Kingdom Hearts: Guardians Of Light
By
A.M. Maddox
Chapter One
"Fear Not…"
Darkness. There was darkness. And no light. She was surrounded by it. Drowning in it. Floating…..
"Fear not. For you hold the greatest power of all….." She woke with a start. Eyes opening wide.
"That same dream again-" She sat up in bed and rubbed her forehead. For two weeks now, Alicia had been having the exact same dream over and over again. Her doctor chalked it up to over working and long school hours. He told her to take a week off and get some good rest, but Alicia just couldn't afford that. She had way too many responsibilities. As it was, her week was split between her job, school, church, and family and friends. Alicia glanced at the clock on her dresser.
"7:30." She muttered, and kicked the covers off herself. Sleep would have to wait. There was school to get ready for.
It had been raining that night, and the sky was still dark with thunder clouds, and heavy fog, making it look like night still, when Alicia wearily walked out her apartment door. A deep roll of thunder sounded off in the distance overhead. Alicia walked to her car. The shadows of trees and buildings still cast long shadows in the early morning gloom, making the earth look like some strange half-light world.
When Alicia was no more than ten feet from her car, she looked up. She saw something black and shadowy move under her car. It looked about the size of large cat or a small dog.
"Shoo! Scat." Alicia clapped her hands to try and scare it away, but it wouldn't shoo. Instead, it hissed. Two large round yellow eyes appeared, staring straight at her. These were no ordinary cat's eyes. There was something inherently evil about the way they looked. Alicia paused. The creature crawled out from under her car. It was no cat or dog. It was something entirely different.
It was pitch black, about the size and height of a three year old. It had a round body and a short, skinny neck, upon which, a perfectly round head bobbed, its glowing yellow eyes locked on its target. From atop its head, two feelers wiggled. The beast moved toward her in a strange jerking, swaying pattern. Alicia, was thoroughly freaked out.
"Whoa-!" She backed away as the thing drew closer. Suddenly, the creature seemed to flatten itself against earth, making itself look lik drawing on a sidewalk. With lightning speed, it scuttled toward Alicia. When it was three feet from her, it popped up out of the ground right in front of her face.
"Yeeeaaaarrrrgh!" Alicia swung at the beast with her backpack, knocking it aside. Alicia turned around and rushed back inside her apartment, locking and bolting the door. She backed up into the living room, eyes focused on the front door. Alicia's heart was in her throat. Fear racing through every vein in her body.
"What was that?" She muttered, but then, she tripped over something. She stumbled, and turned around. To her horror, another black monster was crawling around at her feet, hissing and sniffing the carpet. Alicia then took a closer look at her living room and saw a nightmarish site; Swarms of these beasts covered the whole floor and the furniture. It was like a sea of black dotted with bright, glowing yellow orbs. Alicia shrieked, and tried to make her way back to the front door. But it was no use. No sooner had she seen the horror in her room, than the mass of monsters started to converge on her! They wrapped their little claws around her feet before she made it to the front door. Slowed by the extra weight on her heels, Alicia collapsed. The horde of little devils began to crawl over her. But, Alicia wouldn't give up without a fight!
"No-I'm not going like this-!" Though the weight of the black demons began to crush her, Alicia struggled to her feet. And that's when it happened. Alicia was suddenly engulfed by a bright blinding light as white as snow. As it grew, Alicia felt warmth begin to spread over her body, and the weight of black beasts melted away. She like she was sinking through the floor. She tried to stand up, but couldn't get her feet under her. She was falling. Falling, again. But not through darkness, but through light.
It felt like she was free falling though space; Alicia didn't know which way was up. She managed to right herself into a standing position. As she did so, she noticed that she seemed to be slowing down.
"Am I reaching the bottom?" she thought. She slowed her decent until she came to a near stop. Then her feet lightly touched on something flat. Then everything went black. Alicia gasped as she was plunged into darkness. She was afraid to move.
"Wh-Where am I now?" she whispered to herself. She shuffled her feet forward a little, and suddenly, a commotion erupted in front of her. It sounded like a flock of birds had taken off into the air. As the birds flew up, they revealed what Alicia was standing on; she was standing on a big circular floor. Alicia looked down to examine it, and gasped.
"Oh my!" On the floor, Alicia's very own was etched. Next to her, in three smaller circles, were the faces of three of her closest friends, smiling back at her. A Celtic-style pattern bordered the edge of the floor, and in the border, were images of all the things Alicia liked; at the head of the floor was a picture of a violin. At the bottom, where Alicia was standing, was a picture of a horse. To the left, were the two acting masks, comedy and drama, representing the performing arts. And to the right, was a pen and book. The whole floor shone with a light that seemed to come from within, illuminating the floor like a stained glass window. The light from the floor was the only thing that shone in this black pit. Alicia was entranced by what she saw!
"Am I dreaming? What is this place?" She wondered aloud. She walked to the center of the floor and then stopped.
"The closer you come to the light-the greater your shadow becomes. But fear not: for you hold the greatest power of all….."
"What-" Just then, a blinding light sprung up in front of Alicia.
"Nergh!" she shielded her eyes, but just as quickly as it had come, the light was gone. In its place, floated a strange weapon. It looked like a giant key! And yet, it wasn't any ordinary key Alicia had ever seen. It was vary ornate and intricate in its design. The neck of the key was long and straight, with pattern etched into it that resembled the bark of a tree. The three teeth of the key were fanned out and looked like elongated oval shaped leaves. The neck was grey in color and the teeth were a deep emerald green. The handle of the key, which now looked like hand guards, looked like the prongs on a buck's antlers. The grip of the handle looked like carven stone. The pummel was set with a bright sapphire. A long chain made of leather dangled from the pummel and at the end of it, was a small Celtic cross. Alicia had never seen anything so beautiful! She walked up to it timidly, eyes wide. She cautiously raised her hand, hesitated, then wrapped her fingers around the grip. At once, she felt a warm connection spread from her hand, up her arm, and into her very heart. Alicia brought the Keyblade closer to face to examine it farther. But just as she did so, the floor under her completely shattered!
"Oh no, not AGAAAAIIIN!" she screamed as she tumbled through blackness once more.
