Chapter 1 ❤ Hidden Light In The Darkness
"Hmm... Which box I should use for the food?" Aria mumbles to herself, deciding which box she should use for the travel that herself, Riku, Sora, and Kairi would go. After all, it's not any day that you would travel to different worlds. "Aura, any box for the food is fine." Riku looked at his female companion while holding a piece of rope for the raft.
Aria looks up towards him. "Haha... I know Riku. I'm just excited that we are going out to see the outside world," She simply said to him with a bright smile. "It's not every day that we are going out to see a brand new world besides Destiny Island, after all." Riku smirk as he chuckled towards her. "Wow Aura, I didn't know you have a childish side of you."
"Oh hush Riku! Everyone has a childish side in them!" Aria playfully glared at him, making Riku rolled his green, blue-ish sea color eyes as he went back to work. Slowly, Aria went back to her work to finish packing the food as she moved her hair bangs to the side and pulled her long hair towards the side, away from her sticky, sweaty white skin. 'Sora and Kairi should have already been here by now... What's taking them so long?' She thought. 'If Sora fell asleep in the middle of his job, making Kairi have to wake him up, I swear that I have to dump some cold, ice water on top of him.'
Thinking and imagining seeing Sora slacking off somewhere, Riku takes notice that his female best friend companion was thinking about something. Then, an idea pops in his mind as he thought about it with a smirk forming on his face and slowly walked towards her quietly, trying to scare her off. When he got closer towards her, Aria felt a presence behind her as if she knew, it was Riku that was trying to scare or surprise her. With a smooth, sharp voice, Aria's light blue eyes darken a bit. "Riku... I know you're trying to scare me off..."
Riku stopped walking towards her as he had a surprise facial exasperation. "How did you know that I was going to do that?" Aria turns to look at him as she calmly and simply answers him. "I have my ways, Riku."
He chuckled at her calm tone in her voice. "Heh, thinking about Sora or Kairi again?" Aria looks at Riku who sat next to her with a sigh came out from her mouth. "Isn't kinda obvious for me to think about them? I mean, they should have been here with us an hour ago,"
Riku hummed in tone, grabbing a nice, fresh cold water bottle while continuing listening to his female companion reasoning. "I swear if I find Sora slacking off again as Kairi trying to wake him up, I'm going to dump a nice frozen cold water onto his face."
"Or..." Riku started to talk while grinning at her, "Maybe he is not slacking off and planning to get a paopu fruit so he can share to both you and Kairi." Aria turns to look at him in eyes by showing a disgraceful look as she saw the cheeky grin he had on. "So un-mature on that part Riku..." Riku could only grin even more. "I see... So you do know what it means to share a paopu fruit with someone."
"Of course I do Riku! Why else that myself and Kairi asked that you and Sora have romantic feelings for each other," Riku just shrugged and continue to drinks his cold water bottle. "And besides... Why would I have a crush on him when he had a crush on Kairi? Kairi is more pretty than me." Suddenly, Riku turns quickly to look at her. "Aria, don't say that!"
Aria had shown a confusing, yet worried look towards her male best friend companion. "Don't say what Riku?" Riku looked at her in the eyes as he calmly comes down from his coughs. "Aura, please don't say you aren't pretty. You are pretty... more pretty than Kairi," He quietly said in the last part of his sentence as Aria wouldn't hear him. "I see you how you used your healing song to heal me, Sora, Kairi or anyone else in Destiny Island. You're the only one who can use magic like that."
"That's true... I am the only one who has magic like that..."
Soon, a cold breeze blew behind her back as something, like a shock of thunder strikes her as she realizes what Riku was trying to do... He was confessing his feelings for her! Aria couldn't believe it! Riku of all people trying to confess her?! Aria would never thought that Riku could be a romantic type. All her life on Destiny Island ever since she was washed to shore, she had seen Riku decline all the girls in town confess. 'I can't believe it...' So she thought. 'He's trying to confess his love to me...? Why me?'
The feeling scares her for some reason. Ever since she had that dream from yesterday, she felt that... Maybe she was in love with someone else. But who...? "So Aura... Would you consider sharing the paopu fruit with someone else?" Riku asked her, looking deeply into her light blue eyes. Aria looked at him. "Like who...?"
"Who do you think?"
Aria knew the answer already. Her heart inside of her was beating super fast. "Y-you..?!" She said as her throat went dry. "Y-you... you must be kidding right now..." She whispered said as she covered her whole face with both of her hands. Riku took one of her hands off her face as Aria could tell, he wasn't kidding, but he was serious in the look of his green, blue-ish eyes.
As he turns away with him holding one of her hands, he slowly took something out of his pocket and put it onto her hands. Aria looked down at her hand, as she saw that she was holding a yellow, smooth stone paopu fruit charm. "Did you... Made this...?" She slowly looks up to Riku as he nodded his head. "Look... This is a sign of our friendship, Aria... So this will last us both forever."
"Riku... I..." She spoke out but Riku put his pointer finger on her mouth. "Keep it, even if you won't accept it fully of my gift. Even if you have someone else in your mind..." He spoke in a dark tone, as he removes his point finger from her mouth. "Oh... And by the way, are you done picking which box for our food?"
"...What...?" Aria said in confusing as Riku stood up while changing the subject and repeated the question again. "I said, are you done picking which box for our food?" Aria nodded her head. "Y-yeah... I am... Now we just need to pack the food and put it in for tomorrow..." Then, Sora and Kairi came towards them as both Aria and Riku saw Sora blushing in deep rose red, using the cloth to hide his face from them as Kairi looked at Sora with confusion.
Aria could only smile towards her two best friends as they join up with her and Riku, but in her little mind, she thinking something else. 'Someone else is in my mind... But who...?'
As the shining summer sun started to set, Aria and everyone else getting off their boats as they all say their heartwarming goodbyes before going home, getting ready for the big day tomorrow for a new adventure. Continuing walking on the path to her home where her mother and herself live, Aria stop her tracks and looks up at the twilight sky. 'Why do I feel like something bad is going to happen...? Is it those dreams I've been having...?' Then she shakes her head. 'No... I shouldn't worry right now... What is most important is that I'm with my friends and that's all.'
"Mhm... Why this is so frustrating...? Why do I feel like something bad going to happen?" Aria asked herself as she heard a male voice behind her. "Aria... Are you alright?" Aria turns around quickly, only to see the one and only Sora. "S-Sora? You're still here? I thought you went home."
He smiled innocently and goofy towards her. "I was about too, but I just remember that I have to ask you something." Now, this got her attention. "Do you remember the cave that me and Riku used to hang out every time when you and Kairi are doing something else?" Sora asked her as Aria nodded her head. "Of course, the cave with the door? What about it? Did something happen?"
"Well..." Sora starts to speak. "I was collecting some herbs and mushroom for our adventure and... There was a stranger in black robes in our cave..." Sora pause in his sentence as Aria felt a weird feeling inside of her. "A stranger..." She repeated Sora's words a bit while using her arm and hand to hold her stomach. "Yeah... And he said something about the worlds are connected and ties with darkness. I didn't understand what he meant by that. He also said about that door as well as he spoke to me like I'm some little kid.'
"Well... You are a little kid, Sora." Aria playfully teases the spikey brunette hair male as he gave her a glare. "Am not Aria!" He yelled towards her as he given her a glare a bit as soon as his face turns into a serious one. "But there was one thing that kinda worried and bothered me at the same time..." He pauses a bit before continuing on. "He had said something about... You... Aria..."
"M-me...?" Aria stated, feeling like she was going to be sick. "What did he say about me?"
"He said that... The hidden light is within your heart... Yet... It still slumbers... And another thing he said about you that you are the one to release the true power of the gem Skaia." Aria blankly looks at him as if he was making this whole thing up. But deep inside of her own heart, those words that Sora had said to her were true. True that she is the hidden key of some kind of gem. But where have she heard this? Is this one of her lost memory coming back to her right now? Aria has so many questions right now.
"Sora... Are you sure you aren't making things up...?" She asked the spikey brunette hair male, slowly looking up to see his sky blue eyes. "No, I'm not making things up Aria. Please, believe me." He pleaded for her to believe him. There were times where she believes him or not believe him, but what's in front of her, Aria could tell that Sora was telling the truth. It's not like him to be this serious. "I-I..." Aria started to mumble out her words. "A-alright... I'll believe you, Sora. But can we talk to this tomorrow? I don't want to be late for tomorrow's adventure..."
Sora started to smile with his usual goofy grin. "Alright, we'll talk about this tomorrow, Aria..." As Sora turns around and started to walk, he looks over his shoulder to see his female best friend smiles sadly at him as she waves goodbye, only for him to wave goodbye towards her. But deep within his thoughts, he couldn't stop worrying about her safety. 'Aria... If only I could tell you how much you meant for me as for how Kairi is meant for me right now.' Sora looks over the grassy green, summer hills, seeing his female best friend walked inside of her little home. "Aria..." He breathes out her name from his mouth. "Why do I feel like I have seen you somewhere before deep within my memories?"
After talking with Sora with some important... Matters... Aria quickly got to her home and towards her bedroom as she quickly packed some clothing, bath suits, and some food to put in the box for tomorrow's grand adventure. But no matter how she tried to forget what had Sora said to her about the strange man in the black robes, she couldn't stop thinking about it. It's like she has seen or heard of the stranger in the black robes before. But where...? And when...?
"The hidden light is within your heart... Yet... It still slumbers..."
Those words that Sora had said to her was very familiar. Yet, why she couldn't remember where she heard them. Aria bites her lips, knowing that something was going to happen. She felt sick for some reason.
*BOOM!*
Aria jumped a little as the sound of thunder and lightning strikes down. The sound of the thunder rings in her ears as Aria looked at towards the reflection window. "A thunderstorm right now?" Aria calmly growled. "That means the raft will be wash away by the harsh waves! I better go to the island right now!" Then she put on her blue and white shoes quickly as she opened her window and jumped out as she closed it behind her. Running through the thunder, Aria went towards the docks, untying her boat quickly as she could when she heard some footsteps echoed on the wooden planks of the docks.
When she looked up, she saw Sora untying his boat as he was out of breath from all the running. "You coming to check the raft as well?' Aria asked as she sat down, getting ready to go as Sora did the same. "Yeah..." He nodded towards her. As both Sora and Aria rowed their boats, going towards the island where they hang out, Aria could feel something dark on the island each time herself and Sora rowed towards it as they have gotten closer and closer.
When they both have gotten on the island, both Aria and Sora saw two more boats on the sandy shores as they both knew, the boats belonged to Kairi and Riku. That means they are already here on the island. Hopping off the boats and tying them on the docks, Sora and Aria began to walk the other side of the island. Aria started to feel sick as she could feel the darkness coming closer and closer.
Sora notices her how she was holding his hand tightly as her other hand was placed on where her heart was. "S-Sora..." She spoke out, giving him a grasping look. "I... I feel sick... This... This darkness..." Sora didn't understand what Aria was trying to say, but if she could feel something that he couldn't, Sora holds her hand tightly as he hugs her. "It's alright Aria. I'm here with you. You aren't alone."
"T-thanks..." She gasped again. Sora looked at her worried. He had never seen Aria being in this type of pain before. "Come on, let's go a little further," Sora said towards her as they both continue holding hands. Continue walking through, both Aria and Sora notice it was getting darker even more than before as suddenly, Sora stopped walking as Aria just bumped into him. "W-why did you stop walking...?" She asked weakly to the spikey brunette hair male.
Looking at the same direction as the spikey brunette hair male, Aria saw little black, yellow-eyed creatures that are made by darkness, coming from the sandy, pale yellow sand as both Aria and Sora took a step back. "What are those?" Aria looked where Sora was looking, seeing those little black creatures looking back towards both her and Sora. Then Sora grabs her by the hand, knowing that Aria can't run when she felt really sick. "I don't know, but I don't want to find out either!"
As Sora and Aria keep on running, knowing that those little black creatures are chasing them, both of them went towards a little hut that leads up to the split of where the paopu fruit tree was. When they have gotten inside the hut, Sora quickly SLAMMED the door as both he and Aria took some deep breaths. But Aria knows better as she weakly glared towards the door where Sora was taking a little rest.
Suddenly, the door in the hut started to make banging sounds as both Sora and Aria back away from it before running to the stairs and climbs up to where the paopu tree was. Both of them did not bother looking towards each other as they swing the door opened, continuing running across towards the wooden bridge. Those same creatures that Sora and Aria saw before emerging from the dusty dirt ground, but both of them didn't care as long they find Kairi and Riku.
Keeping on running, when they reach where the paopu fruit tree was, both her and Sora saw Riku as Aria yelled at him weakly. "Riku! Run!" But Riku didn't move at all. He just stood there, looking at the darkened, black clouds. "Where's Kairi?!" Sora panic while asking his best friend. "I thought she was with you!"
"The door... Has opened..." Riku spoke as he was turning around to face Aria and Sora. "Huh?" Sora responded, staring at his best friend in confusion while Aria was placing her hand towards her heart was. Riku spoke again. "The door is opened, Sora... Aria... Now we can go to other worlds!" Riku added his words, truly facing them in the eyes. "What are you talking about?! We gotta find Kairi!" Sora shouts while Aria went on her knees, feeling sick again. "R-Riku... W-where is K-Kairi...? What happened... T-to her...?" Aira weakly questioned the silver-haired male. Aira had never seen Riku acted like this before. The feeling scares her a lot and the pain inside of her burns too.
"Kairi is coming with us! Once we step through, we might not be able to come back. We may never see our parents again. There's no turning back. But this is our only chance... We can't let fear stop us!" He spoke with determination in his green-blue sea color eyes, holding out both of his hands to Sora and Aria to take. "R-Riku... What are you..." Aria began to speak, but suddenly, Riku began to be engulfed in a dark hole that seems to be made out of darkness.
Then, black vectors wrapped around him, making both Sora and Aria fear for Riku's life as they tried to run towards him. But in the end, they found themselves stuck in the black hole as well. As both Aria and Sora tried to reach Riku's hand with their might, the darkness had already begun to swallow them up. Aria's fingertips had managed to tap her best male companion's hand, but it was too late.
Suddenly, everything went black.
~Dream~
Dark... Darker... Yet darker... All around her was all darkness. No light to be seen. Aria felt that she had been in this before. "A-am I... Dead...?" She spoke out loud, looking around of her surroundings. Suddenly, a male voice spoke out of nowhere.
"The hidden light is within your heart... Yet... It still slumbers..."
The room that she was in had turned into pure white. No color had never been seen but just pure white that looked like snow. Aria search for the person who had spoken to her. But no one was there but her. Again, the male voice spoke.
"Your fate is upon the secret door that shall be upon all of us..."
'All of us...?' Aria thought, hearing those words. It felt like she has heard those words before, but where? It wasn't the same words that Sora had said to her. Yet... It felt like someone, besides Sora, had said those same words. 'Could it be the same male voice that just spoke to me right now?' She wondered.
"Your goal to find him... The purpose to return to the place you and him came from..."
"Who...? Find who...?" Aria asked out, hoping that the male voice can answer her questions. But knowing that was foolish, the male voice didn't answer her questions, but instead, saying those same words that she had heard before.
"The door will open to your salvation... Your answers... Your past memories...
Suddenly, a white-stone door with a huge heart crested in the middle appeared, standing before her as the pure white room turned into a castle-like. Aria could feel the power behind it. It felt light, gentle, and calm behind it- like there was no darkness that she cannot be sick from its poisoning. Aria had begun to smile.
"...Open the door and soon... You'll find out... Transcendent of light..."
Transcendent of Light... A calm, yet powerful title for someone to have. As Aria's fingertips touched the white-stone door with a huge heart crested in the middle, a black leathered gloved hand touches her's as Aria turned to face the person that was next to her. A black hooded person, a very much same description that Sora had told her. Aria was in a panic! The same black hooded stranger that Sora described was next to her!
But... Something felt different about him. The aura around the black hooded stranger was calm and gentle. It felt like she had met him before. Then, he spoke to her. "We'll meet again, Transcendent of Light. Find the shards of your memories of your past and soon... You awaken the true power of secret of the Gem Skaia."
The light from the white-stone door with a huge heart crested in the middle grew brighter and brighter as Aria and the stranger in the black hooded robes hands started to glow. And soon... Everything turned to a brighter white, blinding their eyesight.
~Dream End~
Aria began to wake up, only found that Sora was next to her as they were in the cave of the door lies before them. Aria whimper in pain, only for Sora to turn to see her as he showed a worried face to her. As he watches Aria sitting up, he saw that she was looking at her hands, as if she got an injury. "Aria! Are you alright?! What's wrong?!"
Aria turned to look at him before looking back at her hands as she holds something. Sora saw what she was holding. A shard. A crystal light blue shard that slowly glowed into pure, bright light. Sora could see that she was trembling, holding the shard that was full of light powers within. Then, he smiled gently at her as he put his hand onto her shoulder. "Don't worry, Aria. This is just a bad dream. A bad dream..." He slowly said as he tried to calm her and himself down.
"A bad dream alright... A bad dream..." Aria calmly spoke as the light from the shard glowed the cave. Sora smiled at her, knowing that she was alright. But Sora notices that Aria was gazing at something. He turns his gaze to see what Aria was seeing. With a few couple feet away, both Aria and Sora knew that person that was standing before them. It was Kairi. "Kairi!" Sora shouted, removing his hand from Aria's shoulder.
"Somethings wrong..." Aria bit her lip as Sora grided his teeth. Kairi slowly turned to face towards them. When she did, both Sora and Aria saw no emotions in her blue-ish purple eyes. "K-Kairi...?" Aria called out to her best female friend. "So...ra... Ar...ia..." She said with no emotion tone. Suddenly, the door behind Kairi started to open wide as unpleasant dark energy blew them all, making Kairi flew to her childhood friends direction. Sora started to hold his ground, preparing to catch Kairi as Aria was still holding the bright, crystal light blue shard in her hand.
When Kairi went towards Sora, her body fades away, like went right through him, shocking both of Sora and Aria. Tonight in the thunderstorm really shock both of them. First, Riku had gotten swallowed into darkness, then Aria got a dream about someone who told her to collect her shards of memories, and NOW Kairi went pass through Sora! 'This can't be real! This must be a dream!' Aria cried in her thoughts. 'Why...?'
Suddenly... The shard started to glow really bright as Sora and herself looked at it. Slowly, the shard disappeared a thin air, making Aria having a flashback of her beloved past.
~Flashback~
"Aria... Remember... Close your eyes and try to be one with the Keyblades," Aqua said to her, walking around her as Aria had taken a deep breath. Again, Aria closens her light blue eyes, trying to be one with her keyblades. Suddenly, her keyblades started to glow a bright light, a light that shines upon many worlds.
Aqua smiled. "You're doing it Aria! I believe in you. Let the magic flow within your heart," Those heartwarming words filled Aria's heart as she opened her light blue eyes. "Thanks, Aqua! Without you, I don't think I can able handling magic within me." Aria smiled gently, looking at the elder Keyblader, who's going to be a Keyblade Master.
Aqua smile at her. "No worries. Remember, you can always ask me."
"Hehe... I'll remember that! Anyway-I promise Ven that I'll be helping him with some things!" Then Aria ran off to find Ventus as Aqua watch the fourteen-year-old girl and started to chuckle.
~Flashback End~
When the flashback end, Aria use her hand to put on her forehead as crystal, clear tears had fallen from her light blue eyes. "A-Aqua..." Aria mumbles out of the elder girl's name as Sora looked at her with confusion, yet worried. The shard she was holding was not there in her hands. 'That shard... Could it be the shard that black hooded stranger told me to collect...? My memories...?' Aria thought to herself.
"Don't be afraid..." A male voice spoke, making Aria recognize that same male voice. "You two possess the strongest weapon of the world..." Sora was looking around his surroundings, trying to find the owner who is speaking to both he and Aria. Then, a huge large key appeared at Sora's hand, making him shock to see the large key in his hand. "A keyblade?!" Aria called out.
"A... Keyblade...?" Sora repeated the words that Aria called out. The male voice spoke again. "The power of the keyblade is within you..." The keyblade that Sora was holding started to glow brightly from the darkness, as the darkness started to engulfing Aria. "Ah! Aria!" Sora shouted, using his hand to reach his female companion friend.
But before Sora could do that, Aria's hand started to glow in bright light, making the darkness back away from her as two large keyblades appeared in her hands. Both keyblades in her hands were totally different from Sora's. One of her keyblade was shining with light that looks like a flower while the other was full like small shard crystals that are connected by chains. Well... Not really chains. The keychains at the bottom of the keyblade were different as well. One of them looked to be shaped like a heart while the other a Wayfinder Star.
'Wait... A Wayfinder Star...?' Aria thought with confusion. Sora, on the other hand, looked at her keyblades. Compare to his, Aria's keyblades looked like they represent the light and the chains of her memories. Sora smiled at her, only can see the light of her keyblades from the darkness. But... Deep within his mind, he swears he saw them before. But the question is... Where...? "Aria, you alright?" Sora walked towards her as she turns her gaze towards him. "Y-yeah... Just concern the whole thing right now,"
Suddenly in the corner of her eye, Aria saw a large, dark hand shoots down towards the spikey brunette-haired male as she shouts in panic. "SORA! WATCH OUT!" Then she pushed him away from the large, dark hand as it shot to the same spot that Sora was in. Sora face was in shock, while Aria hugged him as her cream blonde-ish hair covered her face as they were away from the large, dark hands attack.
A huge cloud of pale yellow sand started to flutter both of them as the darkness went away, finally showing a black, large monster with a heart that is x over its stomach, standing before them. Aria got off of Sora as they both stood up, watching the monster summoning those same little black, yellow-eyed creatures that both of them saw earlier when they found Riku. They were coming off the ground, surrounded them, making sure that both Sora and Aria don't leave. Within an eye blank, they started to leap as their claws were out, ready to hit or scratch them.
But Aria didn't want ANY chances to get her or Sora hurt as she started to swing both of her keyblades at them. Sora watched her slash those black, yellow-eyed creatures with one hit as he grinned, knowing that his female companion friend was alright and started to do the same thing with her. Aria slashes the creatures of darkness left and right, dodging their attacks and again, slashing them with her keyblades. Everything felt familiar for her. As if she had fought with these keyblades before. But think again, her memories from the shard did show her that she was holding both of these keyblades.
Looking at the big monster that was summoning the little ones, Aria notices that the big monster's head was not really guarded really well. Then she looked at Sora, who was fighting the little black, yellow-eyed creatures before looking back at the big monster. 'The boss monster's head is not guarded very well...' She thought as she turned to see Sora. 'I'm not really close of the boss monster, but Sora is...' Then, an idea pops out of her mind as she started to smile. Looking back between Sora and the boss monster, Aria started to shout towards him. "SORA!" Now, this... This got his attention as he looked towards her with a questioning look. "Go encounter the giant enemy and aim at its eye! Its head is not guarded well! I'll distract the little ones!"
Sora was confused at first, but he then started to half smirk, half smiled at his best female friend at her little plan as he started going straight towards the boss with his keyblade right by his side. As Sora went to defeat the boss, Aria started to handle the little ones, as best as she can. One by one, she slashes them all until that same male voice spoke to her again. 'Use the light... They're afraid of your light...'
'My light...?' She thought. Slowly, one of her keyblades started to glow with a very bright light, making the little black, yellow-eyed creatures away from her and Sora. When Aria turned around, she saw Sora hit the boss monster two to three times with his keyblade, as he smirks at the boss. "How about THAT monster!" The sandy ground that they were both standing on started to shake.
Sora started to freak out while Aria was calmly panicking as the giant monster that Sora was hitting began to float to thin air. Floating air towards a dark hole in the skies that looked to be filled with the darkness inside. Slowly, the other creatures started to float like the boss monster, also followed by other things from the island. Quickly, both Aria and Sora tried to grab hold onto the paopu fruit tree that was super close towards them, but it didn't really last long as the darkness filled vortex hole started to pick both of them up.
"Aria!" Sora shouted, grabbing the paopu fruit tree trunks as hardest as he could while using his other hand to grab Aria. He knew that Aria is going to feel sick. He could tell that she was getting weaker. "S-Sora!" She grasps out. "D-don't let g-go..." But Aria spoke too soon. Sora's hand had already released from the tree as Sora hugged Aria, not letting her go. He hates the idea of him and his best female companion to be separated from what's coming next.
Too soon... The dark vortex hole had swallowed both of them all up.
