Chapter 1: Elward City
The sun hangs alone in the sky with no stray clouds to keep its rays from beating down onto the trios heads. A light breeze blows from the west against the side of their faces, relieving them of the heat that they have accumulated on their 9-hour walk on the endless dirt path that goes miles and miles. It goes uphill and downhill, curves left to right through the pine trees, and will sometimes just go straight forward until it came upon another hill. The heroes were energetic and excited at the start of the quest when they encountered the kings companion, Pluto, who was holding an envelope in its mouth with the seal of Mickey Mouse on it. Now, they have slowed to a walk and have no idea where the dog has gone. They just couldnt keep up.
"Argh! How much more do we have to walk," Donald quacked angrily. The kings wizard had a short fuse, so was no doubt frustrated, especially after an exhausted battle against the tyrant, Ansem.
But Goofy, the one who always set things straight, replies in his kind but goofy talk:" W'ell get there, Donald, when we get there."
"But what is 'there'," Donald responded quickly.
"Well..." Goofy was unable to answer that question and let Donald win this round.
"So, Sora, what..." Goofy began before immediately stopping along with Donald. They both reply:" Where's Sora?"
The two look back to find the keyblade master facedown on the ground just a few feet from them. They face each other with shocked faces before running to Sora's aid. After a few minutes of rest, which is approximately twenty minutes, the three are back on the road to who knows where. Sora, quite embarrassed about his sudden faint, smiles innocently to try to have them forget about the little mishap of his. This time, however, Donald and Goofy keeps a close eye on Sora to make sure it never happens again.
They walk.…..walk.…..and walk some more. They take little breaks ever thirty minutes and continue to.…..thats right...…..walk. The group soon approaches a very large hill, the largest they've seen since they met Pluto. They stop and look up at their nearly-impossible-to-overcome obstacle and stare exhaustingly at it.
"If there are more and more hills over this, Im going to die before I open that 'door to the light,' Sora jadely remarks.
They inhale and exhale deeply before staring up the hill. Who would have known just a little walk uphill would be like an eternity of torture? As they near the top, the three wondered what lied beyond. If it was a rest place to gather food and water, they were saved. But if it was a never-ending span of hills and trees, their journey will end here and in such a peaceful place. Rather a pathetic end it would be for the keyblade crew.
They finally reach the peak and they're eyes take in a beautiful sight. A town with large buildings that can almost qualify it as a city sat just below at the base of the hill. A stone wall about 17 feet high surrounded it and its entrance was a similar-sized metal gate with a gray coating. Behind the gate stood two men, probably guards from Sora's view, and it seem they were talking. The trio gasped in excitement and say simultaneously:" A bed! Water! Food!!" They set off down the hill, renewed with encouragement……until Goofy suddenly trips over his own feet. Next thing they know, the three are rolling down the hill in a ball with Donald muffling screaming:" Goooofyyyyy!"
They all are screaming up till they reach the base of the hill and ram into the metal gate, breaking up the two guards' conversation. They lay one-by-one on top of each other groaning with Sora at the bottom, Donald in the middle, and Goofy finishing the tumbled sandwich. The gate slides open, having Sora, Donald, and Goofy look up. Their faces are met with two drawn pistols held in the two guards' right hands.
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Now that they were up close, it was easier to see how they looked: a single shoulder pad over the right shoulder, a steel chest plate, a green shirt underneath, black gloves, no sleeves to hide their biceps, baggy green pants, and black leather boots strapped from the ankle to the toes, black helmets that covered the ears and hair with a strap around the chin, so their only distinct features were their eyes.
The three sigh as they are met with yet another problem besides their fatigued legs. They just wanted to stay lying on the ground after that long walk. They were so tired that they'll even allow the Heartless to get free hits on them. One of the guards says to the grounded party in a deep and demanding tone:" Identify yourselves!" Behind the two, Sora can see few more guards already making their way to the gate.
"Sora," the keyblade wielder says hastily.
Goofy slightly raises his hand and replies:" Goofy."
Donald has his head resting in his left hand while he taps his fingers rythmically with his right, and wears a displeased frown on his face. He finally says:" Donald."
The two guards look at each other and then looks back at them.
"Get up and come with us. The mayor has been expecting your arrival." Just suggesting getting to their feet and walk made the trio tired. They manage to walk on their sore feet and look around as they follow the guards through the streets toward the mayor's building. A boy and girl are kicking back and forth what seems like a blitzball. Wakka, one of his friends who lives on Destiny Island, has one and said once to Sora that his father use to play it before his death. The ball is soon kicked a little too far, but Sora catches it and kicks it back to the two, who laugh and return to their game. A little ways down is a shop called "Vex's Shop." It probably contains potions and stuff Sora thought as he glanced at it. Across from it was "Wessler's Garage." This shop was closed down, however, with its windows boarded. They reach the steps that lead up to the doors of the mayors building. The doors are wooden and have knockers with emblems of a lizard.
The guards push open the doors revealing a large lobby quite dull with activity. The receptionist, an orange-haired woman in her early 20's with her head in a book, looks up from her desk as the strangers enter the building. Two doors are on the left and right walls each with two guards on post. In front of them is the biggest door, a double-door entrance to the mayor's office.
"Follow me," says a guard walking toward the office. The trio follows moments after gazing at the lovely pictures of people and animals on the walls and admiring the grand chandelier that lit the grand hall from above. The doors of the mayor's office are open and the three walk into the well-cleaned room with a desk that has neatly stacked papers and utensils such as pens and pencils within a cup. The nameplate that sat at the front of the desk has the name "Mayor Jerild Baker" engraved in its bronze covering. The chair behind the desk has its back toward Sora and the others.
The keyblade wielder hunches to Donald and Goofy before finally speaking:"Hello. I'm Sora and these are my friends…"
"Donald and Goofy," the voice in the chair says. The three put on puzzled faces.
Sora replies:"How do you know us?"
There is a chuckle before the chair turns around toward them. Sitting in it was the mayor leaned back, tapping his two pointing fingers against each other as they are near his lips. This mayor was more informally dressed than what his position was use to wearing. No tie, dress shirt, or starched pants. This mayor wore a light blue open vest with a sleeveless tight blue shirt underneath. He wore shades over his eyes, had an earring in his right ear, and styled a 5-inch neatly trimmed afro. For the lower part of him, he has on black jeans and leather shoes that are kept on with only a single strap across the ankle. His right wrist sports a silver watch with a black strap, and his left forearm has a tight blue cloth worn over it with is light brown skin tone still visible through the cloth's transparency.
There, the three stare at him and he stares back, that is, if he doesnt have his eyes closed secretly behind his black shades. After a minute of staring, the mayor stops tapping his fingers and nods, motioning the guard to leave the office.The sentry does as he say and closes the doors on his exit. The mayor leans forward and smirks.
He finally speaks:"Show me."
"Huh," says Sora confusedly.
"Show me the weapon."
"You mean this?"
Sora brings his right hand forward and the keyblade appears in a glistering light within his grasp. The silver blade shimmers up to the crown-shaped tip and the Mickey Mouse keychain dangles from the golden handle. Donald and Goofy smile excitedly, as if they were new to the key-shaped weapon. The mayor stares at it smiling and gets to his feet. He walks around to the front of the desk and removes his shades, displaying his brown-colored eyes that showed amusement.
"Welcome to Elward Town. I am Jerild Baker, mayor of this pleasant town." Jerild chuckles again as he says:"W-well. I didnt know who Mickey spoke of would turn out to be a kid."
"King Mickey?" Goofy and Donald say together.
"So he's a king? He didn't mention that title to me," Jerild replies puzzled.
Sora asks:"Where is he?"
Jerild replies:"Oh, he and his friend left here two days ago. They were really in a hurry."
"Did they say where they were heading to?" Sora says happily.
"Didn't tell me that, either," Jerild responds shaking his head. He takes a seat on top of his desk and continues:"Have you heard of something called…a Heartless?"
The three's attention is quickly captured and Sora answers:"Yeah, we know them. We've been fighting waves of them ever since I got this keyblade." Sora swings the blade around in saying this.
"So you won't be surprised to know that our town was attacked by them two days ago," Jerild says.
But he was wrong. They were surprised. They thought after sealing the door to Kingdom Hearts off and defeating Ansem, no more Heartless would appear.
Donald quacks:"How is that possible? Didn't we seal them off from the worlds?"
Sora turns his head to Donald and replies:"Looks like it didn't."
He looks back to Jerild who goes on with his story:"These Heartless began swarming around the place, attacking all in view. We got all the civilians to safety as we kept them back with our guns. But as one with down, more took its place. A few of my were devoured…and their corpses transformed into Heartless themselves. I couldn't belive my eyes!"
"Sora lowers his head and responds:"They steal a person of their heart and they, too, become like their foes."
"Just horrible. And we thought we were about to end up just like our fallen comrades until a few began to materialize into dark mist and disappear. And when they disappeared, a golden-bladed weapon shaped like a key became clearly visible."
Donald and Goofy say to each other:"King Mickey!"
"And right beside him stood his white-haired partner. With their help, we were able to clear the town of all those wicked creatures. They soon requested rest and we happily fulfilled their wishes. During a feast that night, Mickey and I talked. He told me a lot of things. And he must have had great trust in me, too, to tell them all to me. The Heartless, the worlds he has visited, the people he has helped, the keyblades that he and you wield. He said that I was to expect you soon, Sora."
Sora puts on a smile and says chuckling:"Well, that's me."
Jerild looks at Goofy then Donald, telling them how Mickey and his partner, Riku, mentioned their unbreakable loyalty to Sora. "Even when Riku possessed the keyblade, you two still stood up for Sora here." Donald and Goofy blush as Sora smiles widely.
Jerild gets off his desk:"Now, then. I know you three must be exhausted, so how about we get you three some beds?"
"Thank you!" the three respond relieved.
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In the city inn, the three sleep. Donald is storing with his muffled quack. Goofy's snore, however,is more quiet and peaceful. Sora is lying in bed awake with his hands behind his head and him staring at the ceiling in a state of thought. He was wondering why the Heartless were still appearing. Maybe they were a group that got stuck in this world when Kingdom Hearts was sealed. That was a good explanation for it. Sora shrugs and turns over to lay on his side. He looks out through the window into the clear night sky with the moon glowing brightly in the black layer of stars. It was an amazing sight. Sora gets out of his bed and walks over to the window. He opens it slowly to not wake Donald and Goofy and rests his arms on the sill as he gazes into the sky.
He lowers his view to the streets below. Lit lampposts line the stone-paved roads and a couple of guards are seen at their post enjoying a good cigarette. It has been while since Sora has seen such a calm sight. He begins to returns to his bed when a flicker of light catches his eye. Sora turns back around to search for its source. He sees someone in the street who wasn't there before. A small boy, about Sora's age, stands quietly away from the lights. After a few moments, he turns and disappears into the shadows. The keyblade master gives in to his curiosity and exits slowly out the room. He walks down the stairs and enters out into the street. A lamppost stands to his right, beaming its light unto the street. Sora looks around and starts left, toward the direction that the boy vanished.
To avoid several guards on the way, Sora sneaks by them through the shadows of the buildings. There wasn't a problem getting seen by them, but he wanted to keep his presence a secret to the boy he was pursuing. Sora continues through the streets until he finds the boy with his back to him. A long braid drops down to his feet from his greased back hair. As Sora approaches him, the boy walks into the alley on his right, and Sora follows after into the dark alley. When he enters it, he finds the boy nowhere. He walks deeper to see if the boy was hidden within the darkest shadows, but does not find him. Sora scratches his head in confusion. He knew he saw the boy enter through the alley. He couldn't have simply vanished into thin air! Well, he certainly wasn't here, so Sora turns and begins to leave until something jumps onto him from above, bringing Sora to the ground. Sora turns on his back and wrestles with the shadowy figure.
"Get off of me!" Sora yells.
The figure, as if hearing this, stops and jumps away. Sora gets to his feet and says:"Who are you?"
"I'd like to ask you the same thing," a voice from the figure replies.
Some shuffling in front of Sora is heard before a light comes on. The figure turns out to be the boy Sora had saw in the street and with a yellow glow stick in the guys hand, he is able to make out his appearance. He wore a short sleeve shirt with a darker shade seperated from the lighter present on the sleeves. He has leather guantlets strapped to his forearms, wears baggy pants, and shoes that had shoelaces instead of straps that he has been seeing lately. On his left ear he wore an earring and around his neck a chain with a crested moon at the end. His eyes reflected the glowing light with a soft glimmer. The color of his clothing, however, was overshadowed with the radiating yellow light.
The boy brings the light closer to Sora and says:"Wait, you're that guy the guards brought in, today. What are you doing here, anyway?"
Sora answers:"We're only here to stay for the night. Wait a minute! What are you doing here yourself at this time of the night?"
The boy answers after a pause:"I saw something moving in the shadows."
Sora immediately believes it is a Heartless he saw. Looks like Mickey and Riku missed one. Sora looks around and whispers:"It may be a Heartless."
"A Heartless?" the boy whispers much louder. Sora quiets him and the two look round.
"Yeah, most likely, but don't worry about it."
Sora summons his keyblade and the boy replies with:"Woah!"
A noise is heard from behind him, having the boy turn and direct his light at the end of the alley. Only a small garbage can sat silently in the narrow passageway. Sora wasn't convinced. He walks slowly toward the garbage can, sneaking slowly with the keyblade ready to swing. He slowly puts his free hand on the lid and turns to the boy, who is surprisely calm, yet curious of what is about to happen. Sora quickly removes the lid…but finds nothing. He becomes a little disappointed and shoulders his weapon. He turns around and freezes in shock.
A small Shadow Heartless was standing behind the boy, who replies:"What's wrong?"
Sora did not want to cause any alarm, especially at this time of night, so he slowly walks toward the boy as if nothing is wrong. As Sora gets closer, the Heartless seems to become more active, having him stop his approach. The boy begins to walk toward Sora, but Sora demands him to not move. The boy turns slowly to look behind him and shines the light on the Heartless. He drops the glow stick and runs to Sora's side.
"It was behind me?!" the boy exclaims.
Sora places his weapon out forward and replies:"They're sneaky, arent they? Dont worry. This one is going to be easy."
He takes his approach toward the creature until an additional one appears beside it.
"Well, two of you shouldnt be a problem," Sora responds assured of victory.
But another and another starts to pop up around it, their glowing orange-red eyes clustering by one another, and they block their path out of the alley. The keyblade master was surely in for a strenous brawl.