One Destiny "The Ballad of Truth" Ch.10 The End (DDD spoilers)

[KingdomKey]

This intrigues me greatly!

“The same thing they wanted.”

wonder what that mystery boy could have meant by that! Great chapter otherwise! I can't wait to see what's next!

[spirit-of-light]

if you think about it you'll probably be able to figure it out.

[KingdomKey]

Oh I think I just figure it out! Is it a heart?

[spirit-of-light]

Your sort of right. He wants a heart.

[spirit-of-light]

Chapter 7: Where Was I Born?

Sky and Hikari appeared in the Land of Departures court yard. Sky continued to think about the mystery boy. He wondered if Veritas really was, keeping something from him. He also wondered, if the boy knew something about him. Then Veritas came out of the castle gates, and walked up to the two.

“You two didn’t come back last night. Did something happen?” Veritas asked.

Sky and Hikari told Veritas what happened at The Land of Dreams.

“Sounds like you two handled things pretty well.” Veritas said.

“Yep, there's nothing two Keyblade Masters can't handle.” Sky said, and Hikari started to blush.

“Good to hear.” Veritas said smiling. “Well, today you'll be going to Radiant Garden.”

“No rest for the weary, huh.” Sky said.

“Afraid not.” Veritas then summoned a corridor of light. Hiakri stepped through, but Sky stayed behind.

“Is something wrong?” Veritas asked.

“I think I know who's controlling the Heartless.”

“Who?”

“That boy I told you about.”

Veritas' facial expression remained the same. “Are you sure?”

“Ya, he told me did.” Sky then spoke quietly. “He told me something else too.”

“What did he tell you?”

Sky was hesitant to say anything. “He said your hiding something.”

Veritas then let out a sigh. “I hoped you would never have too face your destiny. Just enjoy this time while you can.”

“But.”

“I promise, I'll tell you everything.” Veritas put his hand on Skys shoulder, and smiled. “Now you got a mission to do.”

“It's, just.”Sky now had a sad look on his face.

“C'mon, no frowning, no sad face, okay. And don't worry, if something happens, Hikari and I will protect you.”

Skys smile quickly returned to his face. “Hey, that's my line.”

“Now go; Hikaris waiting.”

“See ya.” Sky said; continuing to smile. He then stepped through, the corridor of light. Then Zane appeared, in front of Veritas.

“Have you figured anything out yet?” Zane asked.

“Things are worse then I thought, a lot worse.”


Sky and Hikari appeared inside Radiant Gardens wall. The wall completely surrounded the city, and it towered over the buildings. Sky could see how the city earned the title “Capital of The Realm of Light”. The city was filled with trees and decorative fountains. Everyone Sky saw seemed to be happy, and the city had an aura of peace. Even with the walls, a cool breeze still blew. Sky also noticed the sky had apinkish tint to it.

Sky was still thinking about what Veritas had said. He didn't want to doubt his Master. After all, Veritas had raised him since he was a baby. Sky was silent until Hikari spoke.

“Is something wrong?” Hikari asked.

Sky was caught of guard. “Oh! It's nothing.”

“You're not a very good liar.”

“Really its fine.”

Hikari knew Sky didn't want to talk about it, so she changed the subject. “Where do you think we should start?”

“I guess we should talk to king or queen. I can't imagine the Heartless showing up here though.”

“This place doesn’t have a ruler.”

“Do you know why?”

“I don't know, it's just always been that way.”

“Well, as long the people are happy.”

“Ya, this place is fine without a ruler.”

The Keyblade wielders started walking around, and asking if there are any signs of trouble. They did this for a while, but everyone they talked to hadn't seen anything.

“I was born here, ya know.” Hikari said.

“Really, how'd you become a Keyblade wielder?”

“My Master found me when I was four.”

“What about your parents?”

“My parents were both Keyblade wielders. My mother died during child birth, then my father died a few years later.”

“Sorry.” Sky said.

“It's okay, I never really knew them. What about you, do you know where your from, and did you know your parents?”

“I don't know.”

“What do you mean?”

“Veritas raised me since I was a baby. In a way, he's like my father, and my brother.”Sky realized he shouldn't doubt his Master, and what ever Veritas was keeping secret was to protect him.

“My Master's like my mother.”

“I guess that's what makes them good Masters.”

They kept searching for any signs of trouble, but to no avail.

“Maybe there isn't anything here.” As soon as Sky spoke, the ground started to shake violently.

“I think you spoke too soon.” Hikari said. They ran down a path, and noticed a group of people running away. Sky stopped one of the civilians.

“Whats going on?!”

The women stopped and caught her breath. “There's this huge thing, destroying everything!”

“Get somewhere safe, we'll take care of things.” The women quickly ran away. Sky and Hikari ran down the path the women came from. They stopped at the center of the city, and saw the giant Heartless. The Heartless had two large horns; one arm was a large blade, and the other was a hammer. It was also wearing dark blue armor. The Heartless had already demolished several houses, and all the trees in the area were toppled over.

“These things keep getting bigger and bigger.” Sky said.

“Remember, there's nothing two Keyblade Masters can't handle.” Hikari said smiling.

“Right.” The two summoned their Keyblades and sprinted toward the Heartless. They kept slashing, but their attacks were ineffective. They Heartless seemed more annoyed then threatened. Hikari cast a thunder spell, that slowed the Heartless down. The Heartless slammed its hammer on the ground, causing Hikari to fall. It then took its blade and went to hit Hikari, but Sky was able to bock it. Sky summoned all his strength, and was able to break the creatures blade. The Heartless staggered back and went to hit Sky with its hammer. Sky quickly dodged, and cut off its other arm. Skys body then began to glow with a pale blue light. Then with blinding speed, Sky cut of the Heartlesss armor. Sky then stabbed his Keyblade into the ground. Then a huge beam of light shot up, under the Heartless; destroying it. Sky walked over to Hikari, and helped her up.

“You okay?” Sky asked.

“I'm fine.”

Sky look around and assessed the damage. Aside from a few destroyed houses, the city was fine. “Well, I guess it could have been worse.”

“We're getting better at this.” Hikari said grinning.

“True that.” Sky said. “Well what do you want to do now?”

“Oh! I know ag reat place for ice cream, my treat.”

“Sounds great.”Sky and Hikari walked to a small ice cream stand.

“Two ice cream bars please.” Hikari said to the vendor. The man handed Hikari the ice cream. Hikari reached into her pocket, and pulled out a small munny pouch.

“No charge.” The vendor said.

“Huh?” Hikari was a little confused.

“Your those Keyblade wielders who saved us, right.”

“Ya, that's us.”

“Just think of it as a thank you.”

“Thanks, that's very kind of you.” Hikari and Sky walked over to a wall, and leaned against it. Hikari handed Sky his ice cream bar. Sky took a bite, and notice it was very sweet.

“What do you think?” Hikari asked.

“Its a little sweet. I actually like salty stuff.”

“Maybe one day, someone will make salty and sweet ice cream.”

“That's never gonna happen.” The two continued to eat their ice cream, until Hikari spoke.

“I've been meaning to ask you something?”

“What?”

“Why are you so strong?” Sky didn't know what to say. He knew he was strong, but he didn't know why he was strong.

“I really don't know.”

“Maybe it's your heart.”

“Huh?”

“They say true strength comes from the heart.”

“Makes sense." The two then finished their ice cream.

“You ready to go?” Sky asked.

“Ya.” Sky summoned a corridor of light, and the two walked into it.



Sky and Hikari appeared in the grand hall. Sky saw a women in a black coat, and two children standing in front of Veritas. Sky summoned his Keyblade, and went to attack the women.

“Sky stop!” Veritas said. Veritas then started talking to the women. “What happened Rain?”

“A boy with a Keyblade came, and I couldn't stop him.”

“What did he do?”

“He..” Rain was very hesitant. “He engulfed us in darkness, and we woke up here.” Rain looked at Sky, and he saw her eyes were yellow. “His Keyblade looked like his.”

“Did he say anything?” Veritas asked.

“He said to show you this.” Rain pulled up her sleeve, revealing a black X. Veritas' face pale with fear. Veritas summoned a corridor of light.

“Here's your way home.” Veritas then summoned another corridor.

“Where are yougoing?” Rain asked.

“I'm going to have a talk with Vergil.”

[Lanydx reborn]

Your getting better by the way.

[spirit-of-light]

Thanks :), wait till you see the twist.

[KingdomKey]

XD I so can not wait to find out what this twist is. Even the way you ended it, makes me excited with anticipation. What could Veritas be hiding from Sky. I'm curious to see what future chapters are going to be like. I have a feeling there's going to be a betrayal eventually or something. I also wonder what the X stands for and what the boy has to do with Sky.

Great job!

[spirit-of-light]

Chapter 8: Apart of Each Others Lives

To tell the story of the Keyblade War, I have to tell another one. A long time ago, Kingdom Hearts created two brothers; one with a heart of pure light, and the other with a heart of pure darkness. The brothers were called The Sons of Kingdom Hearts. They kept the world in balance for many years. Then the two began to argue over which side was better.Finally, the two fought a great battle. At the end of the battle, the brother of light had won; and he began calling himself Kye. Kye and his brothers heart had somehow merged, and this created the X-blade. X is pronounced kye or key; either way it is a letter that spells endings, and beginnings. Unlike the blades you and I wield, this blade gave him the power of Kingdom Hearts. Kye began teaching others how to craft blades from their hearts. The blades were called Kyeblades, but over time the pronunciation was changed to “kye” to “key”. Kye kept the world in balance, up until his death. On his death bed, Kye split his heart from his brothers; destroying the X-blade. The legend of Kye was lost in history, and few know of his story. But the quest for Kyes power is what led to the Keyblade War.


Veritas walked toward the corridor, but was stopped by Sky.

“Whats going on?” Sky asked.

“Stay here, I'll be back soon.” Veritas then stepped into the corridor of light. Sky then decided to ask Rain some questions.

“You said his Keyblade looked like mine?”

“Yes, except the blade and key chain were black, and the guard was dark blue.”

“Do you have any idea what the X means?”

“No. But if anyone knows, it's Veritas and Vergil.”

“Who's Vergil?”

“Was the apprentice to the Grand Master of Light. There's no telling what he knows.”

“Grand Master of Light?”

“He was before your time.”

“Did you notice anything strange about the boy?”

“Now that you mention it, he seemed kind of sad. Why are asking about him anyway?”

“Just curious.”

“We need to be going.”

“I hope you have a safe trip.” Rain and her apprentices stepped into the corridor oflight. Then Sky started to talk to Hikari.

“What do you think he did to them?”

“He placed too much darkness in their hearts. They probably can't use their Keyblades anymore”

“How do you know?” Sky asked.

“I can see into peoples hearts.” Sky remembered what Veritas told him about Keyblade wielders having special abilities.

“That's cool, I guess.” Sky started to walk to his room, but Hikari stopped him.

“Why were you asking about that boy?”

“I was curious.”

“You still can't lie.”

Sky took a deep breath. “He's been talking to me in my dreams.”

“What does he want?”

“I'm not sure.”

“Do you know anything about him?”

“Not really.” Sky now had a look of doubt on his face.

Hikari decided to try and cheer Sky up. “Don't worry I'll protect you.”

Sky now had a smile on his face. “Why does everyone keep stealing my line?”

“Because we care about you, as much as you care about us.”

“Well, if your going to protect me, you have to learn some knew moves. Lets go train some more.”

“Sure.”


Meanwhile, Veritas had appeared inside a castle. He was in a room similar to the grand hall, at the Land of Departure. The were was single throne at the end of the room. The windows were stained glass images of Keyblade wielders fighting. Above the throne was window with the image of an X. Veritas stood still for a moment, before he heard a voice from behind him.

“It's been a longtime, Veritas.” Veritas turned around and saw Vergil. Vergil was the same height and build as Veritas. He brown eyes, and black shoulder length hair that was slicked back, with two bangs framing his face. He also had a jagged scar across the right side of his face.

“What did you do to him?” Veritas asked.

“Who are you talking about?”

“You know good and well who I'm talking about!”

“He got away from me.”

“You expect me to believe that.”

“I did what was necessary, to protect the worlds.”

“He was a little kid!”

“He was a threat to the worlds.”

“He needed someone to teach him!”

“Maybe you should of taught him. After all, your both creatures of the dark.”

“And your a monster of the light.” Veritas summoned his Keyblade, and put it to Vergils throat.

“Are you going to kill me?” Veritas put down his Keyblade.

“No. What ever punishment he has planned, is a thousand times worse then anything Icould do.” Veritas summoned a corridor of light.

“He knows about the X-blade.” Veritas said quietly. Vergils facial expression stayed the same. Veritas stepped through the corridor.

“Then I need to break the other half.”



Sky and Hikari had trained well into the night.

“Well, I think you mastered Faith.” Sky said.

“Now what do I do?” Hikari asked.

“Now you try to make a better version.”

“Like what you did?”

“Don't make it like my versions, make your own.”

“Alright, lets get to it.”

“You've trained enough for tonight.” Sky let out a yawn.“It's time to go to sleep.”

“Okay.” The two walked to castle. When they passed Veritas' room, it was empty. Sky was worried about his Master.

Hikari put her hand on Skys shoulder. “Don't worry. I'm sure he's fine.”

“I hope your right.” Sky and Hikari went to their respective rooms. Sky lied awake, thinking about the boy. He wondered what the boy knew about him. When Sky fell asleep he started having visions again. He saw TheEnchanted Dominion, The Land of Dreams, and Radiant Garden, being consumed by darkness. Then he saw a boy with his Keyblade, the boy defeated the darkness and saved the worlds. At the end of the vision, Sky saw the boys face. Sky was shocked to see that the boy looked just like him. Sky then jumped awake. Sky wondered what the vision meant, and who the boy was. Hikari then walked into Skys room.

“Veritas didn't come back.” Hikari said.

“Oh.” Sky sounded very disappointed. Hikari quickly change the subject.

“Well we don't have a mission today. What do you want to do?”

“I don't care.”

“C'mon, where haven't you been in awhile?”

“There is an island I haven't been to in awhile.”

“Alright, I'll get ready then.” Hikari left the room. Skys mind was filled with thoughts of Veritas, the mystery boy, and the vision he just had. Sky didn't know what to make of these thoughts. He wanted to go back to when his life simple. He knew he couldn't do anything about it now, so he went to the grand hall to meet Hikari. Sky wait for a minute until Hikari arrived.

“You ready?” Hikari asked.

“Ya, lets go.”Sky summoned a corridor of light, and the two walked through.


The two appeared on a small island. The beach made up the outer part of the island. While the inner part of the island was composed of trees and a small mountain. On the side of the island Sky was on, there was a miniature island with a tree hanging off it. Behind the Sky was a small cave,with a waterfall next to it. Sky hadn't been to the island since he was a child. The breeze helped Sky wash away some of his worries. Sky quickly took off all his clothes, except for his shorts and his crown necklace. Sky looked over, and saw Hikari undressing. Under her clothes, was a red and white striped bikini, that showed off her womanly features. Sky couldn't help but stare at her.

“Does anyone live here?” Hikari asked.

“No. Not even on the main island.” Sky said, while pointing to a larger island in the distance.

“Does this place have a name?”

“I don't think so.”

“Then lets think of one.” Hikari said cheerfully.

“We'll do that later.” The two then jumped in the water. They swam until Sky heard Hikari scream. Sky quickly turned around to see what was wrong. When he turned around he saw Hikaris head barley poking out of the water.

“Whats wrong?” Sky asked.

Hikaris face began to turn red. “My top fell off.” Sky could feel his face turning red.

“Want me to help you look for it?” Sky asked, while trying not to smile.

“No peaking.” Hikari cried.

“On my honor as a Keyblade Master.” Sky swam around, until he felt Hikaris top brush against him. “Found it.”

“Throw it here.” Sky threw the top over to Hikari. “Now turn around.” Sky quickly turned around. Sky heard Hikari coming out of the water.

“Who's that?” There was no one there, but Sky just wanted to mess with Hikari. Hikari quickly went back in the water. “No, that's just a tree.”

“That's not funny Sky!” Sky did his best to hold his laughter in. “You can turn around now.” Sky turned around, to see Hikari clothed again. The two swam for a few hours. When they were done, they sat on the shore and let the sun dry them.“So how do you know about this place?” Hikari asked.

“Veritas use to take me here when I was a kid.”

“I think I've come up with a name for this place.”

“What?”

“Destiny Islands.”

“How'd you come up with that?”

“I don't know, it just seemed like a good name.” There was silence until Sky spoke.

“Yesterday, you said you could see into peoples hearts.”

“Ya.”

“What's my heart like?”

Hikari smiled at Sky. “It's warm.” The two leaned toward each other, their lips inching closer and closer. The moment was interrupted, when Sky felt something touch his foot. Sky looked down, to see a star shaped fruit. Sky picked it up, and broke it in half.

“Here you go.” Sky handed half of the fruit to Hikari. They each ate their piece.The fruit tasted like an orange and pineapple mixed together. When the fruit was gone, Hikari placed her hand over Skys. They sat in silence, and watched the sun set.

“Sky.” Hikari said.

“Ya.”

“Don't ever change.”

“I won't.” The continued to sit, until the sun went down. “Looks like it's time to go.”

“Ya.” The two put their clothes on, and Sky summoned the corridor home.


Sky and Hikari arrived at the grand hall.

“Sweet dreams.”Hikari said. She then walked to her room. Sky realized he loved Hikari. He didn't what love felt like, but whatever he was feeling was close to it. Sky began walking to his room. When he passed Veritas' room, he noticed it was still empty. Sky was still worried about his Master, but he figured Veritas could take care of himself. He went to his room and went to sleep.


Sky was back on his pillar. He saw the mystery boy on his pillar as well.

“This is getting really old.” Sky said. “You haven't even told me your name.”

“It's Umbra.” The boy pulled his hood down. He looked identical to Sky, except his hair was black and his eyes were yellow.

“Why do keep attacking the worlds?”

“If I wanted to destroy the worlds, they would be gone.”

“So why are you doing this?!”

“It's easier if I show you.” Umbra jumped over to Skys pillar. Umbra raised his hand,and the place turned completely white. Sky and Umbra were now inside Vergils castle.

“Where are we?” Sky asked.

“This is my memory.” Sky then saw Veritas and Vergil talking. The two looked around the same age as Sky, and Vergil didn’t have his scar.

“Veritas!” Sky yelled.

“They can't hear you.” Sky then saw a little boy, hiding behind a stone pillar. The boy was wearing all white. He had spiky black hair, and yellow eyes.

“Is that you?” Sky asked.

“Yes.” Umbra and Sky walked up to Veritas and Vergil.

“Give him a chance.” Veritas said.

“That boy is a monster. All he is, is darkness.” Vergil replied.

“He's just a kid. You need to guide him.”

“Like you! You know we were forbidden to train them.”

“They can use their powers for good.”

“The darkness is evil.”

“No it's not! It's the same as the light.”

“I was charged with keeping him. I'll decide what to do with him.”

“Don't do it Vergil. I'll give you time to change your mind.” Veritas stepped through a corridor of light.

“Caelum!” Vergil yelled.

“Caelum?” Sky said.

“I abandoned that name.” Umbra replied. Sky turned his attention to the Caelum. Caelum had fallen down while trying to run. Then a corridor of darkness appeared behind him. He then quickly ran through the corridor. The space turned white again. Sky and Umbra were now at the Land of Dreams. Sky saw a group of boys picking on a younger Shannon. Caelum ran up to the group.

“You leave her alone!” Caelum cried.

“What are you gonna do?” One of the boys asked.

“I said leave her alone!” The group of boys started walking toward Caelum. Caelums body became coated in darkness. Then waves of darkness knocked the group of boys out. Caelum then helped Shannon up, and he ran away. Caelum ran for a while, until he ran into Vergil.

“Found you.”Vergil summoned a corridor of light, and threw Caelum into it. The space turned white again. Sky and Umbra were know on a cliff, overlooking a dark abyss. Vergil then grabbed Caelum and held him over the cliff.

“MASTER NO!” Caelum cried.

“I'm not your Master.” Vergil then threw Caelum into the abyss. Then a blast of darkness came out of Caelums hand, hitting Vergils face. The space turnedwhite again. They were now on a snow covered path. Caelum was sitting on the ground crying.

“It was few days before I stopped crying.” Umbra said. Then a Heartless walked up to Caelum, stared at him, then walked away. “The Heartless didn't bother me. They thought I was one of them.” Then a man in a torn black coat appeared in front of Caelum.

“You want to leave this place?” The man asked. Caleum nodded his head. “I can give you the power you need.” The man waved his hand, and a Keyblade appeared in Caelums hand, and he was now wearing a black coat.

“Who are you?” Caelum asked.

“I'm what you heart remembers of me.” The space turned to white, and Sky was back on his pillar.

“So you want revenge.” Sky said.

“In a way, yes.”Umbra replied

“At least know where you learned to talk in riddles.”

“He taught me manythings. He even told me about you.”

“What do yo want from me?!”

“I want what rest in your heart.”

[KingdomKey]

Ohh~ very interesting indeed. This keeps getting better and better. I look forward to the next chapter spirit-of-light.

[spirit-of-light]

Thanks :), too bad theres ony five chapters left.

[CA59]

Review in-progress.

“SKY, SKYYYYYY, COME ON WAKE UP!” Veritas was shaking his apprentice violently trying to wake him from his sleep.

LMAO @ all caps.

“Don’t worry I'm sure hes just worn out from the exam.” Zane said trying to reassure his friend.

Both sentences are run-ons.

“I know but I............”

Too many ellipses...................

“SKY, are you okay, what happened, can you move!” Veritas asked.

The all caps on his name is funny. Also, the "!" needs to be a "?".

A few hours had passed before Sky started to stir.

What were they doing, just standing there staring at him? Creepy..

“SKY, are you okay, what happened, can you move!” Veritas asked.

Does his name need to be in all caps?

“I'm fine but, something weird happened.”

The comma is misplaced.

“Okay what.”

Use a question mark, and also a comma after the first word.

“This cant be, VERITAS we have to alert the other Masters right away.”

Why the random caps on his name?

“So what are these Heartless thing anyway?” Sky asked.

"Things" should be plural.

“Why, we have to stop these things?”

The "?" should be either a "!" or a ".".

“We don’t even know if the Heartless have appeared in any worlds yet.”
“Then why did Zane get so worried?”
“Zane knows what the Heartless can do, he was just afraid for a second. Once he calms he's probably just going to tell the other Masters to keep on their toes and watch for anything suspicious.”

What.

Why didn't he just calm Zane down then? Also, a comma should be after "calms".

“You have proven that your heart is ready for the trials ahead, and with that I grant you The Mark of Master.”

Mark of Mastery.

“Yes you do.” Veritas reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a silver chained necklace with a crown shaped pendant on it.

Run-on.

“Does it give me and any knew abilities?!”

"New".

“No thanks, those coats aren’t really my style.”

Stop complaining.

“I’m made a Master then ten second later I'm given an apprentice.” Sky was taken back by the pace of the days events.

Run-on. Also, "second" needs to be plural.

“You don't have to if you don't want to, but let me remind that you said being a Master was easy one day you would train someone to be a greatest Keyblade Wielder ever.”

The last bit doesn't make much sense (though its probably just because of the run-on).

Sky was just starting to learn magic so Veritas thought they would start with a simple fire spell. Needless to say Sky had trouble grasping the spell, his body and keyblade were covered in soot from the spells repeated back fire.

Run-on. Also, do you mean "repeatedly backfiring" in the last part?

“Master can we stop yet?” Sky asked.

Comma after "Master".

“Then lets see it.”

"Let's".

“Ya but you didn’t even give me any advice.”

What "advice" could he have given him exactly?

“Really?” Veritas sly asked.

"Slyly".

“Its so easy that when I'm a Master, I'm going to train the greatest Keybade Wielder ever.”

Hold on, I thought he said he would train someone to BE the greatest Keyblade Wielder ever. BTW, "Keyblade" is spelled wrong.

“Nothing, lets get inside it past your bed time.”

"Lets" and "its" should have apostrophes.

“No whining, you need your rest if your going to be a Master.

"You're".

“You know what I'll take an apprentice.” Sky said not wanting to back on his word.

Run-ons.

“So let me guess, this kid just got a keyblade right and I have to start with basics right.”

See above.

“Don’t get any ideas, your her Master.”

"You're".

“I'm not getting and ideas, but now that I think about........”

"Any" is spelled wrong. There are too many ellipses................................

“Sky your her going to be her Master you have to be somewhat professional.”

This is not only a run-on, but doesn't make sense when you say it.

“All I gotta say is, if I hadn't got there and used sleep you my friend would be in some hot water.”

What does he mean "used sleep"? Also, this is a run-on.

“Fine I'll lock my window at night.”
Sky and Veritas talked for a few more hours until it was time for both of them to go to sleep.
“It's getting late Sky.”

Run-ons as well.

“Ya I need my ten hour if I'm going to start being a Master tomorrow.”

See above. Also, "hour" should be plural.

“Who are you?” Sky asked.
“I am the darkness you are the light.” The boy answered.
“What?”
“You'll see soon enough.” The boy then stepped on Sky's hand.
“ARRRGGGHHHH!” Sky screamed.

So Sky is basically a carbon copy of Ventus. Awesome. Also, you don't need to put "ARRRRRGH" if he screamed.

The boy moved his foot causing Sky to let go and fall in the darkness.

Run-on.

[spirit-of-light]

Chapter 9: A Thousand Words

“I don't know what your talking about!?” Sky yelled.

“Your Master knows.”

“I'm not going to listen to you anymore. Veritas is like my father. Whatever he's keeping from me, is to protect me from you.”

“You have no father. You only have a mother.”

“THAT'S ENOUGH!” Sky screamed. Sky then shot a large ball of light at Umbra. Umbra simply raised his hand, and blocked the attack. “What!”

“You have gotten stronger.” Umbra then shot a huge ball of darkness at Sky. “But your still weak!” Sky didn't have time to block, and the attack was too big to dodge. Before the attack could hit him, Sky woke up.


The only feeling Sky felt, was fear. Umbra was too strong, and he controlled the Heartless. Sky didn't know how he was going to beat him. Sky was also afraid for Veritas. If Skys vision came true, he wasn't sure if Veritas could stop Umbra. Before Sky could continue his thoughts, Hikari walked in the room.

“Master Veritas is back.” Hikari said.

“Really!” Sky jumped up in excitement.

“Ya, he said he wants to talk to you.” Sky ran down to the grand hall, to meetVeritas.

“Veritas! Where have you been?”

“I had to take care of some things.”

Sky decided to test Veritas; to see if what Umbra showed him was true.“Does the name Caelum mean anything to you?”

“So he told you.” Sky was left speechless. “Vergil had no right to do what he did. I should of done something. But I wonder where he learned how to use the Keyblade.”

“A man in the Dark Realm taught him about the Keyblade.” Sky said quietly.

“Did he say anything about the man?”

“He said the man was what his heart remembers of him.”

“So the darkness awakened his memories.”

“What do you mean?”

“Have I ever told you about The Returning.”

“I don't think so.”

“When someone dies, there body fades away, and their heart returns to Kingdom Hearts.”

“You told me about that.”

“There's a legend, that a heart can return to the world. But to come back, they have to give up their memories.”

“I don't understand.”

“I think, the memories aren't erased. They’re just sealed away.”

“So what does that have to do with Umbra.”

“Umbra?”

“He changed his name.”

“I can't blame him. There must be a lot of pain attached to that name.”

“So what do we do about him?”

“You'll have to fight him.”

“Why me?”

“Because your the only one who can.”

“But why?”

“Because...” Veritas couldn't say anything. Sky could tell Veritas didn't want to tell him.

“Don't worry, I don't need to know.” Sky said smiling.

“That's just it, you need to know.”

Sky put his hand on Veritas' shoulder. “I know you'll tell me when you need too.”

“I will.” Then Veritas looked toward the stairs. “You can come out now.” Sky turned around and saw Hikari's head, poking out behind the stair well.

“You need to work on you hiding skills.” Sky said, while Hikari walked toward him.

Hikari lowered her head. “Sorry for eavesdropping.”

“Don't worry about it. Now onto your mission.” Veritas said.

“So whats the mission?” Sky asked.

“I'm sending you to a newly discovered world.”

“Do you know anything about this world?” Hikari asked.

“It'll be different from any world you've been to.”

Sky jumped at the opportunity, of going to a new world. “Well what are we waiting for. Lets go.”

Veritas summoned a corridor of light. “Have a safe trip.” Sky and Hikari stepped through the corridor. Then a women in a white coat, appeared in front of Veritas. The women was the same height as Veritas, and had a slender figure. She had long brown hair, and blue eyes.

The women smiled at Veritas. “Good to see you again Veritas.”

“Good to see you too Amelia.” Veritas said, returning the smile.

“So where's Hikari?” Amelia asked.

“Her and Sky went on a mission.”

“Oh. So how's she doing?”

“She's doing fine.You probably wouldn't recognize her.”

“What do you mean?”

“She acts like Sky now.”

“She's ready to take her exam then.”

“I'd give her somemore time.”

“Why?”

“It's hard toexplain.”

“I think I know what you mean.”



Sky and Hikari appeared on a long metal bridge. Sky immediately noticed the large city, at the end of the bridge. The city rested on the shore; it was composed of tall, intricate buildings. The city also had many water features, integrated into some of the buildings. Even though it was night time, the city lights lit up the sky. Sky had never seen a city like this.

“Wow.” Were the only words Sky could utter.

“I guess we should find the ruler of this world.” Hikari said, nreakking Skys chain of thought.

“Oh. Well lets go.” Sky and Hikari made their way into the city. The inside of the city was just as impressive as the outside. There were paths, jutting off in every direction. Lights and signs littered the city. There were also hundreds of people, walking around. Sky and Hikari tried asking where the ruler was, but everyone kept ignoring them. Then Sky noticed a large crowd of people, coming out of a building. The crowd kept chanting “Lenne! Lenne!”. Sky and Hikari walked up to the crowd.

“Who's Lenne?” Sky asked a man in the crowd.

The man got a confused look on his face. “You don't know who Lenne is?”

“No.” Sky replied.

“She's only the greatest singer in Zanarkand.”

“Zanarkand?”

“Did you just crawl out from under a rock?” The man quickly looked back to the crowd. Then a women and a man exited the building. The women had brown eyes and long, straight, brunette hair streaked with a lighter brown reaching down her back, with two sets of bead earrings, and she was wearing violet lipstick. She wore a blue top that stopped at her midriff with white frills continuing to her back, a laced, black miniskirt, and her whole ensemble contained other various frills. She also had brown knee-high boots and blue forearm adornments that complimented her attire. The man had cropped blonde hair. He wore black shorts, and yellow boots. He also wore a tunic, that was black in the front and yellow in the back, with red and black checkered sleeves. He also had a piece of leather that formed a V around his mid section, and blue shoulder pads; he also had a leather guard on his left arm, and hanging behind his waist, was a sword. Sky assumed that this women, was Lenne. Sky figured if anyone one knew where the ruler was, it was Lenne. Sky pushed through the crowd, and stood before Lenne. Sky was immediately taken back by Lennes looks. He thought she was almost as beautiful as Hikari, almost.

“Can I talk to you for a sec?” Sky asked.

“I'm sorry, I don't have time.” Lenne replied. Then Lenne started to walk away.

“It's really important.” Sky went to grab Lennes arm, but the man pushed him to the ground. Sky got incredibly angry. He summoned his Keyblade, and jumped up. Now, all eyes were on Sky. The man pulled out his sword. The mans sword was a simple long blue blade. Hikari quickly rushed to Skys defense.

“Shuyin, stop.” Lenne said. Then Lenne walked up to Sky and Hikari. “So whats so important?”

“We need to see the ruler of this world.” Said Hikari.

“We can help you with that. C'mon Shuyin.”

“But Lenne.” Then Lenne shot Shuyin glare. “Fine.” Shuyin said, sounding very unenthusiastic.

“C'mon.” Lenne gestured Sky and Hikari to follow her. They four walked fro awhile, until Lenne spoke. “So who are you guys?”

“I'm Sky and this is Hikari.”

“I've never seen a sword like yours. Where are you from?” Sky told Lennea bout the Keyblade, the Heartless, and the Worlds. “I've never heard of a story like yours.”

“I know it's hard to believe.” Hikari said.

“It's not so hard.” Lenne replied.

“So why was everyone chanting your name?” Hikari asked.

“I'm singer.”

“Don't be so modest Lenne. Your the greatest songstress Zanarkands ever seen.” Shuyin chimed. Then Lenne started to blush.

“So what do you do, Shuyin?” Sky asked.

“I'm the star player of the Zanarkand Abes. The greatest blitzball team in the world.”

“Blitzball?” Sky said confused.

“What back water island are you from. How have you never heard of blitzball?”

“Shuyin!” Lenne cried.

“What? I'm just messing with him. You guys can see me play tonight.” The four continued to walk, until the arrived at a large tower.

“Lord Yevon is in there.” Said Lenne.

“Whats he like?” Hikari asked. Before Lenne could answer, Shuyin cut her off.

“He's really secretive, but he keeps the blitzball stadium up, so I can't knock him.”

“Is blitzball the only thing you care about?” Sky asked.

“No.” Shuyin replied, while looking at Lenne. The group walked through large metal door, and into the tower. They walked into a waiting area, that had a receptionist behind a desk.

“We need to see Lord Yevon.” Lenne said to the receptionist.

“I'm sorry, he's in a important meeting.” Sky could see that, Lenne wasn't getting anywhere. So he walked up to the desk, and summoned his Keyblade.

“It's kind of important.” The receptionist was clearly shocked. Then she regained her composure.

“I'm sorry, you'll have to come back tomorrow.”

“Okay then.” Sky looked back at the other three. “Guess we'll come back tomorrow.” Then Shuyin looked at a clock.

“I gotta get to my game!” Shuyin kissed Lenne on the cheek. “See ya later.” Then Shuyin ran out the door.

“He must really love blitzball.” Sky said.

“He loves what he does. I wish everyone was that lucky.” Lenne replied.

“Can we go watch his game?” Hikari asked.

“Sure. He likes me to be at his games anyway.” The three walked to edge of the city. There there was a large stadium. There were crowds of people, all fighting to get inside. When the crowd saw Lenne, and they quickly moved to form a path. Lenne guided Sky and Hikari to a balcony, overlooking the stadium. The stadium was a large en closeddome, with to large rings in the center. “Looks like we got here just in time.” Just as Lenne spoke, the announcer started to speakthrough the speakers.

“Ladies and gentlemen. ARE YOU READY TO BLITZ!” The crowd began to cheer.“Tonight is the final match for the Zanarkand Cup, between the Abes and the Duggles. Which team will come out on top, and take the cup?” Then the one of the rings, in the center of the stadium began to spin. Then electricity began sparking,in the center of the ring. In a flash, there was a huge sphere of water. Then both teams jumped into the sphere. “Now the moment you've all been waiting for. LETS BLITZ.” A buzzer sounded, and ball shot up, from the center of the sphere. The Abes were the first to get the ball. The Abes smashed through the Duggles defense, and Shuyin scored. The ball was reset, and the Duggles got the ball. Two Duggles teamed up, and knocked out one of the Abes. Then Shuyin tackled one of the Duggles, sending them flying out of the sphere. The game went back an forth, until it hit over time. The score was seven to seven; Abes had the ball. One of the Abes threw the ball strait up, out of the sphere. Shuyin followed the ball out of the sphere. He turned upside down, and kicked the ball. The ball went strait into the goal, ending the game. “ABES WIN! Nothing could stop Shuyins sphere shot!” As soon as the game ended, a huge raven like Heartless, began attacking the stadium. Sky quickly summoned his Keyblade.

“Hikari! Get everyone to safety. I'll take care of this.” Sky made his way to the top of the stadium, and waited for the opportunity to attack.When Sky saw his chance, he started firing balls of light, at theHeartless. The Heartless began firing beams of darkness at Sky. Then Shuyin appeared, and blocked the attacks with his sword.

“What are you doing here?” Sky asked.

“I figured you could use some help.”

“Can you fight?”

“Can I blitz?”

“Fair enough.” Sky continued attacking the Heartless, while Shuyin blocked any attacks. Finally the Heartless came flying, strait toward Sky and Shuyin. The two dodged, and jumped on the beasts back. The Heartless tried to shake the two off, but Sky and Shuyin didn't let go.

“What now?!” Shuyin asked.

“I gotta plan.” Sky summoned a ball of light, and threw it into the air. “Shuyin!”

“I got this!” Shuyin jumped up, and used his sphere shot on the ball. The ball rocketed toward the Heartless, and in a flash, the Heartless was gone. Then Sky and Shuyin started falling. “Whats your plan now?!”

“I got nothing.” Sky replied. On the ground, Lenne a Hikari saw Sky and Shuyin falling. Then a white glyph appeared bellow Lenne. Then four spheres of light shot out of the glyph, and into the sky. Then a warrior with wings flew down. The warrior had two white wings, with matching white armor, and a sword and shield. The warrior flew down and caught Sky and Shuyin. Then the warrior brought Sky and Shuyin down, to Lenne and Hikari.

“Are you okay?” Lenne and Hikari asked, in unison.

“I'm fine. I don't know what you would of done, if I hadn’t shown up.” Shuyin said, while tosseling Skys hair.

“What are you talking about? I could of beat that Heartless on my own.”

“I'm kidding. But back up never hurts, right.”

“True.You did better than I thought you would.”

“What did you expect.” Then Shuyin let out a yawn. “I'm beat.”

“I'm tired too. C'mon Hikari, you can stay at my place.” Lenne said.

“Sure.” Then Lenne and Hikari walked away.

“Guess your bunking with me.” Shuyin said.

“Alright, lets go.” Sky and Shuyin walked to edge of the city. Shuyins house was a large boat. “So this is where you live.”

“Yep, I haven't taken her out in while though.” There was an awkward silence. “So whats the deal with you and Hikari?”

“Were just friends.” Sky said quietly.

“C'mon, I saw the way you looked at her.” Sky never told anyone how he felt about Hikari, not even Veritas.

“I think I love her. I don't know if she loves back though.”

“Don't worry, she loves you too.”

Sky was taken back by the statement. “How do you know?”

“She looks at you the same way Lenne looks at me.”

Shuy ininstilled hope into Sky. “Thanks Shuyin. So how did you and Lenne meet?”

“I was at one of her concerts.”

“And.”

“She didn't like me, at all.”

“Sounds familiar. So what did you do?”

“I kept asking her out, and she kept saying no.”

“So what happened then?”

“She was at one of my games. Then after the game I asked her out, in front of all of Zanarkand.”

“How did that go over?”

“Well she had choice but to accept. The next night, we went to dinner, and things took off from there.”

“I don't think I could pull that off.”

“You don't have to. Just show her you care, and you'll be fine.” Then Shuyin and Sky walked into Shuyins home. The house was filled with blitzball trophies, and there was an organ in the corner.

“Do you play that?” Sky asked

“Yep, never know when it will come in handy. You get the couch. Well go see Yevon tomorrow.” Sky laid down and tried to sleep, but he couldn't stop thinking about Hikari. Meanwhile, Lenne and Hikari were having a simmliar conversation.

“What was that thing you summoned earlier?” Hikari asked.

“That was an Aeon.”

“An Aeon?”

“When summoners pray to the Fayth, the Fayth makes a bond. Using this bond,the Fayth can return. This is what we call and Aeon.”

“So your a summoner, right.”

“Yes.” Then there was an awkward silence. “So whats with you and Sky?” Lenne asked.

“I'm not really sure. I've never felt this way before.”

“That's a good thing.”

“What do you think I should do?”

“Just wait for him, he'll make his move eventually.”

Hikari started to blush, and smile. “I hope your right.”

“Well, it's time to go to bed. We'll go see Lord Yevon tomorrow.”

“Good night.” Hikari tried to sleep, but she kept thinking about Sky. The following morning, Sky was awoken by a knock on the door. Sky got up to see who it was. Sky opened the door, to see a man standing there.

“CanI help you?” Sky asked.

“Are you the boy who protected the stadium last night?”

“Ya, that's me.”

“You've been summoned by Lady Yunalesca.” Then the man walked away.

“Okay?” Then Sky started knocking on Shuyins bedroom door. “Shuyin! Wake up!.”

Sky could hear a drowsy Shuyin. “Five more minutes.”

“I have to go see someone named Yunalesca.”

“Fine, I'm up.” Shuyin walked out his door, still half asleep. “C'mon, the sooner were done, the sooner I can go back to sleep.” Sky and Shuyin walked to the same tower they went to yesterday. There, Lenne and Hikari were waiting.

“We thought you two were never gonna show up.” Hikari said.

“We would have been here earlier, but someone wouldn't get up.” Sky replied.

“I had a long night. What can I say.” The four waited around for a while, before they saw a women walk out of the tower. The women had long white hair, with black ribbons sticking up and out. She wore a black thong with a matching strapless black bra. She had a blue bracelet on each arm, and a blue necklace. Sky was taken back, by the woman’s lack of modesty.

“So you are the boy I've heard so much about. I thank you for protecting our city.” Yunalesca said.

“Thanks, I guess. I thought we were suppose to meet Yevon?” Sky asked.

“My father is father busy. He simply doesn’t have the time.”

“So what do you want?”

“I want to know where you came from.” Sky told Yunalesca about the Keyblade, the Heartless and the Worlds. “I've never heard a story like yours, but I suppose it's not impossible.”

“So have you seen any Heartless?” Hikari asked.

“Our scouts haven't reported anything, but I'll let you know if they do.”

“Okay, I guess we can go then.” Sky said.

“No. Stay, enjoy our city.” Yunalesca said.

“I guess we can stay a little longer.”

“Good to hear.”

“Well, see ya.” The four walked back into the city. Shuyin and Lenne showed Sky and Hikari around. They visited shops, checked out monuments, and other touristy like activities. They walked around, well into the night. Then a man ran up to Sky and Hikari.

“I have a message from Yunalesca.” The man said, while trying to catch his breath.

“Okay, lets hear it.” Sky said.

“There are some strange readings, on Mt. Gagazet.” Then the man ran away.

“C'mon Hikari.” Sky and Hikari went to walk away, but were stopped by Shuyin and Lenne. “What are you guys doing?”

“We want to help you guys.” Shuyin said.

“Don't worry, we got this.” Hikari said.

“She's right Shuyin.” Lenne said.

“I guess we can give them some alone time.” Then Sky and Hikari started to blush.

“Fair enough. Good luck you guys.” Then Lenne and Shuyin walked away. Then Sky and Hikari exited the city, and made their way to Mt. Gagazet. They followed a path, until they saw something below them. Below them was a large clearing. The did their best to stay hidden. In the clearing was an army of machines. Some of the machines, were huge and mech like. Other were floating, with huge guns on each side.

“They definitely aren’t Heartless.” Sky said.

“What ever they are, they look like trouble.” Then Heartless began to appear. The Heartless jumped onto the machines, and merged with them.

“Okay, now we have to do something.” The two jumped down, and started to battle the machines. The machines were hard to beat, but Sky and Hikari persisted. They kept dodging any attacks, and managed to defeat a few machines. They kept fighting, but the were starting to get tired. “I don't know how long we can keep this up.”

“We have to keep trying.” They continued to fight. Then one of the machines, knocked Hikaris Keyblade out of her hand. The machine went to deliver the final blow. “HIKARI!” Sky jumped in front of the machine, and took the blow. Sky was now lying next to Hikari. The machines kept inching closer to Sky. Then the machines started totalk. They kept saying “Heart.”.

“NO! You can't have him!” Hikari screamed. Sky handed his Keyblade to Hikari.

“Take it.” Skys Keyblade began to glow. Then Hikari started to preform faith. She created the first six pillars. Then twelve pillar around the first set. Then twenty-four around the second set. Then the pillars, became at least ten stories tall. The pillars began spinning violently. Then Hikari stabbed Skys Keyblade, into the ground,sending the pillars flying in every direction. When the light faded all the machines were gone. Hikari went to Skys side. “Are you okay.” Then Sky got up, and Hikari handed him his Keyblade.

“I'm fine.” Then Sky smiled. “Thank you.”

“You saved me once. Only right I return the favor.”

“Friends don't keep score.”

“I thought, were more then friends.” Hikari said under her breath.

“What?”

“Nothing, lets head back.” Sky and Hikari started the walk back to Zanarkand. On the mountain, Umbra was watching.

“I see. So that’s where you get your strength.”

Sky and Hikari got to the bridge, and Sky stopped. “Whats wrong?” Hikari asked

“The suns coming up. Want to watch it?”

“Okay.” The two leaned against the bridge, and waited for the sun to rise.

“So what are you gonna name your new move.”

“Passion.”

“Nice name.” Then the sun started to rise. The city lights started to go off, one, by one. The sun rise was like a rose color. It reminded Sky of Hikaris hair.

“It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen.”

“I don't know about that.” The two leaned in, their lips inchingcloser, and closer. Finally, their lips met, for a soft gentle kiss. Then Shuyin and Lenne walked up.

“So what are you two love birds up to.” Shuyin said. Sky and Hikari moved apart.

“Nothing.” Sky said. “So whats up.”

“We saw a huge light. We wanted to see if you were okay.” Lenne said.

“That was Hikari.” Sky said.

“She's stronger than I thought.” Shuyin said.

“You shouldn't underestimate someone.” Hikari said.

“I'll keep that in mind.” Then the four walked to the tower, to meet Yunalesca.

“So what happened?” Yunalesca asked. Sky told her what happened.“Bevelles on the move then. I thought we had more time.”

“What do you mean?” Sky asked.

“It doesn’t concern you.” The four walked out. Then a man ran up and gave Shuyin and Lenne each a letter. They both opened theirs, and had a shocked look on their faces.

“Lenne.” Shuyin said quietly.

“It's okay Shuyin. I have to.”

“No! Can we at least talk about it.”

“There's nothing to talk about.” Then Lenne walked away.

“I'll protect her. No matter what the cost.” Then Shuyin walked away.

“I hope everything works out between those two.” Hikari said.

“I hope your right.” Sky summoned the corridor of light home.




Sky and Hikari continued to train, and go on missions for the next few weeks. The kept growing closer, and their love grew. Until one day,Veritas summoned Hikari.

“You've grown stronger, and Amelia wants you to take your Mark of Mastery Exam.”

“Okay.”

“I thought you would be happier?”

“I am, It's just...”

“Iunderstand.” Veritas said smiling. Then Hikari went to leave, but turned around.

“There's something I wanted to ask you.”

“I was wondering when you were gonna ask.”

“Huh?”

“You were going to ask why Skys Heart has no darkness in it.”

[spirit-of-light]

Chapter 10: Architects of Fate

“Why is his heart like that? Is he like me?” Hikari asked.

Veritas took a deep breath. “Skys heart is special.”

“I don't understand?”

“I wouldn’t expect you to.”

“Does he know?”

“No. Please don't tell him.”

“I won't.” Then Hikari changed the subject. “So when do I take my exam?”

“In two days.”

“That's not a lot of time.”

“You would of taken it sooner, but I convinced Amelia to give you more time.”

“Thank you, but why?”

Veritas smiled.“You know why.” Hikari started to blush. “Now go. Enjoy your time together.”

“I will.” Hikari walked out, leaving Veritas alone.

“Sky. I hope your ready for the storm that's coming.”

Hikari met Sky at the training grounds.

“Hey. What did Veritas want?” Sky asked.

“I take my Mark of Mastery exam in a few days.”

“So you'll be leaving soon.”

“If you don't want me to go, I'll stay.”

“No. This is important to you, don't worry about me.”

“Are you sure?”

Sky wanted to tell her to stay, but he didn't want to hold her back. “I'm sure, and even if we don't see each other again, we'll never forget each other.”

Hikari hugged Sky.“Never.”



Meanwhile, Umbra was in the Realm of Darkness. The whole area was pitch black, besides the snow covered path. Then a man in a tattered black coat appeared.

“I thought you wouldn’t come back until you got your revenge.” The man said.

“I need to ask you something.”

“Fine, ask.”

“How did Kye defeat his brother?”

“Am I sensing some doubt.”

“Answer me!” Umbra cried.

“The answer is simple. Kye drew his power from love. While his brother drew his power form anger.”

“Then can he tap into that power?”

“Why are you asking me these questions. Are you afraid he's stronger than you?”

Then darkness started to swirl around Umbra. “NO! My anger and hate have given me more power than he will ever have!”

“I believe you. It would seem it is time for you to fulfill your destiny.”

“No.”

“No?”

“There is something I need to take care of first.”

“What would that be?”

“My revenge, against the two people responsible for what happened to me.”

“Go then! Obtain your revenge! Then you will take the power of Kingdom Hearts!”

“And I will make the world whole, once again.”





Sky was woken up by Hikari. “Good morning.” Sky said with a smile.

“We have a mission today.” Sky got up, and followed Hikari. The two met Veritas in the grand hall.

“So whats the mission, more recon?” Sky asked.

“Something like that. We've found a powerful source of light. I want you two to go investigate.” Veritas replied.

“Sounds easy enough.”

“Not everything's going to be this easy.”

“Maybe.”

“C'mon Sky, lets go.” Hikari chimed in. Then Veritas summoned a corridor of light.

“See ya Veritas. We'll be back soon.” Then Sky and Hikari stepped through the corridor. Veritas was left alone with his thoughts. He thought about Sky, Umbra, and his Master.

“I wish you were here Master.” Veritas said to himself. “You would know what to do.”

“Your Master would do what is necessary.” A voice echoed. Then Vergil appeared behind Veritas.

“Your tricks won't work on me.”

“You know it's true. Your Master would stop any threat to the worlds.” Veritas summoned his Keyblade, and pointed it at Vergil.

“You didn't know him! My Master was kind, and just! He would never harm the innocent!”

“Are they really innocent? After all, they did cause the war.”

“They didn't cause anything! The war happened because both sides forgot about balance!”

“The world doesn’t need balance. All it needs is the light.”

“That kind of thought is what caused the war.”

“As much as Iwould love to debate philosophy with you, I came here for your help.”

“Why would want help from a creature of the dark?”

“You know what will happen when they fight. The only thing we can do, is break one of them.”

“Caelum is too strong.”

“I wasn't talking about Caelum.”

Veritas lowered his Keyblade. “What are you getting at?”

“He trust you. It would be easy.”

Veritas face lit up with anger. “I would never do that! I would never betray Skys trust!”

“If you won't do what is necessary. Than I will.”

“Stay away from him!”

“I'll see how well you trained him.” Then Vergil disappeared.

"He's stronger than you think."



Sky and Hikariappeared, in a strange world. The first the Sky noticed, was everything was black and white. The two stood on top of a hill. In the distance, Sky could see a river. Then, what appeared to be a rabbit, ran past Sky and Hikari. The rabbit walked on two legs, wore shorts. Most of his body was black, besides his face, and he had twol ong ears. Sky noticed the rabbit was being chased by large group of Heartless.

“Heartless.” Sky said.

“They must be after the light source.” Hikari quickly dispatched the Heartless with a thunder spell.

“You've gotten a lot stronger. I guess you are ready to be a Master.”

Hikari tried to think of an excuse to stay with Sky. “I still think I could use more training.”

Sky still didn't want to hold her back. “What are talking about? Your a better Keyblade wielder than me.”

“If you say so. Now lets look for that light source.” Sky and Hikari walked down to the river. They noticed the world was empty. There were no people, animals, or any other sign of life.

“This would be a lot easier if, someone could point us in the right direction.” Then Sky felt something run into him. When he looked, he saw a little boy.The boy was wearing a white dress shirt, and black suspenders. He had short black hair, and gray eyes; Sky couldn't tell what color the boys eyes were, due to everything being in black and white. Sky also noticed the boy was carrying around blueprints. The blueprints were of castles. Sky thought the drawings were pretty good. Sky turned his attention back to the boy, and helped him up. “Are you okay?”

“I'm fine. Sorry I ran into you.” The boy said.

“It's okay. Why were you running?”

“I'm looking for Oswald.”

“Who's Oswald?” Hikari asked.

“He's the mayor.”

“I guess we can help you look for him.” Sky said.

“Thanks.” Sky and Hikari followed the boy.

“Is this place always so empty?” Sky asked.

“No. I wonder where everyone went?” Then the rabbit ran by, again. “Oswald!”

“Oswald?!” Hikari and Sky said in unison.

“Oswald!” The boy ran after Oswald. Then Heartless started to appear.

“We have to help the kid.” Sky said.

“Lets get rid ofthe Heartless first.” Sky and Hikari quickly defeated theHeartless.

“This is getting to easy.”

“Now lets find the boy.” Sky and Hikari ran down the path, and saw the boy. “Are you okay.”

“I'm fine. Now lets go to the wharf.”

“Okay, but why?”Sky asked.

“He said there's something bad there.”

“Then lets go.”The three raced toward the wharf. The wharf was filled with all kinds of objects. Suitcases, crates, buckets, and other such things. There was one object in particular Sky noticed; a large mirror. Sky thought there was something off, about the mirror. He slowly walked up to it, and placed his hand on it. He felt light coming from the mirror. It was faint, but it was there. Then he noticed a black spec on the mirror. The spec kept getting bigger, and bigger, until finally Sky realized what it was. It wasn't a spec, it was a reflection. Sky quickly turned around, and saw a Heartless flying toward him. Sky jumped out of the way, and the Heartless began floating above the ground. The Heartless had no legs. One had was a claw, and the other was holding a paintbrush. The Heartless swung its paintbrush; covering the area with dark portals. Sky and Hikari summoned their Keyblades.

“Get out of here kid.” Sky said.

“Okay.” The boy ran away. Sky leaped toward the Heartless. The Heartless used its brush, and made a portal. Sky went through the portal, and came out of one of the the other portals.

“What the?” The Heartless started flying through the portals, and attacking at when it could. The Heartless was too fast for Skys eyes to follow. Then Hikari shot one of the portals with a ball of light, and the portal disappeared. “Nice. Keep it up.” Hikari kept destroying portals ,while Sky waited for his opening. Finally there was only one portal left. The Heartless went into the portal, but Sky was right behind it. Sky jumped out of the portal, with the Heartless in his hand. He slammed it on the ground, and stabbed it with his Keyblade. The Heartless faded away. “Glad that's over. Smart thinking back there.”

“Thanks.” Hikari saw Oswald and the boy, hiding around the corner. “You can come out now.”

“Thanks for getting rid of that thing.” The boy said. Then Oswald ran toward the mirror. Oswald disappeared inside the mirror.

“What?” Sky said in disbelief

“Oh! When those things started to appear, Oswald hid the Cornerstone of Light in there.” The boy said.

“Whats the Cornerstone of Light?” Hikari asked.

“It's suppose to keep darkness away, but it's light went out.”

“That's terrible.” Then Oswald rolled a large glass sphere out of the mirror. “Is that the Cornerstone of Light?”

“Yes. See, it's light is gone.”

“I think I can help.” Sky said. Sky walked up to the cornerstone, and placed his hand on it. Then Sky and the cornerstone began to glow. Then the whole area was engulfed in light. When the light faded, the cornerstone was filled with a swirling light.

“Wow!” The boy said. Then Oswald ran away.

“Where is he going?” Sky asked.

“Probably to go tell everyone, it's okay.”

“Oh! I saw your blueprints. What are they for?” Sky asked.

“I'm sorry, they aren't very good. My dream is to be an architect.”

“Don't be so hard on yourself. I thought your designs were pretty good. If you keep practicing, I know places where they can build your castles.”

“Really!” The boys face lit up.

“Yep. Well we gotta go.”

“I want to ask you something?” The boy said.

“Sure.”

“Can put your keychain in my designs?”

“The three circles, sure, but why?”

“You brought light back to this place. It's the least I can do.”

“Oh! We never got your name.”

“My name is.”

“WALT!” A women yelled.

“That's my mom. I gotta go to.” The boy ran toward the womans voice.

“Goodbye! What a nice kid. I think he's gonna leave a mark on the worlds.” Sky said.

“You mean your mark.”

“If that's what happens.” Sky said smiling. “Now lets go home.” Sky summoned a corridor of light, and the two went home.




Sky and Hikari appeared in the grand hall. Then Veritas started walking toward the two.

“Hikari, Amelia wants you back tonight.”

Hikari didn't know what to say, she simply hung her head. “Isn't this a little short notice.” Sky said.

“Can I leave in the morning?” Hikari asked.

“I don't see why not.” Then Veritas walked toward his room.

“Are you okay?” Sky asked.

“Can we watch the sunset?”

“Sure.” The two walked to the training grounds, and sat on the bench. They sat in complete silence. Neither knew what to say. The sun set reminded Sky of Zanarkand. He wished he could go back in time, and just stay with her forever. However, he knew what he had to do; let her go. Sky got up and started to walk away. “Good luck on you exam.” Sky began the long walk back to his room. He laid down, and attempted to go to sleep, but his mind wouldn't let him. Then he saw Hikari in his doorway.

“Can I sleep with you?” Hikari asked.

“Sure.” Sky replied


The following morning, Sky woke up alone. He noticed an envelope on his night stand, that had his name on it. He put the envelope in his pocket, and walked to the grand hall. Veritas was waiting for him.

“Where's Hikari?” Sky asked.

“She left this morning.”

“Oh.”

“You gonna be okay?”

“I'll be fine. I just need to clear my head.” Sky left the room, and walked to the training grounds. He laid on the grass, just staring at the sky. He wished he had ask Hikari to stay, but he knew he did the right thing. Knowing this, he still felt sad. He wondered if he would ever see her again. Then Sky was engulfed in a light.



When the light was gone, Sky found himself on cliff, overlooking a dark abyss. Sky recognized it from what Umbra showed him.

“Where am I?”

“The edge of darkness.”

Sky turned around,and saw Vergil. Sky immediately recognized him.

“You. What do you want form me.”

“I don't want anything from you. I just want you gone.”

Sky summoned his Keyblade. “There's no way I'll lose to you.”

“If it wasn't for your brother, we wouldn't have to fight.”

[spirit-of-light]

Chapter 11: To Lose is to Find

“My brother?” Sky was very confused.

“You haven't realized it yet. Caelum is your brother.”

“He's my brother.” Sky was shocked. He wanted to deny it, but he knew it was true.

“Do you have something to say?” Vergil asked.

“Ya. I do.” Sky summoned his Keyblade.

“And what would that be?” Vergil summoned his Keyblade, and pointed it a Sky. His Keyblade was a simple design. The guard was a gold triangle, with a circle around it. The blade was silver, and the teeth was a V.The keychain was a long gold chain, and at the end of the chain was a small triangle with a circle inside it.

Sky pointed his Keyblade at Vergil. “If what you say is true. I don't think Umbra would like you hurting his brother.” Vergils face turned pale. “Are you really that scared of him?”

“He has every reason to be.” Sky turned around, and saw Umbra. Umbra summoned a corridor of darkness. “Go home Sky.”

“No.” Sky said.

“Don't worry Sky, he'll get what he deserves.”

“I know what he did, but...”

“I wouldn't expect you to understand.” Umbra grabbed Sky, and pushed him in the corridor of darkness. “I'll see you soon.” Then Umbra started towalk toward Vergil. Vergil went to swing his Keyblade at Umbra, but Umbra grabbed it. Umbra kicked Vergil down. Darkness swirled around Vergils Keyblade, then Umbra broke the blade in half. Then Umbra stood over Vergil. “While I was in that prison. I constantly thought about what I would do when I saw you again. And I think I have the perfect punishment.”

“Don't do it Caleum.”

Umbra put his boot on Vergils stomach. Then he summoned his Keyblade, and put it toVergils throat. “Never use that name again!” Umbras Keyblade became coated in darkness. Then he stabbed Vergil, in the chest. Darkness coated Vergils entire body. When the darkness faded, Vergils entire body was black, and he had bright yellow eyes.

“What did you do to me?!” Vergil now had a very raspy voice.

“You are now the very thing you hate.” Umbra picked Vergil up by the throat. “Fall into darkness.” Then Umbra threw Vergil into the abyss. “One down, one to go.”




Sky appeared at theLand of Departure. He was in the courtyard. Veritas ran out of the castle gates, to Sky.

“Sky! Are you okay? What happened?” Veritas asked. Sky didn't say anything.“Sky?”

Sky told Veritas what happened.

“Then it won't be long now.” Veritas said.

“Is Umbra my brother?” Sky asked.

“In a sense.”

“That's it! I'm tired of the riddles! Just give me a straight answer!”

“You'll find out soon.”

“Not soon! Now!” Veritas made a barrier around Sky. “What? Let me out!” Sky started banging on the barrier.

“Goodbye Sky.” Veritas walked back in the castle. Veritas walked into the grand hall, and sat in the middle throne. Veritas waited for about an hour. Then Umbra appeared. “I thought you would never show.”

“Is there anything you haven't figured out?” Umbra asked.

“Just two things.”

“Then ask. I'll consider it your last request.”

“How did you escape The Realm of Darkness?”

“You can thank Sky.”

“What do you mean?”

“When Sky took his Mark of Mastery Exam, out hearts connected. With that connection I was able to open The Door to Light.”

“My second question. What do you plan to do with all that power?”

“I will make the worlds whole.”

“How will you do that?”

“By bathing them in darkness.”

“And why would you do that?”

“Because the light cast out everything it deems unfit. The darkness accepts everything. It doesn’t care who you are, or where you came from. It accepts anyone, regardless.”

Veritas got up, and walked toward Umbra. “The light didn't cast you out. A coward did.”

“And you could of stopped all of it.”

“I know, and I'm sorry.”

“Don't worry, I promise your death will be swift.”

“Are you under the impression, I'm just going to let you kill me.” Both Sky and Umbra summoned their Keyblades.

“You know you can't defeat me.”

“But I can try.”



On The Shores of Harmony, Hikari was standing in front of Amelia. The two weres tanding on a beach. Behind the two, there was a field, filled with flowers. Hikari was waiting for her exam to begin. Then Amelia spoke.

“Hikari. You have grown stronger, and have proven the strength of your heart. I grant you The Mark of Mastery.”

Hikari was a little confused. “What? I didn't even take the exam.”

“I can see how your heart has grown. You have always had the strength to be a Master, but now you have the strength of your heart.”

“So that's why you sent me to Veritas.”

“Yes. All you needed to do was have a little fun.”

“Well that's okay, I guess.” Hikari hung her head.

“I thought you would be happier.”

Hikari quickly perked up. “Oh. I'm happy. It's just.”

“You want to be with him, don't you.”

“Ya.”

“Then go.”

“Are you sure?”

“All I've ever wanted, was for you to be happy.” Amelia walked up, and hugged Hikari. “Now go.” Hikari summoned a corridor of light, and stepped through.




Back at The Land of Departure, Umbra and Veritas continued to fight. Veritas summoned chains, made of light at Umbra. The chains swirled around, and tried to constrict Umbra. Umbra made a wave of darkness, destroying the chains. While Umbra was distracted, Veritas appeared behind him.Veritas' Keyblade became coated in light. He swung his Keyblade, creating a huge wave of light. Umbra couldn't dodge the attack, and he was knocked to the ground. Umbra became extremely angry. He stabbed his Keyblade into the ground, and the floor became coated in darkness. Then darkness started climbing up Veritas' body, completely covering him. When the darkness faded, Veritas was gone. Umbra looked around, but couldn't find Veritas. Then Umbra looked down. The second he looked down, a huge hand made of darkness came up. Behind the hand, was Veritas, and his body was covered in darkness. Umbra barley dodged the attack, but he kept his footing.

“How?!”

“I'm surprised you didn't notice.”

“Now well see who's darkness is stronger.” The kept trying to hit each other, but neither could land a hit. Veritas created two clones; one of light, and one of darkness. The clones rushed Umbra. Umbra blocked the attacks, and countered with his Keyblade. The clones had dissapeared, but Umbra forgot about Veritas. Veritas got behind Umbra, and slammed his hand on the ground. Then chains made of darkness, came shooting out of the ground, constricting Umbra. Umbra was completelyr estrained. Then Veritas shot a beam of light out of his Keyblade, into Umbras chest. Umbra let out a loud scream. The chains around Umbra disappeared, and he fell to the ground. Then all of the darkness in the room vanished. Veritas knelled next to Umbra. “How did you beat me?”

“Your faith in darkness, is your weakness.” Veritas started to started to stand up, then darkness started to swirl around Umbra. Then Umbra stood up.

“Your faith in him, is yours!” Then darkness started erupting from Umbras body,and shooting off into every direction. The darkness created huge gust of wind, that shattered the castle windows. Outside, Sky could see the darkness coming out of the castle. He kept trying to break the barrier, but it was no use. Hikari appeared in the training grounds. She saw the darkness coming from the castle, and raced toward it. When she got to the courtyard, she found Sky.

Hikari tried to scream over the howling wind. “Sky! Whats going on!”

“It's Veritas and Umbra!” Then suddenly, the darkness disappeared, and the barrier fell, and the darkness dissapeared. “No.” Sky ran inside the castle, and into the grand hall.There, Umbra was standing over Veritas. Small orbs of light and darkness, were coming off of Veritas' body.

Umbra looked at Sky.“Meet me at place we were born. There, we'll have an ending to things.” Then Umbra disappeared, in a corridor of darkness. Sky ran to Veritas' side.

“Master.” Sky began to cry.

Veritas put his hand on Skys shoulder. “It's okay. Sky you know what you have to do. Only you can beat him.”

Sky tried to talk through his tears. “I can't.”

“Yes you can. I believe in you.” Veritas handed Sky his Keyblade. “It's your turn, to change the world.” Sky grabbed the Keyblade, and sat it on the grown. Then the lower half of Veritas', body started to fade.

“Master!”

“Lets meet again, in the next life. I'll be waiting.” Then Veritas' body completely faded, into spheres of light and darkness.

“I'm sorry Sky.”Sky hadn't noticed, Hikari had walked up behind him. Sky couldn't say anything. “What are you going to do?” Sky was still silent. “Are you going to fight him?”

“No.” Sky ran past Hikari, and into the court yard. For some reason, Sky stopped running. Something about the world changed. There was no wind, and the world was completely silent. Then someone, started to appear in front of Sky. The figure started transparent, but eventually became solid. The figure was a women, wearing a white coat, that was covered in black designs, and the hood was pulled up.

“Who are you?” Sky asked. The women pointed at the castle. “I'm not going to fight.” Sky tried to walk around, but women stood in his way.“Move!” The women shook her head “no”. “I said move!” Sky summoned his Keyblade, and went to hit the women. The women grabbed his Keyblade, and it disappeared in her hand. Then the women hugged Sky. Then Sky started to cry, uncontrollably. Something about the women, felt familiar.

“It's okay, Sky.” The womans voice was soothing, like a gentle breeze.

Sky tried to talk through his sobs. “I should have stopped him.”

“Veritas knew what was going to happen.”

“I can't beat him.”

“I want you to meet someone.” There was a flash of light. When the light was gone, Sky was on Destiny Islands, except the island looked different. He was on the main island, looking out at the smaller island. The island was had many small houses on it. It was a dark and windy night. There wasn't even a single star in the sky.

“What are we waiting for?” Sky asked.

“Wait.” Sky waited for a few seconds, and saw a beam of light, coming up from, the smaller island.

“What was that?”

“He's not even born yet, and he's already helping others.” There was another flash of light. When the light faded, Sky was on the smaller island, but the island looked diffirent. There were bridges, connecting trees, and pieces of wood supporting some of the larger trees. There was a bridge that connected the island, to the smaller island. Sky wondered how this stuff was built so fast. He looked around, but he couldn't find the women. Sky wanted to look for the women, but didn't see a point in it. His Master had died, and he had to defeat his own brother. He sat on the shore, and began to cry again.

“Or you okay?” Sky looked over, and saw a boy. The boy couldn't of been older then nine. He had blue eyes and spiky brown hair. He wore red shorts, with yellow shoes, a white shirt, with a black and gray over jacket. Sky quickly, wiped the tears from his eyes.

“I'm fine.”

“You don't look okay. Is there anyway I can help?”

“No. I don't think anyone can help me.”

“What do you have to do?”

“Everyone's expecting me to do something really important, and I don't think I can.”

“You can do it.”

Sky was shocked.“What do you mean?”

“If your friends think you can do it, then you must be able to. Your friends wouldn't ask you do something if they knew you couldn't.” The statement made everything click, for Sky. Veritas believed in him, and so did Hikari.

“Thanks.” Sky took off his crown necklace, and put it around the boys neck.“Someone very important to me gave this to me. Take care of it for me.”

“If its important, why are you giving it to me?”

“That's the only kind of gift worth giving.”

“Thank you. I'm Sora.”

“Nice name.”

“SORA!” Yelled two childrens voices.

“Oh! That's myf riends. I hope everything works out okay.”

“Thanks.” Sora ran around the island, out of sight. The women appeared beside Sky.“Whoa!”

“That boy will have terrible things happen to him. He will lose friends, he will lose his memories, and bear unimaginable torment. And he will do it all, for the sake of his friends.”

“Some kid.” There was another flash of light. When the light faded, Sky was at The Land of Departure. He was standing in the court yard, with the strange women.

“Are you ready to face him?” The women asked.

“Yes. For my Master.”

“Do you know why he fights?” Sky didn't know what to say. He never thought about things, form Umbras point of view. “Let me show his pain.” She put her hand on Skys chest, and he instantly fell to his knees. He felt all of Umbras anger, hate, and sadness. “He fights because that is all he knows. He has never been shown love, or mercy.”

“Why did you show me all of this?”

“Mothers are suppose to guide there children.” Then the women disappeared. Sky finally understood Umbra. Even after all that Umbra did, Sky still felt sorry for him. Sky stood up, and walk into the castle. He walked to Veritas' room. He went to a closet, and put on one of Veritas' white coats. The coat instantly fit to Skys body. His clothes turned white, and his shorts turned to pants. Then he noticed a box, on Veritas' desk. He opened the box, and found a fingerless metal glove, and a letter. The glove was silver, with gold trim around the base and finger, and a blue circle on top. Sky put the glove on his left hand. He opened the letter, and read it. The letter was from Veritas, to him. The letter was about, Kingdom Hearts, the Keyblades, the Princesses of Heart, and Kye and his brother. The end of the letter was about Sky and Umbras birth, Veritas' origin, and what caused the Keyblade War.