Kingdom Hearts Fan Fiction ❯ My Sweetest Downfall ❯ Chapter 2: The Chosen Hikari ( Chapter 2 )

Chapter 2: The Chosen Hikari

 

The beautiful light that was the sun slowly lit up the sky, dismissing the darkness of night. It's bright, warm rays spread widely over Disney Castle, illuminating every orifice. Gently slipping in the glass panes of a window belonging to the great warrior Riku, It basked over the lovely face of a spiky haired boy lying peacefully on the bed of said warrior. Dark lashes quivered against a sun-kissed cheek at the warm feeling spreading over his face. Brilliant blue eyes blinked open and began shifting to gaze upon the unfamiliar surroundings. Realizing he was in a foreign room, Sora sat up suddenly whipping his head around in alarm. The room itself was rather cramped, boxes and boxes of healing supplies were stacked on top of one another in varies corners. The walls were painted a dark blue, and the sheets clutched in Sora's fists were black and blue as well. Sora stepped down from the high rising bed, shocked from the sudden exchange of the warmth of the sheets to the chill of the tiled floor. The young keyblade master began piecing his previous memories together to explain to himself why he was in this room. He remembered rescuing Esmeralda from the evil Judge Frollo in Notre Dame, and being weakened from his battle, passed out after being attacked by the guards. He remembered nothing after that, and it certainly didn't explain why he was in this bed, in this dark gloomy room. The door of the room opened abruptly, attracting Sora's immediate attention. A tall man strode with proud, calculated steps towards Sora, his long silver hair swaying with his steps. Calm green eyes bored into Sora's childish blues, sizing him up. Sora looked happily up at the man, seeing he was very handsome. Sora raised his hand in greeting, “Hi there! Good morning!” he said amiably. The green eyes clouded in amusement. “Hmph, morning,” A deep but smooth voice answered. Sora pushed himself up from leaning against the bed, “Hehe, this may sound weird, but where am I anyway?” he asked. “Well, you're in Disney Castle, home of his majesty King Mickey Mouse. My question is, how did you get in here?” Sora, utterly befuddled, scratched at his spikes awkwardly, “Gee, I wish I knew. The last thing I remember was being out cold on the street…Oh! I asked the keyblade to take me somewhere safe! Now I remember!” He laughed merrily, and took another brief glance around the room, “I guess this must be the safe place it took me.” He returned his attention to the tall man, looking at him with great interest, “Anyway, I forgot to introduce myself! My name is Sora!” He held out his hand hoping to receive the others' in a handshake. The tall man reached out hesitantly before tightly clasping Sora's, “I'm Riku.”

 

To say Riku was mildly surprised by the cheerful, unassuming disposition of the keyblade master would be a vast understatement. In the times he had imagined perhaps meeting the legendary swordsman; he expected the character to be hardened, stoic and no-nonsense. Looking down at the boy perhaps one or two years his junior, he recalled a certain meeting with Sir Auron in the Olympus Coliseum. The man had been as rigid and immovable as rock, and had taught Riku a thing or two about true strength. Riku had always imagined that the wielder of the light of the universe would be a bit more…world wary?

 

“Hey Riku,” Sora asked unexpectedly, gazing up curiously at the tall youth, “You said that this was Disney castle, right?” Riku nodded, “Yea sure is. And to what you're about to ask, we're on our way to see his majesty now.” Sora laughed nervously, “Gee that was almost a little creepy man! Don't use mind reading on me without asking!” he snickered lamely at his un-funny joke and skipped the soles of his sneakers lightheartedly on the plush red carpet spread down the hall. Riku found himself smiling at the boy's childish behavior. It was…cute, and amusing. Quite frankly, he had never been interested in really knowing anyone beyond their name and fighting skill. True, he had gone a few rounds with Cloud in Radiant Garden, and he had chatted idly with Princess Kairi, and the closest emotional attachment he had was King Mickey. This was of course different, given their status, and looked up to the King more for guidance and understanding than anything. Now, for the first time in a while, he found that he plainly liked someone. It felt…good. Sora made him feel good, which was slightly perturbing to him with the fact that he had spent a whole of five minutes with the brunette and he was already growing attached. He opened the miniature door feeding into the audience with three light raps of his knuckle. Sora giggled at the size of the secret opening compared to the humongous doors towering up to the ceiling. Giving the boy a gentle nudge forward, Riku lead them both into the chamber. A good 50 feet away sat the tiny king of Disney castle with a blue-dressed duck and a humanoid dog standing on opposite sides of his throne.

 

Sora cantered down the long red carpet briskly, eager to meet the mouse king. He waved his right hand vigorously in greeting, “Your majesty! King Mickey Mouse! It's great to finally be able to meet you!” The duck and armor clad dog looked on disapprovingly at the lack of respect displayed by the light-bearer. Mickey however, seemed unfazed. In fact, he returned the delighted smile with just as much, if not more enthusiasm. “My, it certainly is wonderful to speak to you face-to-face at last, Sora.” He gestured to the white feathered duck, “This is Donald Duck, he's my court magician.” He then motioned to the tall dog, “Here's Goofy, he's captain of the guard.” Sora waved at the animals, but only Goofy waved back. “I guess you've already met Riku.” Riku wave an upward jerk of his head in acknowledgment. “But, we should probably get down to business, fellas,” Mickey clapped his hands, and almost instantly two walking broomsticks entered and placed two chairs for Sora and Riku. Sora sat down timidly, afraid of what was about to be discussed. Riku slid easily into his chair, his eyes never leaving the brunette's figure. The King cleared his throat slightly, “Now Sora, before I get right to the point, I've been a little curious about how and when you inherited the title of Keyblade Master. Do you think you could give us all a background story?” Sora perched at the edge of his seat, his eyes instantly downcast. Shifting his shoulders, he began his story…

 

The creation of the keyblade was near the time of the beginning of the universe. Light and Dark were in a constantly shifting struggle, both attempting to overpower the other. Then, born of the light, came forth the keyblade; a magnificent weapon to defeat all others, a servant to the mystical energy of love, light and all things holding beauty. Out of its desire to create, it made a tiny planet, and filled it with simple life. Among the living things, the keyblade chose a young woman named Rhea to be its wielder. Her tremendous heart, bursting with love deemed her worthy to be the chosen vessel of light. The darkness, the negative energies of desire, malice and anger, sought to snuff out the immense concentration of its opposing force. Having no desire to create something anew, it concentrated a portion of its essence into a simple mass of great black energy. The dark spirit was named Lucifer, but it had no mind of its own. It acted on the natural impulse to want, take and destroy. Brave Rhea was mighty, but could not defeat the darkness of such intensity. Instead, she offered her body as a prison for the spirit. Sealing the evil power within her own body, she used her light energy to suppress the darkness from escaping. Rhea lived only ten years after the sealing, because the darkness weighed heavily on her strength. In order to protect the universe from Lucifer, she sealed the spirit into the following wielder, so that he may serve as a loving caretaker of the worlds which were later born. And so the tradition continued, each keyblade bearer accepting the burden of the blackened spirit, keeping the cosmos safe from the darkness that was a constant threat. They accepted the honor with joy, even knowing it would lead them to their death, they felt proud to protect the beauty and life of the worlds that they loved so well.

 

Sora ended the history lecture that had been told to him so well the many years he spent in the Destiny Island temples. Continuing, he chose to elaborate on the details of why he was chosen to be the Keyblade master…

 

My life began on the Destiny Islands, the birth place of Rhea, and of all the Keyblade masters chosen. I myself find it to be the dearest world in the galaxy. I was born in the sacred temple there, but I can't seem to recall my mother or father. I was raised by the other islanders, and was taught the awe-inspiring tales of the mighty Keyblade, and the darkness and light in continuous battle with one another. We were told that one day, one of the children on the island would be the special owner of the amazing key. I prayed every night that I would be that special owner, so I could make sure no one was ever lonely. The year I turned fourteen, I had a strange dream. Comforting warmth was all around me, whispering things to me that I couldn't exactly understand. The warmth vanished quickly as I began to fall into the shadows. I finally landed on a stained glass platform. Standing directly opposite the platform was a tall raven haired man. His hair was disheveled and jagged, with a white scar marring the skin across his left cheek. I'll never forget how eerily blue his eyes were…it was almost as if they glowed…he smiled at me, but I could sense the apprehension that floated around him like a thick cloud of fog. “Hi there, Sora,” he said to me in a strong but playful voice. I was confused, “How do you know my name? Who are you?” I asked. He laughed nervously and rubbed his cheek, “You're special Sora, you've been chosen by the Keyblade, Congrats kiddo!” He tapped his chest twice with his fist to demonstrate his respect. Placing his hand haphazardly on his hip, he continued, “But you see…I kind of screwed it up a little for you.” I took two steps towards him, trying to wrap my mind around what he was telling me. I was the Keyblade's new chosen one, something I had only imagined myself as, it was a lot to take in. “What exactly do you mean you screwed it up?” He turned his gaze back to me from the floor, “I was the Keyblade Master before you…well, just a few hours ago actually. If you hadn't noticed, you're a few years short of being old enough.” I puffed my chest up a little indignantly at that. He chuckled good- naturedly, and attempted to alleviate his mistake, “No offence, kid. But you see, I sort of died too early.” I took two more steps towards him, “You mean…you're dead? I'm sorry,” I really did feel sorry for him, he was young and handsome; He probably had a lot of people he cared about, and now it was all gone. He waved it away, “It's all good, it comes with the duty, you can only live so long. But, you probably already knew that, didn't you Sora?” I had to admit I did. Yet then, even after all my childhood prayers and dreams of such an exciting life, I was afraid. After you are assigned this duty, you live with the knowledge of the moment of your death? Wouldn't you be frightened? Wouldn't you dwell on that detail? Wouldn't you wonder if what you're dying for is worth it? Zack smiled at me sadly, seeming to know my train of thought, “Mine was a wonderful life, Sora. There were times when I questioned what my purpose was. I wondered if my life, and my death, were going to mean anything.” He looked up to catch a glimpse of the small twinkling light above our heads. He took four great strides towards me, and placed his hands on my shoulders, “It means everything Sora. It makes all the difference, what we live for. We protect the ones we love. We protect the morals we stand for. You know this, Sora, you have a beautiful heart.” He pointed to my chest.

 

Gazing up at him, I suddenly felt so small. He seemed so wise, like he had lived a thousand lifetimes. I felt weak and helpless standing next to him. He patted my shoulder, like an older brother would do, and took one step back. “Something has gone wrong in the order, I'm sorry to say. My death came before I had the chance to meet you…and offer you the Chaos.” My heart chilled slightly at his implications, “The dark spirit…it escaped?” He nodded gloomily, “I was outnumbered, out resourced, and over powered. I'm sorry Sora…I was careless. The Chaos broke the seal that trapped it inside me, and it fled.” I felt like a solid weight had suddenly been dropped on my breast bone. The knowledge of taking Darkness into my body was frightening enough, but to have it released onto the universe? My eyes stared directly into his, “What should I do?” His smile returned with my statement, “I'm proud of you, Sora. I knew the Keyblade made the right choice. You have to re-capture the darkness, and seal inside your heart. Don't worry, the light of your pure heart will ensure it cannot break free. There's no telling what its plan is…I'm afraid that is your mission alone to face. I know it's a lot to ask of you…” He shook my head, and smiled as best I could, “I want to do this. I don't want anything to happen to my beloved islands…or any other worlds out there. I do love them…I won't let them die…” The man nodded stepping away once more, “There is one last thing you must do before you wake up…” Before I could ask, three stone pedestals sprung out of the floor. Hovering above each was an object: A sword, a staff, and a shield. “You must choose one of these for the Keyblade to identify where your heart is rooted. Don't think. Just do what your heart tells you is right.” I closed my eyes and just listened to my heart beat. With a new found burst of emotion I seized an object from atop a pedestal. The man cheered and clapped his hands, “Your heart posses the power of the mystic. You have the ability to understand people, and they can understand you. People gravitate towards you. Your special ability is the power to heal.” Stepping down, the staff I held in my hand vanished into a light dust. When I looked back to the dark haired man, his body had started to fade, “Looks like my time is up. Good luck Sora, never lose sight of what's important to you. Be proud of what you do.” I called out to him frantically, “Wait! You never told me your name!” He chuckled deeply, “Hey, if you meet a guy named Cloud, tell him I said… he makes me proud.” With that, he was gone, and for some reason I felt a very heavy, solid weight suddenly appear in my palm….