Disclaimer: Don't own Kingdom Hearts…but maybe one day…

A/N: This story is sort of based on Chrono Cross. God I loved that game, but it's been a while since I've played it so I can only vaguely remember the plot. But eh, I made it my own…added twists and turns.The characters are the age they are in Kingdom Hearts II. Why? Because I think this type of story needed them to be a bit older. No offense to a younger Sora, but damn, he's hotter when he's older. They still have the raft idea, but everything will be happening when they're older. Forgive the spelling errors and such, it's only me, myself and Microsoft editing this story. Be gentle on me! Only my second story!!

Time's Scar

His eyes ran over the incomplete object she held out to him. As unpolished as it was, the red head still smiled at him. "Can you find me more? I know I should go get them myself…but I promised I would help clean the house today." Running his right hand through his hair, he sighed before nodding.

"Sure Kairi. The beach right?" He eyes the talisman for a moment before she pulled it back, stuffing the object into her pocket. "Of course. Thanks a bunch Sora!" He was taken aback when she launched herself into his arms, squeezing him.

"Okay, Okay!" He made a face at her affection as she drew back, still smiling. "Don't be such a goof. Riku's down at the beach any way. Maybe he's working on the raft." She giggled as his face lit up. "Now go on. I have to get to work." She shooed him off, shaking her head as he immediately turned tail and darted off in the direction of the raft.

"I hope he remembers about the shells." She muttered to herself.

Wiping the sweat off his brow, he stepped back a few paces to stare at his completed master piece. Of course the other two had helped, but he drew up the plans. He made his rounds around the beached raft, eyeing the way the logs were tied together and the way the mast was held in place. With tugs, he insured that they were indeed holding as they should be. The crunching of sand had him stopping his inspection to glance back at the figure.

"Isn't it already done?" Sora asked, arms cradling the back of his head as he slowed to a walk. Riku gave him a glare before walking up to met him. The two stopped and stared at their finished project. "Everything's ready. I'm just making sure that we don't get half way and sink due to the lack of someone's tying ability." He jabbed his index finger into the brunette's side, earning a sharp slap to his forearm in return.

"Not lack of ability, lack of direction." He corrected the elder teen, smirking at the glare he received. "If we sink, it'll be because you can't tell other's how to tie a knot." Riku sighed, ignoring his companion.

"Hey, Riku. Do you know where I can find at least two more of those shells Kairi had?" Riku stared out into the ocean, a thoughtful look crossing his face.

"Aren't they always near the paopu tree?" Sora shrugged and flopped to the sand, smiling widely.

"Beats me. I never really paid any attention. She just always seemed to have one." Riku stared at the younger male before smiling.

"That's nothing new. You never pay attention." Sora frowned, shaking his head. "I do too." Riku rolled his eyes, patting the younger teen on the head before walking in the direction of the paopu trees.

"Aren't you coming?" He called over his shoulder, eyeing the seething brunette. Sora straightened and shot up. "Wait!" Riku shot him a devious grin before sprinting away.

"Race ya!" Sora was huffing and puffing, but he did make progress. He was nearly caught up to the silver haired teen when his shoe sank into a particularly deep sand embankment, sending him stumbling before falling flat onto his face. The world swam for a while, a faint voice heard above the roar of the waves and the pounding of his heart.

His unfocused eyes settled on the sun just above the horizon. A shadow descended upon him. His eyes then focused onto the dirty tips of Riku's shoes and then all became blurry.

"The idiot tripped over his own two feet! Maybe we should leave him here." A male voice whispered in a joking matter, but the tension in the room was still there.

Kairi fixed him with a glare, arms folded. "Don't joke like that Riku. He really hurt himself." She hissed back, eyes falling to Sora who still slept.

"All he did was bloody his nose. Stop treating him like a baby, Kairi." Silence filled the room.

"What do we do if we doesn't wake up in time?" Riku questioned after a long moment. Kairi sighed before sitting down beside the unconscious brunette. "Then we won't go. He wouldn't leave without us, so we won't leave without him."

Riku nodded slowly, his lips pulled into a scowl. He was really looking forward to setting out on their adventure. "I'll be at the shore if you need me." He grumbled, quickly taking his leave before Kairi could say another word.

His head was throbbing, his eyes felt heavy. But with effort, he looked up at the wooden ceiling. The fan was set on a low setting, the steady hum the only sound beside the steady breathing of another beside his own. He glanced to his left, noticing Kairi sitting in the chair off in the corner – fully asleep.

The barely padded seat didn't look like the best place to sleep. Guilt gnawed at him, making his heart clench. She was doing this for him. He smiled faintly, the pain in his face barely above a dull throb. He was lucky to have friends such as Kairi.

Pulling the thin seat off of his sweating body, he slowly sat up as to not wake up the sleeping girl. The cool floor sent shivers racing up and down his body as his bare feet made contact with the wooden floor. Carefully, he walked around the bed to the partially open window facing the beach. The moon was out now, bright and full. With one last glance back at the dozing red head, he slid the window open and jumped out. His head spun, but after a moment to recollect himself, he walked off in the direction of the raft.

Despite a steady breeze, the humidity was nearly suffocating. Sora kept walking, his focus on the figure off in the distance. He wanted to make his presence know, to shout to the older teen but opted against it. He didn't want to wake up anyone. The houses were far too close to the beach.

"Hey Riku." He greeted when he was close enough. His voice was barely audible against the roar of the waves, but he knew the other heard him. There was a faint nod of acknowledgment but Riku stayed silent – eyes fixated on the rippling tides.

"I'm sorry for falling, you know me," A faint chuckle. "I'm just a klutz." Sora's face fell. Riku wasn't speaking to him.

"Riku…I—" He was cut off as the other leveled him with a look that truly sent cold chills down his heated body.

"The door…has opened…" Sora stared at his friend, a bit puzzled.

"Door?" He glanced around, noticing the lack of door's nearby. "Riku…are you okay? I mean, what are you talking about?"

Riku chuckled, the sound more dark than anything the brunette had remembered.

"You know you feel it…pulling at you." Sora felt his brows wrinkle, purely confused.

"Uh…."

Riku stared into his eyes, something lingering in his gaze. "Close your eyes…I'll see you on the other side." Sora cocked his head to the side, but the expression on Riku's face had him sighing in defeat. "Fine, fine." He grumbled, shrugging and letting his eyes close.

"If this is some kind of game, I think it sucks." He could hear Riku growl, but something beneath him began to tug at his legs. Snapping his eyes open, Riku was gone. Panicked, he glanced around – desperately looking for his friend until the tug at his legs began to escalate.

With wide blue eyes, he looked down. His legs up to his calf muscle were engulfed in a swirl of dark clouds. A numbing pain slowly came after, increasing as the clouds slowly made their way up. He tried to lift his legs, but they were glued to the sandy ground.

His mouth opened in a silent cry before darkness filled his vision.

"Roooxxxassss. Yo…wakey, wakey. Geez, only you could fall asleep on a beautiful day like this." The voice sounded amused, but there was an underlying hint of aggravation.

Groaning, he opened his eyes to stare into piercing green eyes hovering just above him with a black hood over the rest of his head causing him to stiffen. "Ah, finally. You need to eat more. You just collapsed." Fingers incased in black leather gloves poked at his abdomen.

"See! No fat." Batting the hand away, he slowly sat up, noticing the dark settings he was in. He blinked slowly, digesting everything. "Where am I?" He whispered, and the person beside him chuckled.

"Now I know you need to eat more. Don't you recognize this place?? We've been here…hundreds of times by now!" It sounded exaggerated, but he couldn't help but look around.

He sat on a beach, the same looking waves rolling over eerily strange colored sand. From the rolling water sprouted what looked like arches of dead trees. On the beach were rocks with what looked like veins of green dotted the area, making the beach seem odd. And the moon literally filled the starless night. It seemed so close, hovering over the water, filling the night sky with its light.

"Roxas. Hey, let's get you back to the castle." He flinched away from the hand on his shoulder, meeting the man's eyes with his own.

"Roxas? Do…I know you?" The man dropped his hand as if burnt. The figure pulled back his hood, revealing flaming red spikes. Just underneath his green eyes were what looked like tiny tattoos of some sorts. He really didn't feel like staring at them, instead he stared into the man's eyes.

"Roxas, come on. Get up. I need to take you to Vexen." He didn't budge, only staring at the man a little older than himself. "You didn't answer my question."

The man chuckled, slapping him on his back with quiet a bit of force. "If this is for the bucket incident, I'll bite. I'm Axel." He stuck out his hand, smirking.

"Axel?" He paused, staring at the outstretched hand before taking it. With a grunt, he was pulled to his feet. This Axel guy was sure tall. He found himself staring up at the man. He was about a head or two short from reaching his shoulders.

Axel didn't release his hand, only staring into his eyes with the same amusement. "Oh! I'm Sora." He introduced, forcing a smile that felt foreign for some reason.

Axel began to howl with laughter, finally releasing his hand to double over. "Your quiet a character Roxas. Let's get going." A dark door of sorts opened up behind the red head making him pull back. The clouds that dragged him down…

He backed away from Axel, looking at the door with fright. "Oh come on. I wish I had time for this because I'm sure it'll get better later on but we need to go see Xemnas."

"Xemnas?" He questioned. Axel sighed and walked up to him, grasping his forearm and dragging him to the swirling portal.

"No!" He cried, hitting the other male as hard as he could. Axel simply shook his head. "That doesn't hurt, you know." And with that, he forced the smaller into the portal.

A/N: Hahaha! How about that. I had this idea, and began typing away. And unlike all the other worthless crap I write, this one came out good! I'm proud! Squeels Riding on a major high right now. Hope you guys review. Please! Add to my high!!