Goofy adjusted his new hat as he, Donald, and Pluto finally exited the town's Outer Docks. They'd already changed into some new clothes that didn't give away their status as a royal knight and a mage. In fact, their new duds looked a lot like their more casual outfits from back home.

The captain of the royal guard was now wearing a green sweater under a black zipper vest, along with some baggy yellow pants. His new yellow hat had some goggles wrapped around it that he wasn't sure would fit over his eyes. But it'd been a package deal, so he left them where they were.

Donald, meanwhile, was wearing an outfit that resembled his old sailor outfit but was more detailed. A blue hat that looked kind of like a beret sat on his head with a belt along its rim and an inexplicable zipper that curled around the whole thing.

"Boy, it sure is hard to believe that it's always nighttime around here," Goofy thought aloud to his friend as he recalled what they'd been told by a local. "Betcha, it ain't fun to never see the sun. Hey! A-hyuck! That rhymed!"

Donald shushed him and whispered, "Keep it down, will ya! For all we know, people around here might not even know what a sun is."

"Oh!" Goofy clamped his white-gloved hands over his mouth in embarrassment. "Sorry…" Donald sighed and continued on his way. After uncovering his mouth, Goofy took another look at the starry night sky, wondering which of those stars was their world.

"Hmm?" he hummed in confusion. Something funny was going on up there.

"Wak?" Donald quacked as he turned around. Goofy slowly pointed to the sky as he realized what was happening. The royal mage followed his finger and looked in bewilderment at the sight before them.

"Look," exclaimed Goofy, "a star's goin' out!" True enough, a star in the night sky was winking and blinking until it completely vanished. The royal knight then noticed another one that was still flickering. "And there! That one looks like it'll be gone real soon!"

"Come on!" urged Donald. "Let's hurry." Goofy nodded as he followed his fowl friend further into the First District of the first world that they'd been sent to: Traverse Town.

As they continued, Pluto seemed to catch a whiff of something and ran ahead up some stairs. Goofy figured that he might've smelled some food or something, so he didn't pay it much mind. The king's loyal pet seemed to always find his way back home, no matter where he went.

"Where's that key…" Donald complained, folding his arms impatiently.

"Hey, ya know," Goofy chimed in, "maybe we oughta go find Leon." He could understand why his old pal was acting like this. They were on a very important mission, after all, and they needed to stay focused. While they had no idea who this Leon fellow was, somebody in this town was bound to know something.

As they reached the top of the brick stairs standing in front of an accessory shop, his interest was piqued when he caught sight of Pluto nearby. The royal hound had slowed down and was carefully following his nose down an alley. Could Pluto have found something more important than food?

"Uh, Donald," Goofy called after his grumpy friend, who was already heading in the opposite direction. "Ya know, I betcha that…"

"Aw, what do you know, you big palooka?" Donald interrupted without so much of a glance.

"What do I know? Hmm…" Goofy shrugged. Maybe he was just overthinking things again. "Come on, Pluto," he called after the dog while following Donald.

...

Sora felt something wet run against his left cheek. He was so groggy that he barely noticed there was something in his right hand. Lifting his head up, the boy blearily opened his eyes. A weirdly cartoonish-looking bloodhound with yellow fur, black ears, and a green collar stood in front of him, wagging its tail as it happily panted. No way was this real.

"What a dream…" said a sleepy Sora as he slowly closed his eyes again. He heard the dog whimper in frustration before it moved on and licked something else.

"Nnn..." came a feminine voice to his right. "Not now, Zwei... Five more minutes…" Sora started to wake up a little more, wondering who that could've been. Wait. Was he holding someone's hand? Before he could do anything else, he heard an indignant huff. Then a large paw slammed into his leg.

"Eep!"

"Aah!" Sora sat up with a jolt, releasing the hand he'd been holding as he looked at the bloodhound again. "This isn't a dream!"

"You're not Zwei!" accused the voice from before. Sora paused before slowly turning his head to his right, while the girl that he sat next to mirrored him. Once they processed each other's company, both jumped away from each other in surprise. The older, dark-haired girl in particular ended up bumping into a set of boxes that had been next to her. "Wha—who're you!?" she shouted.

"That's my line!" Sora retorted. "Huh?" He took a closer look at the girl, locking eyes with her. They felt familiar for some reason.

"Why are you staring at me?" she asked, shifting uncomfortably.

"Oh! Sorry," Sora apologized before pointing at his own eyes. "Um… you've got silver eyes."

"People keep pointing that out lately," muttered the girl.

Looking her over, he could see that she was wearing a black, long-sleeved blouse and skirt with some red frills at the ends. A corset was tied above a large belt with a rose-shaped buckle. Sora noticed a metallic, red object poking out from the back, along with a black and green, gun-shaped object haphazardly (but tightly) tied to her right side. Under that were some dark leggings and combat boots. The most noticeable clothing had to be her red, hooded cape. The more he looked at her, the more Sora felt like he'd seen her face somewhere, but he just couldn't place it.

"Have we met?" he asked curiously.

"Um, I don't think so." She replied, standing up and looking around. "By the way, where are we?"

"I don't know," answered Sora as he stood up with her, taking in his surroundings. He didn't recognize any of the buildings. The boxes and barrel that the girl had bumped into were still standing; the way behind him was walled off with some wood, which left the route in the girl's direction, where the alley made a right turn. The girl seemed just as confused as him.

"Oh boy…" Sora groaned. He turned his attention to the bloodhound and hunched on his knees, looking closer and realizing that it was a boy dog. "Do you know where we are?"

Instead of giving a response, the dog lifted an ear, as if he'd heard something. He then broke into a run, leaving the alley as fast as possible.

"Uh, hey…" Sora called after him. When the dog didn't come, he sighed and turned his attention back to the girl. "Guess we'll have to find answers for ourselves, um... Oh, yeah!" He thumbed to himself, deciding to start introductions. "My name's Sora. And you are?"

"I'm Ruby," the girl awkwardly replied while offering her hand. "Nice to meet you, Sora."

"You too, Ruby," Sora replied, shaking her hand in return. "Come on. Let's find out where we are and how we got here."

"Sounds good to me." Ruby nodded as she followed the boy out of the alley. They soon came out into an open district where they could see some people still walking about past a set of brick stairs. The boy took a second to absorb it all. The buildings, the people, even the air itself all felt different. There was only one explanation that he could think of.

"This is totally weird…" Sora thought aloud. "I'm in another world!"

"Another world…?" Ruby slowly responded. After processing what he'd just said, her eyes lit up. "Oh yeah! My sister said something about other worlds before… before… Aah!"

"Hey, what's wrong?" Sora asked in concern. The poor girl looked like she was about to have a heart attack.

"I… I lost my sister! My friends!" Ruby answered, starting to panic. "We were in a huge battle, and then this crazy storm hit, and then... We were scattered!"

"Storm…" Sora uttered in response. Ruby's words were causing a groggy haze in his memory to clear away. "That's right! I was in a storm, too! There were these weird monsters, and—! Wait a minute! What happened to my home? My island? My parents! Riku! Kairi!"

"This is crazy!" Ruby exclaimed. "I don't understand. Am I really not on Remnant anymore?"

"I'm guessing you mean your world," Sora replied. "We need to get answers fast!" He then noticed that more than a few people were turning their attention to the two newcomers. Some of their expressions showed concern, while others just sighed and moved on. It was probably for the best that they go somewhere that might not risk a commotion. Soon, the Keyblade wielder pointed to the shop that they were standing in front of, with a couple of signs that each read 'Jewelry' and 'Accessories.' "Maybe we can start in there. Come on." He made a run for the doors and placed his hands on them before turning back to the silver-eyed girl expectantly. After a moment, she took a deep breath and nodded, following the boy as he pushed the doors open.

A bell chimed as soon as they entered. Sora and Ruby found themselves inside a shop with jewels on display behind a window on the far-side wall with a starry background. There was a table with smaller jewels in the middle, along with a couch and bench in the far-right corner. To the teens' right was a large, brick fireplace. A mechanical clicking sound was coming from behind the green counter on the left side, where a display cabinet could be seen along the wall.

"Be with ya in a sec," called a gruff voice from under the counter. "Just makin' some adjustments." As they approached the source of the voice, Sora caught sight of some of the bangles that were on display and noticed that they had round, empty slots. He ultimately shrugged it off as some kind of local style or something.

"Ah! There we go," came the voice from behind the counter.

Soon enough, a tall, muscular man with short, blond hair came into view, dusting off his hands with a satisfied sigh. He was wearing a white T-shirt with blue pants and a belly warmer. A pair of goggles were strapped around his head while a toothpick stuck out of his mouth.

"Sorry to keep ya waitin,'" he said in a slight southern accent before turning to his potential customers. "How can I... Aw, it's only a couple of kids."

"Hey!" Ruby protested offendedly.

"We're not kids! And the name's Sora!" shouted the younger teen as he approached the counter with his traveling companion. "This is my friend Ruby."

"Okay, okay. Simmer down, you two," said the man, gesturing with a single placating hand. He then paused for a moment, his eyes showing a hint of concern. "Hey. So, why the long faces, Sora? Ruby? You lost or somethin'?"

"No!" Ruby indignantly retorted. "We just don't know where we are…" Her expression got more and more embarrassed as she finished that sentence.

"Isn't that what 'lost' means?" asked Sora as he raised an eyebrow at her. Ruby hunched over, limply dangling her arms in deflation.

"Yeah, I realized it as soon as the words came out," groaned Ruby before standing straight again. "Look, I've had a really rough night, okay!?"

"Heh," the man chuckled. "You're both new in town, ain't ya?"

"Good guess," Sora admitted. He was still reeling from his current situation, but he wanted to stay focused on solving problems instead of sitting around in a panic. Riku probably would've done the same after all. "Where are we anyway?"

"Huh?" the man asked in confusion. "Didn't you see any of the signs outside? This is Traverse Town, home to those who've lost their homes."

"That's a gloomy tagline," said Ruby.

"Yeah, well," sighed the man. "Them's the breaks. Where are you two from anyway?"

"Destiny Islands," answered Sora, looking at either of them. "Small chain of islands, with the main one near the end. Ever heard of it?"

"Nope," Ruby answered, popping the 'P.'

"'Not once in my entire life," said the blond, turning his attention to the silver-eyed girl. "What about you?"

"I lived at Beacon Academy," Ruby answered, nervously looking at either person beside her. "In the Kingdom of Vale? Does any of that ring a bell?"

"Uh-uh," answered Sora with a shake of the head.

"'Fraid not," added the man. There was a pause as Ruby looked between both guys and then slowly turned her gaze downward.

"…I guess that proves it," she finally choked out. She then walked to the cushioned bench in the corner and sat down, placing her hands on her forehead as she continued staring at the floor.

"You okay?" Sora asked gently, approaching her in concern. He'd always hated to see a girl upset like this. Hopefully, he'd be able to help her out.

"It's just," she weakly replied, "I'm still trying to wrap my head around this. I'm in a completely different world. And not only that, but my own world; everyone and everything I knew..." Tears started welling in her eyes as she sat there. "I fought so hard to save them. But now…?"

"H-hey…" Sora nearly reached out to comfort her. "Come on…" When the tears didn't stop, his fingers unconsciously curled back into a fist as he lowered his arm. Ruby's reaction reminded him of when Kairi had first arrived on the islands. Nobody around claimed to know her, and then she cried just like this girl was doing.

But unlike Kairi, Ruby could actually remember her old home. Which meant that she was able to miss both it and the people from there. The same could be said for Sora as well. He could already feel the tears welling in his own eyes, but he quickly wiped them away. The new Keyblade wielder just couldn't accept that everything and everyone he'd ever known was really gone for good. There had to be hope, right? If not, then why was he still alive? Why did Ruby arrive in town with him?

Wait a minute. He and Ruby had both made it into this town. They were survivors.

"Maybe there's still hope," gasped Sora.

"Huh?" Ruby asked between tears.

"We both survived and got here, right? So maybe our friends are still around somewhere too. And they're probably just as worried about us as we are about them." For a minute, Ruby looked toward the ground, as if contemplating something. Sora was really hoping that she'd believe him. Because then maybe it'd help him to keep believing too. Thankfully, the silver-eyed girl soon found the strength to speak again.

"You're right", Ruby finally responded with a less choked voice, wiping her tears. "We won't know without looking."

"Either of you wanna let me in on what you're whisperin' about back there?" shouted the now annoyed blond from behind the front desk. "I can barely make it out from over here!"

"Oh! Sorry!", Ruby apologized as both she and Sora rubbed the backs of their heads in embarrassment. "Guess we did kinda lower the volume there."

"Well, I think I got the gist of it anyway," said the man, rubbing his chin. "Glad you're at least able to keep your spirits up."

"Thanks", said Sora, giving him a thumbs up. "So, gramps, you seen anyone else new come into town?"

"Don't call me gramps!" the man shouted offendedly. "The name's Cid! Anyway…" He put his hands on his hips and shrugged. "Not sure what they'd look like, but you two are the only newcomers that I've seen tonight."

"Hmm… Guess we'd better start looking," said Sora, turning to Ruby. "Come on, partner."

"Right," agreed Ruby as she stood back up, only to pause and raise a curious eyebrow. "Wait. Partner?"

"Sure," replied Sora. "You're helping me, and I'm helping you. Isn't that what you call partnering up?"

The silver-eyed girl paused in thought before shaking her head with a faint smile. "Partnering with the first person I made eye contact with. How about that?"

"Huh?" he asked, not understanding what that had to do with anything. Was she talking about how he'd locked eyes with her earlier?

"Just thinking of a good memory," said Ruby. "I'll tell you about it later."

"Well, good luck with finding whoever it is you're looking for," said Cid. "If you ever run into trouble, you come to me." He rubbed his chin, smirking confidently. "I'll look out for you."

"Thanks, Cid," said Ruby as the two teens headed for the door. "See you around."

...

Ruby was starting to wonder when things would stop feeling so insane. After leaving the Accessory Shop, the two lost teens asked around the First District to see if anyone had seen either of their friends. Sora thought he saw someone named Tidus for a second, only to find out that it was someone else. There was also this weird but really cute creature called a Moogle that flew around on tiny batwings and tended to end his sentences with "Kupo." When they checked the Item Shop, Ruby had to do a double take. It was being run by three ducklings. Not faunus: actual, talking ducklings in distinctly colored clothing.

As they continued searching, the teens decided to learn more about each other. While Weiss was still her BFF (no matter how much the heiress might deny it), Ruby had little trouble accepting Sora as her new, temporary partner. Sure, he was a little short for someone who was only a year younger than her, but he was also proving easy to get along with. Seeing his determination to find his own friends helped her hold out hope that her friends and family were still alive somehow. While ascending the stairs between the Accessory Shop and a restaurant, the two continued telling each other about their respective lives.

"Seriously?" Ruby asked incredulously. "A whole world that tiny?"

"That's my home," answered Sora with a shrug. "We'd even have annual boat races where they'd go all around the world in one day."

"Geez," Ruby replied. "I might've gone stir-crazy living in a place like that. And my sister definitely would've."

"You sound like my friend Riku," Sora replied with a grin. "He's wanted to go to other worlds for as long as I can remember." His demeanor seemed to change for a second, and Ruby worried that she might've pushed the wrong buttons there. But the younger boy quickly turned back to her with a smile. "So, what about your world?"

"Well, Remnant is—was much bigger than that," answered Ruby, sighing at being reminded that her home was probably gone. "In fact, I've only ever gone to a small part of it. But we had four major kingdoms—um, do you know what a kingdom is?"

"Sure", Sora answered. "I learned about them from some books and movies. So you had a king ruling over you?"

"No, no." Ruby waved her hands in denial as they reached the level right behind the Accessory Shop's building. "Well, not anymore. We just call them that because they used to be that way. I'm from the Kingdom of Vale, but I grew up on an island called Patch."

"Oh, nice," said Sora. "So you're a fellow islander."

"I guess," Ruby shrugged with a small smile. "But your islands sound more tropical. Anyway, for a while, I've been attending Beacon Academy, where they'd train students to become full-fledged huntsmen and huntresses to protect people from the Creatures of Grimm."

"Grimm?" asked Sora, tilting his head in confusion as they reached a large, wooden door.

"Monsters," Ruby explained. It felt really weird to have to describe the Grimm to someone. Being in another world was something that the silver-eyed girl wasn't sure that she'd ever get used to. "They attack any person on sight, but not animals for some reason."

"So you're a monster hunter?" he asked. "That's awesome."

"Heh. Thanks," Ruby responded in slight embarrassment. "But I'm still in training. Then again, that might be over with... you know."

"Yeah…" Sora nodded dejectedly. Ruby sighed in return. Maybe it was still a little soon to reminisce on their respective homes. At that moment, Ruby turned her gaze to the sky, wondering if Remnant could possibly still be out there. As if to answer, a single star faintly blinked before disappearing completely, and the girl felt her heart sink again.

"Maybe we should change subjects," suggested Sora, seeming to catch her mood as he pushed the large doors open. The two of them entered what they'd been told was the town's Second District. They found themselves standing on an upper floor that surrounded a long plaza. To the west, they could see a hotel that spanned nearly from one end of the district to the other. On the east side, there were a few apparel shops and a couple of apartment complexes. At the end, they could see a bell tower on a building that looked kind of like a cathedral.

"How about this?" continued Sora. "I can tell you about my friends, and you can tell me about yours. That way, we'll both know when we see them."

Ruby wasn't so sure this would improve her mood, but it could at least help in their search. However, before she could say anything, their conversation was interrupted by a terrified scream!

"Stay away!" cried out a man's voice. Said man immediately came running out from behind a corner, shocking the lost teens as he tripped and fell over.

"What's wrong!?" Ruby shouted, her huntress training kicking in. She was about to charge in when a glowing, heart-shaped object burst from the man's chest in a flash of light.

"What!?" Sora gasped as the silver-eyed girl watched in shock. The heart rotated in the air while a small orb of darkness popped into existence nearby. The orb drew the heart in while the man's body disappeared. Once the heart disappeared into the darkness, a strange creature popped out.

It wore a baggy suit that almost brought to mind a court jester with pointy shoes. It had proportionately big hands with claws and a beak-shaped helmet with a pitch-black head and yellow eyes inside. It bore an emblem of an X-ed out heart on its chest.

The monster made clanking noises as it twitched on the ground before leaping into the air and warping away in darkness again. Sora rushed over to where the creature had been and looked around in bafflement.

"What the heck!?" he asked, turning to Ruby. "Was that a Grimm?"

"It didn't look like one," Ruby replied fearfully. "Did you see that weird symbol on it?" Before the red reaper could get an answer, she heard a familiar wriggling sound from all around them. Sora's eyes lit up in alarm as well. Both he and Ruby looked around as familiar shadows rose from the ground as bug-like monsters.

"It's those creatures from my island!" shouted Sora as he and Ruby stood back-to-back.

"They were in Vale too! During the storm!" shouted the silver-eyed huntress as she pulled out Crescent Rose, immediately transforming it into scythe-mode. "Can you fight?"

"No problem," answered Sora. Ruby caught a faint flash coming from behind herself, along with what sounded like a weapon being drawn. But she couldn't afford to look and see what it was when these monsters looked ready to attack. "Let's do it!"

"Right!" Ruby charged forward, swinging Crescent Rose's blade through three Shadows at once. Two others jumped aside, with one of them rushing her from the left. She expertly twisted in the little monster's direction, bisecting it with a twirl of her scythe. Ruby turned to face the other Shadow, but was surprised to see it focusing on Sora, who surprised her even more.

The 14-year-old boy was fighting Shadows with what looked like a giant key! Despite the obviously blunt end, Sora was slicing apart one Shadow after another. The monster that had avoided Ruby leaped at him, but he must've seen it coming. He whipped around with an upward-diagonal slash, rendering the creature into a dark mist. After taking out two more Shadows, he turned his attention to Ruby.

"Whoa!" exclaimed Sora in surprise. "Where were you keeping—watch out!" Ruby snapped out of her confusion and finally noticed the wriggling sound nearby. She leaped away as a new Shadow tried to swipe at her with its claws. Another wave of creepy bugs was spawning around them.

Some were looking at her, but she noticed that most of them were more focused on Sora. Before she could question it any further, Sora spun his body once and slid across the ground with his key pointing forward. The sliding attack took out two Shadows in one go.

Not wanting to be left out, Ruby activated her semblance and dashed around the monsters, leaving a trail of rose petals in her wake. Before they could even turn around, she sliced two Shadows into mist with a quick combo.

"Ruby, incoming!" shouted Sora. The red-caped girl looked up in time to see Sora smack a Shadow her way, as if swinging a golf club. She wasted no time in slashing the monster apart with her scythe. "Alright!"

"Was that all of them?" asked Ruby as she and Sora held their weapons ready and checked their immediate surroundings.

"Yeah," Sora finally answered, "I think so." He stood up, and Ruby had to do a double-take when the giant key disappeared from his hands in a flash of light. The red reaper couldn't stop herself from dropping her jaw, her weapon-nerd instincts going off the walls in excitement.

"What was that weapon!?" Ruby shouted excitedly, startling the spiky-haired boy as she zoomed right into his personal space with her semblance. "Was that a giant key? Where did it go? Can I see it again? How were you cutting with a blunt end?"

"W-wow, you're really fast!" stammered Sora, slightly leaning backwards. "Could you back up a bit?" Ruby blinked a couple of times before the realization hit her.

"Oh! Sorry," Ruby replied while taking a few steps back. She placed Crescent Rose's spear end against the ground as she scratched her head in embarrassment. "I'm a huge nerd when it comes to weapons."

"You don't say," Sora chuckled. He then held out his hand and didn't even flinch as the giant key reappeared in another flash of light. "Honestly, I don't know much about the Keyblade."

"Keyblade?" asked Ruby, starting to remember that name as Sora nodded.

"Yeah," he continued. "When my islands were hit by the storm and the darkness was about to take me, this thing flashed into my hand out of nowhere. The word 'Keyblade' just came to me, and I somehow knew that I could fight the monsters with it. It also flashes in and out whenever I want it to."

"Whoa… That's so cool." Ruby gushed in awe. Sora's weapon sounded like something that you'd read about in a fairytale. Then it suddenly hit her: Yang had mentioned a 'Keyblade' while talking about her encounter with Raven Branwen. Could this be what she was talking about?

"So," Sora interrupted her thoughts, smiling excitedly, "what about that scythe of yours? It looks awesome!"

"Oh, thanks", Ruby smiled as she hugged her weapon in front of the Keyblade wielder. "This is my sweet baby, Crescent Rose. I made her from scratch."

"You made a giant scythe!?" asked an astonished Sora.

"Not just a scythe," Ruby proudly corrected him. "It's also a customizable high-caliber sniper rifle."

There was a pause as Sora tilted his head.

"I heard 'high' and 'rifle,'" he finally said before his eyes lit up. "Wait! You don't mean it's also—?"

"Yep," Ruby replied, popping the 'P' as she happily cocked her weapon. "It's also a gun."

"Cool," Sora replied in awe. He then staggered back in shock when the silver-eyed huntress transformed Crescent Rose back into its inactive form, storing it away on the back of her belt. He stared down at the Keyblade, rotating it in his hand as if he were looking for something.

"Is something wrong?" asked Ruby.

"Oh!" Sora chuckled in embarrassment. "I was just wondering if mine could change like that." Ruby couldn't help but giggle at his curiosity.

"Can I see it?", she offered, extending her hand. "Maybe I can find a hidden switch or something." 'Also, I just really want to get a closer look at it!'

"Sure," agreed Sora as he handed her the weapon. Ruby eagerly snatched the Keyblade and started examining it. She had only gotten so far as to note how surprisingly balanced it felt in hand when she was startled by a bright flash.

"Eep!" shrieked Ruby as the Keyblade disappeared from her grip.

"Aah!" exclaimed Sora as it flashed back into his hand.

"Why..." whined a teary-eyed Ruby as she limply held her hand towards the mysterious key.

"I-it wasn't me," Sora stammered in shock. "I swear, it did that on its own!"

"Wait. Really?" asked Ruby. Her sadness became fascination as she gazed upon the weapon, noting more details. There was a keychain with a three-circled charm dangling from the bottom. Also, the teeth on the key actually formed the negative shape of a crown, similar to a charm that hung on Sora's necklace. Ruby was positive that she'd never seen this Keyblade before, but she also couldn't shake a sense of familiarity while looking at it.

What kind of weapon was this thing?

Hope you're all enjoying this story so far. Sora and Ruby have finally met and partnered up. This also means that we've reached the point that my story summary actually describes. So (to paraphrase a certain comic book reviewer) thank you for reading through eight chapters just for me to get to the dang point. All jokes aside, I'm enjoying writing this fanfic and hope people like what I have in store.

I gotta say, it was pretty challenging figuring out how to approach the trauma that both Sora and Ruby have been through. With the concept being so new to her, there was no way Sora could bring up other worlds without jogging Ruby's memory of what she's been through, and then her getting Sora to say the "What happened to my home?" line early. I recently watched a psychological analysis of Sora on YouTube that helped me get a better sense of how he deals with his emotions. I highly recommend that any KH fan look up "Is Sora Really Happy? - The Psychology of Sora." I came out of that video with an even better appreciation for his characterization than I already had. It's why I chose to have him be the one to give Ruby hope. Neither character is really over what's happened to them, but they at least have a common goal to keep themselves moving forward.

The next challenge that I'm dealing with is how to handle the fight with Leon. Since Ruby is fighting by Sora's side (and has much more training than him), it means that the gunblade wielder will have to put more effort into the fight than he did in the game.

Review Responses:

Captain Imaginat: While getting rid of Organization XIII and the Foretellers might make for an interesting AU, I think that concept should be saved for a solo fanfic. The appeal of crossovers is getting to see characters from different titles meet and work off of each other. If I get rid of those guys, that's a hugely wasted opportunity. However, Volume I is only focusing on the KH1 storyline, so they won't be nearly as prevalent yet.

VSX-2018: Actually, Ruby did fight Roman and Neo (more the latter than the former), but the Heartless interrupted before they could get very far. Admittedly, I glossed over that scene because it was already taking me eight chapters just to have Ruby encounter Sora. I do intend to use RWBY villains moving forward, but it has to be in places where they can serve a purpose and not just randomly be there. Plus, I need to make sure Remnant's loss feels real by not having too many characters make it out. Remnant being so huge helps excuse the number that I already have planned. But I still don't want to push it too much.

That being said, if anyone offers an idea for how some RWBY villains or heroes can relate to the story in certain worlds or interesting roles that they could play, I might be open to it. Just keep in mind that I already have a plan for the bigger story, and I intend to stick with it.