When I got over my… Well, I don't want to call it a "panic attack" because really that would be overstating it and also probably inaccurate because I'm pretty sure panic attacks are worse, but on the other hand I also don't want to call it an "anxiety attack" because I haven't been diagnosed with anxiety of any kind and anxiety attacks are a legit thing. Hm. Okay, let's just call it a "brief panic".

Yeah, that works for me.

When I got over my brief panic, I stood and brushed myself off, looking around. Sure, I was still a little freaked out by the whole situation now that I knew it wasn't a dream, but I wasn't letting that stop me. If I was gonna be here, I was damn well gonna make the most of it.

… Even if I was still internally panicking about my real life being irreparably damaged by being here. I did, after all, have a love life, college classes, midterms in said classes, and a story that desperately needed updating within a day, and all of that was understandably important to me.

It was with those thoughts that the voice made the last appearance it would for a very long while.

"Time back in your world is paused until you finish this adventure, and it will do the same when you go on your second. When you return, you will wake up in your bed safe and sound on the morning of your 18th birthday. You cannot age in this realm." There was a pause before it said, "Oh, and by the way, you have a munny pouch in the pocket of your shorts. It will contain enough munny to get you by for the time being, and you will earn more when you kill Heartless, as you know."

That was a considerable relief, at least. I wouldn't be missing anything back home - unless some sleep counted. But I was sure I'd get all I'd need for the journey. Hopefully. Because as much as I happen to be an insomniac and a "short sleeper," I still need at least two hours to function and not directly be a huge McAsshole while doing it. And I definitely prefer at least four hours since I don't have such bad anger issues when I'm better rested, for obvious reasons. And, I had money - pardon me, munny - to spend, meaning I wasn't completely screwed.

All of that aside, I wandered the deserted streets of the town for some time, just looking around and examining the various closed up buildings. I encountered one or two Shadows and a single Soldier, but the Shadows were swiftly sent flying across the immediate area, dying on impact with the walls they hit. The Soldier took some maneuvering and thinking to get rid of, since it was a little heavier than the Shadows, making my baseball-bat approach somewhat useless. Maybe one day I'd be strong enough to do the same to them, but that day wasn't today.

Eventually, I found that just wailing on it like I had the Darkside (Dark Follower?)'s head did the job just as well.

After some time, I stumbled into Cid's shop.

"Hey there, how can I…" He dropped off, tilting his head to the side. "You're not from 'round here." He guessed, completely changing the dialogue I'd expected of him. Then again, seeing as I was 18 I guess I'm not surprised he didn't call me a kid.

I shook my head, deciding to play dumb for the time being. "No, I'm not. Can you tell me where I am? I'm a little disoriented."

"Understandable - this here's Traverse Town. You're in the First District right now." After a brief pause he said, "This is where people come when their world's destroyed or swallowed by the darkness. That your situation?"

"I guess so." I shrugged. "Far as I know, I just fell asleep back home and then woke up in an alley a little ways away from here."

He nodded his understanding. "Not entirely unusual. You must be pretty strong to make it here while your world fell apart, though."

I felt a little lame, seeing as the only thing I could think to say was, "I guess so," again. So I didn't say anything, instead just shrugging. He seemed to get the message and nodded to himself. "You need anything? Looking for anybody?"

I shook my head. "No. Somehow I doubt I'll need to look for the people I want to find. They'll find me." I took a second before saying, "Thanks, anyway. Good to have my bearings back. Anything I should know while I'm here?"

"You'll wanna stay inside if at all possible. Lotsa Heartless out and about - not fun to get caught by 'em, either."

I smiled, taking a leaf from Liam's book and holding up Author's Misfortune for him to see. "That's what this is for, Pops."

I allowed myself to spend a few seconds watching his astonished expression before I moved on, peeking into the item shop and getting acquainted with Huey, Dewey, and Louie while I was at it. I essentially just wandered the town for a while before settling quietly into a room at the hotel. I told the desk clerk that I didn't know how long I'd be sticking around, but paid for a few days anyway, and they told me that if I dropped by and saw them before I left, they'd refund the days I didn't stay.

Awful nice of them, I think.

After I'd settled in, finding a small bag on the end of the bed with a note addressed to me, I plopped down on the bed to read it.

Allie,

This bag will serve as storage for your keychains, potions, and other such items. You will find the pockets each obviously labelled for what you should use them for.

Also, bear in mind that this adventure will not affect the games themselves, but it can affect the storyline you interact with as greatly or as little as you wish it to. You may forge bonds with whatever characters you wish, taking a front-seat with Sora or working in the background with his friends. You may be a lightbringer, a warrior of justice, or you may become a corrupt being of darkness. It is your story. You will choose how it goes.

Finally, there is a small notebook within the bag that will allow you to request certain changes you may not be able to bring about on your own, such as appropriate background music or a major story change. I will do my best to make each request possible, if within reason to do so.

I read it over a couple more times, to be sure I understood everything, then examined the bag. Indeed, it had many pockets labelled with what would be found in them, and the final pocket, unlabelled, held a small leather-bound journal and a fountain pen. Glancing back at the note, I decided its first example of a change was something I wanted - appropriate background music.

Specifically, of course, I wanted the in-game background music, including the battle themes for my own convenience. So I jotted it down on the first page, then laid it and the pen aside to let the ink dry, just in case. I was unsure if it would actually happen, but after another half-hour or so of just meandering around the hotel room, I received a shock when the music for Traverse Town kicked in quite suddenly.

It might be pretty laid back music, but when you're not expecting it to start playing it can be a little on the surprising side.

Soon enough I got used to it and it became exactly the background noise it was meant to be, nothing more. I spent a couple hours outside of the hotel, again, after it came back, taking advantage of the tell-tale battle music to eliminate some more Heartless and expand my repertoire of attacks while I had the chance to just screw around without a bunch of distractions or time constraints.

Once I deemed it to be late enough, I returned to the hotel and headed to bed.

I spent two more days in that hotel room and out in the streets taking out Heartless. Only the knowledge that no time was passing back home kept this extended stay from bothering me.

When I finally dragged myself out of bed on my fourth day in Traverse Town, sore from the roots of my hair to the soles of my feet from all the exercise I'd done the past three days, I contemplated just staying there and resting.

After stretching a bit and wincing at each and every tense muscle's ache, I decided against it. I wouldn't get any better at this, wouldn't be able to do any more, if I just laid around when I was in pain. Not to mention, if I got here before Sora did, there was a chance that staying in the hotel could make me miss him entirely.

Not exactly a chance I wanted to take, mostly because he, Donald, and Goofy technically had the only feasible way for me to travel between worlds at the moment. Unless I wanted to stoop low enough to side with Maleficent and travel around that way, or try my hand at a Dark Corridor… Without proper protection.

Yeah, I'd just try to find Sora. Even if I'd missed him, he'd come back sooner or later, and then I could maybe hitch a ride from world to world to make my own adventure in the limited wiggle room I had to do so. I couldn't very well be evil and work with Sora, could I? Not without making everything way too convoluted.

I'm a simple woman. I don't like to overcomplicate things, for fairly obvious and easy-to-guess reasons.

I paused to stretch out my achey muscles a little more, relishing in the popping of some tight joints. I rubbed at the muscles I could feasibly massage until they loosened up a bit, and then I set out. I made sure I had all of my things and…

… And ran face-first into Leon's chest and fell flat on my rump.

I spat a curse, mostly at myself for not watching where I was going, and attempted to get back up without hurting myself. Leon offered me a hand after watching me for a moment.

"Sorry." He grunted once we'd successfully gotten me to my feet.

"It's my own fault." I assured him, "So I'm the one who's sorry. I should have been watching where I was going." A pause, "Thanks for helping me up though."

"You look like you're in pain." He pointed out.

"I kind of am." I admitted, "I've been doing a lot of fighting the past few days - my body isn't used to it."

"So you're the one who's been out fighting the Heartless." He deduced, "People were beginning to wonder. No one was sure who it was - and I've never seen you around here before."

"I've only been here for four days… I think. Time is weird here."

"You come from a world with day and night." He guessed with a laugh.

I nodded. "Yeah. And anyways, I'm used to at least having a clock to tell me what time it is."

He just nodded his agreement and understanding. "Well. Good luck with whatever you're doing."

"Thanks. Same to you."

We went our separate ways. I found myself astonished at how much friendlier he seemed in person. Maybe it was just because he thought of me as nothing more than a displaced civilian who was trying to do their part, rather than a kid trying to be a hero.

And, you know, he wasn't entirely wrong.

I shrugged it aside the best I could and trudged back out into the streets of the city, almost immediately running into another person I wasn't expecting. Thankfully, this time, I skidded to a stop before I actually ran into them, but I still managed to unbalance myself and nearly fall on my butt again.

"Hey, you okay?" Sora stepped closer, holding out a hand to try and help me keep my balance.

"Yes, I'm alright. Just a little wobbly, is all." I replied, accepting his hand. Despite him being probably three or four years my junior, I felt giddy and excited just seeing him. I managed to push it down, though. I'd known this would happen, eventually. "You lost, kiddo?" I forced myself to ask.

"A little." Sora admitted with a sheepish grin, though it also looked fairly tired. "I'm looking for Leon? He walks too fast and I was supposed to be following him."

I tilted my head, mostly for show. "Leon?"

"Uh… Taller than you, long brown hair," He motioned across his face, "Big scar right here?"

"Oh, him!" I laughed, rubbing the back of my neck. "He's in there," I pointed to the hotel behind me, "I ran right into him on my way out of my room."

That got a laugh out of Sora, who had seemed somewhat nervous before on top of the exhaustion. I offered to try and help him find Leon, which he accepted enthusiastically, and so we headed back into the hotel and up the stairs. I tried to ignore the protests of my legs. To my surprise, Leon was waiting leaned against a door just five feet from mine.

"There you are." He said to Sora, vaguely annoyed.

Sora gave him a big, nervous grin.

He opened the door and motioned Sora in, and after Sora trudged into the room like a man about to be hanged, I prepared to go about my business. Sure, I'd found Sora, but it'd be a little while yet before he met Donald and Goofy and left, if I remembered correctly. So for the time being I'd just go around doing Sora's job for him, and then when the time came I'd meddle and get myself involved in his direct business. Maybe throw Donald and Goofy for a loop on purpose.

Speaking of those two, though, I was picking my way back out of the hotel when I passed the two of them and Aerith. I'd seen her around here and there, and we 'knew' each other well enough to greet each other in passing. Past that, that was the last of the interaction I'd have for a little while.

Or at least, I figured it would be. Most of my days so far were spent beating up Heartless rather than interacting with people, after all. But midway through a fight with a large throng of Shadows, I remembered I currently had a rather large amount of munny jingling around in my pouch, and I probably needed to invest in some healing items. It hit me, then, that I could probably use a potion to end my issue with being sore, too, and I very nearly smacked myself for my blank-headedness.

Thankfully, I didn't smack myself, and instead sent a Shadow sailing over the top of its brethren. It hit the side of a building and dissipated without much fanfare.

The others quickly followed it into the void in one way or another, and then I was on my way to the items shop. Huey, Duey, and Louie were decent businessmen, shockingly, and nothing in the shop was too incredibly expensive. I loaded up on potions and ethers despite not yet having any magic. If my memory served me correct, I would be getting my trademark spell come the end of the Traverse Town visit… If I managed to tag along with Sora, Donald, and Goofy, and if I could get Donald or Goofy to give me Fire.

Yeah, the Fire spell is my trademark. I'm a pyromaniac, both in real life and in games, but I like to think I control it much better in real life - after all, I don't go attacking people with fire in the real world, now do I?

Regardless, with my little shopping spree done for the time being, I quickly picked my way across the town to the Third District. I needed to get there before Sora, Donald, and Goofy did if I wanted to be able to meddle. And hoo boy did I want to meddle - not a whole lot, mind, but some. Just enough to maybe be a nuisance to somebody at some point in the timeline. I do, after all, enjoy being a pain in the neck when possible.

I rounded a corner, half-jogging into the appropriate area right as Sora was landed upon by Donald and Goofy. Usually my timing wouldn't have been near that perfect, so I supposed I'd better thank some kind of higher power for the convenience of it. I paused to do just that before approaching the pile of folks on the ground.

Quite purposely, I kept my Keyblade in hand as I approached, watching in thinly-veiled delight as Donald and Goofy looked frantically between mine and Sora's. They'd already given their, "The key!" line, so I wasn't sure what to expect from them now.

What I ended up getting was an even louder, much more confused, "Two?!"

Rather than commenting on it, I gave it a cursory glance, then shrugged. The actions were mostly for show - you know, typical 18 year old trying to be cool. Nothing new there. Then I offered a hand to Donald, who suspiciously took it and allowed me to help him up. I did the same to Goofy, who gave me a winning grin and a, "Thank ya!"

I made to offer my hand to Sora next… Only to be interrupted by the appearance of a couple groups of Heartless.

Sora quickly got to his feet on his own while I accompanied Goofy in taking out some of the approaching Heartless. Donald was getting to work on attempting to take out a couple of the further-off ones.

Once Sora managed to jump into the fray, the four of us made quick work of the remaining Shadows attempting to grief us. And, with that done, Donald and Goofy began to try and talk to Sora and I, though I can't remember if they do that in the game or not, only to be interrupted once again, this time by the formation of the Guard Armor. I hadn't been paying attention to the two of them anyway, and it was probably for the best. I almost got turned into an Allie pancake again, which is… Obviously not a fun experience.

My muscles were still yelling at me, since I'd neglected to use a potion to test my hypothesis after I left the item shop, but I didn't figure I'd really have time to test it out at the moment. The Guard Armor was, after all, focusing in and Sora and I and trying to alternatively stomp us to death or tear us open with its claws.

I found out the hard way that those claws are, indeed, just as sharp as they look. And that it is entirely possible to be thrown sideways into a wall by the force of its slashes. I was upright when it hit me. I managed to end up completely horizontal by the time I impacted the wall.

In the real world, I probably would have lost consciousness, and maybe coughed some blood on the off chance I remained conscious. In the video game world, however, I just struggled back to my feet after a moment of being stunned. The intense muscle soreness combined with the three large, parallel gash on my side made it a bit of an ordeal. Which is totally understandable, because hot damn did it hurt.

I managed to chug a potion before the Guard Armor noticed I was still in commission, and by the time it did I felt more like a million bucks than I had in days. True to what I'd thought, my muscles felt great now. The gashes in my side were healed. My whole body felt lighter and simultaneously a little more dense, if that makes any sense - maybe it'd be better to say I felt lighter but stronger.

I jumped back into the fray with renewed vigor, slashing away at the limbs that got near me and then rolling beneath its torso as I flipped my Keyblade into bow form. I knew I had to work quickly, so when I drew the light arrow back I didn't do much in the way of aiming. I just put as much power into the shot as I could given the limited time I had and then released. I rolled out of the way before I got to see if my arrow hit its mark, but I figured I'd know if I managed it.

As I expected, I did indeed know when it hit, mostly because it impacted the bottom of the Guard Armor's head and, curiously, sent it flying. Its body appeared vaguely disoriented by that, which gave me a chance to start wailing on the arm that had struck me earlier. When it started fighting back, I flipped my Keyblade back to bow form and gave up a lot of ground to get far enough away to try and shoot it.

My aim… Definitely still needed work.

I missed a lot of shots, but I kept the hand busy regardless. When the head crashed back onto the body about a minute later, I could tell I'd knocked down a bunch of its health, even if I couldn't see the health bar. Donald was going to town on the other hand, and Goofy and Sora were both focusing on the feet, attempting not to get squashed while they alternated between the two of them.

Not paying attention cost me, and I almost got slashed open again. I barely managed to dodge roll out of the way in time to avoid becoming thinly sliced cabbage. It still caught me, though, giving me some nice scrapes on my side and causing me to drop my bow. Rather than trying to grab it, I got to my feet and bolted toward the other side of the area, summoning my Keyblade back to me when I was far enough away. I tried my "sniping" strategy again, finding my aim was improving quickly under this kind of pressure.

It got in close to me again, and this time I was paying enough attention to block its strike, though doing so made me slide backwards a couple feet. I almost lost my footing before I managed to stage a counter strike, but only almost. I again thanked whatever higher power was looking out for me because usually my balance is pretty bad and I can trip over flat surfaces with no problem. Sure, I've got enough grace not to land on my face a lot of the time, and I can hold a cup upright the whole time and not spill anything, but I usually still manage to fall.

I abandoned the thankful prayer very quickly and went back to hammering away at the hand. After a long attempt at a combo, I lashed out a little harder and the hand finally spasmed and disappeared. I paused to catch my breath, looking toward the others to see how they were handling things. Donald was just now taking out the other hand, which was good. Taking out the hands was important.

Sora had taken a bigger job upon himself, now, and was alternating not just between the two feet, but the torso as well, in order to keep it from doing anything, I presume. Goofy was focusing on the feet.

When the other hand fell, Donald and I ran to them and Sora and I started concentrating on the torso while Donald waylaid the feet with his magic. I couldn't remember if we needed to kill the torso or not, but I figured it was a good idea to try anyway.

Sora ended up getting dropped soon enough, though, which made me wince. He struggled back to his feet a little ways away from me, and I broke off my attack chain to run over and hand him a potion. He accepted it with obvious gratitude. I kept myself protectively in front of him while he drank it, choosing to shoot at the feet for the time being.

It occurred to me suddenly, while doing that, that I shouldn't yet actually have the Dodge Roll ability. I let myself be befuddled by it, but chose not to look a gift horse in the mouth - so what if I got it a little early? It had served me well, and I was unsure how I'd actually learn dodge roll from two people who never used it anyway.

At least I was pretty sure I wasn't supposed to have it yet, and I was supposed to get it from Donald and Goofy at the end of this world. I wasn't sure. Maybe my stuff was just out of order because I wasn't part of the main story?

I shook the thoughts away, cast a glance over my shoulder at Sora, who gave me a thumbs up, and then flung myself back into the fray. I fired off all the shots I could while approaching the torso and feet again, then flipped back to Keyblade mode and joined Donald and Goofy in savagely attacking the feet. After a moment or two, Sora did the same.

The one Donald and Sora settled on beating up together fell first, spurred on by the magic Donald was throwing at it. With their help, mine and Goofy's fell soon after. Then we all turned on the torso and head. I hopped back a little bit and knelt, flipping back to bow form. I was going to work on my aim some more, since I had the chance, and Sora, Donald, and Goofy being in the way while the target was moving just meant I had to try harder.

I managed not to hit any of them in my endeavors, but I also ended up not taking very many shots. My help wasn't very effective, if I'm being honest here, and I do try to be.

Still, within a few minutes, the Guard Armor fell without ever managing to do its little laser number because of how busy four people kept it. Honestly I'm really thankful for that. I'm not sure how well I'd hold up to a literal laser attack.

For the first minute or so of the aftermath, we all attempted to catch our breath. I dismissed my keyblade and stretched, enjoying being able to move without pain - hey, I didn't really get a chance to do it during the fight. I was busy trying to murder the big guy before he turned me into thinly sliced cabbage, remember?

"So you were looking for me?" Sora asked, tilting his head and pointing at himself, almost exactly like in game. I don't think he tilts his head in game, though.

Goofy and Donald, of course, nodded, as per the railroad tracks they and Sora would be running on for the whole adventure.

"They, too, have been seeking the wielder of the Keyblade." Leon spoke up, and I found myself questioning when and how the hell he got there. And if he'd seen my Keyblade as well. Yuffie nodded along, but then Leon deviated from his usual actions by continuing instead of stopping there. "Although I don't think any of us were aware that there was more than one."

All eyes were suddenly on me, causing me to give all those present a sheepish grin and a wave.

Sora grinned right back at me, though much more enthusiastically. "I definitely didn't know - but her Keyblade's way cooler than mine! It can turn into a bow! How do you do that?"

"I honestly have no idea. I didn't even know I had one until like three days ago." I shrugged.

"When you showed up here," Leon guessed, "I suppose that makes sense. Some worlds wouldn't give you the chance to even find out about them, let alone use them."

"Mine sure as sh…" I trailed, not sure if I wanted to curse in front of Sora, Donald, and Goofy, and tried again, "Mine sure as heck didn't."

Leon raised a brow for a second, then looked toward those three and lowered it, nodding to himself.

"Well," Goofy said, finally popping us back onto the railroads, "Why don't you two come with us? We can go to other worlds on our vessel!"

Sora looked down, murmuring, "I wonder if I could find Riku and Kairi…"

"Of course." Donald said, and he's actually way more genuine-sounding in the game than he was in person.

Sora's head snapped up, and I shared an incredulous look with Leon. Goofy and Donald had their usual short, whispered exchange in the background while Leon stepped up. "Sora, go with them." He said, completely ignoring me. Maybe he figured I was a strong, independent woman who could make my own decisions? "Especially if you want to find your friends."

Sora had dropped his head again, looking quite dejected. "I guess." He said.

"But you can't come along looking like that. Understand?" Donald asked, "No frowning. No sad face. Okay?"

I found that, curiously, in person, I wanted to punt him for that line. In the game it never really bothered me past him being kind of a dick for not letting Sora mope. In person it filled me with some sort of all-consuming intense irritation. I guess it was probably my mothering instinct kicking in.

"Yeah, you gotta look funny, like us!" Goofy added.

Donald shoved him aside. I wanted to punt him even worse. "This boat runs on happy faces."

"Happy?" Sora questioned, not looking up.

I shared another look with Leon, then looked at Donald and Goofy to see them waiting excitedly for what he'd do. I was fully prepared, of course, but his doofy little face when he lifted his head still made me snort and put my hand over my mouth. Donald and Goofy began to laugh.

"That's one funny face!" Goofy assured him.

Ignoring him, apparently, Sora stood up straighter and said, "Okay, why not? I'll go with you guys."

Donald and Goofy introduced themselves to him, and he did the same in turn, and they did the dumb putting their hands together and quoting the Three Musketeers thing. Then all of them turned to me expectantly. Oh, so now I was important again? That was nice.

"Allie." I said, "Nice to meet y'all. But if you're expecting me to join in on that I'm afraid I have to decline. There's only three musketeers, after all."

Goofy seemed pleased that I got it. "Nah, you aint gotta join the musketeers. But we'd like it if ya joined us and Sora in our travels!"

"Yeah." Donald agreed, though I wasn't so sure he wanted to deal with me.

Sora seemed to really want me to go along, though. That was kinda cute. I got the feeling, at the time, that he might be somewhat idolizing me for being older and better at the Keyblade thing, even though he was arguably much more powerful than I was already.

I caved, though I hadn't really been deeply considering not agreeing. I just wanted it to seem like I was. "Alright, I'll go. I have some people I need to find along the way, too."

Around this time, I believe the cutscene where the villains are plotting against us plays. Obviously, I didn't get to see that, and instead accompanied the group back to the First District.

The usual exchange happened there, following the script exactly, so I won't get into it. When the usual scene ended, Sora asked if I was going to go with him and the others to shop, but I shook my head and informed him that I'd already bought what I needed.

"You sure? We're going to other worlds, after all." He grinned.

I smiled back. "I'm fairly sure - if nothing else I've got plenty of potions, which should see me through until I find something else I need."

He accepted that answer and went off to shop with everyone's favorite dog and duck.

Well, unless you're a fan of Duck Hunter, because then those two might be your favorite dog and duck. I digress.

Once they finished, Donald and Goofy pointed out the doors to exit the world, yadda yadda yadda, and then suddenly… I knew how to cast Fire. I don't know how that happened. They didn't explain it, that's for sure. They didn't even say anything after Donald's, "Hey, this is for you guys." I just suddenly had the knowledge, and that… Perturbed me.

I chalked it up under "video game logic" and left it at that.

I took note of Jiminy standing behind them, a couple feet away, but decided not to bother him. It was probably for the best that I didn't meddle where he was concerned. I'm sure, somehow, that he appreciated me leaving him alone, regardless of my reasonings.

And thus we set off onto the Gummi Ship and I decided to relax while I had the chance. Sure, there were only three chairs, but I was in no way averse to plopping my ass right down on the floor and sitting there for as long as I needed to - save for if we had to do any flips or shit like that. Then I'd be at least grabbing onto one of the seats.

"You sure you don't want the chair?" Sora asked, almost seeming worried.

"I'll be fine." I waved a hand. "You take it."

Donald and Goofy shared a look, then mumbled between themselves for a moment before nodding. I didn't bother asking what they were talking about, I just got as settled in as I could and crossed my legs, to their horror. Only when they noticed that I was wearing shorts and the skirt covered the important stuff anyway did they look any less mortified.

It was once we'd set off that I pulled the book from my little bag, having decided on something else I'd like to have - HP bars that only I could see, both for myself and for my friends and foes. It would, after all, help me in the long run. I also requested an MP bar for myself. Then, for the heck of it, I also asked that I be able to see what level we were all at.

About halfway through the journey, I saw my requests pop into existence, but only when I focused on anyone. Focusing on Sora showed he was a mere Level 2, with full health. Donald was a Level 9, also with full health, and Goofy was a Level 8 with a small chunk out of his health bar. I considered offering him a potion, but I figured he'd ask someone if he thought it was serious.

I looked myself over, but found I couldn't see my own stuff, which started to irritate me. Finally, I had an epiphany and lifted one of my hands, palm up. Above it sat exactly what I wanted to see, and I felt a bit dense for not trying that first.

As it turned out, I was Level 4, with a miniscule chunk of health missing and full MP.

Neat.

A/N: Okay, some notes;

- Yes, I realize making myself higher level than Sora makes me more powerful than him. My reasoning is a) I'd been at it longer than him, and b) I'd killed way more Heartless at that point. Also, this conundrum will eventually be solved either due to him fighting more or him simply being better at it than I am, turning him back into the most powerful after he surpasses Donald and Goofy as well.

- No, I'm not going to ship myself with Sora, even if he does look up to me at this point in the story and I'm excited to be around him. First of all, I never really liked Sora in that way, and second, despite it only being a four year age difference, I'm not shipping my literally 18 year old self with a canonically 14 year old boy.