Chapter 2 - Loomings

(...what is this place?)

Don't you remember? You created it.

(I did? What is its name?)

I think you know.

(No, I don't...)

What is your name?

(I... I can't remember...)

Then your journey is far from over.

Kydran looked up at the ceiling from his horizontal position in the bed. His head rested in his hands, lying on his interlaced fingers. His face was expressionless, but his eyes gave away the fact that he was deep in reverie. He dredged through what he could remember, and was finding, with a great deal of frustration, that he could remember nothing. Nothing previous to waking up in that alley. The first thing he remembered was that voice, soft and sweet.

Pandora's voice.

He had received a free night at the Sleepy Moogle Inn, and had been informed by Reifa that he could stay another if he wished, but after that he would wear out his welcome and have to find a job. Or another place to live in. Strangely, she never seemed too happy to see him. It was as though there was much she wanted to tell him, and none of it was pleasant.

He rolled the sheets off of himself, and threw his legs over the side of the bed. He looked himself over.

'At least I know that I wear boxers,' he thought dryly, and stood up. The chain about his neck jingled. He lifted a hand up and wrapped his fingers around it. He wasn't hungry anymore, either; last night's dinner had been marvelously fulfilling, and he certainly couldn't remember the last time he had eaten like that. And despite his amnesia, he knew that he hadn't eaten a good meal for a very, very long time.

Oh well. He proceeded to pull the large black pants on, and looked out the window. It was still dark. Kydran recalled Pandora stating that it was always night in Traverse Town. For some unknown reason, he had not found it to be odd.

Slipping the black T-shirt, with its belled sleeves, over his head and tucking it into the pants, he reached for his black vest and swung it on. He plopped back down on the bed and pulled the (you guessed it) black combat boots on, then laced them up. He proceeded out the room's door without making his bed.

He proceeded down the hall and into the lobby. There he gave Reifa a wave a humble and heartfelt thank-you and stepped out the door. His eyes adjusted quickly from the warm light of the inn to the dimmer light outside. He made his way into the streets of Traverse Town.

He had made the decision in the previous night that he would go exploring, try to meet some people, get to know his new home. As such, he walked.

Kydran observed that it was steadily busy at all times in Traverse Town. Due to the constant nighttime atmosphere, when they were tired and when they were not determined people's sleeping periods. Shops were open at all times, so this made it easier for him as he perused in and out of them, and one shop in particular had caught his interest and would, inevitably, suck him into an epic adventure that he, perhaps, had been meant to take part in.

Cid was off-duty, and it was Yuffie's turn to watch and keep the shop. So there she stood, behind the counter, moving as quickly as she was able to take care of the mass of customers that were trying to purchase protective devices. The craze had, fortunately, been toned down since the previous evening, which she was thankful for. The black-haired, tank-topped, short-shorted, great ninja Yuffie was busy keeping shop.

A young man pushed the door open, and it jingled as he did so. Yuffie made it a habit of glancing to the door when it opened or closed, and keep tabs on whom was in, what was in, and who and what was out. She felt, for whatever reason, that this boy was different, somehow. Not at all like the hundreds of customers who had made their business with Cid's Accessory Shop; maybe it was the fact that he wasn't wearing any color but black. Later, Yuffie would acknowledge that it was fate giving her a tap on the shoulder.

"Be right with you!" called she, and Kydran nodded, quiet. He trailed from rack to rack and shelf to shelf, examining, taking his surroundings in. He reached into his shirt and pulled out the pendant, grasping it in his hand, feeling its presence.

It was then that both a tall, muscled man with long brown hair sporting black clothing and a gunblade entered. He was followed shortly by Sora. The both of them looked rushed, breathing heavily, as if they had just run the triathlon. Sora spotted Kydran, and kept his eyes locked on him for the moment. Leon made for the front desk and called to Yuffie.

"Yuffie! The Heartless! They're broken out of the Third District! Close the shop, it's bad!" Leon shouted above the crowd, then turning and rushing out. Sora followed him in that direction. The people in the building had heard loud and clear, and made their way out. Yuffie ushered them along, and took note of Kydran, who was still standing around, looking clueless.

"Hey, kid, you need to leave! There's trouble in the Third District! Heartless!" she exclaimed, and pointed to the door.

"Heartless? What are those?" asked Kydran, though his feet were carrying him to the door.

"You don't know what a Heartless is? And you're in Traverse Town? Oh, man. Well, if you want to get a first-hand look, try to keep up!"

She shut and locked the door behind her, and barreled off in the direction of the Third District. Kydran was finding little problem keeping up; between dodging in and out of the crowd, outrunning the young lady, and trying to figure out what was going on, he was surprised he was able to do so. But he did. And it didn't take them long to reach the Third District.

What he saw stunned him. Small black monsters, Shadow Heartless, were streaming out of a small crack in the wall between the First and Third Districts. The hole wasn't big, but it was big enough to allow the diminutive Heartless, with their haunting yellow eyes, to escape two at a time.

The thing that stunned Kydran the most, however, was not the creatures, the Heartless, that were gushing from the crack but the warriors repelling them. Leon was hacking them to pieces, and as he did so, they burst into clouds of black and vanished. And he then saw Sora, the boy he had run into not long ago. He was simply incredible. His movements were powerful, circular, well-trained; this was apparently something he'd been doing for quite some time, and it was evident in his anticipatory fighting style.

While Kydran was watching, dazed, Yuffie joined the fray. She had picked up her large shuriken from under the counter before leaving, and now used it as a cross between a boomerang and a sword. At times she would hack at the seemingly endless flow of Heartless, and at others she would distance herself and hurl it with dead-on accuracy. Kydran's engrossment in the affairs of the warriors had left him vulnerable, and the Heartless seized upon this.

From his peripherals, the black-haired adolescent somehow managed to catch movement as one of the Shadows, from within the shadows, leapt at him, claws spread, prepared to rend him apart and extract his Heart. He turned, recognized the danger, and panicked. His eyes went wide. His mind raced-

(hello there child I am your weapon now and soon you'll be mine)

and from nowhere, from some well of power that he had forgotten he possessed (along with so many other memories), something clicked. His arms were thrown forward, his legs fell into place, he braced, and in his hands formed a weapon, so familiar to him-

(like riding a bike)

...that he couldn't help but feel it was as natural to do as breathing was.

Lightning arced from the rod of energy that manifested in his grip. His fingers wrapped about something intangible, some kind of dark power. Red energy burst in a full circle about his left hand, solidifying into a hilt. Finally, the details came into view.

In Kydran's hand lay a replica of Riku's Heart Key. Long, ebon steel stretched outward, the wicked teeth of the keyblade outlining the shape up a heart in vicious curves. The hilt of his weapon was bright crimson, and the edges of the hilt curved upward into threatening hooks as well. A keychain dangled from the pommel of the weapon. The Shadow bounced harmlessly off of the boy's effortless block.

The Shadow fell back. Kydran lunged forward. With a snap of his wrist, the monster burst into a cloud of Darkness. At this sudden retaliation, the onslaught seemed to pause. The Heartless looked up, if they were not engaged in combat, and wiggled their jagged antennae at him. Then, as though their priorities had changed instantly, they all charged in his direction.

Kydran was unsure. He felt strangely confident that these monsters would not take his heart-

(oh god they took my family help me help)

...but was taken aback by the sudden attention he was receiving. He sank back, tried to find that 'click' again, and welcomed the onslaught of the Heartless.

Fortunately, by this time, both Leon and Yuffie had managed to shove a large block of rubble from the wall in front of the crack, staunching the tide of Shadows. Sora was still busy un-burying himself from under the sheer number of them; his movements were so fast, so conspicuously destructive, that Kydran did not worry in the least bit about the Keybearer's safety.

It was own he was concerned about.

His assailant Heartless platoon consisted of about eight or nine Shadows; Kydran would find himself counting not the oncoming number, but each snap and thrust and swing that destroyed one of them. He opened up by dispatching an airborne Heartless with an overhand swing; that one burst into a cloud of Darkness and was no more. The weapon was brought horizontally across another. He swung again and again. Leon watched from his place on the boulder, though he was busy fending off Shadows of his own.

It took all of five seconds for Kydran to finish off his attackers. Sora had unburied himself from beneath the Shadows much faster than expected, and had been able to catch the destruction of the last three of Kydran's assailants. But it wasn't the boy's movements that made his jaw hang open; it was the weapon he wielded.

Sora had seen it once before. More than once, counting the nightmares that had plagued his dreams as of late. The Heart Key. Riku, then possessed by Ansem, had wielded it. He had even used it upon himself-

(I don't want it anymore just take it)

...at one point to free Kairi's heart; he lost track of where he was. The fight with the Heartless, the cleanup, was finished, but now Sora had another problem on his plate:

There was a strange boy wielding a keyblade that was supposed to have been destroyed a long time ago.

Upon closer observation, however, Sora would become aware that this keyblade sported an inconspicuous difference: it had a keychain. It was identical to the pendant around Kydran's neck, which was dangling loosely over his shirt. A silver heart, with a lock emblazoned upon it, gold vines extending from the base of the bauble to trace along the heart-shape.

Kydran lowered the weapon, his head whipping from place to place as he searched for any more incoming threats. Finding none, he pulled in a breath, and then heaved it out. He spotted Sora and Leon in the distance, and gave them a baffled expression.

"...what? Is there something on my face?" he called to them

"...you... what... where... where did you get that!" exclaimed Sora, not releasing his hold on the Kingdom Key, and he approached the other, black-haired young man.

"I... what? Get what?" Kydran appeared positively lost.

"That keyblade! In your hand, look!"

Kydran lifted his left hand, and looked at the Heart Key, and froze. There was a weapon in his hand. Sora watched Kydran's face, frowning. The ebon-haired boy's eyes seemed to glaze over, drift, and stop focusing. Sora reached over, waved a hand in front of his eyes, and suddenly Kydran was shaking his head wildly, like one would shake off water. He then looked to Sora.

"Huh? Oh, this. I don't know. I..." his words drifted off, and he was lost in thought again. Sora addressed him once more, to get his attention back to reality.

"Hey, look, don't worry about it. But honestly... I'm not happy to see that keyblade," he said, and Kydran couldn't do much but look the brown-haired kid in the eyes.

"Is that what it is? A keyblade?" asked Kydran.

"Yeah. So's this," Sora replied, and proudly lifted up the Kingdom Key, in all its glory. Bright golden handle, silvery blade extending from the hilt, teeth outlining the shape of a crown, keychain with the shape of the King's head dangling from it. Kydran raised an eyebrow, and then looked to Sora.

"What do they do?" asked Kydran.

"Nobody's sure, just yet," came Leon's voice as he approached. He was still eyeing Kydran warily. "There's a lot of different kinds of keyblades... yours is one of them."

"Oh," said Kydran loftily. Something was wrong, but Sora could not tell what- nor did he want to touch the strange young man, even if it would be to give him some reassurance.

"Sora is the Keyblade Master. The keyblade you're holding is one that a friend of Sora's wielded while possessed by an insane king," Leon continued. "So, you don't know where you got it. Sora, this may be a blessing in disguise. Another keyblade wielder. Perhaps this wasn't by accident."

Sora's mouth had closed, but he was now watching the other young man closer than ever. He also paid closer attention to the weapon that was as curious to him as it was to Kydran. He heard Leon's words, and finally managed to pull his eyes away from the black-edged keyblade.

"You mean that you want him to go with me? No way! Not a chance! Not as long as he has that keyblade! I don't even know the guy!" exclaimed Sora, backing away from both Leon and Kydran. The emerald-eyed adolescent was still observing his keyblade. Before he had lowered hand, the weapon had disappeared into a cloud of blacklight motes. Kydran looked at his empty hand, and then to Sora.

"Hey, cool it!" He addressed the boy in the red suit, and shrugged. It seemed he had finally gotten control of himself- or maybe it was that the keyblade was out of his hands. "I didn't ask to go. I didn't ask for that keyblade, either. It just happened. I don't even know what you guys are talking about."

By this time, Yuffie's curiosity had overcome her, and she approached, speaking brightly. "Sora needs a partner to go with him to save the worlds again; we can't let him go alone, it's too dangerous." At this, Leon placed his hand on his face, and shook his head. "...Yuffie..."

"...what? That's how it is, Squall," she returned.

"Leon. Really, you should have it straight by now," the gunblader returned, giving Yuffie 'the look'. She was quiet.

Sora still looked nervous. Seeing Kydran's keyblade. The strange result of so much as bumping into him. The thought of having to fly with the guy gave him the creeps; he was shaking his head furiously, and turned, and ran, Kingdom Key in hand.

Kydran watched him go, feeling his heart sink for no apparent reason. "I don't understand. Why is he so... scared?"

"That weapon you held unlocks hearts. A man named Ansem wielded it for a short time before it was destroyed... or disappeared. Whatever. Sora even used it on himself. He turned into a Heartless, after that," Leon informed Kydran, who listened intently. "Somehow, he was brought back from the Darkness. It's supposedly impossible, but... Sora has a knack for redefining the impossible."

Kydran heaved a sigh, and looked to Leon and Yuffie. "Then, what do I do? I don't want to go after him. I don't even know if I'm up for this whole adventure thing."

"I think you're involved, one way or the other. And you seemed to handle yourself well enough back there," commented Yuffie.

"Thanks," replied Kydran. He appreciated the compliment, but his thoughts were focused on trying to explain to himself why he was able to do what he did. Maybe he was some sort of warrior before he lost his memory.

"We'll get you prepared. Our friend Cid's making a gummi ship for the both of you as we speak. You know what a gummi ship is, right?" asked Leon.

"No, I don't," replied Kydran.

"It's a ship that we use to travel between worlds. It's made of the same stuff that keeps the worlds apart," Yuffie said, though it was obvious that she had lost Kydran on the second statement. She ignored this, and Leon continued to speak.

"Your world was destroyed, no doubt. Consumed by Darkness. It's happening to all the worlds, at a rate faster than we can possibly save them. Sora's job has been to go around and seal all the keyholes, which lead to the hearts of worlds-"

"-and hearts are what the Heartless are after. They slip through a world's keyhole, infest its heart, and it's all over for that world," Yuffie finished, nodding. Kydran was focusing on imprinting their words in his mind; he knew the information would come in handy.

"Alright, I guess. I'll go with you guys. But I suppose we need to find Sosa-"

"Sora," corrected Yuffie.

"Right, we'll find Soma-"

"Sora," corrected Yuffie again.

"Sorry. We'll find Sofa-"

"Sora," corrected Yuffie a third time, frustrated.

"Okay. Sora. His name's Sora. We need to find him."

"You're right. I'll get Aerith to do that. She's good at that kind of thing. As for you, Kydran, I'll show you a thing or two about fighting, so we know the both of you will be safe, and then you're on your own," stated Leon, and Kydran nodded. Besides, the ebon-mopped adolescent had nothing better to do. Maybe he'd find his missing memories, and find out what that keyblade was all about.

"Alright, then, let's hop to it!" cheered Yuffie, bounding off to find their flower girl comrade. Leon and Kydran made their way to a dueling hall. Kydran wondered if he would be able to call his keyblade back.

He almost wished it wasn't his.

Sora sat on top of the new Clock Tower that had been constructed in the Second District to replace the one in the Third District the Heartless had overrun. The Kingdom Key lay by his side, the blade reflecting what little light was left in the night sky. His twin azure oculars looked out on the entirety of Traverse Town. He sighed quietly, recalling.

"Is that...?"

"Yes. A keyblade. But unlike yours, this one has the power to unlock hearts."

He envisioned Riku in that form-fitting black suit, sealed with the Heartless crest, which seemed to Sora like some sort of muscular body suit. The malicious glint that had been in Riku's eyes... but had that glint been Ansem's, or had it been Riku's?

Riku...

"No! You're not using me for this!"

"Take care of her."

Sora shook his head, and looked straight down off the Clock Tower roof. He had abandoned Riku in Kingdom Hearts, and King Mickey as well. He had closed and locked the door, with their help. He had left Kairi on the Destiny Islands. Had the Darkness devoured the Islands, as well? Was Kairi still safe?

'I didn't do a very good job taking care of her,' mused Sora, and he remembered the last words he and his love had exchanged.

"I'll come back for you!"

"I know you will!"

He picked up a rock that had somehow made its way onto the roof, and threw it absentmindedly. He had to get out there, he had to fix things, make sure they were okay. Protect the worlds. 'Make sure Riku's sacrifice wasn't in vain,' thought he. 'Then... I'll go. Even if it's with Kydran. I'll go. And I'll keep my promises...'

Sora sensed another presence. His hand shot to the Keyblade, and he drew it from its resting-place, thrusting it outward- and had, fortunately, halted himself from successfully skewering Aerith upon the end of the Kingdom Key. She appeared shocked. Sora put the weapon down. Aerith calmed, and then moved to sit down beside the boy.

"Do you want to be alone right now?" she queried, looking out at the Town. It was like watching a sea of stars, warm glowing lights far more plentiful than those in the heavens.

"Sort of," replied Sora glumly, staring down to the cobblestone pavement before. It was a while before he spoke again. "You know, I didn't ask to be the Keyblade Master. I don't know if I want the job anymore."

"But you already know it's not your choice. Sure, you could put it down and try to live a normal life, but you would always worry, wouldn't you?"

"Worry about what?"

"About your loved ones. About the Darkness that still exists."

Sora was silent. The both of them were. Finally, after what seemed like forever, the boy spoke up, nodding.

"Yeah, you're right. Maybe I was born to be the Keyblade Master."

"Seems like it, doesn't it? So, what are you going to do?"

"I have to leave here. I have to find out what's going on."

"But you can't go alone. And I'm sure you realize that running into Kydran simply cannot be mere coincidence."

Sora nodded slowly.

"I know you're afraid."

"I'm not afraid!"

"It's alright, Sora. I know you're afraid, because I can tell that you're worried. You're afraid of losing your friends. You're afraid you might fail. You're scared of the keyblade Kydran has."

Sora glared up at the sky, and kicked his legs out in frustration. Aerith was always right, it seemed. "Yeah. So?"

"So what are you going to do?"

"I'm going to go with him, of course. We're going to leave Traverse Town, find Donald and Goofy, I'm gonna leave Kydran somewhere and take care of business," replied Sora firmly. Aerith nodded in response, and picked herself up, careful not to slip over the edge. It was a long drop.

"Alright. Let's go find the others."

Kydran felt better. Potions had a habit of making a person feel better, and after the sound beating he had received, he certainly appreciated being handed the sweet-tasting drink. Leon himself had needed one after the series of bouts in which Kydran had put Leon's combat theory and advice into practice, though he had waited until Kydran wasn't looking to down one.

"Not bad. I think you can safely handle yourself- and what you can't handle, Sora can," stated Leon as the two made their way down the steps of the dueling hall. The hall itself had been built to accommodate fighters training for the grand events in the Olympus Coliseum, which had become something of a hot spot in recent times. Kydran had heard speak of it, and the thought of competition excited him. Registering Leon's words, he felt miffed; he wasn't entirely sure what the Griever was insinuating.

"Yeah. We'll be fine. So what now?" asked the young man, looking over to Leon.

"We find Aerith and Sora, and then you two mosey."

"...mosey?"

Leon was silent.

The silence was quickly broken, however, by a panicked, breathless Yuffie. Kydran's eyes widened at the sight of her; she had apparently been running nonstop for a long way.

"Yuffie? What's going on?" Leon asked, and it was obvious he knew something was wrong. His voice gave that away.

"Heartless, Leon! The Heartless! They've broken down the walls and they're flooding the city!"