"Riku!" Sora cried as he ran for the young cloaked figure. Riku didn't welcome his embrace.
"Sora, stop," Riku replied.
"What's up with you, Riku? I haven't seen you in a year and you don't want me to hug you? What, you think hugging is still rather girly?" Sora joked.
But Riku did not laugh, nor smile. "Sora, I've come to warn you about your destiny."
"My destiny?" Sora asked quietly.
"Remember what Axel told you?"
"Wait, how do you know Axel? Who was he, anyways?"
"Axel belongs to a clan of keyblade wielders called the Unknowns."
"So he was serious about there being more than one keyblade wielder?"
"Look at my hand, fool," Riku stated. He looked down at the sharp, mauve keyblade in his hand.
"But you received that power by way of Maleficent. Why do you still have that keyblade?"
"You don't understand, Sora. Are you not catching on to what I say?" Riku replied irritably.
"Are.. are you saying that you are a part of the Unknowns?" Aleisa asked.
"Say what?" Sora said, looking back to Aleisa.
"I'm afraid she's right, Sora. I've been in the darkness of Kingdom Hearts for so long that I had no choice but to give myself to the Darkness."
"But you can free yourself from that, Riku! I've come to help you and take you back!"
"I cannot be changed!" Riku shouted. He paused and lowered his head. "I've come to tell you about your destiny."
"What destiny?" Donald asked.
"What Axel said was true. What you do determines whether some people will become keyblade wielders. There is one on Destiny's Island who is to become a keyblade wielder."
"He mentioned that, but who!" Sora replied. "Who on Destiny's Island could become one? Do you know?"
"If I knew him personally, I could tell you. All that I know is that you and he are more similar than you may believe."
"So neither you nor I know who he is?"
"You'll encounter him soon, Sora."
"So what do I do? What are my options?"
"If you open Kingdom Hearts to move further into the next galaxy, the Heartless will pour into other worlds, thusly putting many lives at stake, including Kairi's, and another keyblade wielder will be born."
"And if I refuse to go?"
"You well know the answer to that question, Sora," Riku said, "but you don't want to accept it. You won't be able to see Kairi, obviously, if you can't get to her."
"But I do!"
"But you will also be putting her at stake if you try and find her."
"Argh, why is there always so much damn pressure on me!" Sora screamed.
"Sora, calm down," Goofy said. "There's no rush."
"So, basically, I'm in a lose-lose situation?" Sora challenged.
"No. The keyblade wielders that exist as of now will form a party and break past the bonds of the doors to other worlds. The worlds will not have to be connected. They will take them out, one by one, each star fading after the last, but if the worlds are disconnected, they cannot be saved by merely one keyblade wielder alone." He paused. "You have to stop them before this happens. That is your destiny."
"Bad things will happen at first," Aleisa asked herself aloud," but then.."
"Yes," Riku finished, "it is for the better of the Universe."
"But why do they want to destroy the worlds?" Sora asked.
"They will feed off of the small worlds first, such as Destiny's Island, which is why Kairi is at a great risk. From there, the remaining worlds will fall under Tyranny and Dictation."
"So, you're in not as bad a pickle as you thought," Goofy chuckled.
"The door is just ahead," Riku said. "Choose your path, but just remember, Sora," he added, "I care about Kairi, too, whether I have a heart of Darkness or not."
"Will I ever see you again, Riku?" Sora asked.
"You will, but not as you would see fit."
"What do you mean?"
"Sora, your heart is of light, more than you may realize. Surely, since you know Kairi is the Queen of Hearts that a King lingers elsewhere?"
Sora blinked. "Wait, what-" Before he could finish his sentence, Riku faded within the darkness, and the light beyond Kingdom Hearts illuminated brighter. He slowly made his way for the large doors, and gawked at up them to a large keyhole.
"You ready, Sora?" Aleisa asked.
He nodded. "I'm ready." He swung his keyblade ahead of him, and a beam of white light flashed from it and into the keyhole. There was a loud click of something unlocking, and the doors swung open slowly. The bright light that had been concealed within the room beyond chased away the darkness, then faded. All was left in a gloomy gray.
At the other side of the room, a dark portal in the ground hemmed in a purple glow gurgled softly. Sora walked near it, looked to Goofy, Donald, and Aleisa, then nodded. Frightened, Aleisa grabbed Sora's hand. He smiled, taking Goofy in his other, Donald in Goofy's, and they jumped into the great unknown.
Kairi stood at the Island shores, retrieving small fish her mother requested to catch, and not having much luck. She looked down into the clear waters for any local fish to swim by and saw the reflection of dark clouds hover over the sun in the reflection. She looked up and to the dark sky that had completely concealed the sun. A large ball of orange and purple energy floated in the sky, and ominous clouds drifted around it much like a hurricane.
"Not again," Kairi whispered, recalling back to one year ago.