The Songs in Our Hearts Book One: Reaching Out

Chapter Eleven: A Looming Shadow

After running and slashing through a endless swarm of shadows, Sora burst through a door that had appeared at the entrance of the Secret Place. As the brunette stepped inside, he slammed the door so the monsters would not get in. The Secret Place was the last area he hadn't checked. Kairi had to be here.

"Kairi, are you there?" he called, his voice echoing through the tunnel.

After a few seconds, her voice responded, "Sora?" Encouraged by Kairi's response, Sora ran to the end of the tunnel. When he reached the end, the boy saw his friend waiting there. She stood in front of that strange door with her back faced towards Sora.

"Kairi!" he exclaimed in relief.

Turning around slowly, Kairi murmured, "Sora..." The boy flinched at her pale complexion. Kairi's normally bright, blue eyes were dull, and she had a weak expression on her face. Her red strands of hair were a mess. Sora watched as the girl reached out to him, and it was as if she barely had the strength to raise her arm. Something was very wrong.

Without warning, the door flung open, and a strong current burst out of it. Kairi let out a scream as she was caught in the blast. Sora immediately spread out his arms to catch her as she came flying towards him. As Kairi drew closer, Sora tried to wrap his arms around the girl, ready to protect her. However, as Sora tried to catch her, Kairi disappeared into thin air. The boy looked down at the floor to make sure that he didn't imagine her vanishing.

"What?" he grunted incredulously. Kairi was just there in front of him. Where could she have gone? Sora moved to a wall and held on as tight as he could. "Kairi!" he called, waiting for a response. "Kairi! Riku!" The gale began to grow stronger and stronger; Sora was finding it difficult to hold onto the wall. With a sudden burst of strength, the wind sent the boy flying out of the cave.

Sora landed face-first into the sand. Lifting himself off the ground, his eyes widened as he noticed that a large portion of the island was missing. There was no more water or land— it was like the islands had become a cliff, and Sora was just a few inches short of falling off of it. Startled by the drop, the fourteen-year-old jumped back.

The strange portal that Riku had disappeared into seemed to be breaking apart. Whatever was left of the islands shook violently, and Sora struggled to stand on his feet. A loud thud sounded from behind him; Sora turned around to be met with a very familiar and grotesque face.

"You..." he growled, clenching his fist. It was the monster that had appeared in his dream the day before. The Darkside let out a roar as it slammed its fist into the ground. A void appeared where the hand landed, and Shadows appeared from out of the ground.

Sora immediately leapt above the swarm, landing on the Darkside's arm soon after. Running up the apendage, the boy prepared to strike its face with his Keyblade. As the Key slammed into the mess of tendrils, a loud, pained screech shook the terrain as it stumbled back from the blow. Trying to not fall off the Darkside, the boy stabbed his weapon into the shoulder and held onto the handle as tight as he could.

"Woah!" he shouted, feeling himself being pulled away from the monster. The titan sent Sora speeding towards the beach, where a swarm of Shadows waited for him. The teen hit the sand hard; Shadows immediately lunged at him.

Without a moment to waste, Sora swung the Keyblade at the monsters. Feeling the ground shake again, he looked up to see the Darkside had dropped to its knees, and it began to launch projectiles from the gaping, heart-shaped hole in its chest. The orbs flew quickly in Sora's direction. He immediately tried to find something to hide behind, but the barren, flat terrain had little-to-no shelter. Seeing a swarm of Shadows ahead of him, Sora sprinted towards it with the energy blasts descending quickly on him.

As the boy ran past the Shadows, the orbs crashed and sent numerous monsters flying in different directions.

"Haha! Can't believe that worked!" he laughed before running into the Darkside's leg. Sora stumbled back and fell onto the sand. Lifting its twisted foot off the ground, the beast prepared to crush Sora. "Oh, come on," he muttered, rolling out of harm's way. The foot came down fast, causing the ground to shake violently.

The Darkside clenched its enormous fist in irritation, and it once again sent a powerful punch to the sand. Sora fell over from the shockwave that spread from the hit. Sky blue eyes stared up at the beast in anger.

Strengthening his grip on the Keyblade's handle, Sora growled in a low, furious tone, "We were so close to seeing the outside world." He thought back to Riku and Kairi and how they had disappeared without a trace. More than anything right now, he wanted them back— he didn't want to be alone.

Getting up from the ground, Sora lashed out at the creature's fist. As the Darkside began to retract its hand, he jumped onto the appendage and ran up the arm.

"You're done!" he shouted above the wind and thunder. The Keyblade came down hard on the Darkside's tentacle-covered face. A loud screech filled the air as a pale blue light seemed to erupt from its face.

Sora fell back onto whatever was left of the beach. The wind changed; rather than blowing from the side, it moved up towards some sort of portal. No, that gaping hole in the sky was acting like a giant vacuum, sucking up everything in the area. Sora watched as the monster ascended into the portal, only to disappear. Not wanting to be sucked in, he ran to a piece of driftwood and held on as tight as he could, but despite his efforts, his feet were lifted off the ground.

"No! It can't end like this!" the boy cried, trying to think of something. There had to be a way to restore the islands. Sora's blue orbs scanned the now barren wasteland that used to be a tropical paradise. Nothing was left— not even the main island. All those people were gone.

The force of the vacuum grew stronger. With his last ounce of strength gone, Sora's gloved hand lost hold of the wood. A scream left his lips. The land was getting further away now. As he drew closer to the portal, Sora closed his eyes.