It wasn't long before they were found by a man called Leon. When he saw Riku's weapon, he laughed and drew his Gunblade for a fight. He thought the blade in Riku's hand was not meant for a child. When Kairi drew her own, intending to fight alongside Riku, the man seemed to underestimate his position. Instead, he asked that they follow him.
He led them to a hotel and asked them to leave their blades on the other side of the room. A girl who introduced herself as "The Great Ninja Yuffie!" greeted them cheerfully. The two of them explained the Keyblade to them. What it was and what it did. A great weapon that chooses its master. One that could build worlds or destroy them.
They explained how there where many worlds out there. As many worlds as there were stars in the sky. How nobody knew because they weren't connected. Now they were. They told of how lanes formed when the Heartless appeared.
"Wait, wait. Heartless. What exactly are they?" Riku asked. Yuffie explained how they were things without hearts that were attracted to the darkness within people. Everyone had darkness.
Yuffie then pondered for a moment. "Have you guys heard of Ansem?"
The name… it sounded so familiar to Kairi. A distant memory. Riku shook his head. Of course he wouldn't know Ansem. Who was he? Why did his name ring such a loud bell for Kairi? They explained he was a man who studied the Heartless and wrote a report of his findings. They were searching for it, only to come up empty. It was scattered across the worlds.
"What I don't understand is how it chose two kids of all people." Leon huffed.
There was a knock at the door. A woman with a kind smile and a pink ribbon in her hair opened it, leading in an anthromorphic duck and… dog? What he was was ambiguous. It barely mattered. They barely got introductions out when the Heartless showed up again.
"They're here," the girl smiled.
"Thanks, Aerith." Leon seemed relieved. "I think plans are going to change."
The duck spoke up, "Which one—" a crash from the hall interrupted him. A Soldier appeared in the room.
"They've found us!" Yuffie cried, jumping to her feet. "Come on, guys. Run!"
She was out the door, followed quickly by Aerith. Leon led Riku and Kairi out of the window. The duck quacked, scrambling to keep up with the dog on his tail. As they ran, Riku and Kairi fought them off. They introduced themselves as Donald and Goofy. Goofy was very friendly. He used a shield and Donald used a staff to fight. They seemed capable enough. They were certainly helpful.
Their aid came to the test once they reached the third district. Their first boss battle proved almost more than the four of them could handle. Riku fought against Donald and Goofy, saying that he and Kairi didn't need their help. He tried so hard to prove it. Kairi rolled her eyes and told them to ignore him. She appreciated them. They really needed their help.
After the fight, Kairi brushed herself off, finally able to take in the two of them. "So, what can we do for you?"
Donald and Goofy looked at each other. Goofy rubbed the back of his head. "Gawrsh. We were told there'd only be one Key. Weren't we?"
"As were we," Leon folded his arms.
"The more the merrier, right?" Kairi grinned, folding her hands behind her back.
"We've been looking for the Keyblade." Donald explained.
"Hey!" Goofy guffawed. "Why don't you come with us? We can go to other worlds on our vessel!"
"Pass," Riku held up a hand, barely letting Goofy finish. "What happens is none of our concern."
Kairi turned to him, scowling. "How could you even say that?! After what happened to Destiny Island, how can you not want to explore other worlds? We don't have anywhere to go back to and we can really do some good out there! Maybe even stop other worlds from ending up like ours."
"Kairi, this isn't our fight—"
"Oh, I see." Kairi put her hands on her hips. "You're scared. Now that you actually made it to another world, you're terrified."
"Kairi, I—"
"No, that's fine. You can stay here with Leon and Yuffie." Kairi turned back to Goofy and Donald. "When do we leave?"
"H-Hey!" Riku fumbled. "Fine! You aren't going anywhere without me. But shouldn't we discuss this, first?"
"We can discuss it on the way to our next stop," she grinned, looking between her new friends. "Right, guys?"
"Right!" they agreed in unison.
"But you can't come with us looking like that. Understand?" Donald insisted, pointing to Riku. "No frowning. No pouting. Okay?"
"Yeah!" Goofy agreed. "You gotta look funny, like us!"
Riku gave them the most incredulous look. "You're kidding right?" They shook their heads. "I don't smile."
"Aw, come on, Riku." Kairi pulled a silly face. "Smiiiiile." The girl pulled his lips back forcibly, which only made him scowl deeper. He tried to push her off, to no avail. She grinned at the others. "Don't mind him. He's such a sour puss."
"I'nn oot a shour fuss." Riku said through Kairi's fingers.
That was how they began their journey through the multiverse. They traveled through deep jungles and topsy-turvy wonderlands, the ocean! Kairi couldn't believe it when Donald's magic turned her into a mermaid! She couldn't believe they were even real! A coliseum dedicated to the gods of old that held a tournament especially took Riku's attention. His competitive nature finally had some outlet. Kairi cheered for him from the stands as he went up against Heartless competitors and even the son of the gods!
That was where they met him. Cloud. He had sold himself to Hades, contracted to him to slay Hercules. Kairi spoke with him after Hercules rescued him. She discovered he was looking for someone. He seemed so bent on finding them Kairi feared his heart would fell deeper into darkness.
She tended to his wounds, her cure magic now much more powerful than Donald's.
"You're falling too deep," she warned as she helped him stand. "Try and find the light. Then, you shouldn't have any problem finding them."
"It's not that simple."
Kairi tried to stop him. She did. She wanted to talk him down, seeing that he had the potential for good. His intentions were only pure. He was making a mistake and he wouldn't listen. He was gone by the time Riku, Donald, and Goofy left the coliseum.
There were many victories, but they were not without their losses. Some much bigger than others. Passing out? Small. Losing a Princess of Heart? Much bigger. Somebody was kidnapping girls with pure hearts and taking them some place they hadn't reached yet. For what? They weren't certain just yet. But a new goal to find the Seven Princesses of Heart became their mission.
As they cruised to their next destination, Kairi looked out the window. All of the stars out there overwhelmed her. So many worlds… she wondered if any of them were where she came from. She wondered if maybe she'd find it. It sort of excited her. There might be a record of who she was and why she washed up on Destiny Island.
"You know," Riku said, watching the window from behind her. "This was his dream, too." Kairi turned to him. He smiled. "Sora's, I mean. We promised each other we'd leave that island and have adventures."
"I hope he's having them," Kairi said wistfully. It was only a dream. Realistically, he was probably long gone. It hurt her heart to think of the end that little boy could have had.
That was when they found themselves in the belly of a whale.
The four of them met so many new people and made so many friends. Riku learned to get off his high horse and accept that they were too deep in this to back down now. They promised Donald and Goofy they'd help find their king, and that was it at first. Now, this went much deeper. Affected more lives than they ever could have imagined.
Heroes. They had become the heroes of fairy tales. Kairi would never have thought they'd ever land here. She thought all of her dreams were simply that—dreams. Her imagination wasn't big enough to come up with everything she'd seen and experienced. It made each world feel so much smaller than it was. In hindsight, their own world was so tiny. How could they ever have thought they could get anywhere on a raft? What kind of dummies were they?
The kind that craved adventure. And the kind that finally got it.
This one's sort of a short chapter, but the next one is super long. I wanted to kind of set up the pace for the chapter where everything goes south.
Oh, and someone voiced concerns about Sora being crazy OP. Don't worry! He won't be unopposed! : D