Two Tails in Traverse Town

Yet another Traverse Town section. I'm going to be overusing this place a lot, as it'll be the place where most of the characters from Mobius turn up eventually. You'll see when we get there...

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

The instant we land in Traverse Town, we can tell something is up.

There a lot of noise, and by a lot of noise, I mean ear-splitting, headache-making, neighbour-annoying noise. The scrape of metal on metal and the fizzing of electricity echo through the empty streets. Everyone must've gone into hiding when the noise started. I don't blame then, and really want to follow suit, but I should probably go find out what all the fuss is about.

The noises are coming from the Accessory Shop. We all arm ourselves, ready for the worst, and charge in!

Nothing much.

A trapdoor is open in the floor, the insides flashing occasionally with the sparks of electricity I mentioned before. Some smoke occasionally seeps out. Someone must be tinkering. Whatever it is, they should soundproof that room! A set of ladders lead down into the depths of the pit. I don't really want to go down them.

"Do we have to?" I ask.

"Gawrsh, we probably should. What if someone is hurt?" states Goofy.

"If they were hurt, they wouldn't be making this much racket," I reply.

"I wanna see what's going on anyway! Sounds like it could be Cid. He's a good mechanic," explains Donald.

"Cid?" I question.

"He used to build new Gummi ships for us, back when we first met Sora," explains Goofy.

"He helped us go to other worlds!" exclaims Donald.

"I sure hope he's OK down there..." ponders Goofy.

"OK, OK, I get it. We'll go see what's happening," I retort.

The abuse of verbs over, Donald and Goofy climb down the ladder first, seeing as I figure they know more about what's down here than I do. I don't want to impale myself on anything. The ladder isn't very long, which must mean that the room isn't very deep underground, which must be why everyone can hear all the noise. The room is dark apart from the flares emitted by the welders and the scattered lamps around the room.

"Cid? You in here, pal?" Goofy asks to no one in particular. A clatter sounds from the other side of the room as pieces of junk are moved aside.

"Didn't I tell yer' not to bother me when I'm busy doin'..."

Cid emerges from the rubble. His sandy blonde hair and thick muscles stand out against the machinery he's been working on. He does a double take when he see's us, before quickly wiping the dirt and oil off his face, making himself look a bit more presentable.

"Oh, if it ain't you two! Ne'er thought I'd see you agen'. Sorry, I thought yer' were Cloud. He's bin' botherin' me a lot lately, tryin' to get a ship so he can go find Sephiroth agen'."

"Don't let him! It's best if he stays here!"

"That's what we bin' tellin' him, but he ain't listenin'. Now, who's this?"

"I'm Sonic. Nice to meet you, Cid."

"You too. Say, you're the one that Leon an' the others found the other day, ain't yer'?"

"Yeah."

"Left in quite a mood, I heard, but it seems like yer' in good hands now. Speakin' of good hands, where's Sora? Ain't he normally with you two?"

"I'm... kinda a replacement Sora for now. No one can get to him, and he hasn't appeared, so I'm going around sealing the Keyholes instead."

"That's a mighty big job yer' attempting there, kid."

"I can handle it."

"If y'all say so. Another new person just arrived a few days ago. Pity y'all weren't here to see him. Ne'er seen a two tailed fox before! Mind you, ne'er seen a blue hedgehog, neither."

"Two tails? Was he yellow and good with machines?"

"That's the one! You know him?"

"Oh, thank God he's OK! I was starting to think I'd never see him again! Where is he now?"

"I think Leon an' the others are takin' care of him back at the empty house in the Third District."

"The one that they use as the Secret Headquarters?"

"Yeah, only it ain't so secret. What'd y'all come down here for anyhow?"

"You were making a lot of noise. We just wondered if everything was OK."

"Yeah, I'm fine. Makin' noise is what I do! That fox and I have bin' goin' over blueprints for the Gummi Ship, but he went for a rest. Poor kid just doesn't know when to quit."

"That's definitely him. Thanks a lot, Cid."

"Stay safe, kid."

We exit the workshop, leaving Cid to his machines. I wonder why it took so long for Tails to appear. I suppose I can ask all about that when we meet. Instead of going through the Second District, which is probably crawling with Heartless, we cut through the plaza straight to the Third District. There are still loads of Heartless everywhere, even more than before. And I thought I was getting rid of them, too.

Heartless vanquished, I knock on the door to the empty house. It isn't that empty, because Aerith opens the door. She smiles softly when she sees me, like she's been waiting for me to appear. I smile back and go into the house.

All the ones who picked me up right at the start of this disaster are here, minus Merlin, who I really need to see. Everyone, including a certain fox, who charges straight over and wraps both arms around my waist, crying loudly. He's only eight years old, after all, stranded in a foreign world. I pat him gently on the head, waiting for him to calm down.

"... I thought... I'd... never see you again..."

"Now, now, Tails. You didn't think I'd leave you by yourself, did you? Chin up, bro. We're safe now."

After he calms down enough to let go of me, he sits on the bed. I plonk myself down next to him, while everyone takes some of the random seats scattered on the floor. It looks like story time in a primary school.

"What happened to you, Sonic?"

"Let's start with you, first. My story is a bit long."

"Ok, then. Well, after Knuckles let go of your hand, I tried to fly us both off, but... I wasn't strong enough. Knuckles weighs an awful lot. It must be his muscles mass. We fell into the ocean, and we got pulled down by this tar-like stuff. Sonic, I thought I was going to die. Knuckles and I got separated, and then this bright white light came out of nowhere and snatched me away! I think I was in a coma or something, because I woke up later and I was here. I wandered around for a bit, shouting your name to see if you were here, but you didn't answer. Then Yuffie found me, and brought me here."

"He appeared a few days after you left, Sonic. I brought him here because I figured you be coming back at some point," explains the girl in the boots, who must be Yuffie. Strange name.

"What about you?"

"Well... Do you want the whole thing or the abridged version?"

"I've been stuck in this town for almost a week now, worrying about where everyone else is, and what I was going to do, and everything you could possibly worry about. I want every detail!"

"Well... After Knuckles let go of my hand and you fell into the sea, I managed to seal the Keyhole in the Master Emerald, but I fell into the ocean too. I tried to Chaos Control away, had a dream about mosaic's and a massive husk with thorns, which I defeated, got crushed by, and then saved from by a guy with big ears. Then I woke up here, Chaos Controlled to a place called Twilight Town and talked to a guy called Yen Sin, whose fairies gave me new clothes."

"Fairies?"

"Let me finish. Then, I went to this castle on another world with a beast and a beauty living inside, saved them, removed the curse on the castle and freed everyone from their imprisonment. Then, we went to this bug world, where Donald turned us all into bugs. I could fly! It was great. We helped this ant colony fight off a swarm of grasshoppers and Heartless and then came back here to learn magic from Merlin, who apparently isn't here."

"... That's..."

"Unbelievable? I'm used to it now."

"But, magic doesn't exist!"

This gets quite a response from the spectators; a mixture of disbelief, disgust, and disagreement. And other things that begin with 'dis'.

"It does here. We're not from a world that has magic, so we can't use it. Apparently Merlin can show me how to manipulate Chaos Energy in the same way. If only he was here..."

"Well, just go to him," says the moody looking guy. Seeing as he's the only male human around here, that must make him 'Leon'. Leon, Yuffie, Aerith and Cid. What a crowd. "You can get to his house through the door near here. It has a flame on it."

"Can I come, Sonic?"

"Don't see why not? Is that OK, guys?"

"Sure! Any friend of Sonic's is a friend of ours," says Goofy, giving Tails as affectionate noogie. They both laugh. Donald doesn't look impressed again. I ask him what's wrong. He says he doesn't like people tagging along. I tell him to lighten up.

The instant we step out of the house we're bombarded by Heartless again. We all protect Tails, seeing as he's the only one unable to defend himself. He looks a bit uneasy when Donald starts firing blizzard spells at them. Magic. It takes a while to get used to it.

When the area is looking more Heartless-free, we reach the door. There isn't a handle or doorknob to open it with. Why it is never easy? Donald shakes his head exasperatedly and opens the door with a fire spell. I don't ask how that could possibly work. It's easier not to think about it.

And then I meet my greatest enemy!

Water.

A whole lake stretches out in front of us, pulsing in tides that couldn't possibly exist in here. In the middle is a house on an island, connected to the main land by a series of enchanted stepping stones, which sway from side to side hypnotically. I can't get past the amount of water. And so deep...

I send Tails a look. He knows what I'm thinking.

"Come on, Sonic," yells Goofy, already halfway there. "You're not afraid, are ya'?"

"Eh... About that..."

"What? I can't hear you! Sorry!"

"... Nothing. Never mind."

I take a few cautious steps backward, timing myself, before taking a running leap forward and onto the first stone. I rocks dangerously when I land on it, threatening to spill me into the water, to my imminent embarrassment. It calms down, returning to the tranquil swaying it was doing before. I gulp a deep breath of air, not realising I'd been holding it when the rock was rocking.

I make it to the other side dry and in one peace, thankfully. Donald raises a figurative eyebrow; I shrug and try and open the door. It's locked, and I don't think a fire spell is going to open it this time. I hammer exasperatedly on the door. After I just risked my life, too!

"Calm down, Sonic!" says Tails, with a slight tone of shock.

"You know, there's an entrance around the side..."

I growl quietly under my breath and check around the side. Sure enough, there's a massive gaping hole in the wall which I can climb through. The inside of the house is completely bare, and even more Merlin-less. What a day. I slap my face with a palm. Going home never felt like a more comfortable idea.

A poof of smoke appears out of nowhere in particular and Merlin reveals himself.

"About time!"

"Patience, my dear boy. I have one thing to do before we get down to business!"

He puts his duffel bag on the floor and opens it. He starts doing a crazy dance and various household objects start flying out and arranging themselves in the room. I duck to avoid being clobbered over the head with an entire bookcase of books. The room goes from bare to homely within about three minutes. Impressive.

"Now, what was it you needed me for?"

"Magic! Help!"

"I was under the impression that the three good fairies would help you on that note."

"No such luck."

"They said he couldn't use magic at all!"

"No magic?! Well, that is peculiar."

"Can you help? I've got this Chaos Emerald that my clothes are supposed to let me use better, but there hasn't been a difference yet."

"I presume you've been using the Chaos Emerald in the way you'd normally use it, correct?"

"Yeah."

"Therein lies the problem! You must forget that it is not magic, and use it as if it was magic!"

"Say what?"

"In order to get the most out of the Chaos Emerald you must mould it and use it like you would magic, otherwise you'll be restricting yourself."

"Can you teach me?"

"Of course I can! Now, follow me."

He claps his hands and the raised platform in the middle of the room shudders before descending downwards. Merlin steps on it before it gets too far away: I don't think his knees could take the force if he jumped. Mine can and do. I just wasn't expecting it, is all. Donald, Goofy and Tails stay upstairs so they don't get in the way of my learning. Or get hit by my badly aimed spells, if I manage to cast any at all.

When the platform stops moving down, Merlin steps off, followed by me. We're in a nicely furnished underground room with lots of targets all over the place. It's a good place for me to make a mess of things.

"Now, my boy, you'll need a Keyblade. Which hand are you better with?"

"My right," I reply, summoning the Kingdom Key that I carry in that hand.

"What have you been doing with the Chaos Emerald before you came to me?"

"I healed myself a lot. I got into quite a few scrapes."

"I can only imagine! Now, healing yourself is like second nature to you, what? We're going to extend this power so that you can heal others as well. Or is that already possible?"

"Nah. The Chaos Energy won't go that far."

"Very well. Now, in order to use Chaos Energy like magic, you must forget that it isn't magic. In order to use magic, you must give it form with your mind. To heal yourself, what do you do?"

"I just... imagine that it's healing me, and then it does."

"I'm going to give you some of my magic to boost your power. Don't look at me like that! It won't hurt! It'll be stored it your clothes until you need it. Now, close your eyes. This'll sting if it gets in them."

I shut my eyes, feeling the familiar sensation of warmth barely washing over me. When I open them again, Merlin looks a little out of breath.

"My boy, you seem to resist magic, as well as not being able to use it! You must come from a world very far away."

"Did it work, though?"

"I believe so. Now, to heal others, just imagine that they're being healed. It'll be hard, as it's easier to imagine yourself being healed, even if you can't see your wounds. Practise makes perfect, after all!"

"Can I practise down here?"

"There are no injuries to practise on."

"Touché."

"Now, you would like some offensive magic, yes?"

"Please. I had a nasty run-in with a bird the other day."

"Fire would do nicely, then. You can probably manage this without the aid of my magic. The way Sora did this was to have two different forms of the same spell: one which would allow him to send fireballs flying through the air, and one which would allow him to surround himself with flames. He used different spells in different situations. Do you understand this?"

"One for far enemies, and one for near. Got it."

"To use the power of Fire you must gather this Chaos Energy inside yourself. Forget the limitations of the power that you're familiar with, and instead mould it with your mind. Imagine it being hot and powerful, and it shall become so. When you're ready, launch it from the end of your Keyblade."

"Huh. Chaos Energy really does turn your thoughts into power! I suppose I'll give it a shot."

I stand still for a few moments, drawing on the energy inside the Chaos Emerald. I would normally release it instantly to get immediate effects, so bottling it up like this is strange. I imagine it being fire, and immediately get singed on the inside, which kills! I try and imagine it not killing me, and it seems to work. Looks like I'm imagining the power inside of me too literally. How does Merlin do this?!

When I feel the flames are powerful enough, I push them out the tip of the Keyblade. The power vibrates down my arm; the Keyblade glows red with fire, and then...!

Nothing.

I frown. Merlin laughs.

"Not bad for a first attempt! You can build up the Chaos Energy easily, but you need to focus on releasing it more. It seems you have control issues."

"Why out of the Keyblade?"

"You ask a lot of question, my boy."

"I'll understand it better if I know why I'm doing it."

"The Keyblade is your weapon, therefore an extension of your body. Fighting with it should be second nature. The same goes for me and my wand, when I use it. Shooting magic out of the end of your weapon gives you something more solid to focus on, therefore makes it easier than if you tried to make it appear out of thin air. In theory, you don't need to shoot it out of your Keyblade, but it's much easier to do so.

"Oh."

"Now, try again."

I do. I build the energy up, making sure not to let it hurt me in the process. This time I get better results, and a fireball travels the length of the room. Unfortunately it's the size of a bean bag and almost knocks down the wall. Merlin sighs and shakes his head in exasperation.

"You released too much this time! It seems that you either go too far, or not far enough. You'll find the balance the more you try and use it, but the bigger the spell the more exhausted the Chaos Emerald will become. I would suggest leaving it for now so that it can recover. You've got the basics anyway."

We ascend the platform again, feeling a little downhearted. At least I am. Donald, Goofy and Tails are trying to hold the furniture up for some reason. Merlin rights everything with a wave of his hand. He makes it look ridiculously easy.

"What happened, Sonic?" asks Tails. "There was a boom and everything started falling down!"

"Let's just say that magic is harder than it looks. And it's a good thing you all weren't down there with us, or you'd all be missing your heads."

They find this hilarious and start laughing hysterically. Especially Donald, who can use magic himself. When they've calmed down, Merlin finishes the lesson.

"Remember, Sonic: magic – and indeed Chaos Energy – is controlled purely by the person using it. If you're angry or frightened or generally feeling anything other than what you'd normally feel the end results may not be what you expect them to be. The fact that you couldn't control the Chaos Energy today reflects the fact that you can't control yourself, either. If you manage to get your own feelings and actions under control, you should see a dramatic difference in your spells."

"I'm not sure whether to be encouraged or insulted."

"Case in point."

"Also, Merlin. The fairies said something about Drive Forms..."

"Oh, yes! A Drive Form is when the three of you use magic to combine your souls together to gain access to new abilities and powers. You need to fully trust each other to manage to do this. I'd say you and Goofy are probably capable of it."

We exchange high fives. Donald pouts.

"I'd say you need more control before attempting this, though, if your magic is anything to go by. Don't try it until you can use the Fire spell I taught you properly."

"Aww, c'mon! Pretty please?"

"Sora was never this stubborn. I'm afraid I won't teach you how until I think you're ready."

"Cheer up, Sonic," says Goofy, patting my shoulder gently, careful of the spines. "We'll manage it. I know we will!"

"Sure. If only you'd come around, too, Donald."

"I'm not going to trust you until you prove yourself!"

"I'm not going to argue with you!"

"Good! Me neither!"

Marlin pinches his nose and shakes his head. We've got a long way to go.

"Is there anything else you need here?"

"I don't think so."

"Then please take your arguments somewhere else!"

"... Sorry."

Tails gives me a hug.

"This is goodbye again, isn't it."

"We'll be back."

"I hope so."

He detaches himself from me, wiping at his eyes to stop the tears before they ever happen. I pat him on the shoulder offering silent comfort and support. He's grateful, I think.

"Let me know if anyone else shows up."

"How will I get in touch?"

Fair point. I turn to Donald and Goofy, who probably have a better idea of this that me. Donald pulls out a device from his feathers. It makes me wonder what else could possibly be in there.

"Give this to Cid! He'll connect it to the computers in Yuffie's hotel room. If you need us, just give us a call."

"Thanks. Take care you guys."

I nod. Now we've gotta get past all that water! Donald raises an eyebrow at me.

"You can't swim, can you?"

"... Uhh..."

I shrug. Everyone shakes their head at me.

"Don't worry! We can get to the Gummi Ship from here!"

He presses something on another do-hickey he pulls from behind him and we all get beamed up Star Wars style. I hope this next world has lots of places I can practise my magic in.

I'm gonna need it.