Brace yourselves, because this isn't a story of happiness, or of a love once lost - only to be found again. This is the story of myself and my brother, who disappeared without a trace. His name, was is Sora, and I, I am Lili.
When my brother and I were young, we had lost our parents. I was but a mere 5 years old, my brother only 3. You may think this as a tragedy, we thought it as how things were. Growing up, my brother and I lived on an Island. It was called Destiny Islands. I always took care of him; I learned how to fish in the ocean for food, I made friends with some of the local farmers to get their products for free or cheaper than most would pay. We had people who would come and help us from time to time, having known our parents and known we had no other relatives to take care of us. On the island, everyone was family. I would get him into bed, sing him to sleep. When he would wake with nightmares, I would be there to comfort him. When he couldn't fall to sleep, I would lie with him through the night, because that's what family did in times of need. Because Sora was so young, he didn't really remember much about our parents when they died, while I had had a couple more years with them to remember them by. When he would ask about them, I would gladly tell him what I could, show him pictures if possible. Sometimes they were painful to look at, but I kept strong. I stayed strong for him, so that he would grow up and be strong.
A few years had passed since our parents had died, and Sora and I were now in school. It was harder for him, because the older kids knew what happened to our parents, and would say things to him and he wouldn't know how to respond. The kids in his classes would shy away from him. He was 'the kid with no parents.' It shouldn't have been that way, he shouldn't have known that life. Somehow, I blamed myself. If I had done better, had been older, I could've been his mother. Been there for him when those kids were picking on him. But, in a way, I was his mother. I took care of him, brought him to school, helped him with his homework. But it didn't matter to those kids. Even the kids in my grade would make fun of me, for having no parents and having to take care of Sora. But I didn't care. I fought back, telling them they didn't know the true meaning of family and what it takes to care about someone when you've not known it because it's always you being taken care of. Often times I would get sent home, only to have to come back to pick Sora up later. I couldn't help but want to protect him, his hair that was the shade of our mothers, and our fathers bright blue eyes and careless smile. The parents I so missed lived on in him, the brother I loved the moment he was born. How could I not want to protect the innocence he had? School continued the same until Sora was 10. People had gotten used to the idea that we had no parents, and would leave him alone. He'd even made a few friends, Riku and Kairi. They were always together and always hanging out. Me, being 12, would still get sent home for being mean and causing trouble to the kids who teased me about having to take care of him. It continued that way for 5 more years, until I was in my last year of school and Sora turned 15.
When Sora turned 15, he and his friends were playing around the island one day. It was a normal thing by this point, having him venture off into the area surrounding the village. He was becoming very adventurous, and often talked of what it would be like to leave Destiny Islands, to see other worlds that could possibly be out there. After all, if there was our world, could there be others? The morning Sora had gone out with his friends, we'd talked again about what we'd do if one of us had ever disappeared. "Sora, I know things haven't always been great here, but if something ever happens, I want you to know that no matter what, I will always find you. Even if you're hiding because you don't know what's going on, I'll find you." I said to him. He smiled his big careless smile and promised me the same, that no matter what, we'd find each other. His eyes turned to mine, and he held out his pinky for mine. I smiled and wrapped my pinky with his, promising that we'd always be connected. When he'd left that morning, I couldn't shake the feeling that something was going to happen. That, was the morning that Riku was swallowed by darkness, and Sora was taken from me into the worlds beyond.
Sora had gotten his wish, to visit other worlds, though maybe not in the fashion he would've thought. He didn't come home that night, or any night for the next year. A few months after Sora had disappeared, Kairi was nowhere to be seen either. It was like him and his friends never existed. The village never asked about them, the place seemed as though nothing would happen. I had been walking along the beach near where Sora and his friends had been that day, when I heard a voice calling my name. "Lili. . ." it would call. Hoping that it would bring me to Sora, I followed it. It led me to the old abandoned shed that had been here since our parents died. The voice called again, and it was coming from inside the shed. Taking a deep breath, I opened the rotting doors to the shed and stepped inside. For a moment, it was normal. Within moments though, the island and walls of the shed began to fall away, revealing a darkness that I had never experienced before. Not knowing what was going on, my heart began to race. When the voice spoke again, it was clearer than it had ever been, and more powerful than anything I had ever heard. "Lili, sister of Sora, you and your brother have the power to wield the keyblades. . ." it faded away as I spun around, trying to find the source of the voice. "What are you talking about!? My brother doesn't fight, and there are no such things as keyblades!" I screamed, trying to lure the voice out again. A short distance away from me, something glowed softly. Squinting my eyes to try to see what it was, I began to walk towards it as the voice came again. "Your brother will soon find himself in trouble. . .with no way of escape. . ." The thought of my brother not being safe stabbed me like a knife to the chest. He couldn't be in trouble, but he hadn't come home, could he? The closer I got to the glowing object, the more it began to look like a giant key. My eyes widened with the idea that this was real. "Use this. . .hone your skills and find your brother. . .before the darkness takes him whole. . ." the voice disappeared when I had reached the keyblade. My fingers wrapped around the hilt, and I they did it stopped glowing, the world around me quickly returning the walls of the shed and the sounds of the water rushing up against the shore. I was back at Destiny Islands. Closing my eyes for a moment, I took a deep breath. I couldn't have been awake for everything that was happening. It had to all be a dream. When I re-opened my eyes, the keyblade was still in my hand. "So it wasn't a dream. . . " It was all I could do not to scream out loud for fear of being called insane. As I began to think about how I would get this home without people staring at me, I realized that the weight in my hand had begun to lighten. As I looked down at my hand that was holding the keyblade, it was shimmering, disappearing quickly until it was gone. Blinking a few times, I held up the palm of my hand where the hilt of the keyblade once was, and held out my hand straight in front of me. Within moments, the keyblade appeared back in my hand. "So I can summon it whenever I need to. . ." I said solely to myself. I thought of the keyblade being hidden again, and smiled at the feel of my hand lightening once more. It was a power I had never felt before, and I was glad to have it.
For the next year, I trained myself with the keyblade. Calling it to me, hiding it, fighting with it. I had met a few people I could trust to keep it a secret, and brought them with me when I would train to fight against someone. The power of the blade in my hands, the feeling of satisfaction at being able to win in a fight against some of the more skilled swordsman on the island. I couldn't help but love this feeling, and wondered if our parents knew this would happen. If one day, Sora would disappear, and that this power would be in my grasp. I wondered what Sora would think about me having this. I was always getting into fights and I smiled at the idea that he might think I'd use it to get in trouble. A year after that fateful day, a hole opened in the sky. I had been training alone that day, and quickly sent the keyblade away for safety that no one would see it. Moments later, 3 bodies began to fall from the hole and plummet to the ground. One with red hair, one with silver, and one with brown. "Sora. . ." I couldn't say any louder than a whisper. Then finding the strength in my voice, I screamed out louder. "Sora! Riku! Kairi!" I ran towards them, as I watched them link hands and fall faster, before gently gliding down to the ground as I reached them. Tears filling my eyes, I ran to Sora and threw my arms around him, my breathing shallow from the sobs I couldn't control. When I finally pulled myself back enough to be able to look at him, I noticed there was an air of change around him. His journey had changed him, some ways were good, and others bad. He had this feeling like part of him was missing. When I finally noticed the glint behind him, I stood up and walked over to it. It was a keyblade, similar to the one that I had received. Seeing me staring at it, Sora quickly jumped up and tried to explain it to me. When things were settled down, and we were alone, I showed him the keyblade that I had. He couldn't believe it, that we had both been chosen by the keyblade. He did his best to explain what happened to me, and I did my best to understand. But something inside told me I wasn't chosen for the reason that he was. After that, we trained together. He told me how he learned magic, and tried to teach me. Apparently all I was good at was magic like fire and lightning, things that destroyed. A year passed and Sora turned 17, me turning 19 within a few months of his birthday. We lived our new lives together, and it all seemed normal. Then one day, Sora and I were training out by that abandoned shed. The sky began to turn a dark color, and a hole opened in the sky once again. A strong wind picked up, blowing countless things into the hole, dragging me and Sora with it. We grabbed ahold of the coconut trees that were standing their ground, holding tight to the tree and each other. It stayed that way for a few minutes, before I could feel my grasp on him slipping. Seconds later, Sora lost his hold on me and the tree, and was sucked into the hole as it began to close around him, his face the last thing I remember seeing before I blacked out. It must have been a few hours later when I woke up, my head pounding where I must have hit it. Realizing the events that just took place, I screamed. I couldn't contain it, I had lost him, gotten him back, only to lose him again. In my anger, I called my keyblade and began to swing at the palm tree until I couldn't any longer. Turning back to the sky where the hole was, my breathing shallow once again, I held the keyblade up to the sky and spoke in the most sound voice I could manage. "I will find you, Sora. And I will bring you home again." The moment the last word was uttered, a light shot out from the keyblade to the sky, and opened a portal to a world I'd never before seen. My eyes widening with surprise, I felt my feet lifting from the ground. This was actually happening. Was this what it was like for Sora, travelling the different worlds? I allowed myself to be carried through the portal, my eyes closing as I felt my feet soundly on the ground again, the waves of Destiny Islands long behind me. Taking a deep breath, I opened my eyes to view the world around me, as this began my adventure to find my brother.