Aerith the Wise

I hated Aerith before writing this chapter, but now I appreciate her more. I even named the chapter after her! Poor me, all alone with no reviews. DX I'll keep writing, though. I don't write for reviews: I write because I like it.

I don't own Sonic the hedgehog or Kingdom Hearts, savvy? On with the story!

"Is he... OK?"

"What the... is he?"

"Let's... him when... wake up..."

"I think... coming to..."

I feel a gentle pat on my shoulder. I ignore it. It turns into a firm nudge.

"Mmm... Five more minutes..."

The nudges stop. I think I've gotten away with it until-

"HEY! GET UP!"

I jump out of my skin! I was expecting something more subtle... I blink a few times and rub my eyes to try and clear them of sleep. I'm half aware that I'm on a bed, which is much more comforting than on a mosaic with a monster trying to rip me apart.

"OK, OK, I'm up. Sheesh."

"So, you can talk, huh? Do you know where you are?"

I go to say 'Of course I can talk, you moron!' until I actually open my eyes. I'm in a strange room; one I've never seen before. I'm being stared at with a mixture of curiosity, concern and wariness by a bunch of humans. I'm definitely not on Mobius anymore.

"Uhh... No. We don't have many... humans where I come from."

They seem surprise to hear that. I guess humans must be the dominant species here, or whatever.

"Well, this is Traverse Town," says the girl in boots with a scarf in her hair. "Sorry, we wouldn't normally go to this much trouble, but we haven't seen anyone come from a world that looks like you. Just what-"

"Hedgehog. I'm a Hedgehog."

"Right. It's like this. People come to Traverse Town from worlds that we're destroyed by the Heartless. Don't look at me so blankly! The Shadows?"

"Oh. Right."

I get up. I can't sit around here if my friends are here too. At least I know I can defend myself. But, if my world was destroyed, then what about the Chaos Emeralds? And all the people who weren't with me? The woman in red must have noticed my glum expression.

"Don't worry. I'm sure everything will be OK. Once we find Sora, we can restore the worlds."

Sora. That guy from the mosaic. I don't know how I know, but that's definitely him.

"I... saw him in a dream I had. Does he wear ugly boots and ugly pants and carry around a giant key that looks like this?"

I summon said giant key. The room collectively gasps in astonishment.

"Tell me about it. I've been feeling like that all day."

"Tell us what happened to you," demands the moody looking guy. I bet him and Shadow would get on well. Then again, I don't think either of them would get on with anyone.

"Well, there were storm clouds, which Tails said would blow over, but I said they wouldn't, and I was right! Anyway, these... 'Heartless' were they? They started pouring out of the clouds, so Knuckles, a friend of mine, helped me hold them off while Tails prepped the X-Tornado so we could escape. But, we couldn't defeat them. It was like we weren't even hitting them. You know what I mean, right? Right. So, I nearly died, which happens every day anyway, but I summon those two massive keys which could hit the Heartless. So, I beat the snot out of them, and then..."

I stop in my story-telling to realise that the whole room looks even more confused when I started out. I sigh and summon the other big key in my arsenal. I pass it to the moody guy, who inspects it meticulously. I don't get what the big deal is. It's a just a key.

"So, we escaped on the plane to this island that floats, right, 'cause Tails said it would be safe and we had to check on this emerald that keep the whole thing afloat. When we got there this strange keyhole thing appeared in the emerald and I locked it with the silver key. No, the other silver key. Yeah, that one. Then I fell in the water and I couldn't swim so I Chaos Controlled away and woke up here."

Silence.

"What? You don't believe me?"

"It's not that, it's just-"

She's cut off by a poof of smoke exploding in the middle of the room, revealing a geezer in blue robes.

"Geez, man! You scared me!" I yell. I hate it when people do that. Especially when they're black and emo, though this guy doesn't quite fit the bill. The guy looks apologetic and smiles sincerely.

"Sorry, my dear boy. Terribly rude of me. Now, you must be the new Keyblade Bearer!"

"The whoey what?"

"These keys that you summoned," explains the girl in the boots. I really need to learn everyone's names. "They're called Keyblades. This silver one is called the Kingdom Key. Sora usually wields it. I don't know about this one, though."

"Ah, that one belongs to the King! How it ended up with you, I'm not certain. He's probably looking for it. You would do well it give it back."

"Sure. Where is he?"

"Do you have inter-planetary travel?"

"Uhh..."

"I take it not, then. You need to go to Twilight Town, unless it's already been devoured by the Heartless, and talk to Yen Sid. He'll help you find the King."

"So, I'm supposed to go to a different world, give the dude is key back, which is my only way of defending myself from the Heartless, then get back here and wait for this Sora to show up and save my planet for me?"

They nod expectantly.

"Forget it."

I take the 'Keyblades' back off the guy I gave them to and storm out the house. I have friends to rescue, and I'm not waiting around for some other guy to do it for me. Besides, I hate being defenceless. These guys are just going to have to get used to it.

The streets outside are covered with neon lights. The moon is high in the sky, which is completely cloudless. It reminds me too much of the Casino Night Zone for my liking. I start looking for anyone who might have made it off Mobius with me. I make a few circuits of the town before giving up. They're not here.

I find myself on the roof of a building with a bell on top. I like to sit high up when I'm thinking. And people wonder why I prefer to sleep on the roof. If my friends are all... gone... then, will this Sora help me bring them back? The guys I met this morning said he'd restore my world, but would that restore the people with it?

"I thought I'd find you up here."

I look to see who it is; half hoping it's someone I actually know. It's only the woman in red. She must have climbed up the ladder. I wonder how she knew I'd be here. She sits down beside me, her legs dangling over the edge. I sit cross-legged.

"You like to be high when you think, don't you."

"Hmm."

"Leon and the others didn't mean offence. It's just that the King and Sora have more experience at this than you do."

"I hardly believe that. I've travelled all over the universe, saving planets and those that live on them. I can run faster than the speed of sound. I'm a renowned hero back home. They even have a holiday named after me."

The woman laughs.

"Well, why don't you go save us instead?"

That didn't occur to me.

"If you can do all that, then it sounds like you're the one for the job. Besides, if the Keyblades picked you, then you must be destined for great things."

"... What is it with these things? What are they for? And how do they choose someone? They're just keys."

She shakes her head, but I don't feel patronised. She's very soft-spoken.

"The Keyblades pick their master. Only one who has been chosen can ever hope to wield a Keyblade. Sora was chosen by the Kingdom Key, and the King was chosen by the Kingdom Key D. They're the only things that can fight the Heartless and the Nobodies. We thought Sora had defeated them all, but he must have missed a few."

"A few?"

"A lot, then. It's also said the Keyblade can lock and unlock the heart of a world through the Keyhole. Locking a world's Keyhole stops the Heartless from devouring the heart of that world."

"But, I locked my world. How does it still not exist anymore?"

"You can't save a world that's already being devoured by the Heartless."

"Bummer."

"You probably saved your friends, though. The heart of the world has all the hearts of the denizen in it, too. By locking the Keyhole you might have locked the hearts of your friends, so they weren't devoured."

I sigh happily. So, it wasn't a complete disaster.

"This is the second time my world has been lost, you know," she says sadly. "The first time, I thought we'd never go back. We'd be stuck here forever. But, then Sora came along and saved us all. Now that I'm here again, I feel more optimistic that I'll go home eventually. I just have to be patient."

"... What if I bring your world back?"

"You'd need to find out where the Heartless are coming from and stop them. You'll have to ask Yen Sid about that."

"Hang on! What makes you think I'm going to find this guy?!"

"I can see it in your eyes. You can't resist the urge to help others. No hero can."

I blush slightly and look down. I hate it when people can read me that easily. She laughs jovially. She reminds me of Cream.

"I'm Aerith by the way."

"Sonic."

"Nice to meet you."

She offers me her hand, and I shake it hesitantly. People from other worlds have never been so trusting in the places I've been.

"You still need a way to get to Twilight Town."

"I think I have that covered."

I root around in my quills to see if the Chaos Emerald is still inside. It never falls out of there, but I can't help but be paranoid about it. I find it and pull it out. It looks even more radiant now that it's in another world. Aerith gasps and I give it to her. She rolls it around in her palms, entranced by its light.

"What is it?"

"A Chaos Emerald. There are seven in my world, but this is the only one I know that still exists. It can turn your thoughts into power, and when you bring them all together a miracle will happen."

"If they're that powerful, then they probably survived. Like you did."

"I'm not that powerful. I couldn't even save my own world."

"Maybe not, but now you have the chance to make it right."

She hands it back to me. Of course, she's right. A hero never gives up, no matter how helpless the situation seems.

"You'll find your friends. Trust me. The Keyblades wouldn't have come to you unless your heart was filled with light."

"... Thanks, Aerith. Let me know if any of my friends show up."

"How will I know them?"

"Well, they'll probably never stop talking about me. Besides, they're quite noticeable. Trust me."

She laughs, and I join in this time. The world needs more people like her.

"Take care, Sonic."

"You too."

I take the Chaos Emerald off her and draw on its power. It seems to have recovered since I last used it, because it sings beneath my grasp. Its warmth spreads up my arm making it tingle. Once it reaches my heart, I command it to take form.

And vanish.

"By the way, Merlin says 'take the train'."

Too late I realise I've forgotten to ask for a picture of Twilight Town so I know where I'm aiming for.