On the Day Before Christmas Eve
Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts, its locations and characters, belong to Square Enix. The story is my own.
It was in the merry Christmastime, carolers singing their joyous songs, busy shoppers bustling from store to store, logs crackling and popping in fireplaces, and with the smell of pine drifting on an icy breeze that the attack came.
No one was expecting it. How could they with visions of sugarplums dancing in their heads and powdery snow falling, making the whole town look like something out of an old movie?
The townspeople didn't know what hit them until several found the twitchy-black hands of the Shadow Heartless plunging wraith-like through their chests to seize their hearts, and then their bodies were fading fading fading—gone before they hit the snow-covered cobblestone streets.
The onlookers paused for a breathless, endless moment before screaming and running; those with some presence of mind took off to find the Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee in hopes that they could deal with this sudden Heartless invasion.
When Leon heard the news he scowled, growled low in his throat, and grabbed his gunblade before running out of Merlin's House where the Restoration Committee was headquartered.
On his way out of the Borough, Leon collided with Cloud Strife, sending both men sprawling; Leon's gunblade and Cloud's Buster Blade skittering and spinning off noisily in opposite directions.
Despite being knocked to the ground and knocking his head against the cold cobblestones, Cloud managed an intelligent "Wha-?" before Leon cut him off.
"There are Heartless in the Marketplace; they already took a few hearts." And then both men were running off again, collecting their swords along the way.
The Marketplace was literally crawling with Heartless and the two men would have been overwhelmed in short order if the rest of the Restoration Committee hadn't shown up at that moment.
"Convenient," Cloud muttered dryly.
***
It took the Restoration Committee, plus Cloud, the rest of that day and most of Christmas Eve to clear the town of the invading Heartless.
"It would have gone a lot faster if the Keyblade Master had been around to do his job," grumbled Cloud.
"He wouldn't answer his phone," Leon responded.
"And you didn't leave a message?" Cloud raised an eyebrow accusingly.
"He wouldn't call back either," Leon shrugged.
"He'll be here for the Christmas Party tonight," Aerith said sweetly.
***
That evening, Sora bounced through the door, a wide grin on his face.
"Have fun visiting Christmas Town?" Aerith asked.
"Sure did!" Sora's smile grew wider than ever, "How's everything here?"
"Just fine," Aerith smiled in return.
Leon and Cloud exchanged dead-pan looks.
"Yeah, if you don't count the Heartless invasion," Leon groused.
"Or that we were up all night fighting them off," Cloud snarked, "and a certain Keyblade Master wouldn't answer his phone."
Sora rubbed the back of his head and laughed sheepishly, "Well, y'know, phone service is terrible in the multiverse."
Fin
.
..
…
(In the background of the Merry Christmas Party, with Winter Wonderland playing over the sound system that Merlin had magic-ed up just for the occasion, Cloud and Leon shared sardonic looks.)