"Gwarsh," said a nervous Goofy as he and Donald proceeded through the alleyway, "there's nobody here. Sure is spooky!"
The royal mage and knight's search had finally taken them into an empty alley, where there wasn't a single soul in sight. Sure, there hadn't been a lot of people out and about in other parts of the town, but they'd at least seen silhouettes of people in windows or something. That wasn't the case here. They couldn't see a sign of anyone anywhere in this place.
Donald managed to maintain a confident march, trying to ignore Goofy's fear. This was his first big mission in a long time. He may have been a coward once, but he'd left that part of himself behind way, way back in the day. Now, after going on adventures both for the king and his uncle, the court magician of Disney Castle felt like he could face anything.
"Aw, phooey," replied Donald, steeling his expression as he marched alongside his old friend. "I'm not scared." The very moment he'd finished that sentence, Donald felt something poke his shoulder twice out of nowhere! "WAAAAAAAAAAAAGGH!"
'What was that!?' worried the scared duck, startled and leaping about ten feet in the air, waving all of his limbs wildly before ultimately landing on Goofy's back. He wrapped both arms and legs around the captain of the royal knights as if he were a lifeline.
"Excuse me, Mr. Not-scared," came a woman's voice from behind, snapping Donald out of his panic. "Did the king send you?" That question caught both world travelers by surprise. Without letting go, Donald turned his head to look behind, while Goofy did the same.
The person who had spoken was a human brunette in her twenties. She wore a long, pink button-up dress with brown boots. Her brown hair was tied in a braid with a large ribbon near the top and a smaller one near the end. She had curls and long bangs framing her face. Her green eyes complimented her outfit as she smiled sweetly at the two in front of her.
"Sorry for startling you," said the woman. "Nice jump, by the way."
"It's okay, ma'am," assured Goofy as the royal mage got off his back. "Donald here does that sorta thing all the time."
"No, I don't!" protested the duck before turning to the woman, trying to regain his composure. "Anyway, you know the king, Ms…?"
"Aerith," she replied, gesturing to herself, "it's Aerith. And yeah, I met him a little while ago. So you must be Donald and Goofy, right?"
"Yee-up," replied Goofy. "Hey, maybe you can tell us where to find Leon."
"Let's save that for later," responded Aerith, waving off his suggestion. "We've reserved a room in the hotel. I can explain the situation to you there." With that, she waved for them to follow and gave a "Come on."
…
"Come on, lazy bum," came the all-too-familiar voice of Kairi. "Wake up."
Sora groaned as he sat up in an unfamiliar bed, clearing away the cobwebs. As he opened his eyes, the Keyblade wielder was shocked to see his redheaded friend sitting straight ahead on the opposite side of his apparent bed.
"You okay?" asked Kairi in a concerned tone as she tilted her head and sat forward with her hands on her knees.
"Uh… I guess…" Sora hesitantly replied, unsure of how he'd gotten into this situation.
"Glad to hear it," Kairi replied before sighing, yet also slowly breaking into a smile. "Ungh. What hit us back there? I got so sleepy all of a sudden. Kinda like Nora when she goes into a pancake coma."
"Who's—? Never mind," Sora groaned before switching gears and smiling in relief. "I'm just so glad that you're okay, Kairi."
"Kairi?" asked the redhead with a puzzled tone that didn't match her cheerful smile. "Did you hit your head back there, Sora?" The next thing the boy knew, a completely different yet also familiar voice was coming out of her mouth. "It's me. Ruby."
"Huh?" asked the boy in confusion. He winced while briefly seeing white, shutting his eyes tight and shaking his head. When he opened them back up, Sora was shocked to see Ruby sitting in Kairi's place. She was hunched over, rubbing her silver eyes tiredly while looking at him in concern.
"Hope you didn't get a concussion when you fell from that sleep spell," came another voice, prompting Ruby to glare at its source.
"Gyah!" exclaimed Sora, jolting back in shock at seeing someone standing right next to him.
The girl looked a little older than Ruby. A metal headband was wrapped underneath her short, black hair as she looked at him with her violet eyes, pursing her lips in thought. She wore a yellow scarf over a green tube top, with blue belts acting as shoulder straps along with a pair of short-shorts, thigh-high socks, and orange shoes. A pair of mesh sleeves ran from her upper arms down to some fingerless gloves.
"Where'd—who're you?" demanded the spiky-haired boy. The new girl's lips curled into a mischievous smile as she chuckled.
"I was hoping you'd ask that," she replied, jumping back a little. The girl slightly leaned on her hip and held up a single fist, producing a shuriken from between each finger. "Some know me as a beguiling ninja."
Hiding the shuriken, she then spun around and effortlessly tossed three glowing, differently colored orbs into the air. "Others as the worlds' greatest materia hunter." She easily caught each sphere before flashing all three in her palm. "But who am I truly? Well, wonder no more!" With another lithe movement, she spun around and stored the spheres in some unseen place before facing the pair again, summoning a giant shuriken in a puff of smoke, ready to strike another pose.
"Before you stands the one and only—!"
"Yuffie!" growled a painfully familiar voice. The now-named ninja suddenly stumbled, waving her arms frantically before righting herself. Sora turned to the source of the voice and immediately tensed at the sight of the gunblade wielder from earlier. He was leaning against a nearby door, pinching the bridge of his nose in exasperation.
"Squall," whined Yuffie as she turned towards the man and pouted, stomping her foot in frustration. "You ruined my intro!" In response, he gave her the same stoic look from before and stepped forward, turning to face all three other people in the room.
"That's Leon," he corrected her. "And you're making too much noise." Leon's response did nothing to lessen Yuffie's glare as she proceeded to stick her tongue out, making noises at him. With another puff of smoke, her giant shuriken disappeared into thin air. Seeing it again, Sora realized that the effect reminded him of a smoke bomb.
"I have so many questions," commented a confused Ruby.
"Same here," agreed Sora. Looking around, he could see that they were in a large bedroom. There was a round table with a tea set and a blue chest near the left side. Past that, he noticed a door that looked familiar. Were they in the hotel from earlier? A clock hung over the door that was closest to him. His gaze was soon drawn down to a pair of weapons leaning against each side of the doorway. "The Keyblade and—"
"My baby!" gasped Ruby, her silver eyes widening as she frantically checked herself to confirm that the weapon she so loved was no longer on her person. "Give her back!" She made a leap for the weapon when the kunoichi suddenly caught her with both hands.
"Whoa there!" grunted Yuffie as she struggled to hold the younger girl back. The latter continued hyperventilating as her arms waved frantically towards Crescent Rose. "Just let us explain. Then we'll give you back your gun-scythe. Deal?" Ruby resisted at first, but soon reluctantly sat back on the bed with Sora, crossing her arms and staring daggers at their captors.
"What about my weapon?" demanded Sora. "Why take the Keyblade?"
"Yeah," Yuffie awkwardly replied as she went to stand next to Leon, raising her finger pointedly. "We had to get it away from you to shake off those creatures." She then turned to Sora, shrugging with her hands on her hips. "It turns out that's how they were tracking you."
"It was the only way to conceal your heart from them," added Leon, crossing his arms. "But it won't work for long."
"That…" said Ruby as realization dawned in her eyes, "actually makes sense." She turned to Sora. "I didn't bring this up because I wasn't totally sure. But the Shadows always seemed to go after you more than me."
The Keyblade wielder was surprised by his friend's revelation. Looking back on it, those bug things had been popping up everywhere he went in this town. But he'd assumed that must've been a common thing in this world. But if that were the case, then wouldn't everyone who lived here be carrying weapons to defend themselves? The Radcliffes definitely hadn't been when he and Ruby met them.
"Exactly," said Leon, interrupting Sora's thoughts. "Still, hard to believe that you of all people are the chosen one." The spiky-haired boy lifted his head just in time to see the gunblade wielder grab the Keyblade by its hilt and hold it straight out to his left.
"Waitnodon't—!" hastily exclaimed Ruby, holding up her hands to stop him. Too late, as the Keyblade disappeared from the unsurprised man's hand in a flash of light. Immediately, it flashed back into Sora's grip. He would've been more startled if he hadn't already seen it do that with Ruby.
"Well," said Leon as he approached Sora, "I suppose beggars can't be choosers."
"Great," droned a sarcastic Ruby. "Now the monsters know where we are."
"They'll be here soon either way," responded Leon.
"Why don't you start making sense?" demanded Sora, remembering the trouble this guy had given him and Ruby. "Couldn't you have said any of that back in the First District?"
"Would you have believed me back then?" countered Leon.
"Of course we…" Ruby trailed off, her upset face quickly deflating. "Okay, yeah. That's a good point."
"Yeah, well," said Sora, not quite convinced. "What did you mean by 'concealing my heart?'"
"Exactly what he said," answered Yuffie as she sat against the table. "Those creatures that attacked you really want your heart, because you've got the Keyblade."
Suddenly, Sora recalled that man whom he and Ruby had briefly seen when they first entered the Second District. A glowing heart had come out of that guy's chest, taken by an armored creature. Judging by the look on the red reaper's face, she was coming to the same realization.
"Just what is going on here?" Sora finally asked, shaking his head in confusion.
…
"Okay," began Aerith, sitting on the edge of a large, four-poster bed, "you know there are many other worlds out there besides your castle and this town, right?"
"Yeah," replied Donald with a nod as he and Goofy stood before the brunette.
"But they're supposed to be a secret," added the captain of the royal knights as he held both hands over his mouth, muffling his voice. Even if they were all alone, he didn't want to have any more slip-ups like before. Aerith had brought the two of them to the hotel's red room. The place had a lot of oriental decorations, from the scrolls with large kanji that hung on the walls to the dragon imagery in a few spots.
"They've been secret," responded Aerith, emphasizing the 'been' part, "because they've never been connected. Until now." Her voice took on a more somber tone while she slowly closed her eyes, as if recalling a bad memory. "When the Heartless came, everything changed."
…
"The Heartless?" asked Sora, clearly not familiar with the term.
"You mean the Shadows?" asked Ruby, tilting her head curiously.
"Well," replied Yuffie, "those are the most common kind. But there are bigger, badder ones too."
"Those without hearts," explained Leon. "They've been causing a lot of trouble lately."
"The darkness in people's hearts," added Yuffie, "that's what attracts them."
"And there is darkness within every heart."
"Hmm…" mused Ruby as she scratched her head, recalling the storm on Remnant, as painful as the memory was. "Back on my world, the Sha—Heartless were drawn to our own monsters: the creatures of Grimm. But Grimm don't have any hearts for them to take." The girl cupped her chin before continuing. "Do you think it's because the Grimm were actually made of darkness?"
"I wouldn't know," replied Leon. "I've never heard of Grimm. Even our knowledge of the Heartless and the Keyblade is limited." That statement got Yuffie to perk up, as if a light had just flipped on in her head.
"Hey," asked the young ninja, "have either of you heard of someone named Ansem?"
…
"Ansem?" asked Goofy, cupping the chin of his snout in thought.
"He was studying the Heartless," explained Aerith. "He recorded all of his findings in a very detailed report."
"Gwarsh, uh, can we see it?" asked Goofy, holding his hands out to receive the document.
"Its pages are scattered everywhere," answered Aerith, shaking her head.
"Scattered?" asked Donald, unfolding his arms.
"To many worlds," she elaborated.
"Oh, then maybe the king went to find 'em," exclaimed Goofy, placing his fist in an open palm as if to say, 'I got it!' Donald nodded in agreement. Those pages might've contained the information that was needed to stop these Heartless things. Weaknesses, where they'd appear—that sort of thing.
"Yes," agreed Aerith, "those were my thoughts exactly."
"We've gotta find him quick!" went on Goofy, clearly eager to get the job done.
"Wait!" exclaimed Donald, grabbing his old friend's attention. The knight was forgetting something very important: the reason that they had come to Traverse Town in the first place. "First, we need that 'Key!'"
"That's right," said Aerith. "The Keyblade. Without it, there's no hope of stopping the Heartless. We already know that much."
…
"So… this is the key?" Sora realized, holding up the Keyblade.
"Exactly!" said Yuffie, nodding from the table.
"Real subtle," quipped Ruby, shaking her head with a smirk.
"The Heartless have great fear of the Keyblade," explained Leon. "That's why they'll keep coming after you, no matter what."
"Well, I didn't ask for this," protested Sora, astonished to learn of his new role. Apparently, wielding this thing meant that he was now the Heartless' natural enemy. And he was somehow supposed to save the worlds from them? Sure. No pressure.
"The Keyblade chooses its master," said Yuffie, turning to face the 14-year-old with a smirk. "And it chose you." She said it as if she were naming the winner of a lottery.
"So tough luck," said Leon, leaning against the door again, as if there were nothing more to say on the matter.
"How did this happen?" asked Sora, looking at the weapon that had apparently chosen him. Seriously. How? He was just some kid from a peaceful set of islands, not a highly-trained, world-hopping warrior. On the one hand, if the Keyblade granted him the power to help people like the Radcliffes and stop the Heartless, of course he wanted to. But on the other hand, he had no idea how he was supposed to do any of that. Plus, he still had to find his missing friends. Ruby's too.
"Hold on a second," said Ruby, interrupting the Keyblade wielder's inner turmoil. "Sora was chosen by the Keyblade. I get that. But…" She paused to look at everyone in confusion before gesturing to herself. "How do I fit into any of this?"
"Huh?" asked Sora, tilting his head. "What do you mean?"
"Well," continued Ruby, her face clearly showing the gears turning in her head as she pointed between the boy and herself. "You and I were strangers from totally different worlds. But after our homes…" She hesitated, her expression becoming sorrowful, before she shook her head. "Anyway, we woke up next to each other in this town. Heck! I'm pretty sure we were even holding hands! How the heck did that happen!?" She gestured wildly with her arms to emphasize her point.
Sora's eyes widened as he realized that she was right. There was no way that their meeting could be a coincidence. Not to mention that he still felt like he'd seen Ruby's face before. But no matter how much Sora had wracked his brain, he just couldn't remember where.
"Hm…" mused Yuffie. "What's the last thing that you both remember before waking up here? Like, the very last thing."
Ruby sat in her spot on the bed, touching the left side of her head and humming in thought. Sora also tried thinking back to his last memory before waking up in this new world. The boy could recall fighting that giant Heartless, his island being ripped to pieces, and then getting sucked into a giant ball of darkness. After that… 'Aaagh! Why can't I remember!?'
"Okay, okay," said Yuffie, holding out her hands placatingly. "Don't break yourselves." Sora snapped out of his strain along with Ruby.
"Your memories must've gotten a bit scrambled when your worlds fell into the darkness," explained Yuffie in a somber tone. "It happens to a lot of survivors. Normally, they'd come back by now. But whatever brought you two together must've happened inside the darkness. Combine that with the obvious trauma, and it won't be easy to remember."
"So instead of giving yourself more grief, accept what's happened and move on," stated Leon, looking at Sora. "You're the Keyblade Master. Why do you think she arrived here with you?"
"Well…" Sora thought back to waking up with Ruby in that alley. The two of them were both lost and confused. But the silver-eyed girl was clearly more trained in fighting monsters than he was. They also worked well as a duo and got along pretty well. "I think we're supposed to work together." He turned to his new partner and smiled. "How about it, Ruby? Wanna help me save the worlds?" She looked at the others in thought before responding.
"I told you about my time at Beacon," she began in a serious tone. "I wanted to become a huntress so that I could help people." She then returned his smile in kind. "Of course I'll join you. We'll find our friends and stop the Heartless together." Yuffie chuckled, giving a thumbs up, while Leon's lips just barely curled into a smile.
"But if I'm gonna do this," said Ruby, looking towards the gunblade wielder, "I'll need Crescent Rose back."
With a small "Hmph," Leon reached for the weapon and offered it up. In her eagerness, Ruby zoomed off the bed at incredible speed, causing wind to blow on everyone and surprising Yuffie. She retrieved her collapsed weapon and returned to her spot on the bed in an instant, leaving a trail of rose petals slowly falling in her wake as she lovingly hugged her creation.
"You really love that thing, don't you?" chuckled Yuffie as she snatched one of Ruby's petals out of the air. "By the way, what's the deal with this?" The rose petal slowly vanished in her grip.
"What? My petal burst?" asked Ruby. When she got a nod in return, the red reaper smirked confidently. "That's my semblance. Pretty great, huh?"
There was a pause as everyone stared at her with blinking, unknowing eyes.
"My special power?" Ruby elaborated in confusion. "Fueled by aura?" She kept looking at everyone as if expecting them to know what she was talking about.
"You mean the way your body glowed earlier?" asked Sora, tilting his head. Ruby looked at him in confusion, which only served to confuse him even more.
"Yeah…" she slowly responded. "Don't you have one? I mean, you took a fireball to the face, and you seem fine."
"That's from the Keyblade," explained Leon. "Once chosen, you get a boost in strength and durability, along with a few other things. That's how I knew my Fire spell wouldn't do any serious damage."
"Hold on," said Ruby, looking at everyone incredulously. "None of you have heard of aura or semblances? But that's—" Her tone was becoming more flustered. "That's one of the most basic and important things they teach at combat school!"
"If you're going to be traveling to other worlds," warned Leon, "I'd suggest you get used to things being different wherever you go. So start explaining."
"Um, okay," replied Ruby, scratching her head sheepishly. "Well, everything that has a soul can manifest it as aura. Basically, it acts like a shield, protecting your body from harm. It can even do stuff like heal wounds and boost strength. But it takes practice to keep it up all the time."
"And it makes you run faster?" asked Sora. That would definitely explain a few things. But the red reaper shook her head.
"That's my semblance," clarified Ruby. "It's like a superpower that's unique to me. Everyone with an unlocked aura has a semblance that they have to discover on their own."
"So I could get those too?" asked Sora, pointing at himself excitedly. If the Keyblade was already giving him a boost, having those things in addition could've made for an awesome combo.
"Sure," said a confident Ruby. But that confidence quickly withered away as she sheepishly scratched her head again. "But uh… I've never unlocked someone else's aura before. I think I might be able to do it, but it could hurt either of us if I screw up. Even then, we'd have no way of knowing what your semblance is or how it'd work. It took me months to get the brakes down and stop crashing into stuff."
"Oh," said a disappointed Sora. He then shrugged it off and tried to look on the bright side. "Well. Maybe we'll find someone in another world who can help me with that."
"Speaking of powers," said Yuffie, "I've got a favor to ask." She backflipped to the other side of the table and behind the blue chest. The kunoichi then blushed as she lightly poked her fingers together. "See, I kinda lost my key to this chest, and it has a special enchantment, so lock-picking won't work. But I've heard that the Keyblade can open all sorts of locks."
"Really?" responded Sora in surprise, glancing at the weapon in his hand. That power would've come in real handy when he and Ruby came across that locked door in the Third District.
"So that's why you brought that thing here," droned Leon, not even bothering to open his eyes from where he was leaning.
"Zip it!" growled Yuffie before turning back to Sora. "So?" She rapidly tapped her fingers against the chest as if she were playing a piano and lightly jumping in place as she continued whining, "Come on. I've got some really good stuff in this thing."
"Oh, sure," said Sora, getting up from the bed and approaching the chest. He was about to ask how to do it when he remembered something from that weird dream on the islands. Could it really work if he did the same thing? Not wanting to break anything, Sora lightly tapped the Keyblade against the lid. Just as it had happened in the dream, there was a loud click, and the chest popped open. Inside was a stash of those colorful, glowing orbs that Yuffie had shown off earlier. At this close range, Sora could see a kind of energy sparking and flowing within each ball. Yuffie's eyes lit up as she eagerly gathered some in her arms.
"Ooh-hoo-hoo!" she squeed. "Hello, my darlings. Did you miss me?"
"You really love those things, don't you?" giggled Ruby.
"Guess you can relate," teased Sora before turning back to Yuffie. "You called those materia, right? What are they?"
"You never heard of them?" asked Yuffie, quirking an eyebrow. "Oh, you've been missing out! Materia is pure crystalized magic power. Depending on the type, you can instantly enhance yourself, perform spells, or more."
"Wait, seriously!" asked Ruby in a mix of shock and awe. She stored away Crescent Rose and eagerly approached the chest. "So you're saying that with these, I can wield actual magic?"
"Hands off!" snapped Yuffie, greedily hugging the glowing spheres close. "These beauties are all mine. But if you can get your own, then yeah. Just plug them into your gear, and they'll respond to your mental energy. Then boom."
"That's awesome!" exclaimed Sora, holding his free fist up in excitement. "Where can we find some?" To his confusion, Yuffie shook her head and looked pointedly at him.
"Like you actually need it," retorted the kunoichi as she placed the spheres back in her chest. She then placed a shuriken over the latch for the lock before closing it, leaving it barely noticeable that it was still cracked open. Yuffie then turned back to Sora. "You've already got the Keyblade."
"Huh?"
"Not everyone needs materia to wield magic," explained Leon. "Some people can use it naturally. Others find different means. Whatever the case was before, being chosen by the Keyblade turns you into one of the former. At most, materia would be like training wheels for you."
"Seriously?" questioned Sora in astonishment as he took another look at the Keyblade. Maybe it wasn't so bad that he couldn't use aura or semblances yet. He then turned his attention to Ruby, who had pulled Crescent Rose back out. Her eyes darted between her weapon and the crystal spheres, as if her mind was going a million miles a minute. It didn't take a genius to know what she was thinking.
"We're running out of time," warned Leon as he stood up and unfolded his arms. "It won't be long until the Heartless get here. Yuffie, let's go join Aerith. She should be there by now with the other visitors."
Yuffie began to nod in response, only to suddenly stop and glance aside, her eyes alert. "Leon!" At the very moment she spoke and pointed her finger, everyone heard the same wriggling, whirling sound. A dark orb swirled into existence near the door to the balcony. Out of it popped a familiar armored Heartless.
"Eep!" squeaked the red reaper as another one warped on top of the table. She quickly converted Crescent Rose into its rifle mode. But before she could even aim, Yuffie summoned her shuriken in a puff of smoke and slashed the monster into oblivion. As it disappeared, Sora caught sight of a glowing heart floating up before fading away.
"Hands off my stash!" shouted the kunoichi, glaring at anything that might try getting near her precious cargo.
"Soldiers!" growled Leon. With another bang, the gunblade flashed out from the flames in his hand. More Soldiers teleported onto the bed. Now that he was actually aware of their main target, Sora was noticing how they were all eyeing him disdainfully.
"Yuffie, go!" ordered Leon as he stood between the Soldiers and the teens. "Secure the area!" The ninja girl quickly nodded and charged for the door near the bed, slamming it open. For a moment, Sora thought he'd heard something quacking on the other side.
"Yuffie!?" shouted a woman's voice from the other side. Before Sora could look to see who it was, he heard a click as Leon readied his weapon.
"Sora, Ruby, let's go!" ordered the gunblade wielder. All the Soldiers made a simultaneous leap for the three humans, but Leon's blade glowed as he swung wide, creating orbs of fire in his blade's path. Just as they had back in the First District, the spheres exploded and sent all of the Soldiers crashing through the window and over the balcony.
Without another word, Leon charged out the door and vaulted after the Heartless. Sora and Ruby nodded to each other, both understanding the situation. The two partners followed their former attacker outside.
…
A few moments earlier…
"Ya mean Leon is bringing the 'Key' here?" asked Goofy, as a hopeful smile formed on his face.
"That's right," confirmed Aerith with a cheerful nod. "They might even be next door right now." She pointed to the door straight ahead of her. Both Goofy and Donald looked excitedly at each other.
"Oh boy!" exclaimed Donald.
"Hooray!" cheered Goofy.
"Hey!" Aerith whisper-yelled, holding a finger to her lips. "Not so loud. You might disturb the other guests here."
"Oops," said Goofy, blushing as he covered his snout. "Sorry…" Donald laughed sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head. Still, who could blame either of them for getting excited? Goofy wondered who this new key bearer might be. If this one was as important as the king's letter implied, then whoever had it must've been a big deal.
"Hey," said Donald. "I think I heard voices on the other side of that door." He pointed to the one that led to the next hotel room. "Maybe we should check and see if they're here."
"Maybe not yet," cautioned Aerith, gently holding up her hand. "Leon said that he'd come to us when they were ready."
"No time for that," responded Donald as he approached the door. "Stars are still blinking out. We need to hurry and—WAAK!" He was interrupted as the door slammed him into the wall. A short-haired girl came running into the room, a steely look on her face.
"Yuffie!?" exclaimed Aerith as she joined her friend at the other door.
"Heartless in the hotel!" hurriedly explained the other girl, Yuffie, as she opened the door. "Gotta make sure everyone else is safe." As she opened the door, Goofy's attention was grabbed by the sound of an explosion and glass shattering in the next room. He briefly caught sight of someone's foot as they ran off, then turned back to the hallway door, only to find that it had been left open. Both Aerith and Yuffie were gone.
"Um, I guess I'll—" Before the royal knight could finish his sentence, there was a raspy groan from behind the nearest door. Goofy watched as said door slowly swung itself closed, revealing his old friend to be lying flat against the wall (literally).
…
Ruby gave a loud war cry as she transformed Crescent Rose into its war-scythe mode in midair. She plunged its blade into a Soldier below, slaying it upon landing. Leon was slicing apart a few more not too far away as they popped up. She heard the familiar clanking sound as another armored Heartless spun towards her, sticking its leg out to kick her. Fortunately, Sora leaped down from a nearby roof to block the attack by swinging his Keyblade at it. The action caused the Heartless to bounce off the Keyblade and stumble onto the ground. He followed up with a quick upward slapshot that finished off the armored creature.
"Thanks, Sora," called out Ruby, turning her attention to another Soldier as it leaped from above. It flipped in the air to deliver a kick, but Ruby blocked it with Crescent Rose's staff, shoving the little freak into a wall. She then followed up by expertly swinging her scythe's blade clean through the Heartless without leaving a scratch on the wall.
"Alright, Heartless," declared Sora as he held the Keyblade. "Just try and take my heart!"
"Don't bother with the small fry," said Leon as he regrouped with the two teens. "We'll handle things here. You two find their leader."
"Like an alpha?" asked Ruby, recalling how Grimm hordes would be easier to take on without their leaders.
"Basically," replied Leon. "Take it down, and the others should back off a little." As he finished saying that, another Soldier tried to rush him from behind. But the SV—gunblade wielder effortlessly twisted around and sliced the Heartless into oblivion. He then held his hand towards an approaching wave of Soldiers as flames gathered in his palm. "You'll know it when you see it. Now go!" As soon as he said that, Leon let out a mighty yell and shot a large fireball at the Heartless. As soon as one was hit, the flame burst into a fiery explosion that took out the others nearby. Leon then charged in to finish off the rest.
"You heard him," said Sora as he ran past Ruby and headed for a nearby set of double doors. Ruby nodded and converted Crescent Rose into its rifle mode as she followed him into the hotel's lower level. As she and Sora rushed through the hall, slaughtering any Heartless that appeared, the silver-eyed huntress couldn't help but think about recent developments.
It'd become clear to her why Raven Branwen would mention the Keyblade when talking to Yang about the Heartless. But how did Yang's birth mother even know about any of this? Ruby had a feeling that it had something to do with the reason she'd woken up sitting right next to the Key's chosen wielder. Not to mention that strange feeling she'd get whenever looking at it. Whatever the case, Ruby knew in her heart that she and Sora needed each other. That just left one problem.
The fight with Leon had only cost Ruby three Dust rounds, so she still had more than a few left. But once they'd run out, that might really be it. No more Dust. Forever. However, if she could wield real magic, Ruby could more than make up for it. She put those thoughts aside as she and Sora made it out to the Second District, where they only ran into more Heartless, both Shadows and Soldiers.
There was a flash from one of the Soldiers that was near Sora, and the boy swung his Keyblade in defense, but his weapon merely bounced off the creature. Using that opening, the monster leaped forward, kicking him in the head and knocking him back a little. Ruby rushed in, gripping her rifle by its stock to smack the Soldier away from her new friend.
"You okay?" she asked.
"Yeah," replied Sora, shaking his head to regain his focus. "Thanks."
"I noticed you tend to swing when you should block," advised Ruby as she quickly converted Crescent Rose into its scythe mode. As if on cue, another Solder came spinning at her. "Try it like this." Ruby quickly raised her weapon, blocking the monster's attack. Then, while the Soldier was reeling, she sliced its head clean off. It poofed into a dark miasma as its captive heart floated skyward and disappeared.
"Yeah," grunted Sora as he took out a couple of Shadows. "It's a habit. But thanks anyway." Judging by his expression, he might've gotten an idea from Ruby's counterstrike. After taking out a few more Heartless, the two of them checked their surroundings, confirming that there weren't any left. "Okay," mused Sora, cupping his chin after dismissing the Keyblade. "If I were an Alpha-Heartless, where would I be?"
"I dunno," responded Ruby, looking all around for any signs. "If it's anything like an Alpha Grimm, it could be hanging back until it has us cornered."
"So if we go somewhere we can be cornered, it might show up?" asked Sora.
"Maybe. But we'd be playing right into its hands."
"I'm open if you've got a better idea."
Ruby sighed in response, reluctantly shaking her head. If they were going to do something as crazy as Sora's idea, they'd need to be prepared. Especially when they didn't know what this 'Alpha Heartless' could do. Wanting to check her aura level, Ruby instinctively reached for her scroll, only to find an empty pocket that reminded her of another unfortunate loss.
"We have a problem," said Ruby, turning to Sora. "I've lost my tool for telling how much aura I have left. Once it breaks, I'll be vulnerable, and my semblance won't work anymore."
"Hmm," mused Sora. After a second, his eyes lit up, and he snapped his fingers. "Oh! I might have something to help with that." He reached into one of his pockets before producing a small bottle that contained a glowing, green liquid. Its label read 'Hi-Potion.'
"What's that?" asked the silver-eyed girl.
"This stuff is a lifesaver," explained Sora. "If either of us gets injured, all we'll need to do is pop it open and toss the liquid at whoever's hurt. Even broken bones can be instantly healed, so long as you use it fast enough."
"Seriously!?" exclaimed Ruby, now gazing at the apparent miracle medicine in awe. "Where'd you get something like that?"
"I'm guessing you didn't have a lot of these back in your world," he chuckled in response. "Kairi gave me—" he suddenly paused at mentioning that name again. His expression became more sullen for a moment, and Ruby regretted asking. Considering that weird hallucination he'd had back at the hotel, it wasn't hard for the red reaper to figure out that this Kairi girl was very important to her new partner. "A-anyway, I don't know if it'll work on aura. But it should help either way."
"I'll say," nodded Ruby. "Do you have any more?"
"No, but I think I saw some potions at the Item Shop," he replied in a hopeful tone. But his smile soon turned into a frown. "No. Nevermind." He shook his head. "I'd probably draw the Heartless towards those people again."
"Fair point," sighed Ruby. They had no way of knowing whether or not Cid had beefed up security enough for it to be safe around there again. Suddenly, her eyes lit up as she fully processed Sora's last sentence. "Wait. That's it! More people!"
"Huh?" asked Sora.
"There's more people out and about in the First District because it's supposed to be secure, right? So if there aren't any people somewhere, then it's probably the least secure place. And that's where we'll find the Alpha-Heartless, hopefully."
Sora's eyes widened in realization as he nodded with her. "Yeah, that might work. Also, if the leader's anything like the giant Heartless that I fought on my island, then it'll be somewhere with lots of room."
Ruby thought back to every place they'd been in town. While the Second District was more than big enough, there was no giant monster in sight, even though Sora was right out in the open. There was the tunnel market, but they barely ran into any Heartless there, and there were a couple of late-night shoppers. But there was one place in town with enough room, and nobody in sight. The two teens immediately pointed at each other as the answer hit them both like a gunshot.
"The Third District!" they exclaimed in unison.
…
After leaving the hotel and missing the new Keyblade wielder, Donald had been left with little choice but to follow Goofy's suggestion and search from the rooftops for a better vantage point. After fixing the ladder outside the Gizmo shop, it took a lot of running from building to building. But Donald and Goofy eventually made their way to a door that some residents of an apartment building said they were afraid to use. Apparently, the balcony that it led to wasn't secure from the Heartless. But Donald was brave enough to stare down Daisy after missing date night! Okay, it was only for about five seconds, but to the duck mage, that was way scarier than a few monsters.
"Okay," rasped Donald as he got outside. "That Key'd better be around here somewhere!" They'd come to the end of the line. The roofs in the Third District of this town were too high up from where they stood, so they couldn't rely on this search method any longer.
Straight ahead and down below, there was a square plaza with a fountain in the far-left corner. Said fountain featured a gold sculpture that depicted two dogs (Pluto's kind) in the middle of a romantic date. Banners with the district's emblem hung everywhere. With the checkerboard floor and beautiful lights, a part of Donald felt bad that this place was such a huge risk for the townspeople to explore. If not for the Heartless, it might've been the nicest area in town. As it was, the district was completely deserted.
"Aw, phooey," complained Donald, turning to Goofy. "We've wasted our time."
"Hang on, Donald," whispered the knight, lifting one of his ears and placing a finger against his snout. "Someone's here." Donald knew better than to question his friend's hearing. The guy could hear cries for help from a literal mile away. "They're whisperin' about 'luring it out?'"
Donald soon heard it too, when rapid footsteps could be heard from their right. Goofy rushed over to the respective side of the balcony and peered over, only to shake his head. Before he could do anything else, the two of them were both startled by a wriggling, whirling sound from both the left and right sides of the balcony. Orbs of darkness warped into existence, and out of them came little humanoid creatures in baggy suits with clawed hands and beak-shaped helmets. Their bodies clanked as they both shifted around. Their beady, glowing, yellow eyes stared at the two friends with a combination of malice and hunger.
"Gwarsh," said Goofy as he summoned his shield in a flash of light, "are these the Heartless guys?" Judging by the X-ed out hearts on their chests, Donald figured that was probably the case. He immediately summoned his staff.
"Let's go get 'em, Goofy!" declared the royal mage of Disney Castle, glaring at the Heartless that stared him down. So these were the monsters they'd been warned about. They didn't look so tough. In his eagerness to take out these palookas, Donald prepared to hit them with a Flare spell!
…
A few moments earlier…
"You ready to do this?" asked Sora as he and his partner entered the Third District.
"Give me a second," replied Ruby as she pocketed the two nearly expired potions that they'd bought on clearance in the tunnel market. The girl then closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. In seconds, her whole body lit up with the red glow of her aura. While they couldn't tell how much soul power the red reaper had left, the steady glow and lack of flickering made Sora confident that she had enough. When the glow faded out, Ruby opened her eyes and smirked at the Keyblade wielder. "Yeah. I'm ready."
"Alright," said Sora, summoning the Keyblade. "Let's try luring it in." The two teens ran past an abandoned house and down the stairs that lead to the district's main plaza. They soon got within ten feet of the fountain when they decided to stop and keep their eyes peeled. Something was off. Last time they'd come to this place, the Shadows came out in a couple of waves almost immediately. But the coast seemed clear this time.
"Alright, Heartless," shouted Sora. "Come—!" BOOM! Suddenly, the teens jolted from the loud, bright explosion going off on a balcony above. Two figures were sent flying high into the air, flailing their arms and legs wildly before falling back down.
"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAK!"
"WHOA-WHOAHOHOHO!"
"LOOK OUT!" exclaimed Ruby, shoving Sora to the side. The next instant, he felt a blast of wind as the girl used her semblance to run in circles at staggering speeds. Rose petals flew everywhere, and her whole body looked as if it'd been completely wrapped in her spiraling cape as the red blur's speed created an updraft, catching the figures in its wind like a cushion. They orbited each other as Ruby slowed down. Within 2 seconds, the two figures plopped onto their butts, looking a little dizzy but no worse for wear.
"All righ—OOF!" Sora's cheer was interrupted when Ruby's body suddenly slammed into him, accidentally tackling the younger boy to the ground. "Ow," he groaned. Thankfully, it didn't seem like Ruby had been going full speed when she'd hit him. While he was a little sore, he'd experienced some paper cuts that were more painful. The boy's attention was soon drawn to the groaning of the two people that Ruby had saved.
Both were cartoonish, human-like animals. One was a duck dressed in blue and holding a staff, while the other was a dog dressed in green and yellow while holding a round shield with the same three-circled emblem as Sora's keychain. The dog's eyes had been slowly rolling in opposite directions, while the duck strained to open his eyes. Both soon shook their heads to regain focus before their eyes lit up at the sight of what was in Sora's hand.
"The key!" they both exclaimed gleefully in unison, pointing at the Keyblade. The dog had a kind of deep voice with a slight twang, while the duck spoke with a really raspy voice that Sora could just barely understand.
"Ungh," grunted Ruby as she pushed herself off of Sora and rubbed her head.
"Huh!?"
"A-hyuck!?" Both of the new arrivals' respective fingers immediately shifted towards the girl as their eyes bulged wide open and their jaws dropped in absolute shock.
"Sorry about that, Sora," apologized Ruby as she sat next to her new partner, allowing him to sit up as well. "I've never tried that with my semblance before. I might need mo—whoa, what the!?"
The girl's statement was interrupted as the ground all around them shook violently. Everyone looked around in shock as some of the squares that had once seemed to be tiles rose up to become large, rectangular columns. They formed walls that blocked off every exit in the area. Everybody rushed to their feet, Ruby unfolding Crescent Rose in its scythe form. Before anyone could question the situation, Soldier Heartless warped into view atop the erected walls and throughout the plaza. All four combatants got into battle stances and prepared to fight.
"Let's take them down!" shouted Sora as he charged in with Ruby and the others behind him.
"We'll introduce ourselves later," shouted the dog in agreement as he charged in with his shield, bashing away Soldiers as he went. The duck quacked angrily as he whacked away a couple of them before unleashing a fireball that burned his target to a crisp.
Focusing on his own enemies, Sora wasn't surprised when most of the Heartless kept their focus on him. He was about to swing his Keyblade at two incoming Soldiers when he remembered Ruby's advice about blocking and the idea that it had given him. Sora raised his weapon, successfully blocking the attacks and knocking the two Soldiers on their backs. The impact of their hits still forced him a little back, but Sora used that momentum, twisting his body in a circle and swinging with all of his might.
"COME ON!" cried Sora as he swung wide, sending both Soldiers flying into a couple more that had leaped down from the wall, taking out all four monsters. "Oh yeah!" Sora immediately followed up by attacking a couple more Soldiers as they charged at him.
"Nice one, Sora!" shouted Ruby as she quickly sliced one Heartless after the other. Once there appeared to be an opening, she quickly flashed the spiky-haired boy a thumbs-up. A Soldier flashed a short distance behind her, signaling its long-range kick. Sora noticed his partner's eyes narrow and look to the side as she got Crescent Rose ready, signaling that she knew it was coming. But before anything could happen, the unidentified duck shot a ball of fire at the Heartless, obliterating it.
"Not on my watch!" shouted the duck, or at least Sora was pretty sure that was what he'd said. The rasp made it a little hard to understand the guy.
"Uh, thanks," said Ruby, waving to the mage. That seemed to be the last Heartless, as they checked their surroundings. The walls had yet to go back down, which they all took as a sign that this wasn't over yet. "Come on!" groaned Ruby. "Where's that Alpha Heartless?"
"Huh?" said the dog as his right ear perked up. He looked above, only for his eyes to suddenly bulge as he gasped and pointed to the sky. "Look out!"
Everyone whipped their heads in the direction that the shield-bearing dog was pointing, just in time to see giant pieces of silver armor falling from the sky. Everyone scattered as the armor pieces all landed in separate parts of the plaza with a resounding crash! But it wasn't over, as all the pieces bounced around chaotically, nearly hitting each of the fighters. They each ran, stopped, jumped, and/or dove to dodge multiple flying pieces. Ruby would use her semblance to speed away from a leg and the torso. Sora finally managed to pull off not one, but two dodge rolls to evade another leg and arm. The duck and dog both whipped and weaved in comic fashion as they narrowly avoided most of the bouncing metal. But then the dog ended up having to block one arm with his shield, with surprising effectiveness. But the impact left him reeling, and Ruby had to zoom in to push him out of the torso's way. The whole scene was pure chaos. Then, just like that, where the pieces had once been bouncing everywhere randomly, they all moved near one corner of the plaza.
They all bounced high into the air at once, where they quickly assembled before landing feet first onto the ground with a loud STOMP! Strangely, the pieces weren't connected to each other physically. Instead, the torso and arms floated above the feet while staying in a formation that mimicked a basic humanoid shape (minus the knees and elbows). The next thing that the four warriors knew as they gathered together, a giant helmet fell from the sky, landing perfectly on top of the torso armor.
"Found it," called Sora as he got into his battle stance. "You guys ready?"
"I know I am," answered the huntress as she assumed her own stance along with the duck and dog, who nodded in agreement.
The giant armor lifted its head into the air, where it swiveled around, almost as if dancing. Its arms flipped, one after the other, as it stomped towards its prey. Sora, Ruby, and the dog charged forward while the duck held his staff towards the sky.
"Thunder!" shouted the duck as his staff flashed. Suddenly, bolts of lightning rained from the sky, striking the walking hunk of metal in multiple places. Electricity surged throughout the monster's body, causing it to stumble. Sora and Ruby each struck a leg while the dog leaped forward and bashed his shield into the Heartless's torso. Each attack was met with a Clang! Sadly, they barely seemed to leave a dent. Just as everyone moved in to continue their attack, the Armor suddenly spun its arms around its torso like a propeller, knocking each fighter back.
As Sora recovered from the attack, the Armor turned its gaze at him and launched a flying fist at him. He quickly dodge rolled out of the way, and tried to charge in. But before it could, Ruby fired off Crescent Rose, sending herself flying towards the monster's head. The gunshot must've alerted it, because the Armor managed to block in time for the scythe's blade to stab into its palm. It got ready to retaliate when the dog charged in and bashed its feet. The distraction was just long enough for Ruby to pull the trigger again and use her weapon's recoil to slice further across the metallic arm. While it didn't get all the way through, the effort still created a pretty big gash, revealing the armor to be empty inside. Before she could do it again, the Armor recalled its other hand, grabbing the silver-eyed girl and ripping both her and her weapon out. It was about to throw her when the duck leaped in, whacking its fingers with his staff as its tip glowed with flames. The monster dropped Ruby, only to kick both her and the duck midair into an upward arc.
Not wanting to give the monster any time to recover, Sora rushed in from behind and slashed the Keyblade through the armor's leg. It seemed the dog had the same idea, as he repeatedly slammed his shield into the other leg. The giant turned its attention towards the two of them, but it was interrupted as both a gunshot and a fireball pelted it from behind. Glancing past his targeted leg, Sora spotted both Ruby and the duck, having recovered from their hit and shooting at the armor Heartless.
"Keep it up!" shouted the silver-eyed girl. "Maybe we can split its focus!"
The armor shook its whole body violently until launching its upper half high into the air. Its body parts spun wildly before heading straight for the duck and girl, who both jumped in opposite directions to dodge. The torso and arms landed with a loud CRASH, barely missing their targets. Not missing a beat, the legs that had been left behind kicked the dog, and then Sora away.
"Ungh," grunted Sora as he quickly recovered and saw the legs stomping towards him on their own. "Seriously?"
"Okay, its split," groaned the dog. "Now what?"
"Not what I meant!" shrieked Ruby, bursting out of the way as the upper half spun its arms and flew towards her. The Duck pointed his staff at the monster, his staff glowing blue, before sending out a flurry of ice crystals at it.
Sora quickly turned his attention to the pair of legs that were stomping towards him. As he dodge-rolled away from the attack, the boy remembered how some Heartless would get dizzy for a second after he blocked their attacks. With how he'd been able to block a hit from Leon that had sent Ruby flying, Sora got a crazy idea. He quickly stopped and whipped around as the feet stomped towards him. The Keyblade wielder lifted his weapon just in time to block as one foot was about to crush him. There was a loud CLANG, and Sora could feel the monster's weight trying to crush him, but he held firm and shoved the foot back with all of his might, knocking it into its twin and toppling both feet to the ground.
"Alright!" shouted Sora before wailing on one of the feet. "It gets dazed when you block it. Shield-guy, help over there." He pointed toward the upper half. "Ruby, with me!"
Sora wailed against the fallen feet as the dog nodded and charged in to help his duck friend. Ruby used her semblance to dodge another strike from the monster and zoom to Sora's side. They each rapidly sliced away at a respective foot, their movements almost having a rhythm to them. Sora felt a burst of pride when he managed to destroy a foot, with Ruby not far behind.
"Now we're talking!" shouted Ruby with a smirk. The teens turned their attention towards the new arrivals as the dog successfully blocked another spinning attack, knocking an arm into the torso and sending the monster wobbling for a second. Before it could recover, the duck lifted his staff, summoning more lightning bolts from the sky and electrocuting the metallic foe. Sora and Ruby nodded towards each other knowingly as they both ran to join their new friends in battle.
The armor's head turned in the teens' direction as it recovered. After blocking an attack from the dog, it reared both closed hands back before shooting them like missiles. Ruby, who'd been closer, deftly zoomed out of one arm's way. Sora dodge rolled away from one, but the other managed to catch him by the torso and slam him against a wall. He cried out in pain from both hits. This was much more painful than when Leon had shot him with a fireball. His right side was screaming in pain. His vision was even getting a little fuzzy for a second.
"Sora!" cried Ruby. Before anyone else could do anything, the arm that held Sora yanked him from the wall and flew really high into the air. Sora struggled against the metallic hand's grip around his arms. He could hear a couple of loud gunshots from Crescent Rose before the arm stopped midair. Ruby came flying at them, spinning with her weapon and slashing the arm. The attack loosened the gauntlet's grip just enough, allowing Sora to escape. As she descended along with him, Ruby reached her hand out for the Keyblade wielder to take.
Just as he was about to take it, Sora noticed the other gauntlet (the one that his partner had damaged) rocketing towards them from behind her. Acting on instinct, he immediately grabbed Ruby's hand and, in one movement, yanked her in, twisting his own body in the air as he swung the Keyblade. There was a loud CLING as his weapon intercepted the incoming attack. The impact knocked Sora into Ruby, sending them hurdling towards the ground.
"Hold on!" yelled Ruby as she quickly pulled Sora close. The boy felt another jolt as Ruby activated her semblance. Everything was moving so fast that he could barely keep up with it. From what he could glean in that one second, the red reaper had somehow used her speed in midair to change their descent from a straight line to a wide circle. They narrowly dodged the armor's torso as they went. Ruby soon came to a stop and let go of Sora, stumbling for a second before righting herself.
"Thanks," groaned Sora as he got back on his feet. While he was grateful for the Keyblade making him more durable, his body was still aching pretty badly. That stunt he'd pulled midair hadn't done anything to help either.
"You too," replied Ruby, already pulling out one of her potions. The silver-eyed girl then popped the cork and tossed its contents at him. "Here—huh?" The liquid transformed into leaves of light that sprinkled across Sora's body. Immediately, he felt the pain lessen greatly. He still felt a little sore, but it was much more manageable.
"Look out!" shouted the dog. Sora dodge rolled out of the way while Ruby zoomed in the opposite direction just in time as the two recovered gauntlets came flying at them, spinning like a propeller. As he landed on his feet, Sora immediately held up the Keyblade, blocking one of the arms as it struck. The impact sent his body sliding an inch or two, but he still managed to send the arm wobbling. Ruby must've had the same idea, because she'd leaped at the other, slashing it with Crescent Rose. The two arms crashed hard into each other, their impact being the final blow as both arms turned to dark dust that vanished almost instantly.
"One more to go!" shouted Sora as he and Ruby immediately charged in to help the two newcomers, who were currently locked in a fight with the torso. The Heartless was shaking in the air as it took fireballs from the duck and strikes from the dog's shield. When it's head turned to see the approaching teens, Sora could tell that its gaze was squarely on him.
The floating armor rapidly spun itself and rammed into the duck, knocking him down before going after the dog, who managed to block with his shield. But the torso wasn't as easily addled as its limbs. It launched itself high into the air, still spinning, before plummeting towards the teens like a giant hammer. Sora dodge rolled out of the way while Ruby burst in the opposite direction. It slammed into the ground, only to bounce off of it. It once again launched high for another slam when the duck suddenly cried out.
"THUNDER!" More bolts of lightning struck the torso, staggering the Heartless in midair and sending it crashing to the ground. It struggled to get back up until the dog bashed its head with his shield. As it was sent wobbling, Ruby dashed in and slashed at its emblem, creating huge gashes.
Sora followed up, leaping at the monster with a mighty yell and swinging the Keyblade into it with all of his might. The Armor was knocked back by the blow, as the attack seemed to cause a mini explosion of light inside its chest. The armor shook violently until its head dropped, bouncing off the torso and crashing into the ground. There was a bright light from the torso's neck hole until a gigantic heart was released from within. It floated into the air with a blue glow. After that, the rest of the armor shimmered until it too disappeared in the light.
As it vanished, all the raised tiles sunk back into the ground, and something fell from where the monster had been. A glowing light-blue orb of materia bounced on the ground with a loud clink before rolling into Ruby's foot. She smiled excitedly as she snatched the orb. She beamed towards Sora, almost squeeing in excitement. The boy chuckled and gave her a thumbs up.
…
You'd think that growing up in a world with Faunus would prepare Ruby for the idea of talking animals. But honestly, she was still getting used to having a conversation with an actual anthropomorphic duck and dog. Still, like Leon had told her, she probably needed to get used to things being different.
The two newcomers explained that their king had left 'Disney Castle' to deal with the disappearing worlds. He'd also left behind a letter that said their only shot at stopping the threat was had 'the Key.' Their mission was to find that person and get their help in finding the king.
"So, you were looking for me?" asked Sora, pointing to himself in realization.
"Uh-huh," both animals replied.
"They, too, have been seeking the wielder of the Keyblade," said Leon, drawing everyone's gaze to himself and Yuffie.
"Glad you could join us," said Ruby as she nodded in their direction.
"We'd have been here sooner," shrugged Yuffie. "But we had some Heartless to clear out at the..." She trailed off as her eyes locked on Ruby and she raised a finger in her direction. "Is that what I think it is?"
"Huh?" asked Ruby, following the ninja's finger to her hand, where she was still holding her new blue materia. A smirk formed on her face as she excitedly held it up. "Oh yeah. I got it from the giant armor Heartless. I get to use magic now!"
"Let me see it!" exclaimed Yuffie as she rushed over to the silver-eyed huntress. She was eyeing the glowing sphere the same way Zwei would eye his favorite treat. "Ooooh! That's Elemental materia! So beautiful. Can I have it?"
"What!?" asked a flabbergasted Ruby, holding her prize out of the older girl's reach as she backed away. "No way! Finders keepers!"
"Well, I found it in your hand just now, so come on," argued Yuffie.
"That's not how it works!"
Sora and the animal guys all chuckled a little at the exchange while Leon pinched the bridge of his nose, shaking his head.
"Aww," said the dog in a wistful tone. "Really takes ya back, doesn't it?"
The duck's eyes widened, elbowing the dog before coughing into his hand. "L-let's get back on topic!" He immediately pointed at Sora. "So, how about you come with us?
"Oh yeah!" exclaimed the dog as he joined in. "We can go to other worlds on our vessel." As he heard that offer, Sora smiled, only to soon lower his head somberly.
"I wonder if I'll find Riku and Kairi," he muttered.
"Hey, come on," said Ruby as she approached him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Where's that encouragement that you gave me earlier? We'll find them." Though she said it, the red reaper was honestly feeling a little worried herself. With so many worlds to search, who knew how long it'd take them to find anyone?
"Of cour—wait. We?" asked the duck, looking at Ruby in shock.
"Well, yeah," replied Ruby, folding her arms and tilting her head towards Sora. "We're partners. Plus, I need to find my friends too, including my sister."
"Ya mean Y—OOF!?" The dog was interrupted when the duck frantically waved his arms in denial, hitting him in the process.
"No way!" quacked the duck. "It's too dangerous! The only reason we're bringing him along is because we can't do this without him!"
"Oh, come on!" protested Sora. "You saw her in action with those Heartless."
"Yeah," agreed Ruby. "And I've fought a ton of monsters back on my world." She placed a hand on her chest. "I have to do this. If there's even a chance that the people I love are still out there, I have to take it."
Both the duck and dog hesitated to respond, looking at each other worriedly. Why did the idea of her coming along seem to scare them so much?
"Donald, Goofy," said Leon as he stepped forward. Both anthropomorphic animals turned their gaze to him. "That's your names, right?" When they nodded, he continued, "let her join you. They're from different worlds, but they arrived in this town together. There has to be a reason for that."
"Besides," added Sora, steeling his expression and finishing in a firm tone, "if she's not coming, then neither am I." Ruby felt truly grateful to have people backing her up at this moment. This was her best shot at finding Yang, Weiss, Blake, and anyone else who might still be out there. Without the hope of accomplishing that, she wasn't sure that she'd be able ot keep it together.
After another moment, the duck (Ruby wasn't sure which was Donald and which was Goofy) sighed and reluctantly responded, "Okay…" He then steeled his own face and raised a finger at Ruby. "But you gotta stay close and be careful while we're traveling."
"Yes!" cheered Ruby, leaping in the air with her arms up in excitement.
"All right!" joined Sora, raising his hand for a high-five, which the girl gladly gave him.
"Also," rasped the duck, "you both gotta keep looking like that, understand?"
"Huh?" asked the others, including the dog. Both teens' faces shifted into confusion.
"No frowning. No sad faces," continued the duck, making each expression as he mentioned them. "Okay?"
"Yeah," agreed the dog as he leaned in towards his friend's face. "Ya gotta look funny, like us! A-hyuck!" The duck shoved him aside before continuing.
"This boat runs on happy faces."
"Happy?" questioned Sora. He looked to Ruby, who shrugged in response. The duck pointed at his bill as he smiled and then gestured at the boy and girl. Looking at her partner, Ruby shrugged just as Sora did the same. "Okay. Together then…" The spiky-haired boy bowed his head, hiding his face from view. Ruby followed suit, preparing to give the cutest smile she could possibly muster.
"3…2…1!" cued Sora. He and Ruby both lifted their heads. The silver-eyed girl gave her brightest smile. She could feel her cheek muscles screaming in agony, but she pushed on, trying to maintain her happy expression. "Cheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeese…"
Ruby couldn't help but turn towards her partner and cringe when she saw the incredibly forced smile on his face. Judging by his reaction, it didn't seem like her fake smile was much better. Both talking animals burst out in uncontrollable laughter at the sight.
"Those were some real funny faces!" guffawed the dog. Ruby couldn't help but giggle as she rubbed her neck sheepishly.
"Okay, why not?" said Sora, his smile becoming more genuine. "I'll go with you guys."
"Me too," agreed Ruby.
"Donald Duck," said the duck, introducing himself and holding his hand out, palm facing down.
"Name's Goofy," joined the dog, placing his hand on top of Donald's.
"Ruby Rose," said the silver-eyed huntress, getting the gist of what they were doing. She added her own hand on top of Goofy's.
"I'm Sora," said the Keyblade wielder, moving his hand to join in.
"All for one, one for all," cheered Goofy as Sora slapped his hand on top of the others. As they did, Ruby couldn't help but realize that she'd just joined a new team of four. They'd need a good name for themselves...
"That little squirt took down that Heartless!" ranted the lord of the dead as the assembled fiends looked upon the magical green projection of four would-be heroes on the large, round table. "Who'd have thought it?"
"Such is the power of the Keyblade," responded the vizier, gripping his serpent-headed staff as he waved his free hand dismissively. "The child's strength is not his own."
"Why don't we turn him into a Heartless?" suggested the sea-witch, cackling madly at the thought as her tentacles writhed in anticipation. "That'll settle things quick enough."
"And the brat's friends are the king's lackeys and some little girl with a ridiculous scythe," boasted the captain of the Jolly Roger pirates, pointing his prosthetic mockingly at the newly formed team. "Swoggle me eyes, they're all bilge rats by the look of them."
"You're no prize yourself," retorted the disgusting bag of insects, laughing at his insult as if it were something clever. The Mistress of Evil rolled her eyes from where she stood at the end of the dimly lit chapel.
"Shut up!" yelled the pirate, looking ready to draw his blade.
"Enough," ordered the evil fairy, deciding to finally join the conversation. Her long black and purple cloak dragged on the floor behind her as she stepped forward, staff in hand. Her yellow eyes glared down at the magical hologram as she continued. "The Keyblade has chosen him. Will it be he who conquers the darkness? Or will the darkness swallow him?" A malicious smile curled on her lips as a magnificently cruel idea formed in her mind. "Either way, he could be quite useful."
"Yeah?" questioned the boogieman. "And how's that?"
With a wave of her long, green hand, Maleficent made the image on the table change to show inside the castle's library. The self-proclaimed 'Fall-Maiden,' Cinder Fall, was reading through the collected Ansem Reports within the library. Her amber eyes narrowed as she paused on a single page. Not too far away, the silver-haired boy, Riku, was leaning against a shelf with his own book, but his gaze would sometimes shift towards the maiden. While he was maintaining his composure, it was clear that the boy didn't trust anyone he'd met in this new world.
"The new arrivals?" questioned the vizier. "What of them?"
"I could sense much potential within both of them when they first arrived," elaborated Maleficent. "Cinder's 'maiden power' is intriguing, though we'll need to keep her ambition in check."
"Pffft," scoffed the underworld's ruler. "So Sinful Cindy can control the elements. Like we haven't seen that before."
"We'll see. I'm rather interested in what was used to acquire this power. As for Riku…" Maleficent grinned at the possibilities.
Author Notes:
Sorry for the wait on this one. It ended up being my longest chapter yet, and there was a lot for me to get right. But here we are, with our new team assembled. You would not believe how much time I spent coming up with a team name that both keeps Sora, Donald, and Goofy's names in the proper order and follows Monty's color-naming rule. While I wanted to put it in here, this chapter is so long and I want the way the name comes up to feel natural, so it can't be rushed. I'll reveal it next time.
Hope you liked the tweaks that I made to the Guard Armor boss fight. The shooting arms idea came from the Re:coded boss fight. I'm trying to treat the combat in this story as if KH2 style Reaction Commands were already a thing in the first game. That's why I had Sora parkour out of the water during his race with Riku. If he's already able to flip his way over a ledge with one hand, something like that should definitely be possible.
Before anyone gets onto me for having Donald use multiple spells here, I'd like to point out that he canonically used Thunder before leaving Disney Castle. So there's a slight disconnect between gameplay and story. Plus, it wouldn't make much sense for Donald to be Disney Castle's court magician if he only knows how to use one attack spell.
Review Response:
Gamer of Action44D: You have a point. But I put a lot of foreshadowing in those early chapters. Believe it or not, it could've been even longer. However, some of those chapters were much shorter than others. So I might merge them to trim that number from 8 to 5, someday. I won't change anything outside of fixing typos, and I'd be sure to leave a temporary 1-week notice chapter before doing so. That way, nobody would be confused by the gajillion notifications and lower chapter number.
NeonFoxJester and SuperSaiyanFever: Yeah, I realized that materia would make a perfect alternative to Dust. It technically makes an official appearance in Kingdom Hearts as the level-up icon for Zack's D-link in BBS. Also, KH1 tended to treat abilities like Sonic Blade as objects that were given to Sora (though I chose to let him figure out dodge roll on his own here).
But that leads me to a question that I have for my readers. I'm planning to introduce an original materia in a future chapter. No spoilers, but it'll grant a movement ability (like glide or doubleflight). I can't decide if I should go with yellow, purple, or a new color for it. Please feel free to let me know your thoughts in the reviews.
Next time, our characters are going to rest up and prepare for their trip to Wonderland. But we're also going to see the name of this new team along with the explosive return of one of my favorite RWBY characters.