Chapter Text
Earth, 2024
It was just a routine checkup that had Bucky and Roxas going to Wakanda.
Bucky was getting his arm and his head checked one more time by Shuri for his own sanity, since he wanted to be 100% sure he was ready to re-enter the outside world. Roxas tagged along because he was visiting and wanted to show support for the man he was starting to build a friendship with.
Leon tagged along because he wanted to see Wakanda again.
He gave them a ride in the Gummi ship he had taken to get to Earth, since he knew the way. The two climbed aboard, and Bucky sat in one of the seats near the front, watching as Leon flew them across the sky.
"This looks a bit more sophisticated than the Quinjet," Bucky commented, looking at the various switches and buttons across the console.
"Actually, it's pretty easy," Leon admitted.
"It has to be, considering Sora and V were able to figure out how to masterfully pilot theirs with Donald and Goofy," Roxas commented. "And since V was more preoccupied with murdering Xehanort and Sora was kinda dumb, that speaks volumes about how easy it really is."
"I guess you've got a point," Bucky admitted.
The three of them were in a period of comfortable silence as Leon piloted the Gummi ship across the world, leaving America and going right to Africa. He piloted across the plains and moved the ship towards grassy mountains, moving at full speed towards one of the mountains.
"Uh, Leon?" Roxas said, seeing that Leon was flying right towards a mountain wall, still moving at full speed. "This doesn't look like Wakanda."
"Trust me; I know what I'm doing," Leon said.
"Uh... are you sure?" Roxas asked, uncertainty and fear growing in his voice.
Leon and Bucky shared smirks at Roxas's reaction, partly because it reminded Leon of his similar reaction.
"Bucky, I think Leon's gone insane," Roxas announced to the former assassin, fear in his voice.
"We'll be all right," Bucky assured him, waving a hand at the blonde.
"Am I the only sane one left in this ship!?" Roxas exclaimed, terror in his voice as he held onto the walls of the cockpit.
Leon flew the Gummi ship closer to the mountain, and Roxas yelled out as he braced for a big crash.
But instead of crashing and exploding against the mountain, the Gummi ship flew through the protective barrier that was around the city of Wakanda, since this Gummi ship had been modified to go through the barrier.
Roxas's eyes widened in surprise and felt his heartbeat slow back to normal at the sight of the barrier passing around them. His eyes widened even more when they came through the other side of the barrier.
The entirety of the ancient Wakandan civilization extended out far in front of them, with hundreds of buildings on either side of a large river, a gigantic palace out in the distance, just in sight of the gigantic grassy field that the main battle of the Infinity War had taken place, the one where everyone had taken a stand against Thanos's army of Outstriders and the Black Order.
"Holy shit!" Roxas exclaimed, amazement in his voice as he stepped up next to Leon and Bucky, staring out the windshield of the ship at the sights in front of them.
"Yeah, that was my reaction," Leon said with a smirk.
Leon piloted the Gummi ship across the expansive landscape towards the palace, and landed on a large platform where many quinjets were docked.
The trio started to disembark from the ship, with Roxas and Bucky going down first, finding Shuri, T'Challa, and Okoye waiting for them. Several Dora Milaje warriors stood at the side with their spears in hand as a form of security.
"It is good to see you again, my friends," T'Challa greeted.
"You, too," Roxas said.
Not knowing what to do, Roxas made his arms into an X over his chest, remembering seeing all the Wakandans do that in the past.
Everyone laughed at the blonde's actions.
"You do not have to do that, Roxas," Okoye said.
"Now you tell me," Roxas said, a bit of embarrassment in his voice as he lowered his arms.
"How is Vision?" T'Challa asked Bucky.
"He seems to be recovering well enough," Bucky said. "There have been no latent relapses from what Hayward did to him, and he still remembers it all thanks to V. The biggest concern on his mind at the moment is planning his and Wanda's wedding."
"Yes, that is probably the second biggest stressor in the world," Okoye commented with a smirk.
"Make sure we all have invitations," Shuri said. "We wouldn't want to miss that. Now, let us get to your check up."
The three Wakandans' attentions were drawn up to the Gummi ship as Leon stepped down, coming into view. All three of them smiled at the sight of the brunette.
"Ingonyama Yesilivere!" T'Challa greeted in Xhosian with a smile. *1*
"Leon!" Shuri happily exclaimed.
The young woman hurried past Roxas and Bucky and greeted the brunette with a hug as he reached the bottom of the ramp. Leon laughed and returned the favor before they separated and turned towards the others.
"It is a pleasure to see you again, Leon," Okoye said diplomatically, though she did smile at the brunette.
"Good to see you, too, Okoye," Leon said.
"Nice to have you back, Lion," T'Challa told Leon with a smile.
"Nice to be back, Panther," Leon said with his own smile.
"Oh, that's right," Roxas said, pointing one hand in remembrance. "You were here once."
"When exactly was that?" Bucky asked with a confused frown. "I was here for two years after the Avengers Civil War, and I didn't see you anywhere."
"It was actually just after the Civil War," T'Challa said. "You were still asleep as Shuri worked to get the remains of the HYDRA brainwashing out of your head."
"Aerith, Yuffie, and I finished a job, which kinda ended in disaster..." Leon explained. "When we tried to escape, we ended up here..."
Radiant Garden, One year prior (Kingdom Hearts Galaxy Time)
Leon sighed out as he relaxed at the table in the middle of Merlin's House, having finished a long day working with the Restoration Committee to repair the Bailey just outside the main part of the town. The Bailey had seen the most damage during the Battle of Hollow Bastion just a few months prior, and it was still taking them quite some time to repair the place.
At least Tron was working in the mainframe now, causing most of the Heartless in town to disappear. This made things much easier since they didn't have to spend more time fighting Heartless than fighting.
Although, Leon could admit that sometimes he missed the thrill of saving people, fighting Heartless on different worlds. Seeing new sights and saving people along the way with his friends, Aerith, Yuffie, and Vanitas. Sure, Vanitas might've been pissed and on a rampage to try to kill Xehanort the entire time, but he was still fun to fight with.
Sometimes, he missed those days because they were a good form of friendship between the group.
Leon looked up when he saw Yuffie sitting down in another chair at the table, also sighing out.
While she didn't mind helping people in town by rebuilding everything, Yuffie was probably the one that missed adventuring the most. Due to her being the youngest and most excitable of the group, she was always the one ready for adventure. She probably missed doing adventures more than Leon did.
"How's V doing?" Leon asked, since she had the Gummiphone to talk to him with.
"He seems to be doing okay," Yuffie said, smiling immediately. Talking about V always made her happy. "He and the others left Earth after saving the world with their friends there again. Apparently, Cloud ended up there, and they had to fight Sephiroth."
"Damn," Leon said. "How'd they do?"
"Apparently, V and Cloud shot him until he exploded," Yuffie said.
"...Of course they did," Leon commented.
"They're taking a break from fighting for a while," Yuffie said. "V's heading to Destiny Islands with Sora, Riku, and Kairi. He and I are gonna stay in contact with our Gummiphones."
"Well, make sure to keep your discussions of your right ages," Cid remarked as he and Aerith walked into the room.
"Cid, they're both teenagers," Aerith pointed out. "That means that their 'of the right age' discussions will most likely be sexting."
"Shut up!" Cid snapped with his eyes closed as he sat down at the computer.
Leon, Yuffie, and Aerith all laughed at his actions.
They were drawn out of whatever thoughts would come next by a knock on Merlin's wooden door. Sharing a confused look with Yuffie, Leon stood up and went to the door, opening it up to answer the call.
He was not expecting to see a small drone floating in front of the door, little cybernetic arms attached to the sides that had been used to knock. On a screen in the center, Leon saw a woman with golden skin and matching hair looking at him.
One eyebrow raised in confusion, Leon looked towards his free friends, sharing confused looks with them before looking at the drone again.
"Squall Leonhart?" the woman asked.
"It's Leon," Leon said.
While his original plan was to go back to Squall after getting Radiant Garden back, over the years, he had grown very used to being called Leon, instead. He decided to just stay as Leon, partly because that was what everyone knew him as at this point, and because, he had to admit, Leon sounded a bit cooler than Squall.
"I am a worker of High Priestess Ayesha of the Sovereign," the woman said. "We acquire assistance from people specially trained in fighting the beasts known as 'Heartless'."
"You guys have a Heartless problem?" Yuffie asked, walking over with a curious expression on her face.
"I'm afraid so," the woman said. "They have been appearing left and right across the Sovereign. Some of us guess it has to do with what High Priestess Ayesha has been doing lately."
"What's she been doing?" Leon asked with a curious frown.
"We were humiliated some time ago by a group of savages," the woman admitted. "And so, High Priestess Ayesha has taken control of our genetic engineers. She plans on constructing someone new and powerful, but she has grown obsessed and determined in her efforts."
"Well, that sucks," Aerith commented. "But what's that got to do with Heartless?"
"It is just our best guess to explain why the Heartless have appeared," the woman admitted. "We could be wrong, but we still have a problem with the hideous beasts attacking our towns."
Leon, Aerith, and Yuffie shared looks, then Leon shrugged his shoulders as he looked at the drone.
"Give me and my team a few hours," Leon said. "We'll leave immediately in our ship and be there as soon as we can."
"Thank you, Mr Leon," the woman said. "You are doing us a great service."
The drone turned around and flew up into the air, leaving the world as it quickly flew into the space between worlds.
"All right!" Yuffie exclaimed, pumping her fist in excitement. "I missed adventuring between worlds."
"I kind of have, too," Aerith admitted. "It oughta be fun to visit a world and save people from Heartless, like the good ol' days."
"Well, unlike the good ol' days, don't get close to dying so many times," Cid commented.
"Yeah, yeah," Leon said, smiling as he walked out of Merlin's house.
The trio made their way to where the ship was docked, mentally preparing themselves for whatever they'd face at The Sovereign. *2*
The three of them made it to The Sovereign pretty easily, making their way through the cities and fighting through lots of the Heartless in the cities. There was a good amount of Shadows, Soldiers, Large Bodies, Minute Bombs, Morning Stars, Armored Knights, and Surveillance Robots. They even had to fight a Volcanic Lord and a Blizzard Lord, taking out the Bosses leading the many enemies through the cities.
Once those were all destroyed, they were led to a big chamber where dozens of people stood on the sides of the room, smiling in gratitude at the trio. The woman they recognized from the drone stood at a throne, next to a woman with disheveled, golden hair.
"I must thank the three of you," High Priestess Ayesha said. "Squall Leonhart, Yuffie Kisaragi, and Aerith Gainsborough, you are all to be commended for your defense of our city. You have done us a greater service than the savages who betrayed us in the past ever have."
"Who even are these savages you guys keep talking about?" Aerith asked. "They sound like they were kinda dicks."
"They are a group of people who were reported to have saved the galaxy, more than once," Ayesha said. She frowned in disgust. "But they disrespected us and stole some of our property."
She looked up and growled in irritation, surprising Leon and Aerith.
"I have taken ahold of our genetic engineers that create new people of our civilization," Ayesha proudly announced. "We are constructing a new member of our civilization. One stronger, better, and much more capable of destroying those savages."
Leon and Aerith shared a wide eyed look, deciding it was probably time to go back home.
"I call him Adam," Ayesha said, smiling crazily. "Would you like to meet him?"
Leon and Aerith were about to decline, but their attentions were drawn to a nearby ringing. They looked at Yuffie to see her pulling out her Gummiphone.
"Aw, it's a new text from V," Yuffie said, gushing with a smile at the sight.
"V?" a male Sovereign asked nearby.
Yuffie turned on her phone, unintentionally showing people her profile picture of herself and Vanitas with their arms around each other. People on the side gasped in surprise and looked towards Ayesha.
"She knows Vanitas Jordan!" a man yelled, pointing at Yuffie.
"What?" Ayesha demanded.
"Yeah, V's a friend of ours," Leon said. "He used to do this with us about a year or two ago."
"He and I are an item," Yuffie proudly said.
"Well, then," Ayesha said, venom in her voice as she looked at the trio maliciously. "I guess you'd be interested to know that Jordan and his friends are allies of the Guardians of the Galaxy, the savages we aim to destroy."
'Uh, oh,' Aerith, Leon, and Yuffie all unknowingly simultaneously thought, already knowing where this was going.
"Anyone associated with the Guardians of the Galaxy is to be executed immediately!" Ayesha bellowed. She pointed at the trio. "Seize them!"
Leon looked at Yuffie and Aerith, panic on all of their faces.
"Run!" Leon exclaimed.
They turned and started running out of the chamber. People tried moving to grab them, but Aerith jumped up and scissor kicked one woman in the chest, while Leon elbowed a man in the face, and Yuffie kicked another man in the groin as they all ran towards the exit of the chamber.
They made their way to the ship, flying it off of the Sovereign and out into the Lanes Between.
Unfortunately, a Sovereign Fleet followed them, firing as rapidly as they all could at the Gummi ship, damaging it significantly.
"We gotta get the hell out of here!" Yuffie exclaimed, terror in her voice.
"There's that Warp Drive function on all the ships we have now," Aerith suggested. "We can use it to get to another part of the universe like that."
She snapped her fingers to express her point.
"All right!" Leon said, pressing a few buttons.
He started going through the procedure to initiate the Warp Drive. The Sovereign fleet continued firing at them, damaging more and more of the ship, which caused the glass of the windshield over them to crack.
"Leon, hurry!" Yuffie exclaimed, terror in her voice.
"I'm going as fast as I can!" Leon exclaimed.
He turned on the Warp Drive and prepared it for travel. There were many options for a world he could travel to, some of them places that they had visited, while others were new ones they hadn't ever been to. Leon stared in thought for a second before another explosion shook the ship. He exclaimed in terror again and selected a random world, initiating Warp Drive.
Light fathered around the ship and made them disappear.
The ship flew through the Warp Tunnel for a few seconds before it reappeared in a completely different part of the galaxy, incredibly far from the Sovereign.
Unfortunately, the ship was so damaged that it continued flying down towards the green and blue planet far below them.
"Where are we?" Yuffie asked.
Leon muttered to himself as he looked at the computer again.
"Looks like another Earth," he said. "Numbered Earth 6..."
The ship suddenly shook again, causing them all to yell out in surprise as they were shook around by another explosion.
Their Gummi ship was flying down towards the Earth at a dangerous and rapid rate. Leon tried grabbing the controls. He yelled out as he pulled up, but then exclaimed in surprise when the wheel broke off in his hands.
"Uh, oh," Leon said, eyes wide in surprised.
"We're all probably going to die," Aerith remarked.
"I hope you're wrong, but I know you're right," Yuffie said, fear in her voice.
"Just hold onto something, you two," Leon said, buckling his seat belt on his chair. "Looks like we're in for a crash landing."
Yuffie was about to sit in a chair when the Gummi ship entered the planet's atmosphere, causing fire to erupt all around it. The windshield over them shattered, causing heavy winds to fly through the inside of the ship.
These winds were so strong that they picked up Yuffie, who was still standing, and Aerith, who hadn't buckled her seatbelt, yet. Both of the women yelled out in surprised terror as the winds ripped them out of the ship, sending them flying out in the air, causing them to plummet through the atmosphere.
"Yuffie!" Leon bellowed. "Aerith!"
The winds surging within the cockpit made him yell out as they hurt his face, making it hard for him to see or do anything in his position on the chair.
There was nothing Leon could do as the ship kept its course as it plummeted down towards the ground.
It finally hit the ground deep in some forest at nighttime, crashing through trees and causing a large explosion as it hit the ground really hard, sending pieces of the trees flying in all directions and causing smoke and fire to rise into the air.
Leon quickly unbuckled his seat belt and woozily climbed out of the damaged ship. He grunted in pain as he dropped to the ground, landing in the dirt. He coughed a few times before gripping his side in pain.
"Fuck..." Leon said with another wince.
The sound of feet hitting the ground got him to look up. When he did, though, Leon frowned in confusion.
Standing in front of him in the darkened forest were three African American people, two women and a man. What surprised him was how they were dressed.
The man was wearing a black suit that covered his body entirely except for his head. There were silver lines of metal along the body, and sharp points on the hands and feet, looking like claws.
Both of the women had little to no hair.
One woman was bald, dressed in red, orange, and grey robes with some bits of metal armor attached. She carried a large spear in her right hand.
The other woman had a bit more hair, but not much. She wore darkened robes, and clothes underneath that looked like what a beggar would wear.
"Did I hit my head?" Leon asked, confused as he stared up at the three of them.
"Possibly," the bald woman said in an African accent.
"Are you all right?" the man asked in a similar accent, concern in his voice.
"No, I am not," Leon admitted, holding onto his side with a wince. "And just in case you're wondering... despite the spaceship, I am a human."
"Yes," the other woman, the one with hair said. "This looks like one of those Gummiships that the Keyblade Wielders use."
"Sora, V, Donald, and Goofy," Leon said, looking up at the trio. "Do you guys know them?"
"No," the man said. "But we have heard of them."
The man offered a hand to Leon.
"My name is T'Challa," T'Challa introduced himself. "I am the Black Panther."
T'Challa offered his hand to Leon, and Leon took it with his free hand. The Wakandan helped Leon to his feet, who winced in pain the whole time.
"I'm Leon," Leon said. "I don't... have a title."
"I am Okoye of the Dora Milaje," the bald woman said, proudly.
"I am Nakia of the River Tribe," the woman with a bit more hair said, also proudly.
"I'm from... Radiant Garden," Leon said, not knowing what to say. "My friends and I were running from people trying to kill us. The windshield shattered and sent them flying out."
"That is unfortunate," T'Challa said. "Is there anything we can do to help?"
"Do you have a place I can rest until I'm well enough to look for my friends?" Leon asked.
"We might be able to do so," T'Challa said before Okoye or Nakia could stop him. "We are currently in Nigeria. Not too far from our community. We can provide you with safety, heal your wounds, and maybe even assist you in your search."
"Thank you," Leon said, still gripping his side. "This means a lot."
"Your Highness," Okoye said. "A word?"
T'Challa followed her across part of the forest. Frowning in confusion, Leon looked at Nakia.
"Uh... 'Highness'?" Leon asked.
"T'Challa is prince of our civilization of Wakanda," Nakia explained. "He is the oldest of our former King T'Chaka. King T'Chaka was murdered in a terrorist attack a few weeks ago. That means that T'Challa shall take up the mantle of King now."
Leon's eyes widened in surprise. He remembered that Vanitas had landed on this world, and had apparently stumbled into joining a team of superheroes that protected the world from dangerous threats.
Leon landed on this world and stumbled onto royalty.
"Holy shit," he decided to say.
T'Challa had followed Okoye until they were out of earshot of Leon and Nakia.
"This isn't what we came here for," Okoye said. "The original plan was just to pickup your ex-girlfriend and help her a bit, then bring her back to Wakanda for your correlation. I don't remember helping a person from another world who crashed here being on the itinerary."
"Okoye, whether he is originally from this world or not, he is still a traveller that needs our help," T'Challa told her. "You already know from my history that I help people when I can, even joining the Avengers on their Civil War and providing aid for Mr Barnes until Shuri heals him. He needs help, and he will get it from Wakanda." *3*
Okoye nodded her head, knowing that this was just who T'Challa was.
"You better hope M'Baku doesn't try to use this against you," Okoye said.
"Oh, I already know he will," T'Challa commented as he walked back towards Nakia and Leon.
Okoye smirked, knowing that he had a point. Whatever happened now, it was sure going to be an interesting few days as T'Challa took the throne.