Note from the Author: This story is a collaberation with ShaD.23, who will be taking care of several chapters.

"I've been having these really weird thoughts lately…

Like, is any of this for real or not?"

So familiar was this feeling of falling….falling through darkness.

For the past few nights, Sora had been having this same dream, and it became more and more vivid each time. At last he stopped falling and landed safely on his feet, he stood on some sort of platform. It was stained glass and there were silhouettes of women on it. Sora neither knew nor cared what this meant, he just wanted out. A voice both strange and comfortingly familiar whispered to Sora.

So much to do…so little time…but have no fear, take your time. The day when you will open the door to light is very far and very near.

Suddenly a glistening sword appeared before him. He instinctively reached out and grabbed it. Then the voice spoke again.

A sword of great power and terrible destruction. Is this the tool you chose?

Sora knew this sword was important, he knew he needed it. Suddenly, he felt a presence behind him, a dark presence. He turned around and saw a small black creature with beady yellow eyes and a pair of antennae on its head. He swung the sword and slew it with ease, and the voice spoke again.

You have obtained the power of the warrior. The power to defend yourself and others. Is this the form you choose?

Sora knew his answer was "yes."

A stairway appeared before him and he proceeded to climb it. At the top, there was a doorway. He opened it to reveal a brilliant white light and then he was surrounded by darkness once more. He felt afraid but his mind was surprisingly clear.

He opened his eyes and found himself standing on another enormous platform of stained glass. This one had two heart-shaped symbols on it, one was a blue heart with a tiny gold crown on top and the other was a black heart outlined in red, with a red X across it. He didn't recognize these symbols but he knew they were of great importance

The closer you get to the light, the greater your shadow becomes

Sora turned around to see his shadow growing and growing. It was coming to life! It expanded into something enormous and shapeless. Next thing Sora knew, he was…sinking…yes sinking into his own shadow! He opened his mouth but could not scream, he tried to flail his arms but they were heavy as lead.

But don't be afraid. And don't forget...you are the one who will open the door.

"Sora, you Lazy, good-for-nothing! I knew I'd find you snoozing here." Kairi snapped.

Sora's eyes flew open and bolted upright. It had all happened so fast! For a few moments he was speechless. Wanting to change the subject, he stood up and spoke.

"Say, Kairi. What was your hometown like? You know, were you were born?" He asked.

"I told you once before I don't remember." She answered. "Don't you miss it at all?" Sora asked. He was trying to take his mind off his dream.

"Well, I'm happy here" Kairi answered honestly. "But I might like to see it again someday."

"I'd like to see it too." Sora added "So what are we waiting for?" Kairi asked excitedly.

"Aren't you two forgetting about me?" came a mature voice. Sora and Kairi turned around to see their friend, Riku. "So I guess I'm the only one working on the raft."

"Don't be silly, I can put the finishing touches on the raft." Kairi said. "Why don't you go catch us some fish? Three should do." Riku nodded and set out for the ocean.

"Sora, you get us some fresh water and produce." she ordered. Sora saluted and Ran for the trees. He picked up his wooden sword, gave it a few whacks and two fresh coconuts fell and hit him on the head. He staggered over to the raft and dropped them into a crate.

He then made his way to the "Secret Place" where he knew some edible mushrooms were growing.

It only took him about a minute to get there, when he made his way inside the cave he stopped to admire some carvings he and Kairi made when they were little, sweet memories those were. Sora suddenly felt as though he was being watched. He turned around slowly and saw a cloaked figure standing in the corner.

"I have come to see the doorway of this world." it said. Its voice was a low rumble.

"W-who...?" Sora began.

"This world has been connected." the figure declared. "Tied to the darkness…soon to be completely eclipsed."

"Y-you're from another world." Sora gasped.

"There is so very much to learn." The figure stated. "You understand so little."

"Well, you'll see! I'm gonna learn what's out there!" Sora said defiantly.

"A meaningless effort." The figure declared softly. "One who knows nothing can understand nothing."

Sora turned to look at the mysterious door for just a few seconds and when he looked back the cloaked figure was gone. Had Sora imagined it? Feeling nervous and confused, he grabbed the mushroom and headed out of the cave. He passed Riku who was taking on Tidus, Wakka, and Selphie. From the looks of things, Riku was winning too. Selphie wrapped her jump rope around Riku's wrist, he countered by hurling her into Wakka, now it was just him and Tidus. Riku used a one-handed style. He fought with incredible deftness of blade. Tidus' style was acrobatic and consisted of many jumps, flips, spins, and kicks. Though less disciplined than Riku's style, it was also less predictable. Sora already knew who would win, of course.

Sora joined Kairi who had completed the raft. Riku joined them a few minuets later.

"So, Kairi's home is out there somewhere, right?" Sora asked, staring into the horizon. "Could be." Riku answered with a shrug. We'll never know by staying here."

"But how far could a raft take us?" Sora asked.

"Who knows?" Riku said. "If we have to, we'll think of something else."

"So, suppose we do make it to the outside world. What will we do there?" Kairi asked. "Well, I haven't really thought about it." Riku said. "It's just... I've always been thinking about how bad I wanna escape these islands."

Kairi and Sora regarded their friend with concern.

"We've nothing more to learn here." He went on. "That's why we need to make it out there…learn as much as much as we possibly can."

After a few moments of uncomfortable silence, Sora rose and said. "Well, we better get some sleep."

"You two go on ahead." Riku said, brooding. "I have a lot to think about."

Krillin strode into the throne room to greet Goku. By all accounts, he was the rightful king of this system and he was undoubtedly a great leader but he never considered himself a "king." As Krillin looked around, he found only their pet dragon Ikarus holding a letter in his beak.

Everyone,

Please forgive me for leaving so suddenly, but a storm is coming and there is no time to lose. The Stars have been going out one by one and I have to check it out. The Key to our survival is out there waiting, you must find this key at all costs. without it we are all doomed! Go to Traverse Town and ask for Leon, he'll know what to do.

"GOHAAAN!" Krillin cried

He ran outside to find Gohan, Goku's son snoozing in the courtyard.

"Wake Up!" Krillin cried.

He lifted his finger and discharged a bolt of energy which zapped Gohan, who awoke and let out a high-pitched yelp.

"Listen, we've got a situation," Krillin said, Grabbing Gohan's shoulders. "but don't tell anyone!"

"What situation?" A feminine, yet stern voice demanded?

They turned around to face Gohan's mother, Chichi. Krillin Showed Chichi the letter who read it with Gohan. After about a minute Gohan broke the silence.

"What could this mean?" He asked.

Chichi sighed and said "It means we just have to trust your father." after all these years she had learned to trust her husband as he trusted his instincts.

"We'll find dad AND this Key!" Gohan announced valiantly.

Wasting no time, Gohan and Krillin boarded the gummiship.

Gohan waved goodbye to his mother and his little brother, Goten. Krillin gave the thumbs-up to the engineers, Oolong and Puar and they blasted into space.

Back on Destiny Island, Sora was in his room, just getting ready to dose off when he looked out the window and saw lightning. "A storm!" He thought to himself. He leapt out the window and ran for the beach, all around him, he saw small, stubby black creatures with beady yellow eyes and antennae on their heads. He recognized them from his dream, the "Shadows" as he silently dubbed them.

Then he saw Riku standing on the mass of land they used for a lookout. Sora ran across the peir to Riku. A mysterious mass of black gas-like substance was forming under him.

"Where's kairi?" He asked, panicking. "I thought she was with with you!"

"The doorway has been opened, Sora." He declared, "This is our only chance to get to the outside world. We may never see our friends or family again, but we can't let fear stop us!"

"But…Kairi…!"

"Kairi's coming too!" Riku assured him.

Sora stared in disbelief at his best friend. Riku was starting to scare him. At that moment a mass of black gas-like substance formed under Riku and he reached out to Sora.

"Take my hand!" he commanded. Don't be afraid of the Darkness!"

Sora hesitantly reached for Riku's hand but leapt back as the darkness devoured Riku.

Sora fell to his knees barely comprehending what just happened. Unsure why, he ran to the secret spot and found what he was looking for, Kairi was standing there with a lifeless expression on her face.

"Kairi!" Sora cried.

Kairi slowly reached out to him. "Soraaa..." she moaned softly.

Without warning, the door behind her flew open, darkness poured out and a gust of wind blew Kairi toward Sora, he opened his arms to grab her but she vanished before he could. The wind blew him out of the cave and back onto the beach. More shadows appeared and he ran back to the lookout.

The small mass of land was lifted off the ground and began rising into the air. For a few moments Sora couldn't move, he couldn't think, it was so much to take in! At that moment, a long glistening silver key appeared before him. It had a square hand-guard, like a sword and it had a keychain attached to the hilt, an orange ball with four red stars on it. Sora grabbed the key, he could feel energy flowing through him the moment he gripped its hilt. He got back on his feet and noticed two Shadows approaching him, they must have clung to the land mass. They leapt at Sora and he swung the key, reducing them to puffs of black smoke upon contact.

Step by step, the dream he had been having was becoming reality. Sora looked into the night sky and saw that an enormous black hole had formed. It was frightening yet wondrous, in the center was a swirling vortex of neon-red gas. The land below him shattered and he ascended closer and closer to the black hole. A black figure emerged, grabbed Sora, and pulled him up, into the hole. The entity was as tall as his house and it's arms were thicker than tree trunks. It's head was covered in tentacle-like appendages. Sora stared into it's glowing yellow eyes. It needed a name…Sora thought for a moment…. "Darkside." It was the most frightening thing Sora had ever laid eyes on, but wasn't going to stop him.

This thing was strong but it was not a person. It was less than human, it was a beast. Sora did give a second thought to attacking it. With his free arm, he brought the key down and plunged it into the creature's arm, and with a great yank, severed it. The creature made no sound and sank out of sight. Sora was tumbling deeper and deeper into the vortex. There was no gravity so direction was irrelevant. Destiny Island was no where in sight now.

Once more, Sora was falling…falling through darkness.