Prologue:
Day 3: In Which The Heart Is Rather Fallen Into
Dim sunlight streamed through the window of Roxas's bedroom in Twilight Town, greeting him as he woke suddenly, sucking in a deep breath that almost caught in his throat and strangled him. He panted, short of air, as if he'd been running all night, and shook his head to clear it -- crap, crap, crap.
He couldn't remember how he'd gotten home yesterday again, but he was more worried about Hayner. His friend had been upset yesterday when they'd parted, and... And Hayner could be a pain in the ass when he was upset.
Roxas was just heading into the back alley when he found Olette and Pence heading down the street in the opposite direction.
"Hayner started without me?" Roxas said, making a little joke of it. But that question was more important than it sounded. Hayner never started without him. He was Hayner's best friend.
"We wanted to surprise you," Pence said avidly. "And you were making us wait so long to share the good news!"
"News?"
Olette elbowed Pence a little. "We were going to surprise you, anyway," she said, giving Pence a look. He grinned at her, having the good grace to look abashed. "But, since you already practically know... We got the munny! We can go to the beach!"
A brief flare of hope lit in Roxas's chest; he exclaimed, "Really?! That's-- that's great! How? Did someone turn in the wallet?"
"Well, no," Pence admitted, glancing sideways at Olette. "Hayner's uncle agreed to lend us the munny."
"Oh-- well, that's still great news." Roxas had been hoping that maybe someone had caught the man in the black coat, could prove that he wasn't crazy, but that seemed like too much to ask for. "So, you guys were getting ready?"
Olette nodded. "We were just going to get you."
What, did they really need to go so early as to wake him up during the summer? Summers were for sleeping in! Roxas grinned at her a little. "I would've gotten there eventually."
Pence exchanged an amused glance with Olette. "Well, unless you want to camp out at the beach overnight, we should probably go before the last train," he pointed out.
"What?" Roxas laughed. "It's not that late, come on."
They paused. Olette said, "It's two in the afternoon, Roxas."
Now he was really confused; Roxas could tell that it was late by the color of the sky, the position of the sun, but-- Really? That late? But he'd gone to bed early, so tired from all that skateboarding and the stress of the day...
At least, he was pretty sure he would've gone to bed early.
"I, I just woke up," Roxas confessed.
"Maybe you're coming down with something," Olette murmured.
Maybe, Roxas thought, although he wasn't worried about his health -- if anything, he was more worried about the toll the dreams were taking on his health. But how could he tell them about the dreams when they already thought he was seeing things?
Pence said firmly, "As long as he comes down with it after the beach."
"Pence!"
"What?! Hayner is already in his swim trunks and snorkeling gear, he'll kill us if we ditch now," the brunet boy pointed out, turning to lead the way up to the train station. Olette didn't immediately start to follow.
Roxas rubbed the bands over his fingers, saying, "I'm not offended, Olette, he's righ-- What's up?"
Olette didn't respond, and when he took a closer look, Roxas saw that her expression was frozen in place, her arms and legs unmoving. One foot was poised above the pavement, like she'd suddenly lost all momentum. Pence was much the same, exasperated smile still etched onto his round features. Neither of them were blinking, breathing, anything.
It felt like Roxas had stopped breathing, even his own heart stilling in shock and confusion. "Guys?" he said hesitantly, reaching out to touch Pence's shoulder and maybe shake him a little.
Roxas heard footsteps behind him, soft sounds, and he whipped around to find a stranger -- a slim, pale girl -- making her way down the cobblestone hill on thick sandals. She smiled faintly at Roxas as she saw him watching her.
Roxas didn't feel like smiling back. He took a few steps away as she approached, nervous. The stillness in the air was just like yesterday, when he'd met the man in black in this same corner of the street. "What's going on?"
Without missing a beat, the girl said lightly, "Hello, Roxas."
How did she know his name?
She glided right past him, her gaze lingering on his expression for only a beat as she passed by. "You should come visit me at the mansion."
Roxas turned around to watch her, wide-eyed and lost, his chest tight with confusion. Instead of a more insightful comment or question, he wound up blurting out, "Who are you?"
"...someone from the dark." Although her words were soft and thoughtful, she never stopped moving. She seemed unwilling to waver even a step in her course. "If you want to know what's happening to you, then come to the mansion. All the answers you seek are there."
It was a beat before Roxas really understood that she was walking away, leaving with only that vague promise. Everything else he'd thought was so sure -- things he could see and touch and hear -- had just vanished when he turned his back on it, so why should he believe that that promise would mean anything the moment she was out of sight? "Wait!" he said impatiently. "Tell me!"
"I will," the girl said, imperturbable. "When you find me."
She turned the corner and passed out of sight; Roxas frowned and tried to follow her but Olette and Pence got in his way, Olette laughing and Pence grinning.
"I guess you're right," Olette was saying. Roxas had no earthly idea what she was talking about, couldn't really think about her; the stranger was just around the corner and he could still catch up with her, still get his answers if he tried, so after a hesitant beat Roxas darted around them and raced for the sandlot himself.
He heard Olette and Pence call out behind him, but if he could just find that girl--
When he rounded the corner, he couldn't find any trace of her, and she wasn't in the sandlot, either: it was empty except for Seifer's gang, loitering by the bench where Seifer was lifting weights. The older boy glanced up alertly as Roxas entered the sandlot, and offered a smirk. "Where are you off to in such a hurry?" Seifer taunted. "Not running away already, are you?"
He'd have seen her if she came through, right? Roxas jogged up to them. "Did you guys see a blonde girl in a white dress go by here?"
"No one's been by other than you," Seifer said, not moving other than the rhythmic flexing of his arm. "And you don't seem to be wearing a dress-- at least, not right now."
How he managed to be so agitating even when Roxas was this distracted... Roxas couldn't leave without responding to that, but behind Seifer's gang, in the mouth of the alley, one of the silver creatures stood, staring straight at him and swaying silently in place.
Shit, not now! Roxas looked around quickly. His gaze landed on a Struggle bat at Seifer's feet, and he lunged for it.
"BEWARE!"
"Yo, Seifer--!"
Seifer didn't need their warnings, already leaping back, dropping the barbell in his haste. Fuu put herself in Roxas's path, forcing him to veer around her. Roxas snarled, "You all need to get out of here!"
"You think you're gonna take Seifer like this?!" Rai demanded belligerently, but Seifer was watching Roxas with narrowed eyes and frowning. He was the first to turn around and see what Roxas had seen, and then he backed up without taking his eyes off them.
"What the hell are those?" Seifer snarled.
Oh thank god, Roxas thought for a moment, finally I'm not the only one who sees them! There were more of them now, eight silvery creatures stepsliding into the sandlot with very deliberate intent. Roxas licked his lips and lifted the Struggle bat.
Fuu snatched it out of his hands. "CHALLENGERS," she announced, and tossed it to Seifer.
"Oh, come on, Fuu!" Roxas snapped, but the girl only gave him such a withering look that he gave up. There was a pile of Struggle bats against the far wall, and he jumped over the bench to grab two, one in each hand, and then -- wait, two? why had he gone for two? -- he dropped one again and turned to locate the silver creatures. They were still making their way across the sandlot, and three of them peeled off in a synchronized motion to head for Seifer, Fuu, and Rai instead. The other five headed for Roxas, not missing a beat.
Crap. Five, isn't that a little overkill, considering I can't hit them?! Roxas gritted his teeth and waited for one to lunge for him, then took a quick hard swing, hoping to at least drive it back if not actually make contact. His bat passed through the silver creature without resistance, pausing it in its advance only for a moment.
Seifer and Fuu were having no better luck than he was, back-to-back and visibly frustrated. Seifer's lips were curled up in a silent snarl. "What the fuck are they?" he demanded of no one in particular.
"Hey-- Hey, Seifer," Rai complained, swinging wildly at the sleek creature facing him. It swayed in place, not even bothering to duck as the tall boy's fists went clear through it. "Why can't I hit these carnival guys?"
"Carnival guys?" Seifer repeated with disbelief, and then turned around and threw his useless bat at Rai's head.
"Ow!" Rai yelped, rubbing his head. The creature Rai had been fighting slid up to the bat and picked it up, turning it over in bound hands as if curious about it.
This wasn't good at all. Roxas clenched his teeth and shook his bat, hoping half-heartedly that the keyblade would mysteriously appear. Seifer's gang didn't have as many opponents as he did, but the creatures were clearly just toying with them, mocking them, while their companions circled Roxas like predatory sharks, watching and-- waiting.
Suddenly he had the wild thought that maybe they were waiting for the keyblade to appear, just like he was.
The hairs on the back of his neck raised; Roxas spun on his heel just in time to see one of the creatures lunging at him from behind. He raised the bat, too late to protect himself, too overbalanced to even stay standing, but he didn't land on his back-- he just kept falling
and falling
and falling into endless darkness, turning in midair like a cat righting itself until he could see down, see the black all around him. The sandlot, the silver creatures, Seifer's gang -- they'd all vanished, with no sign of them anywhere.
No sign of anything, right up until the moment he landed rather unexpectedly on his feet.
The darkened platform beneath his sneakers lit suddenly: He was on a circular platform decorated with colored glass. The image depicted on the platform was masterful, an intricate mosaic with careful detail work on the borders and in the evocation of tropical islands in the background. In the center of the mosaic was the arching figure of a brunet youth, curling in around four portraits.
Roxas took a step back, a bit nervously backing away from the image. He recognized that youth, recognized his face.
"Sora," he whispered.
The air shivered, like the wings of a dove, but there was nothing -- no movement, no life. It was a surreal sensation of tension, similar to being watched, only...
This is a crossroads.
As if summoned by the thought, three pillars suddenly lit up, with a shield, a staff, and a sword mounted on the top of each one. The sword was the closest, the brightest, drew his eye. Roxas knew that this was his invitation to make a choice, and he was too numb, too driven by instinct to care if there was some sort of trap in his choices. He reached out to take the sword in his hand tentatively, and gave it a practice swing.
The weight was so familiar.
The sword represents strength, but the sword can hurt those you love, too.
Roxas hesitated a moment, turning the blade over in his hands and studying its cool edge. No -- no, he knew how to wield a sword properly.
Didn't he?
The sword glowed briefly, and then flared all at once, a searing pulse of white light that transformed the sword -- when Roxas looked at it again, he was holding the keyblade, and for a moment wild relief seized him. You were the right choice after all.
Then, with inexorable slowness, the darkness closed in around him, drowning out the light that shone on the staff and the shield -- the choices that he hadn't made. Instead, a light fell upon a single white archway, closed doors painted over the black emptiness all around the mosaic platform.
Be careful.
But Roxas didn't know what else he could do but approach the door; it was the only way to get off of this platform. Beyond the door...
Beyond that door lies a completely different world. But don't be afraid.
Don't stop walking...
You want to see what lies beyond the door, don't you? thought the other voice in his mind.
Roxas set his hand on the doorknob and turned.
NEXT >>> Prologue (Part 7)