A/N: Thanks to the two reviews on Chapters 1 and 2 that I got. I figured I'd answer the question I got on one of the reviews that I couldn't answer in DM, because it was from a guest. They were wanting to know if I was a former author who used to write FanFiction on here but later deleted his account and removed all his stories. No, I am not said author, or related to said author. While I have a similar origin in a way, having previously deleted all my stories and am starting over from scratch, it's on the same account as I did before, which I created on Aug 23, 2008. Just thought I would clear that up real quick.
The second question was, is this going to be R rated, and no. If it was, I would've tagged it as such when I posted the story. It is Rated T for Language and Violence (there is going to be some darker themes throughout, we all dealing with someone who uses darkness as a main character after all). I am not completely against the idea of more mature themes as we get into KH2, KH3 and beyond territory, if we get that far, but those will probably be separate stories to keep the rating on this one the same. Anyway, enjoy the chapter!
Pain covered his entire body, but even despite the intense feeling, Ren was also aware that he seemed to be lying on something soft, though he was unable to tell what it was due to being unable to open his eyes. As he lie there, he slowly became aware of more around him, like wherever he was lying was a cool room that didn't feel like the tropical islands that he originated from, and that the bed, or whatever soft object he was lying on, had thicker sheets to compensate for that in order to keep whoever occupied it warm.
"Do you think he will be ok?", a voice suddenly said, which seemed to belong to a male, although Ren couldn't help but notice that it sounded more like it was coming from a speaker, even if it was a high quality one.
"I think so", a voice belonging to a girl who seemed to be sitting right next to him replied. "Master taught me enough that I should be able to heal most of his ailments, at least enough for him to drink the potion we have. Cura!"
Suddenly, green light shined through his closed eye lids, the pain began to rapidly subside until Ren felt relief. He noticed that most of his strength had returned as well, and finally he was able to open his eyes. His vision was blurry at first, but the girl next to him leaned into view, and her facial features became clearer as he looked at her. She was very pretty to the teenage boy, her different colored eyes, one right green eye and one left blue one, looked down at him in worry.
"Are you ok?", she inquired, tilting her head a little, her freckles close enough that Ren could count them all if he wanted.
"I think so", Ren muttered, slowly sitting up. The girl put her hand on his back to help him, her pinkish-red hair brushing against her white robes with red under trim and red hood as she did. "Where am I?"
"The Crystal Kingdom", the girl replied, handing him a bottle of green liquid. "Here, drink this, it will heal you fully. My name is Alina. I found you just outside of the town walls… see, there was a meteor shower last night just before dawn. I found you lying in the planes when I went to investigate what I thought was a meteor impact."
"I feel out of the sky?" Ren asked, looking at the girl with confusion before drinking the green liquid. The feeling of relief once again covered his entire body, and this time Ren felt like any injuries he sustained were gone.
"It's a miracle you survived", Alina admitted, looking over him a bit, watching as the boy looked over himself. "Lucky for me I had Gamma with when I found you, otherwise we'd probably be having this conversation outside in a crater."
"Gamma?" Ren wondered, before looking behind her, and he couldn't help but jump at the humanoid, gray metallic robot.
"Please to make your acquaintance", replied the same male voice he heard before. "My name is Gamma, and I am the one who carried you here. What is your name, stranger?"
"Ren", the islander answered. "Wait, hold on… you said this is The Crystal Kingdom?"
"Yes?" Alina seemed taken aback by the question, tilting her head. "You don't seem from around here. Are you perhaps from one of the neighboring kingdoms?"
Ren couldn't reply to her, his brain racing at 100 thoughts a second. Somehow, someway, he had found his way to another world, and all it took was Destiny Islands being torn asunder by dark creatures and gaining a mysterious sword like key weapon. Suddenly thinking of the other kids on the island at the time of the world's end, he turned to Alina so fast that the girl couldn't help but jump. "Was there anyone else with me? A boy wearing red with brown hair, perhaps?"
"No", Alina answered with a frown. "I only found you… and if someone else was found by one of the town folk, this is where they would've been taken… well, that or the castle, but we aren't allowed there, at least not since Princess Sarah was kidnapped."
"Kidnapped you say…" Ren muttered, swinging his legs over the bed and attempting to stand, but Alina put her hand on his shoulder to stop him.
"Are you sure you're ok? You might want to rest a bit more, just in case."
"If there is a chance that Sora is in that castle, I should go check", Ren declared to her. "Allowed in the castle or not, I must find out if any of them arrived here with me."
"That might have to wait, dear", came the voice of an older woman, the sudden voice causing Ren to jump once again, and Alina to withdraw her hand as she turned. The older woman hobbled into the room with her cane, walking over to the rocking chair in the corner of the inn room and sitting down. "New orders from the King. Strange, dark creatures began appearing in the town. No one is allowed to leave-"
"Dark creatures?" Ren asked, looking alarmed at her. "Do they have yellow eyes?"
"Yes, I believe that the guard said something about that", replied the grandmother. Ren wasted no time, quickly jumping out of bed and dashing out of the room, ignoring the shouts coming from behind him. Not missing a step, he tore though the inn, past the main area with a counter, a table with a book, and slammed into the door to open it. The guards outside fighting the ant creatures looked at him alarmed, one almost missing the creature lunge at him, but managed to knock it back with his spear.
"Hey, no citizens allowed outside until the creatures are dealt with!", the guard shouted at him.
"I'm not a citizen of your town", Ren smirked, holding out his hand. "Besides, I think I can help." Closing his eyes, he searched for the same feeling he felt the first time he summoned his new weapon, and sure enough he felt the same presence appear in his head. In a flash of purple energy, the keyblade once again appeared in his head, materializing in the energy before it became purple smoke and dissipated, leaving behind the weapon that Ren now grasped. The keyblade warrior opened his eyes and leapt forward, taking out the creatures one by one with the guards help. He almost managed to miss one that lunged at him, but suddenly a fireball shot forth and vaporized it. He looked over to see Alina standing there, holding a white staff with red gems and a red orb, clearly having cast the fire ball. Gamma also ran out with her, a gun barrel coming out of each of his arms, which he held forward and began shooting energy bullets into the sea of ants, hitting a fair amount of them before the guns went back into his forearms and he began punching the ones that came at him. It didn't take long before all the ants were wiped out, leaving the town square clear.
"Thanks for the assistance", the guard turned to Ren, eyeing his weapon. "But, what is that strange weapon you wield?"
"That is a weapon known as the Keyblade", Gamma replied, also looking at the weapon with his glowing yellow LED eyes.
"Keyblade?", Alina asked, staring at her robot companion stunned. "How do you know that?"
"I am programmed by your father, Miss Alina", Gamma stated. "The royal scientist and engineer, and thus he has access to the king. It is the king who met keyblade wielders in the past, therefore I am programmed with knowledge of the keyblade. As a matter of fact, I have a protocol to act upon should a keyblade ever appear on our world again."
"And what would that be?" Ren probed, tightening the grip on his weapon, just in case the protocol was to attack.
"Protocol Key", Gamma declared. "I am to take the Keyblade Wielder to the king for a royal audience, priority one. Ren, I must ask you come with me and the guards to see the king at once."
"Do you recall hearing about something like that, Captain?", a guard turned to ask another, though this one had more elaborate designs to his knight uniform then the rest, and was clearly a higher rank.
"If I recall, I do remember the king stating that if a key-shaped weapon was to appear, then he would want to meet with the master of the weapon", the captain stated, nodding. "Ren, was it? If you don't mind, we will escort you into the castle. Alina, it's probably best you come as well, seeing as you found the boy."
"Okay", Ren nodded. "I wanted to speak to your king anyway, if I am being honest."
XxXxXxX
"Garland has taken residence in the Temple of Fiends", one of the guard stated, standing before the throne at attention. "Once the captain deals with the mysterious creatures in the square, we can mobilize a force to take him out once and for all."
"Your majesty, if I may", a man with purple hair spoke, his green eyes darting down to his white lab coat before he looked back up. "I do not think we can afford to mobilize anymore human forces to take Garland on. We have already lost the grand wizard, three battalions of troops, and the admiral. I recommend sending my robots; Alpha, Beta and Gamma."
Two robots approached, which looked like Gamma but were colored differently, the first one bronze with red eyes, and the second one golden with blue eyes. "ALPHA, REPORTING FOR DUTY", the bronze one spoke first in what sounded like a static voice coming from a old speaker, doing a salute, before the gold one saluted and spoke as well, "BETA, REPORTING FOR DUTY." His voice was a bit clearer, but still sounded like it had some drone to it and a slightly newer, but still older speaker.
"Couldn't you have upgraded them a bit more before bringing them here again", the guard snarled at the metallic creations. "Gamma sounds and looks much better then those two prototypes."
"I'll have you know that Alpha and Beta are combat robots first, good looking and sounding robots second", the scientist snapped back. "Sure, Gamma is much better sounding and more intelligent, but he is flawed. I made a mistake in his creation, his Artificial Intelligence makes him too human for his own good."
"I don't see how that is a bad thing! If anything, that makes him a thousand times better then those two prototypes! You just don't like how human he seems, which every one else seems to love about him!"
"Silence!", the man sitting on the throne suddenly shouted, his royal red outfit almost shining as he moved. He lowered his arm, stroking his long, grey beard before adjusting the crown that nestled itself onto his grey hair. "Garland has destroyed everything we have thrown at him so far, and even managed to summon those things into my town. I cannot take anymore unnecessary risks when it comes to the lives of my men. However, he still has my daughter, and I cannot just wait around. Wallace, are you sure your robotic creations could defeat Garland in combat?"
"Even if they cannot, I can build them back up stronger and better then before!", the scientist declared, which caused the guard to roll his eyes. "Well, provided I get most of their parts back, that is. Especially their memory drives and OS drives, oh boy wouldn't want to start those over from scratch. While Gamma is much better in combat then these two, they still are formidable foes."
"Your majesty", the captain of the guard said, walking in and saluting. "Pardon the interruption, but a boy wielding a keyblade has appeared. We have brought him to you at your request."
"A keyblade?", the king immediately perked up. "Send him in at once!" The captain turned and gestured, and two guards walked in followed by Ren, Alina and Gamma. Ren was still holding his keyblade, which immediately drew the attention of the king, who nodded at the weapon. "Welcome, keyblade wielder, to my humble kingdom. Forgive the tense atmosphere, but there is a situation occurring in my kingdom which is taking most of my attention."
"Your majesty", Ren bowed in respect. "If I may, can I ask something of you?"
"Ask away, dear boy."
"According to Alina, I fell into this world from the sky when my world was taken over by those strange creatures", Ren explained, figuring that if the king knew of the keyblade, he might know that Ren was from a different world, and sure enough the king did not seem to flinch at Ren's reveal, even if Alina and the guards looked at him in a mixture of shock and confusion. "My friends from the Destiny Islands might've come to this world with me, but Alina says she only found me. I was wondering if anyone from the castle found anyone else."
"Unfortunately, I have not heard any reports of anyone being found by my men", the king answered, shaking his head. "As far as I know, only you came to this world when your own fell into darkness. The heartless are relentless, and will not hesitate to feed on the worlds they invade."
"The heartless?" Ren inquired, confused.
"You must've just gotten that keyblade", the king guessed. "The creatures that you fought in the square with my men, those are called heartless. They are, in fact, manifested hearts consumed by darkness, however they behave entirely devoid of emotion, and thus were named as such. They are evil, vile creatures that will stop at nothing to consume all worlds into the darkness from which the heartless come from. They can really only be stopped by one thing, and that is the keyblade, hence why keyblade wielders are in constant battle with the heartless."
"Yeah, I got it right before my world was consumed by the heartless", Ren admitted, looking at his weapon. "But it's strange… I feel like I've used this weapon before. Like I know exactly how it works deep in my heart."
"I cannot say you are wrong", the king laughed a little. "The keyblade is a mysterious weapon, one that even chosen masters do not understand completely. One thing I have noticed, however, is that every keyblade wielder I've seen is strong of heart, and is very powerful."
"You've encountered the keyblade before, Your Majesty?" Alina asked.
"Yes", the king nodded. "King Mickey from the Disney Kingdom wields one, so does his master and a good friend of mine, Yen Sid… then, of course, the one that visited us, a man by the name of Xehanort." Something within Ren tensed up at the sound of that name, giving him goosebumps and causing the hair on the back of his neck to stand on end. Before he could process the sudden rush of emotions that hit him, however, the king continued. "Xehanort is the one that caused me to air on the side of caution when dealing with the Keyblade, unless it was King Mickey or Yen Sid. I gave my guard the order to bring me any Keyblade warrior that appears here, so that I can keep track of them. In fact, the current situation we are dealing with could've been because of Xehanort, for I believe that he somehow corrupted Garland all those years ago that he visited us, turning him on the kingdom and amplifying the darkness that currently exists in his heart."
"Do you think it was Xehanort's influence that caused Garland to turn against us and capture the princess?", Wallace asked.
"I would bet my crown on it", the king replied. "The keyblade is a mysterious weapon, and those that wield it are as well… Actually, maybe that is the answer we are looking for."
"What is?", implored the captain of the guard.
"If a keyblade got us into this mess, then perhaps it is a keyblade that can get us out of it", the king answered, before standing up and looking at Ren intensity with his emerald eyes. "Let me introduce myself properly. I am King Arther, ruler of The Crystal Kingdom and the surrounding land on this world. My daughter, Princess Sarah, was captured a couple of days ago by Garland, formerly one of my greatest knights. I am lead to believe that Xehanort somehow influenced or corrupted him, and I would humbly like to request that you go and rescue my daughter from his clutches. Of course, you will be rewarded handsomely for your troubles, and I would normally not put the burden of this operation on a guest to our world. However, if Garland has the heartless on his side, only a keyblade wielder can truly match him in combat."
"Your Majesty, I ask you to reconsider", Wallace spoke up. "This boy is new with the keyblade, and Garland is the finest swordsman in the land. I suggest my original plan on sending Alpha, Beta and Gamma to deal with the traitor."
"Good idea, Wallace", Arther retorted, smiling a little. "Alpha, Beta and Gamma can accompany the keyblade wielder to the Temple of Fiends!" This caused Wallace to grumble, who wasn't planning this at all. "Chosen Wielder of the Keyblade, I beg of you to rescue my daughter."
Ren was silent for a moment, the request a bit overwhelming to him, however he couldn't help but smile at the same time. "Well, how can I say no to that? Of course, I will rescue your daughter!"
"Ren, are you sure?" Alina asked, concern in her voice. "Garland is one of the finest swordsman in the land! Not even my master could defeat him in combat… in fact, he paid his life for attempting."
"Were you not the one who attempted to go after Garland yourself when you found out he killed your master?" Gamma pointed out, causing Alina to become crestfallen. "Besides, he will have me and my brothers by his side. The four of us cannot lose."
"Your brothers?" Ren asked, before turning and seeing the two other, outdated robots.
"I AM ALPHA. PLEASED TO MEET YOU."
"I AM BETA. PLEASED TO MEET YOU."
"Not as lively as Gamma, are they?" Ren chucked.
"Well, they're technically prototypes to Gamma, but they can fight all the same", Alina responded, before turning back to the king. "Your Majesty, if I may, I would like to accompany Ren and the robots to the Temple of Fiends."
"No, Alina!" Wallace cried out. "It is too dangerous!"
"Father, I am not a child, I know what I am asking", Alina stated with her arms crossed tightly. "I only plan on protecting Ren with my defensive spells anyway. He's going to need my help if he wants to defeat Garland. And maybe I can blast Garland once or twice in revenge for my master." Alina muttered this last part so only Ren heard her, causing the young boy to have to bite his tongue to prevent himself from laughing.
"If you believe that you can help him, then I will allow it", the king replied, smiling at Alina. "But I suggest planning your approach carefully when dealing with Garland. Should Garland prove to be too much for you, do not recklessly throw your lives away, and escape. The robots can cover for you if it comes to that."
"Leave it to us", Gamma declared, saluting. "We will protect them with our lives."
"Thank you, Gamma", Arther nodded at him. "Now, go forth, chosen warrior of the keyblade!"
"Yes sir!", Ren dismissed his keyblade and saluted, along with Alina and the three robots, the newly formed party turning around and heading out. As they did, the guards and the king looked after them, with Wallace muttering something about his how daughter shouldn't have to go with them. The captain of the guard turned once they left through the doorway, looking intensely at the king.
"Your Majesty, you sensed it too, didn't you? There is something not quite right about that boy."
"And he's with my daughter! Oh, mercy me, I might just die!"
"Your daughter will be fine, for she is with the three robots", the king shot at him, before looking back at the doors where Ren and company just left. "But yes, you are right… that boy has the same darkness in his heart that I sensed all those years ago when Xehanort visited these lands. At the same time, however, I sense a great light in him as well… I can only hope that his light can triumph against the mighty darkness that lurks in his heart as well, and that his power can be what rescues my daughter and defeats Garland."