Heart of Reality

Hey guys, I'm back. Well there isn't much to say so I'll just let you guys get to it. So read and enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not, in any way shape or form, own Kingdom Hearts. That right belongs to Square Enix and Disney. I own myself.

Track List:

Track 01: Destiny Islands- Kingdom Hearts re: CoM OST

Track 02: Ventus's Theme- Birth by Sleep OST

Track 03: Destiny Islands- Kingdom Hearts 1 OST

Track 04: Dive into the Heart-Destati

Track 05: Another Side, Another Story- Kingdom Hearts 2 OST

Chapter One: Shattered Dive

Destiny Islands, 12:30 Destiny Islands Standard Time (DIST)

[Begin Track 01]

It's peaceful here.

On the Destiny Islands life is pretty great. The weather is amazing as there's rarely anything other than sunshine and a slight breeze. The sky is always a lovely cerulean with few clouds, and the ocean is a beautiful blue-green. Several miles off shore is a small play island that is close enough to get there by row boat, but far enough to feel free of our parents; at least for a little while. There's a wonderful community here on the islands too. The people here are friendly and infinitely more polite than those who have visited from the mainland, with very few exceptions. Chief among those are the teachers of both Destiny Elementary and Destiny High. All of them studied at one of the five Great Universities of the mainland. I'm thankful for such talented teachers as I always learn a lot from them. It makes me excited for high school, which starts in two months after summer vacation is over. Well that is if one of my best friends doesn't get his way. So all in all, life here was perfect. However, it seems too perfect. Some part of me knows that something bad is going to happen, but I can't remember what. That's another thing.

[End Track 01- Begin Track 02]

My name is Michael Hikari, I am 15 almost 16 years old, and cannot remember anything about my past.

Three years ago I washed up on the shore of the play island severely injured. I had eight broken ribs, hairline fractures all throughout both legs, a severe break in my left arm, and internal bleeding. In fact if my friend's mom hadn't been on the play island they said I might've died. She's one of the best white mages of the islands. After stabilizing me, I was told she teleported with me to Invidia's Trauma Center which was, as the name implies, on the neighboring island of Invidia. When I woke up several weeks later, I had no recollection of anything but basic knowledge and my first name. This would've been really hard to deal with, but one of the kids that were on the island that day had actually been in my exact position five years earlier. Her name is Kairi Talerith, and she was actually really helpful. In fact it was because of Kairi that our friends Riku Tenmei and Sora Hikari wanted to go to the play island. Apparently there had been a strange daytime meteor shower the day she appeared floating just off the shore of the small island. Then, on the day I washed ashore, the two witnessed the same event and wanted to see if someone new appeared. Needless to say they were right.

After that though my luck took a turn for the better. The lady who saved my life asked me if, rather than be put in an orphanage, I would like for her to adopt me. Here was someone who didn't even know who I was, yet was opening her home to me so that I might have a better life. The relief I felt after hearing that, after being terrified of being in a place full so many kids that I'd be forgotten, was so great I broke out in tears while nodding. That day I gained a mother and brother.

In the three short years I've been here Anna Hikari has been the best mother ever. While I struggled with not knowing exactly who I was, she was sweet, caring, and understanding as she helped me through the worst of it. Even when the nightmares started, and I'd wake up screaming she never got upset or impatient. She'd just sit there with me and help me calm down by talking me through it. Until recently they were just average (if terrifying) run-of-the-mill nightmares. But about a month ago they changed.

The first one started with me standing on a massive structure of concrete, steel, and glass that touched the clouds. All around me there were many like it, but I was on the highest one. While I look around in wonder, my feet start moving towards the edge on their own. I stop on the very edge and a cold terror grips my heart. I try to turn and run but a figure in a black cloak stops me and lifts me by the throat. He then says 'You chose this path,' before throwing me over the edge. I wake up screaming in a cold sweat moments before hitting the ground. The second started only a week ago, the same day Riku decided we should build to 'explore what's out there.' It starts on the play island in the middle of a storm. However, the storm isn't natural. There's dark purple lightning flashing from pitch black clouds and a gigantic orb of dark purple and orange energy hovering in the sky. Suddenly the shadows all around come to life and start rising from the ground. The creatures that take form are ink black with razor sharp claws and huge glowing yellow eyes. The two jagged antennae on their heads twitched wildly as they moved about searching for something. Suddenly a group of six jerked their heads toward me as one and swarmed me. I tried to run but a seventh one rose up behind me and sent me sprawling into the sand. The rest of them were on me in seconds, slashing me with their claws and leaving long bloody gashes. One jumps onto my stomach and looks at me while cocking its head as though confused. Then it reared its arm back and plunged it deep into my chest. At that moment I wake up screaming. I don't know why, but these creatures feel familiar even though I don't know what they are. I certainly never learned about them in combat class, where we learn to defend ourselves from the numerous fiends that are out there. Maybe they're a type of fiend from where ever I come from.

[End Track 02- Begin Track 03]

Any way life is good, so it's almost impossible to stay gloomy. Right now I'm enjoying the sun while sitting on the trunk of the only Paopu tree on the island watching the water move. My friends are here, doing their own thing. Waka is, as usual, hanging out on the beach practicing his blitzball skills so he can join the junior varsity team next year. I think it's cool that he hangs out with us even though most of us are two years younger than him. Selphie, our resident gossip girl, is over on the dock, pretty much doing the same thing as me. She's a hopeless romantic and is always going on about one thing or the other (usually about Paopu fruit) but the oddest quirk of her's is finding the ocean setting 'romantic.' I just can't see it; I mean it's just water. Tidus I think is up in the platform built into the trees, practicing his swordsmanship. He's a little cocky about his abilities, but he is really good. The only two people who can beat him on a regular basis are Riku and Sora. I guess I'm about the same level as Tidus seeing as we tie a lot, but I still think he's a bit better.

My best friends are here too. Riku is out collecting wood right now for the log. Riku is a year older than Sora and Kairi whereas, according to an age-identifier spell, I'm six months older than Riku. According to Sora, ever since Kairi appeared, Riku's grown restless with living on the islands. He's convinced that the redheaded girl (and me for that matter) came from a different world, and he wants to go out and see it and any other world out there. Kairi agrees, which means so does Sora, but I'm a bit skeptical. I mean sure, Kairi and I appeared after meteor showers, but that doesn't mean we're from different worlds. Then again, I've never seen anyone with the exact shade of red Kairi's hair is nor have I heard of anyone having an ice blue ring around their irises like I do, but that could just mean we're from across the Great Ocean where no one's been yet. Kairi is standing over by the door that opens into the tunnel that goes through to the other side of the island. Being the physically weakest of the four of us, she is acting as supervisor for Project Otherworld, which is what I named our plan of building a raft and sailing away. She's made up a list of supplies we'll need, and using her superior knowledge of the play island, directs us to where we can find them. Sora and I are supposed to both find materials to make the raft, but by way of shared laziness we hadn't gotten to it yet. In fact now that I look over to where my adoptive brother is lying on the beach, I can see that he's got the right idea. With a big yawn I stretch my arms out and place them behind my head as I lean back to lie down on the comfortable tree trunk. I close my eyes and within two minutes I follow Sora into the land of dreams.

[End Track 03- Begin Track 04]

Here I am again. On top of the giant building in the clouds. However this time was different. Before the nightmare was just that, a nightmare. Now though, it was lucid. I can completely control my actions. In fact I'm not even losing control of my body. A strong sense of curiosity envelopes my senses and I walk over to the edge. Whereas before there had been many tall buildings, skyscrapers if I remember right from school, now there was just the one I stood on. Also, instead of seeing the ground far below all I could see was darkness. I back wearily from the edge, when a voice reverberates through the air around me.

Do not be afraid. Take the plunge. It is the first step in your journey to unlock that which lies forgotten.

Startled, I let loose a yelp of fright and jump a bit. I whirl this way and that looking for whoever the voice belonged to. "Hey who's there?!" I yell, before the last statement catches up to me. "Wait do you mean my memories? Answer me!?"

I was of course met with silence (which in all honesty is better than the usual hooded figure), so I walked back to the edge and looked over. It was still pitch black down there, but what did I have to lose. I'd just wake up before hitting the ground. So with that in mind I leaned forward and fell into the darkness below. The instant I entered the darkness, I was suddenly falling through water. Yeah that's right, falling not sinking. After what feels like hours, my body rights itself so I'm falling feet first and land gently on an unseen surface. In an instant I'm no longer in water and a blinding light pierces the darkness making the shadows on the ground break up and fly away as a flock of doves…wait what?

What kind of weird dream is this? Maybe…. Maybe it was the coconut milk I had earlier. Man I thought it tasted funny. That's what I get for having Sora grab it for me. That lazy bum never checks the expiration date on anything. As I look around I get this strange feeling of déjà vu. The surface I'm standing on is a massive stained glass pillar that extended down far into the inky darkness below. Pictured on the pillar was the image of a stunningly beautiful young woman with tanned skin dresses in light blue cropped tube top and pants of the same color which appeared to be made of a light material. Her eyes were closed so I couldn't see what color her eyes were, and she appeared to be sitting. Around her head there were circles with different figures in them. There was a man that appeared to be her age, a portly looking man with a poofy hat that had a feather, a tiger, a strange looking man with pointed ears and a lamp. All throughout the stained glass, there were fracture lines that had light filtering through them. A single beam of light shone down in the center of the platform.

As with all journeys, this one starts by taking the first step forward. But be forewarned. Once you take this step there is no turning back. There will be many hardships. Can you do it?

Oh joy. The foreboding, mysterious voice says there will be hardships. However, it also said this was the way to unlock my memories, and since I'm obviously dreaming maybe this is my subconscious trying to fix itself. So I shrugged and walked forward. Suddenly a rumbling sound filled the air and three pedestals rose from the ground each accompanied by a flash of light. From the light appeared three objects: a sword, an attack shield, and a staff. Each, in some way, had three connected circles that made me thing of a head, though I don't know why.

A great power sleeps within your fractured heart. If you give it form, it will give you strength. Now….which will you choose?

Something deep within me started to stir, and I began to get the feeling that I'd seen this all before. Whatever was going on, it was serious and I got the feeling I was going to need everything I could get to make it through and keep my friends safe.

"I choose all three," I announce to the surrounding darkness. "For not choosing any given path would create a weakness that those who wish me harm could exploit. I will not let that happen as it could then endanger those I care for."

There was nothing but silence for roughly the next five minutes before the voice spoke again.

You have chosen a difficult path to travel. However, it is the least traveled paths that are the most rewarding. Hope that you are strong enough to face what comes for you, so that you may claim said rewards.

Suddenly each weapon was enveloped in light. The staff became an orb of blue light that flew towards me and disappeared into my chest, filling me with a surge of power. The shield appeared in my left hand in a flash of red light, whilst the sword appeared in my right in a flash of silver light. Just as suddenly they disappeared and I heard a large cracking noise. I looked down to see cracks spider-webbing throughout the stained glass platform. Then it shattered into millions of pieces and I was falling into darkness once more.

It felt like I was falling for hours before yet another stained glass platform. This one depicted a young girl with blonde hair wearing a blue dress and what appeared to be a white apron. Like the last one her eyes were closed, though she appeared to be floating in the air and had her hands folded to her chest. The rest of the platform was a beautiful array of colors that blended and swirled together perfectly, and it too had fracture lines throughout it. Like the previous platform, this girl also had circles around her head. There was a rabbit wearing glasses, a strange looking creature with a floppy head, a rather large queen, a grinning cat, and a man in a top hat. I was so absorbed in taking in the platform that I jumped almost a foot in the air when the voice came back, and the sword and shield reappeared. I shifted the shield around and swung the sword a bit t get a feel for it.

You've gained the power to fight. Prove you have the strength to mend the fracture. Don't fall to the dark!

'Fall to the dark? What the hell does that me-'

Suddenly several ink black spots appeared on the ground with a faint swirling noise. A long arm appeared out of one of the shadows and dug its extremely sharp talons into the platform giving off a shrill noise as they gouged into the glass. What followed was terrifying, especially as I had seen something like it in a nightmare. A head rose from the darkness that caused my very soul to freeze in terror. Two bright yellow eyes peered out at me from a featureless face, and, though it should be impossible by appearance alone, I could tell they thirsted for my blood. Two antennae extended from the back of its head and zigzagged all the way down its face. Veins popped out around its eyes that pulsed with a sickly purple light. Its body was the same inky blackness as the hole it climbed out of and it was lanky, yet at the same time you could tell it contained an unnatural strength. Then I remembered there were at least ten more, and they were all looking at me. When I noticed I took an involuntary step back.

That was possibly the worst thing I could have done.

[End Track 04 - Begin Track 05]

The moment I showed fear they all lunged forward. At that moment I had never been happier that Tidus always insisted on practicing using bucklers, because otherwise I would've never been able to get that shield up in time. As it was I barely did and the force of the claw strike sent me stumbling back. Another creature swooped in hoping to take advantage of my moment of weakness. It lunged into the air at me only to be bisected when I swung out wildly with my sword.

Now that I had my footing I squared myself and prepared to fight. For some reason I got the feeling that they were somewhat afraid of me but I couldn't tell why. However, it showed in the way that they didn't all swarm me at once. Three surged forward, claws at the ready. One jumped into the air and began to spin like a saw blade while another turned its sprint into a slide, attempting to take me out at the ankles. The third one sunk into the ground and became nothing more than a fast moving shadow. The slider reached me first and I jumped over it, which put me directly in the path of the buzz saw attack. I brought my shield up and when it came within range I back-handed it as hard as I could with the shield's flat surface. The creature flew back stunned and actually went over the edge of the pillar and fell into the darkness. Then I pointed my sword down just in time to impale the creature that I had jumped over straight through the head.

Unfortunately this caused me to get the sword stuck in the ground. As I frantically tugged on it in an attempt to free the blade the third creature sprung up from the ground and raked its claws across my back knocking me forward so hard that the force of my body dislodged the sword. The handle dug into my stomach knocking the breath from my lungs. Unfortunately the momentum caused the sword to spin and slash me down the front. I managed to stop my slide with my shield before I went off of the edge of the platform, and struggled to my feet. I could feel the warm stickiness of blood running down my front and back, but I could feel...something seep into the wounds on my back weakening me and making everything feel…..darker for lack of a better term. Now I was weakened, bleeding pretty badly, and outnumbered. I almost started to panic but in that moment I felt something spark within me, almost like light filtering in through cracks. It chased away the dark feeling and allowed me to stand a little straighter. I picked up the bloodied sword off the ground, and pointed it at the rest of the creatures. If I was going to die here, I was gonna take as many of these bastards as possible with me.

Ignoring the pain flaring from my torso, I took off in a mad dash straight into the heart of the group of creatures. At the last moment I dashed to the right and slashed right through the head of one only to immediately block the slash of another before putting my blade through its neck. Following through with my momentum, I dropped into a low spin causing one enemy to fly over my head and another to lose its legs to my blade. They started to reform but I stopped that by slamming the bladed edge of my shield into its chest making it disappear in a cloud of black smoke. I whipped my sword around to catch another from shoulder to hip as it tried to jump me, only to catch a foot to the back of my head which rattled my brain and sent me stumbling forward. I swung myself around with my shield out and luckily caught the thing before it could press its advantage. The very bottom of the shield went right through its face causing it to vanish.

I dropped to my knees in exhaustion and looked out over the platform. Thankfully it seemed as though the last of those creatures decided that they had lost enough of their members and sunk into the shadows to disappear completely. I let out a long suffering sigh and fully collapsed on the ground sweating profusely and coming down from an adrenaline high that left me acutely of the aches in my extremities and the sharp agonizing pains in my back and chest. Though I'm not proud of it, the agony was too much and it reduced me to tears.

It was at the height of this agony that I spotted a small bottle with a blue star stained into the glass and filled with a vibrant green liquid lying on the ground not far from where I was. A potion. I felt so much relief that I started laughing, only to stop with a wince as it aggravated my wounds. I slowly dragged myself over to the bottle despite my body's protests, and after about a minute or two I made it. I struggled to remember what my teacher said in combat class through the haze pain created. That's right, she said that the most effective way to use a potion was to drink it, though most didn't because of the taste. Well it couldn't be as bad as the pain I was in. I popped the cork and downed it in one gulp…..and had to fight not to throw it back up. My gods, it's like someone took a dead animal, fermented it, juiced it, and then added a ton of liquefied garbage! As it became easier to keep it down I noticed that the pain in my body was lessening considerably. In fact after five minutes there was no pain. I slowly got up and checked my body over. No wounds.

"Gods I love magic," I said to myself.

[End Track 05- Begin Track 04]

It seems you can fight. Not well it seems, but that will come with time. The day the door opens is both near and far. You'll be ready. Now then….will you take the next step?

"I've come this far, Mysterious Voice from Nowhere," I stated confidently. "Do your worst!"

There was silence for several minutes before there was a deep booming laugh.

Be wary of your arrogance Fractured One, or it may be your undoing. Your test is almost at an end. Step forth into the light to complete your trials…if you have what it take.

I stepped into the beam of light and suddenly the ground beneath me flared up with such an intense light that I was forced to close my eyes and shield my face with my hands or risk going blind. When it died down I slowly opened my eyes and lowered my hands to be greeted by the sight of a new platform. Like the first two, there were countless fracture lines running throughout it. This one was done up in winter colors: blues, purples, and pinks. This time a beautiful young woman (about 18 or 19 years old) was depicted. She was wearing a stunning light blue dress that shimmered as though it was made of ice. Her platinum blonde hair was pulled into a loose ponytail that draped over her shoulder and across her chest. She held herself regally and had her hands out to her sides with her palms out. Surrounding her was a circle of snowflakes, and once again around her head were pictures of different figures. There was a snowman with buckteeth, a reindeer, a regal looking young man with brown hair, a young man with blonde hair who looked scruffy, and a young girl whose red hair had a blonde stripe in it. Just like the others, she had her eyes close. Seriously what was up with that?

As I was looking at the platform, another beam of light came down right in front of me. This time it felt warm and strangely filled me with a feeling of joy and peace. So of course I stood there basking in it. In hindsight that wasn't a good idea.

Take caution, for though the dark is beaten back by light, the closer you get to and the longer you immerse yourself in the light, the larger and stronger the shadows become.

The hairs on the back of my neck stood up, and I hazarded a look behind me. The sight that met my eyes was enough to cause me to whirl around in absolute panic. The shadow I cast was growing larger and was actually beginning to lift from the ground! Soon I was staring down a perfect shadowed copy of myself, right down to my posture. Unfortunately the nightmarishness didn't end there. After a few moments of staring back at me the doppelganger let out an otherworldly shriek that didn't belong to a creature of its size. Then it began to change. It grew and grew until it stood at least 40 feet tall, its hair turned into thick writhing tendrils that obscured its face except for its yellow eyes, and in the middle of its extremely muscular body was a hole in the shape of a heart. Its focus zeroed in on me and a second later its fist was barreling towards me. I barely dodged the attack and as it was the shock wave knocked me over, sending me rolling to the edge of the platform. It was a reminder that there was nowhere to run.

"Alright, you want a fight?" I asked as I reached for the power I received, summoning my sword and shield. "Then that's what you'll get! Come on!"

[End Track 04- Begin Track 05]

With a battle cry I rushed forward to strike at the fist that was still pressed to the ground. When I reached it I spun on my left foot slicing into the creature's wrist with both weapons in quick succession. I followed it up with several powerful strikes with just the sword before it pulled the fist back. It reared back its other fist and plunged it into the platform, creating a flowing pool of darkness. From it small bug like creatures crawled forth. They reminded me of the creatures I faced earlier, only smaller. There were only a few so I dispatched them with quick strikes. They went down surprisingly easy compared to the others. With them dead I decided to try and attack the giant's head so I ran up its arm. I figured all creatures need their head, so it had to be like some sort of universal weak point. When I reached the shoulder I began to hack at the side of the giant's face and neck. It seemed to be working because it began flinching at the blows, making it harder to keep my footing. All of a sudden it reared back to its full height really fast, and I would've fallen had I not jammed my sword deep into its neck and held on for dear life.

The giant wasn't particularly intelligent apparently as it seemed to become confused when I wasn't on the ground after it tried to knock me off. It had barely any time to react when I ripped my blade out sideways from its neck causing black smoke to leak out in large amounts. I ducked as a huge hand flew up to smack me off, only to crash into the side of its own head. The claws that were meant to either shear my flesh of or pierce my body ended up digging into its own flesh. The pained roar that came from the creature actually made the bones in my body rattle, and slightly took the breath from my lungs. Acting quickly I shoved my shield into one of the head wounds, ripped my arm free of the restraints and kicked the shield so it dug in further. I quickly jumped on top of it and used it as a springboard to vault up over its head avoiding another swipe of its hand. I oriented my sword so it was pointing down as I began to fall to its head. With a roar I plunged the sword to the hilt into the top of its head. The creature stiffened and then began to fall forward.

The giant crashed into the ground before I had time to jump off and the impact sent me careening of its head and off the side of the platform. I managed to dig the sword into the side of the pillar and stop my fall, though I almost pulled my arms out of their sockets. My heart was racing as I struggled to pull myself up enough to get to the edge of the platform, but then the sword disappeared and I was falling again.

Don't be afraid. You hold within you the mightiest of all weapons…..and don't forget. You will help open the door.

[End Track 05]

Well there ya go! Let me know what you guys think...please? Later guys!

Next time~ Chapter Two: Door to Beyond

What...what is this thing? Some kind of sword?