CHAPTER I

I'll Meet You On the Other Side

[NOTE

First of all, I do not own any Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy characters that have or will appear in this fanfiction; this is purely fan-made. Second of all, I hope you all enjoy this. :3 I made another one before this, but I quickly got bored of it so I decided to start a new one. It's probably going to be a lot different from the first. It's just the first chapter, though, so don't expect much. Enjoy it. :D

[/NOTE

Charity reached her aching arm outwards, and bent it back underneath her head to keep her vision level. How long had she been sleeping? All during detention? Had school been let out already? As her swimming vision finally allowed her to make out simple shapes, she realized that the rest of the students were still sitting around her, either drooling, texting, or something inbetween.

Charity was only in detention because she decided to skip on Senior Ditch Day. And she was a sophomore. 'Smart choice...' Charity mumbled sarcastically to herself. She quickly lost track of time, and the detention bell rang. Springing up from her seat, her short, brown hair flowed behind her as she zipped out of the door, only to crash right into her friend, Nessa.

"Watch it!" Nessa said, both angry and laughing. Charity of course, was the first one up and offered a hand to lift up Nessa. Pulling her back up, they immediately began their walk home.

"You waited here for me?" asked Charity, "I know, stupid question."

Nessa laughed, "No, no, no. You see, my English class was right next to the detention office, and since detention took place during your eighth hour class, you know..."

Charity laughed and jumped on her back, "Carry me!" she said.

What a stupid request this was, as Charity was at least an inch taller and a couple pounds heavier than Nessa. She managed to carry her, however, and they stumbled out of the large high school building.

Charity's eye caught sight of a boy also walking out of the building. He had medium-length red hair with some green mixed in, and was just about Charity's height, if not a little taller. This boy wore simple clothing, but seemed oddly mysterious.

Nessa's mouth turned lopsided, "I don't get what you find so fascinating about him, aside from the fact that his hair looks like Christmas came early."

Charity cocked her head to the side. "It's not that I like him. It's just that he seems sort of... different." she mumbled.

"Yup, he's different." Nessa said, patting Charity on the back, "Just like everyone else. So which exit do you take to get to your house?" she asked. Nessa was walking home with her to hang out in light of the last day of school.

"Up in front by the west building," she said nonchalantly as her eyes steered back to the boy. What was with him that got Charity so interested? As she stepped forward, she practically flew into the area ahead of her, landing on her face.

"What the—?" Nessa asked, as she looked back to see what Charity had tripped on. Her hands began to tremble, and she practically screamed at the sight of it.

"What?" asked Charity, springing herself up again, "You know, falling twice in the same fifteen minutes isn't so good for your—" She stopped half way through her sentence just to stare down at a strange, black, bug-like creature. Its glowing yellow eyes seemed to shoot through her, and its being was so deep of a black that it was as if it was a piece of outer space itself.

"What is this thing?!" asked Nessa, backing away from the strange thing that was slowly moving towards them.

"New breed of dog?" Charity suggested halfheartedly as the thing neared closer. It suddenly seemed to duck into the ground, and moved like a shadow faster towards them.

Nessa let out a high-pitched scream, the kind that Charity could never achieve.

"Look out!" came a hoarse voice from behind them. Charity and Nessa split apart, the sun beating hard against them from how much the blacktop of the parking lot attracted. A figure ran up with some odd object in his hands, and in just a few perfectly played out swipes, the object disappeared. A small, heart-like shape seemed to float up from its body.

"What is that thing?!" Nessa repeated, this time to the boy that had jumped and gotten rid of it. Surely enough, it was the same boy with the red and green hair that Charity couldn't stop looking at for a while.

The boy said nothing, but looked back at the two of them. His eyes fell to Charity, which sent an odd shiver down her spine. "I wasn't supposed to need this anymore. I thought it was over." he mumbled to himself. Dropping the odd object, they both realized it looked just like a large key.

Much to Charity's surprise, when she reached out to pick up the giant key for him, it flashed into her hand.

Letting out a noticeably different scream than Nessa, she threw the giant key back, and shoved her hands into her jeans pockets.

The boy's face, for once, showed the slightest hint of confusion. "You're one, too." he said quietly, getting closer to them. Nessa backed up a step, but Charity stayed still, as if demanding an explanation for what was going on.

"I'm a what?" she said finally, after almost a minute of being stared at like a lab rat.

"You're a keyblade wielder." the boy said, as if he was trying to convince himself rather than Charity. He grabbed her arm forcefully, and began to drag her.

"Hold up!" shouted Nessa.

"This has nothing to do with you," the boy said, guiding her through forests of cars and confused faces. He looked as though he could feel the darkness of those things surrounding them everywhere, "You better go home before you become mixed up in this."

"No way!" Nessa screamed at him, "Charity's my best friend, no matter what, I'm going with her! What the hell is she, and what are those things."

"She has the power to wield a Keyblade," he said, glaring back at Nessa, who finally caught up with them.

"You know, I can follow you just fine without gaining bruises on my arms if you just let me go." Charity informed him.

They reached an odd-looking tree, almost as if it was hollow. There was a small etching of a keyhole on it. Oddly enough, the boy held out his hand, and the Keyblade appeared in it. Pointing it at the tree trunk, it opened as if the door was there the whole time. Silently ordering the two to get in, they walked inside.

As if by magic, the inside of the tree trunk was large enough to fit two basic-size living rooms. The furniture seemed almost as woody as the tree itself, but Charity and Nessa realized it was oddly comfortable as they were told to sit down.

"Leon told me to come here in case something like this happened. He said it would be safe." the boy mumbled.

"What the hell?" asked Nessa, whose temper was finally catching up with her. "Okay, first off, what's your name, what are these Heartless, and why in all of hell does Charity need a giant key?!" Her long, dishwater blond hair had dried slightly at the edges from the sweat that came from her head as they were running, but besides that she was in perfect condition.

"My name is Leander." he said, smoothing his hair down slightly, "I work with the Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee."

"Okay," said Nessa, "And what about the Heartless?" she asked.

Leander, for the first time that he had talked to them, smiled, "Beings without hearts. Only a keyblade can destroy them."

"Great, now we're getting somewhere."

Charity was happy that Nessa was taking charge; this was all too shocking for her. She wasn't used to things materializing in her hand when she went to pick them up. She was hardly used to strange guys whisking her away.

"There's a problem," started Leander.

"You can say that again..." murmured Charity, but neither could hear her.

"Two years ago, a boy named Sora had worked to fight off the darkness and seal unlocked worlds with his keyblade."

"There are multiple worlds?" asked Charity?

Leander nodded, "And in doing so, the Heartless had stopped appearing in any world, along with the Nobodies, which are a whole different story. But they're back again, and the Keyblade wielders are once again needed."

"Bullshit." expressed Nessa. This earned her an odd smile from Leander.

"After you saw the Heartless and keyblade, I'll let you decide for yourself. What we need now is to find what the source of the problem is; who is unlocking the worlds."

Charity stared at the two, her vision swimming once more. Before she could even think about what was happening, she collapsed on the couch, her vision black and her breathing sharp and quick.

"Ness-" Nessa was interrupted.

"Let her sleep," Leander said, "she needs this."

She looked around in terror. Everything was black and white, and everyone was still. She was out on the parking lot with her best friend. Periodically, flashes of two teenagers- both blond, one a girl and the other a boy, would flash into her visions. They seemed oddly familiar, as if like an old friend. The Heartless appeared in front of them. This time, there wasn't just one. One soon multiplied into millions, but her best friend seemed okay. It was her herself that was being overrun by the darkness. She had no keyblade to defend herself, and strangely enough, she didn't mind.

FLASH.

Blonde girl.

The only thing that stood out from her black and white surroundings were her, now glowing red, eyes. She seemed overpowered with darkness, and determined to discover more about this power. She was keeping something from her friend.

FLASH.

Blond boy.

There was a small tunnel of light between the heartless, as if they were avoiding it. It was coming from a door.

FLASH.

Blonde girl.

Was the door closing?

FLASH.

Blond boy.

FLASH.

Brunet boy.

She couldn't sit there arguing with herself on where to go.

FLASH.

Silver-haired boy. Blond boy, redhead girl, blonde girl, brunet boy.

The closer you get to the light

The greater the shadow behind you will grow.

Don't be afraid.

She woke up, gasping for breath. She looked to the right of her. Leander was sleeping peacefully. To the left, so was her best friend.

Nessa sighed, and fell back asleep.