Chapter 2 – The Dream

Unknown Location, Present Day…

Zane awoke in darkness, unsure of where he was. He slowly stood up on his feet and looked below him. There was a large seal, upon it were the faces of seven people around the border, then three symbols in the center, one resembling a tornado, another a rock, and another a raindrop. Where am I? he thought as he looked around, is this for real…or not? Suddenly, he heard a voice, one he had never heard before, yet it sounded familiar. "The power of the heart is great, but it can be controlled" the disembodied voice said, "your light shines brightly, as bright as the rising sun." Zane looked around frantically, trying to locate the source of the voice, but unable to do so.

"You must follow your destiny that lies before you" it said, "take your weapon, and move forward." Suddenly a sword appeared in front of him, one he had never seen before. Cautiously, he walked up to it and grabbed its hilt in his hands. Further in front of him, at the edge of the seal, a staircase appeared, which Zane followed up to find himself standing on another seal, this one with someone on it that resembled him in many ways, and another that appeared somewhat different, but similar nonetheless. "The shadows form from the shining light, but nevertheless, they can be vanquished…" the voice said, shortly before several short, black creatures with beady yellow eyes appeared on all sides. Zane looked at each of them, somehow knowing what he was to do. One of them attacked, which he struck back with his sword, destroying the creature just as two more of them attacked. Zane countered the pair as well, continuing to fight until each one of them had been destroyed.

What were those things? He thought as he lifted his sword up to his shoulder, letting it rest there when he noticed yet another staircase. He followed this one up to yet another seal with a pattern resembling him and Alec, standing back to back. He stood in the center of the seal when he heard the voice speak again and noticed his shadow beginning to move on its own. "The closer to the light you are, the greater your shadow becomes…" it said as it suddenly grew and stood up, its form no longer resembling his but that of some gigantic monster. "But don't be afraid, for you hold the Key…" the voice said as Zane turned to try and run. He realized that the voice had told him essentially to confront the monster formed from his shadow. Zane turned back towards it and stared up into its face, its glowing yellow eyes staring back at him. Zane rushed towards it to attack, the giant creature retaliating with a swing from its massive fist, sending Zane sprawling backwards. He attacked again, with the same result; this pattern continued for some time until finally the creature grabbed him and a dark pool began forming below him. He felt a cold chill run up his spine and his vision beginning to fade as he was slowly pulled down into the abyss below…

"C'mon! Wake up, you lazy bum!" a voice said as Zane felt someone pushing against his shoulder. His eyes shot open and he sat up slowly. What a strange dream… he thought as he rubbed his eyes. He had fallen asleep on a bench near the sandlot, and his friend Kate had finally noticed. "What is it the end of Summer Vacation already?" he asked jokingly, giving her his trademark grin. "Nope, not yet" she replied, smiling back at him, "for a moment I thought the gardener was just trimming somebody's tree, but when I came down here to say hi, it's just you taking a snooze!" Zane chuckled slightly, remembering the first time she had pointed out his snoring to him, which wasn't long after they had first met about ten years ago. "You know Zane, I'd say good morning if it weren't half-past three in the afternoon" another voice said. Zane turned to his left to see Alec walking towards him, his grandstander bat resting at his side, "you missed my record-breaker." Zane stretched his arms and slowly willed himself to get to his feet. "So you finally broke a hundred?" he asked. "A hundred and twenty-five to be exact" Alec replied with a grin, giving him a thumbs-up. The previous record holder was Seifer, who had set his record of 99 almost twenty years ago, and hadn't been surpassed until today, even though there were rumors that somebody had unofficially beaten his record before then that had never been confirmed. "Glad to hear it Alec, all those years of practice have finally paid off!" Zane replied happily, "But you know there's still something that you're not the best at…" Alec grinned back at him, knowing what Zane was referring to. For years, the two of them had tried to decide who the better fighter was, but they'd never solved that dispute, as their fights always ended either in a tie, or the two of them having to run off to avoid getting in trouble for breaking something. "Alright boys, don't start this again" Kate said as she got between the two of them, "let's do something more interesting. Any ideas?" Zane had a few ideas as to what they could do, but there was one that he had wanted to try for years. "Let's check out the old mansion outside of town!" he said suddenly, the other two turning their heads towards him in alarm. "What!" Alec exclaimed, "Nobody's been there in over two decades!" Zane nodded, knowing that Alec was a bit worried about the events that supposedly took place there twenty years ago, and they were strange indeed. "C'mon Alec, there shouldn't be a problem as long as we get out before dark!" Zane teased, "What do you say?" After a few tense seconds, Alec relented, as he too was curious about what may be inside, but more because he didn't want to lose face in front of his friend and rival. "Alright, let's go…"

Inside the entrance hall of the old mansion, the trio looked around cautiously to make sure they were alone, despite the fact that no one had lived there for decades. "Looks like the coast is clear guys…" Zane whispered, "Let's check out the upper floors first…" He walked towards the staircase and slowly began ascending them, one creaking step at a time. There was something about this place that was already beginning to unnerve him; as if there was something there he may regret finding later. Upon reaching the top of the stairs, he noticed that all the doors were opened slightly save the one at the end of the hallway. Alec and Kate showed up behind him and noticed him staring at the door at the end of the hall. "What is it Zane?" Alec asked, "Something wrong?" Zane shook his head the continued to stare at it. "Out of all the doors in this house, why is that one the only that's closed?" he muttered as he slowly walked down the hallway towards it. He placed his ear against the door, listening for signs of life. Not a sound reached his ears, only dead silence. "What are you listening for?" Alec asked as he and Kate came up behind him. Zane didn't respond, instead turning his gaze towards the old door knob. He placed his hand on it and slowly turned it, pushing the door open cautiously.

He walked into the room and looked around. It was mostly decorated in white and shades of gray, with a bed, a nightstand, a chair and a desk, but what caught his attention was something on the walls. They were drawings, of people and places he didn't recognize at all. "Check it out…" he muttered as he looked at each one of them until his eyes came to rest on one that peaked his interest. It was a drawing of three people, all dressed entirely in black; one of them was a man with long, spiked red hair, another was a girl with black hair, and the third was somebody that seemed to resemble himself, if only barely. He looked closer at the drawing and saw three words inscribed below each of them in small writing; from left to right, they read Xion, Roxas, and Axel. He realized that these were the names of the people in the drawing, but there was another one written even smaller in the lower right-hand corner that read Namine. "Namine…" he muttered, "who's Namine?" Kate walked up behind him and noticed him staring at the drawing. "What is it Zane?" she asked. "It's nothing…" he replied, "but what were all these drawing for?" Alec stood in another part of the room, looking at different sketches, including one of what appeared to be a castle, completely white against a black background. It gave him an odd chill for some reason as he looked at it, but he was snapped out of his daze when he noticed the setting sun out of the window. "Guys, it's getting late, let's get out of here and come back tomorrow."

"Tell me Kate, what was it like where you came from?" Zane asked her as the three of them sat at the top of the clock tower. "I've told you before Zane, I don't remember" she replied, watching the sunset and eating an ice cream bar. Zane nodded and turned back towards the sunset. "Have you ever thought that there could be other places out there, even whole other worlds?" he said. "It's a possibility Zane, it's a possibility…" Alec replied, "But suppose there are other worlds. That means that we're just a small part of something much greater than ourselves, a tiny fish in a great big pond." Zane rolled his eyes, knowing how philosophical Alec could get at times; as entertaining as Alec could be, he could also be a bore. "I saw that!" Alec teased as he shoved Zane playfully. "Hey!" Zane exclaimed as he shoved Alec back. "Boys! Stop it!" Kate interjected, the three of them laughing through the whole shoving match until they had to go home.