CHAPTER 8

TWILIGHT TOWN

“SORA!”

As soon as he stepped into the marble hall, Donald and Goofy ran up to him. “We were gettin’ worried,” said Goofy.

“Me, too!” Sora exclaimed. “Where were you guys?!”

Donald and Goofy looked at each other.

“What were you doing, Goofy?”

“What about you, Donald?”

Apparently they’d been apart, too.

“Well, where were you, Jiminy?” said Donald.

Sora only noticed that Jiminy Cricket was back in his pocket when he jumped out of it.

Jiminy cocked his head, puzzled. “Actually, I’m not real sure.”

“We just came to and we were here!” Donald looked even more confused.

“What were you up to, Sora?” Goofy asked.

“When I went through the door, I was all alone in this beautiful forest, and there was a toy bear named Pooh…”

Sora meant to keep explaining—but just then, the air wavered.

Sensing it, he turned with the Keyblade ready. “Who’s there?!”

“Hmph… An ill-mannered lot.” A man stood there, another one in a black cloak like Axel and Larxene. His long hair was parted to either side as if he would hate to have it fall in his face. “Well, I’ll introduce myself, anyway. I am Vexen. I have come to collect your debt, Sora.”

He raised a shield at Sora—it wasn’t a usual sort of shield, but on the larger side, with blades spiking from the edge.

“A debt?” said Donald, mystified. “Sora, do you owe something to this guy?”

Sora couldn’t remember ever meeting him before. “Come on. Of course not.”

“Oh, but you do.” Vexen gave him a twisted smile. “You owe me for reuniting you with your former friend.”

“You don’t mean…?” Sora started. His former friend? That could really only mean one person…

Riku.

Sora glared at Vexen. “Then you… You’re the one… You’re the one who’s been controlling Riku?!”

“Indeed. I brought him to you,” Vexen said coldly and shifted his shield.

“What have you done with him?!” Sora stalked closer, gripping the Keyblade.

“I see no need to give you any information about where Riku is. After all… Why should I trouble you in your final hour?” Vexen lunged with the shield as if he meant to knock the Keyblade from Sora’s hands.

The blades nearly caught him. Sparks flew.

“Now freeze!” Vexen flung away the Keyblade, with Sora holding on to it, and from the palm of his hand shot a blast of ice.

“Whoa!” Ice crystals clustered around Sora, freezing his feet in place.

“Wak! Fira!” Donald furiously waved his wand and the ice melted away, but not before the hem of Sora’s pants caught fire.

“Ouch!” He jumped and patted the flames out. “Easy there, Donald!”

“Excuse me, you were about to turn into a snowman!” Donald retorted.

“Well, that’s enough playing in the snow,” said Vexen, not even a little winded, and raised his arm again. “Begone!”

“Look out!” Goofy shoved Sora out of the way. Spikes of ice thrust up from the floor behind Goofy, following him. He yelped and managed to avoid them, dancing in a zigzag.

“Turn Riku back to normal!” Sora shouted and made a huge leap, but Vexen only pushed him aside with the spiked shield.

“Oh, you won’t be able to land any blows on me.”

It was true. Sora couldn’t get around that shield to deal him any damage.

“Sora!”

He’d hit the ground. Donald and Goofy ran to him.

“How can I beat him…?” Sora mumbled, and his friends spoke to him in whispers. “Oh. Okay!”

He got up and pointed the Keyblade straight at Vexen.

“Exactly what do you intend to do?” Vexen blithely looked down his nose at Sora.

“This!” From a good distance, Sora hurled the Keyblade at him.

And Donald shot a spell at it. “Fira!”

Now the Keyblade, wreathed in flames, flew at Vexen.

With an annoyed sound, he flung out more ice, trying to stop it, but—

“Aw, no, you don’t!” Goofy was already there to block the ice with his shield.

“What—?!”

Then the fiery Keyblade struck Vexen in the chest.

“We did it!”

“So, you can fight after all…,” Vexen muttered as he collapsed to his knees. Slowly, he got up again, and his voice was full of overconfidence even while his face was contorted in pain. “I might have expected—you’re not one to die very easily.”

“As if we’d ever lose to you!” Donald shouted from behind Sora.

“I wouldn’t be so sure. Did you even notice? As we fought, I was delving deep into your memories. And here… Look what I found! A card crafted from all the memories locked in the other side of your heart. If you really want to fight me, step into the world that you create with that card!” And Vexen tossed a single card in Sora’s direction.

“Hey, wait!”

Ignoring Sora’s cry of protest, he smirked and vanished.

“Memories…in the other side…?” Sora walked closer to the card that he’d let fall to the floor. The picture showed a clock tower with bells on either side and the setting sun behind it. He’d never seen a place like that…

“That’s what the feller said, huh?” Goofy picked up the card. “I wonder what’ll happen if you use it?”

“Only one way to find out!” Donald stood on tiptoe to get a closer look at it.

“…Well, I don’t have any other cards now,” said Sora. “So I’ll have to use it if we keep going.”

“But still… Gee, I don’t have a good feeling about this one.” Goofy looked at him nervously as he took the card.

“Let’s go. We have to beat that guy to get Riku back to normal.”

“Oh. Yeah.”

Donald and Goofy nodded as Sora faced the door, card in hand.

“Here we go!” He lifted it high.

“Oh, dear—doesn’t it look like Vexen’s gone and lost his cool?” Larxene giggled, staring into the crystal ball. She and two more of the organization’s members stood around it, watching the image of Sora and his friends versus Vexen. “So what now, Axel? I thought Sora wasn’t supposed to find out about the other side.”

Hearing that phrase, Axel finally looked at her.

The other side—the world of Sora’s other memories.

Twilight Town.

The place where we met…

“Well, as long as no one confronts him, we should be able to get away with it.” Axel’s brows drew together. “But…”

Marluxia didn’t wait for him to finish. “Let’s have Naminé deal with it. And you go, too, Axel. I trust you know what needs to be done.”

Axel’s frown twisted into a cocky grin. “Haven’t a clue, really. Maybe you could spell it out for me.”

“Vexen has clearly committed an act of treason against the organization,” said Marluxia with a small smile, as if they were speaking of trifles. “You must eliminate the traitor.”

“No taking that back later.” Without wasting any more time, Axel turned and left.

Larxene was laughing quietly. “Too clever by half, Marluxia.”

“So what happens now, I wonder?”

Marluxia and Larxene returned their gaze to the crystal ball.

The sky over their heads was stained red with sunset—a beautiful twilight sky that brought a dreamy feeling of déjà vu. In the center of the town a clock tower stood tall, with bells hanging on either side, seeming to glow in the vermilion light.

A few steps ahead, Donald looked back at the other two. “So… Where are we, Sora?”

The streets they stood in felt cozy somehow. Some of the roads were wider, looking spacious enough for large vehicles to pass. But they didn’t see any people.

“I don’t remember being here before, either.” Sora squinted at the buildings on the other side of the street. He didn’t remember it. But somehow he knew this place.

“Maybe you forgot this town, too, just like the other stuff,” said Goofy.

Then Jiminy jumped out of Sora’s pocket, looking concerned. “Our memories are practically gone…”

Silence stretched between the four of them.

“We’ll be okay,” Sora said brightly and took out the paopu fruit charm. “See, look at this…”

“Naminé’s good luck charm!” Goofy leaned over to look at the star-shaped pendant.

“There’s a special memory that goes with this… One night, when Naminé and I were little, there was this meteor shower.”

So many falling stars—all those lights pouring down like rain.

That’s when I promised Naminé. Now I remember.

“Naminé was really scared. She started crying. She said, ‘What if a falling star hits the islands?’ So I told her, ‘If any stars come this way, I’ll just hit ’em back into outer space!’” Sora grinned, telling the story, and swung the Keyblade at the sky. “I was swinging my toy sword around the whole time. And Naminé just smiled and said, ‘Thanks.’ Then she gave me this.”

The night of the meteor shower—Naminé crying and Naminé smiling. He could remember it so clearly.

“I heard, she arrived on the night of the meteor shower…”

The phrase came into his head, forming out of nowhere like a dewdrop.

She came…the meteor shower…

Whose words were they?

Right, he must have been telling someone else about what happened that night.

But who?

Riku.

That’s it. I remember I was talking to Riku about the meteor shower.

Who was she?

What happened that night?

She came to the islands on the night of the meteor shower.

That girl—Naminé.

But I made a promise to Naminé that night…

Something’s off… Am I remembering it wrong?

“That night, I observed a great meteor shower in the sky.”

He’d heard those words somewhere, too. No—he’d read them.

But where?

The memories spun round and round in Sora’s head. But they wouldn’t match up.

At the center of all these unconnected memories was Naminé. Her white dress, her long flaxen hair.

“I’m so sorry, Sora. All this, because of me…”

Naminé floated up in his mind, then, pale and luminescent. She was apologizing… And with just that, the frustrations and doubts in his heart were clearing away.

“Hey, Sora? What’s wrong?” said Donald.

“…I was just remembering Naminé. She said she had her good luck charm ever since she was a baby.” Sora tucked it back into his shirt.

“And she gave it to you? Aww…”

“Yeah. So I promised her… From now on, I’ll bring you good luck and keep you safe…”

I made a promise. But then I forgot all about Naminé.

I have to help her. I have to find her. I have to tell her…I’m sorry.

“Well, then, now’s your chance! You gotta keep your promise!” said Goofy, and Sora nodded emphatically.

The setting sun spread its color over the whole town.

“Kind of a strange town, huh…?” Donald waddled through the streets, unhurried.

“But it’s got Heartless…!” Having spotted some ahead, Sora raised his Keyblade. When they noticed the trio, they slowly crept closer, almost reluctantly. Their attacks were slow, too.

“Take this!” Sora lunged, and a Heartless disappeared with just a single blow from the Keyblade.

“Gawrsh, aren’t they awful weak?” said Goofy, cocking his head.

“It just means we got stronger!” Donald replied with a furious wave of his wand.

The Heartless were clustered here and there, but they all moved sluggishly and didn’t come for them with much force.

“Do we really need to get rid of ’em?” Goofy wondered, though he had his shield up just in case.

“Why wouldn’t we? Heartless are Heartless, right?” said Donald.

“But they’re pretty harmless. See, they don’t even try to attack us unless we get really close…” Goofy frowned. “Wait… Didn’t we come across some Heartless like this before? Heartless that don’t attack?”

“We did?” Donald couldn’t remember that at all.

Neither could Sora. Heartless that didn’t attack?

“Well, I’m not real sure… But I get the feeling we shouldn’t hurt ’em, if they’re not hurtin’ us.”

Sora didn’t understand any more of what Goofy was saying. Was it because he couldn’t remember? Or…

The sun never actually seemed to sink below the horizon in this town.

Feeling like he’d seen its colors somewhere before, Sora turned. The setting sun still illuminated the clock tower—unmoving. Its warm red light fell on them.

As if something had led them there, the trio found themselves standing in front of a big gate. Beyond it, they could see a mansion. Images floated half-formed in Sora’s head.

“Something…feels really strange,” he murmured.

Goofy turned to him anxiously. “What’s the matter?”

“I’m sure I don’t know this place, but…it’s starting to feel familiar to me.” Sora looked up at the gate.

He’d never seen it before—but he had. It was that sort of feeling.

Donald was walking ahead. He came back closer, staring at Sora. “You must’ve come here sometime before.”

“Like with Naminé,” Goofy added. “You forgot lots of other stuff, and that’s why you remember this place now.”

“No… It’s different,” said Sora. “With Naminé, my memories…sort of came drifting back to me, in little pieces. But not now. It’s not memories—just this feeling like it’s familiar somehow.”

That was all. Nostalgia. Which was a very strange feeling to have when there were no memories.

“Familiar, is it?”

“—Vexen!”

The tall sickly man was standing there with the setting sun at his back, narrowing his eyes at the trio. “Sora… I’ve got a question for you. Your memories of Naminé or your feeling about this place—which of the two is more real to you, I wonder?”

“Naminé, of course!” Sora blurted and took a fighting stance with the Keyblade. “Whatever it is that I’m feeling here, I bet it’s just another one of your mean little tricks!”

Vexen made a nasty chuckle. “Memory can be a cruel thing. In its silence, we forget, but in its obsession, it binds our hearts.”

Silence… Forget… Obsession?

My heart is bound? Sora thought furiously. What does he think he’s talking about?!

“I told you,” Vexen rambled on. “This place was created solely from another side of your memory. It’s on the other side of your heart that the memory of this place exists. Your heart remembers.”

The other side of my heart—other memories? He had no idea what Vexen was saying. “You’re wrong! I don’t know this place!”

However familiar it felt, the memory just wasn’t there.

“If you remain bound by the chain of memories and refuse to believe what is truly in your own heart…then you may as well throw it away. You are no Keyblade master—only a puppet controlled by memory. Exactly like my Riku. Your existence is worth nothing!”

“Your Riku? Worth nothing…?” Nothing this guy said made any sense, Sora thought. “That’s enough! You’re the one who changed Riku! I’m not gonna listen to you!”

“Oh? You think I changed Riku?” Vexen cackled.

“What’s so funny?!”

“Hm… Well, perhaps you could say I changed him. Still…the fact is, you feel this place is familiar to you. And so you cannot trust your own feelings—isn’t that right?” Vexen sounded perfectly calm, as if to highlight Sora’s angrily raised voice.

“Every word you’ve said is a lie!”

With the Keyblade ready, Sora leaped at him. But Vexen already had his shield up and deflected him once again.

“You’re no hero. Only a puppet who’s thrown away a hero’s heart.”

“I’d never throw away my heart!” Sora stood up again, pointing the Keyblade at him. “I’m gonna take you down and save Riku and Naminé. That’s what’s in my heart!”

Of course I haven’t thrown away my heart! he thought. That doesn’t even make any sense. Just because I’ve lost some memories doesn’t mean I’m losing my heart!

“You certainly are a foolish puppet. Now die!” Vexen shot clusters of ice from his hand.

“Fira!” From behind Sora, Donald sent his magic to fizzle out the ice and then stepped forward. “Better not forget about us!”

“’Cos we wanna help Riku and Naminé, too! And the king!” said Goofy and gave a healing potion to Sora, who wasn’t totally unscathed.

“The king’s loyal servants… Don’t make me laugh. Are you all talk, or are you actually going to fight?”

“Donald!” cried Sora and threw the Keyblade at Vexen.

“Firaga!” Donald’s magic set the Keyblade aflame.

“Ha! You think that move will work on me again?!” Vexen jumped up high into the air to bring the bladed edge of his shield down on them.

“Whoa!” Goofy tried to block him but went flying.

“Too warm here, don’t you think?” Vexen sent a blast of ice to freeze Goofy on the spot.

“Waaak! Fire!” Donald frantically worked to melt the ice surrounding him.

“Hmph. How about this?!”

Chunks of ice flew one after another at Sora, but he jumped to dodge them and landed behind Vexen, who made a frustrated snarl. Sora swung the Keyblade and Vexen immediately fell to one knee.

“…To think you have such strength, even at the mercy of your memory—your existence is a hazard indeed!”

“None of that matters! Just make Riku go back!” Sora shouted, keeping the Keyblade pointed at him.

“Just make him go back? You really have no idea what you’re saying. The Riku you speak of has but one fate—to sink into the darkness. And you, Sora, will share that fate! If you continue to seek Naminé, the shackles will tighten, you will lose your heart…and become no more than Marluxia’s pawn!”

“Marluxia?! What’s Naminé got to do with—” Sora didn’t get to finish the question. A dazzling light blinded them.

He heard Vexen grunt, and then in the next moment, he saw him sprawled on the ground. “Vexen?!”

“Yo, Sora. Did I catch you at a bad time?”

That was Axel’s voice…

“Ngh… Axel, why…?” Vexen choked out, digging his nails into the dirt as he tried to get up.

“I came to stop you from talking too much…by eliminating your existence, that is.” Axel smirked and took a step closer to him.

“No… Don’t do it…”

“We’re Nobodies. We have no one to be—we just are. But now you don’t have to be at all. No more existence, no more memories. You’re off the hook.”

Axel didn’t seem to be paying attention to Sora and the others. He only looked at Vexen.

“No one to be?” What could that even mean…?

“Don’t… No, please don’t…! I don’t want to—”

“Bye, now.” Axel shot a bright light from his hand again.

Vexen’s scream echoed through the strange landscape—and then he was gone, not a trace remaining.

“What are you— What are you people?!” Sora demanded.

“Hm. Not sure. I wonder about that myself.” With that, Axel stepped into thin air and vanished.

“Axel?!”

The only reply was the distant rumble of a train.

This familiar feeling… These lost memories.

And those times with Naminé coming back to him.

How much was right, and how much was wrong? How much had he forgotten…?

Sora stood dazed in the twilight.

Axel walked through the long corridors of the castle. Normally, he wouldn’t bother walking places like this. But he needed time to himself.

I don’t have a single friend in this place. All these people on my side—and his and the organization’s… But I don’t know if I can say that we’re really on the same side.

I’m alone here.

He’s nobody—no one at all—and yet he is somebody.

Shards of emotion, fragments of memory. So alike…but they’re completely different things.

Even if we can hold on to a few fragments of memory, we can’t have the smallest shard of emotion.

Nostalgia… And memory.

We are the ones who lost their hearts—the ones who are no one. Nobodies.

Not light nor darkness—we live in the twilight.

Axel stopped outside the crystal ball room and took a deep breath.

Why are we here? What are we doing?

No—why am I here?

Still asking himself that question, he opened the door.

“Nice work, Axel. I say good riddance to that blabbermouth!” Larxene grinned at him.

He ignored her and went to the other man in the room. “Marluxia… You sent Vexen to test Sora’s strength, didn’t you?”

Marluxia didn’t answer.

“Not just Sora’s,” said Larxene. “Yours, too.”

Axel raised one eyebrow.

“We weren’t sure if you actually had it in you to take out a fellow member,” she went on, sounding as though she found it hilarious. “Well, I guess you did! It’s time to join up. With the three of us, taking over the organization will be a cinch!”

“Oh, so that’s where Sora comes in,” Axel grumbled.

“Of course! He wants to see Naminé, so why don’t we just let him have what he wants?”

At that, a cruel smile came to Marluxia’s face. He strode to the corner of the room, where a girl sat in a small chair, holding tightly to a sketchbook.

“Rejoice, Naminé. Soon you’ll meet the hero you’ve been longing for.”

Naminé’s shoulders tensed when he said her name. She didn’t look up when she spoke, her voice tiny and faint. “I’m…glad.”

“But we’re warning you,” Larxene said brightly from behind Marluxia. “You’d better not do anything to betray Sora’s feelings. Understand, little one?”

“…I understand.”

“All you need to do is merge the layers of Sora’s memories and bring his heart closer to you,” Marluxia told her.

Then he glanced sidelong at Larxene, and the two of them vanished.

“Naminé…,” he said softly, but she didn’t stir.

Sora…

Even if you come for me, what then…?

What should I do?