Author's Note: Sorry this update took so long. I actually had trouble trying to write this chapter, surprisingly.

That, and I've been pretty busy with work and house stuff, and playing Assassin's Creed Brotherhood and Alice: Madness Returns (great games by the way. Alice is definitely not for the faint of heart).

But enough with the excuses! On with the chapter!

P.S. Finally figured out how to put the borders on. Now I feel kinda dumb. Oh well!

Chapter Three: Dive into the Heart

Apolla's Dream

It felt as though she was falling, sinking into something she really couldn't see. Maybe it was because before she went crashing through the water, she could see the sun setting, and that blinded her momentarily. After that, she couldn't feel anything, not even the water swirling around her. It was as though she were floating in air. She opened her eyes, and saw absolutely nothing. She could only feel the cool air as she was falling down deeper into the dark abyss. Surprisingly, she was able to flip around so that whenever she reached the bottom, she would land on her feet instead of her head. Again, to her utter surprise, she landed softly on level ground.

Apolla looked around to see if she could find any clue as to where she was. She couldn't see anything. She took a step forward, and part of the floor began to come apart, revealing a platform. The parts of the floor that had been coming apart turned into doves that flew around her, and then disappeared. She looked down at the platform that had been created. On it was a picture of a girl with blonde hair wearing a blue and white dress. She was holding a tea cup in her right hand and a mushroom in her left.

"So much to do," a voice called out. "So little time."

That's weird, Apolla thought. That voice sounds familiar.

The voice continued. "Take your time, don't be afraid. The door is still shut. Now, step forward. Can you do it?"

Apolla slowly walked forward, answering the voice's question.

Three objects appeared on three platforms. The voice spoke as a sword, a staff, and a shield appeared out of nowhere. "Power sleeps within you. If you give it form, it will give you strength. Choose well."

Hmm, Apolla thought. What suits me better?

She walked up to each and looked them over. She stopped right in front of the sword. Feeling that this was the right weapon for her, she picked it up.

"The power of the warrior. Invincible courage. A sword of terrible destruction. Do you choose this form?"

She nodded, and said "Yes." It may be a "sword of terrible destruction", but if it is used in the right way, it won't.

The sword disappeared from her hand. Just then, the floor beneath her began to break all around her. She felt herself fall in the midst of the shards of glass. She was once again falling through the darkness.

Apolla was getting closer to another platform. She could make out the picture of a woman with long black hair, wearing a turquoise blue top that showed off her stomach, along with the same colored pants. Apolla landed on her feet again, and as soon as she made contact, the sword reappeared in her hand.

"You have gained the right to fight," the voice said.

Suddenly, black creatures appeared out of the floor. She swung at one with the sword. It made contact and caused the creature to disappear. "Alright!" the voice said. "You've got it!"

Two more of them appeared. "There will be times when you have to fight."

She knew what the voice was talking about, or, at least, she thought she knew what it was talking about. She attacked all of the creatures, causing them to disappear. When the last one was gone, black spots began to cover the surface of the platform. They dragged Apolla in, consuming her in the darkness.

Apolla struggled, gasping for air. She opened her eyes, and notice that she was on another platform. She got up and noticed a door just opposite her. The platform she was now on had a picture of a girl with red-brown hair, wearing a white and black tank top with lavender shorts. She had a lavender skirt over the shorts. Apolla looked at the girl's face.

"Mom?" she wondered.

She looked back at the door and walked over to it. She tried opening it, but her hand went right through it. That's odd. I can't open it. She turned around just in time to see a chest appear out of nowhere. She walked over to it, opened, and found a Potion inside.

This will come in handy, Apolla thought. I think.

Suddenly, she heard a chime. She turned around and saw that the door had become solid. She walked over to the door and opened it. When it opened, a bright light shone, blinding her momentarily. She opened her eyes, and walked on through.

The door had taken Apolla to another platform. On this platform there was a picture of a woman with brown hair pulled back in a low ponytail. She was wearing a blue and white dress, and was holding a book.

Apolla walked around the platform, wondering what she was going to have to do on this platform. As if answering her question, more of the black creatures appeared, looking for a fight. Apolla summoned the sword back to her, and began attacking them.

They clawed at her. She dodged and blocked her way out of the cluster she was in the middle of. She swung the sword at them, making contact. One by one they disappeared in a cloud of smoke. When they were gone, stain-glass stairs appeared off the side, leading up to another platform.

When Apolla got to the top, she saw a picture of a girl with blonde hair, wearing a white sundress. She recognized this girl immediately.

"Aunt Naminé?"

A light shone in the middle of the platform. She walked up to it immediately. The familiar voice spoke again.

"The closer you get to the light, the greater your shadow becomes."

This rang true. When Apolla turned around, she saw her shadow, which had grown quite a large, pop up from the ground. It stood up and began to change form. Apolla, a bit frightened, began to back away from the giant creature in front her slowly. When it was completely standing up, she turned and ran. The only thing that kept her from escaping was the fact that she was on a platform that went nowhere. She was trapped, and there was only one thing she could do.

"But don't be afraid, and don't forget…"

She turned around, sword bared. She was ready to face the huge black thing in front of her.

It was the first to attack. It pulled its arm back, conjured up magic, and slammed its fist into the platform. Apolla went for it, aiming for the hand and the head, getting a few good hits in before the creature pulled its hand out of the ground. She noticed that it didn't leave a huge hole in the platform. She ran up to the creature and jumped, swinging the sword, trying to hit the creature's hands as much as possible. It attacked her by shooting purple fireballs at her from its stomach (what was left of it anyway). She dodged these, and ran back to hit the hands. She managed to hit them three times, and climbed on its back and whacked the creature on the head. This did the trick. Apolla jumped off of its back, and backed away from it as it fell.

Her weapon disappeared from her hand. This startled Apolla, and when she looked back at the creature, she saw that it had stuck its hands into the ground, causing the floor to be covered with black spots. The darkness grabbed a hold of her, dragging her down with the creature. As it swallowed her up, she could hear the voice calling out to her.

"Don't be afraid," it said. "You hold one of the mightiest weapons of all. And don't forget—"

Apolla had been completely consumed. Everything went black.

"You are one of the few who will open the door."

Well, I had originally planned to describe Apolla, Zephyr, and Ren's Awakenings in the same chapter, but this chapter ended up being longer than I thought. Then I planned on the next chapters being about Ren and Zephyr's Awakenings.

So, what do you guys think? Should I go ahead with my original plan? Or should continue on with the story and briefly talk about theirs? Just leave your thoughts in a review or message me that way I know how you guys feel about it.