Chapter 1
"I'm walking Guppy Mom!" a blonde boy shouted as he sauntered down a set of stairs, leash in hand and white puffball by his heels. The mop of fur gave a bark at her name and danced around her owner's feet as they reached the bottom of said stairs. Somewhere in the kitchen came a mumbled 'mmhm' where the boy's mum was cooking ramen. The dog plopped down in front of the door after a firm 'sit girl' and panted tongue out. She raised a brow and a chocolate eye appeared under her bangs to watch her master as he knelt to clip on the leash. For a moment, all was silent except for a light pitter-patter of rain hitting the roof.
"Bye Mom!" the boy said, grabbing an umbrella and heading out the door.
"Be safe sweetie! Don't stay out late!" his mum said as the door closed.
Blondie opened his black umbrella and smiled at the sight of Guppy prancing around in water puddles. The two started off into the dark night. They passed their white picket fence and strolled by their town's trademark crooked lampposts. The lights cast eerie shadows on the streets, and the moths so hypnotized by the glow only made those shadows dance. The light posts littered the streets, each bent in a unique way. Fallaway Town was known for throwing in strange and artistic… well things. Buildings were placed randomly about, and only recently was it discovered that from a bird's eye view it looked like a leaf. The streets were veins and Fallaway's only dock was the stem. The day the pictures were released to the press and public, all the masses could talk about were conspiracy theories and hidden meanings. At one point, a maniac near the tip of the leaf set off toward the mountains convinced that the leaf was in reality an arrow pointing the way to treasure. He was never seen again.
The blonde gave a small laugh as he remembered the day his friend had run up to him, raven hair blowing back and eyes wide, waving a copy of Ramblem, the daily paper. She kept talking about how she knew something was odd about the town, and wasn't it great that this was found out? Now they could all play detective! Kairi had dragged all her friends to the library to find any other clues that might lead to something extraordinary, only to be told that there was a waiting list a mile long on any and all books she could possibly be interested in. Professors, journalists, police, everyone was trying to find out the meaning behind the leaf. After months of research and a long debate, the town finally decided that the leaf was just a leaf and that was all there was to it.
A flash of lightning followed by a loud clap of thunder jolted the blonde out of his thoughts. Guppy cocked an ear, then gave a bark. She sniffed the ground for a moment, then returned to her frolicking. What does a storm matter to her? Blondie didn't mind the storm much either. Fallaway needed a good rain, he thought. Pulling his coat a little tighter around himself, he continued his aimless walk.
When Blondie's watch chimed eight, he stopped.
"We gotta head back girl. We've been walking for, what? At least twenty minutes." He said to Guppy. Then with a tug of the leash, he turned to walk home. It was starting to rain harder now, and the sky lit up more often then before. Halfway home the blonde spotted a pair of headlights and ducked into an alley. If he got splashed now, it would kill the point of bringing an umbrella. He edged further back as the car sped by, then stepped under a doorway to make a quick call home. He'd stayed out later then he should have, and he knew his mom would be worried about him. Lately, some odd reports were popping up on the news. They were filled with mysterious sightings of thugs and muggers and thieves all in black. Several people had gone missing, but mostly from the northern end of Fallaway, where the roads and houses shifted up to meet the rocky slopes of Mt. Kindle. Seeing as he lived in the southern end, closer to the dock then the mountains, his neighborhood hadn't begun to enforce an earlier curfew. Meaning, he was allowed to stay out until ten at latest. However, most people had the common sense to be indoors by eight thirty, or nine at most. It wouldn't be long, hurried whispers said, until the bandits hit the rest of Fallaway.
Blondie's cell rang twice, then went to voicemail. His mom wasn't picking up. Strange, he thought frowning. Maybe she fell asleep. With a sigh, he left a quick message assuring whoever heard it that he was fine. Once done, he slipped his phone back into his pocket and straightened up. He looked around him, thinking about shortcuts home. As he listened to the rain fall to the cobblestone he decided that the fastest route was to cut through the Bazaar and walk along a winding scenic trail called Ridge until he reached his neighborhood. Then, just as he was about to start off again, a blinding flash of lightning split the sky, followed by a deafening crack of thunder.
Guppy gave a yelp and strained back on her leash. Blondie gave her a funny look, almost too late in noticing a dark figure lunge at him. Guppy watched as her master jumped back, just in time. Fragments of stone flew in all directions, bouncing off of walls and trash cans only to clatter back to the ground. A black form sat crouching over a crater where only moments before the blonde had stood. Another flash of lightning revealed the twisted inhuman form of the creature. Its eyes were yellowish orbs like the moon and something similar to antennae atop its head twitched. Then, lifting its head, the creature spun to eye the wet, shaking, barking form of Guppy. He dove and with another yelp, Guppy fled. The creature gave chase, but Guppy ran between two trash cans and into the night. As the creature collided with the cans, the blonde snapped out of his shocked state and nervously backed further into the alley. He watched as the creature shook its head dizzily took a step back. Its antennae swept the ground as it looked from side to side for the boy, who held his breath quietly and scooted another step back…
Suddenly, his hand hit something and the blonde jumped and screamed. Heart thudding in his chest, he realized it was only the end of the alley- a dead end. Dead, he thought, looking at the creature now closing in on him. I'm dead.
A/N: Yeah, hi. I'm hoping somebody reads this but if not, it was just for my own amusement. It's pretty short, and I plan on writing more, but blah. I wish I could draw it out. That would look loads better. You may have guessed, the blonde is Roxas (I'm just a lazy bum who doesn't want to introduce his name yet. I love making things difficult for me. Really, I do.) and the black random thing is a NeoShadow heartless. I don't really know what's up with the town. I didn't feel like putting this in Twilight town is all. Sorry. It's just too cheerful for what I have in mind. So I just made up the name Fallaway Town and stuck with it. If you have a problem with it…. then…. Oh well. Flames will be given to Vexen so he can heat his experiments.
I kinda feel like I'm talking to myself now, so I'll just end this note here. Yup. Reviews make me feel warm and cozy. Other fanfics are on hiatus unless they are Kingdom Hearts. Sorry.
Have a nice life, see you next chapter.