Hope everyone's enjoying the ride so far, and more than that thank you for reading! I'll see you all on Saturday with the next chapter.

Chapter 3: The Storm

Thunder rumbled in the distance. I ignored it, instead burying my face deeper into my pillow. Meanwhile Kairi all but flew down from her bunk, and I jumped. I propped myself up to eye her curiously, wondering why in the world she was throwing open the dresser drawers.

"Kairi, what are you—" instead of a proper answer I was cut off by her throwing my usual outfit on top of me. I frowned.

"The raft!" she told me in a panic, shoving her shoes back onto her feet.

My eyes widened and I swore, throwing myself out of bed and scrambling to yank off my pajamas. By the time I was zipping up my over-shirt Kairi had already darted out of our room in a hurry.

I bolted after her.

The cool night air whipped at her skin, and we were in nothing but an absolute rush as we ran down the path out of town and toward the beach. Kairi, to save the raft; me, to save Kairi.

It was nothing but absolutely reckless to go out in this storm, to go out to sea in any storm, but I knew there would be no convincing Kairi to stay behind and let the weather do whatever it may to the raft.

I managed to dive into our boat only moments after Kairi, grabbing the paddles and rowing as fast and as hard as I could. After all, the sooner we could make sure the raft was safe, the sooner we ourselves could return to safety.

The moment we stepped onto the dock, I was grabbing her arm.

"Kairi!" I shouted over the noise of the storm. "We have to head back!"

It was nearly pitch black, we could hardly see, but far more unnerving than that...

Hovering high above the play island, looming over even the tallest of trees and standing out with its glowing core, was what seemed to be an orb of shadows.

It made me think of my dream, and the energy the large shadow creature had gathered into spheres. Only the sphere hovering above us was many, many times larger and all the more ominous. It made my skin crawl.

The worst part, though, was the fact Kairi was here with me. I was fine getting hurt, I'd been hurt plenty of times, but Kairi—

"No!" she tore herself out of my grasp, glaring daggers at me in defiance. "We need to get the raft!

"Screw the raft!" I shouted, gripping her by the shoulders. "I have to keep you safe!"

Kairi jerked backwards, ripping my hands off, and shoved me back. "Let me take care of myself!"

I was thrown back by the surprising amount of force, stumbling. My feat caught on each other and I fell back, crashing back down into our boat. I groaned, thoughts swimming as my head throbbed. Her apology didn't even register in my mind.

I sat up, standing up despite the turbulent waters and stepping back onto the dock.

My sister was gone.

"Kairi!?" I kicked off, heart pounding madly as I rushed across the island. My gaze swept around, searching wildly and finding nothing beyond the little yellow lights scattered about.

Wait.

I skidded to a stop, stomach dropping as pairs of the lights approached. I felt sick. As they came closer they became even clearer, their scrawny forms becoming apparent.

The shadow creatures from my dream.

They were here.

"Kairi?!" I screamed, fear for the both of us bubbling up in my chest. I knew I could fight, even without a weapon, but my sister?

The first creature lunged at me.

I ran, cursing how Kairi couldn't be my very first priority with these things around.

Another pair of yellow orbs appeared in front of me.

I dropped to the ground, barely managing to dodge its claws. I looked back; more of the things were catching up. With a shout I kicked the shadow creature away, rolling back onto my feet and continuing my sprint through the darkness.

My eyes landed on the shack.

I ran in and slammed the door shut behind me, panting. I pressed back against the wall, waiting for more lights to appear and more shadows to move within the small room.

None of them did.

Slowly, I sank to the floor. My eyes burned and my chest was tight it was hard to breathe so hard to breathe where was my sister where was Kairi—

The door opened.

I jumped back, blood roaring in my ears as I stared at the opening with dread. My muscles tensed; I readied myself to run up the stairs before whatever number of creatures there were could catch me.

The door swung shut with a soft click. I swallowed hard.

"Kaen?"

"Sora?!" instead of screaming in fear I found myself somewhat composed, if still unnerved.

He came further inside, his eyes searching mine. At his side, I could make out the shadowy shape of his wooden sword. Inwardly, I scolded myself for my own lack of weaponry.

"Wait a minute. If you're here," Sora spoke slowly, the gears in his head turning. He rose a finger to point at me, an expression of realization coming to his face. "Then where's Kairi?"

"I don't know!" I shouted, barely keeping myself from shoving him in my frustration. He was taken aback, but I didn't care. I threw my fists down at my sides, trying hard not to cry. "She... She ran off on me!"

"Well, then we just gotta find her," he reasoned, smiling despite the situation. I wasn't sure whether to be angry or thankful for his usual optimism. "I mean, she could be with Riku, right?"

"Riku?" had he come with Sora? Had they then split up, not knowing what waited for them? Or had he arrived before me and Kairi, and I just hadn't noticed?

Sora nodded, sure. "Yeah! I saw his boat when I came here."

I struggled for words, nodding along with him as a spark of hope dared to enter my mind. "Yeah..."

"Come on!" he rushed past me and stormed up the stairs of the shack. Faltering, I made my way up after him.

When we made our way back outside, no creatures met us. Instead, there was nothing but the bridge that led to the side-island. On it, there was a flash of silver hair.

My heart nearly burst out from my chest.

We ran ahead, my eyes desperately scanning for any trace of someone else. My heart sank further with every passing moment.

"Where's Kairi? We thought she was with you!" Sora sounded about as helpless as I felt.

"The door has opened..." I almost didn't hear Riku with the ongoing storm, and a part of me wished I hadn't.

My blood ran cold. First that dream with these creatures, and now Riku bringing up the door? For some reason, it left me feeling ill.

"What?" unknowingly, Sora voiced the question I had on my mind.

My heart was raging inside my chest. My legs felt weak. All I could do was stare at their exchanges, unable to speak.

"The door has opened, Sora! Kaen!" he finally turned to face us, passionate. "Now we can go to the outside world!"

No. No. This couldn't be what that voice was talking about, could it? This darkness and these creatures everywhere and—

"What are you talking about?" Sora was utterly clueless as to just what Riku was talking about. I wasn't sure whether his confusion left me grateful or envious. "We've gotta find Kairi!"

"Kairi's coming with us!" Riku snapped, making my stomach twist. No. She couldn't. Not if all of this was just the beginning. "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!" he reached his hand out toward us, silently asking for us to join him.

"Stop it..." I barely managed to get the words out, and when I did they were a shaking mess.

"Riku..."

A pool of darkness emerged beneath Riku's feet, pulsing and exuding long trails that sprout up from the pool and lashed at the air. Tendrils emerged, creeping up and wrapping themselves around Riku. He didn't move, didn't even try to struggle.

My skin prickled.

Sora rushed forward, only for more darkness to form beneath us. Panic quickly rushed in, leaving my mind swimming. He reached back, taking hold of my wrist with one hand and reaching toward Riku with the other. I gripped Sora's wrist in turn, as if he alone would be enough to keep me safe as the darkness rose higher and higher.

I struggled helplessly, fighting the literal grasp of the darkness to no avail. In the corner of my eye I saw Sora struggling in a fight of his own, attempting to reach Riku's hand through the darkness and the space between them. He strained, stretched, his fingers brushing past Riku's and—

The darkness swallowed me whole.

It was like my dream; I was suspended, almost floating with how firm of an embrace the darkness provided. It warmed and chilled my skin at the same time, and more than anything it burned—

There was a flash of light, and the darkness was gone without a trace.

I blinked wildly, slowly sinking to my knees next to Sora. My hand dropped from his.

Riku was gone, just like the darkness.

A glint of metal caught my eye, and when I looked up I saw a sword-like weapon in Sora's hand. It was simple, with a wide guard and a seemingly blunt blade. At its end was a large, flat protrusion.

All in all, it sort of looked like a key.

I peered up at Sora through my bangs, and while he looked at me with an expression of amazement I was full of nothing but dread. I swallowed.

"We gotta find Kairi," I managed.

He nodded, determined as ever, and reached out with his free hand. Too drained to protest or refuse, I pulled myself back up to my feet.

"You okay?" he asked. I almost found it funny how he finally took proper notice of me.

I opened my mouth, considering going with the honest truth. I walked past him.

"I'm fine."

Unfortunately, more of the shadow creatures awaited us when we headed back down. We could have stayed in the shack, waited for the storm to pass, but...

We had to find my sister.

But without a weapon I was helpless, left to do little more than watch Sora's back and make sure nothing got the slip on him. He, on the other hand, kept saving both of our asses with that over-sized key of his; unlike his wooden sword, it was capable of destroying the creatures.

"Where is she!?" I demanded in frustration, as if openly wondering once again would produce an answer. Tears burned my eyes, and in a rage I slammed my foot into the face of an approaching shadow creature. It bounced backward, squelching in and out of its secondary form as a shadow on the ground.

Sora focused on the others, but I didn't have enough time to waste my energy on throwing around the one I'd kicked. Instead, Sora was already getting to it by the time it dared to seep back up out of the sand.

I stomped my feet, annoyed and helpless and lost.

Then, another batch of the creatures defeated later, Sora was grabbing my wrist and dragging me behind him. I flailed to whatever extent I could muster the energy for, all-in-all too worn down to put up much of a fight.

It didn't take me long to realize he was heading towards the Secret Place, and it hit me. As a small inland cave, it'd be the perfect place to wait out bad weather like this.

For some reason there was a tall door in front of the small entrance, but it swung open as we approached. I didn't bother to pay it any mind. Sora ducked in ahead of me, and after nearly cracking my head against the low opening I managed to follow him inside. I straightened out to my full height as soon as I had the room, eyes struggling to adjust to the even more minimal lighting inside.

Sora had already disappeared down the winding path toward the cave. I trailed my hand along the wall as I made my way after him.

"Kairi!"

My heart skipped, and I ran through the familiar path as fast as I could. It only took seconds but it felt like forever before I emerged, spotting Kairi at the back of the cave and looking pale.

"Kai—!"

The door at the back of the Secret Place flew open, darkness surging out. I wanted to scream, get Kairi and run, but the darkness was rushing out with such force she was blown off her feet. I saw her fly towards Sora, but then the gales reached us.

I tried to keep my footing steady but I slid back, down the path until I was thrown out of the entrance. I slammed into the sand with a grimace, and I heard Sora land ahead of me as the wind whipped at my skin and clothes.

"Whoa!"

"What?" I stumbled onto my feet, nearly falling back down the moment I looked past him.

We were still on land, yet the mere piece of the island we were on was high in the sky. Chunks of land and debris swirled around us, the massive glowing and pulsating orb of darkness just above us. My stomach dropped, twisting into harsh knots.

Sora turned around, head tipping back. "Kaen...!"

He raised his arm to point and I whirled, mouth falling open. The massive shadow creature from my dream towered above us, hands hanging down by its feet as they had before. Sora stood in front of me with his widened stance, lowering himself with his sword-key in hand, but made no move.

"Go for the hands!" I shouted, shoving him in the back. Still, however, all he did was look at me desperately over his shoulder.

"But...!" still, he protested, looking back and forth between me and the creature. The truth came to me, and I felt like crying.

I was holding him back. He wasn't attacking because of me; because I was defenseless, and because I was useless. I couldn't do anything.

"Just— Just do it!" I shoved him again, glaring hard through the tears in my eyes. "I can take care of myself, Sora!"

Kairi's earlier words rang out in my head, and the world spun around me. She'd just wanted me to not shelter her so much, to give her enough space so that she could do things on her own. I felt sick.

Without a sound the massive shadow creature slammed its fist down, shaking the ground beneath us. A pool of darkness surrounded its hand, and just like in the dream the small shadow creatures began to crawl out of the energy.

Once again Sora looked back at me, unsure.

"You fight or I will!" I snapped, throwing my arm forward to point at the group of creatures. "Just do it, Sora!"

He opened his mouth, and I hardened my gaze. Instead of speaking he let his mouth fall shut and nodded, reaffirming his stance.

He turned back around and ran into the fray, swinging and striking down the smaller creatures whenever they got in the way of the larger one's hand. It was wasn't long before they were all down and his sole focus was the hand, Sora rearing back and slamming his weapon down against it with every motion.

Then the creature lurched forward, as if it would crumple in its entirety. Instead it stayed propped up on one hand, its other arm plunged down into the island up to its shoulder as if the earth was nothing but air. Sora attacked its hand relentlessly, so much so that it made my own heart race.

I watched with a mix of dread and anticipation, believing in Sora's abilities but beyond frustrated that I couldn't help properly.

Then the creature was straightening out, an orb of glowing red darkness held in its large, newly-emerged hand. It held its own wrist, the orb seeming to pulse and grow even larger. My heart stopped.

"Sora!"

He rushed back in time to see the creature raise its hands. The sphere came apart in its grasp, smaller globes of energy falling down like snow.

"Don't let 'em touch you!" Sora shouted, jumping out of the way of one orb as it fell past him. The sand beneath it sizzled and crackled once it made contact.

I nearly shivered, turning my gaze skyward to see any and all of the orbs that might come my way. I moved slowly but surely, making sure I wouldn't trip myself up yet also doing my best to stay out of the falling energies' way.

I shuffled backwards, wary, with the sound of Sora's fight filling my ears as I watched the sky. It wasn't hard to keep myself safe, not with how the only goal I had in mind was to avoid the slow-moving particles. Sora, meanwhile, had to do so while doing his best to hurt the creature.

My neck strained, and when I finally lowered my gaze I saw that all the orbs had fallen. The creature itself was bent backwards, and with a painful clarity pieces of my dream flickered through my mind. I searched around for Sora as the creature started to gather dark energy inside its heart-shaped cavity, quickly finding him behind its arm.

"Sora!" I called out to him; he nearly toppled onto his back with how far he leaned over to look at me. I flung my arm out, pointing towards the writhing sphere of darkness just as it started to shoot out smaller orbs. "Be careful!"

Almost immediately I had to follow my own advice, rolling to the side to barely avoid a sphere heading for me. I scrambled, backpedaling to dodge another as it flew past my face and nearly seared off my bangs. I jumped to dodge a third, daring to look over and make sure Sora was doing his best to attack the creature.

Then, when all the spheres had collided with their targets and the massive ball of energy in the giant's chest dispersed, there was nothing. It was hard to follow my better judgment and not approach it to check it for life.

The wind whipping around us increased in force, pulling up sand and debris toward the center of the looming sphere of darkness. Perhaps it was the proximity with this remnant of the islands, or perhaps it was the adrenaline and fear still rushing through my veins, but the massive orb seemed far bigger than before.

I felt myself being pulled, tugged by the wind, and I spun on my heel and kicked off away from it. But with every step I had less and less traction, my feet sliding further back than I was moving ahead.

The air picked me up and with a cry I was thrown back, colliding into something else with another's gasp. I tumbled over Sora's back, hands shooting out and managing to latch onto his leg. My grasp slid until it successfully hooked around his ankle, his own hands firmly gripping a wooden outcrop lodged into the ground.

Still, the gales had us pulling away and upwards — towards the orb of shadows. Even the giant shadow creature was lifted from the ground as easily as a feather.

"Hold on!" Sora yelled back. I saw his right hand quiver and strain and dreaded what I knew would come next.

"Same to you!" I shouted back, unsurprised yet still shaken when one of his hands was pulled from its wooden purchase. The wind only seemed to increase in force, whipping us around like a ribbon.

He jerked, suddenly and harshly, and my hands were torn away from his leg. I was tossed into the air with a scream stuck in my throat, watching in silent horror as the air violently lashed at my form and the island quickly grew farther and farther away.

As I was sucked up —toward what, I did my best to pretend not to know— I struggled, yet with nothing to grab I didn't tumble in the air or slow at all.

Despite the tears in my eyes and the debris flying about, I saw when Sora's second hand slipped away from the wreckage. He was flung back, in what I could only assume was a similar path to what I'd just taken.

And everything went black.