Chapter VI: Saffron City

Sora awoke with a very familiar smell in his nostrils; the smell of dog. Slightly confused, he forced his eyes open. He was met with a wet, pink tongue, determined to wash his face and probably his hair, too. For a moment he just sat there, completely stunned, then shoved the mass of fur off him, sputtering.

"Hey! Cut it out!"

"Growlithe!"

Sora stared at the creature in front of him, more confused than before.

"What?"

It looked sort of like a dog, but not quite. It was stockier, its snout more blunt. Its fur was a dark flame orange with some scattered black stripes, though its muzzle, chest, and belly were coated with a thick puff of white. The brush on the top of its head and its fluffy tail were white too, and its large black eyes gazed happily into Sora’s. Sora, however, was more concerned with the fact that he thought the animal had just spoken.

"Uh, did you say something?" He asked, feeling foolish.

The dog creature tilted its head.

"Growlithe?"

Sora stood slowly, hoping not to upset it. "Yeah, whatever. I don’t suppose you know where I am, do you?"

It seemed to smile, its eyes squeezing shut with merriment.

"Growl!"

Sora laughed nervously and tried to edge around it. He got past, but it followed after him. Deciding that it wasn’t dangerous, just weird, Sora tried to ignore it and get a better look around him.

He’d never been in a big city, but he could recognize one when he saw it. The buildings where so tall, blocking out most of the night sky. Streetlights were spread along the sidewalks, illumining the dark streets with muted yellow glows. Trash was littered here and there, rustling about in the tiny breeze. There were a few shrubs and benches, but not many at all. Some posters and signs adorned the fronts of the buildings, but they were hard to see in the thin light.

Despite the apparent size of the city, there was no one around, which made Sora extremely suspicious. He’d learned that an empty, seemingly abandoned place often meant something dangerous was lurking about. He had the feeling that the Soulless were not too far away. And after what had just happened to him, coming to this place, he wasn’t about to let them catch him off guard.

He had to find away back to Kairi.

He felt them coming, the cold that just appeared out of nowhere, poisoning the breeze. The creature at his side crouched low, baring sharp teeth.

"Grrrrooooowwlll…."

Sora looked down at it.

"It’s not safe for you here…Growlithe."

It looked up at him, determined. Sora’s response smile was daring. Inwardly, he didn’t know if he could fight the Soulless alone, so he was glad of any help. He knew how hard it could be, fighting the darkness alone.

It was something he never wanted to do again.

The Soulless appeared suddenly, the way he thought they would, but seeing them still surprised him; they were different than the ones he’d seen before. They were slightly larger, the bodies more stocky. Their overall color was a dirty yellow, with what looked like heavy, metal bracers at their wrist and ankles, extremely rusted and cracking. They hunched over a bit, large, animal-like faces adorned with two dark red spots on each cheek and empty white eyes. Their ears were long and tipped with black, fangs poking out from their upper lips.

Lastly, on their chest, there was a kind of crest, two conjoined diamonds with blue, spiked bands crisscrossing through the center.

Unsure, Sora activated his Scan ability, the information appearing magically before his eyes.

"Soulless, ChuKahs. Uses thunder and physical attacks." Sora said aloud, glad for some kind of heads up. "Let’s see if we can handle these things, Growlithe."

There came an answering growl as the Kingdom Key appeared in his hand.

Sora spun forward, Vortex giving him precious speed. Silently sending up a prayer, he slashed with his Keyblade. He felt it connect and one ChuKah was thrown back, stunned. With renewed confidence, he unleashed a combo on another, four swipes hitting their mark before the Soulless burst into yellow/black smoke, the two daimonds drifting up and away.

"Force!"

A ball of darkness stopped three more in their tracks, giving Sora the chance to Dodge Roll closer, eliminating them with his Keyblade. Six more emerged from the darkness, only they held back, hunching over even more than before.

"Kkaaahhhhh…"

Their deep, guttural sounds set Sora on edge, so he Dodged just in time as several streaks of yellow lightning roared his way, scorching the spot where he had been. Sora jumped and used Superglide to come speeding down from above, a flurry of attacks and a final spell finishing them off.

"Deep Freeze!"

The ChuKahs dissolved into nothing, but behind him Sora heard another group releasing the same attack. His eyes widened.

"Oh no! Growlithe!"

Sora spun around, only to nearly fall over in surprise as Growlithe dodged the thunderbolts and release from his mouth a massive string of flame on the Soulless, leaving only smoking remains. The creature barked once, panted, and ran over to Sora, looking just as happy and carefree as before. Sora smiled sheepishly and bent over to scratch Growlithe behind the ears.

"You really are like a dog, aren’t you?"

"He’s a puppy-type Pokemon actually, as you should well know, young man."

Sora looked up at the source of that feminine, commanding voice. A woman in a blue uniform with dark turquoise hair and red amber eyes walked quickly towards him, her heels clicking on the cement. Several people in similar uniforms followed, though she seemed to be the one in charge.

Growlithe ran up to her and rubbed against her leg affectionately. She patted his head, then turned her attention to Sora. He almost flinched under her gaze, though he wasn’t sure why. There was just something about the woman, the knowledge that it would be better not to make her mad. She’d also seen him use the Keyblade and, occasionally, that didn’t make a good impression.

Sora smiled nervously, "Wh-What should I know, again?"

The woman scrutinized him carefully, her eyes traveling up and down the length of him and finally settling on his Keyblade.

"You’re not from this world, are you, young man?"

Sora gulped. "No, I’m not…How did you know?"

One slender eyebrow went up, "Do you mean besides the obvious? Well, Saffron City seems to be a gathering place for those who’ve lost their worlds to the Soulless. Are you such a person?"

Sora paused, wondering if it was best to tell the truth. The direct approach appeared to the way to go with this woman, so he took a deep breath and went for it.

"No. I’ve come here to stop the Soulless, if I can."

The woman looked genuinely surprised.

"How? Only high-level Pokemon like Growlithe here have been able to fight them off." She stopped and looked again at the Keyblade. Her eyes narrowed.

"Who are really, young man?"

He sagged slightly, the weight returning.

"My name is Sora," even he could hear the weariness in his voice. "I’m the Key Bearer. I can lock the door to this world and, hopefully, keep the Soulless out."

"Hopefully?"

"I’ll do the best I can," he replied, a tired smile on his face, "Though I’m not to sure what I’m doing this time."

The woman’s suspicious expression faded, hearing and seeing the scars of all the past battles. She walked up and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. He looked up at her and saw her true nature in the gentle smile the graced her features.

"I’m Officer Jenny. I apologize for not trusting you," she said, and began to lead him down the street, the other uniformed people dispersing, though not heading anywhere alone. "But these are hard times."

Sora was somehow glad that there was someone to give him direction and he felt free to ask questions.

"How long have the Soulless been here?"

Officer Jenny sighed, the strain showing on her face.

"It’s been about seven months since the first attacks. Nearly a fourth of the population was lost before we found a way to defend ourselves. Since then we’ve been losing people and Pokemon little by little, either through carelessness or increased aggression from the Soulless. This city would probably be abandoned by now, if not for the refugees."

Sora paused in his musings as to what exactly Pokemon where when he heard this. Something about it rang horribly familiar.

"Refugees?" Sora couldn’t help the sick feeling in his heart. He couldn’t already be this late, could he? "Do you mean people who’ve lost their worlds?"

"I’m afraid so," she replied, shaking her head. "They have no other place to go, so they settle here. Some have been living in the city so long they’ve set up businesses."

Sora closed his eyes. It was Traverse Town all over again. He could only hope there was something he could do. He knew he had to help these people, if he could. It was that sometimes annoying sense of duty, but he was long-used to it. He lived by it.

He refused to listen to the quiet voice deep down inside, telling him that he was only doing this to get it over with as quickly as possible and find a way back home.

The buildings around them were becoming more well-lighted and Sora spotted a few people here and there. He spun his Keyblade and it disappeared, hidden away until he needed it again. Officer Jenny gave him a look.

"What is that anyway?"

Sora was glad for the distraction that pulled him away from his dark inner thoughts.

"It’s the Keyblade. Even after all this time, I still don’t know how it works, but it’s capable of sealing the heart of a world and destroying creatures like the Soulless. The Keyblade chooses its master and there’s only one other that I know of ."

"Where is this one? It looks to me like you could use some help."

Sora looked at the ground, seeing again that small silhouette and hearing that voice, so accepting:

"Now, Sora, let’s close this door for good."

Like so many times before, the rest of that moment followed, the old pain reawakened. Riku’s voice echoed in his mind, that last time, so long ago and so clear.

"Come on! Together we can do it!"

Sora’s chest began to ache, the loss a knife in his heart.

"Don’t worry, there will always be a door to the light."

But where was it? Why couldn’t he find it?

"Take care of her."

I can’t!

"Sora, are you alright?"

Sora’s head jerked up, his heart returned to this time, this place. It was dangerous, remembering the past. He knew every time he did a fresh wound was struck in his heart. There was so much he wished he could undo, wished he could make better. He’d made so many mistakes.

But the past was the past. He had to focus on the present; this time, this problem. If he really tried, he could avoid all the errors he’d made the last time. At the very least, he had no friends here he could endanger. There was no one to be at risk because of him.

"I’m okay," he answered, not looking directly at Officer Jenny. "I’m just a little tired."

She smiled sympathetically.

"There really aren’t any hotel you can stay at, but there’s more space at the Pokemon Center now, with those boys helping out."

A strange feeling in his heart, Sora glanced at her.

"What boys?"

"Oh, you wouldn’t know about them, would you?" She said, smiling faintly. "They showed up a week ago. They’re worlds had been destroyed and, after they’d recovered, they stayed on to help at the Center."

"Recovered? From what?"

Officer Jenny’s expression was sad. "Their souls had almost been taken. I happened to be nearby when they were brought to the Center. You could see the light leaking out of their chests; it was beautiful, in a heartbreaking sort of way. Strange, too. All other souls I’d seen had been a kind of bluish green, but theirs…one was a stunning blue, the other brilliant gold. It was amazing."

The odd feeling increased and Sora was driven to ask more.

"But they’re alright now?"

"Yes. Through some special technique the souls were put back. Though they’re the only ones left from their worlds, they’ve managed to bounce back; they have even developed their own ways of fighting the Soulless, though they’re not very good yet."

Sora thought of Donald and Goofy, now so far away, and the accusation he’d once received from Riku, that he’d been replaced by the two of them. Where the tables being turned now? Was Sora ‘replacing’ Donald and Goofy with these two unknown boys?

It’s not like that. I just can’t do this alone.

Sora looked again to Officer Jenny, driven now but fighting off an inner sense of guilt.

"Do you think you could take me to see these two?"

She nodded, changing direction and heading for a well-lit, dome-shaped building. "Of course. They might be able to help you. From what I’ve learned, they’ve actually been in the void, the place where the Soulless come from, though I have now idea how they escaped."

Following after her, Sora looked up at the night sky, dotted with very few stars. Three years ago, he wouldn’t have now what that meant, but now he knew time was short. He had to help as many worlds as he could, but also learn more about this ‘void’, the place where it all began. He felt a terrible, distant cold thinking about it and a helplessness he didn’t understand.

He also felt a twinge of physical pain, he source of which he couldn’t identify.

Deciding to ignore it for now, Sora ran to catch up with Officer Jenny.

"What are these boy’s names, anyway?"

"I’m sure they’ll introduce themselves when you meet them, but they go by Ranma and Yami."

******

An unbelievable distance away, the pale thing felt the guilt, the loss, the hope, and the determination. The emotions bringing forth its own memories, the slow, never-ending cycle began again.

"Riku!"

******

Those last couple sentences were put in at the last moment and are meant to be confusing. I’ll have little tidbits like that throughout most of the fic. They have something to do with the story underneath this all and, eventually, the secret will be revealed.

Some of you may guess what is going on, but, if you do, please don’t put it in your reviews. If you really think you know and wish to gloat, e-mail me and don’t give it away.

This chapter was a filler basically; some plot development and some action, but nothing like the last chapter. Book I ends after chapter seven, so I’m purposely winding things down. Obviously, the next part up will have Sora meeting Yami and Ranma, though there is some interesting stuff.

See ya there!