This is a fanfic I'm writing which I decided to post for Story of the Week. It's basically a retelling of Kingdom Hearts. It's pretty different, but the major plot points remain mainly untouched. The characters are quite different with the exception of Kairi, who's not very different, just a little more teenagerish (yes, I know that's not a word). I guess it's like a more realistic telling of Kingdom Hearts. Anyway, here goes: Heart Shaped Box 1. Sora, Riku and Kairi (Sky, Earth and Sea) “I… I just don’t know. Is this world real… or not? Is this reality at all, or is what we see and do every bit the meaningless machination that it seems to be? But how can reality be perceived? There are many things in this world which we cannot explain, one of the things which we describe as a core part of our lives cannot be explained. Emotions, thoughts, our very perception. Can this reality or even a supposed illusion truly be created by merely a few pounds of fluids and tissue? Why do I even ask myself these questions? I know as well as anyone there are no answers…â€. This trancelike state was broken, and Sora awoke slowly. He was a shortish boy of 15, with long, outrageous spiky brown hair and piercing blue eyes. Though his stature was not incredible (he was about 5,5 or 5,6), he was strong and wiry. He exuded intelligence, and a strong will. “Man, what was that about?†he said to himself, sitting up on the shore of the beach. His feet were in the water on the shore, and the afternoon sun beat down on him in the summer heat. “Talking to ourselves again, are we?†a voice asked. Kairi, a girl of 14 with medium-length red hair, amber eyes and a similar height sat down next to Sora. She carried herself lightly, and spoke and acted in the same way, always smiling and carefree. “Oh, like you’ve never done the same†Sora replied. “You’ve got sand in your hair. A lot of it†she said, changing the subject. “Thanks,†Sora said, brushing the sand out of his hair. “So… what’re you doing here? I thought you were with Rikuâ€. Riku was one of Sora’s closest friends, but was also a rival. They competed in races, fights, and a variety of things. To this point, they remained fairly close, though Sora won almost all of the time, particularly in fights. However, Riku had certainly beaten Sora in one area. He happened to be dating Kairi, who Sora was quietly enamored with. But Sora had kept quiet. He had not even put up an opposition. Riku was taller, he was smoother, he got better grades than Sora. Despite his intelligence, Sora was not a committed student in the least. He often cut classes to go swimming or to sleep or simply for the sake of not being in the school. “Yeah, we decided not to. Riku had wanted to do something anywayâ€. “So what is it with you guys? I hardly ever even see you two together†Sora said. Sora did this quite often, to try to deal with his dilemma. He often pretended to promote their coupling, though a desire for its undoing was what mainly drove him to defeat Riku at everything else. Kairi sighed. “Oh, it’s complicated. I don’t really feel like talking about itâ€. Something within Sora’s gut seemed to hollow out and a glimmer of hope appeared within what he called the dark abyss of his romantic life. “Hey,†Kairi continued. “You wanna go for a swim?â€. “Sure,†Sora said, standing up. “But, um… I don’t really want to row all the way back to the other island just to-â€. He was cut off by Kairi saying: “Just jump in the water, you can dig something out of your crazy laundry hamper like you always doâ€. Sora’s laundry hamper was something of an urban legend on Destiny Islands. It was a sort of hexagonal shape, filled to the brim with unvarying shades of blue, tan and black. Sora’s entire wardrobe consisted of 4 pairs of blue shorts, 2 pairs of tan ones, 3 pairs of blue jeans and 11 black shirts. It was said that these 20 articles of clothing were never washed, and chosen entirely at random, so that on the hottest day of the year Sora might have very well have been wearing deep blue jeans and a black shirt, quite obviously not a comfortable outfit. However, he hardly seemed to notice. “Isn’t that the truth…†he muttered to himself, and jumped into the water. After their swim they rowed back to the island and bid each other goodbye. As Sora was walking back to his house, he heard a call. “Hey, Sora! Did your dog pee on you or were you trying to wash your clothes in the shower?â€. “I don’t have a dog, and for the latter ‘question’, it’s so stupid I can’t bring myself to answer it†he replied coldly. “It’s called a joke†Riku said, walking over to him. Riku was considerably taller than Sora, about 5,10. He was the same age as Sora, and had silver hair going down to his shoulders. On this day, like Sora, he was wearing a pair of khaki shorts and a black T-shirt. “Well, I don’t see anyone laughing†Sora said. “Maybe if you lightened up and cut the emo act…â€. “If I had a penny for every time you said that…â€. “Yeah, yeah. Hey, are you coming tonight?â€. “Coming? Coming where?â€. Riku tipped his head up and laughed. “See what I mean? Tonight’s… y’know… the prom… thingyâ€. “And… what makes you think I have a date, or if I did, why in the hell would you think I would actually go?â€. “There’ll be musicâ€. “Oh wow, high school musicians are the bestâ€. “You’re a high school musicianâ€. Sora paused. “Correction, I don’t PLAY at high school events, so I’m not really a high school musicianâ€. “Yeah, yeah. Anyway, I’ve got an ideaâ€. “There’s a first time for everything…â€, “C’mon, at least hear me outâ€. Sora sighed heavily. “All right, what is it?â€. Riku leaned in and whispered conspiratorially. Sora paused for some time. “…I’m in†he said. 2 . The Barbie Girls Sora returned and showered for some time. Despite his refusal to wash his clothes, he was otherwise a very cleanly individual. Afterwards he dressed himself in an identical outfit to the one he wore previously. He took his guitar case, strapped it over his shoulder and walked out. “Riku might be an idiot, but this sounds good†he thought to himself. He proceeded to the high school and found his way to the gym. Already a considerable throng had formed, and he found an alternate route backstage. He found Riku with a few of his friends, running about and laughing. Riku looked up and noticed Sora. “Hey, do you know the chords?†he asked. “…Does it really matter?â€. “No, not really. But I thought you were really meticulous about this stuffâ€. “I actually make music Riku, actual, serious music. And I definitely care about it. However…â€. “Yeah, I’ve heard it before. We’re a stupid parody bandâ€. “…That’s politeâ€. “Hey, you wanna do this or not?â€. “Mocking your girlfriend? Of course I wanna do thatâ€. “C’mon, we’re gonna go in a few minutesâ€. Sora unlatched his guitar case and extracted his 100-dollar guitar. It was unceremoniously painted black with simple house paint, though it was originally red. The paint job was understandable, though, seeing as the paint was practically gone. Sora had a strange habit of polishing it and restringing it every week, and tuning it meticulously. He was, in fact, a spectacular guitar player. The same could not be said for his singing. He was the lead singer/guitarist in a garage band, aptly named “The Crowsâ€. This name seemed to reflect on his singing style, which was either a hoarse whisper or a shrieking cry. The best that could be said of it was “energetic and originalâ€. His lyrics were not terrible, considering his age, but their songs were gruelingly repetitive, and were either nearly inaudible or earsplitting. He proceeded behind the curtain. “When he says put your hands together for, burst through the curtain and knock him off the stage†Riku ordered. Sora nodded, grinning inwardly. They heard someone come onstage, and he began saying: “Wow, what a great show tonight. What a great performance by our band-â€. “They remembered to blow into the trumpets…†Sora muttered. The person stopped mid-sentence, distracted. Sora felt him glance back, but he continued, “And please welcome the garage band sensation please put your hands together for-â€. Sora burst through the curtain, flying through the air, and knocked the man down. He landed just on the edge of the stage. Riku and the others burst in after him. The crowd apparently loved it as the person crashed onto the floor. Everyone assumed their positions. Sora leaned into the microphone and said: “This song is devoted to Kairiâ€. The crowd went wild with cheers, laughs and whistles. Riku also leaned in and said: “Because from the age of seven, she forced us to listen to this song over-â€. Sora joined in, and they said in unison: “And over, and over, and over againâ€. “And now…†Riku began. “IT’S PAYBACK TIME!†Sora cried. There was again a wave of applause. Sora began strumming randomly while someone else slammed on a bell. “I’M A BARBIE GIRL, IN A BARBIE WORLD,†Sora sang loudly. “LIFE IN PLASTIC, IT’S FANTASTICâ€. Riku joined in, and they sang in unison: “YOU CAN BRUSH MY HAIR, UNDRESS ME ANYWHERE, IMAGINATION, LIFE IS YOUR CREATIONâ€. “Come on Barbie, let’s go party†the other two (the drummer and bass player) said in a deep gruff voice. Sora and Riku began jumping up and down and playing furiously, still singing: “I’M A BARBIE GIRL, IN A BARBIE WORLD, LIFE IN PLASTIC, IT’S FANTASTIC. YOU CAN BRUSH MY HAIR, UNDRESS ME ANYWHERE, IMAGINATION, LIFE IS YOUR CREATIONâ€. Riku screamed something completely unintelligible in a high-pitched voice, and Sora replied with an equally unintelligible and deep voice. Sora strummed a riff and they sang in unison in normal voices: “Come on Barbie, let’s go partyâ€. Sora strummed again and they screeched in high-pitched voices: Come on Barbie, let’s go party!â€. And then in extremely deep and gruff voices: “Come on Barbie, let’s go partyâ€. “YEAAAH!!!†Sora screamed, energy coursing through him, still jumping up and down and playing wildly. “Come on Barbie, let’s go party†they sang again in normal voices. “Oh, oh, oh yeah†they sang in high-pitched voices. They repeated this three times, then paused as if they were stopping for all of one second, and then went back to the chorus. They repeated their deep, gruff cry of “Come on Barbie, let’s go party†one more time, strummed another riff, and then with one final leap and a violent strum of their guitars, the song ended. The crowd broke into wild cheering, and Sora and Riku could not help but high-five each other and wave at the crowd. They and the others walked off in an orderly fashion, huge grins painted across their faces. Once outside the high school, they began to part ways. “Hey, guys†Sora said after a few seconds. “Hmm?†all three said, turning around. “If you ever feel like playing some real music, come on over for some coffee, and… we can jam a bitâ€. “No thanks. Singing in unison is one thing, but with you as the lead singer it can get…†Riku trailed off. “It doesn’t matter who sings†Sora replied. All three shrugged their shoulders, and proceeded. “What was that about anyway?†Sora thought. “Inviting them for coffee...â€. “MANLY THOUGHTS, SORA. MANLY THOUGHTS†he thought to himself, and considered himself lucky that no-one could see him smiling and chortling to himself in the dark. However, he was heard by someone, who called: “Who’s there?â€. It was clearly a female voice, around his age, maybe younger. “Kairi?†Sora asked. “Yeah… Sora, is that you?â€. “Mm-hmm. How’d you guess?â€. “Dunno†she said, coming closer and making herself visible. “Hey. Sorry about… y’know… what we said before the show. We didn’t really…†he said, apparently forgetting what he had told Riku. Kairi laughed a bit. “No, it’s fine… but I only played it a few timesâ€. “Yeah, I know†Sora said, smiling. They walked closer to the shore. “Hey, can I ask you something completely random?†Sora asked after a time. “Sure. I like this kind of thing†Kairi replied. “You ever want to get away? You know… from here? For the first time, I’ve realized how small life is. Here. Just think. No-one has found another island, or anything like it. All we’ve seen is sea, sea, sea. And I’m wondering… can we really be alone on this planet? For all the vast amounts of sea that we know exists, can we really think that there’s no… compensation? That there’s no other land around, no other human life? Or are we just a remote, small colony, unknown in a vast world? I want to knowâ€. “Mm-hmm. Yeah, I have thought about it. Actually… Riku talks about it all the time. You know, you two are pretty alike†Kairi replied. “What?!†Sora exclaimed, not as angry as taken aback. “I’m nothing like Rikuâ€. “You’re more like him than you knowâ€. “Well, let’s see. First of all, I’m shorter, he’s all proper and on time, whereas I’m the guy with the hexagonal laundry hamper… he’s in a parody band, I’m in a garage band… and he’s optimistic and sh- I mean, crapâ€. “Wow, you really are emoâ€. Sora laughed. “I’m sorry†Kairi said, stopping. “What for?†Sora asked, turning to her. “I didn’t mean it… you’re not…â€. “Oh, pfft, I get that all the time. It doesn’t really bother meâ€. “ I don’t know why. You seem to smile a lot. You’re a good person, Sora. I know that. You’re a really good friendâ€. She gave him a friendly hug, and a sort of mental spasm occurred in him. “Uh… hehe, thanks, I guess†he said nervously. She pulled her head back, still not letting go of him, and they stared at each other. Slowly and somewhat subconsciously (at least in Sora’s case) their faces drew closer. Sora’s brain seemed to be imploding on itself, and finally, as they were about half an inch from each other he finally managed to utter: “But w-what about R-Ri-â€. “Well, Riku’s not here, is he?†she whispered. The last half inch was covered, and they kissed. After a time they drew away and stared at each other wide-eyed. Suddenly a very sharp blow was applied to Sora’s head, and he fell down, collapsing into the shallow water on the shore. He groaned slightly and staggered onto his feet. With his blurred vision he saw Riku with a wooden plank, glaring at him. “Coward†Sora muttered. “What?†Riku shouted. “You’re a coward, attacking me from behind my backâ€. “Shut up!†Riku shouted, dropping the plank and making to punch Sora. Sora ducked a bit, moved to the left and stuck his arm out, catching Riku full in the stomach and making him flip over onto the shore. Riku got up slowly. “Riku, what I just did was wrong, I’m sorry†Sora said. “What are you, scared?â€. “No, I am sorry. And I don’t want to hurt youâ€. “Oh yeah?â€. Riku charged at him again. Sora moved away at the last second, and Riku lunged and fell to the ground. “Riku, stop!†Kairi shouted. “If you don’t stop, I can’t guarantee your safety†Sora said calmly. “Shut the hell up!†Riku cried, getting up once more. “Just stop!†Kairi cried. “Sora doesn’t want to hurt you and neither do I!â€. “What do you care about me?!†Riku shouted. “I’ll leave you to deal with this yourselves†Sora said, turning and walking away. “Come back here!†Riku shouted. Sora shot a meaningful glare at him, and picked up his guitar case which he had left on the sand. Sora walked back to his house, trying as hard as possible not to think of what had just transpired. He was failing miserably. When he reached his house he flung his guitar case on the ground, hurried upstairs, went into his room, took off his shirt and plopped onto his bed. He then grabbed his headphones, put them on his head and blasted his stereo to full volume, attempting to drown out his raging thoughts. This attempt failed as well, and he flung them to the ground, accidentally unplugged the headphones, and sntic, deafening seconds searching for the power button. After what seemed like half an hour, he turned it off. “Can this day get any better?†he muttered to himself, and plopped back onto his bed. Several hours later he awoke from his sleep. He sat up and looked around his room. Suddenly he saw a cloaked figure in the corner of his room. He did not make a noise. “Who are you?†he asked calmly. “You do not yet know what lies beyond the doorâ€. “Wow, nice nameâ€. “There is so very much to learn. You understand so littleâ€. “Yes, I don’t understand how you got in here and why†he said, getting annoyed. “One who knows nothing can understand nothing…â€. “Are you coming to teach me something? And if not can you get the hell out of my room? And you still didn’t answer my first questionâ€. “This world has been connectedâ€. Sora’s aggravation turned to keen interest. “What?†he asked. “Tied to the darkness. Soon to be completely eclipsedâ€. “Are you… from another world?â€. Suddenly the figure was gone. “Am I… dreaming?†he asked himself. And with that he went back to sleep, after what had become a strange, tiring day.
Here's chapter 3 as well, the story wouldn't be complete without it, but skip the part where Sora talks to his mom if you want, it's not very good. 3. The Keyblade That night Sora’s dreams were strange and troubled, and he awoke, feeling decidedly not rested. He looked up and found the sun had not quite risen yet. After about a minute he got up and found his way into the shower. He stayed in for nearly 20 minutes, letting the water continue pouring down on him, steam billowing up. “Not going to school today… I can’t…” he muttered to himself. Finally he exited the shower and dressed. He proceeded down the stairs and went to the cabinet, then extracted a mug and poured himself a cup of pre-made coffee. He sat down at the table and lowered himself, holding the cup in both hands, staring at it. His mother appeared, still in her pajamas and clearly tired. “Up so early?” she asked, heading for the cabinet. “I had some strange dreams” he replied shortly. “Like what?”. “There was a cloaked guy in the corner of my room. And he was talking about knowledge, and that this world was connected. Tied to the darkness. It… it felt like I was awake. But… I couldn’t have, could I?”. She turned to him and looked at him full in the face. “Are you all right, Sora?”. “…Yeah. Why do you ask?”. “You don’t sound sure of that. I’m worried about you. I know… ever since you were 11 or 12, you’ve been a little different, but not a whole lot. Everyone’s different, and… I wasn’t really worried. It was just a part of going into puberty. No, this is different. It’s like… no matter what happens, you’re not quite happy. Ever. And, nothing seems to make you really sad or angry either, but that’s not quite normal either”. “Yesterday was… no, nevermind”. “No, tell me”. Sora sighed heavily. “It’s Kairi”. “So that’s all it is? Girl trouble?”. “Basically. Very basically”. “What else is there?”. “It’s that…”. “You can say anything”. “Okay, here it is. I kissed her, and obviously Riku was none to happy about it. I didn’t really even want to do it anyway. After all, Riku is my friend. And Kairi… she’d definitely be better off with him. I mean… that’s why they got together in the first place, right?”. “Maybe. Maybe it’s because she thought she could never get you, just like you did with her. I don’t see why you’re so upset about this. Actually, most kids you’re age would be thinking ‘score!’. I know you care about Riku, but you’ve told me about this. It seems he’s had this coming for some time”. Sora stood up suddenly. “No. He hasn’t. I don’t know what was with Kairi, but she didn’t mean to do that. I guess… you don’t understand. You can’t really. It’s not your fault”. “I’m sorry. You should talk to her. And Riku, too. I’m sure you can sort it out”. “Okay. But not today. I can’t”. “I suppose you’re not going to school today?”. “I kind of have to, don’t I?”. “Don’t act like you’ve never skipped school. I know you’re dealing with a lot, but I think it’d be best if you went”. Sora hung his head and let the coffee’s steam fly up into his face. Finally he drank it, and then tipped it back all the way, and finished it all in one go. His mother had gone to dress. “No. It wouldn’t be good if I went” he thought to himself. He went upstairs and took his borrowed acoustic guitar and left the house, then went to the large, bent Paupu (a sweet citrus fruit, and a well-known aphrodisiac) tree. He pressed his palms against his eyes and rubbed, then gripped the guitar and perfectly played “Embryonic Journey” by Jefferson Airplane. After this he began playing one of his own tunes, and stopped, as it was the only acoustic song he had written. After the sun had begun to rise, he returned to his house and put up his guitar. He then went to the local gym and practiced kickboxing for some time (in addition to playing guitar, Sora was a committed kick boxer, and had developed an impressive and powerful technique). All the while he turned a tune over in his head, as well as a few lyrics. He returned home once again and took out a pad and pencil, then returned to the Paupu tree and began writing. He spent most of the rest of the morning working on the lyrics, and then returned home briefly to get his normal guitar. He then headed to Tidus’ house. Tidus was around Sora’s age, and had a similar haircut, though his was blonde as opposed to Sora’s brown. He was Sora’s closest friend, and he co-wrote the songs and played a number of instruments, including rhythm guitar, harmonica and cowbell (they attempted to implement just a small bit of cowbell into all of their songs). It was, of course, his garage which they played in and wrote songs in. The only song which Sora and Tidus had truly struck gold with was “Heart Shaped Box”, which Sora written. Tidus had “edited” it, though a more appropriate word would be “censored”. In any case, it stood out among their other songs in terms of lyrics and musical creativity. Tidus was already in the garage awaiting Sora and their two other members, Reno and Wakka. Reno was their bassist and was more exuberant and professional at the same time. Wakka was the drummer in the band, and was by far the most upbeat in the group. “Hey Sora,” Tidus said as he arrived. “Why didn’t you show up at all today?”. “You mean… you don’t know?” Sora asked. “I would think you would want to kind of clear your name. You know, beating up Riku and then making out with his girlfriend. At least, that’s the story we heard”. “Well, that’s a lot of exaggeration. I didn’t ‘make out’ with her, and Riku hit me on the back of the head with a wooden plank before I fought him”. “I figured it was something like that”. “Hey, Sora!” Reno shouted, coming in. “I heard about last night. Way to go, man”. Sora rolled his eyes. “It’s not what you think, Reno”. “Uh-oh, I sense another manic depressive song coming”. “Actually, I did write a new song” Sora said, pulling out his pad and giving it to Reno. Wakka arrived and looked over Reno’s shoulder at the pad. “You need to lighten up, man” he said. Reno threw the pad back. “Let’s hear the tune” he said. Sora nodded. “You’ve got a pretty big role, Reno”. Sora demonstrated the tune he had invented in his head. After about 10 minutes he had perfected it. This felt as good as “Heart Shaped Box”, perhaps better. “Wakka, you just have to follow along, sorry man”. “It’s all good” he said, walking over and taking a seat at the drums. Sora then demonstrated what he wanted Tidus to do, and then took up his guitar. “Okay, everybody ready?” he asked. “Yeah” they replied. Reno started up the bass tune, and Sora leaned into the microphone and sang: “I’m so happy, ‘cause today, I found my friends, they’re in my head…”. *** The song was nearly completed all in that day. Even Wakka approved of it after their final take. “Good job today, guys” Sora said as they parted. “You too, see you tomorrow” Tidus said. Rehearsal had cleared Sora’s mind considerably, but his relief was short-lived, as he saw Kairi waiting at his house. “Hi” he said quietly. They stayed silent for a moment. “Look, I’m sorry about yesterday. I didn’t mean to… okay, I did mean to, but…”. “Riku and I split up” Kairi said plainly. “You what?”. “It had to happen sometime. I mean, you knew as well as anybody…”. “Well, um… I’m sorry…”. They stayed silent. “There were some pretty nasty rumors going around about you” she finally said. “Yeah, um… I heard”. “Which one did you hear?”. “…Does it really matter?”. “Yes, it does. Some people think you killed him”. “What?!”. “Riku didn’t come to school today either”. Sora paused for a moment. “I’ll find him”. “I want to go with you”. Sora looked away a bit. “What is it?” she asked. “I want to talk to him myself”. “…Okay”. Sora looked up at her, somewhat surprised. After a time he nodded, and went back to his house and threw his guitar in. He then walked to the back of his house and took out his wooden canoe and slung in over his shoulder, then grabbed a paddle. “What are you doing?” Kairi asked as he walked out. “I think I know where he is. Or where he’s going” he replied. The most common place for refuge, in Sora’s opinion, was the tiny island near their home island. From the age of 5 to about 10, Sora, Riku and Kairi had played. Sora was, of course, the first to stop going to the island, saying that he was “too old” for it. However, he occasionally went there to write, or to be alone. He knew that, every so often, Riku visited, but for different reasons. What he went for was to inspect an inexplicable door which he and Sora had found when they were 6 years old. It seemed to fascinate Riku. Sora set down his canoe and jumped in, and rowed quickly to the island, then went to the cave cautiously. Riku was indeed there, kneeling down with his palms on the knobless door. Sora stayed silent for some time, then walked a bit closer. “Riku?” he asked cautiously. There was no response. Slowly, Sora put a hand on Riku’s shoulder, there was still no response. “Riku?” he asked again. “Why?” Riku finally replied. “Why… what?”. “Why does she…”. Sora sighed heavily. “You know as well as I do that I have no idea. I don’t know what she wants. Maybe it’s neither of us. Remember? ‘The love of a woman should be spoken on the water and written on the wind’”. “You were always ahead of me. Always”. Sora gave a hollow laugh. “Ahead? You’re telling me…”. “I… I hate you…”. Sora stayed silent. “You’ve taken everything from me…”. “No. No I haven’t. Everything’s still within your reach. But you have to take it”. “How can I take it back from you? When you’re so much stronger…”. “I don’t know what to tell you. But… I won’t… take her from you. I’ll never do that”. “Shut up” Riku suddenly said. Sora’s eyes widened as the door began to come open and what appeared to be darkness incarnate came pouring out. “All you’ve caused me is pain and suffering! I’ll kill you!” Riku cried. Suddenly he sprang up, and a fearsome sword appeared in his hand. It was red and blue, and curved, with an eye on the hilt. Riku suddenly charged and Sora jumped back as he swung. He then kicked him in the shins, then pulled his leg up into his jaw, sending him into the air and knocking him down. “Die!” Riku cried, getting up and swinging his sword. A dark force flowed from it, and Sora was pushed back. It felt like he had been cut by a thorn, and that someone was pressing into his stomach at the same time. The dark forces suffocated him. Riku appeared over him with a crazed expression, and his light blue eyes seemed to dim, already being darkened. He pulled his sword down, and Sora was stabbed in the shoulder. Riku then pulled the sword out and walked away. “Riku! What are you doing?” Sora cried, summoning what little strength he had left. “I’ll kill you later, but first I’ll deal with someone who’s deceived me from the start” he replied. “You don’t mean… Kairi?!”. “Yes, I do”. “Riku, stop! This is insanity! You don’t know what you’re do-” Sora was cut off by Riku walking over and stepping on his stomach. Once he raised his foot, Sora lost consciousness. *** When he awoke, it was completely dark in the cave, he ran out and rain was pouring in sheets, and a humongous vortex was spinning in the sky. “What is that?” Sora exclaimed. He ran back to his boat, and found it taken. Without a second thought he jumped into the water and began swimming. He made it across successfully, but he was exhausted as he came up on the shore. Suddenly creatures about three feet tall appeared out of the ground, their skin was black, and they had large, circular eyes. In addition, they had claws both on their hands and feet. About five of them jumped on top of Sora, and began knowing at him, he ran, attempting to shake them off, but he had too little energy, and collapsed. The creatures piled on top of him, and as he seemed to lose breath, and indeed his life, a light appeared. The next thing he knew he was standing fully upright with a humungous key in his hand. He gasped as he found himself on a tiny platform of ground, right below the vortex. The island was nowhere in sight. The key’s handle was made of pure gold, and it’s handle was made of a shining steel. On it’s chain was three ovals interconnected. He was now clothed in a tunic, a robe and a cloak, all of a shining white material. He felt incredibly powerful and agile. The creatures charged at him from all directions, but he spun around, swinging the key, and they were all destroyed. He stared at the key wide-eyed, and then turned around. Riku was standing, his arms outstretched either way. “Riku!” Sora cried angrily. Riku turned around. His eyes were now a bright orange, and he grinned maniacally. “Riku, why? Why did you do all this? You’ve destroyed everything!”. “Yes… that’s right, Sora. Your body, your existence, they’re all going to disappear!” he drew his sword again. “NO! For their sake, I won’t let you live!” Sora shouted, charging at Riku with the key. He quickly knocked away Riku’s sword, jumped up and kicked him in the face, then stabbed him with the key. Riku gasped in pain, but then grabbed the key and pushed it and Sora away. Sora hit the ground with a thud, and Riku took up his sword and jumped up into the vortex. Sora turned around and looked down at where the islands formerly were. “Kairi… Tidus… Mom… I’ll avenge you… I’ll avenge you. DESTINY ISLANDS! I WILL AVENGE YOU!”. He then jumped up into the vortex, away from his islands, his dream both fulfilled and crushed.
