Disclaimer - None of these characters belong to me, they belong to,
well, thats not important, the only important thing is that they are
not mine, don't sue me, you'd waste your time and get nothing for it.

*Note - I know that Link is not a Disney character, but I think he is
really cool and I thought it would be cool and original to pair Kingdom
Hearts and Zelda. The story takes place a couple years after Kingdom
Hearts; Sora and Kairi are 18 and Riku and Link are 19.

This is my first fan fic., hope you enjoy, read and review please!

**Special Note- Thank you to all for there kind reviews, and a extra
special thank you Tiger5913 for your advice that enlightened me towards
new possibilities that I had not considered. Thank you also to my
sister for reading my story and for her help with my memory of Hyrule.
Hyrule is as seen in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Last, but
not least, and extra special thanks to my best friend William for all
his encouragement and support.

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Chapter 3: Zelda, the Vision, and the Promise

As Link and Sora walked towards Hyrule Castle, Link turned to Sora and
asked, "What did that warrior mean when he called you the Keyblade
Master?"

"Well," Sora started, "that's a little hard to explain, but I'll give it
my best shot. You saw the weapon I had when we fought the warrior and
the heartless, right?"

"Yes, I took special note of it when we were fighting because the weapon
was so unique; I have never seen one like it."

"That's because the weapon," Sora stated as he called the keyblade
forth, "is called the keyblade, and, as far as I know, it's the only one
of its kind.

Link inspected the weapon in Sora's hand and saw why, obviously, the
weapon was called a keyblade.

"This weapon," Sora continued, "is used to seal barriers between worlds,
which have now been opened. That is why I was able to reach this world,
and that's why the heartless are able to come here."

"How do you seal the barrier?" Link asked slightly overwhelmed, but was
doing his best to take it all in.

"I must find the keyhole to this world."

"Oh," Link said, not really knowing what he meant.

About this time, Link and Sora reached the draw bridge and began to walk
through to the courtyard.

"That's funny, no guards." Link said as he looked around with increasing
worry.

"What do you mean," questioned Sora, "are there usually guards at the
gate?"

"Yeah, but I...there not-" Link stammered in confusion.

Sora called forth his keyblade and said to Link, "Come on!" Link pulled
out the Master Sword and his shield and ran with Sora.

When the two reached the entry way to the courtyard they just stopped
and stared, what they saw was utter chaos. Men, women, and children were
running in every direction screaming as little heartless chased them all
around. Even the guards, who in their panic forgot about their weapons,
were running from the heartless.

Sora yelled as he jumped into the fray and proceeded to hack and slash
his way through the heartless. Link ran the other way and tore through
the heartless with the Master Sword. Once Link and Sora had disposed of
the heartless, Link got up on a ledge of the riser around the tree in
the center of the market.

"Everybody listen to me!" Link yelled amidst the confusion.

Everyone stopped and stared at Link. Soon murmurs began spreading
through the crowd.

"It's Link!"
"Who's Link?"
"The Hero of Time!"
"He defeated Ganondorf!"
"Oh my, is it really him?"
"Who's Ganondorf?"

Link interrupted before that one got out of hand, "Listen, Listen!
Those creatures that you have all witnessed are called heartless. The
heartless are creatures who are not from this world. They are dangerous
and to be avoided at all costs. I ask that all citizens please stay in
their homes unless it is absolutely necessary, and to not come out at
night. I also ask that all soldiers meet me here."

After the people finished gossiping and recovering from the shock of
their ordeal, and once the soldiers had gathered around, Link said,"
We do not need another incident like todays. What we need is for your
constant vigilance and continuing devotion to the protection of the
people of Hyrule. Do not fear the heartless, for they are not immortal,
but do not underestimate them either. I want double guard posted
tonight and the rest of you need to be on constant alert in case there
is another attack. The sun will be setting soon soldiers, be on your
guard, dismissed."

The guards dispersed and set about completing the tasks Link asked of
them. While the citizens were not certain who Link actually was, the
soldiers were, and were given strict orders from Princess Zelda to
obey any orders they might recieve from him.

After finishing his speech Link hopped down and told Sora, "Come on,
lets go the castle and see Zelda."

As Link and Sora reached the side entrance to the castle the sun was
beginning to set. By the time they reached the courtyard in the castle
the sky was dark. Link, in the courtyard where his adventure with the
Ocarina of Time had begun, went to the second window on the right and
knocked. Even after his famous ordeal, Link still preferred to slip in
to the castle unnoticed.

"Link! I think I can guess why you came?" Zelda asked as she opened her
window and slipped out into the courtyard. "Who's this you brought with
you?"

"My name is Sora," Sora said, stepping up to shake her hand.

Link explained the attack at Hyrule field, the chaos at the market, and,
with Sora's help, what he knew of the barriers between worlds.

"So how is it that you seal the barrier between worlds? Zelda asked
Sora.

"There is a keyhole, somewhere throughout this world, that has been
opened; I need to find that keyhole and, using the keyblade, seal off
Hyrule."

"A keyhole, did you say a keyhole?" Zelda asked with ever increasing
excitement.

"Yes, why?"

"Impa came to me earlier today and told me of a strange, large keyhole
that she found in a wall in a cave in Death Mountain. It was reported
to her by a Goron. She told me that when she approached the keyhole, it
disappeared."

"I'll definitely have to check that out, but it sounds like a winner,"
Sora said with a grin, happy that he might be able to finally close
the barrier to this world and then work on a way to somehow leave
Hyrule.

"Could you give me directions to Death Mountain? Cause I would like
to go now because it would be much safer if I could just slip in there
and seal the keyhole in the dark."

"I'll go with you," Link offered.

"No, it'll be dangerous and I just close the keyhole and find Kairi."

"And what happened today wasn't dangerous, don't lecture me about the
dangers," Link said with fire.

"Ok, I'm sorry, but I just want to find Kairi and Riku, and then hope-
fully make our way back home."

"Who's Kairi?" Zelda asked with sudden interest. Link looked at Sora
too, wondering the same thing.

"She's...my...um, she's my fiance. She was taken by the heartless."
Sora said as a lump started to build in his throat. He turned and
stared out at the moon as it began its ascension of the night sky. He
was glad it was dark, glad they couldn't see the tear as it streamed
down his cheek. What he wouldn't give to have her back. Zelda
interrupted him from his thoughts-

"Sora, did Kairi have short red hair and gold armbands?"

Sora turned around, forgetting to wipe his eyes, and answered, "Yes,
how did you know? Have you seen her? Where is she? Is she alright?
Is she here in Hyrule? How-"

Zelda interrupted him again, "Sora, I don't know where she is, for I
saw her in a vision. She was sitting alone, chained to the wall of a
dark dungeon. Then I saw a dark figure laughing at her and as my view
of the figure became clear, I awoke. That was all."

Sora sank to his knees and made no attempt to hide as he started
crying. "How could I let this happen? I promised her. I promised her
that we would never be seperated again."

As Sora lay crying, he drifted into a fitful sleep.