Key to the Heart - A Kingdom Hearts Fanfic!

Chapter 37: Meeting Little Chef and the Old Mansion Computer!

"What?" Ruby asks.

"What do ya think, guys? This place is even creepier than I remember." Sora complains.

"Well, they do say that this mansion is haunted." Goofy explains.

"Oh..." Donald whines. The group gets quiet as they think and Hayner grabs onto Sora's shoulder as he speaks.

"Hey there." Hayner says but gets four screams in response.

"Thanks for the heart attack!" Sora exclaims.

"Oh my gosh..." Ruby whispers as she breathes heavily.

"Oh, what? Did I scare you?" Hayner asks.

"Uhh." Sora states.

"Not a chance!" Donald exclaims.

"Our bad." Olette states with a giggle.

"So how did it go? Did ya get any leads?" Sora asks. Hayner looks back at Pence from over his shoulder.

"Nope, afraid not. The asking around thing was a total bust." Pence replies sadly.

"Yup. This old mansion is our last hope." Hayner tells them.

"You guys ready?" Olette asks.

"Another Twilight Town awaits!" Pence exclaims.

"Yeah..." Sora replies. The group heads inside. They eventually make it to the lab area and Ruby looks around.

"Here we go!" Pence exclaims running over to the computer, The password was... uh 'sea-salt ice cream,' right? Okay I'm in. Let's get that transporter working." Ruby looks at all the cameras.

"Oh, man. The transporter's been protected!" Pence complains.

"Protected from what?" Sora asks.

"I guess from us? We can't use it to get to the other Twilight Town." Pence explains.

"Why not? It worked before! We sent Sora there!" Hayner complains.

"Well that was then and this is now." Pence replies.

"And there's no other way?" Olette asks.

"Hmm... none that I know." Pence says.

Great." Sora says and he sighs. Sora gasps when Sora's Gummiphone rings. He pulls it out of his pocket and answers it to find Ienzo calling.

"Hello, Sora. You wouldn't happen to be in front of a computer?" Ienzo asks.

"Hi Ienzo." Ruby states.

"Huh? Well... yeah. But how'd you know that?" Sora asks.

"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." Ienzo explains.

"Oh! Yeah, the log terminal. But... it wasn't us." Ruby explains.

"Then, uh, who was it that logged in?" Ienzo asks.

"Oh, hi there. This is Pence. I'm the one who logged into the computer." Pence calls out and Sora turns the phone to look at Pence.

"Good. As long as it's a user that we know we can trust." Ienzo replies with a breath of relief.

"He's our friend." Ruby explains.

"Yep. But I'm kind of stuck here." Pence says, "One of the programs is protected, so... I can't run it."

"Which program?" Ienzo asks.

"The transporter to the other Twilight Town!" Hayner yells as he was impatient, "It's the only way to find Roxas. You gotta help us!"

"Another Twilight Town?" Ienzo asks, slightly confused, "And a transporter? Okay... a virtual town inside the computer, made of data." He thinks about it.

"A datascape! Fellas!" Jiminy exclaims.

"Is that a talking bug?" Ruby asks.

"He's a cricket." Donald explains.

"These worlds just keep getting weirder." Ruby mutters.

"He's been here the entire time." Sora replies.

"What?!" Ruby asks in shock.

"Maybe I can do something." Ienzo says, "Pence, let's get a network set up. My address here is..." Ienzo tells Pence everything he needs to know. Connecting the two computers takes a few moments. Sora falls asleep standing up.

"Wow... he's talented. Falling sleeping standing up." Ruby states.

"Alright, sharing is enabled." Ienzo confirms. Sora ends up waking up with a jolt before Ruby has to smack him.

"Huh? Were you able to fix it?" Sora asks.

"Now that our two computers have been successfully networked together, I can take control of the terminal there and change the privileges..." Ienzo explains.

"And Roxas?" Sora asks.

"Yes. For the virtual world to be completely realized, Ansem the Wise would've included Roxas's full data in the construction. Meaning, somewhere on your machine there's a log of that data that – uh... basically, we can decipher Ansem's Code more quickly and we can analyze the virtual Twilight Town while we're at it." Ienzo explains with a grin.

"Okay! Great!" Sora says, "I can't computer so... do that." Ruby rolls her eyes.

"Roxas is so much smarter than his twin by the way." Ruby replies.

"HEY!" Sora exclaims.

"Glad you're following along." Ienzo says, "Don't worry, we'll handle it."

"I think your smarts are wasted on Sora." Ruby teases.

"Hey! That's mean!" Sora whines.

"Chip and Dale will be helping me out on this end. I'll call you back as soon as we know anything more." Ienzo exclaims.

"Thanks!" Sora replies.

"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." Ienzo says.

"What's wrong with Even?" Ruby asks.

"He was recompleted like the rest of us, but he 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." Ienzo explains.

"He's missing?!" Ruby asks, "How are we going to get Roxas back now..." She got worried.

"You think he's on their side?" Sora asks.

"I think it's a real possibility." Ienzo says, "He's a devious researcher. You should be careful."

"Alright, thanks." Sora replies.

"Oh no! We got work! I totally forgot!" Hayner exclaims.

""Really? But what about all this?" Pence asks.

"Hey, both are important. We're gonna need some cash to go to the beach. Also, don't forget the pretzels. Gotta buy five now." Hayner states and Ruby looks at Hayner.

"Yeah. Roxas and I would love to go." Ruby explains.

"Oh, I get it!" Pence exclaims.

"He's thinking ahead." Olette explains.

"Later, Sora, Ruby." Hayner states.

"Yeah, see ya, Hayner." Sora explains.

"Bye Donald, Goofy." Olette says.

"Good-bye!" Donald and Goofy exclaim in unison.

"Oh, and since I'm manning the computer here, you guys are in charge of earning my share." Pence explains.

"No pretzel for Pence." Hayner teases.

"Hey!" Pence exclaims and Olette laughs as the two run from the room. Ruby looks at Sora.