Xer: Hey, everyone! Here's my first edited chapter!

Insert disclaimer about not owning Kingdom Hearts here.

Riding the Path to Twilight

Ch. 1

Reluctance

"No."

"What?"

"You're not serious, are you, Sora?"

The three teens stood on the small island, two wondering what had possessed Sora Lowell, the 15-year-old who had twice saved the universe from being overwhelmed by darkness. Kairi Irving, the 15-year-old girl in their group, and Riku Gallagher (see what I did there?), one year their senior, couldn't believe their ears.

"Please tell me you're kidding, Sora.", said Kairi, breaking an awkward silence.

"No. I can't do this again.", Sora replied.

"Why not?", Riku spat out. It was impressive to see his cool broken by a single word. Sora remained quiet. He was holding something back from his friends.

Lying on the ground between them was a note. A note from a bottle Kairi had found on her way to her friends. The words on it had caused this feud:

Dear Friends,

I hope this doesn't hurt any of you, but I have to tell you this now. There's something acting up, somewhere in the universe. Something dark and dangerous. I don't know when this will become a real threat, but I'd like for you three to be ready. I'd like to bring you to the castle to fully prepare yourselves for the fight ahead. This is your choice, however, and I won't force it upon you.

Sorry.

Mickey

Upon reading this, Riku and Kairi were ready to prepare the gummi ship, but Sora said no. Which returns us to the present time.

"Why not?", Riku continued pressing the matter.

"I... it's...", Sora muttered, looking away from his friends.

"What?"

"I-" Sora's hand tensed.

"WHAT?"

"I WON'T RISK LOSING YOU!"

A silence fell over Riku.

"It seems like every time I end up fighting, I lose you two. Either you're captured or you're corrupted. It makes me hurt more than you can imagine. Frankly, if I have to go through that again, I might break. I can't fight with your well-being on my mind."

"That's it?" Riku said. "That's why you won't go?" He sounded angry.

"Sora.." Kairi sounded disappointed. As Sora looked back at them, Kairi had drawn Destiny's Place and Riku had Way to the Dawn pointed at him. Both looked ready to fight to the death.

Battle Theme: Imperial Code by Daisuke Ishiwatari

"Get up.", Kairi said sternly. "Draw your keyblade."

"What?" Sora was in shock. Did they just draw their blades at me?

Ya think?, came the sarcastic voice of Roxas. PAY ATTENTION!

Sora snapped back to reality, summoning his keyblade, currently Oblivion, to block a slash Riku had aimed for his neck. The force would have definitely been lethal. As Sora pushed his friend back, Kairi had charged in from behind Riku. She threw in a quick volley of attacks from just about every direction she could. When did she get this good?, Sora pondered as he defended himself from her attacks. He felt his shoe hit a plank of wood. Shit. He'd run out of room behind him. To get some room, he used his Counterguard shockwave to force Kairi on the defensive, then jumped all the way back to the beach. Thank God for Valor and Master form.

Riku went to leap after him, but was stopped by a gold keyblade. Kairi gave Riku a look of deadly seriousness.

"Let me deal with this."

She followed Sora to the beach, and restarted her assault. He knew she had been training with Riku in The World That Never Was, but he had never expected her to be anywhere near as good as himself. The pressure she was applying with the speed and accuracy of her attack almost scared him. He was losing this fight.

Let me help you, nagged Roxas, deep in Sora's mind.

Why?

Because only you and Riku have ever fought me, and I can give you a few new tricks you don't have.

Sounds cool. Let's give it a shot. Sora then felt a sudden rush of knowledge flood into his mind. It didn't take more than a second, but Sora's vision quickly blacked out. Sorry, said Roxas. When Sora's vision returned, Kairi was trying to use a jumping vertical slash. From the left. Sora swung with his left arm, and Oathkeeper materialized and swatted Kairi's attack away. Sora, using both keyblades just like Roxas used to, went on the offense. Kairi blocked or evaded all of the attacks that Sora threw.

"What are you doing, Kairi?" Sora asked, some slight irritation apparent in the tone of his voice.

"If you're going to be worried about me on the battlefield, I guess I'll have to prove I'm able to defend myself, and get rid of your worry." She flipped back on one hand (Stupid gymnastics classes, Sora briefly thought), and made a downward swiping motion with her free hand. The air over Sora crackled, and he just barely managed to use Reflega to deflect a Thundaga. "Riku, did you give her maxed elementals?", Sora shouted at his friend, who only nodded as Sora took a fireball to the chest, knocking him down.

Battle Theme change: Vanitas Sentiment Theme by Yoko Shimomura

"Come on, Sora, you're better than this. Get up and fight."

Sora took another fireball as he stayed on the ground.

"Fight like you mean it."

Sora took a thunderbolt to the chest.

"FIGHT LIKE YOU WANT TO PROTECT ME, DAMN IT!"

Sora flipped to the side as a chunk of ice fell over his old location. As he landed, he threw his keyblades at Kairi. She deflected them with a Reflega, but as soon as they hit the shield, they warped away.

I guess I'll give you mine, too, came a girl's voice from inside Sora's mind.

And you are you?

Xion.

Sora summoned a third keyblade, in the form of Bond of Flames. He rushed at Kairi and swung hard. Riku stepped in to block it, and succeeded in getting bashed away. He manged to recover, and cut around behind Sora for an attack. Kairi rushed him from the front.

C'mon guys, all together now!

Sora dismissed Bond of Flames, drew Oathkeeper and Oblivion, and jumped up. The two friends leaped at him, and they began trading blows in midair. The three were in what seemed like a stalemate, until Sora caught Way to the Dawn in the gap in Oathkeeper's blade. Sora let go of his sword, caught the hilt between his legs, and spun. The elder boy's keyblade was ripped from his hand and sent flying into the shallow ocean water. Oathkeeper returned to Sora's hand, and Sora kicked Riku to the ground. Sora and Kairi kept trading blows until they landed. Kairi landed off balance, which Sora capitalized on. He did a quick leg sweep, knocking Kairi down. He used Oblivion to pin her Keyblade, Oathkeeper to pin her other arm, and held Bond of Flames to her throat. She smiled.

"Well? How'd we do?"

"... " Sora had doubt on his face. The kid did wear his heart on his sleeve. He dismissed all of his keyblades. Riku retrieved his weapon from the water, trying to shake it dry.

"Well?"

"All right, but before we go, I need you to promise me one thing."

Riku and Kairi looked ridiculously pleased with themselves. "Sure."

"Don't die. We're all coming back, okay?" Sora held Oathkeeper in front of him.

"Damn straight." Riku said, placing the blade of his sword on Sora's.

"Agreed." Kairi replied, following Riku's lead.

"Has it been found yet?", spoke a commanding voice.

This voice came from a man with a regal posture, wearing yellow, and holding a large yellow scepter.

"Calm down, Mateus.", said a maniacal voice. The man behind it was a man dressed like a court jester. "God, such a stickler."

"Kefka, silence yourself." The dark voice came from a knight, fully clad in dull, grey armour. Kefka did just that. "And no, Mateus, it hasn't been located yet. But when we do, the world will tremble at our power, and his..."

Xer: So, any better than before? Please review.