When Yuffie woke up it was dark. She was lying on her back in an alley she didn't recognize, and something was licking her cheek.
"What?" She sat up quickly, pushing off whatever it was that was on top of her. It turned out to be a dog. A strange speckled black and white dog she'd never seen the like of before. "Where am I?" She asked the dog, but it didn't answer. She stood up on legs that felt weak and unsure. She felt a little motion sickness, like she was on a boat. She hated boats.
She walked to the end of the alley and into a square. Here there were brightly shining lights that lit everything up and showed her where she was. Not that it meant anything to her.
"Is this Hollow Bastion?" She asked out loud, even though there was no one nearby but the dog, and the dog had thus far proved to be unhelpful.
She kept walking. The dog followed beside her, wagging its tail at her. She looked down at it and asked, "What do you want?" Still the dog did not answer.
She had the feeling she was being watched, and it was not a pleasant feeling. She slowed down her walk and reached behind her for her shuriken…
Where were her shuriken? She remembered this morning, her dad had reminded her to wear them, because a ninja should never be without his tools. She had sighed and put them on in the end, but where were they now? What had happened since this morning?
Apparently a lot.
A little black creature materialized out of the ground. She nearly laughed, it was so funny looking, but the sight of it sent alarm bells ringing in the back of her head. Another appeared, and another, until she was surrounded.
The dog crouched low to the ground, growling at these new arrivals. Yuffie imitated the dog, crouching down in a fighting stance, putting her hands up at the ready and growling.
They attacked. Yuffie dodged and parried, and she could swear she hit every time, but it didn't seem to be doing anything. It should have been easy to get rid of these little things, but she couldn't do anything against them.
She glanced at the dog. It was growling in the face of two of the small creatures, snapping at their antennae. She shook her head. This wouldn't do.
She leaned over and tugged at the dog's collar. The dog took her hint and ran after her. Her dad had always told her; if you can't beat 'em –run.
She ran around a corner where three more little creatures appeared so she just kept running. She wanted her dad – he would be able to fight them. She hummed to herself as she ran. It didn't matter what the situation was, she always hummed to herself while running. It was her theme song.
She stopped for a moment in another alley that seemed free of menace. As she stood there for a minute, waiting to see if any more creatures would appear the dog barked and struggled free of her grasp. She let go of the collar she hadn't even realized she still held, and mumbled an apology to the dog. It turned to look at her and then ran around the corner.
She figured she was lost anyway; she might as well follow. The dog led her out of the alleyway and into another brightly lit square. She barely got a chance to look around before the dog was off, leading her down another street that ended in a dead end.
There was a door at the end of the street, and the dog sat itself down in front of the door and looked at her, wagging its tail again.
"Is this home then?" She asked. The dog barked and she rolled her eyes. "Sure, now you answer me."
She opened the door.