//------------------------------// // Chapter 2: Dive to the Void // Story: Kingdom Hearts: Path of Two Suns // by Ze1a7in //------------------------------// Kingdom Hearts: Path of Two Suns Chapter 2 Dive to the Void Darkness. That was all Sunset Shimmer felt as she blearily opened her eyes. ‘Where am I? Why do I feel like I’m sinking? Am I…dead? Last thing I remember is-’ Sunset’s eyes shot open as memories of the past half hour flooded into her mind. ‘The text! The ambush! Are the other students ok?! What were those creatures, and that weapon I fought them with?!’ Sunset then looked around, only to see she was floating in a void of black nothing. No, not floating, Sunset could feel a slight downward tug pulling on her, but soon that tug disappeared as her feet touched something solid, yet invisible. “Where am I? Why am I here, and why does this place feel familiar, yet empty?” “The answer to the first and last questions are the same, the second is not as simple.” Sunset didn’t so much hear the words as she felt them in her head. Suddenly, a soft flash of light appeared in the air before Sunset, and when it faded, Sunset saw the same gold and red key from her memories of the fight. “Greetings, my wielder. I feel you have many questions, so ask them before I answer your original three, as the answers to those will no doubt shake you.” “Wielder… You’re the weapon I summoned when I was fighting those things! What, exactly,  are you, and how are you talking with me?” “I am known as Hopeful Dusk, and I am a Keyblade. A magical weapon capable of opening and closing any lock, door, or chest. In addition, a Keyblade is the only weapon capable of releasing the hearts stolen by the Heartless. Those ‘things’ you fought were a variety of Heartless, and the weakest at that.” For some reason, when Sunset heard “hearts stolen”, she felt something nagging at the back of her mind, as if those two words were significant to her situation. “As for how I am talking with you, I am unique among Keyblades, as your natural magical ability mixed with my own, and improved the sort-of sentience already present in all Keyblades. This improved sentience allowed me to guide your hand in battle. Unfortunately, that was a one-time thing.” Sunset’s face became contemplative. “Natural magical ability…! You mean my Equestrian Magic? So that’s why the magic I used felt similar to that of back home. But...how did I summon you in the first place? And why do you look like you do?” “I do not know how you summoned me, as it is rare for an individual to awaken their potential to wield a Keyblade without the proper ceremony or certain training. As for my appearance, when a Keyblade wielder first summons their Keyblade, that first Keyblade takes on an appearance representative of the wielder’s heart. More on that later, as it is related to your original questions.” “That’s as good an explanation as any, I guess. So, what are the Heartless? How do they steal hearts, anyways? Isn’t that vital to someone being alive?” “I do not mean that they steal an individual’s physical heart. While the individual whose heart has been stolen does indeed cease to be, at least in their current form, they are not exactly dead. The heart I refer to is closer in concept to one’s soul. The Heartless are creatures of darkness, born from the negative emotions that exist in every heart. Their main purpose is to seek out hearts full of light, and steal them, in the process allowing the heart to be consumed by darkness, thus creating a new Heartless. A Heartless can also be formed by an individual willingly surrendering to the darkness in their heart, and in doing so they transform into a Heartless.” There it was again. That nagging feeling that Sunset was missing something, which strangely only occurred when Hopeful Dusk mentioned hearts, and them being stolen or consumed by darkness. Sunset suddenly felt very, very, cold. “...The last thing I remember is Gilda yelling that something was behind me, and me spinning around while swinging a Keyblade. I also remember the feeling of pain when that last Heartless clawed my back. That Heartless…it stole my heart, didn’t it?” Hopeful Dusk seemed to lose some of its shine, Sunset would have attributed it to someone being sad. “Yes. Unfortunately, after your battle, your heart was indeed stolen, along with a part of me. I believe it is time I answered your original questions. The area we are currently in, is a dream-like place known as the Dive to the Heart, and is usually filled with Stations representative of an individual's heart. That is why this place feels familiar, yet empty. This is a space closely tied to your heart. But this is a good thing.” “Good thing?! How can my heart being stolen be in any way a good thing?!” Sunset absently noted that despite her words, she didn’t feel the anger she thought she should have. “The fact this place yet remains is a good thing, as it means that a part of your heart yet remains. However, that is normally impossible. You appear to be a special case.” “...Oh. Huh.” Sunset’s face once again became contemplative. “How does this relate to your appearance, though? You said your appearance was related to my original three questions, but how?” “Yes, I did say that my appearance is a reflection of your heart. And your heart, Sunset Shimmer, has been in a balance of the light and dark within it for some time. My appearance reflects that balance, as does the appearance of my halves.” At those words, Hopeful Dusk became enveloped in a soft light once more, before the one light separated into two. When those lights faded, the two Keyblades that Sunset had dual wielded were floating before her. The one on Sunset’s left was gold and white, while the one on her right was crimson and black. “The one on your left is called Nobody’s Sun, and is representative of the light in your heart. It’s opposite and equal is Setting Dark, representative of the darkness in your heart. Now, however, the darkness in your heart has been separated from you along with your heart,” at this, Setting Dark started to fade away, “Leaving only the light that once balanced it. And while your heart may no longer remain, the light is still connected to it. Hence why this place still remains.” Sunset should have been shocked, or confused, or any other emotion after this info dump, but for some reason she did not know, she felt none of them. Chalking it up to emotional drain after the past week, Sunset asked the last question on her mind. “So, what now?” “Now, you return to the waking world. There are people there who are concerned for you. Farewell, my wielder.” Suddenly, Sunset felt herself floating upwards. As she floated, she became surrounded in a light that eventually grew blinding, forcing her to shut her eyes. --------------------------------- Sunset groggily opened her eyes, blinking until her vision was clear, and she found herself looking up at the ceiling of her apartment. ‘Ugh, my head. Wait...how did I get to my apartment?’ Upon realizing this, Sunset shot up from her bed, looking around the room quickly. She heard the door to her bedroom open, and upon looking towards it, she saw Gilda standing there. “So, you finally woke up, huh?” Gilda then stuck her head back outside the room, saying to someone else “She’s awake!” “Gilda? What are you doing in my apartment? How did we get to my apartment? I don’t remember telling you my address. Like, ever.” Gilda chuckled lightly at that, before saying to Sunset “Snips and Snails told me. Then I drove your unconscious body here with the help of a few… Well, it would just be easier for you to talk with them yourself.” At this, Gilda stepped aside, and three new individuals that Sunset had never seen before entered her bedroom, stopping before her bed. The first was obviously the youngest, around 16 years old. He had spiky, brown hair, and blue eyes. His outfit consisted of a black V-neck shirt with white lining, over which he wore a black jacket with grey pockets and a grey stripe on each sleeve. The hood, sleeves, and jacket itself had a red lining, and six buttons were visible on the front. He had gauntlet-like gloves on his hands, in a similar color scheme to his jacket, with grey circles on the backs, yellow straps around the wrists, and exposed palms. He was wearing black shorts that came down a few inches below his knees, with several grey pockets on the sides. His black and yellow sneakers, while not comically large, were definitely a couple sizes too big for him, from what Sunset could see. Sunset also noticed he wore a silver necklace with a crown on it. The second was, from Sunset’s estimate, about a year older than the first, with silver-ish hair, in a shade that could be mistaken for a shade of blue, that reached down to just above his neck in the back, and eyes that were blue-green. His clothes consisted of a sleeveless, black tank-top with a zipper on the front, over which was a white and yellow vest with a blue stripe separating the two colors. He also wore baggy blue jeans with a black belt, and his shoes were a pair of yellow-laced, white sneakers with gray lining and soles, and three black stripes on the sides. The last was an adult, with shoulder-length, bright red hair styled into slick-backed spikes like something out of an anime, and a widow’s peak at the front, and bright emerald eyes. His outfit consisted of a sleeveless orange jacket, the pockets of which are a darker orange than the rest, with a sleeveless white undershirt, tan baggy pants, and red and white sneakers with black socks. The most notable part of his appearance was the yellow and brown keffiyeh around his neck, which changed patterns from striped to checkered at his neck. The bottom of the keffiyeh was slightly frayed. After Sunset took in their appearances, the one with brown hair spoke up “Hey, you’re Sunset Shimmer, right?” “I am. Who are you three, and how did you get into my apartment? I have the only key.” Sunset responded warily. To her surprise, he grinned widely while putting his hands behind his head in a relaxed pose. “My name is Sora.” “Riku.” Said the blue haired one with a nod of his head. “My name is Lea, but you can call me Axel. Got it memorized?” said anime hair while holding the index finger of his right hand to the side of his head. “I guess so?” Sunset responded, a bit confused at his reason for asking that particular question. ‘Why do I get the feeling that he uses that phrase a lot?’ “Good.” Axel continued, “As for why we are here…” Suddenly the faces of all three grew more serious, “You wouldn’t happen to know a ‘Princess Celestia’, would you?”