Author's Note: So, time for several explanations.
First, I do have an upload schedule. This fic's chapters are way longer than the ones in the old version, so I need more time to work on them. Though nothing is set in stone, I plan to upload a chapter every three days. When I reach the end of a story and start work on another one, I may take a short hiatus to get my ducks in a row.
Second, this will be a series. I will be releasing them in release date order and not chronological order, so it goes Kingdom Hearts, Chain of Memories, Kingdom Hearts II, Birth by Sleep, Dream Drop Distance, and then maybe Kingdom Hearts III if it's out by then. I am not doing 358/2 Days or coded/RE:coded.
Third, clearing up some descriptions. I used other things for reference, so some of the characters have features of other characters. Feng basically has Lightning's hairstyle but blond, and her shorts look like Neku's but shorter and with cuffed hems. Her Keyblade is the base form of the Starlight Keyblade from x[chi].
So, I guess I've bored you long enough, so please enjoy and if you have comments, questions, suggestions, or otherwise, leave a review. Thank you!
In a small, quiet town, Goofy, Donald, and Pluto walked through the gates. Thousands of stars shone brilliantly in the night sky above them. Goofy looked up at the sky and stopped, gazing upward. Donald turned around as Goofy pointed upward; Donald followed his gaze and gasped.
"Look, a star's goin' out!" said Goofy, shocked. A bright star in the night sky twinkled for a moment, then blinked out of existence. Donald's face turned serious
"Come on. Let's hurry," Donald said. Goofy nodded, and they walked across the center of the 1st District toward a flight of steps. The neon letters of the various shops blinked, lighting up the night with a dozen colors. There were a few townsfolk mulling around the picturesque town square. Pluto ran ahead of the two.
"Where's that key...," Donald puzzled, scratching his head.
"Hey, ya know, maybe we ought to go find Leon," Goofy suggested. They reached the top of the steps in front of an accessory shop. Pluto sniffed around a dark alleyway, but Donald was already set on going in the opposite direction. Goofy noticed Pluto and stopped walking.
"Uh, Donald. Ya know, I betcha that— "
"Aw, what do you know, you big palooka?" Donald interrupted. He continued walking off to the right without looking back.
"What do I know? Hmm...," Goofy pondered for a moment. He finally shrugged and followed after Donald.
"Come on, Pluto," Goofy called out to the yellow dog. Though the dog didn't follow, Goofy and Donald kept walking.
KHR
I sat up with a start, my head aching. I rubbed my eyes and looked around.
I was not on the islands, that much I knew for sure. I was surrounded by stone buildings, and I saw thousands of stars in the sky above me. I stood up and dusted myself off.
After a quick look around, I noticed a door right next to me. I tried it, and it was open, so in I went.
The room that I was in was sparsely decorated, and on a rug near the window sat two sad-looking dogs. I went over to them, and the one with the red collar raised his head to look at me.
"What's wrong?" I asked, petting him. I doubted he could talk, but he just looked so crushed that I couldn't help but feel bad. I pet the other dog as well.
"What are you doing in here?" asked a voice. I spun around quickly, and I saw a girl had just come in through the other door. She was obviously a few years older than me, and she had black hair and weird red eyes. She wore a tank top that showed of her midriff, and shorts with suspenders. She had on boots and a pair of leather gloves.
"I have no clue," I said, nervous. I didn't want her to think that I was some kind of criminal who broke into her house. "Ummm… the door was unlocked and I just woke up outside and I— The islands!" I had just remembered that my friends and my home where gone. "My friends are in trouble! I have to figure out where I am and— "
"Hey, calm down," said the girl. There was a look of understanding on her face, like she knew what was going on. "It'll be okay. My name's Tifa."
"I'm Feng," I said.
"Okay. I have to go do something important before I can help you, though. It's dangerous. Do you have a weapon?"
I held out my hand and the Keyblade appeared in it. Tifa gasped loudly, and pointed at my hand. "It's you," she said. "You have the Key."
"What, this thing?" I said, holding it up. "What's so special about it?"
"You have to come with me. We're going to Cid's," she said.
"Wait, who? What are you talking about?" I asked, confused.
"He's a friend of mine. I'll explain later," she said. She grabbed my hand and pulled me from the house and out into the town.
The place we were in now was a back alley with a waterway running alongside it. As soon as the door closed, several Shadows appeared around us.
"More of them!" Tifa said, raising her fists. I hoped she didn't plan on fighting the creatures with her bare hands, because I didn't think that hand-to-hand combat would be more effective than a wooden sword. I summoned the Keyblade and sank into a fighting pose.
"Those are the Heartless," she said. "They're creatures of pure darkness, and they steal the hearts of others. They've been everywhere lately."
"They were on my island," I said.
"Seems like my theory was right," she said.
"What?" I asked, but the Heartless charged. I swung at the one nearest to me, and it vanished. I turned to help Tifa, but I stopped cold and my jaw dropped, because she had just punched a Heartless in the face. It exploded into a shower of darkness.
"How did you…?" I asked.
"Master Zangan knew what he was doing," she said. I swatted at another Heartless with the Keyblade and it dissipated. Two more Heartless surged, and Tifa kicked them toward me. I swung the Keyblade downward, and the two Shadows dissipated.
"Good job," Tifa said.
"You too," I said. "You punched a creature of pure darkness in the face. And it exploded."
"It's nice to have help though. They're everywhere," she said. She began walking down the alley, and I followed.
"You know," she began. "I've seen some really good swordplay before— "
"Thanks!" I said before she could finish her comment.
"And you could use a lot of work," she finished.
"Oh," I said, blushing. I didn't think I was that bad. But thinking about it, I hadn't beaten Riku, and he had about as much training as I did.
"Well, do you know anyone who can help?" I said.
"I have a friend," she said. "But I don't know if he could help if he wanted to. He's not very patient." She sighed.
"Oh," I said. "I guess I thought I was better than I actually am."
"Sometimes the first step to improving is admitting that you need to improve," Tifa said. Just then, a line of Heartless appeared between us. There were several Shadows, but there were also some with armored helmets, which I decided to call Soldiers. There were at least a dozen of them.
I summoned the Keyblade and attacked the nearest Soldier. It was far stronger than the Shadows, and smarter too. It jumped to the side and then kicked at my head. I was able to parry, but the Heartless were swarming me, and even more had appeared around Tifa.
"Feng, you need to run! Get to Cid's in the First District! And don't lose the Key!" she said.
"No, I have to— "
"I'll be fine, I promise," she said, kicking a Soldier in the chest. "I can get away, but they can't get the Key, it's too important!"
"Okay," I said reluctantly. I broke off into a run, but as I reached the nearest door, I looked back and saw Tifa running in the opposite direction, luring the Heartless away from me. I hoped she would be okay as I opened the door and ran inside.
I was in a plain-looking hallway. There were three doors on one side of the hallway, and two on the other. I went over to one of the doors and pushed it open, stepping out into the place where I woke up. A nearby sign told me that I was in Traverse Town's Second District.
Suddenly, a whole mess of Heartless appeared all around me. There were several dozens of Soldiers and Shadows in every direction. I summoned the Keyblade, turned, and slashed a few nearby Shadows into oblivion. I then parried a Soldier's spinning kick and sent it sprawling, then finished it off with a jab. No sooner had I done that, however, then even more Heartless appeared.
I looked around, trying to find a way to escape. I looked around me, but the Heartless were inching closer and I doubted I could fight my way through to run. I thought of my promise to Tifa and all of my friends that I needed to find, and I kept fighting.
Then a spinning metal disc cut through the Heartless like a loaf of bread. The disc moved in a wide arc, whirling around me and returning to its owner, who stood on a nearby roof.
She had long black hair that fell straight down her back, and dark brown eyes. She wore a light blue duster over a black tank top and black shorts and boots, and she had a metal bracer on her arm, which the disc flew and attached itself to. But what caused my jaw to drop was the pair of brilliant white wings that bloomed from her back.
She jumped from the roof and hovered down to where I stood, gentle as a breeze. She looked me over for a moment, then her eyes rested on the Keyblade. Big surprise there.
"You have the Key," she said.
"Yeah, and you have a big metal disc thing. Your point?" I asked.
"Are you always this abrasive to the people who save you?" she asked me. Her wings fluttered softly behind her, as if they had a mind of their own.
"Sorry," I sighed. "I'm kind of freaking out. Rough day."
"I get it," she said. "Your home was destroyed too." She must have noticed me staring at her wings, because they spread out wide, then disappeared in a flash of light.
"Destroyed? No way!" I said. "What about all of my friends, and my parents, and— "
"They're gone. They vanished with their world. But you escaped and were found by this world, a shelter to those without their own worlds," the woman explained.
"So they might be here?" I asked hopefully.
"Possibly," she said. "But you can't be sure."
"They're gone forever?" I asked.
"No, I never said that. That Key of yours is how you can save them," she said. "It's part of something bigger, and you can use it to free the worlds that were devoured by the Heartless."
"How?" I asked.
"I'm sorry, but I don't know that. I just know that the Keyblade is vital. It's the only weapon that can destroy the Heartless. Defeat them with any other weapon, and they'll just make more with the hearts they release."
"So this is really important?" I asked, holding up the large key.
"Yes. You really should learn to fight better, or the Heartless will get it," she said. "And that would not be good."
"So I need to get it to Cid's. Like Tifa said," I told her.
"Then you need to go that way," she said.
I looked where she was pointing and spotted a large pair of wooden doors. I looked back to tell her thank you, but she had already disappeared. I looked around for her, but she was nowhere to be seen. I turned and walked through the doors she had indicated.
When I went through the doors, I saw more simple stone buildings, but I noticed a large plaza and some lamp posts a little further along. I ran straight forward, hopping off of a ledge into a dingy back alleyway, then I walked toward the plaza. As I rounded the corner, I heard voices, one of which sounded very familiar.
"Who are you?" Sora asked.
"And they'll keep on coming at you, as long as you continue to wield the Keyblade," said the other person, who was obviously a man. I peered around the corner and saw him. He wore an open leather jacket and pants. Beneath the jacket was a black shirt with a red lion symbol on it, which matched the lion necklace swinging against his chest. He was also wearing leather gloves and black combat boots, as well as a scar on his face.
He raised a gloved hand and pointed at the Keyblade that Sora had, his blue eyes gazing at Sora through his long dark hair.
"But why?" he asked. "Why would it choose a kid like you?" He put his hand to his forehead and closed his eyes, as if he were thinking deeply.
"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Sora.
"Never mind. Now, let's see that Keyblade," he said, walking slowly toward Sora and stretching out his hand. Sora sank into a fighting stance.
"What? There's no way you're getting this!" he said defiantly.
"All right, then. Have it your way," said the man. He pulled out a long sword that had the handle and barrel of a pistol. He slung it up over his shoulder, then hefting it in out in front of him. He summoned a ball of fire and launched it at Sora, who dodged. Sora ran toward the man and swung the Keyblade. He managed to hit the man once or twice, but then he sent him flying back with a slash. Sora retreated, but the man leapt over him. Sora jumped over the wall to the main square, but the man flung another ball of fire at him. Sora tried to parry, but the fire hit him and sent him sprawling backward onto the cobblestone ground. The man stood up straight as another girl came up behind him.
"Hey, you found it. Nice going, Leon," said the girl. She was beaming at him.
"Still...," Leon began. "It looks like things are worse than we thought. A lot worse."
"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked, stepping out with Keyblade in hand.
"Leon, she— "
"I know, Yuffie. I can see it," said the man, Leon.
"'It' my shorts. I am a person, not an object. And my name is Feng," I said, bolder than I felt. If Sora couldn't beat this guy, I knew I couldn't.
"What do we do with two?" said the girl, Yuffie, as if I wasn't there.
"Hold on, let me think!" Leon said. He stepped forward. "Okay, Feng. I'm gonna need that Keyblade of yours."
"No! Tifa told me to find Cid, and not to lose this thing. So you're not gonna get it," I said.
"Tifa?" said Leon with shock.
"Yeah. She told me that I had to get to Cid's," I said.
"Where is she?" he asked me.
"I don't know. She lured the Heartless away from me so I could get here," I told him.
"Leon, I think we should explain to her. She seems reasonable enough," said Yuffie.
"Yeah. Come with me," he said. I was hesitant for a moment. He knew Tifa, but that doesn't mean he was one of the good guys.
"How do I know I can trust you?" I asked.
"Because that'll be you if you don't," he said, pointing to the unconscious Sora. I knew that he was right, and when he picked up Sora and walked off, I followed.
KHR
Riku awoke on a cold stone platform. His fingers twitched and he opened his eyes, looking up to see a large waterfall and crystalline rock platforms floating in the air. The sounds of the falls filled his ears, as he slowly rose to his feet.
"Where...am I?" he asked out loud.
He looked around at the area. The waterfalls flowed upwards rather than downwards, and they completely surrounded him. There was no one else around.
"Sora! Kairi! Feng!" Riku called out, his shouts echoing back at him. He received no response. He stared down at the tiled ground beneath his feet.
Unbeknownst to him, his arrival was noticed by a tall figure in a black cloak, who walked forward on a much higher platform. The figure's greenish-gray hand and long violet fingernails were wrapped around a golden staff with a green orb. Two figures stepped out from the shadows behind her, gold and blue eyes focused on Riku. A boy and a girl, twins. The boy smiled.
"Found you," he said.
KHR
Back in Traverse Town, Donald and Goofy walked down the Alleyway in the Second District. So far, they hadn't had any luck in their search. The dim light shone down on the two.
"Gawrsh, there's nobody here. Sure is spooky!" said Goofy, scratching his head.
"Aw, phooey. I'm not scared," said Donald, crossing his arms. Behind him, a brunette in a pink dress tapped on his shoulder and he screamed. He leapt into the air and into Goofy's arms, shivering like a wet Chihuahua.
"Excuse me. Did the king send you?" the girl asked.
At the mention of the King, Donald stopped shaking and the two of them turned to see the young woman. Her hair was braided and tied up with a pink bow. Her pink dress was simple, and on her feet were brown boots. She smiled at the two of them.
KHR
Sora and I were with Leon and Yuffie in a hotel room. Yuffie was leaning over Sora, trying to wake him up, and Leon had just finished explaining things to me.
"Hey, Leon?" I asked.
"Yeah?" he asked.
"Can you help me? I want to learn to fight better," I said.
"Well, I suppose I could teach you something," said Leon. He drew his gunblade and held it at the ready. I followed suit with the Keyblade. He instantly shook his head.
"What? I already messed up?" I asked.
"You would be better if you stood like this," he said, showing me a stance. I copied him, and he nodded. "Much better."
I could see what he meant. The way I was standing made me feel more secure and maneuverable.
"Now, attack," he said, blocking with his gunblade. I slashed at him, but he easily pushed back and disarmed me.
"Watch it!" Yuffie shouted as the Keyblade flew past her head, missing her by mere inches.
"How is this helping me?" I asked.
"You have to find a way to get past my guard," he said. "You can't push back, I'm too strong. You can't just rely on brute force."
I thought about what he said for a moment as the Keyblade returned to my hand. He raised his sword to block again, and I had an idea.
I slashed directly at his blade, and as he prepared to push back, I feinted and spun, slashing upward. The Keyblade collided with the gunblade and sent is spinning out of his hand. It stuck itself in the floor behind me, and I leveled the Keyblade at Leon's throat.
"She's fast…," Leon muttered, rubbing his wrist.
My eyes went wide. "I did it!" I shouted, jumping up and down.
"You're not bad," said Leon. "You just didn't think enough. You can do a lot better when you know your options."
"Thanks," I told him. Yuffie leaned back over Sora.
"Come on, lazy bum. Wake up," she said. She kinda sounded like Kairi.
Sora shook his head and opened his eyes.
"You okay?" Yuffie asked him.
"I guess...," Sora mumbled.
"Those creatures that attacked you are after the Keyblade. But it's your heart they really want, because you wield the Keyblade," Yuffie explained to him. He smiled like a dope.
"I'm so glad that you're okay, Kairi," he said.
"You broke him, Leon," I said.
"Kairi? Who are you talking about? I'm the great ninja Yuffie," Yuffie said. "I think you might've overdone it, Squall."
"Who?" I asked.
"That's Leon," Leon said. I guess his real name was Squall.
"The Keyblade...," Sora said. He held out his hand and the Keyblade appeared.
"Yeah, we tried to get it away from you to shake off those creatures. It turns out that's how they were tracking you," said Yuffie. "But when we tried to pick it up, it vanished."
Leon crossed his arms. "Even if we did get it away from him it wouldn't have worked for long." Sora sat up in the bed and stared down at the floor."
"Still hard to believe that you of all people are the chosen one," said Leon. "Well, you and her." He pointed to me. "Well, I suppose beggars can't be choosers."
"Why don't you start making sense! What's going on here? Feng, what happened?" Sora asked. I looked at him solemnly.
"Okay, you know there are many other worlds out there besides the islands and this town. But they're supposed to be a secret. They've been secret because they've never been connected. Until now," I informed him, remembering what Leon told me.
"When the Heartless came, everything changed," said Leon.
"The Heartless?" Sora asked.
"The ones who attacked you, you remember?" asked Yuffie.
"Those without hearts. They come from the darkness in people's hearts, and that's what attracts them," I said.
"And there is darkness within every heart," Leon added.
"Hey, have you heard of someone named Ansem?" Yuffie asked me and Sora. We both shook our heads.
"He was studying the Heartless. He recorded all of his findings in a very detailed report," said Leon.
"Can we see it?" I asked. "Would it help us?"
"Its pages are scattered everywhere," said Leon. "To many worlds."
"So, we should find it?" I asked.
"It might help. But one thing is more important," said Leon. I summoned my Keyblade.
"The Keyblade," I said.
"So... this is the key?" asked Sora, holding up his own Keyblade.
"Exactly!" said Yuffie, nodding vigorously. "Although we don't know why you both have one. We didn't know there was more than one."
"The Heartless have great fear of the Keyblade," Leon said, walking over to the door. "And two of them is a much greater threat. That's why they'll keep coming after you no matter what."
"Well, I didn't ask for this," said Sora.
"The Keyblade chooses its master. And it chose you two," said Yuffie.
"So tough luck," said Leon, leaning against the door.
"How did all this happen? I remember being in my room...," said Sora, thinking. He gasped sharply, and stood up frantically. "Wait a minute! What happened to our home? Our island? Riku! Kairi! Shadi and Shui!"
"You know what? I really don't know," said Leon.
"It was devoured. By the Heartless," I said. Leon eyed me suspiciously.
"And what gave you that idea?" he asked me.
"The girl with the wings," I said. He bolted upright, showing genuine emotion for the first time.
"You saw Rinoa?" he asked me. "Where?"
"She was in the Second District," I told him.
"She did make it!" said Yuffie. "I told you, Squall." Leon's face was unreadable, then he went back to normal and leaned back against the door. I guessed that Rinoa was important to him. Now everyone looked discouraged.
"Hey, cheer up!" said Yuffie. "I've heard that the Keyblade can open all sorts of locks. Maybe you'll find a really important one!"
"Sooner or later, the Heartless will find you. You'd best prepare yourself," said Leon.
"Prepare myself?" asked Sora.
"To fight for your life. Are you ready?" Leon asked. I nodded, thinking about his advice again. Not just to act, but to think and plan as well. I may not have been a strong fighter, but I was fast. I had to focus on my strengths rather than my shortcomings.
"I'm ready!" Sora said.
"I want to see what you two can do," said Leon. "Spar."
"What?" Sora and I asked at the same time.
"You need to prove to me that you can do this. Fight. Just don't hurt each other."
"Well?" I asked Sora. "Are we doing this?" He summoned his Keyblade and nodded. He rushed at me.
I clearly had the speed advantage. I stepped to the side as he slashed, and he stumbled. I took my chance and moved forward, slashing downward. He blocked it and sprang to his feet. We swung at the same time and our blades clashed. I pushed, but I knew I couldn't hold him forever; he had a physical advantage.
I thought for a moment, then jumped to the side. My Keyblade vanished and Sora tumbled again. I summoned my weapon once again, then I flung it at him. It hit him, but it also pushed him up and balanced him. Now that he had regained his balance, he attacked with a powerful jumping move that I couldn't avoid in time. We swung and our blades collided again when Leon stopped us.
"You two will be fine. Yuffie, let's go join Aerith. She should be there now with the other visitors," said Leon.
Yuffie pointed to the other end of the room. "Leon!" she cried as a Soldier Heartless appeared, clattering awkwardly. Leon ran forward to meet it.
"Yuffie, go!" ordered Leon. Yuffie ran into the next room, where a girl in a pink dress was standing next to the bed.
"Yuffie?" the girl puzzled. She ran after Yuffie as Leon took out his gunblade.
"Sora, Feng, let's go!" barked Leon.
Leon slammed the Heartless through the window of the room, and it flew out over the balcony and down into the alleyway below. Leon ran after it, and Sora and I followed. In the Alleyway, more Heartless appeared around us.
"Don't bother with the small fry. Find the leader! Let's go!" Leon instructed, running down the Alley toward the door to the main district.
Sora and I worked better together than I would've thought. Once, a Soldier kicked at us, but I blocked and then Sora took it out. Another time, a Shadow emerged from the ground behind Sora, and I took it and several other Heartless out with a throw of my Keyblade. We fought our way into the Second District, where Leon was fighting off a large group of Heartless.
"I'll check the First District. You guys get the third," he said. I nodded, and Sora and I ran down a side alley and through the door to the Third District.
We looked around, but there wasn't even a single Heartless in the Third District. We went over by the water fountain.
"So, Sora, what are we gonna do?" I asked him.
"I don't know. We need to find our friends," he said.
"They must be here. This is where people go when their worlds disappear. Or some of them do," I said. "But what about Riku? And Shadi and Shui?" I remembered the dark tendrils wrapping themselves around Riku, and the stranger holding out his hands, and shivered.
I heard a loud crash, Sora and I both turned to see what made the noise. We turned and tried to run as two anthropomorphic animals crashed down on top of us. I could see stars.
"The key!" Donald and Goofy shouted as their eyes came to rest on Sora's Keyblade.
"And what am I, chopped liver?" I asked.
"Two keys?!" they shouted even more loudly. The whole district began to shake, and all four of us looked around, still in a pile on the ground.
Large blocks rose from the ground and blocked the exits. Heartless surrounded them as we stood up, ready to fight. A Soldier launched a quick kick at me, but one of the creatures, an anthropomorphic dog, blocked it with his shield.
"Thanks," I told him. He smiled then turned back to the Heartless. I attacked the nearest enemy in quick succession until it vanished. Next to me, the anthropomorphic duck quacked loudly, and a lightning bolt dropped out of the sky and destroyed a few Heartless.
After defeating the horde of Soldiers, I heard a clattering sound from above. I reached over and pulled the duck out of the way as huge pieces of armor began falling from the sky. They hit the ground and bounced into the air, spinning wildly. The arms and feet gathered around the torso, which was emblazoned with a red and black symbol that I had also noticed on the Soldiers. Once the armor had formed, the giant Heartless landed on the ground with a loud clatter. It stood for a moment before the helmet slammed down onto top of the torso with a bright flash. The battle had begun.
The Guard Armor, as I called it, spun its head and arms as it lumbered toward us. Sora attacked its arms, but it didn't even slow down. The two animals tried their best to strike the tough armor, but they couldn't do much either. It began spinning its arms wildly around its body, and the duck got caught in the twister, which knocked him out. I quickly attacked one of the arms and the Guard Armor stomped the ground in anger, which sent me flying backwards. It jumped into the air, and then its pieces clattered to the ground with a hollow clanking sound. Sora attacked one arm and I attacked the other. The dog ran over to the duck, and helped him get back up.
Despite our attacks, Sora and I were not able to destroy the arms. The armor came back together, and then they all separated. The torso raced around the area, swirling wildly like a top, while the arms spun wildly like a fan and the feet stamped around. Once we were all knocked on our butts, the Heartless came back together. I found myself thinking about Leon's advice.
"Sora!" I said. "I have a plan! I need a boost!" Sora looked confused and concerned, but he let his Keyblade vanish, and he interlocked his fingers. "Duck guy!" I said. He looked ticked off about being called "duck guy", but I didn't know his name. "When I say 'now', I need you to summon another lightning bolt. "And you! Stretch!" I told the dog. "When he summons the lightning bolt, I need you to throw your shield. Aim just above the head!" I said. Then I ran toward Sora.
When my foot landed in his hand, he flung me way up in the air. "Now!" I shouted, and the duck's lightning bolt hit the Keyblade, supercharging it. Then the shield appeared below me, and I did a flip, slashing down with all my might. My electrified blade collided with the shield and made a sort of hammer, which crashed down on the top of the Guard Armor's head. The head flew straight down through the torso, crashing into the ground so hard that it left a small crater.
The torso began to explode from the inside, shaking the area around us. It left nothing but a large, glowing heart, which floated up into the air. The rest of the Guard Armor disappeared. The District grew silent, the only sound the gentle trickle of the fountain. The columns of stone sank back into the ground, and Leon, Yuffie, Aerith, and Tifa ran inside. I was so happy that Tifa was okay that I ran over and gave her a hug.
"So, you were looking for us?" Sora asked the two animals after everything had been explained.
"Uh-huh!" the two animals said, nodding.
"They, too, have been seeking the wielder of the Keyblade. Never would have guessed they'd find two," said Leon.
"Hey, why don't you come with us? We can go to other worlds on our vessel," said the dog. "The more keys, the harrier."
"Merrier," corrected the duck.
"I wonder if we could find Riku and Kairi... and Shadi and Shui…," Sora said.
"Yeah, do you think we'll find them if we go with you?" I asked. I noticed Leon close his eyes, and I wondered if he knew how we felt.
"Of course," said the duck. They whispered back and forth for a few moments.
"Sora, Feng, go with them. Especially if you want to find your friends," said Leon.
"We've got to find them," I said. "I know they're out there somewhere." I thought about my friends: Shadi, Shui, Kairi, and Riku. I blushed as I thought of him.
"Yeah, I guess," said Sora halfheartedly. He hung his head.
"But you can't come along looking like that. Understand?" the duck said, waving his finger. "No frowning. No sad faces. Okay?"
"Yeah, ya gotta look funny, like us!" said the dog.
"This boat runs on happy faces," said the duck, pushing the dog aside.
"Happy?" Sora asked the smiling animals. He lifted his head up quickly, revealing a huge cheesy grin. When no one responded to it, he stopped awkwardly. Then the two animals and I burst into a fit of laughing.
"That's one funny face!" said the dog.
"Okay, why not? I'll go with you guys," said Sora.
"Count me in like a square dance," I added.
"Donald Duck," said the duck, holding out a hand.
"Name's Goofy," said the dog, placing his hand on top of Donald's.
"I'm Sora," said Sora, doing the same.
"And I'm Feng," I said, adding my hand to the top of the stack.
"All for one, one for all," said Goofy.
KHR
In a room full of darkness, a group with equally dark intentions gazed at an image of the four which stood on a round table.
"Those little squirts took down that Heartless! Who'd have thought it?" said one of the figures, who had flames for hair.
"Such is the power of the Keyblade. The children's strength is not their own," said a man with a staff and a turban.
"Why don't we turn them into Heartless?" asked a large woman who has eight dripping tentacles. She let out a cackle. "That'll settle things quick enough."
"And the brats' friends are the king's lackeys. Swoggle me eyes, they're all bilge rats by the look of them," said the man with a hook for a hand.
"You're no prize yourself," said a figure with a body like a burlap sack, texture and all.
"Shut up!" said the hook-handed man.
"Enough," said a tall and imposing figure in a black cloak. She gazed at the image on the table through narrow tallow eyes, her green skin glowing its pale light. Her long fingers curved tighter around the staff in her hand.
"The Keyblade has chosen them. Will they conquer the darkness? Or will the darkness swallow them? Either way, they could be quite useful," she said, smiling darkly. Behind her, the twins emerged from the darkness, the boy grinning evilly and the girl wearing a blank expression.
KHR
Sora and I were standing in front of Leon, Yuffie, Aerith, and Tifa.
"Make sure you're prepared for the journey ahead of you. We don't know how far the Heartless have spread," said Leon.
"This is from Leon. He doesn't want to give it to you himself because he doesn't want anyone to know he's nice," Aerith said, handing us each an Elixir. Leon looked away with a halfhearted scowl.
"There are Dalmatians named Pongo and Perdita living in the Second District...," he said.
"Oh yeah, I remember. What's wrong?" I asked.
"They're quite upset, these Dalmatians. They've lost their puppies," said Leon.
"Squall can't stop worrying about them," said Yuffie.
"Call me Leon," he said.
"Would you look for the puppies?" asked Tifa.
"Help them out," said Leon.
"Please, find the puppies for him," said Aerith. Leon did another pouty scowl.
"Squa-I mean, Leon-is really cute sometimes," Yuffie said. "Good luck!"
"I hope you find your friends," said Aerith.
"Don't forget to practice," Tifa warned.
"Look out for each other. Keep your spirits up," said Leon. Sora and I nodded, then turned and went over to Donald and Goofy.
"The gummi ship is outside that gate," he said, pointing toward a large set of wooden doors.
"The what?" asked Sora.
"That's our ship," said Donald.
"Wait 'til you see it!" said Goofy.
"But why is it called a gummi ship?" I asked.
"It's made of gummi parts," Donald explained. "A gummi is a piece of a world that was eaten by Heartless." He pulled out two orange orbs with yellow fire symbols on them. These are for you." He tossed the orbs to us, and we caught them. They glowed like hot coals, and my body was filled with warmth. The orbs faded away.
"Now you can use magic, too," said Donald.
"Okay, is that it? Let's get going!" Sora said.
"Not 'til we're ready!" said Donald.
"Well, I see big adventures coming their way! Looks like it's up to me to keep track of it all in my journal!" said a voice. I let out a small yelp.
"Ghost!" I said. "I knew they were real!"
"No," said the voice. "Up here!" I looked on Donald's hat and saw a tiny cricket in a top hat and coat. "I'm Jiminy Cricket, the Royal Chronicler. I'm gonna keep information that we might need in my journal. Now, I'd like to learn what happened before you two met Donald and Goofy."
Sora and I took turns telling Jiminy all about what happened on the islands. We described Shadi and Shui and Kairi and Riku, and I told him the names I had made up for the Heartless. Upon hearing them, he named me the official Heartless Namer. A great honor, I guess. When we were done, Jiminy hopped into one of Goofy's large pockets.
"Okay, we can go now," I said. Donald nodded in agreement, and we made our way to the gates.