Hey everyone, welcome back to the latest chapter of Kingdom of Fate!
I got this chapter wrapped up pretty quickly compared to Remnants of a Forgotten Past.
[It's because of me! But no, seriously, it's because of the fact that we won't need to write any "original" material until around chapter four. Actually, didn't you say that chapter three's well written up by now?]
Yup! Expect that one soon everyone!
Music recommendations:
[JUST LOOK UP THE KH SOUNDTRACK YOU FREAKIN' NERDS!]
Okay then, let's just begin.
Kingdom Hearts is a creation of and owned by both Disney and Square Enix.
The Fate series is a creation of Kinoko Nasu and is owned by TYPE-MOON.
This story is written for entertainment purposes. Please support the official release.
The bright daytime sun is what greeted the boy when he first woke up. Slowly getting up, his eyes settled on the blue and sandy colors of the beach, seagulls bellowing from a distance.
He yawned loudly, lying back down to take another nap. However, a smiling face greeting him from above prevented that.
"Whoa!" He practically jumped while getting up again. Turning around, he set his eyes on the now giggling girl.
She was maybe a few inches shorter, but was the same age as him. Her hands were on her knees while she stared at him. She had short, dark red hair that barely reached her neck. She had a pale complexion, which brought out her violet eyes. Around her neck was a black choker and a necklace with a silver bead. She wore a white top with a black one underneath that slightly showed her navel, the black one showed her collarbone at the hem. Light purple bike shorts were worn under a light purple skirt that was held on by a purplish-blue belt. On her left arm was a yellow wristband as well as a purple armband, a pair of bracelets adorned her right arm. Her feet had white slip on shoes with purple caps.
"Gimme a break, Kairi." The boy said to his childhood friend.
"Sora, you lazy bum. I knew that I'd find you snoozing down here." Kairi mockingly chastised the now identified Sora.
"No! Me and a girl were fighting this huge, black thing!" He spread his arms out for emphasize. "Then it swallowed us up! I couldn't breathe, I couldn't- Ow!" Sora's rambling was stopped when Kairi bopped him on the head.
"Are you still dreaming?" She asked him while he rubbed the top of his head.
"It wasn't a dream!" The boy paused. "Or was it? I don't know..." He stared out into the ocean. "What was that place, and who was that girl? So bizarre..."
"Yeah, sure." Kairi obviously wasn't believing his story.
She walked closer to the water. "Say, Kairi," Sora began, "what was your hometown like? You know, where you grew up."
Her back was turned, eyes facing the blue horizon. "I've told you before, I don't remember."
"Nothing at all?"
"Nothing."
"You ever want to go back?"
"Hmm, well, I'm happy here." Her tone matched her words.
"Really..."
"But, you know..." Kairi's mind started to picture what her hometown could be like. "I wouldn't mind going to see it."
"I'd like to see it too." A smile began to form on Sora's face, "Along with any other worlds out there!" his eyes shined with excitement. "I want to see 'em all!"
She turned around, a smile on her face as well. "So what are we waiting for?"
"Hey," A new voice called from behind Sora. "aren't you guys forgetting about me?"
The owner of the voice came from a boy, who was a year older then Sora. He had short, silver hair that reached a little past his neck as it spiked downward. His fair complexion was paired off with a set of icy blue eyes. He wore a yellow and black tank top shirt with black straps crossing his chest. A pair of black gloves with matching wristbands adorned his arms. His pants were dark blue and worn under a pair of brighter blue pant legs that were held up by suspenders. The area of the pant legs around the ankles were closed tight by a pair black belts. Blue and white shoes with black straps covered his feet. Compared to Sora, this boy had a more toned build, shown by the fact that he was easily holding a large log with just his right arm.
"So, I guess I'm the only one working on the raft."
He tossed the log to Sora, who fumbled with the catch, as he walked towards Kairi. "And you're just as lazy as he is!" He chided the girl in a light tone.
She giggled, "So you noticed." She spread her arms out. "Okay, we'll finish it together. I'll race you!" She said as the silver haired boy sat down next to Sora.
"Huh? But Riku just got here." Sora brought up the point.
"What? Are you kidding?" The boy, Riku, replied at the same time with a raised brow.
"Ready? Go!" Kairi shouted.
The boys quickly looked at each other before jumping off from their seats.
They both ran to the usual finish line, Riku slightly ahead with Sora a close second, Kairi lagging a bit behind. All of them had smiles on their faces.
The picturesque blue sky, puffy clouds, and the vast expanse of the ocean were the usual and welcome sights on the Destiny Islands.
Kingdom of Fate: Dearly Beloved
2. Awakening
After the race (which Sora almost won), they had all spread out to go and get supplies for the raft.
Sora walked up to Kairi at the rightmost part of the island, where a wooden door to the other side was.
"So, can you gather the rest of the supplies?" Kairi asked, already done with her share of the work.
"No problem."
"You do remember what to get right?"
"Y-yeah! Uh..." He scratched the back of his head, his expression sheepish. "What were they again?"
"Geez, Sora." The redhead sighed. She should've known. "Okay, we can't build a raft without materials, right?" The boy nodded. "Here's what we need: two logs, one cloth, and one rope. Bring everything back here. No more slacking, okay?"
"Okay, got it!" Nodding, Sora went off to retrieve the items.
The first was easy, the log Riku tossed at him should still be there... Yes! He was right. Running under the bridge, Sora grabbed the log. He began to walk to the leftmost portion of the island, the treehouse area, when the boy spotted a familiar coif of orange hair.
"Hey, Wakka! What's up?" The boy was leaning on a raised wall, hands behind his head. He turned when Sora called and a smile formed on his lips.
"Hey, what's happening, man?"
"Nothing much, just getting supplies for the raft." He reached the taller teen as he said this.
"Oh? You, Riku and Kairi've been working on dat for a while."
"Yeah! We're almost finished too!" Sora glanced down to the left of Wakka and spotted a white ball with a blue spiral pattern. "Oh, you brought your Blitzball today?"
"Ya. Me, Tidus, and Selphie were hopin' to challenge Riku to a three-on-one match." He said while picking up the ball.
"Whoa, three-on-one? Think that'll be enough?" Sora meant what he said. He'd seen them all fight Riku by themselves and he hadn't even broken a sweat.
"We're hopin' so." Wakka looked like he was thinking for a second before grinning. "Hey, you up for a round? I could use the practice."
Sora grinned back. "You know it! Let me just grab my sword." He ran to the wood shack to his right to grab his weapon and to drop off the log.
He came back with his wooden sword. The thing had several nicks and scratches from the numerous matches he's had against the other teens, mostly Riku though.
Sora got into his battle ready stance, legs spread a bit apart, knees slightly bent, and sword being held with both hands. The wooden blade was pointing away from him towards his right side.
Wakka got into his stance as well, left leg bent forward with the right bent back. His left arm was almost straight in front of him while his right was holding the Blitzball in a hook-like hold.
"Show me your stuff!" With those words, the battle began.
Wakka began by winding himself up to toss his Blitzball. It launched straight at Sora, who countered by hitting the ball back at him. Wakka flinched and was hit right on his head, dazing him. Sora took the opening and hit him three times, a downward slash, followed by a thrust, and finishing with a single spin to power up his swing.
The end of the combo set Wakka forward a few feet. His head was no longer spinning as he backed up and threw the ball at Sora again. He swung it back but Wakka was prepared and caught the projectile, preventing an opening. "Nice try!"
Sora moved to hit him again, but Wakka blocked with the ball, causing the sword to bounce off. Taking his chance, he spun and hit the young "swordsman" with the hand that had the Blitzball, making Sora stagger back.
Wakka leapt back and jumped high into the air, and, Sora thought it was a trick of the light, the Blitzball began to glow blue. "Take this!" He threw the ball with an over head swing. Sora managed to hit the Blitzball with a well timed strike and, with a bit more effort than usual, launched it back at Wakka. He was a bit closer to Wakka than before, so he didn't have time to catch the ball as it hit him out of the air.
He landed on his back, causing sand to be thrown up into the air. "Man, that really hurt."
"You okay?" Sora asked as he walked over to help his friend up.
"Ya, just need to remember to practice a bit more before going to fight Riku." He shook the sand out of his hair and began to smile. "Good match!"
"Thanks!" With that done, Sora went back to the shack to grab the log.
Walking up the stairs on the dock, Sora noticed a girl in a yellow dress sitting on the edge.
"Aah, the breeze feels great today!" She said while stretching her arms.
"Hey, Selphie!" The girl blinked and turned around. She smiled as she saw her friend walk to her.
"Sora! It's good to see you! I haven't seen you much today." Selphie looked at the log and she lost her smile. "Oh, your working on that raft, huh?"
"Uh, yeah." He scratched his cheek and averted his eyes a bit.
The brunette pouted. "When that raft's finished, you, Riku, and Kairi'll leave. We'll never see you again."
"Hey, it's not like that!" Sora replied. "We may be leaving, but this is my home. I'd make sure to come back." He finished with a smile.
"Promise?"
"Promise." Sora nodded. She still seemed a bit sad, but he knew what would cheer her up. "Hey, how about a duel? You and me!"
"A duel?" She began to grin. "Alright, but I've been practicing!"
Sora set the log down and jumped to the sandy area, he was already carrying his sword, as Selphie went to her boat and got her jump rope.
Walking to the beach, she got into her battle stance. Hands on both ends of the jump rope with her legs slightly bent.
"Okay, don't hold back!"
She leaped at Sora, swinging the jump rope like a whip. He dodged at the nick of time, causing her to stagger forward. Sora took the opening and landed his three hit combo on her.
Selphie jumped back as Sora ran to her, she dodged a slash and lashed out her rope, hitting him right in the chest. She swung again, only this time Sora actually managed to hit the end back at her, causing it to hit the top of her head, dazing her. He landed three hits before she regained her wits and jumped back again.
Both ends in her hands, Selphie swung, letting go on the left end and raising her right hand above her. The rope spun around her as she ran forward, Sora leaping back to get some distance. Timing his swing just right, he hit the end of the rope again, causing it to hit Selphie. She spun around due to it hitting her square in the forehead, but the action ended up causing the jump rope to hit her again on the top of her head.
The combined factors of dizziness and the two blows to the head proved to much for Selphie, as she feel flat on her back, defeated.
"Oh, I can't believe I lost!" She waved her arms around, a bit frustrated that her extra training didn't help.
"Hey, you did pretty good. Those attacks with the jump rope actually hurt." Sora said this as he rubbed his chest.
"Yeah," she sat up, "but I can't beat Riku at this rate."
"Just keep practicing. I know you'll get better." He offered her a hand
She took it, getting back up. "Thanks, Sora."
Sora walked on the wooden dock to the other area of the island. Getting to the wooden walkway on the big tree, he climbed up a ladder to the treehouse. Once inside, Sora spotted a large cloth hanging from the wall. It was just the size that he needed!
After taking the cloth, Sora wondered where he could find the rope. 'I think there was some on the pier?' Getting down from the treehouse, Sora walked forward to another ladder and climbed up. Following the walkway, he made it to the pier, and saw a sandy haired boy swinging a red pole like a sword. A few feet away from him he found the rope he needed!
"Hey, Tidus!" Sora greeted the last of his friends that went to the island.
The boy merely glanced back as he kept swinging the pole. "Hey, Sora, you feel lucky today? How 'bout a little competition?"
He thought back to the fights against Wakka and Selphie. He was on a streak today, might as well keep it going, right?
"Okay, but I won't hold back!" Grabbing the rope, he made his way to the beach, Tidus following with a grin on his face.
"Wouldn't have it any other way!"
Both of them got into their combat stances, Tidus' similar to Sora's, the difference being that he focused on a one handed sword style.
"You're going down!" With a wide grin, Tidus ran to the other "swordsman." Getting close enough, he flipped forward and struck down, Sora barely able do deflect the strong blow. Tidus flipped back and repeated the action, but Sora dodged and used the opening to land his three hits in.
He tried to go for another set of strikes, but Tidus stopped them by back flipping while swinging the pole to make Sora stagger back. Flipping forward, he struck the brown haired teen hard, sending him back a foot or two.
"Come on and fight!" He leaped forward with a downward strike, but Sora struck back, sending Tidus' pole backward. The "swordsman" capitalized and went in for his three hits. Tidus tried to hit him again, but Sora kept dodging.
It was when he slipped up his next attack, a leaping swing, that Sora landed the final blow. Tidus staggered back and sat down on the sand, tired from the fight.
"Aw man, I'm really off today..."
"Hey, you've gotten better. Keep that up and you, Wakka, and Selphie'll be able to beat Riku for sure."
"So you heard about that, huh?" He laid on his back. "He's super strong, a three-on-one fight's the only way it's fair anymore."
"I hear that."
'Now, where would I find that last log?' Sora wondered as he climbed up the stairs of the shack. Opening the door to the upstairs portion, he saw the smaller island that was connected to the larger one by the wooden bridge. Sora could see Riku there, sitting on the Paopu Fruit tree and gazing off into the distance.
'He's been doing that a lot lately. Probably can't wait to set sail. Hey, he'd probably know where to find another log!'
Running across the bridge, he was about to ask Riku where he could find a log, when he spotted one near the edge of the island! How lucky!
"Hey, Sora. You finish up getting everything we need for the raft?" Riku spoke when he noticed Sora out of the corner of his eye.
"Yup." He said as he picked up the log. "I just finished up now!"
"Good." He nodded with a smile. "Make sure to give it all to Kairi." He paused, and gained a smirk. "Hey, Sora, how about a quick round?"
"You sure? I just beat Tidus, Wakka, and Selphie not too long ago." He replied, gaining a smirk of his own.
"Ooh. Alright then, Mister Bigshot, let's see how good you've gotten." He grabbed his wooden sword, a bit longer then Sora's, and jumped off the tree, landing a few feet away from him.
"This one decides the champion!" They got into their stances, Riku just lazily holding his sword in his right hand. "Ready or not!"
Riku jumped high into the air, landing behind Sora. He dodged right when the silver haired boy swung, leaving him open. Sora stuck with three hits, making Riku stagger back. He went for another swing but Riku countered with a swing of his own. Jumping into the air again, he landed a couple of feet away from Sora. They swung at the same time and their blades met, again and again. They clashed swords for a few seconds, the usual thing that occurred in their duels.
Sora went for a thrust, but Riku jumped onto the Paopu tree. "Hmph, you still don't got it." He taunted, getting a rise out of the brown haired boy. He went to strike, but Riku had already jumped down behind him! With a swing powered up by a spin, similar to Sora's combo finisher, he landed a big hit on him. He still had it in him to strike in retaliation, knocking Riku down. He went for his chance, but Riku got back up with a spring double kick that hit Sora right in the gut, knocking the wind out of him.
Riku leaped back as Sora caught his breath. "Don't tell be you're giving up already?"
"As if!" Running up to him, Sora tried to hit him with his sword, but Riku kept blocking. Riku deflected a swing and did his own, but Sora was just quick enough. With Riku only landing a glancing blow, Sora followed up with his three hit combo, knocking Riku down.
'Now's my chance!' Jumping up, Sora readied a two handed downward strike that would decide the winner.
But Riku saw an opening and took it. Putting both his hands on the ground, he launched with a powered up spring double kick, hitting Sora right on the chest.
"Oof!" He had no time to dodge while in the air, and that, combined with the force of Riku's blow, sent Sora right off the island.
*Splash!*
Riku went to the edge and saw Sora come up for air. "You okay?"
"Yeah, but man! I was so close this time!" He slammed his hand down in halfhearted frustration. "Now there's another win that goes to you!"
"Weren't you keeping count?"
"Eh, I lost track a couple of months back." He replied while climbing the metal ladder that was attached to the small island.
Riku chuckled. "Well come on. I got a towel back in the shack that I'm sure you want."
After drying off, Sora gave all the items to Kairi and the three decided to call it in for today.
The sun was setting over the Destiny Islands as Sora, Riku, and Kairi all gathered up on the small island. Sora and Kairi sat upon the Paopu tree while Riku was leaning on the base. All of them were staring at the sunset.
"So, Kairi's home is out there somewhere, right?" Sora asked, glancing at Riku.
"Could be. We'll never know by staying here."
"But, how far could a raft take us?"
"Who knows?" The silver haired boy shrugged. "If we have to, we'll think of something else."
"So, suppose you get to another world." Kairi began, giggling a bit, "What would you do there?"
"Hmm..." Riku paused for a second, thinking. "Well, I... haven't really thought about it." He stared back into the horizon. "It's just... I've always wondered why we're here on this island. If there are any other worlds out there, why did we end up on this one? And suppose there are other worlds... Then ours is just a little piece of something much greater." The boy crossed his arms. "So we could have just as easily ended up somewhere else, right?" He looked back at his two best friends.
"I don't know." Sora replied, moving a bit so that he could lay on the tree.
"Exactly. That's why we need to go out there and find out." He walked closer to the islands edge. "Just sitting here won't change a thing. It's the same old stuff." Sora stared at the vast ocean while Kairi looked at Riku. "So let's go."
"You've been thinking a lot lately, haven't you?" Kairi asked after the silver haired boy had finished.
"Thanks to you." He turned to her with a smile. "If you hadn't come here, I probably would've never thought of any of this." Sora looked on and rolled his eyes a bit. "Kairi, thanks."
She giggled, and hoped the sunset could hide her slight blush. "You're welcome."
They were walking on the bridge, Kairi ahead of them, deciding to head to the mainland and back home.
"Sora."
The called boy turned around and caught a large, yellow, star shaped fruit, leaves hung on the bottom points.
"You wanted one, didn't you?" Riku continued.
"A Paopu Fruit?" Sora looked at it in confusion.
"If two people share one, their destinies become intertwined." The silver haired boy explained while continuing to walk. "They'll remain a part of each other's lives no matter what."
He raised an arm and chuckled. "C'mon, I know you want to try it with her."
"What are you talking-" Sora blushed and heard Riku laugh, making him blush harder. Looking at the fruit, he tossed it in to the ocean and ran after Riku.
Meanwhile, in another World...
A large castle stood in the kingdom of Camelot, well taken care of and bustling with its residents, waking up to start the new day.
Walking through one of the hallways was a girl, no older than fifteen. She had long, wavy black hair that almost reached the small of her back. She had a far complexion that was paired off with greenish-blue eyes. She wore a black, long sleeved shirt. The sleeves themselves were very large and roomy, having a big, red, spiky crown design at the edges. A short, red collared cloak that covered her upper arms was worn over the shirt, a string tied it together on the front to keep it from falling. The cloak actually had a detachable hood that the girl decided not to wear today. A brown belt hung around her waist with a gold buckle. The shirt extended to a skirt that went a little past her knees and had two, long, red triangles spaced apart from each other in the bottom edge. Black stockings and brown heeled boots adorned her legs and feet. She yawned as she greeted some passing by maids. While she had gotten better at waking up early, she, and many people that knew her, would not consider herself a morning person.
She made her way to a very large door in the center of the hall. She knocked high with her knuckles three times, then knocked low with the side of her fist twice. This caused a smaller, human sized door to open up. The King had thought it would be funny to design the door like this, loving to see the reactions of those who see the real way to open it.
Walking inside the enormous audience chamber, she began to speak. "Good morning, Your Majesty, I hope you had a pleasant- Huh?" She looked at the throne that was far into the room, and it was empty. 'That's odd, The King usually wakes up earlier than most of us.' She kept walking, and saw a large lion come from behind the throne with a letter in his mouth.
"Somba? What's that in your mouth?" She walked to The King's pet lion and it gave her the letter. 'This is The King's seal!' Opening it up quickly, she began to read the contents of the paper.
"…-!" Her eyes widened and she did her best not to panic and run out of the room screaming, though the occasional passerby did give her an odd look as she briskly walked past them.
The garden of the castle was what many would say to be quite beautiful. Flowers of dozens of varieties littered the area, several large bushes were trimmed in a way to make them resemble triumphant knights after battle. However, one in the center was a bush cut in a way to make it look like a miniature version of a castle.
Near the bush castle was a staff. The top portion was a large ring, the top and bottom parts having a gold edging. The sides of the ring had a pair of large wings, three for each side. The wings were layered, the first and third were identical while the second, middle ones were smaller and stick out a bit. Inside the circle was a gold star. Near the top of the ring was a pair of small rubies, that, with the way they were arranged, resembled eyes. A flat, gold cylinder separated the ring from a clear hourglass looking object, only without the center portion. Another flat, gold cylinder connected everything to the actual ruby colored staff, the grip portion colored a vivid crimson, and was almost as long as the average persons arm. The bottom of the pommel had a small gold cross.
The odd part about this staff, other than that it was just laying in the castle's garden, was the fact that it was snoring.
"Where is she, where is she where-AHA!" The girl from earlier had quickly walked into the garden in search of something when she spotted the staff.
Practically running up to it, she grabbed the staff and started shaking it. "Ruby, wake up! This is not the time for a nap!" She staff actually started to sound like a person that was being violently shaken about, waving around as if made of rubber.
"R-Rin! C-calm d-down! And s-stop sha-king me~!" The now named Rin took a few deep breaths as the apparently sentient staff Ruby tried to stop seeing stars.
"Ruby! This is bad this is very bad!" She immediately stopped herself as she glanced around the garden, before continuing in a hushed tone. "We can't tell anyone about what's happened."
"Okay, but what has happened? And can't we tell Queen Guinevere-!" Ruby suddenly looked very nervous as she looked behind Rin.
"Not even the queen!" She shook her head in finality.
"S-Sakura?" Ruby squeaked as she tried to make a throat cutting motion with her wings. As you can guess, Ruby played a terrible game of charades.
"No! What part of "can't tell anyone" don't you get! And want the heck are you doing-"
"Rin?"
She practically froze when she heard that voice. Slowly turning, she saw two people standing behind her.
One of them was a woman with long, radiant orange hair styled into drills, which complimented her stunning green eyes. She had fair skin and wore a concerned expression. A headband type crown was wrapped around her head. She wore an elaborate dress fit for a queen. It was mostly red with white on the sleeves and where the dress split down the middle. It had puffed up shoulders and gold colored lining.
The other person there was a girl a bit younger than Rin, and you could tell that they were related by the fact that they share eye and hair color. Her hair was as long as Rin's but lack the waviness. The left side had a pink ribbon tied to a lock of hair. She wore a much simpler outfit, consisting of a white, long sleeved shirt and a red skirt that ended a bit past her knees. Her expression, like the woman's, was concerned but also had a bit of annoyance as her hands her on her hips.
They were Queen Guinevere and Rin's younger sister, Sakura, respectively.
Rin nervously chuckled as she prepared for the conversation to come.
Arturia awoke in a black void, only this time she wasn't falling, just floating in the dark abyss.
She tried to move, only for the actions to fail her as she simply lacked the energy.
The monster hadn't killed her like she thought it did. Arturia looked around as much as she could, only to find no sight of the boy she fought alongside with.
'The creature seemed to only be interested in him. It's possible it just left me here and-' She didn't finish that train of thought. While she had seen many thing in her time as king, the memories of seeing children suffer always hit a particular portion of her.
She sincerely hoped that the boy was at least okay.
-Destiny Islands
Sora jumped off his boat and landed on the dock, the sun shining bright as it usually did this time of day.
He saw Tidus, Wakka and Selphie hanging out near the shack.
"Hey guys! What's up?"
"Oh, hey, Sora!" Selphie greeted him with a smile
"Nothing much, just got our butts handed to us by Riku." Tidus said while sitting down, his back leaning on the shack.
"Whoa, seriously?"
"Ya, he's really something else, that's for sure." Wakka spoke while spinning his Blitzball on his finger.
"One thing's for sure, at least Kairi can count on him."
"Ooh! You think he'll ask her to share a Paopu Fruit?" Selphie practically had stars in her eyes while saying this. She signed dramatically. "I wish someone would share one with me."
Wakka and Tidus couldn't help but shake their heads at Selphie.
"Hey, Sora." Wakka began, "You've gotten stronger, ya? How 'bout you go three-on-one wit us?"
"Yeah, that's a great idea! We can see where we measure up!" Tidus was giddy with anticipation.
"Glad to see I'm your measuring stick." Sora deadpanned. "Why not? Let's do this!"
"All right!" All three of them cheered as they all spread out and got into they stances, Sora pulling out his sword.
The battle began, and was hectic. Sora dodged Wakka's thrown Blitzball as he went for Selphie. The girl lashed her rope but he dodged, landing three hits on her. He would have landed more, but Tidus caught him off guard and he was forced to parry his strike. Sora gain a moment's reprieve, when he saw Wakka in the corner of his eye preparing to throw his ball. He ducked down just in time as the Blitzball hit Tidus square in the face.
"Oops! Sorry, brudda!" Without his weapon, Sora went to Wakka and landed a few hits that knocked him back. Selphie's jump rope hit Sora in the back and he fell forward into a roll. She spun the rope around her as she did yesterday and Sora countered the same way as well, making the rope hit her on the top of the head.
Tidus came back in action with a front flip swing of his pole. Sora deflected it and dodge another lash from Selphie. He saw Wakka jump high into the air and launch the shining blue Blitzball. Sora jumped up as well, and hit the ball, towards Selphie. She had gotten over her dizziness when the ball hit her in the stomach, knocking her down, out of the match.
Tidus and Wakka were left. The orange haired boy grab his ball and threw it at Tidus, who in turn hit it towards Sora. Not expecting this, Sora got hit square on the chest and had the wind knock out of him. The sandy haired boy ran to him and swung the pole, landing another hit. Sora leaped back for some breathing room, but was interrupted by Wakka and a thrown Blitzball. Tidus leaped for a downward strike, Sora barely managing a dodge.
"Oi, Tidus! Get ready!" Wakka shouted as he jumped high up into the air and launched the shining blue Blitzball at him. Tidus added to its power with a swing, making it head straight for Sora. But he was ready this time. Timing his swing just right, Sora swung his wooden blade. The ball hit, and he struggled a bit with how much force it had, but Sora stuck the Blitzball, right at Wakka. The boy's eyes widened. He tried to catch the ball, but it went too fast and fell past his grip. The Blitzball hit him right in the chest, launching him right into the sand.
It was just Sora and Tidus now, both were tired from the fight, the next few hits would decide everything.
They both ran forward and clashed weapons. Tidus tried back flip and swing his pole, Sora dodging it. With the opening showing itself, the brown haired swordsman planted the wooden blade downward, spun once, and performed a slide-like charge toward the sandy haired boy.
The attack hit, launching Tidus back a few feet onto his back.
"Aw, man. You and Riku really are something else." He spoke out, really feeling that last hit.
"Phew," Sora wiped his brow, "I don't know how Riku can do this."
"That was amazing, Sora!" Selphie ran up to the boy. "How did you did that last move?"
"Huh?" The last move?... How did he do that? "I... dunno. I just did it."
"Well, whatever it is, it looks like it packs a punch." Wakka spoke, rubbing his chest a bit.
"Trust me, it does." Tidus got up. "Something like that's gotta have a name."
"A name? Hmm..." Sora thought, then it hit him. "Sliding Dash." It described the move perfectly, while still sounding a bit cool. Like the move, it just sort of came to him, and felt... right.
"Well, I'm beat. I think I'll rest a bit before seeing Riku and Kairi." Sora stretched his arms out, happy for the relief.
"I'm right there with ya for the resting part." Tidus nodded.
"Hey, I brought some drinks with me! They'd be perfect right now, ya?" Wakka hit his palm with his fist, remembering the cold sodas.
"Yeah, that'd really hit the spot!" Selphie cheered.
After the drinks and rest, Sora bid farewell to the three and went through the door on the far right on the island, which went to the cove.
He looked to his right and saw Riku staring off at the ocean. Hearing the door open, he turned around and saw his friend.
"Hey, Sora." He saw that the boy was a bit scratched up. "Whoa, what happened to you?"
"Went off against Tidus, Wakka, and Selphie, three-on-one."
"How'd that end up?" He asked with a raised brow.
"Eh, I won, but I really had to work for it. I don't know how you make it look so easy."
"Tell you the truth, I think you had a harder time then I did. They weren't really working as a team when I fought them." Riku shrugged.
"Well, they only did that when I took out Selphie. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have stood a chance if they worked together from the start."
"Well, I may have stood a chance." The silver haired boy smirked.
"Tch, yeah right." They both shared a laugh. Riku rarely bragged, and of he did, it was usually just him joking around.
"So, I thought that our raft needed a name." Riku began, "I was thinking... Highwind. How about you?"
"Me? Hmm, well... How about Excalibur!" It was a sword from one of Sora's favorite stories. Who wouldn't want to name their ship after something that cool?
"I dunno..." His face lit up with inspiration. "Hey, how 'bout..."
"The usual?" Sora grinned as his mind went to the same thing.
"You guys at it again?" Kairi said as she walked across the large bridge that had gaps in it. "All right, I'll be the judge."
"The usual rules apply: Take any route you want. First one to tag the star tree over near the edge of the cove and makes it back here wins."
They got into place and Sora decided to add some additions to the wager.
"If I win, then... I'm captain! And if you win-"
"I get to share the Paopu with Kairi."
"Huh?" Sora blinked in surprise.
"Deal? The winner gets the share a Paopu with Kairi." Riku grinned as he made the wager.
Sora was blushing heavily. "Wha! Wait a minute!"
"Okay, on my count!" Said girl interrupted his thoughts as she began to count down.
"3!"
"2!"
'1!'
"Go!"
They both shot off. They were neck and neck while on the bridge, but Sora had forgotten that some of the planks were loose, and fell into the shallow water below.
It didn't stop him as he kept going. He saw Riku climb up a tall tower, which he knew had the zip line. Not wanting him to gain a lead, Sora booked it to the area which had the coconut trees.
Riku made it off the zip line and ran to the raised ledges that lead to the star tree, Sora close behind. They tagged the tree one after another, and jumped on the coconut trees to save time. Riku managed to judge the timing of one of the jumps wrong and dropped to the ground loosing his lead.
Once they got near the bridge, they were neck and neck again. They were getting closer to the finish line when Sora delved into energy he didn't know he even had.
With one final leap, he just managed to cross the finish line first.
"Yeah! I won! Alright!" He was ecstatic. He beat Riku! That was... Oh, right, he'd lost count a while ago.
"Man, lighten up. It's just a name after all." Riku's stared at Sora with half lidded eyes.
"Wha? But I thought you said-"
"Huh? You actually believed me? That Paopu thing was just a joke." He chuckled a bit. "You should've seen your face."
"Wha!" Sora's face was blushing again. "I-just-Gah!" He turned and walked away with a huff, causing more chuckles to be heard from the silver haired boy.
Sora walked near the area with the coconut trees where the raft was being kept. He saw Kairi and walked up to her.
"Alright, what do we need today?"
"Today, we'll need to collect some provisions." She brought out a list she made and gave it to Sora. A lot of it was crossed off with only a few left. "We'll need one seagull egg, three mushrooms, two coconuts, three fish, and some more drinking water." She lifted up the large jar near her along with a basket to put the stuff in. "Oh, and Sora." She deadpanned. "Make sure its fresh water and not salt water."
"I know that! Geez one time and they'll never let you live it down." He heard Kairi giggle and walked off to collect the items.
He was near the coconut trees so he made sure to get those first. Whacking them a few times (and making sure none fell on his head), he got the two coconuts needed.
Walking to a large wall near the raft, he spotted a divot in the wall hidden by a rock. Moving it, he found an edible mushroom. Walking up the stairs near the zip line tower, he caught site of the same type of mushroom! This'll be easy!
Walking out into the front of the island, Sora saw the seagull egg that had been resting a top a coconut tree. 'Hmm... it's been there a while and it's mother never came back... I'm sure there's no harm in it.' Climbing up another tree, Sora took the abandoned egg and put it in the basket.
He stared off into the ocean. He'd always seen a few fish swimming around so the only problem now would be catching them. After several long (and some would say amusing) minutes, he had caught all three fish.
All that was left was the drinking water and the last mushroom. Sora remembered were he had seen more of the type of mushroom that he needed, the Secret Place in between the base of the large tree and the waterfall. Going towards the cave, he filled up the jar with the waterfall. He then headed inside.
Sora walked through the rock tunnel and gazed at the inside of the cave. It was filled to the brim with drawings and doodles that he, Riku, and Kairi had done since they were little. The oddest part about the place was that there was a door there. A single, brown door that had some outlining in gold. The wasn't a handle so there wasn't a way to open it, but Sora had always wondered what was on the other side.
He saw the mushroom that he need and placed it in the basket. As he took it, he looked at a cave drawing that made him nostalgic.
Sora and Kairi were sitting inside the Secret Place, drawing one of the first pictures there.
They were both still young children, Sora's hair was less spiky and he wore a white v-neck T-shirt with blue edging, red shorts with a pocket on each of the sides, and brown sandals with orange-yellow velcro straps.
Kairi had comparatively longer hair than she does at present day, reaching down to her neck. She wore a white apron-like shirt with blue flowers and a blue line across the chest, a pink skirt with a white line on it and large, white shoes with pink and purple lines on them. She still had her necklace, even back then.
They were drawing each others heads. Kairi clearly had the artist talent of the two while Sora's lines were all shaky and it only had a passing resemblance to her. She didn't seem to mind though, still saying that he did a good job. He rubbed his nose and grinned, proud that she liked it.
He saw a small rock near the wall, big enough to be used as a drawing tool for the wall. He grabbed it and looked at the drawing again, and decided to add something.
Near the image of himself, Sora chiseled an arm coming from him, giving the drawing of Kairi a Paopu fruit.
He blushed at his finished work, but couldn't help but smile.
A sound from behind him made him almost jump. He turned around.
"Wh-Who's there!" To his surprise, it was someone Sora had never seen before.
The shadows of the cave made it impossible to see his face, but Sora could tell he was wearing some sort of cloak.
"I've come to see the door to this world." The figure spoke in a masculine voice.
"Huh?"
"This world has been connected." He continued.
"Wh-What are you talking about?" Sora was still confused. Who was this guy?
"Tied to the darkness... soon to be completely eclipsed."
"Well, whoever you are, stop freaking me out like this! Huh?" Wait. This doesn't add up. Sora practically knew everyone on the islands. Even if he didn't know this guy's name he should at least recognize the voice. But it was unfamiliar to him. "Wh-Where did you come from?"
Instead of answering the question, the man just went on. "You do not yet know what lies beyond the door."
Sora's eyes widened in realization. "So, you're from another world!"
"There is so very much to learn. You understand so little."
He actually got annoyed at this. "Oh yeah? Well you'll see! I'm gonna get out and learn what's out there!"
"A meaningless effort." The dark figure actually seemed slightly amused by this. "One who knows nothing can understand nothing."
Sora glared at the man, before setting his sights on the door. He had always wondered what was behind it. Could it... lead to another world?
He turned his head to the man, only to realize that he was gone. He looked around the cave, but the guy hadn't left anything behind. It was as if he was never there in the first place.
Sora decided to grab his basket and leave the cave quickly. He doesn't know why, but that guy seemed like bad news. If it wasn't the massive creepy vibe he set off then it was Sora's guts telling him to stay away.
Making his way back to the cove he went to Kairi to give her the stuff.
"I'm done." He saw that she was messing with something with her hands. "What'cha making there?"
"This? I'm making a necklace out of thalassa shells." She smiled as she said this. "In the old days, sailors always wore thalassa shells. They were supposed to ensure a safe voyage." She held it up to show that she was almost done. It was like a star in shape, only one point missing. "See this? It's a charm to help us find each other if we ever get separated."
"Sounds important."
"Yup, but I don't think we'll really need it. The three of us will always be together." She had a wide smile on her face
Sora nodded, a large smile of his own plastered on. Riku and Kairi, he wouldn't trade them for anything in the world.
Sunset had once again befallen the Destiny Islands. Sora and Kairi had found themselves alone, sitting on the dock.
"You know, Riku has changed." Kairi began.
"What do you mean?"
"Well...Hmm..."
"You okay?"
At first she didn't answer. Then, with a large smile, she turned to him and said, "Sora! Let's take the raft and go! Just the two of us!
"Huh?" Sora's face turned a bit red.
She giggled at this. "Just kidding!"
Sora faltered a bit. "What's gotten into you?" He chuckled a little. "You're the one that's changed Kairi."
"...Maybe." The sudden change in her tone caught his attention. "You know, I was a little afraid at first, but now I'm ready. No matter where I go or what I see, I know I can always come back here." She turned to Sora again. "Right?"
"Yeah, of course!" He planned to come back too. What sort of friend would he be if he never saw Tidus, Wakka, or Selphie again?
"That's good... Sora, don't ever change."
"Huh?"
She stood up. "I just can't wait. Once we set sail,"Kairi stared out into the oceanic sunset, "it'll be great."
"...Yeah." Tomorrow's the big day. It was now or never.
-Camelot
Rin,
Sorry to rush off without saying goodbye, but there's big trouble stirring about.
I only have a theory as to why, but the stars have been blinking out, one by one. And that means disaster can't be far behind. I hate to leave you all and the kingdom, but I have to go check into it.
There is someone with a "Key"- the key to our survival. I need you and Ruby to find and stay with him no matter what. Okay?
We have to find that key or we're all doomed. Go to Traverse Town and find a man named Leon. He'll point you in the right direction.
P.S.
Can you apologize to Guinevere for me?
Thanks, Rin.
"Your majesty, what could this mean?" Sakura asked the older woman, who's eyes were closed as she finished the letter.
"It means... we will just have to trust the king." Guinevere said in a somber tone.
"Oh, I sure hope his majesty's okay." Ruby said as she floated in the air. The King was one of the few people that she completely respected, and that was saying something.
"Your highness." Rin saluted. "Don't worry. We'll be sure to find the king and this "key.""
Guinevere smiled in a motherly way. "Thank you. Both of you."
"Sakura, I'm sorry, but I will-"
"It's okay. Just make sure to come back safe." Her sister replied, her tone understanding.
"We hope for your safe return. Please help the king." She bowed her head slightly, a show of great trust from someone of her status.
Rin saluted again. As she looked to the people she was leaving behind... and Ruby, who was giving her what she assumed to be her form of a salute as if to say farewell.
A tick mark appeared on Rin's head as she went toward the lazy magic wand. "You're coming, too!" She grabbed her "neck" and dragged her to the launch bay.
The two were walking down a long spiral staircase which lead to their means of travel. Well, Rin was walking. Ruby just floated down.
"Ruby, you know the rules right?" She asked the wand.
"Huh? Oh, yeah! While in other worlds, we can't let anyone know where we're from. We have to protect the Worlds' order as much as we can."
"Good. Nice to see you taking this seriously."
"It's a mission from the king, of course I'll take it seriously!" Ruby huffed.
They made it to the bottom hallway. "You may want to try wearing a different set of clothes while we travel."
"Hmm," Rin looked at her ensemble and nodded. "Yeah, I stand out a bit to much. Something more casual should do."
"Maybe you could-"
"NO! I am not transforming into Kaleido Ruby!" She glared at the magic wand.
"But, Riiiiiiin~, it's the only way to access our full power!"
"I said no!" Transforming into Kaleido Ruby was fun when she was younger, but it was downright embarrassing now that she was fifteen.
Seriously, she was too old to be a magical girl darn it!
They walked into the launch bay. Gears were grinding and turning as they operated the various mechanisms of the area.
Or, they're there just because the inventor thought that they looked cool.
The two made their way to a large, reddish-orange ship. The cockpit was in the middle-back while the middle-front contain the engine. The sides had the ship's thrusters and they also had wings for aerodynamics. The bottom of the vessel had the ship's weapons, a pair of cannons.
Rin went to a mic and spoke. "This is Rin Tohsaka to launch crew, any time you're ready."
One of the technicians looked excited as she started pressing buttons, putting in the last touches. She had short magenta colored hair and yellow eyes, and was dressed up in a black and white eastern maid uniform, sandals included. A lot of her hair was pulled back and held by a blue ribbon.
A girl next to her was also busy at the controls. She had the same exact hair color, but with untied hair, her eyes blue. She wore a more traditional maid uniform in the same colors as the other girl, black boots on her feet. Instead of looking excited, this girl had a rather stoic expression.
The ship became angled in a way that allowed Rin to board. Grabbing Ruby, she jumped inside the cockpit.
"Okay, Rin, make sure to not touch the controls. Kohaku and Hisui modified the Gummi Ship so I can drive it too. We don't want a repeat of what happened last time now, do we?" Ruby slightly joked at the end but Rin groaned and tried to bury those memories of her last failed venture into technology.
No one had told her that the button she'd pressed was the self destruct!
Looking out the window, Rin saw the queen and her sister seeing them off. She nodded to them with a smile. The ship aligned itself with the launch way.
The excited voice, Kohaku, shouted, "Blast Off!"
A downward arrow suddenly flashed in front of the ship. The launch pad disappeared and they ship fell into the "actual" launch way, Rin and Ruby screaming all the way.
Sometimes, Rin really hated the king's sense of humor. She swore that he had spent way too much time with his mischievous instructor.
Popping out from "under" their world, the Gummi Ship blasted off to Traverse Town.
-Destiny Islands
Sora laid a top his bed, hands behind his head, thinking about tomorrow. His room was a bit of a mess, some of his clothes and toys just laying on the floor. The ceiling had several things hanging from it, a crescent moon, a few stars, and a toy ship with a few "action figures" (read: dolls) inside.
Tomorrow's the day they finally leave their home. While it may not be forever, he'll still miss everyone, Tidus, Wakka, and Selphie.
He looked at the toy ship hanging from his ceiling. "I just can't wait. Once we set sail, it'll be great." Kairi's voice rang in his mind.
'Yeah, as long as I have Riku and Kairi with me, everything will be fine.'
He heard a rumbling noise come from outside. Looking out the window next to his bed, he saw several dark clouds hanging over the island offshore, giving off lightning every few seconds.
"A storm?" He questioned. His eyes almost jumped out of his head. "Oh, no, the raft!"
"Sora, dinner's ready, come on down. Sora?"
Sora's mother called from the kitchen, but his bedroom was empty. The window being open was the only indication that Sora had left.
Sora jumped from his boat only to stare in shock at a giant dark sphere that hovered over the island, pulsating energy.
"What's that?" He looked at the dock and his worry deepened. "Riku's boat. And Kairi's!" He heard something shifting to him. Turning his head to the sound he couldn't believe what he saw.
Black creatures with beady yellow eyes. Just like from the dream he had.
They began to crawl towards him. Grabbing his wooden sword from his boat, Sora tried to hit them.
But it was no use. The toy just phased through the monsters as if it didn't exist.
One of them slashed at Sora, hitting him right in the leg. He wasn't bleeding, but it had really hurt. More started to appear, at least a dozen coming just for him.
He wanted to run, to use his boat to get off the island, but then something occurred to him that made him halt. 'Riku! Kairi! There still here!' The image of these monsters getting to his best friends and-
Sora steeled himself as he ran past the creatures to search for his friends. 'I need to help them!'
More kept appearing, there were over thirty of them if Sora had to guess, all trying to claw at him and do something that he didn't want to think about.
He saw someone standing on the small island connected by the bridge. He climbed on top of the shack and jumped to it.
He saw silver hair, and felt like grabbing him into a hug, "Riku!" but his happiness dwindled as he looked to find that he was alone. Getting on the small island, Sora confronted his friend.
"Where's Kairi? I thought she was with you!"
"The door... has opened..." Instead of answering, Riku kept his back turned as he spoke those words.
"What?"
"The door has opened, Sora!" He turned to face the boy, a manic smile on his face. "Now we can go to the outside world!"
"What are you talking about? We've gotta find Kairi!"
"Kairi's coming with us!" He interrupted his friend. Sora flinched back, Riku was honestly starting to scare him.
"Once we step through, we might not be able to come back. We may never see our parents again. There's no turning back." He looked at the swirling orb of darkness. "But this may be our only chance. We can't let fear stop us!" Riku looked right into Sora's eyes, and Sora felt as though he was looking at his best friend for the first time. "I'm not afraid of the darkness!"
He held out his hand, wanting Sora to take it. "Riku..." A pool of darkness erupted from the silver haired boy's feet. Sora remembered what happened in his dream when he got sucked into one of them, and tried to grab Riku's hand to save him.
But the pool had spread to where it got Sora. Black tendrils started to wrap around them, making it harder to move. Sora kept trying to reach Riku, but it was no use.
Before Sora knew it, all he saw was darkness.
Time didn't really exist in the dark void. Arturia felt like she had spent an eternity there, while knowing that it was possibly only a couple of minutes, or maybe even a week.
Either way, she was stuck there. Floating endlessly within-
Wait, she felt a connection. A source of Prana was giving her the energy to move. She could see a gradually brighter and brighter light she was going towards.
A contract had been made, she was being properly summoned.
Sora saw a bright light. It began to surround him until it was all he saw.
He was back on the small island. But he was now holding onto something.
It was, for lack of better words, a giant key. It was a bit longer than his old wooden sword, looking to be past three feet. It looked reminiscent of a skeleton key in design, the teeth actually resembling a crown, two square points on the outer part with two triangle points with circle tips. The pole and teeth parts were silver, the rainguard near the base was blue. The guard was a bright gold (really making to look like big a key) while a handle inside was gray. The hilt had a long, silver chain that had a deep red token of some sort at the end. The main part of the token had a diamond-like shape but was separated in the center. It honestly reminded him of a tattoo, but thinking back, Sora had actually seen this before in his dream. Another shape was in the token, slightly smaller but keeping it held together. It looked like three flower petals, one on top and two on the bottom.
Keyblade
"Wha?-!" Sora was interrupted from his observation when two circles appeared in front of him, glowing blue and purple respectively. They were causing the air around them to go crazy, practically creating a whirlwind. The circle had writing in some language that he couldn't decipher.
Inside the circles, two figures emerged.
The first was the same girl that Sora had seen in his dream. She wore the same dress as before, only with parts of it now covered in sliver armor. Her chest had torso armor with intricate blue markings, the sides of her dress having metal plates that looked like they reached to her knees. The part where the dress split down the middle had a blue portion added, outlined in gold. Her arms were covered in gauntlets, the right having a more cylinder like shape with all her fingers free to move. The left arm's gauntlet was had a more plated look, the hands resembling metal mittens with only her thumb and index finger free. She had her eye's closed, and she looked like she had a sword planted in front of her, even though there was nothing there.
With the next person, well, Sora honestly felt like blushing. She was taller than him by almost three full heads, and had long, light purple hair that reached down to her feet. She had fair skin like the other girl, but her eyes were covered with some kind of mask. It was purple and seemed to be held together by two small, silver plates that were right between where her eyes should be. Her forehead had some sort of read marking that was, once again, in a language he didn't know. She wore a black, strapless dress that exposed her shoulders and ended a bit past her thighs. The top edging of the dress was outlined in purple. Her arms were covered in long gloves that exposed most of her hands except for the back. They ended midway up her bicep and each had three armband-like objects, two on the top and the third near the elbows. A similar object was found on her wrists. Long, heeled boots adorned her legs, having the exact same color and outlining of her dress, and ended near her upper legs. The front of the boots had purple armoring on her ankles. She was very pretty, had the situation not have been so dire and surprising, Sora would averted his eyes.
The wind died down, and the girl in blue opened her eyes, she and the purple haired woman looked at Sora, and spoke, "I ask of you: Are you my Master?-!"
Both of them quickly turned to each other as soon as those words left their mouths. Arturia found herself being confused again. Judging by the power radiating from the woman in black, she was another Servant. But what was she doing here? Did she attack him or-
"M-master? What are you talking about?" The boy spoke, drawing both of their attentions. Arturia's eyes widened, it was the same boy from before, only now he was holding an odd key-shaped object. Quickly looking it over, she saw Command Seals serving as the token on the chain.
"Command Seals..." The woman with the blindfold-like mask spoke again. "I can sense Prana being given to me by him and the key."
"You as well?" Two Servants? That was almost unthinkable. How could this boy and key possibly support two Spirits?
No. Both of them could feel it. Their power was comparatively weaker than what it should have been. At the cost of summoning two Servant's, their power had been cut in half. No, less than half, Arturia felt as strong as she did when she and the boy fought those dark creatures.
Keyblade
"Huh?" They heard the voice call out, for Sora, it was the second time. The confused boy looked around to to find the source of the voice, to no avail.
'That voice again.' Arturia felt the presence of something within her mind. And judging from the expressions of the boy and woman, so did they.
The Servants minds suddenly became filled with knowledge.
Keyblade. A magical weapon that was capable of summoning Heroic Spirits from a different reality entirely to aid their masters.
"He is... our Master..." The woman in black muttered.
Before the boy could question them again, more of the dark creatures began to rise around them. Both Servant's summoned their weapons, the purple hair woman held a pair of long, nail-like daggers with long chains attached to the hilts, large metal rings at the ends. Arturia... looked like she had grabbed onto the air.
'These beasts exist here too?!' "We'll have to cut the introductions short! I, Servant Saber, offer my support as a knight to you!" Arturia, now identifying herself as Saber, shouted as she charged at the monsters.
"And I, Servant Rider, will lend you my aid as well!" Rider said while throwing a dagger at one of the creatures, destroying it instantly.
Sora dodged one of the dark beings and hit it with the Keyblade, actually knocking it back. "I still don't know what's going on, but I really appreciate the help!"
He hit the swarm of shadow-like beings, having a much easier time than in his dream. Most of them dissipated into black mist after only one or two hits instead of three.
Saber, while not at full strength, still had an easy time against the shadow creatures. Her invisible blade cutting though most of them like butter. Many could barely get close before they were torn to shreds.
Rider was gracefully moving through the swarm as she hit all the beings with her daggers. When it looked like a monster was about to strike her, she dodged it and retaliated with lethal force.
"Saber," The Servant of the Mount spoke while attacking. "I don't know if you can sense it, but there is something above us."
She glanced upward and tried not to gawk at what she was seeing. A titanic, pulsating orb of dark energy, that seemed to be getting bigger every second.
"What in the world..." She blocked a strike directed to her by a creature. She had sensed that something was above them, but hadn't thought that it was this bad.
"They just keep coming!" The boy said as he slashed through another. He began to panic when he remembered why he was staying here. "Kairi!"
"Whom?" Saber asked as she got near the now panicking Master.
"My friend! She's still on the island and I don't know if she's okay!"
"Do you know where she may have went?" Rider asked as she used her dagger liked a whip at a cluster of monsters.
Sora tried to think as he dodged the swipes of the creatures. He figured out a place Kairi could be. "There's a cave between the base of the tree and the waterfall! She has to be there!"
"We'll clear the way, you follow behind!" Saber instructed as she and Rider went to the area, cutting down shadow-like beings left and right.
"Huh? There wasn't a door here before." Standing at the entrance of the cave was an ornate, white double door. Pulling it, Sora was glad that it was open. "C'mon, get inside!" He shouted at the two. Taking care of the last nearest foe, the Servants went inside and shut the door.
Sora ran through the tunnel and hoped that she was here. Getting to the cave's opening, all three stopped as they saw the girl, her back turned.
"Kairi!" Sora shouted. Rider could sense her, and she felt... off.
She slowly turned around and Saber's eyes widened. She had never seen such dead eyes on a living being before.
"Sora..." They could all tell that something was wrong, there was no emotion in her voice.
The door in the back swung open, releasing a dark wind that sent Kairi flying towards Sora. He tried to grab a hold of her, only for Kairi to phase right through him.
The wind became stronger, almost pushing Sora out of the cave had Saber not caught him. The wind was growing stronger still, to the point where the Servants feet were starting to slide on the floor.
One final dark gust, and they were all sent flying out of the cave.
The three landed roughly in the sand. Sora got up and looked in horror at what had happened to the islands.
They were on a small piece of sand and debris. Below and around of them was an endless purple void, swirling wind keeping the last remnant of the Destiny Islands afloat.
"My home..." Saber and Rider sensed an enormous dark presence right behind them. Turning around, with Sora following a few seconds after, they stared at the now colossal orb of darkness in the sky, sucking in everything the island had. But their main attention was brought onto the hulking figure before them.
It was the same giant monster from Sora's dream, and it seemed even bigger than last time, probably twice as large.
The Servants summoned their weapons while the Keyblade appeared in Sora's hand.
The creature crouched and began gathering energy in its abdomen. Saber leaped onto the arm of the beast and ran to its head. But the creature had charged its attack at a quicker pace than before and fired. The projectiles came straight for her and she deflected them all the best she could at her current strength, some landing glancing blows on her armor.
Sora managed to climb the beast's other arm and started slashing the head. Rider followed suit and climbed onto the creature by using her daggers to get up. The monster roared, knocking them all off. It gathered energy into its fist, and plunged its whole arm directly into the ground. The three took this as an opportunity to strike the head while they could. When it rose up, it was holding some sort of red energy. Saber and Rider could sense its power, and could tell it was bad news. The monster crushed it, releasing small energy orbs into the air.
They fell like rain. All three saw one touch the ground and it caused a miniature explosion. More began to fall and Sora was having trouble dodging them all, getting hit by one and falling to the ground.
"Master!" Saber ran to him and saw that the titan was going to hammer the downed boy with a dark, charged fist. Saber grasped at the Prana she could spare. She couldn't use Excalibur's true power, but she still had one trick up her sleeve.
"Rider! Get behind me!" She nodded and dashed to her Master, standing guard while Saber prepared her attack. The wind began to dance in a frenzy around her invisible blade.
"Strike," The monster reared its fist back and launched it at the three. "Air!" She swung her blade, unleashing a hurricane force slash that hit the creature's hand dead on, obliterating its entire arm.
The attack had revealed Saber's sword, and it was the most amazing swords that Sora had ever seen. A long, sliver blade that had an unknown language engraved onto it met a gold guard with blue engravings, and was finished with a blue hand and gold pommel. Words failed to capture the true majesty of the sword.
"That sword, you're..." Rider, despite being from a different time period, recognized the power of the blade as its legends have spread throughout time.
"You did it!" Sora cheered, gaining the knight's attention. "Saber, you did-" His face froze as he stared at the titan. Turning back around, Saber too, gawked.
Black tendrils erupted from the stump that was once an arm. They grew longer, and wrapped around each other as it formed into a single shape.
A new arm had formed, as if nothing had happened.
The beast roared as it went to grab the three warriors. Saber and Rider were prepared to retaliate, but were surprised when its grip came short.
It began to float in mid air, being sucked into the now increasing in power orb in the sky.
Sora and Saber grabbed onto what was left of the wooden shack. Rider, too late in grabbing on, threw her daggers at the wood, giving herself a firm grip.
The pull was too strong, Sora couldn't hang on anymore. As his fingers slipped, Saber managed to grab his arm.
"Saber!"
"Just hang on!" She yelled. This was very bad, the wood wouldn't last much longer under her grip before-
*Snap!*
-breaking under her fingers.
They would have been sucked in had Rider not been there and grabbed a hold of Saber's hand.
"Rider!" Sora called out to the purple hair woman.
"I'm sorry, but I fear that this may be our end." She said in a clinical tone, trying to hide her own panic.
Tears were starting to fall out of Sora's eyes and Saber was beating herself up on the inside. Once again, she was powerless in stopping the death of one innocent.
The wood that held the daggers had loosened due to the extra weight and increasing force of the wind. After a few seconds, the daggers finally popped out.
They all screamed as they disappeared into the growing sphere of darkness.
It continued to consume everything until there was nothing left.
The Destiny Islands, where no more.
Final Note:
So, what did you guys think? Love it? Hate it? Make sure to leave any constructive criticisms and/or questions you have in the in the review section.
Now, many of you may be wondering why Darkside is more powerful here than he is in KH1.
[CAUSE IT'S FREAKING AWESOME! We said that we would make the bosses more grandiose and we delivered!]
That, and the fact that Darkside is much more powerful than most people give it credit for. The first and second fight had the Heartless either technically win or be taken away before it really fought.
[Plus, I really like Darkside's design. He really should've been bigger, Shadow of the Colossus territory.]
Well, that does it. I plan on making a forum for this series so stay tuned and check my profile page if you're interested.
I'm The Aeon Offspring.
[And I'm Tannin!]
And we'll see you next chapter!
Signing Off.