Kingdom Hearts
Ch. 6
Traverse Town
The Key
"Come on, lazy bum. Wake up." Sora shakes his head and opens his eyes. He looks up to see Kairi peering down at him on the bed. "You okay" she said as she looked at him.
"I guess…" Sora replied still unsure about what happened.
"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 you're okay Kairi" said Sora as he sat up.
"Kairi? "Who are you talking about? I am the great ninja Yuffie." Her voice changes as Sora's world flashes and the dark-haired girl from earlier appears in Kairi's place, bending over him.
"I think you might've overdone it, Squall."
The tall man from before walks into the Green Room. "That's Leon."
Sora sees the Keyblade leaning against the wall "Keyblade."
Yuffie walked past Sora waving her finger in the air, "Yeah, we had to get it away from you to shake off those creatures. It turns out that's how they were tracking you."
Leon crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. "It was the only way to conceal your heart from them. But it won't work for long." Sora sits on the bed, staring down at the floor as Leon continues talking. "Still hard to believe that you of all people are the chosen one." Leon picks up the Keyblade and swings it in the air. It flashes out of his hand and back into Sora's.
Leon walks over to him. "Well, I suppose beggars can't be choosers."
"Why don't you start making sense? What's going on here?" said Sora while giving a serious look. He clenched his shorts and kept focused on everything these two strangers said.
At this point in time, Aerith has 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?" she said as she sat on the bed
"Yeah, but that's supposed to be a secret" Goofy covered his snout with hands as he let Aerith continue.
"They've been secret because they've never been connected. Until now," she explained, her thoughts drift to nearly a decade earlier. "Everything changed when the Heartless came."
Back in the Green Room, "Heartless" said Sora first hearing the word.
"The ones who attacked you, you remember" said Yuffie now sitting on the bed with Sora.
Leon stared up "Those without hearts. The darkness in people's hearts—that's what attracts them. And there is darkness within every heart."
Yuffie looks over at Sora. "Hey, have you heard of someone named Ansem?"
In the Red Room, the conversation continued "Ansem" said Jiminy.
Aerith began answering their question "He was studying the Heartless. He recorded all of his findings in a very detailed report."
Donald crosses his arms and taps his foot on the wooden floor. "Can we see it?" he asked?
Aerith shakes her head "We don't have it. They could be anywhere."
"Oh, then maybe the king went to find 'em" said Goofy. He slams a fist down into his hand and Donald nods.
"Yes, those were my thoughts exactly" said Aerith.
"Wait, first we need that key" said Donald as he gets the others attention.
"That's right. The Keyblade." Aerith folds her hands and gets up.
In the Green Room, Sora holds up the key. "So this is the keyblade."
Leon walks over to the door "Heartless have great fear of the keyblade. That's why they'll keep coming after you no matter what."
Sora looks back at him "Well, I didn't ask for this."
"The Keyblade chooses its master. And it chose you" said Yuffie. She gets up off the bed and walks over to Leon.
He leans against the door "Tough luck."
Sora gasps sharply, standing up and looking to them frantically, "Wait a minute! What happened to my home? My island? My Parents, My Sister, Riku! Kairi!"
"You know what? I really don't know" Squall answered bluntly.
Sora looks down sadly.
Yuffie tries 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!"
Leon looks over at Sora, "Sooner or later, the Heartless will find you. You'd best prepare yourself."
"Prepare myself," asked Sora?
"To fight for your life. Are you ready?"
Sora grabs his keyblade "I'm ready."
"Yuffie, let's go join Aerith. She should be there now with the other visitors."
Yuffie points to the other end of the room frantically "Leon." A Soldier Heartless appears, clattering awkwardly. Leon runs forward. It wasn't like the others it stood up right and wore a metal helmet. "Yuffie go!"
Yuffie runs into the Red Room, squashing Donald behind it with a squawk. Aerith's face turns serious. "Yuffie" cried Aerith.
She runs after Yuffie as Leon takes out his Gunblade. "Sora, let's go!" Leon slams the Heartless through the window of the room and it flies over the balcony and down to the alleyway below. Leon runs after it, Sora following. The Red Room door closes, Goofy and Jiminy stares 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 runs down the alley toward the door to the main district. Sora fights Heartless off as he makes his way to the Third District.
Sora runs down the stairs into the square as Goofy watches from a high balcony. Goofy turns around as Heartless appear around him and Donald. He takes out his shield. Jiminy unable to fight jumps into Goofy's pocket for safety. "Gawrsh, are these the Heartless guys?"
Donald swings his wand in front of him. "Let's get em Goofy." With a loud crash, the two of them are blasted off the balcony. Sora turns, hearing the commotion, and tries to run as Donald and Goofy fall on top of him. Stars appear around their heads before they see the Keyblade.
"The Key" they both said laying on top of Sora. They smile as Sora winces. The District starts to rumble, and they look around, still in a pile on the ground. Large blocks appear from the ground and cover the exits. Heartless surround them as they stand up, ready to fight. After defeating the horde of Soldiers, they hear a clattering sound from above. Sora looks up to see huge pieces of armor falling from the sky. They hit the ground and bounce into the air, spinning wildly. The arms of the Guard Armor form around the torso, which is emblazoned with a red and black symbol. Once the legs attach, the Heartless lands on the ground loudly. It stands there for a moment before the helmet slams down onto the torso with a bright flash. It spins its head and arms before walking toward the trio. Sora attacks its arms, but it hardly recoils in its pursuit of him. Donald and Goofy do their best to strike the tough armor. It begins spinning its arms wildly around its body. Donald is caught in the twister and is knocked out. Sora strikes at one of the arms and the Guard Armor stomps the ground in anger. It jumps into the air and its pieces clatter to the ground heavily. Sora strikes an arm off while Goofy heals Donald and they tag-team against its thunderous legs. With the appendages destroyed, the torso is left defenseless and it falls to the ground.
Sora, Donald, and Goofy approach and it begins spinning out of control, knocking the three of them back. Once they find their footing again, Sora gives the armor a final strike and it starts to explode from the inside, shaking the area around it. Its head wobbles and falls to the ground with a mighty ring. A large glowing heart floats out of its torso into the air and the Guard Armor disappears. The District grows silent, the fountain depicting two dogs in love at the edge of the area giving off the only sound.
Later, Leon and Yuffie join the group.
Sora begins to converse with his two new friends after they defeat the monster. "So, you were looking for me?" Both Donald and Goofy nod their head "uh-huh."
Leon crosses his arms "They, too, have been seeking the wielder of the Keyblade."
"Hey, why don't you come with us? We can go to other worlds on our vessel" proposed Goofy.
Sora looks down "I wonder if I could find my friends and family." Leon closes his eyes, understanding what Sora is feeling.
"Of course" said Donald. Sora looks up at them.
Goofy whispers to Donald "Are you sure?"
Donald whispers back "Who knows? But we need him to come with us to help us find the king."
Leon steps forward "Sora, go with them. Especially if you want to find your friends."
Sora answers back half-heartedly "I guess."
"But you can't come along looking like that. Understand?" Donald wags his finger in the air.
"No frowning. No sad face. Okay? Our ship runs on happy faces."
As Goofy shows how it's done. Jiminy jumps out of Goofy pocket "Don't think too much of it, this is how they do it in, Disney Town. Don't ask me how they came up with that power source." Donald and Goofy smile. Sora bends down and reveals a huge cheesy grin. Getting no response from them, he stops awkwardly. Donald and Goofy burst out laughing.
Sora stands up straight "Okay I'll go." All three reach out their hands each giving their introductions.
"Donald Duck", "Names Goofy", "I'm Sora."
They press their hands together "All for one and one for all."
In a sign of friendship, they throw their hands into the air. "Don't forget about me, Jiminy Cricket."
Sora picks him up and stares at him, "Of course, Jiminy Cric-c-." As he paused for a moment observing the three figures that stood before him. 3 anthropomorphic animals each wearing their own clothes.
"AWWWWW what on the heck are you guys. A Dog, a Duck, and a Bug" cried Sora as he fell to the ground. The three stare blankly at Sora walloping on the ground. Sora crawls backwards, Leon and friends stare with their mouths open. "He didn't even realize till just now" they all screamed.
"Now listen you her. Just because your world is only inhabited by humans doesn't mean every other world is the same."
Sora after processing the information went on all fours and apologized. "Don't worry about it I was shocked the first time I saw a human myself" said Donald frantically.
"It's okay Sora, you didn't know. But remember don't act like that when we go to other worlds. Because I promise you, some worlds can get really weird," said Jiminy.
"Okay I promise," said Sora. He stood up and picked Jiminy up placing him on his shoulder. Jiminy looked around to see Sora's hood. He decides to hop in, "Say this a nice fit." He jumps out back on Sora's shoulders and proposes something "How about when we go to other worlds I'll hang in your hood when things get ruff."
Sora stares over at his new little friend "Yeah that's fine." Donald walks over and grabs Sora's hand "Welcome to the team." Goofy follows and grabs their shoulder "Yeah together till the end."
Meanwhile, in a room full of darkness, a group with equally dark intentions gaze at an image of the trio on a round table. "That little squirt took down that Heartless! Who'd have thought it," said a fiery man?
The fiery man looks over to a thin man with a staff, who replies "Such is the power of the Keyblade. The child's strength is not his own."
The large woman next to him gazes down cunningly at the image, water dripping off her many appendages. "Why don't we turn him into a Heartless? She crackles loudly "That'll settle things quick enough."
A man standing next to her pipes up "And the 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 laughs loudly and the man brandishes a silver hook as his left hand. "Shut up."
"Enough" The villains look over to a tall woman in a black cloak. She gazes through narrow eyes at the image on the table, her green skin echoing its pale light. Her long fingers curve 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, he could be quite useful." She smiles darkly.
Later, in the First District of Traverse Town, Sora talks 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," said Leon. "You should get supplies for your journey. There are some shops here you can get food and equipment."
"There right Donald were low on spices," said Goofy as he hovers over Donald's shoulder.
"Fine its nighttime anyway, we'll grab some stuff before we leave tomorrow."
Aerith raises her hand "Actually this world has no daytime. It's always night here.
Donald turns around "Oh what time is it then? Yuffie looked at her watch under her glove "It's about 6:30 pm."
"Okay we leave first thing tomorrow after a good night's rest. But first lets stock up on supplies" proclaimed Donald without concerning his other teammates.
"Donald what about the gummi ship?" asked Goofy.
"It's in front of the entrance to District One it will be fine" explained Donald.
"Wait you have a gummi ship?" asked Aerith.
"Yeah," said Donald back over to her.
"Since you're going on a long and hard journey you should probably get someone to look at it for you" she explained.
"By who?" asked Jiminy.
"We know a mechanic who specializes in this kind of stuff. His names Cid. He runs a shop in the First District. He'll gladly look at your ship."
"Gramps, the old guys smoking his cigarette all day" asked Sora.
"That's Cid alright. So you met him already, good" said Yuffie.
Sora and friends converse with each other and agree with her terms. Donald turns to his friends and says "Okay I know a few things about the gummi ship, so I'll go with Cid and show him to the ship. Goofy you go and buy any supplies that we need. And Sora how about you train a little bit. From the looks of the way you fight I can tell you've never carried a weapon before."
"What! That's not true," proclaimed Sora offended!
Leon walked over carrying his Gunblade with him. "Sora if you are going to fight the heartless, you'll need to get stronger. I can show you how to properly wield a weapon, but after that you need to learn the rest on your own."
Sora lowered his head "Okay." At the moment something struck his head "Yowl" cried Sora rubbed his tense.
Leon wacked him with the end of his Gunblade. "Never let your guard down."
Sora looked up a little pissed. He quickly sucked it in and was ready to train.
"Je this would be a good time to get my journal all ready."
"What journal?" Sora asked Jiminy.
Jiminy hoped off Sora's shoulder and looked back up. "I was tasked to be the chronicler of this adventure. I will be writing down entries of everything that happens. So if you have any questions about what's going on feel free to consult my journals." He pulled out a tiny brown book out of his coat pocket and showed it to Sora. It had a small picture of a crown on it.
Sora pretending to be impressed said "Okay, you keep doing what you're doing."
"Hey Donald, I'll take you over to Cid's place" said Yuffie.
"Okay, see you guys tomorrow" said Donald as he ran off with Yuffie.
"Goodbye, Donald" said Goofy waving back at him. "Hmm where can I get some good grub to buy?"
Aerith walked over and said, "I can help you get what you need follow me."
"Jeeh, thanks" said Goofy smiling.
"Squall I'll see you at home" said Aerith before she walked away.
"It's Leon" he stated. "Come on Sora it's time to start training."
Aerith's smile turned to a disappointed frown as she walked away.
Jiminy sat over by the wall watching Sora train as he got everything ready in his journal.
He looked towards Sora empathizing with his search for his loved ones. "To think it all starts tomorrow. The journey of a lifetime. But I wonder. Can I find you out there as well, Pinocchio?"
At around 10:30, Sora could barely move. He laid on the ground, his legs twitched, and his face was covered in dirt and sweat. Leon walked over and helped him up. "This is all that I can teach you now, it's time to go to bed.
Jiminy walked over and jumped on Sora's shoulder. "So where do we sleep?" he asked.
"Follow me." Leon brought them to the Blue Room of the hotel right next door to the Green Room. Donald and Goofy have already retired to their beds after a long day. Sora plopped onto the last free bed caressing the blanket with his hands. Laying on the soft fabric Sora felt as if he was sleeping on a cloud. Leon took an empty box of matches, a tissue, and some cotton and fastened a bed for Jiminy. The tiny man crawled in while putting his hat next to his pillow. Both Sora and Jiminy removed their shoes and began to fall asleep.
Leon causally exited the room closing the door behind him.
Sora stared at the ceiling for a bit before he looked over to Jiminy. "Hey Jiminy, you still awake" asked Sora?
"Yes" he replied.
"What's Disney Town like?" Jiminy rolled his eyes as he tried to stay awake. "Couldn't tell ya. I'm not from that world."
Sora turned his head "Where's your world then?"
Jiminy rubbed his stomach and scratched his cheek. "My world was lost to the darkness; it was only a miracle that I made it out. I don't know what happened to everyone else?"
Sora relating to the situation replied "I lost my world too. I don't know what happened to them. My family, Riku, Kairi. Did you have someone you care about go missing?"
Jiminy tugged his cotton pillow to make it comfier. "Yes, my friend. I'd promise him I'd be there for him whenever he needed me. But now I can't keep that promise."
Sora rolled in his bed trying to find a good spot to sleep. "I hope you find your friend," said Sora.
"I hope you find your friends too."
Next door in the Green Room, Yuffie was sound asleep cradling her pillow as Leon walked by. He opened the Red Room door entering quietly. He took off all his clothes except a shirt and some boxers before he climbed into bed. He sat there for a moment about to go to sleep until the bathroom door opened. Aerith stood in front of him in her night gown. "Squall" Aerith said as she walked over.
"It's Leon" he stated drowsy.
He turns his head away from her as she climbs into bed next to him. "I am your wife; I'm going to call my husband by his real name." Squall twitched his finger where his wedding ring resides. Aerith trying to get his attention crawled over to face him.
She laid down and touched Squalls face with her hand. "It's finally here the key to open the door, the door to bring us back home, Hollow Bastion…. Squall" said Aerith softly.
"Please do…. I'm sorry but I left that name behind. I wasn't strong enough and I stood by as our home was taken from us." Squall closed his eyes as he cringed at the memory.
Aerith rubbed Squalls scar on his head "You were just a child; you couldn't protect us because you were young. Now you're stronger than anyone I know."
"What about Cloud?" asked Squall as he rubbed her waist?
"Well maybe him, but he's gone now. I chose you remember. I really hurt him. I want mean too."
"It wasn't your fault it was no one's fault you were just being honest," said Squall as he touched her chest. He moved in closer and pressed his ear on her breast. They both remained quite as he heard his wife's heartbeat. "I believe he'll do it; I believe that the boy will free our home, he will bring light back into the world" she said breathing deeply.
"I hope your right, we can finally be at peace and start a family," he said as he drifted to sleep.
"I know he will." The two wrapped each other in their arms and went to sleep.