Chibi here! I should've done this earlier, shouldn't I?
I don't own Kingdom Hearts or its characters. If I did, then my friend could vouch by saying it'd be a lot darker of the story... and possibly with more shipping of characters. It depends.

Sephiroth sat on the throne with his youngest son on his lap and the second youngest by his feet, both playing with their stuffed toys. His other two were off to the side, reading books and occupying themselves. He smiled and ran his hand through Riku's, the youngest, hair.

"My little princes, one day this kingdom will be yours." Sephiroth said. He chuckled. "The kingdom is large enough… perhaps I can give an equal share to all of you so you will all be kings." Sephiroth chuckled again, this one dark and frightening to most, but not to his children.

"Daddy," Kadaj, the second youngest, asked as he looked up, "what happened to the other king and queen?"

"They weren't… suited for this role." Sephiroth said. He looked when he heard the door being knocked upon. "Enter." He said.

Vincent walked inside and knelt before the new king. He then raised his head. "Your majesty, we have trailed the guards who followed after the prince." He said and Sephiroth motioned for the guard to continue. "The bodies… were eaten at by a siren."

"And the brat?" Sephiroth asked.

"We haven't found him yet." Vincent said. "I have my men looking for him in the forest, but no doubt we have to tread lightly… people are hopeful for the prince's return and the Organization will no doubt be looking, too."

"I see." Sephiroth said. "Let the people know if they are hiding the prince or know of his whereabouts and refuse to tell, I will have them publicly hanged. I will not let the future of my family be ruined by a brat."

"Yes, your majesty." Vincent said. He bowed his head before getting up and leaving. Once gone, Yazoo and Loz, Sephiroth's two other sons, went over to their father.

"Daddy… what happens if Prince Zexion is found?" Yazoo asked.

"He shares the fate of his parents." Sephiroth said. "Fret not, my children, all will be well." He pulled Riku closer and hugged him. "Now then, it's late so let's get you four to bed. Tomorrow is your first official day as princes."

Sephiroth sighed as he ran his blade across a cushion in a servant's hands, scraping off the blood that was on it. Before him was a woman with brown hair, lying face down in a pool of blood. He glared at the bystanders, his venomous green eyes instilling fear into the hearts of the citizens of the kingdom.

"Let this be a lesson, any sympathizers with your late king and queen will suffer the same fate, be it by hanging, decapitation, or personally by my sword. Do I make myself clear?" Sephiroth asked. "I am the new king of Radiant Garden, and anyone who dares say different, please… step up and say so." People backed up, not wanting to tempt this false king. "Good."

Sephiroth went to turn away but stopped and looked down at the woman. "Dearest Aerith, you were the greatest of followers of Terra… even helped Aqua give birth to Ienzo… it's a shame you didn't know how to shut up." He said before walking away. He put his sword in its sheathe and smiled as his attendant ran to his side. "Are my sons being cared for?"

"Yes, your majesty." The man said. "They're all going through their lessons now."

"Good." Sephiroth said.

"Your majesty…"

"Yes?" Sephiroth stopped and looked to his attendant. "What is it?"

"Someone's here to see you… and waiting in the throne room…"

Sephiroth stormed off and went straight to the throne room. Upon reaching there, he saw Xemnas casually sitting in the king's throne, his legs dangling over the arm of it, and inspecting a sword. On either side of him were Xaldin, holding a lance in either hand, and his sharpshooter, Xigbar, holding some impressive looking crossbow.

"Ah, Sephiroth, good to see you again. It's been what? Twelve years?" Xemnas greeted in a casual way.

"Thirteen." Sephiroth said. "And you are to properly address me, for I am the king."

"As if." Xigbar scoffed. He smirked at the glare sent his way from the false king.

"The prince still lives." Xemnas said.

"He does?" Sephiroth said. "Then by all means, where is he? Present him to me and I shall relinquish the throne."

"You are no king; it is not rightfully yours." Xemnas stood up and put his sword in its sheathe. "We will stop you, for we are the Organization."

"And I will have you rightfully executed." Sephiroth said.

"If you can catch hold of us." Xemnas chuckled and stepped away from the throne. "Mark my words, Sephiroth, we will stop you and return the prince to his rightful place. And you… well, let's hope your punishment will be lenient…for the sake of your sons." He walked away, his two men with him and following closely.

Sephiroth glared before summoning a guard. "I want that brat found and killed. I want his head on display for the kingdom to know that there is no hope of him returning. Do you hear me?"

"Y-yes, y-your majesty." The guard stuttered.

"Now go!" Sephiroth shouted before storming off. He slowed down and entered the library where the tutor was teaching his four sons the way of being proper princes and then kings. He smiled at them. "This is for them." He whispered. "They deserve this kingdom more than anyone."

"Daddy?" Riku asked as he got up and went over. "Daddy, what's wrong?"

Sephiroth smiled and leaned down, picking up his youngest. "Nothing, my child." He said. "Nothing is wrong." He smiled and bounced Riku a bit, making him giggle happily. "You will be a fine prince, Riku. You and your brothers will all grow well and rule this kingdom the way it should be ruled."

In the district furthest from the castle, there was a young boy holding a sword in his hand. He sighed as he knelt before three large rocks with flowers around them. He wiped his face, knocking away some tears and sighed again.

"Oh Mama, Papa… what will I do without you?" he asked. The child's name was Roxas, and with his parents killed in the castle for trying to defend and protect the king and queen, he was now left an orphan. All he had left was his granny who looked after him with such love and always cared for him whenever his parents were working at the palace.

"Roxas," Granny said as she stepped out, "come inside. It's going to rain soon."

"Granny," Roxas stood up and looked to the elderly woman, "what do I do? My mama and papa were killed for doing their jobs… that new king… I hate him!"

"Oh my dear," Granny sighed as she sat on the bench outside the house, "come here." Roxas nodded and went over and pulled himself up and sat with his grandmother. "You must watch your words, for if someone heard they may report you. Then I would lose you." She smiled. "Be strong, my lad, and maybe one day you can help the Organization set things right."

"You really think so, Granny?" Roxas asked.

"Indeed." Granny said. "Before you were born, there was a cruel lord… Xehanort, who rose in power." She explained. "His son rose up against him and brought him down, helping the kingdom some time ago. The lad was only fourteen when he did his task and from there he had formed the Organization with one goal in mind; he wanted to bring down corruption and let the right people be in charge."

"So that's how Xemnas started it?" Roxas asked and Granny nodded. "I'll grow up, be strong, train every day, and be like him! I'll set things right!"

"That's my boy." Granny said, hugging her grandson. "Practice hard, but not too hard." She reminded. "Keep your heart and light and do not turn to darkness."

Roxas nodded. "Okay." He said. "And when I go to the forests to train myself or find mushrooms and stuff for you, I'll keep an eye out for Prince Ienzo, too!"

"That's a good thing to have as a task." Granny said. She looked to the sky to see the clouds rolling in. "But not today; the weather will turn and it's best to stay in today."

"Right." Roxas said. He looked to the sword on his lap. "Granny… can… can I give Papa his sword? His body isn't here, but his spirit is and I think he'd like it at his grave."

"You can, then we'll get you a new sword tomorrow." Granny said.

Roxas nodded and ran back over to the stones. He stabbed the sword into the ground in front of the middle one and pulled it down as much as possible before kneeling. "Papa, Mama, I promise to set things right. For you, for the king, for the queen, for the prince, for the people." Roxas said. "This is my vow." He stood up and ran back to his grandmother just in time for the rain to start. He sat with her under the protection of the awning and watched as the rain fell, as if the heavens were weeping for what tragedy befell the kingdom.

He smiled a bit as he watched the rain fall on their land. He leaned against his grandmother and felt her put an arm around his shoulders. "I'll live up to my vow." He said. "I will put a stop to Sephiroth and bring Prince Ienzo home and let him be the rightful king…"

"That's a good vow, my boy." Granny said, pulling him close and smiling. "I'm sure your parents and even the king and queen will be proud of you and guide you on your mission."

Heyo, lovelies!

The final of the "prologue" chapters is here! We've introduced some characters and now it's time to reach present time with our lovely characters!

Ciao!

~ Chibi