Kingdom Hearts: Knights & Dragons Redux
…
Chapter 2: Looking For Group
High above a bustling city that shone with bright neon lights, three stars blinked out of existence in the night sky. Wandering the streets was an orange furred dog with black ears and tail. The dog walked down an alleyway and found Sora propped against the cracked wall of a building. Licking Sora's face, the dog waited for a response. Sora opened his eyes blearily and saw the dog in front of him.
"What a dream," he mumbled sleepily and his eyes fell closed again. The dog then shoved its front paws onto Sora's chest, startling him awake. "This isn't a dream!" he squawked. Squinting at the dog who was wagging its tail back and forth happily, Sora stood to his feet and looked at his surroundings. Nothing seemed familiar which caused Sora to say, "Where am I?"
Looking at the dog, Sora asked, "Hey, do you know where we are?"
The dog perked its head up as if it heard something before turning and dashing out of the alleyway. "Hey! Wait up!" Sora called out to the dog, running after it. As Sora exited out of the alleyway, the dog was nowhere to be seen, but that wasn't what Sora was thinking right at this moment.
"This is totally weird! I'm on another world!" he exclaimed. Deciding to look around and see if he could find Riku or Kairi, or someone who knew where they were, Sora set off.
…
Aegon woke up, hearing a voice. "Hey. Are you okay?" Opening his eyes, the young knight was met with the sight of a beautiful woman with deep red hair swept over one side of her gorgeous face, a smoky green eye looking at him in concern.
"Who… Who are you? Where am I?" Aegon groggily asked as he attempted to sit up.
"You're in Traverse Town, kiddo," the redheaded beauty told with a smile on her plush red rips. "What's your name?" she then asked.
"Aegon… I'm Aegon," Aegon managed to reply as his mouth felt dry as a Dornish desert. "Who are you, my lady?" he asked his earlier question.
"Name's Jessica. I found you here and thought you might need some help," his benefactor replied. "Can you sit up?" she then asked.
With a groan of discomfort, Aegon levered himself to sit up on his haunches and looked at the woman who saw fit to assist him. While he wouldn't consider himself a shallow man, he certainly didn't have anything negative to say about the woman kneeling in front of him. She was quite beautiful, with deep fiery red hair elegantly trimmed, makeup that was both subtle and artfully applied and a gorgeous face that many artists would kill to capture a likeness of. A little more surprising however was her manner of dress; she wore a long crimson gown that showed her very healthy cleavage that almost threatened to spill out, leaving much of her bosom, upper chest and shoulders bare, long arm length purple gloves adorned her arms and hands and a pair of high heeled shoes shod her delicate looking feet.
"Well, you seem no worse for wear," Jessica said in approval. "How did you get here? Did you lose your world too?" she asked kindly.
"I was fighting these… creatures…" Aegon began to recall. "Yes. That was it!" he realised. "I fought them as best I could, but my world was… swallowed by darkness and I was too," he said.
"Same story as everyone else's," Jessica nodded in thought.
"Everyone else's?" Aegon echoed. "Am I not the only one?" he asked.
"Yeah, you're not the only one, kiddo," Jessica told him with a bitter smile. "Dozens of people have found themselves in Traverse Town after losing their worlds to darkness," she said.
"I see," Aegon mumbled out. "Is there anyone who could help me with my predicament?" he then asked Jessica who put a gloved finger to her chin in contemplation before answering.
"You could try Leon. Apparently he's got the inside info on what's going on."
"And where do I find this Leon?" Aegon enquired.
Jessica had an apologetic expression on her face. "Couldn't tell you for certain. He moves around a lot. You could try the Third District, see if he's there," she suggested helpfully.
"Thank you, my lady," Aegon said with a grateful smile as he slowly rose to his feet and dusted himself, as did Jessica. "I will freely admit that I do not have anything to repay with you," he then added regretfully.
"I'll take an IOU," Jessica with a charming smile.
"IOU?" Aegon parroted the strange word.
"It means you owe me a debt, but don't worry, I won't ask for any drastic," Jessica said with a tinkling laugh which Aegon smile despite himself.
"I'll do my best to repay you, Lady Jessica," the young knight promised her.
"I'll hold you to that, kiddo," Jessica replied with a wink before she slowly sashayed down the street. Aegon found himself transfixed by Jessica's perfectly formed backside which sat high and proud like a ripe peach. His cheeks going red and his ears burning, the young knight felt a sudden tightness in his drawers and turned around on the spot to begin his search for Leon as a way to distract himself from his more perverted thoughts of his benefactor's behind.
…
"Ey! Wake up, lassie! Can't sleep all day y'know?"
Triss's green eyes flickered open and she was suddenly face to face a small cat with black fur, a white face and wearing a little gold crown on its head and a red cape tied around its neck. The cat grinned showing white pointed teeth and it spoke.
"Ah, good yer awake at last, sleeping beauty. Good morning to ye," it said.
"Am I still dreaming?" Triss mumbled in confusion.
The cat then pinched the sorceress on the cheek roughly causing her to yelp in pain. "Ow! What did you do that for?!" she complained.
"To prove yer not dreaming, lassie," the cat grinned teasingly.
"Still not convinced of that," Triss muttered as she sat up on what she realised was a bed.
"I can pinch ye again?" the cat offered helpfully with a grin.
"No," Triss said a little too quickly. "Alright, now would you mind telling me where I am and who you are?" she then asked the feline.
"You're in Traverse Town, a world that appears whenever someone has lost theirs. And I am Cait Sith," the feline said with a bow.
"Triss Merigold, advisor to King Tancred," Triss said with a polite bow of her head. "Now you said another world?" Cait Sith nodded. "I don't recall conjuring a portal…"
"What's the last thing ye remember, missy?" Cait Sith asked.
"I'd just gotten home and I found myself fighting these… strange creatures then I fought their leader and my world was… swallowed by darkness," Triss said slowly as she remembered what had happened.
"Same old story it seems," Cait Sith remarked with a nod of his furry head.
"Same old story? This has happened before?" Triss asked in mild horror.
"Happened and keeps happening, missy," Cait Sith told her.
"Keeps happening?! How long has this been going on?" Triss asked.
"It's been happening a for good spell now, lass," Cait Sith informed her. "But if ye wanna know more, then you'll wanna have a wee chat with a bloke named Leon," he said.
"Leon… where do I find him?" Triss questioned.
"Och, could nae tell ye, lass," Cait said with a look of regret on his feline features. "The bugger moves around a fair bit. Never stays in one spot too long. Last I heard he was somewhere in the Third district, so ye might wanna try there," he added.
"Thank you, Mister Cait Sith, I appreciate it," Triss said with a grateful smile as she rose from the bed to her feet. "The way out?" she then asked Cait Sith who pointed toward the door. With a smile and a nod of thanks, Triss left through the door and truly found herself on another world where nothing was immediately recognisable to her.
Finding a signpost, the sorceress found directions to the Third District and headed in the direction it was in.
…
Felicia had woken up to find herself in an alleyway and immediately made her way up to the rooftops to get a good view of where she was. To her surprise she was no longer in New York, but another city, another world, entirely. Flitting across the rooftops, the master thief saw that there were numerous people on the streets below, some of whom didn't look entirely human. Ignoring that or simply dismissing them as Mutants from her world, Black cat worked on finding out what she could about this new world she was on and just how she could get back.
When making her way over an apartment, the platinum haired burglar overheard a conversation coming the apartment below her. Carefully leaning over the edge, she heard a snatch of a conversation.
"-You'll wanna have a wee chat with a bloke named Leon," said the first voice that sounded male in vaguely Scottish or Irish accent.
"Leon… where do I find him?" a woman's voice asked.
"Och, could nae tell ye, lass. The bugger moves around a fair bit," came the reply. "Never stays in one spot too long. Last I heard, he was somewhere in the Third District, so ye might wanna try there."
"Third District, huh?" Felicia mused to herself as she stood up to her feet and watched as a woman with red hair done in twin low buns and wearing something akin to a Renaissance fair goer's costume but more practical as she wore tight fitting trousers with high heeled boots instead of a skirt and slippers. Felicia watched as the woman looked at a signpost and went off in a direction.
"Maybe if I follow her and find this Leon guy, I might get some answers," Felicia said to herself as she followed the unwitting guide to the man who held the answers she sought.
…
Sora soon came across one of the stores that lined the street. This shop in particular was an accessory shop. The bell jingled as Sora entered the premises, and a middle-aged man with yellow-blonde hair and a toothpick stuck in-between his teeth looked up from the counter.
"Hey, how can I…" the man began before he realised who he was talking. "Aww, it's only a kid!" he complained.
"I'm not a kid!" Sora bristled angrily. "And the name's Sora!" he added.
"Alright, simmer down," replied the shop owner before he asked, "So why the long face, Sora? You lost or something?"
"No!" Sora blurted out as his cheeks went red with embarrassment. "Well… maybe," he then admitted looking a little unsure. "Where are we anyway?" he asked.
The shop owner looked a little surprised by the question. "Eh? Where did you come from?" he enquired.
"A small world called Destiny Islands," Sora replied truthfully.
"Well, I hate to break it to ya, kid, but you're in Traverse Town now," said the shop owner.
"Traverse Town," Sora repeated, letting the name roll off his tongue. "So, gramps, is this really another world?" he then asked.
The shop owner's teeth clenched down hard and he fumed. "Don't call me 'gramps'! The name's Cid!" he said grouchily before composing himself and saying, "Anyway, not sure what you're talking about, but this ain't your island."
Sora hummed and said, "I better start looking for Riku and Kairi."
Cid then said to him, "Well, good luck with whatever you're doing. If you run into trouble, come see me."
"Thanks!" Sora replied as he prepared to leave the shop, resting his Keyblade against his shoulder. Cid's jaw nearly dropped as he saw it.
"No freaking way!"
Picking up the nearby telephone, Cid hit the speed dial. As Sora left the shop, Cid spoke in a hushed whisper into the phone receiver.
"Leon! It's Cid! I've found him!"
"I'm on my way," came the reply.
…
Sora left the accessory shop and headed into the second district. Entering the Second District, Sora was met by a man who was frantically running before he tripped and fell over. Sora ran up to the man and asked him, "Hey, are you okay Mister?" The man didn't replied as suddenly a glowing heart burst out of his chest and floated over to an orb of darkness. The darkness consumed the heart and then from the darkness a strange creature dropped to the ground wearing some kind of helmet and a strange emblem was on its chest. It made herky-jerky clattering and clanking movements before somersaulting and disappeared in a whirl of darkness. Sora gaped in shock before looking to see the man had disappeared, leaving only an empty space.
Then rising up from the ground were the same creatures that had destroyed Destiny Islands. Sora readied his Keyblade as the creatures surrounded him before moving to attack him. Sora slashed them with his weapon, feeling a sense of deep satisfaction as he destroyed them, as if he were avenging what happened to his home. Once the group of creatures were destroyed, Sora then began his search for Riku and Kairi. But sadly, he only ran into more groups of the monsters. They seemed to appear out of nowhere and attacked Sora relentlessly.
After fighting a couple of groups of the monsters, Sora found a nearby apartment to take shelter in. Closing the door behind and panting in relief, Sora was soon met with the apartment owners; a pair of Dalmatian dogs, one male with black ears and the other was female with white ears.
"Oh! Sorry! Didn't mean to barge in," Sora said to the dogs apologetically. "Is it okay if I stay here for a moment?" he asked respectfully.
The male dog looked at the female before nodding at Sora. Sora then noticed the sad looks they had on their faces. "What's wrong?" he asked them kindly. The Dalmatians whimpered sadly. Sora didn't know why he possessed this, but he always had the ability to sense the emotions and feelings of others, animals included and he could sense the feeling of pain, sadness and loss from the two dogs.
"Oh, I see. You lost your puppies when you came here, didn't you?" The Dalmatians nodded in response. "I'm searching for my friends and family," Sora said to them. "Hey, if I find any of your puppies, I can bring them back here. How does that sound?" he offered.
The dogs perked and smiles seemed to appear on their faces. With a wave of goodbye, Sora left the apartment and thought to himself. "Hmmm… maybe Cid knows where to start looking?" he asked himself as he headed back towards the firs district.
…
Entering the accessory shop, Sora found Cid. "Still haven't found 'em" Cid asked him. "Keep your chin up. Maybe have another look around town?" he suggested.
"Any idea where I can start looking?" Sora asked him.
Cid scratched his chin in thought before replying, "Maybe the third district? They could be there," he offered.
"Okay, thanks," said Sora. "By the way, you haven't seen any Dalmatian puppies anywhere, have you? Their parents can't seem to find them," he explained.
"Can't say that I have," Cid replied.
"Oh, well. Thanks anyway," Sora said as he left the shop. As Sora left, Cid whispered quietly, "Go easy on him, Leon…"
Leaving the store, Sora began to walk through the town square when a voice called out to him. "They'll come at you out of nowhere," said the voice and Sora turned around to see who it was speaking to him. Then a tall man with long brown spikey hair with a scar across his nose and wearing a black leather jacket, trousers and boots with a white shirt and a pendant in the shape of a lion's head walked towards him.
"Who are you?" Sora asked. The man raised a gloved hand pointing towards Sora and said, "And they'll keep coming at you, as long as you continue to wield the Keyblade."
Touching his forehead as if in thought, the man said, "But why? Why would it choose a kid like you?" he asked in disbelief.
"Hey! What's that supposed to mean!?" Sora demanded in an annoyed tone of voice.
"Doesn't matter. Now, let's see that Keyblade," replied the man as he stretched out his hand and walked toward Sora.
"What?! There's no way you're getting this!" Sora retorted as he went into a ready stance.
"Fine. Have it your way," said the stranger as he pulled a strange kind of weapon that appeared to be a fusion of a sword and revolver pistol, holding it firmly in both hands. Sora then charged at the man and swung his Keyblade at him. The stranger sidestepped the attack and swung his weapon at Sora. A whistle of air was heard as Sora barely managed to avoid the strike. This guy was good. Better than Tidus, Wakka and Selphie back home. Maybe even better than Riku.
Sora moved back and kept his distance from the stranger who aimed his sword at Sora and fired a ball of fire at him. Sora managed to duck and he felt the searing heat from the fireball and the stench of burning hair hit his nostrils. The stranger launched another fireball at Sora who managed to avoid it in time. Suddenly, Sora remembered a tactic he used when fighting against Wakka.
As the stranger prepared to fire another fireball, Sora readied his Keyblade. The fireball was cast and soared towards Sora who swung his weapon like a baseball bat. The fireball was knocked back towards the stranger who grunted in pain and surprise. Taking this opportunity, Sora dashed in and scored some hits on his opponent. The stranger grunted in pain each time Sora struck him but he quickly recovered and swung his own weapon at Sora and this time he did not miss. Sora was sent skidding backwards and fell on his back, grunting in pain.
The stranger loomed over Sora, reaching out with an empty hand. Sora screwed his eyes shut and thrust out his hand on reflex and the stranger was suddenly knocked back by an invisible force. Sora looked at his hand in surprise. Did he do that on purpose?
But sensing this may be the only chance to win this fight, Sora got up and ran to his opponent and slapped the man's weapon out of his hands with his Keyblade. The stranger looked up at Sora bleakly. Sora was panting hard in elation and exhaustion.
"Now, you're gonna… gonna," he tried to say before he collapsed onto the ground, unconscious. The stranger got to his feet and picked up his weapon and looked at Sora.
"Aww… you're slipping, Leon," said a playful voice and the stranger turned his head to see a young woman with short dark hair and cheeky grin on her lips. The stranger harrumphed in embarrassment.
"I went easy on him," he said as he looked at the now unconscious Sora. "Still… it looks like things are worse than we thought. A lot worse," he added grimly.
…
Making his way out of the alleyway, Aegon found himself in another alleyway. "Curse it all, this place is like a maze," he muttered as he looked around. "Has to be some way out of these alleys to the Third District," he said to himself.
Suddenly the sound of footsteps alerted the young knight. Putting a hand to his sword, Aegon slowly turned around to see a figure approaching from the shadows. "Who's that skulking around?" he called out. "State your business!"
Then a woman approached from the darkness, her hair the colour of blood and tied in twin low hanging buns. "Calm down," she urged as she held up her hands as a show of peace. "I'm not here to hurt you, so would you mind not drawing your sword?" she prompted.
"And how am I to tell that you mean me no harm?" Aegon asked cautiously.
"If I meant you harm then we wouldn't be having this conversation now, would we?" the redhead replied.
Aegon nodded ceding the point fairly made and released his hold on his sword. "Apologies. Past events have left me on edge and cautious," he admitted. "I seek a man named Leon. I was told that he may have answers that I'm looking for," he then said.
"I'm looking for this Leon fellow as well," the redhead stated as she slowly approached to stand a foot away from Aegon. "I'm Triss. Triss Merigold," she introduced herself with a friendly smile.
"Aegon Targaryen, recently knighted," Aegon said with a princely smile. "So, you're looking for this Leon as well?" he asked and Triss nodded. "May I inquire as to what you seek him for?"
"These strange monsters appeared on my world and destroyed it. I found myself not too long ago," Triss said.
"Monsters? I too lost my world to such creatures," Aegon said. "Perhaps we might look for Leon together?" he suggested. "I'm afraid I'm a little lost," he added sheepishly.
"I gathered," Triss said with a warm smile.
Aegon smiled, but he suddenly frowned, looking past Triss and said, "Is she with you?"
Triss looked behind her to see a platinum haired woman wearing skintight black leather with white fur collar and cuffs, watching them with jade green eyes. "She's not with me," the redhead admitted.
"Seems we're all looking for the same guy," the platinum haired woman remarked as she sauntered up to them. "Name's Felicia, but call me Black Cat when in uniform," she said with a purr.
"Why Black Cat?" Aegon asked.
"Pardon?" Felicia raised an eyebrow.
"Why Black Cat? Is that a title you were given?" Aegon clarified.
"You've never heard of me?" Felicia asked in bewilderment.
"Should I have?" Aegon shot back.
"I haven't heard of anyone calling themselves Black Cat either," Triss put in.
"O-kay, it seems we're from different worlds," Black Cat surmised. "What are your names?" she asked.
"Aegon."
"Triss."
"Nice to meet you two. Found myself here after my world was destroyed, same as you two and from what I've been able to gather, we're not the only ones," Felicia said to them.
"So, there are other worlds out there?" Aegon asked curiously.
"Of course there are," Triss said to him. "What? You didn't think your world was all there was, did you?" she asked.
"Uh, I'd never thought there were other worlds until just recently," Aegon confessed.
"Okay, so we're each from different worlds and our worlds have been destroyed by shadow monsters," Felicia stated. "And we're all looking for a guy named Leon who may have the answers we need. Is that about right?" she asked looking at Triss and Aegon.
"It would appear to be the case," Triss said and Aegon nodded in agreement.
"But where would Leon be?" Aegon asked. "I mean, which direction is the third district?" he said for clarification. "This place is like a maze here!" he added as he looked around.
"Excuse me? Are you three looking for Leon?" a voice asked. Aegon whirled around rawing his sword and held it out in front of him as a young woman with brown hair wearing a pink dress emerged. Triss conjured a ball of fire in her right hand and Felicia flexed her fingers to sprout metallic claws.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle any of you," the young woman apologised.
"Apologies. Reflex," Aegon said. "We're looking for someone named Leon. Do you know where he is?" he asked.
"I do, but he's a little busy at the moment," the pink wearing woman replied. "I'm Aerith. I can take you to a safehouse nearby where you can get some answers," she offered.
"What do we do?" Aegon asked Triss and Felicia.
"I say we play along for now," Felicia whispered to Aegon. "If it is a trap, we get out and find our own way," she then said.
"I agree," Triss nodded her head before she then spoke to Aerith. "Lead the way."
Aerith and motioned for them to follow her.
…
"C'mon, lazy-bum! Wake up!" said a familiar voice and Sora opened his eyes to see Kairi standing in front of him. He realised he was lying on a bed in a room. "You okay?" Kairi asked him.
"I think so," Sora said, shrugging his shoulders in response.
"Those creatures that attacked you are after the Keyblade. But it was your heart they wanted, because you wield the Keyblade," Kairi told him. Sora had no idea what she was talking about, but he was just happy to see her.
"I'm just glad you're okay, Kairi."
"Kairi?" Kairi's voice changed to someone else's. "I am the Great Ninja Yuffie!" And in a brief flash of light, Kairi was replaced by a different slightly older girl who was looking at Sora in concern. She then looked over at the wall and said, "I think you overdid it, Squall."
Then the stranger from before stepped forward and gruffly said, "That's Leon."
Sora looked around and saw the Keyblade resting against the wall. "The Keyblade," Sora uttered softly.
"Yeah, we had to get it away from you to shake off those creatures," Yuffie informed him. "Turns out that's how they were tracking you," she said.
"It was the only way to conceal your heart from them," Leon said folding his arms over his chest. "But it won't work for long," he added grimly. Sora sat up on the bed and looked at the floor.
"Still… hard to believe that you of all people are the chosen one," Leon muttered as he picked up the Keyblade and gave it an experimental swing. In a flash of light, the Keyblade disappeared and reappeared in Sora's hands.
"Well, beggars can't be choosers," Leon commented dryly.
"Why don't you start making sense? What's going on here?!" Sora demanded.
…
In an adjacent room, Aegon, Triss and Felicia stood in front of Aerith who had sat down on the edge of the bed.
"You must have a lot of questions," Aerith said knowingly.
"We do, any answers you have would be appreciated," Triss said in response.
"But how do we know you're telling the truth?" Felicia asked, playing the Devil's Advocate.
"Is there a way you can trust me?" Aerith offered.
"I can cast a spell to read your mind and see if you're telling the truth," Triss replied and Aerith nodded in acceptance.
"You can use magic to read men's minds?" Aegon asked the redhead who nodded and said, "I can, but I don't do it often." Smiling teasingly, she added, "Something you don't want people to know?"
"Let's just get on with this," Aegon said quickly. Smiling to herself, Triss then cast the spell on Aerith and nodded at her.
"Well, first off; you know there are other worlds out there besides your own, right?" Aerith began.
"Well, I knew there were other planets out there," Felicia said thoughtfully. "But I can't say I've ever been to them. Never had the opportunity," she added.
"What does that have to do with any of this?" Aegon asked Aerith, getting to the heart of the matter.
"Because nearly every world was kept secret from each other and they've never been connected," Aerith replied. "When the Heartless came, everything changed," she said sorrowfully.
…
"The Heartless?" Sora repeated.
"The creatures who attacked you, remember?" Yuffie said to him helpfully.
"Those without hearts," Leon said grimly.
"The darkness in people's hearts. That's what attracts them," Yuffie put in.
"And there is darkness in every heart," Leon said darkly.
"Hey, ever of anyone named Ansem?" Yuffie then asked Sora.
…
"Ansem?" Triss parroted.
"He was studying the Heartless," Aerith said. "And he recorded all his findings in a detailed report," she added.
"Why would this Ansem guy wanna study the Heartless in the first place?" Felicia asked, thinking out loud.
"I don't know," Aerith admitted regretfully. "I like to think he was trying to find a way to get rid of them," she said.
"Do you believe that this Ansem fellow was trying to find a weakness the Heartless may possess?" Aegon asked and Aerith nodded. "Where is this report? Do you have it here?" he then asked.
"Its pages have been scattered," Aerith said sadly.
"Scattered?" Triss and Felicia said at the same time.
"Too many worlds," Aerith then said.
"How do you know all this?" Triss asked her.
"Our world was the first to be attacked by the Heartless and we ended up here," said Aerith. "A king named by the name of Mickey came by not long ago, trying to find answers of his own. We met him and exchanged what we knew with each other," she explained.
"And this King Mickey went off to search for these pages of Ansem's report?" Triss asked and Aerith nodded in reply.
"You said you exchanged information with this Mickey," Aegon observed. "Did he say anything on how the Heartless could be stopped?" she asked.
Aerith nodded and replied, "The King went on to tell us that he was going off on his own to investigate a way to stop all this, while a specific individual would help ensure this chaos was resolved. It was the King's belief that this person with a 'Key' would be the one to ensure our survival and that of all worlds."
"Did the King say who he could be?" Felicia asked.
"Or she?" Triss then put in.
"The King said he didn't know, but he did say that this person would wield a weapon called the Keyblade," replied Aerith.
…
"So, this is the Key?" Sora said in realisation as he looked at the Keyblade in his hand and Yuffie nodded.
"Exactly!"
"The Heartless have great fear of the Keyblade," Leon said as he leaned against the wall of the room. "It's the only thing that can destroy them. And they'll keep coming after you, no matter what," he added.
"Well, I didn't ask for this!" Sora argued.
"The Keyblade chooses its master," Yuffie replied. "And it chose you," she said firmly.
"So, tough luck," Leon said almost callously.
Sora stared at the floor in front of him and he spoke. "How did this all happen? I remember being in my room." Suddenly remembering what had happened, he leapt to his feet and cried, "Wait a minute! What happened to my home?! My island?! My Mom?! Riku?! Kairi?!"
"You know what? I really don't know," Leon said sombrely and Sora hung his head sadly.
…
"Keyblade? I think I read something about that once," Aegon said thoughtfully.
"Truly?" Triss asked. "What do you know?" she further asked.
"Not much. There were many once, but they died out eons ago," Aegon replied. "Something about a great war," he said as he frowned trying to remember.
"That's partly true, but a handful still remain," Aerith said. "The only ones that we know of are King Mickey and the person who is our only hope," she added. "The King was going to send his two best men to search for this person, but something went wrong," she then said.
"What happened?" Felicia asked.
"Apparently the King's dog got on board the ship they were meant to use and accidentally activated the ship's engines and the autopilot took him and the royal chronicler here," Aerith replied.
"Royal chronicler?" Aegon echoed.
"Down here!" cried out a tiny voice from the floor. Everyone looked at the floor to see a tiny cricket wearing a neat little suit and top hat bouncing up and down.
"Gods! A talking cricket?!" Aegon uttered.
"Cricket's the name. Jiminy Cricket, at your service," said the little cricket with a bow and tipping its hat.
"What were the duties of the King's men when they were with you?" Triss asked seemingly unperturbed at seeing a talking cricket.
"Once the King's men found the Key, they would then try to find the King on behalf of the Queen and end this crisis," Jiminy replied right away.
Triss pursed her lips and said, "Then it appears it falls to us to take their place."
"Okay, so we find this Key and find whoever's controlling these Heartless and put everything back the way it was, right?" Felicia asked.
"It seems that way," Aegon said to her.
Felicia sighed before saying "Well, not like I had anything better to do," she said sarcastically.
"Where do we start?" Triss then asked Aerith.
"Leon and Yuffie have already found the Key. They're explaining the situation to him right now," Aerith said.
"Are you all sure about this?" Jiminy asked them. "It's not going to be easy!" he warned.
"I've survived one world-ending crisis before any of this happened," Triss said in an almost tired way. "Won't be any different this time," she added.
…
In the other room, Yuffie said to Sora, "Hey, cheer up! I've heard the Keyblade can open all sorts of locks. Why not try it on any door or chest you come across?" she suggested. Sora nodded and stood to his feet.
"Sooner or later the Heartless will find you," Leon told him. "You'd best prepare yourself," he advised.
"For what?" Sora asked nervously.
"For the fight of your life, and the lives of countless others," Leon said. Looking at Sora, he asked him, "Are you ready?"
Sora nodded. "I'm ready!" he said bravely.
Leon nodded before looking at Yuffie. "Yuffie, let's go join Aerith and the others. They should be briefed by now," he said.
Yuffie suddenly gasped and shouted in warning, "Leon!" Appearing in the room was a soldier Heartless that clattered and clanked noisily. Leon had his Gunblade drawn. "Yuffie, go!" he ordered. Sora summoned his Keyblade as Yuffie ran into the other room.
"Yuffie?!" Aerith exclaimed in surprise.
"The Heartless found us!" Yuffie explained hurried as more Heartless filled the room.
"Sora! Let's go!" Leon said. Swinging his Gunblade, Leon smashed the Heartless out of the window, down into the side alley below. Leon leapt down after it and Sora followed behind him.
Back in the hotel room, Aegon drew his sword and spoke to Aerith. "Get the girl out of here! We'll find the Key!" he shouted loudly.
Felicia picked up Jiminy and placed him on her shoulder. "Hold on tight, little dude!" she advised him. Triss conjured a ball of flame in her hand and flung it at the wall. With a loud boom and spray of flames, masonry, glass and plaster, the wall exploded outwards revealing a way out.
"This way!" Triss urged her companions as they followed her outside and onto the roof.
…
In the side alley, more Heartless appeared around Sora and Leon. Leon looked at Sora and said to him, "Don't bother with the small fry! Find the leader! Let's go!" With that, Leon ran towards the first district while Sora ran in the opposite direction towards the third district. Remembering Cid telling him that Riku and Kairi could be in the third district, Sora ran as fast as he could, avoiding the Heartless as they tried to attack him. Reaching the third district, Sora ran down the steps and into the big open courtyard.
Looking around, but seeing no sign of Riku and Kairi, Sora kept his guard up. Up on the rooftops, Triss spotted the spiky haired boy armed with the Keyblade.
"There! The boy with spiky hair!" she pointed out.
Aegon gave a derisive snort. "Damn… thought it might be someone with more experience!" he scoffed.
"Don't judge him by appearance," Triss said to Aegon. "The Keyblade chose him for a reason," he added.
"She's right, y'know?" Felicia said to Aegon. "The kid could surprise us," she added.
"Yeah, well, so long as I don't end up playing nursemaid!" Aegon groused but then he saw large cinder blocks drop down around the courtyard, blocking the exits. "Oh, goody! He walked right into a trap!" he said in faux happiness.
"Then let's give him a hand!" Triss announced as she readied her magic.
Heartless appeared around Sora and one snuck up behind him when suddenly it was slashed into two halves by Aegon's sword. Sora looked up at the young knight and asked, "Who are you?!"
"Call me Aegon. We're here to help," Aegon replied as he and the others stood with Sora. "You ready?" he asked the young boy.
"I was born ready!" Sora boasted.
"Then let's get ready to rumble!" Felicia said with a grin.
The four warriors then fought the waves of Heartless that came at them. Aegon hacked, slashed and hewed apart the creatures with Blackfyre. Triss flung balls of fire obliterating Heartless. Black Cat used her claws to slashed apart any Heartless that flung themselves at her. Soon all the Heartless were defeated, and Aegon looked around and said, "Is that it? I was hoping for more."
As if in answer to her words, large pieces of silver, blue and yellow armour consisting of gauntlets, boots, cuirass and helmet fell from the sky and hit the ground with a loud clatter, bouncing up and spinning in the air wildly. The gauntlets then settled around the torso which had a strange symbol on it and the boots settled their soles on the ground and the helmet attached itself to the cuirass.
"I'm gonna take a wild guess and say that's the big fish there," Felicia said dryly.
"What was your first clue?" Triss quipped as she readied another spell.
Aegon then charged at the Heartless commander, One of the gauntlets swung at the young knight who managed to block the attack but was sent skidding backwards. Black Cat circled around the large Heartless and tried to take a swing at it with her grapnel launcher, but the Heartless stomped its boots, sending out a shockwave which knocked the thief into the air briefly before she fell and hit the ground with a thud, rolling back onto her feet.
Sora tried his luck, swinging his Keyblade at the Heartless while Triss hurled a fireball. Sora's attacks did very little to the commander, and Triss's spell splashed almost harmlessly against its body. The Heartless swung a fist at Triss who dodged the attack, moving back to get some distance. Looking at the Guard Armour, Triss chanted a spell try and get a reading on the Heartless's weaknesses.
Aegon was trading blows with the Heartless commander, his sword parrying each strike it made with its fists.
Finishing her spell, Triss realised the Guard Armour's weakness; it's limbs were vulnerable when separated. "Take out the commander's limbs! It'll grow weaker if we destroy its limbs!" the sorceress shouted.
Aegon heard and he then focussed on destroying the Heartless's hands. Felicia used her grapnel launcher to grab one of the Heartless's boots and flung it towards Sora who slashed it in half with the Keyblade. Triss cast a ward on the remaining boot to pin it in place before using her telekinesis to crush to vapor. Aegon hacked at the right-hand gauntlet, making it explode in a spray of black mist and Sora slashed at the left-hand gauntlet, destroying it.
"Now! Hit it with everything!" Aegon hollered and everyone focussed their attacks on the Heartless commander's body. The Heartless withered under the assault before a series of explosions rocked its body and it fell to the ground defeated. A large glowing heart burst out of the commander's body and floated off and the body faded into nothingness.
"We did it! That was so cool!" Sora cheered in triumph.
"I could murder a pint right now," Aegon said as he nearly slumped over.
"You know, we worked pretty well together," Felicia pointed out. Triss glanced at her before walking over to Sora.
"We've been looking for you," the sorceress said to the boy who looked up at her and said, "You have?"
"They too have been seeking the wielder of the Keyblade," Leon said as he, Aerith and Yuffie walked into the courtyard.
"Yes. We believe you may be the only one who can stop the Heartless and restore the worlds we've lost," Triss told him.
"Okay, but why?" Sora asked.
"The Heartless attacked our worlds too," Aegon explained to Sora. "And as hard as it is for me to say or believe this, you may be the only chance we have at getting back at those things," she added.
"A king even believed you were the one to do it," Felicia chimed in. "We even have a ship that can allow us to travel to other worlds," she said.
"I wonder if we can find my Mom, and my friends Riku and Kairi?" Sora said softly.
"If your mother and friends are out there, then we'll find them," Triss said kindly to Sora.
"Sora, go with them, especially if you want to find your friends," Leon said.
"Yeah, I guess," Sora mumbled quietly.
Felicia grinned at him and said, "Hey, now. You can't come along looking like that!" she chided him. "No frowning! No sad faces! This ship runs on happy faces!" she told him.
"Seriously? You're doing this?" Aegon asked the thief who glared at him.
"Happy?" Sora asked as he looked down at the ground and Felicia had a slightly disappointed look. Then Sora raised his head with the biggest and silliest smile on his face and said, "CHEESE!"
Felicia burst out laughing and it also got a chuckle out of Triss. "That's one funny face!" Veronica said through her laughter. Aegon slumped his shoulders and muttered something under his breath, "Children… I work with children."
"Eh, two out of three ain't bad," Sora said shrugging his shoulders. "Why not? I'll go with you guys!" he declared.
"My name's Felicia, but call me Black Cat or just Cat," Felicia said holding out her hand, palm facing down.
"I'm Triss Merigold, sorceress and advisor to King Tancred of Kovir," Triss said placing her hand on top of Veronica's.
"Aegon Targaryen, recently knighted," Aegon said as he put his hand on top of Triss's.
"I'm Sora!" Sora said as he placed his hand on top of the pile.
"So, where do we start?" Aegon then asked looking at his newfound friends.
…
In a far off world in a dark chapel, a group of figures shrouded in darkness watched the events in Traverse Town unfold in a magical mirror.
"So, the little squirt took down that Heartless! Who'd have though it?" scoffed one of the individuals, this one had blue grey and had flickering blue flames for hair.
A regal looking individual with a turban on his head and holding a snake's head staff in his hand spoke. "Such is the power of the Keyblade! The child's strength is not his own!" he said derisively.
"Why not just turn the brat into a Heartless?" asked another of the individuals, an obese woman surrounded by wet tentacles. "That'll settle things quick enough!" she laughed.
"And the brat's friends are a problem as well!" added a man with a hook for a left hand. "Swoggle me eyes! They're all bilge rats by the look of them!" he stated.
"You're no prize yourself!" laughed what could only be described as a living burlap sack.
"Shut up!" spat the hook handed man angrily.
Then a man in black robes with a full face helmet spoke. "We cannot underestimate them," he said. "Each of them threatens our plans in their own right!" he declared.
"Enough," commanded a woman's voice, regal and filled with dark malice. Walking into the light was the woman who spoke. She green tinted skin and horns on her head and wore dark robes and held a staff with a green gem set into it. "The Keyblade has chosen him for a reason. Will it be he who conquers the darkness? Or will the darkness swallow him?" she postulated. A thin sinister smile spread across her lips as she said, "Either way, he could be quite useful."
Then three more individuals stepped into the light, one was a man wearing a high collared piled coat and had lustrous black hair and beard, pale blue lips and an eyepatch over one eye and the other two were women. The first woman had dark tanned skin making it hard to identify her ethnicity and part of her head shaved closed to the scalp. The second woman wore somewhat revealing robes with her dark brown hair done in braided pigtails and a cloth over her eyes.
"It interests me that Merigold has survived the destruction of our world. Perhaps in time, she could be turned to our cause?" the pig tailed woman mused
"I too am surprised to see that Hardy has survived as well," the dark skinned woman commented. "Maybe she'll realise her foolish endeavours are all for nought," she said with a gloating smile.
The eyepatch wearing man grinned dangerously and said, "It interests me that the young knight wielding the sword of the Conqueror claims to be Aegon Targaryen, but it will not matter in the end once we have what we want."
"Patience, my friends. All in good time," said the green skinned woman. "Soon, all the Princesses of Heart and the worlds shall be ours," she declared with a smile.
TO BE CONTINUED…
A/N: There! After a long wait, I finally updated this. I haven't got too much to say about this, but I hope it was enough to make the grade.
I'll leave this here and catch you all in the next one.
Be kind to one another,
Angry lil' elf.