Author's note: Second chapter came out later than expected, right? That's what school does to ya. Wish me good luck for my second year of college. Outside of school, I've mainly been gaming. I managed to beat Dark Souls 3, Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance (on proud!), Bloodborne, and started playing Persona 5 Royal. Let's just say that my thirst for a good challenge have been quenched for now.
While I enjoy my life, I wish you to enjoy this new chapter!
Sora's blue eyes shot open, his breath as heavy as an elephant. He pulled himself up to a sitting position, feeling his heart trying to burst out of his chest. His skin all wet - it almost looked like he came out of a swimming session.
An entire minute passed before he realized he was no longer on that strange platform with the painting of a strange woman. The decor of his room appeared more clearly to him, illuminated by the faint glow of the moon through his window. His bedsheets were all messy over his legs, indicating how much he must've moved during his sleep.
After regaining a normal heartbeat, Sora removed the covers from his legs and got off his bed. He walked over to his window, lifted it up, and peeked his head out to let the cool night breeze brush his face. This always helped to calm him down after a bad dream. He kept his head out until his body's temperature dropped low enough. He went back to lay down on his bed afterward, resting his head on his pillow with both hands between them. He tried to remember the bad dream he just had. It was so... confusing... Yet so real. Frowning, he pushed his brain to activate its memory muscles...
The first thing he remembered was a world plunged in eternal darkness... There were two platforms, each one of them displaying the painting of a woman... And they both looked like a princess... With a frown, he also remembered the three pedestals and the objects they displayed: a sword, a shield and a staff. He remembered picking up the sword and abandoning the shield, regardless of what it was supposed to mean. And then, he recalled the strangest part of his dream: the voice. Not only could he not see the shape of its owner, but he could not even make any sense of its words. It mumbled things about light, darkness, power and... a door. It talked almost like these mysterious, old wizards in fantasy video games when they sent the player on a quest. Speaking of fantasy, the next detail that returned to his memory was those little monsters with sharp claws that bounced everywhere and tried to tear him to shreds.
"I wonder what all of that is supposed to mean," he mumbled. Then, he simply shook his head. "Man, I really need to stop eating snacks before going to bed..."
Closing his eyes, the young boy prepared to drift back to sleep...when a strange noise reached his ears. Opening his eyes again, he returned to his window, assisting to a strange show. A ball of light passed over Destiny Town and seemed to land on his friends' island. Was that another dream? Or maybe a shooting star? His curiosity too strong, Sora turned to pull on his clothes and then dashed out of the orphanage.
"Come on... Come on..."
Sora struggled to make the little boat advance as he used both paddles at once. Riku's absence could definitely be felt. Upon reaching the shore, Sora dropped the pieces of wood and immediately ran across the sand. It didn't take him long before finding something odd; in the middle of the beach stood some sort of red and yellow spaceship with missile launchers and a cockpit at the top.
"What the heck is that?" Sora mumbled as he approached the strange ship, walking all around it. "Are we getting invaded?" He climbed on the side and tried to look inside the cockpit. There were seats and a big command board, but no sign of life. "Where'd that thing come from?"
"You see something?" The poor kid almost fell down upon hearing this voice. He quickly jumped down and went to hide behind a nearby coconut tree. Footsteps were slowly coming his way and two figures came into view... Two strange figures...
One of them was some sort of duck with white feathers and blue eyes. A blue beret with a zipper rested on the top of his head, whilst his body was covered by a high-collared navy blue vest with pouches and golden bracelets decorated his wrists. He carried a strange staff similar to the one present in Sora's dream.
The other one was a canine-like individual that stood a few feet taller than his avian comrade. He also had a hat on his head - though it was yellow and shaped like a teardrop with googles around it. He wore a green turtleneck sweater with white gloves, a black combat vest and yellow pants. A small, circular shield was wrapped to his right wrist.
"There doesn't seem to be any trouble around here," the canine guy said, looking all around. "Actually, it seems like a perfect place for a vacation, wouldn't ya say?"
"Sure, but the ship did detect darkness activity in this world," the duck replied (it took Sora a little moment to get adjusted to his funny voice). "We should give a good look around and make sure the people here are truly safe. You never know when Heartless might strike."
His curiosity getting the better of him again, Sora came out of his hiding spot and approached them from behind. "Hey there!" The strangers jumped in surprise and the canine guy dropped on his head while the duck pointed his staff at him. "Hey, hey, easy there! I'm not looking for trouble!"
"... Oh, it's just a boy," the duck said, pulling his staff down and placing a fist on his hip. "You shouldn't jump on people like that; I could've taken you for an enemy and hurt you."
"Sorry," Sora sheepishly apologized as he rubbed the back of his head. "Say, who are you guys? I've never seen you around Destiny Islands before. Are you travelers?"
"Ya bet we are!" the canine exclaimed after getting back up and rubbing his head. "The name's Goofy! Nice to meetcha!"
"And I'm Donald. Donald Duck," the duck also introduced himself. An air of pride appeared on his face as he rested his staff on his shoulder. "Royal Magician of Disney Castle at the orders of His Majesty himself. Goofy, here's the Captain of the Royal Knights of King Mickey's court."
Sora blinked his eyes and tilted his head with a confused expression. "Royal Magician? Royal Knights? Disney Castle? What's all of that?"
Donald dropped his proud air and leaned forward. "Disney Castle. You know, in Disney Town, the center of the Disney Kingdom." The confused expression did not leave Sora's face. "Whaaaat? Are ya telling me that you've never been out there before?"
"Out where?" Sora questioned.
"To other worlds, of course," Goofy replied as if it was the most obvious thing. He then rubbed his chin. "We are far from Disney Town, though. Maybe people around here haven't reached world traveling technology yet."
"O-Other worlds?!" Sora gasped, his blue eyes turning round like plates. "Y-You mean there are other worlds outside of Destiny Islands?!"
"Of course there are!" Goofy confirmed. He pointed at the ship that Sora inspected moments earlier. "Ya see that ship over there? It's a gummi ship; it allows Donald and I to travel from one world to another, helping anybody in need as we do so. That's kind of our mission, ya know?"
Despite coming out of a deep slumber moments ago, Sora's heartbeat increased to incredible heights. A beaming smile appeared on his face as he ran up to the talking animals. "THERE REALLY ARE OTHER WORLDS OUT THERE?! I KNEW IT! I KNEW IT! THE STORIES WERE TRUE! THE ADULTS WERE WRONG!" He grabbed Donald's hands with his. "WHAT ARE THE WORLDS LIKE? WHAT IS YOUR WORLD LIKE? HOW'S YOUR KING? ARE THERE DESERTS? PLACES WHERE YOU CAN FLY? HOW DOES YOUR GUMMI SHIP THING WORK?"
"Whoa, whoa!" Donald exclaimed, pulling his hands back. "Easy there... What did you say your name was?"
"Oh, sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. The name's Sora! And this is my home, Destiny Islands!"
Goofy nodded his head. "Yes, we got this place in the castle's official records. Say, have you seen anything strange around here, Sora? We landed because our gummi detected something potentially dangerous."
Sora's excitation partially faded away at those words. "Something dangerous? What?"
"No matter. Just tell us if there's something strange around here," Donald insisted.
Thinking about it, Sora placed his hands behind his head. "Well, I haven't seen anything out of the ordinary lately... Oh, wait! Yes, there is! Just before you arrived, I was sleeping at my orphanage and had that weird dream with black monsters, swords, shields and magic staff. I don't know what it was, but it just felt so real it's scary."
This information seemed to pick Donald's interest. "A dream? With monsters and swords? Can you describe it in better details?"
"Well, I remember there was darkness everywhere... Two platforms with women that looked like princesses... And then, there were those three objects that appeared: a sword, a shield and a staff. Then, little monsters attacked me, and there was that super weird voice talking from nowhere. I don't understand any of it..."
At these explanations, the two companions exchanged a gaze. "Do ya think he could-" Goofy started asking before being interrupted by a screaming sound. The three turned in the direction of Destiny Town, from where the screams seemed to be coming.
"What's going on?!" Sora asked, stepping to the edge of the shore and looking ahead. There seemed to be a commotion on the main island, but he couldn't see what.
Donald widened his eyes and turned to look at his companion. "Goofy! The darkness! It's there! This town is in danger!" Understanding the situation, Goofy nodded. "Sora, what's the fastest way to reach this island?"
"Follow me!" The young boy led the anthropomorphic animals to the little boat and proceeded to paddle with their help back to the main island.
Upon their arrival, the trio found Destiny Town in utter chaos. The civilians were running all around, trying to escape little black creatures with golden eyes. It was general panic!
"Hey! These are the same monsters that attacked me in my dream!" Sora realized. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Heartless! They're all around!" Goofy exclaimed. "That's what our gummi ship detected in this world!"
"Heartless?" Sora turned to look at him. "What are those?"
"Let's take them out now!" Donald ordered, brandishing his staff, while Goofy took a stance with his shield. They exchanged a look and a nod before charging into action.
Donald raced across the town, smashing the monsters in his way with his staff. When many of them attempted to jump on him all at once, the duck raised his weapon in the air. "Thundaga!" Lightning struck from out of nowhere and made the little creatures fade into smoke.
"Wow! Real magic!" Sora beamed from afar.
A little kid was about to get attacked by a monster, only for Goofy to jump in the way in time to block it with his shield. He smacked the monster away, repeating the process with any civilian in need across town. "I'm going to end this in one fell swoop! Goofy Turbo!" Goofy jumped with his shield before him and started spinning on himself. He launched all around like a rocket, striking any Heartless he came across. By the end of the attack, he stumbled and dizzily fell on his rear end. "Always so fun..."
Sora watched the battle unfold before him in amazement. Donald performed all sorts of magic tricks - from casting fire, lightning, ice and other stuff - and Goofy expertly (if somewhat clumsily) used his shield to take down the Heartless. It was like watching a superhero show for real! Before long, all the Heartless were gone and the town safe. "Another good job done," Donald chuckled as he dusted himself up.
"Huh, Donald? I don't think we're done just yet," Goofy suddenly said and pointed behind his companion.
Turning around, the duck gasped as a black hole appeared on the ground in the center of town and out came a gargantuesque figure. It was another Heartless monster, except that this one was the size of a building with a humanoid figure. Most of its face was covered by snake-like hair, which didn't prevent its glowing yellow eyes from being visible. A heart-shaped hole was pierced right through its torso.
"W-What the heck's that thing?!" Sora exclaimed in horror.
"A Darkside! Goofy said, his body shaking in fear.
"Oh, phooey! We weren't expecting to meet a Heartless of THAT level here!" Donald quacked. "Regardless, let's take him out before he can cause too much destruction!"
The Darkside attacked first as he launched a punch where the heroes stood, forcing them to jump out of the way. Donald launched a spell called Firaga that sent a jet of fire at its hand. The monster roared in pain before charging energy and punching the ground, calling a darkness pool out of which more little Heartless came out. As they started spreading all around, Goofy mumbled something before going to smash them away.
"This isn't good! We can't fight this guy AND stop the Shadows from attacking the folks around!" Goofy called after bashing another monster.
"We HAVE to!" Donald shouted back as he kept casting spells on the monster's hand. Eventually, the Darkside kneeled down and started shooting orbs of energy from his chest, sending them all around. "Oh no..." Donald got hit by a few of the orbs, getting knocked to the ground. Even Goofy was too occupied with fighting the Shadows to notice one of them and got hit in the back.
"Donald! Goofy!" Sora exclaimed in shock and started running.
"Stay back, Sora!" Donald called, fighting against the pain. "You can't get here! You'll just get hurt! Run!"
"B-But... I can't abandon you like this!" Sora insisted. Watching the Shadows attacking his town and his two friends at the mercy of the colossal Darkside, Sora felt his heartbeat increase. Then, the mysterious voice echoed in his mind once again.
"You've gained the power to fight. There will be times you have to fight. Keep your light burning strong."
His instincts kicking in, Sora charged forward as Donald and Goofy were about to receive more energy orbs from the Heartless. He intercepted the attack by getting in front of them and striking as hard as he could... Yet, he felt no pain. How was that possible? "...?! Sora? What's that thing in your hand?" Goofy asked from behind.
At this question, the young boy gazed down to see that he was, indeed, holding something. It looked like some sort of huge key with a golden guard and a dangling chain at the end. What was that thing? And where did it come from? As he inspected the object from every angle, Donald came to give a closer look. "I-It couldn't be! A Keyblade?!"
"Keyblade?" Sora repeated with a curious look. "What's that?"
"I'll explain later. You can use it to defeat those Heartless, so how about you lend us a hand?" the duck suggested. "You know how to fight?"
"Yeah, a little."
"In that case, help us beat them all!" Goofy exclaimed.
Giving a nod, Sora assumed his fighting stance and attacked the Shadow Heartless with his two friends backing him up. Remembering the dream he had, fighting with this mysterious Keyblade felt greatly similar to the sword he used previously. Taking down these monsters turned out to be easier thanks to the magician and captain's help. However, the hardest part would be the bigger one. It roared and shot more balls of energy from its chest that came straight at them. Remembering all the times he had dueled with Wakka, Sora raised his new weapon and actually managed to deflect the attacks. Donald and Goofy, who had cast a magic barrier and blocked with his shield respectively, seemed surprised.
"H-He actually deflected them?!" Donald quacked, impressed by the boy's dexterity.
Feeling more confident than ever, Sora charged towards the giant and jumped on its arm, getting all the way up to its shoulder. He slashed and smacked his Keyblade on its face, causing it to roar in pain. It shook him off, but did not get the chance to attacking again as Donald sent a spell called Crawling Fire right to its face. "Goofy Tornado!" Goofy started spinning on himself again, but this time, like a mini-tornado. He struck the Darkside behind the knees, forcing it to fall forward in a vulnerable position.
"Sora!" Donald called. "Pierce its head with your Keyblade; it will finish it off!"
Sora gave a thumb's up. The Darkside pulled a few feeble attempts at squashing him beneath its hands, but in vain. Once he got close enough, Sora pulled his weapon back before dashing forward and firmly planting his weapon through its forehead. The monster let out a roar of agony before its body faded away into smoke, marking the end of the fight. "And that'show you do it!" Sora beamed, taking a pause with his Keyblade on his shoulder.
Goofy bashed one more Shadow and smiled. "That was the last of them. This world is safe, guys."
"Glad to hear it... Now, can you tell me what the heck's going on?!" Sora asked with an unusual serious tone. "What were those things? And what's this key thing? What's going on?"
"Let's go somewhere more private before we explain anything," Donald replied, urging the two to move away before the townspeople could come out and ask them questions.
Back on the secondary islands, the trio went to the mini-island where Sora would always spar with Riku. "There, nobody should come to bother us here," Donald said.
"So? I'm still waiting. What's this...Keyblade thing? What were those things you called Heartless? And why did they attack my town?" Sora questioned.
"Whoa, whoa, one thing at a time, buddy," Goofy eased him with his hands raised. "All of this is serious matter, actually..."
Donald pointed at the key. "This thing in your hand, like we said, is called a Keyblade. It's a magical weapon that only those selected by it can use. Believe it or not, but it is actually one of the most powerful weapons that exists in the entire universe."
"R-Really?!" Sora exclaimed in surprise.
"Yup... Though..." Donald rubbed his chin as he gave a long, inspecting gaze at the Keyblade. "From the looks of it, you ended up with a Kingdom Key Keyblade. Unfortunately, when compared to other known Keyblades, this one isn't particularly special. It doesn't have any special attributes... However, this isn't to say it's useless; it grants you an incredible power."
"What kind of power?" Sora asked.
"A lot. But, more specifically, that to affect people's hearts," Goofy explained.
"Their...hearts?" Sora repeated with a confused expression.
"Yes. The very essence of who they are," Donald confirmed. "Some of the greatest heroes the Disney Kingdom have ever seen are and were Keyblade Wielders, just like you. In fact, our king himself is a Keyblade Wielder."
"Really? Is he strong?" Sora asked with excitation.
Letting out a chuckle, Donald gave a nod. "You bet! He's super strong! Keyblades are a vital weapon to fight against the darkness - the source of evil that represents the greatest danger to your world and all the others." The duck pointed back at Destiny Town. "Those monsters that attacked us moments ago? They're called 'Heartless' and are monsters born from the darkness."
"But why did they attack my world?" Sora asked.
"That's just what they do; attacking the various worlds to claim people's lives and take away their hearts," Goofy explained. "That's why Disney Kingdom has various people protecting worlds like yours. Good thing there's a Keyblade Wielder to protect it."
Sora alternately stared at the duo and down at his Kingdom Key Keyblade. "But... This is the first time I ever use it. I have no idea how it works."
At this statement, the duck and canine exchanged a look. "... Sora, I think you should come with us."
"Come again?"
"Donald and I are on a special mission," Goofy continued. "We're to help the worlds in danger when we can, but after that, we're to return to Disney Castle and make a report to the King. Why don't you accompany us? That way, you can see the other worlds like you said you wanted. Plus, it'll be a good opportunity to learn from a Keyblade expert; the King knows a LOT on the subject."
"So? What do ya say?" Donald asked.
Sora remained frozen on the spot for many seconds...before a bright smile appeared on his face and he started jumping on the spot. "Yes! Yes! That's amazing! I'll finally get to see the worlds beyond Destiny Islands! And on a spaceship! No more school and plenty of adventures! My friends and I were planning on leaving with a raft, but this sounds much cooler!" He then remembered something. "Oh, I almost forgot! Can my friends come as well? There's two of them; Riku and Kairi. We were actually going to leave this world on our raft, the Ragnarok, in a few days. It's gonna be amazing!"
Donald awkwardly rubbed the back of his head. "I...don't think it'd be a good idea, Sora."
"Yeah, we're not going on a fun vacation trip; we're going to face Heartless and all sorts of danger," Goofy said in agreement. "Unless ya friends also got magical powers, bringing them along would be dangerous. Like, life-threatening dangerous."
"Oh... I see..." Sora crossed his arms, thinking about his situation. He turned around and stared at the gummi ship, at the hidden Ragnarok, and then again back and forth. What was he supposed to do? He had always wanted to leave Destiny Islands and go live adventures... But without his friends? It didn't seem as exciting... Then again, it didn't feel right to pull them in danger with that Keyblade and Heartless story. He ended up letting out a sigh. "Okay, let's just go, the three of us."
"Great!" Donald clasped his hands together. "We're gonna leave right away, if you don't mind. There's a room where you can sleep, if you still feel tired."
"Okay. Just before we go, there's something I need to do." Sora left in the island's cabin, returning minutes later with a piece of paper that he went to slip on the Ragnarok. Donald and Goofy had turned their gummi ship on while he was away, so he got on just as they were ready to depart.
"Ready to leave, Sora?" Goofy asked the boy, who was sitting next to him in the cockpit.
"Yeah... I suppose..." The gummi ship took off, flying up above the ocean. Feeling a thrill in his stomach, Sora looked through the cockpit window and at the water down below. That, and the islands slowly getting further and further behind. He couldn't help but let out a sigh. "Riku, Kairi... I'm sorry... Maybe we'll go on adventures together another time..."
Author's note: Now, you can see that this story is going to be much more different than the normal one. Sora did not meet Donald and Goofy in Traverse Town, but on Destiny Islands. Also, DI did not fall to darkness as Donald and Goofy were there to help. Now, Sora will get to begin his adventure as a Keyblade Wielder much earlier on - though I wonder how Riku and Kairi will react to him leaving without them.
Once again, sorry for making you guys wait two months before releasing the second chapter. Thankfully, I'm a bit tired of gaming and studying all the time, so I felt the inspiration return, and I should release the next chapters pretty soon. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and let me know what you think of it! See ya soon!