Dash of Sweetness, Pinch of Chaos (finished)

He hadn't been expecting that. Not that a person randomly appearing from nowhere was a rare sight in Traverse Town. No, what Vayne hadn't been expecting was that this person had just come through a Corridor of Darkness. It had made him nauseous for a moment, but when the portal closed, his sickness went away. That person... Whoever they were, they didn't seem to be hostile.

Vayne had, in fact, just been trying to earn money as a songstress down at a bar located across the pavilion from the Hotel. Of course, he hadn't enjoyed the smell of all those weird drinks, but Vayne was proud of the small bag of Munny he now had.

"Hmmm... Let's see," he said, going back to his previous thoughts. "With that lot, now I have... 400 Munny. Two hundred more, and I can buy a bed!"

He walked past the strange person-- it was a girl-- and caught the first good look at her that he'd been able to get. She had black hair that frizzed out in every direction, and there were shocking red stripes highlighting it. She seemed to be an ordinary human. His ears twitched. Something about her seemed... different. Without a second thought, he spun on his heel and offered her his hand.

"Hi there!" he said. "My name's Vayne. I just saw you get here. Are you new?"

Sweety... Was he sweet? Vayne had never thought about how he might taste. At any rate, Xaoc-- what a fun name!-- hadn't attacked him, so he figured the whole Corridor of Darkness thing was totally unrelated.

"I just got off of working at the bar," he said. "It's really fun! They pay me to sing and maybe dance around a bit."

He pointed to the bar; it was on the upper level, next to where Hatter's was. It was still lively, and since Vayne wasn't working, they had defaulted to lively dance music. Young couples walked in and out of the establishment.

"You know, now that I think about it," he said "I've only ever seen two guys or two girls come in with each other... Isn't that odd?"

He shrugged. Ears twitching in excitement. Maybe he could go down to the Accessory Shop and do some odd jobs for more Munny. Of course, Vayne would never leave his new acquaintance all by herself. She might be lost, or on the run... Maybe she was part of an intergalactic police force, here to arrest a savage criminal! ...Nah, probably just lost.

"So, where are you off to Xaoc?" Vayne asked. "I might head off to the First District to make more Munny... But if you need a guide, I can try to help."

Vayne had been so distracted, he hadn't felt the sinking feeling in his stomach. When Xaoc asked him if he could fight, he suddenly became much more aware of it. There were Heartless about. Ugh... He felt queasy, like he might be sick at any moment. Of course, he had to battle it down.

"I can kinda fight..." he said, summoning up his glaive.

It felt a little heavier in his unsteady hands, but he could pull through. It wasn't like it was his first time fighting Heartless. There were only seven Shadows, anyways. Between himself and Xaoc, Vayne knew they could win. But... Was it right to be killing off Heartless? He had no time to ponder the question, as the Heartless advanced on the two.

Vayne had learnt how to deal with Shadows who had seeped into the ground to avoid physical attacks. He leveled his glaive at it, and focused.

"Thunder!" he cried.

A small bolt of electricity descended from a couple feet above the Heartless and zapped it, shocking it out of its two dimensional hiding place. His ears twitched as he felt something creeping up behind him. He spun, slashing through two Shadows that had been attempting a sneak attack.

"Sorry!" Vayne said. "I don't mean to hurt you, but I still kinda need my Heart!"

The two rose again, circling him warily. Vayne kept his blade up, ready to strike should they choose to risk an attack. One did come closer, and Vayne lashed out. It evaporated into a dark purple mist that slowly dissipated into the air, leaving the other Shadow to sink into the ground and "run" away towards Xaoc.

Hmm... Xaoc had been so brave. All Vayne had done was keep a couple of Shadows at bay and zap one from a few yards away. Xaoc didn't seem to mind that he wasn't an awesome fighter, though...

"Somehwere to eat?" Vayne asked. "Well, there's a cafe not too far from the Item Shop in the First District... They have great pastries!"

As Xaoc took his hand, Vayne began to lead her towards the giant door leading from the Second District to the First District. On the way, they passed the fountain. Vayne took out a Munny and tossed it in, making a wish.

I wish I knew if my world was safe...

With that, he pushed open the large doors-- not an amazing feat, since they were oiled every day-- and beckoned Xaoc into the First District.

Vayne looked at the simple golden band. It looked pretty expensive.

"Well, there's always the Accessory Shop..." he said. "Or you could trade with the Moogles in the Synthesis Parlor right above it. They love to use gold for making cool Accessories."

He pointed to a door in front of them that had three windows in an almost fleur-de-lis-like pattern. The light from the Moogles working inside make the green glass glow like it was a neon sign. Beyond the shop, Vayne could spot the cafe setting out new candles on the tables.

"Whatever we do, we might wanna hurry..." he said. "They just set out fresh candles, so the Cafe is gonna fill up real fast."

"Well, I really like their Kupo Nut Cookies..." Vayne said, pointing to it on the menu. "Of course, their Dark XII Mousse is really good too-- made with pure dark chocolate!

Vayne giggled at all the funny names for foods. These people were some of the few truly neutral people left. Their menu poked fun at everyone who was fighting each other. "Organization XIII Truffles"--each one with a different filling!--, the "Disney Castle Crunch", which was some of the best ice cream he'd ever had (not that he'd had too much before coming to Traverse Town), and even the "Keyblade Key Lime Pie", which they made in the shape of a Keyhole. The waitress, a young blonde girl, came over to their table.

"What can I do ya for?" she asked.

"I'd like the Kupo Nut Cookies, please!" Vayne said. "What about you, Xaoc?"