Kingdom Hearts III: Unwanted Rebirth – by the Angel Huntress
A/N: This was originally posted as Kingdom Hearts II: Strange Mix about half a year ago, and I just lost control over the events, and then beat KH2 and CoM. So, that's the story. Got it memorized?
Genre: Drama/Romance/Action & Adventure/ Mystery
Rating: T
Chapter 1 Warnings: Nothing much, except for some violence, and my really bad humor.
Crossover: Well, it's Kingdom Hearts, I think that pretty much explains it, although there may be some non-Disney Xovers, like a certain Fox show that I am getting an unhealthy obsession for, so that kinda…yeah. Anyway, back to the show.
Ship: OC?xOCxOC? triangle, SxK for later chapters,
Setting: Four years after KH2 because I believe that KH2 takes place directly after KH1, but I'm not sure cause Haley Joel Osmond's voice changed.
Spoilers: Most of the Secret Ansem Reports in KH2, so some minor to major KH2 spoilers.
Disclaimer: Though Kingdom Hearts, Disney are not mine, as well as a few other shows and stuff that I do know own, I do own my plot, and my characters, and my design of the Keyblade, which is this at http/ so either click this or just copy and paste it in the top thingy.
Chapter 1 Summary: Sarah Hunter had a normal life, right? Friends, family, and a great reputation as the best swordsperson in Traverse Town. But when a mysterious man in a hooded black robe appears, knowing her somehow, and then monsters appear, her life gets thrown off balance and her destiny becomes shrouded in a cloud of conspiracies…
Chapter 1: Screw Your Epic Battle
It was a clear and starry night as Sarah Hunter lay on her back on the street. She'd never seen such a beautiful night like this one in Traverse Town. The stars gleamed with a sheer magnificent glow, and one even seemed to disappear. Sarah blinked. Huh? Disappeared?
A good-looking platinum-blond teen charged at her with a samurai sword raised in his hand, Sarah rolled over quickly, grabbing her own sword in the process, and sprang up, parrying and countering every move he threw at her, throwing in a few ferocious attacks herself.
Her last combo was one that could bring an enemy literally crumbling to its knees if successful, but when the adrenaline got running, well, so did slowness. The blow required her to charge past the opponent, bringing a horrendous painful blow to the stomach, but if one were to go a little slow on that blow, the opponent could easily avoid the blow by sidestepping, leaving the other completely open.
Which was exactly what had happened. She ran past him, felt her sword hit air after she slowed down for that fraction of a second, and stopped when the momentum had died down. Her opponent whacked her in the back of the knee with the side of his blade, causing blinding pain and momentary paralysis in her entire left leg. He knocked the sword far out of her hand with his blade. She was on one knee, utterly helpless. And the boy was closing in on her, bringing his samurai sword up in a Kill Bill stance, preparing for the final blow.
He raised his sword high in the air, and brought it down to her head, the sword whistling in the air. Sarah had put her head down. And it whistled for a long time.
It never came. She looked up, at the boy, and saw that his sword was frozen, literally, as was he, his angry blue eyes frozen in a killer expression. She also noticed that the pain in her leg had receded, which Sarah thought weird, because a technique like the one he had pulled could paralyze someone an hour if the fighter was experienced enough. And this fighter was definitely experienced.
She got up, shakily, and walked to the boy. Puzzled at what was happening, she picked up her sword and looked around. Everything looked the same, but then again, there was no one in sight anymore. Although the town lights did look a little dimmer…but the mind can play tricks.
Curious, she reached out to touch the boy's shoulder as if to make sure this was really happening. But before she did, a noise startled her. Or, not a noise, but rather, a feeling. Like all her senses had been touched at once. A presence. She quickly turned around.
"Who's there?" she called. Silence was the only response.
"Are you ready, Sarah?" called a voice that sent a shiver down her spine. It seemed oddly familiar, but at the same time totally foreign. It was coming from her right, near where the old Accessory shop was, where the Moogle Synthesis Shop was now.
A man (or at least she assumed it was a man because of his stature) shrouded in a hooded black robe was leaning with one leg propped up against the wall of a building at the opposite side of where the two were fighting. He had black gloves, black everything. For some reason, Sarah wondered if he even had a face, or whether his face was just darkness.
Looking at this man sent a shiver down her spine, and also her head started to feel lightheaded. This man was bad, she figured, but to what extent? And he definitely wasn't frozen like the other boy. He must have great power if he caused this, she noted.
"Who are you?" she asked.
"Nobody of any importance. But you, Sarah, are nobody of great importance. You hold the key to binding the darkness and the light together, to fight the epic battle that will basically end all battles. Got it memorized?"
Sarah stared at him in wonder for a second, because she knew someone who used that expression a lot. Whatever happened to…to… She literally shook the nonsense thoughts from her mind, and gripped her sword even tighter.
"You can screw your epic battle!" she shouted.
"Yes, you always did have a way with words, Sarah," he replied, almost wistfully.
"What's that supposed to mean?" she said.
He let out a short 'that's-for-me-to-know-and-for-you-to-find-out' laugh. He almost ignored her, though, if not for that laugh because he continued in the same tone. "Fine. Have it your way. If that's the way you wanna play it…You'll be ready sometime. And when you do…"
He got up from his place and walked past her, heading down the steps toward the huge doors that led to the Third District. He stopped.
"I'll be back, Sarah. Oh, and by the way? Sorry about your stomach," he said, and snapped his fingers.
Sarah's head was in terrible pain, and it felt like the ground collapsed beneath her. Her stomach? What was wrong with her stomach?
The next thing she knew, she was kneeling on the ground again, her leg in pain, the headache receding. She couldn't get up. Was her leg paralyzed again? The boy in front of her gave her the finishing blow, smacking his blade sideways into her stomach. It was like doing a belly flop into a 2 foot deep pool from 30 feet high up. (A/N: Don't try that, please)
She grimaced and clenched her jaw in pain, falling back, her knuckles white from holding her sword so tight.
The boy grinned a lopsided goofy grin that only he could pull off, and extended a hand to her. "Better luck next time, Sarah."
She took his hand, a sign of a good sport, and he helped her up. "Luck has nothing to do with it, Ian," she said, returning the grin. "I see I've taught you well. You might even get to be a Boss." Helping her walk (or rather limp) to the bench on the sidelines while Sarah's father and her team's trainer, Ash called up to more people from Sarah's team, a red-headed seventeen-year-old mage, Thea, who was Sarah's best friend as well, and Ian's best friend, a seventeen-year old gunblade-wielding kid named Squall, who was Leon's cousin from that Hollow Bastion place Sarah had heard about.
Ian led her to the bench, Sarah sitting on the chair part as Ian sat on the table part next to her, feet resting on the chair part. Sarah sat back, casting a mild Cure spell on herself, her skin giving off a white aura.
Ian looked at her. Sarah never cast Cure unless she was in a lot of pain. Her saw her knuckles were all white, but didn't say anything.
A pause fell over them. Not an uncomfortable one, but just in silence. They watched the fight. Thea, who was a powerful blk and wht mage, blocked her opponent's attack with her staff, cast Aero on herself to send him flying back, and countered with a fire spell, her long fiery red hair glowing even more red. Squall looked a lot like Leon, except for the fact that Squall had shorter hair than Leon by about four inches, and was a head shorter than Leon as well. He had the same cool attitude, and even got to inherit Leon's old gunblade. He looked (and acted) a bit older for his age (he was eighteen) and some people even mistake him for Leon.
Ian leaned forward. He gave a sort of half-smile, but one with no humor.
"Sorry," he said, watching as Sarah was subconsciously rubbing the back of her leg. She stopped, looking at him. "Guess I went overboard on that."
"Hey, it's better this than you going easy on me and come time for a real battle, you don't hit hard enough. 'Fight any battle like a real one.' Besides, it doesn't hurt that much."
He looked at her like she was crazy. They sat in another silence, watching the fight. Ian was Sarah's best guy friend, ever since he came to Traverse Town when he was seven. He, Thea and Sarah were like the Golden Trio, the original fighters of Traverse Town. They had been the first fighters of Traverse Town, local detectives, and the first to have trained with Ash, until Leon and everyone from Hollow Bastion arrived about five years ago, including Squall and two others from Sarah's team.
Sarah sat back, taking her eyes off the battle and looking up at the sky. "Ian? What was your world like?"
Ian leaned forward again, in thought. "I don't really remember much."
"Well, what do you remember?" she asked.
"I remember…rain. Little droplets of water falling from the sky. I lived on a beach, and when the sun would rise, the rain would sparkle and reflect the light from the sun and shine in all sorts of colors in the sea. It would rain a lot in my mother's garden. A garden is like a cluster of plants pf all kinds, some flowers that would bloom and die, and some other plants that you could eat. It was nice there. That was before…"
He didn't need to elaborate; Sarah knew. His world had been destroyed by Heartless, and he winded up here, his mother and little sister killed by Heartless. Sarah really never understood anything about the Heartless, really; she always figured they were people who wore masks and liked to destroy worlds as a hobby, wallowing in the darkness.
She wanted to change the subject of his past, yet still dive into it. "So. Tell me more about the rain. It sounds beautiful."
"Oh, Goddess, are you kidding?" he said incredulously. "It rained so much there. Everything got soaked and ruined, and the weeds would grow like crazy, and it'd take forever to mow the grass. And big sounds, louder than fireworks, would cause flashes of lightning, which is a Thunder spell but like ten times worse would hit the ground, and could kill someone. You wouldn't like it."
He was half-joking, Sarah knew. She smiled.
"You ever wonder if it rains on other worlds?" she asked, looking up.
"Other worlds?" Ian asked. She never talked about other worlds.
"Yeah. I wonder if they have rain or if they have gardens I wonder if the rain sparkles there. Hmph. I wonder what people look like on other worlds. Are they even human or moogle, or something else?"
"I can't answer ya there. Hey, hey! Like ten hours later, man!" Ian said to the two approaching people. The scent of smoke invaded Sarah's nostrils. She turned her head and smiled.
"Hey, guys. I see you've finally closed up shop," Sarah said. Seth and Astra were brother and sister, about a year and a half apart, and ran the Accessory Shop.
Astra was a pretty brunette (or at least Ian thought she was stunning) who was also the smoker and a part of Sarah's team. She came to Traverse Town about six years ago from Hollow Bastion. She was a great fighter, a swordswomen, who never gave up a fight until she won. She could go on for hours and not break a sweat (which puzzled Sarah to no end because Astra could smoke half a pack a day).
Seth was also a part of Sarah's team; he was the gunner and got them special discounts on accessories. He had inherited the Accessory Shop from Cid when he was thirteen because Cid was like a father to the two, though they had only first met shortly before they came from Hollow Bastion. The Accessory Shop had moved magically (thanks to Thea, actually) to the Second District so it could be expanded and because the attic above the Accessory Shop had gotten too small for the Moogle's Synthesis Workshop, so they had to walk a distance to get to training and were usually late.
The battle was over, and Thea won. Squall had his hands literally frozen to the gunblade due to Thea's powerful Blizzara spells, and Thea was working a Cure spell on him. After she was done, they walked over to the table, and Thea ran up to Seth and hugged him.
"Seth!" Thea exclaimed. "Oh, my Goddess! I didn't think I'd see you till next week!" She let him go, looking at him. "Hey, did you order in my staff?"
"You know I did. Masoi said he'd have it in half a year—pretty good, really. You're name is at the top of the list." Seth had great connections, and he would do anything for Thea. He treated her like a princess and she was too stupid to realize it. They had had a thing for each other since they first met—almost literally too—and were just blind, oblivious.
"Hey, strawberry shortcake," Astra said casually, taking another puff on the cig.
Thea placed her fingertip on the end of Astra's cig and ice appeared on it, extinguishing it.
"Hey!" Astra yelled, agitated.
"I told you!" Thea scolded. "Not only is smoking bad for your lungs, but second-hand smoke is worse for the people around you! We could all get lung cancer in a matter of years! And then what? No more battles!"
"Oh, screw your lung cancer," Astra muttered, and to add emphasis, she threw down the cig hard and stomped on it, even though it was already out, but Sarah noticed that Astra had put the pack away. She looked up at Sarah. "So we up or what?"
"Ash said he got tired of waiting for you guys," Sarah said.
"Figures," Astra said, and then looked around. "Where is the old man, anyway?"
"I'm not that old," replied a man coming from their side, from the Moogle Shop.
Ash, a man in about his mid-thirties, had a duffel bag slung over his shoulder, full of weapons and items. He was a tall man, with the same dark brown colored hair as Sarah but different colored eyes. Ash had brown eyes, and Sarah had bright blue eyes. Something about recessive genes, or something like that. He had a scar across his right eye, one which Sarah knew nothing about other than the fact that it must've hurt bad.
"Ash," Sarah said. It was a custom to the people who actually grew up in Traverse Town to call their parents by their first name. "You have an eighteen-year-old kid. You talk about 'when I was your age…' Face it, you're an old man."
Ash let out a chuckle. "I don't recall you ever being my age, kid."
She sat back on the table, looking up at the stars. "So, on to the restaurant then?"
"Have you forgotten?" asked Ash. "You've got school tomorrow."
Sarah groaned. How teenager of her. She sat up. "What?" she said incredulously. "No way! Give me another day or two. Everyone else is going back on Friday!"
"Well, most people can get the Materia in a day." Ash said, cracking a smile.
Ian grinned. Sarah looked from Ash to Ian and then back to Ash, and then put on that 'teenage girl Oh, my god!' face. "You calling me slow?" Ian laughed Sarah socked him in the arm, playfully. But her playful punches could hurt, and Ian stopped laughing, causing her to grin triumphantly at him.
She looked up at Ash. "Pleeeeeease?" she whined like a five-year-old.
"Well, perhaps I could give you until Friday and put behind a month. Your call," he joked. Sarah swatted him—much more lightly than when she hit Ian—and grinned.
"So, on to the restaurant, then?" she asked.
He nodded, and as everyone got up, he took the duffel bag off his shoulder and gave it to Sarah.
"Oh, come on!" she whined. The duffel bag weighed twice as much as she did, literally. She shot him a 'rebellious-teenage-daughter' look, rolled her eyes, and took the duffel bag. She picked it up, though, and followed him to the restaurant.
That was when the screaming started to happen. An older man, about ten years older than Ash, at least, by the name of Irvam was running from the door that led directly from the First District to the Third District. Irvam was running, with a…monster? following.
It was the shape and height of a person, but the similarities stopped there. Instead of hands, it had sword-like arms, and was inhumanly skinny, and could move through the air as if it were gliding. It was wearing (unless it was its skin) a silver hooded jumpsuit, and had a weird symbol on its hood (or head) which looked like an upside down double-sided axe with a cross for a handle.
Ash shot a look to Sarah—one she recognized immediately, and she quickly got out Ash's katana. Ash ran to Irvam, pulled the thing off of him, and sliced at the thing, killing it, the thing disappearing into a dark aura.
Ash guided Irvam by the shoulder to Sarah and the gang, who were staring, bewildered at the space where the thing once was. Ash turned and faced the door, the katana slung behind his shoulder.
"Stay back and get to the Hotel," Ash said without looking back. "Take as many people with you as you can. Do not attempt to fight these things; your weapons will do no harm to them."
Sarah didn't argue with him; she desperately wanted to fight alongside him, but she also had to protect Irvam. He was a kind and generous man and definitely not the fighting type. He'd be as good as dead in the field.
Ash ran through the doors to the Third District, and she heard a sound as if a door was being locked. The door Ash ran through. Sarah and her team took Irvam to the Alleyway to cut to the Hotel.
When they entered the Alleyway, more of the things appeared out of orbs of darkness. Just appeared. A young woman of about twenty ran from the Second District as Sarah unlocked the back door to the Hotel. Dania, the woman, was on one side of the Alleyway running, and the creatures were on the other side, and more were following Dania.
The things that were closer to her were coming faster. As Sarah and Thea ushered everyone in, Thea turned to the thing.
"Aero!" she shouted, pointing her staff at the things for more force. But the spell had no effect. She panicked. "Um…fire! Lightning! Uh…uh—"
"Thea, forget it! Just get in. Dania! Hurry!" she shouted to her friend. Dania was gaining speed, but so were the things. They were little more than five feet from Dania, and Dania was little more than ten feet from the door.
Dania did pick up speed, though, and finally made it through the door. Sarah hurried after her and closed the door, only to hear (and feel) something pound against the door. Another pound. Another. And then…nothing.
Sarah's heart was beating rapidly, adrenaline coursing through her veins. They were in the Blue Room, her room. At least she was in a familiar place.
Everyone lived in the Hotel; it wasn't just for people who couldn't afford a house anymore. When the major influx of people occurred about four years ago, and not only more houses were needed, but shops and businesses were needed for people to make a living to live in those houses, the Mayor of Traverse Town raised money for the refugees and built an extension to the Hotel, running it through to the old Gizmo Shop, and even turned the Gizmo Shop into an extension. Houses were turned into buildings and offices, and Traverse Town thrived once more.
And the Hotel was safe. Sarah was sure of it. The things hadn't appeared in here. She figured the Hotel had some kind of ward against darkness or…something. And Ash knew about it, or else he wouldn't have sent them here.
Ash.
The sudden urge that a five-year-old child lost in a store without his mother came to her. That longing for a parental figure in a dark time. And she knew without a doubt Ash was in trouble. She needed him, or else what could she do? She never fought a battle without him. Never.
She looked around the room. Ian and Astra were covering the door that went from the Blue Room to the Green Room (or Ian's room), Squall and Thea were covering the door that led to the Red Room (or Ash's room), and Seth and Dania were covering the front exit, the one that led to the Lobby.
Irvam was sitting on a chair, his hands in his face. He was a refugee from five years ago. The Heartless had swallowed his world, and he lost everything. His wife, his children, his grandchild. She didn't blame him for losing it.
Everyone in this room had lost someone close to the Heartless, Sarah realized. Seth and Astra lost their mother and father, Squall, his family, his friends, his memory, Ian, his mother and little sister, and Thea…well, just about everyone.
No, not everyone, Sarah thought. Everyone in this room has lost someone close to the Heartless. Except for me. And I plan to keep it that way.
She went to the duffel bag and took out her sword. The one that Ash himself had carved for her.
"What are you doing?" Squall asked, his voice a little uneven.
"What do you think? I have to go help my dad. Come if you want, but I want at least two of you to stay behind. Thea, and someone else."
"But," started Thea. She knew Sarah was unstable right now, ready to snap at anyone or anything. "Didn't Ash say that our weapons won't work?"
"I can't just sit here and do nothing!" Sarah shouted. "I have…no idea if I can hurt them, but at the least I can be a diversion if Ash needs it. Do not open this door for anything. Even me. Kill anything that enters. Got it?"
She hurried out the door, locking the door behind her. She ran to the Second District, hurried down the stairs to the big open space, and prayed to the gods that she wasn't going to get…ambushed.
The things surrounded her, in a circle, and started to sway, as if dancing. She swallowed, nervous. She raced at the one in front of her, the one blocking the way, and brought her blade to the thing's stomach—but nothing happened. The sword just went right through it.
The thing jabbed an "arm" into her stomach, and Sarah was knocked back into the middle of the circle, falling on her butt hard. The wound wasn't that bad; it was more of a force blow than a pain blow. They were having fun with her, torturing her.
"Come on, Sarah, focus!" shouted a male voice. Sarah looked around, but no one was there. And why hasn't anyone come out yet? Like Ian would miss the fun—
The thing raised an "arm" to attack her, but Sarah raised her left arm—the one with her sword—to block it, although she knew it wouldn't do her any good—but something did happen.
Her sword began to glow, and the thing's "arm" was blocked. The white light around her sword started to fade, revealing not her sword, but a new one. One that looked awesome, with a black and red jagged-striped handle, and a blade that looked like a huge…key? The backing of the handle had what looked like scales, and the top of the blade had spikes on it.
She used her strength to throw the thing off of her with her new sword, and the thing went flying. She hacked at the air around the things, and saw them flinch. She smiled. It was payback time. She swung her sword at the thing that was closest to her, and like Ash, she killed it in one hit. It disappeared into a dark aura. She killed the rest of them, and felt like she could go against a thousand of those things without breaking a sweat.
She heard someone clapping behind her, as if applauding. She turned around, and saw the hooded man in the black robe. And suddenly everything clicked in. Like why no one from her team showed up yet.
"Gimme a break," she muttered.
"Yeah, go Sarah, the Keyblade Master. I knew you had it in you," he said, coming toward her.
"You." Funny how a three letter word could just about sum everything up. She got into her fighting stance.
"Come on. I have a name ya know," he removed his hood to reveal bright red hair, a kid who wasn't that much older than her. A good-looking one at that.
"Why is it every time I want to have a civilized conversation with you, you try to attack me? Now, come on. I haven't tried to hurt you, yet." Another chill went down her spine.
"Yeah, right. Like you weren't the one who siced those things on us," she said.
"Hmph," he said, in a way that she knew she was right. "I wanted to prepare you. See if you were ready. And you did manage to kill some Nobodies. But it could just be the adrenaline rush."
"Save the monologue for someone who cares!" she said, knowing this was stupid of her. If he could freeze time, which she knew he could now without a doubt, than he could probably kill her, manipulate time.
"Ouch. Fine. If that the way you wanna play it," he said, and what looked like two wheels made out of flames appeared in his hands.
She charged at him, but he disappeared, shimmering into thin air. She looked all around her, but he wasn't anywhere to be found. She saw him appear on the opposite side of the park, the place by the fountain. He was crouched, the flames gone from the wheels. He looked hurt, but she couldn't be sure.
She rushed at him, Keyblade in her hand. She swung her Keyblade at him, but it went right through him, and he disappeared. She felt someone tap her on the shoulder, and she turned around to face him again, ready to swing the wheel at her, one with flames. She blocked his blow, even though it hurt from the heat from the fire.
"Freeze!" she shouted at him, and out of her Keyblade came a huge ice ball. She wasn't as good as Thea when it came to this stuff, but she knew that this Blizzard spell was an upgrade, that somehow the Keyblade could make her spells more powerful.
But the spell had no effect on him. He smiled a cruel smile before taking the wheels of fire and throwing them at her like missiles. She turned and ran toward the old Gizmo shop, not wanting to take a chance with the Keyblade. She ran until she came to the wall, quickly casting an Aero spell to propel her up the side of the building and do a flip off the wall to make the wheels crash into the wall. That was the plan, however, but the Aero spell didn't work. The Keyblade gave a sort of cough when she called out for wind, and she didn't move up, running into the wall.
She shielded herself to try and block her from the wheels, but they never came. She looked up, and saw him standing in front of her. She looked up at him, feeling small and scared because she knew she was a lot weaker. She could feel her pulse beating faster.
"Come on, Sarah. And to think I was pulling for you in this round," he said casually. He reminded her of Ian, the way he talked to her, as if they knew each other since they were kids.
"Who…are you?" she asked, her voice even. She wasn't scared of him anymore, because she felt like he was someone she had known. His face was so familiar… Her heartbeat was going crazy.
"A friend," was all he said, looking at his gloves.
She laughed, feeling a lot more like herself, comfortable. "Like I don't have enough already."
He smiled that cruel smile, the one which sent shivers down her spine. "I didn't say I was yours," he said, and turned and disappeared into the darkness.
Her heart was beating so fast she thought she would pass out. But the Second District was clear. No more Nobodies around. She headed toward the path that led to the Third District when she heard the sound of a door opening behind her. She turned, and saw her friends. More Nobodies showed up, and they tried fighting, but nothing happened, as she expected.
Sarah ran back, killed the Nobodies, and stood there, Keyblade glistening in the light.
"Jeez, what took you guys so long?" Sarah asked. "Thought I'd be the only one having fun out there."
They stared at the Keyblade, Seth wide-eyed, Ian with his mouth practically open. Astra, Squall and Thea must've been in the Hotel still.
"N-new weapon ya got there, Sarah?" asked Seth.
She twirled the Keyblade in her hand, and rested it on her shoulder. "Yeah. Ain't it great?"
The Keyblade vibrated, and a silver light shot out of the top, straight into Seth and Ian's weapons.
"I think you guys are in the clear for killing the things," she said. "Listen, I know he's in the Third District, but these things are all over. Can one of you cover the First District and other this District?"
"N-no problem," Ian said, still looking at the Keyblade. "Just be careful, okay, Sarah?"
Sarah smiled. It was always like Ian to worry about her. "Yeah, you know I'll be. Okay, now I've gotta get going!"
She turned around, watched as Seth headed toward the First District, and Ian walked around a bit, swinging his sword. Then she turned back, heading for the Third District to rescue her father.
The Third District was crawling with Nobodies. And not just Nobodies. The Nobodies were fighting other creatures, little black things that looked like huge ants. Maybe they were good?
It was literally crawling with them. Sarah couldn't even see the surface of anything in the Third District because they were everywhere. And she couldn't see Ash, either.
"Ash!" she called out. "Ash!" One of the black ants attacked her. She took her sword and struck it, killing it. Guess they're not good, thought Sarah.
She tried to make a path through the Third District by cutting through the ones that mattered, as Ash had taught her. But the more she killed, the more tried to attack her, swarming to get in her way.
"Ash!" she kept calling out. Where is he? What if he's not even here? Maybe the things got him. Wait…are they all even Nobodies?
The black things had a different symbol on them, one that looked like a heart with a dagger instead of a point at the bottom.
She hacked at more of them, clearing them out by groups, but it didn't seem to help. They just kept coming. She turned toward the door that led to the Second District, but she was in the middle of everything. The door was far away. And she was already here. What if Ash was knocked out or worse? She wouldn't leave until she found him.
"Ash! Are you here!" she asked as she hacked at the black creatures and the Nobodies. They were fighting each other as well, so it was a little easier on her.
She couldn't take another step. Literally. She couldn't pick up her legs to walk because the creatures were holding it down. A few Nobodies tried to attack her, knocking her down. Her head hit the pavement hard, and she felt that she was losing her fight to remain conscious. Soon it would all be over. Her vision started to get blurry and she vaguely heard a noise, like a door opening…
And then she knew no more.
-- -
Strange voices echoed in her mind.
"You can't leave now, I just found you."
"Would you give up everything?"
"If two people share one, their destinies become intertwined. They'll remain a part of each other's lives, no matter what."
"I'll find you again. I promise."
---
"This world has been connected. Tied to the darkness…soon to be completely eclipsed. You do not know what lies beyond the door. There is so very much to learn. You understand so little. One who knows nothing can understand nothing."
---
"You know, he's changed."
"What do you mean?"
"Well…
---
"Let's take the raft and go--just the two of us!"
"Huh?"
"Just kidding!"
"What's gotten into you? You're the one that's changed."
---
"Once we set sail, it'll be great!"
---
Sarah woke up, eyes snapping open. She turned her head to the right. She was in some kind of dark room. She turned and ran to the right, but ran into a glass wall. She turned and ran to the left, but ran into another glass wall. She kept running into glass walls, trapped.
She couldn't shout, couldn't do anything.
She ran to a glass wall and tried to pound on it, trying to shout but only silence came.
She dropped her arms to her side in frustration. And then she felt something strange in her left hand. She looked down and saw the Keyblade in her hand.
Suddenly the room became brighter. She could see where the glass stood. She also saw a path, but one that was filled with darkness.
When she turned her head to face the glass, she didn't see her reflection, rather a person. A boy, one with brown spiky hair and blue eyes. He wore a baggy black and yellow outfit, and was holding a key in his hand.
Sarah looked closer and saw the Nobodies and the black creatures start to surround him, and if he wasn't careful, he was going to be devoured by them.
She tried shouting out to him, but it was still useless. She took her key and tried jamming it into the wall to shatter the glass.
"Sarah?" called out a voice. "Sarah!"
The pretty brunette opened her eyes, meeting those blue eyes she had seen in her dream.
"Is it Christmas?" she murmured, her voiced slightly slurred. She was back in her room at the Hotel. Ian was sitting on the chair beside the bed she was on, her bed, and was looking at her. He smiled, and she could see his relief.
"God, we were so worried about you," he said. "We found you in the Third District, those things all over you. Are you okay?"
"Yeah," she said, and then realized what had happened, her mind clearing. She shot up, almost headbutting Ian in the process. She turned to him. "What happened to Ash? Is he alright?"
"He's fine," Ian said, reassuringly. "He's in his room, along with the others; they're all in they're rooms, waiting for you to wake up. I stayed behind so I could help when you woke up…"
His voice trailed off as they realized how close they were. She could feel his breath. Her heart jumped to her throat, and she swallowed to push it back down, feeling a flutter in her stomach. He was holding her hand as well, Sarah realized, and Ian quickly let go. Sarah missed the warmth of his hand on hers. She blinked. Where did that come from? No, Sarah! You do not think that about your best friend!
She looked down at her hands quickly, as if examining them. "I, um…I guess we should get going," she started, her voice a little shaky. "We don't want to keep Ash waiting."
"Yeah," Ian said. "Come on."
She looked around for her Keyblade, and it came to her, somehow, appearing in her hands. She got up from the bed, using her Keyblade as a cane. Her head was still spinning, but she could still manage.
She opened the door that led to the Red Room, Ash's room, and saw that everyone was there, including Ash.
"You okay?" he asked her.
"Yeah," Sarah replied. "You?" He nodded.
Thea hugged her. "I'm glad you're okay. But next time, we all go as a team, kay?"
"Yeah," Sarah said.
Thea looked down at what Sarah was carrying, and a shadow crossed her face. "Oh, Gods. Oh, Gods, no."
"I didn't believe it at first, either." Seth said, in a cold voice.
"You're the new one, then, right?" asked Astra.
"This is worse than I thought," Ash said.
Sarah felt like she was the victim of an April Fool's joke.
"What's going on?" Sarah asked. "You know, don't you?" She threw the Keyblade on the ground, and it slid across the floor to Ash's foot. "What's happening to me?"
"You are the Keyblade's newest Master," Squall said. "It's new chosen one."
"I thought…" Seth started. "I thought it was only a legend before. I mean, Cid used to tell us so many stories, tales, and I just thought that this one was another tale. But…"
"Hey, listen," Ian started. "I don't know what's going on, either. So will someone tell us?"
"Y-yes, of course," Seth said. "Well, this isn't from Cid as much as our dad. As you guys know, years ago, before we came here to Traverse Town, we lived in Hollow Bastion, back then called Radiant Garden. Our leader there was Ansem the Wise, who used to conduct experiments to study how the heart worked. And our dad worked with Ansem the Wise for many years as a servant, watching him and his experiments.
"Well, about seven years ago, Ansem the Wise had found a young man collapsed on the street by the name of Xehanort. He came to be Ansem's apprentice, but having no memories, he pushed himself to try and find out his past. And, as the years went by, Ansem had acquired a bunch of other apprentices, six in all to be exact, including Xehanort.
"Well, as Ansem the Wise conducted his experiments, his first being Xehanort who volunteered, the six conducted experiments of their own on people, dangerous ones at that. Xehanort was sort of like a leader, because he had the greatest power of the six. Anyway, they conducted these experiments on the people, rather the darkness of their hearts and they meddled with that darkness.
"Anyway, I do remember something about the Keyblade," Seth said, looking at Sarah, who still had the Keyblade in her hand. She looked down at it too, while he continued.
"A man from another world came to Radiant Garden, by the name of Mickey. King Mickey of Disney Castle, actually, but that's not the only thing. He wielded the Keyblade as well, and was a very knowledgeable man. Under King Mickey's advice, Ansem had looked at the notes that the six apprentices had made in their experiments. Earlier, he had found out they were conducting these experiments and ordered them to stop, but didn't do anything with their notes.
"In the notes, Xehanort, assuming the name of Ansem, wrote about, he had messed with the people's hearts, and the people changed into…Heartless. They were after only one thing: to feed off the darkness in other people's hearts. They used pieces of the worlds destroyed called Gummi Ships to travel to other worlds where they devoured more hearts, until the entire world itself was destroyed.
"In the process, Xehanort and the other five apprentices lost all humanity. Literally. The darkness corrupted them, and they themselves turned into Heartless.
"But when a person is transformed into a Heartless, when the heart leaves the body, the body is left, only a vessel. This is called a Nobody, which change forms if the humans had weak hearts. That's what's out there right now. But the strong-hearted ones don't change form. The five plus Xehanort, but seven others. They kept their human form, but are still Nobodies. They called themselves Organization XIII and wreaked havoc on countless worlds.
"That is, until four years ago, yet another Keyblade Master showed up, by the name of Sora. He was just a kid, but goddess, he had the strongest heart and a will of steel. He beat the Organization, somehow, one by one. Somehow, but no one knows about his final battle, the showdown with Xehanort's Nobody. Nobody has seen or heard from him. Supposedly, he was supposed have returned to his home world, but the Heartless and Nobodies…as long as there is darkness inside one person's heart, a heartless and a Nobody will be born. The journey is never over."
"So then why fight?" Sarah asked. She knew the answer, though, because no matter what, if you can save a life of one person, it's worth it.
"There is a way to beat them," Seth said. "To close, seal and lock Kingdom Hearts, the ultimate door, then we can free people's hearts from darkness. Live in an ultimate utopia. And to do that, we need to gather all four Keyblade Masters together. And we know of three now."
"But that's gonna be kinda hard," Thea interjected. "I mean, we would need a Gummi Ship to travel to other worlds."
Seth grinned. "You forgot. Running an Accessory Shop was not the only thing Cid did. He was a pilot, too. Come on, guys. Get your things packed and meet me in the Waterway in a half hour. We're going on a trip!"
And with that, he ran out the door to the Hotel.
"Woah!" Ian said. They had reached a cave in the Waterway, and there was a huge spaceship in the middle of it.
"You know how to fly this thing?" Thea asked Seth.
"No problemo…just, uh…it might be a little bumpy ride. I never actually flew this thing. Cid just told me how to fly it. But it should be fine." Seth said.
"I can fly this," Ash said.
"Well someone better get this thing off the ground," Astra took another puff on the cigarette.
"Come on," Sarah said, going on the ramp that led to the inside of the ship. "Let's pick out our rooms. How many rooms are there?"
"Four," Seth replied.
"That sucks," Ian said. He was holding the most luggage, she noticed.
"Ian?" Sarah started sweetly, looking at the bag. "What do you have in there?"
He knew he couldn't fool her. "Um…well, I have some clothes, some weapons, and…"
"And your PS2 and Xbox? CDs, maybe an Ipod?" Sarah said, in a matter of fact way. Ian gave her that puppy dog look.
"Well, I thought, ya know, in space and stuff, the group would like, need something to pass time, and stuff…" Ian said. He grinned, and Sarah couldn't help but grin back.
Sarah looked up at the sky, rolled her eyes, and sighed. "Well, I guess it couldn't hurt."
"Thankyouthankyouthankyou!" Ian said, grinning. He turned around and walked on the ramp, but Sarah caught him by the arm.
"But, under one circumstance," Sarah said, another grin playing on her lips.
"Anything!" Ian said.
She put out her hand. "My Ipod?"
He looked at her for a second and then realized what she was talking about. He reached in his duffel bag and took out a pink Ipod, which Sarah had loaned him and never got back.
"Thank you!" she called, before taking one last look at Traverse Town and heading up the ramp.
"Seth!" she called out to the cockpit. "What's our first stop?"
"I think it's time to meet some celebrities!" he called out. "And, maybe a little family reunion."
She turned toward the hallway, and saw Ian and Astra eagerly setting up the Xbox and the PS2. She grinned, and started toward the other rooms, when the ship suddenly jerked. They were leaving.
A/N: Wow! That took forever. I don't normally type that much, although I find it's more fun. I figure that I'm gonna do one world per chapter (or one chapter per world) although some of the upcoming events might take place in multiple chapters, in one or more worlds, but they are key events. So. Any thoughts, comments or concerns? There's that little box in the lower left hand corner. So PRESS IT!