There will be time, there will be time

But darkness wasn’t the only one who was watching. Far off in the distance was a light. It was small, not as encompassing as the darkness, but it shone brightly with all its might. The light fell from the sky, drifting down until it reached the boy. With a touch, and a burst of light, a suit of armor surrounded him, glinting golden in the light of the pillar. The boy now protected, the light retreated, drifting away.

A good play by the light, one must say. However, darkness would not be stopped so easily. For dreams are not safe from darkness, and it would chase the boy there, endlessly, threatening to consume him.

But the light knew this too, because it did not leave. Instead, it watched over the boy, like a star in a night sky. 

The only one.

Chapter 1:

Deepening Twilight

Drip, drip, drop. 

It was that pull again. Of sleep. It had happened so many times. In the middle of battle, flying through the air, or when he was almost at a good spot to stop…and then drop. 

But this time it felt like he was being pulled under. And he was falling. 

Down…

Down…

Down. 

Was it like before? When he’d been with Riku?

Riku. Before he could feel a connection. But where was it now?

But then he felt…

Squish! 

Sora hit something soft. He sunk into it. Whatever he’d been expecting, this wasn’t it. He pried his eyes open. 

He gasped. "Huh? What?"

He was in his room, bathed in a golden light: the light of twilight. A glance outside his window showed him Twilight Town, in all its glory.

Wait…his? Casting his eyes around the room, Sora was sure he’d never seen this room before. Especially with a TV in the corner. Even if he’d forgotten what his room looked like in his absence, there was no way this was his. His mom had never let him have a TV, no matter how much he begged. She’d say, "You’ll never get any work done!" He’d protest, but deep down Sora knew his mom had been right. There was no way then this was his room. So why did it feel…familiar?

While he pondered, Sora got up and pushed the window open. He heard the sound of the tram as it clicked and clacked across its track, giving him a warm fuzzy feeling. 

But then, all thoughts of nostalgia flew out of Sora’s head as something propelled through the window, bowling him over onto the bed. For a moment he stared cross-eyed at the newcomer, and then his eyes brightened.

"Rascal!"

Rascal was a Dream Eater, a creature that inhabited worlds that were asleep. Sora had befriended several of the creatures throughout his Mark of Mastery exam, and they varied in shape and skill. This particular type was Sora’s favorite of all: a tubby, pillow shaped creature, with both cat and dog characteristics. While it was afraid of fire, it had faithfully stayed with him through many battles. Now though, it sat on Sora’s stomach, trying to lick his face.

Reaching up, Sora scratched behind Rascal’s ear. The dream eater thanked him by turning its head and licking his hand.  

"Hey, that tickles!" Said Sora laughing as he sat up, to much protestation by Rascal. "What are you doing here anyway?"

Rascal only tilted its head, as if asking Sora the same question.

"Yeah, I don’t know either. Anyway, do ya wanna see Twilight Town? It's a great place!"

Rascal jumped up and down, getting all excited. Sora couldn’t help but grin. "Then c’mon, boy!"

"And see up there? That’s the clock tower, where sometimes you can see someone eating ice—"

Sora paused, his head turning upward at the tower. He felt like someone was watching him from up above. Yet when he looked, there was no one there. 

"Scratch that, Rascal," said Sora. "I don’t know why anyone would go up there and eat ice cream. Seems odd, don’t you agree?"

Rascal grew strangely quiet at his master’s words. Getting up on its hind legs, it seemed to look up at the tower itself. Sora couldn’t help doing the same. 

"Wait, what!?" gasped Sora.

There, up on the tower, sat three shadowy figures, wearing black coats. 

"There’s something familiar…" mused Sora aloud.

Then, inexplicably, the forms disappeared. 

With a shudder, Sora turned to his friend. "C’mon, Rascal, let’s get out of here."

"Hey look, there’s Hayner, Pence, and Olette!" Sora exclaimed with Rascal close on his heels. 

The two had arrived at the sandlot in the middle of Twilight Town. Hayner was kicking a ball up in the air, trying to keep it aloft. The others, Pence and Olette, were cheering him on.

"Hey, guys!" Sora called out to them, as he walked toward the trio. 

But they wouldn’t look at him.

"Huh?" said Sora, as he stopped in his tracks.

Sora surveyed the scene, wondering why the others didn’t hear him. Then, a thought came to him. Lurching forward, he ran up to the others, but when they didn’t turn to him…

He reached out, and put his hand right through Pence.

"What?" Sora exclaimed. 

Something twisted in Sora’s heart as the scene changed before him. The ball finally fell back to the ground as Hayner’s run ended. There were words of encouragement from the rest, though Hayner was grumpy he couldn’t do it longer. 

Sora heard Olette try to calm ruffled feathers by suggesting ice cream. Hayner gave a grumpy "oh alright," as he jumped up at the idea. Olette chuckled as the three left the sandlot.

Sora watched them leave as something began to squeeze his heart. Rascal, sensing something amiss, bounded over and began to rub its head against Sora’s leg. Sora bent over to smile at his friend. 

"Hey buddy."

But his tears betrayed him as they dotted the ground.

"Sure is quiet." Sora said as he walked through the center of town. "Usually someone is at least in the shops."

Rascal just bounded along, unbothered, sniffing this and that along the way. The two had turned a corner and down a side street when Rascal found a hole in the wall, the same one that led to a spooky mansion. Rascal stopped, sniffed, then bolted through the hole.

"Rascal!" Sora called out after his friend.

But Rascal had different plans, and didn’t return. 

Sora sighed. "Oh fine." Grumbling, Sora followed his friend through the hole.

A hoot from an owl went through the air as Sora and Rascal entered the clearing in front of the broken down mansion. There was a flutter of bat wings as one soared nearby. Sora shuddered. 

"Not much has changed," said Sora to Rascal as they stopped in front of the fence around the mansion. "But why is the gate locked? The last time I was here—"

At this Sora paused, remembering that weird day. He’d woken up realizing everything had changed, including himself. "The lock was broken, and you could walk right into the courtyard."

Still lost in his thoughts, Sora continued to stare at the gate. But then, before his eyes, a figure appeared—one who wore a black coat. The spooky specter proceeded to walk through the metal gate and toward him. Startled, Sora jumped back, and as he did, a voice went through his mind: 

"Don’t call me and then lock me out!"

Turning, the form raised an arm at the lock and summoned a keyblade. Then, it disappeared. 

"What’s going on?" Sora mused.

Rascal pawed at his master’s leg. Sora let out the breath he’d been holding. Reaching down, he pet his friend’s head.

"That was weird, wasn’t it, boy?"

Straightening, Sora turned to look at the locked gate again. With a glance at Rascal, he said, "I’ve made you wait long enough, haven’t I?"

Sora then summoned his keyblade, but Rascal leapt at the gate striking the lock, and the sheer force dislodged it and opened the gate. Rascal then came back, tongue out, panting and looking for his master’s approval.

Sora gave his friend a grin as he knelt down in front of him. "Good job, buddy!" Sora said as he rubbed the Dream Eater’s head. Rascal purred in contentment.

"Rascal, wait up!" called Sora.

The moment the two had entered the mansion, Rascal had taken off much to Sora’s frustration. "C’mon, little guy, can’t you let me catch my breath?"

Apparently, the little guy could not for it had led Sora up the rightmost stairs, through the library, and down into the secret lab underneath. It was here that Rascal finally stopped, right in front of the transporter into the data version of Twilight Town. With a chirp, Rascal jumped right in. 

As the machine began to rev up, Sora called out, "Wait, Rascal, you’ll—"

Seeing no other course of action, Sora jumped in after his friend.

"Let us all welcome one of the keyblade’s chosen."

The voice, quiet yet menacing, filled Sora’s mind. With it came shadowy figures that crossed the platform in front of him. One was a guy with flaming red hair, the other a much shorter boy wearing a black coat with goldenrod-colored hair. 

"Huh?" said Sora as the world blurred around him. Feelings of confusion and emptiness set in its wake. Sora’s knees buckled as he fell to the floor.

Sensing Sora’s distress, Rascal rushed to his aid. As it cast a cure spell, the Dream Eater nuzzled his way into the boy’s lap. Sora pulled his friend close.

"Thanks, buddy," said Sora as he buried his head into his friend's fur. 

For a moment they stayed like that as Sora recovered his bearings. Sora wasn’t sure what it was that was happening to him, he was just glad his friend was there. Finally, he sat up, taking in his surroundings.

It was a white room, round in shape by the look of things. A round platform was in the center, with chairs of varying heights surrounding it. They were white, just like everything else. Some were so tall Sora could hardly see the top of them, while others were at his eye level. It was one of the lower chairs that captured Sora’s attention. There in a black coat was the same boy that Sora had seen just moments before. 

"Roxas?" breathed Sora, as he finally loosened himself from Rascal, and walked toward the figure.

Roxas, or whoever it was, didn’t look at him. Instead, as Sora got closer, the figure began to shift into someone else:

A boy in red, with spiky brown hair. 

A gasp came from Sora, as he stopped in his tracks. "Why am I…?"

While Sora hesitated, the chair began to rise. When it did, Sora rushed forward trying to reach himself, but the chair rose far beyond his reach.

"No!" Sora cried out.

Then Sora felt Rascal pawing at his leg. 

"What!" Sora yelled in frustration.

With a couple of chirps, the Dream Eater ran off, clearly expecting Sora to follow. 

"Rascal, where are you going?" Sora called after him.

Sora could hear the chirps from Rascal echoing down the long hallway. When he’d reached the end, he figured out where he was: the entrance to the Castle That Never Was. Out beyond the entrance was a deep void, which separated the castle from the city surrounding it. Once, he’d stood on the other side of it, wondering how’d he’d get across.

Rascal’s chirps and squeaks broke Sora out of his thoughts. His friend was jumping wildly, as if trying to get his attention.

"What is it, Rascal?" Sora asked.

But his friend didn’t calm down or look at him. Instead, he kept looking out, and Sora followed his gaze. There, across the void, was his best friend.

"Riku!" Sora called out.

When Riku didn’t look his way, Sora could tell that Riku didn't know he was there. For a moment the boy deflated, wilting like a flower. But then Riku’s Dream Eater buddy, a Komory Bat, flew across the void, creating a path the boy’s best friend could use in its wake. Relieved, Sora straightened as the Komory Bat perched on his shoulder, and began to nuzzle him.

Sora petted him right back. "Thanks, friend." 

The bat creature chirped in reply. Sora smiled.

Then, the creature flew away and back down the corridor. Rascal, as if taking a cue, did the same.

"Wait, guys! Where are you going?"

Running down the corridor, Sora rushed after them.

It was the same round room again that Sora found himself in, the one with the pillar-like chairs and the round platform in the middle. Everything felt like it was made of stone, it was that cold and hard. And like before, a boy in red sat on one of the chairs, high above Sora, way out of reach. 

Sora had followed the Dream Eaters there, yet the room was empty. There were no wriggling flashes of color bouncing around the room. 

"Rascal! Where are you!?" Sora shouted.

But there were no chirps in answer. Deflating, Sora sighed, crumpling into himself. 

A voice cut through the silence and reverberated around the room.

"Hands off my new vessel." 

Sora’s head shot up at the sound, as the scene around him began to distort. Crackles, like noise from a bad signal, could be heard as images—people—began to bleed through. 

The chairs around Sora filled, every last one of them. Most were indistinguishable from each other. All wore the same black coats that he associated with Organization XIII. A group of Nobodies, who, with the help of his friends, Sora had taken out.

Most had the hoods of their coats up, but some had them down. Sora could see Xemnas and Ansem, two he’d once fought to save the worlds and another, a youth, whose voice he’d heard earlier. The tallest chair was occupied--but not by Xemnas as usual. Instead the elderly man who appeared wore no black coat, so his face was clearly seen and it wore a conniving smile, directed towards the other tallest chair in the room. The one the boy in red sat on.

Sora watched, frozen, as the man stood and summoned a keyblade. Pointing its blade at his chest, he pulled out an orb from his heart. Sitting on the keyblade’s tip, the orb pulsed, giving out golden yellow light. 

"You’ve done that to me once before!" a voice called out. "I’m not letting you hurt Sora!"

Sora spun around, as he knew the voice. There, standing on the platform, was his best friend, Riku, keyblade at the ready. Pushing against one of the pillar chairs, Riku propelled himself upward, trying to reach the boy in red.

But to Sora’s horror, a blur in black rushed at Riku, knocking his best friend back with such force that he landed back on the platform with an audible thud. 

"No! Riku!" Sora called out.

Sora saw King Mickey rush to his friend's side. "Riku, are you okay?"

As Sora heard his best friend groan in reply, he had to look away. 

There was a chuckle from far above Sora. "You think you can stop me? I think not. For though you are stronger than most, you have your weaknesses."

At this, Sora saw the elderly man set his sights on the boy in red. "Now, to take my vessel!"

The elderly man flung his keyblade forward, propelling the orb toward the boy in red.

"Wait! What are you doing?" Sora cried out. 

Fear surging through his heart, Sora did what Riku had tried. Propelling himself off an adjacent pillar, Sora jumped, trying to reach the boy in red: himself. But while no one got in his way, he phased right through his own form. Landing gently on the ground, Sora could only pull his arms around himself, and watch helplessly as the orb quickly went toward him.

But darkness wasn’t the only one who was watching. Far off in the distance was a light. It was small, not as encompassing as the darkness, but it shone brightly with all its might. The light fell from the sky, drifting down until it reached the boy. With a touch, and a burst of light, a suit of armor surrounded him, glinting golden in the light of the pillar. The boy now protected, the light retreated, drifting away.

A good play by the light, one must say. However, darkness would not be stopped so easily. For dreams are not safe from darkness, and it would chase the boy there, endlessly, threatening to consume him.

But the light knew this too, because it did not leave. Instead, it watched over the boy, like a star in a night sky. 

The only one.

Chapter 1:

Deepening Twilight

Drip, drip, drop. 

It was that pull again. Of sleep. It had happened so many times. In the middle of battle, flying through the air, or when he was almost at a good spot to stop…and then drop. 

But this time it felt like he was being pulled under. And he was falling. 

Down…

Down…

Down. 

Was it like before? When he’d been with Riku?

Riku. Before he could feel a connection. But where was it now?

But then he felt…

Squish! 

Sora hit something soft. He sunk into it. Whatever he’d been expecting, this wasn’t it. He pried his eyes open. 

He gasped. "Huh? What?"

He was in his room, bathed in a golden light: the light of twilight. A glance outside his window showed him Twilight Town, in all its glory.

Wait…his? Casting his eyes around the room, Sora was sure he’d never seen this room before. Especially with a TV in the corner. Even if he’d forgotten what his room looked like in his absence, there was no way this was his. His mom had never let him have a TV, no matter how much he begged. She’d say, "You’ll never get any work done!" He’d protest, but deep down Sora knew his mom had been right. There was no way then this was his room. So why did it feel…familiar?

While he pondered, Sora got up and pushed the window open. He heard the sound of the tram as it clicked and clacked across its track, giving him a warm fuzzy feeling. 

But then, all thoughts of nostalgia flew out of Sora’s head as something propelled through the window, bowling him over onto the bed. For a moment he stared cross-eyed at the newcomer, and then his eyes brightened.

"Rascal!"

Rascal was a Dream Eater, a creature that inhabited worlds that were asleep. Sora had befriended several of the creatures throughout his Mark of Mastery exam, and they varied in shape and skill. This particular type was Sora’s favorite of all: a tubby, pillow shaped creature, with both cat and dog characteristics. While it was afraid of fire, it had faithfully stayed with him through many battles. Now though, it sat on Sora’s stomach, trying to lick his face.

Reaching up, Sora scratched behind Rascal’s ear. The dream eater thanked him by turning its head and licking his hand.  

"Hey, that tickles!" Said Sora laughing as he sat up, to much protestation by Rascal. "What are you doing here anyway?"

Rascal only tilted its head, as if asking Sora the same question.

"Yeah, I don’t know either. Anyway, do ya wanna see Twilight Town? It's a great place!"

Rascal jumped up and down, getting all excited. Sora couldn’t help but grin. "Then c’mon, boy!"

"And see up there? That’s the clock tower, where sometimes you can see someone eating ice—"

Sora paused, his head turning upward at the tower. He felt like someone was watching him from up above. Yet when he looked, there was no one there. 

"Scratch that, Rascal," said Sora. "I don’t know why anyone would go up there and eat ice cream. Seems odd, don’t you agree?"

Rascal grew strangely quiet at his master’s words. Getting up on its hind legs, it seemed to look up at the tower itself. Sora couldn’t help doing the same. 

"Wait, what!?" gasped Sora.

There, up on the tower, sat three shadowy figures, wearing black coats. 

"There’s something familiar…" mused Sora aloud.

Then, inexplicably, the forms disappeared. 

With a shudder, Sora turned to his friend. "C’mon, Rascal, let’s get out of here."

"Hey look, there’s Hayner, Pence, and Olette!" Sora exclaimed with Rascal close on his heels. 

The two had arrived at the sandlot in the middle of Twilight Town. Hayner was kicking a ball up in the air, trying to keep it aloft. The others, Pence and Olette, were cheering him on.

"Hey, guys!" Sora called out to them, as he walked toward the trio. 

But they wouldn’t look at him.

"Huh?" said Sora, as he stopped in his tracks.

Sora surveyed the scene, wondering why the others didn’t hear him. Then, a thought came to him. Lurching forward, he ran up to the others, but when they didn’t turn to him…

He reached out, and put his hand right through Pence.

"What?" Sora exclaimed. 

Something twisted in Sora’s heart as the scene changed before him. The ball finally fell back to the ground as Hayner’s run ended. There were words of encouragement from the rest, though Hayner was grumpy he couldn’t do it longer. 

Sora heard Olette try to calm ruffled feathers by suggesting ice cream. Hayner gave a grumpy "oh alright," as he jumped up at the idea. Olette chuckled as the three left the sandlot.

Sora watched them leave as something began to squeeze his heart. Rascal, sensing something amiss, bounded over and began to rub its head against Sora’s leg. Sora bent over to smile at his friend. 

"Hey buddy."

But his tears betrayed him as they dotted the ground.

"Sure is quiet." Sora said as he walked through the center of town. "Usually someone is at least in the shops."

Rascal just bounded along, unbothered, sniffing this and that along the way. The two had turned a corner and down a side street when Rascal found a hole in the wall, the same one that led to a spooky mansion. Rascal stopped, sniffed, then bolted through the hole.

"Rascal!" Sora called out after his friend.

But Rascal had different plans, and didn’t return. 

Sora sighed. "Oh fine." Grumbling, Sora followed his friend through the hole.

A hoot from an owl went through the air as Sora and Rascal entered the clearing in front of the broken down mansion. There was a flutter of bat wings as one soared nearby. Sora shuddered. 

"Not much has changed," said Sora to Rascal as they stopped in front of the fence around the mansion. "But why is the gate locked? The last time I was here—"

At this Sora paused, remembering that weird day. He’d woken up realizing everything had changed, including himself. "The lock was broken, and you could walk right into the courtyard."

Still lost in his thoughts, Sora continued to stare at the gate. But then, before his eyes, a figure appeared—one who wore a black coat. The spooky specter proceeded to walk through the metal gate and toward him. Startled, Sora jumped back, and as he did, a voice went through his mind: 

"Don’t call me and then lock me out!"

Turning, the form raised an arm at the lock and summoned a keyblade. Then, it disappeared. 

"What’s going on?" Sora mused.

Rascal pawed at his master’s leg. Sora let out the breath he’d been holding. Reaching down, he pet his friend’s head.

"That was weird, wasn’t it, boy?"

Straightening, Sora turned to look at the locked gate again. With a glance at Rascal, he said, "I’ve made you wait long enough, haven’t I?"

Sora then summoned his keyblade, but Rascal leapt at the gate striking the lock, and the sheer force dislodged it and opened the gate. Rascal then came back, tongue out, panting and looking for his master’s approval.

Sora gave his friend a grin as he knelt down in front of him. "Good job, buddy!" Sora said as he rubbed the Dream Eater’s head. Rascal purred in contentment.

"Rascal, wait up!" called Sora.

The moment the two had entered the mansion, Rascal had taken off much to Sora’s frustration. "C’mon, little guy, can’t you let me catch my breath?"

Apparently, the little guy could not for it had led Sora up the rightmost stairs, through the library, and down into the secret lab underneath. It was here that Rascal finally stopped, right in front of the transporter into the data version of Twilight Town. With a chirp, Rascal jumped right in. 

As the machine began to rev up, Sora called out, "Wait, Rascal, you’ll—"

Seeing no other course of action, Sora jumped in after his friend.

"Let us all welcome one of the keyblade’s chosen."

The voice, quiet yet menacing, filled Sora’s mind. With it came shadowy figures that crossed the platform in front of him. One was a guy with flaming red hair, the other a much shorter boy wearing a black coat with goldenrod-colored hair. 

"Huh?" said Sora as the world blurred around him. Feelings of confusion and emptiness set in its wake. Sora’s knees buckled as he fell to the floor.

Sensing Sora’s distress, Rascal rushed to his aid. As it cast a cure spell, the Dream Eater nuzzled his way into the boy’s lap. Sora pulled his friend close.

"Thanks, buddy," said Sora as he buried his head into his friend's fur. 

For a moment they stayed like that as Sora recovered his bearings. Sora wasn’t sure what it was that was happening to him, he was just glad his friend was there. Finally, he sat up, taking in his surroundings.

It was a white room, round in shape by the look of things. A round platform was in the center, with chairs of varying heights surrounding it. They were white, just like everything else. Some were so tall Sora could hardly see the top of them, while others were at his eye level. It was one of the lower chairs that captured Sora’s attention. There in a black coat was the same boy that Sora had seen just moments before. 

"Roxas?" breathed Sora, as he finally loosened himself from Rascal, and walked toward the figure.

Roxas, or whoever it was, didn’t look at him. Instead, as Sora got closer, the figure began to shift into someone else:

A boy in red, with spiky brown hair. 

A gasp came from Sora, as he stopped in his tracks. "Why am I…?"

While Sora hesitated, the chair began to rise. When it did, Sora rushed forward trying to reach himself, but the chair rose far beyond his reach.

"No!" Sora cried out.

Then Sora felt Rascal pawing at his leg. 

"What!" Sora yelled in frustration.

With a couple of chirps, the Dream Eater ran off, clearly expecting Sora to follow. 

"Rascal, where are you going?" Sora called after him.

Sora could hear the chirps from Rascal echoing down the long hallway. When he’d reached the end, he figured out where he was: the entrance to the Castle That Never Was. Out beyond the entrance was a deep void, which separated the castle from the city surrounding it. Once, he’d stood on the other side of it, wondering how’d he’d get across.

Rascal’s chirps and squeaks broke Sora out of his thoughts. His friend was jumping wildly, as if trying to get his attention.

"What is it, Rascal?" Sora asked.

But his friend didn’t calm down or look at him. Instead, he kept looking out, and Sora followed his gaze. There, across the void, was his best friend.

"Riku!" Sora called out.

When Riku didn’t look his way, Sora could tell that Riku didn't know he was there. For a moment the boy deflated, wilting like a flower. But then Riku’s Dream Eater buddy, a Komory Bat, flew across the void, creating a path the boy’s best friend could use in its wake. Relieved, Sora straightened as the Komory Bat perched on his shoulder, and began to nuzzle him.

Sora petted him right back. "Thanks, friend." 

The bat creature chirped in reply. Sora smiled.

Then, the creature flew away and back down the corridor. Rascal, as if taking a cue, did the same.

"Wait, guys! Where are you going?"

Running down the corridor, Sora rushed after them.

It was the same round room again that Sora found himself in, the one with the pillar-like chairs and the round platform in the middle. Everything felt like it was made of stone, it was that cold and hard. And like before, a boy in red sat on one of the chairs, high above Sora, way out of reach. 

Sora had followed the Dream Eaters there, yet the room was empty. There were no wriggling flashes of color bouncing around the room. 

"Rascal! Where are you!?" Sora shouted.

But there were no chirps in answer. Deflating, Sora sighed, crumpling into himself. 

A voice cut through the silence and reverberated around the room.

"Hands off my new vessel." 

Sora’s head shot up at the sound, as the scene around him began to distort. Crackles, like noise from a bad signal, could be heard as images—people—began to bleed through. 

The chairs around Sora filled, every last one of them. Most were indistinguishable from each other. All wore the same black coats that he associated with Organization XIII. A group of Nobodies, who, with the help of his friends, Sora had taken out.

Most had the hoods of their coats up, but some had them down. Sora could see Xemnas and Ansem, two he’d once fought to save the worlds and another, a youth, whose voice he’d heard earlier. The tallest chair was occupied--but not by Xemnas as usual. Instead the elderly man who appeared wore no black coat, so his face was clearly seen and it wore a conniving smile, directed towards the other tallest chair in the room. The one the boy in red sat on.

Sora watched, frozen, as the man stood and summoned a keyblade. Pointing its blade at his chest, he pulled out an orb from his heart. Sitting on the keyblade’s tip, the orb pulsed, giving out golden yellow light. 

"You’ve done that to me once before!" a voice called out. "I’m not letting you hurt Sora!"

Sora spun around, as he knew the voice. There, standing on the platform, was his best friend, Riku, keyblade at the ready. Pushing against one of the pillar chairs, Riku propelled himself upward, trying to reach the boy in red.

But to Sora’s horror, a blur in black rushed at Riku, knocking his best friend back with such force that he landed back on the platform with an audible thud. 

"No! Riku!" Sora called out.

Sora saw King Mickey rush to his friend's side. "Riku, are you okay?"

As Sora heard his best friend groan in reply, he had to look away. 

There was a chuckle from far above Sora. "You think you can stop me? I think not. For though you are stronger than most, you have your weaknesses."

At this, Sora saw the elderly man set his sights on the boy in red. "Now, to take my vessel!"

The elderly man flung his keyblade forward, propelling the orb toward the boy in red.

"Wait! What are you doing?" Sora cried out. 

Fear surging through his heart, Sora did what Riku had tried. Propelling himself off an adjacent pillar, Sora jumped, trying to reach the boy in red: himself. But while no one got in his way, he phased right through his own form. Landing gently on the ground, Sora could only pull his arms around himself, and watch helplessly as the orb quickly went toward him.