Kairi didn't know why she did what she did that night.
She was just following her instincts. No, something else. Something...deeper.
It led her to that island they always played at. It led her into the secret place, the cave, and that door that had never opened before.
She stood in front of the door, seeing tendrils of black smoke wafting out from under it.
Kairi felt her body screaming at her to run - and she felt something else inside her telling her she had to stay!
She had to stop this, make it go away - hold it back.
Kairi obeyed that deep-seated feeling and raised her hands in front of her, narrowing her eyes at the door.
Cold enveloped her, air rushing around her in a way that didn't make sense inside a cave. She could hardly breathe, she felt like she was choking on something. Her feet and arms were growing heavy in seconds. Her whole body felt...
Kairi tried to focus, to breathe.
Her hands trembled in front of her.
She gritted her teeth and the dark tendrils evaporated.
Kairi didn't know how much longer she stood there in that place. She didn't know how much longer she could even stay standing, how much longer...
A fierce new thought struck her, rising above the despair. Born of frustration and anger.
This wasn't working, it wasn't going to work.
She had to do something else, she had to just- anything else.
She needed some other way to stop this- this darkness, to stop it from breaking loose, to stop what her haziest memories had haunted her with from happening to Destiny Islands too: those shadowy creatures, glowing yellow eyes, chasing her through the city square...up to the castle gates, where she desperately tried to open them and get away...
When she had turned and seen the man of silver hair walking up to her, looming over her, reaching for her with a big, powerful hand...
NO!
Kairi's hand closed into a fist and she hurled it down at her side - and suddenly a bright light burst, and there was a weight in her hand.
A warmth of metal?
Kairi glanced down at her hand, seeing a metal...weapon. A blade. It was intricate and golden, with some blue on the hand guard in shape of a crashing wave, and at the end of the weapon there were flowers and...and hanging from the hilt was a chain, and on the end of that chain was a poupou fruit!
A sign of fate, a sign of destiny...
The embrace of destiny...?
This weapon, this sword, why...did it feel so right in her hand? And why...did it feel so...
Familiar...?
And that memory... She had never remembered so much before, so clearly. She had remembered the darkness, the monsters, before, yes, she remembered the terror, running, and she remembered her grandmother's cherished stories (though not the woman's face or voice, not really, to her eternal frustration), but now...this time...?
She had just remembered something new, and completely concrete: the face of that man!
Kairi wished she hadn't, because it terrified her beyond anything else - even those monsters.
Kairi glanced up at the door as it suddenly vibrated, shuddering in its frame. The darkness was leaking out again, from the whole frame of the door now. About to burst...
But this was just- a bad job- an impossible task. She couldn't beat it, stop it, not this way!
She needed to try something else. She needed to-
"KAIIIRIIIII! RIIIKUUUUU! GUYS?! WHERE ARE YOUUUU?!"
Sora!
She needed to find her friends, was what she needed to do! Not stand around in some cave while they were out there, lost and in danger!
Kairi turned and ran from the cave, her weapon tight in her hand.
She burst out of the cave onto the dirt path, gazing down on the beach.
The wind was howling, the sky was dark, purple lighting streaked across it - and littering the ground were the very same dark monsters from her earliest memories.
Those shadowy...bug things.
For a long moment, Kairi froze.
Froze at sight of them, as they turned their eyes on her. Just like before. Just like-
"Kairi! Kairi, look out!"
Kairi's mind snapped back, and her arm moved, swinging the weapon up without even thinking. It slashed right through the dark monster that was leaping at her, cleaving it in two in mid-air. Its two halves turned into dark smoke, disappearing.
The other monsters suddenly flattened, becoming shadows in the ground themselves, and they rushed across the beach toward her faster than she would have ever thought.
Kairi leaped back, holding her weapon in front of her.
The monsters reformed again, surrounding her.
"FINE! If you want it, come get it!" she shouted at them. Kairi yelled out and leaped at the nearest one, swinging down for it!
The monster leaped aside and her blade hit the dirt, sending a shock up her arm.
Another monster rushed for her, its long claws swiping.
Kairi turned and raised her blade clumsily - taking those claws on her weapon, blocking it. She stumbled to the side, throwing her free hand out to catch herself. Two more monsters came at her, and she kicked a leg out to catch one in the face, sending it flying back, then she swung her legs in and twisted her body around, slashing her weapon for the other one from low on the ground.
She breathed, pushed herself up with both hands and ran at the last monster, slashing for it furiously.
The monster leaped back, then up and flipped forward in the air, slashing down on her head.
Kairi skidded in the dirt and slashed her blade up overhead, catching the monster and sending it flying into a tree. It was oozing darkness from its side, but it wasn't destroyed yet. Kairi could fix that! She ran at it again, leaping forward and thrusting her weapon at it as it jumped for her again, piercing it through and pinning it to the tree.
The monster shuddered and turned into smoke, vanishing at last.
Kairi breathed, giving a giddy, triumphant laugh. She turned, remembering Sora.
He was standing there with a dumbfounded look on his face.
"W-woah, Kairi, where'd you learn to do all that? And where'd you get that thing?! It's awesome!" Sora exclaimed, rushing up to her with a big grin.
Kairi blushed, smiling at him and brushing her hair out of her face. "No idea!" she said honestly. "Talk later, Sora, OK? We've got to find Riku before- before these monsters do!"
"Right! Uh - I'll just follow your lead," Sora said sheepishly, gesturing to her weapon. He flashed another grin.
"Hehe, you always have been great at running," Kairi told him, turning and setting off down the beach, determined.
She led the way down the beach, over to the seaside shack. She pushed open the door and climbed the old spiral steps inside until she emerged at the top. Out onto the sandy platform again. She spotted Riku on the little shore island where they always sat at that tree (and where Sora and Riku always sparred). She ran across the bridge toward him, gasping for breath.
"Riku!" she called out, slowing to a halt before him, clutching her side. She really wasn't all that much of a runner compared to Sora and Riku, and she regretted it now!
Riku turned, slowly, casually. He looked at her, and then his eyes dropped to her blade. His eyes widened - and then they narrowed. "Where did you get that?" he shouted, stepping forward. Dark purple energy rippled under his feet, tendrils snaking up around him.
Kairi felt that cold around her again - squeezing her inside. She instinctively stepped back and raised her weapon. "Riku, you're- you're all wrong, this is wrong. You have to stop-"
"Stop what?" Riku cut her off strongly. He clenched a fist, and raised it to point at her. He glared at her in a way he never had before. It was real, raw hatred. "Unlike you, I'm not afraid of the darkness!"
Kairi growled, frustrated, panicking - then she stamped her foot and threw herself forward, seizing Riku's arm and yanking at him. "For god's sake - Riku, stop it! You should be afraid; the Darkness will destroy you, you stupid idiot!"
Riku pried her loose and shoved at her with a snarl, the darkness erupting and sending her flying back into Sora, knocking him over. They fell together in a mess of limbs that any other time would have really had Kairi blushing. As it was...well... "Is that what you think?! Hah! Well, I'll show you, Kairi! I'll show you...exactly how strong I am! Stronger than you and that - that key of yours!"
Kairi scrambled to her feet, bringing up her weapon again clumsily. "Riku-"
The darkness enveloped Riku completely, and then it evaporated - and Riku was gone.
A split second later, and suddenly the whole island rocked.
The clouds swirled above, the lightning crackled furiously, and then a massive ball of energy formed in the sky.
And everything began to break apart.
Huge chunks of the island were ripped from the ground - the ground itself was torn from the sea! The ocean's waters crashed and bubbled away to leave a barren waste stretching out! Trees and scraps of wood flew past Kairi, swirling overhead.
And then, in front of her, darkness materialized into something solid.
A monster. A giant, dark monster with tendrils on its head and long, clawed giant hands and spiked feet.
It raised a fist and a dark energy ball formed, and it slammed it down into the ground.
Kairi saw a wave of darkness fly across the ground, and she turned and grabbed Sora in her arms.
She was struck by it, and they both got sent flying toward the edge of the...of the island.
They were being lifted into the air on a single, large remaining chunk of the island. Slowly drawn toward that huge orb in the sky.
Kairi gasped as dark energy coursed through her, as a burning, cold pain spread. She breathed and tried to stand again anyways, using her weapon for support. "S-Sora - stay here. I'll-"
"You'll what, Kairi?" Sora groaned, rubbing his head and sitting up. "You think you can beat that thing? It's huge!"
Kairi glared, setting her free hand on her hip. "Well seeing as I'm the only one of us with a weapon, I have to be the one to try! Unless you've got a weird magic sword somewhere you haven't told me about?"
Sora flushed, looking away. "Yeah, okay, you've got a point there. But, Kairi-"
"No buts, Sora! No time for that. Just stay." Kairi turned and ran toward the monster, her weapon raised and ready again, her face screwed up in determination.
She watched the monster raise its fist again to swing at her. This time, she threw herself forward to avoid it, slashing furiously at the monster's legs. She sliced into every inch of its body she could find, making it roar out with pain. Kairi rolled out from under it, coming up behind it and watching as it fell forward with a great crash. It wasn't defeated; it had caught itself with its clawed hands.
Kairi gazed up its rugged backside, and she acted quickly before she could think again. She backed up a little, then took a running leap onto the giant's back! She grasped and climbed up its massive form, getting right up to the back of its head before it reared up and tried to throw her off. Kairi desperately grabbed onto a long, dark tendril, hanging on for dear life! The monster shook its head wildly, but she held on, gritting her teeth as her arm felt like it was being pulled out of its socket! With a great cry, she brought her weapon arm up and stabbed the blade right into the back of the monster's head.
The monster erupted with dark power and another roar, louder than anything! Kairi was forced to let go of her weapon as she was sent flying. She fell and hit the ground hard, rolling until she smacked into a broken fragment of a boat (was it hers, Sora's, or Riku's, she thought dumbly).
Kairi gasped for air and gazed at the monster as it turned around to face her.
Then, suddenly, the wind picked up, fiercer than ever, and the great orb began to draw the giant monster up into it. And then, it was lifting Kairi up into the air as well!
She twisted and turned in the air, trying to find Sora - she thought she caught a flash of red among the raging debris - and then-
And then a huge chunk of rock smacked into her from behind, and she lost all consciousness.