The Unions
A/N: The inspiration to do this came after reviewing every KH game in preparation for KH3, my inspiration was finalized after seeing the final cutscene of KH3 upon beating the game. This is my take on how the plot to Kingdom Hearts would've played out, if there was one extra Keyblade wielder. One who's been to hell and back in every sense of the word, time and time again. We'll be starting out in the timeline of Union Cross. There WILL be spoilers, so please be aware of that.
Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts. If I did, I'd make all their games available on the Xbox One!
Chapter 1: The Power of Light
Our story begins with a fairytale. A fairytale that an elderly woman always told her granddaughter.
It went as followed, "Long ago, people lived in peace, bathed in the warmth of light. Everyone loved the light. Then people began to fight over it. They wanted to keep it for themselves. And darkness was born in their hearts. The darkness spread, swallowing the light, and many people's hearts. It covered everything, and the world disappeared. But small fragments of light survived, in the hearts of children. With these fragments of light, children rebuilt the lost world. It's the world we live in now."
This fairytale was the child's favorite. But, little did either of them know, that it was far more than just fairytale. This is the story of that fairytale. And how it affected the life of one young boy so drastically, that his life would never be the same. And as he walked down the roads of his home town, he suddenly found himself sleepy. Overcome by this, he fell to the floor, before loosing himself to slumber, he heard a voice, "Look deep inside your heart. This is where your journey begins."
And this, is how the tale begins.
James, or Jim as his friends would call him, found himself encased in a bright light. When he opened his blue eyes, he found himself standing on a large, circular platform with nothing around him in any direction. On the platform, showed the images of five different creatures; A panther, a unicorn, a bear, a fox, and a cobra.
James ran his fingers through his short black hair in confusion, "Where am I? What is this place?"
Then, suddenly, a nameless voice echoed through the area, "Which Union does your heart belong to?" It asked as the images on the ground rose and levitated in the air. James was baffled. He knew not where he was, or what was happening, and yet. Despite this, he felt no fear. It was as if his heart knew to trust this mysterious voice.
He looked around at the images, studying each one closely. After brief consideration, he walked towards the image of the fox. The image shrank and slowly guided itself into James' heart.
Suddenly, the platform began to get enveloped by dark shadows that crept ever closer to James. He wanted to escape, but they were approaching him from all directions. In seconds, the entire platform was nothing but pitch black. The darkness then encased James in a sphere.
After a few moments, a light began to shine from inside the sphere. The light grew in size and power as it banished all the darkness away, leaving James with a new weapon in his right hand. After a quick examination, he assumed it was a type of sword.
The blade was a typical metallic gray, but the hand-guard was purple and had an odd shape to it. Attached to the bottom of it, was a short chain that had a gold star charm at the end of it. On the side of the blade that faces him, it had a design similar to the star charm, with a tiny triangle on the other side of that part of the blade.
James raised his eyebrow at the weapon, "It almost looks like a... some kind of... key or something."
Just then, the voice spoke again, "The Keyblade holds the power of light- the power to drive away the darkness." Suddenly, a strange light began to form on the tip of, what apparently was, the Keyblade, and encased James, and everything else in a blinding light.
James found himself back in the streets of Daybreak Town. He looked himself over, his black wrist-bands gripped his arms as he padded his blue flex-jeans and his yellow sleeveless vest-like shirt. He sighed in relief upon learning he was fine, "That was the weirdest dream I've ever had, and will likely not be topped by any dreams I may have in the future." He said to himself. He was about to take a few steps forward, but he was halted when he saw a shadow move through the ground and manipulate itself into a strange form that had golden eyes.
It took one look at James and leapt up at him, he raised his arms to shield himself, and was astonished to see that the same weapon-the Keyblade- from his dream, had materialized into his hand. The creature was repelled by this weapon and took a wary position as it stared down James.
He didn't understand what was going on, but he knew one thing for certain, "I need to fight my way through!" He charges toward the monster and slays it in a single swing.
Before he can celebrate, he finds himself surrounded by five of the same creatures. The Keyblade was glowing at the tip of the blade, this encouraged James to point the tip at the sky. Suddenly, all the monsters were each struck down by a bolt of lightning. James let out a breath of relief as he looked at the blade in his hands, "This thing is amazing." His head jerked to the left when he saw another strange creature, this one was cat-like, except it walked on two legs and had a bag wrapped around his neck and a cape.
The creature was about as tall as James' torso. It looked up at him and spoke with its high-pitched voice, "Pretty scary stuff, huh? But you get an A for effort." It told him. James eyed the creature cautiously. With all the strange surprises he's had today, he didn't know what to make of anything. The creature tilted his head, "You look a little confused. Here's what's going on." It paused for a moment, "Your pursuit of light made you the perfect candidate for a Keyblade wielder." It then pointed to the spot where one of the shadow creatures stood before getting struck down, "Darkness is spreading and it's up to you to use the weapon to get rid of it, collect light, and in turn save the world."
James took a step back, "What? Keyblade, light, darkness? What are you talking about? Do you know what those things were that attacked me?" He asked.
It nodded, "The monster that was just defeated belongs to the darkness and is called a Heartless. These Heartless scour the world searching for hearts, spreading darkness as they go."
James' eyes widened at hearing this, "Searching for hearts? What happens to a person if they find one?"
The creature's head lowers, "Their heart is consumed by darkness and lost. The body that remains is corrupted, and becomes a Heartless." It then looked back up at James, "But the Keyblade is an effective weapon against them."
The creature paused for a brief moment, "I hope all this is sinking in..."
James nodded, "Uh... kind of... so, the Heartless work for this... darkness, and my-uh- Keyblade? Is the only thing that can stop them?"
It nodded, "That's the bare-bones of it, yes." It tells him cheerfully, "Anyway, I was assigned by a certain someone to watch over a new Keyblade wielder-you!"
James nodded, "Alright. Well it's good to meet you. I'm James, but everyone calls me Jim." He says as he extends his left hand to the creature.
It offers its paw, "I'm Chirithy." He said as they shook hand and paw, "I'll be supporting you the whole way, teaching you everything you need to know and more."
James smiled, "Good, because I've got, like, a million and one questions. Starting with this thing!" He says, holding up the Keyblade.
Chirithy nods his head upward, "That's your Keyblade. It was chosen by your heart, so only you, or someone you deem worthy of it, may wield it. You also get to decide its name."
James examined it and hummed for a few seconds, "Starlight. It'll be called Starlight."
Chirithy looks James square in the eyes, "Right now, that Keyblade is just like you-it has room to grow. To unleash its true power, you'll need to have unwavering trust in the light that lives inside your heart."
James nods slowly, "How do I do that?" He asks.
"By believing." Chirithy replies, "Whatever it is that drives you to do what you do. The thing that makes you strong. The thing that made you worthy of the Keyblade." Chirithy saw the look of utter confusion on James' face and shook his head, "You may not know exactly what it is now, but in time, you will. And when you do, you'll tap into a level of power you never knew could exist."
James' eyes widened, "Whoa now! Let's just settle for the power to fight the Heartless for now. We can blow up my imagination some other time." He says with a chuckle.
Chirithy lets out a laugh as well, "Good idea." He tells his new friend, "Anyway, that's a lot to take in, so why don't you use the Heartless here for some practice?" As soon as Chirithy finished that sentence, more Heartless appeared throughout the town.
James smirked, "Why not?" He says as he holds his Keyblade ready to fight, "Bring it on!"
After fighting his way through thirty-six Heartless. Five of them were wearing a few pieces of knight-like armor. But that didn't help them. James quickly became accustomed to his Keyblade and the powers they granted him.
Upon his victory over the Heartless, a massive portal appeared in front of him. Out from it, walked out a tall, elegant woman wearing white robes, her face disguised by a fox mask, with the mask's ears sticking out through the pink shoal she wore over her head.
She looked at James and spoke calmly, "You've managed to tap into the Keyblade. Lesser Heartless won't stand a chance." James wanted to speak, to thank her for her praises, but she had an aura about her that kept him silent. "But," she continues, "in order to defeat stronger foes..."
Suddenly, a massive humanoid Heartless appeared behind James. Though initially startled, he immediately took his combat stance, ready to fight.
As if she's ignoring the monster, she continues, "You must combine your strength with those who share your purpose and aspirations." Then, six people charged onto the scene, surrounding the strange woman, each one drawing a Keyblade of their own (A/N: In this fanfic, only my character using the Starlight. Hopefully, it'll make more sense as to why in future volumes).
The woman spoke again, "Your friends will become your power."
James and the six other wielders prepared to face off with the Heartless. It slammed its fist into the ground, generating a shockwave that knocked the entire group over. A pool of darkness formed around the giant fist, causing three shadow Heartless to appear. James got to his feet, "I'll hold off the small fry. You guys slow down that big one!" They nod and charge past him.
James quickly begins to fight the three smaller Heartless before they can stop his new allies, who struck at its hands. After a brief skirmish, the large Heartless began to fire large orbs at the group. James looks at one of the girls in the group, "You, come with me. The rest of you, cover us!" The five other wielders blocked and deflected the orbs, sending two of them to the Heartless' legs, causing it to topple over. James grabbed the girl's arm, "Give him a headache!" He says as he launches her into the air. She performs a few summersaults before striking the Heartless square on the head, causing it to cry out in pain. James leapt towards the monster, and with a mighty shout, he cleaved the Heartless in two. The seven wielders all celebrated with one another as the beast evaporated.
They all then turned to face the woman again. She spoke with more emotion in her voice this time, "There are others who collect the light, but not all of them share the same goal of bringing peace to the world." The group gasped quietly and exchanged looks amongst each other before she continued, "You must discover who amongst us walks the path of darkness." James and the others nod before the woman disappears into another large portal.
The six wielders soon said their goodbyes to James and each other and all went their own paths. James turned around to see Chirithy walking up to him, "I know this is overwhelming, but darkness waits for no one!" He says, "In fact, it's found its way to a bunch of other worlds, which need your help."
James gaped at this, "Other worlds!? How the heck am I supposed to reach them?" He asks.
Chirithy bounces, "I know a way to these places. Are you ready?"
James had to seriously ponder this question. Was he ready? All of this was happening just way too fast. He collapses to the ground, has a crazy dream, and suddenly he's fighting some kind of war against monsters called Heartless. And now he's learned that he has to travel to other worlds!
"But still..." He thought to himself, "These Heartless are dangerous, that much is obvious. And if there really are people in danger, then I have to help. That's part of what this Keyblade thing is all about, right?" James nods, "I'm ready. How do I get to this other world?"
Chirithy walked up and pointed at Starlight, "Just hold out your Keyblade and use it to open a gate that'll take you to where your heart wants you to go." James turns around and holds out his Keyblade and concentrates. The Keyblade begins to glow, and shoots a beam of light that expands into the same kind of portal that the woman came out of. Taking a deep breath, James walks into the portal. As James left, Chirithy said, "May your heart be your guiding key."
(A/N: That's it for this chapter! This story, as a whole, is going to dwarf everything I've ever wrote in both length, and depth. In case you haven't yet read my profile description, I am also Ninja Writer 17. I was blocked out of my account and couldn't do anything. I'll bring my Yugioh and Tales of Symphonia fanfics over to this account so I can revive them in due time. First, I want this project to be the center of my writing attention. I'll try to keep weekly updates, but I can't promise anything. I'm a college student, so my schedule can be fickle. Please leave a Review if you like this and be sure to favorite and follow if you wanna see more as soon as it comes up.)