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Chapter One

Ⓞ.ⓝ.ⓔ

Oriole had returned home after she had finished her shopping. She held a cluster of bags in both hands as she somehow managed to work the front door open and enter. No one was home to greet her, though she wasn't expecting anyone. Her parents worked most week hours, which they did to provide for the family, so Oriole couldn't complain. It wasn't like they enjoyed being gone most of the week either.

She plopped the bags on the kitchen counters and began to rummage through them. She had gone out for groceries and basic necessities. Things from spaghetti to toilet paper were crammed inside both plastic and fabric bags. She began to put away the food first. This was just one of the many ways she helped out around the house. She originally had gotten a part time job to help bring in some money, but her parents refused to take their teenager daughter's money; no matter how strongly she offered it. So now she just insists on doing all the chores she can muster. That included grocery shopping. Later she would be making dinner to two very hunger and tired adults.

She had gotten half-way through putting away the groceries when she stopped in her tracks. She had opened the bag from W-Mart. It had no food in it – she didn't even know why she opened it to begin with, she knew that there was no food to put away in it. All that was in there was the brightly coloured box with three distinct anime characters on the front. She didn't know what came over her, but she had ended up buying the game.

"I shouldn't have gotten it," she muttered, quickly closing up the bag to hide the box from her.

She hadn't thought about her family's financial problems at the time she was looking at the game nor when she was in the check-out line purchasing the game. It was only once she got home that she remembered that they couldn't afford frivolous purchases like this. While it was technically her pay checks – two months' worth to be exact – and her parents were constantly telling her to spend her own money how she pleased, she didn't like to go around spending money willy-nilly. She preferred to save it in case of emergencies.

But the game, it had called out to her in the store. There was something about it that just made Oriole have to get it. Or at least, she felted like she was being compelled to get it. Maybe the packaging worked and had brainwashed her into getting it, scrubbing her mind clear of all her worries? Or maybe she was just being selfish and just wanted the game. Either way, she had gotten it without thinking too much about until now.

She let out a sigh and opened the bag again. Looking at the box, she began to think about what she should do. She could easily return it and get a refund. That would be the appropriate and adult thing to do. But then there was that little voice in her mind that kept nagging her to try it. She really wanted to, which was, of course, the reason she got it. She wanted to see if the graphics were really that good. She wanted to see if there was any hint of a storyline present. She wanted to see if this game lived up to the hype set up by the media. The little voice was also telling her that if she didn't like it, she could always return it for a gift card to W-Mart. She could always by groceries or something important with that gift care later.

"Shoot," she cursed under her breath.

Closing the bag, she didn't know which to choose. She merely went back to putting away groceries and everything, trying to figure out what to do.

. . .

After finishing up her chores and putting everything away, Oriole sauntered to her room. She still hadn't made a decision and wasn't even leaning towards one or another. She knew which she should choose, but she wanted to choose the other.

"If I get a gift card, I can spend it on groceries or gifts for my parents or something," she said aloud, making an argument for one side. "But I won't be responsible if I don't return it and that isn't me."

She dropped on her back onto her bed; the bag with the game landing beside her with a soft "plonk". She looked up at the ceiling all while an argument went on in her head between herself and herself. Problem was, she didn't know if she was winning.

She rolled over on her bed, which lay against the middle of a wall, and looked towards the far right corner of her room. The "television" stand she had found at a yard sale stood there. Really it was a quite hideous mini-shelf with cracking black paint coating it in uneven layers. It was sturdy and all, but that was really all it had going for it. On top was one of the ugliest box televisions. All the buttons had fallen of the front and the remote to it had gone missing five months ago. The only way to turn it on was with a pen or pencil and pushing the "buttons" with that, because there was no way Oriole was going to risk something happening cause of that darn television. Hooked up to it however was a nice and well-taken care of PS2. There was no way Oriole or her family could afford to replace it, so she took good care of it. Beside the shelve, starting on the floor, was a tall stack of games Oriole had managed to collect from yard sales, clearance bins, and friend's hand-me-downs. It also reached to the top of the shelf.

Now if only it had cost the price of one, even a few, of you, she thought.

She was always able to find games for a good price, she just had to look. But there was no chance this would be marked down or found in a box at a yard sale anytime soon. This was really the first time she had ever paid full price for a game.

She flipped over and looked at the other wall. There, as if calling out to her, was her desk and, sitting on top of it, her computer. A mere desktop, it had enough graphics to run most games. She got it for Christmas one year after her parents saved up for it year-round. Right now, it felt like the computer was arguing for the side for her to play the game.

Without much thinking, she sat up and began to walk over to desk. She pressed the button to turn it on and began to let it load.

Maybe if my computer can run it, I will try the game, she thought, trying to convince herself.

She had a feeling her computer could run the game, but she was slightly hoping it couldn't.

The computer turned on and she pulled up the specifications of her computer. Just like she thought, her computer was more than enough powerful to run it. There was really nothing holding her back from playing it other than her own guilt and nervousness. It was up to her in the end to decide what she did next.

. . .

She exhaled as she placed the disc in the tray. Behind her, lying on her bed was the newly opened box and torn plastic it was wrapped in. She couldn't help it and caved – with her lack of will – into playing the game.

Hearing the disc spin in the computer, she waited for it to fully install. Really, a gift card isn't the worst thing she could get in return. At least she would be compensated if she returned it, so really, in her mind, there was nothing holding her back from trying it.

Ding!

Her computer's ping announced the end of the install and a blue window popped up, willing her to continue; to play. Pressing the "Play" button in the center of the window and soon her screen was replaced with a black background with a bright, radiating yellow moon shaped like a soft heart positioned in the center. In front of the moon was a faint silhouette. It looked like an unidentified person – probably a player character or an NPC not mentioned yet – looking towards the moon. Oriole couldn't help but find this image captivating. It was much prettier than the box art. She wondered why they didn't use this instead of that blindingly bright image they had chosen. This was simple yet compelling. It drew her in and she hadn't even reached the main menu yet.

The loading bar at the bottom of the screen filled up too fast for Oriole's liking, as she was enjoying the calmness and air of fantasy the splash screen was giving. It soon enough disappearance and was replaced with the main menu. A black screen with cycling "photographs" of screenshots of the game. It looked like a slideshow of old-style Polaroid pictures of staged events that might happen inside the game. One picture was of a group of boy player avatars running through a dark, yet very cartoony world – one that looked like a cartoony gothic Vegas. Another picture appeared over that of a girl running through what appeared to be 100-Acre Woods. While this didn't truly captivate Oriole like the splash screen did, it did increase her interest a bit.

Oriole hadn't read the pamphlet that came with the game yet, so she didn't know which worlds they had available in the game yet. She was curious, but kind of wanted to play the game first. She didn't want the promises of the pamphlet to affect her decision in keeping the game. She wanted the gameplay to speak for itself first.

"Well, I guess there is no stopping me now," she said.

After clicking the "New User" button, she was instructed and dragged through the sign-up process. She felt it was a little too much work to play a Disney game, but she trudged through it still. The form was finally filled up and the process done. She was finally able to do what she had originally planned; time to create her alter ego.

In front of her on the screen stood a blank canvas; a basic avatar with no defined features, such as hair, eyes, style, anything. It could be described as a "vanilla" avatar. This was merely the game's way of allowing the player to create and customize their character easier. Oriole however was already having a difficult time.

"How should I do this?" she wondered aloud. "Should she look like me?"

She never considered herself to be pretty. In her mind, she was incredibly plain. Her black hair was unattractively short. It ended awkwardly somewhere between her ears and shoulders, and if you took in to consideration of the waves present in her hair, it made her hair look strangely messy; even after being constantly brushed to the point of pointlessness. Her face was pudgy and her brown eyes small. Her skin was too pale and she was technically overweight. Her parents told her she wasn't fat, but she definitely wasn't thin. In her eyes, she was just plain and ugly.

Without saying anything, she just shook her head.

"Let's start with the face and see where I go from there," she said, clicking on the head.

She was directed to start customizing the face. She didn't want the character to look anything like her. Not only because she didn't feel like she deserved to have a mini-me, but because she didn't want to be recognized. If someone from her school played the game and recognized her, they might torment her. Even if they played the game, she would be bullied for playing a "kid's" game. It may not make sense, but that was the mindset of a bully. So she wasn't going to go with a copy. But she didn't want something that looked too insanely beautiful either. She wanted a realistic beauty to her avatar, something she would wish to look like.

After finishing the avatar's face, she moved on to the hair. This was a bit easier than her face. Oriole was defiantly not going to use her hair, even if she found one similar to her own – which she doubted she could, as… really? Besides, everyone tended to exaggerate when it came to at least their hair. They wouldn't try to match their hair when it came to online games, or so she had seen through websites and blogs surrounded mmorpgs.

The body came next. Much like the face, she didn't want her avatar to have the same body as hers. It also didn't seem realistic for this type of game. This seemed like an adventure-type of game which players would constantly be fighting or traveling around. The only place Oriole could think someone looking like her would belong in that world would be playing the silly sidekick and she didn't want that for her avatar. Nothing over exaggerated, but definitely attractive.

After finally picking her clothes and twenty minutes putting everything together, Oriole finally had her finished avatar. From her point of view, her avatar was a true beauty. Her face was more elongated, coming to a point at the chin. Her cheekbones were more prominent. The avatar's eyes were larger than Oriole's and more almond-shaped. They were also a light hazel. Her skin was a tanned olive tone. The avatar's hair had a similar length to Oriole's own hair; ending a little closer to her shoulders, but still not touching them. However the avatar's hair was a vibrant electric blue and pin-straight. It was held back by a thick black headband. The only thing that really remained close to Oriole was the avatar's height, which remained short – just barely above five foot for reference. But her frame shrunk. She wasn't as chubby as Oriole thought she was. She wasn't thin either, but more along a healthy medium for the character's height. Oriole didn't want to make her curvaceous, so went more along the lines of small and flat.

To finish off the avatar's appearance was her clothing. Oriole didn't really think this much through, as it didn't really matter to her. She knew she would end up probably replacing it later with better armor. It didn't concern her as much as it would concern others. She picked a simple enough pastel purple spaghetti strap tank top and a pair of dark jean shorts. Over the tank top she wore a loose hanging grey vest. She also wore a pair of golden brown boots that went to mid-calf and a pair of white knee-high socks appearing from the top of them.

"Maybe I should add some more aspects of myself to the character," she said, but didn't move her mouse to change anything.

Instead, she swept the cursor over to the bottom right and clicked the check mark to accept the character. A window popped up in front of the avatar. It asked for a name for the avatar.

"A name huh?" Oriole parroted.

This was another thing that people tended to take great consideration in choosing. It would stick with you for your entire time playing this character. And if you put in some actual time into making your character, you wouldn't to be walking around with some stupid name the whole time. Oriole was stumped.

"What… Should… I… Call… You?" she asked aloud, tapping her head between each word.

She looked around her room for some inspiration. It couldn't be that hard to come up with a name, right?

"Red Lamp," she said as she looked at her desk light.

Well, maybe it would be a bit hard. She shook her head at the stupid idea of a person named "Red Light" – though really thinking about it, there could be someone out there named "Red Light". But not her. She continued to look. She spun around in her desk chair, scouring her room with eagle eyes, trying to get something so she could continue. Her eyes landed on a stack of books beside her stack of games. They were some text books from school. She had put them there to help remind her to study instead of playing games; stacking them there to help get her attention when should would look at her games. It didn't really work, but she had been too lazy to move them. She got up and grabbed the top text book. Maybe she could find something cool and unique from one of the books. She wasn't getting anything from just looking around her room, so what can it hurt.

She opened the cover and read the names of the people who had the book before her.

"Dino Spud…" she read. "Ah, no."

She began to flip through the pages and began to realize she had picked up her science book. She hadn't really noticed when she picked it up. A history book might have been a better choice for names, but a science book could be cool too. She ended up stopping on the chapter her class had read about recently. It was filled with facts and details about cells of the human body. Things really they had already learned about their freshman year, but they were about to move on to their dissection portion of the class so they had been refreshing.

"Cell?" she said, suggesting the word to herself.

Probably not available, she figured. It was such a common word, there was no way it wouldn't have been taken. Even though the game was relatively new, there was bound to be tons of people already playing due to getting it on the first day of the release. So simple names like "Cell" and such would probably be taken. Still, it couldn't hurt to check.

She typed in the four letter word and clicked enter. The word 'accepted' popped up and before Oriole knew it, her character had been created. She was a bit surprised that the name wasn't taken, but was perfectly alright with that. She now had her character, Cell. She was both excited and weary to continue.

"Let's play," she said.

HAPPY BELATED HALLOWEEN EVERYONE!

And with that out of the way… The story has officially started and that means I have the official cast list (accepted character list). It can be found on my profile underneath the "Cast List" section labeled as "Kingdom Hearts Debut". While this chapter focused entirely on Oriole and the creation of Cell, more characters – both in the real world and in the game – will appear. I promise.

I originally wrote at the beginning of the week. It ended up being roughly 2,250 words and I thought it was really good. I guess it was the mixture of the length plus getting it out of the way early that led me to believe this. But after rereading it, I felt it had some problems with it, so I rewrote it. This rewrite is longer, being a skosh over 3,000 words. I'm sorry if it is too long, I just wanted to get this all out of the way and felt like two or three chapters of this might have been too much. I didn't want super short chapter either. Anyway, I hoped you enjoyed it or at least enjoy the idea of being able to actually get to the game next chapter.

As for Oriole… I wanted to make a character that doesn't have the most confidence (something I seem to like to give my characters in stories; confidence that is). She isn't truly ugly – at least in my opinion – but she isn't perfect, so she feels ugly.