Part 1: Enter the World of Yesterday, Tomorrow, and Fantasy
Traverse Town
Dani woke up to the sensation of something wet and gross on her face. She stirred, willing herself to push up from her mattress, only to find herself not in her bed at all. She was slumped up against a hard cobblestone wall.
She wanted to look around more, but a bright yellow dog filled her vision. Well, it looked like a dog, anyway. Not any one species of dog, but more like what her mind thought all dogs should look like. The dog panted in excitement, and gave her another kiss on the cheek.
Dani forced herself to her feet. The dog followed suit, and tailed after her as she exited the dark alleyway she had been left in.
This wasn't her hometown. Not even close. It was a small, quiet street, looking like it might have come out of a fairytale. Black gas-lamps illuminated small stone pathways. Buildings were cobbled together with white brick and dark wood panels, old-fashioned but showing signs that they were made recently. The sky above her was dark, illuminated by stars she did not recognize, even though she knew that it had been the middle of the day before—
Before! Before the giant monster showed up and ruined her picnic! She had tried to keep her friends safe by throwing her backpack at the thing, but it was at least 30 feet tall and clobbered her easily. But she had seen that monster before, in her dreams…
Nah, that dream did not matter now. Dani had to focus on finding her friends. She had to figure out where she was. She had to focus on figuring out what the hell was going on.
But…how? She had no idea where she was, she had no idea what was going on, and she had none of her friends to rely on. Where did she even start?
"I dunno, what do you think?" Dani said, turning to the dog.
But the dog was already off, his nose buried in the cobblestone and his ears and tail perked upward.
"H—hey wait!"
Hanna ran as fast as her legs could carry her. She did not dare look behind her to see if the creatures were still after her. Creatures that looked like they were made out of solid shadow. Creatures that she could only watch as they clawed out a man's heart.
Or…was it a heart? She didn't exactly have time to tell. But it looked a little more like what she thought a heart should look like than the anatomical organ they had a model of in biology class.
It didn't matter. All she knew was that there were actual monsters chasing after her, and she did not want to think about the particulars of what organs they wanted from her.
She ran through the town she did not recognize, looking for the best place to hide. She settled on the door in front of her, not caring what it was attached to. She bolted, only stopping to throw the door open and shut it.
She found herself in a shop. What the shop was, she could not tell. Shelves were lined with pieces of something that looked like a mixture of plastic and star-stuff. The man at the counter, an older man chomping on a cigarette, stared at her boredly.
"Oh, just a kid?" He asked. "Scram, kid. Payin' customers only."
Hanna opened her mouth and let out a series of noises to indicate it was not safe, interrupted by her heavy panting.
Somehow, the man seemed to get the message. He sighed, leaned off the counter, flicked ashes off of his cigarette, and walked into the backroom. Hanna could make out mumbles as he rummaged around for something.
"They're back again, huh? Didn't think they would be so daring as to get into the First District…should ask Leon to fix that…"
Things flew out of the backroom—empty bottles, machinery parts Hanna could not place, spears?—but in a moment he emerged holding—was that a stick of dynamite?
"Move." He said.
Hanna was too stunned to argue with him. He stepped forward, flung the door open, and-
"YOU'RE BAD FOR BUSINESS, CREEPS!"
In a fluid motion, the man raised the stick of dynamite, letting the fuse catch flame on his cigarette, and threw it overhead. He slammed the door shut before the explosion could go off, but Hanna could hear the bang, feel the rumble of air as it went off. If any of the monsters had survived that, she doubted they would want to stick around.
"That's better. Now." The man turned his attention to her. "Don't think I've seen you around, kid. Name's Cid Highwind the 7th. Call me Cid. Now, what brings you here?"
"I—I—I—"
Hanna was still flummoxed, perhaps even moreso now that her brain was caught up with her body.
The man, Cid, made a face at her as he returned to the counter.
"Hmmm…take it you're new in town?" He asked, like this was an everyday occurrence. "You must be from another world, huh?"
"What?"
"Ah geez…" Cid said, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head with one hand. "Aerith should really be the one that does this…"
"Hey, Penny, look at that bell-tower!"
"Is that what you're focused on right now?" Penny asked.
"No, but it's easier to focus on the pleasant things and not the fact that we were attacked by a monster and sent to another world." Katie said.
Penny rolled her eyes. Even if she acknowledged that Katie had a point (she wouldn't), it did not change that she had no idea what to do. She had no idea where she was and no idea where to go. She had no idea what that monster was, nor what it had done to them. Well, at least she wasn't alone anymore.
"Hey, uh, Penny…" Katie said. "Could you look up for a minute?"
"Why, is there a shooting star?" She asked, sarcasm coming out thicker than she meant it to.
"No…kind of the opposite, actually…"
That caught her attention. Penny looked up. The sky above them was full of stars, even though she was pretty sure it had been the middle of the day before. She followed to where Katie was pointing, to a single star that flickered, and flickered…
…and then it was out, as easily as if it had been a lightbulb losing its charge.
"So, uh…" Katie said. "Stars don't go out, do they?"
"Not like that, I don't think." Penny said.
"Excuse me. Were you sent by the King, by chance?"
Dani did not expect much when she wandered into the unassuming shop that had a cloud of smoke hovering over it, much less to be tackled into and knocked over the second she stood inside.
"Hey! You're paying for that!"
She didn't recognize the old man that was shouting at her, but she did recognize her assailant: her sister, face red and eyes watery with worry. All of a sudden, Dani didn't care too much about being thrown to the ground like that. She returned her sister's embrace as she pulled her up.
"Are you okay?" Hanna asked. "You're not hurt, are you? Were you chased too?"
"No, I'm fine." Dani said. "But am I the only other person you've seen? What about Mom and Dad, or Charlie, or…"
She trailed off when she saw Hanna sadly shake her head.
"Yeah… 'bout that kid…" The old man at the counter started, but Dani didn't really care what he had to say at the moment.
"And what do you mean chased?"
"You didn't see them?" Hanna asked.
"No…should I have?"
Ignoring Hanna's protests, Dani opened the door behind her and poked her head out to check. She didn't see anything on the run, but she did see a man holding a sword, approaching someone else menacingly.
"What the hell does Squall think he's doing?" The old man said. "Kid's no older than you kids!"
"You know him?" Hanna asked.
"At the moment, I don't want to say I do!"
Dani tuned them out. All she saw right now was someone needed help.
She took off towards them, grabbing a stone off of the ground and chucking it towards the man with a sword. It bounced off of his head quite uselessly, but it did catch his attention.
"Hey what problems do you have that you need to threaten kids with swords to fix them!" She demanded.
The man blinked. He seemed to be doing some calculations in his head, trying to figure out if dealing with her was worth. His mind was made up when Dani threw another stone at his head.
He turned to her, sword and all. And wow, that was a weird-looking sword. Dani did not know much about swords on her own, but her mother did, and Dani doubted her mother would be collecting any swords that were bent at the hilt like that or as thick as her thigh.
"This doesn't involve you." The man said. "Scram."
"I'm not gonna just stand here and watch you hurt someone else!" She said.
"Alright. Fine."
"R—really?"
"I'll make you scram."
The man approached her and drew her sword. Dani raised her arms over her head as she braced herself for the attack—
Clang!
Dani was suddenly very aware she was holding something. She opened the eyes she did not realize she had shut, and looked at her hand. It was a…key?
But do not be afraid. You hold the mightiest weapon of all…
"Two of them?" The older man's voice shook her out of her thoughts. "Whatever. You deserve to be tested, too."
The man raised his sword again, ready for a fight.
"Hey, leave her alone!"
With everything else, Dani had not even realized the other boy was still there. She had hoped he had the good sense to run off while she sacrificed herself like that. But he was running up to them now, carrying the same key-like sword that she was.
Dani didn't know anything about swords. She certainly didn't know how to wield one, and she most certainly didn't know how to wield a sword that was shaped like a key. But the one thing that was more dangerous than a master with a sword was an idiot with a sword.
Like a small child at a piñata party, she swung wildly and rapidly. It was too fast for the older man to keep up with, and too random for him to figure out any pattern or weakness. He could only block, waiting for a chance to lunge. Whenever he got that, the other boy was ready to block for her. In no time at all, the older man was knocked to his feet.
Dani and the other kid hadn't defeated him, of course, but knocking him on his butt was a small victory.
"Now cut the crap, Leon, they're just a buncha kids." The older man at the shop called out to them.
"I'm not a kid! I'm 14!"
"YOU'RE YOUNGER THAN SQUALL OVER THERE, YOU'RE A KID! AND I'M NOT SURE IF I'D EVEN CALL HIM A FUNCTIONING ADULT!"
"Don't call me that." The older man growled as he got back to his feet. "It's Leon."
"Sure, sure," Cid said dismissively.
"Enough games." Leon said. He swung his sword over his shoulder. "You two are coming with me, whether you want to or not."
"And why should we listen to you?" Dani asked.
"Because I'm done talking."
"Hey!" Hanna called, trying to distract him. "If you're planning on hurting my sister, you're gonna have to go through me-"
She held out her hand, as if to point to Leon, but the second she did another key appeared in her hand. It was differently colored than the one Dani and the other boy had, but it was the same shape and size.
Leon blinked. And blinked again.
"Ya alright there, Squall?" Cid asked.
"Six years of hard work and perseverance..." Leon mumbled. "All undone by a bunch of kids."
"Oh boy."
There was a flash of movement, and another person was standing by Leon's side. She was only slightly older than Dani, and dressed in a way that looked too cold for the dead of night.
"I think Squall-y here needs a naptime." She said.
Leon let out a light murmur of disappointment in response.
"I suppose this is the easiest place to start." Aerith said. "The world you lived in and the world this town is in are two different worlds altogether."
"That's the easy way." Penny raised her eyebrow.
"Please stay with me. There are many worlds. All existing simultaneously, all unaware of their existence. This world, Traverse Town, exists as a world for those who have lost their homeworld."
"But it's only one town." Katie said.
"Was your world much bigger?"
Penny widened her eyes in shock. That was answer enough.
Aerith hummed to herself. "I see. I'm sorry for your loss."
"Eh. Earth kinda blowed, anyway."
"Your world was destroyed by the Heartless."
"The Heartless?" Sora asked.
"The ones that attacked you, remember?" Yuffie said.
"Those without hearts. The Darkness in a person's heart attracts them." Squall said.
"I'm assuming you mean metaphysical Darkness and not absence of light." Dani said.
"Please take this seriously..." Squall groaned. Though he was least able to make words now, he was still sulking about how the fight turned out.
"Only when you explain why I have a giant key now." Hanna said.
"It's been said that only the Keyblade, a weapon of Light to purge the Darkness, is the only thing that can connect the worlds. Bridge the gap...or sever it."
"Alright, where do we go to get it? A locksmith?" Penny asked.
"We're not sure. The only one that has studied this was Ansem the Wise and..." Aerith hesitated, as if she didn't want to say it. "Those reports were lost a long time ago."
"Well I didn't ask for any of this!" Sora exclaimed.
"Yeah!" Dani sprung off the bed in her excitement. "I could think of a much better weapon like...a toaster or something."
"Tough luck." Squall said. "The Keyblade chooses its master."
"Squall's just a little disappointed that he didn't get a chance to be the chosen one." Yuffie said in a stage-whisper.
"I'm disappointed that the Keyblade chose a bunch of kids who don't even know how to wield a sword." Squall countered. "And my name is Leon!"
"You know, the more you say that, the more I'm gonna think you have a secret anime backstory." Hanna said.
"We managed to beat you, you know!" Sora said.
"You only beat me because I was holding back." Squall said. "If I had gone at you with my full power-"
"Yeah, see, anime backstory."
"That doesn't matter." Squall said with gritted teeth. "So long as you wield those Keyblades, you're only going to end up being the target for more Heartless."
"You mean like that thing?"
Aerith jumped off the bed and moved herself defensively between the humans and the monster.
"Please stay close to me!" She said as she brandished her staff. "I've never seen them attack the Hotel before! They must be getting more powerful!"
"Wait, is there going to be a test on all that later or—?" Katie started.
The Heartless lunged. Penny held a hand out defensively, and something appeared in her hand, knocking the Heartless backward. It looked like a long white sword, with a decorative piece in the shape of a heart jutting from the tip.
"Is that-?" Aerith started.
"Cool! Can I summon weapons!" Katie asked. She held her hand out to experiment.
In a bright flash of light, another sword appeared in her hand. It looked similar enough to Penny's, but was black and purple where hers was white and yellow, rough angles and Gothic points where hers was round curves and angel wings.
"Two of them?" Aerith asked. "But that-"
The door to the opposite room slammed open. Penny could just catch a blur of a figure.
"Come on Aerith, we have no time to lose!"
Aerith stole a glance at the two, then the door where the figure was heading. She gave a nod, so low that it was nearly a bow, and raised her hand. The Heartless fizzled out in an array of light.
Magic, Penny realized. As if this world could not get any more weird.
"Don't focus on the small fries." Squall ordered. "Find the boss!"
"Easy for you to say!" Dani said. The Heartless were swarming around her and Hanna.
Sora moved around them, taking care of the crowd of Heartless with just a few swings of his Keyblade.
"How do you do that?!" Hanna asked.
"Used to swordfight with Riku all the time!" Sora replied. "What, you never did?"
"Of course not! We had video games to play!" Dani said.
Another Heartless. This time she struck first.
"Come on! We've got no time to waste!" Sora said.
Out of the corner of her eye, Dani spotted another one. She spun around, but the problem was already taken care of.
"Hey, look at these swords we found!" Katie cried as she and Penny came into view.
"Leon? Le~on?"
Leon didn't answer. Of course, Leon probably wouldn't have answered even if he was there, but neither of them knew that.
"Gawrsh, I wonder if he's here."
"Of course he is. The King wouldn't lie to us no matter what."
"Yeah, but...maybe he went out to pick up some groceries..."
"On another world? We've looked all over!"
The two spun around as they heard a noise. Suddenly, they weren't alone anymore.
"Gawrsh, aren't these the Heartless guys?"
"Let's go get 'em, Goofy!"
Dani stopped in her tracks as she heard something overhead. She looked up, just in time to watch Sora get squashed by whatever fell from the rooftops.
It was…no. There was no way her eyes were telling her the truth right now. Maybe she was still stressed out about everything Squall and the others had told her, because there was no way the duck wearing the blue vest and the weird dog-human hybrid she was looking at were actually real and not some stress-induced hallucination.
Then again, everything else she had been through today was pretty weird, so why not throw in some anthropomorphic animals?
"THE KEY!" The two animals exclaimed.
Sure enough, they were looking at the Keyblade that had tumbled out of Sora's hands when they had landed on him.
They didn't get a chance to explain. Just as soon as Dani was getting used to the idea of walking talking animals, there was another sound from behind her, and a heavy thud! that came with it. She spun, coming face to face with the boss Squall had warned her about. The suit of armor towered above all of them; easily at least ten feet tall, although it was hard for Dani to tell when she was too busy panicking over it. With no limbs or joints to connect them, the individual pieces of armor hung loose in the air.
The Heartless lunged. Dani barely had time to pull Sora out of his dog-and-duckpile before she jumped out of the way herself.
"How do you expect us to fight that thing?" Hanna said.
"Leave that to us!" The duck quacked.
He raised his staff over his head and said something Dani couldn't quite make out anyway in that thick accent of his. A group of fireballs formed around him, and hurled themselves towards the hands. The gauntlets recoiled backwards from the onslaught, but were quick to regain their balance. One curled into a fist and flung itself towards them.
Clang! Metal collided with metal as the dog creature jumped in the way, blocking the attack with his shield. The hand staggered backwards, stunned. The dog creature took the chance to attack. He flung his shield like a frisbee, slicing through the gauntlets.
That kept those hands distracted. But there was still the issue of the head, the torso, and the—
"FEET!"
Dani jumped out of the way of the incoming sabatons that threatened to stomp on her. In her haste, she ended up colliding into Penny.
"Any ideas?" She asked.
"What, you expect me to know what to do here?" Penny asked.
The conversation was interrupted briefly as they dodged another attack.
"No, but you are smarter than me!" Dani said.
"Well, it would be easier to think if we weren't being bombarded with attacks like this…" Penny said. "There has to be something controlling all these pieces, right?"
Dani looked back over the Guard Armor. It was hard to tell if she could call the thing sentient at all, but if she were a gambling man…
"I'd wager a bet that the head is what's controlling it." Dani said.
"Fair guess. But how do we get there? Especially with—"
Penny was cut off as she noticed the Guard Armor's feet charging towards them again. They jumped out of the way, but Katie and Sora jumped towards the danger, knocking the sabatons backwards with their keyblades.
"Fifteen-love!" Katie said as one sabaton flew to the end of the courtyard.
"Think you can keep that up?" Dani asked.
"Sure?" Sora said. "But, what—"
"I've got a plan." It wasn't so much of a plan as it was two ideas strung together, but that was about as good as Dani could get for now.
Dani ran out of the courtyard and up the stairs to the streets. There was a clear curve across the breastplate where the neck would have been that she could latch on to, but she just had to get there first…
"What are you doing?" Hanna had left the fight now and rushed to her side.
"Something stupid!" Dani answered. "Give me a boost?"
They had only done this a few times before when they were much younger, but Hanna knew what to do. With hesitation clear in her eyes, Hanna knelt down and extended her cupped hands outward. Dani backed up until she hit the wall of the haberdashery, then charged. The second she stepped on her sister's hand, she was flung in the air, and just within reach of the neck hole.
With one hand, Dani hung on to the creature for dear life. With the other, she held out her hand and summoned her Keyblade. She swung. The key-shaped blade sliced through the gap, decapitating it.
In the heat of things, Dani had bounced off of the Guard Armor. She found herself falling, but managed to land on her butt without lasting damages. Penny turned her attention back to her.
"Dani…" Penny pinched the bridge of her nose. "That thing didn't have a neck to decapitate it from."
"Oh. Yeah." Dani said. "But if that's the case, then why does it look like that?"
All seven of them turned to watch as the Guard Armor shuddered. The pieces of armor dropped to the ground. From the breastplate rose a crystalline heart that illuminated the sky of Traverse Town. Then, just as quickly as it had appeared, the Guard Armor was gone, falling into the shadows.
"You were looking for the Keyblade?"
"Yuh-huh! Hey, why don't you come with us? We have plenty of room on our vessel!"
"You think I could find them?"
"Not looking like that, you will! Our ship runs on happy faces!"
"Sir, our home world just got destroyed, billions of lives—" Hanna started
Sora proceeded to look up with the goofiest faces Hanna had ever seen in her life. And Hanna could not contain her laughter. It took a few minutes for everyone to calm down, but it did not look like Sora regretted making a fool of himself.
"Alright. I'll go with you guys!"
"Donald Duck!"
"Name's Goofy!"
"My name's Sora!"
Author's Note: In the Kingdom Hearts manga (which is the superior form of the story, I will not take questions at this time), Cid uses a flamethrower to get rid of Heartless chasing Sora. I really like this scene, so I copied it for my first draft. But then I actually played Final Fantasy VII and realized how good Cid's Limit Break is.