Kingdom Hearts: Dream Team

Chapter 26: Keeper of the Heart 💜

Cyrena told her story. Back in Shibuya, she had been a lesser reaper who wasn't as talented as the rest. Very few players were erased by her, but she still had a dream. She wanted to be a game master, a higher ranking reaper that makes the missions. Joshua had seen potential in her and the two started dating in secret. However, Joshua never truly loved Cyrena, seeing her only for her usefulness.

As time went on, though, it became clear that Cyrena was still not racking up enough points. The rules of the game state that if a reaper doesn't erase enough players, they get erased. Cyrena didn't want to be eliminated, so she turned to Joshua with the belief that he could help her. Unfortunately, he dumped, seeing that her usefulness was at an end. Cyrena didn't take the break up too well, and she developed a desire to destroy Joshua. When she was at the brink of erasure, an emissary from another world appeared, Master Xehanort.

Cyrena made a deal with him. To get her revenge, she would have to travel to another world, one in which the Reaper's Game didn't exist. She could then lure Joshua into this world (where his powers would be weaker) and destroy him, taking over his position. The only drawback was the fact that her expiration date would cease to exist, but Cyrena would also lose her powers as a reaper. To make up for this, Master Xehanort had granted her a new ability: the power to control the Heartless.

What shocked me was the fact that Cyrena did all of this just to get rid of Joshua. "I'm sorry, Cyrena," he said, sounding completely sincere. Pure rage was etched all over her face. "It's too late for that, Joshy-boy! Time to meet your maker!" Even though my boyfriend was clearly in the wrong in this scenario, I realized that no one deserved this. So, with Keyblade in hand, I rushed in, standing between him and Cyrena.

"Foolish child," Cyrena hissed. "After all he has done, you still choose to stand by him?! Ah well. Xehanort wants me to uphold my end of the bargain." She reached out for me, but I hadn't noticed I was already coming up with a plan. Unfortunately, my foresight didn't help this time. Somehow, my foe had anticipated my move and countered, knocking me on the ground.

"Don't even bother," she said, standing over me. "Xehanort told me all about your 'gift'." The space between my eyes hurt; I knew I was gonna black out any second now. Cyrena's voice rang in my head, but she was talking to Joshua now. "Prove you love her and fight me!" My vision blurred and everything went dark.

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Everything was hazy when I opened my eyes. Was I dead? Was I dreaming? Or was I both of those things? No, I had to be dreaming because I had just made another dive into the heart. Yes, I had finally realized what this place was: This was my heart. I had been coming here ever since the beginning of my journey, but why? The voice spoke from the inky blackness around me. "I welcome your return, Queen of Dreams."

"Hello. It's been too long. Why am I here?" The voice was silent for a moment, but soon answered my question. "It's time you learned why you, out of all of the people in your world, were chosen." Ever since I found out that I could summon a keyblade, I've wondered this aloud. I was thrilled to finally get some solid answers. In that moment, images filled my head.

The visions depicted me back when I was three years old. My hair was lighter  than it is now, much longer and also curlier. Baby fat was abundant on me, mostly on my face. The shades of green had not appeared in my eyes yet, meaning they were crystal blue instead of the teal they are now.

I was being attacked, not by Heartless, but by creatures called the Unversed. Unversed are born of negativity that were the main enemies in Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep. Back to the vision; it looked like I was standing over something - my infant brother - acting as a human shield. The instant they got too close, I would lash out, but I could tell that I wasn't winning the fight.

Suddenly, a shooting star appeared... and crashed into the ground. The light cleared and there stood a mouse with a key-shaped sword. It was Mickey Mouse, the King of Disney Town! The moment I thought I couldn't take anymore hits, he jumped between me and the Unversed. "It's alright," the King said, trying to reassure me. "Just stay behind me and you'll be fine."

I noticed something: my toddler self had touched Mickey's keyblade. In Birth by Sleep, Sora's friend, Kairi, had touched Master Aqua's keyblade by accident. This act had granted her the ability to use one years later. Keyblade wielders aren't born with their abilities. They receive them through an act called an inheritance ceremony. Eleven years after this encounter, I summoned a keyblade. With this memory rushing back, I realized the truth: I can wield a keyblade because I am King Mickey's successor.

I watched the rest of the memory, which ended with King Mickey departing via the star shard. I never saw him again after that. The vision quietly faded away. In a hazy field, I heard the voice again, but it was different this time. "Hello, Aislynn," said a voice that sounded vaguely familiar. That was when I realized whose it was. "Your Majesty?"

"That's right," the voice responded. "How long has it been since we've seen each other?" He has to be kidding me. And here I thought I was the one who had completely forgotten. "It's been eleven years, Your Majesty, maybe eleven and a half. I'm fifteen and a chosen wielder of the keyblade." I summoned my keyblade without second thought. "Gosh, I guess it really has been a long time," the king's  voice said, with a hint of wistfulness.

Questions started pouring out of me; I am inquisitive after all. "Why would the keyblade choose me? What happened back then was just an accident. I'm not Sora! I'm not you!" A tiny laugh surrounded me. "Aislynn, none of that is important. The keyblade chose you because of who you are." Confused, I asked for his meaning.

"I believe you already know the answer," Mickey's voice replied. In my mind, I tried to recall why I was chosen. Then, it hit me like a tidal wave. "Back then, I threw myself into the fight to protect my brother. The keyblade chose me because I stand apart with my compassion and my need to protect the ones closest to me." It's just like Joshua said, I'm a lone star who chooses to be herself.

I stared at my keyblade, Keeper of the Heart, and only now did I realize it's significance. It looked so much like the Kingdom Key, but not exactly. This probably symbolized how much I looked like Sora, but how different I was from him. The two curved blades at the end probably symbolize my edge and how I'm not afraid to get aggressive. At the time, I had chosen the name "Keeper of the Heart" just because of the way it looked. Now, though, the name fit because of my caring heart.

My thoughts were broken when I realized that something was wrong. Joshua was fighting Cyrena and in his current condition, she would wipe him out. I had to get back to him; I had to help. So I told the voice that my friends needed me and that I had to help them. The time had come for me to finally follow my heart and protect the ones I cared about. The dream started to fade away; my dive to the heart was over.