Here we are: Traverse Town!

Now, to prevent any potential confusion at the start, allow me to explain a little addition I took the liberty of putting in: if any of you are familiar with the Disney film Pinocchio, you'd recall that there was a minor character who had already become a donkey but was still able to talk (sadly, we never know what becomes of the talking ones). Well, I wanted to do an expansion on this character because, really, despite whatever the hell turned the poor kid into an animal, I wanted someone to be sympathetic to such a fellow. And, hey, perhaps with the second visit to Traverse Town, I could give an explanation as to why this child also escaped being lost to the darkness. Never know.

Guest: You wanted to know if Medea was the same age as Axel? Well, actually, Medea looks about the same age as Axel in CoM and 358/2 Days; however, she is actually ageless. If you read carefully from her first appearance in my Broken Hearts story and came back to this, you'd realize that she hasn't physically changed a bit.

Well, with all that being said, hope you guys enjoy this chapter!

As usual, constructive reviews are welcome. Rude ones are NOT.

I own nothing of Kingdom Hearts except my OCs.

Read, leave a review, but no flames.

Chapter 3: Traverse Town

When Luna woke up, she looked around to find herself in a place completely unfamiliar to her. She could see there were bizarre buildings all around her, and from afar she could just make out the flashing lights from a distance along the rows of buildings right in front of her; though she could see lampposts all over the place, providing light amidst the perpetually night sky, and there were several gates and doors that would lead to other places if she thought about looking.

"Where…? What is this place?" Luna asked herself, "I remember…that horrible dark sphere…and…" Then, it hit her: Sora's not with her! "Oh, no! Sora! Where is he? And Riku…and Kairi…"

"Well, you're not gonna get anywhere by panicking, aren't ya?"

Luna turned around to find Medea standing across from her, impatiently tapping her now normal fingers against her folded arms and tapping her black boots against the asphalt pavement below her feet.

"Wouldn't you believe that we're so not someplace familiar? I thought you'd be used to it since you've done it before," Medea said as she stepped over to Luna, "But then again, you hadn't travelled in years, not since whatever the hell got you on the islands in the first place."

Luna tilted her head to the side. "What do you mean by that?"

Medea shook her head. "Eh, never mind. If I tried to explain, it'd probably confuse ya and you'd get a headache. At any rate, we'd better go look for that hyperactive kid before he gets into more trouble than he can handle."

Luna nodded in agreement, knowing that Sora could be somewhere in town and wants to make sure he's alright.

As they started to walk around the town and look for someone who could help them, Luna suddenly heard the sound of a little boy's cry of fear, which caught her attention and made her hurry to where the voice was coming from. Sure enough, she discovered that those black creatures she encountered on the islands were surrounding a small donkey in a blue sailor's uniform, and the poor thing was trembling in terror at the sight of those monsters circling around. Not wanting an innocent to be harmed at the hands of those abominations that took what she had treasured, Luna immediately hurried down to help and summoned her Shadow Hands to eliminate all of them as quickly as possible. Once she was sure they were gone, she turned to find out what – or who – this poor fellow is.

"There, there, now…you're alright. Are you okay?" Luna asked softly.

The little donkey nodded, still shaking.

"What's your name?" Luna asked.

"I…um…Alexander…"

"Well, it'll be alright, Alexander. Those monsters are gone right now," Luna reassured him gently, "but we have to keep moving if we don't want to run into more of them. Maybe you know someone who can help me and Medea find a friend of mine?"

Alexander nodded timidly in response. "Mm-hm…Seymour might know. He helped me escape those things when everything was disappearing. Follow me."

"Well, there's something positive about arriving here," Medea commented, "You just made a new friend."

"We'll need all the help we can get at this point, Medea," Luna answered, "Maybe this boy could lead us to this 'Seymour' person…" She paused a moment. "Hmm…why does that name sound so…familiar?"

Without hesitation, Luna followed the child through the street into another part of the town while Medea followed close behind her. All the while, though, they kept their eye out for any sign of Heartless that could make an appearance at any moment.

When they arrived at another part of the town with all the lit lampposts and the flashing lights indicating particular locations, they were quickly caught off-guard when more of those black creatures appeared before them like they had just detected stragglers and are eager to pick them off. This caused Luna to hastily pick up Alexander and hold him close to her as she summoned her Shadow Hands, while Medea formed her Black Claws and readied for a fight for their lives. But before either of them could take action against the monsters, numerous thunderbolts rained down from the sky and destroyed all of the black creatures within seconds. This made the two ladies perplexed as to what just happened and who did it.

"Perhaps it is fortunate that I arrived in time before more refugees are harmed by the abominable Heartless."

Luna and Medea turned around to find a young man coming over towards where they are. They could see that the man's light-blue hair had two long, horn-like locks along with a large bang hanging over his face, and was garbed in a dark blue, ornate robe with red trimmings and a green sash around his waist; in his hand, he was carrying an elaborate staff befitting someone who must've been well-taught in the art of magic.

"We didn't really ask for help, but I think I'll let that slide," Medea said, a bit hurt that she didn't get a chance to strike, "But lemme ask this: are you that Seymour guy?"

The man nodded. "Yes, I am Seymour. I wonder how you learned about me…unless the poor child you have with you told you…" But then, he had a double take the moment he noticed Luna. His calm face changed into a look of surprise. "Luna! Is it really you? I am amazed that you are alive and well."

Luna was perplexed at this. "What do you mean by…?"

But then, when she least expected it, she felt a strong pinch in her head and flashes of lost memories emerged from oblivion to remind her of one of the things she once knew of; she could see the images of a young boy who had grieved over the loss of his mother, and then that same boy talking to her with sympathy and comfort to her at various points in her memory; although it felt rather strange to her, she felt that connection she had forgotten about reform together, reminding her of what she used to know. That was when it made sense as to why she felt that the name was familiar.

"Seymour…is it really you, Seymour?" Luna asked as she recovered, "You were so young then. How did you grow so much?"

"I could say the same to you," Seymour replied as he came closer, "You've grown quite a bit."

"Have you found something, Lord Seymour?"

When they heard the voice of an adolescent boy, all three turned around to find another curious person come over to see what the matter was. The new person appeared to be younger than Luna, with slightly long dark hair, and dressed in a bell-sleeved blouse under a dark tunic, navy shorts, and thigh-high green leather boots.

"I thought I heard you speaking with someone who…" the boy was about to pry for information, but the moment he saw Luna, he had a double take as well. "Luna? How long has it been since I last saw you? Do you remember me?"

At first, Luna had trouble registering who it was. "Um…I don't know. Who are you?"

"I'm Larsa…Larsa Solidor, if it will help you," Larsa replied politely.

The instant she heard that name, another flash occurred in her mind as more memories returned to remind her of what she'd forgotten; this time, though, she saw brief images of a small boy about two or three years old who had so much innocence and curiosity (but she couldn't make out the face of the person with him). Although the new memories restored were few, she could recall how the little boy - no, Larsa - expressed wonder and concern on her well-being that was well beyond his years,

"You both…you were friends. How did I forget you two…?" Luna asked, quite shaken at the returning memories.

Seymour shook his head in uncertainty. "Honestly, I wish I had the answer, but I do not."

"But it would be in our best interest not to remain here, lest we wish to deal with more Heartless trying to ambush us," Larsa pointed out. "Why don't we take our conversation elsewhere while we have the chance? If there is any way we can help you, we would be glad to."

"Now that's something we can agree on," Medea agreed.

"Yes…that would be the best idea," Luna agreed as well.

Despite the bizarre circumstances of the meeting, the girls followed Seymour and Larsa to another part of the town where the lodgings would've been within the previous district they've been in. As soon as all of them are together, Luna thought about asking what she wanted to do the moment they had found themselves in the town.

"Pardon my asking, but can you tell me where we are?" Luna asked.

"You're in what we call Traverse Town. It is a world that came into existence ever since worlds have been disappearing," Seymour explained first, "If you had the chance to look around, you'd be surprised how many refugees there are that have escaped the loss of their world." He turned to Alexander, who was seated next to Luna's leg. "This poor child – Alexander, I'm sure you know his name - is just one of those examples. He arrived in this world after his vanished."

"Well, that's gotta be damn hard on everyone. I'd hate to think of what crap people have gone through," Medea said as she squeezed her arms, "Am I assume you lost yours?"

Larsa nodded sadly. "I'm afraid so. There are others who have escaped, much like us, and they were civilians."

"Well, I am looking for a friend of name. His name is Sora," Luna said, rather anxiously, "When I woke up, he wasn't with me. His hair is brown, wears red, and he's currently got a key-shaped weapon with him…"

"In layman's terms, basically a ditzy kid who got something that he doesn't know worth crap about," Medea added.

The mention of a key-shaped weapon quickly caught the attention of the two, making them both tense and curious as to what their old friend might possibly know.

"So you know about the 'key', Luna?" Seymour asked out of curiosity.

"Well…I never told anyone, but I've seen such things before. But it has been years," Luna replied, "I never thought another keyblade would surface. But maybe if I find Sora, I could ask him how he got it."

"Then we should do that. If we can meet up with Leon and the others, they might lead you to your friend," Larsa suggested.

"What, is that key thing you're looking for needed to fight off those black things that we've been seeing a lot lately?" Medea questioned warily.

"Do you mean the Heartless? Then, yes, it is something we need help against," Seymour answered.

Luna tilted her head. "The…Heartless…? What are they?"

"The Heartless are entities of the darkness, beings that instinctively take hearts from living beings and, subsequently, making their victims become what they are. There are many shapes and sizes of those monsters out there," Larsa explained to her, "However, it is said that those creatures can be destroyed by what we've come to understand as the keyblade. Believe me, it has been quite the topic ever since Leon and the others heard about it."

But then, without a word of warning, the Heartless appeared within the room and started to move around. The instant this happened, Luna immediately summoned her Shadow Hands while Medea reformed her Black Claws again; Seymour picked up Alexander while Larsa readied his weapon for combat.

"Oh, great, it's those damned buggers again!" Medea growled irritably.

"Luna, head for the Third District. Your friend could be there, and he will need help," Seymour instructed her. "We'll hold them off here."

Not wanting to argue about it, Luna took his word to heart and hurried out of the building with Medea to look for Sora. By following where the other Heartless were going, they were able to locate Sora, who just happened to start fighting more Heartless by himself.

"Sora, you're here!" Luna called in relief.

Sora turned around, and beamed the instant he recognized her. "Luna! You're okay, too! I was getting worried about you."

"Hey, cut the chitchat and focus, goofball! We've got other problems out here!" Medea ordered as she charged into the fray.

Sora groaned at this. "Luna, we really need to discuss about your friend when we're done."

"I know," Luna said, knowing that she'll have to clear any misunderstanding.

Before they could take action against the Heartless around them, the sound of a panicked squawking and a yelping cry was heard from above them as two peculiar shadows started to grow from under them. As the shadows got bigger, Medea instantly grabbed Luna and pulled her out of the way, but poor Sora was not so lucky.

But once Luna recovered from this, she found herself instantly surprised to see two more familiar faces that she hadn't seen in ten years; in particular, a duck with a quirky wizard's staff and a dog-like thing with a round shield.

"Donald? Goofy?" Luna asked, surprised to see them.

The duck and dog looked up when they heard her. "Luna!" Then they looked down toward the keyblade on the ground. "The key!"

There was no chance to catch up when the Heartless increased their numbers and are rearing for a fight. That was when everyone gathered together and prepared to work together to take out every single one of them.

With the help of their new allies, Sora and Luna were able to adjust into fighting against enemies that they've never experienced before. Goofy helped provide the brawn to smash the Heartless to bits, while Donald used his magic to either blast them away or to heal their wounds. On Luna and Medea's part, they were able to refresh their skills with their abilities and show that they're still able to shred apart their opponents like they had done years ago.

But after eliminating all of the Heartless, they got themselves a bigger surprise when a giant Heartless in the form of disembodied armor comes clunking down to the ground and then coming together to form a giant fiend that might as well be more dangerous than the lesser beings they've faced.

"Damn it, I thought those emotional creatures were bad enough!" Medea cursed in frustration.

"Sora, we have to work together. Follow my lead, okay?" Luna requested, ready to do what she can to destroy the creature.

"Sure thing, Luna," Sora agreed despite his confusion.

Though the fight was tougher, Luna was able to guide Sora with what she knows about fighting with a keyblade so that he can handle using the weapon more efficiently. Like before, Donald and Goofy provided extra help in the fight while Medea took the liberty to juggle the flying limbs with her absurd maneuverability and her strong slashes against the arms and legs. The battle was hard, but together they were able to defeat the monstrosity.

After that, Luna got a surprise when the duck and dog approached her excitedly, almost as though they missed being around her even though their meeting was very brief all those years ago.

"Donald, Goofy, I can't believe you're both here," Luna admitted in joy and surprise. "How long has it been since I saw you?"

"Luna, we're glad to know you're okay. We were very worried about you," Goofy said as he held her hands warmly.

"Where've you been? The king looked for you everywhere!" Donald scolded, but still had relief in his voice.

"Well…I'm not sure how to explain…" Luna struggled to come up with something to say.

"Hey, look at that! That must be the girl our keyblade wielder was talking about earlier."

"Calm down, Yuffie. It's not like we know her."

"You may not, but we know of her more than you do."

"Sadly, Sir Leon, he does have a point on that. But I promise you'll know soon enough."

Sora and Luna turned to see two more individuals coming to them, along with the new faces Luna already met. One was a young man with shoulder-length dark brown hair and a scar on his face wearing a white shirt and a black jacket and pants, with several belts around his waist and a lion necklace around his neck.

The other person was a girl with short black hair, wearing a short, no-sleeve top and lightly tanned shorts with leather gloves and a blue belt around her waist and her right shoulder, complete with a headband tied around her head, a yellow scarf, and shoes with long thigh-high socks.

"Who the hell are those people?" Medea bluntly questioned.

"These 'people' are the great ninja Yuffie, and the guy right next to me is Squall!" the girl called Yuffie boasted cheerfully, oblivious to the confusion.

The brown-haired man groaned at this. "That's Leon."

When Sora noticed the two others with Leon and Yuffie, he couldn't help asking, "And who are those guys?"

Luna answered when she realized that Sora doesn't know. "Oh…Their names are Seymour and Larsa. I…used to know them, before I forgot...somehow."

"An honor to meet you, Sora," Larsa greeted politely, "Luna mentioned you to us. She was rather worried about you, I will admit."

"It seems we are meeting more interesting individuals by the minute, aren't we?" Seymour noticed.

"Gee, how did you even notice?" Medea replied sarcastically. Then, she turned to Donald and Goofy. "So, what brought you two klutzy goofballs out here? You wouldn't be here unless you had a real good reason."

"The king sent us to look for someone with a key," Donald answered bluntly, "and to stick with him."

"Yup, and he asked us to look for Luna, know where she is and if she's okay," Goofy added.

"You were looking for us?" Sora asked.

"They, too, have been seeking the wielder of the keyblade and the Shadow Mage," Leon explained.

Then, Goofy had an idea. "Hey, why don't you all come with us? We can go to other worlds on our vessel."

Sora hung his head a bit. "I wonder if we could find Riku and Kairi…"

"It would be good if we could find them," Luna agreed sadly, "I'm very worried about them."

"Of course!" Donald said.

Both of them looked at the duck with hope in their eyes.

"Are you sure?" Goofy asked, most likely wondering if Donald was being honest.

But then, their dialogue was hushed just enough that neither Sora nor Luna could hear what was going on; however, Medea did get a suspicious feeling that something's going on that one of them is not telling.

"Luna, Sora, you should go with them," Larsa suggested earnestly.

"Especially if you want to find your friends," Leon agreed.

"Okay…" Sora replied, his head hung sadly again.

"But you can't come along looking like that. Understand?" Donald said when he pointed out the sad looks. "No frowning. No sad face. Okay?"

"Uh-yup, you gotta look funny, like us," Goofy added with a chuckle.

"This boat runs on happy faces," Donald emphasized.

"Happy?" Sora questioned.

Luna noticed for a moment that he was silent as his head was kept hanging down, which made her wonder what he was thinking when they were told how the vessel works. But then, when she least expected it; he lifted his head up to show a ridiculous grin and his eyes straining upwards. At first, no one reacted, but then Donald and Goofy burst out laughing at the sight of the most absurd face they've ever seen; Luna ended up succumbing to a fit of giggles, while Medea slapped her palm against her face as though she couldn't believe what she just saw.

"That's a funny face!" Goofy commented as he kept laughing.

As soon as everyone calmed down, Sora finally agreed, "Okay, we'll go with you guys."

"Donald Duck."

"Name's Goofy."

"I'm Sora."

"You know I'm Luna."

"And you know I'm Medea."

"All for one and one for all," Goofy said.

Sora and Luna joined their palms together with Donald and Goofy, and Medea added hers in as well because she figured she might as well.

When they were done with their little frolicking, they had to make sure to prepare for the journey to other worlds: Donald offered to teach magic when they get on the ship, and Goofy helped get a few potions and ethers from the shops so they could be ready. After a moment of reprieve, they were just about to leave when they a surprise interception.

"You just arrived here, and now you are already setting out, aren't you?"

Luna and Sora turned around to see Larsa coming over to see them off, with little Alexander following close behind him shyly.

"I was hoping we could at least reconnect while we could," he continued, "but I suppose it will have to wait a while. The safety of the worlds is of highest priority."

"I'm sorry, Larsa. But I'm sure we'll come back soon," Luna replied, "Maybe when we do, I'll introduce you properly. That would be nice."

"Assuming the duck doesn't get too pushy," Medea commented.

"Hey!" Donald yelled from inside the ship.

The little donkey came over and looked up at Luna. "Do you really have to leave?"

Luna bent down to his level, and rubbed his head sweetly. "There now…don't worry. We'll come back soon, Alex. When we do return, we can learn more about you. Maybe I could tell you some things, too. How does that sound?"

When she saw a small smile on his face, Luna couldn't help but smile in return, knowing that she got an approval from the poor boy. It gave her a good reason to want to come back soon.

Then, once everyone got aboard, Luna certainly found herself amazed at the size of the inside of the ship. Straight ahead of her were the steps to the cockpit where the pilot would drive and passengers ride alongside them, and there were intersecting little halls that lead either to the galley or the cabin rooms; down below is where the engineering would've been going on a typical ship. Donald and Goofy were already getting the ship ready for take-off while Sora was just looking around excitedly.

"Damn, how big is this ship really?" Medea questioned in a perplexing tone of voice.

"It must be magic…or something like that," Luna replied in awe.

"Who cares how this is possible, so long as we have someplace for us to hang around while we travel," Sora interjected eagerly.

"Alright, everyone come on up and take a seat!" Donald called out from above, "We're ready for take-off!"

Taking the duck's words a bit seriously for the moment, Sora and Luna hurried up the ladder to the cockpit with Medea hovering right behind them; then, when everyone took a seat (though for Medea, she chose to reconnect to Luna's shadow), Donald and Goofy started up the engines and, in no time, the ship was blasting off away from Traverse Town towards a new location for them to investigate. The only thing Luna and Sora could do at the moment is hope they might be able to find something that could help them find what they've lost…and maybe other things as well.