The sounds of the roaring wind and crashing waves were almost painful, as was the icy sea spray that was constantly assaulting Sora's face. The sea and sky had been a tranquil blue not that long ago, but now the sky was an ominous night-black and the sea had turned an eerie dark purple. The simple makeshift raft that he and Riku sailed on would not stay in one piece for very much longer.
"Always did hate tests!" Sora shouted over the roaring winds.
"No time for humor now!" Riku shouted back. "Furl the sail!"
Before Sora could reach the sail though, the sea beneath them began to bubble and something enormous and green burst upward, sending the raft flying backward to be carried upward by the now tornadic winds.
"I'VE FOUND YOU AT LAST!" a familiar voice roared.
Sora opened his eyes and saw someone he never expected to see ever again, Garlic Junior! He was now a giant…
"NOW I'M GOING TO MAKE THE TWO OF YOU SUFFER AS I HAVE!"
…and the derangement in his voice was quite frightening. He opened his toothy maw wide and expelled a thick golden beam, which tore the raft in two, sending Sora and Riku spiraling through the air, helpless as insects in the storm. The giant Garlic Junior began discharging red beams from his eyes which Sora and Riku began batting back at him with their Keyblades. Finally, one of the beams hit Garlic Junior in each of his eyes. He let out a howl of pain and sank back into the depths. At that moment, the winds died down and the two aspiring Keyblade masters plummeted until they broke the sea's surface with two loud crashes. After a few moments, Sora opened his eyes and saw nothing but darkness, though he could feel Riku clutching his arm with all his might. Suddenly there was a brilliant violet light above them. They looked up and saw a glowing keyhole.
"Master Xehanort's return is inevitable…"
King Kai's words resonated through Sora and Riku's heads.
"…and when he makes his last stand, we must have the Keyblade wielders Goku told you about. In order to bring them out of darkness, several sleeping keyholes must be unlocked and a great power retrieved. Do this, return safely, and I will name you both true masters."
Sora and Riku summoned their Keyblades in perfect unison and shone white beams into the keyhole. In mere moments, Sora's vision was flooded with gold and violet light. When his vision cleared, he was dry, he was warm, and he was lying face down on brick. He got slowly to his feet to take in his new surroundings. His senses were obscured and muted, the air felt strangely thick. It took a few moments for his senses to return to him and when they did, he recognized this place…it was the first outside world he had ever laid eyes on.
"Traverse Town…" he muttered.
His clothes had changed too. His jacket and breeches were bright red; his shirt was black and branded with a big silver X. As he stumbled through the first district, he saw that the whole town seemed to be deserted, though the sound of soothing and festive music from the café was in the air. He had to find Riku quickly; everything was peaceful now, but this Realm of Dreams was bound to be full of unknown dangers and Sora had no desire to face them without his friend.
"Hey, you." said an unfamiliar voice.
Sora whirled around to see a boy about his age with spiky orange hair very much like his. He wore a black and purple top with a high collar, baggy white shorts and a large pair of headphones.
"Are you Sora?"
His voice was little more than a mutter, his tone cold and unamused.
"Uh…yeah, but…"
The strange boy grabbed Sora's hand and examined his palm. He then held out his own palm for Sora to see the strange glowing red numbers, 43:08 on it.
"Looks like you're not a player." The boy muttered.
"A player?"
"You know…in the Reaper's Game. Players get marked with the time limit. And in this game…I can't afford to lose. I need my partner."
He was trying to conceal it, but it was clear that this boy was troubled.
"Um…I don't know about this game but maybe I can help." Sora offered.
"Wait…time out. Do you trust every stranger you meet?" the boy asked suspiciously. "Sorry, but you're no good to me. You're not a player…and my pact's with someone else."
"Okay, so we can't be partners." said Sora. "Can't I just help you out as your friend?"
"Now you think we're friends? It's not that easy." the boy replied moodily.
"Not saying it is." said Sora, trying to sound pleasant. "But you could make it easier."
"Fine…whatever."
The boy grabbed a hold of a nearby lamp post, began swinging around, building momentum, and released it to send himself flying over the accessory shop roof. An impressive display of agility. Sora managed to do the same and found himself zooming all over the place, it was exhilarating.
"What's your name, by the way?" he asked as they landed in the second district.
"Neku…Neku Sakuraba." the boy replied.
"Neku…Saku…raba. Heh, that's a mouthful." Sora chuckled lightly.
"No…it's not really." Neku replied, somewhat annoyed.
At that moment a strange six-legged purple and green cat-like creature appeared at Neku's side. It had bells attached to its ears, a peach-colored heart-symbol on its chest, and a tail shaped like a musical note.
"Necho Cat…my Dream Eater." said Neku.
Sora remembered King Kai telling him and Riku about the Dream Eaters before plunging them into the Dream Realm. The Dream Eaters came in two varieties; the benevolent Spirits which spread happy dreams and consumed bad ones…
"Watch it!"
Sora whirled around to see a horde of sinister creatures advancing on them. They were not bright, colorful, and delightful like Necho Cat, they were darkly colored, had glaring red eyes, and purple symbols resembling hearts with bat wings upon their bodies. Some were covered in scabs, some had twisted limbs, some had rotting flesh, and they were all engulfed in a hazy purple aura. These must have been the Nightmares, which spread frightful dreams and consumed happy ones. Neku's Necho Cat dashed forward and sliced two of them apart with a swipe of its tail while Sora sent the others drifting away with Zero Gravity.
"Hey, Neku." said Sora. "You think I could control a Spirit like you do?"
"Maybe…" Neku muttered. "Let's keep moving."
Sora followed Neku into the third district and suddenly Neku ran into the center of the plaza.
"I did what you said!" he shouted. "I brought him!"
"Neku, what's going on?"
Another boy stepped out of the shadows; he was dressed in a black cloak that Sora knew all too well. He had tan skin, gold eyes, and long silver hair.
"You!" he gasped.
It was Him! There was no mistaking that face…it was Xehanort!
"No!" Neku cried as the teenage Xehanort summoned a large silver and azure Keyblade. "You said you wouldn't hurt him!"
"Neku, get away!" Sora shouted, summoning his own Keyblade.
The teenage Xehanort struck Neku hard in the head and dashed toward Sora with unreal speed. He began warping all around Sora, striking him from all sides. Overwhelmed, Sora collapsed to the ground.
When Riku awoke, he found himself standing in a well-lit plaza under a starry night sky. After a few moments of contemplation, he recognized this place. It was Traverse Town. His clothes were slightly different, but he didn't think much of it. The last thing he remembered was falling into the dark sea with Sora after Garlic Junior attacked them and then the two of them opening a keyhole together. He tried calling Sora's name, but got no answer.
The Realm of Dreams was sure to hold many perils and temptations. Riku wasn't sure he could face them without Sora by his side, not if the darkness still had a hold over his heart. He summoned his Keyblade, which he had dubbed the Way to Dawn. It gave him some power over light but mostly over darkness. He doubted that he'd be able to access the doors to light or darkness as Sora and Goku could, but he could still open gateways to other worlds and access their keyholes like any other Keyblade wielder.
"Well, that's a peculiar instrument." said a snide, effeminate voice.
Riku looked up and saw a boy with flamboyant blond hair dressed in plain jeans and a collared shirt sitting atop an archway.
"Is that what you use to jump between worlds?"
"Who the hell are you?" Riku demanded.
"My name is Joshua." the strange boy replied. "And you are…?"
"Riku." Riku said curtly. "How do you know I came from another world?"
"Because I too come from another world." The boy called Joshua replied in an annoyingly polite tone. "Oh, but that's not all. I happen to know that the world you and are in now…well…there are actually two versions of it. It's been…shall we say…split into two?"
"You're telling me that there can be two of a world?"
"Why not?" Joshua replied with a chuckle. "We are, after all in the Realm of Dreams where ANYTHING is possible."
"Hmph."
"Tell you what, Riku. I have an errand for you. Help me find a girl named Rhyme, she's the key to the portal which allows us to traverse the two halves of this world."
"To what end?" asked Riku.
"I suspect that on the other side you could find that person you were calling." Joshua replied. "Sora, was it? He's obviously really important to you."
Riku took a few moments to consider Joshua's proposal. Right now it seemed he was Riku's best chance of finding Sora.
"You're sure that this 'portal' will work for me?"
"It's unlikely that it will, but it's really the best chance you have."
"Alright, but I'm keeping an eye on you, so don't try anything."
"Me?" said Joshua as he landed next to Riku. "Perish the thought."
As he led Riku into the next district, a trio of festering, disfigured creatures appeared before them. They must have been the Nightmares that King Kai warned him and Sora about. Riku reached out and hurled three fire balls, which incinerated the Nightmares.
"My, you are full of surprises, Riku." said Joshua.
"You didn't seem alarmed by them." Riku pointed out, still suspicious of Joshua.
"They normally don't go after you unless you're a dreamer, which is curious because I have plenty of dreams. I had a friend who told me he'd never dreamt of anything, yet his dreams turned out to be some of the strongest. You remind me a bit of him. Maybe you should try giving your dreams shape."
"Give them shape?"
"Yes…in this realm one's dreams can take the form of Spirits that will serve to protect you from the Nightmares."
Riku took a few minutes to think about his dreams. He had lived his dream of seeing other worlds but now had a new one that was just as strong. He now dreamed of mastering the darkness in his heart and using it to protect instead of to destroy. With a little of Joshua's encouragement, he managed to manifest his dream into a small entity. It was a furry yellow bat-like creature with bright star-shaped markings on its wings. He dubbed it Komory Bat.
"Impressive." said Joshua. "I approve."
"I got you now, Joshua!" an obnoxious voice cried out.
A muscular boy in baggy clothes was standing on a nearby ledge. Over his head, he wore a black tuque with a skull-symbol on it and a thick chain around his neck with the same symbol attached.
"Once I take you down, yo, me an' Rhyme is goin' back where we belong!"
"Beat, I told you, you've been tricked!" Joshua groaned. "That rogue in the cloak is using you! You've made a friend of our enemy!"
"Just shut it!" The boy called Beat spat. "Your reverse psycho-cology ain't gonna work! Let's go, Keeba!"
A large yellow tiger-like Dream Eater with long sword-like fangs appeared and leapt at Joshua, who avoided harm with a well-timed side-step. Riku dashed forward, sliced into the tiger, and it burst into yellow and purple smoke.
"You killed my Keeba Tiger…" Beat said, now sounding more shocked than angry.
"Man, some brother I turned out to be." Beat muttered.
I see…so He's Rhyme's brother. Riku thought.
Before Riku could say or do anything else, darkness began clouding his vision. He was suddenly feeling fatigued, but wasn't he already asleep? It wasn't long before he lost consciousness completely.
Sora could feel something moist, yet scratchy licking his nose. Slowly, he opened his eyes and was met with an unusual sight, a small plump blue creature that resembled a mixture of a cat and a puppy. Curiously, it had a tiny red horn on its forehead.
"Hey, little guy. What are YOU?"
The creature gave a small meow followed by a friendly bark. The peach-colored heart symbol on its belly told him that it was a Spirit and it seemed to be devoting itself to Sora.
"I think I'll call you…Meow Wow." he said with a grin.
Meow Wow followed Sora into the first district and then ran over to the mailbox in front of the accessory shop and started sniffing and digging at it.
"What is it, boy?"
Sora began feeling the mailbox until it slid to the right to reveal a passage leading underground. He hopped down the passage and landed in a corridor, which he followed until he came to an opening. He looked outside and saw a vast network of railways.
"On my shoulder." He commanded and Meow Wow obeyed.
He hopped on a rail and began sliding downward. He continued sliding until he reached a tunnel. He dropped from the rail and began descending with only his Keyblade to light his way. Finally he made a graceful and painless landing in a new section of the town, which was very different from the parts on the surface. It was a lot like the city from the organization's world, only much warmer and more inviting. It was also more well-lit, thankfully. He began trekking through the town when four Nightmares appeared.
Meow Wow leapt from Sora's shoulder and dashed toward them. Sora felt a brief jolt of panic until Meow Wow darted left and right, reducing every Nightmare it touched to smoke, which it absorbed into its horn and then hopped back on Sora's shoulder. He gave Meow Wow a pat on the back and continued his trek until he reached a large pair of doors. The decorations surrounding it gave him the impression that it was some kind of fair. There was a little girl standing before the doors. She had short blond hair, wore a red shirt with a black heart and crossbones symbol on it, and a black tuque with a skull symbol on it.
"Um…are you Neku's partner?" he asked.
"Not sure. All I know is my name's Rhyme." The girl replied in a soft carefree tone.
"You mean you lost your memory?"
"Yeah, but you know…memories come back to us after a while, right?"
"I guess so…Maybe Neku can jog your memory. Let's go find him."
"Okay." said Rhyme with a slight smile.
Sora pushed open the great doors and led Rhyme inside. They strolled through the fair, which was deserted and Sora spotted Neku brooding on top of a large flower and plant shop. He rushed up to the roof with Rhyme to greet Neku.
"Sora…I'm sorry I put you in danger." he said. "That guy in the coat said he'd send me and my partner home if I brought you to him."
"It's alright, Neku." Sora assured him. "You're not the first person Xehanort's tricked."
Neku finally turned to face Sora.
"Is this your partner?" Sora asked, indicating Rhyme.
"No, my partner's about my age."
At that instant Rhyme vanished in a burst of magenta smoke, to Sora's great shock. There was another burst of black and blue smoke and a giant purple Nightmare wearing a colorful box on its torso appeared. It looked kind of like a mandrill or something. It landed on the roof and began swiping at Sora with its massive paws. Meow Wow bravely tried to leap toward it but Sora reached out and grabbed it. Neku's Necho cat dashed between the giant Nightmare's legs and sliced into one of its ankles with its tail.
All of a sudden, Meow Wow grew to the size of a bear, curled up into a ball, rolled toward the giant Nightmare and bowled it over. It then pushed the Nightmare off the building and into the moat below before returning to its original size. The Nightmare morphed into a giant mallet and took to the air again. It tried to smash Sora but he cast Zero Gravity and sent it drifting helplessly. He then flung his Keyblade at it, slicing it in half.
The Nightmare burst into black smoke which Meow Wow sucked right up. Meow Wow vanished, though Sora could still sense its presence with him. Then something unusual caught his eye, it was Riku…or rather a transparent image of him accompanied by an image of a very slender girl with long red hair carrying a black cat plush toy.
"Shiki…" Neku muttered. He reached out to touch the girl, but his hand went straight through her.
"What's going on here?" Sora wondered.
"An excellent question, Sora." said a smooth voice.
A boy with long, somewhat curly blond hair appeared, who Neku identified as "Joshua" appeared with Rhyme right beside him.
Hey, Rhyme. I'm glad your okay." said Sora. "So, Neku…you know this guy."
"Yeah…" said Neku. "Joshua's my…friend."
"Aww, you actually called me 'friend'." Joshua said teasingly. "I'm touched."
"Hey, how do you know my name?" asked Sora. "Are you the one who made Rhyme disappear?"
"If you'll bear with me for a minute, I'll answer your questions in an order of my choosing." Joshua said silkily. "I'll start with Rhyme here. I've been holding onto her dreams for her. They act as a sort of portal."
"A portal…" Sora repeated.
"Yes, it's what allows me to move freely between this version of this world and the other."
Sora scratched his head hoping things would start making sense soon.
"As for your first question, well I met your friend, Riku in the other version of this town and he may have mentioned your name."
"How is it that there are two Traverse Towns?" Sora persisted. "Can I get to the other side with your portal?"
"Sad to say the portal probably won't work for you." said Joshua. "As for how this world got split into two versions, I have a feeling you'd have to ask him."
Sora gasped at an image of the teenage Xehanort advancing on Riku. What was he supposed to do?
When Riku finally came to his senses, he was all alone in the second district. At least it seemed like he was alone until…
"Hey! Some help, please?"
A skinny girl with long reddish hair, a short yellow hoodie, a short skirt, and a large cap over her head was being chased by a horde of Nightmares. He pursued her back into the first district and bested all the Nightmares with a single stroke.
"Nice moves." the girl said perkily. "I'm Shiki, how 'bout you?"
"Riku."
"Well thanks, Riku."
"No problem." said Riku as he turned to leave.
"Hey! That's all I get? You rescue a girl and then walk off?"
"What do you want from me? I'm not a knight." Riku retorted, not turning back.
"You can't just leave me!" Shiki protested. "More monsters might show up!"
Riku came to a stop and sighed. He knew she had a point.
"Fine." he said. "Just don't slow me down."
He pushed the large front doors open and began trekking down a dark corridor with Shiki close behind. They kept walking until they got to a large plaza. A few more Nightmares appeared and Riku sliced two of them apart. Komory Bat appeared and shredded two others with its wings, and then consumed their smoke-like essence.
"Over there!" Shiki cried excitedly.
She rushed toward an alley by a large flower and plant shop. Riku heard her scream and rushed over to help her, but came to a halt at the sight of a boy about his age wearing a black cloak. Riku recognized his gold eyes, dark complexion, and silver hair…it was Xehanort! Shiki was lying at his feet, unconscious.
"How easy the weak-hearted are to manipulate." he said, his voice dripping with cruel apathy. "It is a mistake not to take advantage of their weaknesses."
"Riku, don'chu listen to that freak!"
He turned to the right to see Beat.
"He set this whole thing up, yo! He promised to send us all back to our own world if we brought you to em'!"
Riku turned back around to see that Xehanort was gone. There was a burst of black and blue smoke and an enormous colorful box appeared. A pair of robed arms with long-nailed green hands burst out of the sides and a furry purple simian-like head sprang out of the top. The giant Nightmare began flying around hurling fire balls at Riku, who sent them right back at it with reflect. Beat's Keeba Tiger threw itself onto the Nightmare's back and bit into its neck, discharging many volts of electricity into it.
The Nightmare threw Keeba Tiger off of it and proceeded to circle Riku, never less than a few meters from the ground. It opened its toothy maw and spewed a green gobule, which Riku flipped away from. It was a good thing that he did for the substance ate through a nearby wall like acid. The nightmare then raised its hands and five huge, glistening chunks of ice appeared and began raining down on Riku like meteors. He rolled around for a bit to avoid being crushed (and possibly frozen) and hurled his Keyblade ineffectually into the creature's box before summoning it back into his hand.
Finally, Riku leapt toward it and swung his Keyblade upward to slice into its protective box, but something unexpected happened; a black crescent-shaped wave of energy flew out of his blade and sliced through the box and the creature inside like an overripe fruit.
The power of darkness… he thought. It feels almost natural now. Is that a good thing or a bad thing?
He went back to join Beat, who was holding Shiki. It wasn't long before she regained consciousness. Suddenly, three unusual apparitions appeared before them; transparent images of Sora, a young girl dressed like Beat, and a boy with spiky hair and headphones.
"What are we seeing?" Riku asked…mostly of himself.
"This is so messed up, man!" Beat ranted, "She's right in front o' me an' I can't even touch her!"
Riku walked over to Beat and clapped a hand on his shoulder.
"If your hearts are connected, you'll reach her."
Beat stared at Riku.
"You think it's that simple, man?"
Riku nodded and Beat began concentrating on the girl Riku presumed to be Rhyme. After a moment or two, Riku's vision was flooded in white light and when his vision cleared he found himself standing in the exact same place, but with Sora at his side and Joshua and the others standing in front of them.
"In their world, certain events took place that resulted in their deaths." he explained, before either Sora or Riku could conceive the question. "The only way I could save them was to gather the last remnants of their dreams…and when this world appeared to me, I brought them here. I thought that here, they could somehow become whole again."
As he monologued, he began pacing back and forth.
"Imagine my surprise when I discovered that in this realm, dreams take physical form. It then occurred to me that by linking their dream remnants together, perhaps I could give them another chance at life."
"C'mon." said Sora. "It can't be as simple as that."
"Can't it?" Joshua retorted with a smile. "By ourselves, we're nobody. But when people look at us and see someone, that's when we're really alive. They needed someone to see and connect with them. That's why I used the two of you. I hope you don't mind."
"Joshua…just who and what are you?" Riku asked.
A pair of shining angelic wings slowly stretched from Joshua's back
"Let's just say…I'm a friend." he said as he took to the dark blue sky above.
Neku stepped forward.
"Hey, Sora." he said softly. "Keep an eye out for us if you're ever in Shibuya."
Sora smiled and clasped hands with Neku and Rhyme, Riku did the same with Shiki and Beat. The players then went on their way…presumably to continue their game.
"I hope they make it." said Sora.
"They may not be Keyblade wielders, but they have a lot of heart." said Riku. "As long as they've got that, they should have a chance."
At that moment, a familiar violet light then shone from in front of the two aspiring Keyblade masters. It was the next sleeping keyhole. The two of them nodded at each other and summoned their Keyblades. They unlocked this keyhole as they had the last one. Before Riku could say or do anything else however, rich violet light crowded his vision and he felt himself falling…he and Sora were being separated again.