Lost Heart
This story takes place three years after Kingdom Hearts 2 and two months after Planetary Crisis.
Chapter 1: Attack on Kitsunopolis
It had been a whole year since Illusion was defeated and now life was returning to normal not only on Cloud's world but on Terra Firma and the Kitsune World as well. Max was lay in bed with his arms wrapped around Pandora's waist as she lay next to him asleep with her back to him. Max and Pandora were both sleeping soundly when a female Kitsune with light blue fur and wearing a maid outfit entered the room, she walked over to the window and pulled the curtains open causing the morning sunlight to pour into the room and shine in Max's face.
"Uuuuuuhhh..." Max moaned irritably as he woke with a start and quickly sat up as he saw the servant stood there smiling.
"Morning your highness," the maid greeted cheerfully as she continued to smile at Max. "I trust you and the good lady slept well."
"How many times have I told you to just call me Max?" Max questioned as he gave the maid a sleepy stare.
"I'm sorry your highness but Elder Celeste requested an audience with you in the throne room," the maid told Max as she bowed. "Something about your lessons."
Max sighed when he heard this, "why do I have to learn to be a ruler?" He asked as he shook his head. "I mean it doesn't sound so hard to me."
"Your mother had to take queen lessons," the maid informed Max. "Now come on, up you get."
Max sighed again and grumbled under his breath as he got out of bed, "Can I have a little privacy?" Max asked the maid.
"Of course your highness," the maid replied as she walked over to the door and bowed again before walking out of the door and closed it behind her. Max shook his head before he got dressed.
A few minutes later Max entered the throne room and he saw Celeste stood in the room, she smiled when she saw him. "Glad you could join us," Celeste greeted Max as he walked over to her.
"I still don't see what the point is," Max told Celeste. "I mean I know what it means to be a ruler."
"There's more to being a ruler than sitting on a throne and helping people with their problems," Celeste informed Max. "There's court proceedings, fancy banquets, balls..."Celeste started to list everything off and Max's eyes started to slowly close and quickly open again as Celeste's voice droned on in his ear. "And of course there's protecting the people of the Kingdom."
"See...I know how to fight," Max boasted as he smirked at Celeste.
"We know you can fight," Celeste stated as smiled at Max again. "But you're not exactly..."
"Not exactly what?" Max questioned before he burped loudly causing Celeste to scowl at him.
"That's what I'm talking about," Celeste stated slightly irritated at Max's rude behaviour. "A true ruler is culturally refined, and has impeccable manners."
"I don't do all that fancy stuff," Max responded stubbornly. "I remember the last ball I went to...all those snobs were looking down their noses at me for the whole night..."
"Well you did stuff a lot of shrimp into your mouth in one go," Celeste explained as she sighed. "Not to mention you spiked the punch and caused mostly everyone to get drunk."
"That was Drogo that spiked the punch," Max corrected Celeste and he smirked as he remembered that moment, "and I remember the words 'couch tonight' coming out of Sunny's mouth."
"Well we need to work more on your table manners," Celeste told Max. "But first we need to do something about your wardrobe."
"What's wrong with what I'm wearing?" Max questioned as he looked down at his black sleeveless shirt and black jeans, his black gloves and his black boots in confusion.
"You need to set a good example for the people," Celeste answered. "I hardly think that that look would be appropriate for formal addresses."
"It shows that I'm down to earth and I don't put myself above everyone else." Max reasoned with Celeste but she was having none of it.
"Come with me," Celeste stated as she grabbed Max's arm and dragged him. She dragged Max into another room where two female Kitsunes were waiting for him. "Max, these two are your personal dressers," Celeste introduced the two women. "They're going to help you try out some formal clothes."
"Hell no!" Max yelled and he tried to run for the door but Celeste blocked his path.
The two women walked over to Max and started to examine him, "lady Pandora is lucky to have such a fine catch." One of them remarked as she lifted up Max's arm and started to measure it.
"But we can turn him from a down to earth boy into a fine gentleman," the other one added as she measured between Max's legs.
"Hey!" Max yelled as he glared at the women.
"Let's get some outfits for you to try on, so remove your clothes." The woman who first spoke stated causing Max to blush.
"Do it, or we'll remove your clothes for you," Celeste threatened. Max sighed and he removed his clothes before a posh looking suit was thrown at him. Max tried it on and a few moments later he was stood in the middle of the room wearing the suit.
"Very cute," the woman remarked as they smiled at Max.
"I feel like a bloody penguin," Max remarked as he looked down. "Plus it's too tight..."
"Let's try the next one," one of the women stated.
Max sighed as he was forced to try on outfit after outfit, after outfit. After two hours Pandora entered the room and saw him in another suit and she laughed. "Not you an' all..." Max moaned as he saw Pandora.
"I think it's adorable," Pandora commented as she walked over to Max and kissed him.
"You're supposed to be on my side..." Max muttered as he scowled at Pandora. "Can I take this stupid suit off now?"
"Yes," Celeste answered as Max cheered and tore the suit off himself and got changed back into his normal clothing. "But meet back in an hour for..." Celeste started to say but he was interrupted by a soldier running into the room.
"Your highness, my lady, grand elder..." The soldier uttered as he breathed deeply. "I'm sorry to interrupt but..."
"What is it?" Max questioned his voice was filled with concern.
"Strange dark creatures have breached the gates and are attacking the city..." the soldier told everyone in panic. "We tried to hold them off but they're much too strong...we need your help."
"Don't worry, we'll do what we can." Max promised the soldier, "round up the guards, tell them to evacuate the streets."
"Yes sir," the soldier stated as he bowed before running out of the room.
"Come on," Max stated as he and Pandora ran out of the room. They ran out of the entrance and into the palace courtyard where they saw that Nightshade was already there with some guards fighting against some strange black creatures. "Dad!" Max yelled as he and Pandora ran over to the dark furred Kitsune, one of the dark creatures disappeared into the ground and crawled over to Max. Max however quickly summoned his sword and slashed out as the creature leapt out of the ground, it screeched in pain as it fell to the floor before dissolving into a black puddle.
Nightshade turned round and smirked when he saw them, "I was wondering when you two would show up," he stated before casting a Holy spell on several of the creatures causing them all to dissolve into puddles.
"We just heard," Pandora told Nightshade as she and Max looked around to see the dark creatures running amok and attacking anyone and anything they saw. "What are these things?" She questioned as she kicked one that got too close to her.
"I'm not sure," Nightshade answered as he gave the two a worried look. "They just came out of nowhere...you don't suppose that it's Illusion's work..."
"We defeated her remember?" Max questioned as he looked at his father. "Besides, Illusion wouldn't dare attack Kitsunopolis...this is something else entirely..."
"They're gathering in town," Pandora stated before she, Max and Nightshade ran out of the palace courtyard and into town where they saw even more of the strange creatures. They saw a civilian running down town screaming as the creatures leapt on her and completely covered her. When the creatures got off the Kitsune she was nowhere to be seen but in her place was another one of the creatures. "Did they just turn her into one of them?" Pandora questioned as her face went pale.
"These things are all over the place!" Max yelled as the three found themselves surrounded by them, the creatures looked at them eagerly before leaping at them. Max and Nightshade swung their swords round in a circle killing all the creatures that had them surrounded. "We'll never defeat them all..."
"Guys...look over there...the city it's starting to...disappear..." Pandora uttered as she pointed ahead of her.
Max and Nightshade looked in the direction that Pandora was pointing in and they were shocked to see that everything was starting to disappear. Max sighed, "We gotta get everyone off this planet..." Max uttered, a hint of desperation in his voice. "Celeste..." Max communicated with the elder telepathically. "I need you to evacuate the city...get as many people as you can on to the escape ships..."
"I'll get right on it..." Came the reply and soon guards were leading the citizens to the spaceports to get them all on the ships.
"Is it me, or are these things looking for something?" Pandora questioned as she looked at the creatures.
"I don't know," Nightshade answered. "But I have a feeling that we're fighting a losing battle here..."
The three continued to fight off the creatures but for everyone they killed another one took its place and it wasn't long before the three were overwhelmed. "They have us surrounded..." Max uttered as he looked at the creatures. "This isn't like anything we've faced before..." The group remained in fighting stances as the creatures continued to charge at them but suddenly they disappeared as quickly as they came.
"They're...gone..." Pandora uttered as she stared at the now empty street. "We did it..."
"Not quite..." Max stated as he started to walk forwards. "If our past experiences are anything to go by then when all the monsters disappear suddenly it means that something bigger is on the way..." As Max said this darkness started to fill the sky and a large black creature with round yellow eyes, small black wings and a large heart shaped hole in its stomach flew over the three and over to the palace.
"It's gone to the palace..." Pandora uttered as she looked at it.
Max sighed sadly to himself before looking at Nightshade and Pandora, "dad...take this..." Max started to say as he gave Nightshade a card. "You know where all the portals are...get to Terra Firma..."
"Ok," Nightshade replied as he nodded.
"Pandora, go with him." Max told Pandora.
"And what are you going to do?" Pandora demanded as she stared at Max.
"I'm gonna fight it," Max stated as he started to walk towards the palace, but Pandora quickly reached out and grabbed hold of Max's hand.
"I'm going with you," Pandora stated stubbornly as she forced Max to face her.
"It's too dangerous," Max warned Pandora. "I can't risk your life as well as mine."
"I'm used to danger," Pandora told Max. "Or have you forgotten all our adventures together?"
"This isn't like anything we've ever faced..." Max protested, "and our world is disappearing even as we speak...this is the only chance you and dad have got to escape."
"I'm coming with you whether you like it or not!" Pandora yelled as she gave Max a don't even think about disagreeing with me look.
Max sighed, "alright...I can't say no to you after you gave me that look..."Max gave in before he smiled at Pandora. "Dad...get to Terra Firma and tell everyone else what happened..." Max commanded.
"I will, you two be careful," Nightshade warned as he gave both Max and Pandora a worried look.
"We will," Max promised Nightshade, "now go." Nightshade nodded before running off and Max and Pandora ran to the palace, they were shocked to discover that the palace was now in ruins and was floating over complete darkness. Max and Pandora prepared themselves as they heard a thud and the giant monster landed in front of them.
The monster roared loudly before it rose its giant arms up and started to slam them down with the intention of crushing Max and Pandora into the ground, but they quickly dodged out of the way as the hands slammed into the ground where they were a few moments before causing the ground to shake. Max and Pandora charged at the monster and struck it with their weapons, Pandora then charged up a flare spell and fired it at the monster. The monster then grabbed them in its hands and threw them back before it slammed its hands into the ground causing dark puddles to form under Max and Pandora's feet, they rolled out of the way as pillars of darkness rose out of the ground following Max and Pandora where they went.
Max flipped before focusing some energy into his sword, the sword glowed with a light green energy. Max crouched down and remained in that position for a moment before he leapt up high into the air and held his sword above his head. "KITSUNE DIVE!" Max yelled at the top of his lungs as he fell back down to earth and thrust his sword into the ground causing waves of psychic energy to emit from the sword and strike the monster multiple times causing extensive damage to it. (A/N this move is very similar to Braver in a sense that Max leaps into the air, however he focuses his psychic energy into the sword which makes the move more powerful than Braver.)
The monster roared in pain before it shot a dark beam out of its mouth, Max leapt out of the way and slashed at the monster's arm causing more damage. The monster roared again before several of the creatures Max and Pandora fought before spawned out of the ground and started to attack them. Max and Pandora easily killed the smaller creatures and struck at the monster again. Pandora leapt into the air and focused a flare spell in her foot as she spun round rapidly and fell towards the monster and kicked it repeatedly as it was hit with both physical and magical damage. The monster screamed in pain before it grabbed Pandora in its hand and threw her towards the edge of the platform, Pandora reached out and grabbed the edge just in time. "PANDORA!" Max yelled at the top of his lungs as he ran to where Pandora was to help her, but unfortunately the monster got to her first. The monster grabbed Pandora again and threw her off the edge, she banged her head on the side of the platform which knocked her unconscious. A portal opened up in the darkness and Pandora fell into it before it closed completely.
Max stared at the darkness in shock before he looked up at the monster his shock soon turned to anger. "!" Max screamed as he ran at the monster dragging his sword behind him causing sparks to form as he ran. Max leapt up and struck the monster in the side completely shocking it. Max then rolled out of the way of the monster's arm before he leapt up and struck the other side stunning the monster. Max then ran at the monster again imbuing his sword with Holy energy, he then yelled again as he stabbed the monster between the eyes the Holy power seeping into it. The monster screeched in pain as Max removed his sword and the monster glowed with a white light before it exploded.
Max breathed deeply and he looked around him to see that the platform he was stood on was getting smaller and smaller. Max slowly backed up towards the edge and he almost lost his balance as he looked down and saw the darkness below, he then saw a portal open up in the darkness. "Ok...I can either disappear with this world or I can take my chances with the portal..." Max thought to himself as he saw the platform get even smaller.
"Do you even have to ask?" Dark Max yelled in Max's head. "If we disappear how can we find Pandora?"
"I hope she's ok..." Max thought sadly before he jumped off the edge and landed in the dark portal, the portal closed behind him just as the platform he was standing on disappeared completely and Max's home and everything he knew was gone, disappeared into the darkness. "Pandora...I will find you..." Max told himself as he drifted through the portal.
Meanwhile on another world it was a bright sunny day and two people were training on the beach, fighting each other with strange weapons that were in the shape of keys. One of the people was a young girl barely older than 18, she had long red hair tied back in a ponytail and large blue eyes which sparkled in the sunlight. She wore a white tube top with a pink heart in the middle, her midriff was showing slightly and she wore purple coloured jeans and white trainers decorated with pink hearts, she was using a weapon with a pink handle and a light green blade, a rose key ring was hanging from the handle.
The other was a young man who was about 19 years old, he had long silver hair which was slicked back into spikes and sea green coloured eyes. He wore a black t shirt with red symbols on it, black fingerless gloves, black combat pants and black leather boots. He used a dark coloured weapon with a black handle and the blade was in the shape of a large bat wing. "Not bad Kairi," the silver haired boy commented as he easily blocked the girl's strikes with his weapon. "I think you're getting better."
"Thanks..." Kairi uttered as she parried one of the boy's attacks before she suddenly started launching into rapid strikes which the boy barely managed to block.
"Whoa Kairi...too fast..." The boy uttered as he was almost knocked to the floor from the sheer strength of the blows batting against his weapon.
"What's the matter Riku?" Kairi demanded as she continued to strike hard, "can't handle it?"
"It's not that..." Riku uttered trying to think of what he could say to his friend, "I can it's just that...don't you think you're being a little too harsh on Sora?" He questioned as he gave Kairi a nervous stare.
"No I don't!" Kairi yelled as she continued to slash at Riku which he just about managed to block. "That Sora...thinks he's so big...he thinks that just because he's the Keyblade Master he knows it all...said I can't fight because I'm a girl...ha! I'll show him!"
"Maybe we should take a break..." Riku suggested as he tried his best to calm Kairi down.
"Think I can't handle it because I'm a girl!" Kairi yelled as she glared at Riku.
"Of course not..." Riku uttered nervously as he stared at Kairi. "It's just that my arm is starting to get tired and well..."
"Well what?" Kairi demanded as she scowled at Riku.
"I'll give you a clue, he has brown spiky hair, has little to no fashion sense and he's standing right behind you," Riku answered as he pointed behind Kairi causing her to stop and turn around.
"Oh..." Kairi uttered as she saw an 18 year old boy with brown unruly spiky hair and light blue eyes. He was wearing a red open jacket over a light blue shirt, he wore brown fingerless gloves, blue jeans and red trainers."What do you want?" Kairi demanded before turning her back on the boy.
"I came to apologise," the brown haired boy answered as he stepped closer to Kairi.
"I think you should at least hear him out," a voice spoke in Kairi's head.
"He said some pretty insulting things to me Naminé," Kairi told her Nobody. (A/N, Even though Naminé is inside Kairi now she hasn't just disappeared rather she is an alternate personality and can interact with Kairi. It is the same with Sora and Roxas.)
"Still it wouldn't hurt to listen," Naminé reasoned with Kairi.
Kairi sighed before turning round and looking at the boy, "what do you want to apologise for Sora?" Kairi questioned again, her voice was slightly calmer now.
"I wanted to apologise for all the stuff I said earlier," Sora answered as he walked a little closer to Kairi. "I know that all those things I said were..."
"Mean, nasty, sexist..." A voice spoke in Sora's head.
"Thanks Roxas..." Sora muttered in his head before looking back at Kairi. "It was uncalled for...I shouldn't have said all those things and...I'm sorry."
Kairi sighed, "I don't know if I should accept your apology," she replied before turning her back on Sora. "After all the things you said were pretty hurtful."
"I also brought you this," Sora stated, "if you just turn around for a moment." Kairi turned round again and she saw that Sora was holding a star shaped fruit in his hand.
"A paupu fruit..." Kairi uttered as she stared at the fruit in shock.
"Your favourite if I recall..." Sora stated as he smiled at Kairi.
Kairi looked at the fruit again before smiling, "you do know it's gonna be hard for me to stay mad at you now Sora." Kairi uttered before walking over to Sora and hugging him.
"So I'm forgiven..." Sora asked hopefully as he gave Kairi his trademark cheesy grin.
Kairi thought for a moment before nodding, "yeah...you're forgiven...this time..." she answered.
"Thanks Kairi," Sora replied gratefully before hugging Kairi back.
"Hey, when you guys are done with your tender moment why don't we have a three way match?" Riku suggested as he smirked at his friends.
"I'm not sure if Kairi can take on both of us at the..." Sora started to say but he stopped as soon as he saw Kairi glare at him. "Sorry...I forgot..." Sora quickly corrected himself as he shrank back a bit.
"Well don't forget..." Kairi uttered as she jabbed her index finger into Sora's chest. "Because if you make one more remark about me not being as skilled as you and Riku because I'm a girl there'll be hell to pay."
"Well you've made that perfectly clear now..." Sora uttered still in fear of Kairi causing Riku to laugh. "Shut up Riku..." Sora told his friend off.
"I can't believe you're scared of Kairi..." Riku remarked as he continued to laugh at Sora.
"Well she is scary..." Sora spoke in a defensive tone as he glared at Riku.
"And you'd better be scared of me too Riku," Kairi commented as she smirked at her other friend. "Because I could take you and Sora on any day of the..." Kairi stopped in midsentence before she closed her eyes as she sensed something. She opened her eyes again and she saw that Riku and Sora also had their eyes closed. "Did you guys feel that?" She questioned as Riku and Sora opened their eyes and the three looked at each other.
"Yeah," Sora answered as he looked around. "I felt a sudden surge of dark power...you guys know what that means..."
"The Heartless are back," Riku uttered as he looked from Sora to Kairi. "And they've taken another world."
"But which one?" Kairi questioned as she looked at Sora and Riku.
"I dunno," Sora answered as he scratched the back of his head. "There are many worlds out there and it was pretty distant but the fact that the Heartless were even that far out worries me."
"So we go and fight them again..." Riku stated as he looked at Sora.
"We don't have a ship remember?" Sora reminded his friend.
"I remember now, our friends took it so they could get back to their world," Riku uttered as he remembered that they no longer had their ship.
"But the world that was taken by the Heartless..." Kairi muttered as she felt sad at the loss of a world. "I hope that there were some that managed to get off the world alive..." Kairi continued as she, Riku and Sora looked up at the sky and they saw one star disappear.
Meanwhile Max came out of the portal and he landed on the ground with a thud, "aaaaaahhhhh..." Max moaned as he lifted his head up and he found himself in a strange town, the streets were cobbled and the houses had an overall Victorian feel to them. Max staggered to his feet and he looked around, "where am I?" He questioned as he looked around, "I don't remember this place...maybe I could find someone and they can tell me where I am."
Max walked down the street and he found himself in what looked like a marketplace and the streets were bustling with people. "Wow..." Max uttered as he looked around, "This place is crawling with people." He started to approach people to ask where he was but they just ignored him and carried on with their daily business. Max walked through the market district and he ended up down another street with some houses, Max looked up and he saw a pink coloured castle towering above the town. "That's a strange looking castle..." Max remarked as he looked at it. "I wonder if Pandora's up there..." Without wasting anytime Max walked down the street and he climbed up some giant steps and walked into a building. He came out the other side and he came across a trail which led up to the castle.
Max walked up the trail but when he was half way up the path a dark creature rose up out of the ground and stood in front of him. "It's one of those things again!" Max yelled before he quickly took his sword out and slashed at the creature killing it instantly, however several more of the creatures showed up and started to attack Max but he quickly used a fire spell to kill them all.
Max breathed deeply for a few seconds before even more of the shadow creatures showed up alongside small armoured creatures, floating book like creatures and orbs. "What are these things?" Max screamed as he fought the advancing creatures however more and more kept showing up and it wasn't long before he was overwhelmed. Max continued to fight the creatures as best he could but he started to tire and his strikes became slower and took up more energy than they needed to. "Can't...go...on..." Max uttered as he fell to his knees. One of the armoured creatures lunged at him but it was suddenly knocked back, Max looked ahead of him and he saw a gunblade in front of him. Max looked up and he saw that wielder was a tall man with brown unkempt hair, a scar on his face and wearing dark clothing.
The man quickly moved and pulled the trigger on his gunblade taking out several of the creatures at once. Max could hear the sound of several sword strikes as another man appeared, this man had blond spiky hair, he wore dark clothing and wielded a large sword which looked much too heavy to carry. Max looked at the blond haired man and recognised him. "Cloud..." Max muttered barely above a whisper as his eyes rolled into the back of his head, he could hear the sound of footsteps as someone approached him and picked him up before he passed out.
"Do you think he's ok?" Max could faintly hear a female voice.
"He was attacked by those things..." A second female voice spoke, "it's a good thing our friends got to him when they did."
"Looks like he's comin' round," A gruff voice remarked.
"Quick give him some room," the female voice that first spoke quickly uttered.
"Uuuuuuuuuuhhhhh...huh..." Max moaned as he opened his eyes. He looked around and he saw that he was lay in a comfortable looking bed, he looked up and he saw several people gathered round him.
"Glad you decided to join the living," a shrill female voice that sounded familiar to him spoke.
Max looked to his left and he saw a young woman with short black hair, she was wearing a black tanktop shirt, black shorts, a white jacket and white boots. "Yuffie..." Max uttered as he recognised the girl instantly.
"Good to see yer memory's not crazy," the gruff voice uttered, Max looked for the source of the voice and he saw a blond haired man wearing a pilot outfit.
"Cid..." Max questioned as he started to get confused. Max then looked from one person to another and he recognised most of them, he finally stopped at a young woman with brown hair and dressed in a pink and white dress. "Aerith..."
"Who..." the brown haired woman uttered as she gave Max a confused stare.
"That's your name..." Max stated as he too gave the woman a confused stare.
"It was strange when we first met her," Yuffie stated as she smiled at Max. "But trust me she's not the Aerith you know, her name is Aeris."
"She looks really similar to Aerith though..." Max replied as he felt his head pound.
"It's best not to think about it," a raven haired woman wearing a black tube top, black shorts, black gloves and boots spoke up as she approached Max.
"I'll try not to Tifa," Max stated before looking round. "Where am I?" He asked.
"You're in Radiant Garden," Aeris answered as she smiled at Max.
"Radiant Garden..." Max repeated the name.
"That's the name of this world," Yuffie told Max. "We come here every so often to patrol it."
"But why are you here?" Tifa questioned as she gave Max an inquisitive stare.
"My world was attacked by strange dark beings...we tried to fight them but..." Max explained, his ears drooped sadly as he remembered this. "My world disappeared...this giant thing...it knocked Pandora away...she disappeared into a portal not too different to the one I disappeared in...Pandora!" Max yelled as he suddenly sat up.
"Easy..." Aeris stated as she eased Max back down. "You've had a terrible shock and you need to rest."
"I thought that Pandora would be up in that castle," Max answered as he started to calm down a bit. "So I went up there but I was attacked by the same creatures that attacked my world...those things...what are they?"
"They're called Heartless," a new voice spoke. Everyone looked around and the door opened as two men walked in, one of the men had brown unkempt hair and wore a black jacket under a white shirt, black jeans and boots. The other man had blond spiky hair and wore a black turtle neck shirt, black baggy trousers, black gloves and black boot, Max instantly recognised the two men.
"Heartless..." Max repeated the name.
"Yeah," the brown haired man replied, "they're created out of the darkness in people's hearts. They travel from world to world stealing people's hearts," the man continued to explain. "Their victims also become Heartless."
"You really do know how to lighten up the mood Leon," Yuffie uttered as she rolled her eyes.
"It's no laughing matter..." Leon uttered with a sigh, "you're lucky me and Cloud here got to you when we did," Leon told Max as he pointed at the blond haired man.
"Max..." Cloud stated in shock as he recognised the Kitsune. "What are you doing here?" Max explained everything that had happened. "So your world was destroyed by the Heartless and Pandora's disappeared..." Cloud questioned when Max had finished.
"Yeah," Max answered, "and now those Heartless are everywhere..."
"But, if this Pandora fell into a dark portal then it's possible she's still alive somewhere," Aeris stated as she gave Max a reassuring smile.
"Yeah," Max uttered as he started to cheer up, he sat up before he started to stand up. "She's not dead...I...I can sense her life energy but..." Max sighed before he sat down on the bed again, "I can't pinpoint a location...she could be anywhere..."
"If you're to stand any chance of finding Pandora and staying alive you're going to need help," Tifa told Max.
"But where can I find help?" Max questioned.
"There's an old friend of ours," Leon answered as he leaned against the wall and looked over at Max. "He lives on a world called Destiny Islands, he wields a special weapon that can take out the Heartless."
"What kind of weapon?" Max asked as he looked at Leon curiously.
"It's called a Keyblade," Aeris informed Max. "It's in the shape of a key, the Heartless fear it and it can also open and close the heart of each world."
"Heart of the world..." Max uttered as his head started to pound from all the new information.
"It's what makes worlds unique," Cloud told Max. "It's what the Heartless are after, if they get to a world's heart, that world disappears."
"So that's why my world disappeared..." Max stated as he realised now what had happened.
"You need the Keyblade Master if you are to revive your world," Yuffie explained.
"Of course you'll need a ship," Cid informed Max as he walked over to him.
"Do you have a ship I can borrow?" Max asked as he looked hopefully at the pilot.
"Do I have a ship?" Cid repeated Max's question as he laughed loudly. "You're forgettin' who you're talkin' to...I'm Cid Highwind, the best damned pilot in the universe!" Cid boasted as Max shook his head. "Come on, I'll show ya the ship." Cid walked out of the room and Max followed him, Cid led Max out on to the street and to a hangar. "The ship's in here," Cid told Max as he opened the hangar door and Max saw a strange looking ship, the ship was bright red and was made out of strange building blocks.
"What's this?" Max questioned as he continued to stare at the strange ship.
"That's a Gummi ship," Cid answered as he laughed at the expression on Max's face. "It's called a Gummi ship because the blocks it's made out of are called Gummis. Ya can use this Gummi ship to get to Destiny Islands," Cid told Max.
"Can't I just use the Sierra?" Max pleaded as he looked at Cid.
"No ya can't!" Cid yelled at Max, "that's ma pride and joy only I'm allowed to pilot that. The Gummi ship is real handy for gettin' around to the different worlds."
"Thanks Cid," Max replied gratefully, "I'll take good care of it."
"Make sure ya do," Cid uttered as he waved a threatening finger at him. "The co-ordinates for Destiny Islands are already put into the onboard computer so all ya gotta do is get there."
"No problem..." Max uttered he looked around and he saw his friends stood there.
"Take care of yourself Max," Aeris stated as she waved to Max. "And feel free to visit us at anytime."
"Good luck with finding Pandora," Tifa added as she too waved.
"Thanks," Max thanked the group before getting into the Gummi ship. Much to his surprise it was quite large inside and had numerous sleeping quarters and a kitchen inside. Max made his way to the control room and walked to the pilot seat. He sat down in the chair and looked at the controls, "this doesn't look too difficult..." Max uttered as he saw some co-ordinates in the on board computer. "Those must be the co-ordinates to Destiny Islands...I just need to find out how to make this thing go." Max looked on the control panel and he saw a green button with the words open hatch written on it. "He had to make it idiot proof didn't he..." Max muttered before rolling his eyes, he couldn't help but laugh though as he pushed the button. Nothing happened for a moment but suddenly a hole opened up in the floor around the ship and it fell through. "!" Max yelled as he was thrown all about the ship because he wasn't wearing his seatbelt. (A/N, I decided to have Max exit Radiant Garden in this way because it pays homage to the first Kingdom Hearts game and I thought it would be funny as it shows one of Max's dafter moments.)
The Gummi Ship fell further before it emerged in space from the bottom of the world, the ship was upside down for a moment and Max found himself stuck to the ceiling. He reached out and pushed a button next to him and the Gummi ship flipped so that it was the right way up. Max landed back in the pilot seat dazed and his hair even more unruly than usual, Max shook his head. "What was that?" He questioned as he looked around confused. "I came out of the bottom of the world, I wish Cid would've warned me about that..." Max grumbled to himself.
Just as he said this the screen came online and Cid's face appeared on it, "I forgot to mention that the hatch was below the ship," Cid stated as Max scowled at him.
"Yeah you should've warned me!" Max snapped at Cid, "it scared the shit out of me…"
Cid laughed at this, "I guessed as much," he remarked. "Was your hair always that spiky?" Max grumbled under his breath as he continued to scowl at Cid. "Ya should've buckled up," Cid told Max as he waggled his finger before he went offline.
"Thanks for the advice…" Max muttered as he put his seatbelt on before he flipped the ignition switch, the rear thrusters ignited and the Gummi ship stopped drifting around. Max looked at the onboard computer and he pushed a button to see a map. "Ok...I need to go to sector 72. 258. 89. to get to Destiny Islands..." Max talked to himself as he placed his hands on the steering wheel and steered the Gummi ship so that it was facing the right direction and Max pushed another button and the Gummi ship entered Hyperspace as it blasted off.
"I hope this Keyblade Master can help me..." Max thought to himself as the Gummi ship made its way to Destiny Islands. "Hang on Pandora...I'm gonna find you no matter how long it takes..."
That's the first chapter complete, it's pretty short actually which is a bit unusual for me. Oh well, chapter 2 will be coming up soon. I don't own Kingdom Hearts or any of its content, weapons, worlds, gadgets or characters. They belong to Square Enix and Disney, Max and Pandora however are my own characters and belong to me so if you want to use them in anything please ask permission first.