Welcome to Traverse Town

Two strangers walked through the plaza of the world that was new to them, wearing clothes that clearly labeled them as nonresidents of the world. The few people who dared to stay outside looked them up and down before turning away. Most assumed they were just another set of poor souls. That they lost their world and were now trying to get their bearings.

The tallest of the two looked around with unease. "Sure is quiet around here."

"Aw what about it?" The shortest looked up at him.

"I'm just saying, it's a little spooky." He caught the eye of a few residents who quickly walked away. He was about to say something else when he noticed a bright flash in the sky. He looked up in surprise and gasped, pointing at the sky.

"Look, a star's goin' out!" He exclaimed. "No wait, it's two!"

They watched as two stars in the sky shone brightly for a moment, one admittedly fainter than the other, before both blinked out of existence. Leaving the sky a little more empty.

"Come on, let's hurry."

The two walked off in what they hoped was the right direction, followed by a yellow dog.

As they walked further into the town the shorter of the two, a duck, groaned in irritation. "Where is that 'key'?"

"Well ya know Donald, maybe we oughta go find Leon. I'm pretty sure he can help."

Donald rolled his eyes and continued onward, not stopping when Goofy had stopped. He watched their companion, Pluto, sniffing at the ground and walking into an alley.

Goofy looked over to his friend. "Uh Donald. Ya know, I betcha that…"

"Aw what do you know, you big palooka?" He waved a hand and continued on his way.

"Hm, what do I know?" Goofy looked up before shrugging. "Come on Pluto!"

From afar a little girl hid behind a wall, waiting for the loud strangers to leave before making her way out from her hiding space. She had tried to not draw any attention towards herself from any of the people who had been standing around earlier, mostly successful. Most people didn't give her a second look. Eri had woken up a short while ago, on the ground and all alone. She had called out for anyone she knew. Aqua, Izuku, his friends. She shouted their names a couple of times before starting to cry, she was all alone now and no one was coming to save her.

At some point she had managed to get to her feet and began walking around, actively avoiding people if she could. Save for the few times she mustered up the courage to ask one or two people if they've seen who she's looking for. All the times she had gotten no helpful responses, and it only served to make her even more scared. If she was on her own, how was she going to survive? Where would she go? How was she going to take care of herself?

The mere thought of those questions made her ready to break out into tears again, she had no idea what to do. All she could think about was walking forward, trying to come up with some kind of plan. If Izuku could do it, maybe she could too, right?

Her thoughts were interrupted as she crept up a set of stairs and was startled by a yellow dog running out of a nearby alley. Eri yelped in surprise and stumbled back, expecting the dog to run past her. Much to her surprise the dog skidded to a stop in front of her and looked at her, tilting his head.

Eri stared at the dog for a moment before daring a step closer. She reached out to pet him and saw him lean forward and sniff at her hand before barking excitedly and licking her face. A giggle escaped from her as she pet the dog.

"Are you alone too?" She asked softly. The dog didn't answer of course, only licking her face again before suddenly stopping.

Much to her disappointment he had stopped all of a sudden and looked up, tilting his head with an ear lifted up. Like he was listening for something.

"What is it? What's wrong?" She asked, gasping when he suddenly took off running. Eri took a few steps forward and reached out for him.

"N-No wait!" She called out, watching him round a corner and disappear. "Please don't go…"

Eri was alone again.

She gripped her sleeves and looked around, hoping to find any trace of anyone she knew. Of course, there was no one there. The overwhelming feeling of loneliness began to take over again when she heard a new voice.

"Hi there."

She gasped and whirled around, backing away at the sight of the stranger. As she was backing away she tripped on a loose brick and fell over.

"Woah, are you okay?" He asked, stepping forward and stopping when she whimpered and put her arms up defensively.

Eri hesitantly looked up to get a good look at the stranger. He looked to be about as old as Izuku, with spiky brown hair and kind blue eyes. They almost reminded her of Aqua's.

She flinched when the strange boy knelt down in front of her.

"Oops, sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. Are you okay?" He asked.

Eri watched him for a moment, before nodding and putting her arms down. She eyed him warily as she got to her feet, and saw him stand up too.

The boy nodded. "Say, do you know what this place is?"

Eri shook her head.

"Oh...uh, have you seen my friends? Their names are Riku and Kairi, they're really nice. Riku has white hair, while Kairi's is kind reddish brown. Maybe they're looking for me too."

As Eri shook her head again she couldn't help but feel a little bad when she saw him frown.

"Oh, okay." He scratched at his face.

The two stood in awkward silence for a bit, glancing at each other before looking away. With a little hope in her heart Eri spoke up.

"I-I'm...I'm looking too." She murmured, blinking back tears. "I d-don't know where he is..." She stammered.

The boy looked taken aback by this. "You're all alone too? Who are you looking for?"

Eri sniffed and rubbed her eyes. "I-Izuku, m-my brother." She answered.

"Oh, what does he look like?"

"Green, curly hair and freckles. He's r-really nice." She answered. "I-I woke up alone."

The boy looked around for anyone matching the description, sadly nobody in the plaza matched.

"Say, why don't we look together?" He asked. "I can help you find your brother, and you can help me find my friends. How does that sound?"

Eri looked up at that, seeing him smile at her. She stared for a moment before nodding, he seemed trustworthy. He was nice, and if he helped her find Izuku, then that was good! She'd be back with him, at least she hoped she would. He had to be around here somewhere.

"My name's Sora. What's yours?" He asked, holding out a hand.

Eri looked at his hand before looking back up at him, then at his hand again. She hesitantly took his hand and looked up at him before responding timidly.

"I'm Eri…"

-.-

The world came back to him in bits and pieces, little by little. Even though he could feel the cold hard ground beneath him he still had the sensation of floating. Like he wasn't all there yet. He could feel his chest rattle with every breath he took and he could still feel himself shaking. The lingering mixture of hot and cold running through him made him feel sick.

The world was quiet, nothing notable. A faint hum of electricity from afar, the wind blowing gently.

Izuku felt his consciousness begin to fade again, until he felt something sniff at him before licking his face. He groaned and tried to turn away, only for whatever was bothering him to become more insistent and try harder to wake him up.

"Ugh…" Izuku groaned, and slowly opened his eyes. He was met with the sight of a yellow dog standing over him. He made a noise of confusion before pushing himself up, only managing to sit up before the dizziness came back.

"What the...what happened?" He muttered, looking around to see he was behind some kind of wall. There was a low decline at both ends of the space he was in.

He sat there for a moment, letting the dog nudge him as he tried to remember how he got there. Then it all came back to him.

His Keyblade, the Heartless, the barrier shattering. And then…

Izuku shouted and got to his feet, looking around frantically.

"No...no no no! What is this place?" He stumbled forward and went down the ramp. He ignored how everything spun this way and that. He only paused when he came out to a more open area, it was quiet and empty. Where one would think people would normally be.

"Woah…" He muttered, looking around. He walked forward a bit and saw streetlamps lining the wall he was behind. In the middle of them in the corner was a golden fountain with a statue of two dogs behind a table.

In front of the fountain he saw his yellow backpack sprawled out on the ground. Ethers and broken potion bottles scattered around it. Beside them was his phone, the upper right corner of the screen was cracked.

"Oh no." Izuku made his way forward, wobbling a bit when he became unsteady again. He knelt down at his bag, noting the scratches and rips it had here and there. It looked like the Heartless went to town on it. He frowned as he counted the Potions and Ethers he had left, it wasn't a lot but it was better than nothing.

He slung his backpack over his shoulder, pocketed his phone, and got to his feet. He needed to take stock of the situation, he needed to figure out what was happening and how everyone was doing.

Izuku froze in his tracks, feeling a bit of panic rise as he looked around. It suddenly dawned on him that he had yet to see his friends. Any of them.

"Eri?" He called out. "Uraraka? Iida? Todoroki?" He raised his voice. "Is anyone out there?"

Izuku waited, hoping that someone would call out in response. Unfortunately all he received was silence. He felt himself begin to shake as the worst thought came to mind. The possibility his friends didn't make it, that Eri didn't make it. It brought on an awful feeling of dread.

He was all alone again, there was nobody around. There probably wouldn't be anybody around, for all he knew they…

Izuku sniffed, staring at the ground as tears began to blur his vision.

There was no way they could be gone, could there? They were there with him, right there. They were so close, they were within arms reach. But now they were gone, and it was all his…

Stop it! Stop it! You just woke up, you're in a weird place. Maybe your friends got separated from you, maybe there somewhere nearby. Don't panic just yet.

Izuku shook his head and wiped away the few tears that had escaped.

"Focus." He muttered. "Get your priorities straight, you don't get to fall apart. Keep it together. Find the others, and then figure out what to do next."

Izuku took a deep breath and let it out, composing himself. Crying about his situation wasn't going to get him anywhere. It wouldn't solve anything, and right now he had to focus. He had to find Eri and the others, and hope they're alright.

Izuku looked down to see the yellow dog sitting beside him, looking up at him while panting.

"You uh, wouldn't happen to know where we are would you?" He asked sheepishly.

The dog offered no response, other than tilting his head. After a moment he stepped forward and began to lick Izuku's hand. The teenager allowed himself to smile before petting the dog.

"I'm gonna take that as a no then." Izuku sighed. "Alright then. First off, I'm alone in a weird place. I'm low on supplies, and energy."

Izuku looked around with questions bouncing around his head. There was no way any place in his world would look like this right? Well there was the possibility, Izuku never visited anywhere outside of Japan.

But that thing was a global event, and if the Heartless took over then...does that mean my world is gone?

Izuku paled at the thought, and looked down in horror. So many lives lost, so many people that couldn't be saved. In the end there was nothing he could do...

He felt his heart hammer in his chest, painfully beating against his ribs as he forced himself to take in one breath after the other. He had to focus, he couldn't be falling apart.

Get it together! Look around first, try to find someone, anyone. Then go from there.

He wiped away the tears before they had a chance to fall and cleared his throat. He put a hand to the charm hiding under his shirt and took a deep breath.

"Okay…" He shook his head and looked up to see a door at the top of some stairs. "Have to keep moving forward."

The dog barked at him excitedly before getting to his feet and running circles around Izuku, then taking off up the stairs.

"W-Wait hold on!" He shouted, breaking into a run to catch up. The dog paid him no mind as it pushed the doors open and raced out.

If he does know his way around, then I just have to follow him!

Izuku scrambled to the top of the stairs and ignored the nausea that plagued him. When he got to the top he was quick to go through the doors the dog did, only to find an empty alleyway and no sign of his new friend.

"I already lost him." He muttered, shutting the doors behind him. "But it's an alley, he couldn't have gone too far." Izuku looked around as he walked forward. All the windows to the buildings were dark and shut tight, the residents must be scared of the Heartless. They were just trying to protect their homes as best they could.

If he had to be honest, the quiet was more than a little unnerving. Izuku was used to noise in the city, even in the suburbs. From honking horns to chattering people, to people calling others for dinner, or random yelling about something. It was a background noise he was used to, and to see this place seem so desolate, he could only wonder how severe the Heartless problem was.

Izuku was about to round the corner when he heard clanking metal pass by, sending chills racing up and down his spine. He had only gotten that feeling of dread a few times, but he knew what it was.

Darkness. Heartless!

Izuku summoned his Keyblade and steeled himself as he darted out of the alleyway and looked towards the group of Heartless. He frowned at what he saw, they weren't shadows, far from it actually. They looked like a small group of soldiers with sharp claws and erratic movement. Chasing after their prey.

Izuku looked up to see the group had followed a tall blonde man, into the next alley over.

He dashed after them, seeing the man had been backed into a corner and was coughing violently into his hand. He glared at the creatures, looking for some way to fight back.

"Fire!" Izuku shot out a fireball that collided with the one of the Heartless and sent it flying into the wall. This gained the attention of the other Heartless as he ran forward, eyeing each one as he waited for an attack. They didn't hesitate as they rushed towards him, proving they were faster than the small shadows Izuku was used to.

Izuku shouted as he deflected a scratch attack and smacked another one away.

They surrounded Izuku, each one grappling to get a hold of him. He fired off a wave of flames, sending them skittering away for a moment before he rounded on the one behind him and cut through its armor. Banishing it in a puff of smoke as a small light appeared from the darkness, and disappeared as soon as it came.

"What the-"

"Young man look out!"

Izuku whirled around just in time to put up a small barrier and watched the Heartless bounce off of it. It laid on the ground as the others rushed forward to challenge him. Izuku huffed and gathered what energy he had and sent out another burst of flames. He saw the magic fire eat away at the armor as they hissed in pain.

Izuku took advantage of their stunned state and put his strength into a heavy blow, shouting as he cleaved through all three and sent them away. He panted and looked around before remembering the one he had stunned earlier. He turned around to finish it off, only to get clawed in the face and sent stumbling back in surprise.

He hissed in pain and held the scratches, waiting until the Soldier got closer to finish it off. It jumped up to try and kick him, only to be smacked down by the man wielding a stick he found. Izuku stared at him in surprise before regaining his composure and cutting through the last Heartless.

He panted as he stood up straight, lightly touching the scratch. He was about to turn to the man when he came walking up to Izuku.

"Young man, are you alright?" He asked, blue eyes looking Izuku up and down in concern.

"I'm fine sir, are you alright? You were being chased by Heartless! And you're...are you bleeding?" Izuku noted the red streaks around the man's mouth. "Holy- okay hold on I have something that can help."

Izuku hurriedly shrugged off his backpack and pulled out a potion, holding it out to the man. "Here, drink this. It'll help, I promise."

The man stared at the bottle before shaking his head. "No young man, it's fine. It's an old injury, nothing caused by the dark creatures. That, I'm assuming, is medicine, won't help." He coughed before straightening himself. Izuku couldn't help but note that this guy was tall.

"If it's meant to treat injuries, I suggest you use it on yourself. You're not looking very well, young man."

Izuku frowned and stared at the bottle, taking a moment to uncork it and down half of the potion before closing it again. He had to save what he could.

"Are you sure?" Izuku asked.

The man nodded and watched him put away the bottle.

Izuku sighed and looked around before turning to the man again. "Uh, sir? Is it okay if I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"Have you seen a little girl? She's about this tall with whitish hair and red eyes. She's got a little horn on the right side of her forehead. Her name is Eri, you haven't seen her have you?" He asked.

Izuku waited with bated breath before the man shook his head. "I'm sorry, I haven't seen her. Is she a family member?"

"Yes, she's my little sister." Izuku nodded. "And another thing is you don't mind me asking. Do you happen to know where we are or what this place is?"

Much to Izuku's dismay, he shook his head again. "I'm sorry, but I'm not a local."

Izuku looked down. "Oh...okay." He took another look around before the man spoke up again.

"I believe some introductions are due, my name is Toshinori Yagi, I was a faculty member at UA."

Izuku looked up at that, looking down at the man's outstretched hand before taking it. He knew UA, so he had to be from the same world.

"My name is Izuku Midoriya, I was actually a student at UA."

So we're from the same world and we both ended up here...maybe I have a good chance at finding the others.

"It's nice to meet you Young-" He began but fell into a coughing fit, making Izuku worry.

"A-Are you okay?" He asked loudly.

Yagi held up a hand and shook his head, taking a moment for his fit to leave. "I-I'm okay Young Midoriya. Nothing to worry about, it's normal for me."

"Are you sure you don't want a potion?" Izuku offered again.

He shook his head. "No, I'll be fine. For now how about we get to work finding your sister, and finding out where we are?"

Izuku watched him before nodding. "Oh wait, you're a faculty member of UA right? Then would it be safe to assume that you know Uraraka, Iida, and Todoroki?"

Yagi nodded. "Yes, they're Hero Course students aren't they? Why, were they with you last time you saw them?"

Izuku nodded. "I'm worried...I just hope they're around here somewhere."

The sickly man stared down at Izuku for a bit until sighing. "Well then, we should get going. Standing around here and doing nothing won't help us get answers."

Izuku paused before nodding. "Right, you're right. It'd probably be best to keep moving too, since we don't want to get caught by any other Heartless."

"Is that what they're called?"

"O-Oh, yeah."

Izuku looked around again, spotting a lot of different ways they could go. There was a door right beside them, and then he was sure he had seen another one while he was running out the first alley. That wasn't even mentioning the upper section of the area.

Izuku looked around, already steeling himself for another inevitable fight. He was going to have to get used to it. He not only had to protect himself, but Mr. Yagi too. He didn't feel comfortable leaving the man alone, even if he was an adult and all that. There was no way he'd be able to fight off a horde of Heartless on his own.

Izuku had to save and protect who he could.

"Maybe we should go through there first." Izuku pointed at the doors beside them. A blue door with frosted glass in the middle.

"Alright, that sounds good. Do you have a plan, Young Midoriya?" He asked.

"O-Oh, uh me? I'm sorry if I seem to be overstepping here, I mean I know you're the adult and all but I uh-"

Yagi held up a hand and shook his head with a smile. "No worries young man, it's fine. I believe it would be best for you to take point, seeing as you're more capable than I am when dealing with those creatures. I will do my best to offer any support I can."

Izuku stared at him before slowly nodding. He was trusting him, he was putting him in charge. Was that really the best decision? Izuku didn't even know what he was doing or where to start!

"Okay." He said, quieting the thoughts in his mind. "We can go through here first, and then see where it takes us. We might end up circling back around, I have a feeling there are multiple entrances to these places. If we get into a fight I'll do my best to handle it, but if it starts looking bad, promise me you'll run Mr. Yagi?"

The man stared at him before shaking his head. "I can't make promises like that, Young Midoriya. As far as I'm concerned I'm in charge of taking care of you. You are still a student, it would be irresponsible to leave you alone."

Izuku stared at him before nodding and gulping down whatever fear or doubt that had been bubbling up.

"Okay." He whispered to himself and got his backpack. Izuku rifled through it before grabbing a small ether. He stared at the small blue stone in apprehension, feeling his stomach twist and writhe at the thought of eating another one. He could still feel the nausea and dizziness from when he overloaded himself, it would be a while until he recovered from that.

He took a deep breath and popped the stone into his mouth, crunching on the bitterness and forcing himself to swallow. He gagged and doubled over, feeling his stomach protest. Despite that, the feeling of some magic energy returning was welcome.

Okay, deep breaths. Deep breaths.

"Young man what did you just eat?" Yagi demanded.

"J-Just something that...that helps me get my energy back. I-It tastes bad, but I'll be okay."

"Are you sure?"

Izuku nodded and faced the doors. "Yeah, I'm sure."

-HoL-

As the two in the plaza walked through the doors to the Second District, a different pair walked into the plaza. Just leaving the small shop they decided to pay a quick visit to, meeting a man named Cid who offered to look out for them should they need anything.

Eri looked around, biting her lip and holding on tighter to Sora's hand. It was quiet, way too quiet. She had spent enough time in her life being in danger to know the different kinds of quiet. There was the still and calming silence that meant she was safe, there was nothing to be afraid of. Then there was the eerie, unsettling quiet that sent alarm bells ringing and told her to run as far as she could. Find a safe place and stay there until someone could get you. That was the rule. It was always Aqua who chased away the frightening quiet and banished the shadows, even Izuku.

But they weren't here, and she was alone.

"It's really quiet here huh?" Sora looked around. "I wonder where everyone is."

"Hiding?" Eri looked up.

"Maybe, but there's nothing around here."

Eri tightened her grip on his hand. The Heartless could just pop out of nowhere, she knew this. She just hoped her new friend would be able to act fast enough if some did show up.

They walked forward and looked over the area, of course finding nothing but emptiness.

"Looks like our friends aren't here either." Sora frowned. "But they've gotta be somewhere."

Before Eri could respond they heard a loud cry from below. They looked down to one of the alleyways to see a man scrambling to get away from something. The man screamed as he fell to the ground, looking down in horror as a bright glow came from his chest and was sucked in by a looming darkness.

The man's body faded away as the darkness took shape and transformed into a Heartless they'd never seen before.

The Soldier Heartless moved around and shifted its new body before hopping up and disappearing.

The two sat in horrified silence, unsure what to say.

Eri was about to suggest they keep moving until a group of the Soldier Heartless appeared around them. She yelped in surprise as Sora took his hand away from hers and got down in a crouched fighting stance, there was a brief flash of light, and there in his hands was a Keyblade.

"You have a Keyblade too?" Eri asked.

Sora shot her a look of surprise. "You know what this is?"

"I-I...Look out!" she shouted as a Soldier jumped towards Sora. He yelped in surprise and swung his blade, sending the Soldier flying back.

Eri stayed close to Sora and looked around in fear. These were new monsters, much different than the shadows she was so used to. They were bigger and even more frightening, they moved erratically and seemed somewhat smarter than the shadows.

Sora grunted and swiped at the Soldiers, trying his best to keep a distance between them. While he was trying to drive them away, he didn't see one lone soldier make its way behind them. He whirled around when Eri let out a cry of alarm and jumped forward towards the soldier. He smacked the other Soldier away and backed up.

"Stay close okay?" Sora looked down at her.

If he had to be honest he was starting to panic a little. He hadn't expected this many Heartless to show up at once, it had seemed like the town they ended up was a safe space. Not only that, but he still had no idea where he was or where his friends could be, let alone Eri's brother. Then there was the issue of defending Eri and himself.

They were in a relatively open space. He knew how to keep himself out of harm's way, but trying to defend a second person in a wide area where anything could come from anywhere was a challenge in itself.

Sora shouted as he brought his Keyblade down on one of the Soldiers, watching it disappear into a puff of smoke. That was one down…

Sora gasped and ducked as a Soldier tried to land a kick at his head, only to miss and fall to the ground before getting up again. It couldn't do much else before Sora slammed the Kingdom Key into it as hard as he could. Sending it flying before it faded away.

That's another one.

Eri ran to stay near Sora, but did her best to stay out of the way enough that she wouldn't hinder him.

"I-Is there somewhere we can run?" Eri looked around as Sora continued to fight, shouting in pain when a Soldier managed to get close enough to scratch up his arm before getting knocked away. He looked down to see the small gashes before looking over to Eri and hurrying over to keep another Heartless away from her.

"I-I think so." Sora looked around and spotted a building with its lights on. He made another strike at a Soldier, making a dent in its armor. He took a moment to run forward to finish it off before looking at Eri. He panted and looked around, he thought there'd be more. It turns out he had been worried for nothing. He managed to get out of there with Eri unscathed and only a scratch on himself.

"Okay, it looks like we're okay." Sora smiled. "Come on, let's head over to that building. Maybe there's someone inside who can help us. Maybe they've seen our friends."

Eri hummed in agreement and took his hand again, following him. She noticed how he kept the Keyblade on hand, which was probably a smart choice. There was no telling when the next group of Heartless could show up.

"Hey, so you knew what this is called right?" Sora looked down at her and held up his weapon. "How do you know what it's called?"

"O-Oh uh...I-Izuku can use one too and...and so can…"

So can Aqua…

"You mean someone else has something like this?" Sora asked, waiting until Eri nodded before he smiled. "That's pretty cool! I was thinking it was a sort of limited thing you know? Anyway, I'm sure if your brother can use one of these, I think he'll be just fine!"

Eri stared at Sora for a moment before nodding.

"Y-Yeah…" Izuku was strong, but she wasn't sure how well he'd be doing after what he did to himself. Not to mention that he, out of everyone, had expended the most energy to try to keep them all safe. He had never done something like that before, there was no way he would be 100% okay after all that. Right?

Sora approached the building, with a sign that read 'Hotel' over the entrance. He pulled on the doors and smiled when they opened. Eri followed him inside and looked around, finding that it was a rather small hotel. There were only four doors, and a small desk on the other end of the hall. She was certain there was a staircase somewhere, considering how tall the building was from the outside.

"Hello? Anybody here?" Sora called out. "Riku? Kairi?"

"Izuku?" Eri tried. Neither of them got a response.

"I guess everyone is hiding in the rooms." Sora hummed. "It makes sense that nobody wants to come out." They walked over to the front desk and rang the bell a few times. There were noises coming from the back, until everything went quiet again. Nobody came out.

"...Maybe we should leave." Eri mumbled. "I don't think our friends are in here…"

"Yeah." Sora frowned. "Come on, maybe they're somewhere else."

Eri tightened her hold on Sora's hand as they walked out of the hotel, looking around to find the same empty place they were just in.

"Where should we head next?" Sora asked.

"Uh...how about…" Eri looked around before pointing at a large building just a little ways up the path. "Up there, maybe there's someone in there who's seen them?"

Sora looked to where she was pointing and saw a set of doors on the side of the building. "Alrighty then."

As they walked towards the doors they heard a loud whoosh that went them whirling around. In front of them were a small group of shadows, all of them eagerly making their way towards the pair.

Sora got into his fighting stance again and looked around, only seeing the creatures in front of him. He immediately jumped forward and slashed at the shadows, they were weaker than the armored Heartless; making it easier to knock them away and giving him a little more room to work with.

"Are you okay Eri?" Sora asked as he hit one and sent it flying over the railing.

"Yeah, I'm okay!"

She watched him fight off the rest of the small group, taking in how he fought. It wasn't graceful yet powerful like Aqua, it was more unrefined but still had good elements to it. Unlike Aqua and Izuku when fighting, he would keep his stance low and focused more on hitting as hard as he could.

Sora stumbled back when a shadow managed to dodge his attack and swiped at him. It scratched at his arms until he managed to knock it away and land one more hit on it.

"We should go!" Eri shouted. "Y-You're getting hurt and they might not follow us inside!"

Sora looked between her and the remaining Heartless. It wouldn't be smart trying to fight them all, and he still had to watch out for Eri…

He was still contemplating it when even more shadows appeared.

"Okay, let's go!" Sora ran away, grabbing Eri's hand and leading her up the path and approaching the building. He took a quick glance on a sign, reading it as the 'Gizmo Shop'. He threw the doors open and ushered Eri inside, closing it quickly and pressing his back against the door.

There was the sound of the creatures skittering around, some of them clawing at the doors or throwing themselves at it with loud thuds. He waited until the noises stopped, staying where he was for a moment before daring a peek outside and seeing nothing.

"Okay, it looks like the coast is clear." He closed the doors again and stepped away from them. "Are you okay?"

Eri nodded to herself as she looked around, marvelling at the strange machinery and the constantly moving gears and parts of the floor. Though some of the machinery was stagnant and unmoving, there had to be a disconnect of power somewhere.

"It's pretty small in here, I don't think anybody would be hiding in here either." Sora scratched his head.

They couldn't see any possible way someone could be in there without them knowing. They could even see the door across the room, there was practically nothing to hide behind.

"I guess we should keep moving forward." He pointed at the doors. "Come on."

Eri nodded silently and followed beside him, looking around as they went.

"Hey Eri, you're from another world right?" Sora asked.

"Yeah...are you?"

Sora nodded. "Yeah, I was never sure I'd ever be able to get to see another world. Me and my friends, we wanted to visit other worlds and we planned on using a raft to take us there. I wonder how far we would have gotten…"

Eri stared at him. He wanted to use a boat? To traverse between worlds? That had to be less than safe, not to mention almost impossible.

"You were going to leave soon?" She asked.

"Yeah, we had been building the raft and getting supplies ready...and then the storm hit our island. Then those weird creatures showed up, and then my friends disappeared." He looked down, staring at the floor as he walked before shaking his head and looking up. "But we're in a new world, if I made it out then my friends had to have made it too."

"...I hope my friends made it out too." Eri mumbled.

"I'm sure they did." Sora reassured her. "We just have to find them."

Eri hummed to herself and nodded. "Y-Yeah…"

Sora watched her before opening the door and stepping out. "What was your world like?" He asked.

Eri paused before answering. "It was...big." She tried to think over her words. She's heard Aqua talk about the World Order, how it wasn't meant to be broken. But if she was already on another world, against her wishes, did that mean the World Order was already broken? That made it okay to talk about other worlds right?

"Yeah?" Sora looked around. He walked over to a broken latter with a note of caution taped to it. The ladder was wobbly and looked like it had been run over multiple times. He hummed and looked it up and down.

"Please don't climb it." Eri grabbed the back of his shirt.

"I'm not going to climb it, don't worry." Sora reassured her, stepping away from the ladder to make her feel better. "But it looks like there's not much else up here. I bet up there we could get a better look at what's around, but well…"

"We can't get up there." Eri finished.

Sora nodded and looked over the edge. It wasn't a far drop, he's fallen out of trees that were higher. Though for Eri it might be a bit much.

"We can head back and maybe see if there's somewhere else we can look. Or we can stop by Cid's shop again. Maybe he's seen someone." Sora turned around towards the doors. He slowly opened the doors and was about to walk inside when he heard something skittering inside.

He closed the doors a bit and peeked inside to see a bunch of Shadow Heartless crawling around the shop. He stiffened up when some of them looked up and spotted him at the door. He quickly shut the door and turned to look at Eri.

"We're going to be taking a different way down." He looked over the edge then back to Eri.

"You're going to jump?" She asked, stepping back.

"I can pick you up and hop down there, it's not that much of a fall I promise. I've fallen out of trees that were way taller." He smiled. "It's going to be okay, I promise."

Eri stared at him before hearing loud pounding on the doors, she flinched and looked up at Sora. His grip on the Keyblade tightened as he stared at the door, holding it up and gearing up for a fight. She eyed the scratches on his arms, then the doors that were creaking under the weight of the Heartless.

She tugged on the back on his shirt and nodded.

Sora stared at the doors for a moment before kneeling down and picking her up. After hearing the door creak he hopped off the edge, hearing a startled gasp from Eri. He stumbled a bit in his landing and almost fell over, but managed to steady himself. He was about to put Eri down and decide where to go next, only to see Heartless appear in front of them, cutting them off.

"These things just keep coming!" Sora put her down and held up his Keyblade. There were even more than before.

He frowned and looked around the area, looking for somewhere to go as he backed away from the growing horde. He kept Eri behind him as he swiped some of them away. He glanced between the Heartless and Eri, making sure she stayed close. He did his best to fight off the shadows that got too close, killing off a few.

Eri gulped and looked up at Sora before looking around. She could see another door nearby, but some of the Heartless were blocking it. She glanced at the stairs to see none of the Heartless had blocked it off yet.

Sora shouted and sent a small shadow flying into a wall before Eri grabbed his shirt.

"S-Sora, there's too many of them!" She jumped back as a shadow tried to scratch her, only for Sora to knock it away.

"I know…" He frowned, looking over the group. He had taken down a few, but it seemed like that hardly did anything to dwindle down their numbers.

"We can run to Cid's shop!" She said. "H-He said that he would help us if we needed it right?"

"Yeah, he did." Sora dodged a swipe.

"We can run up the stairs real quick, I don't think they'll follow us to the district!" She felt Sora gently push her away from the group before taking another swing at them. "A-And if they do, we can hide in the shop."

If there are this many here...I hope Izuku's okay.

Sora nodded to himself and looked at the stairs before turning to the Heartless again. He raised the Keyblade high and yelled as he swung as hard as he could, stunning a few of them before grabbing Eri's hand and making a run for it.

When they got to the stairs Sora had Eri go in front of him, and stayed close as she ran as fast as she could. They could hear the creatures chasing after them, eager to get a hold of them.

Sora turned around to send a few away before running to catch up with Eri. She reached the door first and was struggling to open it, she had managed to get it slightly open before Sora came over and joined her. He threw the door open and ushered her inside.

He thought he heard a loud shout and looked over his shoulder to see some of the Heartless had suddenly lost interest in them. Some of them were going back down the stairs and to the bottom. The few that were still chasing them were coming up fast.

Then he saw what looked like lightning show up out of nowhere, and heard the terrifying shrieks of the shadows as they died. Sora shuddered at the sound and kicked away some of the Heartless that were still chasing them, before slamming the door to the district shut.

-HoL-

Izuku panted and watched the last of the Heartless disappear, whatever Heartless he had seen he faced head on. Compared to the large masses of Heartless he tried to drive away back home these were easier to deal with, but were still a threat. If he could get rid of them and keep them from hurting anyone else, then he'd do it.

"Are you alright Young Midoriya?" Toshinori asked.

Izuku used the wall to steady himself and kept his head down. He took deep breaths and worked past the nausea before nodding.

"I'm fine, just feeling a little sick."

"Then you should sit down. If you insist on continuing to fight in your current condition you'll only hurt yourself."

Izuku straightened up and shook his head. "I'm okay, really. It should pass, I just happened to do something stupid before everything...well…"

Toshinori glanced at Izuku as they began walking again, coming to another door. He had no doubt they would end up back in the plaza where they first met.

"Did you overexert yourself? Quirk Exhaustion in any form is no joke young man, if you need to recover then please by all means take the time to rest."

Izuku gave a tired smile. "I'm okay Mr. Yagi, don't worry. I just needed to catch my breath."

I don't have time to rest, not when the others might be in danger…

Izuku put a hand to the door and slowly pushed it open, peeking on the other side to see if it was clear. He gasped when he saw a group of Heartless racing through the area. The thought he caught a glimpse of someone running away as he ran through the doors.

"Young Midoriya!" Toshinori yelled after him, but Izuku ignored him to run forward. He stopped in front of the fountain and noticed he had gained some of their attention.

"Hey!" He shouted, looking around to see the large group was now honing in on him. Izuku held up his Keyblade, letting the Heartless get closer. He hoped whoever had been running had gotten out of there.

Izuku took a deep breath, feeling the lightning sparking around him as the large group got closer. He gathered up as much magic as he could and pointed at the horde of Heartless.

It won't be as powerful as what I managed to pull in the Entrance Exam...but it should be strong enough. I hope…

He knew he was pushing his limits with how much he was gathering, but he had the Keyblade now. He hoped that would reduce the backlash if any.

"Thundara!" Izuku shouted, watching as a bolt of lightning came down and struck the Heartless. He flinched at the shrieks and hisses they let out before dissolving into puffs of smoke. A few sparks lingered around Izuku before disappearing and leaving the boy alone.

There was a moment of silence before he threw himself forward at the remaining Heartless. Bringing the Keyblade down on them until they all disappeared. He heard someone call after him as he rushed up the stairs, hoping the person had managed to get away.

He ran over to a large set of doors to see a Heartless scratching at the doors, trying to get in. Izuku huffed and rushed over, knocking the shadow away and finishing it before it could attack him.

He stood up straight and panted as he scanned the area, waiting for something to show up again.

I really hope whoever was running is okay.

"Young Midoriya!" Toshinori called and ran up to him, pausing only to cough and grip at his side.

"M-Mr. Yagi, are you okay?" He asked, stopping when the man held a hand up.

"I'm fine Young Midoriya, I'm more concerned about you. You just ran off and took on that large group of monsters, you're not hurt are you? I know you said something about feeling sick a little earlier."

Izuku sighed and leaned against the wall, feeling his head spin for a moment. He had used up most of the magic he had, only having some dregs left. Maybe enough for one more spell.

"I'm okay, just a little dizzy. But I can keep going." He insisted, looking up at him.

Toshinori shook his head. "Take a moment to rest young man, that was...quite a lot you just did. What possessed you to run out and face all those creatures?"

"I thought I saw someone running away." He answered. "I thought if I could get the attention of the Heartless, I could buy them some time to get out of here. And I think they did, since there was a Heartless trying to get through those doors."

Toshinori turned to look at the doors, most likely leading to an area they hadn't seen before. But if someone was running that way that had to mean safety, right? Where there was safety there were people, and that meant there was a possibility of finding who they're looking for.

"I'm thinking maybe we can catch up to that person." Izuku started, standing on his own again. "They might be a local, and maybe we can ask for directions for this place, or if they've seen Eri or the others."

"That's a good plan." He hummed. "And I don't believe we've been this way yet, but we don't know if this next part of town may have a few Heartless lurking about, so we have to be careful."

Izuku walked towards the doors with his Keyblade in hand. "Right...we gotta be careful." Izuku nodded.

Toshinori stood behind him before putting a hand on his shoulder. "Are you sure you're ready to go?"

He nodded. "The sooner we head out, the sooner we can find the others…" He turned to look at Toshinori, noting his concerned look. "I'm okay Mr. Yagi, really. I promise."

Toshinori stared at him before nodding softly and following Izuku as he opened the doors. The moment they stepped into the First District, the atmosphere had changed. From the eerie quiet they had been subjected to, to a calmer air, the sense of paranoia washed away as they walked through the area.

They passed what looked like a small shop with a large box in the corner. In the middle was a giant keyhole.

Gotta wonder what might be in that.

Izuku glanced around, looking for any sign of people. Considering nothing had jumped out at them yet it looked like they were in the clear.

Maybe that person from earlier is still here.

Just as Izuku was about to call out for someone a loud cry pierced the air, and made his blood run cold.

"N-No! Please s-stay away! Please don't hurt him!"

I know that voice!

Izuku ran forward without another thought, turning a corner and nearly falling over before racing forward. He ignored the shouts of the blonde behind him, running forward to the loud cries. Izuku only stopped when he caught sight of a small group standing in the middle of a plaza.

He saw a man with a large sword standing before a boy who was unconscious on the ground. In his hand was what looked like a Keyblade. Beside him, was none other than Eri. Looking up at him in fear and in near tears, begging him to leave them be.

"P-Please stay away! Don't hurt him!" She shouted, gasping as the man walked forward.

Izuku moved without thinking, throwing off his backpack and running forward and jumping off the railing.

"You get away from them!" He screamed, prompting the man to look up in surprise and bring his sword up before Izuku could strike him. He blocked the hit and backed away, taking a moment to look Izuku up at down, his eyes landed on the Keyblade.

"Another one?"

Izuku glared at the man before daring a look behind him. The boy looked relatively unharmed, just a couple of scratches and bruises.

"Izuku! You're okay!" Eri yelled.

"Eri! Are you okay? Are you hurt? Who's that guy there?"

"H-His name is S-Sora." She answered. "He was t-trying to help me...f-find you."

Izuku stared at her, then at the boy apparently named Sora. He would have to thank him for looking after Eri later, after dealing with the man in front of them.

"You've got a Keyblade too kid?"

He knows what a Keyblade is?

"Yeah, what about it?" Izuku gripped Indomitable Spirit tightly, looking over the man.

This is bad...I don't have a lot of energy left. And I can't just carry them out of here and hope for the best, he'd probably catch up to us.

"I suggest you step down, and let me see that Keyblade of yours."

"Not gonna happen." Izuku took a step forward. "I find you about to attack my sister after knocking this guy unconscious, and you really expect me to just do whatever you say?"

The man sighed before drawing his sword again. "You really want to make this harder than it has to be kid? Fine."

Izuku held up his Keyblade. "Just try to get past me, I dare you!"

"Izuku…"

"Stay back okay? Just make sure-" Izuku didn't get to finish his sentence before the man charged forward, bringing his sword down. He barely brought it up in time to block, the force of the hit making him stumble back.

He's tough!

Izuku was forced to stay on the defensive as the man closed the distance between them. He did his best to match him blow for blow, hearing their blades sing as they clashed. Izuku was pushed back with every hit, only able to bring his sword up with enough time to block.

He's not giving me any time to try and counter attack, he's not letting me put any distance between us either! He's not giving me any time to think!

Izuku shouted as he swung the Keyblade, making the man back up for a moment. Izuku put some distance between them, trying to buy himself some time. He watched the man, trying to find some sort of weakness, some kind of pattern. He didn't get much time to think about it before he held up a hand and a fireball appeared.

He fired it off without warning, making Izuku dodge to the side. He looked over to where the fireball landed, seeing a spot of scorched pavement.

He can use magic? He has short and long range attacks, putting space between us won't work!

Izuku dodged to the side again, feeling the fire lick at his skin before crashing into the wall. Izuku looked up at the sound of footsteps rushing towards him. He lifted his Keyblade and flinched at the noise the two blades made.

"You're handling yourself pretty well, considering you look half dead." He smirked.

Izuku grit his teeth as the man pressed harder, making Izuku lose more ground. Izuku gathered whatever magic energy he had left, lifting up a hand to fire off a spell. He felt weak sparks beginning to appear around him. The man gasped and kicked Izuku away, interrupting the spell and sending him to the ground.

Izuku managed to roll onto his feet and recover fast enough to block another swing. He almost fell over from the force of it, he was starting to see black spots at the edge of his vision.

This is bad…

Izuku shouted as he managed to push the man back and put a few feet in between them again. Izuku watched the man as he glared at Izuku, deciding what to do next. Izuku had positioned himself to be in front of Eri and the boy.

"Izuku…" Eri sniffled, faring a glance at the man.

"I'm okay Eri." Izuku panted. "Don't worry I'm okay."

The man stepped back and held up a hand, once again conjuring a fire spell.

I can't dodge, he'll hit them!

He watched the spell grow more powerful before lifting his Keyblade.

Try to turn it in your favor!

He gathered whatever magic he had left and aimed it at the still forming fire spell.

"Water!"

He began running forward before the spells collided, bursting violently and creating a cloud of steam that surrounded them.

The man stood in the center of it, slightly staggered by the sudden interruption. He glanced around, unable to see any sign of the second teenager.

"Using my own spell to make a makeshift smoke screen, not bad kid…" His eyes darted to a sudden shift in the steam clouds. "But your surprise attacks need work."

He whirled around and caught Izuku by surprise, not giving him any time to react before punching him in the face. Forcing him to stagger backwards and nearly fall over. Before he could recover his feet were swept out from under him, sending him to the ground with a hard thud.

Izuku grunted and began to scoot away, watching the steam clear up to reveal the man walking calmly towards him. Hardly any scratch on him.

The man raised his sword again, bringing it down as Izuku brought up the Keyblade to block it. He gasped when the weapon was knocked out of his grasp, falling to the ground with a clatter.

I should have gotten here sooner, maybe if we fought together we could have taken him down. I should have gotten here sooner!

Izuku continued to back away, he barely managed to get to his feet before another swipe of the sword made him duck down.

"Izuku be careful!" Eri shouted.

He stumbled back to avoid another sword strike. The attacks weren't coming as quickly as they were before, he was wearing him down. He was just toying with him!

Izuku looked between Eri and the man, before daring a glance at the road he came from. Mr. Yagi shouldn't have been too far behind, unless he was having another coughing fit. But he was away from the chaos, he was far enough away they could make a run for it.

"Eri run!" Izuku screamed. "Get out of here, go!"

"But you're-"

"Get out of here and find-" A blow to the back of his head rendered him unconscious. He had blacked out before hitting the floor, his limbs slack and all tension gone.

Eri gasped and brought her hands to her mouth, looking on in horror. She glanced in the direction Izuku had been looking before. It was the same way she and Sora had come through after escaping the horde of Heartless. And then the strange man had approached them.

Eri stared at the path before shaking her head and rushing forward, silently apologizing to both Sora and Izuku as she threw herself in front of the man and pushed him as hard as she could. He took a step or two back and looked down to see Eri standing in front of Izuku with her arms out.

Fat tears rolled down her face as she pleaded with him.

"D-Don't hurt him! Don't hurt either o-of them p-p-please! Please d-don't hurt them! P-Please don't hurt Izuku h-he's the o-o-only one I-I have left please!"

Her heart hammered in her chest as she stared at the man, her breath coming out in short and painful gasps. She hadn't felt this scared since she was with him.

She flinched as the man took a step forward and held a hand out.

"I'm not-"

"If you lay one hand on that girl's head there will be hell to pay!"

The man paused and looked up to see another man standing at the base of the stairs. Thin and withered, with bushy blonde hair and piercing blue eyes.

Toshinori clenched his fists as he stared at him. He had suffered from a coughing fit when Young Midoriya had run off. He hated that he was too late to help him, seeing him lying on the ground with another boy a few feet away. And then there was the little girl he described earlier, his sister, standing in front of him and trying to protect him.

"Another one?" He looked up to face Toshinori.

"I said step away from them!" Toshinori spoke through gritted teeth. "Whatever you intend to do to these children I won't allow it. So unless you want to be put through a wall I suggest you do as I say."

"Getting into fights with old people now Squall? Now that's just mean." A young girl's voice appeared behind Toshinori, making him whirl around in alarm.

A girl walked down the path and stopped a few feet behind Toshinori, looking him up and down before looking at the unconscious bodies on the ground and the sobbing girl in front of him.

"And making a little girl cry, I thought you were better than that!" She frowned and walked past Toshinori.

"I scared her a little, I was never going to hurt her." He sheathed his sword and glared at the newcomer. "And it's Leon."

Toshinori frowned and walked forward at a quick pace, placing himself in front of Eri and forcing the two to back away. "Who are you two, and what do you intend to do with these children?" He heard a light gasp from behind him, noting that had to be none other than Eri.

The man was about to speak before the girl slapped a hand over his mouth and spoke for them.

"Sorry about that, Squall's been looking for the Keyblade wielder that's supposed to show up, but had to rough him up a little. I guess he wasn't being very cooperative." She shot a glance at the other unconscious boy. "And I'm guessing that's him."

"They both have a Keyblade, Yuffie." Leon muttered after removing her hand from his face.

"What?"

Leon pointed at the other weapon on the ground, completely different than the one the brunette had in his hand. All of them watched the weapon before it disappeared with a small flash of light.

"Woah, there are two of them?" She asked in awe.

"Yeah, and that means that things are a lot worse than we thought." He frowned.

Toshinori spoke up again before either of them could say anything. "What is it exactly you want from these boys?" He asked.

Leon looked up at the man towering above them. "I was just trying to get the Keyblade from that one." He pointed at Sora. "The Heartless are drawn to it, and separating them from each other would have hidden his presence, at least for a little while. And then that one showed up." He gave a pointed glare at Izuku.

"Y-You're not...you're not g-gonna hurt them?" Eri asked softly, kneeling beside Izuku and clutching his hand tightly. She was still shaking, something that hadn't gone unnoticed.

"No, we're going to hurt them." Yuffie bent down to look at her. "I'm sorry if this meathead over here scared you."

Leon gave her an annoyed look before looking back to Toshinori.

"And who are you supposed to be?"

Toshinori hesitated before answering. "I am Toshinori Yagi." He greeted them. "Behind me is Young Midoriya and Young Eri, they're siblings. I've been taking care of Young Midoriya and assisting him in looking for his sister and friends."

"You wouldn't happen to know who he is, would you?" Yuffie looked over at Sora.

The man was silent, having no answer for them. Then Eri spoke up.

"S-Sora." She mumbled, feeling everyone's gaze turn to her. "Hi-His name is S-Sora."

"Sora huh?" Yuffie hummed.

"It doesn't matter right now." Leon walked past her and kneeled down beside Sora. He took the Keyblade from his hand and placed it to the side before picking him up, carrying him like luggage. "We've been out in the open for long enough, we should get back. You think you can carry him old man?"

Toshinori stared at him before nodding and kneeling down beside Izuku. He looked over the boy to check for injuries, not seeing much other than the minor wounds he got during the Heartless fights. Then there was a bruise on his slightly swollen cheek. He hummed to himself before looking at Eri, who jumped in his presence.

"I'm going to pick him up." He said gently. "Can you stay close by until we get to where we need to?"

Eri stared at him, then at Izuku before hesitantly nodding. She took a few steps back and watched the withered man gather him in his arms. He lifted Izuku up with minor difficulty and adjusted his weight a bit before looking down at Eri.

"He's fine." He assured her. "He's a little banged up, but he's okay."

Eri stared up at him before nodding and walking beside him, her gaze quickly switching between Sora and Izuku.

As they walked up the path, Toshinori decided to start asking questions again.

"You two seem like you've been in this place for quite some time. Would you mind telling me what this place is?" He asked.

Leon, who was walking ahead of them, sighed.

"This place is a safe haven for those who managed to escape their world when it's fallen to darkness. It's usually thought to be a temporary stay, but some people end up calling this place their home after a while."

He glanced over his shoulder at Toshinori who was taking a moment to process what he said.

"Welcome to Traverse Town."