Hey everyone, Mainwolf here with chapter 8 of Rise of Darkness. I didn't get any responses about ideas for Jonathan's weapon, so I came up with something I thought would be cool to add to the story, however, it is no longer a new weapon in the series because of Kingdom Hearts 3. Speaking of Kingdom Hearts 3, I finished it a couple weeks ago, and I really enjoyed it. There are definitely flaws, but overall it was a very enjoyable. So back on track, in this chapter, Garrett is reunited with his friends, and they have an important conversation with Sora. We go through a few time skips, and the guys play at the Homecoming pep rally. I do not own any of the songs in this story, and they will be put at the ending authors note if anyone somehow doesn't know the songs. Thanks for reading, and enjoy chapter 8!

Also to the reviewer, H.R.C. Stanley, no, not as in Hannah Montana LOL. But I do appreciate your reviews :)


"Hello" - Normal dialogue

Hello - Singing


REUNION AND APPLAUSE

GARRETT POV

I was almost fully healed after nearly a week. Although my body was still very sore, all that was left were light pink scars marking my body. Hannah would be back from school soon, she was probably the only thing keeping me from dying of boredom. She would come hang out with me while I was stuck healing in their guest room. Currently I was sitting there, playing some random games on my phone to pass the time. Finally, Hannah came into the room.

"Hey Garrett, how are you feeling" She walked over, bringing the desk chair with her to sit beside the bed.

"I'm feeling good, just a little sore" I smiled softly at her.

"Good, my parents said that you are healed enough to go back home, so Jonathan and Kyler said that they would come over later to pick you up. They're going to eat dinner with us and then take you home."

"Finally, I can't wait to get out of this bed. Uh, not that I don't like it here, you guys have a wonderful house" I stammer awkwardly, Hannah just giggles.

"It's okay, I know what you mean" I let out a relieved sigh and lay back against the bed. She sits there a moment, contemplating something, before finally speaking again.

"Garrett, do you remember anything from that first night you woke up screaming here?" I look at her confused, wondering why she is asking.

"No, the only thing I know is that you said I was crying against your shoulder" I watched her face as a tear started to stream down her cheek, but she quickly brushed it away.

"You asked me… Why we didn't let you die…" I sighed and looked away from her, ashamed.

"I really said that? I'm sorry, I was just… Sad I guess. That was a hard day for me, it was the anniversary of-" I quickly stopped myself.


HANNAH POV

"Anniversary of what" Garrett was silent for a while, like he normally was when he didn't want to talk about something. I knew this by now, so I wasn't going to pry anymore. I stood and was about to leave to give him some time alone when he reached and lightly gripped my arm. I turned back to him, seeing tears forming in his eyes, and I sat back down.

"It was the anniversary of when my family died" My breath hitched in my throat when I heard him say that. He was all alone.

"I was on the way to the hospital with my parents, my mom was about four months along with another child, we were going to see if it was a boy or girl. There was a crazy accident, a semi full of construction stuff got hit and spun out of control. A lot of people died that day, I was in critical condition. Even after surgery they weren't sure I was going to make it." He gently gripped the hem of his shirt, raising it slowly, and I saw the gruesome scar on his abdomen.

"A rod of rebar shot through the windshield and stabbed straight through me" I reached out towards the scar, but when I realized what I was doing, I decided to grab his hand instead.

"That's awful, I'm sorry you had to go through that Garrett" He put his shirt back down and let out another sigh.

"Things are hard sometimes. I have nightmares about it a lot, and sometimes I kinda just shut down." I lightly rubbed my thumb along his knuckles before releasing his hand after a few moments, and I rose to walk out of the room.

"Dinner will be here soon, mom decided to order pizza"


JONATHAN POV

Kyler and I pulled into the driveway in front of Hannah's house, well at least, the address she gave us. But there was no way Hannah's family lived here, this house was pretty big for a family that moved from Destiny islands. It wasn't a mansion, but it was definitely an expensive house, there was no doubting that.

"Do you think she gave us the wrong address? There's no way that they live here" I looked over at Kyler as I said this, he was definitely having his doubts about it as well.

"There's only one way to find out isn't there?" He turned off the car and got out, I reluctantly followed him, and we approached the front door. After we awkwardly looked at each other, neither of us wanted to be the one to ring the doorbell, I reached forward and pressed the button. After a few moments the door opened, and a short pale woman with red hair appeared before us.

"Oh you must be Kyler and Jonathan, Hannah told me that you would be here soon. Please, come in" She stepped to the side in order to let us inside. We walked in to see the nice interior of the house, as well as some still unpacked boxes neatly sitting in a corner in the living room. In the kitchen was a tall man with wild brown hair, that must be Hannah's dad.

"I'm Kairi, and this is my husband Sora" The man had a goofy smile plastered on his face and he approached us, his hand extended.

"It's nice to meet the both of you, go ahead and take a seat, pizza will be here soon."

We sat down, and shortly after, Hannah walked out to join us, eventually followed by Garrett who was walking stiffly.

"Hey bro, you feeling alright?" He smiled at me as he walked over and sat between me and Kyler, wincing as he did.

"Yeah, I'm good, thanks to Sora and Kairi, just sore is all" The doorbell rang again, and Sora got up to get it, grabbing some munny as he left. A moment later he walked back with a couple boxes of pizza and set them down in the center of the table before moving to retrieve some plates for everyone.

"Go ahead and dig in everyone. Would anyone like a drink?" Garrett and I asked for water, and Kyler of course asked for a glass of milk. I chuckled and dug into my piece of pizza.


GARRETT POV

Everyone was having a good time, Sora and Kairi were very nice to everyone, and we had conversations on lots of things, from music to hobbies. As we were nearing the end of the pizza Sora looked at me with a serious expression.

"Do they know?" I look at him confused before realization dawns on my face as I understand what he's talking about. However, Jonathan and Kyler look at the both of us, not knowing what Sora is talking about.

"They know what I told you originally, which to be honest isn't much" He nods at me before turning to the two of them and his daughter.

"I'm sorry to ruin the happy moment, but there is something serious that I need to talk about" He looks directly at Jonathan and Kyler.

"Garrett wields a mighty weapon called the Keyblade, it's a mighty weapon made to defeat beings that threaten the balance of light and darkness." Hannah gasps and looks at me, surprised to hear this as her father was the Keyblade master that defeated Master Xehanort.

"At the moment, beings born from the darkness in people's hearts called Heartless are coming to eliminate the Keyblade wielder" It was Kyler and Jonathan's turn to look at me now, shocked about this sudden turn in events. Originally the Keyblades were cool, but to hear that I was being targeted was very concerning for them. It was at this time that Sora decided to sap them out of their daze, and what he said next surprised not only them, but myself as well.

"The Heartless don't operate on their own, they have to have someone telling them what to do, which means that someone else is coming after you as well Garrett. Because of this, it's not safe for you to handle this burden alone, which is why you two will be helping him."

"B-But we don't have Keyblades" Kyler was the one to break out of his shock first.

"I know, which is why I am going to give the two of you weapons of your own, as well as teach you how to use magic like I will Garrett, follow me" He stands and walks to a sliding glass door leading out to the backyard. The three of us stand and follow him outside, unsure of what is happening. Once we get outside, Sora turns to Jonathan and Kyler.

"Hold out your hands" The two of them extend their hands, palms facing up, and Sora stretches his arms out towards them. In a flash of light, magic weapons appear in their hands. In Kyler's hands appeared a beautiful bow. It was a deep blue with gold markings etched into it with a comfortable grip wrapped delicately in leather. Alongside the bow was a matching quiver with arrows that appeared to be made out of light.

In Jonathan's hand appeared a sliver trident, the end flaring out in a circle before the tips curve back inwards. The opposite end of the trident had a sharpened spearhead on it.

"The two of you are going to have to practice with these in order to become proficient, so you need to come here with Garrett so I can train all three of you" Jonathan and Kyler looked up from their weapons in shock and awe.

"Why is this all happening?" Jonathan asked nervously as the weapons suddenly disappeared from their hands. Sora shook his head frowning before he responded.

"I'm not sure, I thought we rid the worlds of the Heartless a long time ago. Whatever is happening now, it has to be big, which is why the two of you need to aid Garrett. I wasn't alone on my journey, and Garrett can't overcome this evil by himself either" With that said, we all went back inside the house, and Jonathan, Kyler and I headed towards the front door. Sora and Kairi came up and said their goodbyes to us, Sora shaking each of our hands. I looked at Kairi as I spoke up.

"Thank you for taking care of me" I turned to Sora.

"And thank you for saving my life" He smiled softly and nodded his head at me.


KYLER POV

We were about to turn to leave when Hannah suddenly wrapped her arms around Garrett in a tight hug. I watched him nervously as his body stiffened from her touch. I was watching, waiting for the shove that was sure to come, Garrett hated being hugged because he didn't want to let anyone close, physically or emotionally. I was surprised that the push never came, and in fact, he slowly wrapped his arms around her. My eyes were wide as saucers and eventually Hannah released him. I was confused to see a tear on her face as she looked up at him.

"I-If you feel like that again, come talk to me, okay" Garrett looked at her and nodded his head slightly, apparently whatever she was talking about, Garrett understood.

"I promise" With that, we turned to leave, closing the door behind us.


GARRETT POV

"Kyler can I drive?" I looked at him as I approached our car. After assuring him that I felt fine, he tossed me the keys and we all got in the car. I drove us home, parking beside Jonathan's car. Considering how late it was, he was going to stay the night at our place and go to school with us in the morning. When we got home, they guys asked me all sorts of questions that I tried my best to answer. They asked about how to get their weapons to show up, and I explained that I just had to think about my Keyblades, and when they tried, their weapons appeared as well. Eventually, I told them that I was tired, and we all went to sleep. Then next morning, I got up to my alarm, and I got my sore, stiff body into the shower. After I got out, I went downstairs to take some Advil to relieve my sore muscles. We went to school when we were all ready, I drove our car while Kyler decided to ride with Jonathan. Because of this, I decided to blast some music as I drove when one of my favorite songs came on.

"Oh, we should totally play this song at the pep rally next month" I drove to school and parked next to Jonathan and we all walked to our first period together. I talked to them and mentioned the song, they both agreed immediately. The two of them had started to get frustrated because they couldn't decide on a song, and had been wanting my input, thankfully this was a song that each of us enjoyed, and it was an easy decision.

Although school was still boring as always, I was relieved to be back to normal life. The day was filled with teachers asking how I was recovering, apparently Kyler told everyone that I got hit by a car that ran a red light, thankfully the teachers believed him. Most of the students didn't even notice I was missing, that was fine by me though because I didn't bother with any of them. A couple people I talk to in class came and talked to me, but that's about it.

After school, we went and talked to Mr. Rico and told him the song we had decided on. He thought that it was perfect and gave us the go ahead on it. We could come to his classroom after school whenever we needed to work on it. I was getting super excited about it, it was one of my favorite songs to play, and we all wanted to put our own spin on the song.

We went straight back to our place after that and played some video games for a few hours. It was nice that things were finally back to normal. Actually, things were better than normal, this was the first time I felt at ease in a long time.


TIME SKIP – ONE WEEK LATER

GARRETT POV

We were at Hannah's house practicing with Sora, he had begun to teach us the basics of magic, and so far, I could cast fire, Kyler had learned blizzard, and Jonathan had learned thunder. We would eventually learn all these spells, but right now, he told us to start out with one, and the others would come easier after we had a good grasp on these. Along with this, we all practiced combat with our weapons. Kyler and I had a slight advantage because I often competed in the struggle tournaments, and Kyler was in the archery club. Unfortunately, Jonathan had never used anything like a spear before, so Sora spent most of his time focusing on helping Jonathan grow comfortable with the powerful weapon.

Kyler was becoming pretty consistent with his shots, but his aiming was still a little slow. Sora had given him the challenge of trying to hit the bullseye of the target he had set up fifteen times in one minute. Right now, he was able to hit the bullseye about nine times, but he was definitely getting faster.

I was currently practicing my swings against a practice dummy. My motions were wide and sloppy, causing me to use a lot more energy than I should be for each swing. Sora had me practicing a simple three hit combo, making sure to hit a specific spot on the dummy with each swing. My motions were definitely becoming smoother, but I was still having trouble hitting the precise spots every time.

Jonathan however, was sparring with Sora in order to get used to using his unfamiliar weapon, as well as giving Sora a chance to find out where his form and technique could be improved. Jonathan was using a lot of thrusts, but Sora was trying to get him to use some swipes and kicks in order to mix things up, along with reminding him that the opposite end of his trident has a spearhead on it, so he can attack behind him, and spins would be dangerous as well. If Jonathan could get used to his weapon, he would be a versatile force to be reckoned with.


TIME SKIP – TWO WEEKS LATER

GARRETT POV

We were exhausted. Jonathan, Kyler and I spent a lot of time training with Sora, and we were becoming accustomed to our weapons as well as getting a better grasp on the spell we had each learned. The days that we didn't go train, we spent staying after school to practice our song for the pep rally.

The pep rally is tomorrow, so we are making sure that all of our things are ready. Jonathan was tuning his electric guitar and making sure his amp and pedals were all packed and ready to go. Kyler was tuning his bass as well as preparing his amp and pedals. I'm loading my things into the car currently, cables, mic stands, and all the mics that we are going to be using. The school doesn't have very good mics for instruments, so I'm going to use my personal ones that I bought a while ago. Once I got the trunk of the car loaded, I closed it and went back inside to hang out with Kyler a little before going to bed.

The next morning, we went through our usual routine before heading to school. Today, our classes were shorter than usual in order to have time for the pep rally at the end of the day. The energy at school today was electrifying as everyone was excited for the homecoming game tonight, and homecoming was tomorrow. The three of us were starting to get a little nervous as this was a big moment for us, this was our first time getting to play in front of real people instead of just playing in the garage, and they wanted us to kick off the pep rally.

The principal allowed the three of us to skip our last three classes after lunch in order to go and set up our gear. Mr. Rico had already brought the drum set from his classroom down into the auditorium, and I was setting it up and tuning all the drums to how I liked them to go. Once all of us had our things in place, we mic'd up all the amps and the drum set as well as putting Jonathan's mic stand in the front center of the stage. When we were ready, we got a couple run throughs of our song, and when we were ready, we just waited backstage until it was time to start. When everyone started to file into the auditorium, we all started getting nervous, especially Jonathan.

"Oh my gosh, what if I mess up the words, it's going to be so embarrassing!" Jonathan was sweating nervously as he paced. He' normally the more confident out of him and Kyler, and here he was, freaking out. I'm nervous as well, but it's not as bad because I have played this song tons of times, so I'm not too worried about messing up.

"Dude, you're going to do great, they obviously think we're good if they asked us to do this" I try and comfort him, but we're out of time.

"Alright guys, you're up, just go out there and start playing, you're going to do great." Mr. Rico says as he approaches us. We all take a slow, deep breath before going onto the dark stage, the students in the auditorium not able to see us yet. Our first time in front of people, and it's the entire school… All five thousand students packed into the auditorium.

I got set at the drums, and Jonathan and Kyler grabbed their guitars. The hum of the crowd was electrifying, and as soon as Jonathan started strumming his guitar, a sole light faded up on him, the crowd went silent. Once he played the intro, another light came up on Kyler and I, lighting the two of us up as Kyler and I started playing with him and Jonathan began to sing softly.

Hey
Don't write yourself off yet
It's only in your head you feel left out or looked down on
Just try your best
Try everything you can
And don't you worry what they tell themselves when you're away

As the chorus came, we built the song, and as Jonathan sang again, the rest of the lights came on, lighting up the stage.

It just takes some time
Little girl, you're in the middle of the ride
Everything, everything will be just fine
Everything, everything will be all right

The sang came back down now as the next verse started, and some of the students started leaving their seats and coming down to the area in front of the stage.

Hey
You know they're all the same
You know you're doing better on your own so don't buy in
Live right now
Just be yourself
It doesn't matter if that's good enough for someone else

It just takes some time
Little girl, you're in the middle of the ride
Everything, everything will be just fine
Everything, everything will be all right

It just takes some time
Little girl, you're in the middle of the ride
Everything, everything will be just fine
Everything, everything will be all right

After the second chorus came the musical interlude, by this point, the floor was packed and almost everyone was singing along to the song.

Hey
Don't write yourself off yet
It's only in your head you feel left out or looked down on
Just do your best
Do everything you can
Don't you worry what their bitter hearts are going to say

Instead of going into the final chorus like normal, Jonathan and Kyler stopped playing their instruments, opting for a drum breakdown, and I played my beat on my toms, kick and snare. Jonathan clapped to the beat, having everyone join him as he sang.

It just takes some time
Little girl, you're in the middle of the ride
Everything, everything will be just fine
Everything, everything will be all right

I played a big, driving fill as Jonathan and Kyler came back in for a big ending.

It just takes some time
Little girl, you're in the middle of the ride
Everything, everything will be just fine
Everything, everything will be all right

The crowd roared as the song ended, and once the applause started to die down, Mr. Rico walked onto stage with a handheld microphone in his hand.

"Twilight Town High, wasn't that incredible?" The students roared again as he turned to smile at us.

"What do you guys think? You got one more in you?" Kyler and I nervously looked at one another. We knew a lot of songs, but we hadn't practiced any others that much in the past month. Jonathan however had an idea apparently.

"I think we can do one more" He turned and smiled at the two of us as Mr. Rico walked off the stage. Whatever song he had in mind, it must be one that we all knew well, otherwise he would have turned down the suggestion.

"Alright everyone, clap with me" He started clapping the tempo to whatever song he was thinking. I hope he knew what he was doing.

This is the story of a girl
Who cried a river and drowned the whole world
And while she looked so sad in photographs
I absolutely love her, when she smiles

As soon as he started singing, Kyler and I smiled immediately, this was definitely a song we knew well. Once Jonathan finished the opening, we all started playing, the crowd roaring again as we played the popular song.

How many days in the year
She woke up with hope, but she only found tears
And I can be so insincere
Making the promises never for real
As long as she stands there waiting
Wearing the holes in the soles of her shoes
How many days disappear
You look in the mirror so how do you choose

Your clothes never wear as well the next day
And your hair never falls in quite the same way
You never seem to run out of things to say

This is the story of a girl
Who cried a river and drowned the whole world
And while she looked so sad in photographs
I absolutely love her, when she smiles

How many lovers would stay
Just to put up with this shit day after day
How do we wind up this way
Watchin' the mouths for the words I would say
As long as we stand here waiting
Wearing the clothes of the soles I would choose
How do we get there today
If we're walkin' to far from the price of the shoes

Your clothes never wear as well the next day
And your hair never falls in quite the same way
You never seem to run out of things to say

This is the story of a girl
Who cried a river and drowned the whole world
And while she looked so sad and lonely there
I absolutely love her, when she smiles

Jonathan started playing the guitar solo as he turned and smiled at the two of us, None of us expected everyone to react like this as we played.

Your clothes never wear as well the next day
And your hair never falls in quite the same way
You never seem to run out of things to say

Jonathan and Kyler stopped playing again as I kept time, playing a small beat on just the high hat.

This is the story of a girl
Who cried a river and drowned the whole world
And while she looks so sad in photographs
I absolutely love her

We all came back in again, playing our hearts out as the crowd sang with us.

This is the story of a girl
Who's pretty face she hid from the world
And while she looked so sad and lonely there
I absolutely love her

This is the story of a girl
Who cried a river and drowned the whole world
And while she looked so sad in photographs
I absolutely love her, when she smiles, when she smiles

The crowd went crazy as we ended the second song, and this time, the principal came out to move on with the pep rally after shaking all of our hands. Jonathan and Kyler set their instruments on their stands as we walked off the stage. What a way to start a pep rally.

Everyone made their way to their seats as the pep rally continued. At the end of the day, everyone was super excited for the big game tonight. The football team went on to win their third homecoming game in a row. Everything seemed to be going great, but fate always has different plans.


Alright everyone, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I know I definitely struggled in describing how Jonathan's trident looks, so if you want a better understanding, it looks like Finnick Odair's trident from the Hunger Games. Along with that, the songs used in this chapter were "The Middle" by Jimmy Eat World, and "Absolutely (Story of a Girl)" by Nine Days. I really hope you all are enjoying the story so far, and if so, please drop a review and let me know how you like about it, I would greatly appreciate it. Also, since I mentioned how I finished Kingdom Hearts 3, and I'm sure a lot of you have as well, how about you guys tell me what your favorite boss from the game was. Mine was definitely the Anti-Aqua fight, but the Vanitas fight is a close second. Again, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter, and I'll see you next time, peace!