Pieces of Heart

[Takushi Rena]

First off, if you haven't read it yet, please read the prologue to this story! Even if it's set in a different place, at least you get some background on what's going on. Otherwise, if you've been waiting a full month for this, HAPPY BIRTHDAY MERRY CHRISTMAS ETC. ETC.! HERE'S THE FIRST CHAPTER OF PIECES OF HEART.

Also, just a note, this chapter is prone to editting. I'm using a friend's character, but stuff happened so I dunno if I can use that character anymore, so I replaced her for the time being. If I can't use that character, then MY CHARACTER STAYS. AND SHE'S FREAKY. AWESOME ALREADY. :D

I hope you enjoy the chapter! Any comments and criticism are welcome! [and you get cookies for criticism. must improveeee!]

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001 + A T L A N T I C

what's it feel like to fall?

why will you fall into forever?
[i hope all the years - will hold tight our promises]

to be a hero.

I was falling. Deeper and deeper into this black abyss. The ice cold water coiled around my skin, its freezing arms carrying me closer and closer to the black bottom. Water was all around me, yet it was like air; I could breath. Yet, I was... asleep.

Then.

It hit.

The lightning flashed. The rain poured all over me. It was a dream.

Why was it so real?

A skyscraper pointed upwards towards the sky. Buildings gathered around it. That one lone building reached up for only a single thing:

There was a giant heart-shaped moon in the clouded night sky.

TWO DAYS.

"Hm?"

I turned around, hearing a voice booming inside of my head, and let out a gasp.

My eyes were shut. I gasped for air. My heart pounded. I was suffocating! A black gloved hand threw itself over my face. The darkness was trying to swallow me!

And, I could just hear you whisper in my ear.

That voice slid into my thoughts like you were a poison.

"I guess I'll give you a head start then..."

The hand disappeared.

Yet.

Everything was black.

Was this a nightmare?

If darkness had teeth, would it swallow you whole?

The darkness wasn't just trying to swallow me.

It was trying to eat me alive.

As those teeth curled, I couldn't help but...

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!"

[i hope all my days - will be lit by your face]

"Shizuka."

The streetlight gave its final flicker. It had been buzzing continuously and flashing on and off for hours now. Yet, that wasn't the end. It still had another job to do when the sun set. But, at that moment, the gigantic ball of fire in the sky was lifting from the horizon.

Hair was lifted from its perpetual hang over the air. A pair of amber eyes gazed forwards with interest, only after cringing at the light. She never spoke a word, but the 'voice' knew it was heard.

The other figure knew what she was thinking about. No question was needed for that moment. Yet, that didn't mean questions were non-existent.

"It's here, isn't it?"

The black haired girl gave a small, barely noticeable nod, a frown curled on her pale-peachy toned face.

The figure also gave a frown.

"We better hurry, then..."

[i don't want to be old and sleep alone]

Though they were dormant, you could see their anxiety. The heavy breathing, the beads of sweat, and their expression; they looked lost and terrified, even if they were fast asleep.

But, a quick jolt can lead to so many things.

"AH!" a high-pitched scream hung over the dark, dusty alley, before quickly dissipating cautiously. A bare hand covered their mouth as a pair of deep blue eyes swept back and forth across the horizon. They were still terrified.

Still alert and stiff, they lowered their hand from their mouth and gave a sigh of relief, even though that sigh wouldn't calm their wildly beating heart.

"...I hate it," a child-like voice escaped from the lips of a young girl as she sat on her knees, giving a sniffle.

If you had walked past the alley and saw the small girl, you would have mistaken her for five-year-old at first, after not realizing that she was sitting on her knees and not standing up straight. Yet, when she would climb to her feet in the darkness, you would declare that she must've been ten years old!

If you said that, though, you would've received a curled up fist to your cheek, or your arm. She was thirteen years old, not ten! Yet, that was an easy mistake: she didn't really look like she had gotten any taller in the past three years of being on this gigantic world. No one noticed, though.

Long bangs covered over the young girl's face, especially the bunch pointing outwards but still managing to keep her left eye out of sight. Only one deep blue eye shimmered through the darkness, making the girl seem rather eerie if you were just walking past.

Her clothes were simple, however: a black, sleeveless shirt with a turtleneck, a black wristband, a pair of khaki cargo shorts, and a pair of black skater shoes. The only strange thing was the pair of goggles around her neck and the two twin yo-yos safely tucked away in her pocket.

The sound of the nearby ocean crept into the girl's ears, and almost seemed like an alarm clock. Before she was rather drowsy and out of it. But now? The tomboy was wide awake and up to her feet. Especially when a strange growling sound echoed throughout the corner of the alley.

"...I'm kinda hungry..." the girl said with a groan.

Quickly, she exited the alley and made a march down the sidewalk. The smell only made the growl grow louder.

This was the marketplace and bay side of the city. It was like the suburbs, only there was an ocean standing right next to it. People lived and worked in these shops, using the money from the sales to live and thrive. The thought of what was coming next, though, made her feel very guilty... But, other people had to do this, too, right?

As footsteps came closer to her standing point, she quickly let out a yelp and twirled into a nearby alley, this one with a gruesome, musty, and mildew-y smell enclosed in it. The girl stood by one of the many shops, her nose and mouth tightly covered by her hand as she looked rather green, and pondered what to do next.

The shop next door, though, was a bread shop...

A sweet, dough-like smell eclipsed over the sour, musty odor of garbage, and reeled the tomboy in with a fishing rod. She carelessly stepped through the opening and into a shower of the hypnotizing scent. Her stomach only seemed to growl louder and louder with each step.

Finally, a voice snapped her out of the trance.

"Hi! What can I get you this morning?"

"...Um..."

She immediately put her rather grimy hands against the crystal glass cage before her, eyeing everything within the cabinet. There were so many different things, even weird ones that no one could even imagine! Yet, one sparked her interest.

"Erm... one melon pan... please..." she spoke timidly as she jumped to her feet.

One moment later, and the baker placed a tightly wrapped, round ball of baked dough on the counter. The girl immediately snatched it into her grasp.

"That'll be 20 munny, please!"

She froze. Her eyes grew wide.

That was the point of this, right? But, this guy had to be at least 16 or 17, and they had such a sweet smile on their face. They looked so happy. She didn't want to shatter it! Just put it back on the counter and...

"...I'm sorry," she whispered under her breath.

"HEY!!"

He just couldn't catch the girl. She was way too fast for him.

She slid out of the bakery with careless haste, whilst being chased by the young, but now furious, baker. She felt horrible as she ran. She wouldn't stop. She couldn't stop. As much as she wanted to scream 'I'm sorry!' right in his face, she didn't.

Until she accidently slammed into somebody.

"Ow!" the young girl exclaimed, falling backwards onto the ground as she rubbed her nose.

"Caught ya, you stupid little brat!!" the annoyed male's voice chimed in, as a hand curled into the girl's turtleneck collar. The victim merely gave a gulp.

She looked up at the figure desperately, her deep blue eyes wide with panic. She whispered.

"Help..."

"...What the heck? I come to do some stupid errands, and I find an idiot choking a kid..."

"Mind your own business! This kid stole from me!"

The figure raised a brow, their female voice querying, "Really. What they steal? Munny, gol--"

"Food! What else?"

The teenaged girl gave a pause. Then a good laugh, "Are you serious!? Food... of all things! You're going to lock up a kid because they snitched food?"

"Well..." the boy growled, his face rather red now, "I worked hard on those!"

The girl frowned, placed her hands in her pockets as she glanced down at the child trying to wiggle herself out of the baker's grasp.

"It's not art, blonde... You can make more, right?"

He let out a growl, "So what? They're for customers, not punks!"

"I am NOT a punk!!" the young girl randomly chimed in, before her face turned red as she tried to shrink down out of sight.

Yet, what no one really seemed to notice that the currently timid kid was now hiding behind a certain teenaged girl.

"I didn't steal anything. I swear!" the tomboy exclaimed in a whisper, hiding behind the taller girl.

"...Look. You want me to pay you back?" she queried once more, "Or would like like to consider yourself delusional?"

"Shut up!!" the boy snarled.

"The kid didn't steal anything. Screw off, idiot."

Finally, with some coaxing, the stupid teenaged boy stomped off in a huff, slamming the bakery's door with a huge bang.

"...Thank you," the younger girl's face was still red.

"Did you really steal that?" Her purple eyes were half open as she glanced down at the tomboy behind her back; she really looked like one of those 'popular' kids with sort of attitude and expression.

"...No..."

Footsteps clicked already. The teenaged girl gave a sigh, turning her gaze around to spy the tomboy sprinting off into some nearby alley.

"...Hey!"

Her feet followed with that same sort of click, though these were much slower in beat. Though these footsteps weren't nearly as fast, it still caught up. And curled a fist around the young girl's shirt.

Immediately, she let out a surprised yelp as she was drawn backwards towards the other brown haired girl. Yet, the yelp was rather muffled. This was due to the round, baked ball of bread that was now in mid-bite. You could hear a bit of growling seem to grow louder as the young tomboy stared, wide-eyed, at the catcher.

The teenager merely raised a brow, a rather sour frown perched on her face. The tomboy gave a gulp and once again tried to pull herself away from being captured.

"So, you did steal it..."

The bit of food merely fell to the grimy ground when the child tried to open her mouth to speak. Her rushed tone merely turned into a small whimper as she stared hopelessly at the ground.

"Not that he's going to care now..." the grip was now relinquished, cueing a chuckle from the teenaged girl. Shoving her hands into her wrinkled, tan capri pockets, she quickly turned her tail in the opposite direction.

"...You're cruel," the tomboy scowled, before attempting to spit at the girl's feet. She never did, though.

"That's why I'm going to get something else for you. Am I cruel now?"

She blinked for a moment, watching as the teen came to a stop on the sidewalk. Was she joking? Did she plan that or something...?

"Well?" she repeated, the brown-haired girl turning to glance over at the thirteen-year-old, "You coming?"

It seemed rather strange, didn't it? Pointless protecting someone, accidentally tricking that same person, then being nice? That was way too easy... but...

"Yeah..." the tomboy lowered her head, walking behind the older girl, "But, who're you?"

"I'm Figgie," the teen gave a small smile, "And you are...?"

"Rena."

[an empty house is not a home]

"...Ice cream?"

"Sea-salt."

"Oh..."

The concoction of a molded, hard liquid on a stick became even stranger with the colour: blue. Who would want blue ice cream? Rena narrowed her eyes, twisting her head side to side curiously, and merely watched as one little drop was pulled to the ground by gravity.

"Hurry up," Figgie snapped, though her voice wasn't harsh as it was played, "It's going to melt if you just stare at the damn thing all day."

Those dulled but strangely sharp words stung Rena immediately and caused the girl to begin licking the strange 'ice cream' substance without a second thought. She almost wished she hadn't, yet was very glad she did.

A strange mix. Sweet and salty? Of course that was bizarre! But how would believe that it was rather addictive? Her tongue swept across the rarely grainy surface, slowing just barely to swallow down that bit.

They merely sat on the sidewalk, their feet flat at the very edge of the concrete road that stood before the vast sea. And she took a glance with those round sky blue eyes at the brown and white haired girl.

'Why is she being so nice?' It was a perfect question. One that no one could answer but the teenaged girl herself. Why ask? That was pointless! There might not have even been an answer; just a snarl or something for giving an inquire.

Perhaps they met somewhere before. That had to have been it! Why else would a random stranger be generous to some kid who couldn't run fast enough from a novice baker?

"I don't know you, if that's what you're thinking," the teen spoke.

Rena's eyes grew wide. How...

"...Why you say that?" the tomboy frowned, taking another lick of the strange ice cream. However, this was only a cover-up of a sentence she wanted to scream out: 'are you psychic or something?'

"I just want to be nice, mmkay? Is that a bad thing?"

"No..." Though, the slight tilt of Rena's head said otherwise, "But, why me? Out of everybody else?"

"'Cause."

It still didn't really make sense. You could see the young tomboy simply gave a shrug.

"Whatever..." she mumbled.

Figgie's purple-coloured eyes seemed to lighten after a moment or two of silence. She smiled; yet, it had a mysterious bite to it.

"Hey," she begun as if barking a command, "I have to go see a friend of mine..."

Rena barely took her eyes off of the ground, looking at the teen out of the corner of her eye.

"You wanna come with?"

"Why should I?" the tomboy snarled defensively, in the midst sucking on a corner of the frozen sweet. She was more than apprehensive...

Figgie seemed to stick her nose up in the air just a bit, "Or you could stay in the stupid slums. I bet it's boring. Not like the city one bit..."

Rena choked and jerked her gaze, "...City?"

She could see that visible blue eye glimmering. The teen gave a tiny little grin.

"I could show you around if you wanted... But you'd just have to tag along with me for one little thing."

Rena was still a little uneasy. Her eyes shifted back to the ground, "I... guess..."

"Good!" Figgie jumped to her feet energetically and grabbed onto Rena's hand tightly, "But you better keep up!"

Two little puddles formed around the wooden sticks as they pointed up halfway to the sky. One fell idly to the ground as the milky puddle grew. Rena hadn't turned her head yet. They could've at least threw those away... or have taken them along!

[i don't want to be old and feel afraid]

This seemed like a strange place to meet a 'friend'.

As they walked forwards, their footsteps slowly every little intimidating second, and as the darkness grew stronger...

The light seemed to disappear in only moments. Blowing out like a candle. However, the sun still shone overhead. Strange, isn't it?

Rena's footsteps came to a halt, her eyes wearily gazing around the long back alley. If Figgie's attitude wasn't intimidating, then this was. She had never seen an alley so dark and long. No amount of sunlight could break through it! Her heart pounded. Thumping wildly. Her lungs gasped. Reaching for breath. All alone...

A hand sweetly ushered the frightened girl forwards, those fingers curling around the young girl's palm. Rena jumped at first, but gave a sigh. After that, she stayed close behind Figgie, nearly stepping on the back of her shoes every time she paced.

They finally came to a final halt, at the very end. Rena's eyes seemed to flicker as she glanced up at the end of the back alley. Was that really the wall? It was so dark, you could barely tell...

Figgie gave a grin.

"Shizuka."

The sound of clothes moving. Nearly silent, but you could just make out the noise of wrinkling and motion. Motion of a figure...

A head lifted itself up, one eye sparkling with malice and pure discontent. The young girl took a quick step backwards at the sight. Figgie continued to grin widely.

"...Nan da yo..." a voice spat hoarsely as a question.

"What? I thought you wanted to see me..."

Shizuka gave a growl. Her long hair was perfectly straight over her eyes, yet perfectly messy and untidy on the other hand. You couldn't really tell what colour it was, however. The alley was still way too dark. However, you could tell that their posture made them look rather drunk; or at least half asleep.

The strange figure's shoulders seemed to lower as that eye shifted slowly over to the side.

"Kore wa dare da ka?" the female's voice was grainy once again. Her visible eye was staring right at Rena, who was peering over Figgie's shoulder.

Figgie gave a chuckle, "Rena-chan."

Rena's eyes grew wide and she retaliated backwards, only to quickly tap Figgie on the shoulder.

"Hey!" she whispered in the brown and white haired girl's ear, "Why're you telling her my name?"

"It's fine, I promise." Figgie assured, giving one mere glance at Rena.

"Sore wa ano kodomo desu. Ano kodomo wa watashi tachi o sagasu..."

Shizuka's sitting position seemed to get just a bit more straight.

"Honto ni..."

Figgie's eyes had grown wide. Yet, she never threw herself forwards.

Now standing before the teen was Rena, who wore a rather curious expression on her pale-yet-peach toned face. The tomboy's eyes gleamed all agog.

"...Hi," she stared down at the figure fallen on the ground and gave a child-like smile. A simple little curve.

Their long hair was all astray before their slender face. You could see their slender, nearly bony arms as they sat on their knees. A pair of untidy baggy pants, torn in random places, were there. A simple sleeveless vest, too.

"...Konnichi wa?" the voice didn't seem interested in a stupid kid. It sounded rather spiteful to her appearance. Distasteful. On the other hand, Rena was opposite: she was really interested in this strange girl. After all, she looked like she was from the slums, too...

Yet, her hand was pulled back robustly. No wonder she went sliding backwards after she felt that tug!

"You wanted to go?" Figgie spat, her voice sounding like it belonged to a vicious cat, "Then, hurry up!"

Isn't it strange how someone can change from one thing to another? Figgie seemed so genial moments ago, though it was a strange sort of tone to that, but now she was a bit surly and even bitter. Rena merely blinked as she glanced up at the teen. She barely realized she was being dragged by the girl.

They quickly left the long alley, moods seeming to reverse for both of them from when they entered. The sunlight would probably make a person happier. Neither was the case.

Rena still glanced up at the teen curiously as she wandered behind briskly, a sidewalk now beneath their feet.

What's up with you?

[and if I need anything at all]

To the people of the slums, it's always been a mystery why they've never been allowed to enter the city. To the people of the city, they knew exactly why.

There were boundaries between the filthy streets and the massive buildings. Yet, these streets could be seen only with another citizen of the massive metropolis. Someone was about to find out why the people of the slums weren't allowed here...

But, they were too busy gazing at how tall the hundreds of buildings were.

"Wow..." Rena said, awestruck as her jaw seemed to drop to the perfectly paved sidewalk.

Unlike the bay-side and the slums, this place was nowhere near deserted. Cars streaming everywhere, people streaming besides those cars, and millions of lights that could be seen quite well in the daylight.

The tomboy knew exactly why she was upbraided by simply giving a quick gaze at this place: it was perfect. Spotless, flawless, and sparkling. If some filthy person stepped foot into the city alone, they would've been thrown elsewhere before their spot became scrubbed with some sort of powerful, bleaching cleaner. But, that's probably just an exaggeration.

While Rena looked in awe at this place, Figgie look at it with resentment. Sure, the place was flawless, but so were the people. You had to be perfect to live in this place. But, of course, there were the underground sort of people...

The teen was exactly one of them. A teenager who looked like they were a rebel against all of the adults. One who didn't want to grow up to be a lawyer, but some strange person like an artist or a writer for anything but textbooks. No wonder she glared at her surroundings with malice.

"C'mon," she snapped as she dropped a bit of change into a nearby glass box. Rena quickly followed behind as a pair of doors abruptly slammed behind her; she gave a nervous giggle as the ghastly, relatively annoyed bus driver gave her a terribly sickening look. Luckily, Figgie dragged the rather ditzy child behind. They quickly found a seat on the decently filled bus and kept quiet, Figgie growling at scornful glances to her acquaintance.

There was no idle chatter amongst the two for a good few minutes; the noise of the bus was enough of a reason to stay quiet.

The large wheels of the vehicle hastily dragged the loaded, steel carriage to each destination, only halting that 60 mph speed at strange red lights and at metal signs that read 'bus stop'. Rena glanced curiously out of the smudgy, grimy windows in awe, staring up at the magnificently tall towers outside. However, Figgie would have to drag the girl back to her seat whenever she laid across a seat to look out the glass on the other side.

After a few moments of idling sitting there, one person finally spoke.

"So... why'd you do that?" Rena queried, sounding interested at the thought.

Figgie only slightly lifted her head from staring at the floor, "What?"

"You know..." she gave a quick glance over to the teen, "Being nice to me. Of all people, you have to pick a worthless kid like me..."

"You're not worthless!" the brown and white-haired girl glowered, "Don't say that... Nobody is worthless."

The tomboy's voice quickly became a whisper, "But, I'm just a stupid slums kid! Nobody cares about us, everyone obviously thinks we're trash. Everyone was glaring at me before..."

As did the teenager's, "They're just pompous jerks with way too much money. They think half of this place is dirt, because it's not up to their standard."

"Wouldn't you be one of those pompous jerks?"

Figgie froze for only a mere moment, opening her mouth to speak soon after, "My parents have tons of money. They're stuck-up just like everyone else on this bus. I, on the other hand, am so sick of treating everyone like trash and being so uniform... So, I'm pretty underground... or at least some sort of rebel... And, unlike everyone else, we actually don't mind anybody in the slums. We'd actually rather be nice to them than be 'nice' to pompous asses."

"So that's why you're being nice to me!" Rena quickly exclaimed, just loud enough to get a glower from someone in the seat before them, "You could've just said that in the first place!"

Her expression was priceless: she looked so incredibly dumbfounded by the tomboy's words, and even started to give a low growl.

"...I'm seriously going to punch you."

Rena merely grinned widely. Rather childishly, in fact.

Yet, her grin dropped momentarily, "So, why were you so mad when I was trying to talk to that weirdo girl...?"

"No more questions."

"Huh? Why not!?"

"Because..."

The metal trolley came to a sudden, yet smooth, stop on the street and Figgie took the chance to raise to her feet once the vehicle came to a halt. Rena merely blinked. Kind of like she had it all planned out...

"...This is our stop!"

"What's a stop?"

"No more questions!"

"Aw c'monnnnnn! You're no funnnnn!"

Even though Rena was sulking and trying to find some way to persuade Figgie to answer her pestering questions, nothing, not one single thing, would be able to describe the young girl's excitement after they stepped out of the bus. Even if it was just walking around some city! It was still better than that stupid alleyway...

[i need a place that's hidden in the deep]

It was just... well...

Figgie didn't get it. And she didn't know why she agreed to it. Rena didn't really care how simple it was. They merely walked around the city. For hours. It was already the afternoon by the time they got on the bus, and Figgie finally let out a grumble when it was beginning to get dark. Why would a kid be interested in looking at a city for several hours? Not going into any shops, buildings, or anything else. Just staring up at those huge buildings and letting your jaw drop to the ground.

"C'mon..." Figgie finally growled, trying to drag the young girl away from 'sightseeing' and towards one of the many buildings, "I gotta get home!"

"But I'm not done yet!" Rena eagerly protested, "There's this one cool, really tall building that looks all old and freaky and I could've sworn I saw freaky green flashies and--"

The teen's hand covered over the blabbering tomboy's mouth, forcing her to shut up so someone else could speak, "You know you can see it later, right?"

Yet, it quickly moved away, as did the elusive speaker. Rena's expression definitely said that she was way too perplexed at that moment.

"...Huh?"

Figgie had briskly walked off in the other direction, and the tomboy hurried to catch up.

"Hey!!" she exclaimed, sliding to a stop behind her, "What'd you mean see it later? I gotta get back..."

"Who said you had to go back?"

"...Um..." she merely twiddled her index fingers childishly, "I dunno..."

"Then what would happen if you didn't have to go back?"

"I... dunno..."

Figgie jerked herself around after coming to a halt, "...Do you get it yet?"

"Get what?" Rena tilted her head to the side.

Figgie's hand immediately tempted to meet her forehead, "...Wow. You're clueless..."

The teen took a step closer, "What if... someone wanted to let you stay with them? Instead of going back to the slums..."

If this were normal, Rena would perked up instantly. Yet, she actually lowered down just a bit. Was she just trying to tease her?

"I would... umm... be pretty happy, I guess..."

"Then, would you want to stay with me?"

Rena nearly fell over, "Huuuuuh?"

"My parents won't care! They can just deal with it!"

"But... uhh--"

Figgie seemed to tower over Rena now and the tomboy only tensed up more when she grasped the young girl's shoulders, looking her straight in the eye, "Look, I don't care if my home is your's, too. My parents shouldn't care, because they're stuck up snobs and they'll just have to deal with it."

"So, if someone offered to give you a home... would you take it?"

Rena froze for a moment. She remembered earlier when she didn't trust Figgie one bit. Sure, she helped her, but...

That small little smile decided to say otherwise. Just looking at that innocent smile that Figgie carried was enough to make Rena forget that she was ever hesitant to consider Figgie a 'friend'.

The tomboy gave a smile. Excitement rushed into the thirteen-year-old.

"...Really?"

Figgie nodded.

"Really!?" So much happiness and excitement was etched onto that one word.

Then, it shattered. Into a thousand, tiny, irreparable pieces. Onto that same tan, cracked sidewalk.

No! How did this happen? How did all of this happen?

Rena stared wide-eyed at the world around her. No longer was she standing in the midst of a vast city. No longer was she standing under orange and crimson clouds. And, no longer was a friend nearby.

The tomboy dug her shoes into the strange ground beneath her feet as the wind rushed through her messy hair.

"Figgie!!" she cried helplessly, "Where are you!?"

Her deep blue eyes glimmered with a powerless gleam. This place was no longer familiar. There was no way to jump out of it back into that city where she once stood. After all...

[Zanarkand Lover]

Wow, it's really good! I think it's great. Keep up the great work.

Could you check out my Fan Fic, Encyclopedia Ninja?

[Lectori Salutem]

Very nice! Poor Rena, all alone in a big city...

I don't really have any criticism, but I really want a cookie...

[Takushi Rena]

...>.> <.< *sneaks cookie to LS* DON'T TELL ANYONE. *hides in box*

Thanks for the comments! I really appreciate them! >w< *gives chocolate cornets*

I have the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th chapters already written and I'm in the process of writing the 5th. For this, I'll try to update every Tuesday, or Wednesday at the latest. Once I get to chapter 13, however, it might be a little delayed because of something other story... [which i've been slacking off on BADLY *headdesk*] Anywho, here's the next chapter! Expect all of those chapters throughout this week! I have to revise all of them first, though. ^^;

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002 + T H E _ E N D .

here lies the end of this path.

has this journey already begun?
[if you look in the mirror and don't like what you see]

where does this new road begin?

It was... cold. So cold.

Is that you?

That voice quickly struck my ears, yet I could feel that I was asleep. Am I... dreaming?

It's time to wake up...

That voice came again and, suddenly, I felt everything: my fingertips pressed against a cold, glass floor, the air rushing in and out of my mouth, and the new chill running down my spine. My electric blue eyes opened as something slithered across my hand.

I jolted up from the glossy floor to find myself in a pitch black world: I was standing in the middle of darkness, among thousands, maybe even millions, of strange things that looked like eels that weren't nearly as thin as the sea creatures.

My chest pounded.

Terror latched onto me. These things grabbed me with 'hands'. They covered my mouth. My eyes. I couldn't breathe! I couldn't see... Digging their fingers into my skin.

My lungs gasped for air. An aching urge to scream. When I tried, no sound came.

A voice was pulling me in. Closer and closer...

Finally, I had a little bit of hope: a pale hand was placed on my cheek, letting me know that everything was alright. As soon as I felt that hand, everything was gone; I could breathe, I could see, and I saw... bars?

It's alright. It's just me...

I had to rub my eyes for a second to believe it: it was a girl! A blonde haired girl who had the sweetest smile on her face. So, why was she in a cage?

"...Naminé."

Yeah, that was her name: Naminé. She only grinned softly as I said that name.

"What took you so long, Ven?"

"Ven...?"

"That's your name, isn't it?"

[you can find out firsthand what it's like to be me]

"Really!?"

That word had so much excitement, so much happiness etched onto. She would finally have a home, a place where you could stay inside during those horrible summer storms and cool winter winds that chilled you to the bone. No longer would she be alone to live with the others in this horrid part of this beach world. And no longer would she have no one to call a family.

Yet, that was just a distant memory now.

With a flash and the wind whistling away the world into dust, it changed.

No more sunny skies. No more sparkling blue water. No more... anything! The bricks of buildings laid astray across the now crackled street as the purple-grey, clouded sky hovered above.

As she now stood by the bay-side area (how, though, wasn't accountable), it all screamed one word: DESTRUCTION.

If darkness had teeth, would it swallow you whole?

'No, it would rip you apart.'

"What..."

Her deep blue eyes gazed in horror at the destroyed world before herself, her heart pounding wildly in her chest.

"...is this...?"

She reached for a pair of goggles that were hanging around her neck, only to find that there was nothing but air. The girl glanced down quickly, searching for her familiar blue-tinted goggles, and found something else along the way: no longer was she wearing that familiar outfit, or those familiar pair of goggles. Instead, a hue of blue was flashing before her eyes and she found herself wearing an outfit that was nothing like before, almost like it was a costume of a video game character.

Both of the long brown bangs hovering over her face leaned down as the tomboy gazed at her new clothes.

"...That's new," she replied, playing with her black and blue vest as a pair of black, fingerless gloves clung onto her hands.

But what was more important randomly getting a new outfit?

The demons marching in the street, ones with round, yellow eyes that were glowing deviously and strange black antenna that sat on top of their round heads.

The girl found herself sliding backwards against the wall and gazing, once again, in horror at these black creatures.

'What're these things?' she questioned silently in the thoughts of her mind, continuing to gaze down at their perfectly coordinated march down the now crackled, concrete street. The girl bravely, but hesitantly, took a step forwards and found that she would be repaying for that one moment later.

That newly acquired, oversized, black sneaker, similar to it's twin, stepped onto the only stop of concrete visible and the girl's whole body, and other foot, slid along behind. Yet, that was probably one of the worst things to do at that moment.

Every single pair of glowing, yellow eyes turned and glared. Every single antenna stopped twitching. Every single round head turned, black teeth barely visible against the shadows. And now, the girl just watched, helplessly, as they all came flying through the air.

Some dug their teeth into her arms and legs, while others just tried to scratch the face off the poor girl. She didn't bother to scream; she knew no one would hear her. But, what else could she do? She didn't have anything to defend herself with against these dark creatures!

SLASH!

Suddenly, from the ones that she could tell, their eyes grew wide and then they all 'popped' out of existence. They were gone, all gone, except the ones who hadn't dared to jump at their prey. Instead, they stopped and stared off into the distance, a good bit away from the tomboy.

That, obviously, meant it was a good time to run for it.

She slid off down the sidewalk, quickly running down the street to get away from those small, dark beasts. But, the only thing that was ringing in her ears, aside from the wind rushing past her, were the sounds of that familiar slash and a voice: someone who was screaming 'WAIT!'.

[so gather 'round piggies and kiss this goodbye]

Someone had to be in this place still!

Everywhere she looked, she found no one. As she ran down the street, she saw no shadows in shops or even a speck of light; there was only darkness left inside the still standing buildings, just like in every corner of Cucio Bay. What did happen to this place?

But, there was one little bit of hope left: one lone person stood on the familiar, long, and tall dock that hovered over the now black ocean. That one person was none other than...

"FIGGIE!" the tomboy cried out both desperate and relieved, as she ran up to meet the teenager. Standing ahead of her was a brown haired girl, who's hair had two long, white streaks that framed her face. She looked like everyone who had been in this city, before they all disappeared, of course: like a punk who had been hanging out on the beach too much. Unlike the young girl behind the teen, she hadn't changed one bit!

"Figgie," the girl begun as she slowed to a stop behind the teen, "We gotta get out of here... somehow... It's all crazy and there was all these black things that were biting me 'n stuff and... LOOK! I got a--"

The young girl let out a sound that sounded like a mix of a gasp and a hack. The brown and white haired girl, who was about to take her in just before the world changed, had now grabbed the tomboy's throat in an iron grip.

"I was waiting for you to show up and start whining to me about that, Rena," the voice said, sounding slick and sadistic, as messy bangs shadowed over her eyes.

"Figg... ie...?" Rena said once more, her hands grabbing onto the teen's arm, "What's... wrong...?"

"What's wrong? You're such an idiot!" the teen growled with that sickened, sadistic voice. Her grip on the younger girl's neck tighten and she brought her to eye level, "You are the one who destroyed my home. My precious home where I could be a spoiled rotten brat and have all the wealth in the world. I could scream, yell, sulk, pout, and anything else to get what I wanted... But, no! You had to find me, make me feel sorry for myself, and what did you do? You turned around and destroyed my home, you stupid little BRAT!"

"I-I'm sorry... Figgie...!" Rena squeaked with strain, all while trying to pry Figgie's hand off of her neck, "I... didn't do any of... THAT!"

The teen just giggled and lifted her head up, revealing a pair of bright, yellow eyes, "Are you sure? That's sounds like something a brat with nothing but a box would do: steal someone's money after you whine and beg for it! I'm sure no one would care if I threw you over the edge and let the Heartless swallow you whole. No one would care about a peasant like y--!!"

The girl let out a hack. Her painful grip was relinquished.

As Rena fell back onto the dock, she gave her head a hard shake. Her eyes moved up from the ground and onto Figgie. How she wished she closed her eyes.

Figgie stood with a black-gloved hand through her chest, a blood-covered heart pulsing wildly in their grasp. Her eyes were completely white, no colour of any hue seen within them, and her skin tone had desaturated completely. Figgie was...

Rena threw a hand over her mouth to keep from screaming as she watched her 'friend' fall face-first onto the dock, watching in horror as her grey skin shriveled up to cling to the bones underneath it. Behind where the girl once stood was a black cloaked enigma, a hood covered their face in shadow, who held the girl's pulsating heart in their grasp as blood seemed to stain their leather, black gloves.

"I wonder how pathetic this one is..." a teenaged, male voice said as their eyes, hidden beneath the shadow of the hood, glanced over to the heart in their grasp; unlike the hearts that Heartless steal and become, this one was no heart that looked like it had been drawn with two simple, curved lines. This was, in fact, a heart that had no memories at all. This was a human organ.

Suddenly, a tongue could be seen sticking out from the shadow and it inched closer and closer... until it licked the heart within their grasp.

Rena, mouth still covered by her gloved hand, only continued to watch in horror as this black cloaked enigma licked her friend's heart; she couldn't help but want to puke at the sight.

"...What?" the voice questioned, giving an annoyed sigh after realizing what was wrong, "Haven't you ever seen a sadist before?"

"Sad... ee... est...? You're... sad?"

"Man. Just as stupid as them..."

"Huuuuuuuh?"

With a quick grumble, the enigma dropped the bloody heart to the wooden dock and removed their hood, revealing a guy who looked no older than eighteen, if not younger: he had dirty blonde hair that fell over his left eye, which was part of a pair of emerald green eyes, and a skin complex of peachy yet pale, much like Rena's own.

"It means I'm insane... though, I wouldn't go around saying that..." the enigma continued on, being rather annoyed at that moment.

His black boots made a clunk noise as they stepped over Figgie's body and made their way towards Rena as she sat sprawled on the ground. With no time to even react, the tomboy found herself in the dirty blonde's grasp, since he tightly gripped the girl's vest and t-shirt collar into his hand. Now, they were both at eye level and staring into each other's eyes: Rena was freaked out beyond belief while the enigma just wanted to start laughing his head off.

"So, what'd they call you?" he questioned as Rena watched his only visible eye squint as he asked.

"R-Rena," she shook with a gulp.

"Pretty good name... Mine's better," he cockily stated, "Name's Aoi. I'm a Nobody, but I'm not stupid like the other eleven guys and gals in the Exil-Orgy. But, enough about those idiots... Don't you want to know what happened to your so-called 'home'?"

Rena gulped once again, realizing that Aoi brought her in a little bit closer so that their noses were barely touching; didn't this guy know about personal space? She only nodded, hoping that would get her down on the ground again as soon as possible.

"Alright then... It was an illusion. A fake, a fraud. If we could create characters, we would be roleplaying in it."

"...Illusion...?"

"Yeah, one of those. This world that you knew, well the 'version' of it that you lived in, was only a computer program. Kind of like Twilight Town, but the only problem was... this place was destroyed as soon as you landed on here; talk about bad luck. Someone was bright enough to make an 'overlay', with fake people and places, to watch over you guys and keep you from screwing up."

Rena's blue eyes merely widened as this chimed into her ears. An illusion? The whole town was... fake?

Her glance passed from Aoi's emerald eyesight and down to the shriveled up, bony figure that laid on the wooden dock below. She merely gave a cringe.

"So, Figgie is..."

Aoi gave a scoff, "If she was, she would be here, now would she?"

The tomboy let out a growl and shifted a harsh glare onto the dirty blonde, "Then why was she like that!? Say it!!"

"She wasn't your friend, you know..."

Rena growled once more, her eyes seeming to narrow with pure annoyance. She merely gave a pout, "Of course she is!"

"Then why would she promise all of that stuff and take off? She was waiting for Cucio Bay to go back on destruction mode, so she and that weirdo could take off. See where that got her?"

"...How'd you know about that?"

"Oops," Aoi gave a chuckle, "I think I just over-talked."

There came a sound like wind, though it was only a quick burst of it. Unfortunately, this guy wasn't allowing Rena to see what that noise was; but, whatever it was, that wouldn't have been good news.

"Thanks for screwing up, kiddo! Cucio Bay and that stupid 'friend' of your's are gone, and it's all thanks to you! Now, I need you to do me a favor... Tilt your head to the left a little bit and go in... THERE!"

"AHHH!"

Suddenly, everything went from purple to black, with that freaky enigma waving good-bye before the exit.

[i'd encourage your smiles i'll expect you won't cry]

'What happened...?'

The girl stumbled around, as if looking for a pair of glasses that she lost. She was alone, in the dark of all places, and was sliding across a glossy floor that stood underneath her feet.

'I guess I'm dreaming... Okay! I wanna wake up now!'

Rena stumbled and fell onto the floor, where she just laid there and let out a deep sigh of annoyance.

'Guess not...'

She rolled over onto her back and simply stared up at the 'ceiling', or the rest of the darkness that was hiding above her. Her deep blue eyes lit up in the dark 'room', seeming to be the only bit of light; if there were bright enough, anyways.

'What did that guy do? He threw me into... some place... but where is it?'

Something slithered. Rena jolted up from her laying position to sit up straight, feeling her heart race once more. There was nothing there, as far as she could tell at least; she was still alone, so how could anything be there?

There is no light within the darkness...

Rena jerked her head around after hearing a voice come out of nowhere. Her breathing quickened and the hairs on the back of her neck stood up straight.

Why won't you just give up?

A voice... It sounded rather cynical, like they believed everything was horrible; they sounded pretty... pessimistic.

Something slithered across her legs now and Rena jolted to her feet, her heart still pounding wildly in her chest.

'That guy... um... AOI! GET ME OUT OF HERE!'

That same something wrapped itself around her stomach. Her arms were helplessly locked to her sides. Something coiled around her legs and arms, while another grabbed her neck. She choked. Terribly struggling.

I... I'll never give up...

A boy! His voice echoed in her thoughts. Rena gritted her teeth. Still struggling...

'Get... OFF! I didn't mean to get here! It was all that stupid guy's fault; blame him!'

They were coiling tighter. She was turning pale. Gasping for air. Trying to break free!

I still have to see them: my friends, everyone I cared about!

The things grew larger. Gluing themselves to the tomboy. One covered her eyes. Yet, she still couldn't take her sight off of that.

'I just want to go back home, okay? Not that world I was in... that place was illusion; I know... Just let me go back!'

Pointed teeth. A lashing tongue. It curled around her feet.

Just let me out!

The darkness was trying to eat her!

'Please!'

I have to see them again!

There came a sudden flash of bright light that filled the edges of nowhere. That light came and it seemed as if those strange things had never been there in the first place. All there was, at that moment, was the young tomboy and something strange: a sword that looked like a giant key. It was silver on the blade and long pole that held it all together, while it was blue on the outside 'rim' that looked like the outside of a box. At the end of this key, though, was a keychain: one that had a crown emblem hanging from it.

"...Whoa." Rena finally spoke without the words echoing in her thoughts, rather than spitting out of her mouth. The bright light dimmed until it made a simple, white glow around the key-shaped weapon.

You're the other: the one they need. You are the only one who can open the Desolate...

A strange voice echoed in the girl's mind once more and, with a flash, the darkness crumbled away. Now, there was just Cucio Bay: it was still in the midst of destruction, with a dark, purple-hued and clouded sky. Yet, one thing had changed, though it was only for her: she now had this weirdo key and a voice was still talking in her mind. This voice, though, belonged to...

Yeah... that's just like--!

"Hey!"

Rena's eyes were only taken off of the strange blade when she felt a hand grasp her shoulder. Defensively, she let out a yelp. She was beyond frightened!

Taken aback, he merely stared at the girl, her eyes wide in a comical way. He almost believed he should've laughed. But...

"You!" he said breathlessly as he put two strange yet familiar swords onto his back, "I... found you..."

The tiny hairs on the back of Rena's neck rose and a strange chill ran down her spine. This was probably the third weirdest thing today, next to crawling around in the dark and meeting an insane enigma that stole people's hearts just to lick them; but, really, what kid runs up to you and says 'I found you!'?

"Uhhh..." Rena muttered cautiously, "Who're... you...?" Her head begun to tilt to the side, her deep blue eyes narrowing, and the boy gulped while his electric blue eyes grew wide.

"I-I..." he begun nervously, fidgeting with his black wristband. The boy looked only a few years older than Rena, about fifteen or sixteen to be exact, and wore another one of those strange costumes: he wore a soft, light blue coloured vest with a tall collar that only hovered a few inches from the side of his neck; at the end of his sleeveless vest were zippers, which only covered up a bit of the t-shirt sleeves that connected to the vest. The vest was parted down towards the left side, rather than down the middle, but the part was rather wrinkled by the two brown belt-like straps that held two oversized keys on his back. Clinging to his two legs were a pair of strange pants: one part was black, with a zipper running up and down it, and the other was a cream colour, though it seemed to have some sort of light blue mixed in, that separated the black bit with a crown-like 'edge'. A pair of black and silver sneakers could be seen underneath the baggy pants, while on his arm was a strange crown-shaped object around his right arm while a black wristband sat on his right wrist.

Underneath a head of spiky blonde hair were two blue-hued eyes. The strange thing was: they were the same exact colour as Rena's own.

"I'm..." he gulped once more, now thrusting his hands into his pockets. Rena tilted her head to the side.

"That's not important right now!"

He bravely took a step forward, clearing his throat and removing his hands from his pockets; as if to show he was trying to be 'un-nervous'.

"Are you that last one on this world?" he questioned with a bold, clear tone.

Rena simply shrugged. "I dunno..."

"I don't think there would be that many people with all of those Shadow Heartless back there," he added in with a laugh. Rena, once again, tilted her head to the side in confusion and the blonde cleared his throat once more, out of a horrid habit of his.

"I... umm..." he muttered once again, "Do you... are you..." He let out a sigh of frustration, seeming to scratch his ear as he questioned, "Can you... get out of here...? Don't you have a gummi ship or something?" He didn't even know how to put that into any other phrase.

Rena shook her head, hair flopping back and forth quickly as if she were a puppy dog with floppy ears. "No..." she replied, rather confused by the word 'gummi ship'.

The boy gave a warm smile. "C'mon then," he said, placing a hand on the girl's shoulder, "I can't just leave someone behind around here, now can..."

BHAM!

A loud crash echoed throughout. It rippled. It grew softer by the seconds. Then came a cloud: a massive dark cloud. It swept through the world like blood in water. It was impossible to see! It was so dark. So bleak. So hopeless.

When the cloud finally dissipated, leaving behind a fog within the town, his eyes shined through the mist and found one, and only one, thing: that girl had a keyblade.

[!save me! get me out of here]

She ran.

That brown-haired girl ran, as fast as her oversized sneakers would be willing to take her. She zoomed down the sidewalk and through the purple-toned mist that laid across the streets as a blanket. Yet, when she finally stopped, she only wished as her heart raced.

In the midst of the slums, Rena found something worse than any sort of small, weird creature; it was terrifying. Before her, standing taller than any skyscraper, was a shadow: thousands of glowing yellow eyes could be seen, many melting into the blackness while others stared with wide eyes, and they all formed this horrifying black creature that stood tall among the destroyed buildings. Yet, it couldn't even seem to stay in one piece.

Hovering above the grotesque creature was a massive, strange, purple orb with purple-hued lightning bolts streaking the inside of its seemingly glass exterior. A massive gust of wind could be felt that pulled towards this orb, pulling you closer and closer until you were sucked up into the orb's wrath.

Many of the familiar 'shadow' creatures from before could be seen disintegrating from its now-forming 'body' at the top, while others stood their ground down at the bottom to form two legs and wonky, wrinkled feet. The only problem was: they were all about to get sucked up.

Outside of the area the large shadow was in the rest of the world. Rena watched, helplessly, as her 'world' fell apart: the sea was disintegrating into this large orb, along with the streets and some of the destroyed buildings.

Cucio Bay was disappearing.

The large key within the tomboy's grasp gave a strong vibration, as if signaling Rena to do something other than just stand there. But, the girl simply brought the weapon up to eye level and frowned.

"What am I supposed to do!?" she exclaimed aloud, as if she heard the key telling her to do something. It vibrated once more, seeming to be rather persistent after its second time. She simply frowned.

"But... what do I do...?"

Suddenly, a pair of arms clung to the young girl, as if to keep her from flying up into the air.

"It's you," a voice said, pulling the tomboy close while they dug their feet into the ground, "You're the one that Naminé told me to find!"

Rena simply blinked and glanced up to see that same boy once more. She tempted to wiggle out of his grasp but found no avail in doing so.

"Erm... mind getting... off...?" Rena said nervously, seeming to ignore what the blonde had said.

"Not until we get out of here," he simply stated before he released his grasp and put one hand on the tomboy's shoulder, "Which'll be any second now..."

With one hand outstretched, the blonde haired boy's eyes stared off into the distance in complete concentration. Yet, Rena wasn't willing to find out what was coming out of the blackness that came swirling into view. She instantly knocked away the boy's grasp with her own oversized key and slid off until she could see the blonde glancing over at her.

"Screw off!" she angrily exclaimed, forcing herself into a battle position with the strange sword, "I'm not tagging along with weirdo blondies, especially not ones like you; even if it means getting out of here!"

The male sighed in frustration once more. "You don't get it!" he exclaimed as he stepped forwards, "That! That thing that you have... It's nothing ordinary. It's--"

"AHH!"

A familiar scream of horror emitted from the brown-haired girl, one filled with fright at the sight of it.

Her hand! It was...

Into dust, the tomboy was beginning to fade. She glanced up at the blonde, hoping he would be able to stop this somehow.

But, she wasn't the only one. The boy also found his hand disappearing.

The two of them were fading. Their blue eyes watched in horror as their hands faded, their arms faded, and even themselves begun to turn into dust that flew up into that ominous orb.

Then, it was gone. The whole world. It all disappeared.

[Lectori Salutem]

*eats cookie*

Wow… Very good chapter!!!

The sadist is kind of cool, but freaky! I wonder what will happen next... Update soon please!

[Takushi Rena]

Thankies for the comment! 83;

He's not freaky... he's just trying to be. >.>; He's a big softie. Seriously. xD; And I would probably get punched by that comment... but it's true... >: *shuts up*

New chapter time! Well, two new chapters. This will never happen again. Yup. Enjoy!

-------------------------------

003 + RUSH

after the moment we disappear

is there anything left to happen here?
[pulling you in, spinning you 'round]

or do we find another place to call 'home'?

Why was this town always so boring? The teenaged girl sat on top of a fireplace, the flames within it licking inside the container, with a hand underneath her chin while a look of boredom sprawled about on her tan-toned face. Her foot dangled aimlessly in the air, swinging back and forth as if it were a metronome, while mako blue-tinted orbs stared half-opened at a piece of the wall across the room.

"AY!" A loud, crackled, and rather grumpy, voice boomed through the shop. The teenager glared over at a blonde hair man with a toothpick in his mouth with disgust.

"What now?!" she loudly complained with a snarl, grabbing the edge of the fireplace and halting the swinging of her foot.

"Someone's orderin' gummi parts, so git yer' ass upstairs and git 'em!"

"With the moogles!? NO! They're gonna try to haggle with me again for... materia... little perverts..."

A fist slammed onto the light yellow coloured counter and the teenager fell the fireplace from alarm. Then, the old man started cursing. She couldn't seem to count how many curse words came sprinting out of his mouth; there had to be more than 20, and there were probably some in a foreign language as well. Pushing herself to her feet, using the fireplace's round edge as a crutch, the girl glared over at the cynical adult with the sailor mouth. When he stopped spitting into the air, the teen couldn't help but be incredibly rude.

"...In English would be nice, gramps," she rolled her eyes, blowing a bit of stray hair that fell into her face.

"NOW!" the adult's voice boomed within small room while the teen let out a small yelp.

"Alright, alright! But, if they start talking with the fake accent again, I swear--"

AH! I'M SORRY! I didn't mean to get it! REALLY!

"...What the..." the girl's stance was now straight. Whatever that screaming was seemed a lot more interesting than those stupid moogles. And, apparently, the old man realized that.

"Alright..." the blonde seemed to loosen up a bit, idly playing with the toothpick in his mouth, "You go see what that is, and--"

With a grin, the teen didn't dare wait for him to finish; he probably would have changed his mind in the next five seconds, anyways. Instead, she sped through the large wooden doors and quickly slammed them behind her, hurrying off to see what all that shouting was about.

"BUT YER STILL GONNA HAVE TO GET ME THOSE BLOCKS!!"

[lifting your feet right off the ground]

A giggle seemed to echo into their blank thoughts, a boy's voice loudly marching behind.

"Gimme a bre--!!"

A wave of static filled into an empty space, cutting off the boy's voice as if it had been slicing through with a knife.

Now, rather than just sound, there came a flood of images: a girl was standing on the beach, holding out her hand with a smile on her face, and a boy went to take it. That same boy was on his knees before he jolted up to his feet, screaming at a cloaked figure standing before him. The girl reappeared again, trapping behind bars and looking for a way out.

Their voices came in a flood and never seemed to end. The only time it stopped was when the final image came in: a silver haired boy holding the girl's body, stepping backwards, as a black creature that looked like an exact duplicate of the first boy sprung out of the ground.

From there, everything faded into black.

Yet, something clawed its way in.

It shredded through the darkness. Claws sinking into the walls. Tearing them to bits. Wicked yellow eyes. It giggled psychotically.

I fOuNd YoU!

"AH!"

The brown haired girl woke up with a jolt, her heart bouncing madly inside her chest as sweat rolled down in small droplets from her face. The tomboy's lungs rapidly gasping for air. She fell back against the wall, staring off into space with her deep blue eyes.

"What... was... that?" she questioned in between breaths, now incredibly freaked out by the voice crawling through her thoughts like a parasite until it finally found something. It was scary, especially with another surprise.

The walls. They definitely weren't familiar.

Her hand brushed against a red bricked wall that stood behind her and she jumped to her feet, as if there were a bug on the wall. Her deep blue eyes motioned around to glance around at this new setting: it was an alleyway that faded off into darkness at the end. Somehow, it was rather eerie.

Rena, a chill running down her spine, took a quick step backwards and ran into the entrance of this alley, finding a strange town before her eyes.

"This... isn't... home..." she whispered aloud, her eyes growing wide as she glimpsed around the new surroundings with panic.

That panic turned into dread. The dread transformed into horrible thoughts.. Her eyes grew wider. And wider. Thoughts came flooding in. She was terrified! What happened to her home? What happened to Cucio Bay?

"Home isn't... it can't be..."

Something grabbed her shoulder. Rena let out a small scream of fright as she was jerked around to find...

"Are you alright?" the voice questioned in a kind, soft tone. Her heart was no longer up in her throat, pounding wildly with terrified emotion. The tomboy gulped and glanced down at the ground, her hands lazily hanging by her sides.

"Y-Yeah," she said with a small, unnoticed sigh.

A small 'hmmm', as if pensive in thought, came from the figure, while a frown seemed to form on their face.

"You don't look alright. What's your name?"

"Rena," she replied, her tone blank yet sad at the same time.

"Rena, huh? I've been looking for a 'Rena'."

"Huh?"

A giggle seemed emit from the figure hovering over her. Rena had glanced up to see their face, yet only saw a shadow hiding them as if it were a mask, and found a small knife pointed at her throat.

"Kyuuuu~ I didn't think I would catch you that fast!" the figure giggled sadistically.

Rena gulped, her eyes still staring up at the shadow.

"W-Who're you...?"

First, they were in front of her. Now, they were behind, the knife's blade now pointed sideways across her neck.

"Me?" another giggle ensued, "My name's Xatzku~ And, you are my prey! I haven't had one of them in a long time, ya know! How fast can you run, kiddie?"

Rena didn't say a word; she just stood there, her eyes wide as she hoped and waited for this enigma to disappear.

"What? Cat got your tongue? I promise you that I'm not the cat..." they giggled again, and the knife seemed to disappear from view. Rena took her chance, and jolted forwards before jerking herself around to see the figure. Her eyes widened once more at the sight. though: they had a cloak, much like Aoi's.

"Are you... are you with Aoi?"

They giggled, "Of course, silly~! Why else would I be after you? Because of that key thing?"

"Key thing...? That key?" Rena glanced down at her hand, as if the key was supposed to be there.

"Well, I guess that's one reason. Kyukyukyuuuuu~ The keyblader's not very much at all without the key to wield, ya know..."

Suddenly, with a burst of light and coils of black surrounding it, the light formed into that familiar key. Rena gulped and, tightly grasping it, threw her arm by her side at once.

"So, you lost, kiddo?" the figure mewed, their arms crossed against their chest.

"I... I dunno..." Rena didn't know whether to answer or not. She gulped and threw her eyes down at the new ground she stood on. She could hear footsteps echo in her ears, then a gloved hand ruffled her already messy hair.

"Of course you're lost! You're like a little lost puppy dog who can't find their way home! So cute! But, you know what I think about little puppies?"

Rena lifted her head up and found the figure right in front of her face, "W-What?"

Their tone became as deadly as poison, "I think I should claw their eyes out!"

A knife came flying straight at her head! She barely had enough time to duck, let alone give a small yelp.

"Stay still! Don't make me pin your tail to the ground!"

Rena had hastily taken off running. The cloaked figure casually walked behind, throwing knifes straight at their victim.

"I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to get it! REALLY!"

"That key of your's? HA! What makes you think we want that thing? We've already done that sort of tactic, and it didn't work out so well for them!"

The young girl was up against the wall now. Cornered, like prey usually is.

One knife stabbed through one side of her hood, another went through her sleeve, and others did the same, cutting through her gloves, pants, vest, sleeves, and one even (which had to have been a butcher knife) was right against her neck.

She was standing there, horrified, as she was pinned to the wall by knives, while her key-shaped weapon seemed to disappear from sight. What did this enigma want?

"Dawwwwww~ The poor wittle baby gonna cry? Is the mean, ol' Nobody being scawey? HA!"

"Oy! What's going on out here!?"

A new voice seemed to etch itself into the air, and Xatzku turned their gaze to greet them. It was a tan skin-toned teen, who looked like she could kick your ass just by giving you a dirty look.

"Okay... I think Cid should at least give me some slack for this..."

"Girl. I'm busy, so if you don't mind... why don't you hurry along and go play your stupid toys like good children do?"

The teen seemed to roll her eyes.

"Well, you're in my town, with a kid hanging from my wall. I think I have the right to check things out."

"Look: this kid is being a brat and won't come back with me. I dunno how she got here, but coming with me right now!"

Rena immediately shook her head as Xatzku wrap her grip around one of the knives in the walls. The teen raised a bow.

"Funny. She doesn't look like she wants to go back. Especially when you've got knives on you..."

"Shut it!" Xatzku spat, taking one of the knives out of the wall and pointing it straight at the wall, "Quit being a smart ass already, and go mind your own business!"

The enigma begun to take the knives out of the wall, forcing Rena to fall to the ground. Xatzku latched her grip onto the girl's hood and forced her to stay behind her.

"I think we'll be going now, won't we?"

Rena shook her head, having loosened the figure's grip on her hood, and ran right behind the teen standing nearby; the tan-toned girl seemed to let out a little laugh, even if her face didn't show it. Xatzku was fuming now.

Then, without warning, a hand reached up and pulled the black hood down to her shoulders, realizing an adult, peach-toned face with brown haired that was pulled back into a ponytail, though a bang or two was hanging down in front of her face, with amber eyes that seemed to pierce right through you.

"You little brat!!" Xatzku screamed, marching forwards as her hands seemed to glow with a purple aura, "Just because you're hiding behind some idiot doesn't mean that that's going to keep from dragging you back!!"

Now with some of the knives in her grasp once more, she charged straight towards her prey, but only found a fist punching right into her stomach.

"Oy! Screw off!!"

Xatzku growled and slid backwards. She giggled once again.

"Don't think I won't be coming back, kiddo~ We still have a game of cat and mouse to play!"

Then, with her loud, insane laugh echoing through the area, she disappeared into blackness.

The teen let out a sigh, and begun to march off towards one of the buildings standing around in this part of the town.

"I thought that there would actually be something to cure my boredom... Haha. That was such a damn lie..."

"Umm... excuse me?" a voice came from behind the older girl while a hand seemed to tug on her vest.

"What now!?" she growled, jerking herself around, "Look, kid. I'm not a freakin' babysitter! Just go back to where ever you came from and--"

"But, I-I... I'm lost..."

[you can't believe it's happening now]

"So, you went out there... and you came back with a damn kid?"

The blonde haired man with the toothpick in his mouth only seemed to glare in disgust at his employee, who didn't look too amused either.

"You told me to go check it out! And, I did! What else was I supposed to do? Let that freak come back and stab the kid into the wall again!?"

The teen could hear the dangling of feet as they motioned back and forth repeatedly, over and over again. The kid she had found outside in the First District was now sitting on top of the fireplace, much like the older girl had been, and kept her deep blue eyes locked on her moving legs, waiting for something to happen.

"Brat!" the old man screamed, rummaging around in his pockets until he found something balled up in a wrapper, "Eat this! You dun wanna turn into skin 'n bones like Miss Tanning Booth over here, now do ya!?"

"HEY!" the teen added in with a scream, "I have a name, ya know!"

The young girl seemed to cringe at the word 'brat', as if it were a fist that punched her right in the face. She hesitantly jumped down to the floor below her moving feet, and motioned towards the counter, where she took the wrapped up ball before scurrying back to the fireplace; after opening it, she realized that it was a little meronpan that the old man had been saving.

"So, what'd I do?" the teen questioned, shifting her mako blue eyes over to her blonde haired 'boss' that sounded like a sailor.

"Eh," he simply crossed his arms, his southern accent sticking out like a sore thumb, "It's yer problem, not mine. Yer the one that gotta find places from everyone in this town when they get their asses stuck here... Figure it out!"

"What!? Why do I... I... er... GRR! I'LL MAKE NINJA BRAT DO IT! She's too hyper for her own damn good! She can take care of it!!"

The girl on the fireplace seemed to cringe at the teen's screaming, while she barely nibbled on the bun.

"Eat the damn thing, kid!!" Cid screamed, where the tomboy frantically nodded and timidly said 'y-yes, sir!' as if it were a whisper.

"Ughhhhhhhh. C'mon, stupid kid..." the teen said to the tomboy, now tugging on her arm as if she was just going to pull her down, "Let's go figure out where you're gonna go..."

"Y-Yes, ma'am..." the tomboy timidly replied once more, jumping down to the floor and tagging along behind the fist fighter.

As the doors creaked shut and the two girls disappeared from sight, Cid merely blinked and rolled his eyes.

"Nah... that can't be it..."

[can you feel it? can you feel it?]

"So, what's your name, kid?" the teen asked as they made their way past the Accessory Shop, the tan girl seeming to be in a hurry to get to a set of doors beyond the shop.

"M-My name is... umm..."

"What? Spit it out! You can't sound all jittery all the time!"

"My name... is..." the tomboy gulped and glanced up at the teen, "Rena..."

"Rena?"

"Yes, ma'am..."

"Stop calling me that! Call me Raynie!"

"Y-Yes... Ray... nie..."

Raynie seemed to have steam coming out of her ears after that moment. She was already annoyed, which was a fantastic thing in such a sarcastic way, and it might've gotten so much worse as soon as they got into the next District.

"So..." Raynie questioned, her arms crossed, "Where'd you come from?"

Rena gulped, "Uhh... Cucio Bay..."

"Really? Well, you just got on another refugee world again..."

"What's a... refugee... world?"

Raynie seemed to freeze, steam coming off of her head once again, "You don't know what a refugee world is, but you came from one!? What's wrong with you?!"

Rena gulped and sunk down to the ground, her eyes full of dread as she glanced up at the teen, "I-I'm sorry...! I didn't know there were worlds..."

"What? They keep everyone clueless there now? Jeez! They probably have a lot on their hands now..."

"But, it's... gone..."

"Really?" Raynie questioned as she seemed to perk up, "Well, it was a stupid place anyways... If it gets destroyed, then someone must've done something wrong to make it weak..."

Rena simply trailed along behind Raynie, though her footsteps seemed to begin to slow down as she glanced down at the ground. She called her 'world' stupid! That word felt like a slap across the face; after all, that had been 'home' for a while before it...

"C'mon, slowpoke!! We don't have all day to sit around 'n chat! There's a hotel in the next District, which is where you're gonna stay, until you actually get out of here!"

Rena cringed and nodded, "Okie... dookie..."

A gloved hand reached itself up against the wood, outstretching its fingers as the palm pressed against the door. There was no hesitation at all: Raynie pushed open the door quickly and swiftly, as if she had punched it in a way.

She gave Rena a small glare and a huff, as if that was supposed to signal that she better follow along. The tan teen then stepped through the doorway, the young tomboy shuffling along behind in hopes that Raynie wouldn't yell at her again.

The door slammed shut as the two passed through its gates, and their blue eyes lit up as they glanced around in the new 'world'.

It was huge!

Shops brightly lit the walls with neon lights and quirky signs, their windows glimmering beneath the dark sky hovering over the town. Small lanterns were lined around the desaturated brown wall that separated the upper level from the lower area just a small bit below. The ground was grey with cobblestone sinking into it, as red brick roofs shone brightly above.

But, the biggest thing of all? It was none other than a magnificent clock tower hiding behind in the background. The building itself was mainly white, many stained glass windows peering out into the world before it. A familiar burgundy-coloured rooftop could be seen before the face of a tan-coloured clock sat in front of a tower that stretched itself up into the night sky.

Of course, they weren't going to that.

With a small 'ah!', Rena found herself being jerked off to the left side, as well as finding herself dragged along towards a small house-like building with a grand neon-lit sign in the form of a house as neon 'smoke' billowed from the rooftop on the sign. That was the hotel, the place where people had to start off somewhere.

"You stay in the Blue Room," Raynie commanded sternly, a frown forced onto her tan-toned face, "And don't get out and find me... You're on your own after this."

"Yes... ma'am..." Rena replied, her eyes glancing down at the ground with a melancholy like stare, as if there was a sigh following behind. Her anxiety begun to kick in, though, as Raynie abruptly came to a stop.

"Shit!!" she screamed, tightening the gloves that were already wrapped around her hands, "There's stupid Heartless out already!? Man, they dunno when to quit, even if you punch 'em in the head a million times!"

Rena gulped and begun to back off. Raynie, though, pushed her forwards to come face to face with a pair of strange creatures with helmets on their heads, yellow eyes glowing brightly against their black skin.

"Kid! Run in the hotel right NOW! Don't just stand there!!"

Rena had a great fear of moving, though. Her eyes were wide with panic as she stared at the two creatures, watching as they inched closer and closer towards the two before them.

"Kid!!" Raynie screamed from behind the girl, "Run already!"

"It's... them..." Rena said with a thick tone of panic etched into her voice. She gave a small nervous laugh, her feet slowly beginning to move backwards.

"Dammit!! Do you ever listen!?"

Rena never heard her.

Her eyes were wide set on the two shadows with helmets. She could see them licking their black teeth with their black tongues, longing for those hearts that these humans carried.

One boldly took a step forwards, claws outstretched as their hands were readied. Rena simply gulped at the sight. She wanted to scream to Raynie. So badly...

Finally, it striked. It licked its teeth once more, then pounced forwards through the air, arms stretched forwards as it jumped towards its prey.

"KID!!"

Clash!

Raynie's light blue eyes stared off at the young tomboy behind her. No longer was she focused on the Heartless before her, though it seemed like it was simply twitching at this point.

Instead, her eyes were latched onto the dance the child and the creature lead until the black demon disappeared without a trace.

Raynie finally kicked the Solider Heartless behind her in the gut, the creature disappearing without a trace like its brother before. The teen gave a nervous laugh as she inched closer to the girl.

"I take it back... I seriously do..."

Rena blinked, having lifted her eyes from the spot where the Solider she defeated once stood.

"Eh?" she questioned, tilting her head to the side. Raynie let out an odd, almost insane fit of laughter.

"This is nuts!!" she screamed between her laughs, "A kid! A stupid KID! You're shorter than Sora, even!"

Rena's face gained a small pout, her eyes flickering with blue flames as they licked the pupils of her deep blue eyes, "Hey! Don't call me short!!"

"That's not it!!" Raynie interrupted with a small giggle, wiping her eye as if she had been crying from the laughter, "You're the one we were trying to find this whole time! Well, not exactly you, but just a general... thing..."

The teen cleared her throat, a bit of seriousness striking her voice, "But, fork it over. I need to hang onto that key..."

Within Rena's grasp was none other than that familiar silver and blue key that she had barely known since Cucio Bay. It was tightly gripped behind her palm and her fingers, as her black glove wrinkled around the handle. She defensively hid the key behind her, though, to keep Raynie away from it.

"What'd you want with it? I found it. It's mine!" she growled, taking a step backwards away from the teen.

"Oyyyyyy!" Raynie fought back, taking a step towards the kid, "You can't find those things! I doubt you even know what it is!!"

"It's a keyblader!"

Raynie choked.

"A keyblader?" a muffled fit of laughter was hidden behind her gloved hand, "No, I think that's you, kid! That thing you have is called a 'keyblade', and you can't go around randomly picking those up off the street!"

"Well, I found mine in some dark place this weirdo guy threw me into! Does that count as picking it up off the street!?"

"UGH! YOU'RE SO STUPID! Just give me the damn key, or I'll knock you over the head to get it!!"

"No!" Rena protested once more, protecting the key as she wrapped both hands tightly around the handle. Her feet slid backwards once more, while Raynie completely charged forwards towards the tomboy.

The teen let out another groan of annoyance and frustration. She was so close! But, some kid was being stubborn and wouldn't actually listen! Were all keybladers stubborn? Doubtful, but this one was being too headstrong for their own good!

Her feet slid across the cobblestone ground and she finally towered over the young girl, her hand outstretched to receive the key within her grasp.

"Give it! They're going to keep on coming if you don't fork it over! I need to get it out of your hands or else--"

Several tiny explosions went off around the twosome, resulting in the appearance of three more of those already clique Soldier Heartless. Raynie let out a growl once more.

"And THAT, kid, would be why I'm trying to get the thing away from you! So they don't keep on coming back, so we don't keep on having to fight over and over and over again!"

Rena simply gulped, her eyes wide as she glanced around at the familiar Heartless.

"Why do they keep coming back...?" she questioned with another gulp, now glancing up at Raynie.

"BECAUSE!" Raynie exclaimed, her hand outstretched still as a glare glimmered in her mako blue eyes, "If you've got a keyblade, they'll keep on coming and coming until they've destroyed the wielder that holds it!"

Rena froze, her grip loosening on her oversized key, "Destroy... me?"

"Yes, you!!"

There was no hesitation in what the tomboy did next: she thrust her weapon into the teen's grasp, then turned around to make a run for it.

"Nu-uh!" Raynie screamed both triumphantly and annoyingly, "That doesn't mean that I'm taking the damn thing!!"

"But, I quit! I don't want anything to do with that stupid thing!!" Rena exclaimed, tempting to escape Raynie's grip.

"Not if you actually know what you're doing!"

Suddenly, the two sped off, Raynie seeming to drag Rena along behind. The young girl merely watched as the Soldiers faded from view, before they came charging after the pair.

"Ah!!" Rena screamed, trying to turn herself around so the tan teen wasn't dragging her so much anymore, "They're coming after us!!"

Raynie smirked with a grin, "No problem there!"

It was only a moment later that the scene changed into a warm, home-y hallway that, apparently, belonged to the hotel. Rena let out a small gasp as Raynie finally let the young girl escape her grasp, yet only managed to stare at the amazing sight before her eyes.

"Pneumatic Rush!!"

There was no other way to describe it: it was amazing; at least to a kid who had never seen something like this before.

A small wave of water had blasted out from Raynie's hand, which was now covered by a green, gel-like ball of 'water'. The wave slashed through the Soldiers that came bursting through the open doorway, and destroyed them all with a single blow.

"Whoa!" Rena exclaimed with a grin as she watched the water coil back into the gel-like glove before the glove itself disappeared, "How'd you do that!?"

"I'm not explaining that now!" Raynie groaned, "We've got work to do!"

Suddenly, a gloved hand grabbed onto Rena's hood once more, swiftly dragging the girl behind as if she didn't know how to walk. Raynie immediately kicked a door open afterwards, seeming to cause the people inside to jolt.

"Whoa! Raynie has a keyblade!!" a high-pitched, female voice exclaimed, before Raynie snapped with a 'Shut up, stupid ninja baka!'

Then, a triumphant tone streaking her voice, Raynie exclaimed with a grin: "I found a keyblade kid!"

[rushin' through your hair]

"You've gotta be kidding me," a male voice groaned, "You're shorter than Sora was..."

Rena blinked, looking rather innocent as she sat on the bed within the room. She gave a nervous laugh, unlike the last reaction to that statement, "Uhh... sorry...?"

"Lookie, Squallie-kun!" Raynie squealed, as if she had turned from a grumpy teenager to a hyper-active fangirl in two seconds flat, "I found the keyblade-y kid! Oh, don't you love me now?"

"No."

A high-pitched laugh ensued within the room, coming from a girl known as 'Yuffie'. The guy standing against the wall with his arms crossed was named 'Squall', though he loathed that name; if you didn't call him 'Leon', he would probably 'pwn' you with his gunblade.

"Shut you, you stupid ninja!!" Raynie growled as a glare became pinned to her face.

"Dawwwwwww! You're no fun, Raynie-chan!!" Yuffie frowned, her loud mouth forming into a cute, innocent pout on cue.

"Will you two SHUT UP?" Leon growled, his voice seeming rather cool despite the fact that he was incredibly annoyed.

"Yes, sir, Mr. Squallie sir!!" the two teens exclaimed in unison, both returning to their rightful spots on either the bed or at the small table within in the room.

Rena gulped, like always, as she curled herself up into a ball on the bed after she begun to hug her knees.

"Now..." Leon begun, turning his eyes to glance over at the tomboy sitting on the hotel room bed, "What's your name, kid?"

"I'm Re--"

"Aw, c'mon! We've gone through this a million times already!!" Raynie rudely interrupted as she sat upon the bed with Rena, "The kid's name is Rena, she's from Cucio Bay, the place got destroyed, she's got a keyblade, now can we please talk about that key over there!?"

A pout seemed to form on Raynie's face, seeming irritated enough to start shouting at Leon (Who, of course, just have her a dirty look, which looked like his same static expression), and she crossed her arms as if she were sulking.

Rena seemed to fidget, though, and tempted to reach out a hand to grab the oversized key. But, Raynie simply whacked her hand, as if she was being a terrible little brat, and the tomboy let out a small 'ow'. Leon gave a sigh of frustration.

"Ever heard of a kid named 'Sora'?" Leon questioned, shifting his eyes off to the floor.

Rena shook her head, "So... ra...?"

"He was a kid with a keyblade, too," Yuffie begun to explain, twirling an index finger around while she rocked back and forth in her chair, "He ended up here... 3 years ago...? Right?"

Squall gave a slight nod, and Yuffie let out a giggle; Raynie only glared and fumed.

"It was in this room, too! 'Cept Squall-san knocked him out before we had to drag him back here... That wasn't really fun, actually..."

"He was a keyblader, and a keyblader has the job of protecting the worlds by sealing their keyholes," Leon begun, arms still crossed as he leaned against the wall, "Sora went back to his homeworld 2 years ago, though, and everything turned out normal for a while, until the Heartless started popping up aga