Hi sorry for the wait. Had some stuff to do. Chapter 8! Now we get further into plot and Sora has to start making certain choices.

Remember this is kinda a retelling of KH1 but with a 'What if' added to it. I don't intend to get off plot much, except extend upon it. Sorry for the lack of Sokai and Vanitas boi in the chappy.

This chapter has been edited by Mod M. Thank you so much mate.
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A Fragment of a Fragment
By True-InTha-Blue
Chapter 8

'Uses'
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Leon walked -he did not stomp- towards his house in the Third District. The first floor was more of a dingy storage room; it was the attic that had the bedrooms- several walled off rooms each containing the personal belongings of their small group. It was always collecting dust; the electricity was poorly routed. No one really knew how to cook except Aerith. The fridge was full of three-day-old leftovers and the attic got so hot during the summer that they'd rather sleep on the couch in the accessory shop.

It was his and his friends' home for several years.

"Oh boy. I bet it didn't go so well," Yuffie called from her attic room.

Leon sighed, hating that she was able to detect slight changes in people's demeanor. Curtesy of that darn ninja training... and Aerith teaching her.

There was no way she would let a topic drop, so begrudgingly he leaned back against the doorframe.

Yuffie was on the bed with ice over her ankle. A nasty hoard of Heartless had managed to nick her badly. A potion had patched it up, but it was best to keep rested for a faster recovery.

"So... who ditched who first?" she said jokingly, though there was a part of her that didn't want to know.

"The kid did," Leon almost growled. "He left in a hissy fit. Doesn't think about anyone except himself."

"Oh boy," Yuffie said, leaning back. "Huh... Kinda sounds familiar." She hid her smirk.

"Is that so?" the man challenged her to explain further.

"Nothing," Yuffie concluded. "I'm sure that kid is alright. He may be a bit thick headed, but at least he can handle himself. For the most part..."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Yuffie shrugged. "He's in a crazy state right now. One moment he seems fine and the next... This." She made a random gesture all around.

Leon took her bait, with much reluctance. "What is 'this'?" He gestured around like she did.

"Being in a new place?" Yuffie got up and looked out the window. The plaza in the Third District had people in it, everyone having returned since the Heartless had been cleared up earlier. There was a group of children who were playing with each other- a rare sight. "I know you don't get out much-" Leon shot her a glare. "But it happens every time somebody winds up here. First they're confused. Then they're sad and then angry. Happens like clockwork," she said with a twirl of her finger. "With that kid, it just so happens he can actually lash out at his problems instead of just going through the motions. Most people are too scared to even go against the heartless. If you think about it, the kid is nearly how you were when we first ended up here."

Leon wanted to refute that, but his mind was already treading back to a painful time- a time when he and his friends were young, and Cid was young-ish. Their little group had been running away from Heartless back in their original homeworld before darkness took them. Next thing they knew, they had woken up in a new place with strange buildings, nearly alone in a ghost town of endless night.

No voices but their own and the wind... Before long though, others had joined them and told them about similar situations with the other worlds, filling in with their own pasts and experiences- the knowledge of Ansem and 'the Key' and how it could save them all. But for years, no one had held the 'the Key'.

It was not hard to figure out that their world was probably either overrun by the Heartless or destroyed. All their friends and family were either lost, floating in some type of abyss or limbo, or turned into Heartless themselves.

As a younger person, Leon felt a desperation to cling onto something regarding what had been lost. He was the most combat-oriented of the group, so it was he who took charge in protecting his friends, refusing when the others offered to help, even pushing them away so they wouldn't have to deal with how cruel reality had been to them.

Of course, they went behind his back. Yuffie learning ninjutsu, Aerith learning magic, and Cid making all sorts of contraptions to keep the town safe.

Leon had been furious at them, demanding they quit. They told him he was being insufferable, and he couldn't do everything alone.

It took a long time for Leon to realize that and start working with his friends who he had left behind.

That had only happened a few years ago.

Leon let out a low, painful, and tired groan. Yuffie waited for this to end.

And waited. And waited.

Until he was done and had his head against the wall, as though in pain.

"Ya done yet?" she asked with a smirk.

"I don't want to apologize to the brat," was all he said. He wanted to sulk. Actually he was.

That was such a...

Not surprise.

"You're as much a drama queen as you were five years ago." Yuffie knew that for all his gruffness and tough-guy persona, he was prone to sulking like a child.

"Look, I'm not saying you have to apologize; just kinda reassure him. He's a lost kid who doesn't know what's going on. It was the same with us nine years ago. Unlike us though, he didn't come with anyone. He doesn't know if any of his friends made it. That's really his only hope to keep him going instead of the usual depression most folk get. It has gotten a lot worse in the last months. People unable to go on. The slight chance his friends are out there is his last hope. And we need that hope too, so he can be the Keyblade Master." Yuffie showed her wisdom in that moment.

Leon grunted, not agreeing nor disagreeing.

"So, do what you need to do. The King entrusted you to guide that little guy on the right path... whatever that means," she said all too casually before laying back down. Her piece was said.

The Gunblade-user was disgruntled, but he wasn't stubborn enough to know what he was doing was wrong.

The boy was irritating, but it was probably because he reminded Leon of his younger reckless and angry self.

The kid couldn't afford to wait several years to master the blade through experience. The Heartless were invading rapidly each day. Something big was coming.

Aerith had been educating her new guests, an odd duck and an odd dog. Like their King, they had been aware of other worlds, and knew those worlds were supposed to be a secret. She informed them about the Heartless interfering with the affairs of the worlds and making them connected.

She told them about the nature of the Heartless, those without hearts- embodiments of darkness and those who were lost to it, who seek out darkness in others' hearts. It was amazing that these two had not encountered any Heartless while they had been searching for the Key Bearer.

Aerith told them everything that could be pieced together from the small reports from their leader Ansem- who had been trying to prevent the invading darkness.

She explained these reports had been scattered throughout space. The tall one wanted to find their King who probably went to look for the reports. However, the short one said they had to find 'the Key'.

"The Key Bearer is already here," Aerith said to them. "He has been helping us keep the Heartless at bay from the town. They focus on him, and thus, it is easier for him to slay them, and prevent the lost hearts from going back into their clutches."

"Gawrsh! Let's go find him!" Goofy declared, excited about getting so close to their objective.

Donald nodded. "Annd withe him, we cwan fwind the King!"

"Hmmm..." A small voice came from Goofy's hat. Jiminy Cricket pondered their objective.

How would the one with the 'Key' know where the King was? Did the King want the Key to find him or was there something else the Key must do?

As always Jiminy would record the activities and see where things would lead too. And as always, as a Conscience he would lend sound advice.

"Right now, the Second District is on high alert. It's best we wait until they get cleared out and then I will take you to him."

Aerith felt like something foreboding was coming.

Sora awoke with a gasp. That dream!

And that... not-dream.

His talks with the figure felt very, very different from a dream. They were too detailed, too vivid.

The two dogs were asleep- huddled together and trying to draw comfort in a place that seemed to offer no solution to their problem. There was nothing they could do.

Next thing, to Sora's surprise, Leon came through the door so suddenly.

"So, this is where you are," he said all too casually before looking at the dalmatians.

Sora kept any smart remarks to himself.

'I know it's tough to suck up that pride of yours... But that just makes you ignorant...'

For some reason, that dark being's words were ringing in his head. So, he listened to what Leon had to say.

"These Dalmatians, Pongo and Perdita, lost all their puppies when their world got destroyed. No matter what, they won't be the same until they get those puppies back." He turned to Sora. "It's scary, being in a place without anyone you're familiar with."

Blue eyes looked closely at the older man. Sora wondered what Leon was aiming for here. Sympathy?

Leon looked at Sora, stern but not glaring. "I was like that too, when I first lost my world."

The chosen boy was still silent, considering these words along with the advice given to him. He would swallow his pride in order to get stronger... in order to find his friends.

"I'm sorry too," Sora admitted with difficulty. He didn't feel too sorry, especially not for sucker-punching Leon when the guy had tried to take the Keyblade, but he was willing to work with the Griever. "I'm willing to.. do what I have to. I was just scared like you said."

That sounded a bit too 'rehearsed', but this was as good as it was going to get. The kid was a lot like him.

Stubborn.

Headstrong.

Trying to do everything by himself.

"Alright," Leon said, petting the dalmatians. "Let's go."

Sora slowly got up. He didn't know what to do next, but he would find a way. He had to find a way.

They went back to the Second District. More Heartless had shown up, keeping everyone inside. But for some reason they did not show themselves when Sora and Leon got there.

"Be on your guard," the older man said. "They could be leading us into a trap."

"Are the Heartless that smart? I thought they just acted on instinct," Sora asked.

"Dunno," Leon said. "Can't be too careful."

It was sound advice. They wandered further before encountering Yuffie, who had been scouting earlier.

"This is weird," she said, looking around.

Leon grunted. "You're supposed to be healing."

The ninja waved him off. "Glad to see you two are not biting each other's heads off," she said, hiding a smirk. "It was worse than facing a hoard of Shadows."

She felt the heated glares of both men behind her.

"We need to stick together," Leon said, slowly teaching Sora. "Spreading out doesn't solve anything when dealing with the Heartless."

"He's right," Yuffie confirmed. "Pick it up faster than Squall did, and you'll be better off."

"It's LEON."

Yuffie strode confidently on ahead.

Sora stared back at Yuffie and then at Leon and then back at Yuffie. And then proceeded to follow the girl.

The trio began to trek through the paths and alleyways, the streets, and then eventually to the hotel.

In the main hall there was nothing, so they decided to check out the rooms. They started with the green room. Truly it seemed like there was nothing in sight

Finally, Sora broke the silence. A subject he had been wanting to ask for some time "How do I get to other worlds?" he asked, not looking at either of them.

Both the adults looked at each other briefly.

"You need a vessel. One that has already been to the outside. They come in a lot of forms but are hard to obtain," Leon answered, knowing that the kid wasn't liking the explanation.

"And how do I do that?" Sora asked, his tone a little bit sterner.

"Can't say," Leon said, his voice not harsh, but not comforting.

That hollow feeling in his chest increased. Sora touched his crown necklace. It was warm from his skin.

It represented both his friends.

His dearest friends.

All that was there.

...He had to find a way.

...Anything.

["Anything?"] that dark voiced asked.

But that was interrupted by Yuffie speaking.

"You'll find a way," she said, turning to face Sora. Her expression was warm. "I have a feeling you're the type of guy who finds what he needs." She patted Leon on the shoulder. "Just like this doofus here."

Leon cast her a glare before shaking his head at her antics.

Sora did feel a little bit better but the twisted feeling in his gut lingered. "Thanks," he said, feeling like it was more genuine.

Then, Yuffie and Leon tensed up. Sora was startled, when something suddenly appeared in the room without any warning. It was that humanoid Heartless with the red claws.

They appeared in several numbers, clearly out-numbering them in this small room.

"Soldiers! Yuffie, find Aerith!" Leon took command. "Sora, you're with me!" Yuffie bolted out the side door -ignoring the 'WAK!' noise when she opened the door- spotted Aerith and grabbed her to run out as some Soldiers chased after them.

Like clockwork, Sora and Leon lunged forth at the rest of the Soldiers, battering them out the window before leaping after them in the canal alleyway.

Even in the alley, there were hordes of Soldiers appearing everywhere.

"Keep to my back!" Leon shouted. "Don't take your eyes off the enemy. For these small fries, don't give them an inch!"

The Keyblade and the Gunblade began to carve their way through the Heartless. Sora instantly knew the difference between Soldiers and Shadows. Soldiers had slightly more coordination and they hit far harder. If these were small fry, Sora would hate to know what the big guys were like.

They continued until they got to the main plaza of the Second District.

Soldiers were everywhere- up, down, on the stairs, on the roofs, and anywhere else they could physically appear.

"It's an invasion!" Leon shouted to Sora as they continued to bash their way through. "We need to secure the districts. Sora, go to the Third!"

"I thought you said not to split up when dealing with the Heartless!" Sora shouted over clamoring Heartless and the rattling helms.

"Situations change! Always try to adapt!" Leon said before bolting off in the direction of the First District.

"Oh, that's helpful!" Sora grunted fending off the red claws of the Heartless. He began to cut down those who got in his way.

He would make his own path!

He would use this Keyblade to find a way!

The boy charged through the Heartless, slaying them indiscriminately.

He reached the Third District, a big place of neon lights with a fountain of a cute romantic scene of two dogs.

It seemed clear, but one could never be too careful like Leon had said.

As he slowly prowled towards the center, Sora thought he heard something above him. It became far clearer when a duck and a two-legged dog fell on him like a anvil

His vision went black for a moment until he heard "The Key!" called out by the both of them.

Things seemed to change for the worse when a rumbling shook the ground. They wobbled as the tiled floor unleveled and shook and large stone pillars rose up blocking all exits.

They were surrounded. Soldiers kept pouring in from above and tumbled on the ground like rocks.

"Wak! More of them?!" the duck quacked.

Sora barely understood that sentence. No time to consider as the Heartless clicked and clanked towards them. Yellow eyes completely on them.

He charged forth but saw a fireball blazed past him, blasting a Heartless to ash. To his other side, the dog began to twirl so fast he lifted off the ground and started whacking the enemies with his shield.

Knowing that he didn't have to worry about the newcomers, Sora attacked with the fury he was known for.

Soon the Heartless were swept up by magic, shield and keyblade.

But Leon had called these guys 'small fry' for a reason.

There was no time to rest when armor parts fell from the sky, nearly smashing the three before bouncing back up. Like an action figure, they clanked together to form a giant Heartless, that had the same crest the Soldiers did. The black and magenta metal creature made it clear that this would be no easy fight as it loomed over them. The silver claws twitching over so slightly

A large fist was thrown towards them and both the boy and the dog tried to guard but underestimated its power. They were flung back, hitting the duck and knocking all three of them into a wall.

All were dazed but Sora quickly got back up and charged at the enemy.

"WAK! Stop!" Donald cried out, but Sora didn't really understand him and kept ongoing.

The boy sliced at the armor, grazing its legs making sparks and kept at the onslaught. Right when he leapt, a fireball hit his back, making the boy fly and taste the tile of the floor.

"Donald!" the dog cried out in worry.

"I'm sowwy! I didn't know he would jump!"

A growl came from the boy as he struggled to get up. He grabbed a potion in his pocket, chugging it down to decrease the burning sensation on his back. He glared at the duck, already feeling an intense dislike.

The dog charged once again, intending to bash against the spinning arms of the armor. He managed to stop them and send the arms waving up, then he was sent off into Sora who did not expect to be attacked by a dog

"AH! Get off!" Sora grunted, pushing the guy away. He was getting pretty ticked off. After everything, was he going to fail to this heartless too?

Not again.

"Sorry!" the dog said, getting back up, shield ready. Sora did not hear him or maybe not even caring.

Another fire blast came from the duck, but this time making its mark on the heartless' arm. Followed up by Sora slashed at the legs and one of the legs faded. The dog bashed his shield full force into the other leg with the same effect.

Its arms spun again and sent them all back, cutting Sora's torso with a big clean slash of red.

"It's too strong!" the magic-user cried out.

Sora got back up again. "I don't care!" he snarled while charging again. No! He would not fail! He didn't care how many of these stupid things he had to take down. He would tear them apart! Rip through anything that came between him and his friends. He would not die to these creatures.

"Wait!" the shield-user cried, but the boy was a bull in frenzy.

Even if he was only here a short time, he would not allow a repeat of the Islands to happen! That acrid, bile inducing feeling whenever he thought about it. The boiling in his veins at his home! His family! His friends! All those memories and moments!

The armor rose into the sky and brought down its full mass upon those below it.

Sora would make his own path no matter what!

Small dark tendrils appeared at the end of the Keyblade, barely there but enough to leave a streak across the air when he slashed above him, cutting the Heartless in twine.

At any cost.

The armor faded and multiple hearts emerged from it. The pillars crumbled and there was silence in the courtyard.

Sora panted heavily. His mind rushed with endorphins of his recent success and confusion of what he just did. Slowly he relaxed looking at the tip of the Keyblade. Strenght sapping out of him and the weapon felt made of lead.

What... was that?

How did he do that?

Or was it the Keyblade...?

"Hey!" the duck called out from behind him. This time, Sora could make out what was being said.

He glared at them both, unamused by their strange looks.

[Vanitas could see these two and glowered. Disneys... He HATED Disneys. Despite not having a body, the dark being could feel a migraine well in his head. At what it meant with these idiots coming from that foolish world.]

"What do you want?!" Sora snapped at the two when they wouldn't stop gawking at him.

The two snapped out of the stupor with the duck marching right up to him. "Whe jwust swaved ywu!" his raspy voice squawked.

Blue eyes narrowed, trying to decipher what he was saying. "What?"

Goofy, knowing his friend was hard to understand at times, stepped in. "Gawrsh, sorry about that. We aren't used to fighting enemies that big. We just saw Heartless just before we... uh-landed on ya."

Something was pacifying about the older one, like he was used to dealing with younglings. "Why did you shoot me?" Sora asked, still feeling a hot sensation on his back. Oh, and there was the wet sensation on his torso and shirt.

"GAK! Dat's because you jwumped up so suddenly!" the magician yelled.

Sora still had a confused look whenever the duck spoke. Once again it was up to Goofy. "What he means is, it was a mistake. You took us by surprise. Why, you were going at it like a natural."

Sora felt odd... dealing with... these two. Well they were a dog and a duck! On two legs! Talking! With clothes on them! Only barely resembling a duck and a dog!

Then again, moogles existed and other odd guys lived in this town. But he didn't really interact with anyone.

"Sora!" Leon, Yuffie, and their friend Aerith came from the First District door. They saw that he had a large gash through his torn short and the lady in pink instantly went to work, laying her hands-on Sora's chest while a soft green glow began to spread across his body. The pain instantly began to fade, and the other two residents turned to the Disneys.

"So, you're the King's emissaries," Leon stated. Needless to say, he was not impressed, but remained tight lipped about it.

"Sure are. So, you've seen the King?" the tall one asked.

"'Fraid only briefly," Yuffie said while surveying the damaged district. "He just informed us that you would be looking for this guy." She pointed to Sora.

The duck narrowed his eyes at the boy. "Him?" A feathery finger pointed at him.

Sora made a side glance at the duck but said nothing. Whatever magic Aerith knew was far more effective than any potion.

"Well, how about that!" Goofy was already happy to see the boy they found was the Key.

Finally, Sora spoke. "So, what's this about finding me?" he said with a large amount of skepticism.

It was Leon who answered. "They, too, have been seeking the wielder of the Keyblade."

A nasty sensation crept on it. Ire and suspicious began to bloom in his mind upon this.

It was his darkness's words that Sora remembered echoing within it that was the sorce.

'No matter where you go, somebody will always be wanting to use you because you wield a Keyblade...'

The boy knew that this was what the dark being was talking about. "Why?" he asked, turning to the two as his wounds had healed.

"Bwecause our King twold us to, as youw'll lead us to him!" the duck said, this time clear enough for Sora to understand the meaning.

"Why should I?" Sora asked, turning away from them.

Both Disneys were gobsmacked at his response.

The duck's white feathers turned red. "WAAAAAAAK! HOAW CAN YWU THWAT?! IT'S IMPWORTWANT!"

Sora just looked at Leon, Yuffie, and Aerith as though to ask them if they understood what the duck just said.

They didn't meet his eyes.

"Geesh," Goofy said, realizing what the issue was. "I know you don't know us, but it would be mighty helpful if you came with us on our vessel. We could visit other worlds if you're interested." Boys always did like adventure. Goofy knew this from raising his own kid. He briefly hoped Max was okay.

That got Sora to look back at them. "Other... worlds?" Could he find Riku and Kairi? Was this his way? "Would I be able to find my friends?"

"Of cwourse!" the duck said, eager for the Key-boy to join them.

Goofy leaned in to his friend. "Are you sure?"

"Whwo knows?" Donald whispered callously. "Bwut we knweed him to cwome with ush to find the Kwing." He really didn't care what the kid wanted; their King was possibly in danger and they needed the Key to get him back.

"Sora... go with them. Especially if you want to find your friends," Leon said confirming what the boy had been hoping for the past week.

The boy took a good look at the two newcomers and remembered what else the darkness in his heart had said.

'So why not use them back?'

They had the vessel he needed... to get out and explore the different worlds which by some slim chance Riku or Kairi could've ended up in.

If they had come to Traverse Town, then they would've arrived when he did. That was quickly discovered when a group of people came from another lost world while he was here.

If they want him to go with them, then he would use them just like they would use him. "Okay," he said sternly.

It threw the Disneys off.

"I'm Sora," he said simply, wondering what to call a talking duck and dog.

"Donald Duck," the magician said just as sternly.

"Name's Goofy," the Captain said with cheer.

"And I'm Jiminy!" A cricket in a top hat said from Goofy's hat. "Jiminy Cricket! I shall be chronicling your journey," he said very politely.

It didn't take a genius to know that Sora would be in for a very weird time.

Far, far away, those who plotted and deceived wished to utilize the Heartless to their own ends, though they were ignorant of the slippery line they themselves walked.

"Did that little squirt take down that Heartless? Who would have thought?"

"It's not the child's strength. It is that of the Keyblade's."

"Eh! We can just turn him into a Heartless. We won't have to worry about a thing, then."

"It will be easy considering how incompetent the King's lackeys are. I mean, look at those bilge rats."

"You're no prize yourself."

A gleam of metal rose up to meet that insult. "Fair be it more you than I!"

"Enough." The voice was chilling, on another level than the rest of them. "The Keyblade has chosen him. Will he be the champion of light? Or will he fall into the dark abyss? Either way, we can use him."

And in a world that was never supposed to exist, with those who did not belong, a one-eyed man appeared before the tallest throne of his Superior.

"Heeeey! Boss~! Guess what?" the rough voice teased.

Unphased by Number II's antics, the Superior spoke. "I can only imagine." The voice was deep, droning and bode no other to speak. "That a new wielder of the Keyblade has emerged."

"Bingo!" Finger guns. "Found him in that little hub world, Travers... Something... Whatever." The two black coats opposed each other with personality and tone of speech. "Gotta say, doesn't look like much. Don't even know how a kid like him could get one." Number II did not think that the kid had a lot of grit with how he took down that armored Heartless.

"If he is weak, then the Keyblade shall choose a new master. No matter." The Superior was unmoved that the 'Key' to his plans could prove to be a dud. "We can wait."

"I suppose." Number II gave a shrug. Seriously, even without emotions did nothing phase this guy? Couldn't hurt to pretend a little bit. It made conversations more interesting. "Either way, we get what we want from him whether he knows it or not."

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Let me know how I do with fight scenes. They are always a challenge to work on.

Once again thanks to the editor/beta reader for why any of these chapters actually have good grammar and spelling.

Reviews are always appreciated.