Home is where the Heartless Are Chapter 01: Letters from the Wasteland Sora stood before the brilliant white doors to Kingdom Hearts, staring into their stained glass windows high off the ground with his searingly blue eyes. The endless void of darkness fluttered around him, twitching as if wanting to swallow him whole, then jerking back almost in fear. The white powder on the ground still held his footprints from his last visit four years before, tiny little steps beside him now. A closer look at the door would reveal small fingerprints on its pristine surface near the bottom, where the door had been pushed shut. He smiled faintly to himself, his trademark radical smile, remembering the hectic first adventure with the Keyblade. But that adventure really wasn't over, only part of it was. He reached down to touch the Keyblade's hilt from the sheath at his waist, feeling past memories wash across his mind's eye. The weapon itself had grown up with him, getting bigger and bigger as his body had matured, each day seemingly becoming stronger. But it didn't matter how strong the Keyblade was to finally bring closure to him. The strength of the Keyblade alone could not create the Door to Light no matter how hard he wished it. Finding Kingdom Hearts had seemed hopeless, at first. Walking down a never ending stretch of tan thrown out across a cover of vibrant green for months at a time had pushed Sora to the limit of his patience, but something would always remind him of the reason he was bothering with it at all. Some little scrap of memory would flicker in his head and bring to mind a calm, almost arrogant smile that seemed to cool him down. Even in memory, Riku was his stabilizer. Even if a fragment of his almost completely forgotten childhood on Destiny Island, Riku still managed to reassure Sora, to remind him of the prize at the end of the trial. Riku would always remind Sora it was Riku he was looking for, searching endlessly for the Door to Light and his friend. And now they found it, after four years of searching, Kingdom Hearts, the heart of all worlds, was displayed before him. He felt his heart quicken, remembering the Heartless sealed within the doors. What if Riku was dead already? What if his friend had simply given up fighting the Heartless inside, or never even bothered to start? What if Riku had been struck down only days before, finally brought down by the endless tide of Darkness, and if Sora had been but a few days earlier, he would have lived? What if Sora walked through the doors, only to find his friend in a bloody, mangled heap on the floor, Heart sucked away by the Heartless? "Are we gonna go inside?" Goofy asked beside him finally, sensing his friend was anxious. Sora silently thanked the dog, not really wanting to make the decision himself, or at least not alone. "Yeah! C'mon!" Donald cried, running forward. Goofy followed the duck, yelling over his shoulder at Sora, "C'mon Sora! We've gotta find King Mickey! And Riku!" Sora laughed and followed, his long strides easily passing the two up. Inwardly, he was very thankful for his two companions. They never seemed to let anything get them down and the cheer that age had snapped away from Sora had never left them. He looked up at Kingdom Hearts, tilting his head all the way back to stare at its peak, before taking a deep breath. He reached out and took hold of one of the handles, beginning to pull with all his strength. However, the massive door did not move, and Goofy grabbed the handle as well. The two finally managed to get the door open a crack and suddenly, a whirling sound as heard, as if a great windstorm had suddenly been released. A flash of familiar handwriting caused Sora to release the door and jump out, grabbing for a single sheet of paper that flew from inside Kingdom Hearts. He landed on the ground with thud, not really caring for his now scruffed up elbows as he read the paper. "What is it?" Donald asked, coming up behind him. "This is.. This is Riku's!" Sora crowed happily. "What's it say?" Goofy asked, plopping himself down on a nearby rock. He whipped at his sweating brow, and Sora knew the dog would not move until he was ready again, no matter how much cajoling he and Donald would give. Sora began to read the paper aloud: I'm not sure how many days I've been locked in Kingdom Hearts, there's no sun to rise or fall. It must be months, maybe longer. I've grown so used to the darkness here I can barely remember light now. The darkness is not endless or forever like the void outside the Door to Light, but Kingdom Hearts is like a moonless night that won't ever end. There's a faint light, barely enough to see by when I first came here, but now everything is clear as day. I don't need the light of King Mickey's Keyblade to fight by, which is good because he's gone away again. I don't know where he goes, only that he tells me to stay. He says my time with the Keyblade is not over, however, it has not begun either. That doesn't make sense, but I'll have to trust him. Actually, it's not that hard to. I couldn't fight against the Heartless at first, only managing to get myself into trouble. Without him, I would have died within minutes. I'm starting to wonder what Kingdom Hearts is, exactly. It can't be the Heart of All Worlds, because it is a world itself. I can't see them, they are only darker shapes and shadows against a dark black sky, but I hear trees ruffling in the breeze, and the constant flow of a river or stream. What is this place? More Heartless are coming, they seem to get stronger every time they attack. It doesn't worry me, at least not at the moment. Over the time I've been here, my strength has grown considerably. However, if they continue to become more powerful, they might one day surpass me. Sora fell quiet, touching the page with a gloved hand silently, brushing his fingers across the smeared ink. He carefully folded the sheaf of paper and put it into the inside pocket of his coat, in the same pocket Kairi's good luck charm was in. Both were tucked next to his heart, and he could always feel their light presence against his chest. "We should go inside now, we've already wasted enough time looking for the damn door," Sora muttered, standing up. Donald made a displeased sound and whacked Sora on the foot with his staff, causing the brunette to let out a sharp yelp. "What was that for!?" He cried, grabbing his now sore foot. Donald sniffed condescending and replied, "Watch your language young man." "I'm not a kid." Goofy laughed lightly and stood, stretching his body before picking up his shield and pack again. "Welp, let's go." Sora nodded and followed the dog as he led the way into Kingdom Hearts, into the midnight abyss that seemed to reach out and paw at them, seemed to slither and move around them. Sora reached out and closed the door, noting how easily it slid back into place, compared to how hard it was to pull it open. When the door echoed shut, they found themselves in almost total darkness, barely able to see each other. Donald muttered something and his staff lit up, providing some measure of light. However, it flickered and wavered against the over powering darkness, as if it struggled to glow. "Well, now what?" The duck asked, shifting from foot to foot nervously. "Um." Sora replied and realized he'd never actually planned that far. "Oh, great, now we're stuck in Kingdom Hearts with no plan and-" But Sora cut Donald off with a sharp, "Quiet!" The duck went silent and all three listened. Sora heard a familiar chirp, and then a slithering sound. "Shit! The Heartless!" Sora grabbed the Keyblade and slid into a ready position, trying to will his eyes into seeing through the darkness. "Donald, stay out of the fight and give us as much light as you can. Goofy, fight but try to cover him." "Right," Goofy nodded, readying his shield. "Where are you going?" "Don't worry, I'll be fine," Sora replied, letting his pack drop to the ground near Donald. He tore off towards the Heartless, diving into their jumping, mingling and mixing shapes. The teenage brunette easily defeated his enemies, bringing the Keyblade down or around in long strokes that caught many of the Heartless and crushed them back into oblivion. He grunted as one jumped on his back and bit him, reaching up to aim the Keyblade's front at it. "Fire!" He yelled, and the Heartless let out a terrible screech as it was destroyed. Sora winced at the pain in his back, continuing to destroy the creatures of darkness, however they seemed to be part of a never-ending tide. He cursed under his breath when he realized Donald's light was slowly fading out and turned to run back and aid his friends. However, the light suddenly died out, and he swore loudly, feeling the Heartless attack him now as if the light had been holding them back. He lashed out with the Keyblade and kicked and punched, letting his entire arsenal of spells out on them, however, when one died, another seemed to instantly take its place. Minutes slowly ticked by as Sora became more and more desperate to get himself and his friends out of Kingdom Hearts. He had exhausted his store of magical energy and couldn't work a cure spell, and his pack, along with the Potions stored inside it, was back with Donald and Goofy. He had no way to heal himself and he was becoming weaker by the second, feeling his energy drain away as he continued to battle the Heartless. Finally, an Invisible struck him clear in the forehead with one, solid, powerful punch and knocked him into a half conscious state, and he fell to the ground. Vaguely, he realized the Heartless were now moving in, about to suck out his Heart and leave his body as a lifeless shell forever. But he couldn't move the disorientation was too great. However, before the Invisible could reach down and finish the job it had started, a slender figure wearing a long coat blacker than even the heavens of Kingdom Hearts landed in front of Sora's body, kicking the Heartless way. The figure spun two blades from their sheaths on his back, moving forward with powerful steps as he began to destroy the Heartless mercilessly. The seemed afraid of the man, or woman, scuttling back with screams, fighting one another to get out of the paths of the huge blades. Sora shook his head and jumped up, dizzy for a moment before righting himself as the figure totally drove the Heartless back, standing straight and barely panting. "Hey, thanks-" Sora started. "You shouldn't be here, it isn't safe for somebody like you," the figure said, voice undeniably male. "What's that supposed to mean?" Sora snapped angrily, gingerly touching the wounds on his body. The man's face was hidden under a hood, but Sora somehow knew his eyes were focused on the brunette. Wisps of light colored hair showered from the hood, barely visible, and the faint outline of the man's lips could be seen in the darkness. The man spoke somewhat absently, as if to himself, "but you can't go back now, the door is gone until another Keyblade master finds it, but there are none now outside the door to open it. I wonder what will happen if the Keyblade is needed again on the outside?" "What are you talking about?" Sora asked harshly. The man glared at him and though Sora didn't show it, or at least hoped he didn't, the man was very frightening. His voice was deep and calm, very contained and assured. The man was very self-confidant. "We better go see if your friends are all right," the man said, moving past Sora into the darkness. "Crap! I totally forgot about them!" Sora rushed forward, but the man grabbed his hood as he ran by and yanked him to a stop. "You can't see very well here, I'll guide you to them," the man said, taking hold of Sora's wrist. "Who are you anyway?" Sora asked, squinting to see through the velvety sheet of black. He suddenly remembered why he was there in the first place. "Have you seen Riku? A guy my age, with freaky silver hair and green/blue eyes? Probably taller than me? With a mouse?" "A guy with freaky silver hair and a mouse?" The man asked, laughing softly. "No, I'm afraid I haven't seen anybody here for a very long time. As for my name, you can call me Nobody." "Dammit," Sora muttered, shoulders slumping. "My name's Sora." "Are you looking for your friend.What was his name? Riku, Sora?" Nobody asked, guiding him around something. It seemed to be a tree, because Sora felt the leaves brush against his cheeks, but he couldn't see it. He would have run right into it and probably many others if Nobody weren't steering him around them. "Yes, he was locked in here about four years ago," Sora replied. "You're quite a ways away from your friends, did you even notice?" Nobody asked, taking a sharp turn right. "No.It's too dark to see anything." Sora replied softly. "Your eyes with adjust to the darkness eventually. Some places here aren't nearly as dark as it is here, while in others, you can't tell if you've gone blind or not." Nobody explained calmly. "I'll lead you and your friends into Midgar, it's safer there and you can adjust to the darkness." "Thank you," Sora said, spotting something up ahead as it began to get lighter. "Hey, it's them! Goofy! Donald!" Goofy waved from where he sat next to Donald's motionless form. The dog was searching through his pack, before pulling up a small fire engine red feather that sparkled like stained glass. He held it near Donald's nostrils and the feather burst into red light, flying into the duck's nose and woke him from his unconscious state with a start. "What!? Where are we!? Where are the Heartless!?" Donald cried, grabbing his nearby staff to fight. "You got knocked out," Goofy explained, looking through his bag again. He pulled out a small white sack with a red cross on it and began to pull out various medical supplies. He tossed a Potion and clothe to Sora, who sat down and titled the Potion bottle back to let some of the clear, thick liquid soak into the rag. He began to rub it over his wounds; not really stunned anymore by the way the Potion began to instantly heal them. He tended to others as a cut on his shoulder tugged itself together and stitch itself closed. "Who are you?" Donald asked, looking at Nobody for the first time. Whether it was because the duck trusted Sora's judgement and wasn't too worried about the hooded man being an enemy or because he just didn't notice Nobody against the black background of Kingdom Hearts wasn't clear. "That's Nobody," Sora replied. "That's Donald and Goofy." "Pleased to meet ya," Goofy said, nodding towards the man. Nobody tilted his head in response, a few more locks of his light colored hair falling out of the hood. He tucked them away quickly, turning his back to them. "When you're all healed and ready, we'll start our journey to Midgar. It will take three days in this place to get there." "What is this place?" Sora asked, looking around. All he saw was black. "This is the First Darkness. It is at the opening gates to this world, the Kingdom Hearts. It will take one day to get through it, and then we will be two days in the Winged Shadow before we reach Midgar." "Why is it called the Winged Shadow?" Sora asked, finishing up with the Potion. "Because all the Heartless there are winged, they all fly and swoop down from the sky to attack you. And because the ground feels like a giant bird's wing, if you reach down and touch it, it feels like feathers. But don't worry, it's solid." Nobody folded his arms across his chest. He looked over his shoulder at the three and nodded silently. They were all ready and healed. "We'll leave now then." ~End of Chapter 01~ Yep yep. Dare I continue? Oh yes >_>.. And the Disney characters are going to be in this for the entire length.Because I liked them XD.