Beginning of the Key-Bearer

A faint grin made its way across Sora's face. They were going to set sail tomorrow; he, Riku, and Kairi were finally going to go out on the raft they made together. Sora had spent the past few days helping gather some supplies and put the finishing touches on the raft. The grin on his face grew wider as he thought about the end of the day.

"I just can't wait. Once we set sail, it'll be great." The words echoed around in his head like a dream. Just the thought of that afternoon with Kairi turned Sora's grin into a full blown smile and he gazed dreamily out the window before closing his eyes to sleep.

Dark storm clouds were gathering above the islands and there was a faint rumble of thunder in the distance. Sora lazily opened up one of his eyes and glanced out the window. "A storm?" he muttered. Ignoring it, he turned back over on his side and tried to fall asleep again. A sudden feeling that he'd forgotten something important swept over him. He glanced back out the window just in time to see a burst of lightning strike out against the sky above the islands. Sora sat up sharply with a sudden realization. "Oh, no, the raft!"

Scooping his wooden sword off the floor, Sora thrust open his window and leaped onto the stretch of beach just outside his house. He thought he heard his mother call out to him, but the raft was a higher priority.

Sora's boat was embedded in the sand just barely above the water, even though the shore line was a good distance away when he'd beached it earlier that day. He tossed his wooden sword inside and had begun to push the boat out into the surging water when he heard his mother call his name. He turned his head just in time to see the light in his room go on. He was tempted to head back inside and explain the situation to her, but he had to make sure the raft was intact and secured before the storm destroyed it. After all, Riku and Kairi were probably already over on the island already and they could use all the help they could get in this weather. He shoved the boat into the water the rest of the way and heaved himself onboard before the ocean swept the boat towards the islands.

As he was paddling, he noticed that the current seemed like it was flowing in the direction of the island. Various bits of driftwood and other flotsam were being pulled to the island like metal to a magnet. Sora looked towards the island. Even from where he was, he could tell that the shoreline was way too high—even higher than it was back home. Waves crashed onto the highest edges of the sand, leaving none of the beach untouched. Planks and driftwood were shoved onto the beach by the surging ocean.

A crack of thunder roared across the sky and nearly startled Sora out of his boat. He looked for the source of the noise and found an enormous, floating red and black ball hovering above the island.

"…What's that…?" he wondered out loud. The closer he got to the island, the worse a feeling he got; the hair on the back of his neck stood on end. Lightning flickered around the sphere. It felt as though it was pulling him into infinite darkness. Something about it reminded him of that nightmare….

His boat rode a wave and slammed into the island's pier, knocking Sora down. Startled, he grabbed his sword and pulled himself onto the pier. He took a few moments to catch his breath. Then he noticed the two other boats floating in a dead current next to the pier.

"Riku's boat. And Kairi's!" Frantically, Sora glanced around for any sign of Riku, figuring Kairi would be with him. He leapt off the pier and ran towards the side of the island with the raft. If Riku and Kairi weren't there…

Another shaft of lightning split the sky, turning the entire island into sharp shadows and hard highlights. Booming thunder chased after it, nearly deafening Sora. On the island with the paopu tree, Sora could have sworn he saw something bright yellow in the flash. Riku's jacket?

Sora shouted Riku's name, trying to get his attention, but the crashing waves and howling wind tore away his voice. Sora started towards the small island, but he slipped on something slick. He barely caught himself at the last moment, and turned to find that he'd stepped on one of several jet black puddles. Had they been there all along—had they even been there a moment ago? At first, Sora thought it was just more jetsam, but looking more closely he recognized it instantly. Round, yellow eyes appeared on the puddles and they morphed into shadowy figures. Sora gasped in surprise.

The monsters from his dream!

Wholly terrified, Sora clutched his sword in both hands, so tightly that his knuckles were white. "Get away, you freaks!" He swung the sword at one of the beasts, but it missed.

The creature suddenly bounced, swinging a limb at Sora's face. He stumbled backwards, avoiding the strike by a hairsbreadth. Sora desperately brought the wooden sword down onto the small figure. This time he was sure he was close enough to hit it, but his sword didn't make contact.  The entirety of his blow was absorbed by the sand.

Terror gripped Sora. There was just no way. He couldn't have missed that time. His sword had passed straight through. He was frozen; too shocked to move.

Out of nowhere, the creature leapt up and swatted at Sora's face. He snapped his head back in an attempt to dodge, but he was too slow. Sora put his hand up to his face. He was bleeding. He couldn't hurt them, but they could hurt him!

Sora scrambled away from the creature. He went as fast as he could across the wet sand, trying to reach the island with the paopu tree. If he could just get to Riku… Sora was sure that Riku of all people would know what to do.

Desperately, he ran to the small shack. Sora leapt with all his might and just managed to grab the edge of its roof. He heaved himself on top, then turned to make sure that the little monsters weren't about to follow him up. To his surprise, he found they were standing nearly motionless on the beach. An enormous wave bombarded the shore, leaving only smooth, dark sand in its backwash. No trace of the creatures.

Sora brought his attention back to the paopu fruit island where he thought he'd seen Riku. Now that he was closer, he could make out Riku's figure silhouetted against the black sky. He ran towards his friend's motionless figure, "Where's Kairi?" he demanded. "I thought she was with you!"

"The door… has opened," Riku mumbled cryptically, moving only his head when he spoke.

"What?"

"The door has opened, Sora!" Riku shouted. He spun around, his fists clenched. "Now we can go to the outside world!"

Sora thought Riku must be out of his mind. How was any of this going to get them to another world? "What are you talking about? We've gotta find Kairi!"

"Kairi's coming with us!"

Sora could do nothing but stare blankly at his friend. Was he serious? When Riku turned to face the dark sphere, Sora's doubts were confirmed. He grimaced.

Riku continued to stare at the darkness. "Once we step through," he began, emotionless. "we might not be able to come back. We may never see our parents again." Then, with determination, "There's no turning back. But this may be our only chance. We can't let fear stop us!" Then Riku looked straight at Sora in a way that caught him off guard. "I'm not afraid of the darkness!"

Without a moments hesitation, Riku held out his hand to Sora in a beckoning gesture.

A pit sank in Sora's stomach. Everything about this night—it was exactly like his nightmare. The oppressive atmosphere, the dark creatures, Riku's behavior…. If only he could say it was all a dream, if only he could wake up. "Riku…" he begged. If only it were that easy to escape this horrible nightmare.

Darkness erupted from Riku's feet. Black tendrils came up from the hole and began to take Riku, his hand still outstretched.

Sora's first instinct was to pull Riku out of the darkness. Horrified, Sora tried ran towards his friend but his feet wouldn't move; as if he were glued to the ground. He looked down to find he was standing in a pool of darkness, too. He tried to pull himself free, but more dark tentacles poured out of the dark and began to envelop him. Trapped, Sora frantically reached out to Riku, trying to grab his hand before the darkness completely swallowed them both. But it was no use. The last thing Sora saw was a strangely satisfied look in Riku's eyes before they were both devoured by the darkness.

The ground turned soft, then broke away completely. Sora began to fall, unable to find any hold or make any sound. The ferocity of the storm faded, leaving Sora floating in total silence. He tried to call to Riku—anyone—but his cries didn't make it past his throat. On the brink of giving up, he desperately called out with all his heart, only to be greeted with more unending darkness.

Moments later, a bright light—brighter than Sora had ever seen—pierced the darkness. His descent began to slow and he felt weightless. The light grew from a small speck into a warm sun, gently washing away the dark. Sora held out his hand as if to grasp the source of this radiance. It grew to overpower his senses and soon surrounded him completely.

Sora's feet met solid ground. The light scattered, and Sora found himself once again on the familiar, storm-wracked islands. He was standing in the same spot as before, but Riku was nowhere to be found. Hoping to see his friend, Sora shot his gaze around for any sign of Riku, but found instead a silver glint out of the corner of his eye. He squinted at the source.

Where his old wooden sword had been, a magnificent-looking gold and silver one had appeared. There was a key-like tip with an crown impression that resembled his necklace. It felt easy to handle, but Sora could tell there was a lot of weight to it behind its glow—no, more like an aura—of light.

Above the crashing waves and the howling wind, a familiar voice echoed around his head. Keyblade… it whispered.

Keyblade…