A/N: Chapter Two down. I don't know why, but I want to call it Twilight Town. Eh, whatever.

Chapter Two

It was the ache in her back that woke her. The hardness of the ground was unforgiving and it was also wet. Bella pulled herself into a standing position with a groan.

"Not again," and she heard a pop from her back.

She could have sworn that not hours ago she had been picking herself up off of the forest floor. And now here she was, in God knows where! The first thing that she registered was that she was in a cobble stoned alley. There were trash cans to her left. There was also a stack of boxes and crates that seemed to be blocking one side of the alley, but to her relief there was an exit.

In the back of her mind she knew that she sure as hell wasn't in Forks. There was no patch of land in Forks that had a cobble stone alley. The last thing she remembered was Charlie and herself sinking into the blackness.

Bella gasped. Charlie! She had no idea where Charlie was!

"Do you need some help?"

Bella tensed and stared with wide eyes at the figure that suddenly blocked the only exit of the alley. She was a young woman in her twenties, wearing a pink strapless dress with brown work boots. Her thick brown hair was pulled into a long braid that fell over her shoulder. Her face was kind and thoughtful.

"My name is Aerith," the woman introduced herself, "and I don't believe that I have ever seen you here before. Are you by any chance from another world?"

Bella was confused, but at the same time, not. She didn't want to believe it. She couldn't not be on Earth. Could she? The voices were soft and kind as they spoke to her.

Believe...

Anything is possible...

She allowed herself to nod, her chest tightening. Bella looked down toward her muddy shoes, her brown hair falling over to partially cover her face. A gentle hand laid itself on her shoulder and gave her a squeeze of reassurance.

"It's going to be okay," Aerith whispered.

Go with her...

"My name is Bella," she whispered back. "I'm from Forks, Washington."

"Is that on... Earth?"

Bella nodded.

"I don't know how it happened," Bella wondered aloud. " There were these black monsters... Me and my dad got sucked into this black gooey stuff and then.. Here I am."

Aerith nodded. "Sadly, I think that's everyone's story here in Traverse Town."

Go with her...

"Come with me?" Aerith asked softly, her voice comforting Bella to her core. "I was just about to grab something to eat. I'll get you something too, okay?"

"That would be nice," Bella agreed as her stomach began to growl.

"While we eat," said Aerith, "I should probably explain a few things to you about those black little monsters. And I'll explain what I believe has happened to your Earth."

Bella agreed again. She allowed Aerith to lead her into a large courtyard. It seemed as if it was late in the evening. There were tall lit lamps in almost every corner. To their left was an open jewelry shop of sorts and to their right was another shop above of an outdoor tavern. Bella followed Aerith into the outdoor tavern and they sat at one of the many empty tables.

"Backs to the wall," Aerith said softly. "This is one the most secure and safest courtyards in Traverse Town, but you can never be too vigilant."

Bella agreed with the older girl, again. They both watched as a barmaid dressed in a drab brown dress came out and took their orders of the house soup and then left. Her footsteps were hurried as she rushed inside.

"I should start with the little black monsters," said Aerith as she smoothed down her dress. "You see, the black monsters are very complicated to explain. I know that there are many different kinds, but they are all primarily known as Heartless..."

"Where do they come from?" Bella asked, interrupting Aerith suddenly. "They're not...natural. They can't be!"

The older woman patted Bella on the hand. "They're not. The Heartless are literally made up from the darkness of our hearts and souls."

Bella's breathing quickened and her heart thumped painfully in her chest.

"I know what you're thinking," Aerith murmured softly. "You're thinking that this notion is impossible. But let me ask you this... How exactly did you come to be on this new little planet? This planet, so small that it is, that we call Traverse Town?"

Bella believed her. Aerith was right. She remembered sinking into that black gooey substance that the Heartless had turned into. And now she was here.

She wished it were all a dream.

Traverse Town was an interesting place. There were three districts in total. The 1st District was actually the safest, the 2nd district was not safe at all and the 3rd District was mostly off limits because of the danger. So, of course, the next place that Aerith took her to was the 2nd District.

They literally ran through the district until they came to the Inn. Aerith had paid for two rooms. Bella and Aerith would be taking the room with the two beds and the other room was empty, for now.

"The other room is for a friend, Bella," Aerith had answered when Bella had asked.

In all honesty, Bella had wanted to know who the other friend was. Since her arrival in Traverse Town, she had not seen anyone other than the barmaid when they had grabbed a bite to eat. There was no one on the streets. No one at all. She hadn't even caught a glimpse of anyone looking out of the windows. And speaking of windows, they were all boarded up.

"This place is called Traverse Town for a reason," said Aerith. "It stays half-light all the time. Don't get me wrong, this place can be bustling at times, but that's only when the merchants come on their Gummi ships to sell their foods and merchandise."

She was able to choose her own bed and Aerith was kind enough as to lend her some pajama shorts and top. Bella was exhausted to her bones. She was in the bed and covering herself up to her chin in just a few seconds time. Now, Aerith had no intention of going to sleep yet. Apparently, it was still early in the evening.

"I'll be back after midnight," Aerith promised, her voice soothing.

Bella just nodded, her eyes drooping closed. The sound of the door opening and closing barely resonated with her. As soon as she heard Aerith lock the door, Bella reached over to the night stand and clicked the lamp right off. The room was instantly dark. But through the cracks of her eyes she could make out a faint light coming from the one big window in the Inn room.

Her mind was spinning and swirling. It was like the sea in the middle of a hurricane. She had been exhausted, but the moment she had actively tried to fall alseep... There were too many things on her mind.

She was alone in the new world. There was no Charlie. She had no idea where her father was. There were no Cullens. Bella had no idea if they were even alive! She had no idea if her father was alive! They had to be, all of them! She didn't know what to do if they were dead.

Tears started leaking from her eyes and falling down into her hair line and her pillow. She covered her mouth with a hand to stifle a sob and sniffled.

She cursed her thoughts for thinking the worst. Bella turned away from the window and whimpered into her pillow, willing all the bad thoughts to go away. She rubbed desperately at her eyes, but the tears kept on coming.

"Damn it all!" Bella cursed.

Don't think...

Just sleep... Sleep...

Her breathing slowed and she could feel her body slacken. Bella sighed and allowed the voices to lull her into a deep sleep.

Knock, knock.

Bella jumped up into a sitting position, gasping. Someone was at the door. She looked toward the clock on the wall. 2:15AM. Wow, did she really sleep so long? She slipped out of the bed and her made her way to the door slowly.

"Do heartless knock?" she whispered to herself.

Hesitantly, she looked out of the peep hole. Bella let out a breath of relief when she saw Aerith outside of the door. Unlocking the door, Bella opened it with a relieved smile.

Aerith smiled sweetly. "I'm sorry if we woke you, Bella."

"It's okay," Bella assured her. "Did you get to meet your friend?"

"No," Aerith said somewhat sadly. "He didn't show up. But I did meet some new people."

Bella had made her way back to her bed as Aerith walked in. And then she saw the two other figures walk in right after the older girl. She couldn't believe her eyes.

"Bella, I want you to meet Donald and Goofy."

With wide eyes and a gaping mouth, Bella watched as a large dog and a large white duck waved at her with friendly.. smiles? They were both dressed in clothes, actual human clothes. The dog, who was standing on his hind legs was walking around like a normal human wearing shoes. The duck on the other hand, who really was the largest duck she had ever seen, wore only a shirt.

"Hello Bella," said the duck. "It's nice to meet you. My name is Donald Duck."

"And I'm Goofy, hyuck," the dog said next, "It's wonderful to make your acquaintance!"

Bella nodded, feeling quite awkward. "Err... yeah. You too, I guess."

"Well," Aerith said, turning to Donald and Goofy. "You know there are many other worlds out there besides your castle and this town, right?"

"Yes," Donald nodded.

"B-but they're supposed to be a secret," Goofy exclaimed, covering his mouth in shock at her knowledge.

Bella frowned, her eyes were beginning to get heavy again. She was becoming more and more drowzy as Donald, Goofy and Aerith spoke.

"All these worlds had been secret because they had never been connected before," Aerith explained calmly. "Until now."

Bella whispered aloud, "until those heartless began attacking."

Aerith nodded. "When the Heartless came everything changed."

Her eyes watered and Bella bit her lip. She turned over in her bed and wished that she would wake up in her own bedroom again. Her bedroom in forks with it's purple wall and full size bed. As she fell back into a deep sleep, she could vaguely make out the comforting voice of Aerith as she spoke on into the night.

"Edward..." Bella whispered in her sleep.