A/N : Hey, I'm alive. This popped into my head and wouldn't let me go until I wrote it. Then I decided I may as well post something to let you guys know I'm not dead or something. I'll work on my other stories soon, no worries.

First Kingdom Hearts story. Sora, Riku, their friends, Destiny Island, and the Heartless belong to Disney and Square Enix, not me. I'm just borrowing them for a bit.

First Attempt of Darkness

by bast4

Sora walked lazily down the path of Destiny Island, his small feet absently kicking at a loose stone. He looked into the pool, his cinnamon hair and sky blue eyes staring back at his eight year old self. Looking up, he sighed and linked his hands behind his head. Selphie was sick at home, Wakka and Tidus had gone to Holt Island for ice cream with Wakka's older brother Matthias, and who knows where Riku was. Thus, Sora had rowed to Destiny Island alone and was now wandering about bored out of his young mind.

Sky blue eyes wandered over to the root-surrounded entrance to the Secret Place, the Picture Cave, the Hidden Door. Sora shuddered. He liked being with his friends for multiple reasons. It was nice to have friends, to laugh and play and spar and tease. They also were a nice distraction. When they were around, he was too busy to think of the bad things, of the nightmares that haunted his sleep and woke him screaming and fighting past foes, of the wounds still healing on his young body. He didn't like the cave. True, the place was nice, the pictures were fun, but there were bad memories with the place, pain and fear and confusion. The hairs on the back of his neck always stood up and his mind seemed to tingle when he was near the cave. The others may not believe it, but he knew there was power in that cave, that there was something about the strange wooden door with no handle or keyhole. He knew it very well.

Almost six months ago, Sora had fallen through that door into this world. He could only faintly remember his life before he had arrived here. Kind faces of loved ones, some adults and others children, all caring for him. Large hallways and courtyards, people with weapons and armor watching over them and playing when he gave them his puppy-dog eyes, and a silver circlet with a three-pronged crown just like the pendant he wore. All these memories were fuzzy and unclear, people's features blurry and voices too distant to understand properly. The ones that were clear, sadly, were the bad ones. Fire all around him, cold stone walls and chains binding his limbs, screams of pain, yells of rage and defiance. A large dark man was shaking him and hitting him, demanding that he give something. He would reply that his daddy said to never ever give it up. Other people being hurt and Sora crying. blood, pain, fear, pain, anger, pain, tears, pain, cruel hands, pain, chains, pain, confusion, PAIN!

A sound made Sora start and come back to himself. He found himself kneeling on the dusty path, knees to his chest and hand deep in his hair. A few tears had created wet paths on his now-pale face. He scrubbed his face and eyes, pushing the horrid memories away. Leaning over to splash his face with water from the pool, Sora found haunted deep blue eyes staring back at him. Grimacing, he cupped the cool liquid in his hands, breaking his reflection. then the sound came again, making Sora jerk his head up, eyes drawn to the opening to the Secret Place. It sounded like little squeaks and whispers, like mischievous children giggling over a prank they were waiting to be tripped. Slowly, he stood and took a few small steps closer to the cave. Something felt wrong, his stomach churning and shivers running up his spine. Part of him wanted to run, but part wanted to investigate. No, not just investigate, to stop whatever was happening. It was his job, his responsibility, his... destiny. Determined, Sora tread softly into the tunnel leading to the cave of the Secret Place.

His blue eyes quickly adjusted to the dimmer light in the cave, Sora scanned the room. Surprise flittered through him to see a familiar form kneeling at one wall with a white stone in hand. So, this was where Riku had vanished to, adding a new drawing to the murals on the cave walls. Everything looked calm, but appearances were deceiving. He had to get Riku out, get his closest friend away before something bad happened to him. Clenching in fists, he walked forward.

"Riku."

Riku started, his silver hair shimmering in a halo as he whirled around, hands pressed against the wall behind him for balance. Green-blue eyes found Sora, and Riku let out a big sigh, one hand moving to press against his pounding heart. "Sora, where'd you come from?"

"Hey, let's go spar on the ship."

Green-blue eyes narrowed. Something was off with Sora. He looked nervous, his eyes watching the shadows warily. The normally light-blue eyes had darkened to a worried ocean blue like that of an overcast sea. The suggestion had sounded a bit desperate and edgy, a note of something in Sora's voice that Riku didn't like. Slipping his drawing stone into the pocket of his shorts, Riku slowly stood, questioning eyes studying his friend. "What's wrong, Sora?"

Sora moved closer, those distracted eyes glancing over Riku before moving on to the shadows again. Were the shadows getting darker? Were those gold lights, gold eyes, in the darkness? And why did he hear voices, whispers and hissing that Riku seemed deaf to? "Look, let's just get out of here."

This was wrong. Riku hated seeing Sora scared. It reminded him too much of how Sora had been when they had first met. Or rather, when Riku had found a terrified bleeding battered Sora on the floor of the cave just before the door months ago. Riku had slowly approached the shaking boy who was dressed in deteriorating rags and cowering upon himself, trying to curl up into a ball on the sandy floor. When he had spoken, Riku had found himself pinned by dark haunted pain-filled grieving eyes, the blue near black with the intensity of the emotions filling Sora. He had been filled with a need to help this boy, to patch up his wounds and wrap him up in blankets and keep him safe, to help those shadows recede and make those blue eyes the color of a bright clear summer sky as he somehow knew they were meant to be. Slowly, he had coaxed Sora out of the cave and helped him to the shack next to the pool. Once there, the long process of helping Sora heal and relax and trust had begun, one that a usually-sharp tampered Riku found himself patient and devoted to. Things had been good, Sora had become happy, and Riku had found himself a very dear friend. But now, that friend was scared and nervous, and Riku hated that. "Sora, what -?"

Sora's eyes pinned Riku's. the darkening blue pleaded with the concerned green-blue as the boy cried, "Please Riku!"

Riku nodded. If him leaving the cave would reassure Sora, would push away those shadows, Riku would do it. He would do anything for Sora. He could see Sora's tense form relax as Riku started toward the tunnel. Looking over his shoulder, green-blue eyes watched his friend start to follow, pausing to closely scan the room. Since Riku was watching Sora, and Sora was looking at the door, neither boy was prepared for small black forms slipping out of the shadows surrounding the tunnel and leaping at Riku.

"Ahhh!"

Sora whirled around at Riku's shocked and pained cry. Half a dozen small dark forms were attacking the silver-haired boy, small arms bearing sharp claws and short legs bouncing them clear of any of Riku's swipes of his fists in an attempt to defend himself. Golden eyes were focused on Riku, antennae bouncing on their round heads. Blue eyes narrowed in rage. No one hurt his friends. No one! With a snarl, Sora ran forward. He shouldered one aside and pulled Riku deeper into the cave, placing himself between Riku and the strange creatures.

Riku stood behind Sora, arms burning and legs throbbing where the things had managed to strike him. The sight of them sent shudders down his spine, a feeling of the creepy darkness of a stormy night with monsters watching from the closet as he hid under the covers of his bed filling him. Shit, there were more coming out of the shadows around them, beside them, behind them. The pair were surrounded. Shit, shit, shit. how were they going to get out... He blinked as he heard a new sound over the squeaks the creatures were making, an angry growl of anger and a strange hum that made the hair on his arms stand up as the energy in the door started acting strange. Looking beside him, Riku forget about the threatening creatures and just stared at his best friend.

They were everywhere, circling the boys from all sides. Their voices clamored in his head, excited whispers and giddy hissing. They were happy, they were going to capture the boy and take him to the master. They would be early, but that would make the master happy. But the master didn't say that the boy had to be in perfect shape. He had such a nice heart, but no, the master didn't want his heart taken. The boy was useful and the master wanted him alive. The other wasn't important. They could rip him apart and take the boy and the master would be so happy. So happy! These things wanted to take Riku away. He didn't care if they were going to kill him, but they would not touch Riku. They would pay for hurting Riku, and thinking of taking him away. No one would take Riku from him. No one!

Energy bubbled within Sora, tingling and heady and eager to be used. He didn't know where it came from, but he didn't care. He could use it, use it to get rid of these creatures which felt so wrong and had hurt Riku and wanted to take his best friend away. Sora didn't notice that his arms and hands had started to glow, blue-white energy coiling around him. Somehow, he knew what to do. And he would do it, do anything to protect Riku.

The creatures leapt forward.

Whips of energy rushed out to meet them, blue-white bands of light tingled with gold battering back the black forms. Squeals of pain and fear rang out as the creatures were thrown against the walls or into their companions. Angry, more leapt forward, they would kill the magic-user and take the boy and make the master happy, they would! Darts of reddish energy pierced them, making them scream in pain and denial as they were destroyed. Slices of blue energy stopped another wave of creatures, slicing several of them apart, the creatures poofing into smoke as they were killed. Green energy started to swirl around the two boys, creating a whirlwind around them that lashed out and burned any creature that came too near. Blue eyes blazing with power and anger, the magic-user commanded, "Leave! You will not have him! Now leave!" The green storm flared, banished a few more creatures. Defeated, the dark things scrambled back into the shadows and vanished back to their master's realm. They would have to wait and try again another time, when the Light one wasn't with the boy. The Light one, the magic user, he was too powerful to defeat, too dangerous. They would return another time.

The energy receded, the green swirls turning into wisps before vanishing. The aura of blue-white-gold power around Sora remained for a moment longer before sinking into his skin. Sora took a deep breath, his head spinning a bit from the power he had just used, a power which he could feel warm and coiled within him still, waiting to be called on again. Blinking, Sora shook his head and turned to Riku.

Riku stared at Sora in awe. The energy he had felt, the ease with which it had defended them, the voice that had commanded away the creatures, none of that had been the Sora he knew. Yet they felt right, like a part of Sora that he just hadn't seen before now. Seeing Sora turn those blue eyes upon him, eyes that were once again their usual sky blue color though a tad darker with concern, Riku gave him a smile. Sora reached out a hand and touched a gash on Riku's upper arm, a frown coming over the young face. Blue eyes narrowing in concentration, Sora's lips move slightly in something that Riku didn't quite catch. Something like 'cuga?". Then he promptly forgot about the strange word as a green energy rose from Sora's fingers and washed over the gash, healing the deep wound into a fading scab. A grin of triumph on Sora's face, he touched wound after wound, his power healing the hurts. After a few moments, all the serious ones were tended to and the pain faded.

Grinning at each other, Sora and Riku left the Secret Place behind to play in the jungles of the island and splash in the warm waves of the sea. Neither looked back, too happy that the other was alright and both willing to put the strange incident from their minds. Thus, they didn't notice a gold insignia appear on the wooden door, a keyhole and crown glowing in the empty hollow before fading away again. Nor did they see the golden eyes watching from the shadows or see a man's lips curl in a small smirk.

The darkness would wait patiently for the right time.

And that time was growing ever nearer...

Soon, the door would be opened...

Soon, the boy would be theirs...

Soon, darkness would fall upon the worlds...

Again...

-------------------------

Yep, there it is. I might write another story one day with more on this and how this incident is a part of the rest of the game/story/quest/thing. We'll see.

Please review! thank you!