Xion slowly opens her eyes as she feels the rush of wind on her body. Her eyes widen when she sees she's falling from a great height towards a town below. She quickly casts a wind spell to slow her descent before landing carefully on her feet. She quickly looks around to get a sense of her surroundings.
"What is this place?" asks Xion aloud. Before noticing something off about her clothes. Her coat is now unzipped, revealing clothing similar to her usual attire underneath, with the exception of a large stylized X on the front of her shirt "Must be Yen SId's magic. . ." Xion comments, before noticing a lack of sound from her partner.
"Hey Roxas, are you awake?" she asks turning around only to see Roxas is not with her. She quickly spins around and looks to see if he's nearby, but she doesn't see him anywhere. "Maybe he landed somewhere else?" she asks. As she's about to start moving she hears the sound of yelling from above. She looks up and widens her eyes as she tries to dodge out of the way, but is too late, as Kairi lands right on top of her, cushioning her fall, but also hurting Xion.
"Xion!? Are you okay!?" asks Kairi as she gets off her look-alike
"Yeah. . . I'm fine. . ." Xion winces as she gets off the ground. Kairi looks around for her partner, but see he's also not around "Where's Riku. . . and Roxas?" she asks. Finally, she realizes where she is.
"Wait! Why are we in Traverse Town?" asks Kairi, confused.
"This is Traverse Town?" Xion asks, to which Kairi nods. She's heard of this place from Yen Sid's book and from Kairi and Riku's stories, but she's never actually seen it herself until now.
"Do you think Riku and Roxas landed somewhere else?" asks Kairi as she looks around. Before cupping her hands over her mouth. "Riku! Roxas! Hellooo? Are you guys here?" she shouts, trying to see if their potentially nearby friends can hear them." She gets a response sooner than she thinks as Kairi and Xion hear a voice from behind.
"Shut it. . . geez, talk about noise. . ." said a dejected voice. The two turn around to see a boy sitting on the roof of a nearby building. The boy is very slim, with skinny arms. He wears white shorts and a black and purple sleeveless shirt, with a large turtle-neck-like part at the top. His purple headphones are worn over his orange spiky hair, which looks vaguely similar to that of Roxas or Cloud's hair. "Xion right?" he says looking over at the black-haired girl in the coat.
Xion nods but is a bit stunned that he knows her. "I take it by your friends shouting that Roxas isn't here. . . strange. . ." suddenly he walks close to the two and grabs Xion's hand, turning her palm up so he can get a look at it, "Looks like your not a player. . ." he says as Xion pulls back her hand from the strange boy.
"A player? What do you mean?" she asks, a hint of anger being present in her voice.
"Come on, keep up. In The Game." the boy says, revealing his left palm. On the palm large red numbers glow, which seem to be counting down. "Players of The Game get marked with the time limit. And this game, I can't afford to lose. I need to find my Game partner." he explains.
"I've never heard of this game, but is there a way we can help?" asks Kairi.
"What? Time-out. Do you trust every total stranger you meet?" asks the boy. He sighs and puts a hand on his head. "Look-sorry, neither of you are good. You're not players. Besides. I've already made a pact with someone else."
"I was offering to help you look for your friend, not be your partner. We already have partners for our exam." Kairi explains. The boy seems intrigued at this exam Kairi speaks of, but pushes it to the side as he begrudgingly allows them to help him.
"Alright. Just follow me," he says. He turns and dashes forward with incredible speed. Grinding along the rail before jumping off and hopping wall to wall quickly. The two seem almost stunned as he does this. He turns and sighs at their stunned look.
"It's called Flow-Motion. By running into walls, poles, or rails at high speeds, you can gain energy to move even faster," he explains before slowly walking to a nearby door. The two quickly catch up to them as they try and get used to the Flow-Motion technique. The boy walks through the door ahead of him as the two play catch-up. As Kairi runs, she finally notices her change in attire.
"What the- my clothes!" she says. Kairi wears an outfit similar to the one she wore earlier. Her purple skirt is now longer and has black stripes going from the top to the bottom. Her white tank top now has a strange black symbol on the front, and over it, she wears a black short-sleeved jacket with hot-pink stripes at the end of the sleeves and on the hood.
"You just now noticed?" Xion asks too which Kairi embarrassingly nods. As they catch up to the boy, Xion asks him a question.
"Hey, we never got your name." Before the boy can answer her question strange black orbs surround them, before bursting with darkness and creating strange animal-like creatures.
"Dream Eaters!" the boy shouts as he assumes a fighting position. The boy puts his hand forward and summons a small cat-like creature in front of him. The cat-like creature attacks the much fatter cat-like dream eaters that surround them.
"Don't let them surround you!" yells Neku as he starts to run in the direction of his cat.
"Right!" Says Kairi, as she and Xion materialize their Keyblades, Destiny's Embrace and Rejection of Fate. before the boy goes. He stops and looks over his shoulder.
"It's Neku. . ." he says The two girls look over their shoulder to get a better look at him. "Neku Sakuraba. You asked," says Neku.
"Neku Skauraba . . . Nice to meet you. I'm Kairi." Neku nods, showing he understands before running after his cat, who ran off after multiple Dream Eaters chased it. Xion and Kairi slash through the Dream Eaters with relative ease. They're still not quite used to being in weaker bodies. As they finish off the last dream eater. Neku approaches him, with his cat-like creature by his side, which resembles one of the dream eaters.
"That cat, is it a dream eater too?" asks Xion. Neku nods.
"Yeah. If I'm gonna survive The Game, I'm gonna need some extra help, especially if I don't have my partner. Think you could control one?" He asks.
"Hmm. . . I guess?" says Xion, unsure if either of them can control a creature like that in their current state. Neku goes into his pocket and hands them a slip of paper, resembling a synthesis recipe, and some materials.
"You'll need these," he says. The two study the recipe closely, before following the instructions. They take three Rampant figments, and two Vibrant Figments, and stuff them inside a potion. They put the potion on the ground and focus their energy a bit, suddenly, the potion glows. A flash of light blinds everyone for a moment, but as it dims, they open their eyes and get a look at the dream eater in front of them. It resembles the fat cat dream eaters they had just slain, but with a lighter, more friendly color scheme of blue and white.
"A Meow Wow huh? Not bad I guess. You two gonna name it?" he asks. Kairi and Xion look at each other, kinda surprised they even got this far. The two think for a moment, and Kairi asks Neku a question.
"Hmm, is it a boy or a girl?" she asks
"Uh, I don't know. They all look the same regardless of gender," he explains. Kairi sighs, not exactly finding that very helpful, but they do manage to settle on something.
"Hmm. . . How about. . . Strela?" asks Xion.
"Strela. . . I like it!" says Kairi. The two rub and pet Strel the Meow Wow, Neku sighs, unable to take them seriously. Strela, on the other hand, seems to enjoy the affection.
"Alright, come on. Let's get going. We don't have all day." Neku complains as he walks off. Xion and Kairi get up and go after Neku, Strela follows closely behind. As Kairi, Xion, and Strela enter the third district, Neku jumps over the guard rail and lands on the floor below. They follow the stairs, before noticing something. The doors locked behind them.
"I brought you Xion! We had a bargain!" Yelled Neku, angrily.
"Bargain?" Xion asked, concerned for why she was a part of it. As the two girls and the Meow Wow reach Neku, they hear footsteps behind them. They look up and gasp as they lay eyes upon a many in a black organization coat. His hood covers his face, making him unrecognizable. The man materializes a blue beam-saber-like weapon. Leaping into the air towards them.
"Hey! You said you wouldn't hurt them!" Neku yells as he leaps at the hooded figure.
"No! Neku! They're dangerous!" Kairi yells, the two materialize their keyblades and dash to help their ally, when they suddenly stop, an intense feeling of drowsiness taking them over. They collapse, unable to stay conscious any longer.
What feels only a moment later, Kairi and Xion jolt awake. For a moment, they're lost in their waking moments, before they remember what happened as they collapsed.
"Where is he!?" asks Xion as she quickly gets on her feet. Kairi gets on hers as well and they look around but see they're alone once again.
"They're. . . both gone. . ." Kairi says, stunned as to how they would have disappeared so quickly. "We should go after them!" says Kairi, but Xion stops and thinks for a moment.
"Neku said that he and that creep had a deal of sorts. But what was it, and why did it require me?" she thinks aloud
"We'll just have to find out." Says Kairi as she crouches to pet Strela beside her
"Yeah, I guess your right. . ." Xion says as she sighs. "I hope Roxas and Riku are okay."
"They'll be fine. They may not get along, but they can at least put their differences aside when they need to and fight." Kairi reassures her. Xion looks over at her look-alike and smiles.
"Yeah, your right. Thanks," says Xion as she pats Strela on the head.
The two girls quickly investigate the area, finding some electronics that seem broken. Xion messes around with them and manages to get them working, which turns on and unlocks the 1st district door. As they enter the first district they notice the mailbox flickering with light. The two girls and their cat. . . dog. . . thing . . . approach the mailbox cautiously. They push the mailbox out of the way and find a secret entrance below it. Without any other leads to go off of, they hop into the hole to see where it goes.
The three find themselves in a post office. They exit a room filled with packers and letters, only to find an empty hallway, with a door-like entrance, and a grind-rail. Xion carries Strela as they grind on the rais, hopping from rail to rail until they find themselves in a new area. They follow a long path of conveyor belts before arriving at the post office's entrance. They use it to leave the building and find themselves in a part of Traverse Town Kairi has never seen before. They traverse the unfamiliar area with caution, taking out any stray dream eaters that get in their way, besides their beloved Strela of course, who's such a good girl that no one would ever need to deal with her.
After traversing the town they find themselves in a brightly lit area, with many flashy buildings, the main one being a building labeled "colosseum" with a large cute meow-wow balloon set up next to it. It's not as cute as Strela though. They run-up to the colosseum and see a small girl standing in front of a Moogle. She wears white shorts and an orange shirt with a drawing of skulls on the front. Over her blonde hair, she wears a black beanie, with a skull badge on it.
"Hey there, are you by a chance Neku's partner? In the game I mean," asks Kairi
"Huh?" the small girl turns, and thinks for a moment "Umm. . . I'm not really sure. All i know is that my name is Rhyme."
"You mean. . . you've lost your memory?" asks Xion. Rhyme nods.
"It's no big deal though. You know what they always say. Sometimes memories just need a little help getting out." she says cheerfully.
"Yeah. . . your right," says Xion, cheering up a little, while also being reminded of just why they need the power of waking in the first place.
"A little help. . . hmm. . . " Kairi thinks for a moment "Maybe Neku can jog your memory? He might know you."
"Yeah! That could work!" she says happily. The three girls and Strela walk to the fifth district of Traverse Town in search of Neku. and to Xion and Kairi's surprise, they actually found him. The four quickly find their way up to the roof of the building Neku stands on, and they talk to him.
"Hey Neku!" says Kairi cheerfully. Neku doesn't even look over his shoulder to see them
"Xion. . . Kairi. . . " he says in almost disbelief. "Why are you here? Do you two still trust me after I sold you out to the man in the black coat?" asks Neku
"Of course. We don't know you well, but we have a feeling you wouldn't just betray someone you've just met for no reason. You needed to keep your end of the deal right? Why was that?" asks XIon.
"That guy in the black coat. . . he said he could send me and my partner home, but I had to bring him, two people. Roxas and Xion. . ." he admits. "Sorry. . ."
"It's no big deal. You did betray us, yes, but you also stood up for us when he attacked. Besides, we're friends. Right?" asks Kairi.
"Friends. . ." Neku almost laughs a little. He turns back and smiles at them. And they smile back "Yeah, I guess we are." there's a moment of silence before Kairi and Xion remember why they came here.
"Oh, by the way. This here is Rhyme. Is she your Game partner?" ask Xion. Neku shakes his head.
"No. Sorry. I teamed up with someone else." suddenly, rhyme starts to glow as the three are stunned as to why this suddenly happens, but before they can do anything, Rhyme just disappears in front of their eyes. They question what just happened when something even worse catches their eyes. At the other end of the building's roof. Stands the man in the black coat. Xion and Kairi materialize their keyblades while Neku charges at the man in the black coat. He tries to attack him but he sends him flying with the movement of his left hand, calling upon a wave of darkness.
"Neku!" the two shout as he's knocked off the building. But they turn their focus back to the man in the black coat as he raises his arms to the sky. Far above them, darkness gathers, until a large Nightmare appears. The man quickly forms a corridor of darkness and enters
"Hey! Wait!" she yells as she tries to go after him. But the nightmare drops onto the roof and blocks their path.
"Get out of our way!" yells Kairi as the two prepare to battle their foe. The two dash around the arena using flow motion as the nightmare, known as Hockomonkey attacks them. It slashes at them with its massive claws as they dash past it, slashing with their keyblades with they get close, and casting spells from a distance Meanwhile, Strelais doing her own thing, rolling around on the ground, somehow dodging the nightmare's feet as it stomps around, and casting the occasional balloon spell.
The Hackomonkey pulls its arms in its box-like torso and pulls out two toy-like arms with boxing glove hands. It punches from a distance as the two dodge the attacks, choosing to come in close and attack where it cannot reach. The Hackomonkey roars in anger and pulls its arms in, bringing back the claws as it leaps into the air and crashes into the glass floor below. The glass shatters and everyone falls and crashes onto the floor, except Strela, who bounces harmlessly against the floor like a bouncy ball. The nightmare slams Xion and Kairi into a wall the two get up as it charges at them when suddenly, a dark figure jumps from the ceiling and slashes straight through it. The nightmare rises into the air as it explodes into a ball of light. Neku comes crashing through the door to see if everyone is okay. Only to stop in his tracks as he sees the dark figure in the room. The two girls get up and look at their savior, only to find a nightmare, or rather, Xion and Roxas's nightmare, born from their darkness.
"How. . . how did you get here?" asks Xion, shakily. The nightmare looks over its shoulder it speaks with a voice of many whispers.
"Kairi . . ." it looks away as they approach it, and jumps high into the air using flow motion, and disappearing from view.
"You know that thing?" asks Neku. to which they nod.
"Yeah, We've had more than one encounter with it during our previous journey" Xion explains. "How do you know it?" she asks
"That thing is referred to as the Husk by the Moogles. It seems to be some sort of protector of this place," he explains. "I've seen it from a distance, killing nightmares with ease, but I've never seen it up close."
"The husk. . ." Xion thinks allowed. Wondering why it would be given such a name before something catches Neku's eye behind him. He runs out of the building, Xion and Kairi get off of the ground and follow him, only to see three ghost-like apparitions
"Roxas!" Xion smiles as she sees the blonde that took her heart.
"Riku!" Kairi says with glee as she's reunited with her childhood friend. "We were so-" Kairi stops as they see a slim girl walk by them before running in the direction of some stairs.
"Shiki?" Neku says, surprised to see his Game partner completely ignore him. And moments later, Roxas and Riku chase after her.
"Roxas!? What's going on?" Xion is about to follow when they hear a new voice.
"Xion, Kairi, wait." they turn to the voice and see a small orb appear out of thin air. Diamond-shaped spikes protrude from it as a boy appears in a flash of light. His dull blonde hair is as dull as his white shirt and grey pants.
"Joshua," Neku says, recognizing the boy, who doesn't resemble the other apparitions, who are blue and transparent.
"Hello, Neku. How long the days without you have felt," says Joshua. The portal flashes again and out of nowhere appears Rhyme
"Rhyme! I'm glad you're okay!" says Kairi, happy to see their new friend didn't just disappear without a trace. Xion turns to look at Neku.
"Neku, you know this guy?" asks Xion referring to Joshua.
"Yeah. He's my . . . friend." Neku says that almost reluctantly.
"Joshua, were you the one who made Rhyme disappear back there? And how do you know our names?" asks Kairi
"If you'd like to settle down for a sec, I'll field your questions one at a time," says Joshua. The two settle down and Joshua proceeds to explain how he's holding on to Rhyme's dreams, using them as a portal to access the two different versions of Traverse Town.
"As to how I know your names, well. This town has a little secret. It only appears when someone out there has a need for shelter. I'll spare you the details, but right now, it's made up of my dreams. So of course I know you. I know your best friend, and your boyfriend, Riku and Roxas, too."
"Really? You know Roxas?" Xion says in disbelief.
"Well, yeah. I'm kind of omniscient."
"Omniscient huh. . ." says Xion, thinking for a moment, "if you're omniscient, then where are Riku and Roxas right now?" asks XIon. Joshua turns and motions to the apparitions ahead. Kairi and Xion look ahead with concern as they see the apparitions of Roxas and Riku backing away from the stairs with their keyblades out.
"They're right here. In the fifth district. Just in another version of Traverse Town." he explains.
"In the other Traverse Town. . . then. . . can we use your portal to meet up with them?" asks Kairi, sadly, Joshua shakes his head.
"Sorry, that won't work for you. The portal only opens for the one with Rhyme's dreams. Which in this case, is me."
Xion sighs, as she feels a longing feeling in her chest. "How did these worlds even get split up anyways?" asks Xion.
"Hmm. . . You might need to ask that guy if you want answers," says Joshua as an apparition of the man in the black coat appears to approach Roxas and Riku
"Him again!" Suddenly, something catches their eyes, Neku and Rhyme turn around to see projections of the girl Neku called Shiki, and a boy wearing a black beaning and a white tank-top. Xion and Kairi's attention is kept on the man in the black coat, however, as he takes off his hood, revealing his silver hair and yellow eyes. Suddenly. The apparitions start to fade out, before vanishing completely. Xion and Kairi reach out to where the projections once stood, before stopping in their tracks, as they feel an intense wave of drowsiness come over them
"Xion? Kairi? What's wrong?" asks Neku as he turns back to his friends, the two immediately collapse, falling to the floor and losing consciousness completely.