Sora and his friends discover their things disappearing all over the place. What is going on? Is it the strange work of the Heartless, or is there another culprit at large?
The Enigmatic Thief – Part I
"Where the heck did I put it? I could've sworn it was in my room last night. No one could've taken it, right?"
Sora was strolling along the streets of Traverse Town when he found Cloud looking more distraught than normal. Wondering what could be the matter, the teenage boy saunters over to his blonde-haired friend.
"What's wrong, Cloud?"
"I can't find my Buster Sword anywhere," replied the lone swordsman.
"What do you mean you can't find it?" asks Sora, puzzled. "Every time I see you, you always have that sword in your hand. I didn't think it could be separable from you."
"I put it down once in a while," countered Cloud, feeling rather annoyed by Sora's little joke.
"Well, where was the last time you saw it?" inquired the boy. "Maybe we can retrace your steps."
"I've been doing that all day," replied Cloud. "The very last time I had it with me was when I was training with Hercules at the Coliseum. I got dizzy because I forgot to eat breakfast that afternoon so I went to get something to eat. Everything else after that was a blur because I had collapsed from starvation. When I came to, my Buster Sword was nowhere to be found. The only other person who could even lift my sword was Hercules and he told me he hasn't seen it since I left."
"How weird," noted Sora. "Who else could possibly have the strength to lift your sword, let alone carry it without anyone else knowing? That thing weighs a ton."
The two of them look down at the ground and fell deep in thought.
"Counting grains of dirt?"
Cloud and Sora look up to see the always smiling face of a certain young ninja girl.
"Hi Yuffie," greeted the Keyblade Master. "We're trying to figure out where Cloud's Buster Sword had disappeared to."
"Someone took your sword?" Yuffie exclaims at the blonde-haired swordsman with a look of surprise on her face. "How?"
"How do you know someone took it?" wonders Sora curiously.
"If no one took the sword then you guys would've found it by now, wouldn't you?" retorts Yuffie.
"That is true," agreed Cloud.
"Well, don't worry Cloud; you're not alone," assures Yuffie, standing akimbo. "My ninja stars have disappeared too."
"You lost something too?" exclaimed Sora with surprise.
"I didn't lose them, per se," reiterated Yuffie. "They just disappeared."
"So you both lost something," notes Sora. "I wonder if anyone else is losing stuff too."
As if on cue, Cid staggers by mumbling incoherently and angrily.
"Hi Cid!" Yuffie greets him cheerfully.
The middle-aged man turns to face the girl and opens his mouth as if to curse out, but when he spots Sora near her, he decides to keep his trap shut for the sake of the boy's innocent ears.
"How ya doin'?" he greets back, trying to keep his anger under control.
"Cid, did you lose something too?" asks Sora.
"How'd you…?" began the blonde-haired man.
"Cloud and I are missing something of ours," Yuffie fills him in. "We think there could be a thief afoot."
"Thief, eh?" vociferated Cid, the frown on his face working into a full-blown scowl. "That would explain my missing inventory. I thought it was those stupid Moogles messing up with the item accounting. If I ever get my hands on that sucker I'd—"
"Missing inventory?" Sora cuts him off questioningly.
"Yeah," answered Cid. "I'm missing an entire package of elixirs. You know how hard those things are to come by? I had to—"
"So Cloud's missing his Buster Sword, Yuffie's missing her ninja stars, and now Cid's missing some elixirs," recounted Sora.
"Not just some; a whole two dozen of them," clarified the middle-aged man. "Well, I gotta get back to the shop. Who knows what those flying oinkers are doing without me there. If any of you guys find someone selling elixirs at a cheaper price than me, you tell me as soon as you can, got it?"
"Got it," assured Yuffie with a grin.
Nodding farewell to the three, Cid heads in the direction of his shop. Just as he disappears into the crowd, two familiar faces appear in his place. Sora immediately recognizes the gloomy-faced figures as soon as he spotted them.
"Goofy! Donald!"
Upon hearing his name, the dog captain looks up and smiles at the sight of his young friend.
"Hi Sora," he greets the boy half-heartedly.
"What's wrong?" asks Yuffie.
"My shield's gone missing," answers Goofy depressingly. "What's gonna happen if we ran into some Heartless? They'll be all over me without my shield."
"And I'm guessing you lost your hat?" the teenage girl turns to the white duck, who was obviously missing some headwear.
Donald merely quacks a reply of confirmation with his more than usual scowl.
"This is weird," vociferates Sora, scratching his head in utter confusion. "I'd understand if a thief would take something like Cloud's sword, Yuffie's ninja stars, or Cid's elixirs in order to get money or get stronger, but I don't see why anyone would bother stealing something as menial as a hat or a shield, no offense to you guys."
Both Goofy and Donald acknowledges Sora's intentions with simultaneous nods.
"That is weird," agrees Yuffie, putting her hand to her chin.
"We should have a meeting with everyone and figure out what's going on," suggested Cloud.
"Great idea," agreed Sora. "We can make a note of everything that's missing and use that to find the thief."
"Allrighty then," exclaims Yuffie. "I'll spread the word and tell everyone to meet at the café in District 1."
With nods of agreement, the five of them dispersed into the surrounding crowds.
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Later at the café, Sora arrives to find Aerith, Cid, Yuffie, Cloud, Leon, Donald, Goofy, and Merlin lingering about the tables. Seeing that the last "guest" has arrived, Yuffie makes her way to the front of the café and yells everyone to attention.
"Okay people!" she cries out. "Now that everyone's here, we can begin the meeting."
Everyone either took a seat or stood leaning against the wall as the meeting was underway. Yuffie smiles and nods to Sora to take center stage. Feeling kind of nervous with everyone staring at him, Sora swallows his anxiety and summons as much courage as he could.
"H-hey everyone," he says nervously. "Ahem. Lately there's been a lot of stuff going missing around here. So… let's start by having everyone share what they've lost."
Aerith was the first to step up to the plate. Sora's eyes went wide with astonishment when he saw her, for she no longer had her hair tied up neatly. Instead, the soft brown locks were left hanging down her back and some fell over her shoulders so that they looked as if a jellyfish was perched upon her shoulders with its tentacles lying over her chest.
"I guess you guys can tell that my ribbon is gone," said Aerith with a meek smile.
Sora wasn't used to seeing Aerith with her hair down; she looked like an entirely different person. The same went for everyone who knew her.
"Ahem."
Leon was the next to speak up. "Gunblade."
Not surprised by his quick-to-the-point response, everyone made note of the item and went on to the last person.
"My wand," spoke Merlin. "If anyone finds it, please return it to me. I'm afraid of what could happen should it get into the wrong hands."
"My guess it's already in the wrong hands," Cid mutters under his breath, still bitter about his missing elixirs.
"Okay then," declared Sora. "So far, what's missing are: Cloud's Buster Sword, Leon's Gunblade, Yuffie's ninja stars, Cid's elixirs, Merlin's wand, Goofy's shield, Donald's cap, and Aerith's ribbon."
"What about you, Sora?" spoke up Aerith. "Don't you have anything missing?"
"Well, the only thing of real importance to me is my keychains and they're all right here," replied the boy, patting his pocket to hear the keychains jingle. Suddenly, he stops and his eyes open with along with his mouth in utter surprise. The jingling he heard didn't sound like the jingle he normally hears and the feel of his pocket was different as well. Fearing the worst, Sora empties his pocket and counts up the keychains he had acquired on his traveling to different worlds. As suspected, some of his keychains were gone; five of them to be exact. But it wasn't just any five random keychains. Sora feels that this thief had done his homework.
"Sora?" exclaims Goofy with concern. "Are you allright?"
"You don't look too good," notes Yuffie. "You kind of look pale."
Still grasping the keychains in his hands, Sora fell to his knees, his eyes still wide with shock.
"Took some of your keychains, eh?" figured Cid. "This thief got to all of us after all."
"He didn't just take any keychains," uttered Sora ominously. "He took the strongest ones I've got. Metal Chocobo, Lionheart, Divine Rose, Oblivion, Ultima Weapon… they're all gone."
The atmosphere around the café suddenly shifted from that of irritation to moribund vehemence. It was not the power of the stolen keychains that scared them; they understood that the keyblades won't appear to someone other than the chosen Keyblade master. What really struck fear into their hearts was the possibility of a strong Heartless that Sora won't have the strength to defeat as he is now. If Sora is destroyed, who else could wield the keyblades?
"This has gotten too far," vociferates Leon. "We've got to find this thief."
"But where can we start looking?" inquires Cloud. "This thief took us all by surprise, even us. Whoever he is, he's good at what he does."
Suddenly, everyone turns to Yuffie whose eyes went wide with bewilderment at the action. "What are you guys looking at me for?"
"How does that saying go?" asks Cid. "I believe it goes 'it takes one to know one'."
"I don't know what you're talking about," responds Yuffie.
"C'mon Yuffie," said Leon. "Who better to catch a thief than a thief?"
"Hey, now I don't do that anymore," argued the teenage girl.
"Yuffie, please?" spoke up Aerith. "This is your one chance to be what you are meant to be and get rewarded for it."
"Well…" began the ninja. "When you put it that way…"
"So, what do we do?" asks Merlin eagerly.
"Uh," uttered Yuffie as she thought of a plan. "First, we need something that this thief would want to steal."
"And what would that be?" wonders Sora, who finally snapped out of his shock.
"Well, judging from the missing items…," began the girl. "… I don't really know."
"That's a load of help," retorts Cid disappointedly.
"The items don't really have a connection, do they?" notes Aerith. "They all seem pretty random. Weapons, healing items, and clothing accessories…"
"What is it about the accessories?" wonders Sora.
"That cap is the only one I have," exclaims Donald, feeling irritated by his lack of head covering.
"And that ribbon is the only one I have too," adds Aerith.
Hearing this, Sora began thinking. He knew there was a connection among the items; his gut feeling told him so. He started recounting the stolen items. Cloud's Buster Sword, Leon's Gunblade, Yuffie's ninja stars, Cid's elixirs, Merlin's wand, Goofy's shield, Donald's cap, Aerith's ribbon… and my keychains…
Suddenly, Sora was struck hard by an epiphany. Of course! It all makes sense!
He gave a grin as he looks up at his surrounding friends who all look back at him curiously.
"I've figured it out!" the teenage boy declared confidently. "I know the connection!"
"Connection between what?" asks Goofy, cocking his head to the side.
"The missing items!" replied Sora. "Each item is unique to the person it was stolen from! No one else has them except you guys!"
"Of course!" agrees Merlin. "Why didn't we see it sooner? My wand is unique to me because no one else has a wand like it."
"The same goes for my ribbon!" exclaims Aerith.
"Our weapons too," added Cloud, indicating himself, Yuffie, and Leon.
"But what about my elixirs?" wonders Cid.
"I think the thief stole those to throw us off," suggests Sora. "He must've realized that each of the items he stole is unique to his victim so he must've stolen the elixirs not only as a means of provision but also so we can't get the connection."
"Good show, my boy!" praised Merlin. "How ever did you figure all that out?"
"An interesting question sort of popped up in my head," admitted the boy bashfully.
"What kind of question?" asks Yuffie.
Sora gives a sigh and looks down at the keychains in his hand. "What makes you so special?"
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The next day, er night, Sora, Goofy, Donald, and Yuffie stake out at the Fairy Godmother's house in the shadows of the cozy building. Sora recalls how he had told the kind woman about their plans as he sat with his friends.
"Fairy Godmother," declared the teenage boy. "We have come to believe your wand may be in danger."
As expected, the Keyblade master received a confused look from the magical lady. He explained to her the situation, after which the Fairy Godmother was more than happy to help, under the condition that no harm should come to her wand.
It's been about six hours since Sora got the okay from the woman and already the stakeout was turning into a real bore. The initial excitement had died down and some of them were getting quite sleepy.
"Wake me when something happens," quacks Donald as he lays his head on his hands.
"Same here," agrees Yuffie, trying hard to stifle a yawn.
"C'mon guys," urged Sora, stifling a yawn of his own. "This is our only chance to catch the thief."
"How do we even know if the thief will come after the wand?" argues Donald. "Heck, how do we know the thief is still in Traverse Town? For all we know, he could be miles away from here selling our stuff somewhere."
"Don't say that," chastises Sora. "The thief i will /i come, I'm sure of it."
"We'll just see," retorts the magical duck.
Another hour passed and Sora's eyelids were starting to feel very heavy. The others were already half-asleep, looking like a group of tired zombies as they sat on the floor. Just when the lips of Sora's eyelids met, something began stirring outside the house. Thinking it could be the thief, the boy quickly and quietly arouses his friends awake and all four of them focus in on the source of the noise. The noise stops and in moments Sora catches sight of a shadowy figure stalking across the room towards the location of the Fairy Godmother's wand. They waited until the thief was in a suitable position and then they pounced on the person. The thief hears their advances and easily dodges their attacks with a series of fluid, acrobatic movements. Without them knowing, the thief moved in a way that got the person closer and closer to the intended target, the wand. When the thief was close enough, the person snatches the item and makes its way out of the house. Sora and the others follow the thief outside where the person was leaping silently from rooftops to rooftops.
Thinking quickly, Sora remembers that Donald still had his wand and together the two of them cast Blizzaga on the thief. The thief manages to avoid the center of the spell's impact but unfortunately managed to get the person's legs caught in the spell. With frozen limbs, the thief fell to the ground unable to run any further. Thinking they have managed to catch the thief, Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Yuffie all gasp in surprise as they watched the thief cast Fira on itself and melt the ice surrounding its legs.
"He can use spells?" exclaims Yuffie in astonishment.
The ice completely melted by the time Sora and the others caught up to the thief. As the thief continued running, the person let out a taunting laugh.
"Yuffie, this is no time to laugh," the boy yells at the girl.
"I wasn't laughing," responded the ninja.
Sora became confused as they chase the thief further into the district. That laughter… It sounded like a girl. The thief's a girl?
Just then, the Keyblade master saw the thief suddenly fly into the air. Goofy and Donald had confused looks on their faces as well as Yuffie and Sora, who had equally perplexed expressions.
"He can fly too!" the ninja cries out. "What's going on here?"
As they got closer, they soon came to realize that the thief was struggling in midair. They spot a tall figure beneath the person and discover Merlin with a book in his hand.
"Merlin?" exclaims Donald in surprise.
"I may not have my wand but that doesn't mean I can't still do spells," replies the old wizard.
"What are you doing here, Merlin?" asks Goofy.
"I heard a ruckus coming in this direction so I came out to see what was going on," explained Merlin. "Who would've thought I'd be the one to catch the thief?"
The five of them look up to find the thief still struggling in the air. It seems that Merlin casted a capture spell that held captives in midair. It didn't hurt them nor did it allow any chance for escape. It was an advanced spell that Donald had yet to be taught.
Sora, Donald, Goofy, Yuffie, and Merlin all stood around in a circle before the old wizard let the thief down to the ground. Once on solid ground, the thief was eerily cool and calm as the person looked around at its captors. Sora couldn't believe his eyes. The thief was a girl after all!
The thief was clad in a simple outfit consisting of shoes that resembled hiking-boots, a blue jean jacket, and a lighter-shaded blue jean pants. She wore fingerless gloves of a strange shade of black on each hand and sported an intimidating spear and a mysterious sword of some sort. Her short hair gave her the initial appearance of a boy, but a closer look reveals that she was indeed a girl; a teenage girl to be exact; probably around Yuffie's age.
"Who are you?" demanded Sora.
"Who wants to know?" responded the girl defiantly. She takes a closer look at the boy and smiles. "You're that Keyblade master, aren't you? Sora was the name, right?"
"How'd you know?" asks the boy.
"Word travels fast around these parts," answered the girl.
"Give us back the wand," commanded Yuffie strongly. "And the other items you stole too."
"What other items?" toyed the girl, acting clueless as to what the ninja was talking about.
"Don't lie; we know you took the Buster Sword, the Gunblade, and everything else that went missing," spoke up Sora.
"Hmm, and I was so sure nobody could make the connection," utters the girl with a smirk. "I guess I underestimated you people."
"Hand them over," commanded Donald.
"Well, if you haven't noticed, I don't carry those important items with me so I can't really do that," responds the girl.
"Where are they?" asks Goofy.
"If you really want to know," began the girl as she sneakily grabs hold of something in her back pocket. "You're going to have to fight it out of me!"
Before Sora and the others could make a move, the girl speedily takes out a summon Materia and thrusts the red orb into the air.
"Dark Gore!"
The night sky became a cloudy mixture of blood red and deep black. Sora and the others watch as a lake of shadows appears behind the girl and from the depths of its darkness came a decrepit and hideous claw. Another equally hideous claw joined the other and a grotesque head emerges soon after. The horrendous creature came crawling out of its lair and towered above the girl as it looks down at its intended victims. Sick-inducing drool drips out of its massive jaws that deemed too heavy for its weak face muscles to close. Its thick salivating tongue ended in four tips, creating a sort of third arm for the monster to pull its meal into its waiting mouth.
"Aww, gross!" shrieked Yuffie in disgust.
"Have fun with Goranus," banters the girl. "I'm sure you'll have a LOT of it with him."
With that said, she runs off, leaving her summoned beast to handle the five captors.
"Well, um, I'd love to help, but this seems too much for me," chuckles Merlin. He disappears in a puff of smoke, leaving the remaining four fighters to take on the monster on their own.
"Well, guys," began Sora. "Merlin's left us, the thief got away, and Yuffie and I are without our strongest weapons. In addition to that, we're left with a nasty-looking monster that makes me think of my digestive system. Shall we fight?"
"Doesn't look like we have a choice," replies Goofy nervously.
"In that case," said Sora, summoning Oathkeeper into his hand. "Let's try not to die."