A/N: I will use these author notes to explain a few things as the story goes on, though most of them will be at the end of chapters. I figured I would at least use this one to explain what should be obvious, but I figure I might as well say just in case. I do not own Kingdom Hearts, Square Enix, Final Fantasy, or Disney. The only characters I own from this story that appear in this chapter are Ren, Alina and Gamma. You'll meet them in the chapter. Enjoy!
Pale moonlight shined off of the calm sea, the only sound echoing though the dark blue sky was the sounds of water as the calm waves glided up the sand before retracing back into the water, the footprints that were in the sand from the day of playing on the island being wiped away as the sand settled together and erased the signs of life on the island that were by the water. The still of the night was haunting, with only a few flickering night lights illuminating the streets of the mainland of the world called Destiny Islands, most residents being asleep by this time. All but two were sleeping anyway. A couple of adult women wearing what looked like nun outfits were entering a old, brick building that had some ivy stretching up the faded walls, a sign above the double, worn out wooden doors reading 'Orphanage'.
"A baby boy was dropped off this morning", the first, a blonde spoke suddenly. "Very strange how he was delivered to us too… no mother, or father, or any other relative was there at his arrival… he was just left at the front door in a basket full of blankets, with two letters…"
"Two letters?", the second woman asked, her brown hair brushing against her shoulders as she turned to the other worker. "What did they say, exactly?"
"The first letter was explaining to us that the boy was homeless, his father was… well, let's just say I don't believe the contents of the letter, but it claims the boy doesn't have a biological father to speak of. He just… happened."
"Happened?", laughed the brunette, her brown eyes closing as she shook her head. "That's code for 'I would rather not reveal it', or 'I am unsure due to poor life choices'… well, regardless, what did the second letter say?"
"I cannot tell you, for I do not know", the blonde replied, her blue eyes darting towards her coworker. "The letter was instructed to be opened by the boy when he was old enough. Around 16 or so, the first letter asked."
"Figures", the brunette sighed. "Abandon your child, but try to make amends by writing a letter."
"I don't think the mother abandoned the child on purpose", the blonde spoke in a bit of a defensive tone. "The first letter was written as if the mother knew she was not going to survive child birth, and was writing a letter just in case the worst happened. She likely also knew that the boys father, wherever or whoever he may be, wasn't going to claim the child."
"So, she is likely dead…", muttered the brown eyed woman, sighing. "How we are going to explain this to the child, we'll figure out in time. It's all going to depend on how he is as he grows up."
The blonde and brunette finally arrived at a small room, where a single wooden baby crib was, the pale light from the hallway slightly illuminating the room as they opened the door. Inside of the crib, lying there was a bundle of blankets with a small baby, snoozing soundly with only his face showing. Both women stared at him for a few moments before finally, the brunette spoke again. "Did the letter give a name that the mother would want the boy to have?"
"Yes", the blonde replied. "His name is…"
XxXxX - Fifteen Years Later - XxXxX
"Ren! Hey, Ren! Are you up there?"
A grayish-white haired boy groaned as he slowly opened his purple eyes, his vision blurred until they finally adjusted to the day that was peaking through the make-shift window of the tree house he was lying inside of. A yawn escaped from his lips, as he sat up, pulling on his black short sleeved vest to prevent it from falling off his white undershirt. Pulling his grey pants back down so they were closer to his black sneakers, he scooted over to the door of the tree house to look down at the sand, where a auburn haired girl with piercing blue eyes stood.
"What time is it, Kairi?", the boy asked, attempting yet failing to hold back another yawn.
His yawn caused the girl to giggle, her hand instinctively going to her stomach which wrinkled her white shirt a bit. She stood fully after that, her hands going down to and folding behind her purple skirt. "Did you really sleep here all night, Ren? I know you hate the orphanage, but come on! You can't make a old tree-house your new home, especially if you're just gonna sleep on the wooden floor without a bed."
"I can and I will", huffed the teenage boy, looking out at the sea. "I'm not going to be adopted anyway, unlike you, Ms. Mayors Daughter. Besides, in another three years, they don't have any reason to help me anymore, and I'll be on my own. So, why not get a head start now?"
Kairi frowned at that, shifting her white shoed feet and playing with the pearl necklace she always wore before speaking again. "Well, if that's the case… why don't you come with Sora, Riki and me? We're-"
"I know, building a raft to go explore other worlds", Ren replied, knowing of the plan for quite awhile now. "You really think a raft will get us to other worlds?"
"Well, Riku thinks it's worth a shot", Kairi said, shrugging. "And even if we don't go to other worlds, we can at least see if other islands exist on this world, which are close enough if you really think about it."
"I guess…" Ren sighed, continuing to look out towards sea. "It's small here, and there's not a lot I can do if I stay on the 'play' island… well, if Riku and Sora would have me, I guess I can come with."
"Oh, Sora will for sure say yes", Kairi said with a grin. "You know how he is. As for Riku… well, I'm not sure he will agree right away, but if you gather up some food and materials for the raft, then he will agree, after all Sora hasn't done much to help."
"Neither have you", a voice said, and Ren turned to see the silver haired owner approaching, his green eyes darting up towards Ren sitting in the tree house. "Yo, Ren! How's the new home treating you?"
"Bite me, Riku", Ren replied, climbing down to join the two friends on the beach. "Well, I can help out… though you sure it's alright that I come?"
"You'd be more of a help then Sora anyway", Riku stated, shaking his head. "Kairi caught him sleeping this morning on the beach front, claiming that he had a dream where he was… what was it? Swallowed by a big, black thing?"
"I was swallowed by a huge, black thing!", came the voice of a boy the same age as Kairi, his spikey brown hair swaying as he dashed towards them holding a log. "And for the record, I don't even remember when I fell asleep anyway… for all I know, I only slept a few minutes at most."
"You think Ren should come with us, right, Sora?" Kairi asked, looking at him and leaning forward slightly. "He ran away from the orphanage again, and he is the third best fighter on the island, besides you two of course."
"Of course!" Sora grinned. "The more the merrier, and besides, it would be nice to have help gathering materials and food up."
"It would also be nice if you did more to help us out", Riku sighed, shaking his head. "Ah, whatever, come find me or Kairi when you are done, Ren. And Sora? Maybe find a log that doesn't have rot in it."
Sora looked at the log he was holding, which seemed to have tons of holes and gasps in it at the end, before he let it fall to the ground with a sheepish grin. Kairi stifled a giggle before walking off, humming happily to herself. Ren signed at that, realizing that even though he technically had Sora's help, he would probably have to find the logs that would actually hold the weight of four teenagers and their supplies for the raft to actually have a chance of getting them off the small island, let alone off the world at all.
"Hey, Ren?" Sora asked, looking at him. "What made you run away this time?"
"It doesn't matter, does it?" Ren asked, looking down slightly at his shorter island mate. "I just… well, it doesn't matter. I guess I feel like I don't belong here, though I can say the same about these islands in general. Maybe that's why I didn't necessarily say no when Kairi asked me to come along."
"Do you think you're from another world too?" Sora wondered curiously.
"I could be", Ren replied, shrugging. "Or at least, whoever my father is, could've been from another world… and for all I know, he could still be out there. I know my mother is gone now, and has been since the day I was born, but he could be alive."
"Well, along with Kairi's world, let's make plans to search for your father too!" Sora declared, smiling. "Come on, let's go search for more logs! We're going to need a lot to make the raft as big as possible!"
Ren couldn't help but smile at Sora's cheeriness. "Alright, but let's make sure there's no rot before we bring them to Kairi and Riku, ok?"
XxXxX - Meanwhile, on another world - XxXxX
The sun blared on the pinkish-red haired girl as she opened the wooden door of the building she was exiting from, causing her to squint as her heterochromic eyes adjusted to the light. Her right, green eye was the first to adjust, followed by her left blue eye, each one slowly opening as she got used to being outside. She walked on the path leading from the brick building towards the fountain in the middle of the town, her white robe swaying as her brown boots pushed it with every step. She was adjusting the zipper of her robe, the red inside lining shifting with the movement of her arms. She looked into the fountain to use the reflection of the water as a mirror, getting close enough that she wouldn't get wet, but she could count every freckle on her face, which made a thick line under her eyes and going across her slightly rounded nose.
Smiling to herself, she turned and began walking towards the castle in the back of the town, though she was heading towards a small, stone building with a symbol of a rod on the sign above the door. She opened the door and peered into the building, where several books were on shelves were seen, though the building was also dark and devoid of life.
"Master?", the girl called out, looking concerned. Normally, the building had at least one person in it always, so it was odd that there was no one here. "Master, are you home?"
She opened the door fully, letting light peer into the room. No sign of life was present, so she frowned, turned and left the building, heading towards the castle. If her master wasn't in the magic shop, then he must be at the castle, though it was usually a problem to get into the castle, which was always guarded. Even though she had been to the castle several times, she always was treated with suspicion when she was there, the guards taking their job very seriously. Sure enough, as she approached, the two guards standing at the grand archway looked sternly at her.
"Halt!", the guard to her left declared. "No one is allowed in the castle today!"
"We do this same song and dance every time", the girl muttered, looking at the guard. "Now, seriously, are you going to let me in? I'm looking for my master."
The two guards looked at one another, before the guard on the right frowned, looking at her though more relaxed. "Alina… there's been an incident… we can't let you in, and don't even think about sneaking in this time."
"An incident? What happened?"
"Princess Sarah… she was kidnapped."
"What!?" Alina was shocked, almost tripping over her white mage robe as she took a step back. "B-by who!?"
"Garland", the guard on the left stated. "He was a former knight, though the second he committed his treasonous act, he was expelled from the knight guard… not that it really matters, since he still has Sarah."
"Is that why my master wasn't in the magic shop this morning?" Alina asked.
The two guards fell silent, before looking at one another with worried expressions. Finally, they both cleared their throats before turning back to her.
"Alina…" the right guard muttered, "your master went after them… and he hasn't returned yet."
"Well, then I need to go after him!" Alina shouted, but before she could turn she felt a presence behind her.
"I'm afraid I cannot let you", a voice from behind her said, and Alina instantly recognized it. She turned to see a tall, humanoid grey robot, with yellow LED eyes looking down at her.
"Gamma… my father sent you, didn't he?" Alina asked, crossing her arms and glaring at the robot.
"Your father is the royal scientist and engineer, thus he already knows about the incident that occurred", the robot named Gamma replied. "He figured you would want to go after your master, but advises that you wait for any word. A knight dispatch is going to go after him at around 1500 hours if no one returns from where Garland was seen fleeing."
"Well, where did he go?" Alina asked, pouting at she looked at the robot.
"That is royal level classified", Gamma replied, causing the girl to sigh.
"It's best you just go back to the Inn for now", the left guard stated. "We'll summon you if anything happens… and Gamma, you might need to watch her."
"I wasn't going to go on a wild goose chase after my master, if that's why you're asking him to watch me", Alina muttered.
"Still, better safe then sorry", the right guard stated, watching as Alina walked off with Gamma following shortly behind her.
"I hate this, Gamma", Alina muttered, walking back towards the Inn from which she exited this morning. "I know I'm just an apprentice mage, but I want to help do something."
"You can help by not getting in the way of the operation unless called for", Gamma replied, the robot surprisingly showing concern for the teenage girl. "I get the feeling that you'll be necessary for the retrieval of Princess Sarah."
"Are you just saying that to make me feel better?" Alina asked with a raised eyebrow. "I know your A.I is advanced and thus you can detect my emotions, but you don't need to lie to me… and that's an order, as the daughter of your creator I command it!"
"It is not a lie, Miss Alina", Gamma replied. "I do get the feeling you and I will play an important role soon… I can feel it."
"Remind me to tell father to check your hard drive for any defects."
XxXxX - Back on Destiny Islands - XxXxX
"So, Kairi's home is out there somewhere, right?"
This question was posed by Sora as he sat on top of the bending tree on top of a small section of the island, watching as the sun began to sink over the horizon of the vast ocean. Kairi sat next to him, looking over at the boy as he asked his question.
"Could be", Riku replied, leaning against the base of the bending tree, his arms crossed as he looked over Ren's head out towards the setting sun. The purple eyed boy was sitting on the ground, his feet dangling just over the sand underneath the short cliffside. "We'll never know by staying here."
"But how far could a raft take us?" Sora questioned, this time staring intently at Riku.
"That's what I asked earlier", Ren stared, not even looking at the three best friends as he butted into their conversation. Despite knowing and figuring it was futile at best to think a raft could get them off this world, he still was a bit curious as to what Riku was thinking.
"Who knows", Riku dismissed with a hand wave before recrossing his arms. "If we have to, we'll think of something else."
"I figured this wasn't well thought out", Ren muttered under his breath, though he was sure Riku heard him as the boy suddenly seemed to cough.
"So, supposed you get to another world…" Kairi wondered out loud. "What would you do there?"
"Well, I haven't really thought about it", Riku replied. "It's just… I always wondered why we're here on this island. If there are any other worlds out there, why did we end up on this one? And suppose there are other worlds… then ours is just a little piece of something much greater. So, we just as easily ended up somewhere else, right?"
"I dunno", Sora sighed, lying back on the tree trunk with his arms above his head.
"Exactly", Riku declared, standing up straight and walking forward a bit. "That's why we need to go out there and find out. Just sitting here won't change a thing… its the same old stuff… so let's go."
"You've been thinking a lot lately, haven't you?" Kairi asked, looking at Riku with wonder and awe.
"Thanks to you", Riku said, turning to face Kairi. "If you hadn't come here, I probably would've never thought of any of this… Kairi, thanks." At this, Sora glanced up at him as if silently calling out Riku. Both Sora and Ren knew that, even before Kairi came to the islands, Riku always talked about leaving, though of course Kairi didn't know that. Ren had to hold back a laugh, knowing that Riku was only saying what he said to annoy Sora, which clearly had it's desired effect.
"Heh, you're welcome", Kairi sheepishly giggled. Silence filled the air, before Riku and the others decided to take their leave. Ren listed to them silently, not even flinching as a small joke Riku played on Sora turned into the boy chasing the silver haired teen back towards the boat. Since he had no interest in returning to the mainland, Ren only waved as they boarded the wooden row boats and began to row towards the main island only a few hundred feet away from the island they all played on.
He wasn't sure why, but he felt a sense of dread fill him, as if the sand he was sitting on wasn't going to be seen by him for a long time, and for some reason, that scared him a little. He quickly dismissed these thoughts, however, knowing that deep down, he could care less to ever see this island and it's inhabitants ever again. All he ever knew here was the pain of growing up without a family, and being an outcast almost everywhere. Even when Kairi came to the island, he thought that someone could finally understand, but alas she was quickly taken in by a loving family, and Sora, who was the first to find her, quickly became her best friend along with Riku, both boys quickly developing feelings for the foreign girl.
Ren, however, wasn't so lucky. Even as other boys and girls in the orphanage were adopted and filtered out, Ren remained and now was the oldest boy there. He never knew love the way those three did, and was always the outcast in any group he joined, regardless of the group being Sora, Riku and Kairi; or even Tidus, Waka and Selphie, the other group of three that came to the smaller island quite often.
Ren clinched his fists and stood up, walking over to pick up the Papou Fruit that Riku pranked Sora with, then he quickly turned, throwing it as hard as he could off the island and into the water, where it proceeded to sink into the oceanic abyss. It was then he realized exactly why he didn't object to joining this raft quest, even though he found the whole idea insane. If, by a small chance, he could leave his island for good and go to another world, he was going to take it. If, by a small chance, this island would never have to be seen by him again, then… even if it ended with him drowning in the abyss, just like the star shaped fruit he chucked into the water, then he wasn't going to pass this up. This filled his mind on his walk back to the tree he now called home, possessing him and making him feel a sense of purpose. As he climbed up the ladder into the tree house, where Kairi had placed a small mat, a thin sheet and a pillow (a kind gesture he reminded himself to thank her for once he saw her tomorrow), one thought was on his head as he lied on the mat and pulled the sheet over him.
He wouldn't miss this place, even if it disappeared into the sea of his past… forever.
A/N: Alright, so I figured I might as well explain this just in case. The Crystal Kingdom world is based on Final Fantasy 1, more specifically the Kingdom of Cornelia, while Alina is based loosely on both White and Black Mages, though she's mostly an OC. I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! I already got Chapters 2 through 4 written as well, though they're rough drafts and definitely need some improvement before getting posted. I'll see if I can post them on a weekly bases in the future.