Kingdom Hearts:

Nobody's Promise

Chapter 1

Gasping for air, struggling not to trip as they ran, Reno and Rude rushed to try and escape the oncoming stampede of dark creatures chasing after them. How long they'd been running, they could not tell, but they knew if something didn't happen soon, it would be all over for them.

Reno's long red hair, normally tied in a ponytail down to his lower back, was flying loose in the wind, seemingly due to a strike from the creatures following him, cutting his hair band. Though he was thin, muscular, and an expert at using an electro-mag rod in combat, it seemed he was more concerned with getting out of their current situation than fighting to the death. Rude – taller, slightly more muscular, bald, and always wearing shades – shared the emotion, but it seemed hopeless. They were almost out of breath, out of strength, and – from the looks of the cliff up ahead – out of luck.

Once they reached the edge, they looked over the side, where a several hundred foot drop greeted their eyes. They looked at each other, then back at the stampede following them, then down at the ground, both cursing under their breath.

"Well, Rude," Reno said, pulling out his mag rod, "I guess we really don't have alotta choice now, eh?"

Rude, quiet as usual, simply grunted, nodded and prepared himself for a battle he was sure he'd never forget – or survive.

As the creatures came closer, they began to slow down, knowing they had won. They thought to themselves how irritating it had been chasing these two down for their measly Hearts, but soon it would all be over.

"Reno," Rude said as they came to a stop before them.

"Yeah?"

"I just wanted you to know, it's been…fun, partnering around with you."

"Same here, buddy. Can't believe it's gonna end like this."

"Yeah…becoming one of THEM…"

As they tensed up for battle, the scene seemed to last for an eternity – on one side, a pair of gentlemen who had fought countless battles at each other's side; on the other, a seething horde of Heartless, many shapes and sizes, anticipating the capture of more Hearts. Reno was seeing parts of his life flash before his eyes – when he was first hired to work for Shinra; becoming head of the Turks; the constant breaking of Rude's cheap sunglasses over the years. Rude, too, began to see his life flash before his eyes – Reno's hair always getting in his way when he tries to throw a punch; Reno always snatching money from his wallet when all he'd have to do is ask for a loan; replacing over $1,000 worth of cheap sunglasses because Reno's clumsy ass always broke them. Rude rolled his eyes at these events, but he knew one thing – no matter what happened, Reno was always there when Rude was in trouble. And now, they were going out with a bang.

The next few seconds flashed by so fast, Reno and Rude weren't sure exactly what had happened – the Heartless leapt at them; they drew back their fists, ready to strike; the next thing they know, the entire front line of the Heartless horde vanishes with a slash from out of nowhere.

"Geez, V. You could have at least found some Level 6's among this group," came a voice from behind. Reno and Rude turned around to look at the edge of the cliff, and saw two strangers standing there.

The one called "V" was a female. She stood about as high as Reno, with shoulder-length blonde hair, brilliant green eyes, a unique semi-revealing light blue outfit, and what looked to be a Wizard's fighting staff of some sort in her left hand that stood almost as tall as her. She appeared to be around the age of eighteen, and had a rather attractive smirk on her face.

The other figure was a man, but far less colorful. He wore a long black robe with the hood down, revealing his face to Reno and Rude. His brown hair was spiked as though made of shark fins. His dark brown eyes showed no emotion. His face was in a frown, apparently disappointed that the Heartless were so easily annihilated by his weird weapon he shouldered on the right side – it was as long as a sword, and looked just as sharp, but strangely, it resembled a key.

"Sorry, X, but these two guys were in trouble, and Level 6's or not, you promised to help someone out if I said so," V said, looking up to X, who was a head taller than her. Her mischievous grin never leaving her face. "And from what I see of these two—"she pointed her staff at Reno and Rude "—they're gonna need ALL the help they can get."

X smirked, bringing his weapon in front of him, pointing it at the Heartless. "Alright, if you insist. I suggest you two stand out of my way – this won't be pretty."

Reno and Rude looked at each other, then quickly leapt to either side giving him plenty of space. X didn't waste any time, and immediately sprung forward, his weapon pointed, into the enemy center.

"Cursed Heartless – FINAL DESTINY!!" he roared, his weapon glowing a bright white as he sped towards the remainder of the Heartless. Though there were dozens of them versus only one of him, the Heartless seemed to take a step back in fear as he sped towards them – and with good reason. When he swung his weapon at them, an enormous energy flowed out of it, enveloping the Heartless in a white light. One by one, they evaporated, destroyed by the overwhelming energies flowing from the strange blade. When the light subsided, neither Reno nor Rude saw a single dark form left.

X reached over to his right shoulder, massaging it and rolling it around. "Bah…I've had a tougher time opening a jar of pickles." He then looked over to Reno and Rude. "Hey, you guys alright?"

Reno and Rude, eyes wide from the event they just witnessed, could only nod.

"Good." X looked at V. "Hey, it's getting late. We need to get to town and find somewhere to stay."

"Sure!" V said with glee, happily running over to join his side.

As they walked away, Reno finally found his voice again. "H-Hey!" He called out, making them turn around. "What the hell is that—" he pointed to the strange key "—and who the hell are you two?" he pointed at them.

X smirked, turning around to face him. "Heh…not much on tact, are ya, redhead?"

V tugged X's arm. "Oh, calm down, he doesn't mean anything by it." she then looked at Reno and Rude. "I'm Valerie, but you can call me V. That—" she said, pointing to the weapon "—is a Keyblade. And this—"

"Name's X," he said, cutting her off. "And I'm just a Nobody."