A/N: I'm baaaaaaaaaaaaaack! Here we go!

Ah! Picture of Aurora from the Kingdom Hearts II era (aka, this story) can be found here! –

: / / maryjpunmaster92 . tumblr post / 157121479504 / my – khaa – oc – aurora – wright – during – the - kh2 – era

Copy and paste into your address bar and get rid of the spaces!

No, ONWARD!

…

Chapter Two: Day Two – Set in Motion

The mysterious figure in the black cloak stood on top of one of the buildings framing the alleyway of Twilight Town, watching as two girls walked towards a gated off area. One had brown, curly hair and was wearing an orange, sleeveless shirt and khaki capris. But this wasn't the one he was interested in.

It was the other one. He had recognized her instantly, when he saw her in the simulated Twilight Town yesterday. He had to come check to see if she was in the real one, and here she was.

She had shoulder length, dirty blond hair. Half of it was pulled back into a spiky ponytail, while a few strands framed her face and fell into her blue-green eyes. She wore a white shirt under a light blue vest, and on the left front of the vest were four pins and a yellow patch, shaped like a kite, with a set of scales embroidered onto it. She also wore a pair of denim shorts that were just a little short of mid-thigh, and between that and the white shirt was about an inch of bare skin. She wore white, knee high socks, a pair of black, ankle high boots, and a yellow scarf tied around her right wrist. On her left was a black wrist band that stretched from halfway up her hand to a few inches below her wrist. Right around the wrist, on the wrist band, were two silver, rounded pieces of metal. Completing the outfit was a pink ribbon tied loosely around her neck, and a black choker with a silver, star-shaped locket.

He let out a soft sigh, and smiled slightly.

"I have someone to thank," he muttered, glancing at his right hand. He clenched it into a fist, before opening his hand again and letting it drop to his side. "And I'm sure you'll be safe here, for now," he finished, before stepping through a dark portal, entering the other Twilight Town to carry out DiZ's orders for the day.

…

Hayner, Pence, Olette, and Aurora were all eating sea-salt ice cream when Roxas arrived at the Usual Spot that morning. Aurora looked up at him and smiled, holding a fifth ice cream bar out to him. Roxas jumped slightly, but smiled and took it.

"Thanks," he said, going over to his usual crate and sitting with it.

Pence suddenly looked down, thoughtful. "Do you guys think we'll always be together like this?" he asked.

"I sure hope so," Olette said. Aurora looked up with a smile.

"It'd be nice," she added.

"Huh?" Hayner suddenly asked. "Where did that come from?"

"Oh, well, you know," Pence said, stalling for time. "Just thinking out loud."

"Well, I doubt we can be together forever," Hayner said. "But isn't that what growing up's all about? What's important isn't how often we see each other, but how often we think about each other. Right?"

"Okay, debby-downer," Aurora teased, before looking thoughtful. "But… you do have a point."

Pence, on the other hand, laughed. "Get that off a fortune cookie?" he asked.

"That's it, no more ice cream for you!" Hayner threatened. He sighed, sitting back. "Man, today's turning out to be a drag."

"Maybe because of yesterday's memory thief," Olette offered.

"Nuh-uh. You know what it is?" Hayner countered. "We don't want summer vacation to be over. That's all!"

Pence turned to the girls and shrugged. Aurora nodded in agreement. Hayner finished his ice cream and tossed the stick aside.

"So, how about this?" he said, jumping up from his seat. "We all go to the beach! And why do we go to the beach? Because we haven't gone once this entire vacation! Blue seas! Blue skies! Let's just get on the train and GO!"

"Yes! That would be awesome! I can hear that water calling my name already!" Aurora cheered, jumping up excitedly.

Their words were met with silence though. Both turned to look at their friends.

"No?" Hayner asked as the five moved closer to stand together.

"Aw, c'mon!" Aurora said.

"Maybe you two forgot, but we're broke," Roxas said. Aurora's shoulders dropped.

"Oh. Right," she sighed.

"Maybe you forgot, I'm smart!" Hayner countered. "Come on!" he said, leading the way out of the Usual Spot. In the alleyway, Hayner turned to the other four. "We're going to Market Street!" he announced, leading the way up the hill again.

Once there, they stopped in front of a poster advertising the Struggle Tournament that Fuu had mentioned yesterday.

"Just two days to go," Hayner said, his voice vibrating with excitement. He turned and looked at Aurora and Roxas. "We have to make the finals! That way, no matter who wins, the five of us split the prize!"

"Okay, you're on!" Roxas agreed.

"We got this," Aurora said with a grin.

"You three are gonna clean up!" Pence said with a grin.

"Go get 'em!" Olette added.

Hayner and Roxas crossed their forearms with a grin. "It's a promise!" He then dropped his arm and clasped Aurora on the shoulder. "Right?"

"Right!" Roxas and Aurora said in unison.

"Now, let's get down to business," Hayner said as the five spread into a circle. They began to discuss the prices of a train ticket to the beach, plus 300 Munny each for pretzels. Olette quickly did the math, coming up to 6000 Munny. They already about 2010, leaving them 3990 to raise. Hayner lead the way over to an "Odd Job" board.

"Alright, gang. We have until the train leaves to raise 800 each. Let's get working!" he said. Each of them applied to the different jobs around town: Hayner took on getting rid of bees, Pence took garbage duty, Olette did posters, Roxas did mail delivery, and Aurora took care of grandstanding.

Two hours later, they stood at Station Plaza.

"…5998… 5999… 6000!" Olette said as she finished counting, dropping it into an orange, hand-made pouch. She handed it to Roxas, then pointed to the station. "Let's get tickets!"

Pence, Olette, and Aurora took off running to the station, excited, as Roxas put the pouch in his back pocket, shaking his head. Hayner hung back next to him.

"We can't be together forever…" he mused, "so we better make the time we do have something to remember."

Roxas glanced over at his best friend. "Huh?"

Hayner rubbed his nose for a second, before gently punching Roxas in the stomach. "Gotcha!" he yelled, before running after the others. Roxas rubbed his stomach, looking after him, before starting forward. Suddenly, he tripped over something and hit the ground, face first, pretty hard. The four turned back.

"Ah!" Hayner gasped, stepping back towards the boy.

"Roxas?" Aurora called, hoping he was okay. Roxas began to push himself up with a groan, putting a hand to his chin, which was throbbing slightly from the impact.

The black cloaked figure appeared at his side, grabbing his arm and yanking him up. He pulled him back, a little closer to himself, and Roxas gave a pained expression as it felt like his shoulder was about to pop out of place.

"Do you feel Sora?" he asked. Roxas was taken aback by those words.

"What?" he asked. The figure glanced over his shoulder, to where Roxas's friends were waiting. He looked, specifically, at Aurora.

"Thank you," he said even softer.

"Roxas!" Hayner suddenly called, getting his attention. "Three minutes!"

"Okay!" Roxas called back, before turning back to the figure.

He was gone. Roxas could only guess he had gone back to Market Commons, so he turned back to the station, where his friends were walking away. He looked at Aurora for a moment, wondering what the figure could have been thanking him for. Finally, he shrugged, forgetting about it for now, and jogging to catch up with them.

Hayner leaned into the ticket window, knocking slightly with his fist.

"Five students!" he said brightly, holding up the fingers. Pence turned towards Roxas.

"Roxas, the money," he said.

"Wait—" Roxas gasped, patting first the pockets in his jacket, then his pants. "No!"

The other four turned to face him.

"Huh?" Hayner asked.

Roxas turned quickly to the entrance, thinking back to the Black Coat.

"He took it!"

"Where are you going?" Olette asked, confused.

Roxas turned back them. "Remember when I fell?" he asked.

"Well, yeah. It just happened," Aurora replied.

Roxas looked at her for a moment, before continuing. "I had the money before that. I bet that guy took it!"

"Guy?" Hayner asked.

"He couldn't have gotten to… far…" Roxas trailed off at the disbelief on his friends' faces, confused.

"What are you talking about?" Hayner asked, thinking back. To them, it had seemed as though Roxas had gotten up on his own, with no one else in sight.

"Roxas, there was no guy," Aurora said, tipping her head to the side as she looked at her friend in worry.

"Huh?" Roxas asked, his head snapping up to look at them.

Just then, the bell rang, signaling that the train to the beach was leaving. Roxas ignored it, looking from hand to hand in confusion. "But he… There wasn't? Really?" he asked as the four turned to watch the train leave.

"Oh boy," Pence sighed, slumping forward.

Roxas was still stuck in his thoughts. "There wasn't anyone… there?" he asked once again. Aurora looked back at him and shook her head.

"No…"

The other three turned too, and they all started walking towards him. Aurora clasped his shoulder.

"Hey, it happens. You might have hit your head when you fell, and got confused," she said sympathetically.

"Yeah… maybe," Roxas muttered, unconvinced. He followed them out, guilt and confusion gnawing away at him.

Instead, the group decided on ice cream on the bell tower. Roxas, Olette, Pence, and Hayner sat on the ledge, while Aurora sat with her back leaning against the ledge, not facing the drop, between Olette and Roxas.

Every time she tried to sit with the others, she'd get dizzy at the height. Finally, they decided it was safer for her to not sit on the ledge.

Roxas was quiet, staring down at the drop, his ice cream untouched, while the other four chowed down on theirs'. Olette glanced over at him.

"It's melting," she said as the ice cream dripped. Roxas glanced over at his friends.

"Sorry," he said in a muted tone.

"Cheer up already!" Hayner playfully scolded.

"That was definitely weird, though," Pence mused.

"Strange," Olette agreed.

"You said it," Hayner added.

Roxas looked forward again. The other four turned to face him.

"'Can you feel Sora?'" he muttered. He glanced down at Aurora. "And… 'thank you'?"

…

Aurora carefully moved through the Mansion, heading back to the library. Yesterday, after over hearing the two men, she had decided that she wouldn't come back.

But, despite a fun filled day at the beach with Hayner, Pence, and Olette that left her smelling vaguely like salt, curiosity is a persistent motivator, and here she was, once again.

She reached the basement door in the library, and carefully pushed it open a few inches, peeking in. Red Robe was at the computers again, while Black Coat leaned against the wall, tossing an orange, hand-made pouch into the air.

Aurora put a hand over her mouth, forcing herself not to gasp. She recognized it. It was the very same that Olette had made not too long ago, though this one looked and sounded like it was full of Munny.

"Is it really that hard to make a beach?" Black Coat asked.

"We'd be giving the enemy another entry point," Red Robe answered.

(Huh? What are they talking about?) Aurora wondered.

Black Coat caught the pouch again, and held it up. "And this?" he asked.

Red Robe turned halfway to see what Black Coat was talking about. Aurora ducked lower, hoping he wouldn't see her through the crack in the door. "We can always buy some sea-salt ice cream," Red Robe said, with a laugh. He then turned back to his computers, and Aurora relaxed.

"Objects from that town must be kept out of the real world," he said seriously. "You can delete that," he said. Black Coat had gone back to tossing it up and down.

The two fell silent. Aurora waited a few minutes more, before backing away from the door and exiting the library, going outside and behind the mansion to the ruined grounds, practicing, this time, with her magic.

('That town'? 'The real world'? What's going on here?) She thought to herself as she activated her shield.

…

The figure hesitated in his tossing, and glanced over the man in red.

"DiZ," he suddenly said.

"Hm?"

"There's a girl here, one who doesn't belong in Twilight Town. She's even part of your simulation. I… want to take her back to her home," he said.

DiZ turned his head, looking at the man with his one visible, orange eye.

"Impossible. She'll be in more danger there then she would be here, under my watchful eye," he finally said, turning back to his computers.

"But—"

"Her destiny is intertwined too strongly to Sora's. She, too, as a role to play in all of this," DiZ explained, tapping at one of the keyboards.

"That's impossible. She's never even met him," the man said, gripping the pouch tighter.

"No. She didn't have to. But the moment her heart connected with that of someone close to Sora was the moment her fate was sealed," DiZ replied. The man froze, his arms dropping to his sides, the pouch still in his tight grip.

"Oh," was all he managed in a soft voice. DiZ glanced over his shoulder once more, before giving the monitors his full attention.

…

A/N: Another one done! This one was fun, too! Poor Roxas, he's always so picked on…