Twilight Town, First Visit:
In Which There Is Excellent Salvage
They had made Stiltzkin a very happy moogle; he trotted along behind them, humming tunelessly to himself and playing with the one Twilight Shard he hadn't stowed away in his pack -- observing the opacity, feeling its texture with his paws, biting it, and then proclaiming, "If I'd known you guys would be this generous!"
It was starting to get on Roxas's nerves.
"I might have to tag along with you two more often...!"
Axel said dryly, "I don't know if we can afford your 'help' more than once or twice a year."
"I can offer a bulk rate," the little creature promised him.
"Shard-finding fee will not be included in our rate," Roxas said, and if his voice was a little cooler than usual, Stiltzkin at least didn't seem to notice. He felt Axel's eyes on him as he continued up the stairs.
This staircase was different from the others; at the top they found not a room, but a large wooden door, hovering in the middle of open space, apparently not attached to anything. A wizard's tower indeed, Roxas thought, his last doubts put to rest. This wasn't DiZ's tower. It wasn't the way he seemed to like things, and whether or not he could even use magic was still a question.
"Looks welcoming, doesn't it," Axel said, stopping abruptly.
Stiltzkin ran into the backs of his legs and tumbled down a few steps before scrambling upright, apparently none the worse for wear. Axel didn't even seem to notice. The moogle peered around him, and scoffed, "Oh, what, you have no qualms about going through shadowy portals, but not a nice wooden door? What's the worst that could happen!"
Axel turned around to level him with an annoyed stare. "Well, now we could be plunged into an alternate dimension where acid rain eats off your flesh if you try to get a breath of fresh air. Never ask that."
"He's got a point," Roxas said, his lips quirking up. "Don't tempt the unknown." But he started up the stairs again, determination setting in. Maybe it didn't belong to DiZ, but there was no point in turning around now. "But Stiltzkin has a point, too."
Axel refrained from pointing out that whatever horrible nasty had been here previously might still be past this door at the top of the tower; Roxas was already well aware of that possibility, so he appreciated it. Stiltzkin wouldn't let it go, however, saying grandly, "You can't be a good traveler without courage. Now, if we open the door and there's a vortex to the acid-rain dimension, then we run."
"Did it just insult me?" Axel asked Roxas, politely. Roxas shook his head, not getting involved.
"I'm just sharing my experience. I've been on the road longer than either of you combined!" the moogle pointed out.
Axel eyed him skeptically. "--How old are you?"
"W, well." Stiltzkin scratched his cheek with the Twilight Shard. "There's a lot of different calendars to measure these things by -- time zones, lots of time zones--"
Roxas rolled his eyes. "As fascinating as this discussion is..." He didn't care in the least. He reached out for the doorknob and paused, drawing close to listen. There were no sounds from the inside. In one quick motion, he shoved open the door and stepped inside, bringing Oathkeeper to bear.
The room at the top of the tower was a mess, with papers strewn everywhere and bookshelves overturned. There were scorch marks and soot on the walls and floor, and at the huge scarred oak desk in the middle of it all was--
Namine, her eyes wide with surprise and her arms full of sketches.
"You!" Roxas blurted, and then lowered the keyblade. "Namine."
Axel stepped forward around him, his expression withdrawn -- he was wary, startled. "You came here?" he said, disbelieving. "It's hardly outside Twilight Town. Why not Traverse Town, or something?"
"Traverse Town is no longer accessible," Namine said, slowly sinking back into the chair she'd apparently been sitting in, before she'd jumped to her feet. Her sandals were on wrong. "It's gone. But... I could say the same thing to you. I thought you would take him away from here..."
"Believe me, I tried," Axel said, a little stiff, and glanced away.
Stiltzkin was looking between everyone with deep confusion; he crooked a claw at Roxas and asked, "You guys know her?"
Roxas nodded, a little, and moved further into the room. "He's not very persuasive," he said, in response to Namine's comment. "Why are you here? Is he--"
For a brief moment he thought he'd been wrong, that DiZ did live in this tower and that he had taken Namine here after her betrayal, but she shook her head. "Don't worry, Roxas. Riku helped me to escape, and I came here of my own free will. It was the one place I thought he wouldn't dare intrude... he said it belonged to a powerful sorcerer." She glanced around the room, distance in her eyes as she looked over the claw marks scraping deep into stone, and the charred wood. "But it was like this already when I got here."
"You didn't think it was dangerous?" Roxas pressed, putting a hand on the desk. It looked like she had been here, by herself, for quite some time -- there were a number of pages in her little pile, and her sketchbook was on the other side of the desk.
She smiled, very slightly. "Who would bother me?" was all she said.
It was a good point. A Nobody had nothing that a Heartless would want; they probably hadn't even bothered to investigate her presence.
Stiltzkin was roaming the edges of the room, observing the undamaged books. "Wow," he said, his voice loud in the silence that had fallen. "Some of this stuff is pretty vintage!"
Namine looked over at him, and she didn't ask the obvious questions -- why is it wearing clothes, for example. "I have a feeling the owner won't be back anytime soon to talk about his collection," she said, a bit amused. "But I'd be careful. There's definitely something magical about this place, especially..."
She trailed off. Everyone looked at her, until she shook the quiet off and pointed at a door on one wall, hanging slightly open. The room past it was pitch black. "There's something in there," she said softly. "Roxas -- I can't help thinking it was meant for you."
"Meant for him," Axel repeated flatly.
"Meant for me," Roxas murmured, and he took a step towards the other room. Stiltzkin was already scurrying past him, eager to see for himself. Roxas was somewhat more hesitant.
Something that was meant for me. The little fear that had been in the back of his mind for two days -- that he was a fluke, that he had messed something up, that Sora hadn't been done with his destiny yet and now he would never be able to finish it -- eased slightly. Something was meant for me.
If that were true, then Roxas's continued existence wasn't a fluke.
"I just thought of you, when I saw it," the blonde girl said, shaking her head a little. "Like it had your name written on it somehow."
Roxas hesitated for a beat longer, but he finally headed through the door to see for himself.
It was dark -- very, very dark, almost too dark to see anything in, but still the destruction in this room was noticeably the worst so far. Shattered glass littered the floor, some large enough to stab right through a thin sole, and torn or burnt fabric fluttered through the air on a breeze from the open window, the only dim source of light in the room. Furniture had been tossed about and smashed, blocking off much of the room, and strange splotches of blue and green and red could just be seen discoloring the walls, the broken furniture, the burnt draperies.
Stiltzkin was unfazed by the mess. He was buried completely in a bureau drawer, occasionally pausing to set a new object into a growing pile beside him -- there was a strangely mechanized crossbow, a box labeled "Speed Tabs", and a drum with a feather on it. Bemused, Roxas shook his head and continued to move into the room, gingerly, trying not to step on too much of the glass, although he thought his sneakers were thick enough to protect him.
When he looked up, he found himself in front of the remains of a table, ruined except for one untouched patch of wood, on which rested a neatly-folded pile of fabric.
"Ooh, a chocograph! Now that's a good find. Think I know where I'm headed next--" Stiltzkin resurfaced with a strange tile, and caught sight of Roxas. "Oh, hey! That stuff -- I wouldn't touch it if I were you, it tingles something fierce."
Roxas placed his hand on top of the pile. The cloth did tingle -- a light, almost pleasant crackling, energizing more than punishing -- and it was smooth, unnaturally smooth for fabric that looked so common. He unfolded the cloth. A zippered shirt and a vest, long pants and a scarf, all in black and white like the outfit he was currently wearing.
Made for him specifically, so... Probably exactly like that.
"You know," Stiltzkin said thoughtfully, coming up behind him. "I have something that would go great with that."
He frowned. "...really?"
Stiltzkin shifted around in his pack and surfaced with a pair of short boots. "There we are, see? It's almost like they're part of the same set!" He moved over to set it down next to the spread clothes.
Roxas shifted back slightly to look at them all, and then touched the boots. They felt the same as the clothes -- that same strange tingle -- and they visually seemed to match, although it was difficult to be sure in the darkness. "Huh," he murmured. "They kind of do."
"I got 'em from this kid with spiky red hair," Stiltzkin volunteered. "Didn't have much to say, though, so I don't know where he got them from."
Roxas wasn't especially interested in where they came from, as much as the fact that they might be... his. He picked up the scarf and tossed it over his shoulders, thinking. It felt so natural, on him, like it was a part of him. He could hardly even feel a difference.
He nodded a little, decisively. "I need to take these with me," he told the moogle.
"Good taste." There was a beat, in which the cogs under Stiltzkin's bandana turned audibly, and then he offered, almost hopeful, "Shall we say that covers your part of the salvage rights?"
I really couldn't care less about your chocographs. Roxas smiled at him, amused. "Sounds like a deal to me. Come out into the other room when you're done looting."
"Salvaging."
He took a few steps towards the other room, until he started to hear Axel and Namine's voices:
"So why here?"
"...hiding. I don't have anywhere to go, and DiZ probably hates me more than anyone, and Riku was... devastated. Here was as good a place as any."
Roxas paused, almost reluctant to go out there. What could he say, really, when she'd had to run for her life, all because she'd tried to help him? He was getting tired of feeling like he should apologize for his existence.
But Axel said, after a beat, "Well, some people -- appreciate, what you did."
And she said, so soft Roxas almost couldn't hear, "That's more than I would have asked for."
A small smile crossed Roxas's lips. At least I guess if we all feel that way, that takes a little of the weight off. He started to walk again.
"Yeah, well, don't let it go to your head," Axel was saying with a smirk as Roxas emerged into the room. The redhead shifted to share the smirk with him.
Namine said wryly, "I'll try not to put on any airs." She smiled at Roxas, although it didn't quite reach her eyes -- not that it ever had. "Did you find the clothes?"
Axel's eyebrows went up, and he looked at Roxas, as if to confirm that he was still wearing what he'd worn before. "Clothes? Magic clothes with Roxas's name on them." He took a quick step over and caught at the corner of the scarf, feeling the fabric. "...is it supposed to feel like this?"
"I don't know. Maybe. Yes," Roxas said, changing his mind in quick succession. "Stiltzkin has matching boots, too, but since he found them before I came here..." He frowned a bit. There would need to be some legitimate bargaining for the boots.
Stiltzkin trotted into the room, his backpack no larger, but the moogle's radiated pleasure indicated that there was quite a bit more stuffed into it. "Did I hear someone say bargaining?"
"What? No-- no one said that." Roxas drew back a little, uneasy. Somehow he entirely believed that Stiltzkin could hear him thinking it. "But if you're done, we can work out the bill."
"Aha, well." He tilted his head back, and started ticking off on his fingers. "There's the boots, and my finding services..."
"Minus the fire insurance," Axel prompted helpfully, earning a strange look from Namine.
"I was getting to that," the moogle snapped. "Factoring in the shards you found for me, and minus the... fire insurance... I'd say six hundred munny ought to keep me in sandwiches."
Roxas paused for a moment. He'd been braced for a much larger number, and arguments, and possibly threats... "That's unexpectedly fair," he said, reaching for his wallet.
"Well, before was before. Now we're traveling companions, which is totally different." Stiltzkin beamed at them, showing pointy little teeth. "Besides, you've salvaged plenty from this excursion yourselves. New outfit, new boots, a girl..."
Namine sat still, looking quite bemused to be counted amongst the salvage. Roxas gave her a quick grin and tossed a little pouch of munny at Stiltzkin. "We appreciate it," he said, even though it was the last thing he'd expected to say to the mercenary little creature.
Stiltzkin caught it nimbly and it had been tucked into his backpack in a heartbeat. "One more thing--"
In the same smooth gesture, he pulled something from his pack and tossed it back at Roxas. It jingled as it flew through the air, and Roxas was almost too startled to catch it without dropping his wallet.
"Any traveler worth anything knows a good luck charm helps now and again," said the moogle cheerfully.
Roxas turned it over in his hands -- a keychain, he realized. The fob was a bright red moogle's pom. His fingers closed around it. "Thanks," he said quietly, and then looked up at Axel. "Can we give him a lift, so he doesn't have to blow up the room?"
Axel shrugged, good-natured. "Why not? Where does it want to go?"
The moogle scowled at him, but he dug out the tablet he had found in the other room. He read the inscription under his breath, and then tapped his cheek with a claw thoughtfully, mulling it over for so long that his human-formed companions began to glance amongst themselves uncomfortably.
"Where the lion meets the... Agrabah!" Stiltzkin exclaimed suddenly. "Near that cave-- But not in it, if you please." He looked a little crestfallen. "Don't know I'd be able to resist, you know."
"Just what I wanted," Axel said, stretching out a hand. "An excuse to dump you right in the middle of a desert." The dark corridor swirled into existence at his fingertips, smooth and stable.
Stiltzkin seemed impressed. He skittered up to it, poked his head inside, and then leaned back out to observe, "Really nice! Very classy. I like it. Well-- safe travels! I'll see you kids around!"
"Good luck," Roxas said, followed by Axel's, "Don't die horribly." The redhead had already assumed a thoroughly innocent look by the time Roxas had leveled a flat stare on him.
Roxas turned around as the portal closed behind the moogle. "There's one more thing I have to do while I'm here," he said, slowly. He didn't really want to -- he'd much rather have left immediately -- but it had been brought to his attention and now he couldn't, just couldn't, leave it alone.
Even though he'd just as happily never go back there again.
Both Namine and Axel were watching him, expectant. He steeled himself slightly and told them, "I need to make sure Donald and Goofy are okay."
He didn't didn't want to see their surprise -- didn't want to see them wondering, is that Roxas talking, or Sora? -- so he turned and moved towards the door, looking in at the pile of clothing in the ruined room. "I can't let them sleep down there forever," he said. "Yuffie said that those ducklings in the marketplace are Donald's nephews. They're waiting for him to come back, and I--"
"You don't need to explain it, Roxas."
He glanced back over his shoulder. Namine was leaning back in the overlarge chair, her knees curled up almost to her chest. She said simply, "It's natural for people to want to help each other." Axel glanced away, perhaps uncomfortable.
It was such a relief not to be questioned. Roxas felt some of his tension melt away. Namine. She'd helped them, so much, and she seemed to know just what to say, and...
He asked, "What about -- you? Will you be staying here?"
"I'll be okay," Namine assured him. "The magic up here is still strong."
"You're staying here?" Axel asked, expression unreadable when he looked at her again.
"Well, it's -- as good a place as any," she said, echoing her earlier assertion. She was looking between them now, a little curious, or unsettled.
"Maybe you'll survive, but is that -- good enough?" Roxas pressed. He didn't know what he wanted. "You don't want to just stay here, right? All by yourself, just drawing?"
She looked badly startled, and shook her head, managing, "I-- I don't--"
Silence fell. She was right, of course. She had no place to go, no one to go to. Whether she stayed in this tower or went to some other place, she would probably be doing the same exact thing, and it would mean the same exact thing.
Nothing.
But that's no way to live. Roxas looked over at Axel.
The tall Nobody was staring at a wall again, and if he noticed Roxas looking at him, he didn't acknowledge it. He just kept staring, and standing motionless, and thinking, and then he made just a stiff jerk of his head, turning around in the same moment. It was almost like a nod.
And it felt like permission. Roxas relaxed, a little, and looked back at the blonde girl. "We're not really going anywhere in particular," he said, awkward. "But if you-- I'd like it if you came with us. Even just for a while."
She seemed stricken, surprised, and then slowly the expression shifted into uncertainty. She glanced down at her sketchbook, her eyes dark and shadowed, and then got to her feet, every motion careful. "...okay," Namine said, finally, very quiet. "For -- a while, I guess."
Roxas smiled, warm and wide, at her and then at Axel and then at nothing in particular. He felt some warmth, some rush of relief, so intense that it felt like he might be glowing. Maybe he was, because Axel stared at him, some of his tension forgotten, and Namine met it with a hesitant smile of her own, but it certainly didn't feel anywhere near the scope of this happiness.
She'd come with them. Axel was okay with it, even. And they'd all go together...
...into Twilight Town. For the first time in a long, long time, for most of them.
The very thought sucked some of the pleasure out of Roxas's strange good mood, but it would be hard to explain -- hard to explain and so very, very personal. He lifted the edge of the scarf and smiled again, but it didn't feel real. "Then I'll go get changed," he said.
The sooner we go there, the sooner we can leave.
NEXT >>> Twilight Town, First Visit (Part 3)