I know it's been a while guys. I'm sorry. I didn't have a computer for the longest time. I was unable to work on any of my stories. I can now though, but not as often as I use to. I work alot now and I don't have much time to work on all of my stories. But I will try whenever possible, and to post my chapters up as soon as I can. Thanks for your patience.

Chapter 3: I Believe I Need To Be Free

Riku's POV

I watched, interested in the events. The keyblade shone even more than before. The whole place was lit up. I looked around and all I saw was emptiness. I wondered how such a place could even exist. It made my heart feel cold and useless. Anyone would be afraid to be in this place. It would make anyone go insane.

The Heartless had all scattered, too afraid of the light. I got up off the boulder and stood there, wide-eyed. Then I suddenly felt my own keyblade materalize in my hands. I never thought it would return to me. I thought I didn't deserve to be it's owner anymore. The keyblade began to vibrate and I soon found my arm beginning to rise in the air. It began to pull me towards the door. I didn't want to move, but I couldn't do a thing. It was too strong. The next thing I knew, I was standing beside the King. He glanced over at me and pointed at my hand. I didn't notice it before, but my keyblade was starting to glow. It wasn't very bright though.

"It's because you don't have any faith in your keyblade or yourself, Riku."

I didn't know what to say. All I could do was to look at the ground, because I knew he was right, but he was also wrong. I did have faith in the keyblade, I just didn't have any faith in me. I figured out that it was the reason why my blade wasn't that bright. I felt ashamed. I thought, 'why couldn't I believe in myself like the King does? Why am I so miserable?' I was pathetic.

The King then said something I will never forget, "I can see the doubt in your heart. Don't ever doubt yourself. The Heartless feed of it. If you really want to go back home, and see your friends again, just believe. Believe in yourself, your keyblade, and everyone around you. We all know you can do whatever you put your mind to. The only question is...do you?"

At that moment, all I could picture was my home. I missed it so much. I missed my warm bed, the smell of breakfast in the morning. I also missed my friends. I loved to play and chase them around the island. I remembered how Tidus and I would always get in an argument over who was the better blitzball player, and how I would always tease Selphie about her hair. The one I remembered the most was the one I cared for the most. It was Sora. Ever since I had become trapped in Kingdom Hearts, I never once stopped thinking about him. I pictured him, running away from me as I chased him on the sand. He would look back at me ever few seconds with that goofy smile of his. It drove me crazy.

I needed out, and I needed out badly. I couldn't take it any more. My need to see Sora and the others grew too strong. My keyblade soon shone with such intensity, I couldn't keep my eyes open. Then suddenly, everything grew brighter. I couldn't tell what was happening. My eyes were still closed when I felt this sudden pull on my arms again. This time it was the King who was pulling me. As me moved about three feet forward (I'm guessing), a strong wind began to blow. It was pushing us even more forward and soon we came crashing down to the floor.

Five minutes had pasted and I finally came to. I must have hit something hard because my head was really sore. I opened my eyes and looked around. I couldn't find the King, but by then, I didn't care. The sight I did see, was even more important to me at the time. I could see trees, grass and well...more grass. I had no clue where I was. I was in an open field and there was no one around. I also noticed that my keyblade wasn't in my hand anymore either. I guess it was because I didn't need it.

I stood up but stumbled a bit. My head was spinning. It felt so wierd, but I managed to straighten myself. I started to walk in the direction I was facing although I had no idea which way it was. After walking about 30 feet, I was finally able to see something off in the distance. I couldn't really tell what it was but it looked like a tree. I ran up to it and I was right. It was a tree. But it was strange. There were no other trees around. As I got closer, I could hear something. It sounded very familar. I just had to find the source. I slowly walked around to the other side of the tree and I couldn't believe my eyes. There it was, the source of the sound and all of my fantasies. It was my dearest friend, Sora. There were so many questions running through my head. The biggest one was, 'How did I get to this place and what the fuck is he doing here?'

I had stepped up closer to him and I could see his smile. I'll never know if he was as happy to see me as I was to see him. All I can say is I couldn't have been happier at that moment. I was only inches away from him when I wrapped my arms around him. I held him so tight I may have accidently hurt him. I just couldn't believe that I was free and right in front of Sora. He had hugged me back and we just stood there, not moving, for what seemed like an eternity.

Once we pulled apart, Sora turned around. I couldn't figure out why. I asked him, but I got no reply. I tried to get in front of him, but he keep turning around. I asked him again, but this time a little louder. It didn't work, again. All of a sudden, I was pushed back. It wasn't hard, but it was enough to knock me to the ground. I brought my hand up to my face and shock my head a bit. I then looked up and found he was gone. I was so clueless at that point. I got to my knees and began to get very upset. I could I have let him get away from me, again. I couldn't take it. I reached out my hand and screamed out his name. I kept screaming louder and louder, but nothing would happen. Then within a split second, I blanked out. It felt as if someone had hit me over the head with something hard.

The next thing I knew, I was laying on my back, on the floor. I wasn't on grass anymore though. I was laying on a very rocky, and sandy ground. I looked around and found a very different scenery. I was sitting just on the outside of a city. I was laying in the middle of a park, but it wasn't a very pleasent looking one. It looked run down and wasn't very clean. I didn't care though. I just wanted to find Sora. I rubbed the back of my head, but there was no bump or anything. It wasn't even really sore. I figured out that it must have been all a dream. Once I found that out, I got really depressed and I slumped over. I got so exciting when I thought I found Sora again, but I didn't.

Something was wrong though, beside the obvious. I was hearing things. It sounded like a voice, in the distance. I started to walk around in the park. I then came up to a wall at the edge. I was still able to hear the voice. It sounded like it was coming from the other side of the wall. I jumped up and was able to hold on to the top. I hung there as I stared in shock. On the other side, there was that field I had seen in the dream. The voice kept getting louder and it started to sound a bit clearier. I could have sworn it was Sora's voice, but I still couldn't tell. I just had to find out. I decided to jump over the wall, and run out in the field, to try and find the mysterious voice.

Yeah!! I finally finished the chapter. I hope you guys liked it. I know it may seem odd right now, but it'll start coming together later. In the meantime, please R&R and tell me what you thought or if you have any suggestions.