Disclaimer: This again? Fine then! I don't own Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, Disney, or any of the characters belonging to said franchises. Unfortunately. *sigh*
A/N: Back again with a new chapter! I'm not quite sure how many chapters this story is going to have, but at this point in time I believe it will have either eight or nine. It will depend on how much I start to ramble. You know, that sort of thing! Rewrites will continue for the first two stories in this series. All quotes in this chapter are taken from Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days and are the property of Square Enix and Disney. Please review! I want to have a reason to get excited!
Sunset Dreams
Chapter 3: Eclipse
Roxas
Tram Common, Twilight Town
Still fuming over Seifer's insults towards Hayner, Roxas came to a stop beneath the track passing over the entrance to the Sandlot, and frowning at the large rusty-coloured building standing just across the road from their small group, he tightened his hold on Oathkeeper and turned his head slightly to look at Sora over is shoulder, his sapphire eyes studying the Keyblade Master's anxious expression. "I guess Seifer wasn't lying when he made that comment about how empty Twilight Town has become lately. I mean, look at this place."
"Yeah, I know what you mean," Sora replied, his forehead wrinkling into a deep frown. "The Tram Common is even more deserted than it was the last time we were here."
So...empty. Where could everyone have gone?
Stepping out directly into the middle of the road in plain sight, not the least bit worried that he might be spotted, Roxas quickly made his way up the hill towards the entrance to the forest, uncertain of how to proceed. The crates that someone had stacked around the entrance to the woods on their last visit to Twilight Town, obscuring the small opening in the concrete wall from view, had been removed; recently by the looks of it, since there were slight scuff marks on the ground, which meant the opening to the forest could once again be seen by anyone riding the tram or walking along the track, as dangerous as that might be.
Not that the risk of possibly being run over by the tram had ever stopped Roxas from following the track on foot.
Though there were still a few people milling around on the streets, even from his position on the track where it began to elevate above the road, Roxas could tell the Tram Common was nowhere near as busy as it should have been at that time of day.
What surprised him the most, though, was the fact that when it came to the few people who were still out and about, none of them appeared to think there was anything out of the ordinary going on, if the smiles on their faces and their relaxed attitudes were anything to go by.
"At this rate, both you and Naminé won't have any trouble staying out of sight," Sora said cheerfully, leaping up onto the track from the road down below and attempting to smile.
A moment later they were joined by the rest of the group, who unlike Sora had decided to take the more conservative route to reach them, and shaking his head, Roxas said slowly, "I don't like this."
As much as he didn't want to admit it, the emptiness of the town made him feel nervous, though for the sake of argument, it also didn't help that he could feel the forest watching him, a pair of unseen eyes boring into the back of his skull.
"All will be revealed when the time comes..."
"Well, like Sora said, at least you won't have to worry too much about having to hide," Kairi said softly, reaching out to place a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Keeping both you and Naminé hidden from view is going to be the least of our problems, I think."
"Which is a good thing," Riku interrupted, smirking slightly.
Roxas raised his eyebrows, and glancing at the silver-haired wielder of the Keyblade, he said dryly, "How do you figure that?"
"We need your Keyblade. At the moment, you'd be useless to us inside of Sora."
"Oh, thanks! I don't know whether I should be flattered or insulted."
"That's your call," Riku replied, tossing his head. "You decide."
"Hey, save your insults for me," Sora scolded, whacking Riku in the ribs with his Keyblade. "Roxas is off limits."
Smiling slightly, Roxas slipped his arm around Sora's shoulders and said, "Yeah, I got enough of that from Axel."
"More like the other way around," Sora teased, smiling in amusement.
"How was your mission?"
"Oh, loads of fun...Would it kill the Heartless to hold still? I fell right on my butt chasing the stupid thing."
"Nice. Didn't I hear you tell Saix you were a big boy?"
"Very funny."
Thinking back on his memories of Axel, despite how anxious he felt for his three friends from Twilight Town, Roxas had to laugh. "Sometimes he deserved it. And for the record, he took just as many shots on me as I did on him. More, actually!"
"Has anyone spotted Hayner yet?" Naminé asked quietly, effectively turning the golden-haired wielder of the Keyblade's attention back to the problem at hand.
"Not yet, but it's hard to tell what's going on in the Tram Common from were we are now. We should move further in so we can get a better look around..."
Anything to get away from the forest...
As if sensing his thoughts, Sora leaned closer to him and said quietly, "You doing okay?"
"I'm fine. Let's just...keep moving."
"It was only a matter of time before somebody had to break the mirror..."
Stepping away from the entrance to the forest a little more swiftly than was strictly necessary, Roxas cautiously began to make his way down the track that circled a large green building, and veering off to the right he poked his head into the small alcove where they parked the trams at the end of the day, glancing around for any sign of his three friends from Twilight Town.
Unfortunately, the tram yard was empty, and spotting nothing out of the ordinary, Roxas once again joined his friends in front of the green building, the slump in his shoulders giving away the truth of what he had seen. "No one in there."
"Gawrsh, Roxas, don't give up yet. I'm sure we'll find them sooner or later," Goofy insisted, giving him an encouraging look. "There are still lots of places we haven't check yet."
"I know, but..."
"Don't look so gloomy," Donald scolded, brandishing his staff. "It's bad for morale."
"Like your attitude is any better," Sora muttered, hiding a smile.
Glaring at the Keyblade Master, Donald angrily thrust his staff into the air, and letting out a yelp of surprise, Sora quickly rolled out of the way in order to avoid the thunder bolts raining down onto the ground all around him. "Hey! What was that for?"
"That was for eating the rest of the sea-salt ice cream!"
"You're still going on about that? That bar wasn't even yours to begin with!"
"That doesn't mean you had to go and eat the rest of it!"
"Roxas gave it to me!"
"Only because you bribed him!"
"I did not!"
"Ignore them, Roxas," Kairi laughed, rolling her eyes and giving his shoulder a quick squeeze.
Shaking his head, Roxas quickly led his companions under the overpass connecting the stairs on the right to the building on the left, and coming to a stop next to the jewelry shop, where thankfully the clerk was nowhere in sight, and pointing to the moogle shop, he said, "Maybe we should ask if anyone has seen Hayner and the others lately, since Seifer was completely useless."
"You mean...ask the moogle?" Naminé questioned, nodding her head towards the little creature rummaging around in his shop.
"Are you crazy? He'll see you guys!" Donald quacked, staring at them in disbelief.
"Better the moogle than the clerk at the clothing shop," Riku commented, pointing his Keyblade at the aforementioned building.
"Besides, it's a moogle," Kairi emphasized, giving Donald a meaningful look. "They're not exactly all that normal looking themselves. What right would he have to complain about Roxas and Naminé being transparent?"
"Gawrsh, Kairi does have a point, Donald," Goofy said reasonably, fiddling with the shiny shield in his hands. "That moogle looks just as strange as we do. I doubt he would be bothered by the sight of Roxas and Naminé looking like a couple of ghosts. You know what moogles are like. They travel around a lot when the doors to all the worlds are opened and they visit all kinds of different worlds. That moogle has probably seen people a lot stranger than Roxas and Naminé."
"Maybe, but-"
"Come on, let's go," Sora interrupted, impatient to get moving. "The longer we stand around here arguing, the less chance we have of finding Hayner and the others."
Not needing to be told twice, Roxas quickly hurried over to the moogle shop, and leaning over the counter, he called out, "Excuse me, do you have a moment?"
Jerking around in surprise, the pom pom on his head dancing like a leaf caught in a brisk breeze, the moogle gasped, "Don't scare me like that, kupo! What are you trying to do, give me a heart attack?"
Giving the moogle an apologetic smile and leaning his elbows on the counter, Sora said sheepishly, "Sorry about that. My friend didn't mean to startle you. If you're not too busy, do you mind answering a few questions for us?"
"It depends on what they are and whether or not you're going to buy anything," the moogle grumbled, his small wings fluttering irritably behind his back. "Business has been bad lately, kupo. I have to make a profit somehow, don't I?"
Grabbing onto Sora, who yelped in surprise, Roxas quickly searched the Keyblade Master's clothing for cash, and dropping a handful of munny onto the counter, he said shortly, "Hand me a couple of potions and you've got yourself a deal."
"Yes, sir! Right away, kupo!"
"You know, that was the last of my munny," Sora complained, giving him a dirty look.
"Relax, would you? It's for a good cause."
"But-"
"Here you go, kupo!" the moogle said cheerfully, beaming at him and handing over the requested potions. "Now what was it you wanted to know?"
As Kairi had predicted earlier, the moogle did not seem at all fazed by the fact that two of his customers looked like ghosts, and dropping the potions into Sora's arms, who grunted with the effort of trying not to drop them while still holding a Keyblade in one hand, Roxas said quickly, "First of all, have you seen Hayner, Pence, or Olette?"
Tilting his head to the side, the moogle said slowly, "They were here in the Tram Common earlier, buying some sea-salt ice cream, but since then I haven't seen a single glimpse of them, kupo. Why? Are you looking for them?"
"Kind of. Do you know which direction they were heading in?"
"They went that way, kupo," the moogle replied, pointing towards the entrance to Station Heights. "But, like I said before, that was a while ago. It looked to me like they were heading towards the station, but I can't guarantee that's where you'll fine them, kupo."
"Maybe not, but it won't hurt to look," Riku said quietly, almost to himself. "What do you think, Roxas?"
"Well, since that was my next suggestion anyways we might as well go take a look."
"Be careful, kupo," the moogle warned, leaning over the counter to gaze intently at them, though it was hard to tell just how intense his expression actually was seeing as he was a moogle, and lowering his voice, he said, "Twilight Town hasn't been the same lately and the air feels dangerous, kupo. I'd watch yourselves if I were you."
"Gawrsh, you mean you've noticed it, too?" Goofy asked curiously, staring at the moogle in surprise.
"It's hard to do business when there aren't very many people around to do business with, kupo. It's almost like half the town has disappeared!"
"Strange," Naminé murmured, a thoughtful look on her face.
"That's not the strangest part," the moogle insisted in a conspiratorial tone."What's even more strange is the fact that when it comes to the remaining residents in this town, they don't seem to notice there's anything out of the ordinary going on. They just keep going on with their daily lives like the bizarre atmosphere in this town is the most normal thing in the world, kupo. Only a few of the residents, like the members of the Twilight Disciplinary Committee, seem to notice there's anything going on."
"What about Hayner and his friends?" Kairi asked instantly.
Lowering his gaze to the counter, the moogle said hesitantly, "Well...I did hear Hayner mention something about how the town feels...dark, and then he said something about mounting a search to find out what's been going on around here, so...I think it's pretty safe to assume your friend also feels the strange atmosphere in this town, kupo."
"But...if they were going to start searching the town, why were they heading towards the station with sea-salt ice cream?" Donald quacked indignantly, shaking his head in disbelief. "That sounds more like slacking off than searching to me! There's something screwy going on around here. I don't like this one little bit!"
Thinking back on the moogle's words, Roxas said slowly, "They probably went to the clock tower to come up with a plan to search the town. I know sea-salt ice cream always helps me to think a little bit better. The clock tower does make for a great thinking spot, and other than the usual spot, it was our favorite place to hang out, just like how I used to hang out there with Axel...Most likely they went there to come up with some sort of a strategy. That's what we would have done in the past if we weren't going to the usual spot, and if the real Twilight Town is anything like the fake Twilight Town..."
"Fake Twilight Town?" the moogle interrupted, gazing curiously at each of them in turn. "What's that, kupo?"
Ignoring the moogle, Sora said gently, "Come on, we should get going. If Hayner and the others are still sitting up on the clock tower, then we'd better hurry up if we want to catch them."
"Don't worry, I'm sure your friends are fine, kupo," the moogle said cheerfully, nodding his head for emphasis. "Take care now, kupo."
"Thanks, we'll be careful."
Roxas turned his back on the moogle shop, but before he could step away from the counter, the moogle said, "It was great doing business with you, kupo. Please come again. I look forward to swin-er...I mean, showing you my wares again...Roxas."
Just like Vivi...
Turing slowly to stare at the moogle, Roxas raised his eyebrows, and smiling slightly he exchanged an amused look with Sora. Even the moogle looked confused over his own words, as if for the life of him he couldn't understand where in all the worlds he had come up with the name Roxas.
Maybe, just maybe, I'm not as much of a stranger in this town as I think I am...
"Once you believe, the truth and a lie are quite the same thing. Let your heart decide. It's in your heart you must confide..."
"Are we ready?" Naminé asked quietly, turning to gaze anxiously at the twilit sun looming above the empty streets of Twilight Town.
"Indeed, but to find this shadow, you must scour the shade."
Glancing once more back in the direction of the forest, Roxas felt a small shiver race down his spine, and taking a deep breath he pointed Oathkeeper at the entrance to Station Heights and said firmly, "Let's go."