Kingdom Hearts III

The Key To The Light of Darkness

Chapter 1: Dusk, Dawn, and Darkness

The sun sat low on the horizon, casting its bright rays on anything they could touch. Eifah closed his eyes and took in the pleasant breeze, feeling the warm light from the brightly shining sphere that slowly descended more and more out of sight. Opening his eyes a crack, he saw the fields washed in the golden light. Even the trees seemed to glow a bright green when touched by the sun's light. Sighing, Eifah looked down at Amy, her head snuggly tucked in the nook of his shoulder. Smiling, he closed his eyes again and held her closer. Life was perfect.

School was nearly over and Eifah wasn't even half worried about his grades this year. As well the Summer Solstice Celebration was only three days away, and he needed to think of a gift to get for Amy. Eifah had been wracking his brains all week for an idea, but every time he drew nothing but a blank. He knew she liked the ocean. Perhaps..-

Eifah started as he felt Amy stir. After slowly letting out a yawn, she opened her eyes. Amy's large eyes were a unique shade of gray which Eifah found mesmerizing, and her hair was a dark violet color. She had only gotten it dyed a couple days before, and Eifah had been surprised but he loved it anyways.

Amy rubbed her eyes and tilted her head up to look at him, "what time is it?" she asked sleepily.

Eifah looked at his watch, "It's ten after six," he replied, realizing how long they had been lying down on the grassy hillside. They weren't that far from the town; if he had been standing in the top of the hill Eifah would have had a clear sight of Alya's towers.

"Ugh, we should head back before it gets dark. I've been hearing too many strange rumors lately to be out here much later." Eifah reluctantly withdrew his arms from around her. They got up and wiped bits of grass off of each other's backs, then set off back towards Alya. It wasn't as much of a town as it was a small city, the squat or tall buildings ranging in color and purpose. There were tall, white towers, wide avenues with beautiful garden islands running down the center, and brightly glowing lamp posts with flower baskets hanging from them. Everything had, and still was, being prepared for the Summer Solstice Celebration. Bright yellow and green streamers had been pinned up above doorways, posters on walls and bulletin boards advertising the coming day's events, and banners had been hung above the streets emblazoned with the names of events and other things.

The rumors themselves which Eifah had caught wind of were far-fetched, no more plausible or credible than any other rumors one heard. It was the frequency and amount of people who attested to the sightings of 'dark things' that made everyone uneasy. Hopefully the celebration would lighten the current mood and drive off the uncouth delusions.

Eifah held Amy's hand as they walked down the now quiet and deserted market street. Halting, he stood at the mouth of a side-alley. Eifah felt his hand slip from hers as she continued walking, assuming he had some reason for stopping. Squinting his eyes, Eifah swore he could see a small pair of yellow eyes gazing back at him from the shadows of the alley. Was it a cat?

Before he could step forward, Amy's voice tore Eifah from his reverie, "Hey! C'mon, why've you stopped?!"

He shook his head and sprinted up the street to Amy, grabbing hold of her hand again and turning into one of the residential blocks. Each side of the street was lined with fairly-sized, cozy looking dwellings.

"Sorry, I thought I saw something..." Eifah apologized, giving her an awkward smile.

"Oh? What was it?" asked Amy as they drew closer to the house on the end. Her home was the largest, since her father was a semi-successful businessman. It was made of bright, white bricks, standing at three stories tall, and all the windows were filled with a warm glow.

"It was... nothing." he said, squeezing her hand. Enough people were spreading dark rumors already; if he began it would only further validate them in her mind. The last thing he wanted was to scare Amy three days before Solstice. Besides, it was undoubtedly some animal which had been digging through one of the trash cans; the alley had been beside Marco's Restaurant after all.

They stopped in front of her house and turned to face each other. The moonlight reflected in her eyes, but the gray ring around each of her pupils still fascinated him. Eifah had seen gray eyes before, but hers were different... they were just beautiful in a way that was rare to find in people. He hugged her tightly and as she embraced him back. Almost every night they shared these silent moments, and every time he wanted to tell her how he truly felt. Something inside him held him back though, urging him to wait.

I'll tell her the night of solstice... he thought, smiling over her shoulder.

"Will you be able to come hang out again tomorrow?" he asked after finally pulling out of the hug.

"Uhm, I have to help my father decorate and run the store tomorrow. Everyone in town is scrambling to find last minute gifts so he'll need a hand. I'm sorry..." she said as her smile began slipping from her face.

"Nah, its okay!" he said, forcing what he hoped was a genuine looking, cheerful smile on his face, " I'll just hang out with Raz, and we'll drop in at some point to see how you're doing!" She smiled again and they had one last hug before saying their goodbyes. Eifah watched as she walked up to the front door, then out of sight when she passed the threshold and the door closed behind her.

I love you… he thought, wishing he had said it aloud.

It was better that she was busy the next day anyways; Eifah felt bad for thinking that but it meant he could find her a gift. If he didn't hurry everything would gone before he even had a chance to find anything good.

Eifah turned around and headed back the way he had come, towards the eastern residential block. It wasn't as wealthy as the western block, but it was home. He tried his hardest to think of an idea, but in the back of his mind a dark visual or bright yellow eyes slowly gnawed…

Sora sat on the beach, silently watching the waves come up close enough to touch the tip of his shoes, then recede back in the light blue waters. It had only been a week since they had returned home, but it didn't feel like home. Sure, he was happy they were all together again, but what place did he have here now? He had been gone for more than a year, what would his parents say if he went back home. The island was only about a mile from shore... no, he couldn't go back, not yet. His journey wasn't yet finished. Sora had seen so many new worlds, felt the pain of sacrifices made by those close to him, fought many won and lost battles... but it was all tempered by the friends he had made and happy memories he had gained along the way. When Sora had first begun his journey, he hadn't dreamed it would be anything like what he had so far experienced.

"Hey!" Sora almost jumped as Riku came seemingly out of no where and plopped down in the sand beside him. Smiling, he dropped a bag on the sand and undid the knot, then tossed Sora a Sea-Salt Ice Cream. Luckily the plastic packaging protected it from the water, but it was still slightly melted from the hot weather. The raft they had built a long time ago had been nothing but soggy wood and frayed rope by the time they had returned, so Riku had no choice but to swim back and forth. Riku was the only one who's appearance had changed sufficiently to go scouting and on supply runs; but he still had to be very careful about not being spotted by old acquaintances, or his parents. Tidus, Selphie and Wakka weren't there when they arrived; thankfully school was back in and they hopefully wouldn't make any trips to the island, which was serving as Sora and Kairi's hideout.

"Oh hey!" Sora returned, grinning. "Hows it look back home?"

Riku's smile vanished, and he directed his gaze out over the ocean.

"They're fine," he said finally, after a long moment of silence, " and people stopped searching for us a long time ago. Life seems to be continuing like it always had... except for Kairi's. Unlike us she's only been missing for a few weeks... lots of people are searching for her. The last time she showed up after several months out of no where, her adoptive parents were really angry with her, but they were happy she was safe all the same. This time they're being extra careful to check everywhere. The whole ruckus is making this casual stealth routine increasingly difficult. If people start noticing me swimming back and forth from the island..-"

"Yeah' yeah," said Sora jokingly, tearing open the ice cream package. Riku smiled and shook his head.

"Has there been any word yet?" asked Riku as he tore into the package of his own ice cream bar.

"Nope, not yet." replied Sora. He didn't to be told what Riku was asking about. The note they had received in a bottle from the king one week before had been short and baffling.

The situation is under control.
I will send word soon.

Riku sighed and ate his ice-cream.

"Riku... what if he can't send word? What if we're sitting here eating ice cream while worlds like ours are being swallowed by the heartless; and the king..-"

"Sora," said Riku, clapping him on the shoulder and cutting him off, "me and the king have been in tough situations, and I highly doubt anything would happen to him this soon. Besides, he's got Donald and Goofy watching his back." The night after their return, they discovered both Donald and Goofy had vanished. At first Sora had been sad at his friends' unannounced departure, but he felt happier when he pictured them adventuring with their friend and king, or back home at Disney Castle.

Sora looked over at Riku and grinned, "Yeah, you're right."

The morning light danced over the surface of the water, causing it to shine brightly all the way to the horizon of the ocean. When he thought about it, Sora couldn't believe he had taken this world for granted. It was beautiful and safe, yet he, Kairi and Riku had been set on leaving; and soon they would have to leave it again. Would all three of them make it back home in the end?

"Are you going to leave them anything?" asked Riku, as if he had read Sora's mind.

Sora looked down at the gentle waves, which continued to attempt reaching past his shoes, but with little success.

"Yeah, I'm going to write them a letter... but what if I only get their hopes up; what if someday I won't be around to keep any promises I make them?" Sora sighed and fell back into the sand, closing his eyes and holding his hands beneath his head.

Riku tossed the stick left over from his ice-cream bar into the sand and followed suit, looking up the blue sky, dotted with white clouds.

"Then don't promise them anything... but remember; I'm making sure you return home whether you like it not. So don't talk about not being around someday. You, me, and Kairi are all coming back, no matter what."

A third voice came out of nowhere, "That's right!"

Sora opened his eyes and saw Kairi's bent over above him so that she was looking down into his face, though from his view she was upside down. She walked through the sand and sat down beside Sora.

"If I return with the two missing boys in tow, then I can probably avoid being grounded for months on end. I'll just say I went looking for you two!" They all laughed at this, but Sora still felt ill at ease.

"Don't worry," said Riku, seeing the look on Sora's face, "so long as we all have each other, we can overcome anything."

Riku and Sora sat up and they all looked out over the oceans surface, still glimmering in the morning sunlight. Riku looked at his two friends and reached out, with his hand outstretched. Kairi did the same, placing hers on top of Riku's. Sora smiled and placed his hand on the top; if he had his friends, he knew everything would be alright.

Maleficent sat at the head of the table, tapping her fingers on the hard, wooden surface. The large, shadowed room was somewhere within the former fortress of Organization XIII. Maleficent took pride in the acquisition of her new abode, and the great power it granted her. Nothing physical had apparently taken place, but she felt stronger than she had ever been before.

After the final member of the Organization had fallen, the door to Kingdom Hearts had sealed itself once again. Asserting control of the remaining Heartless was a simple matter following that, since the siren call had been silenced. As well, after she had claimed the fortress, subjugation of the Nobodies had been an easy matter, since Sora had helpfully eliminated the last remnant of their command structure. Xemnas..

Black standards bearing the red insignia of the Heartless adorned the walls of the chamber, and every corner of the fortress seem to be shrouded in a deeper darkness than before; the perpetual, dull gray light which had once filled the endless halls was gone. The Organization's empty, sparsely decorated style hardly suited a fortress which would now be Maleficent's bastion of strength.

"Why have you consistently failed me in the majority of the tasks I charge you with, Pete?"

Pete sat not too far down the left-hand side of the empty table from Maleficent, and he jumped at the mention of his name.

"Ma-maleficent I've done my best to serve y-" Pete stuttered, but Maleficent cut him off.

"Silence. I was not reprimanding you, I was asking you a question." She coolly. The way she mercilessly dealt with her subordinates frightened Pete to his core.

"Th-they're strong… the brat wields the keyblade! He's far too str-" Maleficent smacked her hand down onto the table, sending a tremor through the floor and causing Pete to jump again.

"No, no.. why are they strong? What allows them to be resourceful? Think carefully Pete, if you give me one more dim-witted answer you'll serve the rest of your pathetic existence as a Heartless."

Her eyes pierced Pete as he gulped and felt himself sweating, "they… use their hearts?"

Maleficent cocked and eyebrow and Pete let out a sigh of relief. He had observed the results of many others who had provoked Maleficent's displeasure, and it was not a pretty sight.

"That was still idiotic, but you are getting warmer."

Pete played with his hands nervously, not meeting Maleficent's continuing gaze.

Pete licked his lips and thought about his next answer, " They work as a team…-"

"No, Pete. You're straying again; and you were making so much progress.." she raised the palm of her hand, though a seemingly benign action, anything could be violent when it came to Maleficent.

They use their love…

"Love!" Pete barked quickly, not knowing from where or how the tip had been slipped into his mind.

Maleficent's eyes narrowed and she looked down the table into the shadows, "Don't help him!"

Laughter filled the dark room, and Pete looked back down the long table see where it came from. He was puzzled at first when he failed to spot it's source, but soon the darkness solidified into a cloaked and hooded form, sitting not too far down from him on the opposite side of the table.

"My apologies mistress, I'm too charitable to watch an oaf destroy itself."

"Oaf?!" Rumbled Pete, but Maleficent put up a hand which immediately silenced him.

"I did not ask for your apologies." She spat acidly at the newcomer.

"..But now that he's ruined my game, I might as well go ahead and explain it lest I waste much more time on trying to educate you Pete, even if on simple topics."

Pete lowered his head, his ears going back as he endured the humiliation. The hooded figure down the table snorted in derision.

Pete snarled and cast the stranger a glare, "who is this whelp?!"

Maleficent chuckled, "This is my newest Lieutenant, Ciar. You two will be working closely together. You are somewhat proficient at what you do, Pete, but I think the presence of Ciar will give you the direction that you gravely lack. Though you have some accomplishments, you allow them to be easily undone by our adversaries. If this trend continues, then I'll have no choice but to leave you to Ciar's tender mercies."

Pete laughed out loud at this, "it would take more than a simple Nobody to take care of me!"

His laughter stopped when it was Maleficent's turn to round on him.

"SILENCE!" Cried Maleficent, glaring at her Lieutenant. Pete shrunk back down into his seat, trembling at Maleficent's anger.

She continued this for several moments, then composed herself once again and addressed Pete, "A Nobody? No Pete… Ciar is a… 'different' type of Heartless," she paused to let this sink in. Maybe Pete would heed the unspoken warning she had just given him. He was exceedingly aggravating in his thickness, but he was still useful.

"Like Ciar said, they use their hearts. We are defeated by such because we have never utilized such bonds. We have challenged the keyblade master and his allies with some of the greatest and most powerful foes, yet he triumphs despite the insurmountable odds. I am even shamed to admit that I too, was once defeated by the likes of that wretched boy. The connection of their hearts through friendship and love give them their strength."

Pete nodded, still unsure what this was all leading up to.

"Forgive me, Maleficent.." said Pete, shaking his head, "but how does this help us defeat the keyblade master? Even apart from his friends he is strong; he fought your former pet Riku and triumphed, and that kid is his best friend! We've already tried to sever those bonds or use them against him many times, to no avail.."

Instead of the berating he was waiting to receive, Pete only heard Maleficent laugh.

"Poor, simple Pete… you misunderstand what I've been trying to tell you," she said, shaking her head and looking at Pete with a sly smile,

"Can Sora defeat the heart driven by love?"