Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Final Fantasy, or any of its characters.
"Hey kid, wake up!" I shout at the boy who is collapsed in the alleyway on the side of my father's shop. I kneel down next to him and shake him lightly by the shoulder and order him to wake up again. From somewhere nearby I hear an unfamiliar voice command "come on, Pluto!" I ignore the mysterious voice and continue to try and stir the boy from his slumber.
He looks a little peculiar... Definitely not like the typical refugees we get. His bright yellow shoes give his feet an unusually large appearance. I think he's around the same age that I am. His brunette hair is spiked upwards on all ends. His outfit is mostly red, and he has a white vest that is completely unzipped. The most peculiar thing about him is his weapon choice: a silver key the size and length of the average sword.
"Nnnhh…"
"Hey kid, you okay?" I step back to give him some room, but stay crouched to be at eye level with him.
The boy blinks a few times, as if to clear his vision. After a moment, he brings his attention to me. "I… where am I?"
"I haven't seen you here before. Did you just show up?" I study his face and independently observe him for signs of physical hurt. He nods in response and rubs the back of his head where a new bruise is most likely forming. "Come on, I'll help you up," I offer and stand up. I extend my arm in offering to help him stand up. He hesitates a moment, then takes my hand and I pull him up. I wince, as my arm is still sore from my fall earlier, but I try not to let it show. "Follow me."
I walk out of the alleyway to the main section of the first district of Traverse Town. The boy halts abruptly and I turn to see what caused him to stop. "Wow! I'm in another world!" He is wide eyed and full of surprise
"Yeah… Have you never visited another world before?" I ask, slightly confused. Most refugees have been to at least one other world before.
"No… I didn't know it was possible to visit other places. Where am I, anyway?" he asks and looks over at me with his striking ocean-blue eyes.
"This is Traverse Town," I answer, and turn away after a moment of eye contact. "Mostly refugees come here when their planet is destroyed, and they find their way to a new home from here. However, my father and I and a few of our friends live here permanently… You could say we kind of run the place."
"Hey… You wouldn't happen to have seen my friends, would you?"
"I haven't been out much today; if anyone has seen them it would be my father. I'll take you to him," I say, and proceed to guide him to the shop. I push the door open and announce our arrival to my dad.
My dad raises a single eyebrow, clearly suspicious. "Brissa, I thought you were in bed?"
"Well, this boy was passed out behind the shop. I had to check on him… What if he was injured?" I retort swiftly. It is somewhat of an honest reply. I had gone out without his knowledge, but I had also been side tracked by the new-comer.
My dad shoots the boy a sparing glance,"You're new here, huh?" It sounds rhetorical to me.
"Yeah, I just got here I guess. My name is Sora," the boy, Sora, responds without glancing back at my dad. Instead, his eyes wander all over the shop- from the fireplace, to the ladder, to the sofa chairs, and to the counter my dad stood behind. The counter is filled to the brim with various oddities and accessories. I don't think Sora notices them, though.
"I'm Cid, and this is my daughter Brissa. Is there anything we can do to help ya out?"
"Well, Cid, Brissa, I'm separated from my friends who were with me when my home was destroyed. Their names are Riku and Kairi. Riku is a little older and taller than me, and Kairi is same age and height. Riku has blue hair, blue eyes, and Kairi has reddish-brown hair and blue eyes. Have either of you run into them?" he asks, and his eyebrows curl upwards as if to convey hopefulness. He is sincere, and I feel my heart sink a little bit, because I know my father and I will have to let him down.
"Can't say that I have… You, Briss?"
"Nope…"
Sora looks down at his large, yellow shoes. He doesn't have to say anything for me to know his hopes are completely shattered. I feel sad for him. It's not uncommon for refugees to be separated from the people they know, but Sora's case in particular strikes me harder than usual. Maybe it's the weird glow of innocence he has about him. Or maybe it's just because he's the first person in a long time to come to Traverse Town who is my age. Either way, I want to help him.
"Well, there's always the possibility of bumping into them here. Brissa why don't you give this young fella' a grand tour of the place? Just be on your guard in the hostile districts. Take a few weapons from the shop, see what you can find."
"Roger that," I jokingly salute my father. A small smirk spreads across his face, but vanishes almost instantly. He hardly ever lets his tough and hardened demeanor drop, but the smirk is enough to remind me that he's not completely lost on humor.
I hand select a sword that has a weight that leaves me plenty of room for moving around, but strong enough so that I can still deal heavy blows. I wrap its sheath around my back and place the sword in its safety guard, and then pick my next choice of weapon. I pick short, twin daggers next, which are useful for agile moves and for throwing at enemies who are further away. I strap the sheaths for the daggers around my hips and put the daggers away. Finally, I wrap a holster for a small pistol around my waist. I check to make sure the pistol has a few bullets, and make sure the safety switch is on. Ammunition for guns is extremely hard to come by, so I know I have to conserve my bullets as much as possible. The pistol is mostly a precaution, anyway.
Sora is watching me intently the entire time, and I can't help but feel as though he was wary of how many weapons I am choosing to include in our venture. I shrug and say apprehensively, "Can't be too careful". When he doesn't say anything, I exit the shop and wait for Sora to follow.
"Well kiddo-"
"My name is Sora," he spits at me. Alright, so he doesn't like to be called 'kiddo'. Guess I'll refrain from that next time.
"Right, Sora… Let's start with the second district," I suggest. He shrugs as if to indicate he doesn't care either way. Or maybe he is just shrugging because, in reality, he has no idea what to do. I'm the one that knows Traverse Town, after-all. I nod, and walk around the back of the shop and approach the giant doors that lead out to the second district. I take a deep breath and prepare myself for the dangers that lay on the other side. Then, I push through the enormous, wooden doors.
The second district is completely barren. No one lives in the second or third district because it is the place that is most overrun with the heartless. However, not even heartless seem to be in the second district right now. I shiver as a light breeze flies by and lifts some of my hair. Other than the breeze, the district is completely silent.
"This place is so creepy," Sora comments with a small shiver of his own. I nod a little in agreement and take a single step forward. Then, a man who I recognize as one of the other residents runs up to us, looking distraught and panicked.
"They're coming! Go back!" he cries out to us as he comes closer. He trips on his own feet, and falls to the ground in front of us. Panting, he rolls over onto his back and cries in terror and pain as an invisible force takes his life right before our eyes. His eyes are wide eyed with terror for a moment, and then they close forever. A clear red heart floats from the dead man's body and flies up into the sky and vanishes from sight. Sora and I turn our attention from the heart back to the body before, and I gasp as I watch his body disappear, leaving an armored shadow heartless in his place.
"Those creatures… They're the ones who destroyed my island… they're the reason I'm in this place without my friends!" Sora shouts as the heartless disappears.
A moment of emotional pain surges through my body. "They took away my home too." I remove my sword from behind my back and step towards where the heartless had been. "We need to be careful we don't get caught by them." I don't know how he does it, but Sora summons his key-weapon out of thin air, and follows behind me. I patrol down the right path of the upper floor of the district.
"Know what, that hotel looks more like someplace I'd find my friends, I'm going to investigate there. You can keep searching this area. Besides, we'll cover more area that way." He is clearly impatient about finding his friends, but I understand. He's all alone in a strange place, with no idea where they are.
"Sure… okay, just watch your back."
"Yeah, yeah…" he sighs, and runs off towards the hotel and disappears behind its doors. I continue along the right-most path, alone.
The upper level of the district goes down a staircase on the right side and leads out to the main courtyard of the area, where several locations can be accessed. At the base of the wall next to the staircase is a water fountain, and on the wall next to that is a door leading to the main alleyway of Traverse Town. The alleyway can also be accessed from the hotel where Sora just ran off to.
I walk out to the main courtyard and look up at the nighttime sky and shiver. The sky is too clear. The district is too quiet. A foreboding sense of trouble creeps over me. When I look back down I see an unfamiliar figure in the distance, standing at the entrance to the alleyway that leads down to the Dalmatian House (an entirely abandoned house aside some Dalmatian parents who'd lost their puppies).
"Hey!" I yell out and wave at the figure. I begin to walk towards the person, while still waving. There's a small itch in the back of my mind that makes me wonder if this person will also die and become a heartless, but I shake off the feeling quickly. At a closer look I can see they are male, and he has a light hair color. The man hesitates as I walk towards him. "Wait, stop!" I shout as he turns and flees down the corridor. I run after him.
When I turn down the corridor I am disappointed to see it is completely empty aside a scrunched piece of paper rolling about from side to side. I cautiously walk to the end of the corridor and put a hand on the cold, stone wall at the end and look up at the sky again. I jump as the door to my left opens.
"Sora! There you are. You scared me." I release a sigh of relief and let out a nervous laugh. He smiles at me, and asks if I had had any luck. "Actually I saw someone run down here, but maybe it was my imagination because the only place they could have gone was through this door, and you clearly didn't see them. Have you had any luck?"
"Nope, no luck… Well, maybe we should go see if your dad has found anyone yet," Sora suggests. I nod, and together we walk back to the first district.
My father is lazily lounging, half-asleep on one of the sofas of the bottom floor of the shop. He isn't remotely startled when we shut the door behind us, and instead inquires about our luck in finding Sora's friends. "We haven't found a single trace of them," Sora sighs, clearly frustrated.
"Well, keep lookin'. They're bound to be 'round here somewhere."
"Maybe Leon would know?" I suggest. Leon knows a lot about what goes on around Traverse Town, and he frequents the second and third districts.
"Now that's a smart idea. If anyone'd know where his friends were it'd be Leon," my father validates.
"Alright, Sora, let's go find Leon! I know where to find him," I turn around, only to find that Sora has already left the shop. "Well, dad, you could've said something." My father shrugs at me as if to say 'what do you expect me to do?' I groan back at him and push through the front doors of the store and step out into the first district once more. My father says nothing as I leave.
The first district is entirely empty, aside two figures who are standing over Sora. "Leon!" I shout angrily and run over to him and Yuffie. I am completely speechless; how could they knock Sora unconscious? What would possess them to treat him that way?
"Hey calm down Briss, don't do anything rash," Yuffie say, and takes a step in front of Leon to guard him. She knows I'd slap him across the face if I had the chance.
"Alright, then give me a real good explanation for doing this!" I wave a hand towards Soras' unconscious body. "It's not a very warm welcome is it?" I kneel down next to Sora to check the blow to the back of his head. There is no blood, but I wouldn't be surprised if a bruise formed later. I stand up and look Leon in the eyes as I demand, "What are you going to do with him?"
"We're taking him to the hotel. Everything will be explained there, but we need some privacy," Yuffie explains. She twirls around on thin, orange shoes and gives Leon a silent 'okay' for him to take care of Sora.
I watch as Leon hoists Sora up and flings him over one shoulder; Sora's keyblade disappears into thin air. I glare up at Leon for a moment, still agitated with his behavior. Despite being a whole head taller than me, Leon has never able to intimidate me. His scar and his gunblade might scare others, but they have never frightened me. Leon says nothing, and begins to walk off towards the second district. Yuffie follows him, and motions for me to do the same. I stay a few steps behind them, but follow them nonetheless. In the second district, Leon takes the path to the left and enters the vacant hotel room. He brings Sora into one of the most secluded rooms inside it. He places Sora on the only available bed, and then leans against a wall on the opposite side of the room while he waits for Sora to wake up. A strand of his brown hair falls into his face, but he makes no move to brush it out of the way. Without saying anything, I lean against the wall, right beside Leon. I watch as Yuffie paces over to Sora, who is beginning to regain consciousness.
"Hey kiddo, you okay?" Yuffie questions when Sora begins to groan.
"I… think so…" he says, and rubs the back of his head. He flinches slightly as his fingers find the point of impact.
"Those creatures that attacked you were after the keyblade. It's how they were tracking you," Yuffie explains to him, and stands up straight to give Sora a full view of the room he is in.
"The… keyblade?" Sora questions as he sits up straight.
"Yeah, sorry about knocking you out. That keyblade needed to go away to shake off the heartless," Yuffie explains. "If we didn't deal with it, the heartless would've begun to multiply."
"Brissa, did you know they were going to do this?" Sora asks me. I shake my head. I'm just as surprised as he is.
"Listen, we did it for your own good. We were trying to conceal your heart from them, but it's not going to work for long. Sora… You are the chosen one," Leon explains. His eyes remain shut. Leon has always been so dramatic.
"Alright, enough nonsense you guys. Explain in detail," I demand, and sit down next to Sora. If I'm confused, I can only imagine the confusion that Sora is experiencing. "What does Sora have to do with the heartless? Why are you calling him 'the chosen one'? Does it have to do with that keyblade?"
"Alright, alright, I'll explain. You know there are other worlds, right?" Yuffie queries. Sora and I both nod in response. "Well, they've all been secret, because they've never been connected. The heartless changed everything." Yuffie turns around and stares at the wall, as if she's looking into her past. Fear and sadness wash over her face.
"The heartless?" Sora asks, pulling Yuffie back to the present.
"They're those shadows that attacked us in the second district, remember?" I remind Sora.
"The heartless are attracted to the darkness in people's hearts, and there is darkness in every heart," Leon comments quietly.
"Have you heard of Ansem?" Yuffie asks Sora. I knew Ansem, but I hardly remember him. I know he lived in the castle with us, but my memories of him are fuzzy at best. Sora shakes his head to indicate he'd never heard of Ansem. "He studied the heartless, and he wrote his findings in a detailed report. Unfortunately, we can't read it because its pages are scattered everywhere. There are just too many worlds, and they've fallen into them all," Yuffie explains quickly. I've heard of the report before, but I never had a chance to read it. I most certainly haven't heard about it being torn apart and scattered among the many different worlds. I wonder how they found that out. Did my dad know about all of this, too?
"This is the key, then?" Sora asks, summoning his keyblade to examine it.
"The heartless fear the keyblade, and they'll keep chasing you because of it, no matter what. The keyblade chose you, Sora, so you'll have to live with it," Leon says, and this time he opens his eyes to study Sora. Leon always keeps a straight face that makes it impossible to determine what he's thinking.
"How could this happen… Wait a second!" Sora shouts and stands up from the bed so suddenly that I jump in surprise. "What happened to my home? My island? Riku and Kairi?"
Leon and Yuffie give Sora worried looks. Yuffie bites her lip and Leon sighs. No one has an answer for him, because no one knows what really happened.
"Well I'm going to get it all back," Sora declares with fierce determination.
"It's not the easiest thing to achieve, Sora. You've got to be ready, and you've got to be prepared," Leon warns him.
"I'm ready for anything!" Sora assures him. He grips his keyblade tighter, the need for revenge as strong as his grasp on the weapon.
"Leon!" Yuffie cries suddenly and points to the middle of the room. I gasp as I recognize the familiar shadowy shape of a heartless. Leon grabs his weapon and cuts through the creature in one swift stroke, and yells for Yuffie to run and for Sora to follow him. Yuffie runs into the hotel room parallel to ours, and Sora follows Leon out the back window that leads to the main alleyway of Traverse Town.
I ponder what to do for a moment, and then decide I'd feel safer with Leon. Not the Yuffie couldn't protect me, she's just a lot less intimidating than Leon. Plus, Leon's sword keeps enemies at a distance. I hop over the railing of the window and land safely on the ground below, right next to Sora. To my disbelief, Leon has already vanished.
"Hey Brissa," Sora says, and forces a smile onto his face. He has dismissed his keyblade for the moment.
"Where'd Leon go?" I ask just as a few more heartless begin to materialize. I yank my sword out of the sheath on my back and cut through the nearest shadow. It vanishes as quickly as it had materialized.
"He told me to find the leader and he just took off," Sora explains, and summons his keyblade. We cut through some of the small heartless that charge at us and I begin to run back towards the door that leads to the second district. Sora obediently follows, although he is apprehensive.
"We'd better find my father and grab some provisions if Leon wants you to challenge a bigger heartless," I explain to him, and open the door to the second district.
I parry the attack of an unexpected heartless that charges at me when I enter the district. Sora fights off the heartless that are coming at our flank while I clear a path up the stairs and back to the doors of the first district.
As we run through the door I eye Leon and run over to him. "I've already talked to your father," Leon says, and hands me several potions that will heal wounds. I take them from his extended hand, but then am struck with a searing headache. I can feel myself stumble to the ground as my vision becomes blurred and my eardrums are filled with a sudden cry. I can feel Sora kneeling down next to me, and I force myself to tell him to go on without me. He takes the potions from my hand, and runs off.
As he leaves, my mind enters a telepathic state where I can see my anonymous companion running in circles. It seems like he's trapped, and he is desperately crying out for help.
"I'm here! What's wrong?" I yell out to him, and begin to run towards him.
I still don't know how it's possible that there is a whole different place inside my mind that only he and I can see. It's like a grey place, where there is no sunlight, yet it isn't entirely dark either. Yet, I can never tell what he actually looks like, and I have never heard his name. He is just… there, and he is here now, and I need to help him.
"Help me!" he cries out and grabs my wrist when I get close to him.
"Calm down, what happened?" I ask and try to tug my wrist free of his grasp. He takes a deep breath and kneels down on one hand and knee and covers his face with his other hand. It looks like he is crying, but I am almost positive he isn't.
"They almost got me… They almost got me…" he says repeatedly. I try to kneel down next to him, but then I notice that he is getting further and further away. I reach one hand out to try and reach him, but find that he really is too far away. I feel someone grasping onto my wrist, but I can't see who it is. His voice echoes all around me, they almost got me. I throw my hands up to my head to try and shake myself out it. I am vaguely aware of someone grasping my hand and it takes all of my energy to ignore it. My friend is nowhere in sight, but his voice continues to boom all around me. I start screaming, when something pulls me back into consciousness.
I gasp and look up into Leon's face. He is trying to say something to me, but his voice is miles away. His lips are moving but no sound is coming from them. My surroundings are blurred, and my head is throbbing. I shake my head to try and clear my vision, and Leon's voice suddenly becomes clear again.
"Brissa!"
"Leon, I…" I stammer, but he immediately interrupts me.
"Sora has defeated the leader. Come on," he instructs. I warily stand up, and Leon grasps my arm to help steady me. Twice in one day I have fainted, twice in one day my legs are wobbly, and twice in one day I am totally drained of my energy. Reluctantly, I follow Leon to a door in the first district that has always been locked up until now. I wonder how it had been unlocked.
The door led to the third district, where I've never been before. It is one large courtyard that branches out into two or three different corridors. I assume one door leads to the second district, but I decide that taking apart the visual blueprint of the area isn't the current priority. I see Yuffie and Aerith talking with Sora and two other figures I don't recognize. Leon and I join them.
"Glad you're okay Sora," I say with a weak smile.
"Yeah, I wouldn't have got far without their help." Sora motions to the two people that are standing next to him. In fact, they are anything but human. They wear human clothing, but look more like talking animals. The shorter one looks like a duck that stands up straight like a human, and the taller one looks more like a combination of a dog and a human. They are huddled together, speaking in a tone so quiet that I can't make out what they are saying.
"We've decided you can come with us," the two of them say to Sora after they finish conversing.
"Sure, I'll go with you guys. Maybe I'll find Riku and Kairi!" The two friends give him a reassuring look, and introduce themselves.
"I'm Donald Duck," the shorter one says.
"My name is Goofy," the taller one follows.
"I'm Sora!"
"You should go with them," Leon whispers to me suddenly.
"Are you insane?"
"Brissa, their mission may have a lot to do with your past, and you know a lot more about heartless and fighting than they do. You'd be an asset to them, and I'm sure you don't want to stay cooped up here forever." Leon gives me a smile. It has been a while since I've seen him give a real smile.
"Alright, can I go with?" I interrupt them. I haven't previously considered uprooting myself from my home, but now that Leon has mentioned it, I feel a desire to travel with them. It's more than a desire, really… I feel like I need to go- like I am being pulled into that direction. The feeling is so overwhelming I completely forget to consider what my father might think.
"Of course you can come with us!" Sora says cheerfully before Donald or Goofy can object.
"I'm Brissa," I introduce myself to my new traveling companions. Goofy nods as if to say 'welcome aboard', but Donald hardly acknowledges me. Maybe he is just irritable, and it will pass soon. I hope it will pass soon.
"We'd better get going," Donald says bitterly, and together he and Goofy walk back through the door into the first district. Sora, Leon, Yuffie, Aerith and I follow them.
In the first district we all say our goodbyes. Leon, Yuffie, and Aerith provide some money and a few health potions for us to get us up off our feet and to make sure we are a little more prepared. Goofy and Donald give Sora and I a glowing red gem that, when attached to our weapons, will give us the ability to learn magic spells. Donald is a wizard, and promises to instruct us in the art of magic. Currently, the gem holds the ability to cast fire spells.
Finally, just as we are about to depart, my father rushes out of his shop and gives me a hug.
"Dad, what…?"
"Leon told me you were leaving. I'm proud of you," he says, and releases the hug.
"Thanks, dad..." I am suddenly overwhelmed with a feeling that I won't see my dad in a while. I have never been without him, and the feeling makes me nervous to leave. Why was I doing this? Though we've never been particularly emotional with one another, we still have a close bond. I feel a sudden urge to run inside and throw away the new life that lies before me, but Donald's voice pulls me away and helps me forget the feeling altogether.
"We're taking our gummi ship," Donald explains as he gestures towards the main door of Traverse Town. I've only ever used this door once, which was when we first arrived at Traverse Town many years ago.
"Gummi ship, huh? I haven't been on one of those in so many years," I grin. I loved the gummi ship that my father had had. The prospect of boarding another one is exciting.
Donald, Goofy, and Sora say nothing. I followed them out the door, in which on the other side lies a decently-sized, colorful gummi ship that is prepared to take us to our next destination.