Meanwhile in a quiet village, Goofy, Donald, and Pluto walked through town. Something in the sky caught Goofy's attention and he stopped, gazing upward. Donald turned around as Goofy pointed upward. Donald followed his gaze and gasped.
"Look, a star's goin' out!" Goofy pointed out. A bright star in the night sky twinkled and blinked out of existence. Donald's face turned serious.
"Come on. Let's hurry." Donald said. Goofy nodded and they walked through the center of the main district towards a flight of steps. The neon letters of the various shops blinked in the night air while a few townsfolk inhabited the picturesque town square. Pluto ran ahead of the 2. "Where's that key..."
"Hey, ya know, maybe we ought to go find Leon." Goofy said. They reached the top of the steps in front of an accessory shop. Pluto sniffed around a dark alleyway, while Donald walked off to the right on his own course. Goofy noticed Pluto and stopped. "Uh, Donald. Ya know, I betcha that..."
"Aw, what do you know, you big palooka?" Donald continued walking.
"What do I know? Hmm..." He pondered this for a second before following Donald. "Come on, Pluto!"
Pluto continued his search down the alley, turning a corner at a pile of wooden crates. He came across a sleeping Sora and licked his face. Sora's eyes blinked open slowly and he peered around sleepily, seeing the dog, who happily wagged his tail at the sight of him.
"What a dream..." He started nodding off again and Pluto pounced on him. He gave off a startled yell. "This isn't a dream!" He squinted at the dog, his eyes focusing for a moment, before standing up. He searched his surroundings. Several notices were pinned up on a wall nearby, but even in the dimness of the alleyway, what he saw was not familiar. "Where am I?" He turned towards the brighter end of the alley. "Oh, boy." He bent down to address Pluto. "Do you know where we are?"
Pluto heard a voice calling him and ran back the way he came.
"Hey..." Sora followed the dog to the main part of town, where he could finally see on the brightness of the streetlights. "This is totally weird... I'm in another world!" Sora walked into the Accessory Shop. A blonde man standing behind the counter turned to face him.
"Hey there, how can I... Aw, it's only a kid." He said.
"I'm not a kid! And the name's Sora!" Sora countered.
"Okay, okay, simmer down. So why the long face, Sora? You lost or somethin'?"
"No! Well, maybe. Where are we?"
"Huh?"
Sora explained what happened to his world.
"Traverse Town... So, gramps, is this really another world?" Sora asked.
"Don't call me gramps! The name's Cid!" He gritted his teeth, nearly breaking the piece of straw in his mouth. "Anyway... Not sure what you're talkin' about, but this sure ain't your island."
"Hmm... Guess I'd better start looking for Ethan, Fate, Chilled, Riku and Kairi." Sora said.
"Well, good luck with whatever it is you're doing. If you ever run into trouble, you come to me." Cid said.
Sora left the shop and found the entrance to the Second District. As he entered, a man stumbled out in front of him. A glowing heart bursted from his chest and floated over to an orb of darkness. They merged and formed a creature similar to a Soldier, with a strange emblem on it's chest. It moved awkwardly, doing a somersault in the air before disappearing. Sora rushed over to where the man's body once lied and a group of Shadows surrounded him.
"It's those creatures from the island!" Sora defeated the creatures and ran inside a nearby Hotel as Donald and Goofy entered the area.
"Doesn't look like he's here." Goofy said.
"Keep looking!" Donald yelled.
After finding no one at the Hotel, Sora returned to town and entered the Gizmo Shop as Donald and Goofy walked out of the Hotel.
"Hmph. Where is he?" Donald asked.
"Leeeooon!" Goofy yelled.
Sora passed through the Gizmo Shop and found a large ornate door. He entered as Donald and Goofy left the Gizmo Shop.
"Not here, either." Donald said.
"This could take a while..." Goofy stated.
Inside the house, Sora found 2 adult Dalmatians, who looked sad. Despite the many rooms of the house, they are all empty. Unable to help them, Sora left, passing through an alleyway back to the Second District. Finding nothing, he decided to return to the First District. As he entered the double doors, Donald and Goofy exited the Hotel again.
"Leeeon! Mister Leon?" Donald called.
"Where are you?" Goofy called.
Sora battled his way back to the Accessory Shop.
"Still haven't found 'em? Keep your chin up. Take another look around town." Cid said.
Sora walked back into town.
"They'll come at you out of nowhere."
Sora whirled around.
"Who are you?" Sora asked.
"And they'll keep on coming at you, as long as you continue to wield the Keyblade." A tall man entered in a leather outfit, the lion necklace swinging against his chest. He raised a gloved hand and pointed at the Keyblade, his blue eyes gazing at Sora through his long dark hair. There was a large scar above his nose. "But why? Why would it choose a kid like you?" He placed a hand to his forehead.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Sora asked.
"Never mind. Now, let's see that Keyblade." He said. He walked slowly towards Sora, his arm reaching out. Sora took a defensive stance.
"What? There's no way you're getting this!"
"All right, then have it your way." The man took out a Gunblade, slinging it over his shoulder before holding it firmly in his strong hands. He summoned a Fire spell and shot it at Sora, who dodged and ran towards the man. He got in a few hits with the Keyblade before taking a large hit from the Gunblade, knocking him backward. He ran further away, but the man leapt over and cornered him. He leapt over the wall to the main square and the man shot another Fire spell at him, which Sora blocked and sent flying back at the man. Sora stopped for a second, hearing nothing and ran back over the wall to find the man stunned. As he got closer, the man snapped back and striked him hard in the chest. Sora stood for a second, wobbling on his feet, before falling over backwards onto the cobblestone ground. The man stood back up, hearing a voice behind him.
"Hey, you found it. Nice going, Leon."
He turned back to see a smiling young girl with dark hair.
"Still... It looks like things are worse than we thought. A lot worse." Leon said. He looked towards the Keyblade in Sora's hands.
Meanwhile in another world, Riku awoke on a cold stone platform. His fingers twitched and he opened his eyes, seeing a large waterfall and crystalline rock platforms floating in the air. The sounds of the Rising Falls filled his ears, and he slowly got to his feet.
"Where... am I?" Riku asked.
He looks around at the area. The waterfalls flowed upwards rather than downwards, filling his vision on nearly every side. He saw no one else around.
"Sora! Kairi! Ethan! Fate! Chilled!"
Getting no response, he stared at the tiled ground. Unbeknownst to him, his arrival was noticed by a tall figure in a black cloak, who walked towards him on a much higher platform. The figure's greenish-gray hand and long violet fingernails were revealed.
Back in Traverse Town, Donald and Goofy walked down the Alleyway in the Second District, having no luck in their search. The dim light complemented the empty atmosphere.
"Gawrsh, there's nobody here. Sure is spooky!" Goofy said.
"Aw, phooey. I'm not scared." Donald said. He felt a tap on his shoulder and screamed, leaping into the air and hanging onto Goofy's back, shivering.
"Excuse me. Did the king send you?"
At the mention of the King, Donald stopped shaking and the 2 of them turned to see a young woman with flowing brown hair tied in a bow. She wore a long pink dress and brown boots. She smiled at the two of them.
Soon after, Sora was starting to wake up.
"Come on, lazy bum. Wake up."
Sora shook his head and opened his eyes. He looked up to see Kairi peering down at him on the bed.
"You okay?" Kairi asked.
"I guess..." Sora replied.
"Those creatures that attacked you are after the Keyblade. But it's your heart they really want, because you wield the Keyblade."
"I'm so glad that you're okay, Kairi."
"Kairi? Who are you talking about?" Kairi's voice changed. "I'm the great ninja Yuffie!"
"Huh?"
Sora's world flashed and the dark-haired girl from earlier appeared in Kairi's place, bending over him.
"I think you might've overdone it, Squall." She said. The tall man from before walked into the green room.
"That's Leon." Leon corrected. Sora saw the Keyblade leaning against the wall.
"The Keyblade..." Sora mumbled.
"Yeah, we had to get it away from you to shake off those creatures. It turns out that's how they were tracking you." Yuffie said.
"It was the only way to conceal your heart from them. But it won't work for long." Leon said. Sora sat on the bed, staring down at the floor. "Still hard to believe that you of all people are the chosen one." Leon picked up the Keyblade and swung it in the air. It flashed out of his hand and back into Sora's. Leon walked over to him. "Well, I suppose beggars can't be choosers."
"Why don't you start making sense! What's going on here?" Sora asked.
At this point in time, Aerith had led Donald and Goofy to the adjacent red room.
"Okay, you know there are many other worlds out there besides your castle and this town, right?" Aerith asked.
"Yeah." Donald replied.
"But they're supposed to be a secret." Goofy said. He covered his mouth.
"They've been secret because they've never been connected. Until now." Aerith said. Her thoughts drifted to nearly a decade earlier. "When the Heartless came, everything changed."
"The Heartless?" Sora asked.
"The ones who attacked you, you remember?" Yuffie asked.
"Those without hearts." Leon said.
"The darkness in people's hearts—that's what attracts them." Yuffie said.
"And there is darkness within every heart." Leon said. Yuffie looked towards Sora.
"Hey, have you heard of someone named Ansem?" Yuffie asked.
"Ansem?" Goofy asked. He placed a hand to his chin.
"He was studying the Heartless. He recorded all of his findings in a very detailed report." Aerith explained. Donald crossed his arms and tapped his foot on the wood floor.
"Gawrsh, uh, can we see it?" Goofy asked. Aerith shook her head.
"It's pages are scattered everywhere." Aerith said.
"Scattered?" Donald asked. He stopped tapping.
"To many worlds." Aerith said.
"Oh, then maybe the king went to find 'em." Goofy said. He slammed a fist down into his hand and Donald nodded.
"Yes, those were my thoughts exactly." Aerith said.
"We've gotta find him quick!" Goofy said.
"Wait!" Donald said. He looked over, and pulled the screen down towards him. "First, we need that "key"!"
"That's right. The Keyblade." Aerith said.
"So... this is the key?" Sora asked. He held up the Keyblade.
"Exactly!" Yuffie replied.
"The Heartless have great fear of the Keyblade." Leon said. He walked over to the door. "That's why they'll keep coming after you no matter what."
"Well, I didn't ask for this." Sora said.
"The Keyblade chooses it's master. And it chose you." Yuffie said.
"So tough luck." Leon said, leaning against the door.
"How did all this happen? I remember being in my room..." Sora gasped sharply, standing up and looking to them frantically. "Wait a minute! What happened to my home? My island? Ethan! Fate! Chilled! Riku! Kairi!"
"You know what? I really don't know." Leon said. Sora looked down sadly. Yuffie tried to change the subject.
"Hey, cheer up! I've heard that the Keyblade can open all sorts of locks. Give it a try the next time you find a treasure chest or door lock!" Yuffie suggested.
"Sooner or later, the Heartless will find you. You'd best prepare yourself." Leon said.
"Prepare myself?" Sora asked.
"To fight for your life. Are you ready?" Leon asked.
"I'm ready!" Sora replied.
"Yuffie, let's go join Aerith. She should be there now with the other visitors." Leon said. Yuffie pointed to the other end of the room.
"Leon!" A Soldier Heartless appeared, clattering awkwardly. Leon ran forward.
"Yuffie, go!" Leon yelled. Yuffie ran into the Red Room, squashing Donald behind the door with a squawk. Aerith's face turned serious.
"Yuffie?" Aerith asked. She ran after Yuffie as Leon took out his Gunblade.
"Sora, let's go!" Leon yelled. Leon slammed the Heartless through the window of the room and it flew over the balcony and down to the Alleyway below. Leon ran after it, Sora following.
The Red Room door closed and Goofy stared at Donald flattened against the wall.
Down in the Alleyway, more Heartless have appeared around them.
"Don't bother with the small fry. Find the leader! Let's go!" Leon yelled. Leon ran down the Alley toward the door to the main district. Sora fought Heartless as he made his way to the Third District.
Sora ran down the stairs into the square as Goofy watched from a high balcony. Goofy turned around as Heartless appeared around him and Donald. He took out his shield.
"Gawrsh, are these the Heartless guys?" Goofy asked. Donald swung his wand in front of him.
"Let's go get 'em, Goofy!" Donald yelled. With a loud crash, the 2 of them were blasted off the balcony. Sora turned, hearing the commotion, and tried to run as Donald and Goofy fell on top of him. Stars appeared around their heads before they saw the Keyblade.
"The key!" They yelled. They smiled as Sora winced.
"Sora!?" They looked up to see Ethan, Chilled and Fate.
"Ethan! Chilled! Fate! You're safe!" Sora yelled.
"That should be our line!" Ethan yelled.
"Yah, something like that." Chilled said.
The District started to rumble and they looked around, Donald, Goofy and Sora still in a pile on the ground. Large blocks appeared from the ground and covered the exits. Heartless surrounded them as the 3 stood up, all of them ready to fight.
"Wait, can you guys fight!?" Sora asked.
"No, we're dead weight that just happened to survive this long!" Ethan replied sarcastically.
After defeating the horde of Soldiers, they heard a clattering sound from above. Sora looked up to see huge pieces of armor falling from the sky. They hit the ground and bounced into the air, spinning wildly. The arms of the Guard Armor formed around the torso, which was emblazoned with a red and black symbol. Once the legs attached, the Heartless landed on the ground loudly. It stood there for a moment before the helmet slammed down onto the torso with a bright flash. It spun it's head and arms before walking toward the 6 of them. Sora attacked it's arms, but it hardly recoiled in it's pursuit of him. Ethan, Chilled, Donald and Goofy do their best to strike the tough armor as Fate provided support for all of them. It began spinning it's arms wildly around it's body. Donald was caught in the twister and was knocked out.
"Fate, we'll be fine! Take care of him!" Ethan ordered. Fate nodded, summoning a pair of white, black and blue wings and flying over to Donald.
Sora striked at one of the arms and the Guard Armor stomped the ground in anger. It jumped into the air and it's pieces clattered to the ground heavily. Sora, Ethan and Chilled striked an arm off while Goofy helped Fate heal Donald and they tag-teamed against it's thunderous legs. With the appendages destroyed, the torso was left defenseless and it fell to the ground. Sora, Ethan, Chilled, Donald, and Goofy approached it and it began spinning out of control, knocking the 5 of them back. Once they found their footing again, Sora gave the armor a final strike and it started to explode from the inside, shaking the area around it. It's head wobbled and fell to the ground with a mighty ring. A large glowing heart floated out of it's torso into the air and the Guard Armor disappeared. The District grew silent, the fountain depicting 2 dogs in love at the edge of the area giving off the only sound. Suddenly, Chilled fell to his knees.
"I thought we were gonna die! What in the world was that!? It nearly gave me a heart attack!" He complained.
"C-Calm down!" Fate said. Sora snapped into reality.
"You're alive!" He yelled, grabbing Ethan and then wrapping him, Fate and Chilled into a hug. "And you can fight, where did you learn to do all of that!?"
"Shouldn't WE be asking YOU!?" The 3 of them asked him. The 4 of them started laughing.
Later, Leon and Yuffie joined the group.
"So, you were looking for me?" Sora asked. Donald and Goofy nodded.
"Uh-huh!" They replied.
"They, too, have been seeking the wielder of the Keyblade." Leon said. Yuffie nodded.
"Hey, why don't you come with us? We can go to other worlds on our vessel." Goofy said. Sora turned to Ethan, Chilled and Fate, then looked at the ground.
"I wonder if I could find Riku and Kairi..." He wondered aloud. Leon closed his eyes, understanding what Sora was feeling.
"Of course." Donald said. Sora looked up at them.
"Are you sure?" Goofy asked Donald.
"Who knows? But we need him to come with us to help us find the king." Donald replied to Goofy. Leon stepped forward.
"Sora, go with them. Especially if you want to find your friends." Leon said.
"But..." Sora looked at Ethan, Chilled and Fate again. "I can't leave the friends I /have/ found behind."
"They can come with us." Goofy offered. Donald was about to say something, but he quickly just sighed instead.
"But-" Sora started.
"Stop with all the "But's" already. We've been offered, so we'll take the offer." Ethan said, patting Sora's shoulder.
"You'll come with?" Sora asked.
"All 3 of us! But only if you go, cause we all gotta find Riku and Kairi, right?" Ethan asked.
"Yeah, I guess." Sora replied half-heartedly, looking down.
"But you can't come along looking like that. Understand?" Donald asked. He wagged a finger. "No frowning. No sad faces. Okay?"
"Yeah, ya gotta look funny, like us!" Goofy interjected. Donald pushed him away.
"This boat runs on happy faces." Donald said.
"Happy?" Sora asked. Donald and Goofy smiled. Sora glanced at Ethan, Chilled and Fate, who put on smiles for him. Sora bent down and then revealed a huge cheesy grin. Getting no response from them, he stopped awkwardly. Donald and Goofy bursted out laughing, followed by Ethan, Chilled and Fate.
"That's one funny face!" Goofy said. Sora stood up.
"Okay, why not? I'll go with you guys." Sora said. Donald held out a hand.
"Donald Duck." Donald introduced. Goofy did the same.
"Name's Goofy." He introduced. Ethan did the same.
"Ethan Hibiki." Chilled followed.
"Chilled Daznews." Fate followed as well.
"Fate Konno." Sora did the same.
"I'm Sora." He said.
"All for one, one for all." Goofy said. They placed their hands together.
Meanwhile, in a room full of darkness, a group with equally dark intentions gazed at an image of the 6 on a round table.
"Those little squirts took down that Heartless! Who'd have thought it?" The fiery man looked over to a thin man with a staff, who replied.
"Such is the power of the Keyblade. The child's strength is not his own. However, for the others, there is something... different about them."
The large woman next to him gazed down cunningly at the image, water dripping off her many appendages.
"Why don't we turn them into Heartless?" She cackled loudly. "That'll settle things quick enough."
A man standing next to her piped up.
"And those brat's friends are the king's lackeys. Swoggle me eyes, they're all bilge rats by the look of them."
"You're no prize yourself." A ghostly figure beside the man laughed loudly and the man brandished a silver hook as his left hand.
"Shut up!"
"Enough."
The villains looked over to a tall woman in a black cloak. She gazed through narrow eyes at the image on the table, her green skin echoing it's pale light. Her long fingers curved around the staff in her hand.
"The Keyblade has chosen him. Will it be he who conquers the darkness? Or will the darkness swallow him? Either way, they could all be quite useful." She smiled darkly.
Later, in the First District of Traverse Town, Sora talked to Leon, Yuffie, and Aerith.
"Make sure you're prepared for the journey ahead of you. We don't know how far the Heartless have spread." Leon said.
"Check out the shops here. They've got some pretty neat stuff!" Yuffie suggested.
"This is from all of us." Aerith said. She handed him 500 munny. "Spend it as you see fit. And this is from Leon." Leon looked away. She handed Sora an Elixir.
"Good luck!" Yuffie said.
"I hope you find your friends." Aerith said.
"Look out for each other. Keep your spirits up." Leon said.
Sora talked to Donald and Goofy alongside Ethan, Chilled and Fate.
"The gummi ship is outside that gate." Donald said. They looked toward the World Exit, a large gate at the edge of the area.
"The what?" Sora asked.
"That's our ship." Donald said. Ethan seeemed to go pale, which didn't go unnoticed by all of them.
"Wait 'til you see it!" Goofy said.
"Hold on. Sora, this is for you." Donald said. Donald gave him the Fire spell. "Now you can use magic, too. Goofy, give him that other thing."
"What?"
"You know!"
"Oh, yeah." Goofy gave Sora the Dodge Roll ability. "Abilities allow you to do all sorts of things. Guess we should look for 'em along the way, huh?"
"Okay, is that it? Let's get going!" Sora said.
"Not 'til we're ready!" Donald said.
"Well, I see big adventures coming their way! Looks like it's up to me to keep track of it all in my journal!" Jiminy said to himself.
While gathering supplies around town, Sora talked to Leon, Yuffie and Aerith in the café.
"There are Dalmatians named Pongo and Perdita living in the Second District..." Leon trailed off.
"What's wrong?" Sora asked.
"They're quite upset, these Dalmatians. They've lost their puppies." Leon replied.
"Squall can't stop worrying about them." Yuffie said.
"Call me Leon." Leon said sternly.
"Sora, would you look for the puppies?" Aerith asked.
"Help them out." Leon said.
"Please, find the puppies for him." Aerith said. Leon said nothing.
"Squa-I mean, Leon-is really cute sometimes." Yuffie commented.
"So, there's magic in this dimension, too." Ethan said.
"We can use our magic freely, that's all that should matter." Fate said.
"Where do you think the others are?" Chilled asked.
"I don't know. I just hope they're safe." Ethan replied. Fate nodded.
"How long do you think it's been?" Chilled asked.
"Well, time flows differently from where we are and where we come from. Hopefully time goes faster here." Fate replied. "I hope we find the others."
"I hope we can help Sora and the others." Chilled said.
"I hope we only have to deal with their enemies, not ours. Then again, we always have to." Ethan said.
"I'll cast Troia on you, and we'll do what we have to. Tell others what we need to." Chilled said sternly, eyeing the both of them which both sentences. They sighed and nodded.