ACT I: The Keyblade
Chapter 1: Strange Beginnings
It had been a good minute now; nothing unusual had happened since landing on the platform. Sora sighed in relief. Maybe now he could try and ruminate over what was happening.
"So much to do," a mysterious voice said.
Or not.
Nervous, Sora glanced over his shoulder. "Who's there?"
"So little time..." the voice continued.
Sora looked around the area. Not a soul in sight. This didn't bode well.
"What do you mean?" Sora asked.
"The door is still shut. Are you ready?"
Sora wasn't sure how to respond. Obviously, this voice had no desire to give him any information. But he was more concerned over trusting this voice. Should he trust it? Well, considering that running away would lead to him falling off the pillar, Sora didn't have much of a choice, did he?
He let out a nervous exhale, unsure of what to expect next.
"I..I guess I'm ready," he said.
"Don't be afraid," the voice said in a gentle tone.
Not the best advice to hear, but he'd accept it.
"Step towards the light. Can you do it?"
Sora walked into the light that was in the middle of the pillar.
"Okay, now what?"
No response. He was about to open his mouth when a stone pedestal magically emerged from the ground. A black shield with a red outline materialized on top of the pillar. Engraved in the middle of it was what appeared to be a red mushroom insignia.
"Power sleeps within you."
Before he could inquire about the shield, a pedestal analogous to the first one emerged from the ground; resting on it was another weapon: a staff. On the edge of the staff was a blue mushroom symbol. These mushroom symbols were peaking Sora's curiosity. They reminded him of a book he read in school called: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. He wondered if he was having a similar experience like Alice. But then again, he doubted this "happy place" would have a mad tea party.
The voice continued. "It will give you form."
Another pedestal appeared; this one contained a sword with a yellow hilt. Unsurprising, there was a mushroom symbol embedded in the middle of it.
"It will give you strength."
Sora was now stuck in the middle of these three weapons. Confusion was pounding on Sora's head like sonorous drums.
"Choose well."
"Choose? Why? Am I going to fight against someone?"
Yet again, no response. Sora's confusion was morphing into frustration. Okay. He'll play along. Having always played with toy swords in his youth, Sora's decision was incontrovertible. He walked over to the sword, picked it up with both hands, and examined every detail. The sword's weight was adequate – not too heavy, not too light.
"The power of the warrior. Invincible courage. a sword of terrible destruction. Is this the path you seek?"
Those qualities alone would be good enough, he thought. Besides, having a sword around might give him some sense of security while journeying throughout this mysterious place.
"Sure," he said.
Sora became startled when the sword dematerialized right in front of his eyes.
"Whoa! How about a little warning before you do that!?"
"Your path is set. Now, what will you give up?"
"Why? Is there a reason for all this?" Sora said. He sighed, nettled. "Lemme guess what you're going to say: absolutely nothing, right?"
The voice answered his question with silence. Was this a test? If so, it was doing exceptionally well at testing his patience. And the worst part was, he couldn't be errant, having no choice but to follow the voice's commands like a dog. It was his only chance to leave this place alive.
After inspecting the other two weapons, he decided to relinquish the staff. No particular reason; he just wanted to continue his journey. After doing so, he heard the voice again.
"The power of the mystic. Inner strength. A staff of wonder and ruin. You give up this power?"
"Yes."
The staff vanished from his sight.
"You've given up the power of the mystic. Is this the form you choose?"
Sora shrugged. "I guess so."
All of a sudden, the three pillars started to sink into the ground. How they were sinking into a solid platform was the last question on Sora's mind, because the entire floor started rumbling. Then, the platform started shattering away like glass. Eventually, the ground below him was gone, and he found himself falling again. Vestiges of shattered glass fell with him.
To Sora, it felt like he was falling for eternity. Or maybe just waiting to see anything made it feel slower to him. Either way, he was nervous about what awaited at the bottom (granted that there was a bottom). Soon, another glass pillar came into view. He was relieved. Albeit only slightly. His instincts knew that the mysterious voice had other ambiguous plans for him.
He managed to stand right side up and land safely on his feet. Sora exhaled again. He took a moment to look at the new pillar. Another picture. This one contained the image of a beautiful woman who wore a pink dress. She had long blonde hair, pointy ears, and wore golden shoulder pads. Adorned on her wardrobe and jewelry were insignias of three triangles coming together. Sora also noticed the tiara on her forehead, indicating that she was royalty.
Before he could ponder over this next image, the sword he chose appeared in his hand.
"You've gained the power to fight. That is, if you know how to use a sword."
For the first time since arriving at this place, Sora exhibited a confident smirk.
"Do I know how to use a sword? Ha! Check this out!"
Sora swung the blade a few times, displaying some of his techniques. Growing up, Sora would always spar with his best friend Riku, developing skills with a sword (obviously the swords they sparred with were fake), so using it felt second nature.
After a few swings, Sora rested the blade over his shoulder, grinning in pride.
"Not bad, huh?"
"Not bad at all. Such a natural talent. But remember to use that talent to defend yourself and your friends from 'them.'"
Sora looked up at the voice with a curious expression. "'Them?'"
"In front of you!"
Sora did as instructed, and noticed two bizarre humanoid creatures arise from the ground. They had pitch black skin, a round, spherical head that spouted twisted antennae, and other than having cold, lifeless yellow eyes, they lacked facial features. The creatures display their vicious sharp claws. Despite appearing bipedal, they also walked on all fours. They approached their hapless victim.
"What the heck are those things!?" Sora asked, feeling a terrified surge in his spine.
"Keep your light burning strong."
One of the creatures lunged at Sora. He brought the blade up just as the creature knocked him onto the ground. It was right in his face. His blue eyes met the creature's yellow emotionless ones. Sora's heart pounded at an incredible rate, from both the adrenaline and terror.
However, his downfall would be contingent on showing any sign of fear. He had to focus. Using every ounce of strength, he pushed the creature off him; after standing up, he slashed the creature straight in half before it could attack again; it exploded into dust, eroding into nothingness.
Sora turned his attention to the other creature. It swung its claw right at his left foot, but he moved back and lifted it. He tried to counter by thrusting his blade right at the creature, but it did something unexpected – merge into the floor. The only thing Sora's blade hit was the ornate ground. Bewilderment continued digging itself far below an undergrowth of questions.
He watched as the creature ran a few feet back, moving like a shadow desperately searching for its owner. The creature finally emerged from the ground and turned to face Sora, who was not at all intimidated by this monster's special ability. He was not going to let it beat him. His confident attitude was mightier than the weapon in he wielded.
"Quite the tricky one, aren'tcha? Unfortunately for you, I'm trickier!"
The two ran right for each other. When both were close enough, the creature leaped into the air, ready to pounce on him. Sora dropped onto his backside and slid across the ground. He held the sword straight up, and the creature flew right through the sword - upon which it disintegrated into black dust.
Sora lay on the ground for a few seconds, catching his breath from the fight. The adrenaline was rushing through his veins faster than furious cars on a racetrack. In his heart, he had a feeling that this fight was only a prescience for worst things to come. What were those creatures? They were cute looking, but vicious.
Sora rose to his feet and wiped the sweat from his forehead. He knew it was a long shot, but he decided to ask the voice about the creatures. Only the voice spoke up first in an alarming tone.
"Behind you!"
Sora turned around to catch another dark creature flying right for him. With little time to react, Sora shifted his torso to avoid the strike. However, the creature just managed to slash through his left shoulder. Sora clenched his teeth from the sharp pain. Fortunately for him, the damage wasn't severe, but the aches mingled within his receptors.
Angry from being caught off guard, Sora brought his blade down, but the creature merged with the ground, causing him to miss. After composing himself, he formulated a plan. Its movements were predictable, like a wild animal. He inferred that it would need to resurface at some point. Then he'd make his move.
The creature ran around the entire area. Not once did Sora blink; he was keen on keeping that creature in his peripheral vision. Finally, it started emerging from the ground. Sora dashed for the creature and kicked it right in the chin; it went flying backwards. While it was dazed, Sora brought his blade down and defeated the creature.
A sense of relief overtook Sora's senses. He was glad the battle was over. But the lingering pain in his shoulder refused taper off into relief. Pulling the left side of his jacket up, he noticed claw marks on his shoulder. Luckily the cut wasn't deep, but he could still feel the sting tingle his senses.
"Fret not," the voice said. "Your wounds will be tended to...in time."
What does that mean, Sora thought? Does this voice just have an affinity for speaking in vague sentences? Regardless, he didn't want to wait around in aggravation. Especially since another dark monster had appeared in front of him.
Sora braced himself for another round, but the creature dove into the ground, creating a black puddle. Which expanded in mere seconds. Sora backed away from the puddle. He noticed another one appearing to the right. Soon, they were everywhere, and then conflated into a pool of darkness. Sora felt something tug at his foot, and like an undertow, the darkness pulled him into the depths of the dark ocean.
Darkness covered his senses. Breathing became difficult, as if someone was strangling him. Struggling did nothing, but he continued anyway, refusing to accept his fate. There were moments where he wanted to scream, but knew that no one would come to his aide. Even the voice would probably say something vague like, "With death brings new beginnings."
Everything seemed hopeless. Suddenly, he started to see brightness again - a burst of air entered his mouth and embraced his lungs. Opening his eyes, he noticed he was on another platform. Unlike the previous two, people weren't imprinted on the glass ground. Upon standing up, he noticed that the platform was pink; there were three heart symbols, and in between those hearts appeared to be silhouettes of women.
Turning to his left, he noticed a door on the other side of the pillar. He approached it with caution, keeping his eyes open for anymore creatures. Sora noticed something odd about the door; it was transparent. There's no way I'm getting in there, he thought. And even if he did, what enigma would await him?
A strange chill tickled the back of his neck. Turning around, he saw a lone treasure chest in the middle of the area. The strangeness never ceased, he thought. What could be in there? Possibly a trap. But did he really have a choice at this point? Choice was being held hostage by predetermined fate. Vigilant, he opened the chest to find a small jar inside. On the front of the jar was a star insignia.
"Drink to heal your wounds."
Sora opened the lid to see yellow liquid swirling inside. While the voice had been vague so far, at least what it said sounded truthful. Putting the edge of the jar up to his lips, he drank every drop. His tongue was greeted by a strong pineapple taste. Not bad, he thought. In an instant, Sora no longer felt the pain in his shoulder, and noticed that the cut was gone.
"Whoa! That stuff really works! Thanks...um...whoever you are!"
"Then continue forth."
Sora turned to face the door. "How? The door is-"
He noticed that door was solid.
"Should've seen that coming."
Sora ran over the door, and stopped right in front of it. Taking a deep breath, he placed his hands on the handles. He waited a few moments. His heart tried to take refuge in his stomach, as if fearful of what awaited it. However, Sora had to convert that nervous feeling into excitement. After all, he was curious about what awaited on the other side. Maybe it'd be something incredible.
He pulled the handles, and opened the door. Behind it was a powerful, blinding light. Sora squinted his eyes, and, finding his courage, stepped into it.
Awake. I'm awake. The dream's over, he thought in excitement. That was Sora's assumption when he saw the familiar lush palm trees of his island. He had to be home. This crazy nightmare was over. He found himself on a wooden platform, which was located at the left corner of his island. In front of him he noticed three of his friends sitting around: Tidus, Wakka, and Selphie. He was relieved to see them, too.
"Hold on," the voice said. "The door won't open yet."
Upon hearing that voice, a disheartened moan crawled out of Sora's mouth. "Oh, no."
"First, tell me more about yourself."
Sora felt uncomfortable sharing his personal life with the mysterious voice. But, if that's what it took to wake up from this nightmare, he'd have to begrudgingly comply.
"Well, I like running, swimming, keeping my hair spiky, and—"
"No, no. Initiate a conversation with one of your friends."
Sora shrugged and walked over to Selphie, who was sitting on a small wooden fence. Selphie was a young girl with brown hair, and she wore a yellow dress.
"Hey, Selphie," Sora said, feigning a casual tone to belie his uneasiness.
"What's most important to you?" she asked.
"Beg your pardon?"
"I said, what's most important you?" she said. "C'mon, Sora. Everyone has to have that one thing that is invaluable to them."
Since when did Selphie get so philosophical suddenly? Either way, he never took the time to think about that, and mulled over her words.
"To be number one," he said.
"Is being number one such a big deal?"
Sora didn't reply. What was the point? This wasn't the Selphie he knew. Right now, his main concern was leaving this illusion that masqueraded itself as his island. He said good-bye and returned to the middle of the area.
Sora looked up at the sky. "I answered her question. What's next?"
No responds.
"Aw. c'mon! Not even a hint?" Sora groaned, nettled. "Fine. Guess I have to talk with the others, huh? You could be a little more specific next time!"
He was rambling now. There was so much suppressed frustration over the "helpful" advice he had been receiving. But expressing reproof wouldn't help his current predicament. Time to keep moving, he thought. Next, he approached Wakka, a teenage boy that had a bizarre hair style. The front of his orange hair had a single spike that went upward. Sora wondered how many bottles of hair gel valiantly sacrificed their lives to form that spike.
Other than the weird hair that would give stylists a heart attack, the only other notable thing about Wakka was the ball he held in his hand. He and Tidus both played a sport called Blitzball together; in fact, Wakka was captain of their Blitzball team at school. He smiled as Sora approached him.
"Wassup man?" Wakka said with a heavy accent.
"Nothing much. How are you?"
"Oh, same old, same old, brudda. Tell me, what do you want outta life?"
An immediate answer came to Sora; because it resonated so much with him.
"To see rare sight," he said.
Sora always had a desire to leave his island ever since he was a little boy. He wanted to see new, exotic places. An adventurer at heart, he hoped to achieve that dream one day.
"To see rare sights, huh?" Wakka said "Sounds interesting."
Sora walked over to his last friend, Tidus - a teenage boy who he'd described as being full of boundless energy. He had sandy blonde hair, and wore an opened yellow shirt, unique navy pants, with one leg being slightly higher than the other, and wore yellow sandals.
"Hey, dude," Tidus said. "What are you most afraid of?"
Sora couldn't think of a suitable answer, so he said the first thing that leaped from his throat. "Getting old...I guess."
"Is it really scary to old?" Tidus asked.
The voice spoke up. "You're afraid of getting old. You want to see rare sights. You want to be number one. Your adventure begins at dawn. As long as the sun is shining, your journey should be a pleasant one. Is this how you wish to proceed?"
Sora smiled. "Sure, why not?"
"The day you will open the door is both far off and very near."
A confused expression appeared on his face. "What are you talking about? Didn't I already open the" –he sighed. No point in asking– "forget it."
Sora waited to see what would happen next. At first, nothing. He looked at the illusions that were supposed to be his friends. Gone. He was alone again. His heart sank – real or not, seeing those familiar faces made him feel better. Now he had to throw himself back into this strange reality –alone with nothing but trepidation, unsure of what to expect next.
A small ball of light appeared in front of him, and exploded into a bright flash that covered the area. After it vanished, he appeared on another glass platform – the one place he did not miss in the slightest. The picture on this one depicted a blonde-haired woman holding a light pink umbrella. She wore a long pink dress and had long white gloves.
Standing in front of her were strange anthropomorphic mushroom creature. This whole thing is weird, Sora thought. And that was beyond an understatement. Walking forward, he called out for somebody. Anybody would do. Even the confusing litanies of the voice would suffice.
Somebody, or rather, something, did respond to his call. The strange creature Sora encountered before appeared to his left. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed another appear. Another one soon followed.
And another. And another.
Sora found himself surrounded by eight of the mysterious creatures, and summoned his sword out of thin air. He wasn't sure how he called for it at will; it almost felt second nature to him. The boy looked over his shoulder to see the hindmost creatures run at him. He did a back flip over it, landed, turned around, and ran towards the center of the platform.
His plan was to get the creatures close enough to each other; that way he could take out a couple at once. One of the creatures intercepted him and swung its claws at his chest. Sora rolled to his right. He immediately brought his blade down to counter. The creature merged into the ground and retreated. Two more appeared on each side of him. The one on Sora's right swung at him, but he brought his blade inward to counter.
The creature to his left leaped into the air, preparing to strike. Sora delivered a fierce kick and knocked it into three of its brethren. Turning back to the creature who just parried him, he found himself shifting his torso right to dodge its incoming claw. When it tried to strike with the opposite claw, Sora swung his blade in and knocked it backwards. Stunned, it couldn't defend itself from the incoming strike. It disintegrated right before Sora's eyes.
One down. Sora looked over his shoulder to see the other seven running right for him. Taking a huge risk, he decided to head straight at them. Sora hacked and slashed his way through the group, dodging their attacks, and taking damage from some strikes. To Sora, the battle seemed to be lasting forever. Defeating these creatures wasn't too hard; there were just so many to face.
Regardless, the number of creatures dropped quicker than dominos. There was only one left. Sora had no problem disposing of it. Victory was obtained, but not rewarded; he was still stuck in this strange place, and now had a few scars on his body. Sora took a moment to catch his breath.
But he couldn't rest for a long; glass stairs suspended in midair materialized in front of him. Each step appeared one at a time, and the path led upward to another pillar. No time to linger, Sora thought. Have to keep moving. He took his time climbing the stairs, to regain his strength. Despite being in a strange place, he couldn't help but admire the beautiful, ornate artistry of the glass floors – on both the stairs and the pillars.
Upon reaching the top of the stairs, he stepped onto the platform. Sora looked down to see what picture was embedded on the floor. The picture was of an anthropomorphic blue vixen. Her only forming clothing was a golden bra-like top and a white loincloth. She wore a tiara, a necklace, and silver bracelets on her arms and legs.
Standing behind her was an anthropomorphic fox with cream colored skin. Sora could only make out the back of his head.
His eyes trailed upwards, and he noticed a bright beam of light coming from the sky. Was there an opening that led to the surface? Sora walked closer to the light to get a better view.
"The closer you get to light," the voice said, "the greater your shadow becomes."
Instinctively, Sora looked back at his shadow; it was strangely tall for a shadow. A bad feeling trussed Sora's stomach like a knot; it twisted harder when his shadow emerged from the ground.
"What the–!?"
The shadow grew bigger; it started towering over Sora's head. All he could do was back up in fear
"But don't be afraid."
Don't be afraid!? Are you kidding? You're not the one standing in front of a giant shadow, Sora thought. The shadow's entire form morphed into something else; something sinister. Its body became muscular; the arms became ridiculously long, while the legs were short; at the bottom of the legs were two thin feet that curved inwards. Two small wings appeared on its back, and a huge hole in the shape of a heart appeared on its abdomen. Tentacles appeared on its head, and they wiggled around slowly.
"And don't forget..."
Forget what? That he had a whole life ahead of him. No, don't be negative; must escape, he thought. Sora ran for the stairs, but upon reaching the edge, he noticed they were gone, and caught himself before falling. Why didn't he see that coming? Was he trying to be hopeful? Most likely. But even hopefulness wouldn't save him from the monstrosity that had appeared.
One of Sora's options when it came to fight or flight was rendered useless. He knew what he had to do. Summoning every ounce of courage, he drew his sword and turned to face his adversary. The monster loomed over him, staring right into his soul with those cold, emotionless eyes. Sora pushed the lump in his throat down and ran right for the giant monster.
The monster clenched its right fist and gathered a ball of dark energy. It brought its fist back, preparing to strike. Sora rolled to his left, just avoiding the incoming attack. As he got to his feet, he noticed the monster held its fist in the ground; it was emanating a small pool of darkness. That's it, Sora thought! He could run up the monster's arm. Just as he was about to jump on, one of the small creatures he fought earlier emerged from the pool and tackled him to the ground.
Sora managed to push the creature off him, and defeated it in an instant. Before he could continue towards the monster, three more little creatures emerged from the darkness. Growing irritable, Sora ran right at the creatures, cutting through each one of them. After defeating the last one, he noticed the monster's right fist was above him. Sora leaped backwards to avoid the fist as it slammed into the ground.
The monster threw a punch at Sora with its left hand. With no time to dodge, he brought his blade up to catch the attack. The force from the punch knocked Sora him a good distance. After regaining his footing, he saw the creature on its knees; it fired a purple energy ball out of its stomach. Sora ducked to avoid the attack.
He didn't have time to rest; another one came right at him. Sora rolled to his left. The monster's attacks were fast. He couldn't find an opening. All he could do was run and dodge. Overtime, however, Sora started to understand the patterns. He formulated a plan.
The creature charged another attack. It was time! Sora held his sword like a bat. When the creature fired the attack, Sora gasped upon seeing three energy balls coming at him. Either way, he stood his ground as the energy closed in on him.
Sora swung his blade with all his might and knocked the attack right back at the monster, hitting it right in the eyes; it covered them from the immense pain. Now's my chance, Sora thought. He was ready to attack when the creature took its left hand and slammed it into the ground, knocking the boy onto his backside.
The monster removed its opposite hand and slammed it into the ground, too. A small wave appeared underneath Sora; he tried to move, but the wave wrapped around his legs like vines. Panic overtook over his senses; he felt helpless. Upon looking back up, he was greeted by the vacant stare of the monster.
"–But don't be afraid."
Darkness started to cover his body. With what little mobility he had left, Sora desperately tried run away – no avail. He was pinned down like a fragile animal.
"You hold the mightiest weapon of all."
Darkness covered his arms, his legs, and his chest. He was frightened; so frightened that he screamed in terror, which produced a frightening sound:
Silence.
Sound. Small. Taste. Feel. All his senses were vanishing before him. Struggling seemed pointless.
There was no escape.
"So don't forget..."
The final image Sora saw before being completely consumed was the monster's empty yellow eyes – an unsightly image he would carry to his grave. Soon, all he saw was darkness.
"You are the one who will open the door."
For the longest time (or at least what felt like a long time), everything was quiet. That is until the gentle sounds of ocean waves broke the silence, which were followed by birds happily chirping. Familiar sounds of his island. Was he finally home? He opened his eyes.
After taking a second for his vision to adjust, he was greeted by the clear blue sky. He felt drowsy. And still a bit paranoid. How could he be sure this wasn't another illusion? Taking his time, Sora sat up and shook his head. He noticed that he was on the beach of his island. Sora lightly grasped the warm sand and felt the particles slide through his fingers. Looking ahead, he saw the crisp, clear water; the waves made their way onto shore, and then went back out to sea.
Everything was calm – just the way it should be. Maybe this nightmare was finally over. Relieved, Sora opened his mouth to unleash a sonorous yawn. He wasn't fully awake yet. A few more minutes will do, he thought. He lay back onto the warm sand. Only to be greeted by a familiar red-haired girl. As if a lightning bolt struck his senses, he sat up in surprise.
"Whoa!" he cried.
Turning around, he saw that Kairi was leaning over to look at him. She giggled upon seeing the confused, and somewhat irritable, expression on his face.
"Aw, give me break, Kairi," Sora said. "Do you always have to sneak up on me like that?
She grinned. "Well, of course. That's how I like to wake up lazy bums like you up. I figured you'd be here snoozing."
"But I wasn't snoozing! I was in this strange place. This huge, black THING swallowed me up! I couldn't breathe, I couldn't –"
Sora felt a sharp pain in his head, and rubbed it. Must've slept funny. Kairi couldn't help but role her eyes.
"I don't know, Sora," she said. "You WERE snoring pretty loudly. Construction workers would tell you to turn it down a notch."
Sora exhibited a good-natured smile. "Hey!"
Kairi laughed. "Couldn't resist! But you were probably dreaming."
"It wasn't a dream!"
But the more he thought about it, the more he started to think otherwise. Something about it felt real; he remembered the aches and pains from fighting those creatures. Nothing made sense as he tried to piece everything together.
"Or was it?" He looked down, digging deeper into his thoughts. "I don't know. What was that place? So bizarre..."
"Yeah, sure," she said.
Kairi walked towards the shore and looked out at the horizon; she was wondering what lay beyond the ocean. And, after months of planning, their dreams were about to come true.
"I can't wait to see what's out there," Kairi said.
Sora smiled. "Me either. What do you think we'll encounter? Pirates? Aliens? Man, just thinking about this trip gets me pumped!"
"Don't get too pumped," Kairi said. She chuckled. "You'll waste all that energy and get tired. We don't need any more laziness from you today."
"Heh, very funny," Sora said. While on the subject of other worlds, a thought crossed his mind. "Say, Kairi, what was your hometown like? You know, where you grew up?"
"I've told you before, I don't remember."
"Nothing at all?"
Kairi briefly searched her memories for even the smallest fragment of her home world. No avail.
"Nothing," she said.
"You ever wanna go back?"
Kairi said without hesitation, "Well, I'm happy here, silly. Why would I go live there if I can't even remember it?"
"True."
"But you know...I wouldn't mind going to see it."
"I'd like to see it too," Sora said. "Along with any other worlds out there. I wanna see em' all!"
Kairi excitedly turned to Sora. "So what are we waiting for? Let's go right now!"
"Hey, aren't you guys forgetting about me?" a familiar voice called out.
Sora and Kairi turned to see Riku walk up to them. Cradled in his right arm was a log. He smiled while shaking his head at them. They love to get ahead of themselves.
"Besides, how are you gonna GET to other worlds?" Riku said. "By doggy paddling out to sea?" The raft's not finished yet, you goofballs."
Kairi giggled. "Heh. Guess we got a little carried away."
With the dream still fresh in his mind, Sora was relieved to see that the ocean didn't consume Riku into its vast digestive tract.
"Riku! You're okay!" Sora said.
Riku raised an eyebrow at his friend. "Uh, yeah. Of course I'm okay."
Riku's glanced at Kairi; she could tell he wanted an answer for Sora's strange behavior.
"Sleeping," Kairi simply said.
"Not surprised." Riku rotated his left arm around. "Well, I'm okay, but a little sore from working on the raft. By myself."
Sora rubbed his head sheepishly. "Ooh. Sorry about that, man."
"That's okay," Riku said. He walked up to Sora. "You can make it up to me by picking up the slack."
Before Sora could respond, he saw Riku toss the log at him. He grabbed it, but ended up falling onto the ground. Kairi giggled again. Riku walked over to her, stopped, and both hands on his hips, still smiling.
"Don't think you're off the hook, either," Riku said, "'cause you're just as lazy as he is."
Kairi smirked. "So you noticed. Okay, we'll finish it together!"
Riku, however, was tired from working on the raft. He sat down on the sand to relax for a few minutes. But his time of respite was immediately cut short by what Kairi said next:
"I'll race ya!"
Riku and Sora looked at her in surprise.
"Huh?" Sora asked.
"What, are you kidding?"
Kairi chuckled. "Now who's the lazy one? Ready...go!"
Hearing the words 'go' was like a match being lit inside the boys. Sora and Riku couldn't resist competing against each other, no matter what the reason; there was just something so thrilling about it. They've shared this competitive streak since childhood, and it wasn't going away anytime soon. The two looked into each other's eyes, seeing that familiar burning desire to win.
The boys scrambled to their feet and took off for the other side of the island. Kairi followed close behind. They couldn't help but laugh all the way there. Words could not eloquently describe the amount of the fun they had together; they hoped those halcyon feelings would last forever.
As they ran under the bridge, they failed to notice that a mysterious person wearing a brown cloak was watching them.
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