So, I honestly wasn't going to post this until I actually finished it, like I usually do. But, damn. I didn't. I lost my inspiration at the part when spoiler. Just when I found what I needed, too. -sigh-

The rating is for some cursing, by the way.

Disclaimer: Unfortunately for me, Kingdom Hearts belongs to Square. I wish it were mine, though. That counts for something, right?

Disclaimer 2.0: Lyrics aren't mine, either.

I guess it's too bad that everything we have is taken away

Swim in the smoke

The hero will drown

The aircraft hovered a second before landing cautiously. A hatch opened, allowing a boy, a duck, and rather tall dog to walk out. They didn't hesitate, immediately taking off for their destination.

Rylin looked on from her perch in fascination before standing and jumping down, long blue hair flying behind her. She confidently walked toward the vessel, a wide smile gracing her lips as she traced the metal with long, pale fingers.

Before long, she'd gone all the way around it, eyes wide with childish glee. When she was about to reach the hatch again, she paused, hearing an odd noise behind her. She turned slowly, unable to stop herself from staring no matter how hard she tried.

"O-Oh, hello," she stammered. "I-I was just, uh… looking… at it; I wasn't going to do anything." She forced a nervous grin.

They looked rather sinister, these strange, white creatures. Their pointed limbs seemed to blink with a blue light, and their heads were shaped oddly and had… zippers for mouths. Their bodies swayed and twirled as they approached.

"S-So, um…" Rylin stuttered, slowly side-stepping her way to the hatch. "Are you, uh, friends of this fine ship's owners?" They didn't answer. Instead, one jumped into the air, swirling toward her. She quickly felt for her pendant, only to realize she'd forgotten to wear the necklace today. Gasping, she dashed into the vessel, closing it tightly behind her. Taking a few deep breaths as she hoped this thing was well armored, she took a look around.

"Wow," she breathed. "So this is Cid's precious—" She stumbled as the ship rocked suddenly. "What the—" It shook violently. Rylin braced herself against one of the chairs, thinking, It must be those thing! They're trying to get in! Carefully, the girl worked her way to the door, back pressed to the wall.

Finally, the hatch burst open as they fell in. Rylin was frozen in shock—it was the three she'd seen earlier!

As they recovered, she sighed in relief and slid down to sit on the floor. The boy noticed her and a bright light appeared at his hand. When it faded, she was face-to-face with a large, silver key. She stared at it, unimpressed.

"…What's this supposed to be?" she asked finally, pointing at it lazily.

"It's the Keyblade," he crowed.

"Key… Blade?"

"Yeah! And just who're you?" the blue-clad duck demanded.

"Rilyn."

The boy stepped back, looking at her curiously.

"You're… not part of Organization XIII, are you?" he asked.

"What's that?"

"I guess not, then," he said drolly, helping her stand. "So, what're you doing in here?"

"I was trying to get away from those… things," Rylin answered. She smiled. "Name's Rylin. But you can call me Riley."

"Sora," the boy said, "and this is Donald and Goofy." He gestured to the duck and dog in turn.

"So, Sora, Donald, Goofy… what were those things? They couldn't have been Heartless, right?"

"No, they weren't. They're called Nobodies, and they're basically the empty shells left behind when someone gets turned into a Heartless," he said, seemingly proud of his knowledge and ability to explain it. "Those Dusks are gone now, by the way."

"Oh, good," Rilyn sighed. "I have to go home and get my necklace."

"Necklace?" the trio echoed. She smiled.

"Yep!" With that, she jumped out of the Gummi ship, making her merry way home.

Before she managed to seven feet away, she was hit from behind and fell to the ground with an audible "oof!" Immediately, the girl jumped back to her feet and whirled to face her attacker.

"Well, that's certainly an underhanded way to—" She froze upon realizing what she was facing.

"Nobodies…"

x x x x

She instinctively grasped for her pendant, cursing when she remembered she didn't have it.

"Oh, man," she groaned before turning and running. Before she got far, however, more appeared before her. She stopped, realizing just how screwed she currently was.

Rylin managed to get her back to the wall and crouched into a fighting stance. She didn't think she could do too much damage like this, but she'd be damned if she wasn't going to try.

She charged at the Nobodies, kicking at the nearest one. It flew back, but she presumed it was merely unstable in balance, especially with the way they kept swaying. She failed to notice, however, when one managed to get her back and swirled around her feet, finally tossing her into the air. Rylin landed ungracefully, groaning from the pain in her back. They threw themselves at her, attacking her with all their might.

"Leave her alone!" a voice yelled. Before Rylin realized what was going on, the Nobodies were off of her. She groaned again as she tried to get up. "We'll take care of them," Sora said, standing before her with Donald and Goofy.

"What—" she began, but they'd already launched their attack. She couldn't help but stare as they effortlessly defeated the creatures. "H-How—"

"Piece o' cake," Sora crowed.

"Garwsh, Riley, are you alright? They were mobbin' ya!"

"Y-Yeah," she mumbled, hissing suddenly when her back twisted the wrong way.

"Here," Sora said, offering her a potion. She took it gladly. "Maybe we should go with you," he suggested.

"Go with me?"

"Yeah, to get your necklace. The Nobodies seem to like you a lot," he joked.

"No. I can protect myself. All I need is my necklace."

"What's so special about a necklace?" Donald wondered. She smiled mysteriously.

"I just need it." With that, she got up and ran, waving back. "Thanks for the potion, Sora!" The three stared after her.

"Maybe we should follow her, just in case."

"But didn't she say she doesn't want us to?" Goofy asked doubtfully.

"Yeah, but if the Nobodies or the Heartless appear again, she'd be defenseless," the Key Bearer pointed out. "Her heart might be taken."

"Yeah! We can't let that happen!" Donald added. Goofy sighed; he was outnumbered.

"Well, okay…"

"The trio went the way they'd last seen her. They were about to turn the corner when Rylin popped out, yelling, "BOO!!"

"Whoa! …Have you been around Jack for too long, Riley?" Sora demanded playfully. She looked at him oddly.

"Who's that?"

"Guess not…" He shrugged.

"Well, anyway, Rylin said, confused, "I thought I told you not to follow me."

"We never said we'd listen," Sora said stubbornly. She laughed.

"Okay, fine. Follow if you have to. You'll just have to stay outside when we get there. I have to change." Rylin gestured to her torn clothes. "Or you can leave then."

"We've got other places to be, anyway," Donald said gruffly. She giggled and continued on her way.

After a few more encounters with both Heartless and Nobodies, Rylin finally stopped at a wooden door.

"This is my house," she said proudly, opening it and entering. The male trio made to follow, but the girl quickly turned back around, waving her index finger. "Ah, ah, ah," Rylin scolded playfully. "I know I'm pretty, but I have to change. And, usually, I do that alone!"

"Oh, yeah," Sora said, rubbing the back of his head and looking away in embarrassment. The girl smiled and closed the door behind her.

She made her way to her bedroom, picking up a few things on the way and throwing them on the mattress. Rylin hopped around the room, carefully choosing some new clothes. She took off the torn, black shirt and grabbed the fresh shirt, unfolding it. She was about to put it on when a strong pair of arms wrapped around her, one hand covering her mouth.

Rylin struggled fiercely against the strong grip, trying to get her necklace from across the room. The one holding her did not yield, instead pulled her backward. She tried to scream and fight, but it was all in vain; the next thing she knew, she was surrounded by darkness.

And that, my friends, is Chapter I. I'm lazy, so it might be a while before I post Chapter II. We shall see.