Another Angle, Similar Story
It was a beautiful day in Fate Oasis. The hot sun was almost completely blocked by the palm trees that could only grow there. There were small shacks along the lake, and each of them looked roughly the size of a small apartment building. Inside one of the buildings, was a rather tall boy, of about seventeen. He was very tan, mainly due to the hot desert sun. He had dark, almost black hair that looked as if it was almost grown out, but not quite all the way. The hair on the top of his head sat normal, but on the sides and back, it stuck straight up. He was wearing a pair of khaki shorts, had on a t-shirt with a star on it, and had a necklace with a crown on it. He was asleep, and was twitching as if he was having a bad dream.
The fact was, he was having a dream. Although, whether or not it was bad, he couldn't decide.
He was standing alone on a giant platform that looked like stained glass. Immeasurable darkness surrounded the platform and he couldn't see anything except the platform. There was nothing there, except him. After finally deciding that he couldn't see past the edge of the platform, he started to take in what he could see. The platform was richly decorated in bright colors, and in the very center was a mushroom. The stalk was white, with what appeared to be eyes, and the head was red with white spots. He walked over, taking in the rest of the platform. All around were other symbols, though not as significant. There was a one that was three golden triangles that came together to make a bigger triangle, there was large ToS and behind it was a red and blue circle. There was a spiky S in front of a circle that was made up of spirals, there was also a fox with wings, and a small ball with a red star in the middle. The very last one was fat star. As soon as he had taken them all in, he noticed movement behind him. As he turned, he saw a shadow moving quickly from the end of the platform towards him.
The boy started backing up, but not too far, as he realized there was only so much room before he would fall off the edge. And as the shadow was about to reach him, it stopped, and seemed to come out of the platform and make shape and form. It looked like a small bipedal creature, completely black, and had glowing eyes. There was very little space between it and himself. He looked back, and saw that behind him, floating in midair, were a sword, a shield, and a staff. Each of them had the mushroom from the floor engraved in them. He turned back and looked at the creature, and pinched himself. But he didn't wake up. This wasn't a dream. And he knew that the creature in front of him was not friendly. He turned round quickly, grabbed the sword, and turned to face the creature. But as he did so, the sword dissolved into his hand and arm, and was replaced by what looked like a giant key. He turned round, hoping that the staff would not do the same, and found that the staff had also disappeared, as had the shield.
He looked at the key. The hilt was golden, and the blade, which was sharpened on one side, rounded on the other, was silver. The end of the key, which should have unlocked a door, looked like a crown. He turned and faced the creature, his new weapon in his hand. And he lunged at it, easily destroying it with a single stroke of the blade. As the creature dissolved into the darkness, he heard a voice. It was deep, soothing, and forceful. The boy found that even if he had wanted to, he could not have drawn his attention away from the voice.
"Ward," it said, "The creature you have just destroyed is a being known as the heartless. They are a creature that have hearts and bodies, but are so corrupt and evil, that their hearts have blackened and become useless to them and their souls have left them. So they mindlessly seek out other peoples hearts, hoping to restore their own and in the process, making others join their ranks. Beware of them, for the blade which has now chosen you will attract them to you in swarms, droves, and armies. You see, that blade is the only thing that can set the heart of a heartless free. But they fear it, because this kills them, and only their hearts are set free, not their bodies. The heartless are a menace, and the blade in your hand has chosen you, Ward, to defeat them. Do so."
It took Ward a moment to realize that the voice was through. "Wait!" Ward yelled, "Why me? There aren't any heartless here now! Why did the key choose me?"
"The Keyblade has chosen you, for it believes you to be the best vessel for it. And as for there being no heartless. There is one here. Now. It is inside you. All your fears, angers, jealousy. Anything that would turn your heart black is now inside of you. But you must not let it out," and as the voice said this, Ward noticed that he now had a shadow. And it was constantly growing, until it filled the whole platform. It separated from him, and began to take form, just as the heartless had. "For if you do, it will be much harder to defeat on the outside, than it is on the in."
His shadow had grown enormous. No longer resembling him, no longer resembling a human, the gargantuan creature turned to Ward. Ward grasped the Keyblade in his hand so tightly that his fingers grew white. He stepped back, but then, through his own confidence and a nudge from the blade in his hand, he realized that the creature in front of him was nothing that he hadn't faced before. It was the embodiment of his own insecurities. It just looked more fearsome when it was outside of his own body. He ran and faced it head on. It extended a long arm, and quickly struck out at him, but Ward dodged with agility he had never had before, parried with his blade, and thrust it into the creatures knuckles. He then used the blade as a lift and pulled himself up onto the creatures arm. He pulled the blade out, and ran up the arm, and stood on the shoulder. He stared slashing at the creatures face, with such a force that it screamed a horrible cry in agony. It toppled off the edge, and fell. Ward stared down at it, and saw it dig a hand into the platforms side. The platform, which Ward only then noticed was only floating in the blackness, tilted sideways, and ward found himself slipping off. Panicked, Ward stuck his blade into the side of the platform, and held on with all his strength.
The creature was forming a large ball of energy with its hands, using its feet to cling to the side of the platform. It released the ball, which suddenly shot up at Ward. Ward, trusting his instincts and the Keyblade, pulled the blade out of the platform, did a flip in the air, and dove at the ball. When it looked like he was about to collide with it, he swung the blade and sent the ball flying back at the creature. The ball hit the monster, there was a blast of white, and the monster evaporated in a cloud of darkness. The darkness seemed to surround Ward as he landed on the platform. He couldn't see. He couldn't feel. And just as he was about to give into the darkness that surrounded him, a small beam of light shown, and the outline of a small, plump man could be seen. He extended a white gloved hand, and Ward desperately grabbed hold of it. He was pulled into the light.
Ward woke up. Sitting beside him was his best friends, Calub and Beth. Calub smiled at him and said, "Are you ok, man? You were shaking like a madman!"
Ward looked around him. There was no sign of the platform, the darkness, the creature. He half expected to hear the mysterious voice. But nothing. He looked over at Beth, and saw that she looked worried. A pain shot through his stomache, he did not like to see Beth looking so worried.
"No, just a bad dream is all," he replied. He got up and took in his shack. He had it decorated with random bottles. There was a piano in one corner. He looked at his friends. Calub was much shorter than him. He had reddish hair and was almost stocky. Beth was blonde, with blue eyes and was also much shorter than Ward. But Ward had yet to meet someone who was not shorter than he, so he didn't think much of it.
"Oh," Beth said, smiling, "We were worried there for a bit, we thought something was wrong!" Ward felt better when he saw her smiling. It was apparent that he liked her, but he could never tell her that. At least not yet.
"Hey Ward," Calub said, "the reason we're here is because Professor Gadd finally finished our dune buggy! We can head out and see what lies beyond the desert. We just have to pack, so we're gonna leave and go do that. Get packed and meet us at E. Gadd's place, all right?"
Ward was really excited by the news. "Yeah no problem!" he replied. They left, and Ward started putting clothing, food, and water into a large bag he had sewn just for the occasion. Next he gathered his desert traveling clothing, which consisted of a tunic, a stocking hat (which kept the sand out of his hair), goggles, and large boots. The inside of the tunic, hat, and boots was lined with a devise Professor Gadd had invented for them. It was a lining that never grew warm. It was constantly at a temperature of 68 degrees, which was very nice for traveling in the desert sun. After putting the goggles on, which made him look like an enormous bug, he set off for Professor Gadd's hut.
Professor Gadd was definitely the most unique person in Fate Oasis. He was very short, and very old. His head was almost completely bald, except for a tiny white patch in the middle that curled upward. He wore a white lab coat at all times, and had a pair of special glasses that made his eyes look like spirals. He had only moved in a year prior, and since then had become great friends with nearly everyone in the oasis due to his helpful inventions and creations. In one year he made life 12.5 (by his own calculations) easier for the denizens. Two months before this day, Ward, Calub, and Beth had wanted to leave the oasis and see the rest of the world. But they would never be able to cross the desert. Especially not alone. They were swimming in the lake, thinking about life beyond the oasis, when the Professor came up to them. He had a strange back pack on with a suction tube attached to it.
"Why the long faces?" he asked them when he saw them.
"Oh, nothing…" Ward replied. Then he noticed the backpack. "What's that, Professor?"
"Oh this?" asked the professor. "Well, my boy, that happens to be my latest invention! It's called the Poltergust! It's primary function is to suck up spirits, ghouls, and, to put it simply, ghosts! Although, I've mainly been using it to vacuum up my house, as there aren't any ghouls here. Well, I was going to test this baby out in the desert, see how much sand it can hold. I will talk to you later!" And with that, he was gone.
They watched him go for a while, when Calub smacked Ward on the shoulder and said, "Why didn't we think of it before?"
"Think of what?" Ward asked.
"Well, duh, why don't we have old E. Gadd make us something that can take us across the desert!"
Ward remembered asking the professor, the professor (who never turned down an opportunity to invent) gladly excepted, and now, two months later they were finally ready to go. He could hardly wait.
He skidded to a halt just outside the professor's hut. It was larger than most of the other huts, due to the fact that the professor needed more room to conduct experiments and the like. Just outside, was a giant dune buggy. It was big enough for four people to fit inside. Ward smiled as he saw Calub and Beth come from their own houses, each dressed in similar clothing. As they arrived, Professor Gadd came outside. He looked angry, and Ward could see why. He was covered from head, to foot in ashes, and smoke was billowing out from the open door, which he didn't shut so the smoke would exit his house.
"Bad news, I'm afraid," the Professor said disdainfully. Calub rushed over to the professor.
"Professor, are you ok?" he asked, "What happened?"
"I was testing out the fuel I was going to use on your buggy, which is a phenomenal success by-the-way, when I found out that I had miscalculated the amount I was going to put in my model airplane. It was very disproportionate to the airplane, and it blew up most of my cottage. But don't worry, I will have a fresh batch tomorrow. You are just going to have to put off the adventure for one more day. I am truly sorry, my friends."
"No no, professor," Beth said, "We're just glad you're ok!" Ward and Calub both nodded, but it was apparent that Calub would have liked to tell the professor something else. Both Beth and Ward grabbed him and pulled him away.
"You think the old man would be careful or something," Calub said. Beth turned round and smacked him.
"Calub, we should just be grateful that someone like the professor is around to help us out!" she said. "If it wasn't for him, we wouldn't be leaving tomorrow or the next day, or the day after that!" Calub still didn't look convinced. They went to the lake for the remainder of the day and played with some of the other kids at the oasis until the sun started to set.
A huge storm was brewing. It was massive, of catastrophic proportions. Ward was walking back to his hut, when it started raining. He heard laughter coming from the alley, and saw, to his immense surprise, the same creatures in his dream approaching him. Blacker than the night, they made the surrounding darkness look pale. And their glowing eyes pierced the blackness and sought him out. Ward was about to turn and run, when he saw something strange. Behind the creatures, was Calub. He was standing next to a large open door, which the creatures were coming in from. He seemed to radiate darkness. He turned to Ward and said, "Ward, are you coming?"
"What do you mean?" Ward asked.
"The darkness is calling us both, Ward," Calub replied. "Can't you hear it?" Ward could hear it, and he didn't like it. He started backing away, and as he did so, the darkness leapt out of the ground and swallowed Calub, who sank into the ground smiling. He looked up at Ward and said, "Either you join us now, or later, Ward. It will take you eventually." Then he disappeared. And to make it worse, the creatures had grown ten fold in number. Ward ran, and when he did, the blade from his dream, the Keyblade appeared. He started fighting the creatures, with that same agility and strength that he had gained in his dream flowing through his body. But he was no match for the number of monsters appearing. He started running for the lake, where Beth lived. When he got there, he saw not Beth, but a man in black.
"Who are you?" he asked the man. The man turned, although this didn't help, as his face was shrouded in darkness.
"Your oasis is on the edge of darkness," he said, in a cold calculating tone. "So close, that in mere seconds, it is going to be eclipsed." He laughed when he saw the look on Ward's face, which was a confused one. Then he turned, and walked by Ward without looking back.
"Where is my friend?" Ward asked.
"She found a door," the man stopped. "To where, I do not know. But if you wish to find her, I would suggest going through that door behind you." Ward turned around, and as he did he saw a huge shining white door. It took him a while to realize that the door was just stuck into the rock. It probably led to a cave in the rock, but where had it come from? He turned around and saw, not the enigmatic man, but immeasurable darkness coming for him. Remembering his dream, he ran toward the door, and when he opened it, a perpetual light shone forth. He stepped through, right as Fate Oasis dissolved into darkness.