Parallel Binds [Kingdom Hearts Watty Awards--Parallel Universe/Canon]

:4: Strangers. Intruders.

Dark stood just a few feet from the strange little creature. He had let his curiosity get the better of him and went downstairs to meet the thing that seemed to be yelling at him. Nothing like it had ever been seen by him before, and instead of attacking it like he probably should have, he approached it with intrigued eyes. “Hey there, little… thing. Where’d you come from?” The strange creature had a thin tail behind it that whipped back and forth with vigor. The thing’s tongue was long and shiny, hanging out of its mouth like it was useless. “How strange you look…” Dark started, peering at its sides and wondering if it had the same anatomic structure as a wolf. “And kind of ugly too.”

The thing lowered its head, eyes looking at him like he said something strange. Then, its head went up, its ears turning behind it, and it bolted the other way into the forest.

Dark was surprised at the speed of the tiny looking thing, holding his hand out and wanting it to come back. “No, wait! I-I said “kind of,” didn’t I?!” Dark frowned, huffing with slight defeat as he watched the bright orange creature vanish into the blob of monotone that made up the forest behind his house. Sighing, he glanced behind him for just a moment before going in after it.

“Pluto!” The dog bounded up to his owner, wagging his tail excessively and prancing around. “Pluto,” his owner scolded, “Where have you been?” Still, the dog bounced around with excitement, not phased at all by the scolding he was receiving. This confused the owner. “What’s wrong boy?”

“I think he’s trying to tell us something,” called the loud second in command.

The leader peered down at his dog. “Is that true, boy? Did you find something?” The dog jumped up with more excitement and pointed from the direction he had come with his nose. “What? Where?” The dog’s eyes suggested that he was among idiots as he tried to make them go that way. They stood still as bricks. Fine, his eyes said and he ran in that direction again.

“W-wait!” The leader and the other two darted after him as fast as they could. Where was he going?

Not long after the thing disappeared, it reappeared once again. Dark was somewhat gladdened by  its reappearance. He almost contemplated apologizing to it, but held his tongue. Instead, he let it approach him and resume throwing its tail back and forth. “Playing hide and seek are we?” The thing didn’t respond. “Well, I think you’re supposed to hide and wait until I find you. Stupid.” The thing seemed to stop with confusion, as if expecting something else from him. Not taking notice of it, Dark leaned over a bit to take a better look at the thing’s face. It had whiskers, a long snout, and a good looking nose just like the wolves that inhabited the land. Its teeth, however, seemed a bit rounded and its tongue looked completely useless, not to mention how it dripped. And how it stunk. How could a thing like this survive out here? Perhaps it had some secret weapon…

Dark’s thoughts were interrupted by loud, reckless footsteps from the wild. What sort of fools…?

The three burst out of the trees, finally seeing Pluto stopped, but also seeing something they never thought possible. There he stood, spiky brown hair, unbelievably blue eyes, and face looking as if he hadn’t been gone a day. He was leaned over Pluto, looking as if he was about to pet him, just like old times. Some things were different, like his clothes and the way his bangs shaded his eyes, but it was still him.

“Sora!” The three ran towards him, jumping with joy.

But his eyes sparked with anger, turning into something different entirely. He jumped backwards a few long feet, eyes locked onto them and hands up in protective fists. His heart skipped upon hearing that name, and he nearly yelled at them immediately for it. He could only hold his tongue for a few seconds before he couldn’t stop it anymore. “You. Where did you get that name from?”

The three stopped, as if shocked by the strength of his voice. Or perhaps just the gruffness. The one in the middle, a strange rat looking creature with round ears and a thin, wispy tail looked at him with confusion and spoke up. “Whaddya talkin’ about, Sora? It’s us, your friends.”

Again, he flinched at the name. “Answer the question,” he barked, looking over the three with rage. “Where did you get that name from?”

The one on the left, a tall fellow with long droopy ears and buck teeth shrugged. “Well, we’re pretty sure that’s what you told us your name was, Sora. I, uh, guess we could’ve heard you wrong, but I dunno why you’d change it now. Gyuck.” The tall one laughed in that goofy manner again, but quickly got quiet at another look of Dark’s eyes.

For a long while, Dark stood there with his fists up in front of him, watching their movements. Soon, however, he lowered very slowly and stood in front of them. He finally got a good look at them. The one on the left, the tall one with the funny laugh, held a shield in his right hand and wore a strange sort of armor. The one on the right, a short fellow with slick white fur, held a strange looking wand in one hand and a book strapped to his waist. The one in a middle, the one that looked like a rat with deformed ears, had no armor or weapon whatsoever, yet had a powerful air to him.  From the look of it, they were warriors from a distant land, though Dark was unaware there was such a thing.

The three stood still, watching him, taking in his appearance. They hadn’t seen the boy in months, and seeing his figure like this was quite a surprise. After a while, the one in the middle cleared his throat. “Uh, Sor-I mean, uh,” It seemed he was finding it difficult to not say that name, but he held his tongue when he saw the boy’s eyes flicker into anger again. Clearing his throat once more, he tried again. “My name is Mickey, King of the Disney castle. And these are my friends, Goofy,” he gestured to the one on the left who laughed in that silly way again and waved, “and Donald,” and he gestured to the white one who put on a smile, though it didn’t seem like it was his normal face. Mickey shrugged. “We-we’ve come from far away in, well, in search for something.”

Dark narrowed his eyes, raising his chin as to look down on the three. Though it seemed to bring irritation upon the one on the right, Dark took no care to it. “I can tell.” After a moment of thinking, Dark raised his hand to his heart, bowing slightly as respect to this “king,” though not giving much more. “I am Lel Darkpeter, though am called Dark.” He eyed the three, not sure what to call them all. It was tradition to call everyone by last names; something about not growing to attached or something. Whatever the cause was, it didn’t matter with these three; it appeared they had no last names. “What have you come to seek? Whatever it is, I doubt you’ll find it here.”

The one on the left, Goofy, couldn’t seem to hold in what he had been itching to say much longer. “But we’ve just found him!”

Dark’s eyes darted to Goofy’s, sending the man, or whatever he was, cowering a bit behind the safety of his shield. After a while of glaring, Dark shook his head and looked away. “I’ve no idea what you’re talking about.” The three seemed to all take a breath, as if they were all ready to say something, but Dark gave them a look that made them all bite their tongues. A wolf howled in the distance and all four, including Pluto, turned towards the threat. Goofy shivered. Dark watched them shiver with indifference, almost disappointed that they reacted to that. Perhaps they really weren’t warriors. Either way, something tugged at his insides. “Go on. You can do it.” The voice was his own, and it seemed to be urging him on as if he were a scared little child about to try something. Indeed, he was about to try something.

“You’re all quite far out,” he stated, looking around at the landscape that made them all vulnerable, “And here is not a wise place to be when night falls.” He could already see the three looking up at the sky, pondering to themselves exactly what time of day it was. It was dark, but that was only from smog and dust that was up in the clouds, something that was always there. Sighing, he turned from where he had come, taking a few steps before slowing and turning to look over his shoulder. They hadn’t moved. After a bit of watching them, he narrowed his eyes.

They expected the worst.

“Well? Aren’t you coming?”

The three loosened, feeling strange mixtures of feelings, mostly comprised of relief for the fact that he wasn’t going to leave them out there for the night, and slight joy at the sound of his voice. It’s gruffness was still bothersome, but the ring that it always had to them was still there, helping them recall memories they had held with that voice from not so long ago. They trotted after him, and though he rolled his eyes at the noise they were making, he continued, letting them trail along.