Sora's eyes widened as the door to Traverse Town's hangar was opened up and he saw it in all its glory. Granted, there weren't actually a lot of ships there, apparently most residents of the small world getting there by more forceful means like the teen himself rather than purposefully flying there. Still, there were plenty of spaces for ships to dock themselves, and there were a few rockets and other crafts that looked straight out of space movies that Sora had watched.
"This is really cool!" The brunette exclaimed, following Donald and Goofy as they walked through the hangar. "Which ship is yours?" It had to be really big and impressive, right? After all, they were working for a King!
"We're almost at it! Wait 'til ya see!" Goofy responded, happy that Sora was excited to see their vessel. "It's a Gummi Ship, we call it the Highwind!"
That nearly made Sora stop in his tracks. The Highwind? That's what Riku had wanted to call their raft! It was some sort of weird coincidence, it had to be…right? "What's a Gummi Ship?" Was what the teen decided to focus on.
"It's made of Gummi Blocks, they're easy to put together. It doesn't really matter, it's just like any other rocket ship!" Donald explained, waving away a more proper explanation on what Gummis exactly were.
Really, it wasn't all that important, so Sora shrugged it off. As much as he hesitated by the gate, he was now feeling anxious to just get going. He was a bit surprised when Donald and Goofy stopped right in front of a pretty small, orange ship. It looked fine and all, but it seemed…snug.
"Is this going to fit all of us?" Sora couldn't help but ask. Weren't spaceships supposed to be really big? That's how they were in the movies, at least.
Donald laughed a bit as he and Goofy lead Sora to the ship. "You'll see! Just come on!"
"Yeah, it's really neat inside!" Goofy promised, opening up a hatch to the side and gesturing for the teen to go in first.
Sora stepped into the ship, and instantly he was amazed by what he saw. To put it simply, the Gummi Ship was far larger on the inside than the outside, and by several times easily! He entered a sort of central room, little in it save for doorways into half a dozen other rooms. There were even two hatches, one leading down and one leading up, surely into the cockpit. "Oh, wow…this is cool! How do you do this?" The teen asked, turning to Donald and Goofy as they entered behind him.
"Just a bit of magic is all!" Donald replied with a grin. He pointed to several of the doorways and started to lift things off. "There's the kitchen. That's my room, and that one's Goofy's. You can take that one there." The mage rattled off.
"And down below is where the engine stuff is. But just leave that to us. And above there's the cockpit." Goofy added on, starting to climb up. "I'll get things ready for launch!"
Donald let out a small grumble, sounding like a half-prayer that Goofy didn't break something. "Just come here to your room." The mage said, opening one of the nearby doors. There was a pretty simple room for Sora to stay in. A bed, a dresser, a wardrobe, a personal bathroom attached, and a window looking outside that mysteriously wasn't anywhere on the exterior of the ship. Must have been more magic. "Let's see, uh…" He looked Sora over for a second before summoning his staff and giving it a wave. The dressers opened up, and some casual clothes and pajamas appeared, all Sora's size. "There!"
Again, Sora was impressed, going over to look at the new clothes. This helped hit that this wasn't going to be some quick errand…this was going to be a journey that'd take days, maybe even weeks or months to finish. Still, he pushed his doubts down and turned to Donald. "How'd you do that? Can you teach me that?"
"No way, just stick with the battle magic! The kitchen fridge and the pantry have some magic too, you can get whatever you want while the brooms clean up the mess!" Donald explained, clearly bragging a bit. Apparently he was very proud of the magic he used on the ship.
Sora huffed. "Alright, alright. No clothes magic then." He said, closing the dresser drawers. Also, did Donald mention brooms cleaning up the messes? More magic, it seemed. "So, what now? How long before we get to another world?" The teen was still feeling a bit anxious.
Donald shrugged. "Who knows? Could be hours or a day or two." The mage guessed. With all the worlds going out, things were a bit more spaced out than they were before. And, frankly, the Gummi Ship wasn't all too fast. At least not compared to some other methods of transport out there. "Just wait here, okay? Look out the window into space when we launch or something!"
Once again, Sora was kind of annoyed. They offered him to come along, but so far Donald was treating him like an unwanted passenger. "Hey, what gives? I want to drive the ship too!"
"No way! Have you ever driven one before?" Donald asked, knowing full well what the answer was. He didn't have anything against Sora, but he hardly knew the kid, and he was hoping things would just get wrapped up as quickly as possible…
"At least let me into the cockpit or something!" Sora pressed, crossing his arms in light defiance. "Until we're done launching, at least?"
Sighing, the mage just gave in, not wanting to argue. "Alright, alright. Fine! Just don't touch anything!" Donald said, turning around and heading towards the ladder upward, Sora in tow. "Feels like we're forgetting something…" He murmured, too quiet for Sora to hear, with neither him nor Goofy recalling that a certain pet of the King's was still missing…
Smiling at his small victory, Sora followed Donald up the ladder and into the cockpit. Inside there was a glass dome showing a nice view of the hangar around them. There was also a number of buttons, switches, screens, and other technological stuff that the teen didn't quite grasp. There were three chairs, so Sora sat down in one of them, as did Donald.
"Oh, hey fellers! We're just about to launch! Chip and Dale says everything's all set!" Goofy remarked, sitting in the seat closest to the controls. On the screen where two chipmunks, one with a black nose and one with a red nose.
"Hey…so, are these two your friends? Are they on the ship too?" Sora asked, looking to the screen.
"Naw, we're at the castle!" Chip declared with a shake of the head. "I'm Chip, by the way, and this is Dale! Goofy explained everything, Sora! Nice to meetcha!"
"Yeah, nice to meetcha!" Dale echoed. "The ship's ready to go whenever you are, Goofy!" He went on, speaking to the knight.
Nodding, Goofy turned to Sora and Donald. "Alright, hang on tight!" He said, pressing a few buttons, seeming to know what he was doing. As he did this, a large door opened up in the wall in front of them, leading out into open space! There was a humming noise, and the Gummi Ship started to shake!
Looking around, Sora saw through the glass dome they were rising a bit and moving forward slowly! Before long, they got to the open door and the engines roared to life, and the ship lurched forward, blasting off into space! The sensation wasn't as extreme as Sora thought. In fact, once they got into space properly, he slowly stood up and found it was just like walking around outside!
Eagerly, he moved to the edge of the cockpit, looking out into space. It was such an amazing sight, all the stars looking so much larger and brighter than he had ever seen them! There seemed to be dozens of times more, too! All sorts of colors in greens, blues, reds, purples…all over the place! It was nothing like looking up at the night sky back at home. Sora had the unusual feeling that he was being watched by some unseen force as he gazed at the stars, but quickly shook it off, his wonderment overriding such sensations…
"This is amazing! You guys get to see this all the time?" Sora asked, turning back to Donald and Goofy, still in their seats.
The pilot chuckled, shaking his head. "Naw, we stay at home most of the time. We only go out on special occasions." Goofy explained.
"I'm just glad you got the ship going without blowing us up." Donald said with a light huff.
"Aw, gawrsh, don't be silly, Donald! I'd never do that!" Goofy said, clearly amused and assuming his friend was just kidding around.
Sora was a bit surprised at the answer. "Really? You don't go out and just fly around? Seems kind of like a waste with this thing…"
"It's not a toy, it's for important missions!" Donald clarified. "Also, you should go back down below. You said you'd just stay here for the launch!"
"Oh, come on, I'm not touching anything!" Sora argued, wondering just what Donald's deal was. "Can't I stay?"
Goofy intervened, acting as a mediator between the two. "Say, Sora, you're probably hungry, right? Have you eaten anything since you arrived at Traverse Town?" He asked, far calmer and nicer than his friend.
Thinking of it…aside from that glass of juice with Moguro, Sora hadn't had a bite to eat since he was swept from his home. Heck, he didn't even get to eat dinner before the Heartless attacked! "I guess you're right…" Was all the teen said, climbing back down the ladder and leaving Donald and Goofy on their own.
As the hatched closed behind Sora, the knight turned back to his companion. "Gawrsh, Donald, aren't ya bein' a bit harsh on him?"
"He'll be fine." Donald insisted, crossing his arms. "We just need him until we find the King and solve this mess, then we can drop him off back home." He made it sound simple, but he wasn't even sure if restoring the worlds was possible! But if anyone would know for sure, it'd be their King.
"I think he's just jealous there's a better mage on the ship." GLaDOS commented from Donald's pocket. "I may be new to magic, but I detect Clown Shoes is at least twice as skilled."
"Oh, shut up! You're just making things up!" The magician squawked back, slapping at the pocket GLaDOS resided in as if it could actually hurt her. It wasn't even that Donald disliked Sora. If anything, he'd rather not get attached since this was all part of a mission, and he didn't want a sad, inevitable goodbye. Fat chance he'd ever tell anyone that, though!
Sora, meanwhile, was walking into the kitchen, seeing that it was a medium sized room that was just about spotless. There was a fridge, pantry, a table with some chairs around it, cabinets with glasses and plates, a sink…and some brooms off against the far wall. Were those the ones Donald meant? After all he had seen since encountering the Heartless back on the islands, Sora wouldn't be too surprised to see magical moving brooms…
Knowing he had to get some food in him, the teen opened the pantry to see, as Donald said, that it was filled up with whatever he wanted! Sora was hardly a picky eater, so the storage was practically bursting with all sorts of food. From healthy things like fruits or vegetables to candy and other sweets to canned foods and bread and cheese and too many other things to name.
The teen decided to stick with a sandwich, grabbing some bread and cheese before going to the fridge. Like with the pantry, it was full of foods Sora liked, just ones that needed to be kept cool. Grabbing some slices of ham from a corner of the fridge, Sora made a quick sandwich for himself, barely waiting to sit at the table before starting to wolf it down. It was odd, he didn't feel hungry…but at the same time he felt like he was starving in an unusual and paradoxical manner…
Within a minute, the sandwich was gone, and Sora grabbed some milk from the fridge, filling up a glass before gulping it down. As his back was turned on his empty place, he heard some clinking. Turning around, Sora saw that one of the brooms had come to life, sprouting arms, using its bristles as feet as it caried the plate to the sink to start cleaning. He even handed the glass over to the broom, and it wordlessly took it and started to clean that too.
Since he had eaten, and nothing else to do, Sora watched as another broom put the bread and other food containers he took out and put them back in their places. He felt like if he went back up to the cockpit, Donald would just get angry at him again. So, the teen went into his room, sighing as he gazed out the window. The view was still amazing, but he couldn't help but feel a bit melancholy. Just where were Kairi and Riku? Were they even okay?
He really wished they could be seeing this right now…
But he knew moping would get him nowhere. The ship ran on happy faces, apparently, so he shouldn't be doing that anyway. It was at this point that Sora started to realize he hadn't properly rested in a long while too. He woke up that morning when he gathered the final materials for the raft, was knocked out as he was sucked into that orb, then passed out after he fought Leon. None of that was exactly a proper rest…
The teen went over to his dresser and put on some sleeping clothes, some red pajama pants with silver crowns and an oversized black shirt. Flopping onto the bed, he found it was comfortable. He was going to let his mind wander, but before that could even happen, exhaustion took him, and he was asleep.
The Gummi Ship cruised on as Sora slept, the brunette having a dreamless rest as Donald and Goofy handled the flying. They spent a lot of the trip in silence, watching for the nearest world as they went. Unfortunately, they really had no idea where to look, just traveling to any world that they could and hope for the best. Maybe with the Keyblade on their side, it'd help guide them? Neither of them really knew how Keyblades worked, but their King had told them that they had many unusual abilities.
Hours passed, and Sora was awakened by a knock on the door, Goofy's voice calling through. "Hey, Sora, we've reached a world! Come look!" The knight said cheerfully.
Eyes snapping open, the brunette got out of bed quickly, changing into his usual clothes. Barely having his shoes on properly, he opened the door to see Goofy standing there grinning at him. "Already? I didn't think it'd be so fast!" Normally he'd be groggy first thing after some sleep, but with the prospect of a new world…
"Yeah! Travel can be a bit unpredictable, but we're here!" Goofy remarked, pointing at the hatch up to the cockpit. "Come on, let's look!"
Both excited and anxious, Sora climbed up the ladder after Goofy into the cockpit where Donald was waiting. Ignoring the mage, the teen looked up out of the glass dome at the new world! Thinking of it, he never looked at Traverse Town as they flew away from it, so it was his first time seeing a world from space!
The teen's eyes widened in wonder at the sight…a perfect sphere of gorgeous greens, blues, and even whites, mainly from the clouds. He had to wonder if all worlds looked like that! "It's amazing…" He breathed, looking to Donald as the mage started fiddling with the controls. "So…where do we land?"
"We don't!" Donald replied. "No one can know we're from another world!" He scolded a bit, looking up at Sora. "You've got to promise you won't mention that at all!"
That did make a bit of sense, Sora supposed. If he met someone that said they were from another world, he might be pretty skeptical. Those in Traverse Town not counting, of course. "Alright, alright, I promise! How do we get there, then?"
"Oh, we just get put down there in a big flash of light! Pretty fancy, huh?" Goofy replied with a nod. "I don't really get how it works, but it's fast!"
Seemed good enough for Sora! "So, where are we going to end up?" It was a pretty massive looking world, after all. There was so much land and so much sea! Destiny Islands would be just a tiny speck in comparison to the rest of it…
"We'll see if there are any unusual readings. Just let the ship handle it!" Donald replied, pressing one last button. "Alright, here we go!"
"What? Do we just-" Sora started, but was stopped as a flash of white light overtook his vision! The next thing Sora knew, he wasn't in the Gummi Ship anymore. He blinked the light out of his eyes a few times, realizing he must be down at that world! His eyesight coming back, the islander took a look around!
As it turned out, he, Donald, and Goofy ended up in a large city of sorts. Sora had seen them on television before, but never dreamed he'd end up in one himself! Massive buildings all around him, people walking past the trio on the sidewalk, apparently not having noticed the three of them popping in from nowhere.
It wasn't just that they were in a big city, but Sora noticed how odd the technology was. People drove by in cars, but they were far, far different from the ones he had seen pictures or on television. They seemed…sleeker, and more rounded, not as many edges. On top of that, he saw some people talking into devices by their ears…almost like phones! But how could that be possible? They were just small rectangles, and they weren't plugged in anywhere, not a wire in sight!
"Oh, good, it's a pretty normal place!" Donald remarked with a sigh of relief.
"Where do we start, though? Could the King and Sora's friends really be here?" Goofy asked, looking about. Many people, mainly adults, were walking around the trio, paying them very little mind.
That snapped Sora out of his wonderment, looking to Donald and Goofy. "Yeah, that's right. This world is really huge, right? We can't search it all, can we?"
"Trust me, things have a way of working out. The Gummi Ship can sense all sorts of things. If we ended up in this part of the world, it must be for good reason." The mage responded, though truthfully, even he wasn't entirely aware of how it all worked out. If the King were here, he'd probably say something about how things sometimes just work out for the best.
Sora wasn't really convinced, not entirely, but that was the best answer he could hope for, he supposed. After all, if Donald and Goofy knew exactly where to go, they'd probably have appeared right near the King, Riku, or Kairi. Before the teen could respond, though, some screams rang through the air.
Heads whipping around, the trio looked to the sidewalk ahead and saw people running away, terror on their faces. As the people dispersed, it became clear what they were running from. There was a small group of Heartless! Shadows, Soldiers, and a new type floating above, a trio of Red Nocturnes!
"They're here too?!" Sora exclaimed, readying his Keyblade as Donald and Goofy summoned their own weapons. "Is that what your ship picked up?"
"I don't know, but let's take them out!" Donald ordered as one of the Red Nocturnes shot a fireball at a fleeing woman, just barely missing her as she retreated.
Without further hesitation, the three charged towards the small group of Heartless. Sora swatted an attacking Shadow away as Goofy threw his shield with precision at one of the Soldiers, knocking it into a second Soldier. Donald cast a Thunder spell, yelling out as bolts rained down at the Heartless, taking out a few Shadows and stunning the Red Nocturnes as the spell hit them.
The floating Heartless quickly recovered, firing off small fireballs at the group. While Sora and Goofy used their weapons to block the spells, Donald was struck by one, squawking as he staggered backwards but seemed little worse for wear. Glaring at the offending Heartless, Sora leapt up and swatted it right out of the air, the Red Nocturne bouncing a bit as it hit the ground. It barely had time to recover as Sora landed in front of it, slamming his Keyblade like a club upon it, turning it into a black mist.
Thankfully, the Heartless group was pretty small, and its members were weak, so within a minute or two, they were all gone. "You okay?! You got hit with fire back there!" Sora exclaimed, turning to Donald.
"I'm fine, these clothes aren't just for show!" Donald explained, showing he had no burn marks on him anywhere. "Goofy and I are protected by magic. I did the same to you when I made those clothes appear back in the ship!"
Sora was really starting to wonder how many powers Donald even had. Still, he was happy to hear all that. "That's good and all, but why are the Heartless here? Will this world disappear too?"
"They're in a whole buncha worlds, remember?" Goofy asked, interjecting. "I reckon they'll try and make this one disappear too if we don't do something!"
As Goofy said this, yet another Heartless showed up, this time in the middle of the street. People had abandoned their cars when the previous wave of creatures appeared, so this new type was able to stand in the street unharmed. It was pretty big, but smaller than the Guard Armor, a Large Body that looked about, as if sniffing out prey.
The Large Body's gaze zeroed in on the trio, starting to walk over to them as it punched one of the abandoned cars to the side. Flinching, Sora aimed his Keyblade at the new Heartless and let out several Fire spells, each one hitting the opponent in its bloated belly…to little effect. It staggered very mildly, but otherwise seemed unharmed!
"I don't think we're going to hurt that thing attacking from the front!" Donald exclaimed, stepping back as the Large Body started getting closer and closer.
Just at that moment, a man's voice rang from behind the trio. "I knew there'd be an evil spirit here! All that panic couldn't be for nothing! I mean…I sensed it too, of course."
The three turned to see a man in his late twenties with red hair and a business suit approaching. Unlike the other people, he didn't seem scared of the Heartless at all! "Hey, what are you doing here? It's dangerous!" Sora exclaimed as the man walked past them.
"For you, maybe, but I've got this handled. I guess you haven't heard of the famous Reigen Arataka, the Greatest Psychic in Modern History!" The man introduced, gesturing wildly with one hand before pointing a thumb to himself.
A psychic? Magic was one thing, but Sora never expected to meet a psychic! "Wait, really? So, you can defeat that thing?" The teen asked, realizing that he should start expecting the unexpected. With all those worlds out there, anything was possible, surely. Except…were Heartless really qualified as 'evil spirits' in the end? He supposed that was as good of a classification as any, but…
"Didn't you hear me? I don't get a title like that without reason!" Reigen responded, a bit of haughtiness in his voice as he turned to the Large Body. "Now then…watch and learn as I teach this thing some manners!"
"Gawrsh, should we really let him do this?" Goofy asked, mainly talking to Donald, leaning down to his smaller friend.
The mage shrugged. "If he's really the strongest psychic in this world, what's the harm?" Donald replied.
Taking a deep breath, Reigen watched as the Large Body got even closer, now only a few meters away. "Alright…" The man whispered to himself, reaching into his pocket. "…TAKE MY SALT SPLASH, EVIL SPIRIT!" He roared dramatically, throwing a clumsy handful of salt from his pocket right at the Large Body!
Most of it got on the Heartless' face and stomach, but a lot just got on the sidewalk and road. It certainly stopped the Large Body in its path…but mainly as it reacted to the salt in its eyes, swinging its arms around wildly while in pain. It certainly didn't do what Reigen had said and destroyed it, though!
"Hey, that didn't stop it at all!" Donald exclaimed, pointing an accusing finger at the redheaded man. "What's the big idea?!"
Reigen flinched a bit before turning around and laughing at the trio. "Obviously I just used regular salt to confuse and weaken it! I only put in a tiny fraction of my powers into it! Mob, you come finish it off, okay?" He yelled to someone behind the trio.
"Yes, Master." A young boy's voice called, startling the three outsiders. They turned to see that there had been someone else there the entire time that they just hadn't noticed. He was a young teen, surely no older than Sora himself, wearing a school uniform and sporting black hair down in a bowl cut. The boy, Mob, had a pretty lackluster expression on his face, as if the situation wasn't intriguing at all to him.
As Mob started to walk by the trio, Goofy reached out and put a hand on his shoulder. "Now wait a minute, this is pretty dangerous! You shouldn't be getting involved!" He said out of concern, not wanting to see someone innocent getting hurt…
The strange teen wasn't bothered. "Oh, it's fine. I've exorcised a lot of these types of evil spirits before." Mob replied flatly, walking out of Goofy's light grip and towards the Large Body. It managed to compose itself enough to see the teen as its new target. Clasping its hands together, it raised them above its head, ready to slam his joined fists down on Mob!
"Are you sure about this?!" Sora exclaimed, about to jump in and help. He couldn't just watch this when he could be helping!
"Hey, don't underestimate my student! I wouldn't let him do this if he couldn't handle it!" Reigen shot back, a bit annoyed. "Remember, I'm the world's strongest psychic, so my protégé and take down small fry like this!"
A bit torn, the three watched on, not sure what to do. Anything could happen in different worlds, so maybe Mob was far more powerful than he appeared? Reigen didn't seem to do much, but maybe he really did somehow weaken the Heartless? Besides, Mob did say he had taken out Heartless before…
As the Large Body slammed its fists down towards Mob, the strange teen lifted up a hand casually to meet the impact. When the attack landed, there was a brilliant, colorful flash of light! This light engulfed the Heartless, its form starting to distort before quickly it burst into a dark mist. The light went out and the mist and remaining salt burst away from Mob.
"Whoa! That was amazing!" Sora exclaimed, staring at where the Large Body was. Whatever it was that Mob did, it was clear the other teen barely even tried!
"Gawrsh, that sure was something! Can you do that too, Donald?" Goofy asked sincerely, looking down at his friend.
Shaking his head, Donald glared up at Goofy. "Of course I can't! If I could, I would've done it!" The mage explained, annoyed at his friend's stupidity.
"Oh yeah, that's true…" Goofy murmured to himself.
Mob walked back to the four, looking as if nothing had even happened. "Oh, it's no big deal. I've dealt with spirits a lot stronger than that." He droned humbly, still not really showing any emotion at all. "Master, why did you have me handle that spirit if it was so weak?"
Reigen scoffed, waving his hand in a dismissive fashion. "It should be obvious, shouldn't it?" He asked, almost sounding like it was a joke. "If I take care of every little spirit that crosses our path, how are you going to learn anything? You're half my age, you don't have nearly the experience I do! You've got to use your powers in order to grow, got it?"
At that, the strange teen nodded. "That makes sense. Thank you, Master." He turned to the trio. "I hope you three didn't get hurt. You're not really customers, so you don't have to pay."
"Shouldn't I get to decide that…?" Reigen muttered but did so quietly enough that no one else heard him.
"Pay? Are you guys psychics for hire or something?" Sora asked, calming down. He almost felt silly for worrying about Mob considering how easily he took out the Large Body. If only he had been there with the Guard Armor, that would've been pretty helpful!
Reigen stepped in with a scoff. "What, you haven't heard of the Spirits and Such Consultation Office?" He asked, almost like he was belittling Sora for his lack of knowledge.
"Oh, well, we're pretty new here, that's all." Goofy remarked, coming up with the lie quick. "But we haven't heard of ya, no."
"Makes sense. We're pretty popular, so if you were from Seasoning City, you'd know my name, just like everyone else!" The man replied, again jabbing a thumb at himself as he gave a cocky grin.
"But Master, business has been pretty poor lately. Was there a rise in popularity I didn't know about?" Mob asked innocently.
Groaning, Reigen turned to his student and shushed him. "Be quiet, Mob! Don't tell them stuff like that! It's bad for business!"
Sora wasn't sure what to make of Reigen, really. He had Mob as a mere student, so he had to be strong, right? So…why wasn't his business doing well? Mob himself was kind of odd too. He didn't really emote, and he seemed a bit clueless. "Well, we appreciate the help, either way." The brunette said, interrupting the light squabble. "I'm Sora, by the way, and this is Donald and Goofy." He went on, gesturing to his companions in kind.
"I heard Master introduce himself, so my name is Shigeo Kageyama, but a lot of people call me Mob, which I don't mind." The other teen introduced, giving a light bow to the trio.
Still trying to determine just how he got a nickname like 'Mob', Sora gave a wave as he dismissed his Keyblade. "Nice to meet you guys too. So, you have to deal with the Heartless a lot?"
"Heartless? The evil spirits?" Reigen asked, scratching the side of his head. "I guess they got those weird emblems on them. But who are you three anyway? You seem to know a lot about these things…"
Donald stepped in, needing to retain some manner of anonymity. They couldn't go around just saying that Heartless invade worlds, or that other worlds even exist! "We made up the names! They have those emblems like you said, so we call them Heartless!"
"That's pretty weird, but whatever. So, you guys hunt them, right? I hope you're not trying to take away our business or something!" Reigen replied, annoyed at the three. "Seasoning City's already got the best duo of espers in the world on the case!"
"What? No! We're just passing through!" Sora said, shaking his head. This guy seemed a bit paranoid, but apparently since his business was failing…
"Do you know where these evil spirits come from then?" Mob asked, looking between the trio. "These spirits are different from others I've encountered, and they started popping up a month ago." He informed, still speaking in an emotionally lacking tone.
Rubbing the back of his neck, Goofy responded. "We hoped you guys might know. Did something happen a month ago?"
"No, at least not anything I've noticed." Mob said, looking to Reigen. "Do you know anything, Master?"
The older man scoffed, waving his hand in a dismissive manner. "Evil spirits are unpredictable at the best of times. I'm sure in another month or so, they'll just go away. This is a temporary nuisance, I'm sure!" He cleared his throat. "Anyway, I've got to get back to the office. Since this was a sporadic job and not from a client, I can't pay you today, Mob."
This didn't seem to bother the unusual teen at all. "Oh. I see. That makes sense, Master. I'll see you later, then."
"And you three, try to stay out of trouble!" Reigen insisted towards the trio, starting to walk off and giving a backwards wave as he went.
Donald rolled his eyes, knowing they could've handled that last Heartless even without help! "Let's get going, we've got to look around for why the Heartless are here!" And to see if the King was around too, of course…
"Uh, actually…" Mob piped up, almost doing so too quietly to be heard. "Can I come with you? These spirits are too weak to be dangerous to me, but they're a lot bolder and more violent than most. I'm worried about my family and classmates, so I'd like to stop them entirely."
Goofy had the feeling Donald would refuse Mob, so he spoke up first. "Well sure ya can! You just want to help those close to ya, right Donald?"
The mage wasn't too fond of the idea, but as long as the world order was maintained, he supposed it was fine. Besides, Mob was more than capable of defending himself, clearly. "Alright, fine, I guess he can come!"
"I knew you had a heart, Donald!" Sora joked, grinning a bit. The mage really was a grumpy one, but the brunette wondered if he was really as nasty as he seemed. He did create a lot of clothes for Sora and tried to cheer him up when they first met, after all…
Squawking lightly, Donald glared up at Sora. "Oh, shut up!" He retorted simply, crossing his arms a bit as the teen was unfettered. He looked to Mob, his expression softening a bit. "You live here, so where would we go first to look?"
"Uh, well, no…" Mob admitted, finally showing a bit of emotion as he appeared a bit flustered. "Like I said, I have no idea where this has started from, so…"
"There's gotta be somewhere, right?" Sora prodded, almost feeling a bit bad for doing so. Mob seemed kind of awkward and out of sorts, not that the brunette judged him for it or anything.
The powerful psychic paused and then raised a finger in thought. "Well, if these are evil spirits, maybe a haunted location would be better. There's an abandoned building I was at recently that was haunted, so maybe there?"
Not wanting to explain to Mob that the Heartless weren't 'evil spirits' exactly, Sora just nodded along. "Seems as good a place as any, right guys?" He asked to Donald and Goofy.
Donald wasn't sure how well this logic all worked out, but they had to at least try. "Alright, fine, let's just move fast, Mob!" There was a reason the Gummi Ship beamed them out to this part of the world, and the mage wanted to know why!
"Right, of course." Mob said, starting to walk down the sidewalk, the trio following behind. As they went off, some people started to gather where the Heartless initially appeared, seeing that the danger had passed. "How long have you three been in Seasoning City anyway?"
"Not long at all! We dropped in earlier today, actually!" Goofy explained, basically telling the truth, even if he left out some details. "It sure does seem nice, though."
"Oh, it is. There are some nice people here. Some of them aren't so nice, but that's true with any place." Mob said, seeming almost a bit morose, yet he was still mostly emotionless.
Sora frowned a bit, looking over to Mob as he walked alongside him. "Hey, are you alright? You seem kind of…out of it." He felt like he had to at least ask…
Mob looked back in light confusion. "What do you mean? I feel fine. Do I look sick or something?" He asked in total sincerity.
"Naw, it's not that! I think it's because you're all quiet and such!" Goofy interjected, though like Sora he wasn't really judging Mob at all. Some people were just quieter and more reserved than others.
"Oh. Well, that's just how I am. There's nothing wrong with me." The black-haired teen replied. If he was offended at the questions, he hid his annoyance perfectly.
That made Sora feel pretty bad, the brunette rubbing the back of his neck. He had his own problems, in his heart, but he tried to cover it up with false energy or smiles. Maybe Mod had his own problems he hid in a quieter way? "You're right, that was pretty weird to ask, sorry."
Before Mob could reply, Donald spoke up. "Have the Heartless been causing a lot of trouble?" The mage asked, wanting to veer the conversation away from the psychic teenager.
"Well, there have been a few disappearances since they came, and I think I overheard a report of a few casualties." Mob said, still not sounding too concerned. "I don't watch the news a lot, though, so I'm not really sure. Sometimes they just appear out of nowhere and attack people…"
Sora just had to wonder why this world was still intact. As far as he knew, the Heartless only arrived at his own world the night it disappeared. He still wasn't sure how the creatures of darkness managed to get rid of worlds in the first place! "Well don't worry, we'll find out a way to stop this!" The brunette instead, wanting to get Mob's hopes up.
"That's right! With the four of us workin' together, we'll be able to do anything we set our minds to!" Goofy agreed, always the optimist. He saw no reason why they couldn't accomplish their goals if they were working as a team!
"Hey Mob, how did you get your powers anyway?" Sora asked, unable to help his curiosity. "Were you just born with them? They seem really awesome!" He had the feeling he only saw a tiny bit of what Mob was capable of when he destroyed that Large Body so easily.
Mob shook his head. "They're nothing special. It's just a talent. Everyone has one, and mine doesn't make me any better than anyone else. That's what Master taught me." The stoic teen replied. "But yes, I've just had them since I was a kid. Never found out the reason. Never thought to try and get an answer."
Honestly, Sora never thought of it that way. After all, Mob clearly had extraordinary powers, and from the way he talked, chances were this wasn't something super common in this world. The brunette wondered that if him being chosen by the Keyblade wasn't special…after all it was a sort of talent, or at least something beyond his control. Just another trait of his…
"Oh, alright. I still think they're pretty cool, I've never seen anything like that before." Sora lightly pressed, not wanting to just pretend that Mob's powers were somehow underwhelming.
"I guess so." Was all Mob said in response, making things a bit awkward. Apparently socializing wasn't really a strong suit of his.
"But hey, I actually wanted to ask, have two strangers passed through here? Their names are Riku and Kairi." Sora asked, deciding he may as well try.
"No, I've never heard of anyone by those names, sorry." Mob said, not reacting to Sora's solemn nod. The quartet walked in silence for a few blocks before the esper suddenly stopped and turned to an abandoned looking apartment building of sorts. "This building is haunted. Or at least it was. I did an exorcism here not too long ago, but it could be a start."
Donald, eager to maybe get some answers, walked ahead without fear. "Let's get this over with then! I'm not scared!" He wasn't afraid of spirits! Not with his magic…and Mob…on his side! Besides, the teen said he already cleared out the building…
The other three followed behind, entering the abandoned building slowly. Sora and Goofy looked around, the latter feeling a bit spooked. Unlike Donald, he was pretty nervous at the idea of ghosts. What if Mob had missed one, and it was already watching them? He kept looking over his shoulder as they went through the entrance room and up some stairs, Mob leading the way.
"I guess we should go where I conducted the exorcism. It's not too high up." Mob said, clearly not afraid at all as he went upwards. After all, he had nothing to fear from spirits, or even Heartless, clearly…
"You do these exorcisms like you did with that Heartless, right? Are they ever hard?" Sora asked, really very interested in Mob and his powers. Really, he was interested in anything new from these unusual worlds he was going to get to visit.
Mob shook his head. "No, not at all. They are odd, though. These new spirits don't feel quite like the others. They feel…darker…" He had taken a moment to consider that last word, as if he never had to describe it before. "At least they can still be exorcised."
With that, the four entered an abandoned room that looked like it might have been an office space of some sort in the past. "So, you defeated a spirit here?"
"Yeah. He was pretty rude, but I got rid of him." Mob informed like it was no big deal. "I'm not sure if…"
Whatever Mob was going to say, he stopped as several orbs of darkness appeared in the room, Heartless spawning from them! These were another new type for the outsiders, Search Ghosts! They were unusual looking, even by Heartless standards. Instead of black, void-like faces, they had paler heads with a distinct mouth, one of their eyeballs hanging out its socket by a small chain. Gloves hands floated by their wrists, not fully connected, and the Heartless floated along on ghostly tails…
Instantly, Sora, Donald, and Goofy sprang into action. "They don't waste any time!" The brunette exclaimed, his Keyblade in hand. His companions summoned their weapons as they charged at the Heartless, leaving Mob behind.
"Um…but I can just…" The esper teen tried, but he spoke too quietly, and the others didn't hear him. "Well, okay then…" He quickly gave up, watching as his new acquaintances charged into battle.
Thankfully, this new type of Heartless moved fairly slowly. They didn't even have time to attack first, as the trio swarmed to attack! Sora battered one away while Goofy rammed into one with his shield. Maintaining a bit of a distance, Donald shot out a burst of Blizzard, hitting two of them and freezing them in place.
The other Search Ghosts warped around a bit, getting some distance before attacking. Their hands separated from their bodies and spun around rapidly, the Heartless closing in on their opponents as they did this. One of these hands whacked at Donald, causing him to stagger, while Sora and Goofy blocked the incoming attacks.
When blocked, the Search Ghosts staggered back as their hands whipped back into place, leaving the Heartless open. Wielding his Keyblade like a club, Sora smacked the nearest opponent, destroying it as Goofy and an angered Donald finished off the others with a shield bash and a Thunder spell.
As the last Search Ghost vanished, the trio looked to Mob who had awkwardly stood there and watched the fight unfold. "Oh…right, you could've just handled all of those, huh?" Sora asked, rubbing the back of his neck. "Sorry, Mob, we just sort of acted on our own."
"It's okay. I would have helped, but I didn't want to accidentally hurt one of you." Mob informed, not seeming too bothered. "I've never seen someone take out a spirit without powers like mine before, so it was interesting to watch."
Oh, right…how would they explain that? Luckily, they wouldn't have to as another Heartless appeared! This one was like a Search Ghost, but far, far larger! It was a Grand Ghost, and its head nearly brushed against the ceiling.
"This one's huge! Mob, we'll handle this one too! We've got to get some practice in!" Donald said, shouting to the black-haired teen. The three of them would surely fight a lot of massive Heartless in their journey, so they shouldn't be using their new companion as a crutch…
"If you're sure. I'll be here if you need help, then." Mob informed, once more not seeming really bothered about things. "I'll take a look around and see if I can find anything." Casually, as though a massive Heartless didn't just appear, he started walking about the room.
Sora acted first, sprinting at the Grand Ghost and leaping at it. Yet, as he swung his Keyblade, it and the rest of the teenager phased right through! He simply passed through the Heartless, landing on the other side in confusion. "Uh…?" Sora belted out, not sure what to even say.
"Nice miss, Sora!" Donald teased, laughing a bit as the Grand Ghost remained stagnant where it initially spawned.
"Give me a break! You saw me go through it! Why could I hit the others, but not this one?" Sora was wondering if this was like the Guard Armor, where it was leading the smaller Heartless. Maybe if this thing was defeated, the other Heartless in the area would go away!
Snickering a bit more, Donald stepped forward. "Let's try some magic, then!" He declared, shooting out three fireballs from his staff…which too passed through the Grand Ghost without harming it. "Wak?! What's going on?!"
"Weird, this one's a ghost like the others, so why can't we hit it…?" Goofy pondered but stepped back as the new Heartless suddenly sprang to action.
Like with its smaller brethren, the Grand Ghost separated its hands from its body, spinning them rapidly near the ground in a wide circle. Acting quickly, Sora performed a Dodge Roll and got out of the way. Donald ran from the attack while Goofy was knocked off his feet and onto his back.
"Um…Are you three having trouble?" Mob asked, looking around the far side of the room. "It looks like you can't hit this one…" Somehow, it seemed the teenager's question got the Grand Ghost's attention as it stopped its attack and started to float towards him. The esper walked towards the Heartless in turn, not deterred at all. As they met in the middle, Mob casually lifted his hand, and like the Large Body before, this Heartless practically exploded in a flash of light, leaving only a dark mist behind. "There…"
Sora took a deep breath; glad this was taken care of. "So weird…why was that Heartless so hard for us to hit? I'm just glad your powers worked on it…"
"Maybe only my type of powers could affect it. Master would probably know." Mob replied casually, walking over to the others as Goofy got onto his feet, rubbing the back of his head.
"More importantly, did you find anything helpful?" Donald asked, a bit annoyed at that weird Heartless and how even his own magic did nothing!
Mob shook his head, gazing down at the floor rather than at the trio. "No. No clues or anything. I wasn't sure what I was looking for, to be honest."
"That's not helpful! This was pointless then!" Donald snapped, crossing his arms in annoyance. "We just wasted our time!"
"Cut him some slack, Donald! He's just trying to help!" Sora replied, glaring at the small mage. He could be so cranky! Of course, the teen was disappointed to. Mob didn't know about Riku or Kairi, and their search for a source of the Heartless hasn't been too successful. "But I bet you destroying that thing really helped. A friend of mine, Leon, said that large Heatless will lead the smaller ones. I bet there will be a lot less trouble now!" At least he hoped so…
Mob was dejected at Donald's rudeness but perked up a bit at Sora's word. "You really think so? It seems like these evil spirits have been never-ending, honestly."
"Hopefully." Sora replied, not wanting to make his answer definitive. "Maybe if we go to another haunted location, we'll find another large Heartless to take out."
The black-haired teen nodded. "That's a good idea. Alright, Master and I have been to a lot of places, so we'll just stop by a few." He suggested, seeming a bit hopeful as he lead the trio out of the abandoned building.
Donald bit his tongue, wanting to argue. This seemed like a waste of time! The way he saw it, if the King had gone to this world, he probably would have been drawn to the same area and solved this problem already. The fact Heartless were still so rampant probably meant the King hadn't passed through! Still, the mage decided to hold his beak. It wasn't like he didn't care about what happened to this world, but at the same time, they couldn't stop and help every single person they came across! They still had their mission!
In the end, the mage decided to just keep his thoughts to himself as the quartet left the building. He'd speak up after a few more locations went by. Donald was pretty dejected at the back of the group, sighing quietly with slumped shoulders.
Unbeknownst to the group, they were being watched. Across the street stood a woman who had on an unusual mask. It was attached to a sort of sack that went over her entire head, with the mask depicting a smiling face. This woman laughed to herself, observing the quartet gleefully.
"Oh, this won't do at all…" She murmured to herself. "Misery spreads to the hearts of others so easily, that small one in the back is dooming his group!" Shaking her head, the woman let out a chuckle. "Master Dimple taught us that, and so he will teach these four how to have hearts of laughter…"
As she mumbled this under her breath, she crossed the street and began to slowly follow after the group…
A/N: Finally, the first Disney-replacement world of the story. For those who are familiar with Mob Psycho 100, you may realize why I chose this world given how Mob carries out his life and how he manages his own heart. In any case, it's a bit of a simple world to start with, I know, basically just Earth but there are some spirits and espers about. But no worries, some future worlds in this story will have far more drastic environments and people...
Another thing is that I won't be doing Gummi Ship segments like in the game. No shooting, no Heartless ships, nothing like that. Some trips will take a few days while others a few hours. I may have lingering sections aboard the ship at certain points, even longer than in this chapter, but we'll have to see about that. I also decided I should include a few of the more special Heartless from Final Mix in this story, at least the less minigame-y ones. Things like the Black Ballade or the Pink Agaricus are too specific to really involve. Also, yes, Mob is just so powerful that he overrides how the Grand Ghost is meant to only be harmed via healing.
I'm still trying to get used to bouncing three protagonists bouncing off of characters at once. Sure, the last story had Terra, Ventus, and Aqua, but they always went to a world one at a time, or were at least in different areas. Hopefully this will improve over time.
Also, for those that haven't yet, perhaps check out the Tropes page for the series? It's combined with the Birth by Sleep story and can be found on my profile, or at least as best as I can make it.