"Loudred, look at all the humans," Alakazam poked his companion like a kid in a candy store.

"Yes, I can see them."

"There's so many of them."

"Yes, I can tell."

The comical Pokemon duo had arrived at the city of eternal starlight. Despite typically being a goal focused Pokemon, Alakazam was jumping around in excitement leaving, ironically, his more laidback companion to reign him in.

"Okay, okay," Alakazam breathed. "Focus. This is a really important mission. No time to admire the scenery."

Alakazam lifted his head upwards as he went to straighten his back. Right at that moment however, he witnessed something truly disturbing. One of the brightest stars that lit up the sky had suddenly gone out.

"Did you see that?" Loudred gawked right beside him. "They're going out, just like the King said."

"We have to hurry," Alakazam stated in a tone that sounded like he was trying his best to remain composed.

Skitty hurtled past the duo, nearly causing Alakazam to fall backward. "Hey, watch it!"

At that point, Skitty was already too far away to hear Alakazam's scolds.

"Shouldn't we go after her?" Loudred pointed.

"Leave her," Alakazam grumbled. "This is more important. We'll grab her on our way out."

Alakazam had already begun to walk towards a completely different direction and left no room for Loudred to protest.

The purple Pokemon shrugged before following after him. "If you say so."

oOo

TRAVERSE TOWN

oOo

It was a strange sensation.

There were no glass platforms of intricate tapestries. No Shadows, no Darkside challenging him to a fight he was destined to lose.

Most other people would not be conscious enough to register this, but Cody had been plagued by those nightmares for so long, he could mentally feel the difference right away.

Those nightmares were no more.

This called for a celebration

In fact, he was going to celebrate with the best damn dream he could think of. He's going to have a massive party populated by every goth cartoon character that's ever graced the internet. He'll be buff as hell and be stinking rich on the largest yacht imaginable. This'll be great. Finally, a normal ass dream!

"HEY ARE YOU DEAD?!"

So much for that.

Cody screamed himself awake. So much had changed yet so little at the same time.

He glanced onto his lap where a cheeky pink kitten grinned mischievously.

"Who said that just now?" He mumbled.

"Me! Who else would it be?"

…

Did that cat just talk?

It was already weird enough that there was a cat with what seemed to be naturally pink fur, but…

Did that cat just talk?!

Cody responded in the most sensible way possible. He screamed again and tossed the cat into the air as he fled the scene.

"Rude!" Skitty mewed.

Cody's eyes darted in alarm the more he ran around the area. Where in the world was he? The last thing he remembered, he was fighting off a giant monster threatening to destroy Camp Wawanakwa in the middle of a crazy storm. Now he was in what seemed like an old European city he'd never seen before. Did the storm somehow sweep him here? No, that wouldn't make any sense.

And why the hell is this giant key still here?!

Cody screeched to a halt as he entered what appeared to be the city's main plaza. Familiar faces were abound, all sharing the same sense of confusion Cody held.

Relief entered his face upon the realization that he was not the only camper who had managed to stumble into this strange new city. But that feeling soon faded as he realized this was not the complete set of acquaintances in front of him.

"Bridge!" Geoff cried out in desperation. "Bridgette, where are you?!" The tall blonde quickly crumpled into a sobbing mess on the ground.

Bridgette wasn't the only one missing. Katie and Sadie were shallowly horrified at the loss of their favorite eye candy, Justin. Izzy was searching high and low for Owen. DJ was wondering why Courtney wasn't trying to help reign everyone in only to realize she was missing as well. Same with Duncan, Tyler, Eva…

He was pretty sure Chris and Chef drowned back at the island, but who cares about them?

Cody was desperate to see Gwen and Trent if only because the last moments he remembered sharing with both of them spooked him up to his core. He had no clue if they were even still alive at this point, and if that turned out to be true, he wasn't ready to mentally process the emotional gut punch that he may have very well witnessed their last moments.

"Calm down," Leshawna said to a still crying Geoff. "She's probably in another part of...where the heck are we?"

"Traverse Town."

The large group shifted their attention to the unfamiliar voice. A muscular blonde teen with mismatched pants walked into the plaza, taking the center of the plaza to ensure he had everyone's attention.

"This place is Traverse Town, a world for those who have lost their worlds."

"Wh-what do you mean?" Beth asked.

The boy had a briefly nervous look as if he wasn't willing to blow everyone's mind with the next bit of information. "Well…

"You're all here because your world is gone."

...What?

"Your world was destroyed."

What?!

"You're all the last remnants of it."

WHAT?!

"Alright, you better not be messing with us, or I swear," Leshawna angrily marched towards him, utilizing her hope that this wasn't happening to fuel her anger.

"Whoa, whoa," the boy stopped her. "Look, before your world was destroyed, it was invaded by a bunch of black creatures, right?"

Leshawna paused as did everyone else. How could they forget?

"Well...they won is what I'm saying."

A new sense of sadness entered the plaza. And something dawned on everyone that no one was willing to admit. Cody was not willing to admit it especially.

"So," DJ began. "Everyone else on the island, does that mean?..."

The boy responded with a soft smile. "Sounds like you were all on at the same place? Don't worry. As long as you were at the crux of the end, you're good. Your missing friends probably got scattered off to different worlds."

A large wave of relief flowed through.

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot," the boy grinned. "Name's Tidus. I'm the 'welcoming committee' for these parts. You guys probably all have a ton of questions, so-"

"Well hello Tidus," a girly coo startled Tidus as Katie suddenly grabbed ahold of his arm with an overly flirtatious expression on her face. "Yeah, I have a ton of questions."

"Me too," Sadie grabbed ahold of Tidus's other arm with an expression just as lustful as her friend's. "Tell us everything you know."

Well, it looked like they got over Justin pretty quickly.

"Uh," Tidus blinked. "You ladies mind backing off a bit?"

Tidus was losing his hold on the group the more flustered he got at Katie and Sadie's intrusiveness. Cody had zoned out and once again investigated the new area they had been thrusted into. He then glanced over at the other campers and gauged their reactions to this mess. Some zoned off just as he did. Some still carried worried looks. Geoff still sniffed his nose out. And Heather, the island's local witch with a capital "B" bald, scowled as if this whole ordeal was merely an annoying inconvenience to her.

...There was something nearby.

Cody's eyes widened and his body slowly started to tremble. The monsters were back.

Heather caught his stare and responded with a nasty face. At this point, she was used to the occasional glances and snickers from the other campers over her newfound baldness. Even now, the others were using her past misfortune as a means to keep themselves amused and sane in this strange calamity. And she was having none of it.

"Look away right now before I poke your eyes out," she snarled.

"B-b-b-be-hind," he wasn't really in the right mind to be forming complete sentences at the moment. Heather just continued giving him daggers and he kept nervously observing the Shadows manifesting in the distance.

They cocked their heads towards him in an army movement so synchronized, it sent shivers up his entire body.

He wasn't sure why, but he was certain they were staring at him specifically.

And they were out for blood.

There was no time to think. Cody followed his instincts and ran the heck out of there.

"Fucking dweeb," Heather muttered.

Any and all attitude she held quickly dissipated as the long trail of Shadows swooped past her to tail Cody. Heather let out a blood curdling scream, causing a domino effect amongst the ex-campers who recognized the monsters on sight.

"What kind of stupid timing?" Tidus groaned as he reached out for his sword. "So the first thing you guys'll need to know about are the Heartless."

oOo

He really thought it was over. He thought with the dream gone, he was rid of these creatures for good. Yet there he was, fleeing through an unknown city with an ever increasing trail of Heartless behind him.

This was probably a bad idea, but he quickly glanced behind him to check his distance.

The horde had not only increased, but the flurry of Shadows were now also accompanied by soldier-like creatures of darkness as well. All the people he ran past fled in panic. He gulped as he felt guilt for all the chaos he was causing. Yet he couldn't help but wonder…

Why were they after him specifically?!

Cody slid into an alleyway only to be greeted by a small crowd of Heartless that floated in the air like dolls in dresses. Why were there even more of them now?!

His adrenaline rush was only going to last for so long. How could he escape these things? Cody eyed a building from the lower decks and noticed an open hatch. This was crazy, but he wasn't going to get anywhere by just running around. Mustering his courage, Cody leapt off the railings and into the hatch as he reached out for the handle to ensure the building was sealed off.

He crashed onto a store shelf, scattering broken pieces of mechanical gizmos everywhere. Perhaps being on that stupid reality show had one benefit. After all the injuries he'd received on it, this jump that really should have broken every bone in his body didn't seem to do anything other than a lot of surface level pain.

"What the hell are you doing?!" The store owner screamed at him. You broke my entire stock!"

"Sorry, sorry, sorry," Cody yelped in stutters. "Monsters. Monsters were chasing me and-"

Glass shattered from above as Heartless entered the scene, forcing the shopkeep and his customers to evacuate in record time. Cody couldn't even tell if this was the same group that chased him earlier or if it was a newer bunch entirely. Either way, it looked like hiding was not going to be an option.

oOo

"So, no one with a key has checked in?" Alakazam asked.

"Nope," the young bellhop rolled his eyes like he was praying for the Pokemon to leave as soon as possible.

"Like, it's supposed to be a really special key. I don't know exactly what that means, but it's not a normal key."

"Nope," the bellhop groaned once more.

"I don't know, the letter was really vague. Maybe it's not even a traditional key. Maybe it's a key card or-"

"Sorry for troubling you," Loudred nervously laughed as he dragged his partner away and out of the building.

"Al, I know you like to be thorough, but you don't have to ask them the same thing ten times."

"You only think that because you never take anything seriously. This is why you're a bard and not an advisor!"

"If you say so…"

The pair looked off in the distance and spot a commotion occurring in the shopping district. They looked at each other. Should they go to investigate?

"I say we go!" Loudred decided.

"No way. We still haven't checked every square inch of this block-"

"We can check every square inch over there instead!" Loudred jovially picked up his friend and slung him on his arms as he continued forward, ignoring all of his friend's violent protests.

If only they had stayed for even a minute or two longer because barely even a moment later, Cody charged right past the dingy hotel, still struggling to shake off the Heartless horde he had amassed.

Cody had never been an athletic person. In fact, if you were to look up antonyms for "athletic", he'd be the top result. His energy was fueled by fear and it wasn't going to last him forever. He was already beginning to feel his body fatigue and his vision growing hazy.

It wasn't ideal, but he ran into the next closest building he could get into. His hiding spot last time worked out disastrously, and he didn't expect any better this time around, but he had to do something.

SLAM!

Cody immediately collapsed onto the floor. He could feel the door thumping behind him as the Heartless did everything they could to break in. Huh. Strange how they could break glass yet this simple door was giving them issues.

"Hey, are you planning on buying something or are you just going to lie there and scare the customers, nyo?"

"What customers, nyu?"

"Shouldn't we ask if he's okay, gema?..."

Cody glanced upwards. Behind the store counter were two little girls clad in adorable kitten themed attire. One had bright lime green hair and wore a poofy maid outfit while the other, clearly way younger than the already young looking green haired catgirl, was an emotionless looking brunette adorning a simple sailor uniform.

And then there was the creature floating right beside them. A yellow orb with an upside down face.

Another monster.

"So, nyo?" The lime green maid continued smugly. "Are you going to buy something or-"

Cody made a lame attempt at a battlecry and swung at the floating creature, startling everyone.

"What are you doing?! What did I do, gema?!" The orb cried.

"Why won't you guys stop chasing me?!" Cody cried in desperation.

The brunette toddler performed one single jab to his guts and he was down on the floor and pacified.

"Alright, wiseguy. Either you tell us why you charged in here like a maniac or we're launching you to die in space, nyo!"

"M-monsters," Cody shook. "They're everywhere and they won't stop coming."

The trio blinked.

"They're right outside!"

The lime green child laughed. "You think there's monsters out there, nyo?" She sauntered off towards the door. "There aren't any monsters, you weenie, nyo."

"No, don't!" Cody shouted as the child carelessly opened the door.

The Heartless were still there.

SLAM!

"Ciiiiiiiiiiiiiid!" She shrieked in fear.

The employee door beside the counter opened up and revealed a man who looked both lean and burly and likely in his middle years.

"What?" He said in annoyance. "I'm trying to craft back here. If you can't handle manning the store, then I ain't paying you three zilch."

"The Heartless are back and they came back in thirties, nyo!"

Cid paused and looked around the room to assess the situation. He took a moment to note Cody and his pathetic display.

And that key…

Cid focused back on the wailing catgirl and lazily scratched the back of his head. He gritted his teeth as he spoke. "You're the one with the freaky eyes. Why are you crying out to me for help?"

Awkward silence.

"You're dumb, nyu," the toddler mocked the green maid girl.

"Shut up!" She shouted back.

This time, she snatched the door open, and after taking a deep breath…

"LASER EYE BEAM!"

...She shot lasers straight out of her eyes like she was a living sci-fi gun. And with that, all the Heartless that had chased Cody at a seemingly endless pace were all decimated.

He was so stunned and terrified, he couldn't even piss his pants.

While Cody continued to struggle processing literally everything that had occurred since his last hours on Camp Wawanakwa, he felt a light poke on his cheek. The young toddler catgirl stared at him with her big cold eyes.

"Are you okay, nyu?"

"Oh, uh," his breath was still stilted and he was caught completely off guard that this uncaring looking child was the first person to show him kindness since this nonsense started. "Yeah, thanks."

The man named Cid walked over to him with a bottle of water in hand. "Here," he started. "Looks like they were after you for a while, huh?"

Cody nodded weakly before immediately downing the whole bottle in just a few gulps.

"And you," Cid turned over to the lime green haired child. "How long have you been here at this point? I have you on watch specifically so you can take down any threats that come by."

"Yeah," the floating orb nodded in a similar sentiment to Cid. "You need to learn how to take your job more seriously, gema."

"Don't think you're off the hook," Cid pointed to the creature. "You're supposed to be her guardian, aren't you? If she's not doing her job right, make her until she does."

"Oh, shut up, nyo!"

Cid returned to Cody. "You're new in town, right?"

He nodded weakly.

"Yeah, I figured."

"What were those things?"

Cid blinked. "Tidus is supposed to explain that kind of stuff to you, not me. Didn't you run into him when you first got here?" He sighed. "Doesn't matter now I guess.

"Those things are Heartless. I'm not good at explaining the particulars, but they're creatures of darkness that exist to consume worlds. This world's supposed to be a safespot, but that doesn't mean those pests don't try to take it down anyway. And honestly, these days it feels like they're really making an effort."

He held out his hand. "Name's Cid. I run this here shop."

"Uh," Cody reached for Cid's hand and shook it nervously. "I'm Cody." He glanced at the brunette toddler who still stared blankly at him and then tilted his head to take a look at the other girl and the floating orb who had apparently started a pointless spat about "responsibility" in the meantime.

"Oh and these three," Cid said in a mix between a chuckle and sigh. "They're just a pack of nuisances. No need to introduce them."

"Hey!" The green haired girl screeched, as she marched on over. "That is no way to talk about a princess!"

"Princess?" Cody asked quizzically.

"Yeah, believe it or not, she's a bonafide princess, gema," the yellow orb followed after her.

"I'm Dejiko, nyo!" The green haired catgirl held out her cat paw gloved hand.

"I'm Gema, gema!"

"Puchiko, nyu."

Cody was still very unsure of these three. Despite looking human, there was still something very strange about the two girls. And of course there was the case of the floating...thing…

"So, are you gonna shake my hand or not, nyo?"

"Your screechy voice and constant whining probably scared him," Cid stated as he busily gathered materials and store goods in the back. As if he knew she was going to try to get into yet another argument at him over that poke, he continued on speaking so there was no time for her to butt in. "Those three are kind of like you. Their world was ate up by those Heartless. Since those two are apparently royalty, their kingdom did everything they could to make sure they escaped the world safely and sent them here."

"'Apparently', nyo?" Dejiko jerked at this word.

"I mean," Gema interjected. "You don't really behave very princess-like, gema."

"Yes, I do. Everyone loves me, nyo!"

"The Heartless sure love you," Cid grumbled as he walked over towards Cody and the group with a full burlap bag in hand. "I swear, they doubled in numbers the moment you showed up."

"Is that supposed to be an insult, nyo?"

"Definitely, nyu."

Cody laughed. These weirdos were starting to grow on him. He reached his hand out towards Dejiko who had already given up trying to fetch a handshake from him. The strange trio blinked as they took in Cody's calming mood and happily shook his hand with smiles.

"So what are you going to do now?" Cid grumped.

"Well," Cody finally stood back up. "I guess now that all those 'Heartless' things are gone, I should probably head back to the others…"

"Well, if you're gonna leave, you should take these with you," Cid held out the bag to Cody's confusion. Before he could take hold of it, the bag took on a surreal liquid-like form before quickly morphing into a solid cube the size of a small keychain toy right before his eyes.

"Holy shit…" Cody gawked.

"Guess your world wasn't great in ways of tech, huh?" Cid guffawed. "Small enough to fit in your pockets. Filled it up with a couple of snacks and medicinal drinks. This shop stocks up on any and all items and equipment you need to protect yourself from the Heartless, so feel free to stop by here any time you want."

Cody grinned as he nodded and happily took the cube from Cid's hand. "Thanks! I will."

And with that, he was off.

…

…

…

Cid sighed while he stared down to the floor. He had hid quite a lot from Cody the entire time he was here. While Cid was gruff and no nonsense, he was a kind fatherly guy underneath, and it was hard to have to conceal so much from a kid as naive and clearly unprepared as Cody was.

Cid recovered to his usual stance and headed to the phone by the counter.

"...Hey, it's me, Cid. That Tidus kid, he said he might've seen a boy with a key, right? Well, luck may have it, he just left my shop. Should still be nearby… Yeah… Uh huh… Do me a favor and go easy on him, alright? Trust me, you'll want to too the moment you see him."

Cid put the phone down and sighed once again.

"You guys can be pretty mean sometimes, nyo," Dejiko observed judgmentally.

"This is something that has to be done, gema. Adults have to make hard decisions sometimes. You'll understand when you're older, gema."

"Do you even count as an adult, nyo?"

"Quit chattering and get back to work, will ya?" Cid barked at the two as he started making his way back to the other room. "Puchiko, you were restocking the shelves earlier today, right? I saw some of the potions were a bit mixed up in the back. It was just two or three and I know reading some of the labels might be a bit hard on you, so don't worry too much about it. Just be more careful and take your time."

After ruffling the small child's head, Cid was gone, and Dejiko and Gema noisily returned to their stations behind the counter, having apparently found a new thing to bicker about in the background. All the while, Puchiko continued to stand in place as she stared daggers towards the other side of the store where all the medicinal drinks and potions were displayed. There was something about what Cid just said that jolted a memory in her, but she couldn't quite place it. Why was she so pressed about it?

...Oh, that's right.

"I think he drank a sleeping potion, nyu."

So yeah, in case you were wondering what kind of cringy shit is going to be in this fanfic; yes, there are Di Gi Charat characters in it.

This is your one warning.