Traverse Town
First Appearance: KINGDOM HEARTS (2002)
Preceding Sora's first venture into another world is the arrival of Donald and Goofy into Traverse Town, a nocturnal bastion whose sky is always lit with the stars that are the many other external worlds. As the two look up, one of those lights winks out - Destiny Islands - and they resolve to hurry onward, searching for a key, and a man named Leon who might have more information. As Donald and Goofy head one way round an accessories shop, their accompanying dog Pluto heads the other way, tracking down Sora at the end of an alley.
Our lost protagonist makes his way to the nearby accessory shop, wherein he meets Cid, who tells Sora about Traverse Town and promises to look out for him. Further into the town, in the Second District, Sora witness first-hand a man losing himself to the Heartless, face fear-stricken as his Heart floats away to be consumed by darkness. After being confronted by more enemies, Sora proceeds through various places in the Second District, Donald and Goofy just missing him at each step.
Sora wanders the entire town while Donald and Goofy are unsuccessful in tracking him down. As Sora returns to the accessory shop, he is confronted by an enigmatic man with a weapon almost bizarre as his own, who defeats Sora. A black-haired girl in unusual garb approaches the man - Leon - and congratulates him in finding 'it', the Keyblade. Sora is taken back to the hotel where he mistakes the ninja girl Yuffie for Kairi as she is telling him why he is hunted by the Heartless. Nearby, in another room, Aerith is talking to Donald and Goofy about how all the worlds have recently been connected, the two parties mirroring each others' conversation until Heartless ambush the hotel.
Sora moves the combat to the Third District, where an attacked Donald and Goofy finally meet him, immediately after being sealed into the area where they are confronted by the massive Guard Armor. After destroying its limbs, the newly-formed party deals the final blow to the enemy's head, and are later able to properly acquaint themselves, Goofy offering to let Sora travel with them across various worlds.
After completing a circuit of unexplored worlds, the trio now return to Traverse Town, having picked up a mysterious navigation gummi block. Yuffie directs them to an underground cavern where Leon is training, who then points them to Cid for their gummi query. Cid agrees to fix the navigation gummi to their ship if they return a mysterious book he had repaired to a mysterious house underground near the third district.
Within, Sora yet again envisions Kairi, and soon meets the wizard Merlin and the Fairy Godmother, and the former explains to them the repaired book. Outside, a group of enemies ambushes Sora, Donald and Goofy before Riku arrives on the scene and takes them out. While Sora stands back in disbelief, Riku asks of him where Kairi is and, understanding her to be absent, not disheartened proclaims she's looking for them just like they are for her.
A Heartless manages to sneak up on Riku, but Sora dispatches it with his Keyblade, grabbing Riku's attention. Asking Sora of the creature, he realizes - or rather convinces himself - that Sora has made new friends and has little to no use of him. When Goofy tells Riku of Sora's status as the Keyblade's master, he grabs it off Sora for a while to scrutinize the weapon before returning it. As Sora and Donald argue over the possibility of Riku accompanying them, the boy vanishes. Afterward, Riku is seen with the witch Maleficent back in the Third District, her convincing him of his being replaced as a friend of Sora's and promising to help him find what he's searching for.
Taking Aerith's advice, ascend the workshop at the rear of the Second District to ring the bells atop it, which in turn rotates the mosaic resting within a nearby fountain and reveals Traverse Town's keyhole. As the party prepares to seal it, the Guard Armor returns to hinder them. Just when it seems the enemy is defeated, it reanimates itself in the form of the more powerful Opposite Armor. Finally able to return to Cid, he installs the navigation gummi along with a warp one, allowing the heroes to progress to yet more worlds.
After a second loop of worlds is completed by the trio, they must once again call upon Cid to make the necessary adjustments to their ship to incorporate a new navigation gummi. While the three wait, Sora's mood takes an uncharacteristic slump as he begins questioning their progress and the fact they remain cheerful despite none of them being any closer to their initial goals. Somewhat calmed by advice from the other two, Sora lapses deeper than ever before into one of his visions, viewing a moment from Kairi's past, the girl at a very young age seen with her grandmother, who tells her a story of the war for the light in childrens' hearts.
Not too much later, after Sora regains human form in Hollow Bastion thanks to Kairi's intervention, the four of them now return for a final time to Traverse Town. In a house above the Third District, Sora relays to Leon, Yuffie and Aerith the events that unfolded in Hollow Bastion, and all three agree Sora must return to seal the world's keyhole that is still issuing forth with darkness. However, now that the world is more immersed in darkness than ever, a new route to the massive castle is required, and the ever-trustworthy Cid is consulted, revealing to them the hiding place of a final navigation gummi underneath Traverse Town that would return them directly to Hollow Bastion.
After retrieving the piece, Sora thanks Kairi and explains to her what happened and how it felt as he was falling into darkness. When she says she needs to come back to Hollow Bastion with them - to help Riku - Sora outright refuses, but Kairi, still seeking to help, places in Sora's hand a charm she had been making, and from it, Sora gleans a new form for his Keyblade: the Oathkeeper.
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