Chapter VI- Traverse town (Part 1)

"Look, a star's going out!"

"Wak, oh no! We better hurry and find that key!"

"We should go and find Leon first... Uh hey Donald, I think there's someone behin-"

"Aw what do you know ya big palooka!"

"Ah-yuck, what do I know?"

...

Sora felt something warm and slobbery drag across his cheek. He stirred awake feeling an ache in the back of his head. He opened his eyes and saw a large yellow dog panting happily in his face.

"Ugh what a dream." He mumbled as he closed his eyes. It was kinda odd, his room didn't have the salty sea air smell he's used to. It smelled more like coffee and fresh bread.

The dog gave a irritated bark and slammed his hind paws into Sora's chest. The boy yelped and was fully awake. He realized this wasn't a dream at all. He remembered what happened, the storm, the Shadows, getting pulled into the sky, Koga getting knocked unconscious. All the rushing memories made his head hurt. He tried to change the subject and figure out where he is.

It looked like he woke up in some sort of alley. It also looks like it's nighttime with no storm cloud in sight. In fact, he doesn't remember an alley that looks like this one back at home.

He looked to the dog. "Do you know where I am..." He read it's name tag around it's collar. "Pluto? Can you help me find my friends?"

Pluto then leaned close to Sora and sniffed his clothes. He felt uncomfortable from the dog getting all up in his face. Then the dog's tail perked up as it took Sora's necklace and dashed out of the alley.

"Hey, wait!" Sora yelled chasing after him but stopped in place as soon as he stepped out of the alley. It was a town much different from the rustic look of the island town. Palm trees, wooden signs and sand was replaced with lampposts, neon lights, and brick pavement. Many different people bustled about, each of them looked different or dressed differently.

"I'm in another world!"

In some other back alley in town a group of dalmatian puppies were exploring. It was a large group of pups, about 15 of them, the other 84 were at home with their mother and father (making it a family of about... 101 dalmatians!).

They don't usually leave their new home after an incident awhile back. Their parents were grateful that they were all still together after their world was lost even if they lost their master in the chaos. They didn't want to risk losing any of them so they all remained in this house that reminded them of home, even if it got a little cramped. It was only now they were allowed to leave the house and explore no further than the back alley behind their house. It wasn't much but at least they were able to get some fresh air and space to stretch their legs.

But then they heard a clattering from a nearby trashcan and they all jumped in fright and ran away. All except for one pup with black ears called Lucky. Lucky slowly walked up to the trashcan and sniffed it curiously. Only to back away in disgust and he gagged. Then he heard a groaning from the trashcan, and what looks like a leg sticking out of the top.

Lucky turned to his brothers and sisters and called them over, telling them it's just a person. Together they knocked over the trashcan and they saw a human boy asleep in the garbage. One of the puppies whined, thinking he was dead, then the boy opened his eye, looked at them, and mumbled 'Sora' before going back to sleep. Lucky told them that they should take him home until he wakes up, not being ideal to leave a boy to sleep in garbage. With the boy too big for them to drag they rolled the trashcan to their home, hoping their parent's will let him in.

When Koga woke up he felt a sharp pain in his head. He also felt something warm and fluffy rub against him. He opened his eyes and tried to sit up but he felt a weight pressing him down.

"H-hey what the..." He peered down and saw that his body was currently being smothered by a bunch of dalmatian puppies. They were crawling all over him, sniffing and nipping at him. "Puppies? OW!" He cried out when one of the puppies nipped at his ear with its little puppy teeth. There was a loud bark and suddenly all of the puppies got off of him. He looked and saw an adult dog with a red collar next to a female dalmatian with a blue collar.

He guessed they were the parents.

"Um, hi there." He looked to their name tags. "Pongo and Perdita." The two dogs gave a friendly bark in response. "My name is Koga, and..." He looked around and saw that he was in a very Victorian looking house that was filled to the brim with puppies. He turned to Pongo and Perdita with a sweatdrop. "You two have a lot of kids." He stated dumbly. The dogs barked. "Hey, where's your owner? Are they somewhere around?" The two sadly looked down, whining sadly. Koga felt like he touch a nerve.

"Oh, sorry." He sighed. He stood up and looked at all the dogs.

Normally he would love to cuddle up to a bunch of adorable puppies but right now he needed to get to business, starting with where he is.

"Now lets see..." He mumbled to himself pacing around the room with the dogs watching him. "It's clear that I'm in another world, how exactly I ended up here I don't know. I remember getting hit in the head and then waking up here after drifting off into that big storm so maybe I was sent here at random. Me and Sora were right next to each other so perhaps he's somewhere here. I gotta find him, see if he know anything about what's going on, find Riku and Kairi, then get back ho-"

He stopped himself, he remembered what his home looked like before he left. There might not be a home to go back to. He thought about all the people there who were pulled out of the world as well. He hoped mom was alright...

He noticed one of the pups walked up to him looking concerned.

"Hey, I remember you. You were there when I woke up in that... trashcan?" Koga suddenly recalled that memory, despite his little headache. He made a mental note not to sniff himself till he gets cleaned up. "You brought me to your home didn't you?" The puppy nodded and stood proudly. Koga smiled and petted his head. "Thank you... Lucky." He read his collar.

"Well anyway, thank you for letting me into your home but I really must be going now. I gotta find my friends."

Perdita barked and moved aside revealing his backpack. Koga quickly grabbed it and saw that everything was still in place. Pongo then nudged something towards Koga, it looked like some kind of vial with a strange green substance floating inside. He didn't know what it was but if Pongo wanted him to have it then that's fine with him. He strapped his backpack on, dusted off his clothes and moved over to the backdoor. He turned to all the dogs that looked after him. "Thanks again for letting me in your home, maybe I'll see you again." He waved. "See ya Pongo, Perdita, Lucky, and... the rest of you." He said as he stepped outside. He saw that he was in some kind of town and it was night out. He smiled and looked onward

"It's a whole new world for me to see. Time to see what there is." He didn't even take one step before a big yellow dog came barreling into him. He felt himself knocked on the ground and the yellow dog was right over him.

"Is this world inhabited by dogs or is this just a coincidence?" He grumbled to himself. He got up and scowled at the dog. "And just what were you doing running into me like th-" He stopped when he noticed the necklace hanging from his mouth. He yanked it from the dog's mouth. "This... this is Sora's necklace! Did you see him? Please take me to my brother!" He begged. The dog barked and ran off down the alleyway. "Hey, wait!" He cried out, trying to catch up to the running dog.

Without skipping a beat Sora stepped out of the alley and looked around, taking it all in. It was a just a small looking town that had a cafe and a couple of stores, but to him it was like being in the big city! No one paid him any mind, not that he cared. He was ecstatic to finally be able to see the outside world. Someplace new, someplace different from the one at home! He wasn't looking around so he didn't see him bumping into something. When he saw that it was a lamppost he laughed out loud.

"Koga would love to take a picture of this place." Sora said. Then he paused. "Koga? Koga, oh no!" Sora panicked, remembering that his friends aren't here. He looked around frantically. If he was here then maybe they came with him as well. "Where are they?"

"Hey, you are new here aren't you, kupo?"

Sora turned around and saw a small white stubby creature with a big red pom-pom on it's head and bat wings on it's back.

"Huh?" Sora asked the strange creature. It floated up closer to him.

"You're new here aren't you, kupo?"

"Um, yeah I am. I'm looking for my friends. Have you seen them?"

"Haven't seen anyone new around here, kupo. Us Moogles are shopkeepers, not scouts, kupo." Sora frowned in disappointment. "If information is what you need, head over to Cid's place over there, kupo." The Moogle pointed to the building that said accessory over it. "He might help you, kupo."

"Really? Thanks!" Sora said.

"And if you have the time, please stop by the Item's workshop right over Cid's shop, kupo."

"Yeah, okay thanks again!" Sora said as he ran into the shop. The inside is small but kinda cozy with a fireplace on the side. At the counter top was a bunch of jewelry on display. Behind it was a grizzled blond man with a toothpick in his mouth. He looked up hearing the door open.

"Hey there, how can I... Aw, it's only a kid." He grumbled.

Sora pouted angrily. "Hey, I'm not a kid! And the name's Sora."

"Okay, okay. Simmer down. Why the long face Sora? You lost or something?"

"No! Well maybe?" Sora threw his hands up. "Where are we?!"

"Oh, a newcomer." The guy settled down and placed his hands on the counter. "Welcome to Traverse Town sonny. This world is where most of the people who lost their world ends up."

"So this really is another world gramps?"

"Don't call me gramps! It's Cid! And this sure ain't wherever you're from..."

Sora quickly interjected what he came here for. "I'm looking for my friends, have you seen them?"

"Well you're going to have to be more specific junior. See with this place being the lost and found for several worlds, we have a large variety of people. There are talking animals, little men, fairies, and even inanimate objects come to life."

"Well my friends are just people like me. One's my brother Koga, he looks like me but with hair not as spiky, another is a boy with silver hair called Riku, and another is a girl with red hair called Kairi."

"Well I don't know this Riku, Kairi, or Koga people you are talking about. Sorry kid."

Sora didn't even feel disappointed. He felt sure that they are out there somewhere. "Well then I better go looking for them."

"Little word of advice kid. This town is separated by districts. But everything past the 3rd District is blocked off due to construction. And watch out for the 2nd and 3rd District. I hear there are monsters crawling around."

"Got it, thank you again for the help!" Sora waved as he stepped back outside.

Koga tried to keep up with Pluto, but that dog was just too darn fast. Eventually he lost track of him and he stopped to catch his breath.

"Dang it! *Pant* Now I'll never find *Pant* Sora!" Koga huffed. He then looked up and noticed that he was in some kind of big shopping plaza. There was stores along the sides of the plaza, as well as a hotel and a clock tower.

He saw this as a good opportunity to take some pics with his camera. He took a picture of the clock tower and the surrounding areas, completely forgetting about his current objective.

"Good grief, this plaza alone is probably bigger than the island! But where is everyone?"

His question was answered when suddenly he was ambushed by a group of Shadows. Koga's eyes widened.

"You're the same guys that attacked my home!" Koga scowled at them. He quickly used the flash of his camera to disorientate the Shadows. He suddenly remembered that he didn't have that magic gun, key, thing he used. Just as he was thinking about it, said weapon appeared on his hand. The Shadows cowered away from the weapon like cavemen to fire.

"Y-yeah, stay back you... bugheads! You want some, huh!?" Koga threatened, trying to sound like Riku. The Shadows did not like the threat however for they soon lunged at him. In dramatic slow motion, Koga rolled to the side avoiding them. Another group of Shadows appeared and joined the other Shadows.

"Oh poop..." Koga muttered as he realized how outnumbered he was.

When Sora stepped out of the shop he noticed that everyone was gone. He tilted his head in confusion, just a couple minutes ago everyone was here, now it's a ghost town. Then he saw a man come by and trip right in front of him. He looked freaked out.

"Hey, what's going on? Where did everyone go?"

"They all fled, the heartless started attacking and they all ran! I don't know what they're doing here, they never enter this district! Oh man, I gotta get out of he-" He was suddenly spasming uncontrollably as he fell on his back. Then he was limp much to Sora's terror. Sora gasped when he saw something come out of his chest, it looked like a glowing heart shaped object. The body then faded away into nothing as the heart was engulfed in a familiar black mist. Suddenly it formed into a dark looking monster wearing some kind of knight armor and wielding wicked long claws.

Soldier

And as soon as it came it left, disappearing into the shadows. Sora was mortified and confused on what just happened. A man just died in front of him and turned into that... thing! The Soldier kinda reminded him of the Shadows that attacked his home. Are they the same thing?

"They'll come at you out of nowhere. And they'll keep on coming so long as you continue to wield the Keyblade."

Sora turned around and saw a man approach. He had a scarred face and dressed like a biker, though he has a ridiculous amounts of belts on. He carries a long sword that looks like a gun. (If Koga's Keyblade is a key shaped liked a gun then this guy's weapon looks like a gun shaped like a sword). He had a intimidating presence surrounding him.

"Who are you?" Sora asked cautiously.

The man ignored him. "But why? Why would it choose a kid like you?" He kneaded his forehead. "Whatever, I'll worry about that later. Now let's see that Keyblade."

Sora took on his battle stance, his Keyblade summoning into his hand. "Oh yeah, like I'm gonna give this to you!"

"Fine then, have it your way." He said calmly, pulling his sword in front of him. The battle began!

He slowly walked towards Sora much to the boy's confusion. Sora got impatient and ran towards him to strike. The man parried the strike which made Sora recoil. He didn't have time to react as the man swung his blade at him twice then jumped back. Sore gritted his teeth through the pain and tried the same tactic again. This time he anticipated the counter attack and dodged to the side. Before the man could recover Sora swung his blade several times, hoping to knock the man down. Instead he got struck across the chest as he got flung back. The man put his hand out and a fiery glow surrounded it. Sora barely reacted to the oncoming fireball that struck him in the face. He fell on his back unconscious.

The man walked up to the boy and frowned at his unconscious body. Suddenly he felt a pain on his back as it felt like something struck him. He snapped his head around and saw a beaten up Koga with his gun aimed at him. The man recognized what the weapon he was holding was, despite it appearance.

"Two?" He questioned as his eyebrows raised.

"Stay. Away. From. My. Brother." Koga demanded, keeping his eye on the man that he saw beat up his brother. He didn't notice the lady in ninja gear that snuck up behind him and unleashed a karate chop to his neck. He instantly collapsed onto the ground, unconscious as his brother.

"Well look at that Leon, we got two of them now!" The lady said.

"And both of them kids." He shook his head, looking between the two boys. "Things just got worse, a lot worse."

And that's it for this chapter. If you didn't like the constant page cuts, don't worry, that won't happen as often.

This is when things really start to deviate from the original game storyline. I thought that since this is a world that houses people from different worlds it would make sense to reference a few worlds that are confirmed to be consumed by darkness.

As I was finishing this, I noticed that there were some things wrong with my story when browsing through fanfics. The cover image wasn't there, it loaded my first draft of the summary, and it was missing character tags. I've been getting a really low number of views and I think I just solved the problem...

And it's definitely not because my story sucks!

*Tidus laugh*

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See you next time,

HAVE FUN!