Oh no, not another one!

By James the Fox

"... Nothing to say."

Sora: "Except that I hate you for reading this Fic." (Suddenly gets zapped)

"I knew that shock collar would come in handy."

Sora: (Twitching)

"On to the Fic."

James' POV (Present Tense)
If I'm dead, death is weirder than just about anyone could imagine. Course, it's also a very simple feeling. I can feel water around me, but can't open my eyes. Eyes. Ha. Eyes. Like I even have a BODY anymore. That's definitely a weird notion. Eyes. Makes me want to laugh. But I can't say anything.

Why? Because one, there's water all about me. My mouth would be filled with water if I tried. Of, course, I don't have a mouth, which brings me to my other reason for not laughing. No body. No mouth. Yeah…

Wait, I can see. I have a body, yay for me. Wait, these aren't my clothes. They're not angel robes or anything like that, either. A brown shirt with a dark green short-sleeved jacket over it, instead. Blue short jeans that reach my knees. Black boots and gloves too. The gloves reach to my wrists. Okay. And there's a chain necklace with a flat keyhole-shaped pendant around my neck.

Why am I dressed like I'm some new character for Kingdom Hearts? It's not that I'm complaining about it. I'd love to dress like some kind of game character. Maybe go to a convention somewhere. But I just want to know why I'm dressed like this. Just as I'm wondering why the water doesn't irritate my eyes, I'm on dry land. A beach, to be exact. And not on any old beach…

Destiny Islands.

I'd recognize this place anywhere. And if my super-game-knowledge-skills aren't failing me, that's Riku. Yep, Silver hair that doesn't quite reach his shoulders, check. Black tank top that's yellow on the front. Check. Blue pant… things that are connected to said shirt by weird bands. Check. 2 shoes that are black and white along with black gloves that don't reach past his palm. Double check. Either Riku or one of the best cosplay costumes I've ever seen. He turns around and it's obvious by his blue eyes. Riku. Except… He's from a game! What kind of bizarre world am I in?

He reaches out with his right hand, beckoning me with an opened hand. I know what comes next, yet I still run toward him, without any control over my actions. Oh, I see the HUGE tidal wave that is going to swallow me whole. I want to run in the exact opposite direction, but I can't.

Inches from being able to grab his hand the wave hits us. When I finally resurface, I see who I was expecting to see. The shorthaired redhead with a white tank top with black borders on them along with a pink skirt, and white slip-on shoes.

Kairi. Princess of Heart. Best friend of Sora. Wielder of a Keyblade. Love interest to Sora.

And she's calling in my direction. I'm about to turn around to see if Sora was behind me, until I realize that Sora wouldn't be showing up in this dream. Instead I run up to her, and she converses with me for a while, although I can't hear what she's saying. Then she points up towards the sky.

When I look, I'm greeted with the sight of a meteor shower falling in the distance. I also see what I could only assume was myself, falling along with them. I now am able to see dark brown hair and brown eyes. My hair is short and spiked at the front, long at the back. Like a Kingdoms Hearts version of my hair when I spike it. Reminds me way too much of Demyx, though. Gotta change it later. Ugh.

Really gotta change it.

Just as I finish taking in my new form, I start to fall backwards. Next thing I know I was falling from the sky. I hit the water and instantly I'm back in the dark ocean I was first in.

Going to hate water after all this is over.

Suddenly I was sinking feet first. The moment said feet hit the bottom, the ground turns into birds (likely doves) that flew away. Hmm… flying under water. Yeah. Weird. Weird as any dream I ever get. TOO weird.

I look around and see the place I was expecting to end up at: the Pedestal of Awakening. I hear the strange, soundless voice that Sora heard throughout his journey.

(James' POV, Past tense)

So much to do, so little time.

Take your time. We both know that the door is still shut.

"OK, What do you want?" I asked the voice.

I cannot explain yet. Just know that this is no dream.

"Yeah, I figured as much from me being able to feel things like the water that was all over me a few seconds ago."

You know what comes next, do you not?

"Yeah, you ask me to take a form by taking some power and losing some power. Right?"

Correct. This power will give you the strength you need to proceed.

Just then, small pedestals appeared, a weapon floating on each of them. I knew what they were.

The Dream Sword. Power of the Warrior. Invincible Courage. A sword of terrible destruction.

The Dream Staff. Power of the Mystic. Inner Strength. A staff of wonder and ruin.

The Dream Shield. Power of the Guardian. Kindness to aid friends. A shield to repel all.

But something was different. Mickey's symbol was nowhere to be seen on the weapons. Instead, A heart with a keyhole in the middle of it was the symbol to see. The staff's head was heart shaped with a keyhole-shaped hole in the middle.

Maybe this signified that my powers would be different than Sora's. Shrugging off the thought, I walked up to the sword. I knew that power could be used in many ways, including the ways that the shield was used. I took it in my hand and the voice asked if I desired this power.

"I wouldn't have picked it up if I didn't."

Very well. The sword disappeared into nothingness and I walked up to the staff. Once more, I picked the weapon up and the voice asked if I would give up the majority of this power. I accepted and the staff disappeared, never to return to my hands. I knew what was next, but you can never quite prepare for the ground to shatter to pieces beneath your feet. Luckily, I landed softly on my feet.

You have gained the power to fight. Use it to protect yourself and others. We both know that there will be times when you have to fight.

'I am really getting tired of this voice,' I thought as a horde of Heartless appeared and my sword appeared in my hand. I took a fighting stance similar to the stance Roxas had used when he had two Keyblades out.

Keep your heart strong.

I didn't need telling twice as I charged into the battle. I was surprised to find that the voice was right. I had gained the power to fight. I was able to attack with disciplined strikes and moves as if I'd been able to do them my entire life. I effortlessly cut through the shadows with horizontal, vertical, diagonal, and many other various attacks. When the last Heartless died, the pedestal was consumed by darkness and I was absorbed.

I woke up on Destiny Islands. Or at least an illusion of it. I saw Wakka, Tidus, and Selphie all on the beach.

'Weird, why aren't we on the platform?' Once again I shrugged the thoughts off and walked toward Tidus, who was practicing his skills with a wood stick. As I came close he stopped and turned to me.

"What are you most afraid of?" The blonde boy asked me. I had to wonder about it. I had conquered most of my fears a long time ago, so I simply took a quote and put it to good use.

"I'm afraid of fear, cause that's all I need to fear." Tidus shrugged as if I bored him.

"Fear? Fear isn't that scary."

I didn't reply as I walked up to Selphie, who was (as expected) playing jump rope.

"What's most important to you?" She asked me. I… really never thought about it. My friends? Family? Finally, I came to a decision.

"Everything. Everything is important to me the same amount. That is what makes me who I am."

"What makes everything so important?" I was gone before she could finish asking her question.

Wakka was practicing bouncing his blitzball on his head when I came up to him. Typical Wakka.

"Hey, James, What do you want outta life?"

At least he said hi. "I want to help the people I care for."

"Help, ya? What's so great about that?" Just then, the voice from before spoke up.

Everything is important to you. All you fear is fear itself. You want to help those you care about.

You journey begins inside yourself. Your heart will be the balance between Light and Dark.

The day you open the Door is both far off and very soon.

In a flash of light I found myself on a platform with light shining down from one direction.

The closer you get to light, the greater your darkness becomes. The closer you get to darkness, the greater your light becomes. You must keep the balance strong.

I turned around, wondering when Darkside would appear. Instead, however, a hand reached up from the pedestal I was on, grabbing my leg and tying to drag me into darkness.

But don't be afraid.

At the same time, a hand from the light appeared and grabbed my hand, trying to pull me into the light.

You have the mightiest weapon of all.

As I blacked out from the pain, I heard the voice give me on last bit of advice.

The pure ones will explain more to you.

"Whew! Awesome! Hopefully I didn't do anything that's already been done. I wanted this part to be unique."

Riku: "Me and Kairi will be in the next chapter, along with an appearance by a new villain."

"Later!"