Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance part 2 chapter 1
Chapter 1 The Mark To Be Mastered
(Sora, Riku, and the author are discussing this chapter)
Sora: You're joking right; we have to take a PRE-Exam in order to even take the Mark of Mastery Exam!
Riku: Well this sucks.
Author: Ahem may I remind you, THIS ISN'T SUPPOSED TO BE EASY! Did you honestly think I was just going to let you two waltz right on up to Yen Sid and he'd approve of you just like that!
Sora and Riku: Ummmmmm…..
Sora: Would you be irritated if we said yes?
Author: Incredibly.
Sora: Well that's what we thoug- (Riku clamps a hand over Sora's mouth)
Author: Come again?
Riku: What Sora means is that we thought you would want to have us fight darkside or something like that for a Pre-Exam. (Elbows Sora in the ribs) Right Sora?
Sora: Mmph! (Nods head in agreement)
Author: Well that would make for an interesting start, but it would just end up being a piece of cake by now for Sora seeing as how many he has dealt with.
Sora: I've only fought 3 of them!
Author: Really well too late, he's already going to be in here.
Sora and Riku: Sigh (Anime sigh appearance on their faces)
Author: Anyway would one of you like to say the who owns what deal this time or are you two going to go at it again.
Sora: I suppose I could do it.
Author: Go on then.
Sora: The Author here definitely does not own Kingdom Hearts, Me, Riku, Kairi, or any Disney/Square Enix characters in this story. And if he did, I'd probably let the heartless get his heart and not do anything about it.
Author: Ouch! That was a little below the belt don't you think?
Sora and Riku: Nah, not really.
Author: Well then….we'll see if that changes by the end of this chapter, Enjoy Folks!
Note: As always this is not going to be exactly what happens in the upcoming game, it is merely what I interpret to happen (or what I wish would happen). And I will still throw in a musical suggestion or two as well, again your choice whether or not to heed its call. Enjoy!
Kingdom Hearts
Dream Drop Distance
Chapter 1: The Mark To Be Mastered
It was a bright and simply wonderful morning on Destiny Islands. The small ocean village was entirely lit up with the calming rays of sunlight. Sora awoke to sound of the waves crashing on the beach. He sat up, drawing in a deep breath of the soothing sea air from his open window. As he proceeded to get ready to leave he pondered over his dream last night. It started out as a rather happy one.
(Play Roxas's Theme, The Other Promise)
He and Kairi were standing on the edge of the dock like they were the previous night, except this time he had done what he longed for before. As he finished kissing Kairi on the lips, the glorious moment faded away and he found himself standing on what appeared to be the top of the Twilight Town Tower. Sora then noticed the sound of laughter coming from what appeared to be the front of the tower. As he walked towards the noise he could make out three voices in total, but who did they belong to? Sora then peered his head around the corner, what he saw surprised him.
"It's Roxas…and Axel too! But….who's the girl with the black hair?" He thought to himself. However just as the girl was about to turn her head and reveal her face the scene ended and changed once again.
This time he ended up in a white room with a large orb in the center of it. As he took a closer look as to what was inside he ended up seeing his own face in it.
"Gah!" He exclaimed backing away from his unconscious self. Then he heard the sound of footsteps approaching, he glanced towards the hallway on the opposite end of the room, and out walked Namine from its dark depths.
"Hi Namine!" He called out, but his words had no effect on her. It was almost as if Sora didn't exist at all. Namine walked up to the unconscious Sora, she almost appeared to be staring right into his heart as she moved her hands around before him. Suddenly a dark portal opened up from behind Namine, both her and the "conscious" Sora turned towards it, the figure who stepped out of it shocked Sora. "Riku!" He exasperated, but his words went unnoticed.
Namine's expression towards Riku appeared to be rather angry. "DiZ sent you to finish me off, didn't he?" She questioned Riku in an unusually harsh tone.
Riku nodded at this question. "Trust me Namine, I don't want to do this, but there is no other way, Sora must awaken soon, and in order to insure that-" He then withdrew his way to dawn blade. "You must be eliminated from the picture."
Sora was amazed, Namine had died so that he could awaken from his year long slumber, and even worse, Riku is the one who executed the dirty deed. Suddenly the room went black and the scene changed before Sora's eyes once more.
After what seemed like several minutes Sora found himself stranded in what appeared to be some sort of graveyard. He didn't see anyone in sight so he decided to explore the place. As he walked around he noticed the thousands of keyblades that were sticking out of the ground here.
"This place is rather odd…what happened here…was there some kind of war happening in this world at one point?" He asked himself. He then noticed that he wasn't alone in this strange place. Right before him stood three people. There was a rather tall yet buff looking guy with shoulder length brown hair standing on the left. On this man's right there was a short spiky blond haired boy with sharp blue eyes, to Sora he looked practically identical to Roxas. And in between these two guys was a brilliant blue haired girl, she was about only a few inches taller than the Roxas-look alike boy. Sora then noticed they all had a rather fierce yet shocked look in their eyes, and they all appeared to be staring at him. He then heard a voice speak from behind him, Sora immediately turned around to see two more people standing before him. Directly before the confused boy was an old man with a cruelly shaped goatee on his chin, he was wearing a cape suit that seemed similar to that of Xehanort's heartless, then Sora got a good look at his eyes, and was exasperated. This man's eyes were amber colored yet they looked as if they contained a seething fiery rage within them, almost as if he could burn you right on the spot by just staring at you. To his right stood a mysterious masked man, he wore a suit almost like Riku's when he was possessed by Xehanort, except this suit was red and black. In this masked person's hand he held a keyblade. The old man then pointed his finger at Sora; he turned around to actually see it was actually pointing to the blond haired boy instead. Whatever the old man had said, those three clearly didn't like it, they each used their free hand to strike their armor pads. Sora closed his eyes from the blinding light that resulted; when it had died down he opened them and found the three people had dressed into suits of heavy armor, each one of them gripping their keyblade tightly. The tall man began charging straight at Sora. Sora closed his eyes hoping that his assault wouldn't hurt too much, but instead found out that the man had passed right through him as if he were air. Just as the armored man was about to attack the older one the scene suddenly froze.
(Stop Roxas's Theme, The Other Promise)
Then as if the scene were entirely made of glass, everything around Sora shattered into pieces. He found himself staring into nothing but a dark abyss that was determined to swallow him up. "AAAAHHHHHH!" He yelled out as the vortex dragged him in.
After that horrifying event, it was over, he had woken up from the rather odd nightmare, and here he was now, preparing for the new adventure that awaited him. Sora finished getting into his black jumpsuit, grabbed a few potions from his bed stand drawer and headed straight outside into the morning sunlight. He then noticed Kairi sitting down on the village beach, staring at the island ahead, she turned around and noticed he was approaching her, she then stood up to greet him.
"Hey Sora, you all set to go?" She chimed in with a smile on her face.
Sora nodded at her and returned the smile. "I sure am, by the way, have you seen Riku this morning?"
"He boated out to the island over 2 hours ago, he said he needed some alone time to apparently clear his mind of the past, or something along the lines of that. He didn't look so well either, he seemed…..rather sad actually." Her smile faded away at that last sentence.
"Hmm, that sounds a little odd, why would he need to do that?" There was a pause between the two of them as they both gazed at the distant island out of curiosity.
"Perhaps you should go and talk to him Sora, I think he needs someone to listen to him, and clearly, I'm not the one to do that." She said the last part as if she felt insulted by Riku.
"Well, if that's the case, then I'll head over there right now, see you in a while Kairi." Sora then ran towards the ocean and untied his boat from the village docks. As he began paddling away from the village shore Kairi waved at him, she also said something to, but he was in to much of a hurry to catch it. When he had finally reached the Island shore he threw a rope around one of the dock's poles and tied the it back up. As he got out of the boat, he saw Riku sitting on the crooked palm tree on the tiny isle off shore. Sora ran towards the shack and bolted up the staircase concealed with in until he had reached the surface. He didn't give himself a moments rest as he hurried across the bridge towards Riku. As he approached him however he slowed his pace down to a reasonable rate and walked right up to Riku's side. Riku had his elbows propped against his legs with his face buried in his hands. He almost appeared to be crying. Sora cautiously approached him as he broke the silence. "Hey Riku…..Is something bothering you? You don't seem to be …. happy."
Riku mumbled from his hands. "Wouldn't you like to know."
Sora pulled himself up onto the tree trunk and sat beside Riku. "I would if it means you'll be happy again."
Riku hid his amusement from this in his hands, and then continued. "I'm afraid I can't do that Sora."
"Well why not? I'm your best friend aren't I? You should be able to tell me anything Riku."
"If only that could be true." He thought to himself. Riku then let his hands fall back to his sides; he then blinked a few times as his cerulean colored eyes adjusted to the blinding sunlight. "Well I suppose I could give you a general idea of what's on my mind, but you have to promise not to mention it to the King, or Kairi, am I clear on that?"
Sora nodded his head in agreement, listening to his every word attentively.
"Alright then, last year, when you were put to sleep to regain your memories I met this girl and-"
"Awww does someone have a crush on a girl? Who is she?" Teased Sora. Riku then glared at Sora, staring at him until he had stopped smiling.
"Now if you don't mind me finishing without an interruption I'll get to that." Riku said with a stern look on his face. Sora looked back at the sunset after receiving the death glare and continued listening.
(Play Missing You)
"Anyway, I did end up falling for her, it wasn't right away but eventually I knew that she meant the world to me. Unfortunately shortly before you had to wake up, she had to return to the place she belonged, and when she left, there were no traces left of her to prove that she had ever existed, she was gone. And now all I have left of her are these memories." After he had finished a single tear fell from one of his eyes and dropped onto the sand.
"Oh Riku… I'm sorry to hear that man." Said Sora while patting him on the shoulder.
Riku took a moment to regain his tough composure, then exhaled a deep breath and stood up. "I just wish she was still around Sora, if I could have told her how I really felt though she probably wouldn't have returned to where she belonged, which is where she needed to be the most."
"Yeah, it definitely sounds like that." Sora then stood up and went to Riku's side. "But you know, I'm pretty sure you will get to see her again, who knows, you might even find her sooner than you think."
Riku turned away from his face to keep the truth concealed within him. "Sora…..I wouldn't be so sure of that, for now let's just change the subject, I've had enough things on my mind lately." He then put his hand to his forehead and just shook it, trying to rid his mind of his guilt.
"Well, if that's the case, can I ask you something then?" Asked Sora.
"I suppose….fire away then."
Sora cleared his throat; he was trying to figure out how to say this without upsetting him. "I had a dream last night, one that involved you and Namine; she mentioned something about you having to eliminate her." He turned his head towards Riku. "Is this the truth Riku?"
Riku was taken aback by this; he immediately turned around to face Sora. "Sora tell me, were their other things you saw in this dream of yours?" He spoke those words as if he were attacking him.
"Yes but about-"
"Never mind your question Sora, I need you to answer me, did you or did you not see anything else in your dream!" Said Riku as he grabbed Sora by the shoulders and shook him a little.
Sora was alarmed now. "Y-Yes I did, their was one dream I had where I saw Axel and Roxas eating ice cream with a black haired girl on the Twilight Town Tower, and another about an old man dressed in Xehanort's coat and a masked boy attacking three keyblade wielders in some sort of graveyard."
"Unbelievable, could all of those people that he mentioned are the ones connected to his heart!" Riku thought to himself. "I knew Roxas and Xion were for sure, but Namine and Axel too! Including these other keyblade wielders he mentioned, have we met them before?" His mind continued to race with these thoughts as he walked back and forth.
"Ummm, Riku? You ok?" Sora's question was ignored as he continued to pace. "HEY RIKU SNAP OUT OF IT!" Hollered Sora.
Riku then halted in his place. "I'm sorry Sora, but I can't answer that question now, that secret will have to stay with me."
Sora was a little disappointed to hear that. "Well why not!" He exclaimed.
Riku paused for a moment, wondering how he should respond. "Because Sora, it's not my business to tell you other peoples stories." It was the only excuse he could think of that prevented him from spilling everything.
(Stop playing Missing You)
"Well…If you say so….then I'll accept that for now." He said in a forced tone.
"It's for your own good Sora, I'm sorry it has to be this way." Riku apologized with a solemn look on his face. Suddenly in the distance, a familiar sound of a rocket engine went zooming over the ocean village. "It can't be-"
"It is! Hey! Your Majesty! Were over here!" Yelled an overjoyed Sora who was jumping off of the ground. The blazing gummi ship caught sight of the keyblade bearers and zoomed on over to the islands then halted and proceeded to land when it was in the correct spot. The roar of the rocket engine ceased to exist as the ship landed in the middle of the beach. After the ship released a huge cloud of steam, the door to the ship opened, and out walked a familiar mouse eared character.
"Mickey!" The two of them yelled as leaped into the water below and swam over to the smiling friend.
"Hello fellas!" Greeted the King as the two of them approached him sopping wet. They all shook hands with each other as they caught up on recent times. "Where's Kairi?" The King asked looking for her.
Out of nowhere Kairi came running up to the three of them and gave Mickey a hug. "And how is your majesty doing today?" She asked with a sweet smile.
"Aww you can still call me Mickey to Kairi." Said the King with a small blush on his mousey cheeks.
"Whatever suits you, Mickey." She then set the King down from her hug and walked over to Sora's side.
"Alright then, Sora, Riku, are you prepared for this task ahead of you?"
Riku and Sora looked into each others eyes, then nodded.
"Great! Now as I'm sure you both know that even though you two can wield the keyblade rather well, you're still not considered to have mastered it, correct?"
"Say what?" Proclaimed Sora. "How we could not have mastered the keyblade yet, we can wield ours with great power; I mean c'mon, we've been doing this for almost two years now."
"Exactly." Said Riku. "So why aren't we considered masters yet?"
"It's true that you have been doing this for a long time now but, you cant be considered pros at it until you have completed the Mark of Mastery Exam, the challenge that all keyblade wielders must face in order to achieve ultimate power and unlock the full potential of their keyblade." Stated Mickey with his arms crossed.
The two of them stared at the King out of shock with their jaws hanging in awe; they looked as if they were going to pass out of excitement from that last sentence.
"ULTIMATE….POWER!" Sora exasperated then continued dropping his jaw.
"Full…potential of my keyblade?" Riku questioned as he summoned his Way to Dawn and held it carefully, staring at it as if he had never seen it properly before.
"Uh-huh, you two are really swell wielders, but neither of you know even half of the tricks that a master does, such as the great Yen Sid and his apprentice." The King responded with a smirk.
"Wait, Yen Sid is a keyblade master!" Sora was really surprised now; this was almost too much strange news for him to bear.
"Yep! He sure is! I was once his apprentice, which is how I learned to wield the keyblade, he's also agreed to test you two for the Mark of Mastery."
Riku continued to stare at his keyblade as if it was his whole world, he then allowed it to disappear from his hands and return from whence it came. "So when can we start training with Yen Sid?" His face looked determined to complete this test now.
"We can go right now actually, that is, if your both ready to leave?" Mickey looked up at all of them, hoping that they were prepared like he had asked them to be in his letter.
"Heh-heh well…." Droned on Sora as he put his arms behind his head with a cocky smile on his face.
"Were Ready." Riku interrupted with a firm tone.
"What!"
"You heard what I said," Riku spoke as he turned to Sora. "Lets get going, the sooner we get that mark, the sooner we can save those poor people."
Sora gazed into Riku's eyes; they seemed unusually cold, like ice. It seemed as if something in him had been awakened, and whatever it was, it definitely wasn't friendly. "Alright then Riku, I agree, let's finish this."
"Ok then fella's lets fly on over to Yen Sid's tower so we can start right away." His mousey voice quivered a bit out of the fear something bad had happened when he wasn't around. The King then started walking up the gummi ship's glinting grey platform; he then stopped as he reached its entrance. "C'mon fella's! Let's not keep Yen Sid waiting any longer!"
Sora began to walk towards the ship but then stopped as someone grabbed his shoulder. He whirled around to find Riku standing before him. "I think you should finish up some business with her first before we take off, if you know what I mean." Riku whispered while pointing his thumb towards Kairi.
(Cue Namine's Theme, you'll see why soon)
Sora peered over his friends shoulder and saw Kairi pressing her foot in the sand with her arms crossed behind her back as she gazed at him longingly. Sora then smiled nervously as Riku walked hurriedly into the gummi ship with the King, allowing them to have a moment. Sora felt his cheeks blush a bit as he walked up to Kairi until they were less than an arms length from each other. Sora grabbed her hands and gently pulled them in front of her, he absent-mindedly stroked them while their gaze upon each others face's remained unbroken. "Kairi, about last night…"
She then put her finger up to his lips to shush him. Her skin felt smooth like a petal gracing upon water. "It's ok Sora, I understand." Those words felt so true to Sora.
Sora smiled at her, he then wrapped one arm around her waist while his other arm coiled around her small shoulders. "Well then, I believe it is my turn to say thank you then." Sora then leaned his head towards her and gave placed a delicate kiss upon her cheek. He felt her arms instantly wrap around his back tightly as she pulled him close, Kairi then returned the kiss on his own cheek. He felt his face grow bright red as he hugged her tightly as well. As he rested his head on her shoulder he noticed a couple near them. Sora then gasped, as he saw a spiky amber haired boy mimicking his move with a satin blond haired girl. "Roxas! Namine!" He blurted out.
Kairi then turned her head around to see the commotion, she to gasped as Roxas and Namine broke off their intense kiss. They both had a surprised look on their face as they had been caught. "Sorry guys, we sort of got carried away with the moment, as we won't be around each other for a while to." Roxas spoke sheepishly while blushing. Namine then let her arms fall from his shoulders, but still hung on to the edge white and black lined vest. Roxas did the same by removing his arm from around her shoulder; he let his other arm cling to her white satin dress that fit snugly around her waist.
"Don't you worry Namine and Roxas, Sora and I will be together again soon, then your eh-hem make out session may recommence." Kairi spoke with a light laugh.
"Very funny Kairi." Spoke Namine in a sarcastic manner as she folded her arms around herself. Roxas just rolled his eyes and sighed.
"Can we make that a promise then, Sora?" Roxas asked with a smirk on his face.
Both Kairi and Sora walked up to the couple, each of them standing in front of their other half. "A promise is a promise Roxas, and I intend to keep all of them." Sora then offered his hand out to Roxas and the two of them shook on it. Roxas then closed his eyes as he lifted his head up and faded away into Sora. Namine and Kairi did the same, and Namine faded out in a bright aura and went back into Kairi. They both then turned back to face each other, with their counterpart's returned to their heart's they knew it was time for them to say goodbye.
(End Namine's theme)
"Well, this is goodbye." Kairi started, with tear's beginning to well up in her ocean like eyes.
"Don't say it like that, it's not goodbye forever, it's only until we meet again." Sora interrupted while wiping away her tears ever so gently with his fingers.
Kairi sniffled a little, then took a deep breath and exhaled. "You're right; I suppose you think it's a little silly of me, to get all worked up about this." She blushed a little while putting back on her smile.
Sora then hugged her and kissed her warm cheek just once more. "I find it adorable." He whispered in her ear when ending his kiss. If Kairi was blushing before, her face was completely pink now as Sora let go of her and began walking up the platform of the gummi ship. As he was about to enter the hatch he turned around and waved at her one last time. She did the same, while covering up the spot he kissed her at with the other hand.
"Sora! Let's get this show on the road already!" Yelled the King at the love struck Sora.
"Oh, Right, right, sorry Mickey." Sora then turned around and entered the ship as platform pulled itself back in and the hatch closed. Kairi stepped back several feet as the engine flared in the rear of the ship and began to lift off of the ground. Kairi winced a little at the sound of the ship building up pressure for launch, and then was knocked right off of her feet by the impact of the ship taking off.
Kairi gazed in amazement as the ship flew out into the bright, crisp, cerulean sky. She watched as her dearest friends left her alone, once again. A single tear came out of her pale blue eyes and glided down her cheek then fell into the warm ginger sand. "Sora, Riku, be safe." She then closed her eyes and lifted her head up to the sky as a fresh sea breeze blew right through her silky ruby red hair. "I love you…..Sora…I hope you know that in your heart."
….
"So did we give you enough time for your love affair back their Sora?" Riku let out a chuckle; he was back to his joking self again.
"Oh will you drop it already! Sora put on a pout face, Riku continued to laugh even more until it began to leave his system.
"Just keep you cool I was just trying to give you a hard time Sora." They then dropped the subject, even though Sora was still a little peeved about it, and resumed gazing out into to space from the ship's main windshield. Both of them were sitting in well padded gray rotating chairs while Mickey was sitting in front of them in his own "properly sized" chair controlling the ship. The three of them blazed by world after world until they had finally come across a familiar looking tower that appeared rather odd shaped in the distance.
"Here we are fella's, the great Yen Sid's Tower, hang on now, were about to land." The King motioned with his hand, then gripped the steering wheel tightly to rear the ship back a little bit as it slowed down to stop in midair. Sora and Riku felt themselves thrust forward a bit as the ship did so; they then laid back and eased into their cushy chairs as the ship began its gradual descent to the grassy ground. When the ship had landed and exhausted its usual fumes, the three keyblade wielders jumped out from the hatch of the gummi ship and were greeted by three oh so familiar faces.
"SORA!" Cried out a white feathered yellow billed duck wearing his traditional blue wizard hat and attire. Donald tackled Sora to the ground out of excitement, followed by a long eared dog faced character wearing knight's armor with slacks.
"Donald, Goofy, its great to see you again." Said Sora as the three of them gave each other one big group hug.
"We were afraid you weren't going to show up." Goofy said letting out one of his signature h-yuck laughs. Riku smiled at this scene, remembering the last time he had saw something similar to this happening before.
"Sorry were late Yen Sid, we sort of got held up with catching up on old times." The King spoke with a nervous laugh in his voice as he walked up to a midnight blue robed wizard. Yen Sid merely smiled and played with the end of his long grey beard.
"Such is to be expected Mickey, when old friends are reunited." He spoke with reverence. "All of you, come, there is much work to be done." Yen Sid motioned them to walk with him up the several spiraling staircases that lead to his study. As the 6 of them walked up the never ending steps Sora, Riku, Donald, and Goofy continued to recommence on old times.
"Man! I forgot how long it takes to get up here!" Exasperated Sora as they finally entered Yen Sid's disorganized study. The strange wizard took his seat behind his desk then bid them to take the seats before him that he had just created with a wave of his aged hand. Sora and Riku chose the seats directly in front of Yen Sid while Mickey, Donald, and Goofy took the remaining seats that were placed on their sides.
"Now on to the business then." Muttered Yen Sid as his smile faltered and was replaced with his usual serious demeanor. "Sora, Riku, your effort's have saved the worlds not only once but twice from falling into the depths of darkness. Both of you have proven your capable of wielding the keyblade admirably, however a problem still remains." He waited to see if the two teen's had been listening to him. Sora and Riku nodded in acknowledgment to his well chosen words. "Very well then, it is time you two learned the tale of Master Xehanort, the darkest, cruelest, most foulest person to ever wield a keyblade in these worlds." Yen Sid then waved his hand and a figure roughly as tall as Sora stood on left side; it was a bald old man with a twisted silver goatee hanging from his chin. He was crouched over a bit due to his age and wore an armored black coat that spread out around his legs with a white half-buttoned undershirt. In his open cuffed white gloves he held a rather unique looking keyblade that appeared to be rather evil looking. Sora gasped as he stared right into his menacing, demonic amber eyes.
"That man! Xehanort! He's the one I saw in my dream last night!" Sora began breathing heavily as he stared at the figure in awe.
Yen Sid nodded towards Sora then continued with his speech. "He was a genius keyblade master who appears in many forms and stood in the way of those who used the keyblade to safeguard the light." Yen Sid waved his hand again and two more figures appeared on his opposite side. Xehanort's heartless folded his arms as he floated off of the ground while Xemnas stood still, an empty cruel smile formed over his face as he glared at them. "You two have defeated some of his remaining forms time and time again; however, this war against him is not over yet." He dismissed the figures and they dissolved into thin air.
"The remains' of Xehanort from these worlds have been vanquished however, in the worlds that still sleep, his former self still lives' on."
All except the wise wizard gasped at this statement, some of them appeared to have the slightest tinge of fear on their faces.
"What are these worlds that still sleep?" Riku questioned while everyone else remained in their shocked state. Yen Sid acknowledged Riku's open question then tilted his head to Sora.
"Sora, on your first journey you helped restore many worlds to their former state and brought them out of the darkness that claimed them, however their were some worlds that were lost to darkness and could not be fully restored at that time. Thus instead of fading back into the dark again they remained in a state of sleep, sealed off from all of the worlds and are for the most part, non-existent." Yen Sid then turned back to Riku. "In other word's they are world's that still remain incomplete, and need to be properly sealed in order to return to their complete and original state." Yen Sid still received blank stares at this statement. The silence droned on until Sora interrupted.
"So, if Xehanort is on the brink of return, and there are world that have yet to be restored, how does the Mark of Mastery Exam tie into this?" Sora had that worried look on his face as Yen Sid smirked at him.
"Ahh yes, the Mark of Mastery, you see even though you two are excellent at your wielding skills, you will need to be at your full potential when you take on Xehanort, as he will show no mercy in these worlds, and will stop at nothing to destroy you if he happens to find you in his path." Sora gulped at this statement.
"This…Mark of Mastery Exam…it's not written test is it?" Riku smacked himself in the face at Sora's stupidity.
Yen Sid suppressed a laugh at this, something he rarely did. "Not unless you wish it to be." He then summoned two enormous stacks of paper, each as thick as they were tall.
"No thanks, Sora and I will stick with physical test if that's alright." Interrupted Riku before Sora said anything else to screw things up.
"That's what I thought. Spoke Yen Sid as he dismissed the two large stacks of paper. "There is something you two need to know about these world's though, as they have no gates to enter them, the heartless cannot reach and inhabit them as they usually do, no instead creatures called dream eaters roam these sleeping worlds, yet they still spread darkness, just like the heartless do. There is an acceptation to these creatures though, they are split into two categories, one is known as spirits while the rest are called nightmares. The nightmares spread darkness and cause problems amongst these worlds, while the spirits fight against the nightmares, and are likely to be helpful to you two on your journey throughout them."
"So what happens when we restore these worlds then?" Asked Sora.
Yen Sid then stood up from his chair, and walked over to the back of his room and gazed out of his large windows. "If you two succeed in saving these worlds, you will have shown the Mark of Mastery and will be prepared for the battle that lies ahead."
Riku paused at this then chose to speak. "I've often wondered if it's right for me to wield the keyblade or not, since I walked the path of darkness for so long." He murmured to himself almost, but audible enough for everyone to hear.
"Well mark or no mark, I'm still going to fight against Xehanort!" Proclaimed an angry Sora as he stood up and pumped his fists.
Yen Sid continued gazing at the blinking stars outside, then turned back to face all of them. "Very well then, I will now open the keyhole to sleep, and you two shall start your journey to become masters of the keyblade. However, when you step in, I will have you two go through a little…trial as you may call it, in order to test that you are ready, is that clear to you two?" Asked Yen Sid as he folded his arms.
Riku stood up and bowed with Sora. "Yes Master."
"Good, prepare now as you two enter the sleeping world's that lie in this keyholes depths." Yen Sid then pointed both of his hands at an empty spot on his wall, then intently focused as a beam of light sprouted from them and blasted into it, revealing a glowing keyhole right where it struck. "Sora, Riku, unlock the keyhole and step into its depths, it will lead you to where you need to go." They both looked at each other then nodded as they walked over to the front of it. Each summoned their blade, and pointed it directly at the wall. A brilliant beam of light surged out of each of their keyblades and struck the keyhole, another flash of light followed it, and everyone in the room shielded their eyes from it. When the light had faded out, a solid silver door stood where the keyhole had, it glinted with radiance.
"Good luck fella's!" Mickey cheered them on, Donald and Goofy did the same. Sora and Riku turned to smile at them as the each grabbed one of the doors handles and tugged at it. Inside of it was a vast abyss of pure light. The two of them proceeded to enter it but were stopped by Yen Sid.
"A word of caution to these worlds, I'll only be able to communicate with you two throughout this pre-exam after that, you will lose all contact with me and everyone in this room, do you two understand?" Sora and Riku nodded at him once again.
"Yes Master Yen Sid."
"Good. Now go forth! Venture into the lost world's and restore them to their former glory, your task is to locate the keyhole's of sleep and unlock them, only then can those world's return to their original state." He shooed them away with his hands as they walked into the brilliant depths of light.
…
Sora and Riku had been walking through this realm of light for what seemed like hours. Regardless of how long this took though they still stayed together, walking side by side, occasionally discussing what would happen once they had reached the end.
Riku suddenly stopped in his tracks, Sora stopped to turn around and look at him. Just as he was about to ask him what was wrong Riku pointed his right hand straight ahead of them. "Sora look, a portal is up ahead." Sora hesitantly turned around to see what he had found, and sure enough a swirling vortex-like light portal had opened up before them. The two of them glanced at each other, grinning as they did so.
"One more for old times sake." Sora asked getting into a running stance.
"Couldn't agree more." Said Riku as he took his position. Riku then started the countdown. "Ready! 3…2…1…Go!" He yelled out, they then each bolted for the portal, both staying neck and neck with each other as they ran right into it's depths. There was a flash of the most intense light either one of them had experienced; they closed their eyes as they ventured through it. As sudden as it had came, the light then faded away and was replaced by a familiar warmth, and the sound of ocean waves hitting the shore. Both of them immediately opened their eyes and stared out into the island ahead of them sitting on the ocean.
"Riku, were ho-"Sora stopped, something didn't sound right, his voice normally seemed a lot deeper than it did now. Sora then took a good look at himself, and Riku did the same. Sora was dressed in red shorts with a black vest and a white undershirt, with a pair of bright yellow sneakers sticking on his feet. Riku was wearing his original yellow vest with a pair of blue ankle pants. "Gah! I'm fourteen again!" Sora exasperated then clutched at his throat, he forgot how much he had hated his crackly boyhood voice.
"Humph, 15 again, eh." Mumbled Riku as he self-examined himself. "I wonder," He pondered as he stuck out his right arm and summoned his keyblade. Only this time it was his original weapon that formed in his hands, the soul eater. Riku glared at his old blade with a small amount of loathing in his cerulean hued eyes. "How long has it been since I have wielded this foul old thing, I wonder." He continued to stare at it in disgust for a moment, and then lowered it to his side. He chuckled at Sora as he continued to look over himself in disappointment.
"Oh well." Sighed Sora as he looked up from the ground. "Hey at least I'm practically the same height as you again." He laughed while displaying one of his toothy grins.
Riku just shook his head then examined the area around him. "So…were back on Destiny Island's huh."
A booming voice that came out of nowhere startled the two of them and they fell onto the ginger sand. "Correction." Said the voice of Yen Sid. "You may think this is your home, but really you are in the past, the day before your world was destroyed by the darkness."
Author: And I'm going to leave it at that for now.
Sora and Riku: What it was just starting to get interesting for us!
Sora: I still can't believe it, 1 whole year of growth down the drain! I'm practically a boy again, my beautiful voice is gone!
Riku: Beautiful? Pfft, as if. Look at me I'm short again! Do you think I feel any better about this!
Author: (cough cough) Perhaps this has to do with not feeling sorry earlier gentle…men.
Sora and Riku glare at the author furiously.
Author turns away from them to talk to other people.
Author: So Kairi, how surprised were you by that kiss back their.
Kairi: Oh, My, Freaking, Goodness! He kissed me back! He does love me!
Author: ….Ok then someone's just a tad over excited right now….
Kairi: How could I not be! I feel unstoppable right now!
Sora and Riku just stare at her in amazement.
Author: Right….. Anyway would one of you be interested in saying the ending line?
Riku: I'll take it from here. Please Review this chapter or else we'll get this author in his sleep for taking away a year of our lives.
Author: Oh c'mon your not that peeved about it are you?
Sora draws out his Kingdom Key and Riku hold's his Soul Eater up to the author's chin.
Riku: Try me.
Author: Ok then, thanks for reading and PLEASE REVIEW! WHETHER OR NOT THAT YOU LIKED IT! (Speaks in a panicky tone)
Thanks for reading, I'll be back soon!