Howdy! I cannot believe after all this time I am deciding to continue this story :) I've beaten Kingdom Hearts 3 already and I just felt inspired. I loved the game I hope everyone has had or will have the chance to play it! I really want to finish this story. And not only this story, but I want to make a series. I want to rewrite the games as if Namine is adventuring with Sora the entire time. I am still a very strong sora/namine shipper lol. I want to finally just write my fantasies out and see where it takes me. I can't promise that my story will be super long and detailed, but I will try my best to make my story entertaining enough. Even if no one really reads this, it's mostly for me! Anyway, hope you guys enjoy this chapter.

Important facts about this story: Remember, Sora is not 14 like he originally is in KH1. I have made him 17. He will get older as the series progresses. Everyone else is 17, except Riku who is 18. Okay on to the story!

I do not own Kingdom Hearts or any of these characters!

…..

Darkness. That was all that surrounded him. He felt like he was just floating, endlessly…It was silent. He couldn't see anything. Was he alive? What happened to the island? What happened to Riku? Kairi? His worried thoughts rang loudly in his head. He had lost his friends. He had lost her. He had promised Riku he would protect her, but look what happened. His head was spinning. Suddenly, he heard the sound of a door opening and then closing.

Huh? He heard small footsteps make their way closer. Who's there?

Sora's eyes slowly opened and he couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"K-Kairi?!" He slowly lifted himself up, realizing that he had been lying down on a bed. "Where am I?!"

"Who's… Kairi?" A small and gentle voice echoed in his ears. His vision finally cleared and he realized the girl standing in front of him was indeed not his childhood friend. She was pale, but beautiful. Her hair was blonde and slightly longer than Kairi's. Her blue eyes stared widely into his. She really did look like Kairi from afar…

"Oh, I'm sorry…" A hint of disappointed in his voice, "What's your name?"

The girl stared blankly for a second, as if forgetting something important. She then blinked slowly and replied, "I'm Namine."

"Hi Namine! I'm Sora." He held out his hand, which Namine just looked at confused. "Uhhh…" Sora scratched the back of his head, a bit embarrassed. He dropped the hand and looked around the room that they appeared to be in.

"So, uh, where are we?"

"I'm not sure. I woke up here." Her replies were in a very monotone voice.

Sora found her a bit strange. Before he could ask any more questions, the door opened. A man with a scar on his face walked in and examined the pair.

"You two know each other?" The man asked. Sora shook his head.

"We don't. How did I end up here, though? What happened? Who are you? Why is-"

"Whoaaaa slow down kid" The man closed the door behind him and leaned against it. "I'm Squall. You're in Traverse Town. Found you unconscious outside holding some huge key. Found the girl not too far from where you were. She was wondering around like some ghost. Anyway, who are you?"

Sora blinked a few times before he was even able to form an answer. Traverse Town? He had never heard of such a place. How did he even get here? Also… A huge key? What did he mean?

"Well, I'm Sora and this is Namine." He pointed to the blonde girl who had just been staring the entire time. "I'm from Destiny Islands. I'm not sure how I got here and what this key you're talking about is, but have you seen Kairi or Riku?"

Squall shook his head. "Never heard of 'em."

Sora frowned. He was in a foreign place with no idea where his friends were and if they were even alright. Namine noticed his sad expression and held her hand to her chest. What was this weird feeling? When she saw him hurt she could feel a sort of sharp pain right in her chest. She had no idea what it was.

"Anyway, about this key…"

"Yeah, that. You had it with you. It disappeared when I tried to touch it though. Seems like it only responds to you." Squall shrugged and walked in front of him. "Try holding out your hand, like this." He held his large palm straight out in front of him as if he was reaching for something. Sora nodded and copied the movement. To his absolute surprise, that so-called key appeared right in front of him. His mouth hung open as he admired the shiny weapon.

"Key…"

"Keyblade." Namine abruptly finished the boy's sentence. They both looked at her, puzzled.

"How did you know that, Namine?" Sora asked. Namine just shook her head.

"I don't know."

Squall nodded and folded his arms. "Looks like you're not a weakling after all."

"Hey!" Sora shouted.

Squall chuckled. "Do you think you could help me out, kid? There's these weird monsters attacking the townspeople."

Sora thought back on the night he got separated from his friends. There were weird monsters on the island too. He grasped his keyblade firmly and looked determined.

"Of course!" He quickly got up from the bed and turned to Namine. "You stay here!"

The girl gave him a troubled look. For some reason she didn't want to leave him alone. She felt like she had to stay near him in order to find something important. "No. I'm coming too!"

He was shocked at the emotion in her voice. It was the first time she didn't sound like a robot. Still, he didn't want to put her in danger. Her face, however, told him immediately that she wouldn't take no for an answer.

"Okay…" He gave in, "But stay behind me."

She nodded and followed him and Squall out into the town.

"Wow…" Sora breathed out. He had never seen a place like this. It was lively and bright. The street lights illuminated the colorful and unique looking buildings. It was deserted though, giving off an eerie feeling. They spotted a person running away from some sort of black creature. Unfortunately, the creature attacked the terrified man before anyone could reach him. They watched in horror as the creature struck the man. His body vanished, a heart seen rising into the air from where the man fell. Then, another black creature appeared in that same spot.

"What just happened?!"

Squall grabbed his weapon and prepared to charge. "It seems these things are stealing hearts. Once the hearts are stolen, the people turn into those things…" He looked at the boy fiercely. "Come on, Sora!" He ran straight toward the creatures.

The boy nodded. He looked at Namine and motioned for her to stay there. Sora reached out into the air and his keyblade appeared just like the last time. He got into his battle stance and charged for the creatures after Squall. As they defeated the two that were initially there, more started to appear from the ground. They were surrounded, but in no way would they let them win.

Namine watched the battle with a worried expression.

…..

Sora fell to the ground, panting and sweating. Namine ran over to him hurriedly. She knelt down in front of him. "Are you okay, Sora"

The brunette nodded and grinned brightly. "Yup! Nothing to worry about!"

Namine sighed in relief. Squall cleared his throat, feeling completely ignored.

"Anyway, we pushed them back for now. Hopefully no more appear any time soon. In the meantime-"

"Leon!"

Suddenly, they spotted a spunky girl running toward them. Her hair was short and black, and she dressed as if she was some sort of ninja.

"I told you not the call me that." The man plucked her on the head playfully.

"Ouch! Why'd you do that Leon?!" She covered her "injury". "Anyway, nice to see that those kids are up! I'm Yuffie. Nice to meet you guys!" She smiled at them.

"I'm Sora! This is Namine!" Sora smiled back and Namine nodded shyly. "We just took care of a bunch of these weird creatures."

"Eh?! Leon, how could you let them near those dangerous things?!" Yuffie huffed. "Especially Namine! She's a GIRL you know!" Namine blinked in confusion. Leon sighed.

"We needed the help. Plus the kid here has a special weapon. It's called a Keyblade."

Sora didn't really enjoy being called a kid, but he didn't feel like arguing about it. He just nodded and showed Yuffie the keyblade.

"Whoa! Now that's pretty cool." She examined the strange, key-shaped weapon. "You guys should come back to the hotel and get some rest. I know you're worn out from fighting."

Sora was worn out. His muscles were already aching and he felt like he could pass out at any second. He practiced a lot on the island with Riku but nothing to this extent. His body just wasn't used to it. He scratched the back of his head sheepishly and laughed.

"I think I could use a nap. But after that, I have to find my friends Riku and Kairi!" Sora wouldn't give up until he knew they were safe and sound. He wanted to save them and return home to the islands. He wanted everything back the way it was.

Yuffie nodded and lead everyone back to the hotel. Namine glanced over at Sora occasionally on the way there just to make sure he wasn't injured or anything. She had just met the boy, so why did she feel such a strong attachment to him? She hadn't even bothered to figure out where she came from in the first place. One second it's dark and the next she's waking up in some mysterious world. She had no memories of anything before this day, but strangely she wasn't upset about it. The only thing she knew was that she had to stay near Sora. He was important she just didn't know why yet. He kept saying how he had to find his friends. Would he leave her?

…..

"Come on, Donald! We must've landed here for a reason!"

"No, Goofy, your piloting skills just stunk so bad we ended up in the middle of nowhere!"

Donald crossed his arms and glared at the naïve dog. They had been flying around aimlessly on the gummi ship, in search of the important person that they needed to find. The king had sent them to find a boy with a keyblade, but they had no idea where to even start. Donald and Goofy explored to colorful town and noticed how empty the streets were.

"You think the heartless got a hold of this world too?" Goofy asked with a sad tone.

"I'm not sure. But there's only one way to find out!"

Donald called for his magic staff, which appeared right into his hand. "Firaga!" He shouted as he lifted the staff into the air. Goofy brought out his shield and prepared himself for any sudden attackers. The fire that he had cast created a mini earthquake, bringing out the idol heartless from the depths of darkness. Donald shook his head.

"Let's take them out, Goofy!"

"A-hyuck! Right!"

The pair charged for the heartless. Neither of them expecting to find exactly who they were looking for by pure chance. Sora, already rested, appeared from the stairs above them and instantly groaned.

"Not them again!" He summoned his keyblade and quickly ran to where Donald and Goofy were fighting. They both were caught off guard by the boy but then instantly gasped when they saw what his weapon looked like.

"A keyblade!" Donald shouted, pointing at the weapon in Sora's hand. Goofy also gasped and pointed.

He held the weapon in his hand, scanning over it quickly. "Yeah. That's what this is." He returned to his battle stance and glared at the heartless. "Now come on! Let's get rid of these guys for good!"

They all nodded and got ready to take on the incoming threat. Not only were the little ones there, but a huge heartless had appeared out of nowhere. Sora had a worried expression, but the duck next to him gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

"Don't worry! With all of us, we're unbeatable!"

"By the way, I'm Goofy! That one over there is Donald!"

Sora stared blankly for a second, but then smiled and nodded his head confidently. "Nice to meet you Donald, Goofy… Yeah you're right! We got this!"

The trio nodded in unison and were able to defeat all of the heartless with little effort.

…..

Exhausted once again, Sora fell to the ground and sighed. Goofy chuckled and Donald just folded his arms. Namine, who had been watching from the sidelines instantly came over to them.

"Are you okay?"

"Mm!" He gave her a thumbs up.

"So, this was the boy the king sent us to find. He's a bit on the weak side but…" Donald remarked with a smug look.

"Hey!" Sora shot him a glare. "I'm the one who did most of the work! And , the king? Who's the king?"

And so, Goofy and Donald explained the situation to him in the quickest way possible. They told him about King Mickey and the heartless. About how there were different worlds that needed to be saved. How theses worlds were currently "sleeping" and needed the keyblade to wake them up. They told him how the keyblade always chooses its wielder and how he must've been someone special to even receive such a weapon. Sora tried his best to keep up with all of this new information. Namine was also listening and trying to understand her surroundings better.

"So, I'm like… Some sort of hero?" Sora grinned widely.

"I wouldn't say that," Donald scoffed, "But it is true that we need your help. The king trusted us with this important mission. I'm willing to do whatever it takes to fulfill it!"

"A-hyuck! I am too! What do you say, Sora?"

Sora placed a hand on the back of his head and thought deeply about what they were asking of him. If there were different worlds, that means Kairi and Riku could be anywhere. He would only be able to find out by traveling these different worlds. Additionally, he didn't mind helping out and defeating the heartless. He saw what they were capable of and didn't want anyone else to have to experience the same nightmare that he did. To be honest, even though he had just met Donald and Goofy it felt like he had known them all of his life. Battling with them was also much better than fighting alone and they were definitely strong. Sora finally decided and looked at them with his mind made up.

He stood up from the ground and held his hand out.

"Alright, I'm in! One for all…"

Donald and Goofy placed their hands on top of his. Sora looked over at Namine and gave her a friendly smile.

"You too, Namine! Put your hand on top of ours."

The girl hesitated for a moment, but then slowly crept towards them and placed a small hand on top.

"And one for all!" Donald, Goofy, and Sora shouted in unison.

Namine blinked, but then felt an unfamiliar feeling building up inside her. Happiness. The girl smiled, something the trio hadn't expected to see from her. Sora, particularly, was the one who was shocked the most. For the first time, she had expressed a different emotion in front of him and that made him happier than words could describe. In that moment, he knew he wanted to make sure she was happy at all times.

"Welcome to the team, Namine!" Goofy cheered.

"Yeah, welcome!" Donald chimed in as well.

For the first time in her short existence, the girl felt like she belonged somewhere. Something inside of her was changing ever so slightly. She gave Donald and Goofy a happy nod and turned her attention to Sora.

"I'm glad… to be here." For some reason she felt a bit shy when Sora stared at her with such a warm look.

"Alright! Now… where exactly are we headed next?" Sora asked, scratching the back of his head.

Donald rolled his eyes. "Oh brother, we have one long journey ahead of us, don't we?"

"A-hyuck! At least it'll be a fun one!"

They all laughed except Sora, who clearly felt annoyed at Donald's snarky tone.

….

Second chapter complete, woo hoo! I'm so glad I decided to pick this back up. Now, I'll be honest I don't really plan on making my stories super long or detailed. I just do not have the passion or patience to do all of that, lol. I just want to have some sort of outlet for my fantasies. I'll still try not to make everything super short, but some chapters will definitely be quicker than others. I hope you enjoy this chapter.

PLEASEEEE leave a review. I love reading comments from you guys :)