Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts is the property of Square-Enix, the meanies making Europe wait forever and a day for the new game.

Author's Rant: This is gonna be a mini-series, probably three chapters in total. The location is from Final Fantasy VII but this story makes absolutely no reference to the game's story at all so no worries if you've never played VII (for SHAME! Go play it! Best game EVER).

Ahem!

For my fanfic100 challenge: word 61 – winter.

This story is set after Atlantica in Kingdom Hearts. Please do not mention any KHII spoilers! Thank you :)

Snow. It's cold, it's for making snowmen and, as Sora's about to discover, it makes for some very interesting Heartless…

Icicle Inn

"Snow!" Sora was completely amazed. "Real snow!" He turned to Donald and Goofy, his expression one of childlike amazement and joy. His friends couldn't help but smile back. "It's real snow right?" Sora went on. "Wow! I've never seen snow before!" He bounced out his seat. "I gotta go out!"

Donald stepped in. "Wait!"

"But…"

"Snow is cold!"

"I know that…"

Donald began casting spells.

"Have this."

Blue scarf.

"Oh right. Thanks."

"And this."

Woolly red hat that had no hope of fitting over his hair.

"Oh, cool."

"Don't forget these."

Thick, white and blue gloves.

"Right."

"And that."

Black and white winter coat.

"You sure?"

"Snow's real cold Sora, trust us," Goofy told the boy.

Donald hadn't finished yet. "This too."

It was another hoodie, long sleeved and red.

"But I already…"

"You'll wanna change into these as well."

A pair of long red combat trousers, baggy and full of pockets.

"I guess…"

"And…"

Sora hadn't seen that many clothes since the last time he'd been in Kairi's bedroom. "Donald I really think this lot will be fine. I'll go get changed."

Donald and Goofy watched Sora totter off the Gummi Ship's bridge carrying a large pile of winter clothing.

"Another day, another world," Goofy commented.

"Yeah but this one's a little out the way," Donald answered.

Monstro had damaged the ship's navigational systems but only after Atlantica had they gone completely haywire, leaving the trio on a very cold, out of the way world.

"Any idea where we are at all?" Donald asked as his magic created winter thermals for himself and Goofy.

"Nope, none," Goofy said, poking the ship's instruments. "But don't you worry 'cause I already called Cid and he's on his way with Chip and Dale to fix the ship right up! They reckon it'll take a couple days for them to get here mind you, so I guess we should go take a look around."

Sora returned ready for winter. He'd left the hat behind though. No matter how hard he tried it simply wouldn't fit over his wildly spiky hair. With Donald and Goofy also prepared, Sora ran off the ship.

Goofy and Donald followed with a little more restraint. Their young friend was already pulling his gloves off and touching the snow. Goofy and Donald shared a nod, both of them ready to pull out shield and wand at a moment's notice. Courtesy of a son and three wild nephews, the pair were quite used to defending themselves against snowball barrages.

Sora, however, opted for a statement of the obvious. "Wow, it's so cold!"

"Bless him," Goofy commented for Donald's ears only.

Donald smiled. "It's nice to let him just be a kid again."

Sora tucked his hands back into his gloves. "I wish I could take some home with me and show everyone! Oh, hey Donald do you reckon you could magically make it not melt? 'Cause Destiny Islands is real hot and…"

"Sorry Sora, no can do."

The boy looked crestfallen. "Oh all right." He perked up instantly. "I know! I gotta make a snow angel 'cause I only ever did 'em in the sand before and that's itchy."

Throwing himself into the snow, Sora waved his arms and legs. The snow melted under his body, soaking his clothes. Despite the chill he was cheerful, his mood unbreakable thanks to the wonderment of a new experience. He stood up and stepped back to regard his angel. A grin broke out. Yes, he made a very good angel indeed.

"Don't think I ever saw a spiky haired angel before," Goofy commented.

Sora held his arms behind his head. "Nothing wrong with a bit of originality."

"Shall we get into town?" Donald asked, trying to sound serious despite the amused edge in his tone.

Sora followed behind his two friends, walking slowly so he could relish the creak and crunch of the snow beneath his boots. He did eventually reach the town, a billboard announcing it was called Icicle Inn. The town was small, the wooden buildings piled higgledy-piggledy across the snow. Smoke streamed out of all the chimneys and the windows glowed warm orange. Children were sledding and putting the finishing touches on snowmen. Adults were fixing roofs and gathering firewood. Donald and Goofy were talking with a local, a man wrapped up in a thick blue coat with a matching hat, scarf and gloves.

"The inn's down there. Should have room for ya. No one's been coming lately. They say there's lots of weird monsters attacking and that's keeping people away."

Sora caught the last part and felt a familiar pang shoot through him. The Heartless were here.

Donald thanked the man before turning to Sora. "I guess that means we gotta go find the Keyhole," the wizard said.

"Aw, but I wanted to make a snowman!"

"You can do it later I'm sure," Goofy replied. "Anyhow why don't we go to the inn, have a nice hot meal and see if anyone else knows anything about the Heartless. Ya never know, they could mean other monsters."

"Yeah, they could do! And if there aren't any Heartless here I'm coming back out to make lots of snowmen!" Sora followed behind his friends. "I'll give them all names too!"

But Sora wasn't going to have a chance to make his snowmen for quite some time. Over a hot dinner in the inn's restaurant he, Donald and Goofy soon learned that the Heartless were most definitely in town. The locals were worried, having lost a few lives already. There was no mistaking the Heartless now. What else could take a heart from a body?

"And they keep heading north into the mountains," the barkeeper said as he wiped a glass clean. "What's up there?"

"Their lair I reckon," a woman dressed in pink winter thermals replied. "Hard place to get to isn't it, the crater behind those mountains. What better place for them to set up? We can't get up there and fight them off. We're cut off from the rest of the world with this bad winter we've been having. No chance the army'll come and help us."

"Guess we'll have to wait," the man tending the fire spoke up. "All I know is my kids ain't going outside after dark. The patrol's been taking down bigger crowds of these creatures daily. Dunno where the heck they're all comin' from alluva sudden."

"I heard you lost ol' Bob," the barkeeper said sadly. "Shame. He was a good man."

"Yeah, we did," the man by the fire replied. "Damn pity it is. But I tell ya I never saw a weirder sight. His heart just floated right outta his chest. Next thing we know he's gone and the little monsters are all running back to the north."

Sora swallowed a mouthful of soup. "I guess we know where we're going." He stood up and approached the barkeeper. "Is there anyway to get to where the... er …monsters are coming from?"

"Sure, if you can stand the cold and you're a good climber." He reached under the bar and pulled out a map. It showed the town, then vast plains of snow marked out with a few notable landmarks before the long ridge of mountains. "Not many people go out there and live to tell the tale. You're new here I know, but don't go getting any funny ideas about taking on the Great Cliff. It's taken more lives than you can imagine."

"Can I have the map?" Sora asked.

"Crazy kid, ain't you listenin'?" the man by the fire called out.

"The monsters attacking you are called the Heartless. I can stop them."

"You? Honey, aren't you a little young?" the woman in pink replied with a smile.

"Yeah, probably. But I can do it." Sora turned back to the barkeeper with a grin. "So can I have the map?"

The barkeeper handed it over for free. "You'll need skis or a snowboard to make it down the slope to the plains," he said warily, as if unsure he should be putting any ideas into a teenage boy's head.

"Oh he can have my son's snowboard. I'm not letting my boy back on that thing ever," the woman said, finishing her drink and standing up. "And I've got a some skis I can set his friends up with."

"Thank you," Sora replied. Donald and Goofy came to stand alongside him. "Well, at least we've got something to do while we wait for Cid, right?"

"Yeah but fighting Heartless in the snow wasn't what I had planned," Donald grumbled.

"Gwarsh it sure has been a while since I went skiing," Goofy commented as he and the others followed the woman out the inn and to her home.

"There's a reason for that," Donald replied.

"Yeah 'cause we ain't been around so much snow!"

"No, 'cause last time you went you broke your leg."

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that!"

Donald sighed. "I'm gonna head back to the ship and leave a message for Cid, Chip and Dale in case they get here before we're back. I'll meet you at the town entrance."

It didn't take long for the woman to gather the snowboard and skis. Her son, a small boy of about ten, didn't seem in the least bit sorry to see his snowboard go. Sora and Goofy thanked the woman for her generosity.

"If you can help us with these monsters I'll be indebted to you. Just don't go getting yourselves killed, understand?"

"Yes ma'am!" Sora and Goofy responded.

"Good luck," she said as they headed off.

Donald was already waiting for them. Together the three walked down to the back of the town. A man stood guarding the steep slope that led to the snow plains. He regarded them suspiciously as the trio got ready to leave.

"You sure you know what you're doing?" he asked.

"Nope," Sora replied. "But I've been surfing before so how hard can snowboarding be?"

"I didn't mean that! I meant are you sure you can deal with those monsters?"

Sora grinned. "Absolutely." He kicked off the ground and went careening forward. "YAHOO!"

Donald and Goofy followed behind at a slightly calmer pace. It wasn't long before they'd lost sight of Sora completely. Only the sound of his ecstatic yelling assured them he was still in one piece.

The slope was fraught with danger. For some bizarre reason someone had chosen to litter the hill with snowmen shaped like people and, occasionally, birds. Donald and Goofy heard, rather than saw, Sora collide with one of these creations. There was a cry and an explosion of snow. Sora's accident gave Donald and Goofy a chance to catch up. Both managed to stop by the white pile Sora was buried under.

"You all right?" Donald asked, trying his best to not laugh.

Goofy reached down and yanked Sora up. The boy spat snow out his mouth and grinned madly. "That was fun!"

"Is he concussed?" Goofy asked Donald.

"Nope. Just a crazy teenager."

Sora shook the snow out his hair and bounced back up. One foot still attached to his snowboard, the other kicked off the snow. "See ya at the bottom!" he yelled back, leaving Donald and Goofy to share a sigh before chasing after him.

Trouble rose again, this time in the shape of snowy fern trees. Sora's eyes went wide. He was travelling at speeds he couldn't even begin to gauge and those were some big trees.

"Guess I better not hit any…"

Sora weaved between the trees, somehow picking up even more speed. Behind him Donald and Goofy were following at a slower rate, both wincing each time Sora barely made it past a tree.

"How will we get him back to the village if he breaks something?" Goofy asked.

"Don't even think it," was Donald's advice.

Sora had reached a fork in the downhill path. The left path dipped down whereas the right continued on a more even level. Sora went right without really choosing to, his snowboard's momentum simply carrying him that way. Unfortunately Donald and Goofy went shooting off down to the left.

"Now what do we do?" Donald groaned.

"Find him once we land I guess," Goofy replied, calm as anything.

"Land?"

"Uh huh. There's an awful big jump comin' up."

"Wha-aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

Donald and Goofy weren't the only ones flying off into unknown territory. Sora let out an 'uh oh' when he realised the white he saw ahead of him was sky rather than land. He had no hope of stopping himself.

The last thing he, Donald and Goofy remembered was the sensation of riding air.

More soon :D