Chapter One: Awaken


I've been having these weird thoughts lately... Like, is any of this for real or not?


Two steady heartbeats could be clearly heard as two bodies sank into the inky blackness of the water. The bubbles trailing after them blocked their faces from view. The two boys soon fell from the water and onto a dark platform with a soft thud, with each on the opposite end. The first boy was the quickest to recover. After a minute, the other followed.

The first boy could be described as a kid with black messy hair. He had a few buckteeth, and a pair of rectangular glasses to hide his sapphire eyes. His outfit consisted of a white shirt with a picture of what appears to be a bright green ghost of sorts on it, brown shorts, a belt, and white sneakers.

The second boy had platinum blonde hair that seems to give off the appearance of being windswept. He seemed to be taller than the first boy, even with their distance apart at the moment. He wore a red-sleeved baseball t-shirt with a scratched record on the front, black jeans, and black sneakers. His bright, ruby eyes would be visible if they weren't impaired by the pair of dark aviator sunglasses he wore to hide them. Both of the boys appeared to be thirteen.

Before either boy could take a step forward, there was a flash of bright light. A large flock of birds for some odd reason flew up from the platform, scattering their feathers everywhere. The platform was revealed to be the image of a young girl taking a bite from an apple. The black-haired boy laughed.

"I'm going to guess that this was you, huh Dave?" he said. Dave Strider crossed his arms over his chest.

"Just because of the whole 'bird incident' you think that everything that has to do with birds is just because of me? Seriously, Egbert?" John Egbert laughed again.

"You do have a lot of bird pictures in your room." Dave rolled his eyes from behind his shades.

"Shut up."

"So much to do, so little time…" echoed out a feminine voice. Both Dave and John looked around. There was no one. "Take your time. Don't be afraid. The door is still shut. Now, step forward. Can you do it?"

"Egbert, are we being questioned by a disembodied voice?"

"I think so…" replied John, taking a few steps forward. Dave followed in pursuit to meet his friend in the center of the platform. Suddenly, three stone pedestals rose up from around the two. A shield shimmered into existence on one of them.

"Power sleeps within you…" the voice repeated. A blue staff appeared on another pedestal. "If you give it form…" A metal sword appeared on the final pedestal. "It will give you strength. Choose well." John looked around at all three items.

"I think we're supposed to chose one," he stated.

"No shit," Dave responded. He turned on his heel and took the sword in his hands. John raised an eyebrow.

"The power of the warrior. Invincible courage. A sword of terrible destruction," said the voice once more as soon as Dave's fingers touched it. "Is this the power you choose, David Strider?" Dave looked up into the darkness. How did the voice know his full name?

"Uh… yeah?" The sword disappeared from his hands as soon as the words left his mouth.

"A sword?" John asked. "Really?" Dave looked over at him.

"Hell yeah. My bro uses them. Swords are cool." John rolled his own eyes before looking at the two remaining choices. He walked over to the staff, taking it in his hands.

"The power of the mystic. Inner strength. A staff of wonder and ruin. Is this the power you seek, Jonathan Egbert?" the voice asked. John nodded hesitantly.

"Yeah," he answered. The staff vanished from his hands. The remaining weapon shimmered and disappeared.

"Your paths are set. You've chosen to give up the power of the guardian. You've chosen the powers of the warrior and mystic. Are you ready to continue?" Dave and John exchanged a look.

"Yes," the pair said in unison. The three stones suddenly sank into the floor, crumbling to pieces. The ground shook, and the edges of the platform crumble off before finally, the platform shattered. The boys fell through the darkness. They would have been falling through that darkness forever if it wasn't for another platform. This time it depicted a girl in a beautiful silver ball gown. Dave got to his feet, pulling up John with him.

"You alright?" John asked.

"Yeah," Dave replied. "Now what the fuck is going on?" John shrugged.

"I don't know. I'm as confused as ever."

"You gained the power to fight," the voice interrupted once more. In a flash, the items the boys had chosen appeared in their dominant hands. Dave balanced the sword in his hands before slashing the air in front of him with it.

"This isn't too bad…" Strider muttered under his breath before raising his tone. "At least I don't have a stick."

"Hey!" said John, holding the staff in his hands.

"Alright boys," said the disembodied voice. "Time to quit quarrelling amongst yourselves and use the power I gave you to protect yourself and others."

"Easy for you to say… I have a stick."

"So you admit it's a super shitty stick," Dave added. John groaned as Dave turned to face him. As both had become distracted, neither John or Dave realized that there was a shadow slithering along the floor that didn't belong to either of them. The shadow rose up, causing John to take notice of it.

"What is that?" he asked. Dave turned and watched as the creature slithered between them, with its large yellows eyes, twitching antennae, and deformed hands and feet. John knelt down to its level. "Aw, it's kinda cute, isn't it?"

"Kill it," Dave said almost immediately. John looked up at Dave with a curious look. "Fucking kill it." He raised the sword before stabbing it down into the creature. It disappeared into a simple shadow before fading away completely. John stood up.

"You didn't have to do that."

"It looks evil. Like a psychopathic killer."

"How do you know that?"

"Trust me, Egbert. I know." Dave leaned over to get a glance behind John. "I also fucking know that there are more behind you." John turned. More of the shadow creatures had appeared. And they looked angry.

"There will be times you have to fight," the mystery voice instructed. "Keep your light burning strong." Both John and Dave stood back to back with each other as the shadows creeped up closer. Eyes narrowed from behind both pairs of glasses the boys wore. Soon, both sword and staff were swinging at the creatures, turning them back into simple shadows.


John wiped the sweat off his brow as he hit the last one over the head.

"Was I right or was I right?" asked Dave, John sighed.

"You were right," he answered.

"Now, what do we know?"

"The shadows are dangerous."

"Exactly." Dave went to turn on his heel and head back toward John, but found himself unable to move. He looked down and his eyes widened. A black void had opened up underneath him and had begun to act like quicksand. John noticed this and began to run over. He wasn't to far when he became caught in the black void himself. The pair struggled to get themselves free, but to no avail. They watched as each other sank into the inky blackness once more, drowning in it.


"Dave. Dave. Dave~" Dave blinked his eyes open. Squatting down beside him was John. Dave sat up. The pair were on another platform, this time a multicolored platform with three silhouettes.

"John, I can smell food on your breath," said Dave. "Back up." John stood, pulling Dave up with him. The boys finally took notice to the white door in front of them. Dave stood up and walked over to it. He began pulling on the handles. "I can't get it open." JOhn walked up beside him.

"Can I try it?" he asked. Dave shrugged.

"Be my guest. But you and I are the same bodywise and I don't think you could-" John grabbed the handle and pulled. The door opened with a click. "Open it." John laughed as he walked into the door. Dave followed after. To their surprise, it was a white room.

"What's this?" John asked, running a hand along on of the walls. Dave shrugged.

"Yo, voice! What the hell?"

"Hold on. This is important… I think," said the voice. "The door won't open just yet. First, tell me more about yourself. I need to make sure that it's you."

"Go ahead," said John.

"What do you want out of life?"

"To be strong," Dave answered.

"To be strong, huh? Er… What are you afraid of?"

"Uh… being indecisive," John said.

"Being indecisive? Is that really so frightening? Okay. This last question is for both of you. What's most important to you?" John and Dave exchanged glances.

"Friendship," they said in unison.

"You want friendship. You want to be strong. You're afraid of being indecisive," said the voice as they recalled the answers. "Okay. I know it's you two. Your adventure begins in the dead of night. Your road won't be easy, but a rising sun awaits your journey's end."

"That makes no sense," Dave said.

"The day you will open the door is both far off and very near."

"You're right," John whispered. "This voice doesn't make any sense…" Suddenly, a flash of white light caused both boys to cover their eyes.

When it disappeared, John and Dave were standing on another platform. On it was a picture of a sleeping woman clutching a rose. The pair walked across the platform and are surrounded by Shadows.

"You've got to be kidding me," Dave muttered. "Seriously?!"

"Dave, you're losing your cool…" John added as they began to fight the shadows. Dave looked over at him as he stabbed a shadow.

"I hate these things, Egbert. I hate them so fucking much." John stared over at Dave. What kind of beef could he have against these shadows anyway?"

Soon, all the shadows were defeated. A light shined down on the edge of the platform, producing stairs of stained glass. Dave and John walked forward to them.

"Do you think we can walk on it?" John asked. Dave shrugged.

"Let's see." He put a hand on John's back before pushing him onto the stairs. "Yeah. We can walk on them." John shot a look back at Dave as he began to climb the stairs. Both boys began to walk on the glass, unaware of where they were going.


The pair finally reached the top of the stairs, which had ended at another platform. It depicted a woman in a yellow dress and a hideous monster.

"How many of these things are we going to see?" Dave asked as the stairs vanished behind him. "Hey, voice. You gonna answer?"

"The closer you get to the light, the greater your shadow becomes," said the voice.

"Dave, it's being cryptic again," John said. He turned to look at his shadow. He took a few steps forward, but his shadow remained in place. As did Dave's. Eventually, both shadows pulled themselves from the ground. Dave turned to watch the living shadows.

"But don't be afraid. And don't forget…" The voice was cut off as the shadows began to meld and twist together. Both John and Dave cringed. It became a mass of a tentacle-like body.

"Dude, that is fucking gross," Dave said.

"It's disturbing…" John added. They backed up and away from the creature until they reached the edge of the platform. John almost fell over the edge, but Dave grabbed his hand and pulled him back up.

"We got to fight it."John looked over at Dave.

"Are you crazy?!"

"Hey, we took on those shadows, didn't we?"

"Yeah, but this is different!"

"Don't be a baby, Egbert." Dave sprinted at the creature, sword tightly in his hand. John sighed before gripping his staff tightly and following Dave in pursuit. The creature's glowing yellow eyes stared down at them with malice.

The creature summoned a ball of dark, violent energy and punched the floor. The boys trembled as a void of darkness appeared on the floor, summoning several Shadows. John swallowed the lump of fear forming in his throat before swinging his staff at them. Dave went around to attack the creature, while it began targeting John.

"Dave!" John shouted.

"I got this, Egbert!" Dave shouted back. "Just keep trying not to die!"

"What do you think I'm doing?!" Dave laughed as the creature punched the ground again. He took his chance. Dave raised his sword. He brought it down on the monster's wrist. The creature looked over at him. Dave jumped back as John defeated the last shadow.

"Do you think we can take him?" John asked. Dave shrugged. As the two boys stood back-to-back with each other, their weapons vanished from their hands.

"You have got to be kidding me…" Dave muttered as the creature loomed over the two boys. The creature slammed its hands into the ground, narrowly missing John and Dave by a hair. John fell onto the ground from the force of the blow. Dave lowered to pull John up, but collapsed due to another hit from the monster. A dark void appeared underneath the pair. It began to pull them in, as if it were quicksand. In a mass effort to escape, John and Dave began to try and pull away.

"-But don't be afraid," the voice said as the boys continued to sink in deeper. They were up to their knees. "You hold the mightiest weapon of all." The boys couldn't escape. Soon, they were sinking in deeper and quicker until a single, grasping hand was lost into the dark abyss. "So don't forget…" The darkness wrapped its last threads around two pairs of frightened eyes. Dave Strider and John Egbert were engulfed in the darkness.

"You are will open the door."