Introduction
Dive Into the Heart
"Thinking of you, wherever you are.
We pray for our sorrows to end,
And hope that our hearts will blend.
Now I will step forward to realize this wish.
And who knows:
Starting a new journey may not be so hard
Or maybe it has already begun.
There are many worlds,
But they share the same sky-
One sky, one destiny."- One Sky, One Destiny-Kingdom Hearts, 2002
The sound of battle rang out among Destiny Islands. Two teens crossed wooden swords to try and best each other. The first was a young man around 15. He had shoulder-length silver hair and aqua eyes. He had a sleeveless yellow shirt and baggy blue pants. His black-gloved hand held his wooden sword and his feet were covered with slightly over sized black shoes.
The second was around 14. His brown hair spiked out in many different directions and he had blue eyes. He had a red shirt and pants that were held up by a blue belt with a thin black and white jacket. He had white, fingerless gloves and yellow shoes that were also oversized. A small crown charm hung off a silver chain around his neck.
They had one spectator, a girl that was also 14. She had reddish-brown hair that came to her neck and she also had blue eyes. She had a white tank top and a short purple skirt. She wore purple sandals on her feet.
"I got you now Sora!" the silver haired boy said. Sora smiled and attacked but his attack was deflected.
"Only in your dreams Riku!" he shot back. Riku slammed his sword into Sora's and they struggled against each other. Sora knew Riku was physically stronger then him so he quickly broke away and prepared for another strike. Sora lunged forward toward Riku's midsection but Riku jumped into the air and flipped as Sora went by. Riku hit Sora in the back of the head hard enough for the younger boy to be knocked down.
"The winner is Riku!" the girl shouted. Riku smiled as he raised his hands.
"As usual," Riku said.
"That's nice. Can I get some help?" Sora asked and the girl helped him up. "Thanks Kairi."
"No problem," Kairi laughed.
"Hey, we better be going," Riku called back to them. Sora and Kairi looked to see the sun about to set. They nodded and each got in a different boat as they rowed back to their separate home islands.
"Sora!" Sora turned toward the voice and saw Kairi standing on the beach but Riku was gone. He walked to her but he took notice of the sudden terror in her eyes. He turned to see what she was looking at and went wide-eyed at what he saw. It was himself, and he was falling.
He suddenly felt a strong pull from beneath him and he was pulled under the water. Once again he was falling. He saw below a shining spot in the darkness. It was a large circular platform that he was heading for. His feet lightly touched the ground and he started to look around.
"So much to do so little time," Came a disembodied voice from what appeared to be all around him. Then three pedestals rose around him. One contained a sword, one a shield, and the last a staff. They each in some way had the same symbol, two small circles connected to the top of a bigger circle. "What form will you choose?" Sora walked up to the sword and grabbed it.
"Wait till Riku sees this! He'll flip!" Sora said, swinging it around.
"Power, a sword of terrible destruction. Is this the form you choose?" asked the voice. Sora pointed his head toward the sky.
"Yes."
"Very well. What will you give up in return?" Sora walked to the shield and got ready to toss it away. "Defense, the power to aid ones friends. Is this the form you will give up in return?"
"Yes," Sora said once more and the shield disappeared. Then all three pedestals disappeared and a small creature rose from the ground. It came up to Sora's knees in height and very humanoid in shape. It had short legs and small arms with claws on the end of them. Two antennas stuck out from its round head and it had glowing yellow eyes. It was completely black.
"There will be times you have to fight," came the voice. The creature Sora could only describe as a Shadow attacked him. Its claws missed as Sora dodged and twirled around, slicing the exposed back of the Shadow and it disappeared in black smoke.
"Yeah!" Sora shouted in victory but it was cut short as the platform beneath him broke and he again was falling. He landed on a different platform and in the middle was a transparent and oriental looking door. He went to the door but there was a flash of light that blinded his vision. When he could see again he saw that he was at the very top of his island. Surrounding him were his other three friends Tidus, Wakka, and Selphie.
"The door will not open yet," said the voice. Sora walked up to Tidus but before he could say anything Tidus spoke.
"What are you afraid of?" he asked. Sora raised an eyebrow at his question.
"Getting old," he said. Tidus just smiled and said nothing more. He then walked over toward Wakka.
"What do you want out of life?" Wakka asked.
"To see rare sights," Sora told him. Wakka nodded his head and said nothing more. He then walked over to Selphie.
"What's most important to you?" she asked.
"That's easy! Friendship!" Sora said. Then the voice broke in.
"Your journey begins at dawn. As long as the sun is shining you will be okay. Is this okay with you?"
"Sounds good," Sora said. The familiar light flashed and he was on another platform. A Shadow raised in front of him, then two more behind him. Soon, the little creatures surrounded him but he wouldn't quit. One jumped at him with claws extended but Sora moved to the left and sliced through it. He felt a sharp pain in his left arm and saw that a Shadow had scratched him. He dropped low and did a complete 360 spin that cut most of them down. He blocked a claw swipe and continued to push until he cut through the Shadow. The last jumped at him but he stuck his sword out and the blade plunged through it.
"Congratulations," The voice said as stairs suddenly appeared to the next platform. He walked up them slowly as blood dripped from his arm. When he reached the next platform he walked into a shaft of light.
"What the..." Sora held his arm in front of his eyes to block the light. He didn't notice his Shadow starting to rise from the ground.
"The closer you get to the light, the larger your shadow will become," the voice said. Sora turned in shock at his own shadow staring back at him. Then it changed. It grew almost eight stories tall and the body became hugely muscular. Out of the top of his head came some sort of stringy hair that covered his entire face except for the glowing yellow eyes. Its fingers became pointed at the end and there was a large hole in his chest in the shape of an elongated heart.
"Oh no!" Sora yelled and started to run. That thing would crush him! He ran to the stairs only to nearly fall from the platform. The stairs were gone!
"But do not fear Darkside," the voice said. So this monster was called Darkside. Sora realized he had two choices. He could fight and die or give up and die. He planned to go out with a bang. He took a defensive position as Darkside lifted his hands in front of him. He created a large ball of light even bigger than Sora! A smaller ball of light fired from that one and struck Sora.
The pain was amazing as Sora was thrown back and slammed into the platform so hard he bounced. He slowly got up and tears started coming to his eyes. No way he could win! Another ball of light flew at him but Sora dodged it quickly. His relief was cut short as he was hit by another ball of light. This time he almost bounced off the platform but managed to stop himself. Sora got up even slower and was glad to see the ball finally gone. Darkside went to slam his hand on the ground to flatten Sora but he dodged and jumped onto the back of his hand. Darkside looked around and saw nothing. He brought his hand up to scratch his head.
'Big, strong, and stupid!' Sora thought gladly as he jumped from Darkside's hand onto his neck. Darkside let out a roar as he finally realized where Sora was.
"Take this!" Sora shouted and jammed the sword into the exposed flesh of Darkside's neck until only the hilt could be seen. A howl of pain followed as Sora was thrown to the platform. A dark portal appeared under him as he was pulled under.
"Don't forget," Said the voice, "You are the one who will open the door."