Another story I originally started in 2020 but whose initial chapter I only really completed in 2022, around the time that I was working on Fell Heart. Something about the concept of taking Es, a character who is essentially a fledging being and seeing how she'll develop over the course of her interdimensional travels just seems so appealing to me. I have a handful of worlds plotted out, and I hope that I can get at least two or three of them partially completed, if only so I can work on one of the other characters I plan to have travel alongside her.

Also totally not sick at the moment and slept through my usual posting time.

When Es had last read the book, its pages had been filled to completion. Now, on her fourth read through, it had stopped partway. Text that had once sprawled across the pressed fibers had vanished, leaving empty whiteness to stare back at her. 'The Age of Fairy Tales' was not the only book to have suffered such a fate. Everywhere within this hidden alcove, revealed by a less than graceful attempt at redecorating, books she had hungrily devoured— starved of anything new— were losing their records.

This one singular book, however, had the fortune of being different. The stylized heart on its cover, an embossed heart with its slender point and swirls pressed together at the top, was glowing white. Not a light shade of grey, no, but pure white. As she approached, the rays of light grew longer. Stepping away diminished it. A tentative outstretched hand made them draw almost hungrily towards her.

What is it that your heart desires?

Es reared back. That voice, that had come from nowhere and everywhere, was not the one she heard echoing throughout the library whenever she muttered to herself. Neither was it the long gone voice of that damnable Façade.

"Have I finally gone mad?" she murmured, staring at 'The Age of Fairy Tales'. A collection of children's stories, its first entry regaled a tale of the corruption of power; how every being had potential, but as they grew older they desired for more and more, until they would eventually wipe themselves out. In that state where all was lost, the seeds of youth would sprout and begin the cycle anew. 'Believe in the light, and the darkness will never defeat you', its final words were.

The voice repeated itself once again. What is it that your heart desires?

"To be with my Traveller," she answered without hesitation.

Your Traveller might be a thousand worlds away. Would you dare journey to find them?

"I have waited an eternity and more. If my entire life I were to spend walking so that I might be with them, then I shall." Es clenched her fist, the material of her glove straining under the pressure.

Then dream, Wanderer. Dream, and may your heart be your guiding key.

/ - /

"Yuffie!"

An unfamiliar voice. Panicked. Muted footsteps running towards somewhere. How did she know they were muted?

The not too unfamiliar sound of shattering glass rung out, followed by more shouts.

For a dream, this was incredibly detailed. But why couldn't she see anything?

Oh…

Es opened her eyes, staring at the ceiling. Wood stared back at her, the grooves of its surface demanding her attention. At once she sat up, eyes darting from object to object. An odd sensation began bubbling in her chest, one whose name was anxiety yet more primal.

Terror.

The things that surrounded her were not white, or black, or gray, Not charcoal, not silver nor metal nor stone. What her eyes perceived was something she could not name. Her breathing hitched. What was this? What was-

"Look out!"

Fingers— claws— dipped in an angry color of the wood surrounding her lunged toward her face. Her eyes followed the black arm to its owner, their head encased in an ivory white helmet, its bottom hinged faceplate revealing not-white beady eyes focused entirely on her. Es flung herself onto the bed, hands wrapped tightly around her head. That thing— that— soldier! It tried to kill her!

"Get up! It's not safe here!" The voice— male, gruff, angry— the owner's hand grabbed her wrist and yanked her up. "Come on!"

Es' chest— lungs— burned. Keeping up with the man made her legs— ache? Hall after hall, door through door; she should have stopped to take in the colors and sounds that surrounded her, how tight corridors opened into a massively long hall without a ceiling, but all that consumed her mind was the pounding in her ears.

"Stay behind me! If something gets close to you, scream."

More of the twitching, jittering humanoids bathed in decaying, faded black and angry tipped claws appeared. At their feet, twisted imitations of ants swelled out of the ground, their eyes the same color as those of the soldiers twitching side to side until they focused on her, then her kidnapper.

The man with two— three— no, four— belts around his waist swung a massive knife from right to left, cleaving through three of the soldiers in a single blow. Quick swings; wide, fully rotating spins; each strike carved through multiple enemies, some disappearing in a cloud of inky blackness while others folded over his weapon until they were inevitably sent flying.

"Go, run! Towards those doors!" From his weapon, a luminous sphere of something fired out, the subsequent explosion consuming a gathering of creatures and exposing the path onward.

The thought of what might happen if she didn't overcame her, and Es charged forward, fighting against every breath and scream of her legs. Twelve steps. Ten. Eight. At step three, one of the bulbous ants rose from the ground and leapt towards her. At that moment, as Es stumbled backwards in shock, a pointed cross made of metal slashed upwards, cutting through the creature.

"Yuffie here to save the day!" Another hand grabbed her wrist, pulling her forward just as she was about to tip over completely. With a jerk, Es was pulled through the doorway, a loud, wooden thud making itself known over the cacophony of her exhaustion. "That's the last of them, boys! Go on and rest up."

The ground— cobbled— felt cold. Hard. Es rested her cheek against the surface, marvelling at the texture.

"Hey, are you alright?"

The stone was not the same colors as that of her home. The almost dirtied white was still there, but flecks of darker slate and others could be seen. The cold, most of all, kept her attention. Kept the panic at bay. Even through her now clearly dirtied white gloves, she could feel the harsh coldness of the floor.

"Excuse me? Miss?" A new voice. Softer. Gentler. "I apologize for what happened back there. We were in a rush and accidentally forgot about you. Are you okay?"

Es sat up, taking in the features of the other woman. "I— yes. I'm fine." Her lungs burned. Her legs cried. In her chest, an unknown sensation welled up. To cry and scream, to curl up and call for her Traveller over and over; to make the pain and terror go away.

"You probably haven't eaten since before you got here. My name is Aerith, would you mind accompanying me?" The woman, soft and gentle, offered a hand towards her.

"...Es," she uttered, stumbling once she was back on her feet.

"Yuffie, can you go make sure everybody's alright?" The annoyingly jubilant cry of the younger girl shouted out, her footsteps bounding away. "We'll go to Cid's store. It's just around the corner, okay? There's chairs there so you can rest a little while we figure things out.

/ - /

Her legs ached. Her lungs burned.

She couldn't stop running.

Not with a spawn of nightmares chasing after her.

Meaningless noise shouted out, spurring her faster. A couple more paces and sounds of her aggressor once again came far too close.

"C'mon, Es! You can do it!"

Es ground her teeth together. She hated this. She hated Yuffie. She hated the fact that her former home, that tiny library with endless hallways and shelves filled to the brim with books meant she had no reason to exercise. She hated the sensations of hunger. She hated the lingering sensations of running. She hated the knowledge that if she couldn't run fast enough, her story would end without a fulfilling conclusion.

Hatred spewed forth with every step, keeping her focus precisely attuned. When things started becoming hard to name, she started naming things that were nonsensical. She hated that specific shade of green Yuffie wore, and how it reminded her of forests yet to be seen. She hated how Leon never seemed to spare any sort of acknowledgement for her beyond a dull 'congratulations. You exist.' She hated this dumb, stupid, tiny town and how it was a hodgepodge of everything that ever could have existed.

She hated how everybody talked about the sun and wind as if they were supposed to mean something. She hated how people talked about rivers and beaches and oceans and lakes and the feel of swimming in water.

But above all, she hated herself for not being prepared for this. She hated her library for not having books on what exercise was. She hated how there was nothing stressing the importance of maintaining your body. She hated that, once again, she was starting to hate herself.

"Heeey, you did good this time!" Yuffie rolled her over, before gently moving her so they were sitting back to back, with Yuffie supporting her weight. "You kept your speed going the entire time. That's great!"

Es could hear the beaming, fictitious smile on Yuffie's face. Maybe there was some genuine pride and happiness there, but in a situation like this, where your home was lost and you were stuck in a place where you barely knew anyone and nearly all of your comforts were gone, how could you truly be happy?

"If you keep this up, you'll be able to do that in eight minutes soon enough."

She envied her.

"Alright, aaaaaand stretch!" With that cheery warning, Yuffie forced her down, pushing on her back so her hands were reaching for her toes.

"Don't you... guys do this... in less than six?" she gasped out, spreading out her legs for the next part of what was rapidly becoming routine.

"Yeah, but we've also been doing this kind of stuff for years, you know? It's no good to compare yourself to the likes of us."

"Isn't... a goal... supposed to be admirable?"

"Mm. But there's kind of a difference between what we can do and what somebody just starting out can do."

Es grunted as she was forced a little deeper. The straining of muscles... as novel as it was, she couldn't say it was the worst thing she'd experienced so far. No, that definitely belonged to eating one of those 'analogous chillies' the garrison's chef three days prior was experimenting with. The burning it had left in her mouth was completely ridiculous, as if someone had given her insides a boiling hot bath and forced her to do a work out routine at the same time.

"Es, make sure you don't keep your breath in during these, alright?"

Breathing. Such a strange concept. Her body naturally did it, yet once she took notice of it, it became so hard to maintain. Of all the questions she could have asked her elders and mentors, such a basic act was completely out of the question. How magic functioned? She wasn't the first person to ask such things. How the weapons of the fighters were forged? They had taken her to the smithies and introduced her to the smiths who maintained and repaired the tools of all the citizens. How bread was made? They'd even gone and gave her a small jar of her own starter culture, and Amato made sure to remind her each day whether or not she was supposed to feed it that day.

"Well, I suppose that's it for today. You've got general lessons with Aerith today, right?"

Es nodded.

"Mm, mm..." Yuffie nodded to herself. An action she often performed when thinking something over. "Yeah, you should definitely not keep her waiting. Aerith gets kind of scary when she's forced to wait and things aren't out of control." She suddenly leaned forward, a serious look on her face. "And when a ninja tells you that something is scary, you know it's true."

"I won't keep her waiting," she responded.

Of the three permanent districts of Traverse Town, it was First that was the most safe. Second suffered from some backroads, sewer systems, and a handful of almost inaccessible crawl spaces that networked across the region, while Third held the issues of constantly having the various systems in a constant state of damage. Not a day went by were one power line or another wasn't damaged by a Heartless that got too curious or a stay attack that nicked a utility line of some kind.

First District, being the most densely populated, routinely had patrols to snuff out any Heartless that managed to slip past, with choke points deliberately set up to funnel the monsters into the most efficient killing fields they were capable of creating. While its residents weren't strolling up and down the streets as so many a survivor recounted to her whenever her presumed amnesia came up, there was still an appeal to the district that made its denizens nostalgic.

Nostalgia. Another emotion she couldn't quite understand. A longing or wistfulness for the past. Perhaps she did have it; she certainly missed her tiny little library. But the kind of longing the other inhabitants of Traverse Town held for their homes... was it the same that she held for hers?

Es rapped her knuckles against the door twice. Aerith's home was a rather tiny place, squeezed between two other buildings like books on a shelf. Sometimes the other defenders of Traverse Town talked about how Aerith was so spartan in her desires, but other times she'd hear the core members of the defense force talk about how they missed the more simpler times; how Aerith was possibly making the right choice in making sure her time here in Traverse Town was as distinct as possible from her old home; that, maybe, it was a way of silently saying she wasn't giving up on returning to her previous world.

"Oh, Es. Hello." Aerith gave a small smile. Not quite as real as the ones she gave some of the core members of the defense force, but not quite as fake as the ones she wore when she was calming down irritable locals. "Come inside, please. Last time, we left off the beginnings of magic. Es, you said your world didn't have magic, was that right?"

Es nodded, vocalizing her agreement upon realizing Aerith was leading them further into the kitchen. While perhaps, on a purely technical standpoint, both the blue butterflies she occasionally saw and that damnable Façade were of some magical creation, as she had no input on either of them unlike the other survivor did on their magics, she felt safe in continuing the misunderstanding of her so-called world.

"That makes things a little easier, then. If you already had a concept of magic, it might make understanding how it works with the systems of other worlds a bit difficult." With practised ease, Aerith pulled out a chair, stepping around to the other side of the table and sitting down behind the small semi-circular divider of book stacks. "Magic, in essence, allows us to do things we can't physically do with our bodies. Igniting candles or fuel for our stoves for one; creative ice cubes to chill drinks if we desire something refreshing. There's even some magics that are meant for ridding dirt and grime off clothes, or to cleanse your body without the need for soap and water." She made a soft, amused sound. "Though given the choice between a hot bath or cleansing myself with magic, I think I'd take the bath every time."

She nodded. Aerith had purposely not mentioned magics used in personal defense (or offense), and after the last time she had asked about something that somebody seemed unwilling to talk about, Es daren't do the same here, with the same woman who had once scolded her for her lack of indiscretion.

"Those are the more easier concepts to utilize, though." Aerith pulled a book off one of the stacks, flipping it open and turning it around to present an image of a circle with numerous shapes and interconnecting lines placed within. "For something such as alchemy or synthesis, like the Moogles do, you'll have to have proper knowledge on how to do so. The two crafts require one part base materials, one part ability to magically infuse things in precise amounts, and one part science or knowledge on the properties of said materials and how everything else interacts with one another."

"For Alchemy, beginners are often tasked with creating restorative items such as antidotes or eye drops, as well as basic level potions or even ethers." For those, Aerith pulled out a small container of each, placing them down as she named them. "Highly skilled Alchemists can even create items known as panaceas, which are capable of healing any negative effect that might afflict a person, ranging from blindness, paralysis, or even petrification." She hummed in thought. "Although, from what I've heard from the other travellers, it doesn't seem as if petrification is all that common an attack that their native monsters utilize."

The lessons continued from there. Basic elemental types and how they interacted with one another; lifestyle magics and what kind of training was necessary for them; after she had asked about the different kinds of rods she had seen some people carry around, they'd even got into detail about foci and the pros and cons of each one.

"I think we'll end today's lessons here," Aerith said, closing her book. "If you're interested in seeing the different types of foci in person, you should head over to the magic shop. Glenn's more knowledgeable in general magics than me." She stared down at the table, her lips pulling down in the barest starts of a frown. In a quiet whisper, as if she was talking to herself, "I'd almost think him a greater spellcaster than Merlin, if he'd ever bothered to use it."

Es rose and gave a modest bow. Knowing Yuffie, the instruction of 'showing respect to your instructors' was more likely a joke than it was something real, but so far no one had corrected her. "Thank you for your time, Aerith."

Despite having a total of three so-called districts able to be inhabited (the third of which was only home to their more powerful combatants desiring some semblance of isolation), the streets of Traverse Town were far more diverse than one might have expected. First District was home to the various shops and communal buildings like gardens, baths, or laundry facilities, while Second District belonged to the vast variety of residential opportunities.

Along the narrower side streets that Es felt far more comfortable in than the wide open main streets, residents had taken to constructing small planter boxes out of loose bricks in front of their homes. While the majority of the plants grown were meant for teas or flavoring, a few of the more exotic plants were meant for nothing more than pure decoration, their vibrant blues and whites and pinks a sparkling glimmer in a sea of brown and orange monotony.

But the place she preferred the most was the spanse of buildings that almost always had smokestacks rising from them. Somehow, across all the various worlds whose survivors had arrived here, a fair amount of metal workers had been among them. The forges weren't active all the time, a result of their material supplies being directly linked to scavenging efforts, but there was always at least one forge active at any given time.

One forge in particular was one Es found herself drawn to whenever she was in the area. It was a tiny little thing whose owner supplied the vast majority of weapons the Defense Force used. Unlike the rest of the blacksmiths, Lizbeth was the only one whose abilities were completely aided by magical processes. Under her hands, multiple weapons could be forged and repaired in less than an hour. Certain specialty weapons such as Leon's gunblade were beyond her skillset, but base level equipment that could be used by anyone were not a problem. Perhaps the part that she found herself most drawn to was how Lizbeth, for all her abilities regarding weapon forging, was still very much a complete novice much like herself.

"Hey, Es!" The pink themed girl, from her apron, to her hair, and even some of the adornments of her smithing tools, raised a hand in greeting.

"Lizbeth." She nodded in greeting, slowing her pace to something a little more respectable instead of the 'direction with intent' she had upon entering the district.

The pseudo-novice blacksmith gave her an appraising eye, cupping her chin with a hand. "Hard work today?" she asked after arriving at some conclusion.

She shrugged. "As much hard work as exercises and studying can be." Es gestured at Lizbeth's stall— a simple thing of an anvil, simple forge, and a handful of racks holding various tools or weapons. When the girl was properly working on bettering her smithing ability instead of simply offering her skills, she would instead post up at one of the various workshops whose owner was in charge of her for the day.

"Don't sell yourself short, Es, hard work is still hard work." Lizbeth pulled her right pointer and middle fingers down the air, tapping away at a surface that only she could see. After a few more gestures, she wrapped her hands around the air as if hugging something and suddenly several items 'unblurred' into existence. "Hey, so, one of the things my masters want me to do is to get practice making trinkets. Hair pins, anklets, earring cuffs; anything here catch your eye?"

Immediately she pointed out the handful of blue stones. Sky blue, sea blue; the turquoise got a loose pass because of its proximity to blue, but only barely.

Lizbeth snickered. "Yeah, that's what I thought. I should have them ready for you in about three days, so come back then, okay?"

/ - /

A steady plume of steam rose from both cup and bowl. Warm to the touch, a sensation that she wasn't quite sure how she felt about, Es took her time with her meal. Even after two weeks of exposure to two meals a day, she still couldn't get used to the sensations of food. Hot, cold; tough, tender; chewy, melting in your mouth; there were so many different types of food, and that did not even begin to touch upon the beauty known as dessert. While the more sweet things were beyond her novice taste buds, what pastries she could manage were still enough to force her to eat in a corner, lest she disturb others once again.

Today's meal was vegetable soup: a plethora of tiny harvests that she was proud to say she had a hand in. Weeding the gardens, watering her sections, trimming away the undesirable parts; though cooking was currently not part of her skill set, pride was there all the same. It was only a shame that her table neighbors were so loud though.

A new and so-very-proud resident of Traverse Town, she was no stranger to non-humanoid beings walking about. The moogles in the workshop above Cid's store and the Duck Boys running the sales of the pharmacy and weapons shop were the ones she came across most often, but in the gardens and non-moogle smithies there were anthropomorphic cows and birds of all kinds taking care of them. Still, a duck and vaguely canine being accompanying a young boy? It made for an odd sight.

To the duo of humanoid animals, the boy excitedly regalled them with a tale of his friend— Riku. How cool the older boy was; better with a sword, more nimble, and sometimes faster. According to his tale, since they started keeping track of their scores this summer, they were 5-4, in favor of the boy.

"Hey, what are you looking at!?" A sharp, scratchy voice broke her out of her thoughts. "If you've got something to say then—" The tallest of the trio reached over to muffle the shortest, cutting off his tirade.

"Uh, sorry about that, Miss." Deep and with an odd cadence, the dog creature gave her an apologetic look. "Donald, you gotta be nicer than that."

Es let out a quiet scoff, returning to her food. Her day was starting off so well, too.

/ - /

Her breath came out in heavy puffs. As much as it pained her to do so, Es was glad she had changed out of her usual clothes and into a set of plain cotton work clothes. Sweat beaded down her skin, a much preferred case rather than sticky strands of her hair gluing themselves to her neck.

Merlin looked up from his book. She didn't need to see him in order to tell. Over the past few weeks he'd learned that in cases such as these, his attempts at bolstering her resolve were nothing more than empty platitudes. Oh they helped at first, but of all the residents of Traverse Town, she was the only novice mage. Aerith was already an adequate spell caster specializing in the utility spells of Aero, Gravity, and Cure; Merlin himself was a master wizard capable of casting every spell up to their third tier, and the various specialists within the defense force were all within the second or third tier themselves. To be told 'keep your head up, child! One day you'll be able to cast spells with the best of them!' felt empty and hollow when all around her were masters.

What truly hurt though was how readily the magics of Slow and its higher form Stop came to her. By the end of her first day of actual spell practice, once she'd learned how to identify the flow of magic within herself, she was able to stop one of Merlin's tea cups from moving for a second. A full second! Merlin had given her a thoughtful look when she started celebrating to herself and professed that he expected great things from her.

And so why. was this. damnable blizzard! so hard to come out!?

Es scrunched up her face, the frustration demanding to be let out as a hoarse cry. Aerith had been quick to reprimand her the first time she'd let loose on furniture, quick to have her repair it as well. This place— Traverse Town— it was not the home she had known for forever. It was not her comforting library of books, of endless shelves containing stories and records of knowledge both fictional and real.

This was the world in which her dear Traveller resided; a world of monsters that consumed the stars. If she wanted to reach them, wherever they were, she needed to be strong enough to survive until then. Es grit her teeth and rose. Focus on her core, feel the magic— a tingly static in her body that twisted and jerked and jolted away from her touch. Guide it, not force it, through her limbs and into her staff. "Blizzard!" A chunk of blue crystal— magical ice— shot out, a trail of white mist left in its wake. Halfway there, the crystal had become less than a quarter of its original size. Three quarters; all that hit the stationary tea cup was a cloud of mist, not even enough force to make it wobble.

Es dared Merlin to applaud her. 'Another successful attempt!' he'd say. 'Try once more, my dear.' He'd say that all with a proud smile on his face, but the moment she'd turn away he'd frown and watch her critically. 'Not good enough', he would mutter. 'Too unstable, unable to manage the mana flows.' She'd show him. She could do this. Her focal cry an angry yell, a shard of ice formed at the tip of her staff. Bigger, bigger! The size of her head and her limbs shaking to keep it in place, she finally let go of the mana she had gathered. "Blizzard!"

The chunk exploded outward, exactly how she wanted it to. If she herself destroyed things, she would get scolded, but a training accident was exactly that: an accident. Faster than she had been shown, the shards of ice tore through the porcelain, embedding themselves into the wood tables and dressers floating behind the array of cups.

"Es!" Merlin's voice cracked through the air, bouncing off against the pride she felt. "You mustn't cast magic with anger! It will lead you down a dark path, one that very few can walk away from!"

She sobered her expression. It would not do to let her mentor know of how pleased she felt. The crack of pottery, the thunk of the wood. It was no clatter of books and sharp crack of wood, but it felt good all the same. "I'm sorry, Master." She bowed, exactly as she had been taught. Her face hidden, Es allowed the smile she had to keep hidden a moment to peek through. The moment she rose back up, her features were schooled once again; her standard look that suggested nothing.

"Try again, Es," he said grumpily. "And take your time! There's no need to rush things. You'll manage it eventually."

/ - /

The wind in Traverse Town was never more than a gentle breeze; in the alleyways sometimes something stronger would blow, but only enough to ruffle your clothes. Even atop the Gizmo Shop, the wind was barely enough to blow the loose strands of her hair around.

Es took in a deep breath. Four weeks after she had first arrived here— a month of existing— she was granted the right to watch over a district all on her own. 'We fast track people here in Traverse Town', Cid had told her during her pre-emptive celebratory dinner. Her usual meal of vegetable soup and tea, this time accompanied by a small loaf of bread, Es had found the ordeal rather enjoyable for once. Surrounded by all of the defenders of Traverse Town, the start of the new 'month', a period of 30 sleep cycles, was when they always gathered to talk about things. What new sections appeared, anything they could scavenge before the Heartless showed up and claimed it for themselves. Any survivors that happened to appear.

Boring but important, Es did her best to follow along. Somewhere down the line, Leon had mentioned that Sora— the boy she had met in passing so long ago— was back in town. Two months since her arrival here, according to her calendar. As the keybearer, he was the greatest weapon against the Heartless. Some moogle forged weapons could work against them, but only the Keyblade could truly defeat them. 'If you find Sora on your patrols, make sure you help him out. He's still just a kid; his companions can keep an eye on him, but an extra pair of hands wouldn't hurt.'

So it was with idle curiosity that Es watched the boy and his companions slay the odd heartless that managed to sneak its way into the Second District. Yes, it was her job to take care of them, but the boy performed just fine on his own.

Perhaps he might join her up here. While she was patrolling the back streets, she had heard the bell go off, a deep, sonorous sound she had never heard before. Heartless had appeared enmass within the plaza, but by liberal use of Stop, Blizzard, and a small handful of Ethers, she had managed to dispatch the lot. When she stepped through the Gizmo Shop to reach the recently repaired ladder, she had once again been accosted. Stepping atop the roof had the same problem, and in the ensuing silence Es was glad for the reprieve. Far too soon though, loud, heavy steps rung up over the roof, the steps repeated by two other sets.

"Hey, I remember you!"

Es pointedly ignored the boy, focusing on her breathing. Her 'anger issues' had become enough of a problem for the others that Leon had taken to instructing her in meditation. Focusing on her breathing allowed her to center herself, to stave off her destructive urges. The Façade would have been ecstatic with her complying so neatly, but it was simply easier to go along rather than fight back.

"You're that girl from before we left!"

She opened her eyes. Sora was so incredibly loud. It was disruptive and a nuisance. "I suppose they sent you up here to check on the bell?"

"Yeah, Cid did, but how did you know?"

She turned slightly and waved a hand towards the boarded up bell. In the darkness she could see a rope pulley, but with as tight as the boards were, not even a Shadow could have slipped through. There was no sign of a struggle, either, so something breaking through wasn't a consideration. "The Keybearer is the greatest weapon against the Heartless, and a bit of a hero, I'm told. The bell ringing for the first time in weeks? When it's been boarded up?" She smirked. "My, perhaps a weapon is all you're good for."

The boy smiled and folded his arms behind his head, utterly missing the slight. His companions didn't though, giving her a disappointed and irritated look respectively.

"Take a look if you want, but I've already checked. There was nothing out of place." Es closed her eyes as the trio approached, their voices disturbing the quiet of the night. Suddenly, the sound of the duck's distinctive footfalls slapped against the floor, ending with a soft thud. Sora's heavier steps followed alongside a louder thud, before at last the wide spaced steps of the tallest of the trio ended with the cracking and clattering of wood. Es jumped to her feet, the derision on her lips dying at the sheer absurdity of what happened. With their combined might, the trio had managed to break through the wood, granting access to the bell.

The groans of the three kept her remonstrations at bay, though a huff escaped all the same. "Is this normal behavior for you three?"

"Only sometimes," Sora managed, standing up after the largest rolled off him. "What's your name?"

"Es," she answered curtly. "Let me know if you find anything." Let the youth explore what he wanted. Now that he was up here, the task of dealing with any wandering Heartless fell to her. Searching the streets visually wasn't a task that required the utmost of concentration, but the sharp sound of a bell ringing out most assuredly destroyed it.

Once again reprimands formed up. Once again, the gathered forces were dismissed. She had barely caught it as she whirled around, but as the ringing of the bell died down, the mural of the fountain at the other end of the plaza began turning, revealing a new image. "Sora," she called out. "Do that again." This time, with her hands protectively cupped firmly over her ears, she was able to see the mural change. With it, the fires— that most certainly were not there before— died down, a cascade of lights dancing up the ornamental railings surrounding the wall.

"Gwarsh, is something happening, Miss Es?" So used to the clipped or energetic tones of the Traverse Town Protection Squad, the rather goofy sounding voice irked her.

"The mural changed when you rang the bell." She squinted her eyes. "Three bell symbols? Sora, ring it one more time!" The muted echoes of the bell reverberated through her bones. As before, the mural changed; twin blue trees gave way to a flock of multi-colored butterflies, all of them gathered around a plant with a single, tiny red flower. Without warning, water began spouting into the air, the sound audible from where they were.

"Whoa!" Sora gaped at the sight, wonder and amazement easily visible. "We should go check it out!"

Es' eyes narrowed. "Excuse me? 'We'?"

"Well, yeah. You're the one in charge of this area, right?" He folded his arms behind his head, a cheery grin on his face.

She clicked her tongue. "Very well." Ignoring the grumblings of his tiny duck companion, Es strode over to the ladder, cautiously moving over the edge before making her way down.

Sora, cheeky brat that he was, slid down quickly, kicking off the last few feet and bending his knees to absorb the impact. The Heartless were suspiciously absent as they made their way down to the plaza. Sora and his companions were more than willing to jump over the railing, but she was having none of it. Curiously, as they approached the fountain, Es began noticing glimmers of light flickering across the mural. It was when they stopped right in front of the mural that the glimmers of light gathered, leaving the outline of a stereotypical keyhole.

"Sora, you know what to do," the duck squawked out.

With a nod, the keybearer leapt back, his titular weapon appearing in a mote of lights. Held in both hands, yellow-white light began gathering at the tip of the weapon, building up to a crescendo.

An odd sound made her turn around. High, high above them, light glinted off something falling. "Sora!" She reached forward and tugged him back, a massive hunk of metal bigger than either of them crashing down where he once stood. If he were to die on her watch— she could hardly imagine the scolding Leon would give her.

His two companions gave out surprised yelps, their weapons appearing in their hands an instant later. Her own weapon was plucked out of its holster at her side, the cane-slash-staff pointed at the largest of the five pieces.

"This thing again?!" Sora hunched over into a strange stance, his keyblade held in both hands and at an odd angle. What had to be claws and feet rose into the air slightly, quivering before snapping into position around the vaguely hourglass shaped piece that had to be a torso.

"We'll beat it, just like last time!" The duck stepped forward, his staff, arcs of restrained electricity crackling across the hatted orb at the top, crossing his chest. One final piece slammed down from the sky. A spiked sphere that had a dotted faceplate, it stood firmly atop the torso, the metallic flanges on either side of it suddenly making sense as a neck guard.

"And how did that go?" She asked dryly, entering her own stance. The lethargic energies of Slow gathered in her free hand, the magic dancing through her veins as it raced to make the connection to her staff.

"Break the limbs, then hit the body." Sora turned back to her and gave a wide grin, as if they were playing some game rather than risking their life against a giant enemy.

"As if I should have expected anything more," she muttered to herself.

The monster's head gently rose up slightly from the torso. All at once, every single piece began moving. The claws clenched and unclenched in anticipation, flipping over themselves every few seconds while the feet almost hungrily marched in place.

Es leapt back, strengthening the magic within her hand. The moment the creature started marching forward, visible shockwaves of magic spreading out from each step, she cast a Stop on one of its feet, the limb freezing in place even as the other continued bounding forward. A standard chunk of Blizzard exploded against one of the claws mid-spin, the frost coated piece of metal clattering against the ground.

And so the battle went. Between her and the white duck, Donald, each piece of the limbs would be locked down by either frost or time. Surprisingly quick on the uptake, Sora would rush to smack away at the limb, whilst the tallest of the trio, Goofy, moved to defend against any incoming attack.

"Alright, just a few more hits and then—" Whatever cheerful thing Sora was about to say was suddenly stopped, the scattered limbs they had stolen away suddenly shooting back towards the armor.

"Wak! What's it doing?!"

Shuddering exactly as it had earlier, the head of the armor floated upwards, away from the main body as the limbs seemingly flipped over. Clawed hands were now its feet, and the boots were now floating by its upper torso, the 'toes' and 'heel' folding in half and appearing much the same as pincers. The head slowly floated down, hovering just above the broad now-upper torso. With a sudden snap, its faceplate fell down, revealing two glowing beady eyes floating in a sphere of darkness. As if to say 'We're not done yet', the entire thing began floating, as if it was held in the air by its lower torso.

"Same thing as before?" She asked, gathering magic for a Blizzara.

"If it works, it works!" Sora shouted back.

Es smirked. The moment Sora and Goofy charged forward, she pointed the tip of her staff at one of the monster's newest hands. Shining blue magic coalesced into a spiked chunk of ice, shooting out and— shattering violently as all four limbs shot out, throwing them all back. A personal magic shield, akin to a light set of armor, was something Merlin had insistently demanded she learn how to make, just behind the level of mastery she had for Time and Ice; a skill she was grateful for. Though the injury stung less than one of Leon's blows, there were only so many of those she could take.

"Cure!" A refreshing tinkling of bells sounded out. Green energy encircled them, alongside the faint smell of flowers. "Sora, Goofy! Knock one of those away! We can't cast our spells if they can focus on us!"

"Right!/You got it!"

Donald turned to face her, a determined look on his face. "Wait for my signal. We'll use Blizzara at the same time."

Es nodded, running after the humanoid duck as he led them to flank the monster. Four seconds later, a clawed hand was sent flying by way of an unyielding shield and two handed swing.

"Now!"

It was with more than a little bit of pride that Es noted her Blizzara was larger than Donald's, their two spells crashing into the prone gauntlet and turning it into a chunk of ice larger than either of them combined. In the corner of her eye, she noted the other pair slowly getting overwhelmed by the advancing clangs of the sabatons. A thrust of her staff and Slow entangled one of the limbs in its magics, granting enough time for Sora to run out and smack the other piece off course and grating along the ground.

"Donald!" Sora shouted, raising his keyblade so it was parallel with his straightened body.

"Freeze them in place!" The aforementioned duck yelled in response.

Es brought her staff to bear in a two handed grip, the ice attuned foci at its tip pointed at the folded foot still debilitated by her magic. With a cry of effort, a chunk of ice the size of her torso shot out, exploding outward upon contact and turning the armor piece into an icicle much like the one she and Donald made earlier.

Still not used to the sounds of combat, sanitized as her spars were, the shrill sound of metal shrieking against metal made her shriek. The sound of ice being hacked away by blows however...

A golden light infusing the 'blade' of his weapon, Sora streaked across the battlefield, an arcane force propelling him almost randomly to the four grounded limbs. At the same time, Goofy and Donald knocked the limbs around with shield and flame, as if to line them up.

Always stay in motion. Leon's words suddenly came to her. Even if it's keeping an eye on the battle, if you get distracted by something, that's how you lose. While the magic of Stop wasn't yet useful for such a large target, Slow was more than enough to buy Sora enough time. Pushing past the wave of exhaustion that swallowed her as the magic left her body, Es stood strong.

The light surrounding Sora's keyblade, slowly growing with each strike, reached a crescendo. In one smooth motion, the boy shot past all four aligned limbs, impossibly smooth gashes appearing in his wake.

"Thunder!"

Donald's herald of magic snapped her out of her thoughts. As quickly as she could, she pulled out a small blue cube from one of her pouches, crushing it in her hand and absorbing the mana within, letting the physical remnants sprinkle onto her face. Energy renewed, Es ran forward, magic building up in her free hand.

Though Merlin always frowned whenever she used this specific variation, it was far too effective a spell to ignore. "Shatter!" A Blizzara formed at the tip of her staff, bare meters away from the upright torso. With a violent crack, the ice chunk heeded her command, the dozens upon dozens of fragments exploding. Tiny fragments smaller than the digits of her fingers embedded themselves deeply into the metal, while those that were bigger dug through and clattered on the inside.

"Miss Es!" Goofy suddenly appeared at her side, knocking away a gauntlet while Sora did the same on the other side.

"Mages in the back!" Sora recited. Against all sense and reason, a wide grin was on his face.

"It's changing forms!" Donald yelled out, a feathery hand pulling her back an unreasonable distance. "Can you coat it in ice?" He asked, a strangely serious look on his face.

"Have you not seen the magic I use?" She retorted. There was a reason why she didn't use the other elements, and not for lack of trying.

"You can make ice explode and freeze things, but can you coat it in ice?" He repeated.

Es scoffed and raised her weapon. "Can I?" A high powered Blizzard, just two steps away from the next level, shot out and covered the limbs, almost bracing the cannon-esque stance of the armor in a thin layer of rime.

"Again," he ordered. "Make it twice as thick." A neat ball of flame arched out of his staff, the glob of directed mana evaporating all the ice.

Though it rankled her pride to follow the orders of a stranger, Donald was still her superior in combat. Though the spell required another ether to bring her back to combat effectiveness, it brought a feral grin to her face when Sora took advantage of the next time Donald's now-second tier fire landed. With only two swings, magic keeping him midair as he redirected the momentum of his weapon, the claw and sabaton were cleaved in two, the damaged metal dispelling into a cloud of darkness.

"Nice!" Sora shouted, immediately returning behind Goofy.

The Heartless Armor did much the same, moving to float above the fountain as the folded boot moved to take the place of its slain twin. With a twitch she barely noticed, the boot snapped forward, almost tearing her head off if not for a sudden impact from the side.

With nary a word, Donald climbed off her, a dome of sparkling darkness centered on the torso piece suddenly expanding and contracting to a point of nothingness. "Don't just sit there!" He squawked. A torrent of lightning bolts showering down on the same piece. "Stand up and keep casting!"

Es clicked her tongue, an action Leon often did whenever he got supremely annoyed with something. WIth only three pieces left to deal with, progress went much smoother. Sustained casting of explosive Fires by both herself and Donald allowed the folded boot to be separated from the rest of the armor pieces, and another dual Blizzara locked it in place. When it eventually broke out, Es made extensive use of her newfound slowing Blizzard alongside the higher tier Slowra, calling out for Donald's help every so often to blast it away when it got too close. By the time she was approaching the necessity of her last Ether, the main piece had been eradicated, the sabaton disappearing immediately after.

When at last the crystal heart of the monster faded far into the sky, beyond any of their sight, the trio slumped down to the ground, an act she kept herself from mimicking through sheer pride and will power. The rivulets of perspiration beading down her face went purposely ignored, a plain handkerchief she kept for that express purpose dabbing away the moisture as quickly as it formed.

"Man, you were great, Es." Sora looked up and beamed. "I think you might have given Donald a run for his munny there."

"That's only because she specializes in Ice and Time," Donald groused. "She can't cast as much magics as I can."

Es sniffed and tilted her head slightly upwards. "If specializing means casting Blizzard beyond the simple array of projectiles, then I find no fault in it." A shimmering light stole her attention. There, on the fountain that apparently had four faces, the image of a keyhole reappeared. "Sora, I believe that is for you." She gestured toward the fountain, Donald groaning pitifully as Sora stood up and stopped supporting the duck's weight.

The moment he raised his keyblade in a one handed grip, it felt as if the world itself was watching. All sound except for their breathing simply ceased to exist. The tip of the weapon pulsed with a strange, soft blue light, the keyhole doing the same, as if a lover were welcoming their companion from a journey.

Ribbons of the same color light, woven with an almost pure white, gathered around the tip of the weapon, rapidly building up in intensity. Not even a second later, the light shot out in a graceful beam, disappearing into the darkness of the keyhole.

When the sound of a heavy click rang out, it felt as if everything was simply right in the world. Disappearing in motes of blue light, the keyhole faded away to reveal the mural of butterflies from before. "What was…?" The words felt strange as she spoke. As if disturbing the silence that fell upon the world was a sin equal to interrupting breakfast tea.

"We dunno." Sora folded his arms behind his head, the same infuriating grin he always bore once again on his face. "But doing that just feels right, you know?"

The sense of completion she felt came back to mind. "Yes… I suppose I do." Quietly, Es pulled back her left sleeve to look at the plain watch on her wrist. Without a sun or moon, time didn't really hold a proper meaning, but it was important for the inhabitants of Traverse Town to keep some type of schedule. "You should go report back to Cid. My shift isn't over for a few more hours."

Sora nodded. "Alright. We'll see you around, Es!" With the kind of energy that only children seemed to have, Sora set off at a run, Goofy and Donald chasing after once they gave their own parting words.

/ - /

The moment Es stepped foot into the Unstable Zone, she knew immediately why it was called that. Tingles of something across her skin left her feeling wary, as if she was being watched by a Heartless she couldn't locate. Merlin said it was the energies that made up this world in flux, yet to decide whether or not they would gather into something more stable. Cid said it was the body knowing that staying in this place where whispers of Heartless could be tasted with every breath freaking out. Personally, she'd much rather focus on Merlin's explanation.

Leon's hand clapped down on her shoulder. "Whatever you're thinking, push it aside. When we're out here we have to focus. If this zone decides to start crumbling, we need to be ready to escape." He glanced down at her. For a brief moment, she thought she saw what could be considered the starts of an amused grin. "Everybody split off. We have approximately forty minutes before this zone decides to change, so keep an eye on your watches. Es, you're with me."

As if she needed reminding. She kept the reflexive scoff internal, though.

"These buildings feel like Yuffie would be familiar with them..."

Es glanced away from the vein of slowly pulsating crystal blue that cracked its way across a building. "Something from her hometown?" Hometown. So strange a term. Regarding one's place of birth or where they grew up in the longest. Different from homeworld; which, for the core members of the Defense Force, was Hollow Bastion.

Leon grunted in affirmation. "Before she came to us, she lived in a different country. A region," he quickly added. "Their home units weren't as tightly packed as most of Traverse Town is, instead they were more like these." He gestured at the spread of white buildings topped with red. "Flatter walls that were smoothed down to perfection, unlike our stone or wood constructions." He grunted once again, a different kind that she assumed meant 'we're ending this conversation'.

At his signal, the two of them split up to investigate a building on their own. While standard operating procedure dictated they never move out of eyesight of their partner, the region was already far too gone to adhere to those rules. A standard 'smash and grab', Yuffie would have called it.

Home.

That was what Es thought of when she entered the building. Walls lined with shelves, and although these bookcases looked like the rectangular storage of wine bottles rather than spacious rows of wood, seeing the strange objects resting in them seemed to be nothing else than what passed for books. On a whim, Es plucked one of the cylinders out, prying at either end in an attempt to figure out what it was. Pulling brought about nothing. Twisting one way did the same. The other direction resulted in a loosening of the cap, and further movement unsealing what lay within. An incredibly long page that was curled up on itself. The markings on it were none that she knew, but she knew they were letters all the same.

These weren't books by any means, but she wanted them. She needed them. Selecting the containers at random, Es dropped them into her bag. It was valuable space for anything she might have found and the rest of Traverse Town could have used, but all she cared about at this particular moment was herself.

New letters. New material. Something with which she could let her fingers explore. The textures of these pages must have been so incredibly unique compared to the pages of the books she was given, and the books of which her home held. She couldn't wait to remove her gloves and just let her fingers glide across its surface, feeling every bump and groove. A loud, screeching roar tore through the air, making her drop the container she was holding. Such a sound... it was as if someone had taken the roar of a fire spell and made that quality and only that quality into a fourth tier spell.

Es carefully knelt down and blindly felt around for the container, keeping her sight focused on the entrance. If whatever had caused that were to appear, she doubted she would be able to do anything worthwhile, but if she willed it hard enough, perhaps she might be able to slow down its movements enough for Leon to arrive.

Her fingers touched the container.

A jolt, one that felt like foreign-yet-so-very-familiar magic shot through her body.

Es glanced down at the cylindrical case.

There, embossed on its surface, was a pale blue butterfly, its lower wings slowly fading to white.

Unbidden, her hands moved to open it. To quickly but carefully pull out what lay within.

She could not read the markings, but she knew what they said.

There were two characters in the story.

One, a lost wanderer.

The other, a girl acting as their guide.

The wanderer, who had lost their way in the world, kept asking: "Who am I? What defines the world?"

The girl, who was guiding the wanderer, always asked: "Who are you? What defines the world?"

Breathing. Breathing. She should breathe. In this world not her own, she was subject to rules so strange and unfamiliar. Hunger. Colors. Pain brought by physical stimuli.

When had she...?

Es wrapped her arms around herself. The pressure felt comforting. As if this wide open room that wasn't hers was somehow less.

What is it your heart desires?

A memory. That's what that voice was. It was nothing more than a memory.

What is it your heart desires? it repeated.

"To be back home," she answered behind clenched teeth.

Then dream, Wanderer. Dream, and may your heart be your guiding key.

Another roar. This one impossibly close. The front wall of the building crumbled underneath a broad shouldered figure, what was undeniably a Soldier type Heartless in its grip. In a move that she almost missed, the Soldier blurred into the ground, instantly turning into shadowy smoke.

"I WANT TO BE HOME!"

Pure white, a shade that she had only ever seen once before, filled her sight.

"I. WANT. TO. BE. HOME!"

Will likely be a long while until another chapter comes out. This was posted purely to clear out my backlog.