Hi :) This is first fanfic so be nice and please review :)

Chapter 1 – A new beginning

Home. Home is where the heart is. Yet why is it that I feel so foreign and out of place? It's only been two years since I was last here, has that much changed since I've been gone? No…I think it's me who's changed…all of this…I just don't fit in here anymore; I'm different to everyone else now. We've been back a week yet I feel so restless, normally a good snooze by the side of the beach would ease me…yet I'm still alert thinking I'm going to be attacked or someone is being captured, but I wiped out all of organization 13 and the land that never was got destroyed along with Maleficent…right? *Sigh* Will I always feel like this? I should be happy! I'm home with both Riku and Kairi, I destroyed the threat that dangered the universe and I can live the normal life I had before all of this happened. Ha-ha normal? ...That's overrated.

Sora stopped his thoughts and opened his cerulean eyes to see miles and miles of outstretched ocean, the little white seahorses that formed when the waves came crashing down, the way it glistened from the sun and the way it would attack the sand without mercy but then retreat back to gather its forces. It was as though it was mocking him, saying 'I'm free to do whatever I please and go wherever I please'. Annoyed, Sora turned his agitated gaze from the ocean to his silver haired friend beside him. Riku was always tall and well-built when he was young but it seems like in the past years it had took its toll on the 18-year old and had carved the image of a man, he was always winning and beating Sora in fights and races when they were young and Sora believed that even now, despite Sora's gain of knowledge, experience and muscle that he would still be no match for the boy. Riku had his eyes transfixed on the scene in front and stated to Sora.

"Nothing's changed, huh?' Taking his eyes away from Riku, Sora looked to see what it was that had sparked this question from Riku, confused he turned his head towards the ocean and saw the sun hugging the horizon in a tight orange grip. Without taking his view away from the breath-taking view, Sora replied with "Nope. Nothing will". Still mesmerized by the view Riku continued,

"What a small world"

"But part of one that's much bigger" Sora added in.

With a small smile creeping to his lips, Riku finished with a content "Yeah"

After a few seconds of silence, new thoughts buried themselves within Sora's mind causing him to become perplexed; he searched through the very caverns of his brain to look for a memory or a piece of knowledge that would help him come to answer, but to no avail he could not find one. Turning to his best friend for the first time in a while, with his hands in his signature pose; he asked Riku.

"Hey Riku…what do you think it was – the door to the light?" Laughing Riku jumped down from the bent Papou tree and faced Sora, lifting his arm he pointed to Sora's chest with his finger; referring to Sora's heart.

"This" Riku said.

Looking down confused, Sora placed his hand onto his chest and questioned the older boys answer, not believing that this could be the solution to his question, it was a too obvious and simple of a reply. The door to the light couldn't be my heart. Could it? Confused Sora replied with

"This?" Looking up to his best friend Sora readied for his response hoping that it would make sense.

"Yeah. It's always closer than you think" Riku answered. Pulling of his trademark grin, he smiled towards the boy's response, now understanding why he had said it. Sora's happiness was interrupted by the shout of a girl's voice.

"Sora! Riku!" Recognizing the voice instantly, Sora turned round to see his crimson haired friend running towards them; waving with one hand and holding an object in the other. She ran over to them both and stopped in front of them, bending over slightly in order to catch her breath. The boy's just stared down at her for a minute wondering what is was that she had to tell them. Growing impatient Sora bend over slightly too, at the same height as Kairi and with a hint of worry and concern, he asked her

"Hey. What's up?" Still trying to regain her breath, she took in a couple of more breaths and looked up towards Sora replying with

"Look" showing him a bottle with a letter inside, Sora instantly realised the seal that was printed on the letter. Grabbing the bottle from the Kairi, he indirectly asked "From the king?" In a hurry Sora pulled the cork out of the bottle and tilted the bottle to allow the letter to fall out. Opening the letter Sora began to read its contents with Riku and Kairi at each side of him.

The letter inside read: Dear Sora, Riku and Kairi. The truth surrounding the keyblade, passes through numerous connections. However these connections are inside of you all and everyone is waiting for you as you three are the only ones who can heal their sadness inside you. It is possible that the travels up until now compared to the next trip may have been easy, however I can't shake the feeling of a higher and much stronger force this time. Everything thought to be accidental was really connected to the door to a new departure, which seems to be opening. I am sending Donald and Goofy to pick you up in a Gummi Ship tomorrow morning to bring you to me. All will be revealed. Until then, Goodbye.

Folding the letter up and placing it into his back pocket, Sora looked up to study his best friend's faces. Riku had smirk on his face, he looked excited to get back out there and fighting whilst Kairi had pout on her face. She looks so cute and adorable when she does that, Sora thought . Finding a small blush creeping towards his face, Sora shook his thoughts and looked at her again. She seemed to be pondering on the letter. Looking at her for a few seconds, Sora gave up trying to see her reaction and decided to take action.

"So…what do you guy's think?" Sora asked to them both, hoping to gain an answer.

"I think it's great! Well…I mean I am happy to be back but... I'm so used to fighting now, that that seems more normal to me rather than being here" Riku spoke first.

"Erm... Don't get me wrong, I'm excited to go…it's just that… I'm kind of nervous and a little bit sad that we have to leave again after only being back a week, we still had a lot to catch up on" Kairi said solemnly.

Sora walked over to her and placed his hand on her shoulder, making her look into his deep blue eyes. Sora please don't do this, I can't bear to look at you…and your caring eyes. Kairi thought to herself, finding herself blushing and staring at Sora in awe, she put her head down and found a strange interest in her feet.

"Kairi…Don't be nervous. Me and Riku will be here with you all the time and won't let anything happen to you. I…I…mean not like you'll need our help, because in the past week you've shown huge progress in your fighting and training, you'll be like us in no time" Sora said considerately. Riku nodded his head in response, whilst a small chuckle could be heard escaping Kairi's lips. Forcing herself to look up, she saw Sora with the more sincerest expression on his face and she couldn't help but smile at the boys caring words and features.

"As for being sad" Sora continued. "I know it's hard leaving home, but if we don't fight… we won't have a home to come to and it'll always be here for us when we get back. We have a huge adventure coming towards us and plenty of time to see and hear what me and Riku missed out on. But also plenty of time for me to tell you about the worlds and people I've met. In fact by coming on this trip, you will also get to see and meet them. So don't worry about anything and turn that frown upside down" Sora said caringly whilst laughing towards the end. He pulled off his goofy and smiley grin which forced Kairi to laugh and put a smile on her face.

"Thank you Sora." "And Riku" She added in. "Your right, I should be happy that I get come with you on your adventures this time" She said as she smiled at the two.

Two boys smiled at the sight of Kairi being happy and turned to walk towards the bridge.

"C'mon. We should go home, to explain to our parents that we have to leave again" Riku stated.

"Well I my case, it's telling my parents that I'm going away through my own agenda and not being kidnapped" Kairi laughed out.

Sora sighed and followed the two to the boats. He knew that this was going to be a long night, his mum didn't react well to Sora's return a week ago and blethered into tears, crying for two hours whilst hugging saying how she loved him and missed him and would never let him go. It took her long enough to believe and accept Sora's reasons for being away, so he can't imagine how long it'll take for him to convince her to let him go again. Climbing into his boat alongside Kairi and Riku, he began to row back to the main island; thinking about how he'll break the news to his mother.

After hours of shouting, crying and pleading, Sora's mum finally gave her permission to let Sora leave once again to save the universe. He was currently lying in bed looking up at the model ship that dangled from the ceiling that him and Kairi once made when they were younger. All of those dreams about finding new worlds. Sora chuckled to himself. The thought of him and Kairi bore a hole into his skull. Sora had found that Kairi had added to his drawing whilst he was away, but he didn't know whether it meant something. He hoped that it would as he could finally tell her how felt about her for the past…scratch that since the first time he'd met her. He felt butterflies form at the bottom of his stomach as he replayed the scene of Kairi hugging him at the world that never was. How he'd longed to be back with her and see her again, she had changed so much in the year he'd been gone. Once a small, young, short haired girl now a tall and beautiful young woman with long hair and a kind smile, how she made him breathless. His thoughts of Kairi and the adventure ahead took its toll on Sora's mind and he felt his eyes becoming heavy as a yawn escaped from his mouth, before he knew it he had fallen into a deep slumber.

"Sora" a chill voice whispered.

Upon hearing his name, Sora opened his eyes expecting to see the culprit who disturbed him from his sleep but was meant with darkness. He stood in an empty sphere of darkness, covering the whole area. He realised he was dreaming and tried to wake himself up but he was unsuccessful. He felt a harsh cold breeze attack his skin and clenched his teeth in pain as the cold slowly trickled up his arms leaving goose bumps and raised hairs in their trail. The cold hugged him, as though it was trying to suffocate him in its harsh and sharp grip. Sora wrapped his arms round his figure and turned his head in every direction to see whether there was a way out, but there was no sign of such escape. A voice lingered around him above, followed by another voice and another voice and another, all screaming different things at them. It was the voices of the people he had met from Aladdin to Beast to Ariel to Mulan to Hercules to his mother and Kairi. He felt trapped as the voices became louder and closer, replaying the dialogue from his memories, he felt as though he was choking and burning up. He dropped down onto his knees and wrapped his arms around his head in a protective motion. The voices were closing in and he didn't know how much he could take, fear bubbled up inside him covering every inch of his body and before he knew it he screamed "STOP!" The voices subsided and were replaced with an eerie silence and the panting from Sora's mouth. He slowly raised his head to see whether anything had changed to be met with a pair of yellow eyes and the outline of a figure. They bore through his very own eyes and fear struck through Sora again like lightning, causing pain to irrupt inside his body. The figure laughed demonically and placed his head next to Sora's ear.

"You will never be able to help them" It whispered coldly into his ear.

Sora looked to see the figure lifting up his arm and bringing down an axe towards his head, just when Sora thought the impact was about to occur, he woke up sweating and shouting and found himself sprawled across his bed. Sitting up, he looked about his room and realised everything was how it should be. Getting up Sora walked into the bathroom and stared at himself in the mirror, looking at the beads of sweat that trickled from his forehead and down this side of his face. Turning on the tap, he cupped his hands underneath the water and lathered it onto his face repeatedly till he was satisfied. Grabbing a towel he dried his face up and took his shirt off to replace it with a new one. He was now wearing a tight light navy shirt with the tops buttons of his collar undone and his sleeves rolled up whilst he wore his pyjama bottoms which were a plain grey. Taking one last look at his room he opened up the window beside his bed a climbed out the frame and headed towards the play island.

Sora sat next to the water on the long strip of the beach with a rock clenched in his hand and pile beside him. Lifting his arm, he tilted his hand at angle and threw it from his grip and watched it as it gently skipped over the water 1..2..3..4 times before dropping into the water to be lost forever. A cold relieving breeze swept over his head cooling him of the remaining sweat and heat he had from waking up from his nightmare, he closed his eyes and tilted his head back to embrace in its coolness, until he felt a presence blocking it from reaching him. Out of confusion he opened his eyes to be met with a worried violet pair looking down into his. Smiling he tilted his head back to normal and patted the sand next to him, indicating that she should sit down. Accepting his offer, she sat down beside him with crossed legs and looked towards him. Sora feeling the gaze on him, turned his head to his left to look at her only to regret that decision. She was wearing a plain light blue tank top with light blue shorts with cherries on them, her hair was pulled over one shoulder and the moonlight made her eyes sparkle. Feeling a blush sneaking to his face, he decided to distract himself by engaging her in conversation.

"Hey Kairi. What are you doing here at this time?" He asked curiously.

"Funny. I was about to ask you the same thing" She said smugly. Seeing no way out, he decided to tell her what he was doing here.

"I…um…I had a bad dream and I couldn't get to sleep so I decided to come here" Sora mumbled embarrassed.

"Sora…you don't need to be embarrassed. I know you think because you're the keyblade master you're not allowed to be scared and show fear, but you are Sora…." She started pleadingly.

"Just because you're the keyblade master doesn't mean your any less of a human than me or anyone else, you can still be scared and worried" She said sincerely.

"So what was it about?" She asked quizzically.

"Hey I answered your question! Now you answer mine" Sora stated unfairly

"Ugh! Why do you have to be so awkward?" Kairi sighed but continued on.

"I was excited was all, to go away and that" She stated.

"So now that I've answered your question, you can answer mine" Kairi said childishly whilst she stuck her tongue out.

Laughing Sora also stuck his tongue out and mimicked her actions but then stopped to tell her about his bad dream. He looked at her to see if she was listening and her face was full of seriousness but also caring eyes as she nodded for him to start.

"In the dream…I…I was alone in an empty universe surrounded by darkness. In that dream, my whole body…cheeks, fingertips, fingers, heels and even the tips of my hair were pained with cold, fear and loneliness. All those warm days we spent together with Riku seemed more like a dream. Voices of you and other people I met started screaming round my body…past conversations we had had. More and more of them formed and they became louder and louder…yet I…I could not see anything. I…I…I was…was…scared" Sora sadly spoke out in embarrassment. He decided not to tell her of what happened next and bowed his head down.

Kairi looked into Sora's face and eyes and saw pain and fear in carved in them. She scooted along the sand closer to Sora until she was nearly sat on his legs. She placed a hand onto his furthest shoulder and pulled him into a one armed embrace.

"Sora…" She whispered solemnly.

"I'm so sorry that you had to go through that dream on your own and that you had to deal with it. I know…it must of be scary and horrible to endure…but you have to remember that it was just a dream" She said considerately. She used her other free hand to cup Sora's cheek and lift his head to face her, in order to show how sympathetic she felt towards him.

"But…you must always remember you have me and Riku, and even Donald and Goofy with you all time on this journey and we will never leave you side or let anything bad happen to you" She said with a smile in hope of cheering him up. He lifted his hand and placed it on top of Kairi's which was still on his cheek.

"Thank you Kairi. That means a lot to me…really and your right, it was only a dream…and with me, you and Riku we'll be an unstoppable dream team" He cheered as he jumped up and did a superhero pose, he then bent down slightly and extended his hand out towards Kairi. Accepting his offer she grabbed his hand and he helped pull her up to her feet, once steady she then began to walk towards the boats. She stopped at the docks and turned around to face him with her hands on her hips.

"Come on you lazy bum! We need at least some sleep to give us some energy. Donald and Goofy will be here in a couple of hours!" She shouted jokily and with that she turned round, and climbed into her boat. Sora ran towards her stumbling into his own boat whilst she giggled lightly at his clumsy antics, once comfortable her grabbed the paddles and turned to face Kairi with a goofy grin forming on his face.

"Race ya!" He shouted and then set off paddling as fast as he could with Kairi following suite, their laughter could be heard in the night and the essence of happiness and friendship was given off from the two best friends.

In a few hours their real journey was about to begin.