Traverse Town

Ward was sitting in a dark alleyway. He was unconscious, and having a strange dream, a dream about Calub being sucked into darkness, and Beth. Beth was in a strange room, half lit up, and half dark. When he called out to her, she couldn't hear him. All of a sudden, he felt a strange wetness on his face. Beth was disappearing. He reached out, and as he was about to touch her, he woke.

The first thing he noticed, was a large green…thing. It looked like a lizard, only it had a huge happy smile on its face. He stared at it, not wanting to become lunch. It stuck out its sticky tongue and licked him again. Ward stood up and said, "You're not going to hurt me, are you, little guy?" he stroked its neck, and it ran off. "Wait!" he yelled, but it didn't listen to him. He followed it, and when he turned the corner, he saw that he was in a city. A big city that he had never been in before. He walked in the middle of the streets, and took in the silence. He had never been to a city, but he had always heard about the constant movement and action of the cities. This was exactly the opposite of what he had always heard. He walked up to a door, and pulled on the handle, but it was locked. No movement could be heard on the inside. As he walked over, a large clock tower shone overhead. As he looked at it, he heard movement for the first time. He turned around, and saw to his dismay, the dark creatures. Instantly the Keyblade sprung to life in his hand, and he leapt forward to fight. He slashed one, jumped over another (dicing it in the process), and came down hard, his feet smashing another into the ground. Spinning round, he sliced and diced until his hands were tired, and sweat was dripping off his brow. But they wouldn't stop coming. Eventually, he fell on the ground, sitting upright, and staring at them as they came closer.

A thin sword sliced the night sky apart. Disappearing and reappearing among the creatures, was a man. On Earth, he would have been easily recognized as having Asian descent. He wore dark armor, had long black hair tied into a ponytail, and was vicious. He tore through the creatures like they were paper, and in seconds they were gone. The man turned, and said, "As long as you carry that," here he pointed at the keyblade, "They will come for you."

Ward stared at the man, "What are they?" he asked. He knew what they did, but could not recall their names.

The man stared at him, his face emotionless. "The Heartless," he replied. He turned and said, "Come with me." They started walking down the street together, and ward looked at the man, taking in his less noticeable features. He had two burns on his arms, one was an F, the other an H.

"Who are you," Ward asked the man. The man looked down.

"Garam," he replied. He walked on. Ward didn't ask where he was going. For Garam's attitude, he seemed to be a man who could be trusted. Garam led him to a small building that wasn't any more special than any of the others around it, and when he came to the door, a woman with black hair came out. Ward thought that she was beautiful, but the minute he did, a pain twinged his heart, and he thought about Beth. The woman looked between Garam and Ward, then turned to Garam and asked, "Who's your new friend, Cyan?"

Garam looked as if he had been stricken, but then quickly recovered. "I told you to call me Garam." He said. She shook her head and turned to Ward.

"It's nice to meet you," she replied, smiling. "My name is Rinoa." She extended her hand. Ward accepted.

"My name's Ward," he said. He looked around the town, then turned back to Rinoa and asked, "Where am I?" Rinoa suddenly looked sympathetic, and turned to Garam.

"Where did you find him?" she asked, concern in her voice.

"He was in the square," Garam replied. "He was battling more heartless than he could defeat."

"A boy his age?" Rinoa looked down at Ward, "You must be made out of tougher stuff than you look!" she replied with a smile. Ward felt a little hot under the collar at this remark. He wasn't so young.

"The only reason he had to fight as many as he did," Garam said, his voice never breaking out of its calmness, "Was because of the heartless magnet he carries." Seeing the confused look on Rinoa's face, he replied, "The Keyblader has finally arrived." Rinoa looked down on Ward in surprise.

"You?" she asked incredulously.

"What?" Ward asked, his temper rising at her assumptions that he was not worthy. "You think I can't handle it? Then TAKE IT!" The Keyblade sprung to life in his hand and he threw it at the ground at Rinoa's feet. He turned and started walking away. "I don't even want it!" he yelled over his shoulder. "I want to go home, and now!"

But suddenly, as he kept walking, he felt a strange sensation, as once again his hand would not close. And just like it never left, the keyblade was back in his hand. He stared at it. From behind, Garam said, "That blade has chosen you, whether you like it or not. You don't decide when it leaves. It does. And as for your home…" but he was cut off by Rinoa.

"I think I ought to be the one to tell him," she replied. She walked over and put her hand on his shoulder. "Come inside…I've got a lot to tell you." Ward followed her inside. The inside was decorated with various things, one of which was a detailed drawing on the wall. It was a man with longer brown hair. He was frowning, and had a scar that ran down the left side of his nose. In his hand, was a strange combination of a gun and a sword. The gun being a revolver that a cowboy would use. Ward took a seat in a chair, and noticed sounds coming from the kitchen. Someone was cooking.

Rinoa took a seat next to Ward, and noticed what he was looking at. She smiled and said, "I don't know who he is, but I know he is troubled. I see him in my dreams…and I hope one day that I meet him, and can help him. I don't even know his name." and for the first time in two days, Ward felt sympathetic for someone. Rinoa looked over to the kitchen.

"Quina!" Rinoa called into the kitchen, "Make us some tea, this boy is going to need something hot." A strange, garbled voice answered.

"Yes friend Rinoa! Would new friend enjoy yummies? Or just tea?" it said.

"Just tea please, although you can start cooking dinner!" she called back smiling.

"Who…" Ward started, but Rinoa interrupted him.

"Its name is Quina Quen. We haven't gotten a straight answer as to where it came from. And we do know one thing. If it couldn't cook, it wouldn't be sitting here. When we found it, we thought it was a heartless, and Cy-I mean Garam almost killed it. But then we noticed a delicious smell, and it gave us some of the best pasta I've ever had. It's been annoying at times, but there is no denying that it can take anything edible in the world, and turn it into delicious food. But you wont understand until you see it." She finished, and then looked sad.

"I have bad news for you, Ward," she said. "You see, this town is a refuge to those who have lost their worlds to the darkness. Some people are closer to the heart of the world than they realize, and when the world succumbs, they are pulled through the door, and wind up here. But everyone in this town has one thing in common. Our worlds were destroyed by the darkness. All that is left, or so I've heard, is little fragments that gather in the Realm of Darkness."

"The what?" Ward asked.

"The Realm of Darkness," she replied. It's the antithesis of our universe. What's light in this world is dark in that. And when the light goes out in our world, what's left goes to the darkness."

"But," Ward said, his brain and stomach now reeling, "If I'm here…does that mean…"

"It means your home is gone," She said after a moment's painful silence. Ward stared at the floor. Fate Oasis. For the last year and a half he had wanted to travel out and go visit other worlds. Now all he wanted was to go back and be with Beth.

Beth…

The man had said, "She found a door…I don't know to where…"

What if it was here…

What if she was here?

And Calub…

He had given in. Did that mean he was now in the Realm of Darkness?

Suddenly, a bright pink and white thing distracted Ward from his thoughts. He looked over to see an odd creature indeed, but how anyone could have mistaken it for a heartless was beyond him. Heartless were pitch black, and reeked of evil. This thing, Quina, was bright pink and white. It had an apron on, and a chef's hat. Perhaps the most peculiar thing about it, was its enormous tongue, which stuck out long and looked like it hadn't seen the inside of the creatures mouth in years.

"Tea is ready!" it said. Ward was still taking in its eccentric appearance when a new thought came to him.

"What's Garam's story?" he asked. Rinoa smiled sadly.

"Think of how sad you are at your own world's destruction," She replied, causing a pain to shoot through his heart. "Now imagine what you would feel like if you thought it was your fault. That is what Garam is going through. When the heartless entered his world, he fought with the rest of the warriors in his castle, in the Land of Doma. But the heartless snuck up the river and blended with the water. One morning, he woke up to find the people of Doma, including his wife, child, King, and friends all turning into heartless. Once they drank the water, they became heartless. He was the only one who hadn't drank that day, and although he tried to warn anyone he could about the heartless in the water, he reached no one in time.

"He was so upset about it, that he changed his name in shame. His real name is Cyan Garamode. But he will not go by that name until Doma is restored, and his people have their hearts back."

"That's why he's so serious." Ward thought out loud.

"Yes, and don't ever tell him I told you this," She told him. It was hard enough to get him to open up to me that much, I wouldn't want to lose his trust now.

'It must be nice to have someone who cares about you,' thought Ward, and as he thought this, once again, Beth entered his mind. He stood up.

"I'm going to go out and look for my friends," he said, "And I'm starting in this town." Rinoa smiled, and nodded. She shook his hand again as he headed for the door. He headed into the street, not knowing the adventure ahead of him.