Anime Hearts Ch. 2

Chapter 2: The Heroes Unite

In the place known as Anime City, Ed, Al, Alexander, and Morty were walking along the cobblestone streets when Al stopped and looked up.

“Huh?” What’s the matter?” Ed asked.

Al pointed up to the sky, and simply said, “A star’s going out.”

The others looked up and watched as one of the many stars that dotted the sky faded into nothingness.

“We’d better hurry!” Ed shouted. But Alexander turned and ran in the direction of the falling star.

“Hey wait!” Morty exclaimed, as he started after the dog, but Al stopped him.

“Don’t worry, he’ll be ok… I hope.”

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World Name: Anime City
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Somewhere else. . .

Alexander raced through the streets, dodging anything in his path, and raced into an alley. There, lay a teenage boy of about 17, with messy black hair. He wore a red jacket over a white T-shirt, as well as jeans, and dirty white sneakers. Clutched in one hand was the handle of a sword that resembled a key. (1)

Alexander jumped on the boy, and began licking his face, causing him to stir.

“Mmph! Ok, I’m up I’m up!” Kaneda sat up, rubbing is face. “Man...What a dream that was...” then he sat up and noticed his surroundings. “I-I’m not dreaming! Where am I? Something tells me I’m not in Neo-Tokyo anymore…” (2)

Alexander barked, and ran off.

“Hey! Wait a minute!” Kaneda got up and ran after him.

He stopped and looked at the huge towers of marble and stone that loomed over him. The air was filled with the talking of people and the honking of cars

“Wow...so this is what it’s like in another world...!” Suddenly, the sound of a truck horn blared behind him forcing him to jump out of the way.

“Hey watch where you’re going!” the irate truck driver screamed.

“Well you watch it!” Kaneda shouted back, an anime arrow forming on his head. (3) He frowned and turned away. “I guess some things just never change...”

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After a few more minutes of walking, he came across a small shop. The weather-beaten wooden sign read, “Rick Wheeler’s Accessories”

“This looks like a good place to start...” he pushed open the door and a little bell rang. The shop was small, and cluttered with junk, but one couldn’t help wondering if you could find just about anything in here.

“Alright, I’m coming, I’m coming.” From the back of the room stepped a young man with short red-brown hair wearing a blue denim jacket and some kind of red shirt and magenta pants. “Hey there, how can I...oh wait, it’s just a kid.”

Kaneda’s head practically swelled to five times its normal size as he screamed, “WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT/ I’M 17 YEARS OLD FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!”

The man raised his hands in protest. “Ok, ok, calm down geez! Anyway, who are you and what’re you doing here?”

So Kaneda told the man-Rick-about what happened to him and his city.

“Well,” he said when Kaneda had finished, “I don’t know what you’re talking about, but this isn’t Neo-Tokyo. This-“he said, gesturing out the window “-is Anime City, where the survivors come whenever their worlds are destroyed. Don’t know what will happen if this world is destroyed though.” Kaneda noticed that there was a tone of sadness in the man’s voice.

“Well, thanks anyway. I’m going to go look for my friends now.”

“Sure thing, hey, before you leave, don’t you stock up on a few supplies first?”

"Well, ok.” Kaneda walked up to the counter. “What do you have?”

Rick pulled out a box of items. “Well…let’s see…we have this necklaces that help protect you. I don’t know how they work, I just know they do.”

“Seems kinda girly.”

“Ok, how about this then?”

He took out something that resembled an earring stud.

“It’s called an ability stud,” Rick continued. It raises your ability or something like that.”

“Now that’s cool! I’ll buy it! Um...what kind of money do you take?”

“Well, it all depends what the buyer has, but the main form of currency here is Yen. For this, I’ll take ¥50.” (4)

Kaneda dug a few bills and coins from his pocket and handed them over.

“Thank you very much,” Rick said, taking the money. As Kaneda left the shop, he called after him, “And if you ever get into any trouble, just come and find me.”

“Ok," said Kaneda, as he exited the shop, “But I don’t think I’ll need any help.”

Rick watched him go and chuckled to himself.

//That kid reminds me of myself when I was that age…//

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Outside, Kaneda looked around. “Ok, where to next?”

Suddenly, he heard someone screaming. Running towards the sound, he saw a mob of Shadows attack a man.

“Hey!”

Suddenly, before his very eyes, the Shadows knocked the man to the ground, and one of them slashed the man’s chest, causing a white heart-shaped form to come out. And then theman’s body took on the form of a Shadow! The creatures then turned and began walking towards him slowly, their eyes gleaming.

“Hey! Get away!” Kaneda began slashing wildly as he ran down the street.

//Dammit! Those things are everywhere! //

“Hey you!”

Kaneda spun around and saw a red-haired man in a big yellow coat looking at him suspiciously.

“You’re the Keyblade Master, right?”

“Uh, I guess so.”

“Well, as long as you have that Keyblade, the Heartless will come after you. But why would it choose a kid?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nevermind. Let me see that.”

“No way!”

“Then I have no choice…” the man drew out some kind of gun out of a holster, and began firing. Kaneda dodged the blasts and rushed at the man, swinging the Keyblade as hard as he could.
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Moments later, both combatants were down on their knees, breathing heavily. (5)

“Now you’re gonna...gonna…“ Suddenly, Kaneda collapsed with exhaustion

The man looked at the boy’s motionless form."Poor kid."

“Looks like you’re getting soft, Gene.”

The man spun around as a young woman appeared. She had tanned skin, white-blond hair, and, curiously enough, fangs, cat ears, and a tail.

“Aw, come on Aisha,” Gene protested, “I was just going easy on him. Let’s just take him inside.” He added, pointing to the body.

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Meanwhile…

The Elric brothers and Morty were still looking for help in an old house.

“I think this place is abandoned,” commented Al.

“Gee, it sure is creepy in here,” Morty whispered.

“Oh, come on! You’re not afraid of an old house, are ya?” Asked Ed impishly.

Suddenly, he felt a hand tap his shoulder! Ed jumped and spun around to see a very pretty young girl with dark hair in some kind of uniform (6) looking at them curiously.

“Excuse me, but were you three sent by the Pharaoh?”

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(With Kaneda)

“Come on Kaneda you lazy bum! Wake up!”

The boy sat up in bed, looking around. He was now in a small room, surrounded by unusually people.

“Hey now, take it easy,” said a young boy with blond hair. He tried to put a hand on his shoulder, but Kaneda moved backwards.

“Who are you, and where am I?”

“Geeze, this is the Keyblade Master? Looks like a kid to me.” Said a woman with cat ears, as she leaned against the wall and smirked.

“WHAT DID YOU SAY?!"

“Hey, take it easy,” Gene said, handling the Keyblade. Kaneda saw this, and freaked out.

“Hey! That’s mine!”

“Now don’t jump to conclusions,” Gene told him. “We had to take this from you; otherwise the Heartless would have followed you everywhere. Unfortunately, this protection won’t last long. ”

Suddenly, the Keyblade began to glow brightly, and then it disappeared and then reappeared in Kaneda’s hands.

“Wow! Gene, did you see that?” The boy exclaimed.

“Yeah, yeah, Jim, I’m not blind.” Gene shrugged. “Well, I guess beggars can’t be choosers.”

“Just what the hell is going on here?” Kaneda shouted angrily. “Who or what are the Heartless, and what do they have to do with me?"
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(With Morty and the Elric brothers)

“”Well,” the girl began, “You know about the other worlds out there, right?”

Ed nodded. “Yeah, but they’re supposed to be a secret, right?”

“Yes, but only because the have been separated from each other. But that all changed when the Heartless appeared.”
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(With Kaneda)

“What are the Heartless?” Kaneda asked.

“They are beings without hearts. The darkness inside people’s hearts is what attracts them, and there is darkness in every person’s heart.”

“Even mine?”

“Even yours.”

Kaneda gulped.

“Hey, did you ever hear of a guy called Dartz?” (7) Jim asked.
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(With Morty and the Elric brothers)

“Not really.”Ed commented.

“He was studying the Heartless, and wrote everything down in a series of journal entries that were somehow scattered across the worlds.”

“The Pharaoh must have gone after them,” said Morty.

“But what about the Key?” Al asked. Melfina looked at them.

“You mean the Keyblade?”

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(With Kaneda)

“Exactly what is the Keyblade?” Kaneda asked, confused.

“It’s a weapon that the Heartless are afraid of,” answered Jim, “And that’s why they’re after you.”
“But what if I don’t want this power?”

“The Keyblade chooses its master kid,” Gene said, “And that’s you, so tough luck!”
Kaneda frowned. “But what happened to my home, and my friends?”

Gene shrugged. “Who knows? But sooner or later, the Heartless will find you, and when they do, you’d better be ready.” Turing to Aisha, he said, “Go find Melfina. She should be here with the other visitors by now.”

“Gene!”

They spun around at the sound of Jim’s voice and saw a dark figure in the window, which suddenly shattered, sending glass shards everywhere. Looking up, they stared at the creature in front of them. It looked like a Shadow, except it was bigger, wore a helmet, and has a symbol on its chest that resembled a heart with an “X” across it. Several more jumped in through the window.

“Get going!” Gene shouted. “We’ll hold them off, right kid?”

Kaneda smirked as he readied his weapon. “You bet. And it’s not kid, it’s Kaneda. Shotaro Kaneda!”

“Whatever. Let’s get ‘em!” Then they leapt at the creatures, hacking, slashing, and shooting. The creatures (called Soldiers) fled, but Kaneda and Gene followed them.

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Meanwhile, Aisha and Jim bust through the door, startling Melfina and the others, who had just arrived.

“Hey! What the--?”

“No time, the Heartless are attacking!”

The Elric brothers gave each other glances.

“Did you hear that?”

“Yeah! Let’s go!”

The two of them ran off towards the room, ignoring the shouts behind them.

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Down on the streets, Gene and Kaneda were fighting off the Heartless.

“Don’t bother with these guys, Gene said, as he put a bullet between another Soldier’s eyes, “Try to find their leader!”

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Above them, Al watched the fighting from the balcony.

“Huh. Isn’t that--?”

Suddenly, Ed was thrown to the ground in front of him.

“Nii-san!” Al exclaimed, rushing to his brother’s side. “Are you--“

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Ed muttered, getting to his feet, “But these guys are relentless!” Sure enough, they were instantly surrounded by a large group of Heartless. “Come and get us you creeps!” the boy yelled, raising his fists. Suddenly, the balcony beneath him began to quiver.

“Uh, Nii-san?”

Without warning, the balcony gave way, sending the beings on it plummeting to the ground.
“A A A H H H!”
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Kaneda looked up when he heard screaming, and barely had any time to jump out of the way when the balcony came crashing down. When the smoke cleared, he saw a boy and what looked like a giant suit of armor lying on the ground.

“Ah, gerrof!” Ed pulled himself out from beneath his brother, and looked up at Kaneda. When he saw the Keyblade, he instantly realized something.

“The Key!” both brothers exclaimed, quickly getting to their feet. Kaneda stepped backwards.

“Huh? What are you--?” Suddenly, the Soldiers that were sprawled along the ground got up and began advancing towards them.

“Can we finish this later? These guys look pretty angry.”

“Ok, but first…” Ed grabbed a few pieces of metal from the remains of the balcony, and threw them to the ground. He clapped his hands together, and slammed the ground with his palms, creating a burst of light. When it cleared, themetal had turned into a iron spear and a shield. Kaneda’s jaw dropped.

“H-how…?”

“Now is not the time!” Exclaimed Ed as the Soldiers advanced.

“Uh, do you think we can do this?” Al muttered.

“Relax.” Ed replied. “There’s three of us and one, two, three, four, five...Hey! Hold still! I think I counted one of you twice!” (8)

The Soldiers looked at each other, confused, and then charged at them. The trio attacked, hacking and slashing away. In a few minutes, the creatures were gone.

”That was easy,” commented Ed.

”Yeah, too easy.” Kaneda muttered.

Suddenly, the ground began to shake as a huge figure appeared. It looked like a giant suit of armor that was painted orange on one side and purple on the other. Wordlessly, it got into a fighting stance and rushed towards them, forcing the group to leap out of the way.

Take this!” Kaneda swung the Keyblade at its left arm, which detached from its body! “Huh!”
The Guard Armor took this chance to strike him to the ground. Struggling to his feet, Kaneda yelled, “Hey! Try to hit the separate body parts!”

The other two complied, and they tried attacking again. Ed and Kaneda slashed at the hands and feet, while Al blocked its blows. Once the hands and feet were gone, they struck at the head savagely until the Guard Armor collapsed. They watched as a heart-shaped object flew out of the guard armor’s body, and it vanished.

Kaneda paused and wiped the sweat off of his face. “Phew, that was a close one!” He turned to face the two Elric brothers. “So,” he said, “You were looking for this?” He held up his weapon.

“I guess they’re after the Keyblade too.”

The thre of themturned to see Gene limping towards them.

“Where were you when we needed you?” Kaneda shouted. The man shrugged.

“I was busy. Anyway, I think these two can be trusted.”

Al nudged his brother. “Hey, maybe he can come along with us!” Ed grinned.
“Yeah, how about it?”

Kaneda frowned. “Yeah, I guess...”

“Hey Kaneda, maybe you can find your friends if you join these two.” Gene commented.
“Of course,” Ed added, you have to perk up a little. You know, be happy.”

“You mean like this?” Kaneda then gave them a huge, goofy smile that caused the two brothers to burst out laughing.

“Yeah! That’s it!” Exclaimed Al, as he laughed loudly. Kaneda smiled.

“Why not? I’ll come with you. Oh, by the way, my name’s Shotaro Kaneda, but you can just call me Kaneda.”

“I’m Edward Elric.”

“And I’m Alphonse Elric.”

The trio put their hands on top of each other’s.

“All for one and one for all!”

Somewhere in a dark, foreboding place, a group of villains watched the three heroes from a glowing sphere set into a round table.

“That brat has taken down the Heartless easily!” Exclaimed a green being angrily. (Dragonball Z)

“Keep in mind that the power comes from the Keyblade and not the boy himself.” said tall, muscular man with spiky blond hair. (Rave Master)

“So why don’t we make him a Heartless? It would make things easier.” A large, slightly humanoid blue penguin suggested very casually. (Kirby: Right Back at Ya!)

“Not to mention his allies are friends with the Pharaoh!” commented a creature in golden armor. “All of them are little rodents that need to be exterminated as soon as possible.” (Monster Rancher)

“Well, from where I’m standing, you don’t look like much of a prize either.” A round, bald, man said smugly. (Sonic X)

“Be quiet Eggman!” The creature snapped in an angry tone. “I’m tired of listening to your insults!

“Enough!” A tall, pale man in a blue suit with a black cape slammed his fist down on the table. (Digimon)

“He has been chosen by the Keyblade. The question now is whether he will defeat the darkness, or be consumed by it. Only time will tell. Either way, he may be of some use to us...”

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Back in Anime City, the group was getting ready to leave for the next world.

“Make sure you’re prepared,” Gene told them. “We still don’t know how far they’ve spread.”

“Yeah, yeah yeah.” Kaneda muttered.

“Here Kaneda,” said Jim, handing him a bag of supplies. “You’ll need this."

“Uh, thanks.”

As they turned to leave he heard Gene call, “Hey, Kaneda?”

The boy spun around. “Yeah?”

He smiled. “Good luck.”

Kaneda smiled back. “Thanks.”

Then they walked off towards the ship.

“Our ship’s just ahead,” Ed announced. “Oh, by the way, I have something for you.” He pulled a red gem out of his pocket and handed it to Kaneda. “Here.”

“What is it?”

“It lets you use the ability Fireball Barage, which may come in handy. Now let’s get going!”
“Right.”

They then ran to the ship. As they did, Morty whispered to himself. “What an adventure! I hope I can get it all down...!”
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When they reached the docking bay where the ship was held, Ed told Kaneda, “And this here is our ship.”

“This? What a piece of junk!”

“Hey! If you don’t like it, you can just walk!”

“Well maybe I will!”

“Please stop!” Al shouted loudly, as he ran between the two of them. “Let’s not fight!”

Kaneda and Ed stepped back and glared at each other. “Fine,” said Kaneda, “But I get to be captain!”

“What? No way!”

“But I’m the Keyblade Master!”

“That still doesn’t give you the right to be captain!”

The remaining two sweat-dropped as they watched the two argue.

//This is gonna be a long trip! // Morty thought to himself.

To be continued...

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1- Yeah, I’m taking a few creative liberties with some of the character’s outfits.
2- Your obligatory Wizard of Oz refrence.

3- You know, the thing that appears on a character’s head when he or she is mad. . .
4- I have no clue how this works, so I’m just going to make it up.
5- Ok, so I suck at fight scenes. Big deal!
6-Exactly what do you call that thing she wears?
7- I had trouble thinking up a main bad guy, and since Dartz seems pretty close to Ansem, I figured “What the Hell?” and decided to use him.
8- This is from the movie Robots.