Update Sept 7 2014. Welcome to the Falling to Pieces series (also known as simply FtP or FtPverse), I suppose I should say? This is not the first in the series, but it is the one that made it officially a series, and is why I named the series after it. The first in the series is actually The Truth Hurts, and while "the Truth Hurts saga" has a nice ring to it, it's three (four?) years too late to call the series anything other than FtPverse.
I'm not sure what else I need to say here? I hope you enjoy the second installment!
Chapter 1: Awakening
"I've been having these weird thoughts lately…"
He fell slowly.
Slowly.
He opened his eyes. Where was he? Nothing but blackness surrounded him.
"Like, is any of this for real… or not?"
He kept falling, falling.
Then, he blinked, and found himself sitting on the paopu tree next to Riku and Kairi. He looked at them, Kairi smiled. Riku did nothing. A torn piece of paper was blown by on the wind. He reached out and grabbed it, and looked at it.
On the piece of paper was a drawing of them, on the paopu tree, and a wave was rearing up to fall on the island.
The sound of rushing water. He looked up from the paper, and saw that there WAS a wave coming to crash into the island. He had no time to react, the wave suddenly fell. He was knocked back, off the tree by the force of the water. He reached out, trying to grab on to something, ANYTHING.
It stopped. He stood, finding himself in knee-high water. He turned, and found the islands behind him. And standing on the shore was Riku. He held a wooden sword in one hand, casually. He slowly held out his other hand.
'Come with me' he mouthed.
He ran for the shore.
Darkness.
It made him stop, mid-step.
He couldn't see. Nothing was there. It was cold.
The darkness faded, and suddenly he wasn't running for the shore anymore. He stood on the edge of the smaller island that had the paopu tree on it. The water was behind him. Kairi was running towards him.
His foot slipped and he stumbled back, ready to fall of the edge.
A flash of darkness.
He was falling.
Kairi was shouting for him.
Another flash.
He was still falling. Kairi had her hand out, trying to reach for him. He reached up for her, but he was falling to quick. He fell into the water, and kept falling. He should have hit the ground, but didn't. He continued to fall.
But then, it did stop. He was standing on something, that was for sure. He took a step forward, and the ground beneath him erupted into a flock of birds. He shielded his eyes from the sudden light, and then looked around.
He was standing on a stained glass platform.
"So much to do" a voice said from nowhere. He looked around, trying to locate its source. It seemed to come from blackness that surrounded him. "So little time… take your time. The Door is still shut. Step forward. Can you do it?"
Slowly he took a few steps forward into a ray of light that fell on the platform. Suddenly, three stone platforms rose. A shield appeared above one, a sword appeared above another, and a staff appeared over the last.
"Power sleeps within you. If you give it form… it will give you strength. Choose well."
He looked between each platform, thinking. He climbed up to the platform with the sword and picked it up out of the air. The voice spoke:
"The power of the warrior. Invincible courage. A sword of terrible destruction." The voice paused, and he looked down at the sword thoughtfully. "Is this the power you seek?"
"Yes" he replied.
If the voice had a body, it probably would have nodded. "Your path is set." The sword disappeared from his hand. "Now what will you give up in exchange?"
He turned, looking at the staff and the shield. He headed over to the shield and picked it up. The voice spoke again.
"The power of the guardian. Kindness to aid friends. A shield to repel all. You give up this power?"
He looked at the shield and thought for a second. "No" he said, before turning and heading over to the platform with the staff. He picked it up.
"The power of the mystic. Inner strength. A staff of wonder and ruin. You give up this power?"
He didn't look down at the staff. He looked up this time, thinking, comparing. As cool as the staff sounded, he needed to protect his friends more.
"Yes" he replied.
"You've chosen the power of the warrior." The voice almost spoke with disapproval. "You've given up the power of the mystic. Is this the form you choose?"
He said yes before he could change his mind. There was no going back now.
A flash of darkness.
It lasted longer than any of the others.
Then it was gone.
He stood on a different stained glass platform now.
"You have gained the power to fight" the voice said, and the sword appeared in his hand. He swung it, testing it out.
"All right!" the voice congratulated. "You've got it. Use this power to protect yourself and others."
A small black creature with glowing yellow eyes appeared. He had seen them before. What was it called? A Heartless?
"There will be times when you have to fight. Keep your light burning strong."
He stabbed his sword at it, then hit it over the head, and then swung. It disappeared. He swung at another, and mid-swing his sword's form flickered. Only for a second did it last though, and he was holding the sword again. He attacked another, and this time the sword's form did change. He was no longer holding the sword. He was holding a key-shaped blade.
He had also seen this before. What was it called?
"Keyblade…" a rush of voices whispered, like the wind.
"Behind you!" the voice shouted, and he turned and swung at a Heartless that was behind him. He grinned, and then darkness appeared below him, and he fell. He tried to swat it away, and then it was gone. He was laying on a different stained glass platform.
A door appeared. Curious, he walked over to it and pulled it open. He blinked at the bright light that was coming out from it and then stepped through.
He was on the Islands again. Waiting there were some of his friends. Tidus, Selphie, and Wakka. They weren't extremely close friends, but they were friends nevertheless.
"Hold on. The Door won't open just yet" the voice said. "First, tell me more about yourself."
He walked slowly over to Selphie. "What's most important to you?" she asked.
He took a second to think about it. His mind flickered over the events of these past months, ever since Riku had arrived. "Being number one" he replied slowly. The days where he ever beat Riku at something were rare.
"Is being number one such a big deal?"
He turned, and walked over to Tidus. "What are you afraid of?" he asked.
He thought about it. Again, his mind flickered over the events of the past few months. "Being indecisive" he said, thinking of all the times he had stood there with danger around him, trying to decide.
Tidus almost laughed. "Being indecisive? Is that really so scary?"
He shrugged, and waked over to Wakka. "What do you want out of life?" he asked.
Yet again, his mind flickered back over the events of the past months. Riku came to mind again. Riku and how he was so good at fighting. Riku and how he seemed to know so much. "To broaden my horizons," he said. He wanted to be better.
"To broaden your horizons, huh?"
The voice spoke: "You want to be number one. You're afraid of being indecisive. You want to broaden your horizons. You're adventure begins at dawn. As long as the sun is shining, your journey should be a pleasant one."
"Sounds good" he said. But he couldn't help but wonder: what would happen when the sun WASN'T shining?
"The day you will open the Door is both far off and-" the voice stopped suddenly. There was a flash of darkness. He was standing on another stained glass platform.
Heartless appeared. He attacked. Stab, hit, swing. A familiar pattern. One combo of that would take down one Heartless. He defeated them all in no time. A walkway appeared, winding up away from the platform. He ran up it and found himself on another stained glass platform.
"The closer to light you get, the greater your shadow becomes" the voice said.
He turned. His shadow stretched out. Then it pulled itself up from the ground, taking form. It was his shadow for a split second, before it reared up into a massive Heartless. His first instinct was to run, but he fought it and summoned his Keyblade.
"I'm not afraid!" he declared, and the Heartless punched its giant fist into the ground next to him. A crack slowly spread out across the platform, and then the entire thing shattered. He started to fall again. Started falling into the darkness.
"Don't be afraid!" the voice called. It sounded shaky, he could only catch pieces of what it was saying. "You hold the mightiest weapon of all."
He looked at the Keyblade in his hand.
"And don't forget: You are the one…"
He had fallen too far by now. Only a whisper of the voice was left, and he couldn't make out what it was saying. The darkness around him grew cold. Shadows snatched out, trying to rip the Keyblade from his hand. But he held on.
He would hold on to his Keyblade if it was the last thing he would do.