Kingdom Hearts I; Fallen From Grace
By Shattered Glass Memories
Chapter One
The sky was dark. It looked as though it were about to storm. If it wasn't a dangerous storm, Abbey would go outside and watch the rain fall.
She loved doing that.
She had lived in Radiant Garden all her life, not that there was much of her life to have spent elsewhere; she was only six.
Radiant Garden was a beautiful place, well deserving of its name. Flower gardens lined the streets, and the city square housed a lovely three-tiered fountain.
"Hey, Abbey, gonna go watch the storm?" Came a voice behind her. Looking up, Abbey saw her friend Squall Leonhart.
"Hi, Squall!" The girl squealed in true little-girl fashion.
"You wanna come with me?" Abbey asked, and the boy laughed.
"Sure, come on; let's go up to the balcony of the library."
They ran in though the large arching doors of the main entrance, slipped past the kitchen, and raced up the spiral stairs before finally reaching the library. The two sat in silence on the balcony as the first drops of rain began to fall. The storm seemed harmless enough at first, but as the rain grew more intense Squall got a bad feeling.
"Hey, Abbey, I don't think we should be out here right now. Why don't you go find your mom and sister?"
"Huh? But mom's in the study. She said not to bother her in the study. And sis is with Aerith and Tifa."
"Well, I think your mom will allow the disruption this time. Tell her I sent you, and I think we have a problem. I'll get Mirage."
So Abbey ran off. As she ran the ground began to shake, and Abbey heard a low rumble coming from all around her.
Then she saw them; strange black creatures with glowing yellow eyes and sharp claws.
They ran through the streets, chasing after the townspeople, slaughtering people left and right.
When she neared the large stone building that was the study, Abbey found her mother coming out of it.
"Mommy!"
"Abbey, where's Mirage?"
"She's with Aerith and Tifa. Squall went to get her."
"Alright, let's go find everyone."
Before the two even reached Aerith's house, the ground in front of them turned dark, and a vortex of shadows appeared in the center of the darkness.
Smoke rose from it and reached out to them, wrapping around their ankles and pulling them in. No matter how they struggled, they couldn't break free-in fact, the more the struggled the tighter its hold on them became.
"Mommy!" Abbey cried.
"Don't be afraid, sweetheart. You'll be okay."
There was a fierce wind surrounding them, pulling at their clothes and blowing their hair around, making it hard to see.
Abbey struggled against the darkness as much as she could, but her attempts only served to weaken her physically. The darkness was smothering her, making it hard to breathe or move.
In a matter of moments it had covered her face and she closed her eyes, feeling her body slowly go numb.
The pressure against her body began to grow faint, as did her perceptions of the darkness around her. her breathing became shallow, and she fell into all-encompassing darkness.
When she woke up, she was laying on a rough surface and she smelled the sea.
Without opening her eyes she moved her hand and felt sand, meaning she was on a beach.
"Hey, are you okay?" A quiet voice asked.
"Squall?" She asked groggily, sitting up.
Opening one eye, she saw a young boy with silver hair.
"Squall? No, I'm Riku. What's your name?"
Opening the other eye and sitting up, Abbey was about to respond when she heard another, more feminine voice.
"Abbey?" A young girl with dark red hair ran up. As Abbey studied the girl, she realized that she knew her.
"Kairi?"
0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0
"Hey, Abbey, wake up!" A loud voice startled Abbey back to the present.
Turning, she saw her friend Riku standing behind her.
"You were daydreaming again, weren't you? Did you get the coconuts?"
"Yeah, I got 'em. They're back at the raft. And I got this." Abbey said, holding up a basket full of mushrooms.
"Wow, I guess you really were working." Riku said, eying the mushrooms with an approving look.
"Nah, I got the mushrooms this morning. I spent the last half hour daydreaming." Abbey answered, and the two laughed.
"Okay, let's get back to the raft. We've got a lot of work to do before it's ready. So what were you thinking about?" Riku asked as they walked back to the south shoreline.
"My home, the day it was destroyed."
"By those black things? The Heartless?"
"Yeah. I don't know what happened to everyone. My mom and my sister... Squall... and all the others. I miss them." Abbey said sadly.
"Well, when we get this raft finished, we'll go look for them. They're bound to be on one of the worlds we visit, right? You'll see them again."
"Yeah, you're right. Thanks, Riku."
By that point they had reached the raft and dropped off their supplies, and decided to go find Sora and Kairi.
They found Sora laying on the sand on the north shore, asleep, with Kairi quietly approaching him.
"Hey, Sora!" Kairi called out, and the boy's eyes snapped open.
"Huh? Ah, gimme a break, Kairi." Sora said, and Kairi giggled.
"Sora, you lazy bum! I knew I'd find you snoozing down here."
"No! This huge black thing swallowed me up! I couldn't breathe, I couldn't-" Sora insisted.
"Yeah, sure. Are you still dreaming?"
"It wasn't a dream! Or... was it? So bizarre..." Sora breathed, then decided to change the subject. "Say, Kairi, what was your hometown like? You know, where you grew up?" Sora asked, but Kairi sighed.
"I already told you, I can't remember."
"Nothing at all?"
"Nothing. I make Abbey tell me stories sometimes, but nothing she says is ever familiar."
Listening nearby, Abbey sighed when she heard that.
"Do you ever want to go back?"
Kairi thought over that for a moment.
"Well... I'm happy here. But, you know...I wouldn't mind going to see it. Although apparently there's not much left anymore."
"Oh, right." Sora sighed. But then he brightened.
"I'd like to see it too. And any other worlds out there. I wanna see 'em all!"
"So what are we waiting for?" Kairi asked. Then Riku spoke up.
"Hey, aren't you forgetting about us?" He said as he and Abbey walk closer.
"I guess we're the only ones working on the raft." He continued, and Abbey giggled.
"And you're just as lazy as he is." Abbey told Kairi, who laughed.
"So you noticed. Okay, we'll finish it together. I'll race you!"
"Huh?" "Are you kidding?" "Okay, you're on!"
The responses from Sora, Riku and Abbey respectively made Kairi laugh harder, and she got ready to run.
"Okay, ready? On your mark, get set, go!"
So the group raced to the raft. Riku was one step ahead of Abbey, who was at least five steps ahead of Sora, and Kairi tagged behind, not truly trying to keep up. When they arrived, Kairi gave Sora a list of things he needed to get, and he set off to collect them.
Riku and Abbey worked on tying up the cloth they were using as a sail, and Kairi worked on some sort of seashell necklace.
"It's a thalassa shell necklace. In the old days, sailors always wore thalassa shells. They were supposed to ensure a safe voyage." Kairi explained when Abbey asked about it.
The three worked in silence for awhile, and when Kairi finished the necklace she laid it on the raft.
"I'm gonna go see what's taking Sora so long." She said, and walked away.
Abbey and Riku finished tying the sail a moment later, and took a break. Riku walked over to the shoreline, and after a moment Abbey followed, standing beside him.
"What do you think we'll find out there?" Abbey asked as they stared out at the sea.
"I dunno. Maybe nothing. Maybe everything." Riku answered, and Abbey laughed.
"Wow, where'd you come up with that?"
Riku shrugged.
"Don't know. Hey, I'm sure we'll find your home out there."
"Maybe. I wish I knew where it was. But I don't remember anything between passing out in the darkness and waking up here."
"Yeah, I remember that day even more than the day Kairi showed up." Riku said.
For some reason, that comment warmed Abbey. The idea that her arrival was more memorable than Kairi's felt good to her. Of course, it could have just been the odd circumstances surrounding her arrival that made it memorable. She had simply washed up on the beach, lying on the sand when Riku found her.
But when she mentioned this to Riku as a possible explanation, he shook his head.
"Nah, that's not it at all. It's probably 'cause you're more fun."
"More fun?"
"Yeah. Kairi was all shy when we first met, and she clung to Sora like a lifeline. You, on the other hand, weren't shy at all.
You were a little afraid and really confused after what happened to you, but that was understandable.
After you got over your initial shock and sadness, you accepted that this was your home. Then you just wanted to play."
"And unlike Kairi, I don't cling to Sora. I cling to you." Abbey laughed, hugging Riku tightly.
"I'm not complaining." Riku answered as he hugged her back.
"Hey you guys, come on. The sun's gonna set without you!" Kairi called.
The group always watched the sunset together every night before going home.
Riku and Abbey didn't respond right away, but after a moment Riku squeezed Abbey just a little tighter before pulling away.
"Come on." He said, taking her hand as they walked over to the Paopu tree where they always watched the sunset.
"Hmm...I was fine where I was. Thanks, Kairi." Abbey sighed.
In truth, she wouldn't have minded staying like that for the rest of the night. She'd had a crush on Riku ever since she first came to the island.
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"So, Kairi and Abbey's home is out there somewhere, right?" Sora asked.
He and Kairi were sitting on one of the Paopu tree's lower branches, while Riku and Abbey stood leaning against it, still holding hands.
"Could be. We'll never know by staying here." Riku answered.
"But how far would a raft take us?"
"Who knows? If we have to, we'll think of something else."
"So, if you really did get to another world, what would you do there?" Kairi asked next.
"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 other worlds out there, why did we end up on this one?"
"That's why we have to get out there and find out. We won't learn anything by staying here." Abbey put in, and Riku nodded.
"Exactly. We have to get off the island, or we'll never know what else there is, besides this place and Radiant Garden."
"You've been thinking about this a lot, haven't you?" Kairi asked.
"Only since you and Abbey showed up. If you hadn't come here, I probably would've never thought of any of this. Abbey, Kairi, thanks." Riku answered, squeezing Abbey's hand a bit.
"You're welcome." The girls said in unison.
Later, the group rowed back to the mainland and went their separate ways for the night. The next afternoon, they met at the island again to finish the preparations for their journey. There wasn't much left to do, so the time was mostly spent goofing off.
That evening, after they returned to the mainland and went home, Abbey was on her front porch when Riku came by.
"Hey, Abbey, you got a minute?"
"Sure, Riku. What's up?"
But then Riku hesitated, and Abbey thought he looked nervous.
"What is it, Riku?" Abbey asked, standing up and walking over to him.
As she got closer she saw that he was holding something behind his back, and he was blushing. Abbey had never seen Riku blush before, and it surprised her.
"I, uh, I wanted you to have this." He said finally, holding out his hand.
In his palm was a small silver heart-shaped locket.
"Oh, wow... Riku, its beautiful!" Abbey breathed, and Riku smiled.
Then he had her turn around so he could put it on for her.
She pulled her hair out of the way, and he fastened the clasp at the back of her neck, then they stood in silence like that for a moment. As Abbey looked at the locket now resting at the base of her throat she felt Riku kiss the back of her neck softly before turning her back around.
"I guess I should go now." Riku whispered, then turned away.
Before he got too far away, however, Abbey reached out and took his hand and turned him back to face her.
"Thank you, Riku. I love it." She said, and he smiled again, the smile that melted her heart.
"You're welcome. I'm glad you like it. Goodnight."
Then he squeezed her hand and walked away, and as she watched him, Kairi came out to join her on the porch.
"Was that Riku? What's up?"
"He just... wanted to talk about tomorrow." Abbey said quickly, hiding the necklace.
She didn't want to share the moment with Kairi, not yet anyway.
0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0
Later that night Abbey laid on her bed in her room, playing with the necklace, when she heard a loud rumbling sound outside. She stood up and looked out the window, and saw dark clouds approaching.
Normally she would have liked to watch the coming storm, as she used to, but something about those clouds wasn't right. As she watched them get closer, she remembered the raft. If a storm was coming, and was a bad one, the raft could be destroyed!
So Abbey quickly left her room through the open window, and ran for the docks.
When she reached the island she saw that Riku, Sora and Kairi's boats were there as well. As she ran toward the raft, she looked up at the clouds and suddenly remembered the way she felt the day Radiant Garden was destroyed.
"It's the Heartless!" She realized, looking for Riku and the others. "I've got to warn everyone!"
Then she saw Riku. When she ran to him, he turned and held out his hand.
"The door has opened." He said.
"What?"
"The door has opened, Abbey! Now we can go to the outside world!"
"Where are Sora and Kairi?"
"Kairi's coming with us! Once we step through, we might not be able to come back. We may never see our parents again. There's no turning back. But this may be our only chance. We can't let fear stop us! I'm not afraid of the darkness!" Riku said.
That was when Abbey made her decision.
She had always told herself that if the Heartless ever came to the islands, she wouldn't be afraid like she was last time. She wouldn't lose everyone close to her again. She couldn't lose them.
So she stepped forward and took Riku's hand, and stood with him as darkness appeared beneath her feet. It swirled around her ankles, and slowly moved up her legs, and she did her best not to fight it. Then she felt Riku squeeze her hand.
"It's okay, Abbey. Don't be afraid." He said, smiling slightly.
That helped her relax.