The Keyblade War Chapter III: Beauty Of Apocalypse

Chapter Twenty Eight: There Is Only One Road

Dawn was at a loss. Hiro and the gang had agreed to help her find her Key Of Balance, and they had started their search without delay, but even with the clues provided to them in the library that Fred had mentioned, there was nothing concrete pointing towards the location of Dawn's Key Of Balance! They searched the city, and when they found that they were getting nowhere, they all decided to split up, so that way, they could cover more ground! It had been a few hours since they decided on this approach, and so far, it all amounted to nothing! Dawn was starting to feel as if though this were all nothing more than a big goose chase! But, given the situation at hand regarding the Keyblade War, she couldn't let herself doubt, so she needed to press onward, even though she didn't know where to look! Fred, who had decided to accompany her, was eating a sandwich, and then he pointed towards Dawn's left, and when she looked at that direction, she noticed the wreckage from the battle they had fought against the giant Heartless/Unborn hybrid! City officials and repair crew were hard at work fixing everything, and there were news reporters and civilians watching from the sidelines!

"Heh, I get super stoked whenever the news reporters talk about us saving the city! It just gets me so excited!" he said as he finished munching on his sandwich. Dawn glanced over at him as they walked.

"So, you're into the whole hero business for the fame, huh?" she asked. Fred shrugged with a cocky smirk.

"Eh, well, the fame's pretty good, sure!" he said, but then he stopped, and his face softened as he smiled. "But you know...the real reason I go out there to protect the people of this fair city, is because at the end of the day, after all the hard work all of us go through to make sure we keep the people safe, seeing their faces full of gratitude and of comfort and happiness really makes the hard work pay off, you know? Like, sometimes when Hiro and the others and even myself are down in the dumps...the people's encouragement keeps us going...and that's what makes it all worthwhile...that feeling of being appreciated...that's how I know I'm making a difference!" he said as he smiled. Dawn was quite surprised by his answer! Even though he seemed lazy and laid back, he took his job as a protector of San Fransokyo very seriously! It's something that Dawn couldn't help but admire! And that was also a reminder that appearances can be deceiving!

"Heh, well, the city's lucky to have you guys." she said as she looked in front of her and gave out a sigh. "I just wish I knew where my Key Of Balance was...but I'm sure we'll find it soon!" she said as she gave herself a boost of encouragement! Fred nodded in agreement!

"Yeah, that's the spirit! No need to lose your cool, Dawn! We're going to find your Key, definitely!" he said encouragingly! They both smiled, and then they kept walking along the city streets for a good while before heading to a stop near the docks. That's when they took their time to look around and to see if there was anything remotely related to Dawn's Key Of Balance! They made sure to look around every corner, but so far, nothing had surfaced!

As the day continued to roll on by, Dawn thought that she'd never get a lead on her Key Of Balance! She and Fred had already scoured the docks a few times, and now they were in a former residential district, which had been abandoned because the terrain was unstable, and so, the former residential district was being used as a junkyard. As they entered, Fred gave out a laugh and looked excited! Dawn wondered why.

"Um, is there anything here that's getting you excited?" she asked directly. Fred nodded.

"Oh yeah, definitely! Just imagine if a creepy garbage monster suddenly emerged from all this dump! It could be like in one of the comic books I read! A savage monster comes from humanity's filth and wreaks havoc and horribly smelling destruction to everyone and everything! Ha, I bet it'd be cool if we fought a monster like that sometime!" he explained. Dawn couldn't help but chuckle.