Soraoathkeeper: Hi everybody! Miss me? *looks around* Where is everybody?
(Ghosts of former reviewers pop up all around her)
Ghosts: Weeeee haaaave goooone tooooo theeee unnnnderwoorld. Weeeee goooot tiiiiireeeed oooooof waaaaiitng foooooor yooooou tooooo updaaaaaate, sooooo weeeeeeee haaaaveeee moooooved ooon. (Translation: We have gone to the underworld. We got tired of waiting for you to update, so we have moved on.)
(Soraoathkeeper summons her Keyblade to defend herself)
Soraoathkeeper: Nooooo! Stop! Don't leave me! Wait! Come back! I was busy and sick! I had this horrible disease called *gasp* WRITER'S BLOCK!
(Cut to a TV where a woman screams while Godzilla smashed buildings in the background)
Woman: AHHHHHHHH!!!!!
(Cut back to the stage)
Soraoathkeeper: (in salesperson's voice) For more information, please read the Author's Note and Updates at the end of this chapter. (in overly excited cheerleader voice) I even have a special surprise for you! Trust me, you don't want to miss it!
(Ghosts get up to go to the Author's Note and Update section at the end of the chapter)
Soraoathkeeper: AFTER you read the chapter.
(Ghost start to protest, but take one look at Soraoathkeeper, who has her bow and her favorite Keyblades out and is glaring at them, and sit right back down)
Soraoathkeeper: *beams* Good! Now sit back and enjoy!
(Walks off and starts typing)
(Behind the curtain, Chibi Riku, Chibi Jack Sparrow, Chibi Kairi, Chibi Sora, Chibi Ranma, Chibi Akane and Chibi Ansem all sit. Chibi Ansem turns off the projector that made the ghosts and Chibi Kairi goes to get popcorn and drinks)
Chibi Riku: We're lucky that Soraoathkeeper's so stupid that she didn't see that the ghosts were fake.
Chibi Sora: *watches Chibi Kairi make popcorn while drooling* Yep.
Chibi Akane: We're lucky that Ansem found this old projector.
Chibi Sora: Yep.
(Chibi Kairi comes back with popcorn and drinks and starts handing them out)
Chibi Kairi: *smiles at Chibi Jack Sparrow as she hands him some popcorn* We're lucky that Jack was so good at imitating voices that he managed to convince Soraoathkeeper that the ghost were real.
(Chibi Ansem growls under his breath that sounds strangely like "……he's lucky that I'm too far away to throttle him.")
Chibi Sora: Yep.
Chibi Riku: We're lucky that Sora's so dumb so that we can pick on him.
Chibi Sora: Ye-hey, what did you just say?
Chibi Riku: Nothing. Give me some water, will ya Kairi?
(Chibi Kairi gives him some water. Chibi Riku quietly stands up and sneaks up behind Chibi Ranma, who is throwing popcorn into his mouth and catching it while reading the chapter. Quickly, Chibi Riku dumps the ice-cold water all over Chibi Ranma and runs for his life)
Chibi Ranma: *looks down at his, err her, body*………RIKU!!!!
(Chibi Ranma runs after Chibi Riku. Chibi Riku hides behind a wall. He peeks around the corner and see no one. Chibi Riku sighs. All of a sudden, someone taps him on the shoulder. Slowly he turns around………………)
Soraoathkeeper: Hiya Riku! Whatchya doing?
Chibi Riku: *clutches his heart* Oh, it's you………geez, you almost gave me a heart attack!
Soraoathkeeper: Oh. Well, see ya! *walks off*
Chibi Riku: What was all that about?
(He turns back around. Another hand taps him on the shoulder)
Chibi Riku: Not now Soraoathkeeper!
(The tapping continues. Finally Chibi Riku turns around……….)
Chibi Riku: Now what is it?
(………to see the smirking face of Chibi Ranma)
Chibi Ranma: ……………… *cracks her knuckles*
Chibi Riku: …………………AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Okay, this will be a fairly short chapter. Or, at least, I hope it will be. Sometimes, I get so caught up in my writing, I forget how long the chapter is, and well, it turns out to be REALLY long. Take my last chapter on Sacrifice for example. I decided to make the chapter a little 3-page prelude to what's going to happen. Well, guess what? It turned out to be a 13-page thing! Needless to say, I was burned out and surprised. My answer to this went something like "………………geez, I wonder why I feel so tired. I mean I only wrote………one………two………three………………THIRTEEN PAGES! OH MY GOD!" My reply to this thirteen pager was cut short as my head fell onto the keyboard, asleep. Oh well. I guess it's better for the reviewers!
Anyway, this is just a little teaser for what's going to be happening to Sora. So-
Chibi Riku: AHHHHH! Soraoathkeeper, help me!
Soraoathkeeper: What is it now?
Chibi Ranma: I'll get you for that Riku!
Soraoathkeeper: What did you do this time?
Chibi Riku: Nothing! I was just enthralled by Chibi Ranma's aquatransexual aptitude! That's all!
Chibi Ranma: Translation: He poured cold water over me while I was reading the chapter!
Soraoathkeeper: You've been hanging around Ansem too much Riku.
Chibi Riku: HELP!
Soraoathkeeper: Okay! *runs into the fight and starts beating up Chibi Riku*
Chibi Riku: What are you doing?! Hey, that hurts! You're supposed to be helping me, not hurting me!
Soraoathkeeper: But I am helping you! I'm teaching you not to splash cold water on Ranma!
Chibi Ranma: Yeah!
Well, enjoy the chapter! I have to go beat Riku up, so bye!
{Thoughts}
[Mysterious Voice]
"Speaking (duh)"
(???)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sora looked up at the starry sky. He was laying down in his sleeping bag, listening to the wind howl around him. The soft shush of his companions' snores faded in and out as the night wore on. It was only he, alone and awake in the darkness. He smiled sadly. Funny how that was. His was a heart of light, not quite as pure as Kairi's but not as dark as Riku's. On the outside he might be childish, naïve and optimistic, but the inside was different. He may be a Keybearer, but he wasn't immune to the effects of the dark. His heart is light, but there was still a little seed of darkness inside.
Because no light can exist without darkness to balance it out.
It seemed to Sora that it was only he who understood this. Everyone wanted to banish the darkness and keep only the light, but they didn't understand that the light has to have darkness. The Keyblade was an example of the balance between light and dark. It could be used for the forces of good, such as saving the world. However, it could also be used as a tool of the dark and create chaos in the world. When Ansem came, he upset the already delicate balance between light and dark. If there even was a balance.
(Long ago, people lived in peace, bathed in the warmth of light. Everyone loved the light. Then people began to fight over it. They wanted to keep it for themselves. And darkness was born in their hearts. The darkness spread, swallowing the light and many people's hearts. It covered everything, and the world disappeared. But small fragments of light survived………in the hearts of children. With these fragments of light, children rebuilt the lost world. It's the world we live in now. But the true light sleeps, deep within the darkness. That's why the worlds are still scattered, divided from each other. But someday, a door to the innermost darkness will open. And the true light will return.)
Sora jolted upright. "Huh? Who said that?" He stood and looked around. "Where am I?"
He was standing in the middle of a crossroad. Four paths extended into different directions. In between these roads, there was………nothing. Just black and white fog, swirling up and down.
[Hello Sora.]
{That voice………}
[You have done well so far. But the door to the light is still sealed.]
Sora looked around, trying to locate the where the voice was coming from. It seemed to be coming from everywhere. But it was he was the only one who could hear it, right? At Final Rest at the End of the World, it was he, not Donald, not Goofy, only he, who could hear it. So where was it coming from?
{It sounds so………familiar. Like I've known it and heard it all my life………}
[You now have four paths ahead of you. One leads your former life, free of all worries. Another, to true light and darkness. The third, the heart of all worlds. And the last leads to behind the door of Kingdom Hearts. ]
Sora slowly spun around, trying to see where the paths lead. But they meandered into the darkness, giving no hint to where they might go.
[The fate of the world rests once again in your hands. Only you can choose. Choose wisely, as your decision decides the outcome on all worlds and the universe as we know it.]
Sora looked up to the stars. Why did these decisions always come to him? All he wanted to be was the kid he had been on Destiny Islands. You know, compete against Riku and the other islanders, dream in the fading light of the sunset, talk and laugh with Kairi and eat dinner with his mom and dad. Be a carefree, fun-loving kid again. He could choose the first path, and live life to its fullest. But if he did that, then others would be suffering, for the heartless would be somewhere in the other worlds. He couldn't just sit around while people were suffering. The second would lead him to true light. However, it would also lead him to true darkness. The heart of all worlds,………where would that be? Where all heartless were created maybe? And the last path………that would lead him to behind the door………where Riku is………
Sora came to his decision. He called out to the voice.
"I know what my decision is. I'm going to choose my own path. I don't know what is going to happen at the end, and I don't know where to start, but I'll trust my heart, and it will guide me."
[Is that your final decision?]
" Yes."
All at once, Sora began to rise up. He closed his eyes as he began to fly. Guided by some invisible force, he flew over the paths and in a flash of light, he was gone, flying over oceans and seas.
Sora's destiny, and the fate of the entire universe, is still undecided.
All we can do now is hope.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~{AUTHOR'S NOTE}~
And we are back to Riku's POV. Sorry for the delay. I'm trying a new schedule for my fics. The first two weeks of the month I work on Sacrifice, my Ayashi no Ceres fic, and the other two weeks I work on Promises. So hopefully, I will be updating every month.
Okay, so this chapter is pretty short. It took me a long time too. I don't really have a rough draft of any of my chapters. And this chapter was sorta like a jumpstart for Sora's journey. I also had to get in depth here, with the crossroads and light and dark. That required a lot of thinking.
Chibi Riku: *pops up* Which she doesn't do very often.
Be quiet Riku. Anyway, I would like to give a BIG thank you to The Ansem Report (the website). It's a really great site with theories about KH2 and stuff. So ARIGATO GOZAIMASU!!!
Speaking of KH2, I have some great news for all Khers out there!
Chibi Jack Sparrow: Is that even a word?
It is now. KH2 is being made! And I have some details!
All: YAY!
Yeah, I know! I subscribe to Electronic Gaming Monthly, and they had an article on KH2! Here, I'll quote it word for word:
Kingdom Hearts 2, to sort out the chronology of the rapidly-expanding franchise, takes place some time after the events of Kingdom Hearts and its direct Game Boy Advance sequel, Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories. The three Tetsuya Nomura-designed lead characters -- Sora, Riku, and Kairi -- have grown up over the intervening years, looking round about 14 years old in the trailer. They're a bit taller, a bit more ordinarily proportioned, and their feet aren't quite so outlandishly huge anymore, the rest of their bodies having seemingly grown into them.
The bad guys have changed a little as well, in the intervening years. The Heartless have been replaced by a different variety of faceless goons, an army of slender, taller munchkins colored a sickly gray. They're led by a familiar face, or lack thereof, the cloaked figure who appeared in the cave in the beginning of Kingdom Hearts, but there's still no more of an explanation regarding who or what that is.
There are a lot of black cloaks going around in this game, which adds to the confusion. Sora, of course, has touched up his outfit with a new black jacket. At least two characters -- who seem like they might be Riku and Sora incognito -- spend some of the trailer hidden under black cowls. Riku (or someone looking rather like him) gets a brief solo moment dueling with yet another black-cloaked figure, a mad-looking fellow with spiky red hair (the twin Keyblades in this scene obviously recall the Deep Dive omake video from the original game). And of course, Mickey Mouse makes his Yoda-esque appearance towards the end, cleaning house with his own Keyblade in hand.
One oddity in the Kingdom Hearts 2 preview is the selection of settings on display. The Game Boy Advance sequel obviously revisits locations made familiar by the original game -- Traverse Town, Agrabah, Olympus Colosseum, and so forth. In the case of Kingdom Hearts 2, on the other hand, we've only seen original settings so far. There's a towering castle in one sequence, where Sora, Donald, and Goofy battle the new things-which-are-not-Heartless, and another series of quiet scenes set on the rooftops of an expansive city, but no areas that look to be recognizably drawn from the Disney canon.
The PS2 sequel is well further off than it GBA cousin, though. While Chain of Memoriesis due in 2004, Kingdom Hearts 2 is off the release boards as yet, leaving it plenty of time to gradually take shape. The first trailer contains only few seconds that could even possibly represent gameplay, so we can hope for the best when it comes to cleaning up the original's flaws, and look forward to an inevitably excellent visual display regardless.
For more info, go to [ h t t p : / / w w w . 1 u p . c o m / a r t i c l e 2 / 0 , 4 3 6 4 , 1 3 1 0 3 0 5 , 0 0 . a s p ].
Isn't that cool?
~{DISCLAIMER}~
I don't own KH, KH2, or EGM. But I own my chibis! Muwahahahaha!
All Chibis: *groan*
Chibi Riku: That's what we're afraid of.
Chibi Ranma: You don't own me though!
Soraoathkeeper: *shifty eyes* Yes I do!
Chibi Ranma: Nuh uhn! Ranma ½ is a trademark of VIZ, LLC. All rights reserved. No unauthorized reproduction allowed!
Soraoathkeeper: *sigh* All right, all right, I don't own anything. But someday, I will rule the world! And everything will be mine! All mine! Bwahahahahahaha!
Chibi Riku: Yeah, I know, it's a hard life living with Soraoathkeeper, trying to stay sane, but we put up with it.
~{REVIEWS}~
~Tobokerukumori~
Here's the next chapter! Thanks for the great praise! They really made me feel good. So, I hope you enjoyed this chappie!
You get a………ummm………well………a free coupon! To have whatever you want! (Kinda outta ideas right now………^_^;)
~Heather Christi ~
Hi! Umm, sorry to disappoint you, but still no action. *sigh* I'm defiantly not a very good action writer.………oh well. Another thing to add to my long lists of things to work on………
You get a free coupon! Turn it in for whatever prize you want!
~ImageEmpress~
Arabian nights………sorry. So, thanks for the compliment! I changed the lyrics on Chapter 5; hope it's better. Thanks again for reviewing!
You get a free coupon! I have lots!
~Alana Hikari-Chan~
Hey! It's the author of Experimental! She's reviewing my story! Wow! Cool! Yeah, it isn't working very well, so now I'm reverting to looking at my reviews from the website. Really? I'll have to think on how to make Promises interesting………what are tags? I'll try making it flow. And I love Experimental, so I review it! Arigato gozaimasu!
You get TWO free coupons! Cool huh?
~Black-Rose 72~
Hey! How are you? *gasp* You did??!! You added me to you favorites list?!! Wow! Thanks so much! Thank you for the kind words too!
You also get a coupon! Surprise, surprise!
Arigato Gozaimasu!
~{UPDATES}~
I have been getting some reviews over the confusion about the first three chapters. The first three chapters are the prologue. They are basically dreams that prompt the three friends into starting their journey to find each other. Sorry for confusing you guys.
I have also become obsessed with Inu-Yasha (like so many other things). I also love the Sonic X American TV Show Theme Song. Faster, faster, fasterfasterfaster Sonic X! Ahem. Sorry. I am a supporter of Kim/Ron fics for Kim Possible and now a supporter of Lizzie/Gordo fics for Lizzie Maguire (although the only episodes I've seen of both TV shows is movies for both of them and the advice column for Lizzie Maguire. *sniff* So sweet!) I have also learned more Japanese! Yay! ^___^ So, that's my life in a nutshell. See ya later!
~Soraoathkeeper~