Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight ot Kingdom Hearts.


Chapter Two


The first thing that registered in her mind was the hardness of the cobbled floor. Bella pulled herself into a standing position and groaned. To her left were a few trash cans and behind them were stacks of crates and boxes. They completely blocked the way out to that side so she turned to her right. Bella sighed in relief as she saw the exit.

In the back of her mind, she knew that she must not be on Earth any longer. There was no way the goo that she and Charlie had sunk into had taken them back to Earth.

She gasped. Charlie. Bella had no idea where Charlie was!

"Are you alright?"

Bella tensed and looked up from the cobbled floor. A young woman in her twenties stood at the alley exit. She was wearing a pink strapless dress and brown work boots. Her brown hair was pulled into a long braid that fell over her shoulder.

"I'm Aerith," the woman introduced herself. "And I don't believe I have ever seen you before. Are you by any chance from another world?"

Bella nodded, her chest tightening with emotion. She put her head down and her brown hair fell to cover her face. A gentle hand laid itself on her shoulder and squeezed reassuringly.

"It's going to be okay," Aerith whispered.

Don't be afraid…. Go with her…. All will be put to right….

"My name is Bella," she whispered. "I'm from Forks, Washington."

"Earth, I take it?" asked Aerith.

Bella nodded.

"I don't know what happened, " Bella whispered. "There were these black monsters and me and my dad got sucked into this black quick sand stuff."

She picked up her head and watched as Aerith nodded sadly.

"Why don't you come with me, Bella," said Aerith softly, her voice radiating calm. "I was just about to grab a bite to eat. I'll get you something too, okay?"

Bella nodded as she let Aerith steer her out of the alley.

"While we eat," Aerith spoke on. "I should probably explain a few things to you about those black little monsters, Bella. And I will explain what has happened to your Earth."

Bella nodded again. Aerith led her into a large courtyard with many tall lamps. To their left was an open jewelry shop of sorts and to their right was another shop and an outdoor tavern. She allowed Aerith to lead her slowly to the outdoor cavern.

Everything will be alright…

Bella nodded to herself and to the voice in her head. It was a woman's voice this time. A woman was reassuring her that everything would be okay.

And Bella believed in her.

Aerith and Bella sat at a table with their backs to a stone wall. It seemed that they both had the idea to keep their eyes peeled for any approaching danger. Aerith was the one to order for them. A barmaid in a brown stained dress took their orders and then left.

"Where should I start?" Aerith said more to herself than to Bella after the barmaid had brought their food to them. "I should probably start with the little black monsters huh?"

Bella nodded and straightened in alertness.

"You see," Aerith began. "The little black monsters are very complicated to explain, Bella. I know that there are many different kinds. And their names are Heartless …"

~*~

She laid her head down on the pillow and allowed the new information she had just learned to repeat itself in her mind. And Bella believed it. How could she not, really? Look where she was!

She was on a new planet and in a place called Traverse Town!

After they had finished their meal at the Traverse Tavern, Aerith had taken her to the 2nd District and paid for two rooms at an Inn. One room had two full beds and the other was a regular room with a queen. Bella and Aerith would be taking the room with the two beds and the other… Well, Aerith hadn't elaborated.

"The other room is for a friend, Bella," was the only answer that Aerith had given her.

In all honestly, Bella had wanted to ask who the other friend was but she was just too exhausted. Aerith had given her a pajama set to change into. A flannel shirt and a pair of short flannel sleep shorts. Aerith had left afterward, saying that she had an important meeting to keep with the same friend.

"I'll be back before midnight," Aerith promised in her soft and breathy voice.

Bella had just nodded. She locked the door after Aerith had left and made sure all the windows were secured. She turned down the lights and then she scrambled to the bed she had chosen for herself. Bella pulled the cover over her and up to her chin.

There was a faint light coming from the one big window in the Inn room. It was no doubt from a street lamp.

"Dammit all," Bella cursed to herself loudly.

She had been exhausted and as soon as she was in the bed, Bella was not able to get to sleep. Bella just couldn't. There too many things going on in her mind. She was alone in a new world. Without Charlie. Bella had no idea where Charlie could be, but Aerith had assured her that since it was both she had Charlie who had gotten sucked down into the vortex together, then he had to be alive.

It really did make her feel better. Bella was certain that she and Charlie would find each other again. When? She had no idea, but she hoped it would be soon.

But there was still one more question on her mind.

What about them? The … Cullens.

Bella gulped and instantly began to curse herself. She couldn't even think about their names without a big twinge of pain hitting her in her chest. Bella turned over to her side and whimpered. She willed herself to put the Cullens -- twinge-- to the back of her mind.

She sat up in the bed and placed her face into her hands. Her eyes were filling with tears and she desperately rubbed them away, willing them to stop.

No, she thought to herself. Stop it! Don't think! You can't fall apart now! I'm going to search this whole universe for Charlie and then we are going to find some way to restore Earth to the way it was…

Knock, Knock.

Bella jumped up from the bed with a gasping squeal. Some one was at the door… What should I do? Bella stopped and frowned at herself. Well, duh Bella, she thought to herself. Answer the friggin' door!!

She approached the door and hesitantly looked through the peep hole to see who was knocking. Bella let out a breath of relief when she saw Aerith standing outside of the door. Unlocking the door as quickly as she could, Bella wrenched the door open.

Aerith smile at her. "I didn't wake you, did I Bella?"

Bella shook her head. "No! I'm actually finding it hard to go to sleep now… Did you get to make it to your meeting with your friend?"

"No," Aerith said sadly, her smile turning into a concerned frown. "He didn't show up. But I did meet some new people."

Walking further into the Inn room, Aerith smiled widely at Bella. Two figures suddenly followed her in.

"Bella," said Aerith in her soft and breathy voice. "I want you to meet Donald and Goofy."

Eyes wide and mouth gaping open, Bella sat down hard onto her bed and watched as a large dog and a duck approached her with friendly smiles. They were both dressed in clothes. The dog, who was standing on his hind legs and walking like a normal human was wearing shoes. The duck on the other hand (which happened to be the largest duck she had ever seen in her life) was shoe and pants-less.

"Hello Bella," said the duck, his voice absolutely sounding close to a regular duck's quack. "My name is Donald Duck. It's very nice to meet you."

"Hyuck, hyuck," the dog laughed in delight. "It's a pleasure making your acquaintance, Bella. I'm Goofy!"

Bella gulped and nodded. "Err… yeah."

Aerith, Goofy and Donald watched as Bella's eyes rolled back into her head. Bella fell back into her bed, unconscious. They all gasped and surrounded her. Aerith looked at her closely and then sighed in relief.

"She just fainted," Aerith said in relief. "I think everything has finally hit her, poor girl."

She pushed her braided hair onto her other shoulder and then tucked Bella in. After ward, Aerith sat at the foot of Bella's bed and looked to Goofy and Donald.

"Should I start from the beginning?" Aerith asked them.

Donald and Goofy shared a look before nodding.

"Okay," she said, "You know there are many other worlds out there besides your castle and this town, right?"

"Yeah," Donald nodded.

"But they're supposed to be a secret," Goofy said, covering his mouth in shock.

Unbeknownst to all three of them, Bella dozed slightly. She frowned and blinked her eyes wearily before closing them. She was becoming more and more aware as she fought to stay conscious.

"They've been secret because they've never been connected," Aerith explained calmly. "Until now."

"Until now," Bella whispered to herself, drawing their attention to her. "When those Heartless began to attack."

Aerith nodded. "When the Heartless came everything changed."

Bella turned over and closed her eyes, blocking out the conversation from her mind. She wished that she could just go back. As she slipped into deep sleep, Bella wished and hoped that when she woke up from this nightmare she would be back home.

Of course, Bella knew better.


A/N: The next chapter is going to be mainly from the Cullen's POV of the story. Reviews and feedback are appreciated.