Traverse Town is a small world, and its population is very varied and somewhat polarised. Longtime residents of the town now live alongside an ever-growing group of refugees, who they depend upon to protect them from the Heartless.

	News spreads quickly there.

	It spreads EXTREMELY quickly when it's being spread by a hyperactive young boy with the ability to almost hit Mach One, and an even faster mouth.

	People started heading for the orphanage, to see the Key they'd hoped would arrive in their lifetime.



		Unsung Heroes part 2.2 - The Circus

				in the Second District


	Dash had been sent to find Leon. Jane would later say that in hindsight, that she should have given him more specific instructions - "Don't tell anyone else." But it was too late for that.

	He'd started at the hotel, which was the command centre for the resistance, but the girl at reception didn't know where Leon was, just that he was out. She had been quite excited to hear the Key had showed up though.

	Neither Cid nor Obi-wan were in the inventor's workshop, and nobody was visiting Pongo or Perdita, so Dash zig-zagged around the square a few times, asking random passers by and telling them the good news. But that was no good.

	So he ran for the first district, and saw someone he knew in the café.


	A few minutes earlier...


	The waiter picked up the drinks from the counter, and took them over to table three. A young woman sat there - her hair was brown and tied up with a red ribbon, and she wore a pink dress. A small boy sat opposite her - he was red-headed and wore a long white lab coat, along with thick glasses.

	He sat the herbal tea down in front of the woman, and plonked the hot chocolate in front of the boy.

	"Here're your drinks," the waiter said shyly.

	"Thank you, Shinji-kun," the woman replied, granting Ikari Shinji a warm smile that made him blush. He turned to walk away, but she continued, asking "how are you doing?"

	"Huh?" He looked back over his shoulder. "Oh... fine. I'm just fine, Aerith-san."

	Aerith nodded at him. "That's good. It looks like you're working hard, too." She took a sip of her tea. "You're always busy here, and it seems like Harry is the only one who sees you away from work these days."

	Her tone of voice subtly revealed her worry. Shinji had arrived nearly four months ago - he'd been enraged and hysterical when he woke up, yelling about someone named Toji and demanding to see his father. But his demeanor had changed, as he'd calmed down, and he'd grown much more shy and tried to isolate himself.

	Aerith was trying to break his isloation, but he was making things extremely difficult for her. He'd refused to talk about his world - what he'd done there, his friends, his family. It seemed like every attempt to connect with him had ended in disaster. Leon had tried to motivate him into fighting back against the heartless, but the mention of fighting had turned Shinji against them, and he had grown suspicious of the Resistance. Trying to get him to talk about people was even more disasterous, especially family - asking him about his parents had produced an almost violently negative response.

	Aerith patted the back of a chair. "You shouldn't work so hard, Shinji-kun. Come on, have a sit down. I'll buy you some tea."

	"I... shouldn't." Aerith knew this was Shinji-speak for "I don't want to," so she persisted.

	"Don't worry. I'm sure Howmei-san won't mind." Actually, Aerith knew she wouldn't, as she had already cleared this with the Café's proprieter, who was a friend. She was relieved when Shinji relented and silently sat down in the spare chair. "Have you met Dexter before?" she asked, motioning to the boy sitting opposite her.

	"Hallo."

	"Hi." Shinji had seen Dexter around before, but never talked to him really.

	"Dexter is an inventor," Aerith said, adding "something of a prodigy, it seems."

	"Ah ha, you are too kind," Dexter replied, "but also accurate. I am a genius, I confess."

	"He's humble too," Aerith wryly told Shinji, who tried to look interested.

	"What do you invent, Dexter-kun?" Shinji asked.

	"A little bit of everything. I tend to go where my fancy takes me, I admit. I like to try everything."

	"So... what's the biggest thing you've ever invented?" Shinji asked, alarming Aerith slightly. Shinji didn't normally take an interest in other people, but... this could be a breakthrough.

	"Hm, well..." Dexter scratched his chin, trying to think. "I suppose it would be the planet destroying space station... though I never managed to launch that without my parents noticing, so it probably doesn't count. And my pocket universe was only infinitely big on the inside. So I suppose it would be my Dextermech Mark Eight, which was my latest and greatest giant robot, which I also piloted..."

	He was interuppted by Shinji smaking his palms on the table. The teen scooted his chair back and stood up, glaring at Aerith.

	"I thought so. That's a coincidence," he stated. "Aerith knows I used to pilot a giant robot, and here she is, introducing me to a builder of giant robots," he said cynically, gathering up his tray. "Excuse me, but I should get back to work."

	He just walked away, and Aerith cursed inwardly, adding Robots to the list of things that set Shinji off. She'd hoped he might have been interested to talk to another pilot... might have opened up a little. No such luck. She could only guess that he hadn't liked being a pilot.

	"I'm sorry," Dexter said, confused, "did I say something wrong?"

	"No, you didn't..." Aerith shook her head, and stood up. "Wait here for a minute, I'll be back."

	She strode over to Shinji, now increasingly frustrated with his obtuseness - and his rudeness to Dexter - and stopped him at the counter.

	[OK, I admit it, I had ulteriour motives for bringing Dexter here, but it wasn't to get you into a robot or to get you to join the resistance. It was to get you to join the human race!]

	Shinji tried to ignore her, but she continued. [Look, you might think you can get along without other people... but trust me, it's really going to hurt you. I've seen it happen.] She looked down at him, hoping some of this was getting though. [You can't run away from people all your life.]

	[Why not?] he asked, and Aerith tried to respond, but Shinji interuppted her. [I appreciate your concern, Aerith-san. But... you are not Misato. And you're not Rei, or Asuka, or Akagi-sensei, or Kensuke, or Toji, and you're definitely not my father. I don't have to do what you say.]


	Aerith glowered at Shinji's back as he turned and walked away. Great, another disaster. Defeated, she decided to take a cookie from the counter to calm her nerves and left some munny in the bowl. She looked back to where she'd left Dexter, and saw him having an animated conversation with an exceedingly agitated Dash.

	"Hi Dash," she said, heading back to the table. "Whats wrong?"

	"Aerith! Where'sLeon? JanesaysIgottafindLeon! ThenewgirliscalledSakuraandshehasthekey!"

	Aerith almost choked on her cookie.

	She asked Dash to repeat what he said more slowly, as he couldn't have said what she thought she did... and when he did she almost choked again and grabbed her jacket.


	Dash sped toward the harbour. Aerith had quickly told him that Leon was offworld, picking up some stranded agents, so his ship would probably be arriving soon.

	The door leading out of the first district was large, and made of solid, heavy wood. Since arriving Leon and Cid had further strengthened it, adding steel bars that not only barred the door but also sealed off the gaps around the doorframe. No normal heartless could break through if it was properly sealed. The door to the Heartless-infested third district had merely been nailed shut and barricated, but people had been in a bigger rush then, and nobody wanted to disturb those nails while they still held.

	A long, red-bricked and dimly lit tunnel stretched out beyond the door. It was about 100 feet long, and there were boltholes on both sides every thirty feet. Leon had taken a look at them and decided this security measure hadn't been designed with Heartless in mind - against a large swarm, those boltholes would just be traps for defenders to get caught in. Nobody was to use them if the town was attacked - they would depend on the door, and the magical explosives stored in the boltholes.

	The tunnel opened out at the end into the harbour, which was built on a plateau in the center of a large circular valley. There would be almost a dozen gummi ships hovering in the valley at any one time.

	Dash made it down the tunnel in much less than a second, and blew past the guards stationed at the end. They were supposed to check anyone going in either direction, and kids weren't allowed in the port at all, but it had been established that there was no point trying to stop Dash from going where he wanted. Nothing except a carefully timed Petrificus Totalus could bring him in. So Dash hit the brakes when he caught sight of a boy in his late teens wearing a messy mop of short, dark hair, jeans, a sweater and a pair of glasses. Better to just topple over when paralysed than to be sent tumbling at 200 Mph.

	"Dash!" a girl's voice yelled in somewhat stilted English, "what you doing out here?" She was in her late teens, with short black hair. She wore a blue and white dress that had once had a long skirt, but the skirt had amateurishly been cut short. She also wore a bandolier, which strapped a huge, blackened metal spatula onto her back. This was Tendo Akane.

	"You should get back to town," the bed-headed boy - Harry Potter - added, idly waving a wand he held in his hand. "Leon'll be here soon, and if he sees you about there'll be a lot of trouble."

	"Nuh huh!" Dash yelled back. "I'm supposed to be here, Jane sent me to get Leon. And that means you," he pointed an accusing finger at Harry, "can't zap me!"

	"I wasn't going to zap you Dash," Harry said, groaning. Dash was holding a grudge from the first few days after he'd arrived. He had been completely out of control, and Harry had been asked to take what he considered to be desperate measures. "I'm just warning you. Leon'll go spare if he sees you here."

	"You go back to the First District, and wait there." Akane suggested.

	"I can't wait!" Dash yelled. "There's a new girl, and she has the key!"

	Harry and Akane stared at him for a moment.

	"You're kidding," Harry eventually said.

	"No, I'm not! She's got it hanging on a chain around her neck! She's at the orphanage right now!"

	Harry and Akane stared at each other for a moment.

	Harry eventually opened his mouth to speak, but Dash interuppted him. "I'm not kidding! It's true!"

	"Okay, okay!" Akane laughed. "We believe you! But... that's GREAT!" She almost leapt for joy. "What she like?"

	Dash put his hands in his pockets. "I dunno. She's just a girl. She's Japanese and doesn't speak English," - he scowled to himself and continued - "and she's dressed really funny. Anita and Jane are going nuts over her," he said, pouting slightly.

	"I don't blame them," Harry replied, slightly zoned out. "I didn't think anyone would ever show up." He looked up at the sky. "Leon'd better get back soon, I want to go meet her."


	The Illumina arrived almost five minutes later, slowly sinking into a berth on the left hand side of the port. Leon wasn't too happy to see Dash here, but forgot all about it as soon as he got the news, heading directly for the orphanage. Dash ran ahead of him, and Harry and Akane followed - completely missing the two new arrivals they had been summoned here to meet.



	Jane's wheelchair was wedged in the doorway that led to the stairwell, and she wasn't going to shift any time soon. At least until Leon turned up and got rid of this mob.

	"I already told you, nobody's going up to see her," she said firmly, cursing the fact she hadn't told Dash to be more discreet. "And I want all of you out of here, NOW!"


	Sakura had been shifted upstairs as soon as Ruri had spotted large numbers of people heading this way. She sat on the bed in their room, with Ruri lounging on her bed, leaning against against the wall, and Anita hovering near the doorway. The sounds of raised voices arguing in English echoed up the stairwell.

	[Are they arguing about me?] she asked.

	[Yeah...] Anita replied, but then she smiled down at Sakura. [Don't worry though. Nobody's mad at you. They're just really excited to see you!] And with that she sat down and gave Sakura a tight hug. [I can't believe you're finally here!]

	[Hoe?] Sakura gasped, startled, before pulling free of Anita's clutches. [But... why me? I mean, I know the key is magical, but... not this special, right? Most of my power came from my cards.]

	[Leon has an old book, that used to belong to a scientist from his world,] Ruri said from beneath the window. [It's extremely old, mostly faded and illegible, and it is written entirely in pictograms. It's also the only book we know of that mentions the Heartless... and how they can be defeated.]

	Sakura listened attentively as Ruri continued. [It's very difficult to translate, but it seems to say that the Sword and the Key are the only things that can defeat the Heartless. It's obvious what the sword is for, and we have many people here with swords that can kill Heartless. But the key's function is unknown. We think the Key is supposed to be used to lock a world's keyhole and prevent the Heartless from taking the world's heart... but this is just speculation. Until now, maybe.]

	She looked directly at Sakura.

	[However it's meant to work, the key's bearer will be a very important person. She might have to lead the entire fight against the Heartless.] Sakura tervously turned red and gulped as Ruri continued, [she's not someone I would envy.]

	[Stop trying to scare her, Ruri!] Anita said, putting her arm around Sakura's shoulders and glaring at the pale girl. [I think Sakura's lucky... she'll be able to get off this rock, and look for her friends and family while she fights the Heartless! We're not allowed to do either!]

	[Why not?] Sakura asked, looking sideways at Anita.

	[Leon thinks we're too young,] Anita scowled. [Says we're under the town's protection. He won't even consider letting us go anywhere except the collesium, and he definitely won't let us train against real Heartless there.]

	Sakura just quietly sat and thought to herself. The prospect of being the lynchpin of the battle against the Heartless was terrifying, but she had to smile a little - there was a tiny kernel of pride that came with being told you're the Chosen One... for the second time, as well. And she really wanted to be able to leave here and look for her friends and her family. That would be worth any amount of danger.

	She raised her head to tell Anita and Ruri she would do it, but there was a crash from downstairs.



	There had already been over two dozen visitors in the orphanage by the time Aerith had arrived, and a few more hanging around outside. Inside, she found a throng of people arguing with Jane, who had wedged herself in the doorway leading up to the first floor.

	"We don't have time to waste!" a rough voice yelled.

	"we have the time to let a scared girl who's lost everything rest for a little!" Jane retorted. There were mumbles and shouts of both approval and dissent, and a few people started heading for the door. "There's no need to drag her out by her ear!"

	"There were Heartless here in the second district a week ago! We're not waiting for Leon or one of his flunkies to turn up, if she's got the key she can lock the damn keyhole right now!" the first voice roared. Aerith had got a look at him - damn, it was Mauthus. Six-five, broad shoulders, lots of muscle, long greasy brown hair and absolutely, intensely self-centered. He was the sort of thug who steps in and takes control though intimidation and force, and Aerith knew that nobody here would actively try to stop him unless he did something truly outrageous.

	"That was a fluke!" she yelled, making her way though the crowd. "The doors to the Third District are still holding!"

	"For how long, Aer-head?" Mauthus sneered, getting a few sniggers from some of the dumber people in the mob.

	"Long enough for this girl to get ready! She needs time to deal with what she's been though, you know that!"

	"She can mope and cry and whatever after she's locked the keyhole, but she's coming NOW!"

	With that Mauthus started striding toward Jane. Aerith ran forward and tried to step into his path, but he grabbed her waist and threw her onto the table. He stood over Jane and glared down at her.

	"Move out of my way, or be moved," he snarled, but Jane wasn't impressed.

	"No. How dare you come in here, dictate to me and my kids and hurt my friends. Get the hell out of our home," she hissed, bracing her hands against the doorframe.

	"Right, and I suppose you're going to stop me," he replied sarcastically, grabbing her shoulder with one huge hand and starting to to drag her out of her wheelchair - for about a second, until someone held a small piece of white paper in front of his face.

	"Get your hands off her!" Anita said from her position standing behind Jane. Her eyes were narrowed, her voice was level, and she was shaking... and not out of fear. Mauthus glanced down at the blank white paper and almost laughed.

	"What are you going to do, give me a paper cut?" he asked incredulously, but Anita just smirked angrily.

	"I might," she replied, but Jane hushed her.

	"Anita," Jane said, looking back over her shoulder, "put that away before you do something stupid." She then looked up at Mauthus. "And you, get the hell out of here before she does something stupid, and you're beaten up in front of all these people." There was a stern threat in her voice that suggested she really wouldn't be too upset if Anita did something "stupid," and Mauthus found himself noticing how the girl held that paper, as if it really *was* a weapon... and, he also realised, there were a lot of people watching him attack a woman with a double amputation.

	He let go of Jane's shoulder in an uncharacteristic bout of self-preservation, though he did roughly shove it back as he did so. "Fine then. I'll wait outside," he growled. "But I'll be back if she's not out in an hour."

	"No, you won't," someone said, and everyone turned to see Leon in the doorway, with Harry just visible behind him. "That's quite enough. Harry, 'port him to the cells."

	"What?" Mauthus yelled, enraged. "What the fuck for? I didn't hurt her!"

	"What about her?" Leon asked, pointing at Aerith, who was struggling to her feet after landing awkwardly on the table. "You attacked Aerith, right?"

	"No!" Mauthus lied, even though a dozen people had seen him do it.

	"Yes!" Jane and Aerith chorused, the latter slurring her speech slightly as she had bit her tounge as she landed.

	Leon sighed. "Right. Harry, just get him to his usual cell. We'll deal with him after the keybearer."

	"Okay Leon," Harry replied, drawing a circular metal device from his pocket. It wasn't a portkey - Harry had no idea how to enchant them - but Dexter had understood the concept and quickly been able to design a technological equivalent. "Cell three." He looked at Mauthus. "Can you tell Carrot we'll be down in an hour or two?"

	Mauthus just kept a stony silence as Harry threw the device at him, and then vanished as it hit him, teleported to the cells.

	"Now..." Leon addressed the mob, "what do the rest of you think you're doing here?" There was much looking at the floor and shuffling of feet.


	Sakura had watched much of this from where she sat at the top of the stairs.

	[Who was that?] she asked Ruri.

	[Mauthus,] Ruri replied, adding [he's scum,] in a particularly loathing tone. [They should just put him in prison and forget about him, but a lot of idiots like him and Leon has to release him.]

	Sakura shook at Ruri's description, and decided she was glad Jane had kept him away from her. She could hear a discussion coming from downstairs now - it was in English so she didn't understand it, but it was a lot calmer, and it was dominated by a single, authorative voice.

	[That's Leon,] Ruri told Sakura. [He's Commander of the Resistance against the Heartless... but don't address him as Commander. He doesn't like it.]

	Sakura nodded. Leon's voice sounded cold and intimidating, and he was already scaring her a little bit. So she had to gulp down her anxiety when Anita waved at her, and told her to come down and meet him.

	She slowly descended the stairs, and had a look around the room. It was emptier than she had expected. Jane sat near to her, giving Sakura a comforting smile. A woman in a pink dress sat near Jane, and she seemed nice. Dash was zooming around, grabbing some food from one of the cupboards, and a man - probably Leon - stood on the opposite side of the room. Sakura found herself shrinking back slightly - while the two women looked happy to see her, the man looked disappointed... like he had been expecting someone taller.

	Sakura fought her urge to cringe, straightened up, tried to look taller and introduced herself. [I'm Ki...] she began, and then decided to be bolder, declaring [I'm Cardcaptor Sakura,] in the hope that the title would impress him.

	It didn't, of course - the title of Cardcaptor only meant something to about half a dozen people. But he nodded to her and said, [welcome to Traverse Town. I'm Leon, and when it comes to fighting Heartless, I'm in charge.] He breathed out wearily, and squatted down so that he was closer to Sakura's eye level. [I'm told you have something we've been looking for.]

	Sakura swallowed again and pulled out her chain, dangling the key in front of her. Leon carefully took hold of it, holding it in his palm and running the tip of his thumb over it.

	[This could be it,] he conceded, before shooting Sakura another critical look that made her feel small. She could tell he doubted her, and he compounded her hunch by saying, [we'll need to test it, though.]

	[Not today,] Jane said. [Sakura should rest after...]

	[It's okay Jane,] Sakura said, interuppting her. [Ruri and Anita explained it to me... if I can help by locking this world, I want to do it.]

	Jane didn't seem to be very keen, but she assented. And Sakura was quite satisfied with the impressed look on Leon's face.