It was night time in Traverse Town and anyone who knew better were in their houses or holed away in their shops at this hour. They didn't dare wander out into the night. During the day, many stayed close to busier areas and stuck to the main streets and districts. They knew not to venture into alley ways and the second and third districts of town, for fear of the darkness that prowl there.

The first district of Traverse Town was the safest, but even at this time of night there was no one on the streets—save for the two foreigners who did not yet know the rules of the town, their fuzzy shadows moving from yellow street light to soft yellow street light. There was no corner of the town that wasn't lit in one way or another. Where there weren't street lamps, there were candles that the townsfolk had let burn shamelessly into the night. Their lights flickered off the high walls that towered around the town, shielding them from the outside world. There was just enough room above the walls to where one could see the stars—billions of worlds twinkling far beyond.

Heavy foot after clumsy waddle, the two strangers and their pet dog could be heard wandering around carelessly through the night, every now and then their footsteps stopping when they looked upon the stars to note that their twinkling was different each time they looked.

It could have been the exhausting search playing tricks on their eyes, but when the taller stranger placed his beady eyes to the sky for another countless time, the rumors of which he was told about confirmed themselves. Frightening to think of, he didn't want to believe it. He pointed a bulbous finger to the sky, still in shock and disbelief, alerting his smaller feathered friend of the happenings worlds away.

"Look Donald, a star's goin' out!" His manner of speech was a bit goofy, and although he was often the one to come to conclusions himself and find the most important of clues, he was not named 'Clever' but instead called 'Goofy' amongst his better friends and acquaintances. His partner, Donald, was more aggressive and reckless, and though he cared very much for Goofy and their king—the one who had sent them on this mission—it was very hard to tell through his yelling at times.

However, this was not one of those times. As a world in the sky that many called 'stars' blinked into oblivion, the worry began to appear upon Donald's stern face.

"Come on. Let's hurry," he said in concern.

Donald, Goofy, and their dog, Pluto, quickened their pace, turning their heads left, right, and up and down as they walked, searching for some character they could interrogate in this seemingly empty town. They stayed closer to the main streets and left alone the dark alleys, hoping this would better their chances of running into someone.

"Where's that key…" Donald muttered as he crossed his arms.

"Hey, ya know, maybe we ought to go find Leon." Goofy suggested as they headed up the stairs in the direction of the accessory shop. The road split off into two ways—the way to Leon's house, and the way down a dark alley. While Donald didn't reply he stuck sternly with Goofy's suggestion and headed down the road to Leon's, however it wasn't until Goofy witnessed Pluto stick his nose to the ground in the other direction that he stopped and called out to Donald.

"Uh, Donald. Ya know, I betcha that…"

"Aw, what do you know ya big palooka?" It was the third time that Goofy had changed his mind about directions and where they should be going this night and Donald was going to have none of it this time around. And seeing as how they hadn't found what—or rather, who they were looking for, Donald decided that this time he was going to choose a road and stick to it.

"What do I know? Hmm…" Goofy pondered for a second and shrugged, following Donald toward Leon's and calling for Pluto to follow.

Pluto continued on into the darkness of the alley. The buildings cast a shadow over things so that not even the light of the moon shown into the trench. The dog kept his nose low to the ground, his better senses guiding him. The brick ground was cold and he stopped to sneeze for a moment. Something beyond him stirred in reaction. Pluto followed suit, sniffing out someone who sat loosely on the ground. They were wet with a darkness that slipped from them like oil from water and smelled of a different world than this one. Pluto pushed his head against their arm, receiving a small groan in reply. Pluto took this as an invitation to wake his new-found friend with a wet tongue to the face which fully pulled the teen from their unconscious state.

"Where…am I?" A small voice whispered into the dark. Kairi could hear the soft panting of the dog next to her and felt around for the soft fur of the animal to give her some reassurance. "Hi there. Do you know where we are?"

Pluto pushed his head into her hand, guiding his loose collar into her grip. Kairi took hold as Pluto began to lead her out of the alley and into the light of the main street. She looked up in wonder at the new world, turning her head in all directions to take it in. Her grip loosened on Pluto's collar as she lost herself in awe and she felt him tug away.

"Hey, wait!" She called out, but it was too late. Pluto ran off in an unknown direction, leaving Kairi alone in the middle of the town's square. The sound of Pluto's large paws pattered off into the night. Kairi put a hand to her chest and wrapped her small fingers around the pendant that hung from her neck. "Hello?" She called out. There was no answer. She took her hands from her necklace and cupped them around her mouth. "HELLO?" She cried out loudly. So loudly, in fact, that it had caused her slight pain in the back of her head—pressure on where she had gotten hurt earlier. "Ow...ow..." She rubbed the back of her head as a dark voice called out from behind her.

"You shouldn't be calling out to the darkness like that."

"Huh?" Kairi turned around, a man dressed in fur and leather stood a few meters away. His brown hair pointed just past his neck and he carried a large sword upon his shoulder. He was intimidating, to say the least, and his dangerous aura caused Kairi to take a step or two back from him.

"More importantly," he continued, "you shouldn't be out here alone. They'll come at you if they see you by yourself."

"Oh? Then why are you out here alone then?" Kairi's voice was shaky and on guard, but she tried her best to keep up an attitude as to not show her nervousness. The man smirked and bounced the blade upon his shoulder.

"I think I can manage if I run into them. You on the other hand… Where did you come from?"

"I should be asking you that! Who are you?"

A third voice intruded on the conversation. It was high-pitched and cheery, a girl's voice, and it was friendly, much unlike the low, brooding voice of the man.

"Come on Leon, don't you even know your manners? You always introduce yourself before asking the names of others."

The girl had short black hair and was dressed in stealthy but agile gear. Bouncing her way over to Kairi, she took her hand in hers and shook it with much vigor.

"I'm The Great Ninja Yuffie! And that one over there with the raincloud is Squall."

"Leon." He corrected and shot a glare toward his female friend. Yuffie was about to shoot a teasing glance toward him but a look of realization crossed her face and she quickly directed her attention toward Kairi, her small hand still between both of hers.

"Wait, if you're here that means…" Yuffie's face became full of worry as she turned back toward Leon.

"It means things are worse than we thought." He answered. "A lot worse."

The way the words left Leon's mouth reminded Kairi of something else a friend had said. She wrapped her arms around herself to keep from shaking and mumbled under her breath. "So, you mean…I'm not supposed to be here?"

"No, you're not." Leon said. Kairi's eyes grew wide as tears threatened to break free. It was rare that she felt unwanted these days, yet this entire night had taken her back to feeling like that scared and lonely child she once was.

A large hand placed itself on Kairi's shoulder. It was heavy and she could feel its comfort.

"Like I said, it's too dangerous to be out here alone. We'll get you inside," Leon said assuredly. Yuffie took Kairi's hand and she relaxed a bit knowing her two new friends were only trying to look after her. "You're lucky you're not the keybearer." Leon mumbled.

"The what?" Kairi asked.

"The keybearer!" Yuffie chimed to an answer. "If you had the keyblade on you then those nasty heartless would be coming at you like…hyaa! Kya! Like this, and that!" She made quick hand maneuvers and kicks. They were precise and certain and it was easy now to see why she had a title like 'The Great Ninja.'

"H-heartless!?" Kairi's first question wasn't really answered. In fact, Yuffie's response had raised more questions than Kairi had had initially.

"Yuffie. It's not safe to talk here," scolded Leon.

"Right, sorry." Yuffie turned to Kairi, miming a zipper across her mouth and giving a wink. "We'll talk more when we're at the hotel—"

"Yuffie!" Warned Leon, not wanting to shout out their hideout's location for the darkness to hear.

"Right! Yessir!"

As Yuffie gave Leon an understanding salute she turned her attention to the road ahead of them. Kairi couldn't help but laugh. Leon and Yuffie reminded her of Riku and Sora. That's right, she needed to find them. Or at least…one of them for sure. She tried not to think about what Riku had said, and if she did, she tried not to dwell on it. She didn't understand, they had been friends for so long. Why would he—

No. It's best not to dwell on it.

The hotel was in the second district—not too far in, but Leon and Yuffie kept a close eye on Kairi with their weapons drawn the entire way there. In the room, Kairi sat on the bed and waited for the other two to start explaining as much as they could. She wondered if they were waiting for her to ask her questions, but Kairi didn't know where to start. The room was quite for some time. Leon leaned against the wall closest to the door and Yuffie made her way over to Kairi and began speaking.

"It's amazing the heartless didn't get to you before we found you. Like I said, just be glad you don't wield the keyblade. If you did, they would've found you even if you were quieter than a mouse."

"The keyblade…you keep mentioning it, but I have no idea what that is."

"You really don't know much, do you? Where did you come from anyway?" Yuffie said, dodging the initial question.

"I came from…"

Kairi couldn't remember her home town. She couldn't remember anything from before she arrived at the Destiny Islands. Her appearance at the islands was what made Sora want to visit other worlds, "along with any other worlds that are out there!" Sora had said. She remembered the words clearly, it was some of the last ones she'd heard him say before their islands were torn apart and lost to the darkness. She wondered what he'd think if he were here with her now. Another world.

That day, she had spent her hours gathering supplies with Riku, because although it was Sora's job, he was nowhere to be found, but she knew she would find him snoozing down on the beach. He'd been slumping around for the past few days looking like he was going to fall over at any moment. His thoughts must've been scattered.

It was immediately after he'd been caught sleeping on the beach when he tried and failed to describe his dreams that he asked her, completely changing the subject, what her hometown was like.

"I've told you before," she said to Sora, "I don't remember."

"Nothing at all?" he pressed.

"Nothing."

"You ever want to go back?"

"Well, I'm happy here."

"Really…"

"But you know…I wouldn't mind going to see it."

"I'd like to see it too. Along with any other worlds out there! I want to see 'em all!"

"So what're we waiting for?" Kairi jumped. Sora was about to say something next, but Riku had cut in.

"Hey. Aren't you guys forgetting about me?"

In the hotel room, Kairi shook her head. Why did such a lovely memory make her so uncomfortable now? Why, why, why? She was so uncertain. Those last words that Riku had spoken to her—what did he mean back in the cave?

"I think we lost her, Squall." Yuffie said, cocking her head. Kairi had been staring off into space for quite some time.

"That's Leon." He corrected.

"Listen, you keep saying all these things like I'm supposed to know what they mean. What's a keyblade and a keybearer, and what's that got to do with these heartless things?"

"Well…I mean…" Yuffie shot nervous glances around the room like Kairi wasn't supposed to know what those terms meant. "We can tell her, right Leon?"

"She's obviously not from around here. She's probably seen as much as us, maybe more. Probably been through as much as us too."

"Yeah, probably." Yuffie said with her hands on her hips.

"So, she has a right to know what's going on!" The atmosphere became heavy with seriousness after Leon had raised his voice. Kairi sat with her hands in her lap, attentive to what the two might tell her.

"The heartless…" Leon began, "those without hearts." Yuffie sat on the bed next to Kairi. Together, she and Leon explained the situation.

"The darkness in people's hearts—that's what attracts them."

"And there is darkness within every heart," Leon furthered.

"Have you heard of someone named Ansem?" Yuffie asked?

"Ansem?" Kairi whispered, the name settling in her mind.

"He was studying the heartless," Yuffie continued. "He recorded all of his findings in a very detailed report. We would show it to you, but not even we have it. Its pages are scattered everywhere."

"Scattered?" Kairi asked.

"Out across the worlds," answered Leon. "But, there's someone we know who's searching for them."

"That's where the keyblade comes in," Yuffie chimed in, happy to finally tell her about this mysterious key. "It's need it to find the pages, the ones that were taken and scattered by the heartless." Leon took his turn giving information.

"The heartless have great fear of the keyblade. The catch is, they'll keep coming after the one who was chosen to wield it, no matter what." There was a long pause. Kairi was glad they summarized the situation so briefly, though it did leave her with questions. The extra time gave her room to ask those questions that she now had.

"So the keybearer is out there looking for the pieces of Ansem's report. With that report, you'll know more about the heartless. And once you know about them…you can find a way to get rid of them?" Kairi wanted to make sure she understood before she asked anything else.

Yuffie looked anxiously at Leon.

"Well…yes and no. It's not really that simple. What we know for now is that the heartless are related to the darkness in some way, and that's what's really important."

"The…darkness?"

"It's what swallowed your world."

"Wait! How did you know my world disappeared?" Kairi stood to her feet and looked between Yuffie and Leon. Their eyes didn't meet, their heads were down, gazes fixed heavily on the ground.

"Because it's what swallowed out worlds too."

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

So it seems Kairi's taken Sora's place. I wonder how far she'll follow in his footsteps exactly? That's what's fun about a cannon divergence fic, things start off about the same but a singular difference causes the new line of story to stray furth and further from the original. Are you excited to see where Kairi's new adventure takes her? Updates no longer to come weekly as I am preparing to guest at some upcoming conventions and events this summer. Please stay tuned, I'm as excited about the rebirth of this story as you are!