"The door has opened...The door has opened Sora! Now we can go to the outside world! Once we step through, we might not be able to come back. We may never see our parents again. There's no turning back! But this may be our only chance! We can't let fear stop us! I'm not afraid of the darkness!"-Riku


Xehanort woke up early the next morning. He packed up some clothes and extra provisions for his journey. He then went outside to do some training with his Aura Weapons. He was working on a technique he had dubbed Peerless Slash. It was a flurry of light speed slashes that temporarily stunned the opponent. It was followed up by two jumping slashes that finished the opponent off. Xehanort had recently discovered that by using his Aura Weapon as conduit he could channel his excess power reserves to increase the strength or speed of his attacks. This new technique was the results of his discovery. After training, Xehanort returned to his house where is father was now waiting for him.

"You must be excited. I don't recall the last time I've seen you up so early," his father said with a smirk.

"Ha ha ha," said Xehanort.

"By the way happy birthday!" his father said.

He reached over and handed Xehanort a small package with his name on it. Xehanort eagerly opened it and pulled out a long gray sleeveless coat. The coat was made of extremely light material and also had a hood.

"That has been handed down from father to son for generations. It is always given when one becomes of age. It's a lot more suited for combat than that stiff vest you have on now", explained his dad.

Xehanort looked down at his vest. Now that he thought about it his vest had gotten quite tight on him. Xehanort had begun to become more muscularly developed with all the training he had done over the past few months. His vest, as a result, had grown more restrictive. He took off his vest and put on the jacket. It fit perfectly, almost molding itself to his body. Although Xehanort was not usually one for fashion, even he couldn't deny it looked good on him.

"Thanks father!" said Xehanort with a smile.

"No problem son I'm glad you like it. Now come on we have a long day ahead of us," his father said, as he grabbed his gear and prepared to head out.

Xehanort too grabbed his things and prepared to face whatever the day held in store for him.

...

Twenty minutes later, Xehanort and his father were tying their provisions down. As soon as they arrived at the docks, they noticed that in the distance dark storm clouds appeared to be gathering. As his father wished to be safer rather than sorry, they decided to secure their equipment. After ensuring that everything was safe, they set off for the Northern Islands. As they sailed, his father explained that while the East, West, and South Islands had been mostly explored, the North Islands were a largely uncharted territory. The Elders had decided the time was ripe to start exploring them. In particular, they wanted a certain island explored, one that was marked by a large statue that supposedly took on the shape of a horned creature. Xehanort kept a keen out for the identifying landmark while his father charted their course on his map. Xehanort, who was eager to find the island, would overreact to the slightest sight of movement. This greatly amused his father, who was tense with worry about the growing storm in the distance. Finally, after what seemed like hours of searching, Xehanort spotted a large stone structure mounted proudly on the forefront of an island.

"Land ho!" shouted Xehanort.

His father burst out laughing. "We're not pirates Xehanort!" his father said, still laughing.

Xehanort laughed as well knowing how silly he sounded.

"I know father I'm just excited after waiting all this time!" Xehanort said.

The two men sped off towards the island as the unknown loomed closer and closer.

...

After Xehanort and his father tied their ship to the dock, they set off to do some long awaited exploring. The first thing they set out to examine was the large stone structure that guided them here. After trudging across the large stretch of beach, they finally arrived at the structure. After getting a closer look, Xehanort found himself in awe. Instead of a tribute to some forgotten creature, like he was expecting, before him stood a magnificent statue of a unicorn. The statue depicted the unicorn rearing forward on its hind legs. His father also seemed impressed with the statue, though his interest in it extended only enough to wonder who placed it there.

His father scanned the island then spoke. "Xehanort I think we will cover more ground if we split up. I want to get this done before this storm hits us," he said, as he looked at the looming storm clouds.

"If you find anything of interest or run into trouble just cast Fire into the sky," his father said.

As if to give an example he summoned Tide Breaker and shot a fire spell to the sky.

"Just make you remain vigilant son. We don't have any idea who or what may be on this island."

With that, his father set on his way. Xehanort watched his father walk off into the distance and then returned to examining the statue. He was not sure why but he was drawn toward the structure and he felt that it would lead him into the right direction. He began to study the base of the statue circling the pedestal in which the great unicorn stood. On the front of the base directly underneath the head was a strange marking. Xehanort dusted off the marking hoping to get a clearer picture of what it was. As it turned out the image was that of a crown. It appeared to be on raised surface compared to the rest of the base. Xehanort pressed down on the crown and stepped back.

Immediately the statue started to shake as a beam of light shot from the tip of the unicorns horn. The beam flew high into the sky and shot back down hitting the statue. The structure started to tremble as it began sinking into the ground. Once the statue was completely submerged, a new pedestal began to rise its place. The new pedestal only held a glass podium. Xehanort took a closer look and saw that on the podium was a single piece of paper. The paper itself was ancient and looked as if had been torn from a book. At first, the paper bore nothing on it, but when Xehanort took a closer look, words began to appear on the page.

"Xehanort rowed the boat into the storm, looking back at his father for the last time.

The storm would steer him into the darkness, to a world far beyond his own.

Beyond the storm his destiny awaited."

Xehanort nearly dropped the page in shock. Here on an uncharted island, untouched by man in ages, was a piece of paper with his name on it. Xehanort trembled as he contemplated what this could possibly mean. Here, right in front of him, was a depiction of events that had never happened to him. Yet here they were on a practically prehistoric piece of paper. What was worse was the depiction seemed to confirm he would reach the outside world, but at the cost of never seeing his family again. Xehanort put the piece of paper into his pocket and sunk to his knees. He wasn't sure of what to make of this newest revelation. He began to wonder if he should even hold stock of what was written on the page. For all, he knew this could be some elaborate birthday hoax played on him by his father and the elders. However, no sooner then the thought crossed his mind, rain began pouring down. Xehanort looked up and realized storm that had threatened them from the moment that had left this morning had finally arrived.

...

Dark clouds had gathered with startling speed, as heavy rain poured down like bullets. Xehanort raised his hood to give himself some form of cover. The storm's intensity quickly picked up as the wind began to blow with increasing force. Xehanort managed to gather his senses and as he did he remembered their ship was still on the dock. If he didn't want their ship to be blown to smithereens, he had to secure it better. He ran along the beach as bursts of lightning and claps of the thunder rolled through the island. He got to the ship and began working quickly to secure it to the dock. Once he was finished he got onto the ship to check to see if their provisions were secure. He double checked their equipment making sure everything was tied down. He grabbed his knapsack and pulled the piece of paper from his pocket. He was about to store it into his knapsack when a powerful gust of wind blew it from his hands and out to sea. At that same moment, he heard his father calling out to him. He saw his father running towards the ship as fast as he could. Xehanort who was normally very collected felt himself begin to panic. That page was the very key to his destiny. Without it, he would be forever a prisoner of his tiny island home. He knew it would be very stupid and foolish of him to go after it. Yet his heart was begging him with every fiber of it's being to go. Without another moment's hesitation Xehanort threw his knapsack on and materialized his Aura Weapons. Moving quickly he cut the lifeboat from the side of the ship and dropped it into the water. He grabbed the two oars and jumped into the small boat. As fast as he could he began paddling out to sea. He looked back at his father who just managed to get to the ship.

"Xehanort! What the hell are you doing?" his father shouted.

The devastation and desperation in his voice nearly made Xehanort turn back. He managed to collect himself enough to respond.

"I'm sorry father I have to do this!" he shouted.

"Xehanort get back here! XEHANORT!" his father screamed.

But Xehanort continued to row on. Tears formed in his eyes as the desperate screams of his father for his son to return echoed over the noise of the storm. As hard as it was as Xehanort rowed forward knowing in his heart he had to push on. Xehanort's skill and strength allowed him to navigate the rough waters but he was unsure of how long he could keep up with the increasing intensity of the storm. His eyes desperately scanned the waters for any signs of the piece of paper. However, if it was growing extremely difficult as the storm raged on. Just when Xehanort had begun to think he dragged himself into death's arms for no reason he spotted it. He rowed towards it hoping that his eyes weren't playing tricks on him. His faith was rewarded as he managed to scoop the paper out of the water. To his surprise, however, the paper was bone dry. Xehanort scanned the paper noting it still bore the small paragraph that led him here in the first place. Unfortunately, his moment of distraction cost him dearly as a rogue wave slammed against the side of the small boat. The boat was knocked into the air as Xehanort was immediately flung from it. He clung to the piece of paper in his hands for dear life as the waves knocked him around. Suddenly Xehanort could feel the surrounding water pulling in one direction. Xehanort turned to see the water starting to swirl into a giant whirlpool. In the middle of the whirlpool was what he could only describe as a dark portal. Xehanort began desperately trying to fight the pull of the water when he remembered what the page had said.

"The storm would steer him into the darkness to a world far beyond his own."

If Xehanort's heart could speak it would be screaming right now. He knew this was the moment he had been waiting for all along. With great determination, Xehanort swam towards the dark portal. Without an iota of fear he dove into the portal and felt the dark energy suck him in.

...

Once again Xehanort felt the sensation of floating in mid-air. His body was sore and he felt greatly fatigued. For a moment he wondered if maybe he died and gone to heaven.

"No boy you are not dead," said a disembodied voice.

Xehanort recognized the voice but could not place where he had heard it before.

"Where am I?" asked Xehanort faintly.

"You currently drift the Lanes Between and are close to your destination," said the voice. "Once again you showed no fear in stepping into the darkness. For that, I have chosen you Xehanort."

Xehanort however could no longer perceive what was going on and once again felt himself slipping into unconsciousness.

"Xehanort...my successor.."

...

"Hey are you still alive? Hey come on wake up!"

Xehanort slowly opened his eyes, and awoke to a young boy with long dark hair peering over him.

"Thank goodness you're alive I thought for sure you-" he said, stopping mid sentence as Xehanort suddenly pushed away from him.

Xehanort stood up quickly making quick note that both the page and his knapsack were missing. Xehanort tensed and quickly materialized his Aura Weapons.

"Who are you? Where am I?" Xehanort asked fiercely.

He took note of his surroundings and saw he was in what appeared to be a courtyard. Before him stood a grand set of steps that led to a magnificent castle. The boy who awoke him stepped backward and put up his hands trying to indicate he meant no harm.

" Calm down I was just trying to help," he said.

"Where am I?" Xehanort asked once more.

"This is the Land of Departure..you fell from the sky.. this..this is my master's castle,"said the boy.

Xehanort felt his Aura Weapons slide from his hands and disappear as he fell to his knees. His last thought before he passed out once again was that he had done it. He had finally reached another world.