"In ancient times people believed that light was a gift from an unseen land by the name of Kingdom Hearts.

However, Kingdom Hearts was safeguarded by its counterpart the X-Blade.

Warriors vied for that precious light thus beginning the Keyblade War.

But the violent clash shattered the X-Blade into twenty pieces.

Seven of light...and thirteen of darkness. "


Part I: Awakening

In a barren wasteland, where rusted and lifeless keys once waged war, stood a man of an elder age. The land itself was scarred and ravaged but had otherwise lain untouched by anything other than time. Surrounding the man were once powerful Keyblades, each wielded by the ancient Chasers of Light and the infamous Seekers of Darkness. The man stood there with his eyes closed as a gentle breeze lightly ruffled his long jacket. He then turned and opened his eyes, their golden sheen reflecting the setting sun. A young boy of seventeen stood before him. The boy too had golden colored eyes, they bore the same look of unquenchable curiosity the elder man had once wore. He wore a sleeveless grey jacket over a white shirt with matching grey pants. His hair was a long mane of silver, and he had the developed tan of an islander. Like the elder man, that stood before him this boy's name was Xehanort. The two contemplated each other before one of them spoke.

"Who are you?" asked the younger Xehanort.

The elder man just waved his hand, and three weapons appeared before him.

The man pointed to three weapons and spoke in a gnarled voice. "Power sleeps within you. If you give it form, it will give you strength."

The elder Xehanort pointed at the first weapon a magnificent sword.

"Power of the warrior. Invincible courage. A sword of terrible destruction," said the elder Xehanort.

He pointed to the next weapon a mighty shield. "Power of the guardian. Kindness to aid friends. A shield to repel all."

Finally, he pointed to the last weapon a magical staff."Power of the mystic. Inner strength. A staff of wonder and ruin."

The elder Xehanort pointed to the young boy before him.

"Choose!" he shouted.

The younger Xehanort contemplated for a moment before reaching for the sword. The sword disappeared in a flash of light, and Xehanort felt a pulse of power flow through him. The elder Xehanort lifted his hand and summoned a Keyblade much like the ones that surrounded him. A creepy smile played across his face as he opened his mouth and spoke. "Your heart belongs again to darkness."

He swung his Keyblade in a powerful arc, sending a strong gust of wind swirling towards his younger counterpart. The ground beneath them began to tremble as powerful gusts wind forcefully blew the lifeless Keyblades from the ground. The elder Xehanort smiled as darkness began to ravage the surrounding land. The ground cracked as the younger Xehanort struggled to stay to his feet. The darkness swallowed everything, pulling Xehanort into its depths. As Xehanort felt himself lose consciousness the last thing he saw was the smile of his elder counterpart.

...

The world where nothing gathered. Existing on the edges of both light and darkness. Inhabited by those never supposed to exist, this world was made up of discarded remains left behind by other worlds. The once scattered pieces now formed magnificent skyscrapers. In the center of the city was an airborne fortress that floated in the sky, dominating its view. In it's highest tower top Xehanort regained his consciousness. He stood up and gauged his surroundings. Before him stood a large muscular man wearing a large black hooded coat. The man's hood was up, and his back was faced towards Xehanort as he looked up to the sky.

"Who are you?" asked Xehanort.

The man turned towards Xehanort and lifted back his hood. He wore a long mane of messy silver hair and he too had golden eyes. The man lifted his hand and the word 'Ansem' appeared. The man flicked his wrist and the letters started to swirl around him. Finally, the man flicked his wrist once more. As he did, an X was added to the now scrambled name. The name now spelled 'Xemnas'.

He opened his mouth and spoke in a deep silky voice. "I am what's left or maybe I'm all there ever was."

Xemnas turned around and lifted his hands to the sky. As he did images of countless worlds appeared before him. Xehanort stepped back and gaped in awe at what he saw. Xemnas turned on the spot and smiled. Lifting his hand, he summoned a Keyblade. It was the very same one wielded by the man before him.

"All worlds begin in darkness-" he said in his enigmatic voice.

He pointed his Keyblade at the worlds above and shot a beam of darkness to the sky. The darkness swallowed the worlds as the castle itself began to tremble and collapse. Once again Xehanort found himself struggling to stay on his feet as the castle began to crumble beneath him. Xehanort felt himself slip once more into the darkness as he caught one last glimpse of Xemnas.

...

Xehanort awoke next in complete shadows. No floor could be seen and he appeared to be floating in mid-air. He looked around and gasped in awe. In front of him, the decimated remains of worlds Xemnas had displayed earlier floated before him. Even more troubling were the massive balls of energy that were congregating from those remains and moving towards each other.

"The inevitable reality of all worlds is ironic is it not?" asked a menacing voice.

Xehanort turned around and was met with a sneering face. He had a similar appearance to Xemnas but his face and attire bore an uncanny resemblance to the elder man he originally met.

"What do you mean? Who are you? What's going on here?" asked Xehanort.

The man let out a bone chilling laugh and pointed to the remains of the worlds.

"The worlds you see before have succumbed to the power of darkness. Just like myself they have cast aside their shackles and embraced the darkness. Their hearts are now free to reunite as a collective whole," he said.

Xehanort shook his head and pointed to the senseless destruction.

"This doesn't seem right, though," he said.

The man laughed once more. "You understand so little. One who knows nothing can understand NOTHING!" he said.

He pointed to the world's hearts "Each world is born from darkness emerging into the world of light. From there it spends its entire existence being protected from the very source from which it came. That protection acts as it's prison forever confined by the light. You see darkness' true essence is freedom, a freedom all hearts inevitably crave!" he cried.

Xehanort looked at him and asked once more. "Who are you?"

The man lifted his hands to the air summoning a Keyblade, the same one as his predecessors."It is I Ansem the Purveyor of Freedom, the Seeker of Darkness!" he shouted.

Darkness began pouring out from Ansem's body and began engulfing the entire area. "So all world's begin-" Ansem shouted, as the darkness began to entrap Xehanort pulling him lower and lower into its depths. "-and all so end!" he finished.

...

A magnificent, and beautiful kingdom; known throughout the worlds as the City of Light. In the central square just outside the main town, stood a man who radiated great power. He looked very similar to Xemnas, but with a much shorter crop of silver hair. His attire looked out of place compared to the world that surrounded him. He was dressed in the traditional garb of the ancient Keyblade Warriors. The man's golden eyes had a dazed look almost as if he was not quite sure where he really was. As Xehanort came to the man looked down at him. Xehanort pushed himself up and took a cautious step forward.

"What is it you guys are trying to show me?" asked Xehanort.

The man reached out and grabbed Xehanort by the throat. He then lifted Xehanort off the ground with startling strength. "Who am I?" he asked.

Xehanort struggled against the man's grip when he was abruptly dropped to the ground. The man suddenly doubled over in pain clutching his head with both hands. He then stood up and opened his eyes, a dark smirk painted on his lips. He summoned his Keyblade the same one wielded by all the others and spoke.

"You think yourself so different?" he asked.

He swung his Keyblade in a heavy downward arc that Xehanort swiftly dodged.

The man let out a diabolical laugh. " I will guide you to the depths of darkness! Only there will you find the one truth that matters!" he shouted.

The man tossed his Keyblade into the air and caught it. He followed up by planting his Keyblade firmly into the ground as it crackled with dark energy. As darkness poured from the man's Keyblade he pointed at Xehanort and shouted.

"Your heart is no different. Darkness sprouts within it. It grows, consumes it. Such is its nature!" he shouted.

Suddenly an explosion of dark energy erupted from his Keyblade knocking Xehanort unconscious.

...

Xehanort awoke to the familiar sound of waves gently washing over the pristine beach. He got up and found he was now on one the islands of his home. This particular island was familiar to him as he had spent many a childhood hours playing here. He had even built many of the tree houses with the help of his father.

"Was it all a dream?" he asked aloud.

He walked towards the water and looked out to the setting sun. He thought about what he had seen. However, he found that thinking about it brought only more questions. He sighed in frustration at the limited answers his home provided to his many questions. Questions of a world much larger than his own. The very idea of it made Xehanort feel tiny and insignificant. He stared out to the vast stretches of the sky that lay before him.

"This world is just too small," he said aloud.

He looked over to his left and saw a boy with a black coat standing on the island across the bridge. The hooded figure too looked out at the sunset and instinctively Xehanort knew they had both been thinking about the same thing. Xehanort jumped up onto the bridge and crossed it. He approached the black hooded figure

"Xemnas?" asked Xehanort.

The figure turned around and removed his hood as Xehanort stepped back in shock. This time, Xehanort definitively recognized who he was. Standing before him was an exact doppelganger of himself. The two Xehanorts stared at each other, their golden eyes reflecting one another. The black coated Xehanort lifted his hand offering it to Xehanort as he spoke.

"In the end, every heart returns to the darkness whence it came," he said.

The black coated Xehanort turned around as an aura of darkness erupted from his body and consumed the entire island.