A/N: Okay, here's something I posted on DA, but I made some changes to it to accommodate for KH3D. I hope you guys like this! It's basically KH1's storyline, but from Shadow's POV. Kurai is Shadow's best friend, just like Riku is for Sora, but Kurai is close to Riku rather than Sora. It'll make sense eventually. Just read on!
Disclaimer: I own nothing but Shadow and Kurai.
Shadow is in the Heart of All Denizens of Light…
"Hey, Shadow, Kurai! We're going to get ready soon, so get over here!"
I sighed, as did my friend next to me, and we left from trying to fish for a meal to join our friends, Sora, Riku, and Kairi.
"What is it?" I grumbled, and added, "I was trying to catch a bite to eat…"
"Well, like I just said, we're getting ready to leave the islands soon, so we have to get some supplies," Sora told us.
He looked down at us, and we sighed again. Kurai and I were the short ones out of the five of us, seeing as we're the only diamond-armored dragon, and our kind tends to be…small. I couldn't stay mad at him, though. Our hearts, just like Riku's and Kairi's, are all intertwined, but mine with Sora's was much deeper, and I couldn't figure out why. It seemed that way with Kurai and Riku, too. We just go with it, though, and try not to doubt ourselves. They are all so much younger than us, though, and we're at least a couple of centuries old, but then again, that's pretty young for our kind. We felt like we were guided here after our world was destroyed by strange creatures that I didn't even have a name for, so that alone was enough for us to feel like I truly belonged here on the island, or at least anywhere my friends were.
"All right, where do we start?" I asked, looking at them with a pleasant smile, but that just showed my front set of fangs, so I closed my mouth.
"Well, since you were about to catch some fish, why don't you start there, and catch ten fish, two for each of us, plus one for each of you to eat when you're done?" Kairi suggested, and we nodded.
We left over to the most fish-filled part of the ocean nearest the island, and sat down to start fishing. We watched them, and when one was close enough, we hooked my claws into it, yanked up, and held a fish in my hands. I repeated this five more times while Kurai caught six others, and once finished, Kurai grabbed the bucket that Riku had provided us with before we started, and dumped all but two in there. We enjoyed those for ourselves, so as to provide us with some energy for the day's events. Then again, we've been preparing this raft to sail away from the islands on for quite a while now, and we're going to leave tomorrow, but I had a strange feeling about it. I shrugged it off as just my nerves acting up, and polished off my fish, burying the bones when done.
"Hey, I got the fish!" I yelled to Sora, and joined him while Kurai went off to find Riku.
"Great! Now we've got some food for the trip," he told me, and added, "Hey, want to take a quick break? I'm kinda tired."
"Yeah, sure. We'll get back to it once we're refreshed," I laughed. He laughed with me, and I curled up next to him as we went to sleep from the sound of the waves.
I awoke to the sound of my name being called, but when I opened my eyes, I was all alone with Sora, and we weren't on the island. I leapt to my feet, all of my senses screaming at me that there was danger nearby. I couldn't tell where it was coming from, though.
"We're are we?" I asked Sora.
"I…don't know," he replied, and he looked as amazed as I was. This place looked like a place of complete darkness, with the exception of the light from the platform we were standing on; which looked like a glass picture. For some odd reason, the pattern looked like a young woman with black hair, and a pale face. Anyway, that was the only illumination in the area. Suddenly a voice, inaudible, spoke to us in our minds, "Choose what you will, and that power shall be yours, but you must sacrifice one as well…"
When the voice finished speaking, we watched in shock as three short, wide pillars rose from the platform. There was a different item on each one: a sword, a shield, and a staff. Obviously the sword meant power, the shield meant defense, and the staff represented magic.
"Shadow, which one do I choose?" Sora wondered aloud to me. I pondered that for a moment, and realized which one to take, and which one to give away.
"Take the shield, and give up the sword," I urged him, and he stepped forward as I jumped onto his shoulder.
He grabbed the shield from the pillar, and the voice asked, "The power of the guardian. The kindness to aid friends. A shield to repel all. Is this the power you seek?"
"Yes," Sora responded nervously. I urged him over to the sword, where the voice asked, "The power of the warrior. Invincible courage. A sword of terrible destruction. You give up this power?"
"Yes," Sora answered again.
"You've chosen the power of the guardian. You've given up the power of the warrior. Is this the form you choose?" the voice asked once more.
"Yes," we answered in unison. This time, the two remaining pillars sank into the platform, as though darkness was sucking them in. There was a sudden, bright light, and we were on another platform, this one featuring a young woman with sandy blonde hair, and looked more like a maid than anything else.
"You've gained the power to fight," the voice told us, and Sora lashed out with the shield. "All right! You've got it. Use this power to protect others." Out of nowhere, the same creatures that had destroyed my home appeared. "There will be times you have to fight. Keep your light burning strong, both of you." We fought the creatures, which looked like little shadows, until they were gone. Once they were gone, a dark void appeared and we were drawn into it, ending up on a multi-colored platform that had a door. We approached the door and tried to open it, but it wouldn't budge.
"Wonder why we can't open it…" I murmured. A treasure chest appeared, and we opened it. Once open, the door opened, and light poured out. We entered, and ended up on a small island where our friends, Tidus, Wakka, and Selphie, were waiting.
"Hold on," the voice told us. "The door won't open just yet. First, tell me more about yourselves."
We spoke to Tidus, who asked us, "What are you afraid of?"
"Getting old," Sora answered.
"Gettin' old? Is that really so scary?" Tidus replied, and we spoke to Wakka next.
"What do you want out of life?" Wakka asked.
"To see rare sights," we answered in unison.
"To see rare sights, huh?" Wakka repeated, and we finally spoke to Selphie.
"What's most important to you?" she asked us.
"Being number one," Sora answered.
"Is being number one such a big deal?" she replied.
"You're afraid of getting old. You want to see rare sights. You want to be number one. Your adventure begins at dawn. As long as the sun is shining, your journey should be a pleasant one," the voice told us, and we nodded determinedly. "The day you open the door is both far off and very near." Suddenly, we were on another platform, where several more of the shadowy creatures appeared. We managed to fight them off with the shield and my claws and fangs. Once finished, a light glowed nearby, revealing stairs to the next area. We made our way up, and the voice addressed us once more. "The closer you get to light, the greater your shadow becomes." Sora and my shadows started to come out from beneath us, and merged into one being which began to grow into a giant shadowy monster. "But don't be afraid," the voice told us. "And don't forget…"
We tried to flee from the beast, but almost fell over the edge of the platform when we tried. We had no choice but to fight off the dark monster. We fought it off as best as we could, Sora using the shield, and I using my fangs and claws. Once it was defeated, a black circle appeared underneath us.
"But don't be afraid," the voice repeated to us. "You both hold the mightiest weapons of all." As it spoke to us, we became engulfed in the circle. "So don't forget: You are the ones who will open the door." Everything went dark, and we woke up on the beach on Destiny Islands. I sat up in alarm, and noticed Kairi standing over Sora. When he opened his eyes, he saw her.
"Whoa!" he gasped, and sat up in shock. She giggled with amusement. "Gimme a break, Kairi."
"Sora, Shadow, you lazy bums," she teased. "I knew that I'd find you both snoozing down here."
"No! This huge, black THING swallowed us up!" Sora protested. "We couldn't breathe, we couldn't-Ow!" I clutched my head in sudden pain as Sora did the same.
"Are you two still dreaming?" Kairi teased again.
"It wasn't a dream!" I argued. "Or was it? We don't know. What was that place? So bizarre…"
"Yeah, sure," she replied doubtfully.
"Say, Kairi, what was your hometown like? You know, where you grew up," Sora asked suddenly.
"I've told you both before, I don't remember," she reminded us.
"Nothing at all?" I asked.
"Nothing," she repeated.
"You ever want to go back?" Sora asked her.
"Well, I'm happy here," she told him.
"Really…" Sora murmured.
"But you know…I wouldn't mind going to see it," she added.
"We'd like to see it, too," I chimed in. "Along with any other worlds out there! We want to see 'em all!"
"So what're we waiting for?" Kairi replied eagerly.
"Hey, aren't you guys forgetting about us?" Riku's voice said as he and Kurai joined us with a log under Riku's arm.
"So I guess we're the only ones working on the raft." Kurai said, and Riku tossed the log to Sora, but it fell on Sora's arms, making him fall, and then he rounded on Kairi. "And you're just as lazy as they are!"
"So you noticed," Kairi replied calmly. "Okay, we'll finish it together. I'll race you!"
"Huh?" Sora said in confusion.
"What, are you kidding?" Riku teased.
"Ready, go!" Kairi cried out, and they raced along the beach. Later, after their little race, Sora and I approached Kairi to help out. "So, can you gather the rest of the supplies? Sora, Shadow, are you listening to me?" she chastised.
"Yeah, we heard you," Sora replied, and I snickered. She told us what we needed to get, and we collected the items for the raft. Once finished, we brought them back to Kairi.
"Thanks, guys!" she praised, and asked, "Tired? Want to call it a day?"
"Yeah, let's go home," I agreed.
"Okay. It is getting late. We'll finish up tomorrow," she told us. Later, at sunset, we all five met up near the paopu fruit tree.
"So, Kairi's home is out there somewhere, right?" Sora wondered aloud.
"Could be. We'll never know by staying here," Riku replied.
"But how far could a raft take us?" I asked.
"Who knows?" Kurai answered. "If we have to, we'll think of something else."
"So, suppose you get to another world. What would you do there?" Kairi asked them.
"Well, we haven't really thought about it," they replied. "It's just…we've always wondered why we're here on this island. If there are any other worlds out there, why did we end up on this one? And suppose there are other worlds out there…Then ours is just a little piece of something much greater. So we could have just as easily ended up somewhere else, right?"
"I don't know," Sora murmured, and he laid back on a branch and I curled up on the same branch.
"That's why we need to go out there and find out. Just sitting here won't change a thing. It's the same old stuff. So let's go," Riku said, and he reminded me of myself when I was younger; eager to get out and explore.
"You've been thinking a lot lately, haven't you?" Kairi guessed.
"Thanks to you. If you hadn't come here, I probably never would've thought of any of this. Kairi, thanks," he told her.
"You're welcome," she replied casually. Once the sun had set, we started to head back to the house. Kairi went ahead of us as Riku and Kurai hung back for a moment.
"Sora," Riku said, and tossed a paopu fruit to him. Kurai and I watched the next exchange with interest. "You wanted one, didn't you?"
"A paopu fruit…" Sora murmured.
"If two people share one, their destinies become intertwined," Riku told us. "They'll remain a part of each other's lives no matter what. C'mon, I know you want to try it."
"What are you talking-" Sora started, but Riku and Kurai laughed while I snickered. Sora threw the paopu fruit away behind him and we chased after him. I chuckled to myself at the thought of Sora in love at his age. I couldn't imagine it, but I knew he liked her a lot.