Hey guys! Sorry for being so late to update. But I did finally finish this chapter! I've been kind of distracted of late because the Stanley Cup playoffs are on and I'm kind of a hockey nut. But no worries, I am already hard at work on the next update.

Thank you to my reviewers for chapter 22: Hidden Fairy Tale, NinjaSheik, animechick247, phantombullets240, pandabearmusic, Giulia95, celtic-roses, Lumen, Chocoboco, RedQueen, ArkAngel, monkeychicklet23, Vanisha Tigerseye Stride, Kuro Neko to Kuro Bara, and Catalyna Cullen.

was a bit squiffy and so I don't know how many readers I had, but I had 15 reviews. Not bad :) The story's getting to my favourite part. And let me just say that Riku will be coming back SUPER SOON. I promise you. I have not forgotten about him.

Keep reviewing! And try not to hate me for these slow updates x_x

Vilixa made her way back to Ansem's study to see Sora running out of the building looking for her. "Hey!" he cried. "We've got a new lead! But we have to head back to Twilight Town right away. Come on, let's get to the ship!"

She gave Sora a confused look, but followed him closely as they dashed to where the gummi ship was parked. They finally made it as Donald tapped his foot impatiently. Apparently he and Goofy had been waiting for them the entire time.

"Took you long enough," he quacked. "Let's take off!"

Sora and Vilixa got in their seats and strapped in their seat belts as Donald lifted off.

"Why are we going back to Twilight Town?" Vilixa asked, subconsciously playing with her fingers. "What could be there that's so important?"

"Do you remember that photo that we found, the one that was in the box with the blue ice cream bar?" Sora asked. She responded with a nod. "Look at the mansion in the background," he said, holding up the photo to her eye level. "I don't know why, but I just have a feeling that I've seen this place before. And for some reason, I just think that it's in Twilight Town."

Vilixa bit her lip, but tried not to let her nerves show. "I see."

She leaned back in her seat in discomfort, trying her best not to seem too anxious. She didn't want to go back to Twilight Town. It reminded her too much of having to lose Roxas, keeping him confined in that imaginary world. It also reminded her of Riku and how he used to be.

The gummi ship landed just outside of the train station and the four of them went off in search for the old mansion. Vilixa knew exactly what it was, but she kept her lips sealed. She didn't want to let on that she knew any information about Riku, Roxas, or even DiZ.

"Hey, look," Sora called out as they reached the tram common. "There's a hole in the wall that leads to a forest."

"Well, come on," Goofy chuckled. "We'll never figure out what's in there by just standin' out here."

Vilixa followed slowly behind the group. She could see the mansion just past the thicket of trees, and she wanted to be anywhere else but there at that moment.

Once they had gotten past the forest, the entire mansion came into view. It looked just as Vilixa remembered--enormous, hiding behind a huge brick wall that encased the perimeter. Two things were different this time, though. For one, the enormous padlock that kept the gate locked was gone and the doors were open, and three bodies were lying in the grass before them.

"Pence! Hayner! Olette!" Sora cried out, rushing to help them. Vilixa frowned as she remembered their names. They were Roxas' friends. At least, they were in the fabricated world. "Hey, are you alright?" he asked frantically. "What happened?"

"We came here looking for Kairi," Hayner answered. "And then those white things attacked us."

"You have to be careful!" Donald warned.

"Yeah," Sora agreed. "You didn't have to do that."

"Of course we did," Hayner stated bluntly. "Kairi's our friend too, you know."

"You're right," Sora nodded. "I never thought of it like that before."

Hayner shrugged it off, standing up. "Word is that this mansion gets a lot of really strange visitors."

Vilixa felt a shiver crawl up her spine.

"We thought that this mansion might've been the gateway to an alternate Twilight Town," Olette spoke up as she and Pence rose to their feet. Vilixa's eyes snapped over to the girl.

"Alternate Twilight Town?" she asked. "Isn't that kind of...far fetched?"

"Not if you've heard the stories," Olette responded, shaking her head.

"What do you mean though, an alternate Twilight Town?" Sora asked.

"Hey Goofy," Pence said. "Do you think we could see that crystal of yours?"

Goofy nodded and pulled out a blue crystal that Vilixa recognized from the trophy Roxas had received after winning the Struggle tournament. Goofy also took out a munny pouch no bigger than the size of his palm.

"I made that pouch myself and I still have it," Olette said. "So...there shouldn't be two of them here."

"And this is the trophy that Seifer gave you, remember?" Hayner said, pulling out the huge blue trophy, the same as the one Vilixa remembered.

"It's the only one of its kind," Pence spoke up. "Same for the crystals. Red, blue, yellow, green--only one of each colour. But you've got your own."

"So, where'd you get it?" Hayner asked.

Sora pondered for a moment. Vilixa looked over at him. She wasn't sure of how he got Roxas' belongings either. She figured they'd just gotten lost.

"The King gave us the pouch for the train ride," Goofy answered. "And the crystal was with it."

"But then, where did the King get it?" Pence pondered.

"See?" Hayner exclaimed. "There's got to be another town out there just like this one. That would explain how the King got that pouch and the crystal."

"Well," Vilixa finally said, stepping out from behind Sora's shadow. "Are you guys going to just stand around talking, or are you going to go and look for this alternate Twilight town?"

"She's got a point," Sora agreed. "If we're going to find that other town, we'd better get started and search the mansion."

Just then, two Dusks appeared from thin air and threatened to attack. They pounced up, but were immediately struck down to the ground where they were sent back to oblivion by none other than the King.

"Your Majesty!" Sora cried. "What are you doing here?"

"I've got something to tell ya," he declared. "I found out where Ansem is! Ansem the Wise...the real Ansem. He snuck into Organization XIII's stronghold."

"And we've figured out where Kairi is," Sora responded. "I'm pretty sure we're right."

"But why'd you all come here?" Mickey asked.

Sora thought for a second. "Someone gave us a clue."

"Who?"

"Well, your Majesty," Goofy stated, "Sora thinks it might've been Riku." Mickey shot Vilixa a glance and she bit her lip, lightly shaking her head.

"It's just a feeling I've got," he shrugged.

"Well," Mickey concluded. "If that's what you think, then you're probably right."

"Then Riku's okay!" Sora cheered.

Mickey sighed. "If that's what you think."

"I've waited long enough, your Majesty," Sora insisted. "Tell me what you know."

Mickey turned his back to him. "It's not for me to say."

"But your Majesty, why?"

The mouse sighed. "I don't want to break my promise."

"Sora," Vilixa interrupted, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. "If you really think that it was Riku who led us here, then that must mean that he's alright. The King already told you that he has a promise to keep, and he's sticking to his word. Don't force him to break his promise, Sora. It isn't fair."

Sora stared down at the ground. "You're right. I'm sorry."

"You don't have to be sorry," she smiled weakly. "Come on. Let's go find that alternate town."

The whole group walked over to the enormous house and Sora pushed the doors open. Vilixa was welcomed by that familiar moldy smell of rotting wood and caked on layers of dust. She eyed upstairs where her room used to be, and hoped that Sora wouldn't go in. She remembered some of her belongings were still there.

Thankfully, Mickey led them straight to the library. The floor had already been retracted, revealing the secret passage into the master computer room below. Everyone filed down the stairs and entered the narrow hallway.

"Hey, we found it!" Sora exclaimed, running to the computer. Several monitors were showing nothing but static. Pence sat by the keyboard, his fingers flying as he typed away.

"It says here we need a password," he grunted. "Apparently some kind of ice cream."

"Sea-salt ice cream," Vilixa said immediately. "Type it in."

Sora gave her a strange look, but Pence complied. "We're in!"

To their left, the portal that was familiar to Vilixa started to light up. A beam of white light came down from the roof of the platform.

"Let's go," Sora said.

"We'll be here to hold down the fort," Hayner nodded.

"Say hi to Kairi," Olette added.

"You bet."

Vilixa, Sora, Donald, Goofy and Mickey stood together on the platform. Vilixa closed her eyes, remembering the feeling of being sucked into the virtual world the first time. It wasn't a feeling that she relished. The portal was activated and the light encased them all, pulling them into the virtual world.

As Vilixa opened her eyes to see the replica of the master computer that Roxas had destroyed, she could only feel what she remembered to be sadness.

"This is Roxas' Twilight Town," Sora suddenly said. Vilixa looked up at him.

"Come on, Sora," she said quietly. "We've got to find an entrance into the dark realm."

"Yeah," Mickey agreed. "Let's split up."

Review please!

I'm kind of dreading the next chapter. The inevitable happens...and if you've played the game, you know what's up.