Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, Disney, and so on. You get my drift.
A/N: Sorry everyone about the wait, but I am finally back with another chapter! Thank you to everyone for your reviews, I have enjoyed reading every one of them. I'm glad to know that you guys think I've been doing a good job with the characters and their personalities, and I will continue to do so to the best of my ability. I know a lot of my KH fics have not had a lot of action, so to speak, and this one will most likely be much like the first two in that sense, but if I decide to continue on after this third story that will most likely change. Anyways, hope you all enjoy this new chapter! (I'll make sure to check for any missed mistakes.)
Chapter 7: Fade Away
Sora
Old Mansion, Twilight Town
"They're really here," Roxas sighed in relief, Oathkeeper disappearing instantly from his hands. "Hayner..."
Looks like we weren't too late after all, but...I don't get it. What are Hayner and the others doing here at the mansion? Do they think this place might have something to do with whatever has been going on in this town lately?
Sora silently shook his head, confused by his own thoughts, and kneeling next to Roxas he gave the golden-haired Nobody's shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "Well, then what are we waiting for? Let's go find out what they've been up to this whole time. The moogle at the shop did say they were trying to figure out what's been happening around here. Let's see if they've found anything out."
"Right. I...thanks, Sora."
I'm not going to let you down this time. Not like I did before...
Sora could tell Roxas was waiting for a reply, but instead of answering he grabbed the golden-haired Nobody's hand and quickly pulled him to his feet. "Come on."
"Hayner, Pence, Olette!" Kairi called out, waving her hands in the air to get the Twilight Town trio's attention. "Over here!"
At the sound of Kairi's voice, Hayner jerked around in surprise, and catching sight of Roxas, his face broke into a huge grin. "Roxas!"
Sora smiled as Roxas managed a weak grin in return and giving himself a mental shake, the golden-haired Nobody called out, "Hey, guys. Uh...what are you doing here?"
"We could ask you the same thing!" Pence shot back, leaping over the broken pillars in front of the mansion and hurrying over to join them, Hayner and Olette right on his heels. "Don't get me wrong, I'm glad you're here, but we didn't expect to see you so soon after your last visit to Twilight Town."
"Same here, but...something's come up."
"You mean the way Twilight Town feels so dark and creepy, and how there's not a lot of people hanging around," Hayner said bluntly, making a face.
"Yeah, the moogle at the shop mentioned something about how you guys were going to mount a search to figure out what's been going on around here."
"That's right," Olette agreed, smiling at the golden-haired Nobody. "We were thinking of maybe getting the whole town involved, but...as you can see, there's not exactly a lot of people around whom we can ask to help us out, so it's just been the three of us."
"And I wasn't asking Seifer for help," Hayner grumbled, a stubborn look on his face.
"So...how come you guys are here?" Pence asked curiously. "It can't just be a coincidence that you managed to show up here again just in time to witness the weirdness going on in this town."
"That's right," Hayner interrupted, his eyebrows narrowing into a deep frown. "If you guys are here now then that means you must know a least a little bit about what's been going on around here lately, so let's hear it. What's happening to our town?"
Sora exchanged a quick look with Roxas, and turning to Hayner, he said slowly, "We're not really sure. We were all back on Destiny Islands getting ready to say goodbye to Goofy and Donald, who were heading back to Disney Castle, when Chip and Dale, who help Donald and Goofy run the Gummi Ship, noticed something strange on the Gummi Ship's radar system."
"Something...strange?" Olette replied, shaking her head in confusion. "Like what?"
"Well...it's kind of hard to explain, but Chip and Dale noticed this strange aura kind of hovering around Twilight Town, and it was almost obscuring the town's signal on the Gummi Ship's radar system."
"It's not like what happened the last time with Twilight Town," Riku added, seeing the look on Hayner's face. "This time, the Gummi Ship's radar system only shows one Twilight Town instead of two, so it definitely can't be the same thing as what went on with Ansem's simulation of Twilight Town."
"So...then what is going on?" Pence asked hesitantly, glancing at Hayner, who merely shrugged his shoulders in response.
Sora hesitated before replying, "From what Chip and Dale told us, it looks like Twilight Town's been covered by a huge cloud of darkness; like a really thick mist."
"You know, a dark fog," Donald grumbled, whacking his staff impatiently against the side of his foot. "That's what they said. It's like there's a dark fog hovering over the entire town. Very screwy."
"Any idea where it's coming from?" Olette asked anxiously, nervously twisting her fingers together.
I wish I knew.
For the sake of his golden-haired Nobody, Sora wished he had an answer, but he didn't, and he knew no matter what he said, the three teens from Twilight Town would be disappointed by his answer. "We have no idea, but according to Chip and Dale it's getting worse and worse the longer we stand around doing nothing."
"It makes even less sense because it just kind of appeared out of nowhere," Kairi insisted, clearly frustrated by their inability to give clear insight into what was really going on. "One minute Twilight Town looks just as it always does, and then the next minute..."
"It's covered in darkness," Hayner finished, nodding to Kairi to show he understood her frustration. "Man, this really stinks."
It really is almost like the darkness just kind of appeared out of nowhere, but did it really? The last time we were here, I felt it then too. It wasn't as strong or as noticeable, but I could still feel it. And the people...there were less people around then, too, but it wasn't quite as obvious.
And he knew he wasn't the only one who had felt it then either. At the time, Roxas had done his best to humour Hayner, but Sora had seen the uneasiness in his golden-haired Nobody's eyes.
He could feel it just as much as I could, and the others...It's like Roxas said. Riku, Kairi, Naminé, and Pence. They all noticed it, and even Donald, Goofy, Hayner, and Olette must have felt it, though they hadn't noticed at the time...
Something about the look on his face must have alerted Roxas to what he was thinking because the golden-haired Nobody suddenly put a comforting arm around his shoulders and said slowly to Hayner, "Do you...remember the last time Sora and I were here with our friends? You know...when we were in the Tram Common getting ready to make our way through the tunnels to get to Sunset Terrace?"
"Sora and Pence were going on about the place being pretty empty considering what time of day it was. They thought something seemed a little off. Yeah, I remember."
I know what Roxas said, but still...I can't help thinking it's still my fault. I should have done something instead of waiting.
For a moment, Hayner and Roxas merely stared at each other, and crossing his arms over his chest, Hayner said slowly, "I'm guessing you think that has something to do with what's going on here right now?"
"It was the same feeling, Hayner. It wasn't as strong then as it is now, but it's still the same thing. We think that's why this weird dark fog surrounding Twilight Town didn't appear on the Gummi Ship's radar system at the time. The signal wasn't as strong then as it is now. We're not sure, but...we think something must have happened between now and then to make it worse."
"That would explain why it's been progressing at such an astonishing rate," Pence agreed, a thoughtful look on his face. "A week isn't exactly a huge expanse of time, so for the darkness to have gotten this bad so fast..."
"Something big must have happened," Goofy said solemnly, shaking his head in despair.
"And you guys don't have any idea what's causing it?" Olette sighed.
"None," Riku agreed, though he didn't look all the concerned about the fact that they were fumbling in the darkness.
Quite literally, in fact.
I wish I could stay as calm and cool as Riku...
"Hey, Sora, listen..." Hayner said slowly, avoiding his eyes. "I'm sorry for not taking you seriously earlier. You know...when you said there was something wrong with the town."
Sora had to smile, and giving the blond struggler an affectionate pat on the back, he said cheerfully, "Don't worry about it. There's no way you could have guessed that anything like this would have happened."
"I know, but..."
"I already went through this with Sora," Roxas interrupted, frowning at the blond struggler. "It's not your fault. There's nothing you could have done. I'm just glad that you're okay. I...I was really worried about you guys. When we couldn't find you at the usual spot or at the Sandlot, or even at the station...I..."
Without a word, Olette flung her arms around the golden-haired Nobody's neck and hugging him tightly against her chest, she mumbled, "We're okay. You shouldn't worry about us so much."
"There's no way we're going to leave you behind again," Pence said firmly, giving the golden-haired Nobody's shoulder a reassuring squeeze.
Roxas snapped his eyes shut for a moment, and taking a deep breath he slowly opened them to look at Hayner, his face a mask of emotion. "Sorry, I just..."
"You can't get rid of me that easily," Hayner shot back, cutting Roxas off and gazing directly into the golden-haired Nobody's sapphire eyes. "Go ahead and try, it'll get you nowhere."
"It's scary to think I could lose you guys."
Gazing at Hayner, Roxas finally smiled, and reaching out he put an arm around the blond struggler's shoulders. "I know. Thanks, I needed that."
"What are best friends for, right?"
Just like me and Riku.
Sensing Riku's eyes on him, Sora turned to look at his best friend and realizing he was being watched in turn, Riku gave him a small smile before turning back to Hayner. "So...what exactly are you guys doing here anyway?"
"Yes, tell us," Naminé insisted. "Why would you come here to a place like this? To a place with so many painful memories."
Axel, Xion, and Roxas. All of them suffered here. I feel it...even though I don't know who this Xion is. She had the coat, though. She must have been one of them, and if she was important to Roxas then that means she's important to me too...
"Well," Pence began, choosing his words carefully, "we searched the rest of the town, but we couldn't find any clues to help us and this place...A lot of weird things have happened here at the mansion. It's a pretty creepy place. Ask anyone here in Twilight Town. Not that you need to. You guys know better than anyone. We thought, since this place always seems to be at the centre of all the weird things that happen in Twilight Town, that it might have something to do with what's going on right now."
"It was Pence's idea," Olette interrupted, a slight smile on her face. "He thought maybe we should check it out, and since it's the last place left for us to look, we figured we might as well see what we could find. It wasn't like we had very many options left."
"And you know Pence, saving the best for last," Hayner snorted.
"Gawrsh, were you able to find out anything new?" Goofy asked eagerly, glancing nervously at the mansion.
Pence shook his head, and smiling sheepishly, he said, " We haven't actually been inside the mansion yet. We were just about to enter when you guys showed up."
"Why don't we all go in together then and have a look?" Naminé suggested, smiling at Pence. "Since all of us are looking for the same thing."
"What?" Roxas shouted, staring at Naminé in disbelief. "You actually want to go in there?"
"It's worth a shot," Riku said mildly, smiling in amusement. "You heard Hayner. They've been everywhere else and so have we. What exactly have we found out? Absolutely nothing. We want to figure out what's going on here just as much as they do. That's the whole reason we're even here to begin with, so we might as well have a look and see what we can find. This mansion has a habit of giving away secrets, even without meaning to."
"And besides, it may give us a clue about Xion," Naminé insisted, reaching out to give Roxas' hand a quick squeeze. "Or have you forgotten already? You do want to find out more about her, don't you?"
"You know I do, but this place..."
"Who's Xion?" Hayner asked curiously, scratching his head in confusion.
"Later," Riku replied, slipping past Hayner and making his way towards the entrance to the mansion. "First let's see what we can find."
Sora hesitated, allowing the others to get ahead of him, and glancing over his shoulder at the gates to the mansion he gazed quietly at the spot where Xion had stood her ground against Axel.
Xion...I don't understand. Why are her memories floating around inside my head? At least, I think they're her memories, but I can't be sure. It's like with Roxas. His memories are inside me, too, but it's also different somehow. I can't explain it, but I feel like she's right here with me...
"Sora?" Roxas suddenly said softly in his ear, tugging gently on his arm.
The golden-haired Nobody must have come back for him, but despite the comforting presence of his other half standing beside him, he didn't move from his position on the grass.
Xion...You had to go away, just like Roxas. Is it...maybe because of me? Is it my fault you had to disappear?
"Sora, hey, what is it?"
"I..."
Sora could barely answer, despite the fact that Roxas was clearly waiting for a reply. His thoughts must have shown on his face, though, because Roxas looked suddenly serious and there was an edge to his voice. "What's wrong?"
"Roxas, I...I'm sorry..."
"For what?"
"Xion. She had to go away...and...I think it might have been my fault."
No...It is my fault...
His sudden outburst left him feeling cold and numb inside, and he found himself unable to look at Roxas. So certain was he of his words, though he had no proof, he knew there was no way Roxas could convince him otherwise.
"Sora?"
He had no choice. He had to look up, and gazing into his Nobody's sapphire eyes, he found himself unable to look away. Though they were a part of each other, for the first time since merging Sora didn't know what to expect from his other half, so he was surprised when Roxas suddenly grabbed him and pulled him into fierce hug.
"What..."
"Listen to me, Sora," Roxas said fiercely in his ear, almost daring him to disobey. "None of this is your fault. No one has the right to blame you for any of this. Not even you."
"But...I made you disappear."
"And look where I am now! Don't tell me you've lost your faith in Naminé. I'm still here, aren't I? I didn't disappear, not even close. You made me whole again, just as I did for you."
"But Axel..."
"Not your fault," Roxas snapped, shaking his head in denial. "And even if Xion did have to go away because of you, because of us, you're still not to blame for it. We'll fix this together. Look what you did for me. If we have to we can do the same for Xion. You'll find a way. I know you, Sora. You won't give up and neither will I. Coming back to you wasn't an easy thing to do. I did it because I trusted you, and now I'm asking you to trust me. What's it gong to be, Sora? What will you do now?"
Sora tried to answer, but the words didn't seem to want to leave his throat. Roxas was so used to acting like a Nobody and following the rules of the Organization that he still sometimes had trouble expressing his emotions, which made for the occasional awkward moment, so for him to be the one to initiate such a fierce display of affection was something completely new to Sora, who wasn't quite sure how to respond. He didn't want to scare Roxas off, but he didn't want to leave his Nobody hanging either.
He's right, though. If I keep blaming myself for everything, I'll never be able to concentrate on helping my friends figure out what's going on here in Twilight Town.
"Well? What's it going to be?" Roxas demanded, pulling back slightly so they could look at each other.
"I do trust you, and I know this Xion is important to you, just like Hayner, Axel, Pence, and Olette. That's why I feel so bad about this whole thing. I always seem to cause you nothing but pain..."
"Do I look like I'm in pain now?" Roxas asked quietly, his sapphire eyes burning fiercely in the twilit sun. "Do you think being here with you causes me pain? I've lost a lot, but I've also gained a lot. And being here with you...I finally understand what it means to be really happy. To be at peace. How can you say that you only cause me pain?"
"I..."
"Don't take away from what I feel, now that I know what it really means to feel something."
Roxas...
Sora couldn't respond, so instead he did the only thing he could think of. He started to smile.
"What?" Roxas asked, his forehead wrinkling in confusion.
"Nothing."
"What do you mean 'nothing?'"
"Nothing. I just...like seeing you like this. I like seeing the real you even when you're yelling at me."
Roxas blushed and ducking his head, he stammered, "Oh thanks, now you're making me sound like...like Riku!"
"But that's a good thing! Okay, maybe Riku has his moments, but it's still a good thing!"
"Right..."
Sora could tell that Roxas was still embarrassed over his uncharacteristic display of emotion, but instead of allowing the golden-haired Nobody to escape, he pulled Roxas back towards him to return the hug. It wasn't that Roxas wasn't good at showing emotions, he just wasn't normally quite as enthusiastic about doing so, due mostly to the fact that he was still getting used to the idea of being able to feel, which was something the other members of the Organization kept insisting it was impossible for him to do.
Roxas had definitely proved them wrong when it came to the Key of Destiny.
"Ready to go?" Roxas mumbled into his shoulder, the tone of his voice indicating that he himself was reluctant to do so.
"I guess so. If we don't hurry the others will be wondering where we are."
Roxas nodded in agreement, and glancing over his shoulder at the spot where Axel had stood up to Xion, he sighed in resignation. "Come on."
I wonder what Axel would think of Roxas if he could see him now...
Sora took one last look as well, trying to keep the memory that wasn't even his own fresh inside his head, and turning away he quickly discovered that the others hadn't gotten very far. The rest of the group stood just inside the doors to the mansion, and for some reason all of them were crowded around Naminé.
"What's going on?" Roxas demanded, Oathkeeper materializing immediately in his hands.
Sora glanced anxiously at Kairi, who stood next to Naminé with her hand on the female Nobody's shoulder, but instead of answering she merely shook her head and gave him a look that clearly said to wait and see for himself.
"So many memories," Naminé sighed, almost to herself.
Sora had to agree. He could feel his own memories and all of the memories belonging to Roxas pressing down upon him, but at the same time he could also feel the faint memories of...someone else hovering in the air around him, just out of reach.
Memories of mine that are...not really mine. Memories of Riku, Kairi, and myself...
One look at Roxas told him his other half was experiencing the exact same kind of feeling and he could tell by the look of pain and confusion on the golden-haired Nobody's face that it was deeply affecting him.
"My drawings," Naminé suddenly gasped, her hands coming up to cover her mouth. "There's something missing from my pictures!"
"Huh?" Hayner asked, scratching his head in confusion.
Naminé didn't answer. Instead she motioned for them to follow her to the white room where she used to draw her pictures.
The room that still ached with the loneliness she had suffered at the hands of so many who had taken advantage of her unusual talents.
"Naminé?" Roxas stammered, staring incredulously at the female nobody.
Naminé paused to smile at him, and taking his hand, she said softly, "Roxas, let's go find our answers. Let's find Xion."