Donald and Goofy, with Jiminy deep in his pocket walked beside the waterway that drained into the town's sewer system. The two had walked up and down town for hours and
still they had found no sign of any Leon. That wasn't all however, the duo had seen few people out and about in the other districts that surrounded Traverse, however one fellow
a thin nervous man, frequent to glancing about either side of himself as he made his way up and down the cobblestone roadways, had been kind enough to stop and give them directions
earlier that day.
"He and his pals usually hang around the waterway just behind the hotel in the second district, you will surely find them there. However you best look out for Heartless" the man had
informed them in a quick tongue, then he had disappeared before they could thank him. Now that they were at the waterway they found no sign of anyone, not even a stray animal.
"Nobody around, its kinda spooky. Don't ya think?" Goofy said with a terrified gulp.
"Oh, please. Everyone has just gone off to sleep, it must be after midnight here" the duck tried to reason, but suddenly a crash emerged from a nearby alley, causing both of the travelers
to freeze in their tracks and turn to look for the source of the commotion.
"Hey, come out whomever is back there!" ordered the wizard, but he was met with a cold silence.
"I am scared, Donald" Goofy whispered to the duck with another signature gulp.
"Oh, stop it. You are the Captain of the royal guard for the King's sake, now stop acting like a big chicken" Donald said to his companion sternly, a moment later a hand softly tapped
the duck upon his right shoulder, causing him to jump a few feet in fright and land in the arms of the terrified Captain.
"Its a Heartless, whatever that is!" the duck quacked in fear, but he two then realized it was only a young girl as she emerged into the light of a nearby street lamp.
"I am sorry to frighten you. Its just I thought you were sent by the King" the girl said in a soft voice, her long braid swaying in the night breeze that drifted by them.
Both the wizard and the Captain then glanced at eachother with equal expressions of surprise.
"Come on, lazy bum. Wake up" Sora heard Kairi say to him with a tinkling laugh.
Sora slowly felt his eyes drift open as he took in the small green room and the girl with short red hair standing over him a, Kairi!
"Kairi, you are alive. How did you escape that freak in the robe, what did he do to you? I swear if he --" Sora said with tears of joy blurring his eyes as happiness filled him at seeing
his best friend once again, but his words were cut by an unfamiliar voice.
"Kairi? I am the great ninja Yuffie" Kairi said with an air of dignity, suddenly Kairi's image disappeared and a girl with short black hair and deep brown eyes filled his vision.
"Um, Squall. I think you may have hit him a little too hard that last time" Yuffie said, turning to gaze at Leon, whom leaned against the frame of the room's tiny door marked with a fading
number two.
"Its Leon, and the kid wasn't hit that hard. He is probably just stupid like that" Leon said with a sigh. However the boy was now far from feeling calm and relaxed as he had upon
seeing Kairi, or who he thought was Kairi.
"You! your the the one who tried to take the Keyblade from me" Sora said angrily to the man, pointing an accusing finger his way.
"And the one who saved your life twice" Leon said with a bored look Sora's way.
"What are you --?" Sora began to ask with confusion, but Yuffie answered before he finished.
"Well Leon saved you from being crushed by that sign, and then he took that Keyblade the Heartless had been using to track you" Yuffie said as if the answers were clear as water.
"Wait, my Keyblade!" Sora cried, feeling around for the blade, but finding it nowhere in sight. The boy then turned his rage upon Leon.
"What did you do with it, thief!" Sora demanded, but the man was not intimidated.
"Relax squirt. Its right here" Leon said without a glance toward the boy, and then to Sora's surprise he found the man weilding it in one hand.
"How can you --?" Sora began to ask, but leon held up a hand for his silence.
"Don't worry, though I can take the blade, I can't actually use it. Only the chosen one is capable of that, but I still can't believe it chose a kid" Leon said, and suddenly the
blade appeared back in Sora's hands.
"So wait, you were not trying to steal the Keyblade after all?" Sora asked, still confused by the entire situation.
"Indeed, were you not listening back in the first district of town. As long as you continued to weild that Keyblade, the Heartless would continue to follow until sooner or later
one of them managed to defeat you and steal your heart" Leon explained with a slight bit of annoyance in his words.
"I still don't understand whats going on here" the boy said, resulting in both Leon and Yuffie releasing a simutaneous groan.
"Ok so you both know there are many other worlds out there besides your castle and this town, right?" the girl, whom had introduced herself as Aerith. The girl now sat with the
two adventures in an Imperial China styled room.
"Of course" Donald replied, his foot tapping with impatience.
"But they are supposed to be a secret" Goofy added, covering his mouth with both hands.
"They have been a secret for a long time because they have never been connected until now" Aerith continued, a sad expression then fell over the young girl'd face.
"But all of that changed when the Heartless came" the girl concluded, causing both the wizard and the Captain to draw looks.
"Heartless, a man we met earlier mentioned such a creature. What is it?" the wizard asked, interest suddenly dawning in his eyes.
"Heartless, the Mayor said that was what the Mayor had called those strange shadow creatures" Sora had said dwelling in his memory of the helpful politician.
"They are creatures without hearts who can come only from the darkness that lies deep in a person's heart. You mentioned the Mayor told you this?" Leon questioned, as
if he could not understand the words of the boy.
"Yeah, I hope the poor guy escaped those Heartless that tore through the first district, for he was the one who directed me to the second district" Sora explained to the man.
"Impossible" Leon said, causing Sora to become angry.
"What are you talking about? I saw the Ma --" Sora began, but Yuffie answered for the man.
"Um, Sora. The Mayor disappeared from Traverse Town just after me, Leon, and Aerith arrived, he told us he was traveling to get answeres behind the disappearing worlds and
a possible solution to stopping it. Leon then took up the duty to protect this town against the Heartless that began to turn up after the Mayor's absense" Yuffie explained to the boy,
who suddenly had a pale expression of fear cross his face.
"So your saying that who I met on my arrival was --?" Sora began to question, before Leon interupted.
"Not the Mayor, that's correct. If it was the Mayor I would have been the first to know of his return, he also would have taken back control of the town" Leon further explained to an
utterly cnfused Sora.
"So if that was not the Mayor, then who was it?" Sora mused, but the two could only offer the boy shrugs to show they had no clue to the imposter's true identity.
"Hey Sora, have you ever heard of a man named Ansem?" Yuffie suddenly asked in the silence that followed.
"Ansem?" Goofy said slowly, searching his memory for the story behind the name.
"He was a scientist who studied the Heartless. Your King was close friends with the man as a matter of fact" Aerith began to tell the two adventure's.
"Thats strange, the King never mentioned any Ansem" Donald said, but the girl could not offer any explanation to the sudden realization of the duck.
"Anyhow, Ansem would record all of his research into a very detailed report" Aerith continued, Goofy then held out a hand to the girl.
"Um, can we see this report?" Goofy asked, but the girl shook her sadly to them.
"I am afraid the report was lost long after....." the girl began, but suddenly she froze in mid sentence.
"After what?" Donald asked, but the girl shook her head.
"Nothing. What I meant to say was that the report was scattered after Ansem's disappearance, it could be on any of the worlds and in anyones hands now" Aerith explained, a thought
suddenly dawned upon Goofy.
"Maybe thats what the King set out to find, these reports by that Ansem fella" Goofy said, Donald gave a nod of agreement at his side.
"Those were my thoughts exactly, along with Leon's and Yuffie's as well" the girl said, both adventurere's then turned back to face the girl.
"Leon, you know him. Please you must take us to him" Donald said, grabbing the girl's hand and lrading her toward the room's entryway.
"I am afraid Leon left to deal with an attack by Heartless in the first district, but when he comes back I am sure he would be happy to speak with represenatives of the King" Aerith said,
Donald and Goofy then felt their sudden burst of excitement leave them as they learned that their mysterious allie had escaped them a second time that day.
"You don't understand Aerith, we need to speak with Leon urgently. He is the only one who can lead us to the Key the King ordered us to retrieve" Donald explained to the girl, his eyes
suddenly filled with a spark.
"Your King must be talking about the Keyblade" the girl said with a slight smile.
"So this is the Keyblade" Sora said, examining the weapon under the rooms light.
"Indeed, as I have said the Heartless fear the Keyblade, and thats why they won't end their assualt until they have feasted upon the powerful heart that is said to belong to the one
who weilds it" Leon said, the man then turned away from the boy.
"But I didn't ask to weild it" Sora whined, Yuffie gave a small laugh beside him.
"Only the Keyblade decides its master, otherwise their could be major problems" Yuffie told the boy, her brown eyes flashing.
"So who was the Kairi you were speaking about in your sleep, your girlfriend or something" Leon asked out of the blue, bringing the boy to nearly fall over.
"My girlfriend! Kairi is not my girlfriend" Sora practically shouted at the man, his face the color of a tomateo.
"Then who is she?" Yuffie asked, her curiosity clear.
"She was my friend back on the Island I came from, but her and my friend Riku disappeared. I have to find them" Sora explained, concluding his words with obvious
determination.
A knock then sounded at the door to the green room, Leon quickly walked over with his large sword at the ready.
"Yuffie" Leon said, looking back at the girl through his curtain of dark hair.
"Understood" the girl said with a nod to the darkly dressed man, a pair of deadly ninja stars appearing in her pale dainty hands.
Leon then turned back to the door "Password?" the man asked coldly.
"Radiant Gardens" a gruff voice replied from the otherside of the wood.
Then without further inquiry, Leon swung the door open to admit a rough looking man with sandy blond hair that was dressed in a white shirt and jeans complete with goggles set upon
his head.
"I found it Leon, the big Heartless that tore through town and I hate to break it to you but the thing is coming this way and he has a few friends with him" the man spoke over a toothpick
he held between his teeth.