Run.
That was all Rino could do.
She'd been betrayed, abandoned, and sold into slavery.
All because Myne didn't like her.
A man's voice shouted after her, ordering her to "get back here" and "serve me like a good slave".
Rino had tears in her eyes. She couldn't take this anymore. She refused to take this anymore.
Luckily, she was fast on her feet and managed to outrun her assailant.
Rino sat down at the base of a nearby tree, hugging her knees to her chest. Her tears would not be restrained any longer.
The hairs on the back of her neck suddenly stood on end. She looked up from her knees. Monsters surrounded her - anomalies she didn't recognize.
Their bodies were barely visible in the darkness of night as if the monsters were made of pure shadow. All that indicated their presence was multiple sets of beady yellow eyes.
Rino shot to her feet and bolted away. The shadows gave chase.
She retreated into a forest. Still, the shadows pursued her.
Rino's foot caught on a tree root. She fell face-first into the damp earth beneath her.
The shadows crept upon her.
"See ya!"
Someone leaped in front of her. They wore a hooded black coat and held an even stranger pair of swords - ones that resembled keys. The warrior cut down the shadows with ease.
The keys disappeared from his hands. The hooded warrior turned to Rino, holding out his hand. "Come on, we gotta get outta the open!"
Rino grabbed his hand, not knowing what else to do.
"Hey, I think that one likes you, Mel!"
Melty Q. Melromarc laughed as a Filolial's feathers tickled her skin.
Ness - the boy in the blue and yellow striped t-shirt, red and blue baseball cap, and yellow backpack - chuckled as he held out a piece of jerky to feed the Filolials. "Here you go, guys. Eat up!"
Ness Itoi
"Hey, me! I found my cap that you lost."
Age: 12
Sex: Male
Level: 25
Class: PSI Powerhouse
HP: 40/40
PP: 255/255
EXP: 48/360
STATS:
ATK: 100
DEF: 51
SPD: 41
EQUIPMENT:
Weapon: Magicant Bat (+80 ATK)
Headgear: Twoson Greased Lightnings Baseball Cap
Armor: Striped T-Shirt (+1 DEF), Yellow Backpack (+0 DEF)
Legwear: Denim Shorts (+2 DEF)
Footwear: White Socks (+1 DEF), Red Sneakers (+1 DEF)
The Filolials happily accepted Ness's offering of jerky.
Melty's laugh wore down as her face fell.
Ness looked concerned. "Mel? Is...Are you okay?"
Melty sighed. "Ness...I'm worried. We've been separated from the others for hours now. I mean, we have all these wonderful Filolials here to keep us company, but what if we never find our way back to the capital? I'm expected to be there soon...but if we don't find a way back, people will get worried. And that's the last thing I want."
"Mel..." Ness put a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry, 'kay? We'll find a way back, somehow. I've always found a way when there didn't seem like there was one. We can't give up yet. Trust me, Giygas would've wiped out my world, your world, and every other world if I had given up along my journey. So we're not gonna give up here. And if something does happen," Ness gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze, "I'll keep you safe."
Melty responded with a grateful smile and a gentle embrace. "Thank you, Ness."
"Guys!" Filo pointed with her wing. "I heard talking coming from that way."
Aris led the group as they crept through the forest to investigate.
They emerged from the undergrowth to find two children - a boy and a girl - playing with a flock of Filolials.
Sora suddenly trodded on a twig, snapping it.
The Filolials raised their heads in alarm. They rushed off at the sight of Filo.
Filo licked her chops. "Those birds looked really yummy. I could chase 'em down."
"Y-You are aware those were Filolials, right?" asked a concerned Aris. "You're a Filiolial, Filo. That would be cannibalism."
"Wait!" a foreign voice interrupted. Aris turned to see it was the girl, who had dark blue pigtails. "You're...You're a Filolial?"
"Oh, me?" Filo gestured to herself.
The boy shot to his feet, eyes wide with shock. "And you can talk!? That's awesome!"
The girl squealed excitedly. "I've always dreamed of talking with a Filolial, and here I am, doing it right now!"
The boy reached into his pocket and pulled out what looked like dried meat. "You hungry? I've got food."
"Oh, wow, thanks!" Filo trotted over to the boy and plucked the meat from his hand, munching on it happily.
Meanwhile, Aris, Raphtalia, Loretta, and Sora whispered among themselves.
"Could she be from that village?" said Sora.
Raphtalia shook her head. "She's a bit too well-dressed. I'd guess she's the daughter of a noble family."
As they whispered, Filo introduced herself to the boy and the girl. "My name's Filo," she said. "What about you guys?"
"I'm Melty, but you can call me Mel," said the girl. She gestured to her companion. "Oh, and this is my friend, Ness."
Ness gave Filo a smile and a wave. "Hi." He handed her some more dried meat, an offer which Filo happily accepted.
"Filo," Aris called out. "We have some work to do in the village, but you can get to know your new friends for now."
"Can I!?" Filo said excitedly.
Aris nodded. "Don't be wandering off too far, though."
Filo jumped into the air with joy. "Yay!"
A poof of dust and feathers gave way to her human form. Ness was absolutely flabbergasted. "You can...what am I even looking at!?"
"I can transform!" said Filo.
Melty squealed. "That's so cool! You're amazing!"
Sora smiled warmly. "Seems like they're hitting it off."
"Indeed," said Aris. "And they seem to be handling the revelation of Filo's abilities very well. Which is a good thing, because I suppose Filo could benefit from befriending children like her." He raised his voice to tell Filo something. "You can spend the day with Mel and Ness, but return to the inn at sunset, alright?"
"Okay!" Filo sang.
Raphtalia winced as Aris placed new bandages over her old wounds.
Aris stopped when he noticed. "Are you hurting?"
His eyes were filled with worry. Why am I suddenly so worried over her? he thought. I...I don't believe I'm usually like this with anyone...not even my own sister.
"I'm fine, Aris," Raphtalia assured him. "Don't worry about me, okay?"
Aris sighed. "I'm so sorry...had I been able to keep you safer, this would never have happened to you."
"Aris," Raphtalia chided, "I thought I told you to stop blaming yourself."
"I...suppose you did."
The door opened. Filo entered the room. She seemed to be more cheerful than usual - which certainly was saying a lot.
"Oh, hello," said Aris. "You're back. How was your time with your new friends?"
"It was great!" said Filo. "I made such great friends today!"
"You mean Mel and Ness - those two kids, right?" asked Raphtalia.
Filo nodded. "Mel told me she's traveled to all sorts of cool places! Oh, but Ness - hey, papa, you know how you're from another world, right?"
"Yes?"
"Ness is from another world, too!" Filo gushed. "And he's an adventurer, just like you, papa! He's really strong!"
"Is he?" Aris was intrigued. "How so?"
"He can use this stuff that comes from his mind!" said Filo. "It was, like, these weird glowy beams of energy!"
Psychokinetic energy? Aris wondered. Why would someone so seemingly ordinary as Ness be able to use something as unusual as that?
"Did Mel tell you what she and Ness were doing out there alone?" asked Loretta.
"Uh-huh!" said Filo. "Mel got separated from the rest of her people while she was traveling away from home. Ness was going with her since he's a friend of hers. They got separated when Mel found those Filolials and got distracted. Ness said he tried to stop her, but he couldn't, so he kinda just gave up."
Separated? Aris thought.
Speaking of Melty and Ness, the children in question entered the room.
Melty did the talking. "I apologize for showing up at such a late hour," she said. "But, could you...um, would it be a problem if...if Ness and I traveled with you for a while? It won't be for long."
"We were on our way to the royal capital to get Mel back home," said Ness. "But we got sidetracked by those Filolials and Mel's bodyguards kinda just left us behind."
Bodyguards? Aris was even more curious.
Melty took a deep breath. "Filo told us you're leaving for the capital city tomorrow morning. W-Would you please consider taking Ness and myself with you?"
"I don't need to," said Aris, "because you're more than welcome to join us. It may take multiple days to arrive there, so I hope you won't mind sleeping outside when we can't find an inn."
"We can do that!" said Melty.
Ness nodded. "Right. I've camped before."
"Then go rest for the night," said Aris. "We're going to leave at dawn tomorrow."
Aris sat alone by the fire the next night.
He heard footsteps behind him. He turned over his shoulder, praying it wasn't a Heartless or some other monster.
Fortunately, it was Raphtalia. She draped a blanket over Aris's shoulders.
"I'm not terribly cold, you know," said Aris.
"Maybe," said Raphtalia, "but I don't want you getting sick on me."
She sat down next to him. Loretta slept soundly nearby, while Sora had ensconced himself into Filo's wagon, from which his snoring could be heard.
Filo herself slumbered peacefully in front of Aris and Raphtalia, in her Filolial form.
"Wait a second," Raphtalia realized. "I don't see Mel and Ness anywhere."
"You...don't?" Aris's voice dropped as he noticed something.
Mel's clothes lay on one side of Filo's slumbering form. Ness's were on the other side.
Aris crept toward Filo, careful not to awaken her. Raphtalia followed behind him.
"She...She couldn't have..." Raphtalia looked worried.
"She did say those Filolials looked delicious," Aris pointed out, "despite the fact that she is one. But...sh-she would never dare to eat a person. I...This can't be happening."
Raphtalia shuddered.
"P-Perhaps we should pretend nothing ever happened," Aris suggested. "I...I don't quite fancy the idea of admitting we let Filo eat a nobleman's daughter. But I'm not sure about Ness. Melty, however..."
As if waiting for a cue, a familiar blue-haired head sprang from Filo's feathers. "What is it? I'm trying to sleep."
"Mel! Oh, thank the Goddess!" Aris breathed a sigh of relief. "Wha...What are you doing? And...where is Ness?"
Ness emerged from Filo's right side. "Yo."
Neither Ness nor Melty seemed to be entirely clothed.
"Okay, there you are," said Aris. "What are you two doing in there?"
"They wanted to sleep in my feathers," Filo replied groggily.
"Right," said Ness. "She's...really comfy. You guys have gotta get in on this, seriously."
"But...you both took off your clothes?" said Aris, realizing how suggestive their situation was.
Melty shook her head. "I'm wearing a nightgown right now."
"And I've still got my shorts on," Ness added.
Raphtalia leaned into Filo's feathers. "Oh, wow...she really is soft..."
She fell asleep instantly.
Aris bent down to pick up a feather that had been shed from Filo's body. "Do these have some sort of sleep-inducement capabilities?"
A gust of wind blew the feather from his hand before he could conduct further analysis.
Sighing, Aris leaned into Filo's feathers and fell asleep.
"Who...Who are you? A-And...w-why did you save me?"
The hooded figure remained silent for a moment as he led Rino into a small, empty cave.
Finally, he replied, "Because I couldn't just sit back and watch someone get hurt. I..." He sighed, "...I know what it feels like to be used. To be exploited. To be treated like nothing more than some...some tool. To be told you're nothing, and that you'll never be anything more."
"But...why?" asked Rino. "Why would people do that to you?"
"I...I don't know," replied the figure. "Maybe they mistreated you for a similar reason. I've moved on from those people now, I've got friends back home, but...sometimes I still remember those days."
The figure reached into his coat and pulled out a small box. He opened it to reveal a bunch of bars of light blue ice cream.
He pulled out two of them and offered one to Rino. "Here. You...seem like you could use a pick-me-up."
Rino tentatively accepted the ice cream.
"I should warn you, though," said the hooded figure as he raised his ice cream bar to his concealed lips. "The flavor's a little...unusual. Definitely not what you'd expect."
Rino lifted the ice cream to her mouth and took a hesitant taste. She recoiled a little. Salty... she thought. Wait, no...sweet!
This ice cream tasted divine. The wave of saltiness hit her tongue first but was pleasurably soothed by an immaculately sweet aftertaste.
She indulged in the ice cream more.
The young man in the hood chuckled a little. "I guess you like it, then?"
Rino nodded. "Y-Yes, I do."
"That makes two of us," mused the figure. "Sea-salt ice cream is my favorite food. I always share it with my friends back home."
"It tastes like it's meant to be shared," Rino agreed. "Say...sir, I...could I...ask your name?"
"Only if you don't mind telling me yours."
Rino took a breath. "Okay. I'm Rino. And you are?"
The figure paused for a moment, lifting his hands. He lowered his hood.
Golden hair and blue eyes shined in the moonlight as he smiled.
Roxas
"I am ME! Nobody else!"
Age: Unknown (appears 16)
Sex: Male
Level: 40*
Class: Keyblade Wielder
HP: 211/211
MP: 70/70
STATS:
ATK: 172
DEF: 140
SPD: 110
EQUIPMENT:
Weapon: Oathkeeper & Oblivion (+40 ATK)
Headgear: None
Armor: Black Coat (+3 DEF)
Legwear: Black Coat Pants (+3 DEF)
Footwear: Black Coat Boots (+2 DEF)