AN: Welcome back to another chapter. Quick thing before I start the chapter. I have never played a Final Fantasy game and therefore don't know exactly how they act outside of Kingdom Hearts. I hope I portrayed them with some justice, but if not then I'll try better in the future. I tried to base them mostly off of their KH appearances but even still I'm not sure I got them down 100%. Please calmly tell me what to fix for the future and I'll do my best to do so. Thank you for understanding and enjoy.
Chapter Three: Shadowlit Beginnings
Brick entered the shop and saw an old man at the counter. Besides the man, there was nothing of note except for a fireplace.
"Uh hello." Brick walked up to the counter and tried to shake the man awake.
"Uh what! Who's there?! Oh, it's a kid. Another newbie?" The old man asked and Brick looked confused.
"Newbie?" Brick asked in his confusion and the man shook his head.
"As in new to town. Traverse Town is where people go when they lose their worlds to the Heartless and said person has a strong heart. Or you just come here to avoid the Heartless, like me and some others I know. Name's Cid, and you are?" The man now known as Cid asked while smoking a cigar and Brick nodded.
"So that's what those shadows are called. My name's Brick McArthur and I am a military cadet in training." Brick introduced himself and Cid chuckled.
"You look the part of a soldier. Hell, I've met my fair share of soldiers. Cloud was one hell of one. But beyond that, would you happen to be from a world where you were on television or whatever?" Cid asked and Brick raised an eyebrow before nodding.
"Well, then you're in luck. A couple of kids your age arrived earlier this month that claimed to be from that same world. I sent them off to find Leon in his home in the Second District. Just be wary of the Heartless. Not many can stand up to them." Cid proclaimed and Brick outstretched his hand and summoned his key sword.
"Well, ain't that just fine and dandy. So you're the key that almost everyone is looking for. Well, if that's the case, why don't you go find your friends while I give Leon a call myself? Get acquainted with this town. If you need any armor, come see me." Cid told Brick who nodded before walking out of the shop.
"A month? Why did I only just arrive here if the others have been here for that long? And how did they get here that long ago? It felt like it happened just last night." Brick wondered in his thoughts as he made his way out of Cid's shop when he was suddenly hit by a blur of orange.
"Haha! Izzy got the newcomer!" Brick heard the crazy girl from the island yell in excitement and he pushed her off.
"Izzy. Get off Brick." Izzy jumps off of the cadet and Brick looks up to see Zoey reach for his hand.
"Zoey?" Brick smiled and Zoey smirked as she helped Brick to his feet.
"Nice of you to finally get here. Me, Izzy, Geoff, Cody, Eva, Noah, Jo, B and Owen have all been here for the last month. Have you seen Cam or Mike?" Zoey asked with a small whimper and Brick shook his head.
"I just woke up in a nearby alley. That felt like last night to me." Brick admitted and Zoey looked down.
"You're the first one here in a month. And apparently our world ran on the same time as this world, unlike some other worlds." Zoey explained and Brick's eyes widened.
"Then where was I for a month?" Brick wondered aloud.
"I don't know, but a lot of people are looking for some kind of key and I assumed it was your weapon. Some anthropomorphic animals, Leon's gang, some weird cloaked figures. Apparently your weapon is important." Zoey informed Brick who looked confused.
"But why me?" Brick muttered under his breath, "I mean, I couldn't even stop that robed figure from unleashing the Heartless."
"You were chosen, because the legends say that keyblades choose their own user, not the other way around." Brick heard a new, deeper voice say and he turned to see an adult with a long blade that looked familiar to a gun with long brown hair and a black jacket.
"Heya Leon." Izzy greeted as she reached for his weapon but he pulled it away from her before she could and pouted.
"But why would it choose a kid like you?" Leon wondered aloud when suddenly Heartless started sprouting out of the ground. Brick immediately sprang to action and sliced through the Shadow Heartless. Zoey and Izzy were about to jump in to help but Leon held up a hand to stop them.
"Let's see how he does alone." Leon said gruffly as Soldier and Air Soldier Heartless started showing up. Brick looked a bit taken aback by the different kinds but took a deep breath and suddenly felt himself saying something.
"Thunder!" Brick yelled and a large barrage of lightning enveloped the Heartless and evaporated them.
"Why did I know to say it? I don't know why but that felt very familiar." Brick wondered as he saw that the Heartless were all gone.
"Thundara. 2nd level magic and it usually takes a week or so to learn after originally learning Thunder without any spell scrolls. How'd you know it if you had just showed up?" Leon also wondered as he brandished his weapon and pointed it to the sky.
"I… it just felt like I knew it but I don't know why." Brick answered honestly and looked at his Keyblade in confusion.
"Brick… Try to remember!" Brick heard an unfamiliar voice say in his head and looked around to try to see who said it.
"Follow me. We'll need to discuss how you're gonna be using the Keyblade." Leon told Brick and he nodded, but was still confused at the voice.
"It wasn't the dream voice. That felt a bit calmer and more refined. That voice sounded like it was worried and was a bit higher pitched." Brick thought to himself as he followed Leon, Izzy and Zoey into the Second District. Suddenly Brick felt a cold hand on his shoulder and he turned around to see a robed figure, this time in a black coat.
"So, you're the new keyblade wielder." The man said as he snapped his fingers and time stopped around them. Zoey, Izzy and Leon all froze in place. The water from the fountain stopped flowing. All that could move was Brick and the robed figure.
"Who are you?" Brick asked as he drew his weapon and the man put his hands up.
"Currently neither an enemy nor ally. You could say I'm nobody to you. All I want to do is give a warning." The man explained and Brick still looked sceptical.
"If your heart continues its drop, you will never find the light needed to fight the Heartless." The man said ominously before he walked into a shadowy portal and disappeared. As he did, time restarted.
"Brick! Keep up!" Zoey yelled back after Brick just stood there for a minute.
"Coming…" Brick said slowly but he soon felt himself fall to the ground with his vision starting to blur. He tried blinking but all he saw was a vast ocean of dark water and two figures talking on its beach. Brick shook his head and felt his vision clear as he saw Zoey help him up.
"You okay?" Zoey asked worriedly and Brick bit his tongue.
"I… don't know." Brick said slowly as he balanced himself on his feet and followed Zoey and Leon into a nearby house as Izzy started climbing the houses.
"Sit down. I need to talk to the others. Zoey, go find Geoff. He should be training in the waterways. I'll send Aerith in to see what happened with you." Leon told Brick who quietly nodded before sitting down on a chair.
"Hello. Brick is it?' Brick heard a calm and kind voice ask and he looked to see who he assumed would have been Aerith.
"Yes it is ma'am." Brick nodded politely and Aerith giggled.
"No ma'am to me. Just call me Aerith. Now Leon told me you collapsed outside. Can you tell me why?" Aerith asked and as Brick was about to respond he started shaking and felt himself clutching his head. Brick started screaming in pain as Leon, Zoey, Geoff, and another girl he didn't know entered the room.
"What's going on?" Leon demanded to know and Aerith frowned.
"I don't know. I just asked him about outside and he started screaming." Aerith informed Leon who frowned.
Brick could hear them talking over his screams but he could only focus on his pain. That is all he felt before he passed out and found himself back at the beach he saw outside.
Dreamscape?
"Where am I?" Brick asked aloud as he swiped his hand down in the water to bring some up. When he brought it up, it was still colored darkly.
"Ve… Ter…!" Brick heard a distant female's voice yell and he looked behind himself to see a blue haired girl, wielding another Keyblade, reaching out for nothing. Brick then saw an anthropomorphic mouse walk up to the girl. Who were these people?
Suddenly the landscape changed to a labyrinth and the two stepped into a mirror and a copy of the girl exited a mirror in the new room full of nothing but fog. The two brandished their keyblades against the newcomer and engaged it in battle. Brick just watched from the sidelines
Suddenly Brick saw the battle go downhill as he was grabbed from where he stood on the sidelines to the side by the phantom girl and the phantom grabbed him by the neck and started choking him. The mouse and girl shot balls of fire and ice at the phantom but before it was hit, his neck was squeezed one last time and he evaporated into nothingness.
Traverse Town
Brick shot up from the bed, panting in exhaustion. He saw himself turn to nothing, saw those strange people. Who were they?
"Brick!" Zoey yelled and hugged him, "Don't scare me like that again."
"How long was I out?" Brick asked as he got out of the bed.
"A day." Leon told him as he entered the room and sat on a chair.
"It felt like just five minutes." Brick muttered to himself.
"Then you're time off sense is wack." A new girl said, dressed in a clearly asian influenced outfit, "I am… The Great Ninja Yuffie." The girl introduced herself and Brick chuckled.
"Nice to meet you oh great ninja." Brick chuckled and Yuffie pouted.
"Always laughter. Can't people tell I'm serious." Yuffie grumbled before leaving.
"Sorry about her. When our world fell, nobody but Aerith would take her in, so me, Aerith and Cid have been taking care of her for the last ten years. Well, more so Aerith but me and Cid try to help." Leon stood up and looked at the keyblade that Brick dropped when he collapsed. He tried picking it up but it transported back to Brick's hand.
"Neat trick. Hmm. Worlds have been teetering on the edge of darkness lately. Heartless popping up in many worlds. To save them, the keyholes of each world needs to be sealed. That's what I heard from a recent world traveller. But to get to other worlds you need transportation." Leon told Brick as he glanced down at his own weapon.
"And that's where I come in. I'll provide you with a Gummi Ship, free of charge. The only thing I need from you is to find our home world. It's been lost for a while but I still feel it unlike others don't feel their worlds. If you can find Radiant Garden, then you'll pay all the money off of that thing. If not, then you owe me 10k Munny." Cid offered Brick and looked confused at the Munny statement.
"Munny is the form of currency that is accepted by any world. Most Heartless drop an amount of it." Zoey told Brick who nodded in understanding.
"Ok deal. Just find Radiant Garden. I got it." Brick answered with a grin when suddenly a bell went off.
"That bell hasn't gone off in years. Someone must have made it through the barricade." Leon commented as he brandished his weapon and the bell went off two more times. Leon ran outside, followed closely by Zoey and Brick. When they stepped onto the streets, they saw three robed figures at the top of the Gizmo Shop. Leon was about to yell at them when the ground started shaking. Brick looked up and saw a Heartless fall to the ground. It had a head, arms, and legs all floating near to a torso with a Heartless symbol.
"Guard Armor. I've battled one before. Get rid of the legs and arms first. I'm going after those three." Leon told the two as he took off for the Gizmo Shop. Brick summoned his Keyblade and Zoey didn't summon anything.
"Where's your weapon?" Brick asked the redhead and Zoey held up her arms and Brick saw two metallic bracelets around them.
"These allow me to use magic without use of a staff or wand." Zoey told him as she tapped one and it turned red and tapped the other thrice and it turned yellow.
"Come on you two!" Brick heard a voice and turned to see Geoff holding the Armor back with a lance and a shield as it tried spinning towards Brick and Zoey. Brick nodded and jumped towards the Armor and sliced at its arms to let Geoff get back.
"Fire!" Zoey yelled and a fireball shot out of her hand at the Guard Armor's left arm. The arm became scorched but still looked intact.
"Brick finish that arm and I'll get the other one." Geoff told the Keyblade wielder who nodded and jumped up at the arm and decided to end it with the magic he used earlier.
"Thunder!" Brick shouted and a beam of electricity concentrated itself onto the one target and destroyed it to nothing. Geoff then jumped up at the other arm and blocked a strike from the arm and stabbed the arm through with his lance.
"Now the feet." Zoey stated as she shot another fireball at the legs but the Armor floated up and dodged it. It's feet split away from the torso and the torso seemed to be charging energy.
"Brick!" Zoey shouted as a ball of purple energy shot towards Brick and Geoff jumped in front of it with his shield to block it. The strength was too much for the shield and launched Brick backwards into the fountain.
"Zoey get the legs! I'll attack the head and torso." Brick told the girl after she helped Geoff out of the fountain. Zoey nodded as she set Brick down.
The legs, separated from the torso, started stomping towards Zoey when she decided to attack back.
"Thunder!" Zoey shouted and lightning around the same strength as Brick's struck the feet. It burnt them but didn't stop them completely and they kicked Zoey into the mural of the fountain before returning to the torso. Brick snarled as he saw Zoey get injured. Brick turned to the Armor and had another new attack in his head that he hadn't heard before.
"Thunder Surge!" Brick shouted and felt the area around him get enveloped by electricity and then he shot towards the head of the Opposite Armor and did a decent amount of damage to it.
"Fire!" Brick heard Zoey weakly say behind him and a fireball shot towards the head of the Armor and destroyed the head to nothing. Brick then did a sidewards slash at the feet and they both were destroyed. The torso fell to the ground and was enveloped by light and a giant heart arose from it.
Brick knew that it was gone and went to help Zoey out of the fountain and sat her down next to Geoff, who was clutching his head in pain.
"Ouch." Zoey winced as she sat down. Brick then looked up at the Gizmo Shop and saw Leon get thrown off the roof and the robed figures walked through darkness and disappeared. Brick ran over to help Leon up and Leon refused help.
"I've been hurt worse." Leon shook his head at the offer for help and looked up at roof he fell down.
"They used magic I didn't know many people still used. One used Waterga, one used Zero Graviga and one used Triple Firaga amongst other attacks. I know some who have used them in the past, but not many wizards use those much. They were strong." Leon grunted before a loud clicking sound was heard behind them.
They both turned around to see a large keyhole appear on the mural of the fountain.
"Hey what do ya know? In trying to fill the keyhole with darkness, those guys revealed the keyhole to the Keyblade wielder." Leon chuckled and Brick felt his Keyblade start moving on its own. The Keyblade pointed itself at the keyhole and shot a beam of light at it. Suddenly a locking sound reverberated across the area. Suddenly the keyhole disappeared and a small yellow and red brick fell into the fountain.
"Zoey, use Cura. I think you and Geoff might need it." Leon told the redhead and she nodded
"Cure!" Zoey yelled and a flower appeared above her head as the area around her, extending to Brick and Leon, turned greenish.
"Ugh. I feel better now." Geoff stood up and looked around.
"You defeated it?" Geoff asked and Brick nodded.
"Yeah. No Heartless will beat you guys on my watch." Brick smirked and Zoey chuckled.
"Always throwing caution to the wind to help others. Just like with the mine." Zoey commented and Brick nodded.
"It's part of my code of honor. If I can save others and have the opportunity to help, then I have no reason not to." Brick told Zoey who smiled.
"That means you have good morals, but beware of those who would abuse your morals." Leon told the cadet who nodded.
"So when do I have to set off?" Brick asked and Leon looked to the sky.
"First, Zoey go bring him to Merlin. Help him a bit with his magic. You'll set off tomorrow morning. I'm assuming you're going with him Zoey." Leon told the redhead who nodded.
"I'll go too. I need to find Bridge." Geoff spoke up as he put a hand on Brick's shoulder.
"I'd be glad for the help." Brick told the party boy who gave a fist pump of excitement.
"Come on Brick. Let's go to Merlin's. He was the one who taught me magic." Zoey grabbed Brick by the sleeve and started dragging him away with Geoff following close behind, chuckling at Brick's predicament.
"Leon! The dog and duck are on the phone again! They want to know if you have seen the key yet!" Yuffie shouted out of the house's window to Leon and he nodded silently.
"Tell them that the key will make its way to their castle tomorrow. I'll tell them to go there first." Leon responded and Yuffie started speaking on the phone while Leon looked to the stars.
"Perhaps Brick will succeed in saving worlds where I failed to save my own." Leon thought to himself before heading inside of his house.
Hollow Bastion
"So this world is called Hollow Bastion. Someone wielding the keyblade will come here and fight Maleficent and free the world. And our world isn't your home but this world was. Did I get everything?" Mike told Chef and he nodded.
"Yep. The keyblade was what Brick had back on The Island. So we'll need his help. At least it's one of you maggots I respect." Chef grumbled before he stood up suddenly.
"She's found us." Chef said silently as he turned to the front door to see it become enveloped by green flames and the witch showed up at the door.
"Ah. General Hatchet. So you're why this boy escaped." Maleficent commented as she noticed Chef pull out his sword from the ground and point it at her.
"Take a step closer and you lose your head." Chef growled but before he could attack, he was sent flying backwards by a dark fireball. Chef groaned in pain as he sat up and saw a robed figure with their hand smoking.
"Thank you my dear. Now, dear Michael. Come with me and I can give you all the power you have ever wished for." Maleficent tried to influence Mike but he snarled.
"Don't call me MICHAEL!" Mike yelled as he grabbed Chef's sword and tried to strike the witch who just dodged it by teleporting a few meters backwards.
"You really don't know how to use that. Luckily I know how to use something greater." Maleficent said calmly as she shot green fire at the boy but sliced through it with the sword.
"Nice try." Mike smirked as he prepared to strike at Maleficent but was hit in the face with a dark fireball.
"Who are you?" Mike turned to the robed figure who just started laughing.
"Why should I tell you that?" The robed figure asked as they swept out Mike's legs and made him fall to the floor. Mike groaned but saw Chef charge tackle the figure through the wall. Maleficent just walked up to Mike and grabbed him by the arm.
"You will become part of the darkness." Maleficent said before she dragged Mike through a dark portal.
Meanwhile, Chef slammed the figure into the ground. The figure groaned but somehow managed to push Chef off of them. Their hood fell off and Chef was left facing a familiar face.
"Now I get to make you pay for what you did to me." The newly revealed figure said, now clearly sounding like a girl and now clearly angry at Chef. Chef's eyes grew in recognition but didn't have time to react before she attacked.
"Magnega!" The girl shouted and a magnetic aura appeared above her and Chef was unwillingly dragged into it.
"Meteor!" The girl then shouted and a small meteor rained from the sky and slammed into Chef's head, knocking him unconscious. The girl then walked up to Chef and grabbed his arm and dragged his unconscious body through a dark portal. As they did the girl put up her hood, but a strand of raven black hair flew with the wind as she left the area.
Neverland
Dawn stretched as she sat in a tree branch of the tree of the Lost Boys, the ones who saved her. Next to her was Peter Pan, floating with the help of Pixie Dust.
"So how long was I asleep for?" Dawn asked as she held a hand out and a bird landed on it and she started petting it.
"Hmm. The boys found you around thirty some days ago. So maybe a month." Peter shrugged and Dawn sighed.
"Last I remember was these shadowy monsters attacking our home. I tried to read them for auras but they were horribly filled with just black thoughts." Dawn looked down solemnly.
"Hmm. I think I've seen some creatures like that before. I think it was ten years ago. My friends who arrived here for a short time, were fighting these creatures they called the Unversed before they left and those creatures left with them. Or do you mean like the creatures Hook has been using on his ship recently? I think that old codfish has called them Heartless whenever I was spying on him." Peter Pan answered and Dawn tilted her head to the side.
"Can you describe them to me?" Dawn asked politely and Tinker Bell started making a chime sound and Peter Pan nodded.
"Yep. Tink described the Heartless as more shadowlike creatures, though some are dressing up like pirates. The Unversed were usually these small purplish creatures that had sharp, pointed features." Pan told the aura reader and she nodded.
"The Heartless then. I do hope that my friends are alright. I can still feel their auras flowing through mine, so I think they might be elsewhere." Dawn looked up at the sky and saw it turn black. Suddenly a shape lowered in the sky and it looked like a large ship.
"That's not natural is it?" Dawn asked and Peter then also turned his head up.
"That looks like Hook's ship. How is it floating though?" Peter took in an inhale of air.
"Do you want to help me figure this out?" Peter asked Dawn.
"Sure." Dawn smiled and Peter floated above her.
"Tink. Dust her." Peter told the fairy who nodded her small head and floated around Dawn and let her Pixie Dust coat Dawn.
"Now you can fly as well. You just need to believe." Pan smirked and Dawn felt her aura be a bit different and nodded and let the bird in her hand fly away and took a deep breath. Dawn stepped off the branch and looked down. She hadn't fallen at all.
"See. Now follow me to that old codfish's ship." Peter told the girl and started flying up and Dawn went to follow behind and rose through the air up to the seemingly floating pirate ship to find out what was going on.