Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, Disney, etc.
A/N: And another chapter done! It's a bit short compared to the first two, but it's a lead in to what happens in the next chapter. Just so you all know, the lines in this story during those moments of remembrance are all taken from the original Gameboy Advance version of Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, so for those of you who are currently playing Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories which just came out in North America this month on the PlayStation 2, (Awesome game, I highly recommend it!) you will notice that some of the lines are worded slightly different in that game compared to the original. Just to keep that in mind. If you are playing the PS2 version, I think you will find the differences between the two to be quite interesting. That has most definitely been the case with me! (And yes, for those of you who are wondering, almost all of the original voice cast has returned for Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories. The only two major characters whose voice actors didn't make a return appearance are Kairi and Namine, both of whom have new voice actors for this game. But of course, the most important thing is the fact that Axel is still most definitely Axel in all his flaming glory! (Gotta love that pyro!)
The Eyes of Twilight
Chapter 3: Whispers from the Heart
Roxas
Tram Common, Market Street
"Look, guys! Am I amazing, or what?" Hayner said smugly, coming suddenly around the corner with Olette, several bars of sea-salt ice cream threatening to spill out of his hands.
Olette was holding several bars, as well, and there was a big smile on her face. "Sorry about the wait. There was a huge line-up, and Hayner was complaining as usual."
"What do you expect? I don't see why I had to pay for all the ice cream," the blond struggler grumbled. "It's not like you don't have any munny on you, and besides, I hate line-ups."
"I'm saving my munny for a shopping trip! If you hadn't bought the ice cream you would have just ended up spending your money on something useless and you know it!"
"But...why couldn't you have at least made Pence split the cost with me?"
Pence, who had stayed behind, suddenly looked up and he shook his head at the blond struggler. "You've wasted enough of my munny already!"
Shaking his head in amusement, Roxas snatched a bar of ice cream from Hayner's hands and making his way over to Sora's side he sat down on an overturned crate next to the Keyblade Master. The two of them were sitting on the left side of the entrance to the forest, and remembering the shadow he was still not quite sure he had really seen earlier, a slight shiver raced down his spine.
It was just my imagination! It wasn't real...
"Eat up, guys!" Olette said cheerfully, snatching the rest of the ice cream from Hayner and passing it out to everyone in the group.
Taking a bite of the electric blue treat in his hand, Roxas savored the tangy, yet sweet, taste of the ice cream melting in his mouth, still unable to believe he could enjoy something so simple as the flavour of an ice cream bar. Technically, he shouldn't have been able to taste anything at all, since he existed merely as a transparent figure of his former self, but despite all sense of logic and reason he could not only taste the ice cream, he could also eat it, as well, and although he had discovered his ability to ingest solid foods shortly after appearing to Sora in The World that Never Was, not that long after they returned to Destiny Islands, in fact, it still continued to come as a huge surprise to him. It should have been impossible, and yet here he was eating a bar of sea-salt ice cream.
Could it be that I'm actually more real than even Sora believes I am?
"Roxas? Hey, you've been really quiet lately. I mean, more so than usual. What's up?" Sora suddenly asked, interrupting his thoughts.
That shadow...
Frowning at the half-eaten bar of ice cream in his hand, Roxas shrugged his shoulders, and turning to look at the Keyblade Master he quickly plastered what he hoped was a convincing smile on his face. "You worry too much, you know that? It's nothing really."
"Then stop giving me reasons to worry."
The words were so quiet, Roxas just barely heard them, but seeing as how Sora was his other half, he didn't really need to understand what the other had said in order to know that the Keyblade Master was concerned about him.
"I'm sorry. I didn't...it's not..."
"Don't worry about it," Sora interrupted, shaking his head.
"But..."
Smiling slightly and pointing to the half-eaten bar of ice cream Roxas was still holding in his hand the Keyblade Master said, "Hey, are you going to finish that?"
"What?" Donald suddenly quacked, glancing around Sora's shoulder at the ice cream bar in question.
Why do I have a feeling I know what's coming next?
Ever since finishing his own ice cream bar earlier, the court wizard, who was sitting on Sora's other side, had been gazing forlornly at the empty stick in his hands, but at the Keyblade Master's sudden outburst, surprisingly his eyes lit up with a gleam of excitement. "I don't know, Sora, I think it might be a better idea if Roxas gives his unfinished ice cream to me, just to be safe. His germs are crawling all over that thing, and I wouldn't want you to catch something from him. We can't have the Keyblade Master getting sick!"
Scratching the back of his head in confusion, Sora blinked at Donald in surprise and frowning he said slowly, "Uh...Donald, when you really think about it they're my germs, too. I mean, Roxas is me and I'm him. How am I supposed to catch germs from myself?"
"It's better to be safe than sorry! What if the Heartless started attacking all the worlds again and you were too sick to fight them? As your friend, it's my duty to look out for you, right? It's better if I get sick instead of you, so...if you'd like I could eat Roxas' ice cream for you."
"Yeah right! You just want to trick me into giving you more ice cream!"
"No way! I'm just looking out for your best interests!"
"No, you're not! The only thing you're looking out for is your stomach!"
"But-"
"Come on, Roxas, we can't let good ice cream go to waste!" Sora interrupted, completely ignoring Donald. "If you're not going to finish it, I'll eat it for you."
Rolling his eyes, Roxas handed over his half eaten bar of ice cream to Sora, and smiling slightly he said, "You're as bad as Donald. A bottomless pit."
Instead of responding, Sora merely shrugged his shoulders and he took a huge bite of the ice cream bar in his hand, much to Donald's outrage.
"Fine, but don't say I didn't warn you!" the court wizard shouted in disgust.
"Don't be dumb, Donald. I'm not going to catch anything from my own Nobody!"
"How do you know?"
Leaving Sora and Donald to argue over whether or not he was contagious, Roxas moved over to sit next to Namine, and settling himself on an overturned crate next to the golden-haired Nobody, he gave her a warm smile. "Hey, Namine."
"Oh! Hello, Roxas," Namine said shyly, almost dropping her own bar of ice cream at his approach.
"Sorry. Did I startle you?"
"No, I..."
Should I tell her how I feel? I did promise Sora I would, but it's not like he's said anything to Kairi yet either. Speaking of Kairi...
Roxas glanced uncertainly at the red-haired female sitting on Namine's other side, anxious to know whether or not she was listening in on their conversation, but to his relief Kairi was too busy talking to Olette to notice what her Nobody was up to at the moment. "Hey, Namine? Can I ask you something?"
"Of course. What is it, Roxas?"
"How was Sora able to remember what had happened to him in Castle Oblivion? You were the one who said it would be impossible for him to remember..."
"Sora's memories...they're really becoming a part of you."
"Yes, isn't the same thing happening to both you and Kairi?"
"Of course, only...there are still some things she doesn't know. Not because I don't remember them, I never lost my memory, it's because I...I..."
"What's wrong, Namine?"
Namine bit her lip, and shaking her head she quickly forced a smile onto her face. "It's nothing. Roxas, if you remember that much then you'll remember what I said to Sora just before he stepped into the pod to go to sleep."
"You mean..."
"Remembering one thing leads to remembering another and then another..." Namine quoted softly. "Your memories are connected, like links in a chain. Those same chains are what anchor us all together. I don't destroy memories. I just take the links and rearrange them. You still have your memories."
Her words to Sora. I do remember them...
"Just because you can't remember something doesn't mean it's gone," Namine whispered.
"What do you mean?"
"Just like his real memories, I don't think Sora ever forgot his memories of Castle Oblivion. They've been inside his heart this whole time. All it took was someone to trigger those memories. That person was me. When you and I appeared to Kairi and Sora in The World that Never Was, Sora and I finally got a chance to see each other again. I think seeing my face again allowed Sora to remember Castle Oblivion, just like Axel meeting Sora triggered your presence. Once Sora and I were together again, once Sora and Kairi were together again, he remembered everything. After all, we made a promise to each other..."
"Don't worry, you'll forget me...but we have our promise, so I can come back to you."
"A promise is a promise."
"One day it'll be our light, the light that brings us together. I'll be in your heart until that time comes."
"I know. Forgotten, but not lost..."
"Roxas, you and Kairi were our light," Namine said softly. "You two will always be our light."
Overcome with emotion, Roxas reached out to the female Nobody, and taking her hand he gave it a gentle squeeze. "Namine...thank you."
Namine... This is why Sora cares about Kairi so much. This is why I care about you so much...
"But...Roxas, I didn't do anything."
"Of course you did. You know so much, Namine, and because of that I envy you sometimes."
To his surprise, instead of smiling, Namine turned to look at Riku and an almost imperceptible shadow suddenly slipped across her face. "There are a lot of things I know; things I wish I didn't know. Things you still don't remember..."
What is that supposed to mean? Now that I'm with Sora, I remember everything about my past...don't I?
"It wouldn't be so bad if I didn't have to hide so much from Kairi," Namine said quietly, almost to herself. "I can't keep this up forever. I'm her Nobody. Sooner or later she's going to find out..."
"Namine?"
"Oh! I'm sorry, Roxas, don't mind me. You know...you should take him there."
"Huh?"
"Sora," Namine said softly, squeezing his hand in return. "You should take him to the clock tower. He needs to see the place where you used to sit with Axel for himself."
But...was it always just Axel and myself, or had there been someone else there, too? Wait, where did that come from?
Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Roxas glanced anxiously over his shoulder, and gazing at the Keyblade Master he nodded slowly in agreement. "You're right, but...what about Seifer? The last we saw of him he was heading towards Central Station. If we accidentally run into him, there could be trouble. Not that I would mind, I still want to get him back for what he said about Hayner and Sora, but...if there is trouble..."
"There might be, but you're a 'ghost', remember?" Namine reminded him, a small smile slipping across her face. "If you have to, use that to your advantage."
She's starting to sound like Hayner. Maybe introducing the two of them was a bad idea...
Smiling slightly, Roxas quickly made his way over to Sora's side, and tugging firmly on the Keyblade Master's arm he said, "Come on, Sora."
"Huh? Where are we going?" the Keyblade Master asked curiously, looking up in surprise.
"There's something I want to show you."
"What is it?"
Roxas smiled, and shrugging his shoulders he quickly pulled the Keyblade Master to his feet. "You'll see. Let's go."
"When you guys are done, meet us back at the usual spot," Hayner ordered, munching happily on what was left of his ice cream bar. "We'll wait for you there."
After exchanging a few quick words with the rest of the gang, Roxas led Sora back out into the main section of the Tram Common, and together the two of them cautiously made their way towards Station Heights, taking extra care to remain inconspicuous. Not surprisingly, seeing as how the other residents of Twilight Town were too busy shopping to notice anything out of the ordinary, they were able to reach their destination quite easily, and sneaking their way through Station Heights they made it to Central Station without incident.
"Do you see Seifer anywhere?" Sora asked anxiously, glancing quickly towards the glass doors leading into the station itself.
Since Station Plaza appeared to be deserted, Setzer having obviously left earlier with his fan club, Roxas felt sure it was safe to say the head of the Twilight Disciplinary Committee was also no longer hanging around the station.
"Forget about Seifer, he probably went to Sunset Terrace. Come on, this way."
Pulling on Sora's arm, Roxas dragged the Keyblade Master over to the clock tower, and feeling slightly uneasy, he glanced suspiciously around the deserted plaza for any signs of life. When he had been a member of the Organization, reaching the top of the clock tower had merely been a matter of summoning a portal, and although he, like Namine, still had the ability to summon portals, the thought of doing so made him feel slightly sick to his stomach. With the exception of the times he had spent with Axel, the portals reminded him too much of the uncertainty and doubt he had experienced during his time spent with the Organization, which was why he had unconsciously decided to show the Keyblade Master Hayner's way of climbing the tower instead. Not even Seifer knew there was a way to reach the top of the tower and Roxas wanted to keep it that way. There was a trick to it and the explanation behind the mystery of the clock tower was a secret Roxas shared only with Hayner, Pence, Olette, and now Sora. Other than the Keyblade Master and the Twilight Town gang, the only other people he would even consider revealing his secret to would be Kairi, Riku, Namine, and the rest of his new friends, since he knew he could trust them, which meant he had to be careful climbing the tower when there were other people hanging around. And then there was Axel. He would have told Axel, but unfortunately Axel was long gone...
I wonder if the ability to make portals is something all Nobodies can do. All the members of the Organization were able to make portals, and both Namine and I can summon them if necessary. Even the lesser Nobodies have their own form of teleportation. They, too, can disappear and reappear at will...
"Station Tower," Sora suddenly murmured, smiling softly to himself. "You wanted to show me your favorite spot in Twilight Town. It's just like my favorite spot back home on Destiny Islands; the island where I spend all my time with Kairi and Riku...It's just as special to me as this place is to you."
Smiling at the Keyblade Master, Roxas quickly motioned for his other half to follow him and together they made their way around the left side of the station, the gloom of twilight hovering over the plaza keeping them hidden nicely from view.
It was a short climb, and standing close together at the front of the tower high above the plaza, the large hands of the clock tower ticking pleasantly behind them, Roxas waved his hand over the view of Station Heights and beyond. "So, what do you think?"
Gazing in awe at the view Sora said softly, "It's perfect."