Chapter III: Into The Darkness
"So you're trying to tell me something?" Kairi asked eagerly sitting on a rock. She was once again back on the beach. The storm was getting bad, the wind seemed like it was from a hurricane.
"Yeah, it's important too Kairi." Sora said with a serious look on his face. He was standing besides the rock. "Kairi, you need to understand your destiny, you need to understand your fate."
"Why though?" Kairi screamed back at him. "What is so important that I would have to know this now? What really is going on? My mom told me I was special, she said I would change the world. You told me I was special. How does this all fit together? What am I?"
"Kairi, it will all come together in due time. I am going to show you something, something you need to know, something you HAVE to know. But first, you have to let go. You have to let go of the memories that stop you, the memories that bind you to not letting me go. I am always here with you Kairi, and I always will be, but in the end you are going to have to make the final sacrifice. The fate of the world depends on you, like it once did me. I won't be here with you this time; I won't be here for you. Something bad is coming, or should I say is already here. You have to stand strong by yourself and fight it; it's your time now. Your journey begins here."
*****
Kairi sat up from her bed, she was breathing hard. She finally caught her breath, and got out of bed to her window cell. "It is time" she said to herself peering out the window. "It's time for me to begin my own journey."
Outside it was getting bad, the storm was ripping through Destiny Island. Palm trees were getting ripped out of the ground and blown in the air, the waves were worse than she ever saw, the sky itself was total darkness. She didn't care though, she knew what she had to do. She knew what was here, she knew it was her destiny.
Kairi ran over to her closet changing quickly back into her black skirt and white shirt. She picked up her shell necklace that laid on her dresser and chained it around her neck. She remembered the time she made the necklace; it was made out of thalassa shells. The tale was that if you made the necklace before going off on the voyage, it would ensure a safe return. Sora used to tease Kairi all the time about the necklace, but he never really meant anything by it, just like Sora would tease her about a lot things. She shook the memory out of her head and ran out of the room.
She threw on a pair of sneakers that were in her hallway and walked towards the steps. Suddenly a door swung open, it was the door leading to her mother's room. The wind which flew in from an open window in the room caused the door to fly open. Kairi walked into the room and closed the window. She walked over to her mother's bed and knelt down besides it.
"Mom, you were right. I think I am special, I think am going to make a difference. I have to go now though, for if I stay on this island, I won't get another chance. I need to make that difference, I need to go off on this journey for myself. I hope you understand."
Kairi got up, a tear rushed down her cheek and onto her mother. She turned around and paced towards the door. Her mother cracked a smile, making Kairi believe she was sleeping this entire time. She too knew the importance of Kairi leaving, she wasn't about to try and stop her.
Kairi rushed out the door and ran through the woods to the docks. She had to get to the beach, it was the place it all began those many years ago, and it was the place it was going to continue now. She quickly untied her rowboat and got in. The waves in the ocean were tough, but Kairi was tougher.
*****
"You know, Riku has changed" Kairi said sitting off in the sunset along Sora. The two were sitting on the beach. It was a time when they were both young, a time when they hadn't worried about the heartless, a time when everything could stand still and she knew it would still be her and Sora.
"What do you mean?" Sora looked up surprised. He wasn't quite sure just what Kairi was talking about.
"Well..." Kairi began to say.
"You okay?" Sora interrupted.
Kairi paused for a few seconds looking away. "Sora, let's take the raft and go, just the two of us!"
Sora acted a little confused. Was Kairi for real? Did she really want to go just with him? He didn't know, but if it was for real, he could sure make work of it.
"Just kidding" Kairi laughed. It was true though, Kairi wished that it could be just the two of them, there was so much to explore, she wanted to be along Sora's side.
Sora cracked a smile rubbing his head. "What's gotten into you?" he asked. "You're the one that's changed, Kairi."
"Maybe" she said. "You know, I was a little afraid at first, but now I'm ready. No matter where I go or what I see, I know I can always come back here. Right?"
"Yeah, of course!"
"That's good. Sora, don't ever change."
"Huh?" Sora wondered.
"I just can't wait. Once we set sail, it'll be great."
*****
Kairi snapped out of it, she couldn't be thinking about the old times. In her dreams, Sora told her to let go, she had to listen to him if she was going to beat whatever it was that was coming. Kairi got out of her boat and pulled it up along the shore. She was finally back at the beach.
"It's time!" she screamed up into the dark masses above. "I want to leave this world, I want you to take me to where I'm suppose to be."
Kairi waited for a few seconds, but nothing happened, that is until a huge thunderbolt struck down causing Kairi to fall to the ground. She began to crawl along the beach pulling herself back up.
"Noo!" she screamed once again at the dark mass. "It's my destiny now, I have to go."
Suddenly the ground began shaking, something was happening. A few feet away from Kairi the ground began to crack open, and a huge dark hand arose from it. The dark hand pulled itself up until a darkside was shown. Kairi felt something happening; she knew she had to prove herself in order to go. The darkside picked up its hand and flung it at Kairi but Kairi rolled out of the way to safety. She broke off a branch from a nearby tree and began to swat the hand away to no effect.
The darkside was big, it was strong. The hand began to stalk Kairi wherever she ran, it was closing in fast. Kairi went to turn around but she tripped and fell to the ground. The hand began to come crashing down when something happened, something unexpected. Just as the hand was ready to crush Kairi, a weird glow began to form around Kairi. It was bright, it was a lighted aura. The moment the hand touched Kairi it began to crumble away. Knowing the darkside was defeated, he retreated back into the whole from whence it came.
"What's going on?" Kairi thought to herself. She knew that being a princess of heart had its advantages, but never did she see something like this. Come to think of it, she never had any extraordinary powers like the others had, that is until now. Kairi got up from the ground and brushed the sand from her off. She turned once more to the storm.
"Well, I did it! I defeated whatever that was, and I want to go. You have to take me!"
The ground from below Kairi began to shake again. Kairi feared at what might be coming next. Suddenly the ground began to crack up entirely; streams of darkness began spewing up from below. What was going on? Kairi turned around in fear and began to run until the ground broke entirely away. She turned once again but the ground there was now no more. Kairi was stuck on only the smallest piece of land, she was trapped. Little by little the tiny piece of land she was on began to disappear, until she was only floating in darkness. She closed her eyes, not knowing what was coming next.
"Kairi, you're a fighter, get up! Fight it!"
The voice of Sora came to Kairi, she reopened her eyes and was still surrounded by darkness, floating in the darkness of nothingness. She didn't care though, she had a strong enough heart to fight it, she was going to win. She closed her eyes once more, this time knowing what was happening. The darkness wasn't going to overtake her, she was going to overtake the darkness.
*****
Like I said, not too long of a chapter, but now setting the entire story up for the next chapter and the chapters that follow. Right now there are a total of 31 chapters all written out in just notes, so if you guys stick around things are going to get interesting from here. Please, this time I'm begging you, leave a review. You guys don't know how hard I'm working on this story; I spent the last 2 months planning it all out writing all the chapters in notes, so review and help a brother out. Now I'll leave you with the preview for the next chapter.
Chapter 4: A Chance Encounter
Release Date: April 22, 2003
Preview: Kairi finds herself in Traverse Town and now
has a new toy, but what it is you'll have to read to find out. She decides it's
time to visit a few places, but with a lurker hiding in the shadows, could this
spell trouble for Kairi?