Chapter Two: (give me a name:P)
Sora opened his eyes lazily, feeling the familiar hard sand on his back. He struggled to gather his wits, and looked up into the beautiful clear sky of Destiny Islands. He ran his hands along the sand for a few moments, images of Shadows flashing across him vision. All of a sudden an upside down girl flashed before his vision, startling him. "Whoa!" Sora yelled in surprise and sat bolt up right. Kairi covered her mouth and giggled.
Sora's brain finally caught up with his reflexes and he let out an embarrassed half laugh. "Gimme a break, Kairi." Sora said, running his hand through his hair. "Sora, you lazy bum. I knew I'd find you snoozing down here." Kairi told him, smiling that cute smile that Sora always liked. He scratched his head and then suddenly everything came back. The Shadows, the Darkside, everything.
"No! This huge black THING swallowed me up! I couldn't breathe, I couldn't-Ow!" Sora said as Kairi promptly smacked him on the head. Kairi looked at him curiously. "Are you still dreaming?" She asked him, looking into his eyes with a smirk on her face. Sora felt the need to defend himself, the whole dream had been so very real. "It wasn't a dream!" He exclaimed but then looked around him, he is very much on the beach where he usually sleeps at.
"Or was it?" Sora asked himself, it was all getting blurry as it would a real dream. "I don't know." He concluded, looking out towards the water in wonderment. "What was that place?" He asked, drawing another smile from Kairi, "So bizarre..." He stated and Kairi walked past him, giving up. "Yeah, sure." she said, throwing her hands up in exasperation and walking towards the shoreline.
Sora thought for a moment and looked her back, wanting to ask something he had asked about a million times now. "Say, Kairi, what was your hometown like? You know, where you grew up." Sora asked, raising up his knee and resting his arm on it. He had always hoped that by asking her all the time it might unexpectedly trigger a memory. But it didn't this time as Kairi sighed and said, "I've told you before, I don't remember."
Sora looked down at the sand, moving it with his fingers. "Nothing at all?" He asked, still curious. Kairi's voice seemed almost sad when she answered, "Nothing." Sora looked back up at her. "You ever want to go back?" He asked, making Kairi turn to him. "Well, I'm happy here." Kairi said, a smile on her face. Sora smiled back. When Kairi smiled it is so infectious. "Really..." Sora said, prompting her to continue.
Kairi walked towards Sora, her short red hair blowing just slightly as she neared. "But you know..." She said, her voice rising slightly in excitement, "I wouldn't mind going to see it." That brought another smile to Sora's face and he grabbed her hand and held it. "I'd like to see it too. Along with any other worlds out there! I want to see 'em all!" Sora's eyes lit up in excitement. "So what're we waiting for?" Kairi asked.
They stayed that way for several moments, their hands grasped in each others and Sora wouldn't have traded that moment for anything.
"Hey, aren't you guys forgetting about me?" Came Riku's voice as he rounded the corner, carrying a large log on his shoulder. Riku is noticeably stronger and more handsome than Sora is. And they are bitter rivals but best friends. Riku walked up to the pair and tossed the log at Sora, who tried to catch it but tripped and it fell on top of him. "So, I guess I'm the only one working on the raft." Riku commented, turning his attention toward Kairi.
"And you're just as lazy as he is!" Riku pointed out, nodding back at Sora who was rubbing the newest mark on his head. Kairi smiled and rubbed her head, always blushing when around Riku. "So you noticed. Okay, we'll finish it together." Kairi said, then looked at them competitively. "I'll race you!" She said and the two guys look at each other and looked back to Kairi. "Huh?" Sora asked, having no wish to move from his spot. "What, are you kidding?" Riku asked.
"Ready?" Kairi asked, ignoring them. They looked at each other, smirks on their faces. "Go!" The two boys immediately bolted to their feet and ran all out. Kairi lagged behind, have no intentions to race the two rivals, and giggled as they ran. Sora and Riku looked at each other, their faces alight with fun as they struggled to beat each other. Sora laughed, all thoughts of the dream completely erased from his head.
It ended in a tie between the two. Ties are very rare between the two and they patted each other on the back. Riku proceeded through the door to the other side of the island but Kairi barred his passage. She smiled at him. "So, can you gather the rest of the supplies?" Sora wasn't paying any attention, however, his mind wandering. It had been a long time since Kairi had come to this island. Since the first moment Sora had met Kairi he liked her.
She had just washed up on the beach one day and had been found by one of the islanders. Sora and Riku had been the first kids to talk to her, and an immediate friendship had been born. But deep down inside something had begun to grow that extended beyond friendship. He ignored it mostly. He enjoyed the friendship greatly and he didn't want his personal feelings to take it away. But, as he stood there looking at her, the feelings arose again.
"Sora, are you listening to me?" Kairi asked, leaning forward. Sora snapped out of his daze and smiled at her. "Yes, I heard you." He lied. Kairi, way to gullible, believed him and pulled a list from her pocket. "Okay, here's what you need to go find: Two Logs. One Cloth. One Rope. Bring everything back here. If you need help, just ask. I'm counting on you!" Kairi said. Sora walked away. "Counting on me." He muttered. "No pressure, though."
After gathering all the supplies
He lugged it all over to Kairi, who was giggling the whole way when she noticed him. "Sora, you bum!" She yelled, still laughing. "You don't have to bring it all at once!" Sora just grunted as he threw it all down at Kairi's feet. "Thanks, Sora!" Kairi said and checked of all the items on the list. "I found something today, too. Here, it's yours." She said and handed him a large flask of some weird liquid. He shrugged and clipped it to his belt.
"Those were easy to find." Sora commented. "But difficult to carry." Kairi giggled and wrapped her arm in his. "Tired?" She asked. "Want to call it a day?" Sora nodded slightly and they met up with Riku and stayed on the beach for the rest of the day, being totally lazy young kids. They played around until sunset. Sora and laid back on a tree, relaxing. Kairi sat near his feet and Riku leaned on the tree his arms crossed.
"So, Kairi's home is out there somewhere, right?" Sora asked, gazing up into the sky. Riku kept his gaze ahead, peering at the ocean they would be traveling on. "Could be. We'll never know by staying here." Riku commented, smiling at the thought. "But how far could a raft take us?" Sora wondered, noting the size of their raft and the vast superiority of the ocean. "Who knows?" Riku said, motioning with his hand. "If we have to, we'll think of something else."
Kairi finally joined into the conversation, giggling slightly. "So, suppose you get to another world. What would you do there?" She asked. Riku lowered his head, considering her question. "Well, I haven't really thought about it." Riku muttered. "It's just... I've always wondered why we're here on this island. If there are any other worlds out there, why did we end up on this one?" He voice suddenly became a little more excited.
"And suppose there are other worlds..." He continued. "Then ours is just a little piece of something much greater. So we could have just as easily ended up somewhere else, right?" He turned to look at Kairi and Sora, his face a mask of questions. "I don't know." Sora said. They didn't know a thing about other worlds. They aren't even positive that they exist. But they are sure enough in their hearts to know they do.
"That's why we need to go out there and find out." Riku pointed out, looking determined. He took a step forward and continued, "Just sitting here won't change a thing. It's the same old stuff." He looked frustrated. Then he turned his green eyes to them. "So let's go." Kairi turned to look at him. "You've been thinking a lot lately, haven't you?" Kairi asked. Riku chuckled and replied, "Thanks to you. If you hadn't come here, I probably would've never thought of any of this."
His eyes brightened up and a smiled creased his face. "Kairi, thanks." He muttered. Kairi blushed again although nobody noticed it. Her giggled came out kind of nervous. "You're welcome." She replied and they looked out towards the vast ocean in front of them. Soon they walked towards their boats for the short trip back to their own island. Riku and Sora walked slower than Kairi and was a ways behind her.
"Sora." Riku called out and turning, Sora barely caught a fruit shaped roughly like a star he immediately recognized as a paopu fruit. He looked up at Riku questioningly. "You wanted one, didn't you?" He asked, drawing a confused look from Sora. "A paopu fruit..." Sora said, looking down at it. "If two people share one, their destinies become intertwined." Riku explained, a smile creasing his face at the old legend.
"They'll remain a part of each other's lives no matter what." Riku continued and then laughed and waved the back of his hand at Sora as Riku passed him. "C'mon, I know you want to try it."
"What are you talking-" Sora began but Riku laughed and cut him off. Sora knew exactly what Riku was talking about. Riku very well knew the growing relationship between Sora and Kairi. Everyone seemed to know. But Sora knew Riku also had feelings for the cute young girl. He grabbed the paopu fruit in one hand and tossed it into the water. The last thing he wanted was for Kairi to see him carrying a paopu fruit.
Donald Duck walked through the halls of the castle, smiling to himself. He's going to meet King Mickey after all. The brooms walked by him, carrying their buckets, and he nodded at them slightly as he passed them. It's a beautiful day, the sun is shining, and not a cloud in the sky. Donald stopped in front of two enormous double doors. He knocked on the door and a small door his size opened up and he walked through. "Nothing is too much for my King Mickey." Donald said silently to himself.
The room beyond is the biggest throne room in all the worlds. It's roughly size of a football field with large white pillars dominating the east and west walls and the king's chair all the way at the other end. Donald adjusted his wizard hat and stepped forward, it took him several moments before he was in ear shot. "Good morning, Your Majesty. It's nice to see you this morn-" He stopped when he noticed the throne was empty.
"What!" Donald yelled and wondered where his King went off to. He could be with Queen Minnie. Mickey might be visiting Goofy. Then he noticed movement behind the chair and peered around it to see Pluto with a letter in his mouth, the crest of King Mickey could be seen on it. Pluto bounded up to Donald and placed it on the ground. Pluto looked up and wagged his tail. "Not now, Pluto." Donald told it and Pluto gave him a dejected look.
Donald took the letter and opened it up. He read it once, then stopped, and read it over again. Donald blinked in surprise and ran out of the throne room, yelling. He has to find Goofy! Donald ran towards Goofy's house, and just as he suspected, the lazy oaf was snoozing on the ground. He stopped near goofy, who was clad in armor befitting his status as Knight. In the back of his head Donald couldn't fathom why Goofy became a Knight.
Donald shook his head to clear the thoughts. "Wake up, Goofy, wake up! This is serious!!" He yelled. Goofy kept on sleeping, even going so far as to roll over and put his back to Donald. Donald glared at him and briefly considered rolling him into the water. Instead he pointed a finger towards the sky and yelled out a quick spell. Energy gathered up in the sky and shot down, striking goofy in the butt.
Goofy yelps and jumps in the air, rubbing his butt and noticing Donald. Goofy turned towards. "Hey there, Donald. G'morning." He greeted sheepishly. "It's evening." Donald corrected in his head. But morning and evening hasn't even registered to Goofy before. He slept no matter what it is was. "We've got a problem, Goofy!" Donald yelled but then looked in all directions top check around. "But don't tell anyone." Goofy scratched his head. "Queen Minnie?" He asked. Donald shook his head and crossed his arms. "Not even the queen."
Goofy raised an eyebrow and tried again. "Daisy?" He asked. Donald glared at him. "No," He yelled, "it's top secret." Goofy nodded and noticed somebody behind Donald Duck. Goofy smiled. "G'morning, ladies." Goofy greeted them and Donald's eyes widened. "What?" He asked, turning around slowly to see Queen Minnie and Daisy Duck standing behind him. They both looked concerned now. Donald laughed, embarrassed, and tried to find a way out of this.
Sora and Riku glared at each other. It's the next day and they were arguing over who gets to name the raft. "Highwind!" Riku argued. "Excalibur!" Sora argued back. "What kind of name is Excalibur?" Riku asked. "It sounds like a dish soap." He chuckled as Sora glared even harder. "Oh yeah! Well Highwind sounds like that stuff the grownups smoke on holidays." Sora shot back. Riku glared even harder at him.
Kairi noticed them yelling at each other and walked over. "What is it this time?" She asked, her hands on her hips and glaring at the two. Kairi looked like an angry sister. "We are deciding what to name the raft." Sora told her. Riku nodded. "And Sora has no taste in names." They both glared at each other again, their eyes flashing. "The usual?" Riku asked and Sora nodded. Kairi smiled at them. "You guys at it again?" She asked and they both nodded.
"All right, I'll be the judge." Kairi said, throwing her right hand up and stepping aside. "These boys..." Kairi thought silently to herself. "What would I do without them?" She asked herself and waited for them to get into position. "The usual rules apply: Take any route you want... First one to tag that tree and make it back here wins." Kairi explained. Both boys nodded. They have done this a dozen times, and both knew the route well.
Sora turned to Riku. "If I win, I'm captain! And if you win..." Sora was saying but Riku interrupted him and said, "I get to share the paopu with Kairi." Sora's eyes widened. Did he hear right. "Huh?" He asked, not quite registering what Riku said. Riku smiled at him. "Deal? The winner gets to share a paopu with Kairi." Sora stared at him in surprise.
"Wha... Wait a minute..." Sora tried to say but was interrupted by the oblivious Kairi. "Okay. On my count." She yelled. They both shot forward, staying on each others heels. They came to the bridge and Sora remembered the old board on the bridge that is about to give way. It will definitely come down with two people running on it. Sora jumped just as the bored fell and noticed Riku knew about it too. They both leap forward and land on the other side.
Sora stumbled slightly and Riku took that moment to take the lead. "He's going to make it to the tower first." Sora muttered silently and indeed Riku was climbing the tower. Sora cut to the left of the tower and jumped off the side, it's a dead run all the way to small hill that would lead him to the tree. He had just reached the hill when Riku came flying at him and jumped to the ground beside him.
The race is on again, with the two jumping onto trees, running so close together they could feel the sweat on their opponent. They jumped to the last tree and the tree with the star on it was in sight.
Sora pumped his legs faster and Riku matched his speed all the way. They both touched the tree at the same time. And neither wasted any time. A path of strong trees they could jump on lead right back to the side of the tower. The both leaped onto the trees, keeping balance well enough, sometimes Sora would pull ahead, sometimes Riku would. They jumped to the hill and Sora slipped, almost falling from the tree.
His hand shot out and grabbed the side of the hill and he pulled himself up. Riku had better luck, however, and leaped onto the hill and kept running. He had a two second lead ahead of Sora. That's more than enough. "Awww man!" Sora muttered and kept running. Riku looked behind him as he made it toward the bridge and smiled in triumph back at Sora. He raised a thumb back at Sora then suddenly his smile was wiped away as he stepped on the loose wood and fell.
Sora caught up to that spot in an instant and looked down right before he jumped over the hole that's now in the bridge. Riku was struggling in the water and he pulled himself up, glaring at Sora. Sora ran the extra few yards and reached Kairi first. Kairi had been cheering the whole time and cheered even louder when Sora reached her. She pulled him into a hug and laughed. "Not bad, Sora." Kairi commented and Sora smiled, hugging her back.
Riku interrupted them by appearing beside them, ringing the water out of his silver hair. Sora pulled away from Kairi, if somewhat reluctantly, and chuckled at Riku. "How was the swim?" Sora asked, and couldn't help but chuckle. Riku promptly glared at him but his scowl quickly turned to an amused grin. "Refreshing. I think I swallowed half the ocean." He smirked at Sora and pulled him aside. "I was only kidding about the paopu thing." Riku muttered.
Sora smiled, relieved, and nodded his head. "What are you two talking about now?" Kairi asked, hearing part of the conversation. Riku and Sora turned toward her, putting on their best innocent faces. Kairi shook her head, too bad their innocent faces made them look completely guilty. Kairi shrugged her shoulders. Boys will be boys. She points to Sora. "Come with me to the raft." Kairi ordered more than asked.
When they got there she said, "Today we collect provisions for out trip!" And Sora slapped his head. "I should have known." He muttered. Time for another treasure hunt. She pulled out another list. "Let's see, Sora, you're looking for... One Seagull Egg. Three Mushrooms. Two Coconuts. Three Fish. And fill this up with Drinking Water. But not from the ocean!" Kairi handed Sora a large jar. He rubbed the back of his head and went searching.
Sora briefly remembered seeing a mushroom in the Secret Place. He walked there, a mere hole in the wall is all it looked like. Sora bent down on his hands and knees and crawled through. The hole expanded slowly, allowing more crawling room. Suddenly the height of the cave changed dramatically as did the width. Sora inspected the cavern, his blue eyes getting adapting to the darkness and he walked forward.
He moved through the cavern for only a few short minutes before a large room appeared with tree roots in the walls and a lot of stone. Sora inspected the room and found the mushroom. After plucking it and placing it in his pocket he realized it revealed a picture behind it drawn in white chalk. They both resembled a picture of Sora and Kairi. A picture they had drawn long ago.
Sora remembered the day well. Sora and Kairi had both found the secret cave and liked staying in it, talking for hours on end. One day they grabbed some chalk and drew each others picture on the wall, both smiling and their faces pointing at each other. That is the day he figured out he cared for her as more than a friend. Sora shook his head to clear the images and pulled some chalk out of his pocket.
Sora bent down and got to work, chipping away and drawing into his showed himself, handing a paopu to Kairi. He smiled, and laid the palm of his hand on her picture. "I care for you so much, Kairi." Sora thought to himself. He was to immersed in his memories to notice the movement behind him until the figure was really close, just a few feet away. Sora whirled around. "Wh-Who's there?" Sora asked.
He could see a fully cloaked with a hood covering his face. He could feel an evil aura about the figure, and he didn't like it. "I've come to see the door to this world." The figure said, his voice silky, and indeed dark. Sora's eyes shot toward the door shaped frame in the stone. "Huh?" He asked. The figure didn't move, only continued to peer at Sora. "This world has been connected." He said, his voice echoing around the room.
Sora backed up a step, but his curiosity got the best of him. "Wh-What are you talking about?" Sora asked, keeping his eyes on the figure just in case, he inched toward the entrance. "Tied to the darkness...soon to be completely eclipsed." The figure said cryptically, turning slightly towards the door. "Well, whoever you are, stop freaking me out like this." Sora said, then his mind caught up with him. He has never seen this man before.
"Huh? Wh-Where did you come from?" Sora asked the man, no longer inching towards the entrance but kept in a defensive stance, ready to leap away. "You do not yet know what lies beyond the door." Came the resonating voice, almost mocking. "So, you're from another world!" Sora said, smiling slightly in excitement. He's catching on now. The frame on the wall must actually be a door. But it would never budge before.
The figure took a step towards Sora, his dark brown robes sweeping gently on the ground. "There is so very much to learn. You understand so little." The voice teased. Sora glared at it in response. "Oh, yeah? Well, you'll see." Sora yelled angrily, "I'm gonna get out and learn what's out there!" The figure seemed to chuckle at that, his voice sending chills down Sora's spine. Sora looked determined, his face a mask of anger at being teased.
"A meaningless effort." The figure commented, "One who knows nothing can understand nothing." Sora glared at the figure and turned to look at the door for a split second and returned his gaze to the figure. Sora blinked in surprise. The figure is gone. He stood there for several minutes then chose to think about this later and crawled back out of the cave. He went searching for the other provisions.
The fresh water was easy to get although the Seagull wasn't too cooperative in giving up a seagull egg. Sora had the bruise to prove it. He rubbed the new bruise on his head. "Why is it always my head that gets hurt?" Sora asked aloud and tried to catch fish for the next twenty minutes. When he caught the desired amount his walked out of the water.
"Little devils are tricky." Sora muttered, trying to explain to himself why it had taken him so long to get the fish. He found the other provisions and walked to meet up with Kairi. Sora was happy he brought a bag this time. He sat the stuff down in front of Kairi and remembered about the flash on his belt, he paid it no heed. Kairi smiled at him and held out a necklace. "What do you have there?" Sora asked her.
"This? I'm making a necklace of thalassa shells. In the old days, sailors always wore thalassa shells. They were supposed to ensure a safe voyage." Kairi explained and placed the necklace around her neck. "I think we will need all the luck we can get." Sora said to her. They smiled at each other for a few moments then Kairi bent down and looked through the bag. "Thanks, Sora! I found something today, too." Kairi said and gave him another flask.
Sora looked at it curiously. It resembled the one he had already. "Have any idea what these are?" Sora asked and all Kairi could do was shrug in reply. Kairi wrapped her arm in his. "Tired? Want to call it a day?" Sora nodded slightly and Kairi giggled. "Yeah, let's go home." Sora muttered. Kairi looked excited and looked back out to the ocean. "Okay, tomorrow's the big day. We should rest up!" She said and they walked towards the dock.
Sunset
Sora and Kairi are sitting at the dock, their feet dangling over the water. "You know, Riku has changed." Kairi said, looking over to Sora. He looked curiously at her. "What do you mean?" He asked. Kairi looked down at the water, thinking. "Well..." She started but couldn't get the words out. Sora moved closer to her. "You okay?" He asked her. She jumped to her feet and looked at him.
"Sora, let's take the raft and go-just the two of us!" Kairi blurted out. Sora looked at her in shock for a few moments. This didn't sound like Kairi at all. "Huh?" Sora said, it seemed to be his favorite word. Kairi kept a serious face for about two seconds then burst into laugher. "Just kidding." She giggled. Sora tried to hide is disappointment. "What's gotten into you?" He asked, smiling at her. "You're the one that's changed, Kairi." Sora commented.
"Maybe..." Kairi said, her voice barely above a whisper. Before he could say anything she sat beside him and continued. "You know, I was a little afraid at first, but now I'm ready." Kairi said, looking excited again. "No matter where I go or what I see, I know I can always come back here." Kairi turned and looked into his eyes. "Right?" She asked. Sora couldn't help but lose his words but he managed to croak out, "Yeah, of course!"
Kairi sighed in relief and looked back out at the ocean. "That's good." She said and stood up. "Sora, don't ever change." Kairi blurted out and looked down at him. Sora turned a quizzical look on her. "Huh?" But she ignored his question and looked up into the sky. "I just can't wait. Once we set sail, it'll be great." She said.
Donald,
Sorry to rush off without sayin' goodbye, but there's big trouble
brewin'. Not sure why, but the stars have been blinkin' out, one by
one. And that means disaster can't be far behind. I hate to leave you
all but I've gotta go check into it. There's someone with a "key"-the
key to our survival. So I need you and Goofy to find him, and stick
with him. Got it? We need that key or we're doomed! So go to Traverse
Town and find Leon. He'll point you in the right direction.
P.S.
Would ya apologize to Minnie for me? Thanks, pal.
Donald finished reading the letter. "Oh, dear! What could this mean?" Daisy asked. Queen Minnie lowered her head and thought about it then turned her head to Daisy. "It means we'll just have to trust the king." Minnie said. Goofy looked worried. "Gawrsh, I sure hope he's all right." Goofy said. Donald stepped forward. "Your Highness. Don't worry. We'll find the king and this "key."" Donald said formally.
Queen Minnie nodded her head. "Thank you, both of you." She said, smiling gently. Donald turned his attention toward Daisy and smiled a bit nervously. "Daisy, can you take care of-" He asked and Daisy raised a hand up to stop him. "Of course." Daisy replied. "You be careful, now, both of you." She said. Donald was about to leave when Minnie stopped him. "Oh, and to chronicle your travels, he will accompany you." She pointed at a nearby desk.
Something small was jumping up and down, trying to get their attention. "Over here!" It yelled and stopped jumping. "Cricket's the name." It adjusted it's shirt. "Jiminy Cricket, at your service." Jiminy hopped on Goofy's shoulder. "We hope for your safe return. Please help the king." Daisy said. Donald nods at her. Queen Minnie and Daisy smiled and do a half bow, and Goofy salutes Donald. Donald Snatched Goofy's arm and pulled him. "You're coming, too!"
Later
Donald and Goofy walked down a descending staircase, Jiminy Cricket on Goofy's shoulder. "Gawrsh, Jiminy, your world disappeared, too?" Goofy asked. Jiminy looked down, a little sad. "It was terrible. We were scattered." Jiminy looked around. "And as far as I can see, I'm the only one who made it to this castle." Donald kept walking but paid close attention. "Goofy?" He asked suddenly. Goofy looked at Donald curiously for a moment.
"Oh, right... I gotcha." Goofy said, catching on. He looked at his shoulder. "While we're in the other worlds, we can't let on where we're from. We've gotta protect the world border." Goofy explained. Donald rolled his eyes as they kept descending. "Order." He corrected. "Right." Goofy said, "World order." Goofy laughed. They then entered a room that had several things being moved around by a large dismembered white hand.
Donald walked up to a large pipe. "Hello up there? Donald Duck to launch crew! Anytime you're ready." He yelled into it. Chip understands and Dale runs over and pulls a lever. Donald and Goofy were picked up. Donald didn't appreciate being carried upside down, and he showed it when he passed by the control tower, a glare on his face and his arms crossed. They cranes stopped and dropped them into the cockpit of the Gummi Ship.
The dome closed on them and the ship powered up. Donald looked down to see Queen Minnie and Daisy waving goodbye. Donald stuck his thumb up and smiled reassuringly. He turned toward the exit point which was right in front of him. He pressed a few buttons and pointed forward. "Blast off!!" Donald yelled and the exit point flashes and points down, Donald and Goofy's eyes widened when they dropped straight down and zoomed into space.
Sora laid back in his comfortable bed. Staring up at the ship he made awhile back. Small dolls that could have been Sora and Kairi were inside of it. He thinks back to her earlier words. "I just can't wait. Once we set sail, it'll be great." Sora heard Kairi's voice in his head. He looked out towards the window and saw lightning strike. "A storm?" He asked. Sora blinked in surprise, something dawning on him. "Oh, no, the raft!" He yelled.
He snuck out of the house and struggled against the storm and hopped in the boat. Sora struggled to find the paddle but his hand only brought up his wooden sword. He looked around the boat but found no paddle. "Awww man!" Sora complained. He looked at the wooden sword. "This'll have to do." He said and grabbed the "blade" of the sword and stuck the hilt in the water, using the makeshift paddle to slowly move towards the other island.
The waves rose up to hamper his travel but he made it against the rain and the high winds. Sora slowly pulled in beside two other small boats and peered into the night sky. He nearly fell from his boat. Up high in the sky is a great ball of purple-black energy. It pulsed and writhed in the sky. "What's that?" Sora asked, awed by the display. He turned his attention to the two boats. "Riku's boat. And Kairi's!" Sora noticed.
"They're here too." Sora commented to himself. "I have to find them." He jumped out of his boat and onto the dock. Then, to his ultimate horror, several Shadows formed from the ground. He stepped back, pulling his wooden sword out from the boat and raising it defensively. Sora stared at them. "But....it was only a dream...." He told himself, looking around as they swarmed him. "Shadows...." Sora muttered.
A Shadow leaped forward and Sora brought his wooden blade up in time to slash it from left to right. Nothing happened. The Shadow wasn't harmed at all. Then they all jumped at him, coming in from all directions.
Sora gasped in pain as their claws tore into him. But he kept his wits about him and swung his leg out, catching two under the chin and sending them into the water. A path cleared and he ran all out, still holding the wooden sword in his hand. It's his only weapon after all. As he ran his mind whirled at the possibilities. "Shadow's here?" Sora asked aloud. "Where did they come from?" He asked and quickly decided he could ask that later once he found his friends.
Sora looked around frantically as more and more Shadow's rose up around him, he ran past them, dodging swipes and accepting a few minor ones. Sora caught the sight of silver hair flowing in the wind and saw Riku, standing calmly beside the paopu tree. Sora run up behind him. "Where's Kairi?" Sora asked in frustration. "I thought she was with you!" Riku stood there, his back to Sora. "The door has opened..." Riku muttered in frightening voice.
"What?" Sora asked in confusion. Riku turned toward Sora, face looking excited. "The door has opened, Sora! Now we can go to the outside world!" He said, his voice growing in excitement. Sora narrows his eyes. "What are you talking about?" He asked, growing concerned. "We've gotta find Kairi!" Sora yelled at Riku. "Kairi's coming with us!" Riku yelled back at him. "Once we step through, we might not be able to come back." He explained.
Sora looked at his friend curiously. "We may never see our parents again. There's no turning back." Riku continued. "But this may be our only chance. We can't let fear stop us!" Riku clenched his fist. "I'm not afraid of the darkness!" He yelled. Suddenly the dark void appeared again, and Sora knew what it meant to do. "Riku!" Sora yelled, reaching for him. Riku extended his hand the same way he did in the dream.
The void reaches up with black tendrils, lacing around them, Sora finally grabbed Riku's hand and everything flashed brightly. When he could see again Sora looked down at where his wooden sword used to be. Now it's replaced by a giant key.
Keyblade......Keyblade.....
He looked down at the weapon which is roughly shaped like a giant key. The only remotely sharp part on it is the part that's shaped somewhat like a crown. "What the...?" Sora asked and tested the balance of the Keyblade. Sora heard some noise and turned his attention toward the Secret Cave entrance. Instead of a hole being there as it was before, a white door appeared in it's place. Before he could take two steps he was surrounded.
One melted into the ground and then appeared behind him. He swung the Keyblade around, somehow sensing the Shadow as easily as the Shadow sensed him. When the Keyblade connected the Shadow burst into what looked like black fire and vanished. "Whoa!" Sora said, awed at the weapon. He turned to the other Shadow's and instead of running they came at him relentlessly. Sora jumped back half a step throwing his blade up defensively, knocking two pairs of claws aside.
A pair of claws slashed towards Sora's legs, but again he sensed it before it happened, and reversed the direction of his blade, cutting into the Shadow's and they both died as their companion had.
Without even thinking he jumped over the last Shadow, kicking it in the back of the head and sending it flying over the edge and into the water, where it vanished. Sora stared in amazement at how easily he had just killed them while he ran towards the white door. He ignored the seemingly countless Shadow's around him and pulled the door open, entering the cave. Sora quickly ran into the large room he was in earlier. Kairi stood there, looking at the door.
"Kairi!" Sora said, relieved to see her ok. Instead she turned around slowly, her eyes half closed and slumping. "Sora..." Kairi reached toward him just as the door behind her blew open. Sora kept his footing but Kairi didn't and she flew right at him. He moved to throw his arms around her but Kairi moved right through him and vanished. The dark wind blew hard and Sora was pushed back and into darkness.
Sora awoke slowly, getting up on his hands and knees, breathing in and out. The ground shook beneath him and he stood up, the Keyblade still in hi grasp. He turned around slowly and jumped back. The purple-black energy ball hovered over his head about a hundred feet. He looked at the ground and noticed it to be a chunk of his island. Not to mention he's about a mile in the sky. He looked down. "My parents...." Sora said sadly.
He didn't have time to mourn because he could feel growing energy behind him. Sora knew what it was before he ever turned around. There before him stood Darkside, looking fully healed and none to pleased to see Sora standing before him again. Sora looked to his Keyblade and up to the Darkside. The Keyblade glowed brightly, as if eager to fight the Darkside. "You killed my family!" Sora yelled in rage. "You killed my friends!"
Sora pointed the Keyblade at the Darkside. "Now I kill you!" The Darkside built up that familiar ball of energy but this time it exploded, sending hundreds of balls to fall on top of him. Sora dodged them all, his glowing Keyblade dicing the ones that came to close. Soon the balls stopped falling and the Darkside lowered it's hand, summoning the void. It melded with the ground and a section of the island pieces became a void.
The first Shadow's appeared as he charged the hand, but Sora cut left and right as he passed them, making both of the Shadows explode in black flame. Sora leaped on the hand and rode it up. He considered attacking the hand again decided to go for something much more important. The hand suddenly closed around Sora's body, squeezing the life out of him and pulling him near the Darkside's face.
Sora raised the Keyblade above his head, feeling a few ribs break, he flinched and let out a yell of pain. And then came the Keyblade. It cut into the Darkside's face eagerly right between the eyes. But that didn't stop it. Sora found himself falling, his Keyblade still imbedded in the Darkside's skull. He hit the ground and screamed as he felt his leg break. Sora struggled to move but couldn't the pain was so intense.
Drink the vial
Sora immediately grabbed for one of them and drank it down. He felt his wounds healing quickly and he jumped back to his feet, ready for some more.
Sora looked up to his Keyblade which was still in the Darkside's head, seeming to glow more fiercely by the second. "How am I going to get it?" He asked aloud. Then some more Shadow's surrounded him. He stepped back and tripped over something, his wooden sword. Sora picked it up with in grasp and swung just as a Shadow jumped at his face. He knew it wouldn't have any effect, but he wasn't just going to stand there.
Just before Sora connected he felt a flash of energy and his Keyblade cut slashed through the Shadow, making it explode. Sora ignored the others and ran towards the hand, jumping on it again as it rose into the air. The Darkside tried to clench it's fingers again but Sora would not allow that and cut two of the fingers off. The Darkside screeched in agony and Sora took that moment to bury the Keyblade in it's head again.
It screeched louder as Sora pulled the Keyblade out and slammed it back home again. The creature convulsed and Sora felt himself falling again. He hit the ground hard but didn't break anything. The Darkside moved back, stumbling, then moved forward. It rose into the air and flew up into the energy ball. Then the piece of island moved up with it, slowly at first but then gaining speed. "Ahhhhh!" Sora yelled just as he was sucked into the darkness.