Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Final Fantasy, and I'll be glad when I don't have to say this anymore for this story!

A/N: Okay, so...I lied again! I said there would be two more chapters after the last one, but I was wrong. There are going to be two more after this one due to the fact that I wanted to end this one at this particular moment, which I'm sure you'll all understand why once you read it. I have started writing the next chapter, as well, so I will hopefully have it up soon. And that's it for now!

Sunset Dreams

Chapter 9: Eternal Flame

Roxas

Sunset Terrace/Sunset Hill, Twilight Town

Roxas emerged slowly from the tunnel way into the twilit streets of Sunset Terrace, and frowning at the deserted road ahead of him, he let out a defeated sigh, which did not go unnoticed by the rest of the party.

"It's the same here, too," Riku said quietly, glancing warily back at the tunnel entrance, his Keyblade, Way to the Dawn, held securely over his shoulders in a tight grip. "Dead and silent."

"And still no Heartless or Nobodies," Sora added, a frown on his normally cheerful face.

"Gawrsh, there must be something really wrong with Twilight Town if both the shopping district and the residential area of the town are being affected by the darkness Chip and Dale mentioned," Goofy said in a hushed voice, as if reluctant to disturb the eerie silence.

Roxas had to agree. Normally the residential area of Twilight Town was full of life and laughter, and the sound of the trams weaving in and out of the buildings was always a source of comfort, but at the moment it didn't look as if the trams were even running in the residential section and the loss of what was always a familiar source of background noise made the town seem even more lifeless and ghostly than it had in the shopping district of the town.

Twilight Town feels like...like a graveyard.

"Guess we're not going to find out much here either," Hayner grumbled, looking slightly disappointed.

"Even so, we should at least check around a little bit," Pence countered. "You never know what we might find."

"I'm afraid to find out," Olette moaned, making a face.

"What do you think, Sora?" Kairi asked, turning to gaze curiously at the Keyblade Master.

"Well, it won't hurt to take a look. That's what we came here for in the first place, right?"

"We should probably split up into three groups," Riku butted in, glancing at each member of the party in turn. "Sora, Roxas, and I will each lead a group, since we're the only ones here who have Keyblades. The rest of you can join a party of your choice."

"In that case, I'm going with Roxas," Hayner insisted, making a fist. "We'll figure out what's going on in this town."

"I would like to go with you, as well, Roxas," Naminé said almost shyly, her lips turning up in a hesitant smile.

Roxas stared at his two friends in surprise, and shrugging his shoulders, he said, "Sure."

"Well, I'm going with Sora," Donald interrupted, pointing his staff accusingly in the Keyblade Master's direction. "Somebody has to watch him to make sure he doesn't get into any trouble."

"A-hyuck, I'm coming, too!" Goofy quickly jumped in. "The three of us always stick together."

"I'm coming with you, too, Sora," Kairi said sternly, her hands on her hips. "Donald and Goofy might think they need to watch you, but I know very well all three of you need watching!"

Sora had the grace to look a little sheepish and scratching the back of his head in embarrassment, he said, "Maybe."

"Okay then, if you guys are going with Sora and Roxas, Olette and I will go with Riku," Pence butted in, turning to smile at the silver-haired wielder of the Keyblade. "I think that's everyone then."

Riku nodded and pointing his Keyblade in the direction of Sunset Hill, he said, "Sounds good to me. We'll meet at the base of Sunset Hill in about half an hour. The residential area of Twilight Town isn't that big, and with us all split into three groups it shouldn't take us that long to check the place out."

"Everybody ready to go?" Sora asked, summoning his own Keyblade with a well practiced hand.

"My group will check out the area closest to Sunset Station," Riku announced, pointing his Keyblade in the general direction he was referring to. "Sora, you take the middle and, Roxas, your group can take the area closest to Sunset Hill."

"Gotcha. Let's go, guys," Sora said cheerfully, motioning for his group to follow him.

Roxas set off at a slow pace towards the base of Sunset Hill, Naminé and Hayner on either side of him, and holding Oathkeeper tightly in his hand he glanced nervously at the dark shadows hovering at the base of every building and lurking in the dark corners in between each structure, wondering if perhaps they would finally reveal their secrets, though he wasn't holding his breath. It was like the forest all over again, and no matter which direction he turned he couldn't help feeling as if there were eyes watching him from the darkness.

Something moved in the woods. I know it did. Could it be here, too? Following me wherever I go?

"Go ahead if you want to waste your time. Keep trying to drive us apart with your mind games. It'll never work!"

"Roxas, you seem lost in thought. Is there something on your mind?" Naminé asked softly, her sudden words startling him badly, nearly causing him to drop his Keyblade.

"Not really. I just...not exactly. It's more like...everybody else's thoughts are on my mind."

"What does that mean?" Hayner demanded, giving him a funny look.

"I'm...not really sure. It's funny, but I hear so many voices inside my head. So many memories..."

"Don't we all," Naminé murmured, a slight smile on her face.

"Some of them, I'm sure I don't know. I've never heard them before, but they sound so familiar. Kind of like...old friends. Maybe I don't know them, but I feel like I should."

"Wait, what?" Hayner interrupted, raising his eyebrows. "Man, what is up with you, Roxas? You're not going crazy on me again, are you?"

"Oh, thanks! Is that what you think of me?"

Hayner started to laugh, and slugging an arm around his shoulders, the blond struggler said, "Don't worry about it. Even if you are, I ain't going anywhere. I stuck around last time, didn't I?"

Roxas had to smile. "Yeah, I guess you did."

"I suppose...it all comes back to Sora, doesn't it," Naminé said softly, almost to herself. "He really is the key that connects everything."

The key that connects everything...

Gazing up the road towards Sunset Hill, Roxas took a moment to reflect on Naminé's words. It was true what she had said. Everything always did come back to Sora, and as much as Roxas knew he should probably be worried about that, he wasn't, simply because if there was one person out there who could handle having such a huge weight resting upon his shoulders, it was Sora.

"You used to be too broken to talk back..."

Not anymore, I'm not.

"Hey, are we ready to do some searching here, or what?" Hayner cut in, impatiently shifting his feet.

"Right. Let's start with searching the area to the left of Sunset Hill."

"Sounds good," Naminé agreed, giving him a warm smile.

They set off at a fast pace, checking every street and shadowy corner within their section of the left side of town, but after the first fifteen minutes Roxas could already tell they weren't going to find anything. Yes, there were no people around, and yes the town was empty and silent, but their wasn't technically anything wrong with it, and that, Roxas had to admit to himself, was extremely unnerving.

"Darkness we cannot see, yet it hides in every corner," Naminé sighed, shaking her head in despair. "What does it mean?"

"I don't know, but it's giving me the creeps," Hayner complained. "I wonder if Pence and the others are having better luck than we are."

Roxas made a face, certain that Sora and Riku weren't any closer to the truth than he was. "Somehow I doubt it. Let's check the area to the right of Sunset Hill. I doubt we'll have any more luck there, but I guess you never know. By then it'll be time for us to meet up with the others."

"Onward then!" Hayner said confidently, pointing the bat he used for struggle matches across the street at the opposite side of Sunset Terrace.

Once again their search proved to be futile, and making their way back towards the base of Sunset Hill, Roxas couldn't help feeling slightly disappointed.

And I was so sure something would happen. Anything to explain what's going on around here...

"Here comes Sora's group," Naminé suddenly said softly in his ear, interrupting his thoughts.

"And by the looks on their faces they don't know any more than we do," Hayner groaned, slapping a hand against his forehead.

Judging by the look of disappointment on Sora's face, Roxas had to agree, and racing to meet the Keyblade Master half way, he said, "No luck?"

"None," Sora sighed, shaking his head in defeat. "I take it it's the same for you guys?"

"Pretty much."

"Now what?" Kairi grumbled, glaring at the sun hanging low over Sunset Hill, as if it were to blame for their current predicament.

"Gawrsh, we're not having any luck at all, are we," Goofy said, a look of despair overtaking his normally cheerful features.

Clearly frustrated, Donald smacked his staff against the pavement beneath their feet and said, "What a waste of time! I'm going to give Chip and Dale a good talking to when we get back to the ship!"

"Cut them some slack, Donald, they were just trying to help," Hayner shot back, skidding to a halt next to Sora with Naminé beside him. "And Olette has the nerve to say I'm bad."

"Speaking of Olette, here she comes with Riku's group," Kairi interrupted, nodding her head in the direction of the station.

"Great," Hayner drawled, rolling his eyes. "Just what we need, more disappointment."

Roxas would have given anything to disagree, but once again it looked as if Hayner was right.

"Nothing, Sora," Riku announced, sounding rather irritated by his failure to discover the source of the darkness haunting Twilight Town.

"We even looked in the station itself and still nothing," Pence added. "We're really running out of options now."

"The only place left is Sunset Hill," Olette agreed, trying and failing miserably to sound optimistic.

What are we going to do if we can't even find a clue as to what's gong on around here? How can we help Twilight Town and its people if we don't even know where to start looking for answers?

His thoughts must have shown plainly on his face because Sora suddenly put an arm around him and said cheerfully, "Come on, Roxas, let's go to Sunset Hill."

Instead of answering, Roxas merely let out a sigh of defeat and proceeded to follow the Keyblade Master up the hill, a heavy feeling inside his chest, one he knew Sora would insist was the result of having a heart, and upon reaching the top of the hill he came to a dead stop, his sapphire eyes widening in surprise.

"What's that?" Hayner asked curiously, pointing to the base of the stone monument, which was, like the station tower, one of Twilight Town's more familiar landmarks.

"Not what, but who," Pence corrected, taking a hesitant step closer to the monument.

Upon closer inspection, Roxas realized that Pence was right. Lying motionless beneath the statue was a body.

A body wearing a long, dark coat.

"Roxas, look!" Sora gasped, waving his Keyblade, Oblivion, at the motionless figure. "Look at him..."

It can't be...

Roxas studied the figure lying beneath the monument, and he felt his supposedly non-existent heart leap into his throat. Twice he had to close his eyes and open them again just to make sure he wasn't dreaming or seeing things, but the cloaked figure did not disappear or fade away into the shadows.

The man wearing the dark coat was tall and lanky, and he lay sprawled on his side, his head resting on his left arm. His face was slightly obscured by the hood of his cloak, a very familiar cloak, but even so there was no denying the man's identity.

Roxas knew only too well that the black coat was a symbol of the now dead Organization, but it wasn't the cloak that had caught his attention.

No. It was the strange markings under the man's eyes and the head of flaming red hair shining brilliantly in the light of the setting sun radiating over the not quite deserted peak of Sunset Hill that had truly captured his attention.

The man's eyes were closed, as if he were sleeping, but Roxas knew when they were open they were a piercing, vivid green.

Organization XIII's Number VIII.

Axel.