Chapter 2: Journey Begin! (Narrator)

                Clouds brewed above the sky, creating an ominous yet peaceful setting in the skies of Destiny Islands. In the middle of the night, a young boy laid upon his bed as he pondered about his thoughts. He looked out to the window as he heard thunder striking down. “A storm?” He questioned. He then swiftly rose up from his bed and shouted, “Oh, no, the raft!”

                His mother bellowed from the kitchen, “Sora, dinner’s ready! Come on down…”

                Neither answer nor even a reply came. For Sora left, taking a canoe to the place where everything will soon begin.

                “Sora?” His mother called out one last time. She gave an awfully heavy sigh and turned to her eager daughter whose eyes were shining like a sparkling emerald as she was waiting for the grub. “Can you get your brother? Seems like he isn’t responding.”

                The glimmer in her daughter’s eyes vanished. Her face dropped for she knew something her mother dearest did not.

                The mother cocked her head to the side with a worried look on her face. “What’s wrong, Alexis?” She asked.

                “T-time h-has come.” She muttered.

                “A-Alexis?

                “S-sorry…mom…” She rose up from her chair and looked at her directly in the eyes, “I-I wanted to be here longer…stay longer…but I can’t….I-I have to go. Th-thanks for everything…” Her eyes turned a pitch black color.

                “Wh-what are you say—” she looked closely in Alexis’ eyes and started to panic.

                “Don’t worry, you won’t remember this.” Alexis gave her a sorrow-filled-smile, “I love you, mom.” She then began reciting an incantation, “Take the pieces that were not meant to e. Take them away from you and me” The mother’s eyes turned black as memories of Alexis were fleeting away, “Rewind the time, Memor Datio.” The mother stood in place, petrified from the spell. Alexis sighed as she prepped to leave. She knew this day will come. She knew all too well. Tears streamed down her face as she left her home. Pictures of her that hung about the wall started disappearing. Pictures of the three reformed to two. It was as is Alexis never existed. She left her home, teary eyed.

                Elsewhere in a home not too far from Sora’s, the Mayor of the peaceful town watched the ominous clouds cloudy sky from the safety of his hoe. Just like Sora’s mother, his eyes turned pitch black as the memories of the girl he was watching over depleted. He tried giving a weary smile and whispered, “Good luck Karin…”

                Before Karin made her exit, she turned to face the mayor one last time before leaving. “Thanks.” She responded. When Karin was just a baby, she was sent to a world much safer than the one she was born on. There, Kairi’s grandmother had taken her in and raised her as her own. When that world was in danger, Karin followed her sister and ended up on Destiny Islands where the Mayor had taken care of the both of them. However, unlike Sora’s mother, the Mayor knew there would be a day where both would leave and only one would return. He knew Karin was never coming back. Karin left the home in a quiet manner, only looking back with tears in her eyes for she knew she would no longer hold an existence in her home.      She headed out to the docks, where she would wait for Alexis and Monique. She saw Sora take the very last canoe and ride it off to the island. Karin hid herself from sight till she knew Sora was gone. Once he left, Monique appeared. She watched helplessly from a distance as Monique attempted fighting off the heartless that were appearing before her. She wanted to dash over to assist her but a force-field was blocking her way, keeping her where she is at. She watched as Monique coward behind her arms regain power she once lost. She stared in amazement, whispering, “Thank goodness! She’s remembering!” She started to make her way towards Monique but immediately stopped when a familiar voice bellowed from afar.

                “MONIQUE!” a boy cried out.

                She took a step back and watched as a boy with silver hair running towards the docks, “L-Lee” she muttered. She hid herself from sight and watched closely as Lee tried to convince Monique to stay, Maybe…he can help her get her memories back…she thought to herself. She saw Monique slip her arm from Lee’s grasp. She clenched her fists and nodded then started running off in the same direction Sora was heading in. Karin ran up to find Lee staring off towards the empty vast ocean. She tapped him on the shoulder to see if he was alright.

                “I-I don’t get it…” he sighed, “I just don’t get it.” He turned to Karin, resting his head on her shoulder, “She knows she can’t stop it, why is she even going? Why is she putting herself through all this?”

                “All of her memories are still in slumber, so I’m pretty sure that this is all just news to her right now.”

                “Sh-shouldn’t we go after her then?”

                “No.” Karin shook her head. “Because she’d deny it all. She’d think we are lying to her. She needs to see it for herself in order to accept it.”

                “I thought you wanted to protect her from this. You are her friend, aren’t you?” Lee asked.

                “I am.” Karin’s eyes welled up a bit in her eyes, “But, as her friend, I also want her to know the truth…and though it may be a bit horrible and vicious, she’ll at least thank me for letting her know.”

                “I-I see…” Lee sighed as he continued to gaze off into the ocean and watch as the waves crash into the docks. A thought wandered into his mind as he noticed something peculiar on the island. “Hey…Karin…” he nudges her a bit.

                “Hm?”

                “Why don’t you go see your sister off? Give her your goodbyes and wish her the best of luck or whatever.”

                Karin pondered the idea for a bit then nodded, “Alright then!” she hugged Lee and whispered, “Thanks.”

                Lee nodded without a clue what the thanks meant.

                Before Karin could leave, a voice bellowed from the distance. “Not without me!” Alexis dashed into the scene and quickly grabbed Karin by the hand, “Let’s go! There’s no time to lose!” she continued to run at the speed of light towards the island. They both zoomed across the ocean, coming into a complete stop by the time they reached the sandy shore. Alexis spotted Sora running towards the cave near the waterfall and slowly followed him. She noticed he was holding a weapon in the shape of a key. He entered inside the cave as did both Alexis and Karin, not so far behind him. Before they went in any farther, Alexis held on tightly to Karin’s hand and advised her not to let go. She then quietly muttered, “Chamelē” both Alex and Karin blended into the environment around them. They continued to tiptoe quietly deeper and deeper into the cave till they had both spotted Sora in front of a strange brown door.

Karin took a few steps back while still holding onto Alexis, “K-K-Kairi…” the name slowly slipped out of her mouth as she saw Kairi idly standing in front of Sora.

Alexis looked up and saw Sora as he stopped in his tracks and called out, “Kairi!”

Kairi looked back and steadily walked towards Sora, reaching out to him calling out his name. A gush of wind blew from the door, causing Kairi to be pushed. Sora tried catching her, but she disappeared as soon as she collided with him. Both Alexis and Karin dug their feet under the rocky floor in order to stay where they were at. They both shielded their eyes from the wind and once it stopped blowing, they noticed both of them were gone.

“Wh-what happened to her?” Karin asked Alexis.

“I-I’m not sure. We were only told that today’s the day they’d begin their journey! They weren’t specific on how!”

“Th-then what about Riku? How – we…we have to find Monique.” Karin’s eyes widened a bit, “Sh-she may need our help…”

Karin ran out the door and Alexis followed. They went inside the wooden shack, dashed up the stairs and stopped as soon as they reached the exit. They found Monique sitting on her knees at the other side of the bridge. They called out her name but she did not respond. Alexis walked quietly towards her and tapped her on the shoulder, “Hey, Monique, you alright?”

She continued to observe the horizon, ignoring Alexis.  

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Alexis continued to ask.

Karin walked in front of Monique, “Monique, a-are you alright?”

Monique stared at Karin for a bit, and then her eyes dropped down to the floor. “Why…” she muttered.

“Hm?” both Alexis and Karin cocked the head to the side.

“Why can’t I remember? It’s as if a huge gaping hole appeared in my mind and wiped my slate clean.” Tears welled up in her eyes. Her lips quivered a bit. “Why is it that you guys know something I don’t? Why do I find myself with questions I know answers to but I can’t find it.” She whimpered, “Why did he go? D-did I do something wrong?”

“O-Of course not!” Alexis wrapped her arms around Monique from the side, “You did nothing wrong. Nothing at all.”

“Then why does it feel like I’m the guilty one!” tears fell down fast from her eyes towards the edge of her chin. “Why can’t I remember!?”

“We’ll find out soon. We’ll figure it out.” Karin hugged her as well, “We’ll help you wake up. Don’t worry. Don’t cry. We’re here with you.”

A slight nod was felt. “P…P…Please….h…help me….” Monique muttered.

“We will.” Karin smiled.

“We promise.” Alexis added.  

“H…help…AHHHHH!!!” Monique screeched in pain. She pushed away both Karin and Alexis and took a few steps backwards. Her hands scrunched around her ears. Her eyes weld up with tears. “S-STOP! M-MAKE IT STOP!” her eyes  then turned into a pure white color. Her mind overflowed with memories she was no longer familiar with.

Karin steadily walked up to her, placing her hands on hers. Without a single word, she tilted her head closer to Monique’s, having both their foreheads meet. She closed her eyes and tried peering into Monique’s mind in order to see what is causing the distraught. She tried figuring out what was going on with her dear friend, but couldn’t find a cure nor a way to help her ease the pain. Karin instead, hummed a lullaby that echoed about Monique’s mind, calming the pain and putting her to sleep. Since all of the muscles Monique’s body relaxed itself, it could no longer stand up tall. Her body fell on Karin’s.

Alexis tried coming to help, but was stopped when she heard footsteps creeping up the stairs. She turned and found Lee emerging from the Seaside Shack with scratches from previous battles. His eyes widened when he found Karin struggling to keep both her and Monique up. He rushed over to her side and lifted Monique up, cradling her in his arms. Thousands and thousands of fear-filled thoughts zoomed in and out of his mind as he scanned around Monique. “What’s happened?” He asked.

“We’re not too sure…” Karin replied, “I-I don’t know what exactly happened, but it seems that all of her memories are overwhelming her. Like they’re all coming in at once and she isn’t really sure which one is real and which one isn’t.”

“Wh-what can we do?” Alexis walked over to where Karin and Lee were, glancing at Monique.

“We need to take her home and have her rest for now. Maybe he could figure out what happened.”

Monique’s eyes slowly opened. Her vision was blurry. She could not properly make-out the person who was holding her. Her hand slowly extended out to Lee’s face as his eyes widened. “R…Riku…I…I’m sorry….” She whispered. Her eyeballs rolled upwards as her eyelids closed. The arm that extended out to Lee dropped down instantly.

Lee’s bottom lip quivered a bit. He walked passed Karin and Alexis, still cradling Monique in his arms. He held in his anger and his tears. “Let’s go.” He said to the both of them. Karin and Alexis nodded. A bright flash of light shined from the Seaside Shack. The three knew this was the portal that would lead them to home, wherever home was. The three quickened their pace as they entered into the portal, attempting to hurry on home. Once the portal closed and the light faded into darkness, a dark figure appeared in the shadows. It gave a light chuckle, whispering in a deep malicious tone, “Soon it begins.”  It disappeared into the night, leaving no trace of it behind.  The once quiet and bubbly home is left empty and soon is overrun by dark creatures. The once cheery filled placed where adventures never ended had become a wasteland. For now the pieces are now being put together, strung along by the strings of destiny. The heroes of the tales have left their homes and are being chosen by fate to save the worlds.  For today marks the day where everything will soon begin.