(Disclaimer Kingdom Hearts and all of it's characters are owned by Square-Enix and Disney.)
Chapter 1
A boy and a Keyblade
There is nothing but darkness as Nouko floats freely. It's as if he is being drawn to something, only he can't tell where it is or if he's going forward or backward, up or down. He's just in this deep dark abyss floating. Then as he begins to panic, he feels a magnetic pull and soon he is being drawn forward. The reason he knows this is because of the tiny pin prick of light that seems so far away.
"Am I dreaming this or is this reality?" He says in the deep dark void.
There is no answer, only silence. The tiny pin prick of light begins to grow a little. It is the size of a small coin now. He can almost see something behind it. There is a strange power drawing him towards that light and he feels it crackling just underneath all of the darkness.
"Where am I going?" He asks himself.
The light begins to intensify and he is suddenly swallowed by it. He has time to close his eyes tight and hold his hands up to his face to shield them from it, then he realizes he is standing on a platform and that the light is no longer blinding. He looks around and wonders how he got to this odd place and then he looks down and stares at the huge picture on the floor.
"That's me!" He exclaims.
"Go Forward wielder of the Keyblade." A voice drifts from somewhere up above.
"Huh!?"
He takes a hesitant step towards the end of the tall pillar he is standing on and finds that there are small steps that spiral up to another tower. He climbs each one very carefully and slowly. He makes his way towards the next pillar.
"Where am I!?" He asks again.
There is no answer, only silence yet again. He looks on the floor and sees another picture, this one is of his friends Umi and Kaz. He walks towards the middle of the floor and waits for something. He knows he will get some kind of answer, somehow he just knows. The voice drifts towards him again.
"Step forward."
He walks towards three small tables, each with a weapon of some kind on it. There are a Staff, Sword, and Shield. He reaches for the shield and then hesitates looking each of them over very carefully. The voice speaks up.
"If you give it form... It will give you strength. Choose well."
He reaches for the shield and takes it in his hand, it feels right somehow. He takes it and suddenly it disappears. He begins to walk forward and is suddenly stopped again. The voice drifts from somewhere above.
"You will be a guardian to all you hold dear. Use this power wisely."
He suddenly feels himself floating again, this time he lands on a pillar. He looks at the picture and sees that it is a princess. He is about to walk away when something catches his eye. It is a slight movement. When he looks at it he sees that it is some kind of dark blot.
"Defend yourself." The voice speaks.
Suddenly several dark blots slither across the floor and all at once they all burst forward. He looks at them with wonder and amazement, they are little creatures with black antennae and yellow eyes. They began to close the distance between themselves and Nouko.
"How am I supposed to defend myself?" He asks.
The shield suddenly appears in his hand and he holds it up. He glances around to make sure there are no dark blots behind him. He attacks one of the dark creatures as it swings violently at him. It is struck hard and bounces backwards. He jumps in the air and drives the shield down hard on another one knocking it to the ground.
The third one swings and catches him across the back. He lets out a yelp and then jumps away swinging as he does. His shield misses the thing by mere inches and he watches as it melts back into the ground and tries to circle him.
"Hah!" He yells and jumps forward.
His strike hits the ground where the thing is, but does no damage. He looks at it as it slithers off towards a safer area. Then it bursts from the ground and begins to attack him again. He runs to it's side and takes a swing with his shield hitting it across the head. He quickly swings his shield again and connects with it's chin knocking it onto the ground.
He feels strength coursing through his body and there is also a feeling of power. He notices a door and walks towards it. He waits for the voice to say something, but it doesn't. He reaches for the door and opens it. The light floods in and he is suddenly falling.
"Nouko..."
"Wha...?"
"Nouko...!"
"Where am I?" Nouko asked as he opened his eyes and looked around.
"Where do you think you are?" Umi asked.
"I don't know...I had this dream I was somewhere else...and..." He started to say.
"That's just like you to fall asleep on the bus when we're almost there!" Kaz spoke up.
"Oh yeah that's right! The amusement park!" Nouko said excitedly.
He looked at his two friends and smiled brightly. They were both sitting in the seats opposite of his own on a train that led to the amusement park. Kaz was the tallest, he had green eyes and red hair. It was long and spiky. He wore a dog street vest and a pair of pants that said Z' Abes on them. He was a fan of whatever that was.
Umi, was the shortest, she had light brown hair and blue eyes. She was wearing a light colored sun dress and had her hair tied back in a pony tail. Nouko noticed that she was wearing a necklace he had never seen before. It had a small blue crystal in it.
"Aren't you guys glad we made it this year?" Kaz asked them.
"Yeah, I felt so bad when we didn't get to go last year." Umi said.
"I'm going to ride all of the rides at least three times each!" Nouko said.
"Not if I do first!" Kaz challenged.
They all laughed and waited impatiently as the train began to slow down. Nouko was excited because this was their first trip together in a long time. Finally, we get to do something really fun together! He thought as the train came to a halt.
"Nouko, Umi, Kaz!" A voice said from behind them.
They turned around and were greeted by Rinoa, Quistis, and Vincent. Three other friends that went to the same school as they did. Umi and Kaz ran up to them excitedly but Nouko stood back watching as they all began to talk. He smiled as he watched all of them.
"Nouko you big goof! Let's go in!" Kaz said.
He began to approach them when all of a sudden he felt an intense pain in his chest. He turned and looked around but saw nothing. Then as he was about to go to his friends, he saw a man in a black cloak standing by the train watching him.
"H-hey wait up guys!" He said forgetting about the man and about the pain he had just felt.
They went into the amusement park and began to ride the rides and play the games. Umi grabbed Nouko by the arm and led him to a ferris wheel. He looked at it with slight fear, he had a mild fear of heights.
"Nouko we have to ride this! I love the ferris wheel!" She said.
"O-okay Umi." He said.
As they went up, they could see the whole city spread out before them. Umi held her hand out and pointed at the section they lived in. Nouko smiled and listened as she exclaimed over the different parts of the city that they could see. Below them Quistis was holding on to Vincent in fear of how far up they were going. Nouko had to hide a smile from seeing that.
"I wish it could be like this all the time." Umi said.
"Me too." Nouko replied.
Umi grabbed Nouko by the arm and held onto it tightly. He felt a flush of heat spread over his face and he realized he was blushing. He turned to make sure she wasn't looking and saw that she was blushing as well. They looked at each other and began to laugh.
"Nouko, you're so silly!" Umi said.
It was just getting dark when Nouko decided he wanted to go into the haunted maze. He entered it and began to fumble in the darkness looking for the exit. Once in a while a moogle would jump out dressed as a bat or a ghoul and scare him, but otherwise he was having a good time.
"It is time wielder of the Keyblade!" a voice boomed.
He stopped and looked around feeling confused. He had heard that name before and couldn't quite remember where. Just then Vincent and Kaz ran into him making him jump in the air. Vincent began to chuckle as he saw this.
"Nouko, kind of jumpy aren't you?" Vincent asked.
"Sorry, I guess I'm a little spooked by this place." He replied.
"What!? Come on Nouko! This is a childish spook house!" Kaz said.
"Whoa look at that!" Vincent said pointing at a weird blot on the ground.
"Now that's good detail, how are they making that happen?" Kaz asked.
Nouko looked at the blot on the ground and suddenly began to recall his dream. He grabbed Kaz and Vincent by the shirts and began to pull them away. Vincent started to protest when the thing crawled out of the ground and began to approach them.
"Run!" Nouko yelled.
They turned and began to run the opposite way. Vincent first followed by Kaz and then finally Nouko. He was on his way out when all of a sudden he felt some odd tingle in his hand. He lifted it up and a shaft of light flew through his hand and transformed into a giant key. He looked at it with amazement and suddenly he turned back and waited for the dark creature to arrive.
"Hah!" He yelled and swung the key at the creature.
He knocked it back but it quickly flipped as it was falling and launched itself forward. Nouko saw it leaping at him and had time to lean back, it's claw just missing him by a centimeter. He swung the keyblade down connecting with it's back. It fell to the ground and dissolved.
As he left the Spook house, he ran into Rinoa, Quistis, Vincent, and Kaz. They were all cornered by several of the creatures. He ran towards them and swung the keyblade as hard as he could. The blade connected with two of them knocking them back. Three more circled him. He was getting ready to attack them when all of a sudden something flashed by.
He looked around to see what it was and when he did, the creatures all dissolved. There was a figure standing in the shadows holding a keyblade. He tried to make out who it was but couldn't. Just then the figure stepped out of the shadows.
"Those things are called heartless. Be careful, they attack in great numbers."
"Who are you?" Nouko asked.
"My name is of little importance right now! You have to find your friend Umi!" The figure said.
"Umi!"
"Nouko, Kaz and Umi are missing!" Rinoa said.
"We tried to stop Kaz from looking for her, but you know how stubborn he is!" Quistis said.
"We're sorry..." Vincent muttered.
Nouko began to run as fast as he could looking for his two friends. He could see people left and right, heartless climbing on them and taking their hearts. He raced by them hoping against hope that Umi and Kaz were okay. He reached a large platform that led to a roller coaster ride and saw Umi standing on top of the tracks.
"Umi get down!" Nouko screamed.
He began to run up the tracks when the darkness enveloped her. By the time he reached where she was, there was nothing. He fell to the ground and slammed his fist into the track he was kneeling on. A tear rolled down his face.
"Umi!!" He roared.
"There's still hope, shes been taken to another world." The figure said.
"Another world?" Nouko echoed.
"Yes, there are many worlds besides this one. I'll help you find her." The figure said.
"Nouko! Umi!" Kaz suddenly said.
He was standing a few feet from the figure staring at the two of them. Suddenly he charged at the figure screaming in rage. The figure stepped out of the way and watched as Kaz tripped over a rail and fell into Nouko.
"I'll take you two, to meet the king. He'll know what to do." The figure said.
"What about Vincent and the others?" Nouko asked.
"I'll have them put in a safe place." The figure said.
He opened a path and stepped inside taking both Kaz and Nouko with him as he stepped through. There was that blinding light and then when it was too intense, it let up. Nouko and the others were standing in a large courtyard with high hedges and white buildings. He rubbed his eyes and looked dazedly at his surroundings.
"Where are we?" He asked.
"You're at the kingdom." The figure said.
They walked down large halls and stopped at a very large set of doors. The figure opened them and motioned for the others to enter. As they approached a throne, he got down on one knee and motioned for the others to do so. They stared in disbelief at the small mouse that sat in the throne. Kaz and Nouko looked at each other and then also went to their knees as well.
"You have done well, Ishi. Please stand." The king said.
They all stood. He approached the two friends and looked them over. Then he went and motioned for someone to come. They all watched as a bumbling little man in a blue gown and tall blue hat came in with a bundle of papers as long as his body. He had a long beard and thin framed glasses.
"Pleased to meet the two of you! I'm Merlin the magician and I'm going to teach you a little bit about magic." He said.
"Your majesty?" Nouko asked.
"Yes?" King Mickey replied.
"We weren't properly introduced yet sire." He said embarrassed.
"I am King Mickey." Mickey bowed.
"We are Nouko, and Kaz." They said and bowed themselves.
"Now please let Merlin teach you how to wield magic! It is just as important as the keyblade." Mickey said.
"But what is the keyblade?" Nouko asked.
"You don't know?" Mickey gaped.
"It looks like this is going to be a long day sire." Ishi said.
He sat in the corner of the room and listened as the king explained to the two young men, what the keyblade was and why it chose Nouko as the wielder. Ishi waited, and also wondered why he himself had a keyblade. Of course he wasn't as lucky as Nouko, he had lost his friends to the heartless and he was the only one left from his world.
I hope that this Nouko can follow through with this. I'd hate to see him fall prey to the evil that is beginning to form around all these worlds. He thought. He stood up, excusing himself as he did, and went to his chambers on the other end of the castle. He looked at the faded picture of he and his two friends. Vyn and Ivy... He thought as he stared at the picture. Sadness filled him often, but he knew that there was still a chance to get them back. He waited for the king to call on him as the sun began to set in this world.
