NATHAN-

I thought it was just a dream. It all seemed so real – I could smell the salty bite of the ocean flowing around me. I could feel the cold touch of the stained glass that was the floor. The water evaporated as I stood, and clear night air filled my lungs as I gasped in awe at what I saw:

Upon the colored glass at my feet, I viewed myself holding a grand staff of fire. In the picture, I was surrounded by a kid with brown spiky hair, a white duck with a blue hat, a black dog with a yellow hat, and a white-haired boy with a blindfold. I looked around as I walked to the center, seeing nothing but darkness surrounding the circle of stained glass. A feminine voice called out from both everywhere and nowhere.

"A world has been re-connected… This world…should never have truly been… This world is…The World That Never Was… This world…has been reborn."

"That's odd… It's like I'm at…" I began.

"The place you stand in… It is known as the Station of Awakening…"said another ominous voice. This one seemed neither male nor female, but more so like a narrating-type of voice. "And there… The creature you see before you… It is a Heartless." I looked at the small, black, ant-shaped creature.

"Awwww… It's kinda'… wait." I stared at the jittering black Heartless, looking into its bright yellow eyes. The voice then said for me what I had realized.

"The Heartless, the beings spawn from the Darkness in the hearts of humans, can only search for Hearts – can only impose Darkness upon the worlds – with the only goal being to complete the entirety of…"

"Kingdom Hearts…" I finished… "I'm in Kingdom Hearts…" Then, the Heartless attacked. "Gyaaah!" I wheeled backwards as the claws of the ant-thing swiped at me. "What the hell am I meant to do? I can't punch the damned thing!"

"Draw your weapon, Master of the Arts, using thoughts of your element…" said the voice.

"Arts? Like...paint? Who the hell - !" I jumped backwards as three more of them – Shadows – popped up and began slashing at me. I really needed a way to fight… "Thoughts of my element, eh? … But what the hell is it… Hmmm…" Then I remembered the staff of fire. "Fire..." I thrust my hands in the air as a small red spark danced onto my fingertips. As I thought more and more of the fire and its protection, I pulled them out of the air and thrust them again in front of me. "IGNITE!" A blade of a shimmering, flaming, copper-like metal materialized in my hands, and I began to quickly eliminate the numer of dangers in the room. "Whew! That was a bit more than what I had been expected..." I took another look around and saw that nothing had changed. "Now... what do I do...?" Then another Shadow appeared.

"Now you are to use your element in its purest state..." stated the voice.

"'Purest state'... but how...?" I answered my own question in that instant. "Fire..." I paused, holding out my sword, which was flickering in anticipation of my voice. "Burst!" Upon my command, the flames leapt from the sword and into the Heartless. It began to move spastically, froze in place, and with a bang, exploded, the fire returning to the sword in my hand. One other Shadow Heartless appeared on the platform. I reared my blade, ready to attack, when it suddenly froze and was sucked into the inky blackness surrounding the platform. A large pair of the same piercingly bright yellow eyes glowed to life in darkness around me. Then, there was a sudden roar as the shadows came to life as one monstrous Heartless. "A DARKSIDE?" I cried, "HOW THE HELL...?" I was forced to shut up as a large black limb crashed into the glass next to me. There was a small second of silence, a quiet so sudden it was maddening, so sudden that it could barely be recognized as the thundering din of the shattering glass caving in below me filled my ears. And so...

I fell...

And fell...

And fell...

...

...

...

Until I awoke, alone and confused, in Twilight Town.

A/N - Zombie and I deny any claims of owning anything. We own nothing but a cardboard box and a tarp.