The woman in the white cloak was surrounded by pure darkness. It went on as far as she could see.

But she had the distinct impression that she was descending head first, somehow. She leaned forward and flipped over so she was feet-first instead, and eventually her feet found purchase in the inky darkness.

As both her feet found solid ground, she looked down as something lit up underneath her: a massive stained glass platform. She flinched at the bright light—

It was a quiet night in the Second District. The neon of the shop lights had long since been shut off for the night, and there wasn't a soul in sight, save for a black cat scurrying across the cobblestones and into the shadows of the buildings.

Suddenly, the lights in the plaza sparked and dimmed. From a point in midair, electricity arced to anything that would receive it. The point grew into a perfect sphere of pure light.

After a moment, a human form emerged from the side of the sphere, head first. As soon as their feet were clear, the sphere vanished, and its sparking and arcing ceased. Over the next few seconds, the lighting of the plaza returned to normal.

Meanwhile, Summer Rose landed on the cobblestones and groaned in pain.

"Whoa nelly," she said, sitting up. Everything seemed bright for a moment until her eyes adjusted. She stood up carefully, turning around to take in her surroundings.

She was in the middle of the empty plaza. Street lamps were placed on the second, store-lined level of the plaza. In front of her was a white marble clock tower, and behind her was a small fountain with a mosaic. It was surprisingly warm, and under a bright, starlit night like this one she had no problem seeing anything around her.

She rolled up the long sleeves of her dress and kneeled, pulling her revolver out of its holster. There was no immediate danger, but she loaded it quickly.

Someone in the distance was singing lightly to themselves; Summer's head snapped up at the sound. She rose up to her full height, stowing Thorn and pulling out Halbmond.

From the alley emerged a teenage girl, dressed in a green crop top and short shorts with a blue belt. In her hand, she twirled a massive four-pointed shuriken. She was alternating between humming and singing a song softly to herself up until the moment she saw Summer.

The both of them stood there in silence for a moment.

Summer realized, somewhat blankly, that she was standing there menacingly with a sword in her hand.

"Hi! Are you lost?" the girl said, raising her voice a little to be heard.

"Actually, yes," Summer said, smiling. She sheathed Halbmond as they approached each other. "I just, uh, got here, and I don't know where we are exactly."

"Ah! This is the Second District."

"Second District of…?"

"Oh," the ninja girl said. "Like, you just got here. Well, uh, welcome to Traverse Town!"

"I've never heard of it," Summer said, worry trickling into her voice.

The girl awkwardly bounced on her heels. "It's sort of a home for people who...y'know...lose their homes?" The girl looked to the side. "Man, I wish Aerith was here, she could explain this a lot better than me." She looked back at Summer and offered a hand. "I'm the great ninja Yuffie, by the way."

Summer took it. "And I'm the great Huntress Summer Rose."

Yuffie giggled. "Right, let's, uh, go talk to Leon...or Aerith...or someone better at this…"

Yuffie led Summer through alleys and streets until at last they stood before a red brick apartment complex that looked like it had been wedged forcibly between two other buildings. They stepped inside and went up the stairs to the second floor. Yuffie stopped at door 211 and pounded on the door.

About a minute later, a brown-haired, bleary-eyed man in a white shirt and pyjama pants answered the door. "For the love of—Yuffie, what do you want? Do you know what time it is?" he asked, irritated.

"Well," Yuffie said impishly, "you told me to let you know if there were any new arrivals. And it's two in the morning!"

"I did," the man said, deadpan. He looked down and pinched the space between his eyebrows. "I didn't mean for you to wake me at two in the morning with new arrivals."

"She's lost and alone and confused," Yuffie said pleadingly.

The man looked over to Summer. Summer, who was only kind of feeling those emotions, mostly just confusion, shrugged at him. The man sighed. "Come on in," he relented, stepping aside. Yuffie walked in, and Summer followed.

The apartment was dark and slightly cluttered; where there wasn't exposed brick, the walls had been painted a lovely blue. The entryway led directly into a kitchen and dining area, beyond which was a sitting area that had been partially overtaken by some sort of large-scale organizational project, judging from the propped-up whiteboards and binders that were scattered around the area. Summer could see the apartment's balcony through a large window, and even in the dark she could see a variety of plants in an assortment of pots and planters.

The man shut the door behind Summer and locked it before turning back to Summer. "I'm Leon," he said, sticking out his hand for a handshake.

Summer accepted it. "Summer Rose."

Leon looked at the state of Summer's clothing. "...Are you in need of medical attention at all?"

"No," Summer said, looking down at herself. Her dress had been torn in a few places, sure, and her tights were tattered, but her Aura had repaired most of the superficial wounds she'd suffered. "Nothing a good night's sleep won't fix, at least," she said truthfully.

"Okay then." Leon walked over to the couch and began removing throw pillows. "Listen, Summer. I know you're confused, but, hopefully, that can wait until morning. Get some rest and we'll talk properly after." He gestured to the couch. "It may not look like much, but it's comfortable. I'll grab you a quilt."

"Thank you," Summer said, sitting down on the couch. She took off her boots, her belt, and her cape and set the belts and cape on one of the other chairs.

Leon pointed at the door. "Yuffie, stop slacking off and get back to your patrol."

"Aww, come on," Yuffie said, even as Leon hauled her by the scruff of her neck out of the apartment. "Fine! See you tomorrow, I guess! Or technically today!"

"Yeah, yeah, see ya," Leon said, depositing her on the other side of the threshold.

"Bye," Summer said, waving awkwardly from her spot on the couch as the apartment door shut.

Leon handed Summer a folded up quilt; she quickly set to making herself a sort of bed on the couch. He went back to one of the doors on the far side of the living room and opened it. "I'll check on you in the morning, but I won't wake you unless you want," he said, looking back at Summer.

"No need," Summer said, all tucked in. "Good night."

"Night." Leon went through the door, but left it ajar.

And then Summer was alone again, in the quiet and darkness, covered by a warm quilt. Her mind was overflowing with questions: Where was she? Was the dark place some sort of Underworld; if so, did she escape back into the world of the living? And how would she get home?

The exhaustion was hitting her. Somehow it felt like all the tiredness she hadn't had during all that time, if it was all that time, was suddenly there as a massive weight on her eyelids.

She closed her eyes and did not think about home and did not think about the dark place. She closed her eyes and did her best to not think, to just let herself sleep.

There were no visible clocks, but it felt like a long time until she fell asleep.

Summer woke to the sound of sizzling and a woman's voice saying, "Leon, would you pass me the butter?"

Almost involuntarily, she looked toward the apartment's large window. The sky outside the window had brightened to the level of an overcast day, but above the buildings Summer could see the same seemingly dark, star-filled sky. It left Summer perplexed as to when exactly she'd awoken.

"Here."

The sizzling doubled and increased in intensity and the aroma of melting butter filled Summer's nose. After a minute or two, she peeked her head above the back of the couch.

Leon and a woman in a pink dress were each busy at a pan on the stove.

Leon looked over. "You're awake," he said. "How are you feeling?"

Summer blinked, examining herself. Her Aura had worked overnight on her freshest wounds, and the only pain she felt was a light and familiar ache from using her Semblance heavily. Innately, she could feel that her Aura wasn't full (and a quick check of her somehow-not-broken Scroll confirmed this) but she knew that by the same time tomorrow she would be topped off. "Hungry, mostly," she concluded to Leon.

"That's good," Leon said. "What we have to talk about shouldn't be done on an empty stomach. We're making breakfast. Oh, and this is Aerith Gainsborough, my roommate. Aerith, this is Summer Rose — she's new to Traverse Town."

"Good morning and nice to meet you," Aerith said, waving. "How did you sleep?"

"Like the dead," Summer replied. "What are you making?"

"Pancakes, eggs, bacon, and hash browns. I'm afraid we don't have coffee or juice, but I prepared a batch of cold barley tea last night."

Summer stood up, leaving the quilt on the couch, and shambled over to the kitchen table and sat down. Aerith poured her a glass of tea and handed it to her, leaving the pitcher on the table. Summer drank greedily from her glass until it was two-thirds emptied. "What time is it?" Summer asked.

Aerith glanced at the clock. "About ten-thirty in the morning. How do you like your eggs?"

"Scrambled."

Leon began taking the bacon from the pan and placing the slices on a plate with a paper towel on it. Aerith took a couple spoonfuls of the leftover fat that had rendered out from said bacon and poured it into the melting butter in her pan before pouring the beaten egg into her pan. As the eggs cooked, Leon pulled two plates stacked with pancakes and hash brown patties from the warm oven. Leon took a trio of plates from one of the cabinets above the counter and began plating as the eggs finished.

Aerith plated up the eggs and took her own plate. Leon took his own and Summer's and deposited it before her, along with a knife and fork. "Eat up," he said. "Talking can come later."

Summer began ravenously devouring the meal with the barest sense of decorum.

"Someone's hungry," Aerith said, smirking.

"'Someone' hasn't had a good meal in who knows how long," Summer replied between mouthfuls. She put a hashbrown, a couple slices of bacon, and egg between two pancakes and ate it as a sandwich.

Summer finished well before Leon and Aerith, but she sipped tea patiently until they were done.

"Down to business," Leon said, putting the plates in the sink. He sat down at the kitchen table, hunched slightly with his forearms on the table. "I imagine you have a lot of questions."

"I do," Summer said. "The first thing is — where are we? And what is this place?"

"Traverse Town," Leon said. "It's complicated to explain — whenever someone has lost their home, this town, this world is created in the space between worlds."

Summer nodded blankly, processing this. "Other worlds. Okay." After a moment, she asked, "I guess what I'm nervous to ask is: why am I here? What happened to my world?"

"I'm really not sure," Leon said.

"It all depends," Aerith said calmly, putting her hands on the table towards Summer. "Some of us came here somewhat voluntarily. Others are here because their homes were destroyed — the pieces of those worlds find their way here, and so do the people." She looked to Leon and then back to Summer. "What do you remember?"

"Not a lot," Summer admitted. "I was...in the Grimmlands. I was ambushed and brought before Salem, the witch-queen, and everything after that is a blank until the dark place."

"The dark place?" Aerith asked.

"It was a place shrouded in eternal darkness," Summer said. "There were these creatures there — like Grimm, but not, with these yellow eyes. I was wandering alone until I nearly died, and then...I ended up here."

"Creatures," Leon repeated, standing up. He walked over to a bookshelf and plucked out a small, pocket-sized book. He flipped it open to a page and turned it towards Summer. "They look anything like this?"

On the page was a pencil sketch of a creature with a large, circular head and a pair of antennae. Hunched as it was, you couldn't tell if it was standing on two legs or crawling on four. The caption labelled it a "Shadow."

"Yep," Summer said.

"Those are called Heartless," Leon said. He handed her the book. "This is a copy of Ansem's Report — well, half of it, at least. You can have it."

Summer took it. "Ansem's Report?"

"Ansem was a wise sage who studied the Heartless," Aerith explained. She refilled her glass of tea. "He recorded all of his findings — but he disappeared, and all we have now is the half that explains what the Heartless are. Out there is the half that explains why."

"The bottom line is, the Heartless are born of the darkness in people's hearts," Leon said. "And there's darkness in every heart."

"They spread and multiply, and somehow they destroy entire worlds," Aerith said. "But...I don't think that's what happened to you."

Leon looked at Aerith quizzically.

"You must have seen the Heartless's home," Aerith explained. She looked down. "At least, I think…"

"Okay," Summer said. "But...what happens now? I'm all alone, you probably don't take what little money I do have, and I have no home."

"Well, you can't crash here forever, but we can set you up at the hotel," Leon said, folding his arms. "They've got the room, and if you're working, they won't ask for payment. What do you do normally?"

"I'm a Huntress. I hunt and kill monsters for a living," Summer said casually. "I'm also an excellent amateur baker."

Aerith chuckled. "Well, we have been looking for more guards," she said. She glanced over at Summer. "Leon and I are in charge of making sure the streets are Heartless-free — our friend Yuffie, too, along with Biggs, Wedge, Jessie, and sometimes Cid from the First District, when he's not helping the Accessory Shop owner or working on his ships. Even with so many people, we're still strung pretty tight." Aerith pointed at one of the visible whiteboards in the sitting room, and Summer could see a weekly shift rotation — and sure enough, even though all the slots were filled, several times various members were marked for double-long shifts.

"I see," Summer said. "Yeah, I can help out."

"Well, if you're onboard, let's give you a tour, then," Leon said, grabbing a leather jacket off a hook. He grabbed a sheathed sword out of a holder by the door.

Summer stood abruptly. "What is that?" she asked, stepping towards Leon.

"You mean Revolver?" Leon said, carefully unsheathing the sword and holding out for her to examine.

"I've never seen a gunblade like this," Summer said, examining the blade. It was silver, and the hilt up into the blade was designed as if it were a large revolver — no, it wasn't whimsical design and engraving, they were independent, working parts. "The cylinder is quite big — higher caliber than I've ever seen." She paused, looking carefully at the blade itself. "...Where do the bullets come out of?"

"They don't."

"What?!"

"The mechanism of a gunblade is to use a round's triggering to send a shockwave through the blade," Leon explained, sheathing his sword once more and clipping it to his belt. "The timing is very precise, but properly used, it can deal a lot of damage."

"Then why call it a gunblade at all?" Summer asked indignantly, throwing her hands up and marching over to her gun belts and wrapping them around her waist and hips. "Now this is a gunblade." She drew Halbmond and held it aloft, switching it from rifle into sword as she did so.

"That seems impractical for a whole lot of reasons," Leon said.

"Quit your bickering," Aerith said, donning a red jacket. At her waist was a collapsible quarterstaff. "Let's go."

"This is the Second District," Leon said, once they'd reached the plaza where Summer had arrived the night prior. He pointed to the white edifice with the clock tower. "That's the Gizmo Shop — that's your best way of keeping time." He kept pointing, going around the plaza. "The hotel — we'll be back once we're done with your tour — and up there's the entrance to the First District. The Mad Hatter's shop, down that way is the Third District, and over there is the Dalmatians' House."

Aerith nudged Summer, pointing at a small door beside the fountain. "That leads to the alley behind the hotel. Leon likes to train down in the waterway."

Summer nodded. "This is a lot to take in," she commented idly.

Aerith smiled. "You'll get it in time."

Leon led them down the street, around the bend, and into the Third District.

"We're planning on moving the guard headquarters to that vacant house," Leon said, pointing to a house without any lights on right as they entered the district. They descended down some steps to the lower level of another plaza.

"There's a lot of cafés and restaurants over here, by the way," Aerith said quietly to Summer. "I like to help out when I'm not busy."

Summer was scanning the area. A door caught Summer's eye — it was large, but had no handle or hinge, only a carving of fire. "What about that door?" she asked, pointing at it.

"There's a lake in there with a house in the center," Leon said. "Nobody lives there — it's too out of the way. And the door is locked, anyway. You have to know Fire magic to get in." Leon stepped toward it, a ball of pure flame sparking into life in his hand. He lobbed it at the door. It hit the door, and slowly it slid upwards. Summer could only see a winding tunnel for a moment before the door closed again.

"I see," Summer said.

Leon led them over to a pair of massive wooden doors. "This is the First District. There's the Item Shop, sort of a general store. The Duck kids run it. Cid and Moss run the Accessory Shop, there in the center. The Moogle Workshop is on the upper floor."

"Moogle?"

"Moogles are these, uh," Leon began, trailing off awkwardly.

"Moogles are a race of craftsmen," Aerith said. "The ones in that workshop can take raw material that you provide to make weapons and armor."

"What about ammunition?" Summer asked.

"Probably," Aerith said. "Leon?"

"Yeah," he said. He tapped the hilt of his gunblade. "They make rounds for Revolver; they can probably make ones for your gunblade, too." He pointed at the gate at the end of the plaza. "And through there are the gummi ship landing bays."

Summer laughed. "Gummi ship? What's a gummi ship?"

A gruff voice interjected: "Gummi ships are serious business."

Summer turned; the man who had spoken was a middle-aged man with blonde hair and a pair of goggles around his forehead. He looked to Leon and gave him a sharp, curt nod, then to Aerith. "Leon. Aerith. Showing someone around?"

"Yep," Aerith said. "This is Summer. She's a new guard."

"Nice to meet ya," the gruff man said, sticking out his hand. "I'm Cid."

"Nice to meet you," Summer replied, shaking his hand. "So what's a gummi ship, and why is it serious business?"

"Gummi ships are one of your only bets for inter-world travel," Cid explained. "Unless you're a high-class mage, it's that or a Star Shard — which're finicky, unpredictable, and absolutely, positively dangerous. They've got minds of their own, and there's no telling where one will land ya." He folded his arms. "Gummi ships are safe and reliable."

"Okay, okay," Summer said, holding her hands up in mock surrender. "I believe you." She looked at Leon. "Anything else?"

"Nope," Leon said. "We're gonna get you checked into the hotel, and then Aerith and I will go home and put you on the guard schedule."

"You're always welcome to drop by for dinner, though," Aerith chimed in. "I think Jessie's making pizza tonight!"

It was mid-morning now. The train barreled onward toward Mistral.

"Things fell into a routine," Summer explained. "I woke up in my hotel room, did my job, and in my spare time, I learned more about Traverse Town — and Traverse Town's a weird place. The universe has a lot more talking animals than you would think."

"Hold the phone," Oscar said, putting his hands up. "You've thrown me into the deep end here. So there's other worlds?"

"Yep," Summer said.

"How am I supposed to believe you?" Oscar asked. "If there were all these other worlds, then why hasn't anyone done anything about the Grimm here? Why haven't we left and gone somewhere without Grimm?"

"Maybe people love their land," Cloud interjected. "Or maybe they're just stubborn. Sort of like this train: can't run anywhere except where its rails take it."

"Actual reason," Summer said, leaning back. "The world order. Inter-world travellers, few as they have been historically, are bound by a code that states that they cannot become involved in the affairs of other worlds. Other worlds were meant to be a secret. But, thanks to the Heartless, we're rapidly approaching a point at which such secrecy is impossible." She leaned forward and steepled her fingers in front of her face. "The Grimm don't exist anywhere else, only here. The threats that plague each world are entirely their own, and their own citizens are enough to stand against those threats. This is how it has always been. But if there were a threat that challenged multiple worlds, then by necessity, this order would be non-functional."

"Where do the Heartless come from?" Oscar asked, seriously. "The dark place you mentioned?"

"Not exactly," Summer said. "But that's a question you should hold onto. May I continue?"

Oscar nodded. "Please."

Summer cleared her throat before continuing. "So there I was: Traverse Town. During the day I fought Heartless and helped old ladies cross streets and during my off hours I was looking for, well, others from Remnant. Anyone who could tell me if my home was still around or not. And then, well, something happened." Summer looked out the window. "A Keyblade wielder arrived in Traverse Town."

The Accessory Shop was empty except for the two on opposite sides of the counter.

Summer finished draining the tea cup before setting it down. "Cid, where the hell did you learn to brew tea this well?"

"A man's gotta have some secrets," Cid responded, popping a stick of gum in his mouth. "So what are you doing here? Wanna buy something?"

"Nah, I'm just waiting for the Moogles upstairs to get done with my ammo," Summer said, swirling the dregs in her cup with a teaspoon. "It'll be nice not having to worry so much about saving bullets any more."

"What's with all your guns, anyway?"

"I like having ranged options, and my only magic is...a little finicky," Summer said.

The trapdoor in the ceiling opened, and a Moogle's head popped out. "Miss Summer? Your items are ready for pickup, kupo."

"Speak of the devil," Summer said, slapping a handful of munny on the counter. "Thanks for the tea." She walked over to the ladder and began climbing.

"This ain't a teahouse, y'know," Cid said. "Buy something next time."

The bell for the door jingled. Summer looked down and back at the new arrival — a young boy with spiky brown hair. She ascended the rest of the ladder as Cid began to chat with him, and the Moogle at the top shut the trapdoor.

"Ah! Miss Summer. Here are your items, kupo," the head synthesist said, patting a collection of small drawstring pouches that were resting on the table. "The larger caliber ones are in this sack, the smaller caliber ones are in here, and your special ones are in this third sack. Be very careful with those, kupo."

"Thank you very much," Summer said, bowing.

"No, thank you," the Moogle replied. "It's been a while since I've had such a good challenge like synthesizing 'Dust'."

"If I had my old Chemistry textbook, I would've let you go wild," Summer said, pulling out the pistol rounds and restocking her gun belt. Once that was done, she loaded her rifle magazines, which took a minute. "Thanks again."

She walked out the door and almost immediately ducked as a Heartless leapt for her. She caught it in midair and slammed it into the ground. She drew Halbmond and stabbed it before it could scurry away. It disintegrated quickly.

"That's unusual," she mused aloud, making sure Halbmond was loaded. She looked around.

The shadows of the buildings around her lengthened and, pair by pair, yellow eyes opened.

"Looks like I'm on the clock," she said as Heartless charged her.

Three leapt at once, including one that had gleaming metal armor — a Soldier, according to Ansem's Report. Summer leapt to the side, firing Halbmond into one of the Heartless's heads.

The Soldier in the lead leapt, and the Shadows following mimicked it, pouncing on Summer. She could hear and feel tearing as one of them sheared off the left sleeve of her dress from the elbow down, but she smacked the Heartless aside with her fist and sliced into them with her sword, creating enough space and buying her enough time to draw Thorn from its holster. She flicked Halbmond into rifle mode and aimed both at the Heartless.

The Soldier attempted to rally his "men" for another synchronized charge, but the Shadows ran wild. Summer stepped backwards twice while firing, Heartless after Heartless falling—

—before she slipped over a ledge into the alley below.

Above her, the Soldier pounced.

Leon's gunblade caught the Heartless in midair and hurled it into a wall. A quick fire spell from Leon, and the Heartless was dead. The remaining few scattered and slipped into the shadows.

"Nice," Summer said.

Leon tossed her a small healing tonic. She caught it and put it in her bag. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah." Summer stood up and dusted herself off. She flicked her Scroll open to check her Aura. "Still alive, at least. I'm on the clock, I'm assuming?"

"Yeah. Don't know what's got the Heartless riled up, but they're out in force. We're telling everyone to stay inside for the time being."

"This isn't an attack," Summer said. She put her finger to her chin in thought. "They're not quite coordinated enough, even if they're feral. This is more like...something's scared them out of their hiding place."

Leon looked down for a moment. He looked Summer in her eyes, finally. "It's the Keyblade," he said gravely, but with a glimmer of fire in his eyes.

"Key...blade?" Summer asked.

"It's a magical weapon," Leon said. "And it's the only thing the Heartless fear on instinct."

To Summer's mind, that made two things to disperse the frenzy: destroy the pack's leader or remove the Keyblade from the equation. She said so to Leon, and he nodded.

"Good call. I'll take this District, you sweep through Second, and I'll swing around and let Yuffie know over in Third. Bring whoever has the Keyblade down to the hotel," Leon said. He tossed Summer a flare. "If you see a big Heartless, signal me and Yuffie."

Summer nodded. She reloaded Halbmond and Thorn. "Got it. Good luck, Leonhart." She smiled at him.

Leon gave her a thumbs-up. "Same to you, Rose."

The Second District was teeming with Heartless. Summer had dispatched at least two dozen of them by the time she ran into Yuffie, twenty minutes later in a sidestreet about midway between the Second and Third Districts.

"How're things?" Summer asked, kicking the skewered and rapidly evaporating remains of a Heartless off her sword. She pushed Yuffie gently aside, took aim with Halbmond, and shot another Shadow further down the street. It collapsed and began to dissolve.

"They're alright," Yuffie said quickly. "Leon wanted me to grab you. He's found the Keyblade wielder, and they're at the hotel. Here, follow me." She leapt up and grabbed the fire escape ladder of one of the buildings. She began to climb.

"When in Vacuo," Summer said, leaping up and grabbing the ladder.

Their dash to the hotel was done almost exclusively via rooftop. There were few Heartless, and what few they encountered, they dispatched. Eventually, they came out beside the clock tower atop the Gizmo Shop which overlooked the Second District's central plaza.

"Well, here we are," Yuffie said.

Summer looked back at the clock tower itself. There was a boarded up entryway. "Why's this boarded up?"

"Kids were ringing the bell too much," Yuffie explained. "It was 'cause of this rumor that ringing the bell would cause a big Heartless to appear. Cid got pissed at the racket and boarded it up." She looked around the edge of the roof. "Now where's that ladder? Ah, here it is. Come on."

The pair descended back to nearly street level and went into the hotel, which was remarkably quiet. Yuffie knocked on the door to the Green Room. A moment later it opened; Leon was on the other side. He stepped aside to let the two into the room.

"Found her," Yuffie said, walking in.

"Good." Leon shut the door after Summer. "It's worse than we thought," he said, gesturing. "A lot worse."

The spiky-haired boy from the Accessory Shop was there, laying on the bed.

"The Heartless knocked him out?" Summer said, glancing at Leon.

"Nope," Yuffie chimed in. "That's Leon's handiwork. Knocked 'em out cold." Yuffie made a sweeping gesture with her hand.

"I overreacted," Leon admitted. "Not my finest moment."

"He's a kid," Summer said. "Where's Aerith?"

"Collecting the other visitors — the ones we were expecting," Leon responded, leaning up against the wall. Summer looked down. The Keyblade itself was leaned up against the wall beside Leon. Summer looked down at it and unconsciously, her hand went out to touch it—

"Don't touch it," Leon said, batting her hand away. "It's slippery, and I just got it far enough away from him that the Heartless calmed down a bit."

Summer nodded. "So what now?"

"We wait for the kid to wake up," Leon said.

"So you can apologize. Good call." Summer shot Leon a thumbs up.

Leon rolled his eyes.

"He's coming to," Yuffie said, leaning in. "Hey, you okay?"

The boy sat up from where he'd been laying. "I guess," he said, obviously still half-asleep.

"Those creatures that attacked you were after the Keyblade," Yuffie began explaining. "But it's your heart they want."

"I'm so glad you're okay, Kairi," the boy said.

"Kairi?" Yuffie asked. "Who's that?" She put a hand on her chest and puffed it out. "I'm the great ninja Yuffie!" She looked at Leon. "I think you overdid it."

Summer stepped up to the bed. "You feeling okay? Headache, nausea, anything like that?"

The boy shook his head. "No, not at all."

Summer leaned down to examine him visually. He stumbled back slightly, blushing. After a moment, she stood up straight. "Well, he doesn't look concussed, so that's good." She shot a dirty look at Leon.

The boy finally noticed Leon in the corner. "Hey! You! What's the big idea, anyway?"

"Sorry," Leon said sheepishly, scratching the back of his head and looking away. "Trust me, we're not bad guys. It was the only way I could get the Keyblade away from you." He picked up the key-shaped sword and experimentally swung it, but as he did so, it disappeared in a burst of light. Immediately afterwards, it reappeared in the boy's hand.

"The Keyblade," the boy said.

"The Heartless fear it," Leon said, starting to pace. "They'll keep coming after you, no matter what." He shot a look over his shoulder at the boy. "Hard to believe it chose you — but beggars can't be choosers."

"Wait," the boy said, standing up. "What happened to my home, my island? My friends?"

"You know, I really don't know," Leon said, folding his arms and leaning up against the wall.

"Here," Yuffie said, handing the boy a can of elixir. "Drink some of this and you'll feel better. What's your name?"

"I'm Sora," the boy said, somewhat glumly.

"Well, Sora," Yuffie went on. "That's Squall — well, Leon — and over there is Summer. It's nice to meet you."

Summer's attention turned toward the far wall, something in her senses pointing at her at a spot on the floor. Abruptly, darkness pooled there into the form of an armored Heartless — a Soldier.

"Leon," Yuffie called out; the man in question was in motion, drawing his gunblade.

But Summer was already moving on instinct, her Semblance activating. She leapt forward at blinding, near impossible speed.

"Oh yeah!" she yelled.

Her knee smashed into the Heartless's head and carried it through the window. The sound of shattering glass filled the air. Summer followed through, soaring over the balcony and into the alley below, smashing the Heartless completely with the thick heel of her boot as she landed.

A half-dozen more Heartless were lurking in the dark of the alley, a mixture of Soldiers and Shadows. Summer drew Halbmond.

"Summer, wait!" Leon called from the shattered hotel room window. "Sora, let's go!"

By the time they had cleared the balcony and landed in the alley, Summer was already halfway up the alleyway, her sword glinting and flashing in the darkness.

Summer burst into the plaza in the Second District, the Heartless's ichor still dripping and dissolving off of Halbmond's blade as she slowed. The plaza was more silent than she'd ever seen since the day she arrived.

She cautiously walked through the plaza, keeping to the edges.

The silence was shattered by the sound of a bell ringing. Summer's hands went up to cover her ears. A moment later, it ended and she uncovered her ears tentatively.

The bell at the top of the Gizmo Shop hadn't rung during the few weeks she'd been in Traverse Town, but for some reason, some feeling deep in her gut roiled at the lingering echoes of the sound. She took tentative steps towards the Gizmo Shop before the sound of clanging metal above her stopped her. She looked up.

Before her landed a massive Heartless with a great crashing noise, its feet smashing and loosening the cobblestones underneath. It was, altogether, two or three meters tall and decked in purple armor, with nothing linking the body of the armor to independent arms and legs.

Summer immediately pulled Thorn out, aimed it at the armor's head, and blasted it in the face with the shotgun shell in the center chamber. The helmet flew off and clattered to the ground.

It was silent in the plaza for a moment. Neither combatant moved an inch.

The armor's left fist suddenly flew at her, followed shortly by the right. Summer's arms came up reflexively and blocked them from smacking her in the face. They spun around and rejoined the armored body as the helmet floated up and settled back atop the body.

"Fine. Let's rock," Summer said, twirling Halbmond.

She caught the next punch with Halbmond's side, redirecting it into the brick wall of the plaza's upper level. She leapt over the second, spinning in midair and smacking the armor's head before landing behind it.

The armor whirled around, each segment turning independently.

"Freaky," Summer muttered.

She ducked and weaved as the armor advanced on her. She could see the fingers of the gauntlets had been sharpened to a razor's edge, and as the armored Heartless swiped at her she could feel it scraping against her Aura. She backed up further into the wider section of the plaza, formulating a plan in her mind.

Summer sheathed her sword and, with her now free hand, plucked out four shells from her gun belt. The shells had been painted with a powder blue stripe, indicating their payload: Ice Dust, or, in this case, the Moogles' Synthetic Ice Dust.

Summer didn't like to rely on her Semblance too much, even as useful as it was. She could move at an accelerated speed, but it drained her Aura twofold — once from the Semblance itself, and the second as her Aura patched together her strained muscle and bone on the fly, keeping her in peak condition even as pain from using her Semblance wracked her body.

But she would need to reload Thorn four times in rapid succession, and even cutting inefficiencies from her movement wouldn't be enough.

Summer loaded the first shell as she backed up against the wall of the Gizmo Shop.

The armor moved toward her, arms flipping aimlessly.

As Summer predicted, it opened with a punch using its right arm. She ducked to the left, spinning around and blasting the arm with the Ice Dust. It encased the arm in a block of ice, attached to the marble of the wall.

Summer's Semblance engaged. She leaned out of the way of the Heartless's left haymaker as she loaded the second shell.

The entire assemblage lifted into the air and slammed down on where Summer was standing. She dove backwards out of the way, nailing one of the feet with the Ice Dust. It, similarly, was encased in an icy prison.

Summer disengaged her Semblance and took a deep breath. The pain subsided for a moment.

The armor launched its other foot towards her in a bizarre kick. She caught it with open arms, spinning to reduce its momentum, and slammed it into the ground. She reloaded Thorn and blasted it, leaping away as ice formed around it.

"Three down, one to go," Summer said to herself, loading Thorn with the last shell.

Summer charged forward at speed and leapt. She grabbed the remaining arm in midair. It struggled in her grasp as she body-slammed it, kicking off of it as she blasted it.

The torso and head of the armor turned around to face Summer. She holstered Thorn and pulled out her sword. She reared back, charging down the center of the plaza with Halbmond ready to strike.

The armor's torso rotated up, exposing its hollow, dark inside to her. A blue glow began to light up its interior. The air began to get very, very warm. Her eyes widened.

The Heartless launched a beam of pure energy at her, breaking her Aura. She flew backwards and created a small crater in the plaza's wall. She could taste blood in her mouth.

"That hurt," she said weakly.

With loud crunches, each of the trapped limbs broke free of their icy prisons, one by one.

The armor began to approach, but suddenly it stopped and looked off in the vague direction of the Third District. With something resembling a leap, it took off over the rooftops and out of sight.

Summer removed herself from the crater in the plaza wall, coughing. She gathered all the blood and saliva in her mouth and spit the whole mess out onto the cobblestones.

"I think I just got bailed out by the Keyblade," she muttered, uncorking the healing tonic Leon had given her. She downed it in one gulp. It was sickeningly sweet over an unpleasant aftertaste, but she could feel her pain subsiding as it slid down her throat.

She wiped her mouth, adjusted her gun belt, and ran towards the Third District.

By the time Summer reached the Third District, the action had already ended.

The Keyblade wielder, Sora, had evidently encountered two others Summer hadn't seen before — a tall looking individual who looked vaguely like a dog, and a short talking duck. From the damage around the plaza, they'd destroyed the Heartless, and were talking now about something or other that Summer couldn't quite make out.

Leon and Yuffie were there too, quietly chatting. Summer walked up to them.

"Whoa!" Yuffie said as she spotted Summer. "You look like, uh…"

"You look like you saw some action," Leon finished. "Didn't I tell you to signal us if you saw a large Heartless?"

"I forgot," Summer said, sounding like a student being scolded for a moment.

"All's well that ends well," Leon said. He gestured to the trio. "Our other visitors, Court Magician Donald Duck and Royal Knight Captain Goofy, both of Disney Castle. They had orders to find the Keyblade wielder."

"And they found him, alright," Yuffie said.

"The swarm's dispersed," Leon said. "I think it'll be pretty quiet for a bit. Summer, get some rest."

Summer nodded, mostly to herself. "So...where are they going?"

Leon and Yuffie looked at each other. After a moment, Yuffie answered, "Well, Sora's looking for his friends, and Donald and Goofy are looking for their missing King. They'll be going to other worlds via gummi ship."

Summer looked up at the sky. Stars dotted the darkness. "Leon?"

"Mhm?"

"I'm thinking of leaving, too," Summer said, looking Leon in his eyes. "I can't stay here forever. I have a husband and daughters and I have to know if they're safe. And if my home isn't out there, then I'll round my family up and I'll come back here and we'll make a new home."

Leon nodded.

"No argument?" Summer asked.

Aerith's voice cut through the silence. "We're the same way." Summer turned to look at the approaching woman. Aerith smiled for a moment before looking wistful. "We've lived here ten years, but our home, our real home is out there. And right now, it's too dangerous to go back. That's why we've been training — we want to go home too." Aerith smiled again. "But before you go...I think you need a change of clothes."

Summer looked down at herself. Her dress had already been fairly worn, but it was in borderline tatters now. Half of the left sleeve had been torn off, and the rest of the sleeve was hanging on by a handful of threads. The skirt had been torn up, and the bodice had a large gash through its side.

"Good call," Summer said, chuckling.

The next morning (such as it was in a town with no sun), Summer began preparing to leave.

Aerith, Yuffie, and Summer went out for brunch and then systematically worked their way through half the clothing stores in the Second District before Summer had compiled an outfit. It was late afternoon when they returned to Aerith's place.

"Why don't we ever go to Yuffie's place?" Summer asked, setting her bags on Leon's couch.

"Yuffie's place is," Aerith paused to find delicate words, "a sucky little hole in the ground."

"Is not."

"It's one room and your mattress is on the floor," Aerith retorted. "Half your stove's burners don't work, and there's no air conditioning."

Yuffie huffed and folded her arms. "Summer, go get changed so that I don't have to listen to any more of Aerith's slander."

"Done," Summer said, slipping into the bathroom with a bundle of clothes in her arms.

Inside, she laid all the pieces of her new outfit on the toilet. Then she loosened the laces of her bodice and removed it before slipping it off, followed quickly by the rest of the dress.

Holding her dress in such a definitive, final manner made her remember the first time she'd put it on as a young Beacon graduate. It was a gift from her mother, an iteration on the combat outfit she'd worn during her time at combat school and the Academy. As with most Huntsman and Huntress outfits, it was bespoke — one of a kind, made just for her.

She gently folded the dress, held it to her forehead, and she tried very hard not to cry.

"Thank you," she whispered into the cloth. She set it down on the counter.

Eyes steely, she assembled her new outfit.

She hadn't gone outside her wheelhouse in the color scheme. The pants were thick denim dyed black, the top was off-white, and the vest was a rich, dark grey. The set of leather bracers she'd found were black, too, with polished silver hardware for securing them.

She wrapped her gun belts around her hips. She wrapped her cloak around herself and pinned it in place with a cross-shaped pin.

Looking in the mirror, she cleaned her face up. It took a moment for her to quell and quiet her emotions. Once she was satisfied, she strode out of the bathroom. "Whaddya think?" she asked.

Aerith clapped, a smile on her face. "It's very bold!"

"The cape is a bit much," Yuffie said from her position lounging on the couch.

"I think it's part of Summer's fairy-tale charm," Aerith said.

"If you think I've got fairy-tale charm, you should meet some of my friends," Summer said, adjusting the straps on her boots. "I like it. But..." She trailed off, uncertain.

Aerith stepped forward. "But…?"

"I'm gonna miss my dress," Summer said, handing the bundle of clothes to Aerith. "If you could...keep it safe for me? In case I don't...make it home, whether that be Remnant or back here."

Aerith nodded. "Of course."

Summer breathed in. "Thank you." She put her hand on her hip. "So. What about getting a gummi ship?"

Yuffie raised her hand. "Leon said you should talk to Cid about that!"

Cid was leaned up against the counter reading a newspaper when Summer walked into the Accessory Shop.

"You're here about gummi ships," Cid said without looking up.

"Bingo." Summer folded her arms. "What's the word?"

Cid folded the paper and set it on the counter. "Let me close up early, then we can talk about it." He strode to the door, pulling a set of keys from his pockets. With the flip of a switch, he shut off the store's neon sign. Then they stepped out of the Accessory Shop. Cid locked the door before he made his way across the plaza, Summer following close behind.

Cid opened the massive wooden door that led to the gummi ship docking bays.

"We're heading to my garage," Cid said.

He led Summer further into the bays. The streets got narrower and were visibly less maintained the further they got from the First District. Eventually they stood before a large garage. Cid pulled his keys back out and opened the small man-sized door. He held it open for Summer, and she entered.

The interior was dark until Cid flipped a massive switch. One by one, large fluorescent lights came to life, illuminating a sleek silver ship.

"That one's the Shera," Cid said. "She's mine. The one I've got for you is that one." He pointed past the silver ship and at the other ship tucked further into the garage.

Summer walked past the Shera until she could get a good view of the other ship. It was simultaneously impressive and run-down. Its shape reminded Summer of a great bird of prey, its wings tucked into a dive. The exterior gummi plating was a very tasteful black with gold highlights, but several sections were unpainted grey gummi. A multitude of tarps had been draped over it.

"Wow," Summer said.

"The Blackjack," Cid introduced, walking up from behind Summer. He stepped up to the ship and flipped open a small access panel to punch in a code. A section of the portside hull slid open, with a boarding ramp extending and lowering to the ground. "The ship was my old drinking buddy Setzer's," he said, striding up the boarding ramp. "Gambler, scoundrel, bit of an oddball. Gave me the Blackjack a few years ago, once he decided to settle down."

"I see," Summer said.

The ramp led up into what Summer immediately classed as a "lounge." The hold had been painted in red and a rich, warm yellow-orange. A pair of plush red couches had been set to each side of the hold's center and a small bar and galley had been placed beside one of the couches. The centerpiece of the lounge was a card table made of dark wood, with a green felt top.

"This is the primary cargo hold," Cid explained. "Well, it would be on a normal freighter. Crew quarters are through those doors, left side is captain's and right side are crew. Here in the hold is the onboard central computer, and under these hatches is where the ship's shield system and warp drive are, along with most of the rest of everything that keeps this ship together and flying."

"All very nice," Summer said. "What's the cost?"

"Not much," Cid said. "The Blackjack's a fixer-upper, y'see, and I don't have the time or energy to repair her. I'd rather keep working on my baby. But…"

"But…?"

"You buy the parts you need from me," Cid said, "and I'll show you the ins and outs of a gummi ship. Deal?"

"Deal."

Over the next week, Cid and Summer repaired the Blackjack while he wasn't tending to the Accessory Shop and she wasn't patrolling the town. Summer quickly found that "fixer-upper" was accurate, if not an understatement. The ship was very outdated and had clearly sat falling apart for a few years.

"What do we have for weapon systems?" Summer asked. She was down in the maintenance access hatch in the main hold, working on securing the alluvial dampers to the warp gummi.

"One Fire-grade autocannon for basic defense," Cid replied, sitting on one of the couches with a portable terminal on his lap, wires feeding from it into the ship's onboard computer and the L3-class gummi-based navicomputer. His thick, multi-pocketed denim jacket was draped over the other half of the couch, bundles of wiring and tools poking from many of the pockets.

Summer waited for more. "And? Is that it?"

"Yep," Cid said. "Setzer's more of a lover than a fighter. His words, not mine." He looked up from his work and over at the hatch where Summer was. "I've replaced the bedding in the crew and captain's quarters, in case you were worried about that."

Summer popped her head out and looked around. "Well, what do you recommend for weapons?"

"At least another Fire-class cannon, maybe more, and some homing lasers," Cid said. "And a deployable swivel blaster for close encounters. Just in case."

"Just in case," Summer repeated. "How's the navicomputer?"

Cid popped a stick of gum in his mouth. "It's taking a bit to boot up. It's an older model, but it's very reliable. I just loaded it up with a modern database, too." He looked back down at his terminal. "It should be good now." He began unplugging his terminal. Once he was done with that, he mounted the navicomputer to the side of the central computer's terminal.

"The damper's done," Summer said. "So weapons installation and then…?"

"Aside from weapons, she's just about ready," Cid said, packing up tools around the hold. "Navicomputer was the last big thing. There's a couple small things left, but you can do those tomorrow while I install those cannons."

"Got it," Summer said, climbing up out of the hatch. "How did you get into gummi ships, anyway?"

Cid stopped his packing and slumped down on the couch.

"You really wanna know?"

"I mean, unless you'd rather not," Summer said.

"I wanted to see space," Cid explained. "So I became a damn good pilot. And when I wasn't piloting, I was workin' on planes and zeppelins. Eventually, gummi blocks appeared, and those of us with dreams of space exploration made prototype after prototype." Cid leaned back. "Then, wham! The Heartless attacked. I escaped with as many people as we could fit in the prototype. Didn't even have a name, just 'No. 26'. Hell, the oxygen tank nearly blew on us, too. We limped all the way here." He reached into a pocket before withdrawing his empty hand. "I got to fulfill my dream, but ain't that 'cause I lost my home?"

"Oh geez," Summer muttered. "I'm sorry."

"It's all in the past," Cid said. "Traverse Town's not a bad place, but I'd like to see my home again before I croak. That's why I'm helpin' you with this. It's 'cause we want you to find your home in the hope that one day we can go home too."

After a week, the Blackjack was ready to go, and Cid had given her the rundown on piloting the gummi ship.

The cockpit itself was cozy, with two seats for a pilot and co-pilot, and two more if the crew included a gunner and engineer. Cid assured her that, at least for her purposes, the ship could be adequately crewed by a lone pilot, as many of the systems could be automated or controlled at the pilot's station.

Summer had used sticky notes meticulously through her becoming acquainted with the cockpit. Four in particular along the windscreen's side detailed the standard startup procedure; another set along the opposite side detailed shutdown of the ship.

She was in the pilot's seat, leaning forward and consulting both her notes and the owner's manual on her lap performing the standard pre-flight checks.

"Yo," Cid called from the ship's lounge. "Someone here to see you!"

Summer shut the manual and methodically went back up the list, turning off what of the ship's systems she'd turned on before climbing out of the cockpit. Down in the lounge, Cid was waiting, hands on his hips. "They're all outside," he said gruffly, jerking his head towards the ramp.

"All?" Summer asked, stepping down the ramp.

"All," as it turned out, meant the entire contingent of Traverse Town's ragtag band of guards: Leon and Aerith, and Yuffie behind her — yelling orders at the rear guard to "Hurry up and get it in here!" — Biggs, Wedge, and Jessie, the latter two bearing a sheet cake coated in white frosting.

"Surprise!" Aerith said. "We brought you a cake to say goodbye."

The pair of cake-bearers set it down on a workbench, with Biggs plopping down plates and forks.

"Wow, uh," Summer said.

"You're leaving tomorrow," Aerith said. "You didn't think we were just going to let you leave without a proper send-off, were you?"

"Thanks," Summer said. She rubbed the back of her neck, where her hair was starting to get unruly. "I'm...not very good with goodbyes. Sometimes I neglect them."

"There'll always be a place for you here," Aerith said consolingly. "But you'd better hurry up before all the edge pieces are gone."

The next morning, Summer checked out of the hotel. She picked up one more order of Synthetic Dust rounds from the Moogle Workshop, a six-pack of potions from Huey, Dewey, and Louie at the item store, and a fire-themed bracelet from the man at the Accessory Shop who she'd never really talked much to.

Then she made her way to Cid's garage.

The man was standing at the entrance. "You ready?" he asked as a way of greeting.

"Ready as I'll ever be," Summer said, hauling the duffle bag with her few possessions up the Blackjack's loading ramp and dumping it on one of the sofas in the lounge.

Cid put on a headset. "Alright, I'm heading into the control room. Get your ass buckled in."

"On it." Summer climbed into the cockpit and got herself strapped in before putting her own headset on. She began firing up the ship's systems one by one — gravitational repulsors, main engines, life support, weapons, shielding, radar, warp drive.

"Okay, Summer," Cid's voice came through the headset. "You're clear to close the doors and perform final checks. I'm opening the top-side door."

Above the ship, the retracting roof opened. Summer closed the ship's doors. "All systems operational," she said, finishing her second check of the ship's displays.

"Copy that, Blackjack. You are go for launch."

"Copy that. Firing repulsors," Summer said, flipping switches. The entire gummi ship began to lift off the ground. With another set of switches, the landing gear retracted.

"I'll be patching you into air traffic control's comms here in a second," Cid said. "And Summer?"

"Yeah?"

Cid's voice was warmer than usual. "Good luck."

"Thank you. Blackjack — lift off!"