Prewrite: Finally, getting back into the swing of things. I doubt I'll be updating every day like I was during the summer, but I'll try for at least twice a week. As for the story itself…I've got ideas here and there for how things are going to turn out, but for the most part I'm still making it up as I go. Wish me luck!

Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts isn't mine. Daniel and his story are. Done, and done.


Chapter 8: Traversing the Town

Daniel carefully landed the ship in the lit up area outside the town's main gate. As he got out, he was surprised by how dark everything was. Back on the island, and even at the coliseum, things always seemed to be bright and sunny. Here, the stars were out, and the colors were more subdued.

With a shrug, he headed for the gate marked "First District." "Gee, wonder what's behind this gate…" he muttered to himself, smart-ass as always. Walking through said gate, he noticed another difference between this place and the coliseum. This place was much more populated.

It's not like it was crowded, but there were definitely more people here than there had been at the coliseum. He also saw a…he had no idea what it was, pacing back and forth. It looked like a stuffed animal, with a big pink nose and a large red ball coming out of its forehead. As Daniel passed by it, he heard it muttering, "Kupo."

He continued through the first district, looking for the accessory shop. Upon finding it, he couldn't help but facepalm. Especially since it was the building directly across from the entrance gate, with a large sign above it labeled "Accessory Shop." Putting aside his quickly sinking self-esteem, he headed inside.

He looked to the counter, seeing the blonde man behind it. He was definitely older than his father, but not old enough to be his grandfather. Shrugging a bit, he went to the counter and asked, "Are you Cid?" "Yup. That'd be me." Daniel nodded. "Sora sent me here. He said you might be some help." Cid responded with, "So, yer one of 'is little friends, eh?" Daniel nodded. "Whelp, I can't help much, but I know someone who can."


"Damn." Daniel cursed. Cid had said that Leon was in the waterway training. The problem was that the waterway was blocked off with iron bars. "How the hell did he get in there if these bars are here?" he called out in frustration. He'd been trying for five minutes to get past, first by squeezing through, then by breaking them down. He didn't want to use his sword, he might break it. With another curse, he backed away a bit to see if there was anything he'd missed. As a matter of fact, there was. A small red mark on the ground. Daniel kneeled down to get a closer look.

It looked like three hearts joined by lines, to form a circle. "What a weird mark…" he muttered. Was it the secret to opening the waterway? A button maybe? He reached down with his left hand to press it. As soon as his finger touched the mark, his shoulder started throbbing, and he gasped at the sudden pain. The mark changed, becoming a single jet-black heart. His left arm moved on its own, placing his palm on the mark. With a sudden burst of energy, the iron bars burst into pieces.

Daniel just sat there in the water, panting heavily. His entire left arm felt like it was on fire. When he gazed down at it, it looked like it had after he'd used it against Cerberus. Worn out, and red. He gazed down at the mark. It had turned back into the red mark, showing no sign that it had ever changed. Slowly getting to his feet, he headed into the waterway. It never felt very good, but so far this power had been nothing but useful.


He heard the sound of a swinging sword as he came in. There was a man wielding a large sword, swinging it over and over in the same pattern. Daniel watched for a moment, then asked, "Doesn't your arm ever get tired?" Stopping, the man turned to look at him. Instead of answering the question, he asked one of his own. "Who are you?" "Daniel. Sora said you might be of some help." The man's expression changed, from fierce to rather friendly. "So, he found one of his friends. What can I help you with?"

Daniel explained his situation. Basically, he was in the same boat as Sora. Go around and fight the heartless while looking for his friends. The main difference was that Daniel lacked a keyblade. After a moment's hesitation, he also told Leon about his shoulder, and his mysterious new power.

Leon was quiet for a moment. He said, "Let me see." and gestured towards Daniel's shoulder. Daniel nodded, pulling off his shirt. Leon inspected the scar left by the shadow. Leon was silent for another moment, before saying, "You have no idea how lucky you are." "Huh?" was Daniel's only response. Leon explained.

"I've heard of this before. Some pureblood heartless have different abilities, despite looking like regular heartless. Like that one that attacked you. They're rare, and most of the time you won't notice one even if you're fighting it. They'll go down just as easy as any normal heartless. Sora's probably met a few, and destroyed them too fast to know the difference. If one attacks you however, especially as bad as you got it, it doesn't cause any physical damage. Instead, it injects darkness into your body."

With each new piece of information, Daniel's heart beat louder and louder in his ears. He interrupted Leon before he could get any further. "So what happens now? Am I going to turn into a heartless?" There was panic in his voice, and he could feel fear gripping at his heart. His shoulder throbbed harder as his fear grew. Leon responded with a shrug. "I really don't know. I've only read about it in a report I found stashed away in the back of Cid's shop. It was untitled, and by the looks of it, only half the report was there. If we found the other half, I could get you an answer. One thing's for sure. Don't become reliant on the darkness of that arm. It'll only end up bad." Daniel nodded, gazing down once more at his hand. It had regained its normal complexion, matching the rest of his skin. What's going to happen to me…? he wondered.


Leon had convinced Cid to give Daniel a few freebies from the shop, and Daniel was grateful. Cid shrugged it off, clearly annoyed. Leon also gave Daniel enough munny to get some potions from the item shop. Daniel made it a point not to stare at the three running said shop. Not only were they all ducks, but they were kids! He bought the supplies and headed out quickly.


He thanked Cid and Leon again. They both shrugged it off, but Leon was a bit more polite about it. "Maybe next time you visit, I can introduce you to the others." "Where are those to gals anyhow?" asked Cid. "Aerith is running errands in the second district, and Yuffie decided to go along. Heh. Yuffie'll be disappointed that she missed this." Daniel grinned, taking this as a compliment. He waved goodbye as he headed towards the town's gate.


Once he had taken off, he was greeted by Chip and Dale, who had a map of the worlds set out for him. "Hm…" Daniel thought a moment, then decided on the nearest one, the one opposite from the coliseum on the world loop. Grabbing the controls, he braced himself for another bumpy ride.


Postwrite: Whew! That was a long one. I got stuck when thinking of how to explain how Leon knew about the special heartless, but I came through. Most of you probably know which world Daniel's going to next. If not, it'll be a pleasant surprise. Well, I'm not so sure about pleasant, but it'll be a surprise nonetheless.