Chapter 4

Twilight Town

IN THE DISTANCE, THE TWO BELLS ON THE FAMOUS station clocktower were ringing to let the townsfolk know the exact time. This was Twilight Town, the place where Sora had once awoken from a long sleep, where Roxas’s long sleep had begun—and where a trio in black coats had eaten some sea-salt ice cream.

Sora and his friends walked down the hill from the station to the plaza.

“Gawrsh, we forgot to fill Master Yen Sid in on what happened. Should we go back?” Goofy folded his arms.

“Typical Sora,” complained Donald, while Sora crossed his own arms in thought.

“Hmm…” His two friends were referring to the run-in with Maleficent and Xigbar in Olympus. “No, the others have already got enough on their plates as it is. Why go stressing them out? The three of us know how to handle a couple of old adversaries, right?”

“Yeah, I guess…,” Donald agreed as they walked down the avenue, bathed in the light of the setting sun.

Goofy wasn’t convinced. “But doesn’t that thing Pete said bother ya?”

“The black box?” asked Donald. Maleficent and Pete had been searching for something.

“Come on, we’re talking about Pete. That means it’s probably no big deal.”

“I don’t know…” Goofy didn’t seem ready to let the matter go, but then a tram whizzed by just as they reached the bottom of the hill.

“Oh, cool! The trams are still here.”

Sora took off running after it, much to Donald’s displeasure.

“Sora, it hasn’t been that long.”

“Feels like it,” Sora said uncertainly. To him, it really did feel like long ago. Long, long ago—and yet not long ago at all.

Then Goofy said, “Maybe you’re feelin’ what Roxas feels because he misses home.”

Oh yeah. This feeling might belong to the Roxas in my heart.

“Actually, I ran into Roxas in the Sleeping Worlds,” Sora replied.

“But it really has to be you.”

He remembered what Roxas had said to him.

“It was like…seeing into his heart for the first time.”

Sora had felt so many emotions from the Roxas in his heart—so much regret.

Donald and Goofy had some memories of him, themselves.

“And he was in the datascape, too.”

“Uh-huh. It was a test to see if your data version was ready to face the hurt that you carry inside.”

“Was I ready? I do know hurt,” Sora asked as he slowly opened his hands and stared at his palms. “When I lost Riku and Kairi, and later when I lost the Keyblade, and you guys had to go on without me like that… Having no one to turn to was the worst kind of hurt. But that just shows how much you mean to me. Carrying around a little hurt can’t be all that bad. Hurting is part of caring.”

Sora gazed at his two friends, while Donald and Goofy shared a look.

“He sounds like Data-Sora.”

“Of course. Any Sora’s still Sora.”

The two of them smiled.

“So wait… If Roxas feels something, then we’re in the right place. Roxas, I’m gonna find you!” Sora exclaimed, renewing his promise.

But then…

Do you seek our liege?

Sora heard a strange voice, and he gasped and spun around.

“Nobodies!”

He got his Keyblade ready to fight the white creatures weaving toward him, and the battle that followed was quick.

Was that voice…really a voice at all? It was more like someone talking to me in my mind.

“Sora! This is no time for daydreaming!” Donald quacked angrily as he fired off spells.

“Sorry!”

“Be careful, Sora.”

Goofy knocked Nobodies away with his shield. Sora nodded, then ran over to the last one and struck it with his Keyblade.

It’s still bothering me, though… “Hmm… What was that voice? I know I heard it.” The fight may have been over, but Sora was still puzzled.

Donald and Goofy glanced at each other.

“I didn’t hear it.”

“You sure it wasn’t the wind? Or somethin’ else?”

Sora lapsed into thought. “I’m pretty sure…”

Suddenly, they heard more voices, and these were definitely real.

“Where’d they come from?!”

“Get the ice cream later!”

“What? Hold up!”

Sora raised his head— He knew these guys! “See? Voices!” he said while his two friends just looked at him with concern. He quickly realized these voices weren’t the same, though, and turned around. “…New ones?”

Hayner, Pence, and Olette were running toward them with a pack of Heartless hot on their heels.

“Heeey! Sora! Hello, good-bye,” Hayner shouted as he and the other two ran past the trio.

Sora planted himself in the path of the Heartless and yelled back, “Go! We got this.”

Donald and Goofy prepared for battle, too. Nobodies, and now Heartless?

The horde of Shadows congealed into a black current that hurled itself at the three of them. Sora blocked the attack with his Keyblade, but the force almost knocked him over. The Heartless used this opportunity to turn sharply in another direction, but Donald had a spell waiting for them. When the swarm was stunned, Sora and Goofy charged in and scattered it. After a few rounds of this, the Heartless were dealt with for good.

“Nice fightin’! Thanks, Sora,” said Hayner. His two friends were with him, too.

“Hayner, Pence, Olette,” Sora called. “It’s been ages!”

“What? It hasn’t been that long.” Hayner shrugged.

Donald looked up at Sora. “Ya see?”

Really? It really feels like it’s been forever, though, thought Sora.

“Donald! Goofy! How are ya?” Olette said with a smile.

“We’re good,” Donald replied

“Howdy there, Olette.”

Pence jumped in the mix with excitement. “So does this mean weird stuff’s going down again?”

“You kidding, Pence? When have we ever seen a tornado of shadowy blobs before? It’s not weird. This is underprecedented!” Hayner claimed, also worked up.

“Hmm, I guess it is. The creatures from the last time were bright white. These things must be new. Man, I can’t wait to get to sleuthin’.” Pence’s interest was definitely piqued.

The “shadowy blobs” were probably the Heartless, while the “bright white” things would be the Nobodies.

“We’re already done with the school project, silly,” Olette chided, then turned to look at Sora and his friends. “Whatever’s going on, you wouldn’t be here without a good reason. Which is?”

“Well, actually, we’re looking for Roxas,” Sora replied.

“Roxas?” Olette repeated.

Hayner paused to think for a moment. “That’s funny… I don’t know any Roxas, but the name sounds familiar.”

“Maybe we bumped into him somewhere,” Pence offered.

“Uh…that’s one way to put it.”

As Donald considered how to fill them in, Goofy began rummaging in his pocket and pulled out a photo. “Actually, he mighta been friends with another version of ya.” He held it out to them, showing Hayner, Pence, Olette, and Roxas in front of a haunted mansion.

“This photograph…,” Olette whispered.

“Yeah,” Pence added. “We’ve got the same one.”

The photo he pulled out was identical—except for the fact that Roxas wasn’t in it.

That was enough for Hayner to put two and two together. “Oh yeah! The other Twilight Town!”

Hayner and his friends had helped Sora and Mickey get to another version of Twilight Town using the computer in the old mansion—a datascape where Roxas could be put to sleep.

Pence had hit upon the same idea. “It’s like one of those ‘spot the difference’ puzzles…except really easy. I guess in that town, we’re friends with this ‘Roxas’ person.”

“Sora, let us help you track Roxas down,” Hayner offered while Pence and Olette nodded in agreement. “He seems like a pretty cool guy,” he added with a grin, looking at the photo.

“Yeah. He is,” Sora agreed happily.

“Great. Then let’s all go ask around town. If alternate-us knew Roxas, then maybe alternate-other folks did, too,” Pence suggested to Hayner and Olette.

“Mm-hmm. Sora, you three should go to that place in the photo. It’s the old mansion. The three of us’ll cover places in town,” Olette said.

“Thanks,” Sora replied with a smile. “Oh yeah!” Remembering something else, he dug around in his pocket. “I got this phone thingy that takes pictures. Want to snap a photo while we’re all here?”

Sora pulled out the Gummiphone.

Goofy took the picture, which was ultimately a somewhat silly one of Sora, Hayner, Pence, and Olette with a very grumpy Donald in the middle. Sora still thought that it would make a nice way to remember their visit, though.

“Okay, we’d better start asking around,” said Hayner. “You start by checking out the old mansion. We’ll catch up.”

“Got it,” Sora answered. With that, the trio set off for the mansion.

The old mansion lay beyond an underground conduit found on the outskirts of town—and there were Heartless everywhere. Sora and his friends fought their way through, then stepped out into the woods.

“Things are a bit different than last time.”

“Really?”

Sora had awoken in this town, but even setting out on his journey afterward, he’d been filled with nostalgia. A while later, he had come back to find the other Twilight Town with the help of Hayner, Pence, and Olette.

Everything about the place reminded Sora of Roxas.

It’s all so familiar—and I don’t think it’s just because Roxas was in the other Twilight Town. I think he was in this version, too. Maybe.

“Huh?”

Goofy stopped in front of a bunch of fruit scattered on the ground and picked up one of the pieces.

“What’s that?” Sora grabbed one, too.

“Ack!”

“Heartless!”

Goofy brought his shield into position, but the creatures scurried back to the trees. They were chasing someone else.

“What do you think they’re up to?”

A closer look revealed that the Heartless had trapped a small gray rat.

“Oh no!”

“Let’s help!”

“Yeah!”

The trio went after the Heartless, weapons at the ready. These little guys were extremely agile in the trees, which made them a real headache—but they were still no match for the heroes.

Once the Heartless were gone, the rat came scampering down from his perch and bowed.

“Well, take care,” Sora said, and he had just begun to walk away when his body started acting of its own accord.

“Wh-what is—”

“Are you okay?” Donald watched him curiously.

Goofy noticed the rat from earlier was on top of Sora, pulling his hair. “Lookie! That little feller’s parked on your head.”

“Huuuh?”

The rodent yanked Sora’s hair again to make him scoop up a piece of fruit.

“Ya know, he probably wants you to pick up the fruit for him,” said Goofy, and the rat nodded from his perch on Sora’s head.

“Okay, that’s fine,” Sora grumbled. “But I can do it by myself.” The rat finally scurried off him.

There were oranges, apples, and plenty of other tasty-smelling fruit there. Once Sora, Donald, and Goofy had gathered it all, the rat bobbed his head happily.

“So, what’re you gonna do with all this anyway?” Sora asked.

The rat started pantomiming something with his paws, but Sora couldn’t make heads or tails of what it meant. Donald and Goofy shared a puzzled look, too.

The little guy seemed disappointed that they didn’t understand.

“Well, okay. You be careful going home,” Sora said, then went on his way. Now they could finally head for the old mansion.

“Bye-bye!”

“See ya ’round!”

The rat watched them go, then turned back to his mound of fruit.

Meanwhile, Sora, Donald, and Goofy had finally arrived at the mansion. The gate wasn’t locked.

As he looked up, Sora thought he saw one of the curtains move.

Who is it? Who’s up there in that room? I can’t remember.

“Whaddaya think, guys? This place is even creepier than I remember,” he commented.

Goofy agreed. “Well, they do say that this mansion is haunted.”

Just then, a hand clapped down on Sora’s shoulder.

“Hey there!”

“Ahh!”

“Wak!”

“Yaaa-hoo-hoo-hooey!”

Sora, Donald, and Goofy all screamed in unison.

The hand belonged to Hayner, as it turned out.

“Thanks for the heart attack!” Sora shouted.

“Oh, what? Did I scare you?” Hayner teased.

Donald bristled at the very idea. “Not a chance!”

Once Olette had smoothed things over a bit, Sora and his friends asked how Hayner’s investigation had gone. Unfortunately, they hadn’t been able to find anyone who knew Roxas. The old mansion was the only lead they had left, so here they were.

“You guys ready?” Olette asked.

“Another Twilight Town awaits!” Pence declared.

Sora looked up at the mansion and nodded.

Inside, the place was as dusty as ever. They went up the steps and to the right to the room at the end of the hall. Sure enough, the steps to the underground computer room were still there.

Pence dashed over to the computer and sat down in front of it. As usual, nothing on the monitor made any sense whatsoever to Sora, but he could at least tell the thing worked. Pence had been in charge of all the techy stuff last time anyway.

“The password was…uh, ‘sea-salt ice cream,’ right?” Pence muttered to himself as he entered the code. “Okay, I’m in. Let’s get the transporter working…”

Fortune wasn’t on their side, however, as the text on the monitor flashed red and an error alert sounded. Pence tried several times with no luck.

“Oh man. The transporter’s been protected.”

“Protected from what?” Sora looked at Pence’s hands.

“I guess from us? We can’t use it to get to the other Twilight Town?”

“Why not? It worked before! We sent Sora there!” Hayner pressed.

“And there’s no other way?” Olette asked dejectedly.

What if we never find a way to get to Roxas? Sora looked up sadly at the indecipherable text displayed on the monitor.

Suddenly, the Gummiphone in his pocket started ringing with an incoming call. He punched the green button again, and there was Ienzo.

“Hello, Sora,” said Ienzo. “You wouldn’t happen to be in front of a computer?”

“Huh? Well…yeah. But, how’d you know that?” he asked.

“I was tinkering with Ansem’s computer—you know, to decrypt the code that was left in it? And I noticed that someone had logged in from another terminal. I figured it might be you.”

“Oh! Yeah, the log terminal.” Sora figured it was better to just say yes to whatever Ienzo was saying.

“You don’t know what he said,” Donald cut in.

Sora leaned in close to him. “Oh, and what, you do?” he shot back.

“I know I haven’t got a clue,” Goofy joked amiably from off to one side.

Ienzo realized this was going nowhere and chuckled. “Then, uhhh…who was it that logged in?” he asked.

“Oh, hi there. This is Pence,” Pence called as Sora turned the Gummiphone toward him. “I’m the one who logged into the computer.”

“Good. As long as it’s a user that we know we can trust.”

Ienzo sounded relieved to finally have a grasp on the situation, especially since Sora and his usual crew weren’t exactly up to the task.

“Yup. But, I’m kind of stuck here. One of the programs is protected, so…I can’t run it.”

“Which program?”

Hayner jumped into the conversation. “The transporter to the other Twilight Town! It’s the only way to find Roxas. You gotta help us.”

“Another Twilight Town? And a ‘transporter’? Okay… A virtual town inside the computer, made of data.”

Jiminy hurriedly poked his head over Sora’s shoulder. “A datascape!” he exclaimed. “Fellas…”

“Mm-hmm, we’ve seen one. That’s what we used once to investigate Jiminy’s journal,” Goofy replied with a nod.

While Sora hadn’t actually gone into the datascape, he had been told about the other version of himself and his adventure with Donald and Goofy.

“Maybe I can do something. Pence, let’s get a network set up. My address here is…”

Pence started typing as Ienzo gave instructions through the Gummiphone. Sora’s eyes glazed over as he watched him do…whatever it was he was doing.

“Okay, sharing is enabled.”

The words snapped him to attention just as boredom was seriously setting in.

“Huh? Were you able to fix it?”

“Now that our two computers have been successfully networked together, I can take control of the terminal there and change the privileges…”

But Sora only had one thing at the forefront of his mind. “And Roxas?”

“Yes. For the virtual world to be completely realized, Ansem the Wise would’ve included Roxas’s full data in the reconstruction. Meaning, somewhere on your machine there’s a log of that data that—” Ienzo stopped and shrugged. “Uhh… Basically we can decipher Ansem’s Code more quickly, and we can analyze the virtual Twilight Town while we’re at it.”

“Okay. Great! I can’t computer, so…do that!”

Ienzo smiled at Sora’s enthusiasm. “Glad you’re following along. Don’t worry, we’ll handle it. Chip and Dale will be helping me out here on this end. I’ll call you back as soon as we know anything more,” he said, ending the conversation.

“Thanks.”

Ienzo was just about to hang up when he remembered one last thing. “Oh, before I forget—a bit of troubling news. It’s about one of the Organization’s former members. You knew him as Vexen—but to us he was Ansem’s apprentice Even.”

Vexen… Doesn’t ring a bell. Maybe he was one of the Organization members I never met?

“He was recompleted like the rest of us, but hadn’t regained consciousness yet. Then, sometime after Lea left, Even vanished. Aeleus and Dilan—the two you knew as Lexaeus and Xaldin—they went out looking for him, but…he’s just gone. And I’m starting to worry.”

“You think he’s on their side?” Sora asked. Now he was getting a bad feeling about this.

“I think it’s a real possibility. He’s a devious researcher. You should be careful.”

“All right. Thanks,” Sora replied, ending the call.

“Oh no! We got work! I totally forgot,” Hayner exclaimed in a sudden panic, whirling around to leave.

“Really? But what about all this?” asked Pence, flustered.

“Hey, both are important. We’re gonna need some cash to go to the beach. Also, don’t forget the pretzels. Gotta buy four now.”

Pence tilted his head for a moment when Hayner said “four,” but he soon figured it out. “Ohh. I get it.”

The fourth pretzel had to be for Roxas.

“He’s thinking ahead.” Olette smiled at Pence.

“Okay, and since I’m manning the computer here, you guys’re in charge of earning my share.”

“No pretzel for Pence.”

“Hey!”

Sora and the others burst out laughing at the easy banter among the other trio.

“So can we leave you in charge of things here?” Sora asked.

“Sure, no problem!” Pence replied energetically, and then Sora, Donald, and Goofy left the computer room, too.

“Computers really are something,” Sora muttered.

“Yeah, we don’t know the first thing about ’em,” Goofy agreed.

“Good thing we have Pence here to help out!”

“Yeah,” said Donald as the three of them walked outside.

It’s so bright. How did it feel the last time we left this place?

Sora, Donald, and Goofy approached the gates.

“So, you think you can bring Roxas back?” a voice called to them from behind.

And the voice belonged to none other than—

“Ansem!”

Ansem was leaning against one of the gate posts, watching them. A Corridor of Darkness opened next to him, and someone else stepped out.

“Xemnas!”

“Roxas should never have existed in the first place. What you seek is impossible.” Xemnas was being cryptic, but there was no denying his malicious intent.

“Roxas does exist,” Sora protested. “His heart’s inside my heart.” Roxas will never disappear. Not as long as he’s a part of me.

“And in the unlikely event you did manage to separate the two,” Xemnas replied, “where is it you think you can put his heart?”

“Well… Roxas used to live in the other Twilight Town, right? So, I’m just gonna put him back there.”

“Do you even realize what you are saying? The other Twilight Town is just data,” Ansem interjected.

“A heart can live anywhere. Even inside data. There are hearts all around us,” Sora declared with an angry look at them

“Ansem and Xemnas used to be part of the same person, right?” Goofy mused. “But look. Now they exist separately just fine. If they can do it, I don’t see any reason why you and Roxas can’t find a way.”

“Oh…yeah!” Sora struck a triumphant pose.

Donald couldn’t resist cheering, either. “Yeah! You tell ’em, Captain Goofy!”

Sora and Donald went back to glaring at Xemnas and Ansem.

“In that case, by all means,” said Ansem.

“Nothing would please us more than Roxas’s return, of course,” Xemnas continued.

“You wish. He’ll never answer to you again.”

They could think whatever they wanted. Roxas was no longer a pawn in their little games, Sora was sure—not while Roxas had friends now. Not while he had bonds.

Unfazed, Xemnas pointed at Sora. “Still so blind. A Nobody is what’s left behind when one gives his heart to darkness. There is only way to bring Roxas back, which is for you to give your heart up as well. Sora, have you finally decided to call upon the darkness?” he asked.

“What?” Sora bit his lip, unable to find a reply.

Is he right? Can I not bring Roxas back without giving my heart to the darkness? It’s just— There has to be some other way.

“Go on, then. The shadows are never out of reach,” Ansem sneered, just as Heartless arrived on all sides of Sora. Meanwhile, Xemnas summoned Nobodies with a slight wave of his arm.

“Now, set your heart free,” the two villains said in unison, taking their leave through a Corridor of Darkness.

“Wait!” Sora started to go after them, but Goofy shouted his name.

“Sora!”

His two friends were surrounded by Heartless and Nobodies. Sora stopped and got his Keyblade ready for action.

“It’s not darkness. Not if it helps him!”

Sora charged into yet another battle, but his thoughts were racing as he swung his Keyblade. I don’t need the power of darkness to fight, and I know I can restore Roxas without it, too. Him and Naminé. I don’t need to worry about a vessel for their hearts.

The most important thing is—

Sora took a heavy breath, dismissing the Keyblade now that the fight was over.

“Herc said… He said, ‘With all my heart,’” Sora said softly. Hercules had mentioned a desire to help someone. “Okay. Then all my heart it is. I’m getting Roxas out.” He turned to his friends. “Are you with me, Donald? Goofy?”

“You betcha!” the two said with a grin.

“I don’t know what Ansem and Xemnas want, but I think we’d better tell the others to watch out.”

The mansion was an important place now, and there was no telling what kind of trouble it could invite on the town. The three friends headed back toward the more populated area just to be safe.

As Sora, Donald, and Goofy returned to the tram common, they were greeted by a familiar voice.

“Well, bless my bagpipes! It was you laddies who rescued my chef.”

“Wak! It’s Uncle Scrooge!” Donald quacked as he realized who the speaker was. It was indeed Scrooge McDuck, wearing his usual top hat and carrying his usual cane, along with a white box.

“Wait… Didn’t he sell ice cream in Hollow Bastion?” asked a puzzled Sora.

“That’s right,” Goofy replied. “But Uncle Scrooge here’s what you might call a world traveler.”

“How are ya, Uncle Scrooge?” Sora said as he ran over to the old duck.

“Oh! Hello, Sora! You’re lookin’ hale and hearty. I heard ye were on another grand adventure with these two. I hope Donald isn’t making a menace of himself.”

“Why did you have to say that?”

Scrooge was about to embarrass him further by pressing the issue, but fortunately, Goofy intervened. “So, Uncle Scrooge, what’s that you were sayin’ about a chef?”

“Och! Right, right. The chef of me bistro here wanted to show ye his appreciation, so he baked this for ye.” Scrooge held out the white box in his hands, and Sora opened it.

“Wow, cake!” Inside was a some sort of pastry smothered in fruit. “The whole cake? It’s for us?” Sora asked, but Scrooge was looking up.

“Aye, settle down… The chef wants ye to know it’s not a cake, but a tarte aux fruits.” Scrooge removed his hat to reveal the small rat from earlier sitting on his head. “Why keep it under my hat? May I introduce…Little Chef.”

The rat hopped down onto the top of the hat.

“Uncle Scrooge, you opened a bistro in Twilight Town?” Donald asked.

“Aye. It all started a little while ago, when I was enjoying one of the best meals of my life. And when I asked to meet the chef, I met this wee genius,” Scrooge explained. The rat in question—Remy—puffed his chest out proudly. “As it turns out, he wanted to expand his culinary horizons. So, I thought: That’s an opportunity. And I financed the whole operation.”

Who would’ve thought a tiny rodent could cook? The fruit tart looked delicious; maybe they could eat it when they needed a little extra energy.

“Hey! Guys!”

“Hayner! Olette!”

Their two friends from Twilight Town came running up to join them.

“Hey, boss. Done with the posters,” Hayner reported to Scrooge. Apparently, their part-time job was putting up ads around town.

Olette showed Sora, Donald, and Goofy one of the posters. “Mr. McDuck’s hosting an open-air film festival in the courtyard. Cool, huh?”

Sora had no idea they did things like that here in town. Leave it to Scrooge to find a business opportunity anywhere.

“Provide a bit of entertainment, and then give folks a nice, cozy place to relax. Like me bistro here. They’ll all be happy, an’ hungry, an’ ready to spend their money,” Scrooge said with an avaricious grin.

“Gawrsh, he sure is canny. I always wondered how he keeps customers comin’ into his businesses over and over.”

“Oh yeah, I’m no business guy, but I sure wouldn’t wanna be one of Uncle Scrooge’s competitors.”

They all shared a chuckle at Goofy’s and Sora’s open admiration, but then Sora turned serious again. “Oh! Right. I need to warn you guys.”

“Why?” Hayner asked meekly.

“Well, those creepy-crawly things might come back for more, so stay on your toes.”

“Sure, but don’t we have you guys to take care of ’em for us?”

Hayner was laughing, but Olette seemed worried.

“You have to leave again?”

“Yeah,” Sora said with a nod. We have to go—but we’ll be back. “Sorry. Just do me a favor…”

“Well, what is it? Don’t make it too tough,” Hayner warned him with a shrug.

“I know how Roxas feels. To be lost. But Donald and Goofy…Kairi…brought me back by wishing with all their hearts. So…I was hoping the three of you would do the same and wish for Roxas.”

“What? That’s it? That’s no favor. We’ll all wish. I’m wishin’.”

Hayner grinned, and Olette bobbed her head.

“Yeah! Me and Pence, too.”

“Thanks,” Sora said with a soft smile.

That’s right. If you want to wish someone back, one person isn’t enough. You need everyone to want it with everything they have.

I’m sure we can bring Roxas back.

Positive.

Meanwhile—two shadowy figures were coldly observing Sora and his friends with hardened stares from the roof of a building overlooking the bistro: Ansem and Xemnas. Shortly after, Xigbar emerged from a Corridor of Darkness behind them.

“Aren’t you making it a little too obvious?” he said.

“We were instructed to guide him,” Xemnas replied.

“Yes… Just look at them,” Ansem agreed, still watching the scene. “They wouldn’t get far if we did not spell it out.”

“Fair enough. But let’s not forget how many times Sora still managed to rain on our parade.”

Xigbar still had his doubts; they couldn’t be too careful.

Ansem’s mouth twisted into a smirk. “If he wavers from the path we lay, we destroy him.”

“But in that case…we’ll have to find ourselves another vessel.” Xigbar barked a laugh. Another vessel…, he says, as if it’s nothing. Just one piece of their grand, far-reaching plan.

“That is why we never have just one iron in the fire,” Xemnas replied matter-of-factly.

The three of them returned to watching the smiling group down below.

INTERMISSION

Letter

I’m sorry I left without saying good-bye. Did Master Yen Sid tell you? I’m training to become a Keyblade wielder like you. That’s right. No more waiting for you to come back from your adventures. I want to get out there and do my part to help.

Merlin has used his magic to bring us to a place where time doesn’t matter. We can take as long as we need to complete our training. He’s an amazing wizard. Oh, and by “us,” I mean me and Lea. He’s really sorry for all the trouble he caused. I told him it’s fine, but he won’t stop apologizing. I’ll admit I was a little scared of him at first, but I’ve gotten to know him better. All he ever wanted was to help his friend. Honestly, it’s hard not to like him.

Every now and then, I catch him staring at me. When I ask what’s wrong, he says, “I’m not sure. I think I’m forgetting something. Don’t know what.” Sora, I think it may have something to do with you. Your journey is all about helping people: some that you’ve never met before, and some like Lea that you have. They’re all counting on you. It won’t be easy, but I hope you’ll remain the happy and cheerful Sora that I know. There’s no heart your smile can’t reach.

Kairi was writing a letter to Sora.

She always came to the hill here to watch the sun set after she finished training for the day. Sometimes Axel—Lea—joined her, and sometimes he didn’t. Today, she sensed someone coming behind her, and she turned around. “What’s wrong?”

Lea looked a little out of it and scratched his head. “Nothin’, sorry.”

“Lea… You’re doing it again.”

He was always saying he was sorry; by now it was almost habit. She’d told him he didn’t need to so many times, but he kept doing it. The thought had crossed her mind that he was apologizing for more than just what he’d done to her as Axel in the past. Sometimes—I wonder if some of those apologies aren’t meant for someone else.

“Ack, sorry.”

Kairi couldn’t help but smile, even as he did it again.

Lea sat down on a stone a short ways away from her as she went back to writing. “A letter?” he asked.

“Yup.”

“To Sora?”

“Mmm, technically yes. But I won’t send it. It’s more for me.”

A letter she didn’t plan to send— This wasn’t the first. She hadn’t really expected him to get that other letter, either. Thinking of you, wherever you are…

“Ask Merlin. He’ll deliver it for you.”

“Yeah, but it’s okay. I just like talking to Sora, even if it’s on paper.”

“Okay,” Lea said, observing Kairi’s face the entire time. He always did that. Lea didn’t seem like the type of person to stare at others, but when they were together, he couldn’t take his eyes off her for some reason. Somehow, Kairi knew he needed to—that it was part of helping him recover an important memory.

“Oh.” Lea gasped before pulling out two sticks of blue ice cream. Sea-salt ice cream, to be exact. He offered one to Kairi. “Here.”

“Ice cream? Really?”

“Yeah, I asked Merlin to pick these up. Ya know, we both did summon Keyblades. Gotta celebrate.”

“You’re sweet, Lea.”

He had gone back to staring at Kairi once she started eating her ice cream, only this time he seemed a little happier.

“What?” she asked him, puzzled.

Lea averted his eyes awkwardly. “N-nothing, I just…”

“You’re trying to remember what you forgot?”

“Well, I, uh… Yeah… Yeah.”

Flustered, he turned back toward the sunset, perhaps recalling something. Something deeply meaningful to him.

“So, tomorrow—you and me in the ring. You ready?” Kairi asked, waving her stick of sea-salt ice cream around like a Keyblade, but Lea still had his eyes on the sun. There was no telling what was on his mind.

There was a hint of melancholy in his voice when he answered. “’Course.”

“Don’t hold back, Lea. Promise?” Kairi said. She had no doubt that Lea—Axel—was the better fighter between them.

Lea spun toward her and froze, eyes wide. The sea-salt ice cream slipped from his hand, and then silent tears suddenly spilled down his cheeks.

“Huh? Are you okay? Lea!”

Startled, Kairi hurried over to him. She had never seen a man older than her cry like this before. Not this hard, certainly.

“Yeah… Sorry…”

“You’re crying. What’s wrong?”

Lea wiped his eyes and got to his feet, the barest trace of a bashful smile on his lips. “Something in my eyes.”

“Lea…”

He shrugged. “I’m…gonna go. Sorry.”

“’Kay, but stop apologizing.”

Lea had already started to leave, but he stopped and looked back at Kairi. “Fine… On one condition.”

“What?”

He smiled, a little bigger this time, and pointed a finger at his temple. “Call me Axel from now on. Got it memorized?”

“Yeah. Okay, Axel,” Kairi replied with a grin. Axel it was, then.

At Kairi’s feet, the fallen bar of sea-salt ice cream was resting among the four-leaf clovers at Kairi’s feet.

INTERMISSION

Radiant Garden

MEANWHILE, IN RADIANT GARDEN, DILAN LED RIKU and Mickey into the courtyard where they had apparently discovered Terra-Xehanort.

“So, this is where Aqua fell into the realm of darkness after she dove in to save Terra?” Riku asked Mickey, taking in the sights around them.

“Yeah, she said he was acting strange.”

“Strange how, exactly?”

“She sensed darkness in him, and they ended up getting into a big fight.”

That was food for thought. “Around the same time, the guards found a stranger with white hair lying unconscious here in the square—a man calling himself ‘Xehanort,’” Riku mused. “All three of them had been here together, but he was the only one who remained…”

Mickey continued the story, perhaps trying to organize his own thoughts. “Ansem the Wise took the stranger in, but that was a mistake. Xehanort betrayed his master, stole his research, and along with his fellow apprentices, separated his heart from his body.”

At the end of their first adventure, Sora had ultimately defeated a man who went by the name Ansem. However, he was actually Xehanort, an apprentice of the true Ansem the Wise who had taken his name. Sora had bested the impostor back then, but as fate would have it, that wasn’t where it ended.

“Xehanort’s heart took his master’s name, ‘Ansem,’ and traveled to the past to give his younger self instructions. He even briefly had control of you.” Mickey was referring to the mysterious man in the brown robe who Riku had encountered just prior to his first adventure, before Xehanort had been defeated. “His empty body stayed in the present, took the name Xemnas, and founded Organization XIII. Their goal was to prepare thirteen vessels for Xehanort’s heart. Until we put an end to the Organization. But all the while, young Xehanort had been visiting the future to choose thirteen vessels of his own—hearts with strong enough ties to him to make a new Organization—the real Organization XIII.”

During Riku and Sora’s second quest, the Organization had tried and failed to gather those thirteen vessels. Their final opponent then had been Xemnas—Xehanort’s Nobody, the empty husk left after his heart fell to darkness.

“And now they’re looking for a fight with us. But what happened to Terra? I thought you said that Aqua saved him.” Riku mulled over the facts they had so far. Is this where Terra vanished…? Something didn’t fit.

“Yep, she did. The problem is we didn’t notice.” Mickey had noticed the problem, too, but he was starting to put the pieces together. “You remember the end of the Mark of Mastery exam, when Master Xehanort made his grand return? That’s the Xehanort I remember. He was already a pretty old man then.”

Oh, I remember. The bald old man— He was creepy.

“But how do you explain Ansem and Xemnas, his Heartless and Nobody? Isn’t it strange how young they look? Why aren’t they old men? It’s because Xehanort was using a different body when the split happened. That face from the portrait I mentioned—it wasn’t just some stranger Ansem the Wise took under his wing. It was the young man whose body Xehanort had possessed.”

Riku realized what Mickey was trying to say. “No way! That was Terra? Master Xehanort was using Terra?”

Mickey started speaking faster as everything fell into place. “Yep. Master Xehanort told us ‘another on our list’ belonged to him. He was talking about Terra. Turns out, Aqua saved more than just her friend that day.”

If he was right about all this, then that would explain everything—except for one unanswered question.

“Okay, but Master Xehanort is an old man again now. Where did Terra’s body go?”

“Hmm… It’s ’cause Master Xehanort’s collecting vessels! He claimed to have two of our seven lights.”

Master Xehanort had indeed said as much during their encounter in the Sleeping Worlds, and one of the two he mentioned turned out to be Sora. Meaning…

Mickey couldn’t hide his shock at the conclusion. “We got Sora back, but Terra must still be on Xehanort’s side.”

“He’s with Organization XIII? We should warn Sora.”

Was Master Xehanort still on the hunt for his thirteen vessels? Or had he found them all already?

Riku and Mickey had discovered the enemy’s plan, at least, and they shared a grim nod.