FicWad

Chapter Two: The Chosen One

Sora awoke the next day, the sun shining through the window onto his face. He rolled over onto his side and looked at his two friends. Kairi lay asleep on the other bed, her auburn hair falling in her face. The sunlight radiated around her, giving her a holy look. Riku mumbled something in his sleep. He was on the couch, since he had lost the game of 'Rock, Paper, Scissors.' Sora closed his eyes again and smiled. He quietly slipped back into sleep, forgetting about where he was and how he had gotten there.

"Sora," came a gentle voice beside him. Sora opened his eyes to see Kairi's deep blue eyes staring down at him. He blushed slightly and sat up, stretching and yawning. Then he turned to the window, suddenly remembering what they had experience the previous night.

"Are we ready to head for Merlin's so we can find out what we are going to be doing?" Riku asked, rubbing the back of his head.

"I'm ready!" Sora said, springing to his feet. Kairi giggled slightly, then turned to the two.

"Alright! Let's get going!" she exclaimed. She led the two boys out of the inn and to Merlin's house.

Inside, Merlin greeted them and sat them down at the round table in the middle of the room. Cid continued to tap wildly at his computer. Aerith sat quietly, looking at an old photo album she kept. Leon sat at the table with the others, ready to listen to what Merlin had to say, while Yuffie had left to walk around the area.

"Now, no time to chit-chat. Let's get down to business," Merlin said, watching the youth carefully.

"Tell us what we have to do," Sora said, sitting up straight and looking around at the others.

"You, Sora, must go to each world, and unleash the light it holds within," Merlin said, looking at the boy. "With the Keyblade, you must go to each world and find the seal that holds the light. Break it with the Keyblade, and unlock that light. A purity barrier will encase the world and protect it from the darkness that threatens it."

"If they have always had the barrier, then why haven't they been used this entire time?" Sora asked.

"Because, the barrier can only be used once," Merlin said, quietly. He looked around the room.

"Only once?" Riku asked, slightly confused. "What do you mean?"

"The light within the world will fade, once it has been released. And the world will lose that light forever."

"Won't that be bad?! If a planet loses its light?" Kairi added.

"No, Kingdom Hearts is the true source of each world's being. The light within the world was meant to be used as a safeguard. And we need that safeguard before each world is overtaken with evil," Merlin sighed.

"If there is a threat, you mean," Leon said, adding to the conversation. "We should investigate before we unlock any worlds' light."

"Very true," Merlin agreed, thinking to himself. He stood up and walked over to the window, looking out with interest. "Sora, you and your friends need to go to all over Hallow Bastion and search for anything unusual."

"Okay, we will," Sora said. He stood up with his friends.

"We should have transportation for you, so you can travel to other worlds, when you get back," Merlin said, waving them on. Sora nodded his head and led his friends through the door.

"This is all kinda confusing," Sora murmured. Kairi nodded her head.

"It should become clearer the longer we stick to this," Riku said knowingly.

"So, where to first?" Kairi questioned, looking up and down the streets.

"Let's head down to the castle, now, so we can have plenty of time to look around," Sora said. The other two agreed to this and they walked down the street to the renovated castle.

On the way, they met Yuffie, who was making her way back to the house.

"What's up, Yuffie?" Sora asked. She stopped and greeted the friends.

"Just on the watch," she said. "I haven't seen any Heartless or anything else. It's strange. Maybe the protection system is finally working."

"That's great!" Kairi smiled. Yuffie quickly said good-bye and continued on her way.

"At least, there's not any Heartless," Sora said.

"Yeah, but it is kind of strange. Of course, there wouldn't be many Heartless around nowadays," Riku said. They stopped in front of the castle and looked up at its towering heights. Memories came flooding back to Sora. Saving Kairi, fighting Riku, and Maleficent. He shook his head, throwing those memories to the back of his mind.

"It's so beautiful," Kairi said, shaking back her hair. Riku and Sora looked at each other.

"Well, we're not going to find anything if we just stand here and stare at it," Riku said, stepping forward. "Let's go." Sora and Kairi nodded their heads and followed him to the castle doors.

Riku and Sora pushed against the doors and opened them with great difficulty. Kairi was the first one in. The castle was dark but there were torches lined against the wall.

"If only we could light these," Sora said.

"Let's look around for something," Riku said. The three searched the ground for anything that might be of use to them. Several minutes passed before Sora came across two small pieces of stone.

"I found some flint!" he called out. He picked up the pieces and noticed that they had a faint, white glow about them. He stared down at the stones and thoughts crossed his mind.

"Excellent," Riku said as he grabbed on to the torches from the wall. He grabbed the flint from Sora and quickly lit the torch. The dark foyer lit up dimly, with eerie shadows dancing against the wall. Sora stared at Riku. Had he not seen the faint glow?

Riku began lighting each torch as they passed by them. Slowly, things began to become more visible. In the main hall, three staircases lead to different parts of the castle. The three looked around, noticing that there were curtains over windows. They quickly pulled open the curtains and let the sunlight pour into the hall. The designs on the floor and on the ceiling became visible. Kairi sighed in awe at its beauty.

"I think we should split up," Riku said. "We will cover more ground in faster time that way."

"Okay," Sora agreed. "If any of us run into any trouble, just whistle as loud as you can."

"Alright," Kairi agreed. Riku handed the two a torch and lit them.

"Just in case," he said. Each headed for a different staircase: Kairi taking the right, Sora taking the middle, and Riku taking the left. Sora watched as the other two disappeared into the hallways and then turned to the door in front of him. A large serpent was carved into it. It stared down at him, making Sora uneasy. He quickly opened the door and made his way inside.

Sora held the torch out in front of him. He saw more curtains and began opening them. The hall began to light up. It was a small hall though, and Sora caught sight of another door at the end. He pulled open another curtain and looked down to the courtyard below. Trees grew healthily among the ground giving off a peaceful look. The wind blew gently through them, and Sora thought he could actually feel the breeze.
'Awaken me...release the light...'

Sora quickly turned and saw the white figure from before. He became uneasy again, but he was strangely warm inside. Who was this figure? Or what was it?

He took a step toward it, and the figure disappeared through the door, like a ghost. Sora swallowed hard and ran to the door. He opened it and glanced inside. He held his torch high, so he could see better. He turned and saw the figure standing in the corner, emitting a faint light. Sora made his way toward it. When he came a few feet from it, it disappeared into the wall.

Sora inspected the place where it had vanished and came to a power box. He looked around, not knowing what he should do. He reached out and pulled the switch up. The lights flickered on and lit up the room brightly. Sora shielded his eyes from the sudden brightness. He blinked furiously, trying to focus his eyes.

Then he caught sight of them. Heartless. Several of them. They ran at him, their glowing yellow eyes determined to take him down.

The Keyblade appeared in Sora's right hand. He looked at the creatures and swung diligently at them. He took them down quickly and with ease. Sora looked around to see if there were more but found the white figure instead. It stared at him. No... at the Keyblade. It held out its arm, pointing to the weapon.

Sora, unsure of what to do, just stood there.
'Awaken me...Release the light...Keyblade wielder...'

"Are you... the seal for this world?" Sora asked.

The figure shook its head. It took a step closer to Sora and the Keyblade began to glow.

"But, I can't release the light until I know for sure, that the great evil has really awakened. I can't release any light! And if you are not the seal, then what are you?" Sora said.
'The Darkness has come... It wishes to rule once again... Only with the true light can it be defeated... Awaken me and I will aid you on your journey...'

Sora felt a slight uneasiness in his stomach. Should he believe this being?
'I must protect all worlds... I must protect Kingdom Hearts... I am the Guardian of Light...And you are the Warrior of Light...'

"I don't understand," Sora said.

'I will show you...'

The room began to fade into black. Sora looked around. There, in the middle of the darkness, a large door stood. Kingdom Hearts.

'In the beginning, there was balance... Dark and Light... All was harmonious... But, as the Dark does, it began to grow hungry for control... It took over the worlds and engulfed Kingdom Hearts... But the Light fought back...'

Sora looked around and watched as Kingdom Hearts was overcome by the Darkness. Everything was black. Then, a sword cut through the Darkness and a boy emerged. Along with a figure made of Light.

'A Warrior came forth and pledged to vanquish the Dark... And so I was created from Kingdom Hearts... To aid the Warrior of Light and to help Protect all that was good...'

The room began to fade back to normal and Sora looked at the figure once again.

'I am the Guardian of Kingdom Hearts... And you are Its chosen Warrior... Awaken me so that I may aid you...'

Sora looked at the figure as the Keyblade continued to glow. Then, out of instinct, Sora swung his weapon as light swirled around him. He pointed the Keyblade at the figure and a light shot from the tip and into the stomach of the being. It let out a sigh and fell to the ground. Sora ran over to it.

'Keyblade wielder; chosen Warrior... I will find you in your time of need...'

The being faded away. Sora looked around, mystified. He heard a whistle. He turned quickly and ran for it. It had been Kairi.

Sora dashed down the hall and through open the door, running to the right.

"Help!" came her voice. Sora looked behind him and noticed that Riku was following. They came to a huge mass of Heartless with Kairi in the middle of them. She fought them off the best she could but she was slowly being overtaken. Sora and Riku jumped in the middle of the mass and began fighting them off. The more they killed, the more that seemed to appear.

Then, a loud screech came and the Heartless backed off. Sora, Riku, and Kairi regrouped and watched the Heartless. They seemed to be in pain and they began to melt together. A dark Shadow-being walked to the mass, and then turned to the friends.

"You all will succumb to the Darkness," it said. It had wings that fluttered as it spoke and it looked much like a human being, except without a face.

"We will never let the Darkness take control!" Sora yelled.

"The Warrior of Light - you will be destroyed!" the being yelled. It walked into the melting mass of Heartless and laughed. The Heartless began to conform to the being, growing into a hideous creature. It grew larger, growing multiple arms. Sora and his friends looked at each other then readied themselves into their battle positions.

Sora jumped at the beast's arms, slashing away, but doing little damage. Riku slashed wildly at the monster. But the damage seemed to be minimal.

"What's going on?" Sora yelled.

"Face it, Warrior, you cannot defeat the Darkness," the monster yelled. It grabbed at the friends with its arms and held them in the air. Sora slashed at its wrist but nothing happened. The monster merely laughed.

"What will happen when you are by yourself? When you have no one to help you, Warrior?" it asked. It looked at Kairi and threw her.

"Kairi!" Riku and Sora yelled. A blue portal opened up behind her.

"Sora!" Kairi yelled, before she disappeared into the portal. The monster laughed at Sora's pain.

"Inotiche!" came another voice. Sora and Riku turned their heads to see a white hooded figure standing in front of the monster.

"Ah, unjop coiln ffarj nipf," the monster replied in a strange tongue.

"Uo nocht onlif harlun kipt unjop," the figure replied. "Lerg taeg goy."

"Reft ohn sject," the monster hissed. The hooded figure stood staring at it.

"LERG TAEG GOY!" The figure raised its arms and waved them aggressively at the beast. The monster let out a painful cry as a large white X was slashed across its chest. It dropped Sora and Riku and fell back a few steps.

"Chosen One! Use my power to defeat this dark monster!" the hooded figure said, forming a ball of light, which was thrown at the monster. Sora acted quickly and ran at the monster, jumping high into the air and through the ball of light. Ribbons of light wrapped around him and the Keyblade. Shining wings grew on his back and he dove straight for the monster's heart.

There was a deafening cry as Sora thrust the Keyblade into the monster and the ribbons of light forced their way into the wound. The monster fell to the ground and Sora landed in front of it as it melted away into nothingness.

Riku looked at Sora, stunned. Sora let out a sigh and fell to the ground. The wings on his back disappeared. Riku ran to him and helped him to his feet again.

"Are you okay?" he asked. Sora nodded his head and looked over to the hooded figure who stood a few feet away.

"You are not used to the power that you just received," it said. "With time, you will master it."

"Where's Kairi?!" Sora exclaimed. He looked around furiously, but didn't find her anywhere.

"They most likely took her to the Dark Realm," the figure replied.

"Then let's get her back!" Riku said.

"It is not that easy. You must become stronger if you ever want to save your friend! The Dark Realm isn't like anything you've seen before. Besides, you must save the worlds! That is your job."

Sora looked at Riku, who shrugged.

"I will help you," the figure said.

"Who are you?" Riku asked. The figure lifted its hands to the hood and pulled it back, revealing a girl with light brown hair. She looked at the two with a serious gaze.

"I am Hikari - Guardian of the Light," she said. Sora and Riku looked at her, not sure of what to think.