The sound of water sloshing to and fro to the rhythm of the waves was like candy to the ears. It was calming, more than anything else I could try and remember. Watching Sora row continuously was also somewhat of a relief, seeing as he was mostly putting his energy versus mine… not that I had no energy, I just barely had some energy.

"You okay?"

"Y-yeah… Just thinking about stuff."

Sora stopped paddling for a moment, letting the waves carry us towards the islands that he had told me he loved. He had gone on rants about how he loved this island. He told me a boy by the name of "Riku" was his best friend and how they planned on doing something involving a trip to a new world, along with a girl by the name of "Kairi". A lot of this was confusing, specifically for me… but I just disregarded the unimportant pieces for now.

"Do you remember your name at all?"

"Not really. I mean… the most I remember is that my name starts with an S." I sat back in the small boat and looked to Sora. "Sorry that I'm entering your friend group without knowing anyone."

"Don't worry about it! My friends on the island are very friendly. You'll fit right in!"

After minutes of paddling, we approached the island and tied up the boats upon the dock. The look of the island was impressive, seeing as the forest and fauna seemed to grow upon the edges while a wooden structure to the left of the docks still managed to hold together. Looking to the right, I noticed a small waterfall coming down, along with a wooden shack and another wooden structure that reached all the way over to another location, where a tree with star-shaped fruit sat. This island was definitely interesting.
"Sora, not to sound rude, but who comes to these islands?"
"Well…" he swung his arms up, placing them behind his head. He thought for a moment then looked at me directly. "There Tidus… Wakka… and Selphie! They are usually around, but I think they are still on the mainland. They all usually play blitzball or they fight each other. Speaking of fighting each other… since we have some spare time, let's have a practice fight!"
"I don't think that's a good idea, Sora." I watched as a wooden blade flew through the air, reminding me of something strange.

-Flashback-

"Seth… Don't forget what your strongest weapon is. The weapon that will lead you through the darkness while also leading you to bigger and better battles…"
"Are you talking about my Keyblade?" I held up an item that looked very fuzzy. It was hard to make out specifically what my 'Keyblade' was, but I didn't care too much about the look.
"Not really." The man that was teaching me walked up and placed his hand upon my heart. "Your heart will always be the strongest weapon. Even when you feel like you're close to fading, let your heart be your guiding key."

-The Islands-

"Hey, are you alright?"

I snapped out of the trance that I had managed to walk into. Sitting there, I looked to my hands and back unto the sand of the ground. I was back and with new knowledge. I tried to repeat the name over and over. 'Seth' that name seemed like it suited me. Especially when I couldn't remember anything else. It felt perfect to me.

"My name… is Seth."
"What?"
"My name is Seth, Sora. I remember my name!"

Sora put both his fists up and smiled. The happiness was beaming across to me. It felt as if Sora had held as much happiness as he could for both me and him. His heart was a sponge to soak up the rest of the atmosphere as well as soak up his friend's feelings.
With the sword in hand, I imagined how I held the 'Keyblade'. When the wooden sword was placed into my right hand, it felt unnatural. It was uncoordinated. I tried a few swings, but to no avail. I then had a brilliant idea. Switching hands, I felt the weight of the blade shift and change to where it was perfect. I threw a few swings that felt smoother, more connected and prepared.
"Seth? Have you ever fought with toy swords before?"
"I think I have. Let's just test it out and see how it goes!" I propped myself into a stance, hanging back as Sora pulled his blade to his side, holding both hands on the handle. He seemed like he had really defined his style.

I then rushed forward, slamming my wooden blade into his. Going through the motions, I felt smooth-natural even. Fighting was like the ocean, calmly sitting upon itself watching as small forces created ripples. As Sora's wooden blade forced me off, he moved into the offensive. He took a swing over head to which I blocked, but was unable to block the attack coming from the front. As he landed the attack, I watched the biggest grin come out of his face. Then, I pulled the blade up to block the final attack he had. I watched as his whole body spun and struck the wooden blade, sending it flying from my hand.

"You're really good!"
"But I lost…"
"Doesn't matter that you lost." Sora walked over and picked up the wooden sword, handing it back over to me. He smiled with his usual grin, but continued to talk "Sometimes a fight can't always be won. Simple as that."

As he said that, he put away his wooden sword and sat back into the sand, watching the sky and the clouds overhead. I sat down next to him and watched as he slowly drifted into sleep, waiting for him to stir or make some kinda noise. To my surprise, he drifted off just like that. Without a fear in the world. I then decided to lay down a little ways away, and looked up the clouds in the sky.
I started to wonder about the voices that I had heard… The thoughts that still managed to loom around each corner in my head, waiting to reveal themselves until the time seemed right, or at least guide me. I wanted so badly to search for my memories, but nothing came upon me. I had little to no ability to search, so I would just have to wait and watch from a distance, preparing for when I had truly regained my memories. With that, I started to feel drowsy… like I was slipping away into a dream as well.
My eyelids slowly started to close. As they sealed shut, I felt myself falling once more. I could see my body being sent spiraling through the darkness once more.

As I fell, I could see a platform underneath me forming. All I managed to see was a girl, a beautiful girl. She wore a silver ball gown, with a very nice tiara and fairly pale skin, that of a ghost. The platform around her was a very somber pink , mixing in with the images of blue and white, showing off her history with simple images.
As I stood there, a light quickly beamed to my hand. A shield-the one that I had managed to acquire- appeared in my hand, strong as ever. The red color jumped out at me more, making sure that I wouldn't forget about the three combined circles that looked like a mouse. I then moved the shield to a better position, feeling the weight in my hand. I fumbled around with it until a voice spoke.

"You gained the power to fight".

I realized what it had been saying to me. It wasn't like the old voice, but a voice to guide me. I took a few swings with the shield, feeling it move as each swing shifted it left and right. The handle was easy to hold onto, but something about the shield made it feel really sluggish.

"All right! You've got it. Use this power to protect yourself and others."

I nodded at the thought and started to walk until a pair of yellow, glowing eyes approached me. The form of the eyes took into a look of a little shadow-like creature. From my mouth, it uttered a word that I couldn't quite catch. Before I even recognized it, I had spoke out of my own control. I then prepared my shield, hearing the voice speak once more.

"There will be times when you have to fight . Use this power to protect yourself and others"

Rushing forward, I was quick to attack the shadow. With each bash I dealt out, the creature was pushed back and eventually dissolved. I watched as it tore itself away, becoming nothing. It was like it had been nothing prior to all of this, just waiting for me to defeat it and break it apart. As I defeated it, I watched another form in front of me. It's yellow eyes had me entranced and preparing my shield in order to send it back to oblivion, whence it came.

"Behind you!"

As the voice shouted, I spun around on my heel and blocked the oncoming scratch from the shadow. I then bashed it back, spinning around and quickly making work of the shadow that was originally in front of me. Once it dissolved, I struck at its friend, bashing it once overhead, once to the side, and finishing with a smooth bash inwards. It then dissolved, going right into the ground.
After defeating all the shadows, I had realized that the shadow that went into the ground started to corrupt the whole pedestal, absorbing all the images so no more could be seen by me or anyone else. I tried my best to get out of the darkness, but it gripped onto my legs and kept pulling me deeper and deeper underneath. It was an unbeatable force that kept dragging me down. I then reached out with the hand that wasn't underneath all the darkness, desperately wishing for someone to save me.

Waking up, I realized that I had been fine. The shield disappeared but upon thinking about it, the shield reappeared in my left hand, strong as ever. Standing up, I looked down upon the platform, noticing that it was bright pink with three silhouettes of what I could only imagine as woman. They each looked very royal, making me question on who they were… but that wasn't important. I decided to look a little closer until I spotted out a door that seemed to be see-through. It was strange. I could put my hand through it, yet I could see it. As I tried to open it, nothing happened. Then, out of nowhere, a chest appeared behind me. With nothing else to do, I decided to open the chest.
Upon opening the chest, with three resounding clicks against the top, the chest popped upon summoning forth a crate to appear behind me. Part of me was getting irritated with the fact that so many things were behind me instead of in front of me, but I just sighed and deal with it anyways. Taking my shield, I started to hit into the crate, breaking it apart into multiple pieces, splinters, and other various parts. They all disappeared after one point, but where it was destroyed was a small item on the ground. Picking it up, I pocketed the item and watched as the door's frame designed into itself.
A small barrel appeared to the side of the door, to which I sighed and also grabbed that. If anymore objects were to create and have me destroy them… I was gonna go mental. I picked up the barrel this time and chucked it, watching the barrel break upon the platform, forming the door itself. With that, the door was complete.
I walked to the door, grabbing at the handles then opening it, revealing a bright light. The light was so blinding, I had to cover my eyes as I walked through it. Once I walked through, I felt myself waking up.

Opening my eyes, I looked to my hands for the shield that I had been given. No signs of it. Looking up the sky, I recognized that I had returned back to the world that I had truly been a part of. The sandy shores lines were underneath me, the waves of the islands splashed in to tell me that I was safe and the nature of the island couldn't be more beautiful.
Looking around, I spotted two strange people standing at the docks. One was wearing blue jeans with a yellow tank top. The yellow tank top, although combined with white, had dark black straps that went across the middle of his chest to the neck piece. His silver hair glimmered with the rays of the sun while his blue eyes stared to me.
The other person wasn't the same. It was a girl, one whose smile was brighter than the sun. Her read auburn hair sat nicely upon her head, with a simple white tank top and a purple skirt to match it. Around her neck was a necklace. It looked like a pearl had been attached at the end, but I wasn't quite sure. They walked up to me and looked at me confused.
"Who are you?" The boy looked to me then to Sora. "Did Sora bring you here?"
"Y-yes." I shook away my fear, recollecting myself. "My name is Seth. Nice to meet you."

Sora was still sound asleep, dreaming of something strange. The girl looked to Riku and silently chuckled. "Riku. How about we grab some stuff for the raft?"
"That sounds like a good plan, Kairi. We don't wanna be slacking off like Sora."
As 'Riku' left, I watched as 'Kairi' waited next to Sora. She watched calmly over him and waited for him to wake up.