Author's Note:

(I apologize for my tardiness in getting this chapter in, but I've been busy. My school prom is fast approaching. I can only hope that all goes well when it finally arrives.

Anyway, I suppose I should get this chapter underway. I know this will sound crazy, but it was rather difficult to write the last few paragraphs of chapter 4. I'm not talking about writer's block, but more along the lines of what Chip and Dale were feeling. I have a tendency to get inside the mind of the characters in my stories so that I can better understand how they would react in certain situations. I was all choked up, I swear! ::sniffle:: Oh, drat. Now I've gone and done it…::reaches for a tissue:: Enjoy the fic..! ::blows nose:: )

Chapter Five

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Tasha followed Leon into the alley nearest the stairs. There was a single door at the end, with the words "District Three" engraved upon it. The swordsman pushed it open, and Tasha found herself staring at dozens of bright lights hung all around a new square, the most dazzling she'd seen. There was a small house to her left, and it was to the house's old-fashioned door that Leon went. As Tasha followed, she looked over the rail into the square below. There was a golden fountain in one corner, and, far toward the back, was a door framed in writing, symbols that she did not understand. On the door itself, was a picture of a bright red flame, painted dead in the center. Symbols similar to those on the doorframe formed a ring around it. So lost was she in her thoughts that she didn't even hear her name. Cid reached out and tapped Tasha on the shoulder. "You okay? You kinda' zoned out for a minute there."

Tasha turned to Cid and smiled softly. "Yes, I'm fine," she said. "I guess I'm just a little overwhelmed by all this." Cid smiled back, switching the toothpick he chewed to the other side of his mouth. "You'll get used to it eventually. It's those Heartless you have to worry about."

Tasha nodded, walking slowly behind Cid as Leon pushed the door open. She heard a youthful voice shout, "Welcome home, Leon!" As Cid entered, he made room for Tasha, who stepped inside. "Who is this, Leon?" asked a brunette in a plain pink dress. Her hair was done in a ponytail tied with an equally-pink ribbon. Her soft, green eyes seemed to smile at Tasha, who slowly backed up against and leaned on an old bookshelf. It was clear that the enthusiastic greeting to Leon had not come from this woman. There was another in the room, however, who wore a pair of khaki shorts that barely covered the top-half of her thighs. Her green turtleneck sweater looked well-worn, and a white strip of cloth was tied around her head, contrasting the dark color of her hair. She looked at Tasha and smiled. "Hi! I'm Yuffie Kisaragi," she said. Tasha smiled back nervously. "Tasha Aurin," she replied. The brunette offered a welcoming smile. "My name is Aerith Gainsborough. We apologize for the mess, but this abandoned house suited our needs."

"And what needs are those?" Tasha asked, curious as to why four people would be able to live inside such a small space. "We fight the Heartless," said Leon, who leaned against the wall closest to the door. His arms were crossed, and he seemed to be rather apathetic about the whole thing. "'He who fights for those he cares for, always wins, no matter what the outcome.' That is the creed by which we fight." Aerith looked Tasha in the eye. "What were you doing in the Second District?" she asked, a clear sign of concern in her tone. "That place is infested with Heartless."

Tasha lowered her head, looking at the floor as she spoke. "I'm looking for my boyfriend. He's about Cid's height, and he's got black hair like me, but it's tied back in a small ponytail. I'm so worried about him…" Aerith nodded understandingly. "When was the last time you saw him?"

Tasha shook her head. "It's all a blur," she began. "I remember a storm, and then these shadows, much like the ones Leon and Cid saved me from, started appearing everywhere. They attacked my father, and as Griff tried to escape with me, a large one stopped us from reaching our boat. It attacked, and Griff fought back, but it was too strong. It slammed its hands onto the ground, and Griff fell, a bright light consuming everything. I ran to him, and the next thing I know, I'm lying on the ground in an alley here in town."

The door opened suddenly. "Your world was destroyed," came a voice. The group turned, and beheld three figures entering the house. The leader was a boy, with dark brown hair, done up in a wild spike. His clothes were peculiar, too. He wore a one-piece body-suit that zipped all the way to his neck, and a jacket with a hood. Behind him, came a duck, wearing blue robes and a hat of the same color. The last was something of a cross between a man, and a dog. It smiled at Tasha, its eyes warm and full of compassion. The boy looked Tasha up and down, as if inspecting her. Finally, he stepped back, and said, "The Heartless invaded and destroyed your world. You are here because your heart was strong enough to survive."

Before Tasha could speak, the boy smiled. It was a friendly smile, one that gave her the impression that, even beneath the somewhat serious exterior, there was a boy who just wanted to go home, and have fun again. "I'm Sora," he said. "This is Donald and Goofy." The duck bowed low, and the other, who Tasha guessed was Goofy, waved. "Uh-hyuck!" said Goofy. "Pleased to meetcha'!"

The boy, Sora, turned to Leon. "There was an accident," Sora said. "A Gummi ship blew up just as it reached the limits of town." Leon nodded. "Any survivors?" he asked. Sora shook his head. "We haven't checked yet. We were on our way there when we saw the door open, and decided to check up on you guys." Yuffie smiled. "Aw, Sora," she said with a grin. "You don't have to worry about us! We're fine. See?" She gestured to the others present. Sora smiled back, scratching his head. "I guess you're right. Well, I'll be going now. I'll let you know if anything comes up." Sora left the house, followed by Donald and Goofy, shutting the door behind them.

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Griff was flying, propelled forward and downward by the blast. He'd seen and felt the Ahriman disintegrating around him, and all he could do was hold on, thinking of Tasha. When it finally happened, Griff fell, the pieces of the Ahriman falling with him. Opening his eyes, he looked down and saw himself heading for a tall tower, a golden bell hanging inside. He tried to curl into a ball, to somehow protect himself, but he found that he could no longer feel his arms or legs. All he could do was shut his eyes, and pretend that this wasn't happening, but it was. With a crash, Griff fell through the roof of the belfry, landing hard on his back. A sharp pain in his side caused him to lift his head and look down at himself. A large piece of wood had impaled itself into his right side, and even that slight movement caused him to cry out in pain. He tried to grip the wood, but all his limbs had been broken. He lay there, his face contorted in agony. To his right, just outside a wooden blockade, several shadows rose from the wooden planks, their empty yellow eyes staring at him. At once, they leapt on him, inciting a scream of pain that even Griff himself didn't know he could muster. The shadows retreated at the force of his yell, but quickly returned, surrounding him as a soft glow accumulated within his chest. "No!!" he cried.

A sudden bolt of lightning parted the air. It broke into several smaller bolts and rained down on the shadows, who vanished just as quickly as they had come. A duck wearing blue robes appeared from behind the blockade, holding a staff. The duck was followed by a boy, and what looked like a man-sized dog that walked on two legs and carried a shield. The boy stood over Griff, held out his hand, and a light gathered in his palm. An object looking very similar to a key appeared. The boy gripped it, and gently pressed the tip gently against the glow in Griff's chest. The boy turned the key, and the faint sound of a click was heard. The glow faded, and Griff closed his eyes.

Sora shook his head. "This is bad, you guys," he said. "He's not going to make it without our help. I doubt even Curaga would be of any use." Goofy reached into his pocket and pulled out a small bottle of a purplish-green liquid. "Uh, here's an elixir I found earlier," he said. "Try that." Sora took the bottle and uncorked it. "Goofy," he said, "On the count of three, I want you to pull that wood out of him. Got it?" Goofy nodded, and carefully gripped the wood in his hands. On Sora's count of three, Goofy yanked, the offending object coming out clean. Blood began to flow freely, like a river that had broken its dam. Sora lifted Griff's head and poured the elixir down the other man's throat. The wound in Griff's side stopped bleeding, and closed off before their very eyes, leaving no trace of ever having been there.

Griff slowly opened his eyes. Everything was a blur; all he could make out were three outlines, evidently the same group who had driven off the Heartless. "Where…am I?" Griff whispered, his vision slowly beginning to return. "You're in the belfry of the Gizmo Shop, in District Two of Traverse Town," said the boy. "My name is Sora."

"Griff Lombardi," replied Griff. He slowly sat up, reaching up to rub his head, but stopped when he realized that he once again had full mobility in his limbs. "Hey..! I can move again! What did you do?" Sora ran his fingers through his hair. "You wouldn't have made it had we not given you an elixir," he said. "A what?" asked Griff. "An elixir," Sora explained. "It's a medicine that immediately heals all wounds and mental acuity." Griff nodded slowly, taking it in. "So that explains why my side doesn't hurt any more…"

Donald stuck his head outside the belfry. "Sora!" he squawked. "We got company!" Sora rushed to Donald's side, his key held like a sword in his hand. Griff stood up, reaching behind his back, relieved that his swallow was still there. Removing it from the clamps, he stood on the other side of Donald, looking down into the square. Dozens of shadows dressed as knights had started swarming the belfry, trying to climb atop each other in order to reach the belfry itself. Griff tightened his grip on the swallow, holding it firmly in both hands. Sora raised his key into the air, shouting, "Stopga!" The shadow-knights had ceased all movement, as if frozen in time. Sora walked to the edge and jumped, landing a blow with his key to the topmost Heartless, vaporizing it. Donald and Goofy jumped also, aided in their descent by Donald's magic, leaving Griff standing alone in the belfry. As the trio landed, the shadow-knights began to move again, leaping off the wall to engage them. While Sora, Donald, and Goofy dealt with the knights, two large, corpulent Heartless appeared from nowhere. They slowly advanced toward the three.

Griff looked over the edge of the belfry. There was a steep roof that went down far enough for him to jump safely to the bottom of the square. The fat Heartless were within striking distance now, and Sora hadn't noticed them yet. "Sora! Behind you!" Griff shouted. The boy turned around, but it was too late. One of the fat ones had struck, knocking Sora into a wall, unconscious. Gripping his swallow firmly in his hands. Griff jumped onto the roof, sliding down the tiles before leaping to the next, giving him a better angle of attack when he made the final jump. He did, and raised his swallow high. He spun it rapidly in his hands, before bringing it down hard on the nearest Large Body's head. The blade cut straight through, the Heartless splitting into two halves, disintegrating as it fell in opposite directions. Donald took a moment to raise his staff into the air, shouting, "Curaga!" A greenish glow surrounded Sora, and the boy opened his eyes, ready for battle once again.

Griff raised his swallow and cut hard across the belly of the other Large Body, but the corpulent Heartless' belly absorbed the impact. "You've gotta' hit them from behind, Griff!" shouted Sora. Donald swung his staff hard, knocking a shadow-knight in the head. The Heartless vanished. Goofy held his shield in front of him and charged straight into a group of about three others, the weapon glowing strangely. The shadow-knights were knocked to the ground, and vanished in a puff of smoke. "Thundaga!" Sora shouted, raising his key to the sky. A brilliant shower of light rained down on the shadow-knights, reducing them to ash. Griff turned, having been left with the second Large Body after Sora's magic attack, and almost passed out in shock. The Large Body was asleep! It's massive form hunched forward, its impossibly large arms resting on the ground, supporting it. Griff smirked mischievously, and vaulted upward, placing one hand on top of the Large Body's head. Once he was perfectly vertical, he continued the motion, landing behind the sleeping entity. Griff spun, delivering a brutal upward slash that tore into the Heartless' back, destroying it.

Sora turned to the other man, who spun his weapon once, before grasping it in his right hand and securing it in the clamps. "Thanks for your help," the boy said. "I was too focused on the Shadow-Knights to notice the Large Bodies. What sort of weapon is that, anyhow?" Griff smiled, as he always did when someone was asking him about a topic he knew well. "This is called a swallow," Griff answered. "It's built for a combination of speed, power, and balance. What about that key? You wield it like a sword."

Sora held up the key. "This is called a 'Keyblade'," he said. "It's used to lock the heart of a world to prevent its destruction by the Heartless. I would think that, by the way you were easily able to dispatch the Large Bodies, that you are fighting with your heart. It wouldn't have been possible, otherwise." Griff scratched his head. "What do you mean? I just want to find my girlfriend."

Sora put the Keyblade away, the weapon vanishing in a flash of light. "That's the reason," he said. "Your heart feels the need to give its all in order for you to find your love." Griff looked at the ground. "I just hope she's alright…" he said softly. "She wouldn't happen to be wearing a red shirt, pants, and have dark hair like you, would she?" Donald asked. Griff's head snapped up, gazing Donald in the eye. "How did you know?!" the young man said loudly. Donald chuckled. "Follow us."

The trio led Griff down a small alley into the Third District, which was decked wall to wall with lights. Donald stopped in front of a plain-looking door, and stepped aside, allowing Griff to slowly open it. The people inside turned around, the one closest to the door nearly falling over. "Griff!!!" she shouted, running to embrace him. Griff allowed it, and wrapped Tasha tightly in a hug, tears of joy running down their faces. The others glanced at one another, nodding, then left the room, giving Tasha and Griff some time to themselves.

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(Wow. That was pretty long compared to the other chapters. I expect to have chapter 6 up by tomorrow evening. If not then, probably Tuesday morning. The rest of the story is still up in the air, but I'll think of something. Until then, L8r!)