I swear I want to write but it's so difficult

Now when I heard that name, I immediately thought of Hollow Knight’s abyss, so I imagined a dark and scary place, maybe just the creepy parts of the upside down without the Hawkins parts. Then I asked my sister who watched the whole show what the abyss looks like and she told me it was just a desert. I asked what color the desert was and she said yellow.

I’m so disappointed with a show I don’t even watch.

How I thought the abyss looked like:

How it actually looks like apparently:

Yesterday I was fighting the Tonberry King in FF7 Rebirth and two of my party members got KO-ed, and since I was out of ATB, the TK cast Decree of Exile, so there was no way to revive them. I’d gotten the pristine crown and did not want to fight the battle all over again, but I also did not trust myself to get closer to attack and not die, especially when there were two or three normal Tonberries around. So instead, I ran and dodged around the area while my ATB gauge slowly filled and once it did, I threw Fira at oversized Yoda’s face. Then I did this several more times until it died.

Chapter 5: The Journey Begins

Riku awoke to the sound of rushing water. As he struggled up, his head spun and his stomach turned. The dark portal had been cold and suffocating, like drowning at the bottom of the ocean.

He was in an unfamiliar location, surrounded by walls of blue rock that moved in strange patterns. Upon closer inspection, he realized those weren’t just walls, but waterfalls flowing upward.

“Where…am I?”

His mind flooded with memories of the Island, the voice behind the robe, the door, the shadows, the darkness… His delight at the chance of leaving and Kairi’s distress at his offer.

“Kairi…” His face went pale at the thought of his friends. “KAIRI! SORA!”

The only answer was his own voice echoing back.

Riku looked down at his trembling hands. Those hands had opened the door in the secret place. They had made his best friend, his sister in all but blood, recoil in fear.

“What have I done…”

Not far away, the evil fairy sneered at the boy.

~♡~

“Keyhole?” Kairi asked.

“Every world amongst the stars has a Keyhole that leads to that world’s heart,” said Leon. 

Kairi, Donald, Goofy and the group from Traverse Town were at the hotel room where Donald, Goofy and Aerith had been not long before. Now, Leon was finishing explaining what they had to know for their mission.

“When your island fell, did you see a large door opening?”

“Yeah.” That door in the secret place. When she touched it she felt something pulsing… Like a heartbeat.

“The Heartless come in search of the Keyholes. When they find it, they enter through the Keyhole and consume the world’s heart.”

“And then what happens?” Goofy asked.

“Darkness comes out of the Keyhole. And then the world disappears.”

“What?!” Donald and Goofy gasped. Kairi just looked down sadly.

“How can I restore these worlds?” she asked.

“We’re not sure,” Leon said.

“When the King contacted us, he said he was looking for a way to do just that,” Tifa said. “But he did tell us there’s a way for you to make sure no other worlds will be lost.”

“How?”

“By finding the Keyholes and locking them with the Keyblade,” Leon explained. “That should make the world’s heart inaccessible to the Heartless.”

“If I can stop more people from being hurt, I’ll gladly do it,” Kairi proclaimed.

Donald crossed his arms in thought. “So the King is looking for a way to restore the worlds. Where could he have gone to find that?”

“There was a guy studying the Heartless,” Yuffie spoke up. “His name was Ansem the Wise.”

“Who’s that?” asked Kairi.

“A sage and scientist who ruled our homeworld,” said Tifa. “I was very young, but I remember the rumors about his experiments on the darkness in the heart.”

“Me too,” Aerith chimed in, her face solemn. “It’s a bit hazy, but… There was an orphanage in the district where I lived. From time to time, some men in uniforms would come and take in kids for some kind of internship, I think. But I remember meeting a boy there who said the kids that left were never heard of again.”

Kairi, Donald and Goofy went stiff. “Does that mean…”

Aerith looked down. “I don’t know.”

“Maybe this Ansem feller has some sort of clue,” Goofy said.

“The problem is, Ansem disappeared when our world fell,” Leon said.

“But if he was conducting a research, he must have left something behind,” Kairi wondered out loud. “Like a dossier or a logbook, something to document his findings.”

“It’s possible. Maybe some of his research ended up in other worlds.”

“Then we’ll search for it,” she promptly said. “We’ll travel to other worlds and search for any Keyholes and clues about this Ansem’s research. All the while, we look for my friends and the King.”

“Yeah!” Donald agreed, Goofy nodding beside him.

“That’s the spirit! But right now, you should try to get some sleep.”

“Aerith’s right.” Tifa stood up. “Today was a busy day, and tomorrow will be one too. You can rest in this room and the one next door.”

“Thank you,” Kairi said to the Traverse Town group as they headed for the exit. “All of you. For everything.”

Tifa, Aerith and Yuffie smiled, while Leon gave an awkward half-frown half-smile. “Don’t mention it.”

The four left the room, leaving Kairi, Donald and Goofy alone.

“So, how’s it gonna be?” Goofy asked.

“There’s a single bed in the other room,” Kairi said. “And a double bed here…”

Donald thought for a moment before sighing. “You can have the other room. Goofy and I will stay here and… share.”

Kairi thanked him and headed for her room, while Donald pondered over which positions would allow him and Goofy to accidentally kick each other in the middle of the night the least.

She had no sleepwear, so Kairi just took off her hoodie, shoes and accessories and left them on the bedside cabinet alongside her knapsack. One of the windows was broken thanks to Leon, but Kairi didn’t mind it. In fact, she opened the others as well, so she’d be able to hear the water flowing to the drainage system at the back of the hotel. She had lived next to the beach her entire life, and as so always drifted to sleep to the sound of the waves. She didn’t think she would be able to sleep without some sort of noise.

Kairi lay down on the soft bed, pulled the blanket and turned off the lights, but sleep didn’t come. Instead, she rolled over again and again, trying to drift off, but she just couldn’t. Her body was tired, but her head was racing like a whirlwind. There was just too much on her mind: the Heartless, the Keyblade, the Keyholes.

“Ugh.” Kairi groaned, rubbed her face and turned on the bedside lamp.

She reached for her locket on the cabinet and opened it, revealing two pictures. In one picture, her grandmother, her father, her mother and herself as a small child sat on a meadow with flower wreaths on their heads and smiles on their faces. In the other picture, she, Riku and Sora were on the beach, laughing or making funny faces.

Seeing them again, even like this, eased her worries, if only a little.

Even if all of this is so complicated, in the end, I’m doing it for you guys. So we can smile together again.

She had also been nervous the previous day, when the future seemed so uncertain. Back then, Sora had been there for her and reassured her that everything would be fine. He made her feel safe — he always did.

Now the future was as uncertain as it could be. Kairi wished Sora was still by her side to comfort her and cheer her up with that smile of his. Just listening to her would be a huge help.

An idea came to her. She got up and searched her knapsack for a pen and the journal she got from her grandmother, then sat on the bed and began to write.

Even though Sora wasn’t actually there, Kairi felt her heart at ease. She brought her locket to her lips before leaving it and the journal on the cabinet and turning off the lights for the last time. As Kairi drifted into sleep, she hummed Sora’s tune to herself.

~♡~

A few hours later, Tifa came to wake Kairi up. She struggled a bit to get out of bed, used to waking up with the sun on her face. But apparently, it was always nighttime in Traverse Town. According to Tifa, a lot of worlds in the so-called Realm Between had unusual day and night cycles.

Kairi put on her trinkets and tied the Keyblade to her belt, all while Donald grumbled loudly at Yuffie for waking them up with a yell and a door slam in the next room. When they met in the hallway, he was still frowning, but Yuffie and Goofy didn’t seem to care.

“Good morning, Kairi,” Goofy greeted her with a smile. “Ready for our big journey?”

“Good morning, guys.” Kairi returned the smile, though hers was a bit nervous. “Ready as I’ll ever be, I guess.”

“Before you go, how about some breakfast first?” Tifa offered. “You must be hungry.”

As if on cue, a growl came from each of their bellies. Tifa chuckled.

“Don’t worry. Leon, Aerith and Cid are waiting for us in the restaurant.”

Kairi, Donald and Goofy followed Tifa and Yuffie through the Second District. With the defeat of the leader, the smaller Heartless seemed to have taken a break from Traverse Town, making the town feel way cozier and friendlier. The Second District no longer looked like a ghost town but a real community, with people chatting, children running and vendors selling all sorts of items. When Kairi closed her eyes, she could imagine she was back on Tuatahi Island.

As the group approached the restaurant in the First District, Aerith stood up and waved at them, Leon and Cid sitting by her sides. Their table was full of dishes Kairi wouldn’t expect for breakfast, like bacon and eggs, pancakes and waffles. Donald and Goofy didn’t seem to find it strange though. It seemed people ate different things for breakfast in different worlds.

“Well, whaddya know. If it isn’t the Keyblade kid,” Cid greeted.

“Please, have a seat.” Aerith gestured to the free chairs. “We weren’t sure what you liked, so we just asked a bit of everything.”

“Oh boy!” Donald and Goofy didn’t waste any time and immediately stuffed their plates.

“Thank you for the meal,” Kairi said with a slight bow of the head after sitting down. It was a gesture of good manners that her mother had taught her.

The food was delicious. Kairi had some apple juice, blueberry muffins and pancakes topped with honey. At one point she saw Donald practically drench his waffles with maple syrup and had to do a double take. That stuff was hard to come by in Destiny Islands, but according to him, it was in every store at Disney Town. On the other hand, he and Goofy were surprised to learn that mango trees grew naturally in the Islands and it was common for people to climb them and pick up some on the streets.

After a very fulfilling meal, there was still food on the table, but Kairi, Donald and Goofy were too stuffed to have any more.

“So what are your plans now?” Tifa asked the newly formed trio.

“We want to leave today,” Donald said. “The sooner we start looking for our friends and the Keyholes, the better.”

“I like that attitude!” Aerith pumped her fists and Goofy mimicked her.

Leon looked at Kairi. “It’s going to be a tough journey. Make sure you can take care of yourself out there.”

She nodded halfheartedly.

“It’s okay, Kairi,” Donald assured. “We’ll fight the Heartless together.”

“I know. It’s just that, you two can do some pretty awesome things, but all I can do is swing this Keyblade around.”

“I’m sure you can do all sorts of things too,” said Goofy. “And we’ll help you learn. I can teach you how to get stronger, and Donald can teach you magic.”

“Don’t volunteer for me!” the magician protested. “I’m not a magic guru.”

“Wait, I can learn magic? Is this another Keyblade thing?”

“Not really,” Aerith said. “Magic originates in the heart, so anyone can do it. It just takes the right method. Depending on how you use it, it can do lots of different things, like make your body stronger or allow you to cast spells. Really advanced magic can even defy the laws of reality.”

“So I can also do these things? How?”

“With proper training and practice. I’m sure Donald could teach you along the way.”

“Stop speaking for me!” he complained. “I didn’t agree to this.”

“Please, will you teach me, Donald?” Kairi all but begged. “I’m not very strong. There’s so much I want to do but can’t. If I could do magic like you, I would be of much more help in finding the Keyholes and your king.”

Donald considered it. He hadn’t ever thought of having apprentices — he knew well enough how much work kids were — but it was true they needed Kairi to find the king. She was a Keyblade wielder, but her build wasn’t that of a physical fighter. Unless he and Goofy wanted to carry her in every battle, she probably should have some tricks up her sleeve.

“I guess I could teach you a thing or two.”

“Really? Thank you so much!” In her enthusiasm, Kairi threw her arms around Donald and hugged him.

“Wak! Alright, but back off!”

“Sorry,” she apologized and let go. “So, how does magic work?”

Donald sighed. “Am I really gonna have to explain everything?”

“If you want, I can help,” Aerith offered. “I can teach Kairi the basics before you leave and you take it from there.”

“Hmm… We do need to refill our stack of items. Alright, you can teach her.”

Aerith smiled. “Looks like you’re mine in the meantime, Kairi.”

“Thanks a lot,” said Kairi. “I’ll do my best!”

Learning magic… That was literally a dream come true. As a child, she used to look at everything, the sea, the sky, people, the flowers in her grandma’s garden, and insist it was magical. How else could those things make her heart feel so full and light at the same time? She had always wanted to learn to wield that magic and bring it to others, even as she grew older and everyone started laughing at her ideas. Everyone except Sora, Riku and her grandma.

They left the restaurant and Cid took Donald and Goofy to an item shop to resupply, while Aerith took Kairi somewhere quiet to practice magic. As they walked, Aerith asked if Kairi had any questions.

“You said magic comes from the heart,” she started. “Is magic some kind of thing that the heart creates?”

“Not quite. What the heart creates is light and darkness. It does so every time we feel an emotion. Magic is the practice of using those forces to achieve an effect in the real world. So magic is kinda like extending your heart outside yourself.”

“You mean mages like you and Donald create things just out of light and darkness?”

“It’s less of a creation and more of a transformation. By themselves, the light and darkness we carry don’t do much. We can project them into the world but unless they have something to interact with, they’ll just exist passively. So in addition to projecting them, we need to add something into the mix.”

Aerith stopped and so did Kairi. They were, coincidentally, in the same alley Kairi had woken up on the previous day. Satisfied with the place, Aerith took her staff from its holder on her belt and put it aside.

“If magic comes from us, why do you and Donald fight with rods?” Kairi asked.

“Well observed, Kairi. Weapons that have been enchanted to draw light and darkness help us concentrate them to make spellcasting easier. You can use your Keyblade for that. I heard they’re great conduits.”

She took the Keyblade from her belt and held it. “What do I have to do?”

“The first kind of magic most people learn is elemental since it’s easy to visualize. It’s also recommended to start with an element the caster is familiar with. You’re from a tropical island, right? Since you’re used to heat, I think Fire will be a good first spell.”

Aerith opened her palm and produced a small flame. Even though she’d already seen Aerith and Donald perform magic, the display still impressed Kairi.

“You have to show your light and your darkness what you want them to become. They’ll be drawn to the Keyblade, so don’t worry about directing them for now. Just focus on the element you’re trying to emulate. Making a mental image can help too.”

“Is it really okay to use darkness?” Kairi asked a bit unsure.

“I understand your hesitation, but darkness isn’t an inherently bad thing. It can be dangerous, of course, but it’s still a part of us. What’s important is knowing how to use it and where to direct it. Basic spells like this one don’t require much, so you don’t have to worry about this for now, but keep it in mind.”

In hindsight, it made sense. Kairi had associated darkness exclusively with the Heartless, but they weren’t all there was to it.

She nodded her understanding, closed her eyes and pictured a flame. Nothing happened. Maybe her image wasn’t elaborate enough? She tried adding more details: The fire oscillating, the light blazing, smoke coming out. But still, nothing changed.

She opened her eyes and looked at Aerith with disappointment. Aerith responded with a patient smile.

“That was your first time,” she reassured her. “Just try again.”

Kairi tried again and then a third time, but got the same result both times.

“It’s no use!” she exclaimed, frustrated. “I can’t do it.”

“It’s okay.” Aerith put her flameless hand on her shoulder. “Of course you’re not becoming an expert mage overnight, but you can do it. What’s giving you trouble?”

“I don’t know. No matter how hard I visualize, nothing happens. And this was supposed to be an easy spell for me…”

“Hmm… Maybe you’re going about this the wrong way. Visualizing can help, but the source of magic is still the heart. So for most people, the main factor isn’t a precise image, but what you feel.”

Kairi pondered her words. “So you’re saying I’m thinking too much?”

“That’s one way of putting it,” Aerith said with a chuckle, then brought the flame in her hand closer to Kairi. “I made this because I thought it would be easier for you to focus on a source of heat outside your own body. Try concentrating on it this time. Remember, you’re not trying to create flames, you’re trying to turn the light and darkness inside you into flames.”

So Kairi tried one more time, but instead of simply imagining a flame, she turned her thoughts to the one in Aerith’s hand, specifically to the heat she could feel touch her skin. The flame was small but cozy, like one you’d find on a candle atop a birthday cake.

The Keyblade’s handle became a bit warmer.

What about a bigger fire? The largest flames Kairi ever saw were the ones in the bonfire at the Festival of the Progenitors. When she stood close to it, she felt its heat in her entire body. It energized her and made her feel truly connected to the Islands, their people and their history.

The Keyblade grew even hotter until it shone with an orange light. Kairi smiled at her progress.

And then the Keyblade burst into flames.

“Don’t drop it!” Aerith said in response to Kairi’s shocked cry. “And don’t channel any more.”

Kairi did as she was told and looked at Aerith with desperate eyes.

“Wow, okay, that went way better than I expected. Maybe I should have taught you to direct your power…”

“What do I do now?!” Kairi asked in a panic. The fire on the Keyblade was growing unstable.

“Try releasing it! Er…” Aerith scanned the alleyway frantically until she spotted a pile of crates. “Over there! Just let it all out!”

Kairi pointed the Keyblade at the crates and let go of all she had piled up. She didn’t think about how to do it, she just did it, as naturally as if she were throwing something with her hands.

The flames went to the tip of the Keyblade and blasted out with such force, it almost knocked the Keyblade out of Kairi’s hand. They kept going toward the crates until they blew up on impact. Kairi and Aerith shielded their faces from the blast. Once the smoke cleared, all that was left were chunks of smoldering wood.

“I…I’m sorry!” Kairi lowered her head. “I promise I’ll do better next time!”

“Do better? Kairi, that was amazing!”

When Kairi looked up, Aerith was practically laughing. “It was?”

“Are you kidding? That spell was great! And it only took you what, four tries? For a first-timer, that’s pretty impressive.”

Kairi blushed and smiled. “You did say the Keyblade is a very good conduit.”

“This isn’t about the Keyblade. The strongest weapon in the worlds wouldn’t be of much use in the hands of someone who doesn’t know how to use it. You said you aren’t strong, but you just might have a knack for magic.”

“You really think so?”

“Yes. That makes the two of us.”

Kairi had never been physically strong like Riku or as full of energy as Sora, who could tire any opponent. That was why she relied on agility and ingenuity, but fighting the Heartless required her to be offensive. Maybe this could be her way of standing on equal footing with them.

“We better head back,” said Aerith. “They’re probably done by now.”

“Alright.” Kairi put the Keyblade back in her belt and followed her out of the alley. “Hey, Aerith? What do you think I should learn next?”

Aerith hummed in thought for a moment. “Normally Fire and Blizzard are the first spells beginners learn. But you are not very used to cold, so maybe you could try Water instead.”

“I did spend a lot of time at the sea on Destiny Islands.”

“Then next time you’re by a body of water, try doing the same thing you did today. Focus on the element, pile up the power in your heart and then release it.”

Kairi nodded.

The two arrived at the square right as Donald, Goofy and Cid exited the item shop. They left the shop exactly as they entered, with not an item in sight.

“Hi there,” Kairi greeted. “I thought you were getting supplies.”

“We were,” said Goofy. “We got plenty of items, accessories, and snacks too. We even got you a little something.”

Donald took something the size of a coin out of his pocket and held it forward in his palm.

“Grow.”

In the blink of an eye, the object expanded to its normal size. Donald now held a black pouch.

“Here.” He offered Kairi the pouch. “You can strap it to your belt, that way you don’t have to carry that bag everywhere. And I cast a simple bottomless spell, so it can store way more than it looks.”

Kairi picked the pouch with the same care she would pick a great treasure and offered them a grateful smile.

“Thank you. I really appreciate it.”

Goofy smiled in return while Donald just shrugged. “Well, you better, ‘cause I just funded my uncle’s business empire for that.”

“What about your magic lesson?” Goofy asked. “How’d it go?”

“Great! I think,” she said. “I struggled a bit at the start, but I think I’ve finally got the feeling of it figured out. From now on, I’ll do my best to learn all sorts of magic.”

“Mark my words, at the end of your journey, Kairi will be a force to be reckoned with. She’s a natural at magic.”

Kairi gave a nervous smile at the vote of confidence and promised herself she would do everything she could to meet Aerith’s expectations, especially after she’d been so kind and helpful to her.

“I’m looking forward to it,” said Donald. “Now, are we ready to go?”

“You’re leaving?” Their heads turned to the staircase, where Tifa, Leon and Yuffie walked down to meet them.

“Yeah,” said Kairi. “Those Keyholes aren’t gonna seal themselves.”

“Well, if there’s any trouble, just come back here,” Cid said. “We’ll help you out however we can.”

“We still haven’t found Traverse Town’s Keyhole,” Leon said. “As long as it’s unlocked, the Heartless will keep on coming.”

“Too bad for them!” Yuffie grinned and leaned on Leon. “They’ll have to go against the great ninja Yuffie!”

Leon moved his arm and Yuffie almost fell.

“What they mean is, we’ll look for the Keyhole while you’re away,” said Tifa.

Aerith walked to their side before looking back at Kairi. “If you have a quiet time, try casting magic without the Keyblade to train your focus. The more you train, the better you’ll get.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Kairi said with a chuckle. “I’ll be sure to do my homework.”

“I’ll hold you to that.” Aerith chuckled as well, but then her smile fell a bit. “Stay safe, you three.”

“Don’t worry. We will.”

Kairi bid them all farewell and followed her new companions to Traverse Town’s exit gate.

On the other side, the Gummi Ship was there to meet them. While Donald and Goofy opened the hatch, Kairi took a moment to admire the vehicle.

“This is your ship? It’s a spaceship!”

Donald looked at her like she’d just said something stupid. “Yeah, obviously. What did you think it would be?”

“A normal, non-flying, water ship,” Kairi replied.

Donald laughed. “How on earth would we travel to other worlds in a normal ship?”

Kairi crossed her arms. “I’m from an island, okay? We did everything with boats! And yesterday you said ‘this boat runs on smiles.’”

“That was just an expression! What, did you also think the ship literally runs on smiles?”

“If you told me it did, I honestly wouldn’t be surprised.”

“It doesn’t. And we can’t travel to other worlds on a ship made for the sea.”

“But Donald,” Goofy chimed in, “isn’t the name of the space between worlds the Ocean Between? How’s it different from the normal ocean?”

“Completely different! Now can we go in?”

The trio entered the ship, passed by the engines and climbed the ladder to the cockpit. As soon as she emerged from the trapdoor, Kairi’s eyes widened like those of a child in an amusement park.

“WOW! This is awesome!”

“Hey, don’t touch that!”

She didn’t even listen to Donald’s protests as she sat in the driver's seat, too distracted by all the switches, buttons, levers and monitors. Kairi pressed a button out of curiosity. All of the monitors and lights powered up, and Chip and Dale’s faces popped up on a screen.

“Hey guys!” Chip greeted. “Ready to go to a new worl— Wait, who are you?”

“Get off!” Donald shoved Kairi out of his seat. “Kairi, meet Chip and Dale, the operators of the Gummi Ship. Chip, Dale, this is Kairi. She’ll be traveling with us.”

“Heya, Kairi,” greeted Dale.

“It’s nice to meet ya,” said Chip.

“It’s nice to meet you too. I’m guessing you’re the guys on the chair?”

“Yep,” Goofy said, already taking his seat. “Chip and Dale monitor the ship all the way from Disney Castle.”

“That’s where you live, right?”

“Yes,” Donald said, not hiding his irritation. “Now can you please sit down? We have to take off.”

Kairi went to take the seat on the left, but once again glanced at the control panel. Suddenly, it seemed Sora’s childish attitude got a hold of her.

“Can I drive?”

“What? NO!” Donald promptly answered. “Do you even know how to pilot a ship?”

“No, but you can teach me!”

“No way! What are you, twelve?”

“I’m fourteen.”

“Whatever! I’m not teaching you how to drive. Now sit down!”

Kairi groaned and sank into her seat.

“Chip, Dale, prepare for launch.”

Donald flipped some switches and the engines buzzed. Kairi winced a bit when everything started shaking. At first the ship just inched off the ground, but then it took off at high speed toward the starry sky. Having never flown before, Kairi grasped the arms of her seat. Her nervousness turned to panic as she realized they were flying straight into something, a translucent barrier of sorts.

She gasped and shut her eyes, bracing herself for the impact. But it never came. Instead, the ship passed straight through the light barrier, like it wasn’t even there. Still, Kairi kept her eyes stubbornly shut.

“It’s okay, Kairi.” She felt Goofy’s hand touching her shoulder. “You can open your eyes now.”

Slowly and hesitantly, Kairi did just that. When her eyes finally opened, her jaw dropped at the sight in front of her.

“Welcome to the Ocean Between,” Donald said.

Outside the ship, the deep blue sky shone with millions of stars. Trails of light cut through the sky. Floating about were colorful glowing asteroids, clouds of mist and fog, and structures that looked like the remains of natural flora and man-made buildings. It was nothing like what she imagined space to look like, or how she saw it depicted on TV shows and comic books. Instead, it looked like how she pictured it was like under the ocean. Not dark and empty but colorful and majestic.

“It’s so beautiful…”

Donald and Goofy smiled softly at the girl’s wonder.

“Alright guys, what’s the closest world right now?” Donald asked.

Some kind of chart full of dots appeared on one of the monitors, followed by Chip’s voice: “Unfortunately, with all the worlds that were destroyed, our records are not really up to date. But it seems you’re near two worlds very close to one another. If we’re lucky, they’ll still have not been taken by the Heartless.”

“Alright then. Let’s head their way.”

The ship thrust forward to unknown worlds.

While Donald drove, Goofy helped Kairi put everything from her knapsack in her new pouch. Since she wasn’t carrying anything too big, they didn’t need Donald to shrink anything. The bottomless spell really worked wonders. She chucked everything she had, plus some extra items Goofy gave her in the tiny bag and it didn’t run out of space.

“There we go!” Kairi looked at herself, still pretty much the same look from Destiny Islands but with an added belt pouch and a flowery blade on her back, and she wanted to keep it that way. With it being lost, she hoped to carry a bit of her world in her appearance.

“You look pretty cool, Kairi,” Goofy complimented. “But are you sure you want to carry the Keyblade like that?”

“What do you mean?”

“Can’t you just summon it when you need it?” Goofy’s shield appeared in his hand. “Like this?”

“I’m… not sure I can.”

She picked the Keyblade and tried to imagine it disappearing. Nothing happened. Then she tried leaving it on the ground and summoning it to her hand, but again, nothing.

“Don’t worry,” Goofy said, “you’ll get it eventually.”

Kairi wondered how someone as patient as Goofy was friends with a hothead like Donald. Speaking of which,

“We’re here,” Donald announced. “Prepare to land.”

Kairi looked out the window. They were approaching a tiny planet. She spotted greenery and an odd pink heart pattern, but they were too high to see anything else. She also noticed the world was enclosed by a layer of light, just like Traverse Town. Was this an aspect of every world?

As the Gummi Ship landed, Goofy noticed Kairi holding the locket around her neck and muttering something to herself about the land, the sky and the ocean.

“Are you nervous?” he asked.

“A little bit,” she admitted

“Aw, there’s no need to worry, Kairi,” Goofy said. “Donald and I have traveled to all kinds of worlds already.”

“Yeah, we’re basically experts,” said Donald, puffing his chest proudly.

“Just stick with us and you’ll be good to go.”

“Actually, there’s one thing you should know.”

Donald’s expression was serious. It made Kairi nervous.

“Out here, we can’t let anyone know we’re from other worlds. We can’t meddle in their affairs. That’s the most important rule of world traveling.”

“Why?”

“To preserve the world border, of course,” said Goofy.

“The world order!” Donald corrected. “It’s a rule almost everywhere that people don’t know that there are other worlds. If they did and figured out a way to travel between them, it’d be nonstop chaos. That’s what the Heartless are doing and why we need to stop them.”

“They really don’t know of other worlds?” 

Kairi found that strange. Even back on Destiny Islands, everyone knew about the existence of other worlds. Why wouldn’t they? Travelers came every now and again, some even decided to stay. Practically everyone on the islands descended from immigrants from other worlds, herself included. She assumed that was the case everywhere, but apparently, it wasn’t like that.

“If you say so, then I’ll stay quiet,” Kairi finally said.

“Great. Now let’s go!”

And so the trio headed for their first adventure together.

Chapter 4: Burden of Expectation

The town’s warm lights welcomed anyone with nowhere else to go. Standing in the realm between light and darkness, Traverse Town offered sanctuary to all who had lost their homes to creatures of the dark. Or at least, all who escaped.

Donald and Goofy — now sporting more suitable traveling clothes — stepped through the front gates with Pluto by their side. Goofy looked around the square they were in. Everything was very different from Disney Castle. But looking up at the night sky, he smiled. The position of the stars was a bit different, but it was undoubtedly the same sky as back home. Maybe Maxie was also looking at the stars?

One particular star caught his attention. It sparked slightly brighter than the others, until its light suddenly flickered and dimmed.

“Donald, look!” Goofy called and pointed. “A star’s going out!”

Just like that, the little light vanished. An entire world, someplace like Disney Castle, gone just like that.

“We have to find this Keybearer fast. Let's go, Goofy. C’mon Pluto. Pluto?”

They looked around but there was no sign of the king’s dog.

“Ugh, the mutt follows us here and the first thing he does is wander off on his own,” said Donald.

“I’m sure he’s somewhere in town. Where else could he have gone?”

“Sure. Let’s go look for this Squall Leonhart.”

Out of the duo’s sight, Pluto followed his nose to an alley, where he found something peculiar: an unconscious girl with a huge key in her hand. Curious, Pluto sniffed her face.

Kairi woke up to a large dog she’d never seen breathing on her. Her head hurt and her entire body felt numb.

“Just a dream…” she told herself and began drifting back to sleep. But then Pluto licked her face and jolted her awake. “AH! This isn’t a dream!”

She felt twinges of pain in various spots as she struggled back up. The place she was in was unfamiliar and she couldn’t remember how she got there. She realized she still held something…

The Keyblade.

The storm. The shadows. Riku disappearing. Sora disappearing. The Island torn apart.

Could it be that…

“No… No! I have to go back! I told Grandma I’d come back!”

It wasn’t over. It couldn’t be!

Pluto tilted his head and barked. Kairi looked at him and was reminded she was totally lost.

“Err… I don’t suppose you know a way back to the Islands, do you?”

Pluto’s ears perked up at a familiar sound and he scampered away.

“Wait!”

Kairi followed the dog out of the alley and into a wide open space surrounded by walls and unlike anything she ever saw on Destiny Islands. Most buildings had beige walls, wooden beams and red rooftops. A staircase led down to a square with zany-looking lanterns scattered around the cobblestone pavement and some people wandering about, not all of whom were human. Next to the stairs, a moogle chatted with a… rooster(?) wearing clothes. A group of dalmatian puppies gathered around two adults, except for one trying to climb a table and steal a plate of biscuits from a scrawny man lost in a pile of books. Unfortunately, Pluto was nowhere to be seen.

Is this… another world?

“Hey. You with the flowery thing.”

Kairi turned toward the voice. Sitting on a short wall, a teenage girl with curly red hair and a long black dress was tending a quiver full of arrows.

The girl spoke with an accent Kairi didn’t recognize. “Is that really a sword?”

Kairi hadn’t had time to properly look at the Keyblade before. Only now she realized just how unlike a weapon it looked. The hilt was shaped like a heart, one side shiny blue in the form of a breaking wave, the other the start a beige vine, which wrapped around the sunset-colored shaft and connected with the key’s teeth to form yet another heart with colorful Yua flowers around. Not very threatening. Still, Kairi thought it beautiful.

“I think it is,” she answered the girl.

“Well, as long as it works, I guess it’s fine. Looks like something my mum would–” The girl stopped and focused again on the quiver. “Anyway. What are you doing here?”

“I… don’t know. I have no idea where I am or how I even got here.”

The girl looked at her sympathetically. “Oh. So you’re new here. I’m sorry…”

“Sorry for what?”

She glanced away. “I’m really not the best person to explain it. Ask Mister Highwind in the accessory shop.” She pointed to a shop just behind them. “He can take care of you.”

“Okay. Thanks…”

“Merida,” the girl said.

“Thanks, Merida.”

The inside of the accessory shop was small and cozy, with a fireplace, couch and coffee table on one side, a counter on the other and some cabinets displaying jewelry. Behind the counter was a blond middle-aged man with goggles on his head smoking a cigarette. Not who Kairi would expect to run an accessory shop.

“Hey there kiddo, how can I help ya?” the man greeted her with another accent. “Need something for a date?”

“Are you Mister Highwind?” Kairi asked.

“That I am. But just call me Cid.”

“Nice to meet you, Cid. I’m Kairi and Merida said you could help me. You see, I was on my island when a storm started, and these black shadowy monsters appeared and there was this… thing that sucked everything up and then… I woke up here. Is this really another world?”

Cid looked at her with slight surprise that quickly turned glum. “Not a whole lot of people come here knowing about other worlds. This might make things a little bit easier.

“This here place is called Traverse Town. It’s a world for those who have nowhere else to go. Those shadows that attacked you, they’ve been going around attacking all kinds of worlds for a while now. Some of the few that manage to escape show up here.”

“But— But what about everyone else? And the rest of the world? They can’t be—”

Cid’s face was the same one would wear at a funeral. “Gone. Fallen to darkness.”

For a moment, Kairi did not move. In her mind, the world around her ceased to be. Then finally, water escaped from her eyes and she clutched the skin above her aching chest.

Gone. It was hard to rationalize what that meant — that she’d never run along the beach again, never taste the ocean, never go home to her grandma, never welcome her parents back. Her mind couldn’t wrap itself around it, but her heart could. It ate itself at every moment, not wanting to exist in a World without Destiny Islands. Kairi feared it would soon swallow her whole and leave behind only an empty shell, or a shadow like the ones that took away her home.

Cid watched her cry and took a whiff off his cigarette. Another star extinguished. Another world lost. Another child crying.

“Look, Kairi. We’ll figure something out. You can stay at the hotel tonight and tomorrow we’ll get you settled.”

She was able to force a small smile. How lucky she was to find someone kind, even in the middle of all this.

“Thank you, Cid.” She wiped some of her tears away. “Is… Is it possible that someone else escaped my world? My friends were with me on the Island. They disappeared before it did. Could they have escaped too?”

“Couldn’t tell you, kid,” he said. “You’re the only one to show up here, but it's not like this is the only world in the Ocean Between. Your friends could have ended up in some world out there.”

So it wasn’t hopeless. Riku and Sora could still be out there! Kairi felt some of the tightness around her chest loosen up just from the possibility that she wasn’t completely alone.

“How can I find—”

Outside the shop, terrified screams rang. Cid frowned, put out his cigar and reached for something behind the counter. Just then, the front door cracked open and a moogle rushed inside.

“Mister Highwind, kupo! They’re here! They’re in the First District, kupo!”

“What?!”

Cid hurried to the door with a spear in hand. Kairi followed after him.

“What’s going on? Who’s here?”

“The Heartless,” Cid said gravely.

Outside, Merida fired arrows toward the square below. Kairi looked down in horror. The once peaceful square was swarming with the same shadowy creatures from the Islands. The dalmatian family was cornered, the parents growling and barking in hopes of scaring the creatures away from the terrified puppies. The rooster was holding onto the top of a light pole like a cat on a tree. Others had taken shelter inside the restaurant and barricaded the entrance with chairs and tables.

The scrawny man ran up the stairs with his pile of books, chased by two Shadows. He tripped on the last step and the Shadows jumped at him. With a thrust of his spear, Cid reduced them to smoke.

“Are you alright?” Kairi helped the man back up.

“Y-Yeah, thanks.”

“Thatch,” Cid called. “Can you explain this?”

“I-I’m afraid no, sir,” the man stuttered. “The Heartless never come to the First District. Something must have caught their attention, like an unusually strong heart or—”

A scream of pain suddenly rang through the First District. Down on the square, an armored Heartless had its claws stuck to a man’s chest. It ripped out a glowing heart from his body and the man fell to the ground.

“STOP!”

Cid and the others exclaimed in surprise when Kairi ran toward the Heartless.

“Kid, come back here!” Cid called, but she didn’t stop.

All the Shadows gave up on what they were doing and ran to her.

“Get out of my way!”

She swung the Keyblade and slashed two Shadows in half. The remaining few charged anyway, so Kairi swung again and again until they were reduced to clouds of smoke and transparent shards on the ground.

She struck the armored Heartless before it could know what hit it, once, twice, three times. The creature was destroyed, leaving behind two hearts — the one it had taken and another that floated in the air and disappeared.

Kairi turned to help the man, only to see his body fading from existence. Behind her, his stolen heart was absorbed into a dark orb. She heard clanking and turned to look. An identical Heartless to the one she’d just defeated appeared in the place of the darkened heart.

“What—” 

The Heartless jumped too quickly to react and pinned her to the ground. The shaft of the Keyblade narrowly blocked the creature’s claws from piercing her chest. Kairi pushed back against it, but she was in a terrible position. At this rate, those claws would reach her skin…

A loud whistle resonated through the square and something hit the back of the Heartless’ head. Kairi spotted a baseball falling to the ground and the rooster on top of the light pole with his arm stretched out. Just as the Heartless turned its head toward the new attacker, an arrow struck it between the eyes. The Heartless let go of the Keyblade to reach for the arrow, so Kairi kicked it off her and into the ground. Before it could recover, she jumped back up and stabbed its chest. The creature writhed one last time before its body disappeared and its captive heart floated off and faded.

Kairi fell to one knee and braced herself with the Keyblade, the shock of everything that happened hitting all at once.

Why did I run? I wasn’t even thinking.

What happened to that man? Why did he disappear? Why did that thing appear in his place?

Did he turn into that? If so does that mean I… I…

Something moist but gentle suddenly touched her hand. Kairi looked down and found a dalmatian puppy licking her fingers.

“Aw, thanks little guy,” she said. The puppy barked in return.

A crowd quickly gathered around her. Merida helped her up and a large man offered her spinach puffs, which she politely declined. Everyone else bombarded her with questions and praise.

“That was amazing!”

“What’s that weapon? I’ve never seen something defeat the Heartless so easily before!”

“You really taught those creeps a lesson!”

“Where did you learn those moves?”

“Why does your sword look like that?”

“I, uh…”

Kairi’s head pounded from all the noise, and the faces surrounding her started to feel suffocating.

Why are you praising me? I didn’t do anything worthy of admiration. I let someone die…

“Okay everyone, give it a rest.” Cid stepped forward, making the crowd grow silent and take a step back. Kairi muttered an inaudible “thank you”. “You’ve got some nerve, Kairi, but that was really dangerous. You’re lucky that blade’s so good. And that Merida and Chicken Little here managed to get that last one distracted.”

“Kupo!” the moogle from before exclaimed. “Is that really a Keyblade, kupo? Where did you get it?”

“I’m not sure,” Kairi said. “It just kinda appeared out of nowhere when my world was being destroyed. I don’t know where it came from or what it even is.”

“An ancient weapon of the heart. And the greatest fear of the Heartless,” a voice said, coming down the staircase. “That’s why they’ll keep coming after you.” 

The newcomer was a man clad in black with brown hair and a long scar on his face. He carried a strange sword behind his back that looked like a gun with a long blade at the end. Cid crossed his arms at the sight of him.

“Hey, Leon. Nice of you to show up after the fighting’s over. Poor Travis got his heart eaten for a snack.”

“I’m sorry…” Kairi’s head hung low.

“It’s not your fault,” said a boy around her age. “You kept us all safe.”

“Jim’s right,” Cid said. “It wasn’t your responsibility to protect this place. If anything, it’s my fault for not acting quickly enough.”

Kairi was about to protest when the dalmatians started barking. From the ground, a new swarm of Shadows rose. Kairi raised the Keyblade, but before she could even blink, Leon obliterated them with one swipe of his Gunblade.

“We’re not safe here. Like I said, the Heartless will keep coming as long as you have the Keyblade.”

“But why? What are these Heartless? And what is this Keyblade?”

“Come with me and I’ll explain everything.”

Kairi hesitated. Her common sense told her that following a stranger with a huge sword was a bad idea, but… She glanced at all the people in the First District. If the Heartless were coming after her, she would be putting them in danger for as long as she stayed there.

Kairi swallowed her nervousness and nodded. Leon nodded back and strapped his Gunblade to his belt on the back. Kairi did the same thing with a bit of struggle, just in time to trail after Leon as he ran off.

With fewer lanterns to light the way, the alleyways of Traverse Town were darker, emptier, and almost completely silent, except for the sound of water flowing down to the underground waterways.

“Mister Leonhart, where are you?” Goofy called one more time, and one more time, no one answered. “Gawrsh, there’s nobody here. Sure is spooky…”

“Don’t be such a scaredy cat!” Donald said. “And you call yourself captain of the royal knights— WAK!”

Suddenly Donald felt something poke him in the back. The court magician jumped in fright and clung to Goofy, shaking like a leaf.

“Excuse me,” a soft voice spoke from behind them. “Are you friends of the King?”

The voice belonged to a young lady with braided brown hair, a pink dress and a warm smile.

“Gawrsh, you know the king?” Goofy asked.

“Yes. He contacted us not too long ago. My name is Aerith, I’m a friend of Leon’s. Or Leonhart, as you called him. You must be Donald and Goofy, right?”

“Yes…” Donald said, still a bit suspicious.

Somewhere, there was a scream. Donald, Goofy and Aerith gazed around uneasily.

“We’re not safe out here. Let’s take shelter. Then we can discuss the matters at hand.”

Donald and Goofy nodded and followed the girl out of the alleyway.

Kairi followed Leon through the large doors that led to the Second District. It was bigger than the First District and had way more buildings, shops, houses, and a white building with a tall tower, all encircling a spacious low square.

They entered a building labeled “Hotel”. Inside was a hallway with several doors. Leon held open a green one and Kairi rushed inside.

The room had a single bed and simple furniture. Sitting on the bed and a chair were two girls with black hair. The girl on the bed had short hair and wore a metal headband, green tank top and beige shorts. The other girl looked older and had a strong physique, long hair, a black top under a white shirt, black miniskirt and combat gloves.

The long-haired woman jumped up as Leon slammed the door shut.

“Leon! What’s going on?” The woman’s eyes widened once she saw Kairi and the weapon on her back. “Is that…”

“Yes. The new Keybearer.”

The short-haired girl sat up and took a look at Kairi. “Are you saying this supposed first new Keybearer in years is a child?”

“How old are you again, Yuffie?” Leon asked. Yuffie showed him her tongue.

“This is great!” The woman ignored their banter. “That means there’s still hope! With the Key, you can save the worlds!”

“I… can?” Kairi asked, not understanding anything.

The girl named Yuffie got up and circled Kairi while cupping her chin, as if she were a newly discovered specimen ripe for studying.

“I dunno, she doesn’t look like much of a hero. Can she even fight?”

“By the looks of it, she took out a swarm of Heartless practically on her own,” Leon explained.

“It wasn’t really like that…” Kairi tried explaining before Yuffie cut her off.

“What, the small fry? Anyone can take care of those pushovers.”

“You know it’s not like that, Yuffie,” said the long-haired woman. “No matter how small, the Heartless are still dangerous.”

“My point is, what is this Keybearer gonna do against the heavy hitters? Are you gonna send her to fight Heartless and risk getting her heart taken?”

“What are you talking abou—”

“Of course not!” the woman said. “But we have to do something. She’s our only hope of fixing everything.”

“Which is exactly why we can’t risk losing her,” Leon chimed in. “We all want to recover what we lost, Tifa, but we can’t be rash.”

Tifa clenched her fists and then punched the wall in frustration, which caused the whole room to shake.

“But we can’t just sit around and do nothing!”

“And we won’t,” said Leon. “But we need to proceed carefully. The first thing we should do is make sure the Keybearer is trained and well-prepared. I’m not an expert on Keyblades, but I could teach her some techniques on—”

“YOU GUYS JUST, STOP!” Kairi snapped and all eyes turned to her. “I came here to try and make sense of all this, but I’m not understanding a word you’re saying! I never asked to be a ‘keybearer’, never asked to fight those things and I certainly never asked for my world to be destroyed and my friends to vanish to who knows where!”

Once Kairi stopped yelling, she began panting. She was so tired of being in the dark while tragedies kept happening around her.

The three warriors glanced at each other in shame. Finally, Tifa put a hand on Kairi’s shoulder and bent down to meet her eyes.

“I’m sorry. I think we did this all wrong. Do you want to sit down?”

“That would be great.”

“You should let go of that Keyblade first,” Leon advised. “The Heartless tend to attack outdoors, but breaking in isn’t past them.”

Kairi nodded and left the Keyblade resting against the wall next to a large shuriken — probably Yuffie’s.

“Let’s do this properly. I’m Tifa. This is Yuffie. And you’ve already met Leon. What’s your name?”

“Kairi. It’s nice to meet you.”

Tifa smiled warmly. “It’s nice to meet you too, Kairi. Do you know what the Keyblade you have is?”

“No. It showed up when the Islands were being…”

Blown away. Ripped apart. Everything she knew, torn to shreds.

“If it’s too painful, you don’t have to talk about it.”

“No, it’s okay.”

Slowly, Kairi explained everything that had happened, from noticing the storm, to trying to save Riku and Sora, to the Keyblade appearing to her. Tifa’s gaze became more sympathetic as she went on, Yuffie sighed at the mention of the dark creatures, and Leon listened with a pensive look while leaning on a doorway. And for as painful as remembering everything was, just getting to talk about it and being listened to felt like some of the weight was lifted off her shoulders.

“Wak?!” Donald looked around when the hotel shook. “What was that?”

“Don’t worry.” Aerith sat on a bed, her staff resting by her side. “My friend Tifa is in the room next door. She has a habit of punching stuff when she gets nervous.”

Donald was reminded of Daisy.

“So, what did’ja wanna talk about?” Goofy asked.

“You know there are many worlds out there besides your castle and this town. However, their existence has been a secret to all but a select few. Until now. The Heartless have changed everything. As we speak, they are seeking to destroy more and more worlds.”

“That must be why the stars are blinking out!” Goofy said, to which Aerith nodded sadly.

“You’ve gone through something horrible, Kairi,” Tifa said when she finished her story. “We know what it’s like. We lost our world too.”

“Really? I’m so sorry.”

“That was nine years ago,” said Yuffie. “Before we learned how to teach those Heartless a lesson.”

“Heartless… What are they?”

“Ghosts that live in the darkness and hunger for people’s hearts,” Leon spoke for the first time in a while. “There’s darkness within every heart, and the Heartless feed on it.”

“I saw one of them taking someone’s heart. He disappeared and another Heartless appeared in his place.”

“That’s how they multiply. By turning stolen hearts into more Heartless.”

“That’s awful…”

“For years, they’ve invaded this and other worlds.” Tifa continued. “We’ve never been able to stop them. Until now.”

Kairi eyed the weapon on the other side of the room, then spoke to Leon: “You said before that the Keyblade is the Heartless’ greatest fear. But why? Your weapons seemed to work fine against them.”

“Normal weapons can wound and even fell the Heartless,” he explained. “But the Keyblade can do much more than that. Its light can reach even the strongest darkness and restore hearts that have been lost.”

“Restore hearts…” Kairi perked up. “Does that mean it can turn the Heartless back to normal? How? How can I help them?”

“For what we know, you already have,” Yuffie said. “According to our round-eared source, whenever a Keyblade destroys a Heartless, the heart that was inside is released. So they’re probably looking for a way back right now.”

For the first time since arriving in Traverse Town, Kairi let out a truly bright smile. And then another thought came to her mind, one that had felt impossible mere minutes prior.

“What about the worlds that were destroyed? Can the Keyblade restore them too?”

A dimple appeared in the corner of Leon’s cheek. “Worlds are a lot like people. If their hearts are restored, there’s a good chance the world and its inhabitants will be too.”

Kairi felt dizzy from how fast she jumped up from the bed, but it did nothing to stifle her cheer.

“Then that means we can still go back! And Grandma and Mom and Dad… They’ll be back too! Everyone will!”

“Then you see why it’s so important that you take out the Heartless,” Tifa said.

Kairi’s smile fell. “Me? Oh no, trust me, you don’t want me. I’m not some noble hero or savior, just…” She pointed to herself. “This. If the Keyblade is really so important, you should just give it to someone stronger. I’m sure any of you would do a better job saving people than I ever could.”

“I’m afraid it’s not that simple.”

Leon bent down and picked up the Keyblade. As soon as his fingers closed around the hilt, the weapon vanished from Leon’s hand and reappeared in Kairi’s in a flash of golden sparks and feathers.

“That Keyblade came from your heart. It’s bound to you. Which means you’re the only one who can wield it.”

“Me?”

Kairi held the Keyblade and looked at it. On the reflective surface of the hilt, she saw a lost and scared girl who didn’t share Riku and Sora’s fantasies for greatness, who never wanted anything more than to be with the people she loved.

A girl who could never be with the people she loved unless she stopped the Heartless.

What can I do?

Popping noises. Metal clanging. Leon, Tifa and Yuffie were on high alert before Kairi could even make sense of it. Not even a second later, a Heartless appeared in the room.

“Tifa, Yuffie, go!” Leon shouted and drew his Gunblade.

Yuffie grabbed her shuriken and followed Tifa as she kicked the door to the next room open, not noticing when the door pancaked Donald, who was going to check what all the commotion was about.

“Tifa?” Aerith stood up.

“The Heartless found us! It’s not safe here anymore!” A Heartless tried to slash at Tifa, but she dodged and destroyed it with a single punch. “Let’s go!”

Aerith picked up her staff and followed the two out of the room.

“Gawrsh, are you okay, Donald?” Goofy asked as the door slowly closed.

“Waak…”

In the other room, Kairi watched Leon slash any Heartless that came near. He was amazing. Stronger than even Riku or Sora, and certainly stronger than her.

Why had the Keyblade come for her? So many people could make better use of it, wouldn’t freeze and shake pathetically at the sight of the Heartless, would be able to save her friends when they were right in front of her…

Why me?

“Kairi!” Leon’s voice snapped her back to reality. “I know you’re scared and confused right now, but we need you. The Heartless I defeat fade back into darkness, but they’ll come back sooner or later. The Keyblade is our only chance to get rid of them for good. You have to fight.”

Kairi looked at the Keyblade. They needed her. They needed her! Not just Riku and Sora but Leon, Yuffie, Tifa, Cid and everyone else in Traverse Town who had been so kind to her. They were counting on the Keybearer to save what they had lost. If she didn’t even fight, she’d be letting them all down.

She held tight to the Keyblade, pushed away her fear and assumed a fighting stance of her own.

“I’ll do everything I can!”

Leon gave her a smirk. A Heartless came spinning at him. Leon blocked the attack with his Gunblade and then kicked the creature toward Kairi, who finished it with a swing of the Keyblade. The Heartless disappeared and released a captive heart.

More Heartless came. They were identical to the ones she had seen in the First District, with their pitch-black heads and yellow eyes encased in a silver helmet and grotesque, vaguely human-like bodies. In their chest was an emblem of a black heart crossed by a red X. Between the helmet and the emblem, Kairi thought they resembled some kind of soldier.

Leon kept wounding Heartless and tossing them to Kairi to deal the finishing blow, but no matter how many they defeated, more kept coming.

“These aren’t ordinary attacks,” Leon noted. “Their movement is coordinated. There must be a leader.”

“Who leads the Heartless?”

“Especially powerful Heartless.” His gaze turned somber. “Or a person with power over the darkness.”

Kairi felt a hint of sorrow from his words. The power someone would hold by controlling those creatures…

“So we need to find this leader and finish them, right?”

“Exactly.”

Leon threw the next Heartless through the window, shattering the glass.

“Stay with me, Kairi.”

He leaped through the broken window to the alleyway below. Kairi propped her legs on a beam to get out and hesitantly clambered down until she felt safe to jump. By then, more Heartless had already appeared on the alleyway.

“Don’t bother with the small fry,” Leon said somewhere amidst the swarm. “Let’s go!”

Easy for you to say, Kairi thought as she fended off a bunch of Shadows. When she finally bought herself a moment to breathe, Leon was nowhere to be seen.

“Leon! Where are you?”

A Soldier Heartless charged at her. Kairi dodged by a hair and pushed the creature against a wall. The Heartless wouldn’t stop coming. There was no way she could fight all of them, so she ran. She spotted a door to her side and went through it before slamming it shut before the Heartless could follow her.

Kairi emerged right next to a fountain with a beautiful painted mural. Looking around, she realized she was in the square in the Second District. There didn’t seem to be any Heartless around, for now at least.

In the hotel hallway, a group of Heartless ambushed Donald and Goofy.

“So these are the Heartless!” Donald summoned his Mage’s Staff. “Let’s go get ‘em, Goofy!”

Before he could do anything, the Heartless charged. Goofy lifted his shield just as the Heartless slammed themselves onto them. The force of the crash sent Donald and Goofy flying out of the hotel.

“Gawaaaaak!”

“A-hyoohoohoohooo!”

Hearing their shrieks, Kairi looked up just in time to see the odd duo plummeting toward her before being squashed.

“Oww…”

The three groaned in pain, all jammed in a pile. Once Donald and Goofy stopped seeing stars, their eyes trailed to the Keyblade in Kairi’s hand.

“The key!” they exclaimed.

A loud metallic rumble resonated through the Second District. Kairi, Donald and Goofy sprang back up and readied their weapons. Just as they did, a swarm of Soldier Heartless surrounded them.

“Think you can handle them?” Donald asked.

Kairi raised the Keyblade with a determined expression. “Yes. I can do this!”

The Heartless attacked. Goofy guarded against the claws of one and knocked it toward Donald, who shot a ball of fire from his staff before Kairi leaped in and finished off the Heartless with the Keyblade.

“Not bad!” Goofy commended, and Kairi smiled in response.

They continued to fight, Kairi swinging the Keyblade, Donald firing spells and Goofy whacking foes with his shield. As they fought, Kairi couldn’t help but look curiously at her allies. They were an odd couple for sure, but Kairi wasn’t as weirded out by them as she probably should have been. She chalked it up to always having had a wild imagination.

With a well-aimed spell, Donald finished off the last Heartless. But before the trio had time to celebrate, the rumble was heard again, and a bundle of metal parts fell clanking from the sky and amassed themselves into a suit of armor. Finally, a helmet landed atop the armor, forming a five-meter tall purple Heartless with disconnected limbs and the familiar black and red emblem in its chest.

“This one must be the leader,” Kairi said.

“Wak…” Donald grumbled as he tried and failed not to tremble.

Goofy gulped. “Do you think we can beat it?”

Kairi hardened her grip on the Keyblade. If they didn’t beat this thing, it would terrorize the people of Traverse Town. They had to put a stop to it! This was her duty! Her responsibility!

“We have to!” she said. “If we fight together, we can do it!”

Donald and Goofy looked at each other, their fear giving way to determination, and nodded. They stood behind Kairi.

The Heartless leaped toward them and the three jumped out of the way.

“Fire!” Flames burst from Donald’s staff and hit the Heartless’ torso, but the enemy didn’t even flinch. “Wak?!”

The feet came stomping down on him. Goofy ran to Donald and defended him with his shield. Kairi attacked the right foot with a series of slashes, but then the hands began spinning around the torso and she had to step away.

The different parts moved with minds of their own, and the trio could only get a few seemingly ineffective hits in before they were forced to dodge another part, making it practically impossible to fight efficiently.

“It’s not doing any good!” Goofy grunted as he blocked a thrust from the left foot.

“Wak!” 

The right hand swung at Donald and knocked him into a wall. Before Kairi and Goofy could help him up, the magician got back on his own, practically fuming.

“Why you! What’s the big idea?! Take that! And that!”

Donald fired spell after spell at the hand. At the sixth or so spell, the scorched hand fell to the ground. It shook like it was trying to get back up, but before it could, Kairi swooped in and struck the hand with the Keyblade, destroying it.

“I got it!” she exclaimed. “Let’s gang up on one part at a time. I’ll attack the other hand, you keep me from being hit and you continue shooting from afar.”

“You can count on me!” Goofy raised his shield.

“I like that plan!” Donald picked something from his pocket and put it in his mouth. A faint blue glow shone around the magician as he readied his staff.

Kairi ran back to the Heartless with Goofy on her heels and struck the left hand repeatedly. The feet tried to kick her off but Goofy kept them at bay with his shield. With no need to worry about the other parts and the extra damage from Donald’s magic, the trio managed to take out the remaining hand rather easily.

“We did it!”

“Now for the feet!”

They kept the same strategy, focusing on just one foot, with Kairi attacking with the Keyblade, Goofy defending her from the other foot and the torso, and Donald sending homing fireballs, thunderbolts and shards of ice from a distance until both feet had been destroyed.

“Yes!” Kairi pumped her fist in celebration. “Now we just need to take out the—”

“Look out!”

Kairi was pulled by Goofy just as the torso slammed itself on the spot she had been a second before. With no hands or feet to attack, the torso spun around like a tornado. Kairi and Goofy rushed out of the way before it could reach them. Meanwhile, Donald kept on firing spells.

“Fire! Blizzard! Arf… Thunder! Wak?” Until finally, nothing came from his wand. “I’m all out of magic! And ethers too.”

“Now what?” Goofy asked, hiding behind his shield.

Kairi tried thinking of something. They had to take out that Heartless, but the torso wouldn’t let them come near. The only other spot they could hit was…

“The head!” Kairi glanced at Goofy’s shield and had an idea. She took several steps backward until her back was almost touching the wall. “Raise the shield!”

Goofy looked confused for a moment before realizing what she intended to do. He got on his knees and raised the shield just above his head. Kairi sprinted toward him. She stepped on the shield and Goofy sprang up, thrusting Kairi high in the air and toward the Heartless. She raised the Keyblade, and with a shout, nailed it right through the Heartless’ head. The two remaining parts shook and finally collapsed onto the ground like a marionette with its strings cut.

“Did we do it?” Goofy asked as Kairi took the Keyblade off the head and jumped off the Heartless. Then a big heart floated out of the torso and disappeared, followed by the remains of the armor.

Leon, Yuffie, Tifa and Aerith came running from an alley, weapons at hand. They searched for the source of the trouble, only to find the worn-out trio and no Heartless in sight.

“So now you arrive,” Kairi grumbled.

She stumbled from exhaustion and almost fell, but Goofy helped her stay up. Aerith came, raised her staff and green light enveloped them. Immediately, cuts and bruises began closing, and Kairi managed to stand on her own.

“What happened?” Tifa asked.

“Well, Donald and I fell on top of her,” Goofy explained. “Then this big metal Heartless showed up and we fought it together.”

“You took out the leader?” Leon crossed his arms and smirked. “Gotta say, I’m impressed. And I see you’ve already met.”

“Not really,” Kairi admitted. “But I guess we did fight well together.”

“That’s good,” Aerith said with a smile. “They’ve been looking for you.”

“We received a mission from our King,” Donald said. “To find the new Keyblade wielder who could help us save the worlds.”

“I see…”

“So will you come with us?” Goofy asked. “We can travel to other worlds on our ship.”

“Other worlds…” The thought reminded Kairi of her friends. They’ve always wanted to visit other worlds. But without Riku and Sora, it just didn’t feel the same.

Cid said that they could be somewhere in another world, she remembered.

“If I go with you,” Kairi started, “I want to look for my friends. I have this feeling that they’re somewhere out there.”

“If we go to other worlds, I’m sure you’ll find them,” Donald said. “In fact, we’re also looking for a friend.”

Kairi perked up. “You really think so?”

“Of course.”

Kairi looked to Leon and his companions, who all smiled in return.

“Really? A-hyuck, that’s good!” Goofy told Donald when no one else was looking.

“Who knows,” Donald whispered to his friend. “But we need her to come with us to help us find the King. Just say whatever so she’ll agree”

“That seems kinda mean…”

“Goofy, trust me,” Donald said through gritted teeth. “Don’t mess this up!”

Kairi turned back to them and Donald and Goofy quickly straightened themselves up.

“So if I go with you, you promise you’ll help me find Riku and Sora?”

“Sure,” said Donald. “But you also help us find King Mickey. He left saying the worlds were in danger and told us to stay with the Keybearer.”

Kairi glanced at the ground. “Of course. I’ll help you.”

Right… It’s all about this Keyblade. She shook her head. Don’t think like that! This is something that they— that I have to do!

“But you can’t come along looking like that,” Donald said, serious. Kairi looked at herself, wondering if there was something wrong with how she was dressed, but Donald grinned. “This boat runs on smiles. So no frowning and no sad faces.”

“Yeah, you gotta look funny, like us!” Goofy said, a dorky smile on his face as well.

“Okay… How do I look funny?”

“First of all, cheer up,” said Donald. “Shake that gloom off! Try laughing a bit.”

“Laugher?”

She could do this. She could do something as simple as laughing.

Kairi drew in a deep breath and expelled it all in a loud burst:

“AHAHAHAHAHAHA.” Dead silence. She drew in another breath and laughed again. “AHAHAHAHAHA.”

Everyone was staring at her. Goodness, she looked ridiculous. What was she thinking doing something like—

“AHYUHYUHYUHYUK!” Goofy let out a loud laugh of his own sounding even more ridiculous than Kairi’s. Finally, Donald cackled too:

“GAHAHAHAHAHA!”

A smile escaped Kairi. The three breathed in together and let go at the same time:

“HAHAHAHAHAHA!”

“AHYUHYUHYUHYUK!”

“GAHAHAHAHAHA!”

It was too much. They burst into actual laughter, as did Yuffie, Aerith and Tifa. Even Leon cracked a chuckle.

“Alright,” Kairi said, wiping out a tear. “I’ll go with you.”

“Then let’s do this right.” Donald held out his hand. “Donald Duck. Royal Magician and assistant of King Mickey.”

“Name’s Goofy Goof.” He placed his hand over Donald’s. Kairi had to hold back a snicker at his name. “Captain of the Royal Knights of Disney Castle.”

“I’m Kairi Hayazaki Amada.” She put her hand atop theirs. “And, um… My father is a public officer and my mother is a social worker.”

“You could have just said you’re a Keyblade wielder,” Donald said. “But I guess that’s cool too.”

“Thanks.”

“All for one and one for all!” Goofy declared, a quote they’d all heard before.

With their hands joined, the three smiled.

~♡~

In an ill and dark chamber, four equally dark beings gathered around a stone pedestal. They watched a ring of eerie green light, where a vision of Kairi, Donald and Goofy shimmered.

“That little squirt took out that Heartless. Who’d have thought it?” one voice mocked.

“Such is the power of the Keyblade,” a lower voice spoke. “The girl’s strength is not her own.”

“She is but a child swinging a toy around,” said a deep, mechanical and emotionless voice. “But the toy in question is quite powerful. Should she learn to wield it, she could pose a considerable threat.”

“Why don’t we turn her and the king’s lackeys into Heartless?” A strident laugh echoed. “That’ll settle things quick enough.”

“If she ever becomes a thorn in our side, she shall be destroyed,” said a female voice.

Behind the group stood a woman of green skin and huge horns clad in black. In her hand she carried a long staff, on top She had a long staff in her hand, a black crow resting on top of it.

“As it stands, she is no danger to us. And besides, we need the Keyblade if we are to unlock the Final Keyhole.”

One of the figures looked over his shoulder. The others remained quiet at the sound of his loud breaths.

“Perhaps she won’t be necessary. A new presence arrived at the castle grounds. I sense immense power within him. A lone fighter who turned his back on his old life. He might be more complaisant.”

Chapter 3: Night of Fate

“Heads up!” came Sora’s voice from the top of the palm tree.

He hit the tree with his wooden sword and a batch of fresh coconuts fell. Before they could hit the sand, Kairi caught them all with a basket. Sora gave her a thumbs up and she responded with a grin.

“You two comin’ up with a new game or sumthin’?” The question came from Wakka, who had been playing ball with Tidus by the shore.

“We’ve created a game too!” said the latter. “Everyone has to chase a ball and score goals underwater. You can play, but you’ll never be star players like us!”

“That sounds fun!” Sora jumped off the tree and landed beside Kairi.

“Save it for later, Sora,” she said. “Sorry boys, but we're busy right now.”

“Busy with what?” asked Wakka. “What do ya even need so many coconuts for?”

“Grandma asked me to get some so she can make coconut oil.”

“Why didn’t you just buy some in the marketplace?” Tidus asked.

“Because… it’s more fun this way.”

It was a weak excuse, but if she didn’t come up with something Sora would instead, and he was quite possibly the worst liar in the worlds. Thankfully, it was enough for Tidus and Wakka, who just wished them good luck and extended an invitation to play some other time.

They met up with Riku on the raft as he studied a map of the Islands, but he stopped to help them load the coconuts onto the crate with all the others they had collected. Other crates were filled with canned and dried food, so the coconuts were mainly a source of drinking water.

With the last crate sealed, the three pushed the raft to the shallows and hopped aboard. When the raft floated without issue, Sora whooped and jumped and almost kicked their provisions into the sea. Kairi was so enthralled by the stirring of the planks beneath her feet she paid it no mind, but Riku started giving him an earful. Not even a minute in though, Sora gave a mischievous smile and splashed Riku with seawater that caught Kairi too.

“Sora!” Kairi laughed and splashed him back, only for Riku to join in and shower them both.

Suddenly Sora jumped Riku, the two lost their balance and fell into the water. Kairi laughed even harder. Riku narrowed his eyes, grabbed her by the leg and pulled her into the water too.

“Hey!” Riku only laughed at her protest and soon they were all splashing each other and laughing like little kids.

They were soaked and giggling when they finally pulled the raft back to shore from the test drive. Riku was wringing water out of his hair and Kairi removing sand from her shoes when Sora proposed an alternative way to dry out:

“Let’s race! Whoever wins gets to be captain of the Destiny Voyager.”

Riku smirked. “If you wanted a shot at being captain, you should have picked something you could win.”

“Sounds fun! Let’s do it,” Kairi said.

The cove was their favorite place to race, with the slopes, wooden platforms and palm trees serving as the perfect obstacle course. Per their usual rules, they started near the entrance, took any route to the opposite end to touch a star decoration, and then made it back to the starting point.

Once they were in place, Kairi went to start the kitchen timer they’d brought to jumpstart their races — because otherwise the one doing it would always rush ahead. While she was out of earshot, Riku inched closer to Sora and said just short of a whisper:

“If I win, I get to share a Paopu with Kairi.”

Sora’s head snapped toward him. “HUH!?”

Riku’s expression was casual, like he had just commented on the weather. “Deal? The winner gets to share a Paopu with Kairi.”

“Wha— Wait a minute—”

“It’s about to go off!”

Riku and Sora went quiet as Kairi hurried back to their side and prepared to run, even though Sora’s thoughts were going a mile a minute in all directions.

The timer rang and the three took off. Kairi immediately fell behind while Riku and Sora rushed ahead trying to gain the lead. Sora managed to keep up until the halfway mark when Riku suddenly sprinted meters ahead, touched the star tree and gave Sora a victorious smirk as he made his way back.

Sora pushed his legs and his lungs to their limit in hopes of catching up, but by the time Riku reached the halfway mark of the return route a full five seconds before him, winning seemed impossible. But just as he was beginning to panic, Kairi shouted from behind him:

“Do your best, Sora!”

Her cheer fired Sora up. He shouted and clambered up the nearest platform, a tower whose top was normally accessible via a loose ladder on the other side. Just as Riku reached the platforms in the final stretch of the course, Sora reached the top, grabbed onto the ladder and kicked the edge of the tower, plunging the ladder and himself forward. Riku’s eyes widened when he suddenly appeared right next to him. Just before hitting the floor, Sora leaped and surpassed Riku for good. With one last sprint enhanced by his momentum, he crossed the finish line seconds before Riku.

By the time Kairi arrived, Riku was bracing on his knees and panting and Sora was celebrating his victory.

“Woohoo! I won!”

“Way to go, Sora!” Kairi congratulated. “I guess that means I have to say ‘Aye aye, Captain Sora’ now.”

She did a little salute and chuckled, which got a grin out of Sora.

“You just… got lucky,” Riku said, walking up to them after catching his breath. “So, what do we do now?”

“Nothing,” said Kairi. “We’ve completed the raft and we gathered provisions, the only thing left to do is tell my parents and your mom about our plans. Until then, we have nothing to do.”

“Sweet, I love having nothing to do,” said Sora while resting his hands on the back of his head. “That means we can do anything we want.”

“How about we join the others then? I’m sure we can find something fun to do.”

They both agreed. Rather than run ahead though, Sora let Kairi take the lead and spoke to Riku in a lower voice:

“Riku, what you said before the race…”

“What, the Paopu thing? That was just a joke. You should have seen your face.”

Sora frowned. Riku’s voice had the same swagger as usual, but something in it felt stiff.

Back on the seashore, Riku and Sora decided to play Tidus and Wakka’s new game and Kairi opted to spend some time with Selphie, Ryukku and Yuna and indulge in one of their favorite group pastimes: doing each others’ hair.

So an hour later, Riku and Sora were throwing a ball around in the sea, and Kairi was wandering the island with a basket and collecting flowers to decorate the girls’ hair. Having picked flowers there her whole life, she knew well where the best spots for finding them were, meaning she could get a full basket in less than twenty minutes if she wanted to, but Kairi preferred to take it slow. She stopped to admire each individual flower and note how despite being similarly beautiful, they also had unique quirks. One had an oddly shaped blotch on a petal, another had a half-eaten leaf, two others looked like twins sprouting from the same stalk, or one flower in a bunch stood out for not having bloomed yet. Kairi thought that their quirks let each bloom stand out amidst their fellow flowers while also making each patch more beautiful than the sum of its parts.

After some search, she found amidst some foliage at the base of a hill an abundance of her favorite kind of flower — Yua flowers, aster blooms that came in all sorts of colors and the same kind as the ones on her necklace. Of course, she stopped to admire them and pick up some. However, she was surprised to find that behind all the foliage was a hole leading to the inside of the hill. It wasn’t the hole that surprised her, but the notion that she was so distracted she didn’t realize she was next to such a familiar place.

I haven’t been here in a long time, she thought. Since she was there already, Kairi figured it’d be nice to pay a visit.

She had to duck her head to fit through the hole, then continued through a narrow tunnel deeper into the hill, ending in a small cave. There, the constant sound of the waves was but a hushed whisper. The rocky walls were adorned with sturdy roots and dozens of scribbles.

Most strange of all, at the opposite end of the entrance, there was a big brown door, always locked, with no doorknob or keyhole.

Kairi paid little attention to the door, having grown used to its presence in the ten years she’d visited this secret place she and Riku found when they were little, before Sora came to the Islands. Rather, she ran her hand and smiled at the drawings that filled the walls depicting fights against monsters, princesses and castles, aliens and spaceships, funny animals and random shapes. Each of them was a precious memory.

She stopped at one particular drawing of her and Sora’s heads facing each other. They had carved it on the day she first took him to the secret place. Kairi crouched to touch her old doodle of Sora. He had a smile on his face, like always. A silly, pure and wonderful smile that could brighten up even a musty cave like this.

A small wish tugged at the back of her mind. Kairi picked up a sharp pebble and pressed it next to the image of herself Sora had drawn. An inner voice that sounded a lot like Riku’s warned her against doing that. But in the end, the wish spoke louder and she scratched the pebble along the wall.

The drawing now featured her little self offering a Paopu fruit to Sora. Kairi smiled wistfully at the image. For a moment she dared to imagine Sora offering her a Paopu too, but quickly forsook the thought. Why would someone as strong and full of light as Sora ever share a Paopu with her?

Suddenly she heard a rustle, like that of a snake creeping on the sand. Kairi jumped up and turned toward the noise.

Standing in the shadows was a hunched figure in a brown robe with a hood covering their face. No body parts were visible, as if the robe hid only formless darkness.

“Who are you?” Kairi asked, trying not to let her fear show, nor the wave of cold that suddenly ran through her veins.

“I’ve come to see the door to this world,” said the figure. His voice was deep to a bone-chilling degree. It sounded almost disconnected from his body. “This world has been connected. Tied to the darkness. Soon to be completely eclipsed.”

“What are you talking about? You’re freaking me out!” She hadn’t heard the man coming through the entrance, and she doubted the large door would be so silent. It was like he had manifested out of the shadows. “Where did you come from?”

“Attempting to explain would be pointless,” the robbed man said, finally acknowledging her presence. “There is so very much to learn. You know so little. One who knows nothing can understand nothing.”

“Are you… from the outside world?”

The stranger didn’t answer, but given his appearance and the way he spoke, Kairi felt certain of it.

“I know there’s a lot I don’t know, especially about the outside world. But that’s why I want to go out there and learn about it. I want to understand.”

“A meaningless effort. You do not have what it takes to open the door. Your strength is lacking.”

“What do you mean? What strength do I lack?”

The man lifted his head. Under his hood, she saw nothing but darkness, but Kairi could feel his gaze on her, analyzing her to her core and freezing her in place. After a few seconds, she had to remind herself to breathe.

“Those who are strong move past their constraints,” he finally said. “Forsake home to grow beyond its borders. Cast aside attachments to achieve the greater good. Burn the past to the ground to bring forth the desired future. Tell me, do you have the strength to do that?”

“What?! No! I would never do that! That’s not strength, it’s madness!”

“Then you are weak. If you rely on others you’ll never find true strength. New growth cannot exist without the destruction of the old. The door is locked for you.”

Kairi looked at the door, wondering if he was talking about it. When she went to address the man again, he was gone. As if he’d never been there.

She stood in the cave for several moments, thinking about everything he had said about strength, darkness, the world, and the door.

Eventually, her gaze turned to the brown door. Even when she was little it had never looked this imposing. She slowly reached her hand out and touched it. The door was strangely warm.

Has it always been this way? she wondered.

After a second or two, she felt a faint vibration. And then there was another one, then another, and another, like the pulsing of a heart.

What is this door, anyway? Why is it here? Where does it lead to?

“Kairi?”

“GAH!” she screamed at the sudden call and the touch on her shoulder. “Riku! You scared me to death!”

“Sorry,” he said with a chuckle. “I thought you were hanging out with the girls. What are you doing here?”

“I… got kinda sidetracked.”

For a moment she wondered if she should tell him about the robed stranger. But the whole encounter seemed so surreal, she honestly wasn’t sure she believed her own memory. Besides, with the raft and the journey ahead, they had enough on their minds already. So Kairi just picked up her flower basket and headed for the exit.

“I should go already, they’re probably looking for me. Bye, Riku.”

As Kairi ran off from the secret place, she didn’t notice when Riku caught sight of her and Sora’s drawing — nor his face when he saw her addition.

The sunlight caused her to blink. The sand was soft, the sky clear and the ocean calm. The encounter with the mysterious man felt like something out of a bad dream. Borrowing a page from Riku’s book, Kairi told herself her imagination was just making the world more interesting again and pushed the episode to the back of her mind.

She rejoined the girls and they settled on a spot next to a large tree. While Kairi braided Yuna’s hair, she noticed Riku trudging down the beach toward the docks. His head was low and his shoulders slumped, the exact opposite of his usual confident steps. It made her uneasy.

She told Yuna and the others she’d be back soon and ran to him.

“Riku!”

He stopped and turned to her. But there was something in his eyes, like he couldn’t truly see her and was looking at an apparition. Her heart stung at the sight. She should say something to cheer him up, or at least get him to talk about how he was feeling.

“Is… everything okay?” Bad start, she mentally scolded herself.

“Yeah,” he said. She immediately knew he was lying. “I’m just heading back.”

“Are you sure? It’s still early.”

“I know. I just…” He avoided her eyes. “My mom wants me to be home early today.”

Why did he have to be so good at avoiding any conversation about his feelings?

Riku didn’t speak to her as he unmoored his boat. When he was about to board, Kairi spoke again:

“Riku.” He stopped, his back still turned. “If anything’s troubling you, you can talk to us. Me and Sora. We’re your friends.”

He turned to her and gave a weak, barely held smile. “Right.”

Kairi watched Riku board his boat and row away, knowing he was hurting but unable to tell why. More than the echo of sorrow he left in her heart, it pained Kairi that she was unable to help.

~♡~

As dusk arrived, Kairi sat on the Paopu tree and watched the sunset. Maybe it was because she was alone this time, but the way the sun sank into the sea, taking away the light of day with it, made her feel way more melancholic than the previous day.

“Hey there.” Kairi turned toward the newcomer and smiled. Some of her gloom disappeared at the sound of his voice.

“Hey, Sora”

He jumped on the tree and sat by her side. Kairi tucked some strands of loose hair behind her ear, maybe in hopes he would notice the flowers on her braids.

It seemed she was in luck, because Sora continued looking at her. “Wow, those are very pretty. Did Selphie do it?”

Kairi blushed when he reached for her hair. “Yes…”

“It’s beautiful…”

He went to hold one of the braids but his fingers ended up touching Kairi’s cheek. He pulled his hand back awkwardly and turned his head to the sunset.

“It looks good on you.”

“Thanks,” she said and followed his gaze.

They fell silent after that. It was broken by Sora’s humming, and Kairi smiled at his melody. Sometimes they dared to glance at the other, only to look away as soon as they glanced back. Even if it was dithering and uncompromising, the pattern was comfortable. Better to go along with it than risk ruining years of friendship.

Still, Kairi glanced at the Paopu fruits behind Sora and her heart fluttered. He was right here, his hand and the Paopus at her grasp, she just needed to ask…

(“It’d feel weird, don’t you think?”)

She clenched her fists and turned her head away.

Stop thinking about that! If Riku is bothered, I’ll only make it worse. He doesn’t even think of me that way.

“Hey, Kairi.” Sora snapped her out of her thoughts. “Is it just me or is Riku… y’know… different? Like he’s…”

“Colder?” she finished. “Withdrawn? Like he’s hiding something and not being honest?”

“Yeah…”

Sora, Riku and Kairi knew each other intimately enough to see through any masks they might put up. Which meant Sora and Kairi knew too well of the troubled heart hiding behind the hypercompetent boy who was always on top of everyone. Riku had always been eager to leave the Islands and see the world, but for the last few months — maybe even years — he seemed almost desperate to get away from it all.

“Maybe he’s just nervous,” Kairi suggested, maybe more to herself than anyone else. “You know, with the preparations and the journey ahead.”

“Yeah, that makes sense…”

Silence settled between them again, but doubts persisted in Kairi’s mind. Sora’s question opened a floodgate she’d been holding back for weeks. She brought her hands to her chest and pondered.

Was the change in Riku’s behavior a result of the change in his surroundings? Or did it reflect a change inside him? Had the last few years changed his heart? If that was the case, then what of the boy who was originally her friend? Did he still exist at all?

“Kairi, are you okay?” Sora asked, noticing the way she held herself.

“I’m fine.”

He didn’t look the least bit convinced. They could see through each other’s masks, after all.

“I guess I’m nervous too.” She looked at the Ocean, a sight of such comfortable familiarity and at the same time, terrifying uncertainty. “Riku said he wanted things to change, but… What if they change too much? What if we change? What if when we come back, we’re different people? What if… What if we’re not even friends anymore?”

“Hey, it’s okay.” Sora put a supportive hand on her shoulder. “I know it looks scary. To be honest… I’m scared too. But knowing I’ll be with you guys makes me less scared. Because yeah, maybe things will change, and maybe it won’t be the same between the three of us anymore, but if there’s one thing I’m certain of, is that no matter how much things change, we’ll always be friends. And no matter how far we go, this will always be our home. Which means we can always come back here whenever we need a safe place.”

Sora held her hand and looked at her like she was all there was to the world. His eyes glistened in the sunset light.

“Kairi… Whatever happens out there, we’ll face it together. I promise.”

How did he do it? How did he take all her fears and doubts and made them disappear with a smile? How was it that when she looked into his eyes and held his hand, she felt like everything would be alright? How could he soothe her heart so much simply by existing?

“Thank you, Sora.” Her voice and her smile finally returned. “I hope you at least never change.”

~♡~

At night, Kairi occupied herself organizing anything she’d take on the journey ahead into a knapsack. The trip was still a few days off at least, but there had been so much on her mind since she arrived home she decided to keep herself busy with any other activity. There was no point in thinking about Riku’s behavior or her feelings for Sora, so why bother?

She spent a good while organizing and reorganizing her things until she couldn’t possibly rearrange them anymore. Everything she might need, from essential items to personal ones like the notebook her grandmother gave her and the materials to continue the Wayfinders were accounted for. There was nothing else for her to do.

Maybe Grandma could use a hand making dinner? 

That’d be a good way of keeping her mind away from things she didn’t want to think about, and she could spend some time with her grandma on top of it. Kill two birds with one stone. Yes, that’s perfect.

Kairi was on her way out when something happened.

One moment she was standing, the next she was bracing herself on her desk, dizzy and drawing quick breaths. It was so sudden, she only made sense of what she felt after she felt it. It was like a quiet explosion that left the world untouched and only affected her inside. Even after the initial surge, she could still feel traces of something pulsing throughout her body, like she’d somehow grown a second heart.

And then, cold. It was similar to a chill up her spine, except it started in her chest. Kairi hugged herself when the chills spread through her body and filled her with an instinctual sense of dread. She didn’t know how she knew it, but something was wrong.

The seashell and sakura wind chimes on her window clinked frantically. Kairi stumbled to the window in time to see a crack of lightning manifest from dark clouds on Kealoha Island. Seconds later came the roar of thunder.

“A storm? Oh no!”

Any heaviness in her mind or step was pushed away. Kairi put on her knapsack out of sheer habit and dashed out of her room and down the stairs.

“Kairi? Where are you going?” her grandmother asked when she arrived at the living room.

“A storm’s forming down on the Island,” she said on her way to the front door. “I have to make sure the raft won’t get swept away.”

“A storm? But the weather today showed no signs of… Regardless, you can’t go in the middle of a storm! It’s too dangerous!”

“I have to. We worked so hard, if the raft got lost now, Sora and Riku would be devastated. I gotta look after them.”

“And I’ve got to look after you. Please Kairi, don’t go. No amount of work is worth your life.”

Her hand froze on the doorknob. She looked back to her grandmother and her pleading face. Something squeezed in her chest.

Why did this feel like a goodbye?

“I’ll come back safe and sound. I promise.”

She left the house before her grandma could say anything else.

Kairi fought the wind as she ran down the roads, then the waves once she made it to a boat. As she did everything to get to the Island, the flowers in her hair were swept away and carried off into the distance, but she was too focused on her goal to notice or care.

The wind blew even stronger on Kealoha Island. Thunder and lightning crashed but there was no rain. The ground thumped beneath Kairi’s feet with the same rhythm she felt pulsate through her bones back home. Two more boats were moored at the docks, no doubt Riku and Sora’s. The storm would be reason enough for her to worry about them, but her concern increased tenfold once she looked at the source of the storm.

Up in the starless sky, an enormous ball of dark energy floated in the air.

“What’s that!? What’s happening?” A million more questions came to her mind, but one statement spoke louder than anything else: “I’ve gotta find Riku and Sora!”

She took off along the beach calling their names, only to be greeted by something else.

Shadows rose from the ground and took the form of small inky black creatures with glowing yellow eyes. Kairi gasped at the sight of them.

This is a dream, she told herself. It has to be!

One of the shadow creatures attacked and scratched her leg with its claws, as if to confirm that this was no dream. Kairi cried and barely stepped away when another creature attacked as well. She broke into running.

The Shadows rose from everywhere and leaped at her as soon as she got close. She did her best to dodge their attacks and made it to the seaside shack, buying herself a moment to catch her breath and check the scratch on her leg. Luckily it wasn’t deep, but that didn’t mean those creatures couldn’t do much worse things to her or her friends.

What’s going on? Where did those things come from?

It was hard not to think of the robed stranger’s words earlier that day.

(“This world has been connected. Tied to the darkness. Soon to be completely eclipsed.”)

We need to get out of here!

Kairi ran up the stairs, hoping to get a better view of the island. But right there, standing on the islet with his back turned to her, was Riku. Relief and panic alike washed over her as she ran to him.

“Riku! There you are! Have you seen Sora?”

“The door… I did it,” he mumbled as if in a trance. When he turned to meet her, his face showed no fear, only excitement. “I opened the door, Kairi! We can finally go to the outside world!”

“What are you talking about?” Her voice was almost drowned out by the storm. Her only hope of being heard was to shout. “We have to find Sora!”

“We’ll take Sora with us, of course! The three of us will go out there and create a destiny of our choosing.”

Riku looked up at the ball of darkness. As he did, the same kind of dark energy swirled around his feet.

“Once we step through, we might not be able to come back. We may never see this place or our families again. There’s no turning back. But this might be our only chance. We can’t let fear stop us. I’m not afraid of the darkness!”

Kairi’s heart stung, and she brought her hands to her chest. “Riku… Why?”

He stretched out his hand to her with an elated smile. When she flinched at the offer, Riku’s smile fell.

“This is what we wanted! A chance to leave this place! Why won’t you come?”

“I never wanted this! Look around you, Riku! This is destroying the island!”

“So what!? There’s nothing for us here! Out there, we can go wherever we want! Live however we like!”

“But this will come at the expense of others! Riku, please, you have to stop this!”

The hand on Riku’s side clenched. The darkness beneath him began swirling more violently, like a barely contained flood.

“Come with me, Kairi,” he demanded.

“Riku, please… I can’t…”

“I said, come!”

The dark energy exploded and swarmed around Riku. Even still, he continued reaching out to Kairi even as the darkness engulfed him completely.

“Riku!”

Kairi didn’t hesitate to plunge her hands into the darkness. An awful stench attacked her nostrils and she felt like her hands were submerged in mucky and freezing water. Before she could think of thrusting her hands further, dark tendrils crawled up her arms and slowly spread through her body. Once the darkness reached her feet, she couldn’t move them anymore.

But Kairi didn’t try to get away. Because Riku was in trouble, and that alone drowned out all the fear in her heart.

“Give me back my friend!” she shouted to the darkness even as it crept up her face. “Give him back! The three of us stick together, always! Whatever you did, Riku, I won’t give up on you!”

Finally, the darkness shrouded her entirely. Lost in a pitch-black abyss, Kairi continued to struggle. Riku was still in that abyss somewhere, she could still reach him, could still save him!

Just as it looked like the cold would freeze her insides, somewhere, she felt a source of warmth. It was faint, like a small ember that miraculously weathered the storm, dim and frail, but still burning. When she noticed it, the ember seemed to grow stronger, until it produced the tiniest glimmer of light.

Kairi reached for that light. The darkness restrained her movements, so she called to the spark with all her heart. When she could feel its warmth resonate close to her chest, she envisioned herself taking hold of the light.

The darkness around her was purged in a blinding flash. Kairi gasped, finally able to breathe again. When the light died down, she found herself once again on the islet with Riku nowhere to be seen.

Strangest of all, she now had an object in her hand. It was the length of a sword, but the shape resembled a key entwined by vines and flowers. As she admired the strange object, a voice echoed in her head.

Keyblade…

Shadow creatures rose from the ground again and one leaped at Kairi. On instinct, she blocked the strike with this Keyblade and then sliced the creature in half. The Shadow disappeared in a puff of smoke.

She took a moment to admire her feat, but with more incoming, Kairi took on a fighting stance. She swung the Keyblade left and right with the same ease as a toy sword, but this had the lethality of a real weapon. After one or two hits, the Shadows disappeared completely.

But no matter how many she took out, more kept on coming. Fighting all of them would take time and energy she couldn’t waste. Sora was still out there. Even if Riku was out of her reach now, Sora wasn’t.

Kairi jumped off the islet to escape the Shadows, landing with her feet on shallow water, and promptly called:

“Sora! Where are you?”

Something pulled at her chest, and somehow she knew where to go.

In the secret place where they laughed and comforted each other so many times over the years, standing before the door and panting, was the boy that hours ago had soothed all her fears.

“Sora!”

He looked exhausted. It took him a moment to raise his head to look at Kairi, as if that alone was a struggle.

“Kairi…” he called weakly as he reached out to her.

Suddenly, the perpetually closed door slammed open and darkness erupted from inside. Kairi weathered the blast, but Sora was sent flying toward her. She opened her arms to try and catch him. She wanted to hold him and feel his warmth so badly, to find comfort in his smile knowing at least that would never go away.

But when he was an arm’s reach from her, his body faded away, leaving behind only air for her to hug. Kairi called his name desperately only to receive no answer. Finally, she too was blown out of the cave.

She hit the ground with a grunt. Around her, the wind blew as strong as a hurricane. Looking up, Kairi saw the ball of darkness had grown bigger and closer, and now sucked wreckage of wood, rocks and trees. With effort, she picked herself up. Maybe there was still time to warn her grandmother about the danger, or her friends, or anyone.

Any hope died when she saw where she was.

Before her, the ground dropped off into nothing. She stood on a chunk of the island suspended in a dark sky. Everything else was gone. The ocean, the beach, the island she’d known since she was a little girl. Gone.

“How did this happen?” her broken voice wondered. “Why is this happening?”

Behind her, something huge stomped. She turned to find a creature towering over her, pitch black with yellow eyes like the others but twice as tall as a palm tree, with tentacles on its head like hair and a heart-shaped hole in its chest.

Kairi’s legs gave in and she fell to her knees. The monster clenched its fist, and she could only stare at her imminent destruction. She was nothing. Useless.

I couldn’t help them. I couldn’t do anything!

Her eyes stung with angry and desperate tears. What had happened to Riku and Sora and the Island? What would happen to her grandma, her parents and everyone else? Because she failed them…

I’m sorry…

(“Every person has power that can change the world. It’s by uniting that power that we can create a bright future.”)

Her father’s words were always empowering. He could pump up any crowd, make everyone believe they were capable of anything. When he led them and they worked together, they really were.

I’m sorry…

(“Life isn’t always kind. That’s why we have to be.”)

Her mother always eased people’s worries. Wherever she showed up, people’s faces lit up, like her presence alone took some of the burden off their shoulders. Her smile gave them the strength to keep going.

I’m sorry…

(“There will be hurdles and hardships along the way, but you must press on. As long as you keep moving forward, you’re bound to find many wonderful things.”)

Her grandmother had been there for her since Kairi was born. She nursed her as a baby, held her hand as she learned to walk, treated her wounds when she fell, saw her off and welcomed her home every time she went to see the world.

I’m sorry…

(“Come on, Kairi. I know you’re stronger than this.”)

Riku believed in her potential even more than she did. Even though he didn’t wear his heart on his sleeve, he pushed her to go forward and get better, while always promising security when times got rough. An anchor through and through.

I’m sorry…

(“Whatever happens out there, we’ll face it together. I promise.”)

Sora… He was light made human, full of energy and life. He had so much joy in his heart it spread everywhere he went. Even when the darkness was at its deepest — like now — his light shone through.

I…

(“I want to live a happy life. Full of friends and love. And one in which I can make other people happy too.”)

That was her own voice.

Her grip on the Keyblade tightened and she rose to her feet. When the giant’s punch came, she leaped out of the way. With the thing’s arm still down, Kairi unleashed an onslaught of fierce strikes.

“I won’t give up! I won’t stop fighting! Not until the three of us are together again! Not until we can come back home!”

The creature began to rise. Kairi grabbed onto its arm. It must have realized it because next the creature brought its hand over to its head. Just what she needed! With a shout, Kairi jumped toward the giant and stuck the Keyblade right between its eyes.

There was no cry — the creature had no mouth to speak. All that came out was dark smoke as the lumbering beast tried not to topple over. But a howling sound was heard as the wind got stronger and the ball of darkness above swelled and sucked everything into its core. Kairi held onto the Keyblade for dear life, but it was useless. Even the giant was sucked into the darkness, taking Kairi along with it.

Everything went black.