"Take that! Stupid tree!" Adena shouted as she swung her swords at a now sadly scarred paopu tree. She had gotten angry at it for being unable to get the fruit growing from the top. Now the poor tree was sword practice.
"Adena! You hit that tree anymore it's going to fall down!" Kairi shouted as she walked over to her.
Adena only chuckled. "That's what it gets for being a selfish fruit hogger," she mock glared at it. "At least I can sharpen my skills."
Kairi sighed. "Why don't you ask Riku or Sora to get you one?" she asked.
Adena's face warmed up at the mention of his name. She turned away. "Cause then I'd be forced to be ridiculed by the Mr. Sarcastic."
Kairi just rolled her eyes. "Come on!" She grabbed Adena's arm and led them to where Sora and Riku were talking.
"Hey, Sora. Our raft still needs a name," Riku said. "Let's see...How about Highwind?" He then asked, "What would you call it?"
"Me? Well…hmm…," Sora thought for a moment. "Excalibur!"
"Hey, how 'bout…" Riku began.
"The usual?" Sora finished.
"Let's do it! Riku exclaimed. Kairi and Adena heard their conversation. Kairi started running over to them, still dragging Adena along.
"You guys at it again?" Kairi asked, already knowing the answer. "All right, I'll be the judge!"
Adena sighed, feeling she had no say in the matter.
"The usual rules apply: Take any route you want…," Riku explained. "First one to tag that tree and make it back here wins."
"If I win, uhhh I'm captain!" Sora exclaimed. "And if you win…"
"I get to share the paopu with Kairi," Riku finished without hesitation. This earned a 'Huh?' from Sora and Adena. She felt something hurt inside when Riku said that, causing her to mentally cursing herself.
Riku smirked at Sora. "Deal? The winner gets to share a paopu with Kairi."
"Wha…Wait a minute…," Sora stuttered, a confused look plastered on his face.
"Okay! On my count:," Kairi announced. Adena stood beside Kairi, taking out her sketchbook. The two of them started counting down. " 3, 2, 1, Go!"
With that, Sora and Riku dashed off, leaving sand flying behind them. Adena sat down, opened her sketchbook, and started to draw. Kairi looked over at her sketchbook.
"You're getting better every day," Kairi commented. Adena looked up from her sketch of a sword.
"Thanks…Hey, Kairi, can I ask you something?" Adena asked.
"Sure, we practically sisters you know," Kairi grinned.
Adena shook her head, returning the grin. "Heh, true true," she laughed a little. "Anyway, so…um..do you like Sora…or Riku?"
Kairi tilted her head. "What with this?" Kairi asked, knowing all too well that Adena wouldn't answer. "Well, I dunno…I guess you'll have to find out yourself."
"Aww! Kairi!" Adena groaned. "Why do you do this to me?" This only earned a giggle from Kairi.
With that, the boys started running back to the starting place, Sora in front.
"Now the score's 1 to 0!" Sora shouted, thrusting his fist into the air.
"Man, lighten up. It's just a name, after all," Riku sighed. Sora just glared at him in replied.
"Ok, boys, no fighting now," Adena said, getting up. "Besides, someone needs to cough up a paopu for someone."
Riku started walking off. "Later."
"I should check on him," Kairi said, running after him. Adena facepalmed herself.
"Why am I such an idiot?" she asked herself.
"I wouldn't call you an idiot…," Sora answered. "But that was probably not the best move…"
"Thanks, Sora," Adena muttered. "I guess I'll talk to him later…"
Sora put a hand on her shoulder. "Don't beat yourself up. You're just being yourself!"
"Heh, that's one way of saying it..," Adena chuckled a little.
~At Sunset~
A couple hours later, Sora, Kairi, and Adena sat on the paopu tree while Riku leaned against it. Adena swung her legs a little on the edge as they gazed out at the sunset.
"So, Kairi's and Adena's homes are out there somewhere, right?" Sora asked, looking over at Riku.
"Could be," Riku replied, arms crossed. "We'll never know by staying here."
"But how far will a raft take us?" Sora questioned, leaning forward a bit.
Riku flicked his hand. "Who knows? If we have to, we'll think of something else."
"So suppose you get to another world," Kairi began. "What would you do there?"
"Well, I haven't really thought about it," Riku hesitated. "It's just…I've always wondered why we're here on this island." He paused and began to explain. "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 small part of something much greater." Riku stopped, then continuing. "So we could have just as easily ended up somewhere else, right?"
"I don't know," Sora mumbled, now laying down on the tree.
"Exactly, That's why we need to go out there and find out," Riku said a-matter-of-factly, walking to the edge of the island. "Just sitting here won't change a thing. It's the same old stuff, so let's go."
Adena sighed, with headphones on. Kairi then asked, "You've been thinking a lot lately, haven't you?"
"Thank to you," Riku said, facing her. "I probably would've never thought of any of this. Kairi, thanks."
Adena looked away, feeling kinda downtrodden.
"Adena too," Riku continued. Adena looked back at him. "Without her, I wouldn't have had the determination to do this...so thank you, too."
"You're welcome," Kairi and Adena said in unison.
Adena started to hum as one of her favorite songs started to play in her headphones. Kairi knew the tune well and joined in. Sora and Riku listened to the two, not really knowing what song they were humming.
"Hey, what is that song, anyway? You guys never told me," Sora asked, sitting up a bit.
Adena shrugged. "I don't know…it was on my mp3 player when I landed here…"
"It's a neat song though," Kairi added.
"I'm still amazed on how that thing survived the fall," Riku muttered.
Adena chuckled. "You and me both."
"So how about you sing it for us?" Sora asked.
"Uh, sure, I guess since you guys haven't heard it," Adena replied. "Kairi, wanna join in?"
"Of course!" Kairi grinned.
Adena took out her mp3 player and unplugged it from her headphones. Kairi took out Adena's portable speaker from her backpack and plugged it in. As Kairi restarted the song, Adena looked up into the now dark red sky with a few stars showing. When the intro played, they took a deep breath as they began to sing.
In this farewell, There is no blood What I've Done Put to rest, What you thought of me What I've Done
There is no alibi
Cause I've drawn regret
From the truth
Of a thousand lies
So let mercy come and wash away
I'll face myself
To cross out what I've become
Erase myself
and let go of what I've done
Well, I clean this slate
With the hands, Of uncertainty
So let mercy come, And Wash away
I'll face myself
To cross what I've become
Erase myself
And let go of what I've done
Adena suddenly stood up on the tree and started holding an imaginary microphone while singing the solo part. Kairi just giggled while Sora joined in on the air guitar. Riku just stood there, amused. For what I've done I'll face myself What I've Done
I start again
And whatever pain may come
Today this ends
I'm forgiving what I've done
To cross out what I've become
Erase myself
And let go of what I've done
(Na,Na,Na)
What I've Done
Forgetting what I've done
After the song finished, Adena sat back down and the two girls started laughing.
"That was awesome!" Sora exclaimed, still playing air guitar. This only increased the girls' laughter.
"I'm impressed, you have a good voice, both of you," Riku said.
Adena rubbed her neck, embarrassed. "Thanks…"
The sky, now darkening with a fading sunset, signaled it was time to return to the main island. Sora, Kairi, and Adena hopped of the tree as all four of them started walking back to the boats.
"Sora," Riku called, causing Sora to turn around. Riku then threw a yellow, fleshy object at him, which earned him a confused look.
"You wanted one, didn't you?" Riku questioned.
"A paopu fruit…," Sora said aloud. Kairi kept walking but Adena stopped and looked back at the two boys.
"If two people share one, their destinies become intertwined," Riku explained, walking past Sora. "They'll remain a part of each other's lives, no matter what." He then waved at him as he walked on. "Come on, I know you wanna try it."
"What are you talking-," Sora started to say, but was interrupted but Riku's laughter.
Sora just shrugged and threw the paopu aside. Riku and Sora started running to the boats. Adena and Kairi looked at each other and started to take off also. Though, this day might be the final one of normalcy…
~That Night~
Adena slept soundly in the warmth of her bed, though soft pings were heard out her window. Wait, pings? The pings turned to bangs, causing Adena to jerk up and see Sora banging on the window. She looked at Kairi's bed, but she was nowhere to be found. She then opened the window, slightly irritated.
"Dude, it's like midnight…what's up?" Adena questioned.
"A storms coming!" Sora exclaimed. Adena's eyes widened at the realization.
"The raft!" Adena concluded. She got dressed, got her backpack of itmes, and jumped out the window. "Let's go!"
Sora and Adena ran to the boats as they headed for the small island. Riku's and Kairi's boat were gone, so they both had to use Sora's
'What's going on? This isn't normal,' Adena thought as they rowed.
When they got to the island, they saw Riku's and Kairi's boats.
"What is that?" Sora said, motioning to the reddish sphere in the sky.
"I don't know…but we better look for Riku and Kairi," Adena said.
Suddenly, black shadows began to form into small creatures with glowing yellow eyes. They looked exactly like in Adena's nightmare.
"What the-," Sora gasped. Adena pulled out her two swords and stepped in front of Sora. She looked back at him.
"You go look for Riku and Kairi," Adena commanded. "I'll take care of these things."
Sora nodded and ran off to search for the two missing friends. Adena took her fighting stance as the little creatures came at her. She took a couple swings at them, seeing they disappeared as she hit them.
'This is easier than I thought,' she thought. She started running, seeing the creep after her. She swung her doubled-edged sword at them, taking out half the creatures. She caught the sword as it came back to her. When she came to the Paopu tree, she saw Sora and Riku. She was about to shout for them when she suddenly became dizzy.
Keyblade…
The king?
Heartless…
Shh…you're safe now.
Worlds disappearing…
Darkness will consume everything…
Master…
Hearts of pure light…
Your Majesty!
Shut up!
You're the only one who can save us!
I will protect them.
You aren't the Keyblade Master.
Just follow the beat!
Dragons?…
Don't be a weakling…
Help me!
I gotta get stronger!
Let's move out!
Adena' head started to throb with pain as images flashed rapidly through her mind. She couldn't make out what Sora and Riku were saying, but could still see them. As her vision began to blur, she saw Riku being engulfed by darkness.
"R-riku…Sora…," Adena choked out. Her vision faded as Sora too was engulfed by darkness. Before she could act, she fainted and collapsed. The darkness had spread, consuming her as well. She was now helpless as the darkness swept her away from her home and friends.