Part I. First Minutes

Once I came to, I was alone in a dark alleyway. When I checked around my stuff, I still had my bag and the paopus were still there. I still held the weapons I had during that dark storm, but then, they vanished in front of my eyes. When I thought of them, they appeared again. I practiced this 'summoning' a few times and once I was used to it, I ate a paopu, got up, then walked out of that alley and in front of a neon sign saying "Traverse Town". The civilians around did not notice me as I walked (my gun and shield, which I will consider as my weapons, were back wherever they were until I "call out" for them again), uncertain what to do. Suddenly, at an empty street, some 'bad guys' who wore Samurai-like costumes of green, and wielded halberds with gun attachments (as I found out later), ambushed from above, and surrounded me. Just to feel a bit less helpless, I called out my weapons. Just then I saw short black beings in armor, the Soldier Heartless, approach me and my enemy thugs from both sides of the street. The thugs then lost interest in me and went for the Soldiers. Despite their supposed battle experience, the thugs were beaten by the Heartless and they themselves turned into such, leaving me on my own. I then shot away at the Soldiers but soon, I saw they were closing on me fast. I turned around to see an alleyway and a large slab of wood. I then grabbed the slab of wood, entered the alley and blocked it off with the slab of wood. Just then I heard footsteps. Just when I 'hugged the wall', I saw a shadowy figure run past me and kicked away the barricade I placed, taking (as I found out seconds later as I looked) a few Soldiers with it. When I looked out of the alley to see, I saw the 'shadowy figure' who was revealed to be a blond guy, with bright blue eyes, a black vest with red designing along the zipper, a black beater underneath that, long baggy jean shorts, black and red tennis shoes, and a large black tribal tattoo on the left side of his face. He was too busy busting the Soldiers with his quick martial arts to have noticed me. When the dust settled, he said, "Damn those Heartless. Now I'm late for my errand." and then ran off. I then crept out of the alley and decided to walk on, gripping my weapons a little tighter.

Part II. Irvine, the Sniper

As I strolled on, I then heard a voice that said, "They'll come at you out of nowhere." I turned around and saw that it was a young man with long auburn hair in a ponytail with a black cowboy hat over it. He was also wearing a purple shirt, a khaki colored long jacket, black fingerless gloves and brown chaps over black trousers.

He continued, "And they'll keep coming so long as you have that gun." Then he scratched his chin saying, "Seems strange to me that it chose you." as he pulled out his shotgun which was

at his back.
"What do you mean by that?", I asked.

He replied, "Forget it. Now let's see what what that can do." as he approached and reached out with his other arm.

"No way. Your rifle's stronger than this puny pistol.", I said.

"Looks can be deceiving. And how would you know the strength of MY weapon? Either give it up or fight me. Running will only have me chase you and give you these two choices again. I don't have much time and neither do you."

Seeing no other reasonable alternative, I said, "Fine! Have it your way." and we then started our battle.

The 'cowboy' began with some shots which I blocked with my shield. Just then he did something I did not expect; he rushed towards me, pushed my shield aside a bit, and then thrusted the barrel of his shotgun at me. I then spun around and bashed him with the shield and, after I then put some distance between us, I saw him suddenly cast a Thunder spell from his other hand and I was hit but somehow wasn't paralyzed (looks like the 'pain' condition applies everywhere and that clothes don't get damaged in here). I then shot away at him and he was repeatedly stunned but soon, he was back on his feet and zigzagged towards me, dodging my next shots. He then, quite unexpectedly, swung his shotgun at me like a sword a number of times and at the eighth blow, he pushed me away and did a shot. Just then, I remembered seeing a Potion in my bag when I had searched for a rope in it. As I took it out and used it, the cowboy was already approaching me once more. Just as he was close enough for a punch, though I was sure he wasn't about to do just that, I did a point blank shot at his shotgun arm and he retaliated. Just before he fell, he scattered a green powder at me and I passed out.

Part III. The Rest of the FF8 Gang

When I came to, I heard a voice that said "Wake up." My eyes were closed since I was still tired, so I grumbled. The voice said, "You okay?"

I replied, "I guess."

"Those black beings were after that gun of yours. But it's your heart they really want, because you wield it."

"Florina? Is that you?"

"Florina? Who are you talking about?"

"Huh?" I then felt around and found what I later discovered to be a Blaster Edge. When I opened my eyes I saw that I was on a bed and when I looked over to the left I saw that it was a brunette girl with her hair reached to the middle of her back and had three caramel highlights. She wore long, sleeveless, blue-hued rib-knit duster sweater that has a pair of white wing designs on the back, matching rib-knit arm warmers, a black halter top, a denim button up skirt, a black ribbon on her left arm, and black bike shorts that have zippers going down the front with a pair of silver buckled black boots.

She then said, "I see you're okay. Hey, Irvine. He's fine."

The cowboy then appeared and came over saying, "Thank goodness, Rinoa. I thought I did an overdose of that sleeping powder." I then saw my gun and shield lying on the floor next to Rinoa's feet.

"A Gun of Light.", Rinoa said. "We had to pull them from you to ward off those black beings. Turns out that's their way of finding you."

Irvine then said, "It was the only way to save you from them. But it won't last forever. Still, it's hard for me to believe that you were the chosen one, though I don't think I'd do well with it if I was." He then picked up my weapons, which suddenly disappeared from his hands and reappeared on mine. He then walked towards me and said, "I suppose beggars can't be choosers."

I replied, "Why not just make some sense here and tell me what's happening?" Just then I saw a lady with tied-up blond hair in an orange zippered vest extending to just above her hips and having a high collar. The lower half of her vest is worn open, revealing the midriff. Over her arms she had dark brown arm warmers with brown gloves. She also had a long orange skirt with pockets, a silver waistband with black pants underneath the skirt, a brown belt and black shoes. She came over with a tray holding a pitcher of water and a few empty glasses.

She then said, "There are several different worlds out there other than where you came from and this place. My name is Quistis, by the way."

I replied, "I knew that." When she winced, I then said, "Uh, I meant about the worlds, but I never thought it would be real."

"That's because they are never connected except via imaginative minds and their mediums to share it within their own world. Until now."

She then continued, "When the Heartless came, everything changed."

"Heartless?"

"The dark beings I mentioned, remember?", Rinoa said.

"Those without hearts. Hence their name.", Irvine continued.

"What attracts them is evil in people's hearts."

"And every heart has evil, even if it is minuscule."

"Ever heard of Stickee?"

The guy who butted in my Heartless encounter in Traverse Town suddenly came in the room as saying, " Hey there! Name's Zell. About Stickee, he's a mysterious accomplice of another man named Ansem, who studied the Heartless. Ansem recorded all his findings in a very detailed report. However, none of us have it, just in case you were going to ask for it, since Stickee scattered it pages everywhere to many worlds."

Irvine said, "The Heartless are afraid of that gun as well as another mysterious weapon named the Keyblade. They'll keep on coming for you no matter what."

Rinoa then said, "I have to apologize for what I said to you at the time you were still mumbling in bed. What I said was half true. They really are after that Gun of Light, but they don't want your heart; they are after that weapon itself."

I replied, "Well, I did not ask for this."

"That gun has a mind of its own and it wanted you. So tough luck."

"How'd all this happen?" Then I stood up saying, "Wait a sec! What happened to Destiny Islands? Florina? Windelle? Sora?"

Quistis calmly replied, "We don't know. Rest for a bit." And I did.

Part IV. Red Armor

Just then, during my nap, I heard fighting outside. I got up, put on my bag which was next to the bed and got outside to see Irvine, Rinoa, Quistis, and Zell (I'll classify them as SeeD Remnants) surrounded by Heartless. (Here, Irvine had the Valiant, Rinoa had the Pinwheel, Quistis had the Chain Whip, and Zell had the Metal Knuckle) As they fought them off, I joined in the fray with my weapons and soon we busted the lot, and Zell did an uppercut on the last Soldier, sending it flying into the sky. Irvine then said, "Let's split up. We got Heartless to bust."

–Strangely, fate seems to keep them from meeting Squall (i.e. Leon), Yuffie, Aerith, or even Cid–

–Anything that may have happened in between I'll leave it up to your imagination on what they are. This applies for the whole story and not just this chapter.–

As the four ran off in different directions, I went off another and soon ended up in a town square. Just then I saw 2 guys falling towards me and I was hit. When I got up and off them, I recognized them by their beanies; Gregorio and Yoris. Before I could ask what they were doing here, a magic wall blocked off the streets and Soldiers appeared. Before I could tell them to run for a corner, Gregorio 'summoned' a long javelin and Yoris 'summoned' a reduced-size "Mech's Bazooka" and the three of us fought off the Soldiers. After the fight, I asked them how did they get their weapons, they said, "The same way you got yours."

Before I could reply, a number of metallic parts fell from the sky and bounced around the field. They then assembled into a "Red Armor". It then sent its left side at Gregorio, and it's right side at Yoris, leaving me with its body and head. My two companions were doing pretty well, but then the parts left for me were heading for me and began tackling. I shielded every attack, then I put some distance between me and the "Red Armor" and blasted away. I repeated this sequence many times. Soon enough, the "Red Armor" broke down, released a heart, then vanished. The magic wall then fell away.

Part V. A New Mission

After the battle, they said that they were looking for me. The SeeD Remnants arrived and confirmed that. I then asked the two, "Do you know where the others (Wakka, Selphie, and Tidus) are?".

Yoris said, "They are safe in an apartment somewhere. We've been there."

Gregorio said, "We've been assigned to a mission by someone named 'The Solar Boy'. We were told to find the one with that gun you have now and take it to him. The gun you wield right now is called a DirLuxGun (Direct Light). We've been given a 'Gummi Ship' to travel between worlds and find him. We and the other 3 evacuated the island with The Solar Boy's help and his Gummi Ship. We do wish to find Florina and Windelle as well. However, it's HAPPY FACES ONLY in the ship since it's powered by happiness. Believe me."

Zell then cut in and said, "But first, you gotta get some extra skills first. Come with me." And the three of us did as the others returned to 'home base'. Zell led us to an alley and at a door with a flame on it.

–The Hellfire Club scene comes up revealing to them not only their plans for the Keyblade wielder, but relative plans for the DirLuxGun holder as well and that there were some guys resembling Wutai Soldiers from Crisis Core alongside the Disney Villains–

–Sora's Co. have left Traverse Town and are heading for Wonderland.–

He then told me to shoot at the flame and when I did, the door opened and the three of us entered; Zell remained outside. Then, we met a somewhat loony old wizard in blue wizard robes who said, "Oh! Another set of adventurers. I remember the last set had a kid with a Keyblade as leader. Now I have a gunslinger here as leader. What a contrast!"

I said, "Wait a sec! Do you know the kid's name?"

Why yes, but let's talk about that another time as I am only here to give you this. Name's Merlin."

He gave me a pair of winged shoes, a retractable scooter and whispered to me some magic words to cast the basic spells; Fire, Thunder, Blizzard, and Cure. (I shall not tell what those magic words are since I want to keep it as a secret.) Merlin continued, "Those shoes are for you to maneuver in ways you never thought of possible like jumping higher than you're height, surviving falls that would've otherwise killed an ordinary man, dashing on walls, that sort of thing. This here scooter is for distant traveling, though it's obvious judging by what it is. Now good luck to you."

I put on the shoes (stowing away the old ones, of course), stowed the scooter, and we said goodbye to Merlin and left the house where Zell was waiting outside.

"So? How'd it go?", he asked.

"Just fine.", Yoris said. "Well, we better get to the ship now. Got the teleporter device, Gregorio?"

He said, "Oh yes. Well, bye." and as he pressed the device's button which looked like a block with a big red button, Yoris held his arm, and he held mine with the other. We then blacked out and regained consciousness almost instantly and suddenly we were in the Gummi Ship's cockpit. (I'll leave the inside of the Gummi Ship to your imaginative powers. As the story goes on however, your 'picture' of the Gummi Ship may change.) Gregorio was at the controls and suddenly, I had a feeling of crossing hyperspace. Half a minute later, we stopped and suddenly, before I can blink an eye, Yoris (who was at the other seat next to Gregorio) pressed another button and we were teleported down into the middle of a forest full of giant mushrooms and flowers.