Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts and all associated characters do not belong to me.

Warning: This fic is not only spoilery for the first game (obviously), but will be so for Chain of Memories and Kingdom Hearts II as well. You have until Chapter 7 to finish those games, if you have not already.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Riku opened his eyes, rubbed them, then climbed to his feet slowly. He was in a dead end alley, that much he could see, but the surrounding buildings blocked anything else. "Sora?" he called, remembering that the brunet had been standing in front of him only moments before. "Kairi?" She'd disappeared the moment he'd touched her, but surely both of his friends had made it off the island as well.

His fists clenched at his sides; he wasn't scared, or panicking. He was...concerned, about them, because they were younger and wouldn't be able to take care of themselves alone as well as he could. Giving a firm nod, Riku stepped out of the alley and entered the nearby accessory shop.

"Hey, how can I...Oh, just a kid," the man behind the counter said.

"Who are you calling kid, old man?" Riku asked, bristling.

"Cool it, hotshot. The name's Cid, what can I do for you?"

Gruff, and blunt, but not unfriendly. Riku could live with that. "I'm looking for my friends." He quickly described Sora and Kairi, feeling his heart sink as Cid shook his head.

"Haven't seen 'em, but you just got here right?" Riku nodded. "Why don't you take a look around the town? They might have simply turned up in a different district."

Relieved, Riku grinned at him. "Thanks, Cid!" he said over his shoulder as he began to leave.

His hand was on the door when Cid called out, "Hey, you don't have a weapon, do you? Any way to defend yourself?"

Turning, Riku held out his empty hands in answer – he didn't even have one of the wooden swords they used on the island. Cid shook his head.

"That won't do, the Heartless'll get you before you take five steps. Take this." He tossed a dark sword to Riku, who easily caught it. "That's the Soul Eater, worth five hundred munny, so don't lose it. You can pay me back for it later."

Riku stared down at the blade, so different from the toys he had used. "I'm really not on my island anymore, am I?" he asked.

"'fraid not, kid," Cid said. When Riku looked up at him, Cid nodded at the door. "Go find your friends, before the Heartless do."

"Right." He gave the man a salute with the sword, pulled the door open, and stepped out into the square.

The door had barely shut behind him when a large yellow dog tackled him, knocking him to the ground and licking his face enthusiastically. "Bad dog," he muttered, pushing it away and out of breath from having the thing practically sitting on his chest.

"Pluto, get off him!" someone squawked, sounding remarkably how Riku had always imagined ducks would sound if they could talk. Thankfully, Pluto was pulled away, allowing Riku to sit up and breathe. A contrite-looking dog was holding Pluto's collar with one hand and offering to help Riku up with the other.

"Gawrsh, are you all right?" he asked.

"Come on, Goofy, we need to find that key!" the duck next to him – it really was a talking duck – snapped.

"But what about-" Goofy began.

"I'm fine," Riku said, standing and brushing himself off. Frowning at the duck, because being angry at Goofy or Pluto would be too much like...kicking puppies..., Riku told him, "You should keep him on a leash, so he doesn't go around attacking people like that."

"You should watch where you're going!" the duck squawked back.

"Hey, he jumped on me, I didn't-"

"What is going on out here?" Cid broke in, hands braced on either side of the open doorway. "You're makin' more noise than a room of schoolchildren," he added.

"He started it," they both said, then glared at each other.

Goofy gave Cid a small wave, releasing Pluto who promptly ran off. "Uh, Donald and I were looking for Leon," he said. "Do ya know where we might find him?"

Cid looked them up and down before answering. "If he's not at the hotel, he'll be in the Third District somewhere. Come to think of it, he might know where your friends are as well," he added to Riku. "Don't know why I didn't think of that before."

"You can come with us!" Goofy said, beaming at him.

"I don't-" Riku began.

"Good, maybe now you three'll quit hanging around in front of my store," Cid said. The door slammed shut behind him.

"I think that was a hint for us to leave," Donald said quietly.

Riku gave a short laugh in spite of himself. "Yeah. Come on, I think the other districts are this way."

The hotel initially turned up nothing but Heartless, and in the Third District they only found a pair of sad-looking Dalmatians. It was on their way back through the Second District that they noticed the door to the alleyway. "Think Leon might be back there?" Goofy asked.

"Let's check it out," Donald said. "Riku, you lead."

"Gee, thanks."

The alley seemed as deserted as the rest of the town. "Sure is spooky with nobody here!" Goofy said.

"Ah, phooey. I'm not scared."

Riku had barely finished rolling his eyes at that when Donald let out a wail of fright and jumped onto Goofy. Whirling around, Riku lifted Soul Eater, prepared to defend himself and his companions against whatever creature had come up behind them.

The brown-haired, green-eyed young woman smiled at them sweetly. "Excuse me, but did the king send you?"

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Heartless and Keyblades and missing reports – it all sounded far too surreal for the normal-appearing hotel room that Aerith led them too. Riku listened with an outward show of impatience, wanting to know only how this would relate to finding Sora and Kairi.

There was a brief knock on the door before it was thrown open and a black-haired girl bounced in. "Yuffie!" Aerith exclaimed. "Did you find him?"

"Nope," Yuffie responded. "I think it's made Squall grumpier than usual, though."

"It's Leon," corrected the man who followed Yuffie in and shut the door behind them. Spotting the trio, he asked, "Are they-?"

"Donald and Goofy are looking for the king, and the key," Aerith answered him. "Riku is looking for his friends."

"The Keyblade isn't here," Leon said. "And we're not a missing persons agency. Your best bet would be to search different worlds if you want to find them."

Riku scoffed. "Some help you are. I don't have a way to get to different worlds."

"Well, you could come with us," Goofy immediately offered.

"Really?" Riku asked, while at the same time Donald exclaimed, "What? No!"

"You could help each other find the people you're searching for!" Yuffie said. "I think it's a good idea."

"I don't," Donald grumbled.

"Our gummi ship's plenty big enough for you to ride with us, Riku," Goofy said. "We'll find your friends, the king, and the Keyblade if we work together."

"That's decided then," Leon said. "Good luck."

"Why don't we take a look around town, make sure we haven't missed anything before we leave," Donald suggested. He shot a look at Riku. "Since we're going to be here anyway."

Stepping out of the hotel brought a nasty surprise to the trio; the Second District was swarming with Heartless. "Don't worry so much about the small fry," Leon said. "The leader has to be around here close. We should split up – the three of you check the Third District, Yuffie and I'll look in on the First."

"Right," Riku said.

They made their way slowly to the other district, cutting down small Shadows and Soldiers as they went. Riku breathed a quiet sigh of relief when the door closed behind them. He preferred a solid door between himself and the Heartless.

"It looks like everything is quiet here," he said, moving down the ramp and out into the center.

"Sure does," Donald replied. Confident as he sounded, Riku was amused to note how close behind him Donald and Goofy were staying. Not that he minded, of course.

The trap sprang when they were fairly close to the fountain. Stone walls rose quickly in the exits to the courtyard, and Soldiers promptly surrounded them. When the trio made short work of them, Riku thought they'd escape unscathed.

The appearance of the Guard Armor disabused him of the notion. Having to watch five parts moving first together, then in different directions, was harder than fighting the smaller Heartless. Eventually the three of them were able to destroy the very last piece, which brought the walls of the trap down.

Leon hurried down the ramp from the Second District, with Yuffie and Aerith close behind him. "That was some Heartless," Yuffie called out. "You guys okay?"

Riku gratefully drained the Potion Aerith handed him, feeling the cuts and bruises heal as he did so. "We're fine now," he said. He frowned at Leon and added, "Funny how we were the ones sent right to it."

"Don't waste your suspicion on me," the scarred man told him. "I'm not your enemy, Riku."

"Let's get going before another one shows up," Donald demanded. Goofy nodded enthusiastically in agreement.

"All right, let's head out then," Riku said. He pointedly turned his back to Leon and led the way out of the district.

"Good luck!" Yuffie told them as they left.