A/N Just so that people know, this story is a completely redone version of "In Darkness Undone, In Darkness Created". Huge, HUGE thanks goes out to Kai Saitou (check out his fic "Retribution") for helping me out greatly with this chapter.. Also, I have a shiny, new laptop, so now I have no excuse not to update...you people had better not use that against me. Also, sorry if the conversation between Sora and Riku when the get the letter isn't the exact same from the game, it has been a while since I played.
DISCLAIMER Kingdom Hearts belongs to Square Enix and Disney. I am making no money by writing this fic. The only part of this fic that I own are the original characters that I use.
A lone man stood in complete darkness. The darkness wrapped around his body like a loose cloak, seeming to move around him constantly. The darkness suddenly began to shift behind the man. A dark figure, covered in the darkness seemed to bow down. "What is it?" the first man asked without turning around.
The new figure got up as a voice came out. "I have discovered something that may be of interest to you" the voice explained in a cold, somewhat deep voice. The first man appeared to turn around. The new shadows seemed to take this as some sort of clue. "We have discovered the remains of the artificial Kingdom Hearts that Xemnas created" the voice explained.
The shadows around the first man seemed to grow more violent. "How did it survive? I heard that Ansem created some sort of device that separated the hearts, destroying it" the shadow explained.
"Did you really think that something as powerful as Kingdom Hearts, granted an artificial one, could be destroyed by a laser?" the second shadow asked.
The first figure remained quiet for a moment. "Yes, I see your point. Now, have you found out any thing else in regards to your original mission?" the man asked.
A brief flash of white could be seen coming from the second shadow. "As a matter of fact I did. I not only learned where he lives, but also his name, and who we could use against him."
"Excellent work, yes, soon, oh so soon. My plans can finally come together. It has taken fifteen years, but a good plan needs time to work itself out" the first shadow said as it began to laugh evilly, with an edge of insanity in it. As it was laughing, the second shadow slowly walked away.
-|On Destiny Islands|-
A boy of around sixteen sat on his bed in a room, looking glumly outside. The boy had brown hair that stuck out in many directions and had bright blue eyes. His clothes were mostly black, with the occasional blue and red. It was raining hard, making going to the nearby island much more difficult and dangerous. He sighed, causing the necklace on his neck to jingle slightly. "I really don't like the rain" the boy said to himself.
"You know Sore, you could always do that four page paper that is due tomorrow" a voice suddenly said from nowhere.
Sora sat in silence for a minute. "Yeah, I suppose I could, but I really don't feel like writing four pages." A new boy suddenly appeared out of nowhere. The new boy had somewhat wild hair, but not as wild as Sora's. They had the same eyes, but the other boy had blond hair instead of brown. He wore a white jacket with a black shirt on underneath with what looked like a shuriken hanging from his neck by a simple chain.
"So you would rather wait until the absolute last minute to do a four page paper instead of actually having time to do it?" the boy asked.
"What can I say Roxas, I work well under pressure" Sora explained.
Roxas shook his head back and forth a little bit, remarking to Sora offhand, "you really are impossible you know that?" Sora was about to reply before a slight banging at the door and the creaking of the door opening interrupted his answer.
"Hello there Kairi, if you're looking for Sora he's upstairs in his room" a kindly voice explained. Sora quickly took a look around his room. Clothes lay all over his room instead of in his laundry basket.
"Thank you" another female voice said. Sora heard footsteps on the stairs leading to his room, making his already frantic scurrying about even faster. A light rap on his door stopped him dead in his tracks for only but a moment as he doubled his speed again, a flurry a clothes flying through the air in his wake.
"Give me just a second Kairi" Sora said.
"You know, it's not like I haven't been in your room when its dirty" Kairi replied from the other side.
Sora seemed to think about that for just a moment before shrugging his shoulders. "Alright, enter at your own peril" Sora called out. Slight giggling could be heard from the other side of the door as it opened. In the door frame stood a girl around Sora's age. She had bright red hair, shining blue eyes, and she sported a bright pink raincoat.
Kairi began to unzip the raincoat, revealing a pink dress with a white shirt underneath it. Kairi set the raincoat on Sora's doorknob and maneuvered through the mess of dirty clothes. "You know, your mom put a laundry basket in here for a reason" Kairi remarked as she sat down on a nearby chair. She sat in the chair backwards,and crossed her arms, laying them across the top of the chair.
"Yeah, I know she did, I just forget about it" Sora explained.
Kairi's shook her head slowly. "Sora, the basket is right next to your bed, how do you forget about it?"
Sora shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know, I just don't think about it" Sora explained.
Kairi shook her head again. "So have you started on your paper yet? It is due tomorrow" Kairi said.
"Sora was bored and I suggested that he work on it, but he said that he works best under pressure" Roxas explained as he appeared next to Sora. Suddenly, a new girl appeared next to Kairi. The new girl was somewhat pale with short blond hair, wore a simple white dress, and some sandals. "Oh, hey there Naminé" Roxas said as soon as the girl appeared.
"Hello Roxas, how have you been?" Naminé asked.
"Pretty good, and yourself?"
Naminé shrugged her shoulders. "Pretty good."
"So, what did you want Kairi?" Sora asked his friend.
Kairi shrugged her shoulders before answering. "I figured that you would be bored out of your mind, so I thought that I would come over and hang out for a bit" Another knock at the front door announced the arrival of a new person.
Sora and Kairi heard Sora's mom greet the new arrival. "Hello Riku, Sora and Kairi are upstairs right now." Loud footsteps announced Riku short journey up the stairs and to Sora's room. The silver haired teen appeared in Sora's door frame a second later. He was in a yellow pancho, which was quickly set on top of Kairi's raincoat. He wore his usual yellow and black tank top.
"Well, I didn't expect to see you here Kairi, what were you doing? Hoping to get a kiss out of Sora?" Riku teased. Both Sora's and Kairi's faces turned deep red, but it was harder to see Kairi's blush through the hair she had put over her face in embarrassment.
"N...no" Kairi said softly.
Riku grinned a little. "So what were the two of you doing up here all alone?"
Sora spoke up this time. "We weren't doing anything, Kairi just got here a minute ago." Riku sat down in the other chair in the room, setting one arm behind him on the back. "What's up?" Sora asked as soon as Riku got settled in. Sora's friend reached into one of his pockets and pulled out a piece of paper.
"Remember this guys?" Riku asked as he waved the paper around.
"Yeah, I remember it" Kairi replied.
-|Flashback, two weeks ago|-
Riku was sitting on top of the bent Paopu Tree. He heard soft footsteps behind him, but didn't turn around. A second later, Sora hopped over the bent trunk. "Nothings changed, has it?" Sora asked
"Nope, and nothing will" Riku replied almost philosophically.
A gently silence filled the area. "Hey Riku, what do you think it was, the Door to the Light?" Sora asked the year older team. Riku smiled and hopped off the trunk.
"This" Riku said as he pointed at Sora's chest.
"This?" Sora asked confused as he pointed at the same spot.
"Yeah, it's always closer than you think" Riku explained.
"Sora, Riku!" a voice called out. Both turned around and saw Kairi running towards them with something in her hand. When she reached the two boys, she leaned down, holding a glass bottle with a rolled up piece of paper inside. On the paper was a mouse head.
Sora's eyes widened when he saw the seal. "From the King?" he asked before quickly grabbing the bottle out of Kairi's hands and undid the top. He pulled the piece of paper out and unrolled it. As soon as he finished, Riku and Kairi both looked over Sora's shoulders to read the message.
Dear Sora, Riku, and Kairi,
I would like to thank you for all of your service. You have all sacrificed greatly for the sake of the universe. However, I regret to tell you that your skills are still needed. I have noticed some increased Heartless activity on certain worlds. However, what is strange is that in addition to the increased Heartless activity, Nobody activity has also increased on those same worlds. I will be sending a small group to come and pick you up in about two weeks. If they have not arrived in three weeks, assume the worse has happened and find a way to get to Disney Castle.
With sincere apology,
King Mickey
P.S. I included Kairi in the greeting for a reason, it may be too big of a problem for just two of you.
-|End Flashback|-
Riku's eyes hardened a bit. "It has been almost three weeks. I think we need to figure out a way to get off of Destiny Islands."
"Well, do you have any ideas?" Sora asked.
Riku looked down deep in thought for a moment. "I could always try to open the Corridor of Darkness."
"But, I thought that after you got your original body back, you couldn't use the Corridors any more" Kairi pointed out.
"Yeah, but if I concentrate enough, I think I would be able to do it" Riku explained.
"How much longer do we have?" Sora asked.
"We have about four days" Riku said.
Sora looked down at the ground. "Alright, we'll start looking for a Gummi ship or something around here. We'll try the Corridor as a last result."
Riku nodded his head and got out of the chair. "Sounds good, I'll start asking some of the older people around here about any myths or rumors that they may have heard. You two check out our play island for something." Sora and Kairi both nodded their heads in unison. "Now, I don't want to see any hickeys on either of you tomorrow" the silver hair teen said, smirking a bit at the sudden blush that had reappeared on Sora's and Kairi's faces. Riku's smirk widened as he stepped out of the door. There was an awkward silence between the two teens.
"So..." Sora said as he scratched his head nervously.
"Uh...I think I should go home. I have to help my mom cook dinner" Kairi said as she got up quickly.
"O...oh okay, I'll see you tomorrow at the island right?" Sora said as he quickly got to his feet.
"Y...yeah, I'll see ya" Kairi said as she quickly left the room.
Roxas appeared right next to Sora. "Boy, Riku sure does know how to get under your skin, doesn't he?"
Sora sighed loudly. "Well, that's what you get when your best friend knows that you have a crush on somebody."
"Why don't you tell Kairi you have a crush on her? I'm sure that she feels the same way. Or, if you would like, I could tell Naminé to tell Kairi that you have a crush on her" Roxas said as he grinned somewhat evilly.
Sora's mouth dropped open at Roxas's suggestion. "No! Do...NOT...do that!"
Roxas just grinned more. "Don't worry, I wouldn't do that."
Suddenly, a new voice filled Sora's room. "Sora, dinner is ready" him mom called up to him.
Sora's mouth suddenly dropped open. "Food!" he shouted as he quickly ran downstairs.
-|In space, one day away from Destiny Islands|-
Three people sat in a somewhat large large cockpit. In the pilots chair was a girl around sixteen. She was wearing a white shirt with a pair of blue shorts. Her long black hair was tied up in a ponytail, and her brown eyes were focused on where they were going. "Alright, we should be at Destiny Islands about three in the afternoon tomorrow" the young girl announced.
"Finally" another girl's voice said. The owner of the new voice was the same age as the other girl. She wore a green shirt with a brown jacket on over the top of it. The girls shorts matched her jacket, she wore her auburn hair loose, her green eyes staring through a few loose strands with an edge of seriousness.
"Oh come on, we're just a little bit late" a third voice said. This voice was male instead of female that was the same age as the other two girls. He wore a simple black t-shirt with a thin line of red at the end. The shorts were the same simple color scheme with the red at the end of the legs. He had brown hair that went down to his shoulders and carefree blue eyes.
"We're approaching the deadline that King Mickey gave us!" the brown haired girl shouted.
"Calm down Heather, like the old saying goes, better late than never, right?" the boy said.
"Yeah, but this mission is important!" Heather shouted. "Come on Lily, give me some backup."
Lily sighed loudly. "Look, I know we're past the two weeks that King Mickey told them about, but we still have a few days. That's why King Mickey gave the extra week, he doesn't think that the problem will grow much larger in a week. If he really wanted us to hurry, he would have said be there in two weeks no matter what."
Heather sighed and glared at the boy, "Looks like you win this round Matt."
Matt simply shrugged his shoulders. "Sometimes, you just have to calm down and take things as they come, you can't control everything."
"Yeah, but we could have controlled how long it took us to get there. If you hadn't insisted on going to Traverse Town just to go to one restaurant we would have been there by now" Heather said, irritation growing in her voice.
"Hey, you have to admit, that was some good food" Matt said, his voice raising a bit.
Heather looked like she was about to blow. "Yes, the food was good, but it wasn't good enough to add four days onto our time."
"Hey, I knew the owner, we got a free meal, a GOOD free meal" Matt retorted.
Something clearly snapped inside of Heather and she let out a loud, annoyed scream. A loud smacking noise could be heard throughout the whole cockpit. Matt was lying in his chair, his eyes closed. Heather was holding her hand, seething curses through her teeth as she winced at the stinging sensation that was attacking her hand, courtesy of Matt's face..
"Do you feel better now?" Lily asked, her eyes still focused on where she was heading.
"Yes, much better, especially because Matt will be quiet for a while now" Heather said as she left the cockpit to get some ice, she snuck a death glare at the now unconscious Matt.
Lily shook her head a bit. "Why did King Mickey pick those two to come on this together? He knows how 'well' they get along."
"You know......sound travels really well in a ship" Heather said darkly. Lily sunk into her chair letting out a little meep of despair fearing that an object not meant to fly would soon be speeding towards her exposed head.
A/N Seriously, humongous thanks to Kai Saitou. This would be a lot different without his input.