Hello again. :D Chapter one came fast, ya? Well, that’s cuz it was already written beforehand, as is Chapter 2. Anywhoozle, in this Chappy we get to see Sora! YAY SORA! -hears fangirls squeal in the distance- And with Sora, of course, comes a bunch of confusion, like, why was he in a pod, and where the heck is he, and stuff. Typical and predictable, eh? Well, the ending to this chappy is quite the cliffy. Anyway, enjoy!

Disclaimer: If I owned the KH series, this fanfic would be a game. :O

Chapter 1: A New Journey

Sora. It’s time to wake up. You’ve got a long journey ahead of you.

A warm feeling brushed up against the face of a fifteen year old boy named Sora. For the first time in about a year, his ocean blue eyes slowly opened and adjusted to the light of the mysterious room he stood in. The first thing Sora laid his eyes upon wasn’t entirely surprising. Two familiar faces were staring into his eyes, one being a white duck with a blue getup, and the other a large dog. This duo was none other than Donald Duck and Goofy, who Sora had been traveling with for quite some time.

Slowly, Sora reached up and rubbed his eyes and, of course, gave a little yawn, all before paying attention to his two pals. However, after waking up a bit more, his first action was that of a huge, monstrous glomp/hug.

“Donald, Goofy!” Sora shouted in glee, his voice having a deeper tone than it had a year ago. “I guess I can always count on you to be by my side… even when I’m sleeping. But, wait… when DID we end up here… and how long has it been?”

Both Donald and Goofy exchanged puzzled glances at one another. When they woke up, the two cartoony animals didn’t really bother thinking about anything besides finding Sora, but now that he had mentioned it… they too were confused.

“Gawrsh, Sora,” giggled Goofy, rubbing his nose with an index finger, “weren’t we lookin’ for Riku and the King?”

“You’re right,” replied the spiky haired hero with a smirk that quickly transformed into an upset frown. “We have to find them… I just can’t go back home without Riku. I just hope Kairi hasn’t forgotten me…”

WHACK! Unlike Goofy, Donald had given Sora a, well… slightly more aggressive reply by hitting him on the head with his Mage staff. The short tempered duck was then quick to give Sora a stern look, all while waving around one of his feathered fingers.

“Now Sora, remember what we said before?” squawked the oversized bird. “No sad faces or frowns, got it?”

“Yup,” Goofy quickly added, making a silly face. “Besides, real friends, like Kairi, don’t just go around forgettin’ their pals. Hyuck! “

This little reassurance, even if it was slightly painful, had helped to boost Sora’s spirits. That small frown was replaced by that trademark grin of his. He then proceeded to, well, looking at his own outfit and physique. Even after a year of slumber (AN: And puberty. P) , Sora was pretty much unchanged as far as his attitude came, and, of course, his clothes remained just as they were last year too. His red shorts, which used to cover his whole upper leg, now just barely touched his knees, while his shoes, jacket, and everything else were very tight-fitting now. All in all, it was plain to see that Sora had grown quite a bit while taking is year-long nap.

“Uh, guys…” muttered the teenager, eyes wide. “Is it me, or do my clothes seem… a little small? And… they’re a bit tight too...”

Donald and Goofy instantly broke out laughing. Plainly, Sora was oblivious to the fact that he’d, well… matured, so to speak. Then again, it wasn’t his fault. Mentally, Sora was still just a fourteen year old, and he didn’t even know that he’d been sleeping for a whole year. Because of that, he was rather confused about the laughter of his two pals.

“Wait a sec!” Sora exclaimed. “What’s so funny?”

Donald simply shook his feathered head with a satisfied smirk on his face. “Never mind. It’s nothing. Anyway, uh… let’s move it! We shouldn’t just sit here, you two palookas!”

Obviously Donald was in one of his impatient moods at the moment, as his webbed for continuously tapped against the floor, and his feathered thumbs twiddled. At the same time, Goofy simply stood still and wore his usual, silly expression. How typical of the two. It always seemed that while Goofy was always in high spirits, and a bit naïve, Donald would be the impatient and temperamental of the two. Some things never change.

“I guess you’re right,” replied the Keybearer. “If we even want to find Riku and the King, we should first, well, figure out where we are.”

“Well, what are we waitin’ for, fellas?” Goofy asked, already halfway to the door.

No more words were necessary, as the trio found themselves rushing out the door of the pod room, and into the outside world. Well, the basement of the mansion is a better term, but nevertheless, these first few steps were the start of a new adventure. However, things would be far more difficult than one could even imagine, for, after all, Organization XIII were no pushovers.

Elsewhere

“He has finally awoken. It is only a matter of time until our plan takes action.”

In the middle of a strange castle, a group of cloaked figures were having a gathering of sorts. Unknown to Sora, Donald, Goofy, or any of the other worlds, a sinister plot was underway. By now, you should know that these mysterious figures were simply the remaining members of Organization XIII. Not counting Roxas, and Axel, both who weren’t even present, there were only six members of the Org left. The rest had either been wiped out by Sora and/or Axel or Riku, or, had ‘fallen into ruin’. Anyway, the Organization had a scheme, one that would greatly involve Sora and that little keyblade of his.

“Are you sure this kid’s good enough, though?” whispered the voice of one of the members, who appeared to be somewhat skinny, but not, well not ‘Axel skinny’.

“He has saved countless worlds, defeated my heartless counterpart, and sealed the door to darkness. I even tested him once before. Truly he is fascinating. Do not underestimate him, Xigbar,” answered the Superior of the Org, Xemnas.

“Well, I still say that the keyblade picked a dud this time. At least let me ‘test’ him,” groaned ‘Xigbar’.

“Very well.”

TwilightTown

Today was quite lovely, here in Twilight Town. The sun shone down upon the paved streets, and excitement filled the air. Each and every last shop was crowded by joyful faces, and in all this rush, it was rather hard to get around. Unfortunately, this was the case for Sora, Donald, and Goofy. Everywhere they turned, people could be seen running this way and that. Perhaps it was because today was the very last day of summer.

For a brief moment, the trio of friends decided to take a quick stop to observe the town. Bright lights shone, and a sweet summer smell danced in the air. A majority of the buildings in this town were made out of orangish-brown bricks, so the town looked pretty well coordinated, color wise. Yet, somehow, this wondrous place seemed so very familiar to Sora. It was as if he had been here before.

“Hey guys,” Sora muttered quietly. “Is it me, or does this town seem… familiar? Have we ever been here?”

“Gawrsh, I don’t think so, Sora,” Goofy sighed, shaking his head. “But it’s sure nice lookin’.”

Well, apparently, at least according to Goofy, this place was somewhere totally new. Still, Sora couldn’t help but feel that there was something unusual about the strange little town he stood in. It just gave him a strange sensation. In truth, Sora HAD indeed been to Twilight Town before, though it had been a simulation similar to the one Roxas had lived in for a while. However, due to his, and his two pals’, memories of Castle Oblivion being erased, any recollections of this place were but slight ones.

After their short breather, Sora, Donald, and Goofy all headed towards the Sandlot, just because it seemed to be the most active part of town. Perhaps, they thought, if the place was so full and lively, then maybe someone could explain where and what this town was, and if they’d seen Riku or King Mickey.

Upon arriving in the Sandlot, it was plain for Sora and his friends to see why there was such a huge crowd. For, you see, right in the middle of the place stood two teenage boys fighting. One was moderately tall with short blonde hair, a black hat, and a silver jacket. The other was a bit shorter with lighter hair, a vest and short sleeved top, camo pants, and a very, very angered look on his face. Hayner and Seifer, of course, were the names of these two rivals. BUT, they were not the Hayner and Seifer from Roxas’ Twilight Town, but the real deals. HOWEVER, the two still held their hatred just as much as their virtual counterparts. This was plain to see, though, since the two were ducking it out with their weapons. Hayner still had a struggle wand, and everything from the golden handle to the light blue tip looked exactly as the replica wands. As for Seifer, his weapon was far more dangerous. It resembled a sword, but it also had what looked like a trigger. This weapon was called a gunblade. And, well, at the moment, it seemed that Hayner was in for an unpleasant treat.

WHAM! Seifer’s gunblade went smack across Hayner’s face. The pressure of this blow knocked the hot-headed teenager to the ground. What was worse was the fact that the gunblade wasn’t just a toy weapon. Nope, it was a really dangerous object that had the ability to cause some serious injuries if used correctly. This was sadly the case for Hayner, as the tip of the gunblade had cut him a little bit above his right eye, and a small trickle of blood could be seen dripping off of his wound. All at once, two other teenagers made their way to Hayner. One had crazy black hair, a red T-shirt and another top underneath, and a headband on his head, the other had long brown hair, and orange shirt, and tan pants. Obviously, these were the real Pence and Olette, who were still best buds with Hayner, just like the simulation versions of themselves.

Sora had been watching this whole entire scene, and it made him sick. It wasn’t really the fact that Hayner and Seifer were fighting that ticked him off, but rather that Seifer had an unfair advantage by using a REAL weapon to HURT poor Hayner. Making matters worse was the fact that Hayner was bleeding too, even if only a little. Sora finally snapped when he saw Seifer and his whole group bursting into laughter, while Hayner sat down, cringing slightly from the pain the gunblade had delivered. That was all that was needed to send Sora rushing towards the middle of the sandlot with his keyblade in hand.

“Hey, you!” yelled the aggravated Keybearer. “I don’t think it’s fair that you have that blade, while he has that little club. Why don’t you try me instead?”

Instantly, Seifer and his cronies, Raijin, Fujin, and Vivi, broke out into maniacal laughter. To them, Sora was just a ‘lamer’ with a giant key. Obviously they knew not the power of the Keyblade. To them, it looked just like a simple toy.

“You don’t stand a chance against Seifer, y’know!” Raijin chuckled. “He has his gunblade, while you’re stuck with that giant key.”

“I’d suggest you listen to Rai,” Seifer added. “You’d just end up running home, crying for your mommy, when I got through with you, anyway.”

The attitude problems of the Disciplinary Committee may have persuaded any average individual, but Sora was different. He had faced armies of heartless, thrashed Maleficent, and even defeated Ansem and sealed the door to darkness. Seifer was nothing compared to the threats Sora had dealt with in the past. He would prove this as well, as he wound up charging straight at Seifer, ready to hit him with the keyblade.

CLINK! Unfortunately, Seifer was quick to defend himself by blocking the keyblade with his own weapon. Almost immediately, he tried to whack Sora like he had done with Hayner, but, such a tactic had failed, as the Keybearer was now rolling across the ground in order to confuse the head of the disciplinary committee. Several more attempts were made to hit Sora, but each one was a failure. Then, all at once, Sora finally made his move when Seifer least expected it, knocking him several feet forward.

“You’re not bad, chicken wuss…” Seifer groaned, “but… when I’m done with ya, you’ll wish you had never wandered onto my turf!”

All at once, Seifer took a dive towards Sora, which caught the spiky brown haired boy by surprise. The Gunblade managed to leave a mark on Sora’s face, though, fortunately, it wasn’t an open wound. Another problem, though, was that Seifer was currently pinning him down, threatening to take another swipe with his weapon if Sora made another move.

In his mind, Sora thought of all the possible ways to get out of this little situation. If he squirmed just one bit, Seifer would just strike back at him. This could easily cause problems, since that pretty much rendered the keyblade as useless. Then, all of the sudden, Sora remembered that he could use magic! Gravity seemed like a decent spell to get the job done, so quietly, he held his keyblade tight in both hands and concentrated until Seifer was sent flying.

THUD! Well, Sora’s magic, though rusty, was sure strong enough to give Seifer an uncomfortable landing. He was really winded and unable to attack at the moment, which gave Sora the perfect chance to finish Seifer off. In fact, the spiky haired teen actually did make his way towards Seifer, but… he called back his weapon and remained still.

“I think that’s enough,” sighed Sora, gazing down at Seifer. “Not bad for a ‘chicken wuss’, eh?”

“Yeah, well, I just went easy on ya!” snorted Twilight Town’s biggest jerk, spitting at the ground.

Seifer’s comeback made Sora once again become greatly angered, but a little tug on the leg of his shorts caused him to turn away. When he turned around, Sora noticed Donald and Goofy, who had been watching the whole fight, fully interested, but it wasn’t either of them who had tugged upon Sora’s shorts. No, it was Vivi! The little black mage was staring right at Sora with his bright yellow eyes, fully amazed at the outcome of the fight.

“Wow,” whispered Vivi, “I’ve NEVER seen anyone beat Seifer before.”

“Heh, thanks, but, it’s all part of being the Keybearer, I guess,” Sora replied. “Besides, how could anyone let that jerk take on…um… whatever that guy’s name is…”

“It’s Hayner,” interrupted the injured, but still hot-headed teen. “And, thanks for the help and all, but I could’ve taken Seifer down if I had the chance!”

Both Pence and Olette gave their friend a stern glare. They obviously knew that Hayner was only bluffing. After all, that gunblade was a dangerous device, and the little scratch he got from it was only an example of its power. Hayner was lucky that his wound wouldn’t become a scar, though a stronger slash from Seifer’s weapon could easily prove otherwise.

“Don’t listen to him,” Olette said with a shrug. “Hayner’s over confident at times. Thanks got helping… Seifer really could have hurt him. I’m Olette, by the way, and that’s Pence over there.”

Donald and Goofy made their way to Sora, and the trio gave their typical smirks. The three of them hadn’t been in Twilight Town very long, if you don’t count the year long sleep, yet it was beginning to seem that they had made a positive impression on the citizens… well, sparing Seifer and his cronies. Maybe it was just the luck of the Keybearer and his two friends, but in just a few minutes, Sora and his pals may have made a few new friends here.

“It’s no problem, really,” Sora replied. “I was just doing the hero thing. Anyway, my name’s Sora.”

“Donald Duck,” added Sora’s fowl friend.

“Hyuck! I’m Goofy. Pleased to meet ya..”

Hayner jerked himself away from his friends and got up to his feet. For some reason, he was staring at Sora, but why? The look in his eyes was rather puzzling, and it appeared that the hot-headed blonde was trying to examine Sora. Confused slightly, Sora decided to question the teen.

“Uh… is there something funny about me?” asked the Keybearer in his bafflement.

“…No,” Hayner answered, “It’s just… I swear that you look like someone I’ve met… “

Both Donald and Goofy passed glances at Sora, who simply shrugged his shoulders. Whatever Hayner had meant by saying Sora looked like someone he knew had to have been mere coincidence, right? Well, that’s at least what the chocolate haired hero thought. After all, this was his first time in Twilight Town… at least that’s what he thought.

“I can’t be anyone you know,” Sora sighed. “This is my first time in this world…”

This news made Hayner somewhat upset. Something in his mind told him that something was very fishy about the spiky haired Keybearer, yet these claims of never even being around TT seemed to prove otherwise. These conflictions seemed to just cause confusion for him, which, though wasn’t too uncommon for Hayner, proved to be rather irritating, especially with that temper of his.

“Oh, I see…” Hayner muttered quietly. “Guess it was just my imagination then.”

Silently, the headstrong adolescent turned away and made his way back to Pence and Olette, who both exchanged puzzled-yet-worried looks. Just then, Olette stepped towards Sora and gave out a sigh. To her it was rather unusual for Hayner to react this way to utter strangers.

“Sorry if Hayner’s being a little odd,” whispered the auburn haired young lady. “He’s been sort of… well, paranoid lately and says that someone he knows has been missing… that, and the fact that he’s been trying to take on Seifer whenever he gets the chance.”

Sora quietly nodded. “I understand. He must have mistaken me for whoever it is he’s looking for. It’s funny, though, cuz, when I first came here, I thought this place looked familiar… Funny how things happen, I guess.”

“Gawrsh,” Goofy added, scratching his head, “I sure hope you find your pal soon.”

After Goofy’s little statement, things quieted down for a bit. Seifer and his cronies seemed to head off to another part of town, and the big hubbub from the little rumble died down. Within a few moments, the only people in the Sandlot were Sora, Donald, Goofy, Hayner, Pence and Olette. Even then, the group was rather still and calm, though the silence was soon to be broken.

“Hey,” Sora suddenly said, “I was wondering something. You see, Donald, Goofy, and I were sort of looking for someone before we got here… and maybe you’ve seen them?”

“Well, we might have,” Pence replied, lazily leaning against one of the walls. “What do they look like?”

“Well, one of them is King Mickey. He’s rather short and he’s got these huge, round ears. Then there’s Riku, who’s a bit taller than me and has silver hair…”

Quickly, Pence turned his attention to his two friends, who exchanged strange glances before facing Sora again.

“I’m not so sure if these are the two you’re looking for,” answered the slightly chubby teenager, “but I think there was somebody in a black cloak in town earlier… he seemed in a hurry to leave. Then there was another one who was a bit shorter… maybe he’s this king?”

Someone short DID fit the description for Mickey, after all. Perhaps Pence and his pals had seen the King! Just the thought of this brought up the spirits of Sora, and even more so, Donald and Goofy. After all, the last time they had seen their King was right before the door to Kingdom Hearts had been sealed, and, though Sora wanted to see him too, it was mostly Riku who he was worried about.

So, do you think it’s him?” Sora asked his two buddies after hearing Pence’s description.

“Could be,” Goofy replied.

“Well, c’mon!” Donald quacked eagerly. “If we just stand here, we could already be too late!”

It was blatantly obvious that Donald and Goofy were in a rush to see their King. The problem was that they had no idea of how to find him, or how to get out of town. Nevertheless, with this news, it seemed that the trio was one step closer to finding Riku and Mickey. However, only time would tell if such assumptions were true.

“Say, Pence,” pondered the spiky auburn haired hero, “how long ago were those two strangers here? And also, do you know a way out of town?”

“You have to take the train,” blurted Hayner abruptly, “and as for when those two left… well, the taller guy was gone by this morning, and the midget with the ears… he actually only left a few hours ago. If you hurry, maybe you’ll be able to catch up with him.”

“But where do we go?” asked the dopey dog known as Goofy.

“That’s easy. Just go to the station! C’mon, I’ll show you the way!”

With those last few words said, Hayner rushed off in the direction of the station heights with Pence and Olette behind. Sora, Donald, and Goofy weren’t even given a breather before they found themselves trailing behind. As they went through Twilight Town towards their destination, the trio got some strange looks from nearby citizens. It was probably because of the way they were all frantic about this whole thing with Mickey.

Soon Sora and his pals reached the top of the heights and were mere yards away from the station itself. They had finally caught up with Hayner and the gang, who were standing oddly still, staring at a man in a black cloak. He seemed middle-aged, judging by his build, and carried a large gun-like in one of his hands. At his sides were a few dusks. Oddly enough, though, both the man and the dusks were perfectly still… for a moment.

Right as Sora and company reached the center of the station plaza, the mysterious man snapped his fingers all of the sudden, and the troop of dusks leaped forward, ready to strike. Immediately, Sora summoned the keyblade and charged forward with Donald and Goody close behind. Hayner and the gang simple backed off a little, since they had nothing to defend themselves.

The first few dusks leapt about, seemingly taunting the Keybearer and his companions. Each time Sora tried to strike, the nobodies would slip beneath his feet and lash his legs with their flexible arms. When Goofy attempted to charge the beasts with his shield, the dusks would jump out of the way and circle about. Donald seemed to be doing a bit better than the other two, but he seemed a tad rusty on his spells. All in all, the small army of nobodies was easily dealing blows to the three heroes.

SLAP! Sora met yet another lash on his leg, landing face flat on the ground. Around five dusks began advancing in his direction, ready to deal even more blows. Luckily, Sora was quick to get back on his feet, and, though absentmindedly, he did a reversal tactic which caused the dusks to be confused for a moment. Now was the chance to make a move! SLICE! The keyblade cut right through the nobodies as if they were simple pieces of pie.

With this new trick in mind, fighting the dusks became much easier, but nevertheless, things weren’t necessarily easy. True, five dusks were taken down in a mere second of time, but around twenty remained. Also, Donald and Goofy weren’t faring too well. By now they were running low on stamina and still were clueless about the reversal technique. Sora HAD to help them out, so, instead of rushing towards the other dusks, he darted over two his two buds.

“Donald, Goofy!” Sora shouted. “You have to confuse them! Just make a quick circle movement! It’s that easy!”

“Got it!” replied the duck mage right before following Sora’s orders.

Now that all three of them had this new tactic in mind, it was time to finish off these strange freaks in white. Of course, the dusks, being more intelligent than heartless, were prepared as well. The rest of the troop began circling inward in a constricting fashion. If they could get Sora and the others in an enclosed space, using reversal tactics would prove ineffective. Because of this, hurrying was the best method for victory.

Swiftly spinning in circles, Sora, Donald, and even Goofy managed to confuse many of the advancing dusks. Once the creatures were dazed, Donald shot his lighting spell, shocking the creatures into oblivion. Any dusks that were left after the shock were finished off by either Goofy or Sora. This little strategy had eliminated even more dusks, but those who survived just moved on forward in an eerie way.

Once again, the trio circled about, followed by a second assault of thunder spells. One by one, the dusks decreased in numbers until a measly three remained. It was then that the stranger in the cloak snapped his fingers once again, and the last few dusks disappeared… just like that. Whoever the stranger was, he seemed quite entertained, as he gave out a snicker before disappearing himself.

After things calmed down a bit, Hayner, Pence, and Olette made their way back to Sora and co. The battle between the small dusk army had been rather rough, that’s for sure, and it was good that the trio from Twilight Town had stayed on the sidelines.

“Hey, man,” Hayner exclaimed, “you’re not too shabby at fighting. I don’t think I even could have handled those weirdos the way you three did. You have my props. Anyway, let’s get inside. The train’s gonna leave any second.”

Sora gave out a sigh of relief before replying. Those dusks had been far more trouble than any heartless, for sure.

“Thanks,” he mumbled, “but I completely forgot something… how are we gonna pay for the tickets?”

Just then, Olette reached into her pocket and pulled out a small little pouch that appeared to have been made by hand. She gave a slight smile and handed Sora the little trinket. When the Keybearer peeked inside, he found just enough munny to buy three tickets out of town.

“You can use the munny I’ve been saving if you’d like,” said the cheerful young lady. “We were going to go to the beach, but I think you three need tickets more than we do.”

Slowly, Sora reached into the little pouch and pulled out the munny before handing Olette her little trinket. This little act was very kind of her, and Sora, Goody, and, yes, even Donald couldn’t help but smile. They hadn’t really done anything in return to get the cash, but perhaps it was just the fact that the TT gang wanted to help their new friends that made Olette give up her only money.

“Thank you,” Sora said, giving his trademark grin. “I’ll have to pay you back some time. We really should get going, though. The King and Riku are waiting for us!”

Even if they had only just met, it seemed that the two trios would continue to share a friendship. It was a shame that in such short time, they were about to part ways, but there just wasn’t enough time to stay any longer. Perhaps someday they would all meet again, but that was for another time.

“Good luck!” shouted Hayner, as his three new friends headed towards the train. “Don’t forget to come back some time! I’d love to take you on in a struggle match… especially you, Sora.”

“You’re on, Hayner!” replied the spiky haired hero with a smirk, just before entering the station.

Inside, things were relatively calm. Even the way the place looked was rather casual: a simple cement floor and brick walls. Buying the tickets was a quick and easy process. Once the little slips of paper had been purchased, it was time to head for the train. Strangely enough, there was but one train left in the station, even though a scheduled three were supposed to be there. This unusual vehicle was purple with yellow stars painted onto it and other bizarre décor. It seemed more like something you’d see at the circus than a train. Still, it was the only way out of Twilight Town, so Sora, Donald and Goofy had no choice but to slowly step inside.

Now, what REALLY made the train eerie was the fact that there was no conductor or anyone else inside, yet everything was functioning perfectly. Besides the little creepiness, though, things were rather comforting for the trio. It was actually quite nice to be somewhere quiet for a change, as opposed to constantly fighting heartless and other enemies.

As the train began to leave, everything outside the windows appeared to change. Gone was the casual station, and in its place was a set of digital looking tracks heading through a sea of stars. The view was beautiful all the same, regardless of the strangeness. However, this peace and beauty was to be short lived, for Sora at least, for, as he sat staring out the window, he suddenly heard a terrible screeching noise. Immediately, he tried to cover his ears, but the sound wouldn’t stop. Within a few moments, the Keybearer had fallen unconscious.

End of Chapter

AN: Hooray for teh cliffy! Bow to its power... mmkay? Anyway, Chapter 2 should be up almost instantly, since it's written already as well, and Chapter 3 should follow in about a day or so. As for what happens next chapter: We get to see more ROXAS! -dance- Yes, I'm crazy. And, again, don't forget to leave a review!