Kingdom Hearts: Oblivion

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Letting out one hell of a startled gasp as the stranger seemed to just suddenly jolt across the rooftop to be right there in front of him, Fritz reeled back from the touch. He couldn't even explain it? Teleportation? Or maybe he was just that fast. Maybe Fritz was just slowly going insane. He wanted to be offended, to huff and throw his head back in defiance that he wasn't being stupid! Yet. Something in him was in such shock and awe that he just sat there, lips parting to his mouth slowly gaping open while the cogs turned in his head, trying his best to understand what he was hearing.

It wasn't the heart? Not in a literal sense anyway. So they ate... someone's will? "That sounds horrible," he said, gritting his teeth. Is that what happened to those poor people? Did they lose their will? Their souls? "How does it happen? How-Wait no don't answer that yet."

He backtracked, trying to regather his thoughts. If they wanted answers, it seemed they were going to have to play this guy's game. He didn't much like the idea of making him angry, or worse, turning him away. He knew things... things they needed to learn if they were going to figure this out. Head ducked low as thunder rolled, seeming to accentuate this stranger's eerie atmosphere, Fritz asked quietly, "What kind of a test is it?"
 
In response to the boys question, the man stepped aside, sweeping his hand through the air. It rippled like water, parting at his fingertips to a swell of darkness that poured out onto the ground then swept up into the air again into a continuous spiral.

Kaiya took a step back, unable to shake the chilling breeze that seemed to come from within it. "A Portal?"

"As you say." the man nodded, gesturing toward it. "Your way out of this doomed world, and closer to the truth of the universe."
 
Fritz pushed himself back, nearly falling right over at the sight of-what even was that?- a swirl of shadow and darkness? A portal, Kaiya seemed to conclude and Fritz ground his teeth together while he stared at it. Ominous and deeply concerning, he wasn't so sure he wanted anything to do with that. He already felt like he was dying. Surely diving into that blackness was going to be what finally did him in.

And yet...

Did they have much choice?

If this world was truly dying like this stranger insisted it was, what other options were there? Did the stay here and perish or did they take their chances? "Why are you doing this?" he asked suddenly, "Why help us? Or... Is this some kind of trap?" He pointed a finger at the portal. "Is that safe?"
 
"I once knew a guy, who did anything and everything to help people. The idiot wasn't even human, yet he fought against his own brother and altered the script so that his friends may survive. He even saved the villain who threatened his world." The man chuckled, "What a bafoon. When asked why, his only response was 'I might have done the same thing if i were in your place.' "

"What... does any of that have to do with--" Kaiya was cut off by the earth shaking beneath them. He braced himself as the streets cracked and wind howled. It was a bone biting chill down his spine that made him look to the sky behind them.

Calamity. The clouds had given way to a .. Hole. Like someone had punched out a section of sky and just left it blank. Yet everything around them was getting sucked into it somehow. What was eerie, was the randomness at which things were sent skyward. It wasn't like a vacuum. More like there was some sort of invisible hands grabbing onto things around them and ripping them up into the hole.

Turning back, Kaiya opened his mouth to question the cloaked man, but found he'd vanished into thin air, but the portal remained. He looked to Fritz, who looked on the verge of death already. He'd find a way to help him, make him better.

He held out his hand. "Let's go Fritz. If there's answers, we won't find them here. Maybe there's a way to reverse this.."
 
A look of what could only be described as bafflement crossed Fritz's face. This strange person, the way he just went on a story of another, one who helped people, so much so that he saved one he called a villain... Fritz couldn't help but wonder if there was something to that story. Maybe something personal? "Are you..." he started to ask, but never finished. Maybe it wasn't important to know. There were so many other questions to be asked, so many answers he needed.

He never got the chance.

The very ground beneath them shook and, in that instant, Fritz was on his knees and trembling, struggling to get himself upright. It was like the world itself was being torn away, ripped into a massive swirling storm of darkness. Fear. If he was going to die here, he wanted to at least die with some dignity! Muscles strained as he pushed his arms against the ground, forcing wobbly legs to get him up on his feet.

That stranger was gone, leaving behind only the mysterious portal. He already knew what he had to do even before Kaiya was offering a hand. He shook his head at first, whimpering, "I'm... I'm afraid." Much as he didn't like to admit it, it was the honest truth and he he couldn't deny it.

But what was the alternative? To stay here and crumble with all the buildings around them. the very street itself was being eaten. Those poor people... What would happen to everyone?

Would they survive? Were they already gone?

Swallowing hard, he grabbed for his friend's hand to hold on as tight as he could. Whatever fate would have for them, death or doom, he didn't want to go it alone.
 
Kaiya's hand tightened around Fritz' and he gave a reassuring nod. "Me too. No matter what happens, I've got your back, don't forget that, yeah?"

And with that, he led them into the portal.
 
Darkness.

Darkness was all Fritz could see. He couldn't even see his hand in front of his face. He felt the sensation of falling although there was no wind. There was nothing beneath him, nothing all around. Nothingness.

Darkness.

The pain that had ripped through his chest was gone in one fell swoop. He could feel it stabbing through his heart. As soon as he stepped through that portal, it had been like a cascade of anguish and agony. A blazing heat had tore through him, and he heard screaming. Was that him? Was he screaming? Now it was so silent. Now everything just felt...so... hollow and numb. He felt tired. So tired. Exhausted.

And there was only darkness. Nothingness. It was so empty... so devoid of just everything.

Just up ahead, there was a light. Squinting, he barely scraped up the energy to let himself fall forward, fall through.

He was on the ground the next thing he knew. Fingernails scraped at the ground. Brick? A paved path? A street? It was nighttime and street lamps all around glittered with life. He would have been overjoyed to just be out of that nightmare, but he couldn't even manage to summon up any relief. He was just so dazed, so empty and tired. Slowly, he pushed himself up to his feet. Everything seemed to sway around him as he tried to recall what the hell had happened. He didn't recognize this place at all... but he knew he hadn't gone through that portal alone.

Kaiya. Where was- "Kaiya?" he called, coughing out the name. His throat felt so raw and weak. "K-Kaiya?" he called again. Shuffling on his feet, he stumbled forward. "Kaiya, where are you?"
 
"Where... am I?"

The thought crossed his mind in the form of a narrator. The scary thing was he wasn't sure if was his own voice or not. It felt like it echoed inside him and around him all at once. Yet when he opened his eyes there was no one to greet him. Nothing familiar at least.

He found himself somewhere for sure, but where? He had no way of even beginning to explain.

It was like... someone had broken random panes of stained glass and scattered them in water. Fragments drifting listlessly through the air overhead, suspended in nothingness.

Rolling onto his stomach revealed the floor he'd apparently landed on was very much the same painted glass strewn about the air, only of course in one piece more or less. It was cold to the touch in spite of it's warm glow, and when he crawled to his feet and got a look around her could have swore the image was of himself, sleeping, but unfinished. Not to be confused with empty, it was more like someone had broken off half of the mural and perhaps those fragments were what littered the space around him.

He didn't know why... but he didn't like the implication.

~~~

Meanwhile, as Fritz called for the name of his friend and stumbled forward into the street, a patrol was passing by. No one official, by the looks of the rag-tag team, but never the less they seemed to be coordinated as they watched the corners and rooftops while passing through. At the front of them was a young woman clad in black armor with long silver hair and piercing red eyes.

Red eyes that shot in Fritz direction the moment he'd called out.
 
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His whole head felt like it was swimming in a fog. A part of him wanted to panic and freak out, to worry and wonder just where he was and how to get home. Yet, somehow, he wasn't panicking. He didn't feel any fear about being alone. He felt... well not much really. He was sitting upright, still taking in his surroundings, still taking stock of the situation. Perhaps he was just in shock. After all, he had literally gotten attacked by a monster, watched his friend use some kind of magic, then got talked into jumping through a dark portal by a total stranger and wound up in some... wherever totally alone.

Surely everything would come back to him with time. He just had to let his brain catch back up, right? This numbness would fade and the shock would fade and all the emotional stress would come crashing down upon him.

Rather than wait around for that to happen, he got to his feet and stepped out. He almost immediately had regrets when he was looking into the deep red eyes of a mysterious woman in black armor. Stopping just as soon as he had started walking, he slowly raised a hand in some dopey greeting. He couldn't tell if he ought to be afraid of her or relieved that someone else was here. So he tested his luck. "Hello," he greeted, "Uhm... Can you help me?"
 
The dopey wave made the woman chuckle and fold her arms. "Another castaway..eh?"

She turned on her heel to walk toward him, her stride confident, but she never drew her weapon. The men at her sides though? Had their weapons drawn the instant she'd called him a "castaway".

"Don't move and there won't be any problems, kid. Doesn't look corrupted... something about him feels off though..." She added the last part as if thinking outloud, tapping her arm with her finger and shifting her weight. After a moment, she spoke again. "You don't look so good.. Are you alone?"
 
"I'm-" Fritz started to speak. He looked around again, maybe hoping that Kaiya would suddenly spring up and he wouldn't have to face these strangers all alone. No. He was definitely going to have to do this alone. "My name is... Fritz. I was uh-Well I'm not from around here... weherever here is." This sure wasn't their home. How far had he traveled? How much time had passed? How did he get here? How did that portal even work?

Oh god that portal had really worked! That stranger had not been lying! It really had taken them away... well... taken Fritz away. Where was Kaiya? How was he supposed to deal with this alone?

Any ordinary bloke, he wagered, would be panicking right now. Anyone in their right mind would be freaking out. Either angry or crying and tearing up begging for help, whining about wanting to go home and see their family. Yet, Fritz felt far too calm. He knew he should have been feeling all o those things, but these emotions just weren't coming.

He stood, stagnant, far too stoic, far too empty, and stared up at the strange woman. "I am alone," he confirmed, "I came here with a friend, but he's not..." He looked around just once more, "I don't know where he is. I don't even know how I got here or where I am. What is this place?"
 
The woman watched Fritz, closely. He was too calm for a castaway, but didn't seem on the verge of changing...something was off about him though.

"You find yourself in the illustrious and mysterious Travers Town, kid. A World for the Worldless, full of the lost and displaced." She answered with a gesture to the open district as a whole. "As for how you got here, that depends on the person. I can answer any questions you got, but you might wanna get some rest or something first. It's kind of a lot to take in and you don't seem...Well."
 
"I-I don't feel... well," Fritz admitted. Something felt so wrong, so off. He couldn't describe it, couldn't name it. He felt sick, but not sick. Scared without being scared. It was more like the memory of being scared without feeling the real thing. He knew he should have been scared, knew he should have been upset, maybe angry, sad? Why was there nothing?

What the hell had happened when he went through that portal? Had he been too sick, too injured to make the trip safely?

"Everything's so... so numb." He rubbed at his arm, trying desperately to get something going, some kind of feeling. "Wh-What do you mean world for the worldless? Lost? Do you... Do you mean that was real? It really happened? Our world is really... gone?" Now he really wished he felt like crying, but he could only stand there, empty and froze, able to comprehend and yet unable to make it mean anything. "What am I supposed to do now?"
 
"As real as a heartbeat." She answered with a nod, resting a hand on her hip. After a moment she motioned for the other guards to continue their patrol saying the boy hardly seemed like he was going to attack. Even if he had thought to, she was confident she and her lance could take him.

As they left, she faced Fritz once more. "What you do is up to you so long as you don't start any trouble. There's been a few new arrivals recently, so you won't be the only one looking for an answer to that particular question. Some people have even set up shops and trade centers in hopes of bringing some kind of normalcy back while they figure it out. Everyone else just tries to avoid running into the Heartless."
 
Heartbeat. For some reason that single word stirred something in Fritz and he brought a hand to his chest. Patting around, he could only imagine his own must have been pounding, racing hard. And yet, yet he couldn't even feel it at all. It was troublesome to say the least. Sometimes people had trouble finding their pulse, he knew this, but something else just wrong and off and he let out a quiet whimper in reaction to it. "I think something's wrong with me," he said quietly under his breath.

"You said there are others that just arrived," he replied suddenly, louder, changing the subject, "Was there anyone around my age? I'm looking for a friend of mine. His name is Kaiya. We left together, so we should have arrived together. Have you seen him?" His head swiveled right and left, "Do you mind if I look around? Maybe ask around?" He was absolutely confident that he'd feel so much better when he found Kaiya! Maybe it was just that he was alone in an strange and unfamiliar place that he was feeling so numb and wrong. That had to have been it! As soon as he got his bearing and got more comfortable, found a familiar face, he'd be so better!
 
Taking a second to consider the name given, she gave a regretful shake of her head and shrugged her shoulders. "Not someone I remember seeing, but I don't generally happen across everyone. Some of my guards might have happened across him though."

Raising her hand to try and calm the boy down a bit, she spoke again. "I'm not going to stop you from searching for your friend, but if you wanna avoid the heartless this district is the safest bet. There's 3 or 4 in total, but it's kind of hard to keep track of since Traverse Town shifts to accommodate the volume of residents sent here. Not to mention all the little hidden alleys and hidey-holes that come as a result. It could be a while before you find eachother, so promise me you'll grab a bite and get some rest as some point so i don't have to worry about the next heartless i cut down being you."
 
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Fritz took in the district for another moment. The lights were nice and cheery, brightening up the area even as the dark sky above gave the whole town such a dark and ominous feel. He hadn't remembered it being nighttime when they left and it made him wonder more just what the hell happened between jumping through that portal and now. How much time had passed? Had they gone anywhere else before Fritz arrived here in this town? He couldn't remember anything? There was just darkness and nothing. He didn't remember feeling anything aside from that aching in his chest, a dull throbbing or a prickling, then it was all over.

The town here, at least the immediate district he was in (taking note that she had said there were three or four), looked humble and quiet. There were a couple of shops and a small little covered seating area that immediately made him think of food. He wondered if he was hungry or should be hungry, but mostly he was just curious. Still, he nodded in agreement. "I will," he promised. Even if he wasn't feeling hungry, food was a good idea. If this town was so accommodating and full of people piling in, then there must have been an inn or something similar somewhere. Or perhaps residences that would take him in for the night.

"Thank you for your help," he said after, "You've been very kind. If... If you see anyone looking for me, could you tell him that I'll be here?" He supposed he better stay put in the district deemed safe for now... at least until he got himself straightened out.
 
"Kind?" the look she gave wasn't UNpleasant, but seemed more amused than anything else. Her eyebrows raised, then relaxed as she gave a nod. "Well, if I'm gonna know who's looking for you I think I'll need a name, don't you think?" She offered a hand. "I'm Aranea, leader of the merc's keeping guard here."
 
"Oh!" Fritz nodded furiously. He was feeling a little forgetful here, wasn't he? It wouldn't do very well at all to just announce to a total stranger that he was looking or a friend without making sure he gave the proper names, descriptions, and even their story on how they got here, anything that could be useful.

"Right. I'll.. I'll start over." He cleared his throat, "My name is Fritz and the friend I'm looking for is Kaiya. We came from a town... actually... not all that different from here. We were attacked by these terrible monsters and there was a guy... I couldn't see his face, but he opened this strange sort of portal and told us to go through... said our world was being destroyed. So we did. It was... It was so dark. I don't know what happened after. I just remember waking up here and Kaiya was gone. I don't know if any of tis helps, but it's all I know."

He took her hand gently, shaking it as he smiled. It was a hollow smile, no joy felt behind it, but he was doing his best here. "And thank you again... Aranea. It's good to meet someone like you. This is all so new and crazy to me."
 
Aranea listened closely to Fritz' recount of the events leading up to now. It sounded similar to most of the people here save for name and locations being naturally different. That was until he mentioned a man who opened a portal leading into darkness. That piqued her interest. "No worries, Fritz. I'll keep an eye out for your friend"

She released his hand and gave a nod, then paused, thinking better of letting him go off on his own. "Second thought. How about I help you search? I could show you around?"
 
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