No Safe Haven

Chapter 1

There is no safe heart

There is no bound mind

No-one can ever escape the darkness

The pitch black abyss that rests inside

A tall figure walked across the shores of Destiny Islands, following a trail of footsteps with help of the soft moonlight. Spiky brown hair blew wildly in the breeze, and the entire beach was silent except for the sound of waves crashing upon the sand. The brunet figure suddenly stopped and crouched down, scooping up a piece of a broken pocket watch and examining it carefully.

"This doesn't look like the White Rabbit's watch," he mused. "I better find the person it belongs to."

He stood up again and continued walking along the footprint path. The moon soon became hidden through a small but dense array of clouds, and with his only source of light gone, the boy wandered aimlessly around the beach. Suddenly, his foot caught something long, and he tripped, falling face-first into the sand. The boy quickly sat up, patting the sand off his face and huffed, and looked towards the thing that tripped him. With the darkness stretching everywhere, he could only make out what seemed to be a thick branch. He kicked it indignantly, and continued his walk, but then he heard a soft whimper. The boy quickly jumped away from the source of noise, readying himself in a fighting stance.

"Who was that?" He asked, half-afraid of hearing an answer.

There was no reply. He inched closer to the branch, expecting some kind of monster to jump out and swallow him whole, but there was nothing (a thing he was quite relieve about.) The thick clouds moved out from under the moon, and he almost fell back at the sight before him. A small person lay on the sand, seemingly still in their black kitten pajamas. He couldn't tell if it was a girl or a boy, but he was edging more towards the latter, what with the messy short black hair and lanky physique. The boy walked around the person, and his eyes widened.

Pitch black shadows seemed to rise out of the sand and crawl about the kid's arms and legs. The boy cursed and knelt down, pulling the person onto their back. The shadows attacked him as well, attaching themselves to the boy's own arms and face. He tried shaking the person awake, but nothing. He looked around for something, anything, to wake the person in front of him, but all he found was what looked like the other half of the broken pocket watch. He picked it up, taking the piece he found out and putting them together. When they connected, there was a blinding light, and the shadows disappeared. The boy let out a sigh of relief as they left the person's body.

"Sora! Hey Sora!"

The boy, Sora, turned when he heard the voice of her friends, Kairi and Riku. He was about to call out to them when something grasped him arm, and he turned. Half-lidded green eyes stared at him, brimming with tears.

"Keep…Keep the clock…away from me…" a soft, sad voice whispered. "It's better…if I don't feel…the darkness…"

"H-Hey, w-what are you talking about..?" Sora stuttered as their eyes closed. "W-Wake up!"

A hand was placed on his shoulder, and he glanced up. He met the violet gaze of Kairi, who looked at him with a worried expression. "Sora, you okay?" She asked. "Who were you talking to?"

"Them-" Sora looked downwards, finding nobody there. He grasped desperately for the sand, but the person was no long there. All that was left, he found as he picked it up, was the broken pocket watch. "Kai, I swear, there was this kid here! Riku, you-"

"I think you've been skipping sleep too much, Sora," Riku interrupted. He offered his hand, which the brunet gratefully took, and he helped his friend up. "C'mon, we'll walk you back home."

Kairi offered him a worried smile, and the two began pushing their best friend along the beach. Sora looked up, hoping that the kid would somehow reappear and explain to him what had just happened, but nothing happened. He glanced at the clock in his hand, slightly hoping that it would give him answers, at least a small hint would suffice, but it didn't. It only ticked.

"Keep…Keep the clock…away from me…"

Sora slipped the watch into the pockets of his shorts, trying to shake the anguished voice from his mind.

"It's better…if I don't feel…the darkness…"

The next day, Sora woke himself extra early (a feat even he was amazed at) to run down to the beach, back to the spot from yesterday. He held the pocket watch in his hand, clutching it tightly, hoping it wouldn't disappear just like that kid did yesterday. He yawned as he jogged along the beach. He barely got any sleep that night, his mind preoccupied with the image of the shadows crawling up the poor kid's arms. He reached the spot without much trouble, and looked around. There was nothing. He sighed and turned back. What had he been hoping to find? Some giant scroll with all the answers he was looking for? He hit himself lightly on the head, scolding himself.

"Oh, hey Sora."

The brunet jumped. A familiar blonde stood behind him, smiling happily and waving. He ran to him, jumping on him and hugging him. "Hey, Roxas! It's been so long!"

Roxas smiled. "It has been."

Sora let him go. Ever since Roxas and Sora had decided to split bodies back a year ago, he hadn't seen the older blonde much at all. Roxas had decided to go back to Twilight Town, to be able to live his life like a normal teenager, and to see Hayner, Pence, and Olette. He occasionally visited, mostly during the breaks, but for the past few months, the blonde and brunet had little to no contact. Sora punched his friend's arm, and the two began to walk along the beach.

"So, how have you been?" He asked. "How is the Heartless situation back in Twilight Town?"

"It's been getting way worse, Sor. They keep popping up everywhere, it feels like there's no damn end to them," The blonde admitted.

"That's really strange. Nothing has come to the Islands yet, it's pretty peaceful. I wonder why…"

"I think King Mickey knows why," Roxas said quietly.

"What about King Mickey?" Sora asked, tilting his head in confusion.

"Oh, you and Riku didn't receive any letter from him?" Roxas took a letter out of his pocket, and the brunet immediately recognized the black mouse-shaped seal. It was from the King, alright. "I got this yesterday. I haven't exactly read it yet…"

"No, I didn't get anything."

"Well, maybe Riku got one for the both of you. You know, since you're always together and all that. Here, let's sit down and we'll read it."

"Sounds good."

The two plopped down onto the sand. Roxas fumbled with the letter, tearing open the envelope carefully as to not damage the piece of paper inside. He took it out, and began reading it.

Roxas,

Hello, it's been a long time. I hope you've been adjusting to your new life, and that you've been well. I'm very sorry to be the bringer of bad news, and I know this is an especially bad time of year for you, but please, I hope you hear me out.

You've probably been wondering about the sudden increase of the heartless, haven't you? They've been appearing everywhere; the Enchanted Dominion, Radiant Gardens, Hollow Bastion, and especially in Twilight Town. We don't know exactly what's going on, but we believe that something dark must be rising once again. New creatures have been appearing along with the Heartless; we call them Grieves. They seem to be disembodied entities that attack the living, and take over their bodies. What happens with the souls, we haven't quite figured it out, but we do know that Grieves seem to be afraid of the Keyblade. We've also discovered that Grieves seem to follow Heartless; they seem to hide among them.

I was hoping that you'd be willing to go out and fight these Grieves, and report back to us anything you find. I'm thinking of sending Sora and Riku over with you, so at least I'd know you wouldn't be fighting alone. I know you'll be going to the Islands soon, it'd be a good idea to bring them back with you.

Stay safe,

King Mickey

On the bottom, hastily scribbled in messy handwriting, were Donald Duck and Sir Goofy. Sora and Roxas laughed.

"So, looks like you and Riku will be going back with me, eh?" Roxas said. "That's really awesome."

"Guess it is," Sora replied. "Wait, but what about Kairi?"

"He didn't say anything about her…But I think she'll be safe here. Considering that they haven't come yet. The Grieves, I mean, whatever they are."

"The name sounds pretty creepy. Grieves."

"Grieves," Roxas folded the letter up and placed it in his pocket. "You know, I think it's better if we leave as soon as possible. I don't think it'd be such a good idea to leave Twilight Town undefended."

"Yeah, should probably grab a few things before we go though. Say goodbye to Kairi too."

"I'll go with you."

The two stood up, brushed themselves off, and began making their way to Sora's house. Sora put his hands in his pockets, and his hands brushed against the watch, and he remembered what had happened the night before. He didn't know why, but the images haunted him, and he felt that the kid had something to do with those Grieves or whatever they were called. He felt the need to hurry over to Twilight Town; he had a feeling that something important lay there.

"We should hurry."

"I'm coming, I'm coming."

A/N: Hello, dear lovelies! I hope you enjoyed this short intro chapter to my story! I really hope it wasn't too confusing...That'd be mortifying...Very mortifying... Anyways, yes, please drop a review in that little adorable box below ^^ I'd absolutely love to hear what you beautiful readers have to say about this story. No flames please... I simply could not stand the burn...

Thank you very much for reading and have a very good day!