In the middle of an ocean far away, a rush of wind and a dark smear across the sky signal the coming of a storm. The water begins to become choppy and as the storm comes closer; fish begin to swim toward the ocean floor for shelter while birds fly in the opposite direction. The calm water stirs, and the waves get larger and more dangerous. As most people know, many sailboats often lose their way or lose the sailboats themselves during times like these. If the sailors are lucky, the heavy storms will just delay them. This typhoon however was not delaying a sailboat; just a note in a bottle.
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In a shimmer of light, two figures appeared onto a dark, hazy beach. One boy with spiky brown hair has the other, a tall silver-haired boy, slumped on his shoulder carried him as far as the can go. At first, the two could only see the dark rocks surrounding the beach under an eerie night sky. As the haze began to clear and the rocks recede, the two faces fell as the face the moonlit beach under a dark arch of rock like an arm of darkness over a full moon.
"End of the road?" asked Riku still on Sora's shoulder. "Yep."
They continued farther until Riku asks to be put down. Sora continued to the edge of the water, had it crawl onto his shoes and then inch away. With a misty voice Sora said, "Maybe the darkness has got to me, too."
Sora turned to find that Riku couldn't stand up for long. "Riku!"
"If this is what the world really is…then maybe I should fade back into darkness," Riku said quietly gazing into the horizon. "If the world is light and darkness, we'll be the darkness."
"Yeah," replied Sora sitting up now next to Riku. "Kairi, the King, and the other are safe now."
"Sora? Could you help me up? I want to get down to the water."
He nodded, grabbed Riku's hand, and dragged him to the shore. Quietly, in almost a whisper Riku said, "At least the waves sound the same."
The ivory moon never seemed to move its position; maybe in sadness because no stars shone in the sky. Sora and Riku closed their eyes and listened to the sound of the waves. "I wonder if we'll ever go back."
Riku opened his eyes, "Where to, Sora?"
"Back home, to Destiny Islands," Sora replied now gazing at the water coming to his feet. "Back home with our parents, our island, and Kairi. It seems so long since we've been there. I really…really wished that this one time, just maybe, I could go home and not worry about Heartless or Nobodies. Just be there with you and Kairi."
A sigh escaped from Riku as he replied, "We'll get home Sora. We just need to find a way. At least we can still watch the horizon here like back there."
"Yeah, maybe," said Sora more happily. "Once we get there, I'll beat you again, I know it."
"Yeah right! I'll win again!" Riku laughed. Just for that one moment, Sora thought that maybe just being here wouldn't be that bad. Maybe the two could learn to live in the dark side. Maybe it would be okay.
"You really want to go home, don't you?" whispered a deep voice from behind them. Slow, hard footsteps fell in time with each raspy breath of the hooded man.
Sora got up, took out his Keyblade, and shouts, "Who are you?" Riku slowly got up taking out his Dark Keyblade. It hadn't been that long since their last battle with Xemnas that sent them here. They were still ready to fend off enemies.
"Why must you resort to violence?" laughed the hooded man. "You act like I'm from Organization XIII or something. Ha ha. I can't blame you with this getup."
He didn't pull off the black hood, but Riku and Sora could see his deep, intense black eyes in the gleam of the moonlight. They were intense yet had a soft lonely feeling deep inside them. "Name's Kuro."
Sora and Riku lightened up a bit, but there caution didn't cease just yet. "What are you doing here?" asked Sora calmly. "Why would you end up here like us?"
Kuro laughed again. "You make it sound like the bad guy, now don't you? I'm not truly that bad. In fact, I know all about you guys. We hear a lot about you where I come from--"
Riku stepped forward and asked, "Now where would that be? Not with the Heartless or Nobodies, I assume?"
"Seriously, what is up with you guys? Do I look that evil? I'm just a regular guy. You should actually be treating me like a god. I have your key back home."
"What?" cried Sora and Riku both said in a mix of shock and excitement. It was like a light appearing in never ending darkness. They actually could go back, to their home, friends, and family. They wouldn't always have to be the darkness. Sora couldn't help but smile and ask, "Really?!"
A mischievous gleam came into Kuro's sharp eyes as he slyly said, "But, as I expect you of all people to know, everything you get comes with a price. Some call it the idea of equivalent exchange. Yes, I can send you home, but you'll have to give me something of yours. Like this."
With the snap of his fingers, a dark, hazy cloud appeared over Kuro's palm. As it began to clear, Sora muttered, "No…" He ran to Kuro with his Keyblade in his hand screaming, "You won't! You'll never get that!"
Just before the Keyblade made contact, the hooded figure vanished in a puff of smoke appearing behind the angry Sora. "What are you doing Sora?" cried Riku.
"Good question. Sora, is this really that important to you?" laughed Kuro as he let something dangle from his hand. Shining in the moonlight was the Thalassa charm Kairi had given him a year ago. It was just before he had gone of to fight Ansem, and it was the only thing he had of hers since she went to the realm of light without him. Sora had promised to give it back to her, and he would never break that promise to her.
"Yes, this would be a good trade. So, do you want to go home or would you rather keep the charm and stay here in this desolate place? It's all up to you."
Kuro had a fierce glare in his eyes, as if he had won a game and was proud of himself. Sora looked down in concentration, a choice between two things precious to him. He glanced at Riku and finally said, "The charm."
Tension swung through the air as Kuro let out a raspy laugh that turned into a loud howl. "You don't really think I'd let you have it your way now did you?" laughed Kuro darkly. "And you think an object is more important than home. What a mistake. This is for free: we're going to play a game. It's called 'Can you find the charm?' Don't get me wrong; it is a lot of fun. Here are the rules: I'm going to throw this charm into this portal here. This leads to the realm of darkness, where I come from. You have seven days to find this charm; it will be hidden somewhere within all the worlds of the realm of darkness. Here's a bonus: you get to bring that friend of yours along. So let's begin…"
With a swish of his hand, a swirling dark portal appeared, and Kuro tossed the charm in as Sora screamed, "No!" and ran toward it. By that point, it had been long gone.
"Why'd you do that?!" Sora hollered taking out his Keyblade and swinging at Kuro. As Kuro dodged every move, Kuro said, "You time has already begun. Do you really want to waste your time fighting me? If you don't get it, I'll destroy it. In fact, I won't even give you a trip home."
Sora stopped. He couldn't risk losing the charm, no matter how much he wanted to slice this guy up into pieces. And he could never face Kairi without the charm. Riku put a hand on Sora's shoulder and quietly said, "Let's not bother with this guy; let's go find the charm."
With the nod of a head, Sora said through gritted teeth, "We'll go, but you better promise to give it back if we get it."
"I give my word," said Kuro, "only if you get it."
Sora and Riku faced the portal and headed in. Their bodies were engulfed with darkness, and the portal disappeared. After a few moments, Kuro whispered, "This could be fun."
Kuro himself then faded away from the dark empty beach. The moon still floating in the sky glowing on the beach had its light glint off a bottle that had washed up on shore; too late for the addressee was already gone.