Author Notes: Aaack! I lost this chappy! o-O; Sorry for the inconveinence if it caused anyone any. But its back up! Yay. Party. Whoo.
Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts. There, I said it.


"Taiyou… wake up…"

"Shantsi?" Taiyou snapped awake to find herself on a mosaic floor, a bright light illuminating the room from every corner. "Shantsi?" she said hoarsely once more.
"Taiyou…" the voice was unfamiliar, definitely not who she was looking for. "Where's Shantsi?" Taiyou cried, sitting up straight. The feeling in her legs was gone, and she didn't want to risk trying to stand up now.
"The door has opened once more…" the utterance continued, and Taiyou searched in vain for the origin of it. "Your friend is ill, Taiyou… it's all your fault…" Taiyou's heart sunk.

"No…"

She froze, thinking of the bleak of the church and losing her chum in the darkness.
"The only way to cure her is to find the key to her heart… it's the only way…"
Taiyou clenched her fists. "Who are you!" she snapped, her sadness transitioning to rage, "Tell me!" But the voice only repeated the two manipulating phrases as it faded away:

"It's all your fault… it's the only way…"

As the voice dwindled into nothing, the only presence in the room was the tear-stained, confused girl huddled inside herself. She opened her mouth to call for someone- anyone, but before anything was murmured, a blinding light sprang from the floor, brightening everything to intangible.

Taiyou snapped awake with a heave. She retrieved her sense of presence- that she was lying on her bed in the night, sweat streaming from her forehead. She sobbed, telling herself over and over that it was all a dream; but herself would not believe her.
She not dare try to fall asleep again, not even close her eyes for a moment. She turned the story over and over in her mind; Shantsi's sick… the moon… the shore… that force… Before she knew it, the sun peeked from behind the mountains across the ocean, casting a spell of light on the simple burg of Twilight Town. As soon as the sun reached her eyes, Taiyou launched herself out of her bed and straight towards her friend's house. Shantsi's not sick… she's not… this isn't real…

--x--

"I'm sorry, Taiyou. Shantsi can't come out today. She's a little under the weather." Shantsi's father had greeted Taiyou, unfortunately, at the door.
"No…"
Taiyou's mouth dropped. "Please, sir," she tried her hardest to stop incoming tears and breaking into sobs, "Can I come in and see her?"
He nodded a little, then guided Taiyou to Shanteru's bedroom to see her befallen friend. As soon as she found Shanteru, she rushed over and dropped to her knees, clasping her lifeless hand. "I'm sorry, Shantsi…" she trailed off, "…I can fix this. I-I… promise."
"Taiyou…"
Shantsi half-opened her frail eyes, turning her head slightly to look at her friend. "I… thought… they got you too."
"…What?"

However, Shantsi said not another word, nor made another sound. Her rasping breathing was even quieting, and Taiyou placed her weak hand on her heart. The key to her heart… she thought as she got up and left her friend to wallow in her dreary malady. Don't worry, Shantsi. Everything's gonna be all right…

Thinking this, though, Taiyou wasn't so sure that anything will ever be the same again.

--x--

Another night, another nightmare. Taiyou's sleep was filled with pictures of a dark staff, a hidden blade shaped as a key, concealed within the mountains. The key to her heart.. the same slithering voice slipped from nothing, reminding her with distress.
Awoken by the sunlight once more, Taiyou was overcome with a deep depression. "What can I do?" she pondered aloud, glancing out her window. That's when she saw those mountains in the distance. Flashes of that dark key blinked in her head, and she was so suddenly motivated, she almost jumped out her window.
Her parents still sleeping, Taiyou left with nothing. Not a word of good-bye, not a necessity but the clothes on her back. She was completely oblivious to how long she would take, and how much her new beginning would unfold. She cast one soft smile over her shoulder at her old sanctuary, the very place she was raised, before heading out the door.
She trudged through Twilight Town, trying to be solemn and out of sight. A few people had caught her and waved or called a friendly hello, although thinking it was just like any normal day. The dark cloud returned when Taiyou looked through their perspective. They had no clue that Shantsi was sick, that Taiyou had to go and recover a secret weapon, having no sense whatsoever of what she had to do or what lied ahead. Nevertheless, her expression brightened once more when she came upon the shore of the beach. Inhaling deeply, she took a final view of the mountains and the sun in the horizon. It could be the last time she may ever see the mountains from her angle. Closing her eyes, she smelled the sweet saltiness of the ocean, letting the gust brush up against her cheeks.

"The sun and the sky will come together and restore peace throughout the lands."

Her eyelids snapped open. There was another voice… but this one was different. This voice was of a young girl, who sounded somewhat like Shanteru. Her speech was soft and gentle, beautiful and trustworthy. Taiyou's eyes darted to the sandy floor when she thought of her friend. Then she saw the most peculiar sight, but then again, everything was mixed up in her world lately.

Footprints in the sand. There were prints in the shape of fragile yet bare feet, extending out towards the mountains and vanished when they reached the ocean.
For the third time in this third day, the same force had returned. Taiyou dared not protest against it this time. She took one step towards the path laid out for her- then another. Slowly she seemed to get lost in the feeling, this hypnotizing trance. Her feet were wet now, and the soothing waves nudged and caressed her ankles. Suddenly, one of the tiny waves began to flourish, and increase in size, until it was even taller than Taiyou herself. Still induced by this phase, she stopped in her tracks and let the wave pass over her being. She could hear the roaring of the angry tides crashing down upon her form, and feel herself losing footing on the beach. She could not panic- not even if she wanted to. Her heart was content, as if a voice was cradling her soul, coaxing her gently to not fear.
That is, until, the feeling disintegrated as quickly as it came, and Taiyou could finally feel her shortage of breath, being smothered by the raging waters. She let out the last of her air in agitation and was lost to unconsciousness yet again.

--x--

Abruptly Taiyou felt herself being flung against a hard surface, and attempted to open her eyes to discover where she was. Coughing up dirt, she lifted her head as high as she could to examine the current atmosphere. It was a cave-like setting, with dark haze floating about, making it nearly impossible to see ahead. It was damp and dark, but Taiyou could make out white markings on the walls of the cave, as if someone sketched them on many years ago. She elevated herself to her feet and began to explore these strange drawings.
They all made no sense to her; she could barely make out any shapes or forms. To her, they all seemed like white blobs smeared across the rocks. That was when she came upon one she recognized- two humans messily drawn, one male and one female. Both facing each other and wearing obviously blissful grins, they appeared to be handing each other 'stars' symbolized by a curl of white. In such a hopeless setting, this scribble on the wall put a short smile on Taiyou's face before she heard a voice behind her: "Paopu fruits," it belonged to a young boy, "If two share a Paopu fruit, their destinies become intertwined. Forever."
Taiyou turned to face the bearer of those words. He was in his youth, and he looked about Taiyou's age. He had blonde, spiked hair and shared the same blue eyes as she. A bright beam of light behind him illuminated his features- his gentle face harbored a solacing smile, and his shining eyes were filled with many memories and much knowledge. He was holding his arms out, his palms up as the mist parted around him, the light making it recede in all directions. Examining him, Taiyou could not help but feel as if she knew him- as if they were close once before. Her heart grew warm gazing into his eyes, but before she could get lost in their depths, she shook her head.

"Who are you?"
He did not answer her inquiry, but he spoke up again. "Traveling by dreams…" his eyes locked onto her, "You're halfway there."
"What do you mean?"

Taiyou eased a hand in his direction, in an effort to touch him and see if he was really there. But before she could reach him, the light grew fainter as did this boy, and eventually the curious girl was left in complete darkness and an even greater immoral- loneliness.

--x--

A chilling breeze tickled Taiyou's face. She opened her eyes to realize that she was looking down at her Twilight Town below her. "H… how'd I get here?" she asked audibly, in a useless likelihood that someone may answer all her questions, and tell her everything will be fine. Responded to with silence, she continued up the mountain- in another hope that she may somehow, anyhow, find what she was looking for.
However, her scour was in vain, for she traced many lengths of the mountain, unable to go any higher for the frigid temperatures. Hours passed, and the sun was no longer there to guide her. She began to lose all faith. Maybe the answer didn't lie in the mountains, and all her fears and nightmares would come to life. Maybe there was no way she could keep her promise to her friend that everything would be all right. Maybe, just maybe, she couldn't even return home.