Akira had somehow found a way to fall sleep among the sound of crackling thunder and heavy rain that raged outside her window. It was a skill every resident of the Destiny Islands acquired over time; tropical weather also meant tropical storms, and the locals couldn't simply put their lives on hold every time a little thunder and lightning covered the sky.

Although tonight, things were not quite as they always were.

The howling winds blasted Akira's bedroom window open, allowing hundreds of droplets of rain to soak her bed sheets and floorboards. She jolted awake at the sound of her window banging against the wall, wiping the excess rain off her cheek. She sighed in frustration as she grabbed the miniature lock off her bedside table. This was her own fault; had she remembered to lock her window before falling asleep, this wouldn't have happened. Now, she had to clean up her floor and change her bed sheets. What a waste of time...

"Huh?"

She peered out her window to catch a glimpse at the storm that raged on outside. She didn't remember them predicting a hurricane in the forecast; but could what she saw really be considered a hurricane? The trees rocked back and forth, the powerlines wriggled in the squall... yet the lightning was concentrated on the smaller island where they spent the afternoon. Luckily it was far away from them...

Wait. No.

"T-the raft!" she cried with sudden realization.

There was nothing she could feasibly do; if the storm was as brutal as it looked, then their raft was long gone. All those hours spent labouring in the hot sun, gathering enough money to buy materials, painting those damn logs with that foul-smelling varnish... all of it, gone. She slowly took hold of her window and fastened the lock on it, allowing that awful thought to sink into her mind. They'd have to start all over again... but at least they were all safe from the storm. That was a comforting thought, right? Nobody would be dumb enough to go out in this weather, right?

Sora would.

Riku would.

Kairi wouldn't, but she'd have the same mental argument Akira was having right now, and end up going anyways to make sure they were safe.

She was going to go too, wasn't she? She was really going to go.

"J-just to the docks!" she said with a gulp in an attempt to convince herself, "Just to make sure they didn't go!"

The docks weren't too far, and if she saw all of their boats, she'd have peace of mind. It hardly seemed like a terrible idea; at worst, she'd have to dry herself off when she came back home. That was easy enough!

She jumped off her bed and crouched on the ground, reaching under her bed for her rope. Her father would blow his top if he knew she kept a length of rope under her bed; it came in handy when she wanted to sneak out of the house. She quickly fastened it to the side of her window and threw the rest of it out the window. She had done this many times before, and her window wasn't too far off the ground, but it was always a harrowing experience to simply jump out of her bedroom window. She sat on her windowsill, throwing her legs out as she gripped tightly onto the rope. Closing her eyes, she gently let herself slide to the ground, grinding her teeth anxiously as she felt the tingling burn of the rope in her hands. She soon felt the ground beneath her feet and breathed a sigh of relief, though it seemed her troubles had only just begun.

In a matter of seconds, she was soaked to the bone. The torrential downpour grew fiercer as the minutes ticked by and the gales were almost strong enough to blow her off her feet. The streetlamps and the dim lights in the islanders' homes flickered as the gusts jerked the electrical lines. She had to hurry, lest someone decide to take a look outside and see her struggle her way towards the now raging ocean.

The tempest stormed as she struggled to walk forward. She shielded her eyes from the winds and biting rain but to no avail; the gust blew her soaked hair every which way and the rain stung her eyes through her wet hand. She was so close to the docks; just a few more steps and then she can run home.

Her heart almost stopped.

Amidst the crashing ocean waves, tossing inches of salt water onto the docks, amidst the howling winds and rumbling thunder, Akira heard nothing. Nothing but the sound of her heart, beating faster and faster as the realization began to sink in. Only one wooden boat remained tied to the docks; her own.

"No..." was all she could say amidst the tears that formed in her already wet eyes.

She watched in horror as the wind whipped, the ocean raged, thunder clapped and lightning burst around the island where they created all of their happiest memories. First, the storm threatened to take her raft... but now, it threatened to take her friends, too.

It can have that pile of food, cloth, rope, and foul-smelling varnished wood if it wanted. But it couldn't take Sora, Kairi, and Riku from her.

Adrenaline rushed through her veins as she grabbed at the rope on the dock, untying it as fast as her slippery wet hands would allow her to. A voice screamed in her head to stop, pleading with her to turn back, but her limbs kept moving. She held onto the docks with all her might as she stepped into her boat, keeping it from floating away into the wrathful ocean as she grabbed her oar. The voice implored her not to march to her death, pleading with her to return to safety, but her heart kept repeating three words. The same three words that kept her arms paddling the oar through the rough waters; three words that kept her from losing her breath, losing her balance, and losing her nerve.

Sora, Kairi, Riku

Sora, Kairi, Riku

Sora, Kairi, Riku

When he finally navigated the treacherous waters enough to reach the small island, Sora hurriedly leaped out of his boat, nearly slipping back into the ocean. He regained his footing as he looked around, recognizing Riku and Kairi's boats at the dock. Akira's was still missing, meaning she was still safe back home, at least. He breathed a sigh of relief and brushed himself off as he made his way towards the beach.

The storm that looked so terrifying from his bedroom window had an oddly different feel now that he had arrived. The clouds had gathered, torrents of lightning flashed in the sky, rain poured… yet now that he was on the island, it felt nothing like what he witnessed earlier. The winds had died, the storm had calmed...

Almost as if… he was in the eye of the storm.

Sora raised his eyes and gasped. A massive, shadowy orb hung menacingly in the sky above him. It pulsed with dark energy, sucking in the bolts of lightning that flashed through the sky. He had never found himself in the eye of a storm before, but he never imagined it would look something like this.

"What is that?" he asked himself.

Even without the rain, clouds, lightning and violent winds, Sora felt a sense of dread overcome him. Something far more dangerous was at stake, and he began questioning if the raft even was his top priority anymore. The orb in the sky grew larger with each passing minute, and he found himself with a new problem to overcome.

Several pools of darkness spawned on the beach before him, and from them emerged dark, hostile-looking creatures. They resembled four-footed insects, with long, folded antennas on their large heads. The only pop of colour on their pitch-black bodies were their bright yellow eyes gazing at their prey, shallow and empty. They twitched and writhed as they walked and sunk below the ground as they slithered towards him.

Sora mechanically took out his toy wooden sword. He recognized these creatures; they attacked him in the nightmare he had the day before when he napped on this very beach. They were difficult to see given their pure black form but those provoking yellow eyes were unmistakable. He wasn't sure how far his toy sword he used to play-battle with the others would take him, but it was all he had.

The others…

"I have to find the others!" he thought to himself. Paying no mind to the horrid creatures that snapped at him, he raced towards the shack at the end of the beach, dodging their swipes. Perhaps he would find some solace in there before continuing his search. He had no time to fight these creatures, and a wooden sword proved to be completely ineffective against them. He barricaded himself within the shack, taking a moment to catch his breath before continuing on his dangerous search.

"I have… to get… to the raft!" Akira shrieked between breaths as she rowed towards the island. It felt like she was rowing in a sea of thick honey; every paddling motion she made was met with equal force from the calamitous waters. She cursed this awful weather, she cursed her friends for having the stupid idea of putting themselves in this much danger... but most of all, she cursed herself, and her aggravating laziness.

She knew she should have repaired her boat when the first signs of wear began to show. Kairi let her borrow her boat when she needed it, and they needed the extra wood for their raft. Why should she bother repairing it? They were going to leave on an adventure in a few days, anyways. It's not like she was going to need it.

This night was why.

She rowed with all her strength as a stray chunk of wood gave out beneath her foot, water slowly leaking into her boat. She kept her eyes locked on her destination as her foot slipped completely into the water. She was only a few meters away; she could see the dock and the white sands of the beach so clearly. If only she could make it just a little farther…

CRACK

A massive gust of wind blustered through the island as her boat gave away beneath her and snapped in half. The force of the wind pulled her into the raging ocean, taking whatever remained of her boat with it. She quickly raised her head above the water, gasping for air as she flailed her arms wildly beneath the water. She was at arm's length from the docks. She could just reach out and grab it! If she could just pull herself to shore… she was so close.

The wind blew again, carrying with it a massive wave. She was barely able to reach her hand to the dock when it crashed down, carrying her to the depths of the ocean and leaving nothing behind but some stray pieces of her now destroyed boat.

Sora hurried towards the small islet where they used to sit on the paopu tree and gaze out into the ocean. While searching for a way to escape the shadow creatures that relentlessly pursued him, he came upon the bridge connecting the islet to the mainland and caught a flash of silver out of the corner of his eye, breathing a sigh of relief. Akira should be safe at home, and he thankfully just found Riku. He just needed to find one more person…

"Where's Kairi?" he asked loudly over the sound of the storm, "I thought she was with you."

Riku slowly turned to face him, a small smile forming on his face. "The door… has opened," he said in an ominous voice.

Sora took a step back. Riku was acting exceedingly strange. Amidst the storm and the wreckage and the shadows, he seemed oddly… happy. "Huh?" he asked, perplexed.

"The door has opened, Sora!" Riku responded, "Now we can go to the outside world!"

"What are you talking about?" Sora asked angrily, "We have to go find Kairi!"

"Kairi's coming with us! So is Akira! So is everyone!"

Sora was taken aback by his words, finally understanding. Riku wasn't talking about the raft anymore… He was talking about the massive shadowy orb that hung above them.

"Once we step through, we might not be able to come back. We may never see our parents again. There's no turning back." Riku raised his eyes to the orb, full of determination. "But this may be our only chance. We can't let fear stop us. I'm not afraid of the darkness!"

He extended his hand towards Sora, inviting him.

"Riku..."

He was torn. He wanted to help his friend so much; to find them quickly and return them home safely. He wanted to build another raft after this entire ordeal was over and try to set off for the outside world again. As Sora sorted out the thoughts racing through his head, a pool of darkness began to grow beneath Riku. A tangle of dark threads grabbed at his feet, snaking their way above his legs towards his torso. Riku stood stoic, unflinching, his hand still extended forward in invitation as he began to be swallowed by darkness.

Sora panicked. He lunged towards his friend in an attempt to pull him free only to find himself imprisoned by the same threads of darkness, holding him in place. He flailed towards his friend's outstretched hand, reaching as far as he could. The dark threads had snaked their way around his entire body, now reaching his face and obstructing his vision. He desperately attempted to grab Riku's hand one last time before the darkness pulled him in, yet the vision he saw before being completely swallowed up by darkness burned itself in his memory.

As Riku was being fully engulfed in darkness, he was smiling.

A bright light in the distance brought Sora to his senses. He shook his head as he opened his eyes. The last thing he remembered was being devoured by darkness and following a shining light to safety.

He was back where he encountered Riku earlier. But his friend was no longer there. Sora found himself alone once again on the stormy island, beneath the same large orb that hung in the sky. Yet something still felt… different.

Keyblade…

His toy wooden sword felt much heavier in his right hand than it used to…

Keyblade…

He gasped when he raised his weapon. What he currently held was a far cry from his hastily made toy sword. An elegant weapon rested in his hands. The silver hilt lay between a golden, square chappe. The blade itself consisted of a long silver cylinder, with the head of a key at its tip. The pommel of the blade had a mouse head-shaped keychain attached to it, an odd emblem Sora had never seen before.

He had never seen or held a weapon of this make before, yet he felt as if he knew what it was called. A Keyblade…

No sooner had a shadowy creature lunged to attack him had he effortlessly swiped the blade with a flick of his wrist, destroying the creature in a puff of black smoke. It felt just like his toy sword, and all those days of losing play battles against Riku in his youth were finally going to pay off.

He raced towards the secret place in the back of the island, destroying every shadow creature that stood in his way. If there was one place Kairi would be hiding, it would be there. Oddly enough, the ravenous shadows followed him until he crept into the tunnel leading to the secret cave, but they refused to follow him inside. Perhaps they felt something sinister coming from within. He emerged from the tunnel and sure enough, he found himself face to face with his friend, whom was facing the wooden door at the back of the cave.

"Kairi!" Sora called, overcome with joy.

She responded to his call, albeit with little to no enthusiasm. She muttered his name as she turned to face him, raising her eyes to meet his.

Sora gasped. Her eyes looked lifeless and cold. Was he too late to save her too? He had just lost Riku… was he about to lose Kairi too?

The door flew open, sending out an incredible gust of wind. Kairi was knocked off her feet. She flew towards Sora, whom opened his arms wide to catch her. Yet, she passed through him like a ghost, and disappeared into the wind. Sora had no time to panic or wonder what had happened to her. The wind was much too strong, and it sent him tumbling back out of the cave and onto the beach.

She inhaled deeply, but no stinging salt water filled her lungs.

Akira slowly opened her eyes as she regained consciousness. That last thing she remembered was being washed away by the ocean, yet she did not feel the pull of the water around her limbs. She took a few more breaths, half-expecting to choke on ocean water. Was she dead? Is this purgatory? Was this all a dream? How she wished the latter were the case...

It was almost as if she was suspended in limbo, able to move her limbs but not her body. She blinked a few times, but the darkness did not leave her eyes. She couldn't tell if she was moving or stationary as she reached out her arm into the dark abyss. What was she grabbing at? Where was she going? Is she even moving at all? Is this...

Is this how it ends?

"Where… am I?" she asked aloud, her fear slowly turning into panic.

How... interesting.

She shook her head and anxiously scanned the area around her, still reaching out her arm in every direction. It was useless; no matter where she looked, all she saw was darkness. Her hand grabbed at nothing but the stagnant air.

You shouldn't be here.

The darkness suddenly grew thick, making it difficult to move or breathe. Her heart pounded in her chest as fear consumed her. She watched in horror as dark smoke began to envelop her arms as she desperately tried to move, searching for something, anything, tangible to hold. She tried to keep her breath steady, but began to choke on the thickened air as the darkness began to engulf her.

Neither of us should exist, yet here you are.

She was sorry; she was so so sorry. Perhaps it was the thought of impending death that made her life flash before her eyes, but Akira was filled with nothing but regret. Regret for not cherishing those small moments with her friends, regret for not building herself a godforsaken wooden play-battle sword, regret for not opening her heart to others, regret for not talking to that sweet-looking girl in math class... they could have been such good friends. Maybe they'd have been a group of five. Maybe she'd have spent her days building a raft with them. Maybe, maybe, maybe... She fervently wished that everything wasn't just a damn maybe.

Sora, Kairi, Riku... they always had her best intentions in mind but she never took them seriously. Her father... he just wanted to protect her. Oh no, no. She argued with him before all of this happened! She didn't get a chance to apologize! And now... now... it was all over, wasn't it?

She'd do anything, anything, for a second chance. Just... just to say goodbye.

Perhaps you and I aren't so different.

She gasped amidst the darkness. This voice... was not in her head. "Who are you!?" she cried.

I can help you, if you'll accept me.

Was this... her second chance? She didn't have a moment to consider. Whatever this strange voice was, if she wanted to get out of this endless abyss, she needed to take the one chance she had. "I will."

A small light flickered among the gloom, shining brighter as it floated softly towards her. She gathered all her strength and reached for it, cupping it within her hands.

Sora found himself face-first in a bed of sand when he came to. The gust of wind must have carried him a fair distance if he managed to make it to the beach. He spat out what little sand remained in his mouth as he lifted himself off the ground.

"Whoa!"

He was definitely on the beach, or what little remained of it. Deep craters filled the plot of land he woke up on, each one littered with wreckage and debris. Broken pieces of wood, fractured tree trunks, and fragmented pieces of land surrounded him as he peered over the edge at the abyss below.

He was not prepared for what he saw; yet, ironically, he saw nothing. Nothing but endless darkness below or around the small piece of land he stood on. His entire home, his island, all gone… with nothing but a bit of wood and sand remaining.

He raised his eyes to the sky and gasped in horror. The dark orb he noticed when he first arrived that evening had tripled in size, sucking in portions of the land as it grew larger. The planks of wood at his side were swept up in the wind and swallowed into the orb. How long until he would be swallowed up with them?

His eyes met with the demonizing yellow eyes he had been running from since the moment he set foot on the island tonight. Unlike the smaller monsters he escaped from earlier, this dark creature towered over him with its intimidating size, its multiple antennas flailing wildly over its head. Its most defining feature was its hollow center, shaped exactly like a heart. Sora gritted his teeth. He recognized this shadowy creature as well; it commanded the lesser creatures, and it had attacked him in his dream as well.

On the nights when Sora's sleep was plagued with nightmares, he would always convince himself they were real, only to find that nothing came of them. His friends teased him, his parents implored him to stop acting so childish and, for a while, he did believe that he was making things up and convincing himself they were true. Yet, of all the dreams and nightmares he ever had, he wished this one in particular wasn't real.

He gripped his Keyblade tightly in his hands and bent his knees, assuming a battle stance. He wasn't sure if he could accept that his home, his friends, his life were gone. But he had no choice.

There was little to no island left. There was a menacing creature before him. There was a blade in his hands.

There was only one thing he could do.

He leaped towards the creature, raising his blade above his head, ready for battle.

Akira put her palm to her forehead, feeling the pain of a splitting headache. "Did I bump my head against something?" she asked herself as the sharp pain pulsated in her skull.

The last thing she remembered was desperately trying to find a way out of the darkness and taking a small light within her hands. She remembered how the light suddenly grew and blinded her, and losing consciousness right after. She felt the soft sand and the sensation of cold steel beneath her right hand as she propped herself up, her mind still in a daze.

"Wait…" she thought, "Something's not right."

Her eyes fluttered open as she gazed at what she held in her hand. An elegant blade shone before her, it's metallic sheen glimmering amidst the sand. She raised it by its silver hilt, gazing at the radiant square of gold that enveloped it. She took the upper part in her other hand, staring at the silver blade in wonder; it was cylindrical like the hilt, and topped with a sophisticated hollowed silver heart. She marveled at the craftsmanship, having never seen something like this before. "Where...where did this come from?" she wondered.

She felt an immense power radiating from it, as well as an intense conflict. As beautiful and terrifying as it was, where did it even come from? And why is it in her hands?

Wait... the sand... the beach.

"What?" she gasped.

She wanted to cry and scream for joy; the darkness was gone, and she sat on the soft white sand she was so familiar with. She made it back; she was home. But her mood suddenly shifted once she took in the sights before her, eyes widening in fear. There was nothing left of her island, save for the small piece of land she sat on. Debris of trees, wood and rocks scattered around the island and she watched in horror as they flew off the ground, swallowed completely by a large dark orb hanging in the sky.

"What's going on?" she cried amidst the noise of the howling gales and crashing wood.

Just a few hours before she was preparing to embark on a grand adventure with her friends. She was eating dinner with her father. She was packing her extra shoes. She was looking for her hairbrush. Yet now, gazing at what remained of her island, she almost wanted to cry.

"Take this!"

She recognized that voice. It was someone she held very dear. A small reminder that, amidst all this wreckage and despair, something familiar was close by.

"Sora!" she cried, scrambling to her feet and spinning around, hoping to catch a glimpse of him.

She was met with the sight of her friend dealing the final blow to a massive, dark creature. She was caught aback by its sheer stature, yet she watched with bated breath as her friend courageously fought it, unflinching. He was also wielding a blade similar to hers, its shine a glowing beacon amidst the shadows surrounding the dark creature. She gripped her blade tightly in her hands. She rarely play-battled with anyone else. She knew she might not be able to do much, but she couldn't just leave Sora alone. She swallowed hard as she bent her knees, ready to fight.

If Sora could find a modicum of strength and courage to face this monster amidst the wreckage of his home, then she could too.

As soon as her bout of bravery struck, she was met with the sight of the creature disintegrating into black smoke, carrying a gust of wind as it disappeared into the air. The black orb in the sky had grown tenfold in size, pulling in what remained of the island. Sora and Akira each held onto the island for dear life, but it was no use. The pull was too great, and they were sent flying towards the sky.

"Sora!" she shrieked in a last-ditch effort to grab his attention among the deafening winds.

He heard her voice, and felt a tinge of relief among the panic. Despite their awful predicament, she had at least made it to the island, and would hopefully go wherever he, Riku, and Kairi would end up. And that, at least, was a relief.

He reached out his hand in a desperate effort to get to her amidst the pull of the dark orb. "Akira!"

She extended her hand towards his. He was so close, if only she could just get a little closer…

And just as it had with her boat in the ocean on her way to the island, the blustering wind blew them apart, carrying them higher and higher towards the dark orb, towards the unknown…

In a distant world, far from where the serene Destiny Islands resided, a king went missing, leaving a cryptic note for his queen and their court. He had set off to investigate the looming darkness and the creatures that emerged from it, as well as the increasing number of worlds falling to the darkness.

He tasked his queen to guard the castle in his stead and assigned a special mission to his court magician and captain of the royal guard.

They were to journey to other worlds on their ship, searching for what the king described as "the key". They were to find it and stand by it, for it was the key to their survival. Their only clue was to seek out a man named Leon, whom resided in a world called Traverse Town.

And so, the court magician, captain of the guard, and a royal chronicler set forth into their ship, determined to fulfill their king's wishes in the hopes that they would one day see him again, and bring him home safely.