finally began.
What followed was some of the best several hours both groups had ever had. Starting with the sand castle building contest, the Usual Spot gang ended up coming out the winners by default do to Rai tripping over himself and falling on to his team's castle, destroying it. Though, in truth, the winners would have been the Usual Spot gang anyways do to it's design which came from Roxas.
"That's pretty impressive, ya know" said Rai.
"I have to admit; that does beat ours...or it would have had ours not been smashed" agreed Seifer who then shoots Rai a look saying he was going to be working hard to repent.
"Yeah, we just followed Roxas idea and instructions" says Hayner.
"By the way Roxas, where did you get the idea for this design anyways?" asked Pence.
"I'm really not sure?" he admitted. "It just came to me, to be honest."
"We should give it a name" said Olette. Seeing the others looking at her like she was crazy, she shrugs and says "What?"
"How about...Radiant Garden?" asked Roxas.
"Fitting" says Fu, getting a nod from Olette.
"Anyways, let's move on to the volley ball challenge now" says Seifer.
"Sure, but where will we do it at?" asked Hayner as he looks around. "I don't see any nets set up for volley ball that aren't being used already."
"Not a problem" says Seifer as he snaps his fingers. Immediately, Rai and Fu suddenly produce the needed net from out of thing air and quickly begin to set it up.
"Where do you think they were hiding those at?" wondered Pence.
"I'd rather not know, personally" said Roxas, getting an agreeing nod from Olette.
After the net had been set up, the game begin though they needed to have a ref overseeing them. And since the Usual Spot gang had one more member than the Disciplinary Committee had, Pence was elected to stand off to the side and referee the whole thing, which he was fine with.
The game, which was fast and intense, would ultimately end with Seifer's crew getting the overall win with six wins to the five wins the Usual Spot gang got. The sixth win being from a sudden death match to break the tie in the ten round game. But the big highlight had been from Seifer nailing Hayner full force with a volley ball. Though it had been a penalty, he grinned and said it was worth it.
After that, they had all went out into the water, spending the next half hour just swimming around and splashing each other. There had been a fun moment with Fu when she had made Roxas put some sun tan lotion onto Olette while the other guys had their focus placed elsewhere.
Now came the time for the surfing contest, though by this point, the competition aspect had more or less been forgotten as both groups were having to much fun now to care. The boys ended up getting themselves some surf boards while the girls took a chance to sit back and work on getting a good sun tan.
"Ah...this is nice, isn't it?" asked Olette, enjoying just laying back and feeling both the sun and the breeze on her body.
"Amazing" says Fu; taking Olette to realize she wasn't saying that in agreement with her.
Olette sits up and looks in the direction she was, seeing Roxas smoking the others at surfing. "Whoa, he's amazing. A real natural. If I didn't know any better, I'd say he was a professional surfer before."
"Attraction" says Fu, making Olette turn to her with a mad blush on her cheeks.
"Wait, don't tell me you...?"
Fu looks to her and sticks her tongue out. "Teasing" she says which makes Olette turn away in a huff. After a moment, Fu decides to say "Tell him."
"I planning on telling him" says Olette as she looks back. "In fact, I need a favor from you..."
Meanwhile, out on the water, Hayner and Rai both did a double wipe out when the collide with one another as a result of both not paying attention. Seifer, who was doing almost as good as Roxas, comes up close to him and says ""I worry about those two sometimes."
"I worry about the rest of us, to be honest" says Roxas, getting a chuckle from Seifer.
"Hey guys" comes Pence as he comes up right along side them, though he was more body surfing than standing on the board. "I think Fu's signaling us."
"Yeah, you're right" says Roxas.
"Let's go see what's up" says Seifer as the three of them head back to the shore.
After they arrive, and waited another five minutes to be joined by Hayner and Rai, Seifer ask Fu "What is it?"
"Snack time" says Fu as Olette comes running back up to join them with a large plate with both watermelon slices and drinks for all of them.
"Alright, I was getting hungry and thirsty" says Hayner as they all set down to eat their own personal slices.
Once they were done, Rai looks around, then ask "So, what do we do now, ya know?"
"Boys" says Fu as she gets up, drawing their attention.
As everyone waits to see what she was going to say, Roxas feels a tap on his shoulder and looks back to see Olette having already stood up as well with a finger dancing over her lips, giving him the quiet notion. She then reach's down, grabs his hand, and pulls him to his feet, making him following her without anyone, save Fu, being any wiser to their sudden departure.
Fu watch's till they had blended into the crowd, then back at the remaining guys who had gotten up, and were getting tired with waiting on her to say something. She then turns and points to the ocean. "Sea shell collection challenge."
"A what?" asked Hayner.
"I think she means let's see which of us can find the most impressive looking sea shell" translates Pence.
"Why not" says Seifer before running back towards the water, looking back long enough to add "Not like we have anything better to do."
"Well, if your in, then I am too" says Hayner as he follows after.
"Don't leave me behind, ya know" yells Rai, giving chase as well.
"Well, we better go to and make sure those three don't drown, right...Roxas? Olette?" says Pence, looking back and realizing neither one of them were still here.
Fu comes moves back behind him, then gives him a push while saying "Privacy needed."
Pence looks back at her, nods, and says "I gotcha" before running after the others who were now diving back into the waters.
Fu watches them swim out for a moment, then turns to look in the direction Roxas and Olette had gone and says "Good luck."
Just then, a horn sounds out and the voice of the mayor comes on. "Attention beach goers, I hope you are all enjoying yourselves out there on this beautiful day. Just to let you know, we just received a report from a fishing boat that we have a storm coming in from the east. However, at it's current speed of movement, it won't be arriving till later tonight. Still, in case anything changes, be prepared to pack up and head back to the train station. Thank you for your time, have fun, and stay safe."
Fu turns her attention back the the ocean waves and squints her eyes while bringing a hand up to help stop the glare of the sun. At the very tip of the horizon, nearly invisible to the naked eye, was a glint of the dark storm clouds the mayor had just reported. Hopefully, it wouldn't be a party pooper today.
(with Roxas and Olette)
After taking Roxas hand and making a run for it, Olette made a beeline straight towards the old lighthouse, knowing that it would be more or less deserted at this time of day. Once leaving the sea of gathered people on the beach, passing into a tunnel and soon enough emerging on a more isolated area of the beach and soon there after, arriving just outside the lighthouse.
"Hey, what's up, Olette?" asked Roxas, taking a moment to catch his breath from the sudden and unexpected sprint.
Olette, feeling nervous and starts fidgeting with her fingers, says "Well, you see...I...well..." she then blush's madly as she spins around all embarrassed as the butterflies in her stomach go into overdrive.
"Oh, I'm not sure I can say it after all" she says.
She then feels Roxas bring his arms around her waste, drawing her back against him, his breath upon her left ear as he says "That's OK. I'll just say it first."
"Roxas?" she says, surprised; her blush rising in intensity from such close proximity to him.
"For the longest time, I've been thinking about you, a lot. Seeing you in my dreams at night, not as a friend, but something more. Olette, I really like you" he says, his words taking her breath away and making her heart skip multiple beats.
"Oh Roxas, I really like you to, both as a friend and so much more. I've been wanting to tell you for so long, but I..."
He brings a hand up and presses a finger against her lips to silence her, then says "It's alright. I was scared you would reject me too. But now, neither of us need be afraid anymore." He then turns her around to look him in the eyes so he could ask "What do you say we make this a moment a day that we'll never forget?"
"Yes..." she agreed, her voice soft and trance like as his face drew closer to hers, his lips closing in on her own. 'Roxas...'
"Oh Roxas, you're so bold and cool. I love it" says Olette in a giddy tone as her mental fantasy sends her hopping happily in a circle.
"Um...Olette, you feeling OK?" asked Roxas, reaching out and placing a hand on her shoulder to get her attention and show his concern.
Olette eeps as Roxas touch brings her back to reality, then she looks back and says "Roxas? Wait, I thought we were...oh, it was just a day dream. RATS!" Olette then shanty's over to a large stone and sits down on it. "Give me a moment to rest, Roxas."
Roxas walks over to her, asking "You sure your OK?"
She looks at him, nods, then says "Yeah, I'm fine. My knees are feeling a little like mush right now."
"Gotcha" says Roxas as he looks around, taking note of the storm clouds off in the distance.
With Roxas attention distracted elsewhere, Olette takes a moment to dig into the mini pouch she was wearing around her waste, pulling out the heart shaped center of the object she had found along with Roxas a year before which she clasp strongly in her hand.
"We've experienced a lot together since you came into my life...well everyone's lives here in Twilight Town, huh?" asked Olette.
Roxas looks back at her, saying "Yeah, we have, haven't we. Especially in this week alone."
Olette nods at that, then says "I'm glad you're here now with us, Roxas. I...I honestly can't imagine life here in Twilight Town now without you here in it."
"Thanks Olette. Hearing you say that means a lot to me" says Roxas.
Olette nods, then she gets up, bringing her hands to rest behind her back, now feeling ready to really tell him. "Roxas, the truth is, I...I really..."
"Hey, Roxas, finally found you" comes a voice, making them both turn and see Axel standing higher up, atop the lighthouse.
"Huh, Axel? Why are you here?" asked Roxas as Axel jumped down to join them.
Beside him, a vein pops up on Olette's head as she says in an annoyed tone "Should of known this would happen, though I wasn't expecting it to come from him."
As Axel runs up to join them, he noticed Olette's face and says "Hope I wasn't interrupting anything."
"Oh no, nothing important at all" says Olette in a sarcastic tone. 'Only one of the most important moment's in a young girls life that is.'
"Glad to hear that as I have news for you" says Axel, becoming more serious.
"What is it?" asked Roxas.
"We found it, this world's Keyhole" says Axel.
This gets both Roxas and Olette on alert and making the latter forget her annoyance with Axel. "Where is it?" asked Roxas.
"At that big clock back in town. Not sure where on it, but we can feel a strong power coming from it and we assume it has to be the world's door" says Axel.
"Then we need to get over there as soon as possible and search, huh?" asked Roxas, getting a nod from Axel before they both head off towards the train station. Remembering that Olette was with them, Roxas stops and looks back, seeing her following. "I guess I owe you an explanation, huh?"
"Not really" says Olette, stopping next to him. "Truth be told, I overheard you two talking yesterday. Now, let's go find the Keyhole so you can seal it."
"Yeah..." says Roxas as they then run after Axel who had stopped and was waiting on them.
"By the way, why didn't your Keyblade react to it sooner, when the four of us were there after the Struggle Tournament?" asked Olette.
"Maybe because I didn't have it physically out at the time? What do you think, Axel?" asked Roxas.
"That's what my explanation would be" was Axel's response, his words suddenly being followed by a strong thunder clap and a powerful blast of wind coming from the ocean.
"Wha..." says Roxas as he stops and looks to the skies, seeing the dark storm clouds he had seen just a few minutes before in the distance were now hanging across the full sky above them. "How did...it get here so fast?"
"Roxas..." says Olette, taking hold of his arm. "Something doesn't feel right about this."
Axel, for his part, is looking around when a beeping sound arises from his pocket. Pulling out a cell phone like device, he flips it open and says "Axel here...what? You have got to be kidding me?"
"What's wrong?" asked Roxas while a siren sounds in the distance.
"That's the evacuation siren, meant to alert everyone that they need to leave the beach immediately" says Olette, knowing Roxas wouldn't know what the siren meant.
"This is bad, this is very, very bad" says Axel as he looks out to the ocean.
"What is it? What's wrong?" asked Roxas, noting the fear present in Axel's tone.
Axel looks at him, his eyes wide, as he says "It's here, the worst possible kind of Heartless to have show up in a world..."
"A Darkside!"
(back on the main beach, with the others)
"Whoa, those storms clouds came rolling in quick, ya know" says Rai as thunder rumbled overhead.
"Hey, Roxas? Olette? Can you guys here me?" yells Hayner as he frantically looks around for either of them. "Man, those two picked a bad time to run off on us."
"Hayner, I'm sure they heard the storm warning alarm just as we did seeing as it can be pretty loud. They may have already made a beeline for the station, assuming we'll be there waiting for them. It's the most sensible conclusion anyways" says Pence.
"I don't know..." says Hayner, not sure if they should go or keep looking a little longer.
"If they aren't there and haven't been seen, then we'll fan out and look for them then" offers Seifer which gets a nod of agreement from Hayner. Pence found it funny though. As often as those two seemed to be at each others throats, they could be quite agreeable when push came to shove.
As the guys turn to run towards the station along with the other fleeing beach goers, Fu sees a huge spout of water burst from the ocean, followed by a low moaning sound which makes everyone stop and look back to see what was causing it. "There" she yells as a massive black thing begins to rise up.
The sight of the creature makes many scream in terror while others, having suddenly lost all strength in their legs, collapse onto the ground, unable to move. "No way. What the heck is that thing?" yells Hayner.
"Who knows, but that thing's already crossing the line" says Seifer.
"Oh yeah, Seifer's totally going to go out there and own it, ya know?" shouts Rai, getting a dirty look from his boss which makes him slink back.
"Don't be an idiot" he says before looking back at the beast as it begins to move towards the beach. "There's no way anyone can fight something like that..."
(back with Roxas, Olette, and Axel)
"What's a Darkside?" asked Olette.
"A Heartless; one of the most powerful too. If a Darkside can already appear here, then that means this world's barrier has already weakened to near the breaking point. If we don't do something, it'll come ashore and head straight for the Keyhole. And if it can get there, then this world screwed. Got it memorized?"
"So, what do we do then?" asked Roxas.
"Guys, it's heading towards the beach" yells Olette, seeing it moving forward.
Axel growls as he returns to his communicator. "Hey Saix, I'm going to need two Wave Surfer's sent here, pronto...what? Only one, why? She did WHAT? Fine, just send the one then...and hurry." Axel then returns his communicator to his pocket and waits.
Which wasn't very long as a few moment's later, a burst of gray colored light appears before them, followed by a long, knife shaped device appears with a flat top with enough room for a person to stand on; hovering off the ground. Axel places his hand on it, then looks at Roxas, and says "Get on."
"Huh?" says Roxas.
"You're going out there to defeat that thing. That's what you Keaybearer's do after all" says Axel.
For a moment, Roxas just stands there, mentally debating if winning against THAT was even possible. Then he realizes that Axel is right and a determined look comes into his eyes as the Keyblade appears in his hand. "Alright, I'll do it."
"Wait, why does it have to be Roxas?" asked Olette, her voice clearly indicating her fear for him. "He's never battled something like that thing before, plus he's never ridden on one of these either."
"Well, I did fight that Twilight Thorn and won. How much harder can this guy be?" says Roxas.
"That's not the point here, Roxas. You idiot, don't you realize you could..." Olette stops there, unable to continue. She then looks at Axel and ask "Can't you fight it instead? You must have more experience with thing's like that than Roxas does."
"Yeah, I do have more experience. But experience alone won't be enough to guarantee success here. Besides, Roxas has something I don't; the Keyblade. As much as I hate to say it, his chances are far better than mine out there" says Axel, wishing that was a lie but it wasn't as he would gladly do it.
"Maybe so, but..." says Olette, but is stopped as Roxas places his hand on her shoulder.
"I'll be fine, Olette. I promise I'll defeat that thing and I promise I'll come back too. So wait here for me so I have a place to return to. As long as you believe in me, I know I can do it" says Roxas.
Olette tears up, saying "Oh Roxas..." She then smiles as she takes his hand that rested on her shoulder into her own and presses it against her cheek. "I will, I'd wait forever if I had to. Just come back to me. That's all I could ever ask."
"Yeah..." he says before turning back to Axel.
"OK, listen up Roxas. See these two arrows?" Axel then points to the arrow near the front and then the one facing opposite near the back. "Putting pressure onto them will move you forward or backwards; the more pressure equals more speed. Press both together to stop. Moving it side to side should be no harder than moving a surf board. Got it memorized?"
Roxas nods as he hops on, saying "Easy as eating sea salt ice cream."
"Good to hear" says Axel, before glancing at Olette. "I'll keep an eye on her and while I'm at it, I'll keep an eye on the other people here too; just in case any smaller Heartless show up on the beach. I may not have much of a chance against a Darkside, but I can at least slice and dice a few Shadows."
"Thanks, Axel" says Roxas as he prepares to head off.
"Roxas..." comes Olette, making him turn towards her. But before he can say anything, he finds himself being wrapped in a tight hug as Olette had jumped onto the board as well. "You better come back to me. And when you do, I'll have a special reward for you."
"Then I better hurry and finish this guy then, huh?" says Roxas as Olette pulls away and gives him a nod before hopping down. Roxas then presses down hard on the forward facing arrow, rocketing off towards the Darkside.
"Hey, Roxas" shouts Axel. "Focus on it's hands and face, if you can get up there. Also, it can fire off a ball of spectral energy from the hole around it's stomach too." Roxas looks back long enough to nod before returning to the task at hand. "Come on, girl. We better head over to join the others."
"My name isn't girl; it's Olette. Got it memorized, Access?" says Olette, jokingly.
Axel looks at her for just a moment, then cracks a smile, saying "I think you and I will get along great. Now let's go join the other Twilighter's." Olette nods as they both run off, neither really noticing that another person was watching them; a person who then speaks into a device similar to Axel's, saying...
"Wait for my signal."
Back at the main beach, Fu sees movement heading towards the Darkside, prompting her to say "Look."
"What is that?" says Hayner.
"Guys, I think it's Roxas" says Pence.
"He's going to face that thing?" says Seifer, finding the idea incredulous. He then smiles, saying "I knew there was something about him I liked. Something about him always ticked me off, but it was always in a good way. And now I know what it is..."
It had taken Roxas a few moments to get use to riding on this Wave Board, but not long seeing as it was a lot like surfing, only on the air. He brings his Keyblade to the ready as he closes in on the Darkside, the giant finally taking notice of him as it raises it's right arm back, then sends it swinging down at him.
Roxas swings his Keyblade hard in an upward arc, making contact with the Darkside's hand, deflecting it away from him and causing a low moan to come from the creature; obvious feeling the blow Roxas had landed on it which did surprise him a bit given their difference in size. He figures that the Keyblade really was the best weapon to use against these things.
Roxas finish's passing the Darkside, then leans towards the right in order to bring the Surfer around for another attack while the Darkside, also turns back in his direction while a ball of dark spectra flame arises from the heart shaped hole upon it's abdomen; the ball releasing smaller volley's of it's self that head right for Roxas.
Roxas manages to dodge the first three easily, but finds himself unable to dodge the fourth, though he luckily finds he could swat it away using the Keyblade. And then the biggest of the flames fires at him to which Roxas leaps from the Surfer, allowing him to safely sail over it and land back on the board as the battle continues.
Back on the beach, more and more people had caught wind of the fight and had returned to watch. "Can anyone tell how's Roxas is doing out there?" asked Hayner. "I can't see anything good from here."
Fu reach's into her backpack and fish's out some binocular's, then looks into them, saying "He's winning."
"Of course he is" says Olette, having not doubt in her words. "Roxas is out there right now, fighting. Fighting for all of us. There' no way he'll lose."
"She's right" says Pence, knowing that Olette knew what she was talking about.
"Guys, it's getting rather misty out here, ya know" says Rai suddenly. "Colder too" he adds as the air indeed begins to become foggier, a shroud of mist suddenly rising up from without warning. And with the mist came an unusual cold as well.
"Another monster?" asked Seifer, wishing he had brought something to fight with. And then a sound catch's his ears; all of their ears. "And now music too?"
They all begin to look around as a pink flower petals also begin to dance through the air. "Pretty?" wonders Fu as she catch's one in her hand.
"Is this...?" wonders Axel who was standing a few feet away from them. Why didn't they tell him about this? What was it they were planning.
Olette suddenly finds her head beginning to hurt and she brings her hand up to rest against it. She looks back out towards the ocean, where Roxas was still fighting while feeling that something was trying to force it's way into her mind for some reason. And then, she found her thoughts and feelings where Roxas was concerned were being changed.
"No...don't...stop it, don't...take those feelings...a...way..."
Back out in the ocean, Roxas had managed to avoid some rather close calls as the Darkside had gotten better and better at nearly landing a hit on him, with both its hands and those spectral flames. But then, without warning, it had suddenly lost interest in him and was turning its attention back towards its advance towards the shore, where he could now see some weird fog having risen up.
"Oh no, not good" he says, hoping that everyone was OK and that Axel was protecting them. He needed to get back there though, but first he had to finish up with the big guy. Simply attack its hands was getting anywhere fast, so he would go for its head.
"Strike Raid" yells Roxas, flinging the Keyblade at the Darkside's back, the strike making it go rigid as it spins back into his hand. He then races past it and turns back towards it again.
Darkside, having become annoyed in Roxas opinion, as it lash's out with its hands. But instead of being hit, Roxas leaps off the board again and lands on it's right wrist to which he then runs as fast as he can up the creatures arm to it's shoulder. Darkside brings its left arm up in an attempt to grab him but Roxas escapes its attempt by jumping from the right shoulder over to its left arm, then running along it a few steps till he was lined up with the Darkside's face. He then braces the Keyblade while leaping forward.
"This world...WILL NOT FALL" yells Roxas, thrusting the Keyblade forward, sending it in deep, right between the Darkside's eyes. A low bellow erupts from the beast as the Keyblade grows brightly, causing a swelling of darkness to blast out from it's body before it is consumed by light, releasing what must have been a hundred glowing hearts from its form and sending Roxas falling back into the ocean.
He emerges a few moments later, seeing the last of the hearts fading away into the sky, and allows himself a moment to smile. "I did it? I did it. I actually did defeat that thing" says Roxas, feeling some measure of pride swelling up within himself. Then he recalls the fog upon the beach, restoring his worries over his friends. So he swims over to the Surfer, climbs back on, and heads back as quick as he could.
As he approached the beach, he could see the fog fading away as well as everyone seemingly still OK. Had the Darkside been responsible for that fog? An attempt on its part to distract him? He would have to ask Axel about that later. And as he arrives Axel is quick to move over to join him.
"So, how did I do, Axel?" asked Roxas, jumping from the surfer to stand on the beach.
"Praise later. Right now, we need to get you back to that clock tower and find the Keyhole before another Darkside appears" says Axel as he jumps on the Surfer.
"Right..." says Roxas as he goes to hop on, but stops when he realizes that Olette, Hayner, and the rest had made a move towards him yet. In fact, all of them had an odd look on their face; like they were scared of something.
"Sorry guys, I have to go doing something" says Roxas as he takes a step forward. "But once I seal the..."
His words are cut off as he sees everyone, Olette included, suddenly back away. "Guys...Olette, what's wrong?"
Olette looks away, unsure of what to say. "Roxas, please don't come any closer."
"Huh?" he says, not expecting this reaction from anyone; her especially.
A voice rings out from the crowd; a voice he didn't recognize. "It must be his fault. I told you letting an outsider we knew nothing about come live here was a bad idea."
Mummers begin to rise up within the crowd as more people saying similar things; talking about how odd stuff would seem to happen whenever Roxas was around; though Roxas couldn't recall ever hearing anything like that before. That he was a bad omen because of how he came to them. And other, equally negative things soon began to escape the people's lips.
"Wait, everyone. I don't...I don't understand..." says Roxas.
"Leave" says Fu suddenly, getting many in the crowd to start shouting this as well.
"But..." says Roxas.
"Can't you hear us? We want you gone, Roxas. It's because of you that thing came here, isn't it? How can we be sure more won't come if you stay" shouts Hayner, a surprising amount of venom present in his voice.
Pence just looks away, saying "Maybe that would be the best thing you could do for everyone."
"Guys..." says Roxas, feeling tears forming in his eyes. This wasn't happening, couldn't be happening, right? He looks to Olette, his oldest known friend, and ask "Do you feel the same way?"
She looks at him, then turns her head down, saying softly "Please, just go away..."
"Olette?" he says as he takes a step forward, making her move back.
"JUST GO AWAY" she screams as Seifer and Hayner both move to stand in front of her.
"Just leave her alone" shouts Hayner.
"Or you'll deal with the both of us" adds Seifer.
Roxas takes a step back, unable to understand what was going on? Why this was even happening? He then feels an arm reaching down, grabbing him, and lifting him into the air; Axel having picked up Roxas and slung him over hid shoulder before pressing hard on the forward arrow to get them moving.
"Sorry Roxas, but we need to seal that Keyhole, like NOW" says Roxas, feeling Roxas give him a silent nod as they reach the station, then manuver onto the tracks; racing fast towards Twilight Town proper. "You OK back there?"
"No..." says Roxas, allowing a moment to linger before saying "What happened to them? In the year I've lived here in Twilight Town, they have never been so..."
"Cold and hostile?" finished Axel.
"Yeah...What happened to them?" asked Roxas, wondering if the fog had anything to do with it, though Axel seemed to fine which made him wonder.
Axel turns his head down as his free hand balls into a fist. "I...don't know. But sometimes, people can change suddenly, and not always for the better..."
There was silence for the rest of the ride back to Twilight Town and soon enough, they had arrived at the clock tower and both quickly began to scan the structure, looking for any sign of the Keyhole. "Roxas, try the Keyblade" suggest Axel.
"Yeah" says Roxas, his voice not filled with much energy as he holds his hand out, summoning the Kingdom Key into it. He then closes his eyes as he moves the key upwards, feeling a growing resonance feeling as he closes in on the giant bells. His eyes open and says "It's in the bell tower. I...I could see it."
"Then let's hurry up there" says Axel as he runs into the tower with Roxas right behind him. Once they had reached the top, they quickly spread out, looking everywhere for signs of the keyhole.
"There it is" says Roxas, seeing the outline of the keyhole aglow upon the largest of the bells.
"Good eye. Now lock it, quickly" instructs Axel, getting a nod from Roxas as he raises his Keyblade up, taking aim at the glowing keyhole as a light sparkles out from the blade, followed by a beam of light being released, hitting the keyhole which produces a locking sound. "We did it. This world is safe now."
"Yeah..." says Roxas, his demeanor returning to being sullen as the words and actions of everyone come racing back into the forefront of his mind. A bit later, Roxas was sitting at the edge of the clock tower, his knees up against his chest as he rested his head on them. To the side, Axel was leaning back against the clock tower, unsure what to say now.
"Axel, do you think it may have been something from that Darkside that made everyone suddenly become like that?" asked Roxas.
"I wish I knew, but there's still lot we don't know about them" was Axel's reply.
"Do you think they'll go back to normal now that I've sealed the keyhole?" asked Roxas.
"I can only hope, Roxas. I can only hope."
Roxas, hearing the uncertainty in Axel's voice, only makes him feel more depressed. What if it hadn't been the Heartless but how they genuinely felt deep down inside. He didn't want to think like that, but the thoughts came in that form regardless of what he wanted.
"Roxas, this probably isn't the best time for this" says Axel, getting Roxas to turn his head to look at him. "My boss asked me to make a request to you. The thing is, Roxas, we want you to join us."
"Join you? You mean, join this Organization?" said Roxas, getting a nod from Axel. "Why?"
"Because this world isn't the only one that's in danger. All the worlds out there are in danger of falling into the darkness. Many already have. And the only one who can stop it is one who wields the Keyblade. In other words, you Roxas."
"But why me?" asked Roxas.
"Because you have the Keyblade, obviously. And because even after all our searching across the many worlds out there, you are the first one we've actually been able to find. We need you, Roxas" says Axel.
Roxas keeps his eyes on Axel for a moment, then looks away, saying "I don't know..."
"Well, you don't need to decide right now. Think it over tonight and meet me here in the morning with your final answer. If you say no, we'll understand. But I hope you'll say yes" says Axel as he begins to walk away. "One thing though, if you choose to come join us, then it may be some time before you can return to this world as travel to a world with the barrier at full power is difficult. That's why I can only give you till morning because that's how long I have before I'll need to leave or I'll be stuck here for a long time."
And with that, Axel leaves Roxas to his thoughts and the difficult choice he'd have to make...
to be continued...
Secret Report 4
"Wait for my signal" came Saix's voice through the communicator.
"Understood" came Vexen in response, then he turns to look at Marluxia and Demyx, saying "You both know the plan right? When Said tells us to start, I'll activate the machine to alter their thoughts and feelings."
"And along with my music..." says Demyx.
"And my fragrant flowers..." says Marluxia.
"...The people present here will be soothed by both, leaving their minds and hearts open for my machine, using a chilling mist, to get them to do what we need to do."
"Does Axel know?" asked Marluxia followed by Demyx asking "And is this really necessary?"
"I doubt it as even Saix wasn't keen on this method. And yes, it is necessary. We need the power of the Keyblade and we must be willing to do whatever is needed to get it" says Vexen before looking at his machine. "Here's hoping he's does as we need him to before the effects wear off in the morning."
Q&A segment
Kira Ria 18 asked: So, when the next chapter coming out? Before you started reading it, of course. lol
Raxst the Star: Aqua is an interesting guess, but not quite seeing as the Xion looking like a blacked haired version of Kairi will still have a purpose in this fic. But seeing as Xemnas does have Aqua's armor, and maybe DNA from hairs stuck in the helmet, there might be an Aqua connection if I can think of something that would make sense. If nothing else, Xion could be wearing Aqua's armor later on, seeing as Aqua doesn't have it with her now.
As for Roxas and Ventus being connected? I think it's safe to say that's a given, seeing as Sora likely won't appear in this story (and if he does, it will be a minor role as Riku's friend and not as a Keybearer) though Roxas being Ventus's Nobody may not be the case either. You'll understand in time.
XxKenseyXx13: Yeah, that tends to happen with my writing from time to time, where a word my becomes me and similar things happening. I'm not sure if it's me just goofing up and not noticing when I do my read through, looking for errors or if it may be my laptop itself that does it (it does have a few glitch's in it sadly). And don't worry about forgetting this fic from time to time as forgetting something just means you can remember it again later.
Kira Ria 18: You also noted the absence of a secret report last chapter. Expect this to happen from time to time if there isn't anything worth mentioning for a secret report (like chapter 4, which didn't require one in my opinion). Also, down the line, if you notice a number jump in the reports (example; going from SR6 to SR8 and seemingly skipping seven), that isn't because I goofed up and forgot that number, but rather because something happened in that particular secret report that I don't want you all to know until the proper time, like the chapter the contents of the secret report have the most meaning with.
A Guest asked: Will Roxas have two different Keyblades or the same type (meaning Oathkeeper and Oblivion) like he had in the games? Well, it's going to be a good while before Roxas starts duel wielding (though I showed in the Struggle Tournament that he is good at duel wielding). But when he does, expect him to duel wield more than just those two Keyblades as Oathkeeper is connected to Kairi and Oblivion to...well, I can't say yet. And if you take the X out of Xion, then Ino would make the most normal sounding name for her.
Also, as of the next chapter, Olette will be taking a side charcter role for a while and there may be lengthy periods where she doesn't appear at all. But don't worry as she will still have her part to play and her role will become bigger again later one. But the next fifteen or so chapters will have more of a Roxas and Xion vibe thats needed to happen for the proper plot progression.
Finally, I plan on releasing a new chapter at least once a week (likely either Friday, Saturday, or Sunday). If, by some chance, my new chapter releases stop suddenly, don't think it's because I stopped with this story as that won't be the case. Rather, it will mean that I lost my internet (something I'm expecting to happen in the next several weeks as I haven't been able to pay all my bills do to job loss). But even with my internet gone, I'll still be writing and once I have chapters to release, and as soon as I can find time to visit a local wifi spot, I'll do the updates and if not, then as soon as I can get my bills caught up and get my internet restored.