Second Encounter

This was a one-shot request, and it was too fun to resist. It gradually evolved into what I decided would be the second chapter of Unity. YAY RANDOMNESS.

So, I'm SERIOUSLY sorry about how long this took.

Considering my insane amount of projects, I'm now asking for a co-author on this story.

KH-KH

During the trip there, Riku got in contact with Leon, who quickly figured out all that was going on. A few moments into the discussion, Leon received word from the King that he was to meet them all in Twilight Town.

With a few tweaks to the console, they were quickly on their way.

KH-KH

When they reached Twilight Town, they found the usual gang of Hayner, Pence, and Olette. Sora caught up on a few things, while Riku listened benignly.

"Kairi...?" Olette asked, "Oh, yeah. You were trying to rescue her a few months ago. Did you ever find her?"

"Yeah. We kept her around for a little longer this time," Sora said with a sad smile.

The Twilight Town natives cringed.

"So, she's gone again?" Hayner asked.

Sora nodded.

"Sorry, man. Is there any way we can help?" Pence asked.

"Nah. We're here to meet with Mickey," Riku said, "So... don't worry yourself, man."

Silence reigned for a while, until Aerith walked in, carrying a tray of fruits. Yuffie followed her eagerly, waiting until the tray was set down, at which point she quickly snatched several of the snacks. Sora looked up to see Leon resting against the wall in his usual pose.

"So, Sora, ready for tomorrow? Mickey left a note. He'll meet us at the mall, apparently," Leon said.

"The mall?" Sora asked.

"It's a few miles away from here. Kinda rinky-dink, but it's okay," Hayner said with a shrug.

"It'll be good to see the King," Riku said.

"Can we come?" Olette asked.

"Sure," Yuffie said.

"Yuffie..."

"Squall..."

Leon rolled his eyes, not bothering to correct the ninja.

"Fine."

The kids all talked semi-excitedly for a while about the day to come, until Aerith finally shooed them all to bed.

KH-KH

"Alright, everyone, meet back here at around 11. We'll eat then," Leon said, "If you spot the King, ignore him. He'll talk to us when he's ready."

Everyone nodded and ran off, spreading out quickly.

KH-KH

Olette perused through the shiny knick-knacks in a store labeled "Locke's Treasures". The man behind the counter seemed nice enough. He wore a blue jacket and jeans with a blue headband. He had brown-ish hair, and tan skin. He flashed shiny teeth at Olette when she entered the store.

"Hello, miss. How can I help you?"

"I'm just looking."

The man nodded and she went back to looking. She saw a collection of knives, swords, shields, hats, and the rest of the usual adventurer's lot. It was relatively cheap stuff. It paled in comparison to the Legendary Weapons, in any case.

There were a few orbs, too, which she recognized as magicite.

"What kinds of magicite do you have?" Olette asked.

"Clever girl. Not many people recognize that. My magicite is for emergency purposes only. I have replica magicite, which I keep behind the counter. It just looks like magicite. It's not meant for battle use," Locke said.

"Why keep the real magicite out on the floor?" Olette asked.

"Anyone strong enough to take it from behind the shielding in place would be strong enough to beat me and take it, so why not?" Locke said with a shrug.

Olette stared for a moment, before she began perusing once more, searching for something in specific...

KH-KH

Riku and Sora searched through the game shop, eagerly pilfering through it all. They were very familiar with the commodities, and the influx of munny that flowed into their pockets as of late granted them many such things. It was glorious.

"Oh, Riku, check it! A Hartron!" Sora said, excited about the gaming system.

"You serious? I didn't know they got released yet," Riku said.

"Technically, they haven't," the man behind the counter said.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Sora asked.

"Well... I'm a pirate of sorts. Respected well enough that no one cares when I pilfer here or there. I paid them well enough for that. Good business, you see," he said.

A dark-skinned girl with bunny ears and skimpy clothing walked in from the back door, approaching the man with a list. Sora and Riku stared for several moments, before they managed to put their eyes back in their head and turned, blushing, back towards the games.

KH-KH

Yuffie examined a shiny pair of show-off kunai, while Leon looked about the store, with vague interest. It was one of the newer additions, and he had been assigned to watch her as they hadn't been quite accustomed to Yuffie's innate... nature, so to speak.

For a while, he looked around as well, admiring a few of the swords. His heart stopped when he came by a new set of weapons. His finger traced along the edges of the shield-like weapon, a Blaster Edge. The wings... they were too familiar.

An employee came by.

"Would you like help selecting something, sir?" he asked.

"Where did you get that?" Leon demanded, abruptly, pointing at the angelic disc-esque weapon.

"A new arrival... she let us engineer the weapon for a share in the profits."

Leon shook his head.

"Strange... Did you already arrive...?" he muttered to himself.

"Would you like help, sir?" the employee asked, slightly nervous.

"No, sir. Thanks. I'll be on my way."

Leon was so distracted that he almost forgot to force Yuffie to give back everything she tried to steal.

Almost, as the fuming ninja grumbled, didn't cover it.

KH-KH

Aerith waited patiently at the food court, happily munching on a salad, when Cloud arrived. She smiled at him, as he began to methodically chew his burger. Gradually, the others streamed in. After about 15 minutes, everyone but Olette had sat down, or had dropped by before ordering something at one of the nearby fast food joints.

Time kept passing, until it has been 30 minutes after the designated "meet-up" time. Still no Olette.

"I'm getting worried," Hayner said, "If it had been Pence or me, this would be understandable. But Olette's never late..."

Leon set down his unfinished meal, "Alright, then. Sora, Riku, Aerith, Yuffie. Split up. We'll cover more ground that way."

"What about us?" Hayner asked.

"Guard our food!" Yuffie called back, cheerily.

KH-KH

As it turns out, the concern was necessary, as 30 minutes ago, Olette was about to exit the door, when a strange man in a largely black suit that featured a pumpkin emblazoned on his chest entered the room.

"Can I help you?" Locke asked, instantly wary of the man.

I am the Shadow on the Moon at night...

Filling your dreams to the brim with FRIGHT

As the eerie melody from nowhere faded, Jet's hands held up a staff that displayed a blade on both ends.

Locke, his hand glowing, leaped over the counter. His hand came up and a blast of Firaga tore through the air. Jet swiped his weapon, Shadow on the Moon, through the air, and the flames were swept away. Locke shot another burst, which was just as promptly torn away from the air. Jet twirled and spun Shadow on the Moon at Locke.

This is Halloween, this is Halloween

Pumpkins scream in the dead of night

The staff broke apart and became a series of needles, Pumpkins Scream, that stabbed into Locke, then ignited. Jet blitzed forward and kicked the ex-Treasure Hunter in the head, causing him to fly back. Jet pulled his hand back, and the needles flew into his body, seeming to actually merge into him. Locke slid to the floor. Passerby seemed to go by, without a second glance.

Cato entered the store, followed by Syn.

"Syn? The girl," Cato said.

Syn nodded and snapped his fingers. Several Sylphs appeared and grabbed Olette, holding her back. Cato then approached the magicite. He cautiously reached out a hand for it, and twinged when he felt the barrier.

"This is heavy-duty stuff... Probably gonna take about 20 minutes for even my strongest Brecher to take it out," Cato said.

"Then be quick about it. We must be in and out, swiftly. The Capitol said to mention out plans, not for a full-on fight," Syn warned.

Cato rolled his eyes, but nodded, grabbing his side-satchel and opening it. After a few moments of digging in it, he picked out a small circular piece of machinery, which he attached to the barrier that suddenly became visible. A few button presses, and the barrier began to crack.

"Now... to wait," Cato said.

Olette started to scream, until Jet placed his hand over her mouth.

"I thought your spell blocked sound," Cato said.

"It blocks us from sight, by putting up a false image. Yes, it does filter sound to a degree, but not screams."

"Will the Keybladers still find us?" Cato asked.

"I'll ensure they do," Syn said, "No worries."

KH-KH

It was Aerith who was first lead to the sieged store. A strange phantom erupted from the ground beneath her. It lashed out at her, narrowly missing her, then turned and bolted. She followed it with all haste, drawing on her Cetran agility to assist her through all the various leaps and side-steps she had to make in order to keep up with the phantom.

She arrived in front of the store, and the phantom disappeared. A few moments later, Leon and Yuffie appeared on the scene, following phantoms that did the same.

"What could be in...?" Aerith began to ask.

The illusion fell, to reveal the three figures inside, all of which were familiar to the Radiant Garden Restoration Committee.

"Jet!" Aerith shouted.

Jet looked at her with disinterest as Cato pulled off his device. The barrier flickered and died. Leon flung himself forward, and found that he rammed into a forcefield. Growling, he hacked and slashed at it with all his might. Yuffie and Aerith joined in the barrage a moment later. Immediately, people screamed and fled in opposite directions.

"Why are you doing this?" Aerith screamed, shooting fire at the barrier.

Sora and Riku arrived on the scene seconds later.

"STOP!" Syn shouted.

Surprised by the outburst, the heroes hesitated for a moment.

"We wish to let you know that we have the Princesses of Heart in our possesion. As soon as our experiments are done, they will be returned to you. None of the experiments should prove fatal. All we want is our home," Syn said.

"Atlantis is gone, Syn! It's not coming back!" Aerith snapped.

"You're nothing but a traitor to the cause, Aerith. You never knew Atlantis to begin with. You have never seen the paradise shared long ago. And you are a fool for going against it!" Syn railed.

"Shaddup. The Capitol doesn't want 'em knowing too much," Cato snapped.

"Who are you people and why do you want Kairi!?" Sora roared.

Everyone in the room was surprised when Jet stepped forward and did something he hadn't done in a long time.

"We are reflections, bright and clear. We are the moon, dangerous and near. We are MIRROR, as you hear."

With the declaration of "MIRROR", Jet sent out a tendril of darkness that engulfed all of the freed magicite. Cato snapped his Brecher shut and placed it in his side satchel. Syn pulled his hands back, and the summons he had dispersed. Jet became Darkness that engulfed Syn and swarmed over to Cato, who pressed a button. In a flash, all of the so-called "Mirror" were gone.

Olette gasped, now free; she stumbled over to Locke. The Treasure Hunter was still breathing... Good. Okay...

The heroes stepped into the shop, and Aerith started to cast a heal spell, when a green light and bells appeared over his head.

"I figured it was good to go ahead and cast it. Locke's not lookin' too good," Mickey said.

"Your Majesty!" Sora shouted.

"Mickey!" Riku called out.

"Hiya, guys," Mickey called back, leaning on his Keyblade, "What's shakin'?"

"Princesses are stolen, new villains around," Leon said.

"The usual," Yuffie added.

"Yeah... about the villains," Mickey said.

"Mirror?" Leon asked.

"Yeah..."

"No, Mickey. Allow me," Aerith said.

"Yeah... they said you were a traitor to the cause. What'd they mean?" Sora asked.

"Cetra is an alternate name for what I am. The older name fell out of use centuries ago. After Atlantica came to be, most of us called ourselves Cetra, to avoid confusion with the Merpeople."

"They said they wanted-"

"Their home. Atlantis. My home. Well... not really. I never knew Atlantis," Aerith said.

"This is a wonderful discussion and all, but we might want to leave before the police show up," Olette said, "Besides, we need to find Hayner and Pence."

"Alright, guys, let's go," Leon said.

KH-KH

Now at Olette's house, where the girl was being bandaged, the friends spoke. Hayner and Pence were quickly filled in on the details.

"It's definitely not those guys from last time. Organization whoever," Hayner said.

"Yeah. Not them. Why would they steal the Princesses, though? What could they possibly be of use in their search of Atlantis?" Riku asked.

"Yeah. They can open Kingdom Hearts, but I didn't think they served any other purpose," Sora said.

"Those seven beings carry more Light than the Keyblade. That much power can be put to a lot of use," Leon said.

"Woah...," Sora muttered, looking at his palm.

The Keyblade appeared, in an absentminded reaction to his ponderings. He felt the Light inside of it, pouring through his body, filling him up with something like adrenaline. He instantly became aware of his surroundings, and felt the instinctual fight or flight thought process creep into his mind.

"Put it away. The Heartless have reduced in numbers; they haven't been eradicated," Leon said.

Nodding, Sora let his palm relax. The Keyblade dispersed, remerging with Sora's form.

"Well, I'm sure we'll find clues at Radiant Garden," Mickey said.

"What makes you say that?" Riku asked.

"I passed through there a day or two ago. Everyone was complaining about malfunctioning technology. I'll bet those Atlanteans are the cause of it," Mickey replied.

"Well, the course is clear: Radiant Garden," Sora said.

KH-KH

A familiar being, the humongously tall, pale male, sat on a golden throne. His black hair fell across his shoulders, providing a sharp contrast to his skin. The Atlanteans appeared in the same room a few moments later. His light-blue eyes peered out at the new arrivals.

"Capitol, we have returned with the Materia," Cato said.

Jet waved a hand, and all of the Materia appeared in the air, surrounded by a faint black aura.

"The world shall be saved soon enough, Capitol Lamuria" Syn said.

"Thank you, my friends. You have done well," Lamuria said.

The Atlanteans all bowed.

"Jet, I have another job for you. Our Light is here, but our Dark Source will be incomplete, even with the data. The construct will require his essence, along with the data. Go to Radiant Garden and the World That Never Was. Sniff out the Source and collect it."

Jet gave a quick nod, then disappeared.

"Cato, Syn, for now, relax. Tell me of your adventures."

"Yes sire," Syn said.

And so the friends reveled in the tales to be shared. Their happiness felt almost foreign to them, but reassuring.

Soon, they'd be going home.

End of Chapter Two