This dream was the strangest of them all so far.
He dreamed of falling from station to station, all of having some kind of princess on them. There was nothing else but these stations, which each had the stained glass image of a beautiful princess. Everything else was complete darkness.
He had to make choices. Did he want a sword, a staff, or a shield? He picked the sword. Which one would he give up? He gave up the shield. He had to fight these spider-like monsters with the sword he picked. All this happened while a mysterious voice guided him. The scariest part was when he fought a monster that was at least ten times larger than them all. Yet the voice encouraged him to not be afraid. 'You hold the mightiest weapon of all. So don't forget, you will be the one to open the door,' the voice said. It sounded oddly squeaky for some reason.
'Open the door? What does that even mean?'
When he finally woke up, he realized he was lying on the beach of his home world, Destiny Islands. After yawning for a second, he decided to lie back down. What I am doing here again? I might as just lie back down.
He didn't get to do that though because as he started lie back, a girl suddenly popped up in his vision.
"Whoa!" He said, shocked. She giggled.
"Gimme me a break, Kairi." Kairi was one of his best friends. She had short, auburn hair, violet-blue eyes, and pale skin. She was dressed in her usual white and black tank top while also wearing a short purple skirt and purple and white sneakers. He himself had spiky brown hair, bright blue eyes, and tanned skin. He wore a black and white over jacket, a red jumpsuit, white with yellow glove, and large yellow sneakers.
"Sora, you lazy bum. I knew that I'd find you snoozing down here," she teased. By then, Sora realized what he was supposed to be doing. We're building a raft. I totally forgot about that. Oops. He can be a little bit of a ditz sometimes.
"No! This huge, black THING swallowed me up!" He tried to explain. It seemed so real! "I couldn't breathe, I couldn't—OW!" He said as he rubbed the back of the head where she just whacked.
"Are you still dreaming?" She asked while bending down to his eye level. It's not a just a dream, it couldn't be.
"It wasn't a dream," He protested, "Or was it, I don't know."
"What was that place? So bizarre." It just felt…really strange but important at the same time.
"Yeah sure," Kairi said in disbelief. She walked towards the ocean. Sora started to question her.
"Say Kairi, what was your hometown like? You know, where you grew up?" He had wanted to know since he met her. He remembered it was yesterday, he was only five when he found her washed up on the shore, seemingly out of nowhere. She was the prettiest girl I ever saw, and she is still pretty now…wait what? Thoughts like these popped up lately without warning whenever he was around her. It was pretty uncomfortable. It was never like that the year before.
"I told you before. I don't remember." That was the same response as always. Still, there must be something she remembers.
"Nothing at all?"
"Nothing."
"You ever wanna go back?" He asked. She pondered it for a second.
"Well, I'm happy here," she answered. Kairi was adopted by the mayor shortly after she was found. She was the only pale member in the family, as everyone else was much more darker skinned. However, when he was over the mayor's house, he could see that she was treated no different than her adopted siblings . And she was one of the most popular girls in school for being a perfect mixture of kind, smart, and pretty. There you go with pretty again, Sora. Don't think of her like that, she's only your best friend! "Really…"
"But you know, I wouldn't mind going to see it," she added. He nodded.
"I'd like to see it too, along with any other worlds out there. I want to see em' all!" He boasted.
Kairi grinned. "So what're we waiting for?"
"Hey, aren't you guys forgetting about me?" A male voice called out, catching the young teens' attention. A tall and muscular teenage boy with long silver hair, pale skin, and cyan eyes walked over to them while carrying a log over his shoulder. He wore a yellow vest and collar, two blue bracelets, black shorts reaching down his knees, and white and blue sneakers. Riku, our other best friend. He's fifteen, a year older than us. He and I are always competing.
"So I guess I'm the only one working on the raft." He threw the log on Sora, catching the brunette off guard. He then strode towards Kairi.
"You're just as lazy as he is!" He said, slightly bending down towards her eye level and putting his hands on his hips. She blushed and rubbed her head. "So you noticed. Okay we'll finish this together! I'll race you!" That caught Sora and Riku's attention.
"Huh?" "What, are you kidding?" Kairi simply smirked.
"Ready? Go!" The two boys quickly got up and raced, each determined to beat the other, with Kairi running after them laughing.
Me and Riku? we always competing with each other over the tiniest things. The frustrating thing being him beating me almost every time. Well not this time!
May
Her dream is sort of strange. She walks and walks on a plain grass field with the sun beaming brightly upon her. A rather disorientated voice speaks to her.
Don't you remember? You used to run off to the fields here and have me look for you for hours.
Who are you?
May wakes up just before she can get an answer. The morning light shines upon her eyes from her bedroom window.
"Another weird ass dream," she comments to herself. May takes a quick moment to yawn before rising from her bed. Where the hell are they coming from anyway?
At fourteen, May was a bright and sunny teenage girl who loved being outside and basking in the summer air. Her skin was a dark brown, her eyes were also dark brown, and she had bushy black hair that she usually maintained by putting them in various protective styles such as cornrows or plaits.
After getting up from her bed, May walked out of her room and walked downstairs to the kitchen to get a morning snack.
Only to find her twin sister, Rini, huddled in a corner. Sarina was only about a shade lighter than her with dark auburn hair and green eyes. She was shy, withdrawn, and generally quiet unless it was family.
"What's wrong?" May asked her.
"Bad dream," the other twin replied while burying her head between her knees.
Sora
He lost. Again. Although Riku was his very best friend for as long as he could remember, it was slightly frustrating how he always beat him at everything, especially with Kairi always watching. She probably thinks I'm a loser...wait why am I worrying about this? Maybe, it was due to Riku's more muscular build, but still. I'm faster than him, I should be able to catch up to him! Nonetheless, he congratulated his friend, and went on his way. After all, rivals they were, they were still the best of friends before Kairi. I can't remember a day when Riku wasn't in my life.
Walking around the island, he encountered their other friends, Selphie, Tidus, and Wakka, and dueled with them. Surprisingly, he beat them all, although Selphie was rather fast despite fighting with a jump rope. He even managed to beat them all at the same time. Maybe I'll be able to beat Riku the next time we battle! Even they were shocked, although Tidus said that Riku destroyed them all together pretty quickly. That was a slight blow to his mood, along with Tidus stating that Kairi could count on Riku, and specifically only Riku.
Selphie also made him feel awkward by reminding him of the legend of the Paopu Fruit. Paopu fruits were yellow, star-shaped fruits that grew on Destiny Islands' palm trees. It is said that when two people share one, they will be with each other for all of eternity. It was definitely a favorite among many couples on this island. Would he share it with somebody someday? Perhaps Kai...dammit, enough!
Later at sunset, he sat on a hanging tree with Kairi, while Riku laid against it.
"So, Kairi's home is somewhere out there, right?" Sora asked the both of them, particularly Kairi. He found it sad that she had not seen her home in years.
She doesn't remember her parents either, only her grandmother.
"Could be," Riku said, "We'll never know by staying here." Sora looked over towards him.
"But how far could a raft take us?" The ocean surrounding the island was huge, who knows how long they'll last among the waves with just a raft. Riku shrugged.
"Who knows? If we have to, we'll have to think of something else," he simply responded back. By then Kairi began to speak. She was strangely quiet.
"So suppose you get to see another world," she started, "What would you do there?" She inquired. Their older friend pondered it for a moment.
"Well, I haven't really thought about it. It's just…I've always wondered why we're here on this island. If there are any worlds out there, why did we end up on this one? And suppose there are other worlds…Then ours is just a little piece of something much greater," he explained. "So we could have just as easily ended up somewhere else, right?" He finished, looking up at them.
"I don't know," Sora simply stated, lying back on the tree with his hands behind his head. Seeing other worlds seemed fun, but he liked the world they lived in. He was born here after all. He loved basking in the warm sun all day, running along the white shores of the beach, eating ripe fruit that exploded in his mouth, and swimming in the crystal clear ocean. He loved Destiny Islands, it was home. What world could possibly compare?
"Exactly," Riku pointed out. "That's why we need to go out there and find out." He stood up and looked towards the ocean. "Just sitting here won't change a thing. It's the same old stuff. So let's go," he decided. Kairi tilted her head. "You've been thinking a lot lately, haven't you?" She asked him. He turned towards her.
"Thanks to you. If you haven't come here, I probably would've never thought of any of this. Kairi, thanks."
She giggled and blushed a red Sora didn't like for some reason. "You're welcome," she replied.
They all began to walk home on the pier, with Kairi way ahead of them. Sora walked in front of Riku.
"Sora," Riku called. Sora whipped around to face him, only to catch a paopu fruit in his hands. He looked down at it in confusion.
"You wanted one, didn't you?" His friend asked him.
"A papou fruit…?" Sora responded, confused. Why would I need one?
"If two people shared one, their destinies become intertwined," Riku explained, ignoring Sora's question. "They'll remain a part of each other's lives no matter what," he finished, walking past Sora. He began to snicker. "C'mon, I know you want to try it," he teased.
"What are you talking about—"Sora stopped in realization as Riku laughed and ran. He tossed the fruit of the pier quickly and ran after his friend in anger.
Donald
Disney Castle was a lively and bright world ruled by Queen Minnie and her consort and his best friend, King Mickey.
Donald Duck, the Court Magician, proudly walked the halls of the castle, passing by sentient broomsticks carrying buckets of water. He wore an amethyst purple wizard hat, while also wearing a long blue coat over a navy blue jacket. He stood in front of a huge purple door; the entrance to the main courtroom. Puffing his chest, he knocked on the door. Hearing no response, he walked in a much smaller entrance within the door.
"Good morning, Your Majesty. It's good to see you this morning," he greeted while walking along the long red carpet, expecting his best friend to reply.
Only to find the throne to be completely empty.
"What!" He exclaimed, starting to panic. Pluto emerged from behind the throne, carrying a sealed letter in his mouth. Donald took the letter from the dog's mouth, and read through it.
"WAH!"
He ran, screaming out the room and down the halls.
He ran out into the courtyard where Goofy, Captain of the Royal Knights, lay on the ground, sleeping.
"Wake up, Goofy, wake up! This is serious!" Donald yelled. Goofy continued to sleep, snoring loudly. Irritated, Donald casted a thunder spell on the dog, shocking him awake. Goofy sat up and wiped his eyes groggily. He looked at his friend, tiredly.
"Hey there, Donald. G'morning," he greeted. Donald waved his hands frantically.
"We got a problem, Goofy! But don't tell anyone…"He whispered, leaning in. Goofy tilted his head, confusingly.
"Queen Minnie?" He asked. Donald shook his head.
"Not even the queen," Donald warned.
"Daisy?" Goofy continued, talking of the Duchess and Donald's wife.
"NO!" Donald yelled, getting impatient. "It's top secret!"
Goofy looked over, behind him.
"G'morning ladies!" He greeted.
"Wha-," Donald said as he turned around. In front of them stood a worried Queen Minnie and an angry Daisy, who had her hands on her hips. The court wizard chuckled nervously.
Sarina
Her nightmares are too horrible to speak aloud. They all involve monsters, seemingly made from the dark corners of hell, invading the earth and destroying everything in their path. She seen her parents and her younger siblings get their hearts torn out by these creatures while more seemingly crawl out of the ground.
Even when she wakes up, the screams still burn in her mind and that's why she can't find herself sleeping without a light on at night anymore.
"I want to watch Dawn of the Dead," Angelique, her younger sister, said. It was another night in the Grey household. Angie was taller and much lighter than both her and May, but had auburn hair and green eyes just like her. She resembled their father the most of all his children.
May shook her head as she laid on the couch, playing some game on her PSP. Sarina sat on the other couch, staring at the TV screen, trying to focus on the current channel that was on instead of the bad thoughts inside of her head.
"I rather watch Night of the Living Dead. It's so much scarier," her older twin replied. Their little brothers, Gabriel and Michael, were most likely upstairs fighting over something. Angie pouted, which was the usual sign that an argument was coming. "Dawn has better atmosphere!"
"No, Night does," May argued, not even looking up from the game screen.
"Dawn has better gore and characters!" Angie replied while growing a whine in her voice.
"Heavy amounts of gore do not make a better horror movie."
"Rini!" Both of her sisters called her nickname at the same time, wanting her to pick a side and be forced to speak. She was perfectly content to actually not watch a horror movie at all tonight.
"Wh-what about Star Wars?" She said, her voice barely a whisper. That was her quick and go-to answer when her sisters were arguing on movies, which was practically every night.
"Which one?" Angie replied as May pondered it.
"Revenge of The Sith!/Return of The Jedi!" Both sisters said again at the same time. Angie and May looked at each other, glared and started arguing again.
Sarina sighed.
Sora
The next afternoon, he argued with Riku over what they should name their raft.
"We should name it Excalibur!" Sora suggested to Riku. Riku frowned.
"What about…"
"The usual. Let's settle it over a race!" Sora cut him off. The other boy smirked.
"Let's do it!"
Kairi ran over to their area on one of the piers. "You guys at it again? All right, I'll be the judge. The usual rules apply: Take any route you want…First rule to tag that tree and make it back wins," she explained. Sora looked over to his friend. "If I win, I'm captain! And if you win—,"
"I get to share the paopu with Kairi," Riku said without even blinking. "Huh?" Sora exclaimed. Riku looked at him. "Deal? The winner gets to share a paopu with Kairi," he repeated.
"Wha… Wait a minute…"
"Okay," Kairi interrupted, "On my count…"
Sora was pouting a couple minutes later. "Now the scores 0 to 6!" He whined. It was an utter disaster of a race, with him tripping and hitting several obstacles while Riku dodged everyone flawlessly. 'I hate how good he is, sometimes. It makes me feel like I will always be number two.
"All right, we're naming the raft Highwind," Riku said proudly. Sora poked his lip out in response.
Sora sat in a cave later, rubbing over a drawing him and Kairi made when they were little kids. Picking up a sharp rock, he decided to add something new to the picture. It was him giving her a paopu fruit. He suddenly heard a noise and started looked around, wildly. "Hey, who's out there?" He demanded. A tall, figure wearing a brown hooded cloak, appeared before him.
"I've come to see the door to this world," the figure, emitted a deep masculine voice, simply said. "This world has been connected."
"Huh? Wh-What are you talking about," Sora questioned.
Ignoring him, the figure continued. "Tied to darkness…soon to be completely eclipsed."
What is he on about?
"Well, whoever you are, stop freaking me out like this!" Sora yelled at the figure.
"You do not know what lies beyond the door," the figure explained.
"So you're from another world!" the young boy added. He may have been freaked out a bit, but he was genuinely intrigued.
"There is so very much to learn. You understand so little."
Sora glared. He hated when people thought he was stupid, especially compared to Riku. Which was often. "Oh, yeah? Well, you'll see. I'm gonna get out and learn what's out there!" He promised.
"A meaningless effort. One who knows nothing can understand nothing," the figure rejected. Balling his fist, Sora glanced at the door. When he looked back, the figure was gone.
What the hell was that all about?
May
"Hey Rini, is it me or has the air around here been weird lately?" May said they walked out of a corner store later that night.
"It's not just you," Rini said without looking at her. They went to the store to buy ice teas as both of them were thirsty for some.
"May, I don't think we should brush this off. I feel…I feel like something bad will happen soon. Very soon," Rini added. May frowned.
"I know you have been having bad nightmares, but I am too. Why?" May asked, more to herself than her twin. May also feels a strong sense of anxiousness inside.
"Last night was different though, this time I had a giant key in my hands. It was silver," her twin said and it took all of May to not mention that she too was wielding a giant key in her hands, except it was gold instead of silver. As twins, we do sometimes have psychic connections but this is creepy and unnatural.
They walked past a dark alleyway, where a mysterious figure stood. For some reason, they stopped in their tracks even though it wise to keep it moving.
"This world, so large, yet so ignorant of what's outside of it," the figure said.
"Come on, let's walk away. That person is just another crackhead," May whispered to her twin. Rini nodded fearfully.
"One day, you'll see what lies beyond the door," the figure continued, "And when you do, you might not take what is shown in front of you."
Don't respond, don't respond. It's just another crackhead, that's all, May thought, gritting her teeth. Why are we still standing here?
"What door?" Rini uncharacteristically asked the figure. Why Rini? What part of 'Don't talk to strangers' did you not understand?
"Your world has hid itself for far too long," the figure said lastly. When May turned to grab her sister, the figure was gone.
"What did that man want?" Rini asked.
"I dunno, but let's leave before he comes back and kidnaps us or something."
I wonder what's the big deal? Something bad always happens in Philadelphia.
Sora
Him and Kairi sat on the pier, watching the sunset.
"You know, Riku has changed," she said, looking forward.
"What do you mean?" He asked, confused. She shifted awkwardly.
"Well…" She trailed off, not knowing what to say.
"You okay?" He asked again, worryingly. To his surprise, she dropped the somber mood quickly.
"Sora, let's take the raft and go! Just the two of us!" She offered. "Huh?" He said in response, trying not to blush. She giggled. "Just kidding!"
Uh….
"What's gotten into you?" He said. What happened to the Riku and Kairi of last year? Where they didn't seem like they wanted create awkwardness everywhere they went? "You're the one that's changed, Kairi," he insisted. He knew girls grew up differently than boys, but he didn't know that it was this bad.
She looked down. "Maybe."
"You know," she started, "I was a little afraid at first, but now I'm ready. No matter where I go or what I see, I know I can always come back here," She looked at him, "Right?"
"Yeah of course!" He answered, enthusiastically. What could possibly separate him and his best friends?
Kairi smiled softly with a knowing glint in her eye. "Sora don't ever change," she simply said. She got up and looked forward again. "I just can't wait. Once we set sail, it'll be great."
For awhile, they just watched the waves flow against the setting sun.
Donald
'Donald, Sorry to rush off without sayin' goodbye, but there's big trouble brewin'. Not sure why, but the stars have been blinking out one by one. And that means that disaster can't be far behind. I hate to leave you all but I've gotta go check into it. There are three people with "keys", the keys to our survival. So I need you and Goofy to find them, and stick with them. Got it? We'll need those keys or we're doomed! So go to Traverse Town and find Leon. He'll point you in the right direction.
P.S. Would ya apologize to Minnie for me? Thanks, pal.'
That was the letter King Mickey had wrote for them.
"Oh dear, what could this mean?" Daisy asked, worryingly? After the garden, they all went inside the library, and Donald handed Daisy and Minnie the letter to read.
"It means we'll just have to trust the king," the queen spoke up for her husband.
"Gawrsh, I sure hope he's alright," Goofy said, nervously.
"Your highness," Donald spoke up, "Don't worry. We'll find the king and these "keys"." Minnie smiled brightly. "Thank you, both of you." Donald looked towards Daisy.
"Daisy, can you take care of—,"
"Of course. You be careful, both of you." The female duck finished for him.
"Oh, and to chronicle your travels, he will accompany you," Minnie added, gesturing to a nearby desk. Donald and Goofy narrowed their eyes, trying to see what she was talking about.
"Over here," A tiny cricket with a top hat, a black dress coat, and a black cane exclaimed, jumping up and down on top of the desk.
"Cricket's the name. Jiminy Cricket at your service," the cricket introduced, bowing politely.
"We hope for your safe return. Please help the king," the queen said. The queen, Daisy, and Goofy looked at him expectantly, with Goofy even saluting him.
"You're coming too!" Donald said, dragging him off.
In the next couple of minutes, they were walking down the steps.
"Gawrsh Jiminy, your world disappeared, too?" Goofy asked the small cricket, who was resting on his helmet.
"It was terrible. We were scattered. And as far as I can see, I'm the only one who made it to the castle," Jiminy said, mournful. Donald looked back at Goofy.
"Goofy…"
"Oh right. I gotcha. While we're in other worlds, we can't let on where we're from. We gotta protect the world border," Goofy explained.
"Order," Donald corrected sharply.
"Right. World order," the royal knight fixed, "I guess we'll need new duds when we get there."
The bottom of the steps held the entrance to a large garage, where Chip and Dale were working on the Gummi Ship from within a control panel.
Donald went over to a large yellow horn.
"Hello up there? Donald Duck to launch crew," he called into it," Anytime you're ready."
From within the control panel, Chip saluted while Dale pulled a lever. Several pipes released air, and two large white hands grabbed Donald, Goofy, and Pluto to put them into the Gummi ship. Donald waved goodbye to Daisy and Minnie, and they were off to Traverse Town.
Sora
He lay in his bed, bored. At night he was still confused over his encounter with that figure.
What did he mean by my world being eclipsed by darkness?
He looked over to small toy ship with two dolls in it. Kairi's words reflected in his head. "I just can't wait. Once we set sail, it'll be great." He smiled for a bit before the sound of thunder startled him. "A storm? Oh, no, the raft!" He crawled out his bedroom window in a panic.
"Sora, dinner's ready!" His mom called from downstairs. "Come on down...Sora?"
Running along the other island, he stopped to look at a big ball of darkness in the sky. "What's that?" He wondered aloud. He glanced at his friend's boats to see them completely askew. Worryingly, he turned around.
Only to meet the eyes of a black spider-like creature with beady yellow eyes, who was poised to attack him. Just like in his dream.
AN: Well welcome to Adventure, a novelization of Kingdom Hearts I with some changes, mainly with my original characters, May and Sarina Grey. Some things will be added to the lore of Kingdom Hearts to flesh out some aspects of the universe.