Cosmic Hearts

Chapter One

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts

"Luna, wake up…Luna!"

I could faintly hear someone calling my name, but seeing as I was warm and comfortable in my bed, I didn't really care.

"Luna!"

Again I heard my name, so this time I shifted a little to let whoever it was calling me know I was awake.

"Okay, good. Now get up and come downstairs. Breakfast is ready."

Now a little more awake, I recognized the voice to be my brother, Ciro.

As much as I didn't want to, I obediently got out of bed and started for the closet to find something to wear.

Pulling open the white folding doors, I reached for the first thing I saw. It didn't much matter to me what it was. I was too tired to really care what I looked like right then.

Yawning, I took off the blue, flannel nightgown I had been wearing, threw it onto my messy bed, and changed.

When I was finished, I looked into the mirror that was standing in the corner of my room.

I was now wearing a white halter top with thin straps that criss-crossed and tied around my neck. Sewn along the top were pink, blue, and purple gems. With it came a matching mini skirt that was also white. It had the same gems, but were along the right side of it, going up.

This was all I was willing to wear today. It was just going to be another uneventful day in Galaxy.

Galaxy was the village I lived in. I'd been there my whole life, and was probably going to be there for the rest of it.

It was a quiet and peaceful village, surrounded by trees, but I liked it. There was a lake out behind our house. It was beautiful, so I went there sometimes to relax.

I walked over to my vanity dresser on the other side of the room, sat down, and brushed my hair.

It was white. My hair, that is. Long, straight, white hair. It took a few minutes to brush, and when I was done, I tied it into a ponytail that hung down to my waist.

Now completely dressed, I strolled over to my room's only window, and looked out, resting my head in my hands, and my arms on the sill.

My room overlooked the lake I loved so much.

I probably could have fallen asleep again, just standing there. But...

"Luna! Are you ready yet?"

But Ciro was calling me, and I needed to go. So I pulled myself away from the view, and headed downstairs.

"Morning, brother," I said to Ciro when I walked into the kitchen. He was wearing a black sleeveless shirt, orange pants, and white shoes, and had his short, black hair scruffed up as usual. He was staring at me like I was crazy.

"Morning? It's twelve o' clock."

"So? I just woke up. It's still morning to me."

"Whatever. Just sit down and eat."

Over on the table was a plate of pancakes.

"Ooh, yummy. What's the occasion?"

"Does there have to be an occasion for me to make pancakes?

"Um, yeah, sort of. You never make pancakes."

"Well I made them today, so be grateful."

"Yes sir!"

We both laughed. I liked hearing him laugh. It reminded me of before. Before our parents died, when we were all together as a family. He used to laugh all the time, and now...I don't know. We were both pretty young when it happened. He was five, and I was three; it's been twelve years now. I guess he just never really got over it. But I try to make him laugh whenever I can. I think it makes us both feel better.

I sat down at the table, and ate the pancakes that had been set out for me. They tasted really good- I wished he'd make them more often.

About ten minutes later, after finishing off the last bite, I stood up and took the empty plate to the sink.

I turned around and leaned against the counter, thinking about what I was going to do today. It was really nice outside, so I could go down to the lake for a bit. Or I could stay here and try to clean up some of the various messes that had been made...

Lake it was.

"Ciro! I'm going out for a while, okay?" He wasn't in the kitchen anymore, so I had to shout.

But there was no reply.

"Ciro?" I called again, raising my voice a little louder. "Where are you?"

He still didn't answer.

Curious, I walked into the living room to see if I could find him.

And there he was, standing behind the couch, holding a sword; the kind you would see a samurai carrying.

I wasn't sure which question I wanted to ask more: why he wouldn't answer me, or where he had gotten that thing.

"Luna, hush. I thought I saw someone outside."

I gave him a confused look. "It's nice out today. I'm sure there are people walking around."

He just shook his head. "He doesn't live here."

"So you pull out a sword? Where did you even get that?"

"He was wandering around our house. I got a bad feeling about him."

"So? What are you going to do? Stab him? Ciro, you're be-"

But there was a crash that came from behind me. A crash so loud, it nearly made me jump out of my skin.

"Luna, get behind me!"

I heard what he said, but I couldn't get my legs to move. By that time, I had already turned around to see what had just happened. There was a man standing where the front door had been. The door was now laying flat on the floor a few feet away from its original placeholder. The man still had his foot in the air from where he had apparently kicked it.

"Wh- who are you?" I said in a voice so tiny, it surprised even me.

The man was dressed in all black. Black shirt, pants, shoes, and a bandana, which was tied around his face, covering his mouth. He even had black eyes and hair. And he was staring right at me.

"Heh. I'm not surprised you don't remember me. But come now Ciro, surely you recognize me."

Wait, he knew Ciro? How? Well, if he did, he sure didn't show it. He said nothing back to this strange burglar.

"No? Then maybe I should give you a hint." His eyes suddenly narrowed and, even with the bandana on, I could tell his face hardened. "That's my sword."

At least that answered one of my questions.

I turned back around to see Ciro's reaction. In a matter of seconds, his face turned from confusion, to shock, to pure hatred.

"You," he hissed.

"Aha! I knew you couldn't have forgotten me so soon. How's life been for ya?" His tone turned sarcastic.

"Shut up!"

"Aw, now that's not nice. Certainly no way to treat a guest."

"You're no guest here. Get out."

"I'm afraid I can't do that. I've come to pick up a package."

"What?"

"The same thing we wanted the first time," he said, slightly more serious.

I had just been standing there this whole time, watching the scene play out. It didn't even seem real. Who was this guy? When did he and Ciro meet? Why was he here? What was I missing?

I only realized that I had zoned out when Ciro ran past me quickly enough to cause my hair to sway. It caught me off guard, and I stumbled backwards a little.

The next thing I processed was the sound of metal against metal. The two had started fighting, each with his own sword. They were both dodging and reflecting each other's attacks.

When had Ciro learned to fight? Just another question to add to the list.

At last a moment came when they backed off each other. This gave the mysterious man an opportunity to comment.

"Well, well, look who learned to fight. But I don't have time for this."

And with that, he swung at Ciro so hard, it would've caused some serious damage, had it hit him.

But it didn't. Ciro evaded this attack and countered with his own. The flat of his sword hit the man hard on the back and caused him to fall.

He didn't waste any time to grab my arm and pull me upstairs. I was still a little dazed, and too confused to do anything about it.

He dragged me into his room, shut the door, and locked it.

Then he ran to his dresser, throwing his sword aside, and started opening drawers, pulling everything out of them, closing it, and moving on to the next one. Was he looking for something?

"What are you doing?" I said for the first time in a while.

He didn't answer, just continued his frantic search.

"Ciro, answer me!"

"Where did I put it?" he said, more to himself.

"Where did you put what?" I tried again.

He opened the bottom drawer, reached in the back, and said, "Yes!"

"What?" These last few minutes had been so crazy, and nobody would tell me anything. I was becoming aggravated.

Then he strode back over to me, and took me by the shoulders. Whatever he was holding was now pressing against my skin. We both just stood there for a moment, not saying anything. I tried to read his fiery colored eyes. He looked sad, and angry, but most of all, torn, like he didn't know what he should do. Or if he did, whether it was the right decision.

There was so much I wanted to ask, but I felt like I should give him some time to think things through.

Then he said, "You're not safe here anymore."

I just stared at him. What else was I supposed to do? The only thing I could get out of my mouth was, "Wha?"

He took in a deep breath, let it out, and hung his head. "Look, Luna, there's a lot I haven't told you, and I probably should have, so I'm sorry," He looked back up into my magenta eyes, "But right now, I need to get you somewhere safe."

Then he finally let go of me and opened his hand so that I could see what it was that he was so desperately searching for.

It was a little, black, star-shaped pendant attached to a thin piece of string. A necklace. A necklace? How was a necklace going to help us right now?

"What is it?" I asked.

"It's a Starlite. It should have the power to get you out of here."

"And take me where?"

"Where ever it thinks you'll be safe."

"But why I am I in danger? What's going on, Ciro?"

Just then there was a loud crack.

I whipped my head around towards the door. Part of it was broken in- like it had been hit with an axe or something. Then I remembered that there was someone on the other side of that door who was trying to hurt me. I let out a short gasp. Those words had finally sunk in.

I tore myself out of my thoughts and looked back at Ciro. "So, how does it work?"

"It has a special energy. Focus on that energy and you'll be able to connect with it."

He placed the Starlite over my head and around my neck. I pulled my hair out from underneath it, then proceeded to pick it up. It felt strange. Warm, but not to the touch. Maybe that was the energy he was talking about.

"Do you have another one?" I asked.

"No," he shook his head slowly, "This is the only one in existence."

My eyes widened. "But then how are you-"

"I'm not."

"What? Then what are you going to do?"

Tears were starting to well up in my eyes. He couldn't leave me alone at a time like this. He just couldn't.

"I'm going to stay and fight. But you need to go, now."

"No!"

"Luna, please! You're my little sister and I'm not going to let anything happen to you!"

The tears started to run down my face. I knew he was just trying to protect me, but-

Another crack, louder this time. I looked back at the door and saw that it had been hit again. The hole that had been in it before was larger now.

I was going to have to trust him on this, wasn't I?

I closed my eyes in attempt to stop crying. It didn't work. So I faced him. He look scared, something I didn't think I'd ever seen before. That scared me. Everything right now scared me...

But I needed to do this. So, mustering all the courage I had, I wrapped my arms around him and squeezed him tight. Who knew when I'd be able to see him again? If I'd ever see him again.

This brought on more tears.

He hugged me back for a quick second, then let go and asked, "Are you ready?"

I slowly nodded my head. "I think so."

"Okay. Now, can you feel the energy radiating from it?"

I picked the star back up. The same warm sensation flooded my fingertips. "Yes."

"Good. Concentrate on it. Let the energy fill your body."

I closed my eyes and squeezed the little pendant. I concentrated on the warmth. And slowly, it began to spread from my hand, up my arm, and through the rest of me.

When I opened my eyes again, the first thing I noticed was the light on my skin. My arms were glowing. Everything was glowing. This came as shock until I discovered that my feet weren't touching the ground. I was floating a few inches above it. That's when I starting freaking out. "Ciro! What's happening?"

"It's okay! Don't be scared! Keep your focus!"

I felt weightless.

Well, that wasn't technically true. I felt like I weighed as much as that little necklace did. The Starlite.

The loud cracking sound at the door came again, but I didn't bother to look this time.

Someone was trying to break into this room, but why was he taking so long to do it? He broke down the front door in one hit. So what happened?

It didn't take long for him to answer.

Something was thrown through the now wide enough hole. It hit the floor a few feet away from us with a thud.

I turned to see what it was.

It began to spew gas that filled the room, cloaking everything in it.

Ciro seemed to understand what was happening, because he said, "Put your focus back on the Starlite and get out of here! Now!"

So I did as I was told. I squeezed the charm so hard, my knuckles turned white, and completely forgot about everything that was happening around me.

Suddenly, an image surfaced in my mind. It was dark, but there were lights twinkling every few seconds. Small dots in the distance came into view. They were spherical objects, but were too blurry to make out anything else about them. Where was this?

I heard Ciro cough, and looked down at him, shaking away the picture. I was a few more feet off the ground.

"Keep...your...focus." He was struggling to get the words out. The gas must have been choking him.

"Ciro!" I called.

"Focus."

I hesitantly closed my eyes again, afraid something was going to happen to him if I looked away.

To my surprise, the image was still there. It was less hazy, but I still couldn't tell where it was. Maybe if I tried a little harder...

I willed the picture to become clearer. Forced it to tell me what it was. And I got an answer.

Go.

It wasn't a voice; more like a thought, but I hadn't thought it.

I felt myself start to move, gradually getting faster.

By the time I opened my eyes again, I was outside, above my house. How that happened, I didn't know. But I could see where I had been, like the roof was invisible. How that was happening, I didn't know. Most of the gas had cleared out of the room and I could see Ciro lying on the ground. He wasn't moving.

I gasped. The man who had broken in was walking towards him, slowly, casually.

Both figures were becoming too small to see though; I was still getting higher.

Ciro was unconscious, with a dangerous man standing over top of him.

"Ciro!" I screamed as loud as I possibly could, but I knew it would be no use. I was too far away for anyone to hear anything.

Before I knew it, the bright, blue sky around me had turned to a dark purple, then eventually faded into black. I must have been in space- that would be the most logical guess. There were stars moving by me. Or was I moving by them? I couldn't tell anymore.

Ciro was probably going to be killed, and I just left him.

No, I was taken away from him by this stupid necklace. Suddenly, I hated it. I could have done something to help if it hadn't have dragged me here! I didn't know what, but...Argh!

I tried to rip the thing off my neck, but the moment I did, I heard,

Stop.

and stopped moving.

I wasn't even paying attention, so for a second I was confused. I looked around, and saw...I saw the image that was in my head. The twinkling lights, stars apparently, were shooting every which direction. The spherical objects were...well, I wasn't exactly sure what they were. They looked like worlds, not that that really made much sense.

I was just floating there, staring wide-eyed, mouth open when the Starlite charm picked itself up. I didn't even notice until it was right in front of my eyes.

"What?"

It responded by gently pulling me towards a smaller "world".

I remembered what Ciro said, about it taking me where it thought I'd be safe. Maybe this was it.

I let it pull me along. It didn't take long until we were close enough for me to be able to see the ocean below. It was huge and sparkling underneath the bright sun. And it was getting closer. I was speeding up now. Not like I was when I was leaving Galaxy. That was the Starlite's doing- this felt like gravity. I was falling; I was going to crash into that huge ocean any second now. But instead of freaking out like I had been all day, I braced myself for the impact. It didn't look like the Starlite was going to stop this, so I did what I could.

I pulled my arms and legs in to form a cannonball, hid my face inside, and waited.

And waited.

And waited.

I must have been higher up than I thought.

But then-

SPLASH!

I heard my body hit the water, but didn't feel it. There was no pain like I had expected, just a sound.

I felt like I was back in space. Just floating. After about a minute, when I thought it was safe, I lifted my head. I could see the surface of the water, and the sun shining through it.

I let my arms and legs fall back into their normal place. It was actually very peaceful down here.

But then I felt my throat start to burn. My chest was pounding, and I realized that I couldn't breathe.

Frantically, I tried to swim back up to get some air, but I wasn't fast enough. Things started to get fuzzy, my head was dizzy, my throat on fire. Then I felt weak. I couldn't move anything. And everything turned black.

"Sora! Riku! Come here! I think something fell into the water!"

And there you have it. Chapter One, complete. I hope you enjoyed it. Reviews would be greatly appreciated.

I'm not entirely sure when the next chapter will be out, but I'll try to make it as soon as possible. Goodbye for now