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.”
Chapter 9
14 min read