The Hero Arrives-- Wait, again? (Completed)

[optimistickey.livejournal.com]

Character(s): Sora and anyone else he might chance upon!
Content: Getting off the gummy ship and finding his friends gone, and a world that's unlike any other he's been to? Sora senses an adventure hidden in here somewhere.
Setting: The Vanaheim gate (top of F3)
Time: Afternoon
Warnings: None so far!

Sora had folded his arms over the controls on the gummy ship, and was enjoying a nice nap as they cruised the stars, looking for the king and Riku. It was the winding down of a finished adventure, Sora had figured, and within a week (because it was Riku of all people) he'd be back on his island with Kairi and Riku, and everything would be okay again.

It'd be incredibly boring after all the excitement of the past few months, but it'd be home again. If anything, they could take trips on the gummy ship and go to all the worlds he'd visited. They'd go to Halloweentown, Agrabah, and maybe Neverland. Sora smiled in his sleep, the thought fluttering across his consciousness. I forgot to tell Kairi I flew. I need to remember to do that next time...

It had been eventful in more than one way over the past few months, and sometimes when Sora was feeling sad, he wondered if things could ever be the same for him, Riku and Kairi. Riku had said mean things, and done some pretty awful things too. Sora had forgiven him, but part of him wondered if Riku'd forgive himself. No hard feelings, right? Hopefully. But first, he had to actually find Riku and the king. With Ansem soundly defeated, Sora (for the most part) had no doubt that they could resolve everything and go back to having races.

And, just between him and anyone who'd listen, he was positive he could beat Riku this time. He grinned, his thoughts taking him back to consciousness. He could do it, couldn't he? He'd gotten a lot faster and stronger and smarter!

Sora yawned and sat up sleepily, rubbing at the edges of his eyes. It took a few moments for the sight before him to actually settle in. He wasn't looking at the cosmos before him, but rather a gate of some sort, surrounded by white trees, grass, dirt, and pretty much anything else he could think of that shouldn't be white. In the midst of it all, two tall pillars that stood completely out of place. Sora's mouth hung open for a moment and he glanced around.

"Donald? Goofy? Jiminy?... Chip? Dale?" he called out, his call eventually ending in a slight whine. There was no answer back.

Had they left ahead of him, he wondered. Something in his gut gave a resounding 'no', and he frowned. And it wasn't like he knew how to pilot the gummy ship himself, either, he realized. He didn't even know if it was on! This was Chip and Dale's job! He was the keyblade master! He was supposed to save worlds from heartless, not figure out which buttons to push! He groaned and pressed the button to open the hatch door.

It was the only button that he knew he could press and not have the ship self-destruct.

As he walked along the path, closer and closer to the gate, he continued his calls for his friends, and by the time he reached the gate, his face was clearly dismayed and a little worried. Where the heck is everyone? The guards looked down at him, never showing much emotion past the pasted on smile on their faces. Sora, quite frankly, thought they were weird. He was staring at them quite intently when they finally spoke.

"What's your name?" one of them asked.

"Huh?"

"Your name-- what is it?"

"Oh! Sora!" Sora said brightly, placing his hands on his hips. "Who are you guys?"

The guards, however, didn't answer him. Instead, they shoved something in his face and said, "Here's your electronic journal. Enjoy your stay at Paixao."

Sora frowned at the little rectangular box being shoved in his face. He took it and turned it over in his hands. "... Electronic journal?" It was light, and he slipped it into his pocket with little thought, if only because the look the guard was giving him told him they were sick of his questions, and they wanted him to walk through the gate.

And after all, why shouldn't he? Donald and Goofy were probably already there, after all. He just... hadn't expected the city to be so full of hustle and bustle. Especially after the quiet outside.

Comments

[heartfilling.livejournal.com]

All Rinoa could remember was that it was the perfect ending to the perfect night. The Garden Festival was a wonderful success, as always, in the words of Selphie. Of course, the highlight of the night was not the Festival itself, it was more... well, that would be her secret to keep, right? She smiled to herself at the thought. Had it been real? Did it really happen? It seemed too wonderful to be true. She could have simply dreamed about the whole thing, that would be a Rinoa thing to do anyway.

However, to focus on the matter on hand, where was she? Garden had been mobile during the Festival and also when she went to sleep. Squall did say that they had no plans on landing anywhere yet, so how did she find herself lying here on the ground? It simply did not make sense. Even more, where was everybody? If Balamb had had technical problems and made an emergency landing, that might explain her current situation, but if so, how come she was the only person in her area? There should be others around her.

She had heard voices earlier. Following them, she came to a gate with a line of people waiting to enter through it. She thought that the gatekeeper would answer her questions but he merely asked for her name and shoved an electronic journal into her hands before ushering her away. Rinoa thought it was quite rude. Hesitantly stepping into the domed city, she had been reluctant to wander too far from the gate. Perhaps someone from Balamb would notice that she was missing and sent out a search party.

She disliked being alone. Actually, that was an understatement, Rinoa hated being alone. Rinoa instinctively reached to the silver and Griever ring on her chest, holding them in her hand like good luck charms. She looked around herself with worry and fear etched on her face. Where was everyone?

[optimistickey.livejournal.com]

Amidst all the blond haired, blue-eyed people, Sora was beginning to feel very confused. Questions were running through his mind. Why did all these people look alike? Why was the whole city covered by a dome? Were they trying to keep something out?

Several attempts to stop someone and ask questions had ended in frustration. Well, darn it. How come no one was stopping? It was hard to ask a question because everyone kept on walking as he opened his mouth. Sora grumbled to himself.

The city itself was very pretty, more intricate than any other city he'd been to. He could swear some of the buildings themselves looked like the buildings he'd seen in Agrabah, while some looked like the big clock in Neverland. There were more still that reminded him of Traverse town. Too bad none of the people in this place were as friendly.

Sora took another step, when out of the corner of his eye, he saw something that stood out. There was a girl with black hair and, well, he couldn't tell what color her eyes were from that distance, but she was different enough for him.

Too bad she looked as confused as him! He approached her, hoping she was just confused, maybe, about what she was supposed to buy at the grocery store, or a puzzle, or something.

"Hi!" Sora said, brightly. "I was wondering if you knew anything about this place? I'm kind of confused."

[heartfilling.livejournal.com]

"Uhm..." Rinoa withdrew her hand to place a finger on her chin in thought. "I've never heard of Paixao before," she admitted, "but it's not like I know every town in the world, so I can't say." Rinoa wished that Quistis was here, or Squall of course, or anyone smarter who would know where they were. Not that she minded the boy's company of course. Misery does love company. It would not be nice to be lost all alone in the strange city.

"Where are you from?" She asked with a smile, linking her hands behind her back again. "I'm from Timber," or at least she would rather be, "if you know where that is. It's a pretty small town."

[heartfilling.livejournal.com]

"You sure have lots of friends!" Rinoa smiled brightly at Sora's reply, "I'm sure they'll come back for you." He seemed very likable, she couldn't see any reason why they would leave him behind. "Friends never leave each other behind, after all!" She grinned. The intention was to cheer him up, although he didn't really need cheering up, but it also made her feel better to remember that. She was sure that her friends would not leave her behind. They will come for her, she was sure of it.

But a talking dog and a duck? "I... don't think I've seen them." His two friends seemed like very interesting characters. She giggled when Sora introduced himself. "I'm Rinoa," She re-introduced herself.

She noticed how Sora glanced back at the city when he was describing his friends. "You wanna check the city for your friends?" She offered with a smile. "I'm looking for my friends too, 'though they might be a little harder to find." She winked.

[optimistickey.livejournal.com]

Sora grinned at the reassurance, and it felt nice to have, even if he may not have necessarily needed it. His friends were probably off galavanting around somewhere, where Donald was getting into trouble and Goofy was having to bail him out! They'd come around, he figured.

But it wouldn't be a bad idea to look for them, and he nodded at her question of whether or not to go into the city. A glance back, and he said, "What do your friends look like? We can look together!"

Sure, some friends were harder to actually find, but it was easier when one had company.

[heartfilling.livejournal.com]

"Wow, thanks!" She chirped out in reply to Sora's suggestion. "That would be really great." Except that she wondered at first who of her friends she should look out for. It would be too much of a fuss to describe all of them. "I have a dog friend too," she started. "Her name's Angelo. She is this tall," she demonstrated her height to Sora. "She doesn't talk but she's really smart," she finished with a smile.

"And then there's Squall," she started again, much slower this time. "He's a pretty-looking guy with brown hair and, err, blue-brown-grey eyes," they didn't come to a conclusion when they started debating about that. "This tall," she indicated again. "And quiet and gloomy, but he's really nice," she grinned to reassure Sora. Squall really isn't bad at all once you get to know him.

Rinoa was going to say something else when she heard someone talking from beside them. It was a nicely-dressed girl. Although Rinoa started to think that there was more to her than just that when she noticed the strange symbols and amulets she seemed to have. "We... don't know much about this place, really," she admitted hesitantly. "But I think all of us are in the same situation." Crossing her arms in front of her, Rinoa looked down as if in thought, "Hmm, something's fishy.

[ooc: So sorry for the lateness!!]