Chapter One:
Links
In the ‘friendly city by the sea’ known as Swansboro North Carolina there was a young boy fast asleep in his room. He was fifteen years of age and his hair was a dirty blonde color. His outer appearance wasn’t anything spectacular and his eyes were a simple brown. He looked pretty good if he kept up his hygiene and showered each day. This boy was named Brad West. Now this boy was NOT a early riser. He was a god among men when it came to sleeping in or sleeping during class. He loved to sleep and let out a long, melodramatic sigh when he realized that once again he had left dreamland for the real world. Groaning he sat up and blinked the tiredness out of his eyes before lazily looking over at the digital clock next to his bed. It read seven ten. Brad looked at the clock for a solid thirty seconds before letting out a loud yelp and shooting out of his bed in alarm. He was late. Again. Brad was a ninth grader at Swansboro High school. So far, he disliked ninth grade. Last year, in his old school in Japan, you stuck with one teacher for the whole year and didn't have to worry about getting your locker open, or finding your way across a big campus to get to your class in five minutes time. This year the rules had all changed. If you were not in class by seven twenty you went to a room called the chill out room. You spent your entire period in this room and you were forced to write an essay. You also were counted absent for that day in that class. Seven absences and you fail the whole class regardless of your average in the class. As far as he was concerned, this grade was overrated. Brad raced around his room, quickly changing from his pajamas and into a gray shirt, blue jeans and a gray jacket with white shoes. Keeping his furious pace, Brad raced out of his room, past his mother (“Morning Brad!”), through the kitchen (grabbing a poptart on the way past the counter), out the door and leapt off his porch, trying to gain as much altitude as he could as he got closer and closer to his father’s truck. Unfortunately he didn’t get as much altitude as he hoped and almost landed painfully on the ground a few inches behind the vehicle. Luckily Brad’s hand shot out and he grabbed the back of the truck, managing to pull himself into the bed as the pickup pulled out of the driveway and made its way out of the driveway and onto the road. Brad let out a sigh of relief before he happened to glance behind him and felt his blood run cold.
He had forgotten his bookbag in his room.
Riing
Riing
Riing
The late bell echoed through the school as Brad walked through the doors. Cursing under his breath the teen ran a hand through his hair as he tried to figure out what to do next. No bookbag meant that he was going to be yelled at by all of his teachers. Late plus no bookbag meant that he was going to be sent out of the classroom and to the office. He couldn’t call his dad to come bring it to him because his cell phone was in his bag. Brad sighed. He was used to bad luck, it followed him around like a lost puppy, but this was redundant.
Knowing that he couldn’t stay long out in the halls or risk detection by the teachers, Brad walked over to what he knew to be an abandoned classroom that was used to keep supplies like spare desks in. He could hide out there for the period and then slip into the office during second period to call home for his things. That way he could also get a late note from the office. It was the perfect plan. Brad crept into the room cautiously, just in case there was any adults in the room. His sneaking allowed him to duck behind a rather large fake plant. Most likely used by the drama department. It was around this time that Brad heard voices coming from the other side of the plant. Being a curious boy by nature, Brad peeped through the plants to see who the voices belonged to.
What he saw made him wish he had not.
Brad fell backwards, causing the plant to tip right over on top of his girlfriend and the quarterback. This interrupted their french kissing practice. Brad shook his head, feeling numb...hollow. He and Ashley had been dating for years! Three years to be exact. The very IDEA of her betraying him to do things like...like that...to another boy, even if he was the star of the football team, made him ill. Brad gasped as he backed up into the closed door behind him. Ignoring the pain Brad slid down into a sitting position. He blinked, feeling a wet sensation slipping down his cheeks. Brad wiped his eyes furiously, how long had it been since he had truly cried? Four years? Five? A shadow loomed over him and Brad looked up at the source. The football star. Dean Brooks.
“You think your funny kid? Throwing a tree on top of me while i’m trying to have a private moment with my girl?” he hissed.
Brad blinked as hot rage pulsed through him.
“She’s MY girlfriend” he roared, leaping up and punching the cocky sports star right in the eye. Dean narrowed his eyes at Brad, completely unfazed. Brad gulped.
“Get. Him.” he growled.
Seven other football players burst out of the woodwork, surrounding Brad. In a panic Brad ducked around one and shot out the door, racing down the hallway and not caring about stealth or secrecy anymore. The football team was hot on his heels, closing the distance between themselves and him very quickly. Before he knew it Brad was gasping for breath, hiding in the gym and barricading the door with chairs and anything else he could get his hands on.
“Nice try West” a voice behind him said coldly.
Brad slowly turned around with a shiver. Dean was behind him.
“How did you....ack!”
Dean grabbed by the shirt collar and threw him across the floor, to the edge of the swimming pool. Brad got to his feet shakily. This was where the swim team meets. The normal gym was in the next room. Dean charged and punched Brad in the stomach, knocking him into the water. Brad cried out in pain as he sunk down below the surface. The last thing he saw before his world went blurry and black was Dean’s cold, dispassionate eyes....
***
Why?
Why does my life have to be like this?
Isn’t there anyone out there to care about me?
Isn’t there anything better than this?
Someone...
Anyone.....
Save....me......
Slowly but surly feeling and awareness began to return to Brad’s body. Was he still sinking? How deep was this pool?! He slowly opened his eyes and felt around himself. There was no water around him anymore, there was nothing but darkness as far as he could see and feel. Brad was struggling to keep his thoughts straight and clear as he floated. He felt weightless, almost...free. He didn’t know what was happening but Brad was content to merely continue to dive further and further into blackness.
After a few more moments, Brad could feel himself balance himself out and flip back onto his feet. He forced himself to think straight as he searched with his feet for some kind of ground. It was unnecessary because he landed on something solid. Absentmindedly Brad took a step forward. Instantly the darkness was suddenly forced back by an increasing light. A bright yellow glow spread forth from his step, and the darkness retreated away in the manifest of a flock of doves. The retreating darkness ended when the bright yellow glow had become a large disc in which he was the middle of. Brad looked up and watched the birds fly away and fade into the darkness around him, and looked down onto the circular platform beneath his feet. Brad was standing on a enormous, illuminated stained-glass pillar. It was shaded yellow and red and had many different stars across it. In the center was a picture of a young girl with short blonde hair holding hands with a boy with spiky brown hair. The two were looking up at shooting stars and the boy had a wooden sword in his free hand.
Your path has been set
Brad gasped and looked around as a mysterious voice filled his head. Unable to find the source, Brad stood still and listened as it continued to speak.
You who wish for the comforts of love and affection
There will be no time for indecisiveness
You must be strong willed
Your journey begins in the early morning.
Brad nodded, not really understanding these statements. Journey?
It is time to awaken your sleeping power.
Brad looked around and saw three weapons floating in the air around him, surrounded by bubbles of light. One was a sword, another was a shield, and the last was a staff.
Choose a form...
...that form will give you strength.
Choose wisely.
Brad looked around at his choices. A sword, a shield or a staff? The answer was pretty obvious.
He walked over to the sword and plucked it out of the light bubble. It's weight rested in his hands, no longer suspended by mysterious lights.Then, after a moment, it burst into bright light and faded into nothingness. Immediately following that, his hand was covered in a bright light, Brad winced as the light brought a burning feeling to his hand. When the light faded there was suddenly a oversized key in his grip. It looked like a classic skeleton key, seemed to be at least three feet long, and had a long silver keychain extending from the hilt. At the end of the keychain was a Mickey mouse head token. The shaft and teeth of the key were silver, the rainguard was blue, and the guard was a bright gold. Brad also noticed that the teeth of the key formed the outline of a crown.
“A giant key?” Brad said in wonder “I guess now I can pursue a career in the locksmith business” Keyblade....
“Keyblade?” Brad replied “What the...”
Brad was interrupted by a faint ringing sound. Brad looked around to see a doorway appear in a flash of light on the far side of the area he was in. Sensing that this was his only way onward, Brad walked toward the door, opened it, and stepped through.
Brad found himself on a series of pillars. Between each of the three pillars along this path he had to follow, there were bridges made of stained glass panels. Brad stood in awe at the sight.
Movement near his shoe caught his attention. He looked down and saw a black, flat object that began to retreat once he saw it. It looked like a large spider at first. But then it slowly gained a third dimension. Now it was a small, black, large headed creature with bright yellow eyes and antennae.
There will be times when you must fight.
Heartless come in all shapes and sizes....
The heartless multiplied from one into six. They each came up to his waist in height. Brad charged, swinging the keyblade in a wide horizontal berth and managing to strike three heartless at once, knocking them backwards away from him. Brad jumped forwards and bashed another one four times in quick succession, destroying it. Spinning around on his heel, Brad bashed another one, destroying it as well. Two heartless snuck up behind Brad, rose up, and clawed at him. Brad winced as his legs got a couple of scratches, and he staggered backward. The two heartless took advantage of this moment of weakness and jumped toward him with claws out, but Brad recovered just in time to slice at the Shadow with the teeth of his keyblade. Both heartless were sliced in half.
“Thats more freaking like it” Brad said to himself in approval. The two heartless multiplied into five and they all up and quickly grabbed onto Brad’s back, adding their weight to his and threatening to send him toppling over. Thinking quickly, Brad decided to go ahead and fall... backwards. He landed on his back, squashing the heartless onto the ground, driving them flat, like they originally were. Brad quickly got back up and jogged to the other side of the pillar to create some distance between him and his foes. The five heartless resurfaced, and Brad charged them down. He sliced two Heartless with horizontal slashes, and then bashed three more away with a finishing blow. The three Heartless faded away into darkness and Brad was alone once more, panting. His legs hurt a little but he could still walk with no problems. Brad made his way up the next two platforms, killing off more heartless (Shadows the mysterious voice called them) as he went. He was getting the hang of this fighting stuff, killing shadow creatures was easier than he thought it would be. Brad smirked as he climbed the steps that led up to the final pillar.
Keep in mind that the closer you get to the light...
...The greater your shadow becomes
“What are you....?” Brad began before looking down at his shadow. It began to grow in size and rise up off of the ground, going from two dimensional to three dimensional. Brad gasped and backed away from it in horror as it continued to grow taller and taller. It became a massive, muscular, humanoid creature with black skin. It had short and very thin feet that curled upwards. It had long arms, and it two small, twisted wings on its back. There was also a large, heart-shaped hole in its chest. Its head is covered in dozens of twisted, black tentacles. Only its small, glowing yellow eyes could be seen. Brad began to sweat, knees going weak and beginning to tremble as he continued to back away.
Don’t be afraid
“Like hell I won’t!” Brad gasped out, spinning around and running to the edge of the platform, the darkside heartless loomed menacingly over him.
You mustn’t forget.....
“No way out....” Brad whimpered, slowly turning to face the creature. No where to run, it was obvious that sometimes....sometimes there was no choice BUT to fight. Brad looked down at the keyblade clenched in his right hand.
“Time to see what your made of” he said to himself, crouching down into a fighting stance, keyblade at the ready. Taking a deep breath Brad charged, dashing at the darkside with a battle cry. Darkside threw it’s fist down at the boy, who jumped out of the way and began to attack it.
“Blunt side, bash. Teeth side, cut” Brad said jumping on top of the creature’s fist and running up its arm. Brad leapt forwards and spun around, landing a clean cut to the darkside’s face. As he began to free fall darkside swiped at him with its other hand. Brad felt a weird instinctive feeling rising up within him and sweep through his body, causing him to spin around the strike and out of harm’s way. Sensing weakness Brad lashed out at the back of darkside’s hand, smacking it down to the ground. Brad landed on his feet and smirked. But darkside wasn’t done yet, it reared back creating a dark force in the heart-shaped hole in its body, then fired off several dark missiles. Brad yelped and jumped backwards, narrowly dodging most of them. But he lost balance and fell on his butt. One final missile shot towards him and Brad’s eyes widened in panic, he couldn’t dodge that in time! As it came near him Brad felt the strange instinctive feeling rising up within him again. He let it take over, and he reacted once more raising the keyblade and reflecting the blast right back at the darkside and dealing what looked like massive damage. Darkside reeled back and Brad stood up shakily, keyblade vanishing in a flash of light. “Now is a REALLY bad time to disappear on me you stupid key!” Brad snarled. Darkside struck, slamming Brad into the ground and holding him there with its massive hands before melting away, smothering him in darkness.
Don’t be afraid
Brad began to thrash. He couldn’t see, he couldn’t breathe! He gasped, trying to scream but no sound would leave his throat.
Brandon.....
Brad reached out, he needed light...air.....strength.....
Your connected now....
Everything was fading, was he dying? was this the end?
His whole world was swallowed in darkness as Brad’s very soul screamed out his one desire.
To be loved.
Never again will you be alone......
***
It was cold, so very cold. And dark, so depressingly dark. The air was flat and stale, scentless. Each building was identical, each one the same level with the same amount of windows and colored black, like almost everything else. The ceaseless night sky was completely starless and the only light came through the windows inside the buildings. Well that wasn’t fully true. There was one other source of light.
It hung in the black sky, glowing yellow like a moon but it was shaped like no moon before it. Instead of a round circle, this moon was shaped like a heart.
This moon of pure light hovered over a fortress of darkness. It was a colossal castle of white steel, several towers rising from it with a rotating ring under it, levitating it in midair above a pit of darkness. It was just as cold and stale as the world it inhabited, in fact it was worse than the world it inhabited. At least in her opinion. From looking at it, one would expect only the coldest, most evil beings to live here.
This was only half true.
While cold could easily apply to some if not most of the beings that lived here, evil did not necessarily apply. For the nine beings that lived here lacked the emotions needed to be truly evil. They were beings who lacked hearts and teetered on the edge of non-existence. And thus, they called themselves, Nobodies. For only these nothings could live in such a world.
A world of steel and stale air.
A world of lies.
A world of nothing.
A World that Never Was.
A young girl wandered down the cold dark streets of this world. Alone. Her arms were wrapped around herself to try and keep in body heat but it wasn’t working. Her eyes were downcast as she made her way through the empty streets. The girl wore a plain, white, lace dress that reached to just above her mid thigh and light blue sandals. Her hair was long and blonde and draped over her right shoulder. Her lips were a pale pink and her cheeks were rosy. This girl was called Naminé. Naminé had done horrible things in the past. Because of her own loneliness she had lured a boy name Sora to the castle where she was created. She was then forced to rewrite his memories using the power she was born with. Naminé can move around the links of Sora’s memories that are located within his heart to her liking, as well as the ones of those who are connected to Sora. If need be she can even sever them completely,turning the victim into a simple, empty shell. unfortunately she had used both powers during her time at castle oblivion. She made Sora belive that she was the most important person in his life, ironically the very reverse had come true. Sora had become the most important thing in Naminé’s life. Eventually she reveled the truth to Sora when they finally met but instead of shunning her, or destroying her, he had forgiven her. He’d even declared that although his memories were fake, his feelings were not. It was at this point that Naminé had grown completely attached to Sora. She was a nobody so she wasn’t supposed to feel any emotions (she didn’t have a heart after all) but she had later discovered that she was a special nobody. She possessed true emotions, like Sora’s nobody Roxas, who she would meet later. She had grown to love Sora as much as a special nobody like herself could. It even seemed that Sora felt the same way! (She rewrote and replaced memories. Not feelings. She couldn’t create feelings) but Sora wanted his other memories back. Memories of before his time in the castle. The only way to get these memories back was to lose his memories of the castle. She was disappointed that he wouldn’t remember her but she accepted his choice. He even cheered her up by saying that it wasn’t truly goodbye, but a simple ‘see you later’. Once his memories were restored the two could rebuild their friendship from the ground up. They even made a pinky promise! It took almost a year and a move to Twilight Town but Naminé restored Sora’s memories except for one thing, Roxas. Sora could not have his memories fully restored until he and Roxas became one. Sora’s friend Riku kidnaped Roxas and Roxas was placed in a virtual Twilight Town until the time came for he and Sora to reunite. However Naminé wanted to see Roxas, having developed a connection with him, as his situation is quite similar to her own in Castle Oblivion, and entered the digital Twilight Town herself. From there Naminé acted as a guide for Roxas when he was eventually attacked by nobodies. Roxas joined with Sora and became whole but Naminé wasn’t there when he woke up. Diz had ordered Riku to terminate her but Riku had put her in the care of Axel, who had let her go after she made a speech about nobodies having people they care for too (Roxas WAS his best friend after all). Later Naminé returns to The World That Never Was to save her original being (her somebody). Naminé breaks into the Organization's stronghold, rescuing Pluto and Kairi from their cell in the Organization's dungeon. They then proceed to find Sora, though Naminé's close proximity to her true counterpart causes her to blink in and out of existence.During their search for Sora, they are intercepted by Saïx. However, Riku arrives on the scene, and manages to drive off Saïx. Naminé then tells Riku that he can take over from this point, and vanishes. Which is how she ended up walking down the street. Riku would reunite Sora and Kairi and then Sora would have no need to remember Naminé. She sighed. What use was her existence? She just wanted somewhere to belong. Somewhere to be truly happy (she was a special nobody, she knew what happiness felt like). As a wave of pain crashed through her insides a sound caused her to turn around and gasp at what she saw. There was a giant hole in kingdom hearts and countless hearts were raining down into the city. These hearts turned into heartless as soon as they touched the ground. Before Naminé knew it she was surrounded by shadow heartless. Naminé quickly threw out a hand, intending to use a corridor of darkness to escape back to where Sora and his friends where, but nothing happened. Naminé gasped and tried again. and again. and again. Nothing happened. Somehow, she had lost the ability to use the corridors. Was it because of that flash of pain earlier? Naminé didn’t have any time to think as the heartless jumped on her, sending her into darkness.
***
Is this truly how my life ends?
Dying alone, with no one to miss me?
Was my existence really worth so little?
I just.....I want to live a full life....
To have someone to love.....
.....To be loved in return
Can’t someone.....
....Grant my wish?
Naminé opened her eyes. She was in a world of white, there was nothing as far as the eye could see. Nothing except the pair of doors resembling large stone tablets floating there in the endless white expanse. Sitting in front of the doors was a pure white, almost formless being. Naminé would not have been able to distinguish it from the rest of the endless white without the being’s shadowy outline.
“Who...who are you?” she asked “where am I?”
“Good question” it said “I’m what you might call.....the world. or maybe God. maybe the universe. Maybe even truth itself. Hell it doesn’t really matter to me, if you want you can call me Steve! I can be one, I can be all”
It smiled “I might even be you”
The doors behind Naminé opened and she gasped as she spun around to come face to face with a large eye.
“Welcome foolish girl. You doubted your own existence. You who is lucky to exist at ALL. You doubted yourself to the point where the sheer emotional stress robbed you of the ability to use dark corridors. Pathetic. But then again its not ENTIRELY your fault. ah well, not my problem”
Several shadowy ethereal hands shot out of the open gate and wrapped themselves around Naminé who screamed and tried to struggled out of them to no avail.
“Quiet down will you?” the being said in annoyance “So damn noisy. I’m granting your wish. You want to exist? Well here’s your chance! Your ONLY chance to not fade away to nothingness inside of your somebody!”
Naminé was lifted up off her feet and into blackness inside of the doors, which slammed shut behind her. She felt like she was being shot through space at rocket speeds. She couldn’t breathe, she couldn’t stop screaming. But as she made her journey she could feel it. A tremendous amount of information was being forced directly into her head.
“Stop! Stop it!” she screamed “My head! it’s going to split open!”
Suddenly she was breaking apart. Her mind, body, soul..everything. Shattering into a thousand tiny pieces and becoming apart of something much bigger. Becoming truth itself. It felt like her head was going to burst open but she could feel it, the truth behind everything. She continued to scream as a vision of Sora appeared before her. He grinned his trademark grin and held out his hand.
“Sora? Sora!!” Naminé screamed and reached out, her hand starting to break apart as it wrapped around Sora’s. Then, abruptly, it all stopped. Naminé was standing in a alley way, gasping for breath. It was over.
“Wh...where am I NOW?” she wondered, sinking to her knees and clutching her forehead with one hand. She had a splitting headache. She jumped as she looked down. Laying in front of her was a boy. He had dirty blonde hair and was dressed in a blue shirt with black jeans and a black and red jacket. He seemed to be asleep.
“Hey” she said, shaking him by the shoulder “hey kid, wake up. You’ll catch a cold if you sleep out here”
He let out a groan and opened his eyes. They were a chocolate brown.
“A....are you an angel?” he asked, slowly sitting up and looking around, trying to get his bearings. Naminé blushed.
“N...no” she said “sorry”
The boy shook his head “Its fine, I didn’t think they existed anyway” he looked at her with interest “Where are we?”
“I...I don’t know” Naminé replied “I just got here myself....”
“You speak really quietly” the boy remarked, standing up and stretching “Its been awhile since I saw someone quiet like you”
“umm...thanks?” Naminé said in confusion.
“No problem” the boy replied. He blinked and seemed to remember something. Taking off his black and red jacket the boy tossed it to Naminé.
“Wear that” he said “I don’t know where we are, but the weather dosen’t permit you wearing something like that thin little dress”
Naminé blushed again and slid the jacket around herself, zipping it up. The boy smiled.
“Much better” he said “My name’s Brad. What’s yours?”
“Naminé” the girl replied “nice to meet you”
“The pleasure’s mine” Brad replied. His eyes hardened as he spun around. Shadow heartless rose up out of the ground behind him. At least four of them. Brad growled and in a flash of light the kingdom key materialized in his hand. He looked at it in confusion.
“Where were you five minutes ago when I needed you?!” he demanded “stupid key”
The shadows jumped at him and he swatted them out of the air in three easy swings, destroying them.
“Why do you have a keyblade?” Naminé asked in shock. Brad looked at her, bemused.
“Beats me” he replied “I thought this was all a dream until they sliced up my...” He looked down at his legs and gasped. “No..cuts..? weird. Come to think of it, I don’t remember getting these clothes” he shook his head in annoyance “What ARE those heartless things?” he asked “do you know?”
“Yes” Naminé replied “ There are two types of Heartless. Pureblood and emblem. Pureblood heartless are born from the darkness in people's hearts. They are ink-black in color, with yellow beady eyes. They are more common in places that are close to or saturated in darkness. Upon their destruction, they simply disappear in puffs of darkness, without a heart leaving it's body”
“Okay” Brad said with a nod “What is the second type?”
“Emblem heartless” Naminé said “They were created from machines that reproduce the process of a heart being consumed by darkness. Afterward, stolen hearts can become Emblems. They have more varied shapes, colors, and are branded with a heart symbol to differentiate them from the Pureblood ones. They are more common on the worlds and usually mimic the shape of creatures or objects within the world they’re on”
“I don’t understand” Brad said “Worlds? I thought earth was the only one!”
“Earth?” Naminé said in confusion “What’s...oh.....OH!” she gasped and fell to her knees as a splitting headache tore through her skull. Then, all of the sudden, it was gone.
“Something happened to us” she said, looking up at Brad who stared back, her confusion mirrored in his eyes “We’re not in the reality that you or I knew. We...we were transported somewhere else”
“What are you talking about?!” Brad demanded “I’m stuck here?!?”
Naminé nodded in shame “I don’t know how to leave or if we even can”
Brad sighed and cursed. Then he took a breath and looked at Naminé again, eyes brighter than they were.
“I didn’t have a place to go back to anyway” he shrugged “I guess I can stick it out here”
Naminé smiled “I can say the same thing. Do you......do you want to stick together?” Brad nodded “I’d like that”
The two exchanged a smile before Brad breathed in sharply “behind you!”
Naminé spun around, more heartless were rising from the ground. At least a dozen of them!
“Too many to fight” Brad said “I can’t do it if i’m protecting you too. Lets run!”
He grabbed her and and pulled her out of the alleyway. He didn’t let go as they ran through the streets, lit by lamps, heartless racing behind them.
“Where are we going?!” Naminé shouted as they ran. “Anywhere but here!” Brad replied giving her hand a squeeze as they continued to run through the foreign city. Eventually they were in another alleyway, unable to shake off the heartless. Brad cursed and yanked Naminé into him, wrapping his arms around her as a shadow heartless landed in the exact spot where she had been standing a heartbeat before.
“Thanks” she whispered
“No need for it” Brad replied as the shadows began to merge. To both of their horror’s a darkside rose up, towering over them as they backed deeper into the alley.
“Not good” Brad said “not good at all”
Darkside swung its fist at them, intending to crush them. Brad squeezed Naminé closer to him and they both shut their eyes, waiting for the blow. It never came.
Slowly Brad allowed himself to look up. Four gigantic ice sickles had shot up out of the ground, impaling darkside and causing it to explode. Brad and Naminé let out a sigh of relief. Kneeling in the front of the alleyway was a man shrouded in a brown overcoat with what looked like a blue military uniform underneath it. On his right arm was a large gauntlet with a weird circle on the shoulder of it. The man drew the same circle in chalk on the ground before he looked up at the two teens. He had jet black eyes and his long hair was typed in a ponytail. A single strand hung over his left eye.
“Close call” he said “You kids need to be more careful. Its dangerous out here”
Brad stepped away from Naminé and crouched down into his battle stance “who are you?!”
The man looked at Brad’s keyblade in interest. “Thats an interest sword. Planning on becoming a locksmith?”
Brad glared at him.
“Oh calm down it was just a joke. My name is Isaac. Isaac Mcdougall”
“I’m Brad” Brad replied, relaxing, the keyblade vanished in a flash of light “this is Naminé” Naminé waved “thanks for saving us”
“No problem” Isaac replied.
“Freeze!!”
“Oh what now?!” Brad swore as men in the same blue military uniform as Isaac surrounded them. One grabbed Naminé in a chokehold.
“Naminé! Naminé!!” Brad yelled “Let her go!”
“Isaac Mcdougall you are under arrest!” snarled one of the military men “You and your accomplices!”
“BRAD!!” Naminé reached out for Brad, who tried to reach her but to no avail. She was too far away.
“Lets move kid!” Isaac said, grabbing Brad’s shoulder. The circle on his gauntlet glowed pink and then the air around them exploded into mist, sending the men around the duo flying and when the mist cleared, Brad and Isaac were gone. Naminé looked up at her captive in horror as he swore.
“Now the bastard has a hostage”
“what do we do sir?”
“Squad A. Go after him. Squad B will escort the girl to the führer and tell him what is going on”
“Do you really belive she’s working with HIM?”
“Can’t be too careful. Now MOVE!”
“YES SIR!”
***
“So your trying to tell me that the only way to save Naminé is to destroy the city?” Brad asked, skeptical.
“She’s being held by the military” Isaac replied “They’re corrupt and they’ll never let her go otherwise”
“I only half belive you” Brad replied “But if I stick with you i’ll be able to get my friend back”
“You’ll also be saving a country!” Isaac replied
“Yeah...that too” Brad sighed, he didn’t think Naminé would approve of this method of saving her but its all he had.
“Partners?”
Brad looked up at Isaac, eyes hard and determined.
“Partners”
End Of Chapter One.
A/N: Which leads us into the first episode of Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood.
So this is my first fanfiction. please read and tell me what you think about it.
thanks in advance
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In the ‘friendly city by the sea’ known as Swansboro North Carolina there was a young boy fast asleep in his room. He was fifteen years of age and his hair was a dirty blonde color. His outer appearance wasn’t anything spectacular and his eyes were a simple brown. He looked pretty good if he kept up his hygiene and showered each day. This boy was named Brad West. Now this boy was NOT a early riser. He was a god among men when it came to sleeping in or sleeping during class. He loved to sleep and let out a long, melodramatic sigh when he realized that once again he had left dreamland for the real world. Groaning he sat up and blinked the tiredness out of his eyes before lazily looking over at the digital clock next to his bed. It read seven ten. Brad looked at the clock for a solid thirty seconds before letting out a loud yelp and shooting out of his bed in alarm. He was late. Again. Brad was a ninth grader at Swansboro High school. So far, he disliked ninth grade. Last year, in his old school in Japan, you stuck with one teacher for the whole year and didn't have to worry about getting your locker open, or finding your way across a big campus to get to your class in five minutes time. This year the rules had all changed. If you were not in class by seven twenty you went to a room called the chill out room. You spent your entire period in this room and you were forced to write an essay. You also were counted absent for that day in that class. Seven absences and you fail the whole class regardless of your average in the class. As far as he was concerned, this grade was overrated. Brad raced around his room, quickly changing from his pajamas and into a gray shirt, blue jeans and a gray jacket with white shoes. Keeping his furious pace, Brad raced out of his room, past his mother (“Morning Brad!”), through the kitchen (grabbing a poptart on the way past the counter), out the door and leapt off his porch, trying to gain as much altitude as he could as he got closer and closer to his father’s truck. Unfortunately he didn’t get as much altitude as he hoped and almost landed painfully on the ground a few inches behind the vehicle. Luckily Brad’s hand shot out and he grabbed the back of the truck, managing to pull himself into the bed as the pickup pulled out of the driveway and made its way out of the driveway and onto the road. Brad let out a sigh of relief before he happened to glance behind him and felt his blood run cold.
He had forgotten his bookbag in his room.
Riing
Riing
Riing
The late bell echoed through the school as Brad walked through the doors. Cursing under his breath the teen ran a hand through his hair as he tried to figure out what to do next. No bookbag meant that he was going to be yelled at by all of his teachers. Late plus no bookbag meant that he was going to be sent out of the classroom and to the office. He couldn’t call his dad to come bring it to him because his cell phone was in his bag. Brad sighed. He was used to bad luck, it followed him around like a lost puppy, but this was redundant.
Knowing that he couldn’t stay long out in the halls or risk detection by the teachers, Brad walked over to what he knew to be an abandoned classroom that was used to keep supplies like spare desks in. He could hide out there for the period and then slip into the office during second period to call home for his things. That way he could also get a late note from the office. It was the perfect plan. Brad crept into the room cautiously, just in case there was any adults in the room. His sneaking allowed him to duck behind a rather large fake plant. Most likely used by the drama department. It was around this time that Brad heard voices coming from the other side of the plant. Being a curious boy by nature, Brad peeped through the plants to see who the voices belonged to.
What he saw made him wish he had not.
Brad fell backwards, causing the plant to tip right over on top of his girlfriend and the quarterback. This interrupted their french kissing practice. Brad shook his head, feeling numb...hollow. He and Ashley had been dating for years! Three years to be exact. The very IDEA of her betraying him to do things like...like that...to another boy, even if he was the star of the football team, made him ill. Brad gasped as he backed up into the closed door behind him. Ignoring the pain Brad slid down into a sitting position. He blinked, feeling a wet sensation slipping down his cheeks. Brad wiped his eyes furiously, how long had it been since he had truly cried? Four years? Five? A shadow loomed over him and Brad looked up at the source. The football star. Dean Brooks.
“You think your funny kid? Throwing a tree on top of me while i’m trying to have a private moment with my girl?” he hissed.
Brad blinked as hot rage pulsed through him.
“She’s MY girlfriend” he roared, leaping up and punching the cocky sports star right in the eye. Dean narrowed his eyes at Brad, completely unfazed. Brad gulped.
“Get. Him.” he growled.
Seven other football players burst out of the woodwork, surrounding Brad. In a panic Brad ducked around one and shot out the door, racing down the hallway and not caring about stealth or secrecy anymore. The football team was hot on his heels, closing the distance between themselves and him very quickly. Before he knew it Brad was gasping for breath, hiding in the gym and barricading the door with chairs and anything else he could get his hands on.
“Nice try West” a voice behind him said coldly.
Brad slowly turned around with a shiver. Dean was behind him.
“How did you....ack!”
Dean grabbed by the shirt collar and threw him across the floor, to the edge of the swimming pool. Brad got to his feet shakily. This was where the swim team meets. The normal gym was in the next room. Dean charged and punched Brad in the stomach, knocking him into the water. Brad cried out in pain as he sunk down below the surface. The last thing he saw before his world went blurry and black was Dean’s cold, dispassionate eyes....
***
Why?
Why does my life have to be like this?
Isn’t there anyone out there to care about me?
Isn’t there anything better than this?
Someone...
Anyone.....
Save....me......
Slowly but surly feeling and awareness began to return to Brad’s body. Was he still sinking? How deep was this pool?! He slowly opened his eyes and felt around himself. There was no water around him anymore, there was nothing but darkness as far as he could see and feel. Brad was struggling to keep his thoughts straight and clear as he floated. He felt weightless, almost...free. He didn’t know what was happening but Brad was content to merely continue to dive further and further into blackness.
After a few more moments, Brad could feel himself balance himself out and flip back onto his feet. He forced himself to think straight as he searched with his feet for some kind of ground. It was unnecessary because he landed on something solid. Absentmindedly Brad took a step forward. Instantly the darkness was suddenly forced back by an increasing light. A bright yellow glow spread forth from his step, and the darkness retreated away in the manifest of a flock of doves. The retreating darkness ended when the bright yellow glow had become a large disc in which he was the middle of. Brad looked up and watched the birds fly away and fade into the darkness around him, and looked down onto the circular platform beneath his feet. Brad was standing on a enormous, illuminated stained-glass pillar. It was shaded yellow and red and had many different stars across it. In the center was a picture of a young girl with short blonde hair holding hands with a boy with spiky brown hair. The two were looking up at shooting stars and the boy had a wooden sword in his free hand.
Your path has been set
Brad gasped and looked around as a mysterious voice filled his head. Unable to find the source, Brad stood still and listened as it continued to speak.
You who wish for the comforts of love and affection
There will be no time for indecisiveness
You must be strong willed
Your journey begins in the early morning.
Brad nodded, not really understanding these statements. Journey?
It is time to awaken your sleeping power.
Brad looked around and saw three weapons floating in the air around him, surrounded by bubbles of light. One was a sword, another was a shield, and the last was a staff.
Choose a form...
...that form will give you strength.
Choose wisely.
Brad looked around at his choices. A sword, a shield or a staff? The answer was pretty obvious.
He walked over to the sword and plucked it out of the light bubble. It's weight rested in his hands, no longer suspended by mysterious lights.Then, after a moment, it burst into bright light and faded into nothingness. Immediately following that, his hand was covered in a bright light, Brad winced as the light brought a burning feeling to his hand. When the light faded there was suddenly a oversized key in his grip. It looked like a classic skeleton key, seemed to be at least three feet long, and had a long silver keychain extending from the hilt. At the end of the keychain was a Mickey mouse head token. The shaft and teeth of the key were silver, the rainguard was blue, and the guard was a bright gold. Brad also noticed that the teeth of the key formed the outline of a crown.
“A giant key?” Brad said in wonder “I guess now I can pursue a career in the locksmith business” Keyblade....
“Keyblade?” Brad replied “What the...”
Brad was interrupted by a faint ringing sound. Brad looked around to see a doorway appear in a flash of light on the far side of the area he was in. Sensing that this was his only way onward, Brad walked toward the door, opened it, and stepped through.
Brad found himself on a series of pillars. Between each of the three pillars along this path he had to follow, there were bridges made of stained glass panels. Brad stood in awe at the sight.
Movement near his shoe caught his attention. He looked down and saw a black, flat object that began to retreat once he saw it. It looked like a large spider at first. But then it slowly gained a third dimension. Now it was a small, black, large headed creature with bright yellow eyes and antennae.
There will be times when you must fight.
Heartless come in all shapes and sizes....
The heartless multiplied from one into six. They each came up to his waist in height. Brad charged, swinging the keyblade in a wide horizontal berth and managing to strike three heartless at once, knocking them backwards away from him. Brad jumped forwards and bashed another one four times in quick succession, destroying it. Spinning around on his heel, Brad bashed another one, destroying it as well. Two heartless snuck up behind Brad, rose up, and clawed at him. Brad winced as his legs got a couple of scratches, and he staggered backward. The two heartless took advantage of this moment of weakness and jumped toward him with claws out, but Brad recovered just in time to slice at the Shadow with the teeth of his keyblade. Both heartless were sliced in half.
“Thats more freaking like it” Brad said to himself in approval. The two heartless multiplied into five and they all up and quickly grabbed onto Brad’s back, adding their weight to his and threatening to send him toppling over. Thinking quickly, Brad decided to go ahead and fall... backwards. He landed on his back, squashing the heartless onto the ground, driving them flat, like they originally were. Brad quickly got back up and jogged to the other side of the pillar to create some distance between him and his foes. The five heartless resurfaced, and Brad charged them down. He sliced two Heartless with horizontal slashes, and then bashed three more away with a finishing blow. The three Heartless faded away into darkness and Brad was alone once more, panting. His legs hurt a little but he could still walk with no problems. Brad made his way up the next two platforms, killing off more heartless (Shadows the mysterious voice called them) as he went. He was getting the hang of this fighting stuff, killing shadow creatures was easier than he thought it would be. Brad smirked as he climbed the steps that led up to the final pillar.
Keep in mind that the closer you get to the light...
...The greater your shadow becomes
“What are you....?” Brad began before looking down at his shadow. It began to grow in size and rise up off of the ground, going from two dimensional to three dimensional. Brad gasped and backed away from it in horror as it continued to grow taller and taller. It became a massive, muscular, humanoid creature with black skin. It had short and very thin feet that curled upwards. It had long arms, and it two small, twisted wings on its back. There was also a large, heart-shaped hole in its chest. Its head is covered in dozens of twisted, black tentacles. Only its small, glowing yellow eyes could be seen. Brad began to sweat, knees going weak and beginning to tremble as he continued to back away.
Don’t be afraid
“Like hell I won’t!” Brad gasped out, spinning around and running to the edge of the platform, the darkside heartless loomed menacingly over him.
You mustn’t forget.....
“No way out....” Brad whimpered, slowly turning to face the creature. No where to run, it was obvious that sometimes....sometimes there was no choice BUT to fight. Brad looked down at the keyblade clenched in his right hand.
“Time to see what your made of” he said to himself, crouching down into a fighting stance, keyblade at the ready. Taking a deep breath Brad charged, dashing at the darkside with a battle cry. Darkside threw it’s fist down at the boy, who jumped out of the way and began to attack it.
“Blunt side, bash. Teeth side, cut” Brad said jumping on top of the creature’s fist and running up its arm. Brad leapt forwards and spun around, landing a clean cut to the darkside’s face. As he began to free fall darkside swiped at him with its other hand. Brad felt a weird instinctive feeling rising up within him and sweep through his body, causing him to spin around the strike and out of harm’s way. Sensing weakness Brad lashed out at the back of darkside’s hand, smacking it down to the ground. Brad landed on his feet and smirked. But darkside wasn’t done yet, it reared back creating a dark force in the heart-shaped hole in its body, then fired off several dark missiles. Brad yelped and jumped backwards, narrowly dodging most of them. But he lost balance and fell on his butt. One final missile shot towards him and Brad’s eyes widened in panic, he couldn’t dodge that in time! As it came near him Brad felt the strange instinctive feeling rising up within him again. He let it take over, and he reacted once more raising the keyblade and reflecting the blast right back at the darkside and dealing what looked like massive damage. Darkside reeled back and Brad stood up shakily, keyblade vanishing in a flash of light. “Now is a REALLY bad time to disappear on me you stupid key!” Brad snarled. Darkside struck, slamming Brad into the ground and holding him there with its massive hands before melting away, smothering him in darkness.
Don’t be afraid
Brad began to thrash. He couldn’t see, he couldn’t breathe! He gasped, trying to scream but no sound would leave his throat.
Brandon.....
Brad reached out, he needed light...air.....strength.....
Your connected now....
Everything was fading, was he dying? was this the end?
His whole world was swallowed in darkness as Brad’s very soul screamed out his one desire.
To be loved.
Never again will you be alone......
***
It was cold, so very cold. And dark, so depressingly dark. The air was flat and stale, scentless. Each building was identical, each one the same level with the same amount of windows and colored black, like almost everything else. The ceaseless night sky was completely starless and the only light came through the windows inside the buildings. Well that wasn’t fully true. There was one other source of light.
It hung in the black sky, glowing yellow like a moon but it was shaped like no moon before it. Instead of a round circle, this moon was shaped like a heart.
This moon of pure light hovered over a fortress of darkness. It was a colossal castle of white steel, several towers rising from it with a rotating ring under it, levitating it in midair above a pit of darkness. It was just as cold and stale as the world it inhabited, in fact it was worse than the world it inhabited. At least in her opinion. From looking at it, one would expect only the coldest, most evil beings to live here.
This was only half true.
While cold could easily apply to some if not most of the beings that lived here, evil did not necessarily apply. For the nine beings that lived here lacked the emotions needed to be truly evil. They were beings who lacked hearts and teetered on the edge of non-existence. And thus, they called themselves, Nobodies. For only these nothings could live in such a world.
A world of steel and stale air.
A world of lies.
A world of nothing.
A World that Never Was.
A young girl wandered down the cold dark streets of this world. Alone. Her arms were wrapped around herself to try and keep in body heat but it wasn’t working. Her eyes were downcast as she made her way through the empty streets. The girl wore a plain, white, lace dress that reached to just above her mid thigh and light blue sandals. Her hair was long and blonde and draped over her right shoulder. Her lips were a pale pink and her cheeks were rosy. This girl was called Naminé. Naminé had done horrible things in the past. Because of her own loneliness she had lured a boy name Sora to the castle where she was created. She was then forced to rewrite his memories using the power she was born with. Naminé can move around the links of Sora’s memories that are located within his heart to her liking, as well as the ones of those who are connected to Sora. If need be she can even sever them completely,turning the victim into a simple, empty shell. unfortunately she had used both powers during her time at castle oblivion. She made Sora belive that she was the most important person in his life, ironically the very reverse had come true. Sora had become the most important thing in Naminé’s life. Eventually she reveled the truth to Sora when they finally met but instead of shunning her, or destroying her, he had forgiven her. He’d even declared that although his memories were fake, his feelings were not. It was at this point that Naminé had grown completely attached to Sora. She was a nobody so she wasn’t supposed to feel any emotions (she didn’t have a heart after all) but she had later discovered that she was a special nobody. She possessed true emotions, like Sora’s nobody Roxas, who she would meet later. She had grown to love Sora as much as a special nobody like herself could. It even seemed that Sora felt the same way! (She rewrote and replaced memories. Not feelings. She couldn’t create feelings) but Sora wanted his other memories back. Memories of before his time in the castle. The only way to get these memories back was to lose his memories of the castle. She was disappointed that he wouldn’t remember her but she accepted his choice. He even cheered her up by saying that it wasn’t truly goodbye, but a simple ‘see you later’. Once his memories were restored the two could rebuild their friendship from the ground up. They even made a pinky promise! It took almost a year and a move to Twilight Town but Naminé restored Sora’s memories except for one thing, Roxas. Sora could not have his memories fully restored until he and Roxas became one. Sora’s friend Riku kidnaped Roxas and Roxas was placed in a virtual Twilight Town until the time came for he and Sora to reunite. However Naminé wanted to see Roxas, having developed a connection with him, as his situation is quite similar to her own in Castle Oblivion, and entered the digital Twilight Town herself. From there Naminé acted as a guide for Roxas when he was eventually attacked by nobodies. Roxas joined with Sora and became whole but Naminé wasn’t there when he woke up. Diz had ordered Riku to terminate her but Riku had put her in the care of Axel, who had let her go after she made a speech about nobodies having people they care for too (Roxas WAS his best friend after all). Later Naminé returns to The World That Never Was to save her original being (her somebody). Naminé breaks into the Organization's stronghold, rescuing Pluto and Kairi from their cell in the Organization's dungeon. They then proceed to find Sora, though Naminé's close proximity to her true counterpart causes her to blink in and out of existence.During their search for Sora, they are intercepted by Saïx. However, Riku arrives on the scene, and manages to drive off Saïx. Naminé then tells Riku that he can take over from this point, and vanishes. Which is how she ended up walking down the street. Riku would reunite Sora and Kairi and then Sora would have no need to remember Naminé. She sighed. What use was her existence? She just wanted somewhere to belong. Somewhere to be truly happy (she was a special nobody, she knew what happiness felt like). As a wave of pain crashed through her insides a sound caused her to turn around and gasp at what she saw. There was a giant hole in kingdom hearts and countless hearts were raining down into the city. These hearts turned into heartless as soon as they touched the ground. Before Naminé knew it she was surrounded by shadow heartless. Naminé quickly threw out a hand, intending to use a corridor of darkness to escape back to where Sora and his friends where, but nothing happened. Naminé gasped and tried again. and again. and again. Nothing happened. Somehow, she had lost the ability to use the corridors. Was it because of that flash of pain earlier? Naminé didn’t have any time to think as the heartless jumped on her, sending her into darkness.
***
Is this truly how my life ends?
Dying alone, with no one to miss me?
Was my existence really worth so little?
I just.....I want to live a full life....
To have someone to love.....
.....To be loved in return
Can’t someone.....
....Grant my wish?
Naminé opened her eyes. She was in a world of white, there was nothing as far as the eye could see. Nothing except the pair of doors resembling large stone tablets floating there in the endless white expanse. Sitting in front of the doors was a pure white, almost formless being. Naminé would not have been able to distinguish it from the rest of the endless white without the being’s shadowy outline.
“Who...who are you?” she asked “where am I?”
“Good question” it said “I’m what you might call.....the world. or maybe God. maybe the universe. Maybe even truth itself. Hell it doesn’t really matter to me, if you want you can call me Steve! I can be one, I can be all”
It smiled “I might even be you”
The doors behind Naminé opened and she gasped as she spun around to come face to face with a large eye.
“Welcome foolish girl. You doubted your own existence. You who is lucky to exist at ALL. You doubted yourself to the point where the sheer emotional stress robbed you of the ability to use dark corridors. Pathetic. But then again its not ENTIRELY your fault. ah well, not my problem”
Several shadowy ethereal hands shot out of the open gate and wrapped themselves around Naminé who screamed and tried to struggled out of them to no avail.
“Quiet down will you?” the being said in annoyance “So damn noisy. I’m granting your wish. You want to exist? Well here’s your chance! Your ONLY chance to not fade away to nothingness inside of your somebody!”
Naminé was lifted up off her feet and into blackness inside of the doors, which slammed shut behind her. She felt like she was being shot through space at rocket speeds. She couldn’t breathe, she couldn’t stop screaming. But as she made her journey she could feel it. A tremendous amount of information was being forced directly into her head.
“Stop! Stop it!” she screamed “My head! it’s going to split open!”
Suddenly she was breaking apart. Her mind, body, soul..everything. Shattering into a thousand tiny pieces and becoming apart of something much bigger. Becoming truth itself. It felt like her head was going to burst open but she could feel it, the truth behind everything. She continued to scream as a vision of Sora appeared before her. He grinned his trademark grin and held out his hand.
“Sora? Sora!!” Naminé screamed and reached out, her hand starting to break apart as it wrapped around Sora’s. Then, abruptly, it all stopped. Naminé was standing in a alley way, gasping for breath. It was over.
“Wh...where am I NOW?” she wondered, sinking to her knees and clutching her forehead with one hand. She had a splitting headache. She jumped as she looked down. Laying in front of her was a boy. He had dirty blonde hair and was dressed in a blue shirt with black jeans and a black and red jacket. He seemed to be asleep.
“Hey” she said, shaking him by the shoulder “hey kid, wake up. You’ll catch a cold if you sleep out here”
He let out a groan and opened his eyes. They were a chocolate brown.
“A....are you an angel?” he asked, slowly sitting up and looking around, trying to get his bearings. Naminé blushed.
“N...no” she said “sorry”
The boy shook his head “Its fine, I didn’t think they existed anyway” he looked at her with interest “Where are we?”
“I...I don’t know” Naminé replied “I just got here myself....”
“You speak really quietly” the boy remarked, standing up and stretching “Its been awhile since I saw someone quiet like you”
“umm...thanks?” Naminé said in confusion.
“No problem” the boy replied. He blinked and seemed to remember something. Taking off his black and red jacket the boy tossed it to Naminé.
“Wear that” he said “I don’t know where we are, but the weather dosen’t permit you wearing something like that thin little dress”
Naminé blushed again and slid the jacket around herself, zipping it up. The boy smiled.
“Much better” he said “My name’s Brad. What’s yours?”
“Naminé” the girl replied “nice to meet you”
“The pleasure’s mine” Brad replied. His eyes hardened as he spun around. Shadow heartless rose up out of the ground behind him. At least four of them. Brad growled and in a flash of light the kingdom key materialized in his hand. He looked at it in confusion.
“Where were you five minutes ago when I needed you?!” he demanded “stupid key”
The shadows jumped at him and he swatted them out of the air in three easy swings, destroying them.
“Why do you have a keyblade?” Naminé asked in shock. Brad looked at her, bemused.
“Beats me” he replied “I thought this was all a dream until they sliced up my...” He looked down at his legs and gasped. “No..cuts..? weird. Come to think of it, I don’t remember getting these clothes” he shook his head in annoyance “What ARE those heartless things?” he asked “do you know?”
“Yes” Naminé replied “ There are two types of Heartless. Pureblood and emblem. Pureblood heartless are born from the darkness in people's hearts. They are ink-black in color, with yellow beady eyes. They are more common in places that are close to or saturated in darkness. Upon their destruction, they simply disappear in puffs of darkness, without a heart leaving it's body”
“Okay” Brad said with a nod “What is the second type?”
“Emblem heartless” Naminé said “They were created from machines that reproduce the process of a heart being consumed by darkness. Afterward, stolen hearts can become Emblems. They have more varied shapes, colors, and are branded with a heart symbol to differentiate them from the Pureblood ones. They are more common on the worlds and usually mimic the shape of creatures or objects within the world they’re on”
“I don’t understand” Brad said “Worlds? I thought earth was the only one!”
“Earth?” Naminé said in confusion “What’s...oh.....OH!” she gasped and fell to her knees as a splitting headache tore through her skull. Then, all of the sudden, it was gone.
“Something happened to us” she said, looking up at Brad who stared back, her confusion mirrored in his eyes “We’re not in the reality that you or I knew. We...we were transported somewhere else”
“What are you talking about?!” Brad demanded “I’m stuck here?!?”
Naminé nodded in shame “I don’t know how to leave or if we even can”
Brad sighed and cursed. Then he took a breath and looked at Naminé again, eyes brighter than they were.
“I didn’t have a place to go back to anyway” he shrugged “I guess I can stick it out here”
Naminé smiled “I can say the same thing. Do you......do you want to stick together?” Brad nodded “I’d like that”
The two exchanged a smile before Brad breathed in sharply “behind you!”
Naminé spun around, more heartless were rising from the ground. At least a dozen of them!
“Too many to fight” Brad said “I can’t do it if i’m protecting you too. Lets run!”
He grabbed her and and pulled her out of the alleyway. He didn’t let go as they ran through the streets, lit by lamps, heartless racing behind them.
“Where are we going?!” Naminé shouted as they ran. “Anywhere but here!” Brad replied giving her hand a squeeze as they continued to run through the foreign city. Eventually they were in another alleyway, unable to shake off the heartless. Brad cursed and yanked Naminé into him, wrapping his arms around her as a shadow heartless landed in the exact spot where she had been standing a heartbeat before.
“Thanks” she whispered
“No need for it” Brad replied as the shadows began to merge. To both of their horror’s a darkside rose up, towering over them as they backed deeper into the alley.
“Not good” Brad said “not good at all”
Darkside swung its fist at them, intending to crush them. Brad squeezed Naminé closer to him and they both shut their eyes, waiting for the blow. It never came.
Slowly Brad allowed himself to look up. Four gigantic ice sickles had shot up out of the ground, impaling darkside and causing it to explode. Brad and Naminé let out a sigh of relief. Kneeling in the front of the alleyway was a man shrouded in a brown overcoat with what looked like a blue military uniform underneath it. On his right arm was a large gauntlet with a weird circle on the shoulder of it. The man drew the same circle in chalk on the ground before he looked up at the two teens. He had jet black eyes and his long hair was typed in a ponytail. A single strand hung over his left eye.
“Close call” he said “You kids need to be more careful. Its dangerous out here”
Brad stepped away from Naminé and crouched down into his battle stance “who are you?!”
The man looked at Brad’s keyblade in interest. “Thats an interest sword. Planning on becoming a locksmith?”
Brad glared at him.
“Oh calm down it was just a joke. My name is Isaac. Isaac Mcdougall”
“I’m Brad” Brad replied, relaxing, the keyblade vanished in a flash of light “this is Naminé” Naminé waved “thanks for saving us”
“No problem” Isaac replied.
“Freeze!!”
“Oh what now?!” Brad swore as men in the same blue military uniform as Isaac surrounded them. One grabbed Naminé in a chokehold.
“Naminé! Naminé!!” Brad yelled “Let her go!”
“Isaac Mcdougall you are under arrest!” snarled one of the military men “You and your accomplices!”
“BRAD!!” Naminé reached out for Brad, who tried to reach her but to no avail. She was too far away.
“Lets move kid!” Isaac said, grabbing Brad’s shoulder. The circle on his gauntlet glowed pink and then the air around them exploded into mist, sending the men around the duo flying and when the mist cleared, Brad and Isaac were gone. Naminé looked up at her captive in horror as he swore.
“Now the bastard has a hostage”
“what do we do sir?”
“Squad A. Go after him. Squad B will escort the girl to the führer and tell him what is going on”
“Do you really belive she’s working with HIM?”
“Can’t be too careful. Now MOVE!”
“YES SIR!”
***
“So your trying to tell me that the only way to save Naminé is to destroy the city?” Brad asked, skeptical.
“She’s being held by the military” Isaac replied “They’re corrupt and they’ll never let her go otherwise”
“I only half belive you” Brad replied “But if I stick with you i’ll be able to get my friend back”
“You’ll also be saving a country!” Isaac replied
“Yeah...that too” Brad sighed, he didn’t think Naminé would approve of this method of saving her but its all he had.
“Partners?”
Brad looked up at Isaac, eyes hard and determined.
“Partners”
End Of Chapter One.
A/N: Which leads us into the first episode of Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood.
So this is my first fanfiction. please read and tell me what you think about it.
thanks in advance
