Despite his excitement for what lied ahead, Sora managed to sleep pretty soundly that night. When he awoke, he immediately got ready and rowed to the play island. It felt weird, one last full day on Destiny Islands! The first thing the next morning, he, Riku, and Kairi would take the raft and head off to worlds unknown!
Arriving at the dock, Sora saw Selphie was already there, the girl offering a smile and a wave, which Sora returned, as he arrived. Tying his boat up tight, he went over to the door leading to the part of the island where the raft was. Instead of Kairi being there like yesterday, Riku was instead.
The older boy nodded at Sora in greeting as he approached. "Oh, there you are. Thought you might sleep in again." He scolded facetiously.
"Nope, not this time!" Sora shot back, a humored grin on his face. "You're not practicing?" He knew how much Riku liked to work on his swordplay. No wonder he could beat Selphie, Wakka, and Tidus so easily.
"Well, I will. But first, our raft needs a name." Riku said, crossing his arms in thought. "I was thinking…Highwind."
Sora thought for a moment. Yeah, their raft didn't have a name! Every sailor knew that a vessel without a name was bad luck. "Highwind? I guess that's good, but how about Excalibur?" He thought it was a pretty good name.
Riku grinned a bit. "Well, I guess we're at an impasse." He said, looking to see Kairi approaching. "Just in time! Sora and I are gonna have a race over the ship's name!"
The girl didn't look surprised. After all, the two have had contests for much smaller things. "Alright, I'll be the judge, okay?" She said, stepping off to the side. "First one to the star tree and back wins!" Kairi declared, talking about a tree with a sole star decorating it. No one really remembered who did it, but most of the kids took credit for it at one point or another.
Sora came up with a nice idea, looking coyly at Riku. "Okay, if I win then I'm captain! If you win…you can be cap-"
"Whoever wins can share a Paopu Fruit with Kairi." Riku interrupted, talking quietly enough so she couldn't actually hear them. "How about it?"
The brunette felt his face grow a bit warm. Seriously? Wasn't this about the name of their raft? "Uh…wait a minute…!"
"Okay! On my count!" Kairi called, snapping Sora out of his surprise. She grinned as he and Riku got into their starting positions. "Three…two…one…GO!" The girl yelled.
With that, the two sped forward. Sora was caught by surprise at the sudden change of the prize, but he was still determined to win! Luckily, he had an ace up his sleeve, and it was right near the start. One part of the walkway was all rickety…and one more step on it was sure to make it collapse!
So, when they reached that part of the walkway, Sora leapt right over it. Riku didn't react in time, apparently unaware of its condition, and stepped right on it. With a cry, he and a chunk of the walkway fell into the shallow water below. With this advantage, Sora sped forward, not looking back to his friend. He knew Riku would be fine, it was a pretty short drop. In fact, when Sora reached the end of the walkway, he already heard his older friend running through the shallow water.
Focusing on moving ahead, Sora ran past the raft and up the small sloped to the star-decorated tree. When he tagged it and turned back, he saw Riku was catching up to him fast! Thinking quick, the brunette hopped along the tops of nearby trees as they were able to carry his weight. Of course, Riku followed suit, starting to slowly catch up to Sora.
The race back was frantic for Sora, who could hear Riku panting right behind him. "Come on…!" He mumbled to himself, not wanting to look back to see just how close his friend was.
As they approached Kairi, she raised her hand up, ready to make the call. Down the walkway they went and then…! "Sora!" The girl announced loudly, swinging her hand down as the brunette passed her, Riku a mere moment behind.
Panting as he came to a stop. Sora smiled to himself. He actually won! He couldn't believe it! Felt like months since he actually beat Riku at something. Turning, Sora saw that his friend had stopped as well, catching his breath. He didn't seem too sore about the walkway thing. In fairness, anyone could tell it was on its last legs just by glancing at it! "I won! Excalibur it is!"
"Lighten up, Sora, it's just a name after all." Riku retorted with a light role of the eyes.
Sora couldn't help but feel a bit annoyed at that. Riku gloated all the time when he won, and now when Sora did it, he needed to lighten up? The brunette couldn't help but look annoyed, but Kairi spoke up before he could say anything.
"Alright, glad that's settled! Sora, meet me by the raft when you're ready. I'll let you know what we still need!" With that, the young girl turned and headed off towards the raft, going through the shallow water since the walkway was busted.
Withholding an annoyed sigh, Sora looked to Riku as his friend went to lean against the nearby wall. "Hey, were you serious about the Paopu Fruit?" He couldn't help but ask, the last-second condition to the race having thrown him off.
"Huh? Nah, that was just a joke!" Riku replied, grinning a bit. "Should've seen the look on your face, though. Hey, wanna race again?"
A joke? That was pretty serious, wasn't it? Sora wasn't quite so amused about that. He could handle some friendly ribbing, but he really disliked it when Riku poked fun about his crush on Kairi. Especially since the older teen seemed to be fully aware of it. "Oh, alright. Uh…no. I gotta help Kairi with those provisions."
Riku seemed to note Sora's tone and raised a brow. "It was just a joke, Sora. Don't be so sore about it."
Nodding absently, Sora turned and went to the raft, going through the shallow water as well. When he arrived, Kairi was leaning against the mast, something in her hand. "Hey, Kairi, what is that?" He asked, looking at the object.
"Oh, this?" She asked, displaying it for Sora. It was almost star shaped, and hung on a chain. "I'm making a necklace out of thalassa shells. Sailors wore them all the time in the old days for good luck. It's a charm that'll help us find each other if we somehow get separated." Kairi declared with a grin.
"At least you're thinking ahead." Sora replied, brushing off his annoyance with Riku. Being with Kairi just made him feel a bit better! "Our raft has a name and a good luck charm, we're sure to have a good voyage!"
Kairi nodded. "Exactly! But first we need provisions. You can handle that while I work on our luck." She tittered as Sora playfully rolled his eyes. "So…we need some mushrooms, seagull eggs, coconuts, fish, and some water." The girl picked up a large empty bottle from behind the mast along with a bag. "Bottle for the water, bag for the food. Make sure to get fresh water, okay! Not ocean water!"
Taking the things Sora rolled his eyes again, still playfully. "Yeah, yeah I know. I live on an island; I know you can't drink salt water!"
"Great! Just bring those back and we'll be ready!" Kairi declared, starting to work on her good luck charm again.
So, Sora got to work. He whacked some nearby trees until coconuts dropped down, ones that were about ready to be eaten. There were nests all about where seagulls roosted, and he went to ones with the parents away and snagged some eggs. The fish were the hardest part, Sora having to lure them into shallower water before he was able to snag them. And of course, he knew which mushrooms were good to eat, and started looking for those.
He had to go all around the island to find these provisions, and soon he just needed a few more mushrooms and water. As he got back to the area near the shack, he saw the waterfall and filled the bottle with that. Jus some mushrooms and he'd be good! Looking about, he noticed the opening in the stone wall by the small waterfall. A good place for mushrooms to grow, the so-called 'Secret Place' which wasn't much of a secret. It had actually been some time since he went there, come to think of it. Entering the cave, Sora went slowly so he didn't run into the walls through the narrow space. Soon, though, he entered the sort of main area of the Secret Place, an opening in the ceiling letting in the sunlight.
The cave walls were covered in drawings of all sorts. There was a spooky face on one rock, a strange mythical bird on another, there was also a castle, a pirate, a dog barking at a sleeping boy, among a lot of other scribbles. Massive roots also lined the walls, some covering up drawings that had been made a decade ago. Though that wasn't the oddest thing about the Secret Place.
On the wall was an unusual wooden door. It was tall and had golden markings on it. But there was no actual handle or any other way to actually open the door. It had been there ever since Sora and Riku had discovered it ten years ago, and the adults didn't know anything about it. They shrugged it off, but the kids were curious and tried to open it…to no avail. Eventually, everyone just sort of ignored it and pretended it wasn't there.
Sora looked about at the drawings and the unusual door, taking in the memories of when he, Riku, and Kairi would hang around in the cave. Only for a few minutes, though, as he needed to find some mushrooms! Looking near the walls, the brunette soon found some and put them in his bag, but something then caught his eye…another drawing!
It was of him and Kairi, or at least their heads. He remembered the two of them etching the drawings into the wall years and years ago. Sora's mind went back to the fake race prize that Riku suggested…and the brunette picked up a rock. It took a few minutes, but he added on a clunky arm coming from his head, offering a Paopu Fruit to Kairi. Honestly, he didn't even know why he added it on…just wishful thinking, he supposed. He doubted anyone would ever see it anyway.
Without warning, the hairs on the back of Sora's neck stood on end and he felt like he was being watched. "Who's there?!" He asked, standing up and looking back. Sora didn't actually expect to see anyone, thinking maybe it was his imagination. To his horror, though, there was a figure in a dark corner of the Secret Place. It was impossible to make out face, as the stranger was wearing a brown cloak.
The figure looked to Sora, or at least it seemed like it. "I've come to see the door to this world." The cloaked figure said, a man's voice coming from the seemingly empty hood. It wasn't a voice that Sora recognized, which put him further on edge. "This world has been connected."
Sora had no idea what this guy was talking about. World? "What are you talking about? Are…you from another world? Who are you?" The teen found himself rooted to the spot, too scared to run away even though the exit was wide open. Was this guy from another world or what? What door did he mean and how did he get here? There was something so…off about this man. Not just his appearance or what he said, but Sora almost felt like he was talking to thin air.
Despite Sora's questions, the cloaked man went on, as if he didn't hear him. "Tied to the darkness...Soon to be completely eclipsed. You do not yet know what lies beyond the door."
"I don't get what you mean! Stop talking in riddles!" Sora demanded, starting to get annoyed. The guy was talking nonsense!
"There is so very much to learn. You understand so little." Was all the figure said in response, sounding almost amused.
Sora glared at the cloaked man, his fear ebbing away into anger. "You'll see, I'm going to go out and learn what's out there! I'll see lots of different places and worlds!"
"A meaningless effort. One who knows nothing can understand nothing." The cloaked man said in response, seeming to almost scold Sora.
"That's not true, I-" Sora started, but in the middle of his sentence he blinked. In that split second, the man vanished. "Wh-What?" He sputtered out, shocked. Looking around, he didn't see the cloaked figure. There wasn't really anywhere to hide, and there was only one exit. So how did he leave?
Quickly, Sora gathered his bag and the water bottle and ran out of the Secret Place. He glanced over his shoulder, almost expecting to see the cloaked man chasing him, but…nothing. The teen only stopped once he was out in the sunlight, feeling pretty freaked out. Was that even real? Maybe it was just the dark cave playing tricks on him…
Sora decided that that was the proper explanation. It was all just his imagination making him see and hear things. That sort of thing was possible…right? Still, it all seemed to real. And what door did he mean? That one without a handle…?
Shaking the experience off, Sora headed back towards Kairi. When he did so, though, he saw Riku off on the miniature island, practicing his swordplay. The brunette decided to challenge his older friend to one last fight. He was feeling a bit more confident in his chances since be beat Selphie, Wakka, and Tidus alone and then Riku in that race. Besides, a final duel before the voyage seemed appropriate. Going through the shack, Sora crossed the bridge and left the supplies he gathered by the end of it. With just his wooden sword, he approached Riku.
The older teen turned and noticed Sora, smirking lightly. "You want a duel? You already got to be captain and name the ship, what else do you want?" He asked, not entirely serious but clearly just goading Sora on.
"Nothing, I just want one more fight before we set sail!" Sora declared, approaching Riku and getting into a fighting pose.
Riku let out a light chuckle, getting into position as well, his own wooden sword poised above his head. "Well, if that's what you really want! Come at me!"
Sora dashed forward, swinging his weapon horizontally at his friend. To little shock, Riku blocked it with ease. He was always faster and stronger than Sora was, especially during their fights! Riku took it one step further and parried the attack away, throwing his opponent off balance. He'd jab his weapon at Sora, getting him a few times in the stomach which forced the brunette to stagger back.
Quickly, the younger teen retaliated, swinging down at Riku and getting him in the shoulder. It wasn't the first time Sora managed to get a hit in, but he could never hit Riku enough to actually beat him! The white-haired boy performed a swift counterattack, swinging his sword at Sora's side, making him stagger back once more.
It was a very one-sided duel. Riku kept moving forward, giving off quick, yet strong, attacks that Sora was usually unable to dodge or block. Any retaliation from Sora was blocked or parried away, just opening him up to another attack. The brunette managed to get a heavy swing in, knocking Riku onto his back!
Sora was about to gather himself for when Riku got up, but his eyes widened as his friend kicked off the ground, flinging himself feetfirst into the brunette. While Sora used his sword to block it, the impact still sent him stumbling backwards…and off the miniature island. With a cry, he landed in the water, it being just deep enough where he didn't get hurt, though he was soaked entirely…
Using the ladder on the other side of the miniature island, Sora climbed back up, coughing up a bit of salt water and aching all over. As he caught his breath, he looked up at Riku who was grinning in victory. "Thought I'd…have you that time…!" Sora said, taking a second to let out a last cough as he stood up.
"No such luck! But hey, you can still be Excalibur's captain." Riku said with a laugh. "And I saw you got some provisions. Go get those to Kairi and we'll be set."
"Shouldn't you do it since I'm captain?" Sora asked cheekily, disappointed in his loss, but quickly brushing it off.
Riku shrugged. "You lost the fight, though. So go on. Besides, I basically built the thing alone." The older teen pointed out.
While not actual wager in the fight, Sora still relented with a laugh. Gathering his things, he went and delivered the provisions to the raft, Kairi greatly amused at the soaking wet Sora. Once the previsions were placed on the raft securely, the three rested until the sun started to set. Riku went home early to get some sleep while Sora and Kairi sat on the dock, watching the sunset. The ocean became a brilliant orange as day slowly transitioned to night.
The two sat in a comfortable silence for a while until Kairi spoke up. "Riku's really changed, hasn't he?" She mused, looking over at Sora.
"Huh? What do you mean?" The brunette replied, mirroring Kairi's action. She didn't really reply, so he pushed a bit. "You okay?" What was with her?
"Sora, let's just take the raft and go! Just the two of us!" Kairi suddenly exclaimed, seeming very serious as she looked intently at him.
That took Sora by surprise, who felt his face go a tad warm. "Uh, what? And just leave Riku behind?" He never even considered something like that. But…if Kairi wanted to, then maybe…?
Kairi broke out into a laugh, her façade shattering instantly. "Just kidding!"
The brunette let out a heavy breath, shaking his head. "What's gotten into you? You're the one that's changed, Kairi." He couldn't believe he even considered Kairi's offer, even if it was real. Riku was more excited to explore out of three of them by a longshot, and Sora couldn't just abandon a friend like that!
"Maybe…" The girl replied, sounding a lot more serious. "You know, I was a little afraid at first, but now I'm ready. No matter where I go or what I see, I know I can always come back here. Right?" She asked, almost like Sora somehow held the answer.
Sora nodded his head, grinning wide. "Yeah, of course! We can visit whenever we want!" He had no way of knowing for sure, but there had to be a way to go back, right?
"That's good…" Kairi said before going quiet for a few moments. "Sora, don't ever change." She said suddenly, sounding a lot more serious than before.
Don't ever change?
But Sora wanted that. He wasn't happy with himself at all. While he was able to laugh and smile along with his friends, he felt terrible in his heart sometimes. He felt heavy and exhausted just by being awake. It was why he napped so often, to try and shake that exhaustion away, but it never faded entirely. Sora didn't know what was wrong with him, but he wanted it to go away. Still, he was afraid to let others know how he felt, afraid they'd shove him away for being different.
Though all he said in response was a single word. "Sure." He replied, just loud enough to be heard as he looked back towards the sunset.
Apparently, that was good enough for Kairi, who turned back to the sun as well. "I just can't wait. Once we set sail, it'll be great." She almost whispered in a wistful tone…
Donald, Sorry to rush off without sayin' goodbye, but there's big trouble brewin'. Not sure why, but the stars have been blinkin' out, one by one. And that means disaster can't be far behind. I hate to leave you all but I've gotta go check into it after getting Master Yen Sid's blessing. He told me there's someone with a key; the key to our survival. So I need you and Goofy to find him, and stick with him. Got it? We need that key or we're doomed! So go to Traverse Town and find Leon. He'll point you in the right direction.
P.S. Would ya apologize to Minnie for me? Thanks, pal.
That was what the letter King Mickey left behind had said. Donald had no choice but to relay it to Queen Minnie and Daisy, the three of them alongside Goofy meeting in the library. Off in the corner, Pluto slept soundly in a doggy bed, blissfully unaware of the happenings around him.
"What could this mean? I don't understand…!" Daisy remarked, brow furrowed in worry.
"Whatever it means, we'll have to trust the King on it." Queen Minnie replied, her voice strong and seeming to lack any concern.
"Sure hope he's okay…wherever he is…" Goofy said to himself, not quite as sure of things as Queen Minnie was.
As Goofy mumbled about the King's safety, Donald gave a salute. "Your Highness, don't worry! We'll find the King and the 'key' he mentioned!" The magician promised. He had to wonder if this involved a Keyblade? Donald knew that King Mickey wielded one years ago, but…
"Thank you, both of you." Queen Minnie said, once more having a good deal of confidence in her voice.
Smiling a bit, Donald look to Daisy. "Don't worry, we'll find the King and-"
"I know you will, Donald." Daisy replied, smiling back at the mage. "Just remember to take care of yourselves too, alright?"
Queen Minnie let out a small noise as she recalled something. "Before you go, I think it's important to chronicle your travels." She gestured to the nearby desk. "Please, take her with you."
Donald and Goofy both looked but didn't actually see anyone. However, the magician did spot a strange device on the desk. It was white and rectangular, easily able to fit in one's hand or in a pocket and as thick as a closed wallet. It also had a sort of yellow dot in the middle, a lens like on a camera. "You mean this? She?" Donald asked, picking the object up.
"Of course that's what she meant." A woman's voice, though highly digital, spoke from the device.
"Wak!" Donald exclaimed, almost dropping the device. "What is this thing, Your Highness?"
"This 'thing' is very expensive, so don't you dare drop it." The device responded. Its lens whirred a bit as it glanced about the room. "My full name is Genetic Lifeform and Disk Operating System." She looked over to Goofy, who was trying to mumble the name out. "Since I know you'd have trouble, GLaDOS will do."
Queen Minnie cleared her throat lightly. "GLaDOS and I have come to a bit of an agreement. She will travel with you and help you as she can, and she can keep all the information she finds."
"Not as though I have much of a choice. Still. The chance is…appreciated." GLaDOS responded, speaking to Queen Minnie, almost a bit begrudgingly.
This didn't seem to bother the monarch, who looked to Donald. "We'll pray for your safe return. Please, help the King as best as you can!"
Getting over his shock, Donald looked to Queen Minnie, Daisy, and…Goofy, who was saluting him off. Annoyed, the duck went over and yanked his friend away. "You're coming too, Goofy!"
Soon after that, the preparations were made, and the journey was about to begin. Donald and Goofy made their way down a large spiral staircase, GLaDOS in the former's hand and Pluto following behind. "Gawrsh, so…what exactly are ya?" The Royal Knight asked.
A sigh came from the device. "I already tell you, but clearly you won't get it. Just think of me as a computer." GLaDOS responded, not even hiding her sarcasm and annoyance.
"And ya came from another world?" Goofy pressed, clearly intrigued with the device. "Did it disappear like the others?"
"Obviously." The device chimed. "I was able to protect my facility from unusual creatures, but the world itself came to an end. As that happened, I was barely able to back myself onto this device as I launched it into space. Long story short, I ended up in the hands of your Queen. Is that all your questions?" She asked, a bit testy.
Apparently not, as Donald picked things up. "And how are you going to chronicle our journey?" After all, he wasn't going to just carry her around all the time!
Sighing a bit, GLaDOS went on. Apparently she decided just answering questions would be less painful than ignoring the two. "You wouldn't understand. This device is filled with several complex sensors. Even in your pocket I can basically see and hear everything."
"So, I should drop you by accident, right?" Donald asked, a mischievous tone in his voice as he let out a cheeky laugh.
"You're not amusing." GLaDOS responded bluntly, not seeming afraid that Donald would actually go through with his threat. "Now, apparently we shouldn't disclose we're from other worlds. At least that's what your Queen said."
Donald rolled his eyes at GLaDOS' insult but nodded at the other part. "That's right! We've got to keep things a secret!"
"Gotta protect the world border!" Goofy added on with a chuckle.
Once more, Donald rolled his eyes. "World order!" He squawked back.
"Oh! Right! World order!" The Royal Knight corrected.
GLaDOS sighed again. "I can already tell this is going to be painful." She groaned.
Goofy ignored the A.I.'s remark. "I guess we'll need new duds when we get there. Don't want to stand out too much, huh?" He pondered.
Before long, the quartet reached the bottom of the stairs and into the hangar. Many devices whirred and hummed around, a large orange ship in position and ready to go. Up in their small control room, Chip and Dale fiddled with some controls.
"You have your own ship? I admit I'm surprised." GLaDOS remarked. "Your Queen already displayed that magic is, in fact, real. So, I assumed we'd use that."
"Not to travel to other worlds! Not easily, at least." Donald said with a shake of the head. "We'll use the Gummi Ship!"
"Gummi…? That's ridiculous. What kind of name is that?" The A.I. lightly argued, almost seeming annoyed just at the name.
Once more, GLaDOS was ignored as Donald called up to Chip and Dale. "We're ready whenever you two are!"
Chip looked down at Donald. "Roger that!" He responded, giving a salute as he and Chip messed with more buttons and switches in their control room. Two large, gloved hands on a mechanical arms grabbed at Goofy and Donald, carrying them to the open ship. Pluto, on the other hand, simply leapt into the Gummi Ship, nestling down quickly as he happily panted.
Once Donald and Goofy got situated, the former put GLaDOS in his pocket. As the cockpit closed, he looked down to see Queen Minnie and Daisy arrived to see them off. He gave them a grin and a thumbs up before turning forward as the hangar doors opened. "Blast off!" Donald declared, ready to start this journey!
As the engines came to life…doors beneath the Gummi Ship opened and the vessel dropped like a stone. Donald and Goofy yelled out in shock as they soon wound up in open space. Quickly orienting the ship, the mage shook it off and set off towards Traverse Town, hoping to find Leon and that key quickly…
Sora lied in his bed that night, looking up at the ceiling. It was only about six, and time seemed to go by at an agonizing crawl. He felt like, later on, he wouldn't be able to get any sleep. The teen gazed around the room, knowing that after tonight, he wouldn't see it again for who knew how long? There were clothes scattered about, a harpoon and trident along a wall, a boat diorama hanging from the ceiling, two plush figures inside it…
It was weird knowing he'd leave everything and everyone behind, save for Riku and Kairi. But, maybe not as much as his older friend, Sora yearned to see what was out there. Their islands were so secluded, after all. Even if you want to the highest point on the islands and looked around in all directions, all you'd be able to see is ocean, no sign of the closest other island. Books, television programs, radio broadcasts, and the tales of traders that came to the islands were the only contact with the outside world. And, frankly, Sora didn't find that to be enough…
He glanced out the window, hearing a distant rumble. His eyes widened as he saw lightning streaking across the sky. A storm?! On tonight of all nights?! "Oh no, the raft!" Sora exclaimed to himself, quickly opening the window and leaping out of it…
Moments later, a woman's voice called from elsewhere in the house. "Sora, dinner's ready! Come on down!" His mother paused, not knowing she was calling to a now-empty room. "…Sora?"
The wind had picked up and the sea was a bit rough, but Sora was still able to make it to the other island on his boat. As he arrived to the dock, he saw two others, Riku and Kairi's names inscribed on them. So, they had the same idea! The three of them could surely prevent anything from happening to the raft! As he looked up, though, he saw something that made him feel sick to his stomach.
Up above the island was some sort of orb! It was black and purple, and crackled with some sort of energy. Just looking at it and being near the phenomenon made him feel sick to his stomach. While he had brough this wooden sword, as he just left it in his boat when he wasn't using it, he didn't think it'd be much of a comfort. Still, he snatched it up anyway, not feeling much safter with it in hand. He had no idea what that giant ball was, but he knew that Riku and Kairi were nearby and possibly in danger!
Before he was even able to leave the dock, something strange emerged. Or, rather, several somethings. A few feet away, shadows appeared on the ground. Yet they seemed more…solid. These shadows then emerged from the ground, forming small creatures! They were pitch-black save for their glowing yellow eyes. Antennae twitched as their bodies jerked about. They seemed so familiar somehow…!
Trying not to freak out too much, Sora let out a gasp as one of these Shadows approached him swiftly. He swung his sword at it out of reflex, but the weapon just phased right through! Narrowly dodging a swipe of the monster's claw, the brunette sprinted away. Whatever those things were, they somehow couldn't be hurt by Sora's sword! As he ran down the beach, he spotted a figure on the tiny island where the Paopu Fruits grew. Since it was so dark, Sora hadn't noticed until he had gotten closer.
Using the shack, he made his way up the bridge, the creatures in pursuit of him all the while. As he crossed the bridge, though, he noticed they stopped chasing after him. At this point, Sora was able to make out that the figure was Riku. He was looking up towards the orb in the sky but seemed to notice Sora's presence and turned to him.
Sora looked around, not seeing anyone else before he looked back to Riku. "Where's Kairi? I thought she was with you!" Their boats were both there, after all. "What's going on? Did you see those creatures?"
Despite Sora's panicked tone, Riku seemed perfectly content. Though he didn't really acknowledge anything his friend said. "The door has opened, Sora! Now we can go to the outside world!" He declared, sounding excited.
"What?! What are you talking about?!" Sora demanded, vaguely recalling that creepy hooded man talking about a door. Did that mean that encounter was real? Was any of this real? Maybe this was just some nightmare! "Where's Kairi?! Is she okay?!"
Riku lightly shook his head, dismissing Sora's concerns. "Kairi's coming with us!" The older teen answered, looking back towards the floating orb. "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!" With that, the white haired teen calmly stretched out his hand, waiting for Sora to take it.
Something about that image was so familiar to Sora, but he quickly shook it off. He jolted, though, when a mass of darkness erupted from the ground around Riku, starting to envelop him. The older teen didn't seem bothered at all, even as he slowly started to sink into the darkness.
Desperately, Sora went to his friend, wanting to help. Yet mere feet away, darkness opened under the brunette as well, stopping him in his tracks. Getting his feet free was like breaking them out of solid concrete, it was just impossible! He tried to reach Riku's hand, but he was just too far away! Sora felt himself sinking more and more, and darkness soon filled his vision…
Without warning, a piercing light shot through the darkness!
Sora's eyes snapped open; the teen not even aware he closed them. The darkness that was swallowing him and Riku up was gone…but so was his friend. He looked around but saw no sign of him! It took him a few seconds to realize there was something in his hand. Looking down, he saw the most peculiar object!
In his right hand was a giant key of sorts! It was fashioned like a weapon of sorts, complete with a golden handle guard. The key itself was silver and long, the empty space in the teeth almost looking like a crown of sorts. There was a chain attached too, ending in a keychain that comprised of three circles, almost looking like a head and ears.
The brunette had no idea what this even was, yet as he gripped it, he felt some sort of power radiating from it. It wasn't as heavy as it appeared, and Sora noticed it also felt a bit warm, despite its metallic makeup. As he stared at the object, a voice called in his head. It was a teen boy, but not Riku or anyone else he knew. Yet, somehow, it sounded so familiar, like he heard it in a dream.
Keyblade…Keyblade…Keyblade…
"Keyblade…?" Sora echoed as the voice faded, never hearing the word before. As he pondered, more of those Shadows appeared around him! One leapt at the teen, who instinctively swung the new weapon at the lunging creature. Unlike his wooden sword, which seemed to have vanished, the Keyblade worked wonderfully! It sliced right through the creature, reducing it to a quickly-fading black mist. Spurred by this, Sora lashed out at the other Shadows, who fell just as quickly. Whatever this Keyblade thing was, it was effective against these monsters!
That didn't explain where Riku was, though! Looking around again, Sora spotted something unusual. At the entrance to the Secret Spot was a door! It was beautifully crafted and had two handles to open it with. Since he had no way of finding out where Riku was, Sora decided to investigate this. The brunette rushed towards the Secret Spot, more dark creatures appearing along the way. He'd swing his Keyblade, finding it felt more natural than he'd expect, and it'd cleave right through the Shadows with ease.
Before long, he reached the door and opened it, heading to the Secret Spot. Once there, he saw Kairi, facing the mysterious handle-free door within the cave. As Sora approached, the girl turned to him. Her eyes were half-lidded, and her gaze was almost lifeless. "Sora…" She murmured, her tone flat and emotionless.
"Kairi?!" Sora exclaimed, worried for his friend, especially with what happened to Riku. Before he could act, though, the door behind Kairi swung open. Out poured a gust of wind that nearly made Sora lose his footing, only an empty blackness present in the doorway. To his shock, Kairi went flying towards him! Dropping the Keyblade, he opened his arms to catch her…but when she collided with him, she simply vanished.
As Sora tried to process what just happened, the wind grew more intense, and he was flung away and out of the cave. When the twisting and tumbling stopped, he found himself on a patch of sand with rubble and rocks around him. Somehow, the Keyblade had returned to his hand, and as he stood up he realized he was up in the air as an intense wind blew around him! He was dangerously close to that orb of energy, debris floating around it and sometimes making contact, causing the bits of island and wooden structures to vanish.
Turning around properly, Sora gasped as he saw a massive figure stand over him. Like the other creatures, it had black skin and glowing yellow eyes. With the heart-shaped hole in his torso, the entity looked familiar to the teen, but he couldn't work out why. The Darkside loomed over the brunette, who readied his Keyblade, unsure of what else he could do!
The giant being reeled its arm back, aiming a punch at Sora. Panicking, the teen ran to the side, dodging the fist as it slammed into the sand. A vortex of darkness opened up, several Shadows appearing which Sora made quick work of, though one managed to cut at his cheek. The pain told him that all of this was real!
With the Darkside's hand still in the ground, Sora slashed at it, dark mist coming from the places he struck rather than blood or anything like that. This did little to harm the monster as far as Sora could tell, who didn't even generate noises of pain or anything else like that. In a daring move, he ran up the limb and onto the creature's shoulder, hitting at its head instead, not even sure what he would do once the monster was defeated…if he could defeat it to begin with.
This got a more immediate reaction from the Darkside, who lifted its other arm and quickly swatted Sora off its shoulder, knocking the wind out of him and causing him to harshly land on the floating piece of island. After that, an orb of dark energy appeared in the heart-shaped hole in the monster's torso! As Sora stood up, shots of smaller dark energy erupted from the orb, heading right for him!
Once more, Sora ran to the side, barely going fast enough to the attacks hit the ground behind him. At one point he cornered himself by accident, getting too close to the edge as more of the dark energy went straight to him! In an act of desperation, he swung the Keyblade at the incoming attack, which deflected the shots right back at the monster, hitting it in the head.
It kept firing more and more dark energy, which Sora would hit right back, wondering if the monster felt any sort of pain or if any progress was being made in slaying it. After several more attacks were reflected, however, Sora got his answer. The orb in its stomach vanished and it fell still, yet its eyes still glowed with life.
Without warning, the wind that had been rushing around Sora grew far more intense, it trying to suck him up towards the orb. As he was taken off his feet, he grabbed onto a piece of debris in desperation, watching as the Darkside was lifted into the orb, vanishing entirely. Panicking, Sora had no idea what to do, his hand losing strength as the wind got stronger and stronger!
Then, in an instant, Sora let go and flew towards the orb, his vision going dark as he lost consciousness…
A/N: Chapter was a bit longer than I expected, honestly. I tried to make it quick though, since the real story has yet to really begin.
And yeah, I decided to replace Jiminy Cricket with GLaDOS. I needed a character that could fit in a character's pocket, could log the adventure, but couldn't fight since Sora, Donald, and Goofy work best as a trio. I was originally going to use Cortana from Halo, but after watching some playthroughs of the series I realized she's as interesting as cardboard so I opted out. Honestly if it wasn't for Coded I probably would've just left out any sort of replacement for Jiminy and just had no one chronicle the adventure.
Also I realize the fights are super short so far, but...I mean so far it's either Shadows, kids with wooden swords and toys, or Darkside. And Darkside especially shows up or is fought in every game in the series so I'm not going to linger to much on encounters with it. Once things get better underway, Sora learns more magic and abilities, and his opponents are more powerful, the fights will be longer.
Fun fact, Donald asking Daisy if she can "take care" of something was a mistranslation, which is why it's such an odd bit that goes nowhere. The dialogue I used is more accurate to its original version.
Finally, if you haven't, maybe check out the Tropes page for the series as a whole. It's got parts for the Birth by Sleep story and this one. I can't link it directly, but I did the best I could on my profile page.