I've been having these weird thoughts lately…

Sora opened his eyes, the water surrounding him letting him float by. Despite his situation, he didn't feel panicked, and had no urgency to get any air.

Like…is any of this for real…or not?

He closed his eyes as he went through the water, and he felt himself sinking slowly. Once more, he felt no panic or sense of danger. Soon, the sinking turned into falling, as though her were plummeting through the air rather than going deeper into the dark depths of the water that cradled him.

With a jolt, he opened his eyes, standing on the shores of Destiny Islands, his home. As he looked to the sea and saw Riku up to his knees in the water, facing the horizon. Sora was about to go out and talk to his best friend when he saw the water receding dramatically. He knew all too well what that meant.

As he looked back to the ocean, he saw a massive wave forming as Riku turned to look at him. The white-haired boy was unusually calm, extending a hand out to his friend. Sora rushed to Riku, wanting to pull him out of there and to some sort of safety. Yet before he could reach his friend, the wave broke and crashed down on him, forcing him under the water.

Sora was barely able to get his bearings as he saw Riku floating off into the water, his hand still outstretched. The brunette struggled to reach his friend, but the tide was too strong and forced him back. He tumbled through the water, his lungs burning as he eventually breached the surface.

Riku was gone, and night was nearly there as the sunset bathed the water orange. Sora looked to the shore to see his other friend Kairi waving him over. As if nothing had just happened, he felt immense relief as he waved back, making his way back to proper land. As he reached her, Kairi's mouth started to move, but no sound came out as she smiled at him.

Suddenly, the girl looked concerned, looking to the sky. Following her gaze, Sora looked up and saw a meteor shower…but also himself. He saw his own form falling from the sky. Feeling his legs give out, he fell backwards into the water. He saw Kairi reaching down at him, concern on her face.

And then he was in the sky.

He was plummeting down towards the ocean headfirst. As he breached the water, he went down, down, down into the dark depths. The impact was painless, and he didn't feel the need for air. Sora kept falling through the water as though it itself were air as he slowly turned so he was upright.

The brunette found himself landing gently on a platform, no longer surrounded by water, but he was in an inky black void. Even the platform was black, leaving Sora to look around in confusion. As he took a step forward, doves took off into the air all around him, revealing that he was on some sort of stained glass circle in the midst of the endless void around him. He looked at the pattern on the platform and saw something unfamiliar.

It depicted a young woman in a very fancy pink dress. She had golden blonde hair and her eyes were closed as though she were asleep. Around her were four circles with people's faces in them. One was of a mustachioed man in a red cap with an M on it, with a second circle of another man with a mustache but with a green cap with an L on it. One circle had a person with a mushroom cap instead of hair, while the final showed a second mushroom person, but older and with a wispy white mustache. She was standing before a castle surrounded by a small, pleasant looking town.

As Sora looked around in the void, trying to work out where he was, he heard a voice.

So much to do, so little time...

The voice sounded like it belonged to a boy, a teenager, though it wasn't a voice Sora recognized. And yet…it sounded so familiar to him somehow. It wasn't Riku, Wakka, or Tidus, or anyone he knew from school or his neighborhood. So, who could it be?

Take your time. Don't be afraid.

Despite the situation, Sora actually didn't feel afraid at all. The voice was gentle, and it seemed like it wanted to guide him. Guide him through what, exactly, he wasn't sure. The only way to go was forward, though, so the brunette would just have to trust this voice…

The door is still shut. Now, step forward. Can you do it?

Sora could do that much! Though his legs felt oddly weak, as if he had just walked miles and miles to get where he was. Still, as he took a few steps forward, the weakness and pain in his legs lessened with each step until he was halfway across the platform and felt entirely better.

Without warning, three pedestals appeared around Sora, three objects appearing on them. As he looked around he saw that one had a sword, one had a shield, and one had a staff that looked like it was used for magic.

Power sleeps within you.

If you give it form, it will give you strength.

Choose well.

So, he had to choose something? None of this made sense to him, but he found himself walking forward regardless. As he reached the shield, the voice piped up once more.

The power of the guardian. Kindness to aid friends. A shield to repel all. Is this the power you seek?

Sora did always want to protect his friends, that much was true. Yet this didn't feel right to him. It wasn't that he didn't want to aid his friends, but it was more that he felt he couldn't. It didn't feel as though he had earned this shield. Shaking his head silently, he went to the staff. Once more, as he reached it, the voce called to him.

The power of the mystic. Inner strength. A staff of wonder and ruin. Is this the power you seek?

That didn't seem right ether. Sora didn't trust in any sort of inner strength, at least not his own. Once more, he shook his head to himself and went over to the sword. For a third time, the voice spoke to him.

The power of the warrior. Invincible courage. A sword of terrible destruction. Is this the power you seek?

This didn't seem correct either. Invincible courage? He heard the voice refer to these as powers that he sought, but shouldn't he earn these powers through the kindness, inner strength, or invincible courage? He supposed it was less what he had and what he wanted. He wanted to aid his friends, but a shield hardly seemed like it could do much but guard, and that wasn't enough.

Slowly, Sora reached for the sword and wrapped his hand around the hilt. In an instant, the sword was gone in a flash of light. Had it somehow rejected him? As the brunette pondered, he heard that reassuring voice again.

Your path is set.

Now, what will you give up in exchange?

Oh, so he wasn't rejected. Sora looked to the shield and staff. He wanted to protect his friends, even if he chose the more offensive sword. So, he went over to the staff and reached out to it. His fingertips barely grazed the object before it too vanished in a sudden flash of light.

You've chosen the power of the warrior. You've given up the power of the mystic. Is this the form you choose?

His form? This was still all so confusing to Sora. He had no idea what this was about. What was he choosing for to begin with? But, again, he felt he had to just move onward. The teen found that his voice just didn't quite work. His throat didn't hurt or feel strange, but as he opened his mouth, no sound came out, as if swallowed by the void around him. So, he merely nodded.

The instant Sora did so, the pedestals started to crumble. On top of that, the platform started to break apart. Had he made the wrong decision?! In a panic, he ran to the center as the shards of stained glass erupted around him. Soon, though, the entire platform was gone and he found himself falling once more. For a second, it seemed as though he were simply going to fall endlessly in the void, but before too long, another platform came into view.

This one depicted a teenage girl, a few years older than Sora himself. Like the last platform, this girl had on a pink dress and had long flowing yellow hair. She too had her eyes closed as if in a deep sleep. Around her were only two circles rather than four. One depicted a teenage boy in a green tunic and cap, a blue light near his shoulder. The other showed a cloaked person, possibly another teenage boy, with little more than a single red eye exposed to tell for sure. Behind her, a large castle was depicted that had a large town around it.

As Sora approached the platform, his falling slowed all on its own and he landed gently on it, no worse for wear. Before he could process his new surroundings much more, a flash of light enveloped his hand. To his shock, the sword from earlier appeared in it and to his further surprise, it didn't weigh as much as he'd expect.

You've gained the power to fight. Use this power to protect yourself and others.

Protect himself? And others? From what? So far, he was entirely alone in this unusual place. Without warning, a shape manifested on the floor in front of him! It was black and flat, as though sinking into the platform. Yet it grew and a small creature was standing there. It had glowing yellow eyes, antennae, and claws. As the Shadow stood there, twitching mildly, Sora felt a bit sick. It was as though the creature exuded some sort of negative energy.

There will be times you have to fight. Keep your light burning strong.

Sora's eyes widened as the creature lunged at him, swiping at him with its claws. Thankfully, it wasn't too fast, so he was able to quickly dodge it. And, luckily for him, he practiced with a wooden sword for years! He swung his new sword as the creature and to his surprise, the blade sliced through it with ease, the Shadow disintegrated into a dark mist.

As his happened, a door faded into existence a few feet in front of Sora. It was very fancy looking, as though it were part of some sort of castle. He tried to approach it, but as he did, a spot of inky darkness appeared by his feet. Then another appeared, and then yet another. Soon, the entire platform was covered by it, and Sora found himself sinking into it, no matter how much he struggled.

In an instant, faster than the blink of an eye, Sora was safe.

He was no longer in the void, and he no longer had the sword. In fact, he was back on Destiny Islands! Sora found himself standing on the large wooden structure where he and the others played on since they were kids. Around him were three of his friends; Tidus, Selphie, and Wakka.

Hold on. The door won't open just yet. First, tell me more about yourself.

Who even was 'Me' to begin with? Was he meant to talk to his friends, then? This didn't seem real, but Sora went along with it anyway. Despite all that had happened, he never really felt like he was in danger. Even with that monster that attacked him, he felt oddly safe. So, he went up to Selphie first.

She smiled at him, looking very casual despite all the strangeness going on. "What's most important to you?" Selphie said simply, speaking as if it was a very normal thing to ask someone out of the blue.

Whatever block that was on Sora's throat was suddenly cleared; he could feel it. Rather than ask Selphie what was going on, he pondered her question. Well, his friends had to be the answer, along with his family. He had all his friends for as long as he could remember. Sometimes…he felt like he didn't deserve them, but they stuck with him, and he appreciated that and their presence in general.

With a nod, Sora replied. "My friends, they're the most important thing to me."

Selphie didn't really react; her expression didn't change, and she didn't nod or anything of the sort. Instead, she simply replied. "Is friendship such a big deal?" She asked. It wasn't that she was judging him on his answer, but more just giving him something to think about.

Sora was a bit surprised at that. Friendship was a pretty big deal in his eyes, and he assmed most people felt that way. Still, he felt compelled to leave it be and walked over to Wakka.

Like with Selphie, Wakka looked to Sora casually, like he expected all this to happen. And, like Selphie, he simply asked a single question. "What do you want outta life?"

That one was easy. Normally he'd never say this to another person, but Sora started to quickly realize none of this was real, or so he assumed. "I want to be happy." Sora replied, not even having to think about it. Yes, he wanted to be strong for his friends, but on top of that, he wanted to be happy too. Sometimes, he just felt so…

"To be happy, huh?" Wakka replied simply. He clearly wasn't judging Sora. If anything, it seemed like he was mulling the answer over.

Like before, Sora felt compelled to let the talk end at that. It was actually embarrassing for him to admit that aloud, but he'd just let it go. He'd just try to pretend like this hadn't happened. When he surely woke up from this dream, the memory would surely fade.

Finally, Sora went to Tidus. The boy looked to Sora and simply asked his question like the other two. "What are you so afraid of?"

That threw Sora off guard and really made him feel insecure. Afraid? Did he seem afraid? Was it that obvious? He felt his throat close up, but not because of some unknown force. Instead, it was his own emotions that stopped him from replying right away. The teen had to swallow a few times, the lump in his throat eventually fading away. "…I'm afraid of being different."

Tidus didn't seem to notice Sora's discomfort, or at the very least he didn't show it at all. "Being different? Is that really so scary?" He asked, once more it wasn't that Tidus was judging Sora. Here, it was as though he was trying to make Sora think his answer over more carefully.

To Sora, at least, it really was scary. It was terrifying for him to feel different. And he feared if the other realized he was too different, they might not like him anymore. Sometimes he felt…off…and wrong. He had no idea if the others noticed, but he was scared of the notion that they would someday.

The day you will open the door is both far off and very near.

The voice interrupted Sora's thoughts, and a blinding flash of light forced his eyes closed. When this light faded and he opened his eyes again, he saw he was on a third platform.

It depicted a teenager girl with long blue hair who too had closed eyes like the first two and she wore a white and pink dress. Behind her, a vast desert was depicted with large dunes stretching to the horizon. Around her head was five circles. Four of them were men, two with black hair with one of them looking very wise and regal, one that was brunette with purple lines going down his face under each eye. The fourth man had unusual curly hair, and the fifth circle had some sort of large bird in it.

Sora was barely able to take a few steps forward when four more of those Shadows appeared and once more he felt sick to his stomach. At just that moment, his sword came back to him, with one of the creatures leaping at him. With a single swing of the blade, the entity was destroyed. The other three attacked as the first one evaporated into mis. Sora dodged two of them, but the third cut him along his cheek. It stung, but it was akin to a nasty scratch from a cat more than anything.

The brunette swung around and slashed the Shadow that got a hit on him in half. As the remaining two leapt at him, he swiftly acted and sliced the two of them out of the air. Wincing a bit at the pain on his cheek, Sora looked to see if any more would show up. What even were those things?

Rather than more monsters appearing, a staircase made of stained glass materialized instead. It went off into the void, and as Sora squinted he saw there was a fourth platform up ahead. Carefully, he started to ascend up towards the next area, the stairs behind him vanishing one by one as he passed them by. Before long, he reached the fourth platform, and the staircase was gone entirely.

This platform had yet another blonde woman on it, her eyes closed like the others. She wore a glorious white dress and in the background behind her was a large mansion surrounded by a cozy looking community. For her, there was a single circle by her, this one depicting a man. He had black hair and kind blue eyes with a gentle expression, though even without seeing the rest of his body it was clear he was immense in stature.

The closer you get to the light, the greater your shadow becomes.

His…shadow? Sora turned to see his shadow was very long, something he had only noticed at that moment. To his horror, his shadow actually peeled off the floor and became solid!

But don't be afraid.

And don't forget…

As the voice spoke, Sora's shadow started to change! It grew larger and larger, towering over him. On top of that, it began dramatically morphing! Soon, it resembled some sort of monster with tentacles covering most of its face, save for its glowing yellow eyes. It even had a large hole in its chest and stomach in the shape of a heart.

The creature, the Darkside, loomed over Sora, who ran to the opposite side of the platform in vain. There was nowhere else for him to run, though and that strange feeling of being sick hit him once more. He could only turn back and look as the monster readied its fist, a dark energy engulfing it. Rather than aiming at Sora, it slammed its fist into the platform.

This caused a well of darkness to spread out, more of those Shadows appeared. They ran at Sora, who panicked as he cut them down, still horrified at the massive creature. Knowing he had no other choice but to fight, he stabbed and slashed at the Darkside's arm as it lingered in place, its movements slow.

He could tell her was hurting it, but just barely. His sword cut at the creature's limb, but whatever it was made of, it was stronger than the Shadows, so it still remained mostly intact. After a few moments, it retracted its arm and before Sora could charge at it, an orb of energy appeared in its heart-shaped chest hole.

Sora backpedaled as the orb was launched at him, and he was barely able to dodge. The Darkside fired several more, Sora running around the platform to get away from them. He desperately swiped at one that got uncomfortably close, shocked as it was deflected back at the monster, striking it in the face.

This caused it to collapsed lightly onto its knees, using its arms to prop it up. Letting his body move on its own, Sora ran up one of its arms and reached it shoulder where he started to attack its face, swinging wildly as the Darkside was too stunned to retaliate. With a surge of strength, he stabbed his sword hilt-deep into the monster's head before pulling it out, noting the lack of any sort of blood that'd normally appear. This caused the monster to lurch back, knocking Sora off of it.

The brunette fell flat on his back, the wind knocked out of him for a second. To his horror, the sword vanished as the Darkside turned to him, staring down at him with those unnerving yellow eyes. Before Sora could properly recover, a pool of darkness opened under him, spreading all across the platform.

But don't be afraid.

You hold the mightiest weapon of all.

Sora struggled to get free, but it was as if he was in some kind of quicksand. He felt cold all over, and once more he found that his voice wouldn't work no matter how hard he tried to scream. The teen could only sink into the darkness as the monster he failed to defeat loomed over him, as if it were amused by his predicament.

So don't forget…

Looking straight up at the monster, Sora's body went limp as the darkness continued to swallow him. He was entirely helped, not even able to call for help that most certainly wouldn't have arrived anyway. The teen could only lie there in horror as darkness swallowed his vision.

You are the one who will open the door.

A/N: I decided to make this chapter pretty short since it's basically just the tutorial/prologue. The end of Sora's nightmare also just seemed like a good place to cut it off rather than keeping it up after he woke up, at least to me.

I included the entire opening sequence because I was always under the impression that was also a part of Sora's dream since it ends right where the gameplay starts. I also decided to have some of the choices that affect aspects of the gameplay here as well, changing one or two things about the exact details. These were simply kept in to get a bit of a closer look at this version of Sora's inner thoughts and how he feels about himself and his friends. Final note is that I decided to make the voice that speaks to Sora be Ventus. I know the official answer Nomura gave is Mickey, but that never made as much sense to me given some of the knowledge uncovered in future games. To me, Ventus just makes a bit more sense.

In any case, any and all feedback is welcomed.