Sora rolled his eyes and I laughed.
"Come on, this is getting way too serious," I teased. "Why don't we just focus on the task at hand: find Riku and Kairi, beat the Organization, save the worlds."
"Speaking of the Organization, what is going on with their new technology?" Sora asked.
I shrugged, saying, "I don't know. Mind control, teleportation, it seems like they're entering the 21st century rather than relying on the darkness. Very off brand. I wonder if we will run into Axel anytime soon so I can ask him. If my memory serves me, Demyx might tell me too,"
"You guys were close?"
"I think so. I'll be honest, there's some weird stuff going on in my brain lately. I think my memories were more tied up than I thought and the more Organization members we see, the more I remember. Like Marluxia: I only met him once or twice while I was there, but running into him in Wonderland I didn't know who he was. Granted, it could be because I thought he was a woman, but still. I'm pretty sure I should have known him right away. Why wouldn't I have remembered him if all my memories were completely restored?"
"Maybe we will run into Namine and she can explain."
I was definitely not going to tell Sora that I had seen her in my dreams and we had compared notes on our theories because I would sound like a crazy person. All I could do was hope to cross her path when I was awake and ask outright what the heck was going on.
"Yeah, maybe. Is there anyone from the Organization you would like to see?" I asked Sora.
"I think maybe Roxas," Sora said.
I almost swerved the ship again.
"Uh…why?" I asked, genuinely confused.
"Well it seems like everyone is coming back. Seeing Roxas could be a huge development, don't you think? He's like a long lost twin brother so I'd like to think that would be another person on our team. Unless you know something about him that I don't," Sora admitted.
"No, I don't think so," I said.
I recalled Axel mentioning Roxas being back but I was still hard pressed to believe it. Something really wild would have had to have happened for him to no longer be a part of Sora. I wasn't sure we were ready to handle the answer to that just yet.
Sora and I made small talk after that. We talked about who we might still be running into from the Organization, what we thought was happening back home, what we would be doing right now if we weren't on our current adventure, things of that nature. Sora made us some lunch as I continued to drive and I couldn't help thinking about how normal this seemed. Riku and I had done some small road trips when we were younger (between us being gone and living on an island there weren't many places we could go to but we did as much as we could) and this felt like that. I was happy to see our friendship was getting stronger on this trip which, unfortunately, still took me by surprise. I wasn't sure when I would get over the fact that I liked spending time with Sora since it wasn't like that for most of our lives. Maybe travelling the worlds really did change something in us.
After a few hours of flying we pulled up to Halloween Town. I landed the ship by the town square, and with a quick check to make sure we were stocked with everything we needed we were ready to go.
"I'm warning you now," Sora said as we walked towards the door of the ship, "if I have the same outfit here I normally do I really have no idea what I'm supposed to be dressed up as."
"As someone who absolutely adores Halloween, I will do my best to help you figure it out," I stated.
We walked out of the ship and looked around. Sensing the coast was clear for the moment I looked over at Sora.
"Dude, you're a cute little vampire!" I said in a high pitched tone.
"What?! No way. Who describes vampires as cute?" He asked as if he was offended.
"Well what else would you call it? Bat wings plus the pointed teeth equals vampire. Adorable puffy pants plus striped stockings plus tiny little jack-o-lantern eye patch equals adorable."
"But vampires are supposed to be scary!"
"Uhm have you not heard of Twilight? Very not scary vampires."
He grumbled, "Whatever. And what are you, some sort of dark ballerina?"
I looked down at my outfit. Since it was the same as last time I was here I already knew Sora was wrong though I could see why he thought that. I had on a dark, gothic dress with a corset like top, short puffed out sleeves and a tutu-esque skirt, similar striped stockings, high heeled combat boots, and fingerless gloves.
To top it off, I pointed to the hat on my head and said, "I'm a witch, duh."
He rolled his eyes. We walked towards the town square in silence. As I said, I love Halloween, so nothing about the town was overly spooky in my opinion but I did wish there was a little more light. It was easy for someone to be lurking behind one of the many different corners in the area and I was having a really hard time shaking the feeling I was being watched. I shouldn't be surprised as I would bet money we would be running into an Organization member here, but something just felt…off.
We entered the square and saw a stage on one side by Dr. Finkelstein's lab but it was otherwise deserted. Exchanging a glance with Sora, I nodded towards the door to the lab hoping we would run into the scientist there and he could give us a hint as to what was going on.
Sora took a step closer to me, closing some of the distance between us as we made our way to the stairs. He leaned over and in a hushed tone asked, "Do you kind of feel like someone is watching us?"
I nodded.
"Do you think it's an Organization member?"
"Most likely. I don't know anyone in this world who would be so interested in what we were doing here that they had to watch us. Best keep our guard up."
We made it to the door and knocked. Listening for a response we heard a loud crash followed by Dr. Finkelstein shouting so we rushed in. Surveying the scene, we saw Jack and Sally standing on one side of the room holding up a human sized puppet, while Dr. Finkelstein was smashing his hands on his lab bench.
"Doctor, maybe we should try the book this time," Jack said calmly.
"Nonsense! If some silly chant can bring the puppet to life my experiments should be able to do the same. It shouldn't be this hard to control a puppet," he complained angrily.
"Is everyone okay? We heard a crash," Sora cut in.
The three looked at us in surprise.
"Sora, Yumi! What a happy coincidence that you're here," Jack said.
"Coincidence? Is something wrong?" I asked.
"Jack is trying to arrange our newest entertainment for the Halloween festivities," Sally explained. "A man in a black coat came and gave him this book about controlling puppets and Jack wants to create a show with them."
"A man in a black coat? That's got to be an Organization member," Sora said to me.
"Yeah but why would they just give Jack something? Red flag move," I responded.
"I've been telling Jack and the doctor that I don't see this ending well," Sally said quietly to Sora and I as Jack and Dr. Finkelstein were brainstorming with each other. "It doesn't sit well with me that this man just appeared and offered a solution then left. Jack explained what happened to the doctor and asked if he could replicate the idea with an experiment rather than use the incantation from the book but I think he's just so curious to see what happens he won't let it go."
"I thought we were going to a world where women weren't being ignored…" I muttered to Sora.
"Hey Jack," Sora said loudly. "Are you sure this is a good idea? Remember when you tried to control the heartless and that blew up in our faces? This is giving similar vibes."
"But Sora we aren't using anything from the darkness, just science! That's why I want the doctor to replicate the book's power. I don't think we can do that without seeing what it can do though."
Sora looked at Sally and I, then said, "He's got me there. If we can avoid using the book and Jack gets what he wants, isn't that a good thing? We avoid using the darkness the Organization has planted in front of us."
"Or maybe this is what they wanted all along," I countered. "Think about it, Sora. Everything we have come up against so far has made it seem like they're looking for ways around using the darkness to get what they want. The mind control gadget, the teleportation device, and now controlling an empty vessel? This is screaming bad idea to me."
"So what do you suggest? We step in and be the entertainment?"
"What a wonderful idea!" Jack shouted.
Sora and I jumped, not realizing he had been listening. Sally smiled softly as if this idea made her able to stop worrying about her previous thoughts. Dr. Finkelstein was muttering something to himself about wasting his time with the experiment.
"Not to worry doctor: there will still be lots to do. After all, we can't have a musical without stage effects," Jack said happily.
Sora's POV
I watched as Yumi's eyes widened in fear.
"On second thought, I vote for the dark magic please," she said.
"Oh come on. You're telling me you have stage fright or something?" I teased.
She couldn't be that bad, right? I had heard her sing that song for Roxas on her iPod. Or maybe it was all editing magic? There was no way she actually was afraid to stand up in front of people and perform. Looking at her though, I was worried she was going to pass out as she got more and more pale. I put my arm around her shoulders and squeezed her close to me.
"You really that scared?" I asked her quietly.
"Sora, I retired from any sort of performance a long time ago. There's a reason for it and frankly I might die if I have to dance in front of people," she confessed.
Jack, seeming to have none of her excuses, stated, "We can find you a role that doesn't involve dancing. This is wonderful! We need to get right to work. Come with me, both of you. Sally, please have the rest of the town get to work on the set up of the stage! Dr. Finkelstein will get together the rest of the cast per our previous arrangements."
Before anyone could object, Jack was ushering Yumi and I out of the lab and to his house. As we walked Jack explained that he had planned a revue of sorts, having the townspeople coming up to celebrate their new understanding for being scary. They had created a whole bunch of songs and dancing all following along a theme of being a misunderstood bad guy.
As we walked up into the top floor of his house, Jack stated, "We want to remind each other that even though we are scary, it doesn't mean we are doing anything wrong. We can be good by being bad sometimes. And this is where you come in!"
He walked over to a chalkboard and flipped it as he kept talking.
"We've got three songs that we think keep the theme of the show as bad guys. We're working on adding one more song, really making everyone think about how we are changing the view on ourselves, but I'm stuck on that," he admitted.
I looked at the board. It showed the outline of the show and specifically mentioned three original songs to be played during the show: Rotten to the Core, Ways to be Wicked, Chillin like a Villain.
"I can see what you mean about the theme of being the bad guy," I said in observation.
"If only there was a way to say just listen to your heart somewhere in there a little louder," Yumi said.
She clamped a hand over her mouth immediately after she said those words.
"Yes! Yumi, you get it! I think maybe you should -" Jack started.
Yumi cut him off.
"Nope, sorry. Not happening."
"But I think you -"
"Nuh uh."
"You just have such a -"
"Jack, no."
He stopped.
"Maybe we let Yumi participate to her comfort level, yeah?" I asked.
I didn't like to see her this frazzled. I could feel that she was getting uncomfortable and angry the more Jack pushed her. I'm not sure if it was the bond that alerted me to her feelings but I was happy to see that once Jack registered how serious she was he backed off. He handed us some music booklets and insisted we start practicing the songs right away. He walked over to a piano in the corner of the room and played through each song for us. When he was done, he turned to Yumi and I with a smile.
"Think you can handle it?" he asked.
I nodded and looked at Yumi who, once again, was looking a little pale.
"Yumi?" I asked.
She turned her head to me, then Jack, and then back to me.
"I'm, uh, good. Yeah. I just need to take a break? Maybe get something to drink. I'll…be back. Go ahead and get started without me."
She dropped her packet and headed right for the door. I went to go after her but Jack piped in before I could move.
"We only have until sundown to learn this Sora. Better use all the time we can get."
He started playing the first song and I took one last look at Yumi walking away before following Jack's lead.
Yumi's POV
'What the heck. What the heck. What the HECK.'
There was no way. No FLIPPING way this was happening. I left Jack's and went right back to the lab where Dr. Finkelstein was working at his bench.
"Doctor, I need to see that book you and Jack were talking about," I demanded.
He looked at me, then the table.
"Can't you see I'm working?" he snipped.
"Can't you see I'm spiraling and will chop you in half with my keyblade if you don't get me that book NOW?" I snapped back.
He shot up in his chair and backed it up. He turned around and headed towards the pedestal he had behind him that had an open book on it. Moving it aside he grabbed a black leather bound notebook that was underneath the book he was using and lifted the leather book in my direction.
"Here," he said. "No need to be so testy."
"No need for you to be so rude to start with," I remarked as I snatched the book out of his hand.
I marched towards the door and exited the building. Not thinking twice about it I headed right towards the ship, climbed in, walked towards my bedroom, and plopped down in front of my bed. I took out my songbook and with both books in hand sat on my bed. I stared at the identical books. There was absolutely no way this could be what I was thinking. I opened my book to the page I had marked with a photo of Roxas and I. Taking the photo and flipping it over I looked at the writing on the back.
'Surprise bestie!'
I opened the other book and flipped to the first page.
'Surprise, bestie.'
This had to be a joke. There was no way this was the book Roxas and I had made together. When I was locked up at the Organization, Roxas and I would talk about how it was so unfair that he was cast as the bad guy just because he wanted to be whole. Like, if there was a better way to achieve that goal he would do it, but no one else had the answer. So since Sora was a pure soul, he must be rotten to the core. He could teach me to be wicked and we could hang out and be the "villains" if I would just come around to the Organization's plans. I made him write all those ideas down in a book hoping that when Roxas came to his senses we could look back on it and joke that he was just acting. I, of course, being locked up and bored, had started to turn all these into songs. I never finished them before I left and the book remained in my cell.
Looking through this book, I saw those songs had been finished. They were the ones Jack was pitching to Sora and I. When we walked into his house I thought I had just either had no creative thoughts of my own or it was really convenient that Jack was with an Organization member and had these song titles. To further the mental games, the inscription in the new book wasn't there when I owned it. Comparing the writing on the photo to it I knew with 100% confidence that it was Roxas's writing as the lettering was identical. Roxas had to have been the one to drop off the book then.
I flipped through the book and saw other doodles and writings that I had made but had clearly been added to. Getting to the last page, I saw the spell Jack and Sally had been talking about when we arrived. Clearly the markings in the book were left there so Roxas knew I would know he had seen it. Really, I want to think he didn't have any idea that Jack would take the songs and use them, but he would definitely know that I knew he did when I saw the book. I just didn't know if this was meant to be a hint that he was okay, or if this was a mind game and he wanted me to just think he was okay. The spell at the end had me all discombobulated.
'You should tell Sora about this.'
Taking a deep breath I tried to recenter myself. I really should tell him, right? I just need to find a good time when we aren't being pelted by Jack to do this stupid show. Admittedly I was scared to have Sora judge my singing skills since he had heard me goofing off while I was driving, and knowing these were my songs too made it even more embarrassing. There was zero chance I would be stepping on that stage. Maybe I lead with that and then tell Sora while he's performing I would go look for Roxas. Try and test the waters a bit before Sora sees him as I can't imagine that would be an easy conversation.
'Bad idea. Hiding your new boyfriend from your old one will definitely send the wrong message to both of them.'
Uh, okay. Neither one was my boyfriend. So, rude. I was thinking more so how weird it would be to see another part of yourself that is no longer connected to you might mess you up. Sueme for caring, inner voice.
I stood up, put both books back under my bed, shook myself out, and exited the ship. As I walked out, I was greeted by Sally.
"Is everything okay?" she asked me as I walked towards her.
"Oh, yeah. Just some…nerves," I said awkwardly.
"I think Jack would appreciate any help you can give. He has such a big vision for this show and now that he can't have his choice of dancers I don't want him to be too upset," she confessed.
I smiled at her.
"That's very kind of you to think about him like that Sally. Tell me though, why did Jack want that spell anyway? Do the people of the town not want to participate in what he has planned?"
"No, that's not it. He wants everyone to be able to watch the songs he picked so they can really enjoy them and not be worried about performing."
"I get that. I'm just wondering, and I mean no offense by this, but hasn't the doctor managed to make people before? He made you right? So why use a spell?"
"I have free will," Sally explained. "No matter how the doctor tries, when he creates something they need to be able to make decisions, so they have to have the ability to make a choice. That implies free will. Jack wanted the dancers to just dance and then be done, so it didn't feel right to have Dr. Finkelstein make all these real people for them to not want to dance, or worse, have no purpose after and not feel valued."
"Wow, that was really smart of him," I said in surprise. "Did he think of that on his own?"
"Jack really has come around to listening to me," Sally teased. "I can talk to him about you doing some things behind the scenes. I think I have a solution to the stage problem too. As long as he trusts me."
"Oh Sally, thank you. I think he's still with Sora rehearsing now. Why don't we go tell him together?"
She nodded. If Sally could be brave with Jack, I could be brave with Sora. I would tell him about my suspicions.
To our shock, Jack and Sora were actually on the stage in the town square. Jack was trying to teach Sora how to dance and Sora looked downright lost.
"How's it going up there?" I asked Sora as we approached the stage.
He looked at me with wide eyes and terror on his face.
"How do people do this for a living?" he questioned.
I laughed.
"Well just be glad you aren't going into this profession. It's okay to admit you're no Zac Efron."
Sora's face quickly changed to a look of determination and I could have sworn I heard him mutter, "IF he can do it I can."
I rolled my eyes and looked over to see Sally talking to Jack. While they were in conversation I jumped up and tried to get on the stage so I could talk to Sora. Of course I was too short and Sora had to come over and pull me up. Because he was kneeling when he pulled me we both flew back on the stage: Sora on his back and me on my belly. We exchanged a laugh as we looked at each other.
"Everything okay with you?" Sora asked.
"Oh, yeah." The weight of why I left fell on me again as we stood up. "Listen Sora I want to talk about the Organization member who dropped off that spell. I have a pretty good feeling on who it was and think I might have more success on my own first as I have a…positive rapport with him."
"I don't like that idea," said Sora quickly. "Things don't go so well when we are apart, remember?"
"You're right, but I won't go too far and I promise to call out to you if things get ugly. Besides, you seem to have a lot going on here and I would hate to ruin your rehearsal."
"This is nowhere near as important as your safety."
"I think you confronting him would put me in more danger than being on my own. Please just trust me?"
Was I wrong to leave Roxas's name out of this until I 100% knew it was him? Yes. Did I feel bad about it? Yes. Would I change tactics here? No. It was wrong of me and I knew it, but I wanted to keep Sora protected from any backlash more than I wanted to tell the truth.
"- and that would work out just fine. What do you think?" Jack's voice cut through my thoughts.
"Sorry, what was that?" Sora asked, not breaking eye contact with me.
"If Yumi can help Sally find Lock, Shock, and Barrel and get them to agree to do the performance with Sora then she can work with Sally backstage. They already know all the songs and then we can minimize the blocking for Sora. Of course we will have to keep working here in case it doesn't work out, but you guys should be fine to go exploring on your own! We've had no heartless here in awhile," Jack explained.
I couldn't help but smile. Sally and Jack had unknowingly given me the perfect excuse to go off without Sora. With a smile that begged him to say yes, Sora said, "I trust you Yumi. Go with Sally but please, please don't play the hero."
"Thank you!" I shouted.
I jumped forward to give him a hug. Sora wrapped his arms around me and I ducked my head into his neck as a natural hand slid up to the base of my neck as he leaned his head on top of mine.
"Seriously Yumi, I will go absolutely insane if you get hurt while I'm here learning choreography. It'll bring my manhood into question," he teased.
I chuckled and pulled my head back so I could look at his face. He had an expression I couldn't read: it was some cross between concerned, stern, humour, and something else I couldn't pinpoint.
"Can't have that, can we?" I joked. "Seriously Sora, I know that we haven't had the best track record when we are apart but this makes sense. I'll be with Sally too so I won't make any stupid decisions so I can protect her too, okay?"
He nodded and pulled me close again. It was at this point when my heart did a little pitter patter that I realized how wrong this hug was.
'Feels right to me.'
Nope. No. No no. We have discussed this.
I gently pried myself away from Sora and turned to Sally.
"Ready to go?" I asked.
She nodded and with one last wave to Jack and Sora, we were off. Sally said the kids still played where Oogie's mansion was so we could take a shortcut to get there, or the longer way around. We took the shortcut to ensure minimum interaction with any potential heartless or nobodies. As we walked through the makeshift water canals (or what I hoped was. Otherwise it was like their sewage system and no thank you) I asked Sally about how things were going since Sora had been here last. She said that the residents of Christmas Town would get together with the residents from Halloween Town once or twice a year just to experience each other's holidays and they were thinking about going through the other doors to see if they wanted to participate in the events as well. They were hoping that eventually all the holiday people would meet and participate in each other's festivities at some point. I agreed that it was a cool idea and was hopeful that if she and Jack worked on it together then it would be so much fun.
"Just imagining Cupid and Santa making an ultra lovely Christmas scene makes me happy," I told her.
"It seems to me you could work with Santa and give him some similar tips," Sally said.
"Oh I don't think so. Sora and I are just friends," I rebuttaled.
"I never said it had anything to do with Sora, just that you might know a thing or two," she said slyly.
…she got me there.
"It's complicated," I tried to defend myself. "Sora and I are connected through our hearts so sometimes things look one way but really don't mean anything. He has a girlfriend and I have a no cheating policy. I think it's easy to sometimes let the heart lead us into these situations but our brains take a minute to boot up and take control."
"When you're passionate about something or someone I've seen how it's easy to let that feeling blind you," she confessed. "Like Jack with Christmas."
"Exactly! Sometimes you just need to remember that even though you love something, it's not yours to mess around with."
My mouth had gotten away from me before it dawned on me that I used the L word. I felt my face ignite in a harsh blush and was trying to formulate a way to backpedal that sentence. Sally either didn't seem to care or didn't notice as pointed out that the three kids were playing in what was left of a walled off section of Oogie's mansion. We walked over and the kids immediately stopped playing.
"Uh…hello…" I began, not knowing what to say to the kids.
"Miss Sally!" they all shouted.
The three kids ran over to her and hugged her legs.
I gave Sally a look and she tilted her head to the side saying, "Once Oogie was gone I realized they weren't bad kids. They just needed to be shown some kindness."
Well I'll be damned. Maybe Peter Pan was onto something with that mother thing for the lost boys.
"What can we do for you Miss Sally?" Lock asked.
"We were hoping you could help out with the show later today," Sally said.
"You mean, have everyone watch us sing and dance?" Barrel questioned.
"We're allowed to be stars of the stage?" Shock followed up.
"Something like that," I agreed.
"WE'LL DO IT!" Shock announced.
"Really didn't take much pushing from them did it?" I asked Sally.
"They were all set to do it before but Jack thought the spotlight might corrupt them," Sally explained.
"Ah, like a Toddlers in Tiaras situation. Got it. Well, let's go then kiddos!" I exclaimed.
Lock had asked to take the long way back so they could look at the stage from Moonlight Hill before he committed to the show. "I need to make sure it's not lame," he stated. So we began our trek back with the kids singing the songs for the show and weaving around Sally and I. I couldn't help but notice how happy Sally was and it made me smile. She had found her place with these kids and with Jack, and she was finally being heard without losing her freedom. If anyone deserved a happy ending, it was her.
We walked up the hill and looked into the town square. The stage looked like it was ready to go andSora was trying to follow Jack around as they kept working on the blocking. I laughed to myself and looked at Sally and the kids.
"Well? What do you think?" I asked them.
"Are you sure it's okay that we do this?" Barrel asked.
"Of course! Why wouldn't it be?" I questioned.
"Because there's a bunch of white noodle guys hanging around the base of the hill and it looks like they're waiting for our answer," he responded.
I turned around and sure enough there were dusks looming around the bottom of the hill.
I kicked one of the tombstones and the hill stretched out its curve, leading towards a different part of a graveyard closer to town. It was a quick run away from the town square and I could see a direct route if I stayed on top of the hill.
"Sally, you and the kids head right to Jack. I'm going to take care of these guys," I told her.
"Want me to send Sora or Jack to come help you?" she asked as the other three slid down the hill to the graveyard.
"I'll call Sora if I need him. I'll keep an eye on you from here but your job is to make it safely back to the town okay?"
Without much hesitation she agreed and followed Lock, Shock, and Barrel to the graveyard. The hill recurled after Sally got off and I drew my keyblade.
"I just need some epic battle music and this would be a pretty cool scene to watch as I destroy all of you," I commented as I crouched into a battle stance.
I heard a chuckle as the dusks retreated. Standing up straight and withdrawing my keyblade I looked towards one of the bigger tombstones and saw a man in a black trenchcoat appear from behind it.
"That's my girl," he said as he pulled off his hood. "Surprise bestie."