Text The Change of Hearts Book 1

anime627 · January 17, 2013

Hello! This is my first real fanfiction on the website (and my first post in general). I hope you enjoy and as an inspiring writer I would really enjoy a lot of criticism. Well, here I go!

Book 1: Genesis

Chapter 1: Missing Memories

The dreams roll through my mind again and again. I'm standing in a large stone room. A fire, standing on a small torch in the middle of the room, flickers non stop. The fire's warmth soothes my soul. The fire, a life waiting to be born. It begins to grow bigger, engulfing everything around it. I stand there, watching. Waiting. The fire grows even larger, beginning to engulf the room. As it grows bigger, the fire begins to transform. It first takes the form of a lion. The lion stares at me, encircling me, ready to pounce. It's eyes full of fierceness engulf me. I stand there, watching. Waiting. From there, the fire transforms again, even bigger than before. It is now a dragon. The dragon stands before me roaring at me, trying to scare me off. But I stand there, watching. Waiting. The dragon gets closer, wanting to attack. The dragon, a life that is waiting to be born, a life that is wants to kill me. The dragon jumps at me, but before it can engulf me in the flames of his body, it pauses. The dragon stands upright and turns around. In the corner, a figure is also watching. The figure is black as night, and it is watching. Waiting. Th figure stands up and begins to walk towards us. The dragon spreads its wings, protecting me from the figure. The life that is trying to kill me, is now saving mine with his own. The blackness of the figure sends a shiver down my spine. It was a blackness that withers and rots anything that happens to be engulfed by me. The dragon begins to crawl towards the figure, and the figure towards the dragon. I want to run. I want to escape from the room and leave it all behind. But I stand there, watching. Waiting. Suddenly, the dragon jumps at the figure. When the two collide, they disappear. The room around me is gone and I am now surrounded by a tornado of colors and emotions. The last roar of the dragon rings in my ear. I stand there, watching. Waiting. Soon, that image is gone and I am now outside in the jungle in the middle of nowhere. In front of me, a circle of ash. Around the edges, mysterious symbols circle the ash. In the middle, a girl. No. A body. What was once a girl is now a hollow carriage. The girl stares at me. Her empty gray eyes try to wrap me around them. Her blonde hair slowly starts to turn white. Soon, all the color on her body is gone and she is completely white. She stands there, watching. Waiting. What is she waiting for? What am I waiting for? What are w-

"Cooper!" the teacher yelled. I stood up abruptly and began to blabber.

"The Declaration of Independence!" I yelled loudly. The kids around me began to laugh and point fingers at me like little kids.

"This is math class, wiseguy. Now sit down and please try to stay awake." the teacher smirked. I sat down quietly and sighed deeply. I looked out the window next to my desk and watched the birds fly high over the school. I despised that dream. That dream now happens almost every other day. I don't even remember when I first had the dream. It might even be possible that I've had that dream since birth. I asked my parents, but all they say is that I have a wildly active imagination nor do they remember me ever telling them about this dream before. I think this is something I'm supposed to talk about with my therapist.

Soon the bell rang and the kids got up. I quickly grabbed my backpack and swiftly left the room. The just empty hallway was now crowded with kids of all types and sizes. I skipped through the hallway and up a flight of stairs. As I left the stairway, a figure grabbed me from behind. Out of reflex, I grabbed the arms of the figure and twisted them, pulling them around in front of me. "Ow, that hurts!" a girls voice laughed. I looked up and it was Amy. I quickly let go and she straightened her medium long black hair with her hands. Her pale skin turned a little red as her melodic laugh filled my ears. I observed her ocean blue eyes. They were nothing like the eyes of the girl in my dream. In fact, they seemed like complete opposites in general.

We began to walk to our science class. As I walked I began to speak to her. "I had that dream again." I told her. She frowned at me. She's known about my dream since I first told her in elementary school, almost 10 years ago.

"You need to talk to someone about this!" Amy pleaded with me. I sighed and shook my head.

"There's no point in getting help." I responded.

"But what if the dreams mean something? What if they are trying to tell you something!?"

"They're aren't trying to tell me something" I laughed pitifully. "My parents are probably right. It's just my imagination acting up." Amy frowned again as we entered the science room. We sat down and talked for a few more minutes before the teacher entered the room.

"Okay class. I was going to begin a new chapter today, but I'm holding off on that until tomorrow." the teacher told us. "Yesterday, an explorer in the Amazon jungle discovered a new animal species!" He told us gleefully.

"What is it, a new type of bird?" one student asked, trying to make a joke.

"No. I think it's best if you just see it for yourself." And with that, the teacher turned off the lights and played the video on the New York Times website.

The video started out with a large group of people standing in a warehouse. The groups is standing in front of a large red curtain, talking about what the new animal could possibly be. The talking ended when a scientist appeared through the curtain and walked to the wooden podium, while applause filled the room. It became silent again when the scientist began speaking. "Yesterday, at around 2:35 pm in the Amazon Jungle near the riverbed of the Amazon river, explorer Adam Kent discovered a new animal species. This species is unlike any other we have ever seen. It shows no characteristics or personality traits that match any other animal we've identified. The animal is considered dangerous as Mr. Kent arrived with the captured animals covered in scrapes and bruises. He states it was just crawling on the sand, as if looking for something. I will now show you this animal that we have just discovered." With that, the man turned sideways and pointed to the curtains, which immediately pulled to the sides of the room. The audience gasped when the creature, contained in a glass box, appeared. The creature was black as night. It was small, with sharp tiny claws and feet and razor antennas. It was entirely black except for the beady eyes, which glowed a bright yellow. The audience murmured loudly and horrifyingly. The creature, instead of moving around, stood still, watching the people in the audience. "The name is this creature is still under determination. We have yet to identify its origin or any others of this creature. It will be studied under the observation of Dr. Hert and we will return when we have made any observational facts about this creature. Thank you and good night." With that, the curtains closed and the scientists disappeared, leaving behind a flabbergasted room.

The classroom was completely silent for a moment, then it broke into chaos. The kids began inferring what the animal was or where it came from. Soon, the bell rang and the kids left. Amy was about to leave the room when she saw me. I was still sitting at my desk. "Cooper, let's go!" Amy yelled. I remained still. She walked over and gasped. I was now pale and shivering, sweat running down my face. While Amy went to get the teacher all I could think of was the picture of the creature. It wasn't moving around in the box. It stood there, watching. Waiting.

anime627 · January 18, 2013

Book 1: Genesis

Chapter 2: Hidden Secrets

I watched as the nurse examined Cooper closely. I nearly had a heart attack when I saw Cooper in the science classroom. His eyes were screaming in fear. Sweat rolled down his face and there was enough that it could fill a gallon bucket. I ran and got a teacher quickly. When the teacher examined him, he told me to bring him to the nurses office. I practically had to drag him because he was still in shock. I sat on the stool while the nurse went through all the normal procedures. She checked his temperature and pulse and did all the reflex tests. "Well, the good news is you're not sick," the nurse told Cooper. "However, I'm worried. You're pulse is racing and you're still sweating like crazy. What did that teacher show you guys?"

"It was the new animal they found yesterday!" I responded in place of Cooper, who remained still. She looked at me and sighed. She turned back to Cooper.

"Look. Whatever that creature is, it can't hurt you. It's locked up in some science laboratory in the middle of nowhere. I'm sure you're just afraid of it and some sleep will do you some good, okay?" Cooper stayed despondent of the nurses chatter. "I think you should just go home now and rest. You're too unstable to stay in school. Is there anyone you can call?"

"I can take him home!" I stood up abruptly, holding the sleevesof my shirt with my hands. The nurse looked at me sarcastically.

"Don't you still have school?" She asked.

"All I have left is gym. Plus I live only a few houses down from him."

"Thank you Amy," the nurse smiled reluctantly. I grabbed Cooper's wrist and pulled him up. Thankfully, he gained enough consciousness to walk without me having to drag him. As we left the school, the silence got even more awkward. It wasn't until he had left the school area that Cooper finally said something to me.

"I'm sorry you had to do this," Cooper apologized. I rested my hand on his shoulder and his face reddened, noticeable from the pale color it just was.

"After everything that has been happening lately, I have to agree with the nurse. You need to rest," I smiled at him.

"I knew I could always trust you." That's when my heart strings were pulled. I quickly took my hand off his shoulder and wrapped them around me. It pained me to hear him say that word. Trust. It was true that Cooper and I were best friends. We told each other everything. No. He told me everything. I listened to all these things that any other person would have thought of as crazy, but he trusts me to keep his embarassing, sometimes strange, secrets. However, I couldn't say the same thing. I've kept so much from him. I know everything about him, and yet, though he doesn't know it, he knows absolutely nothing about me.

We remained silent for a couple more minutes, until we reached the first stoplight. "What do you think about that monster?" Cooper interrupted the silence as we waited for the green light. I looked at him an frowned.

"It looked disgusting" I told him. Those were my real thoughts. The complete lack of color, the beady golden eyes, made it look squirmy and horrible. I got shivers too, though I would never admit it to anyone. Just another secret I can lock away in my chest full of them.

"It just felt...so familiar," Cooper continued, while I pictured the creature in my mind. "It just stood there, staring at the audience. It scanned them, as if they were prey to him. Aren't you scared of it?" Suddenly, the light turned green and I walked halfway out and turned back.

"I'm not scared of anything," I smiled at him. He gave a weak smile and caught up to me on the other side of the road. We continued walking and soon made it to Cooper's house. He opened the door and turned back.

"Would you like to come in?" Cooper asked me. I blushed a little and turned away.

"Sorry, but I think my parents are gonna be asking why I left school early," I laughed, lying blatantly. I couldn't go in. It wasn't because it would be awkward, but more like I couldn't face him right now. There was too much going on, and my head was still spinning.

"Then I guess I'll see you tomorrow," Cooper said. I waved goodbye and began walking back towards the sidewalk. I looked back and Cooper was still staring at me. He blushed and closed the door. I smiled and skipped all the way back home. When I got home, I immediately went home and changed out of my shirt. After slipping on the new shirt, I stared at my arm. The bandage I try everday to hide from everyone on my upper right arm was becoming disheveled. I slowly unwrapped the bandage and looked at the figure on my arm.

My parents called it a scar, but I felt like that wasn't the case. The curves of the black lines formed a shape resembling a spiral. It was etched into my skin as if by a sharp knife. Just looking at it made me feel a sharp pain coming from the scar. I stared at it through the mirror for a couple seconds. This scar was my greatest secret. Only my parents and I knew of it and telling Cooper would be the last thing I wanted to do.

After the moments of reflection, I quickly cut out a new string of bandage and wrapped it around my arm. I stood up and took a deep breath. As I stood there, I heard it. A rustling from outside. I grabbed a blanket to cover my bandage and opened my curtains. I looked outside, but I saw nothing there. I awoke from my suspicious gaze and closed the curtains again, deciding to go to dinner. Without my knowledge, a man appeared from behind the bushes. He stared at my window gravely.

"No. Not yet."

anime627 · January 19, 2013

Book 1: Genesis

Chapter 3: Arrival

I sat in the long and dank hallway. I sat uncomfortably in my chair, my back screaming in pain everytime I leaned back. I adjusted my glasses and looked around the hallway. The lights flickered non stop on the other side of the hallway, adding a creepy atmosphere to the already haunting hallway. Finally, a man appeared, adorning a white lab coat, and stood before me. "We've been waiting for you, Dr. Hert," the man smiled. I smiled back wickedly. I was the one waiting for THEM. I had already been sitting in that seat for over two hours before they decided to show up. For a man so important as myself, I would think they would at least have the courtesy of meeting me when I first entered. Filthy humans. The moment they found the new species, I knew they would call on me to lead the investigation as I was clearly the most deserving and the most intelligent of all the candidates. "Follow me."

The man began to walk down the hall and I stood up. I quickly stretched in order to relax my back from all the pain it had just gone through. I caught up to the man, who signaled to me to follow him through the door at the far end of the hallway. We walked for what seemed like miles down hallways, stairwells, and through dozens of double doors. As we continued, the lights flickered more and more and the farther we went, the more I wondered whether or not this place was actually a government facility and not some insane asylum.

Finally, we went through the last door and into the docking bay. The large garage was filled with hundreds of people, running around and screaming at each other. For once, the sound of annoying people and loud machinery put me at ease, compared to the rest of this eerie facility. We walked down the last set of steps onto the gravel and ground and walked through the garage, dodging the scientists and engineers racing between me and the man. When we reached the other side, he stopped and turned to me. "The truck containing the species will be here in a minute." I sighed, annoyed at how these mortals were testing my patience. I stuck my hands in my pocket and waited for a few minutes. Suddenly, the honk of the truck rang through my ears, and the truck finally arrived, backing up into the garage. While it stopped, I realized that the room had suddenly become deathly quiet. I turned and saw all the people in the garage staring at us, backing up and crowding together, as if waiting for something to happen. I turned back and a man, the man who had spoken to me about the offer in the first place, exited the passenger side of the truck and walked over to me.

"Hello doctor!" the man smiled, shaking my hand. "I suppose this is the moment you've been waiting for!" I smirked. Hardly. This creature was probably some duck or whatever coated in oil, hence the blackness. I just wanted this to be over so I could get back to my research. With that, the back of the truck began to open and there it was. The small black creature that had enticed everyone stared at me with the beady yellow eyes that frightened everyone. As a machine grabbed the glass cage and took it out of the truck, I could hear the murmur and fright coming from the audience we had around us. I turned back and noticed that the cage was larger than it originally appeared on the television.

"A new cage?" I asked the man. He turned to me and frowned.

"The old one was... destroyed by that creature. We double enforced this one with weather proof glass, so nothing will destroy it this time." the man laughed pitifully. I flinched for a second. A creature of that size could do that much damage to the cage? Maybe this investigation would be more interesting that I thought. "We'll bring him to your new lab now, doctor." the man said. The machine went off with the cage towards a large door to the right of the garage. I quickly took out my notebook and chased after it. When we went through the doors and down another, much nicer looking hallway.

As the machine carried the cage, I walked behind, taking primary notes on the appearance of the creature. The creature was truly all black. There was not a single space of different colors except for the eyes. In fact, upon closer notice, the blackness appeared strange. It seemed like the color was swirling through the skin of the body, and not just stationary. It was like the black was just a gaseous coating of the real creature. I continued to write in the notebook. The creature seemed much rowdier than it did on the television. Instead of staying still, it explored the stretches of the cage. It finally stopped when it reached the corner closest to me. It quickly turned its head at me and paused. I jumped back a little, as the antennas on his head suddenly sharpened. I froze for a second before continuing to walk. I tried to take more notes on its composition, but I couldn't focus as the entire time after that, it stayed still, staring at me without blinking. The only other think I could note was the lack of facial respression. I didn't even believe the thing had a mouth to communicate. It must have made transactions through the antennas, which were moving around in quick circles and turns.

The machine stopped at the second to last door on the left. The man ordered some of the handymen to grab the cage and take it into the lab. The men picked it up and went in, with the machine moving back to the garage. The man signaled for me to come, which in turn I did. The lab was relatively large, with only one large table in the middle, and the newest, state of the art investigation machines bordering the room. The cage was placed right in front of the table, where it was locked and bolted to the ground.

"I suppose this is where we part ways." the man told me. I nodded quickly and walked to the table. I set down my notebook and began unloading my bag as the man, followed by the handymen, left the room. "Good luck doctor," the man lastly said as the door closed behind him. Then, it was just me and the creature. I adjusted my glasses again and opened my notebook. I turned to the cage, where the creature was still staring at me. I got off the stool and sat directly in front of the cage.

"I suppose you think of yourself as a clever little beast." I talked to him, teasing his small brain. I knew it couldn't respond so I continued talking. "I admit it's impressive that you haven't been discovered until now, but in the end you're just like all the other idiotic creatures in this world. That includes those filthy humans I have to share this world with. Anyways, my name is Dr. Hert and though i'm investigating you're behavior, soon you'll be dead so I can dissect you and see what makes you tick!" I laughed wickedly. "But why would you care, it's not like you can understand anything I say you dimwitted beast." I got up and sat back at my stool, copying my notes into my computer. For a moment it was silent.

Then I heard a soft, squeaking sound. I turned and the creature was rubbing his long, sharp finger on the glass. As it moved, a strange black residue was left in the path. After a second, the creature dropped his finger and I jumped. Hert was written on the inside of the glass. I stepped back and grabbed the table, clenching it with my hands. As sweat rolled down cheek, I smiled curiously. "Maybe you're not as dimwitted as I thought."

anime627 · January 19, 2013

Book 1: Genesis

Chapter 4: Watchful Eyes

Amy sat across from me in the diner. It had been a week since the incident at the school and we hadn't really talked since. Amy had been rather distant all week, always wearing sweatshirt and long clothing, acting as if something was wrong, but she couldn't tell me. I called her out to the diner so that the two of us could talk. When we got there, we pretty much remained silent, except for a little small talk.

"Amy, I-" I started, she stopped me with her hand.

"I'm sorry I've been so distant lately. The truth is something weird has been happening lately." She looked out the window.

"Same here," I told her. She looked at me, shocked.

"Is it about your dream? Has it been happening every night now?" she asked, forgetting about her own concerns. I nodded.

"I'm having those same dreams every time I close my eyes, but now there different then they used to be. The dreams starts in the middle. It's when I'm in the middle of the jungle, staring at some colorless girl in the middle of the circle. However, now the dream is more detailed. The circle of ash, the symbols around it. Now I can see that there are seven symbols, all completely different. Then the girl begins to talk to me. I can only hear mumbling, but I know she's trying to tell me something. Then she sticks out her hand as if she's trying to grab me, or for me to grab her. It's like she needs help. Then I wake up." After I'm done talking, there's more silence.

"I feel like someone's been following me," Amy broke the ice after we obtained our food. I dropped my sandwich back onto my plate and stood up abruptly.

"Someone's following you!?" I yelled loudly. I sat back down quickly after people looked in our direction. "Someone's following you?" I repeated much more quietly. She nodded.

"I don't know, but I can feel it. It feels like someone is always watching me, staring at me with these cold eyes. I turn and no one's there, but when I turn back around, I can feel it again."

"Where does this person follow you?"

"Everywhere! Even at home or at school, I can feel the eyes. No one else notices, but I can feel them!" Amy teared up, preparing to cry. I reached over and rested my hand on her shoulder.

"I promise I will never let anyone hurt you," I smiled. She rested her hand on mine and smiled back.

"So tell me more about your dreams." Amy said, desperately trying to change the topic. I sat back, remembering the dreams.

"I still can't tell which of the jungles I'm dreaming of. There are no discernible trees or flowers that specially grow in certain jungles. I'm honestly puzzled by what's happening."

"How about the girl?" She asked, perhaps with a hint of of jealousy. I smiled playfully.

"There's not much to say. The only thing that helps to remember her is her blonde hair. But that soon turns white and there is no more color on her entire body. She needs help, but she can't leave the circle, she's waiting there for me to get her out. At least that's what I assume. Plus she's pretty hot." Amy smiled hitting me on the head quickly. We both laughed for a second. I didn't even remember the last time we had laughed like that.

"How about the symbols?" she asked again. I closed my eyes, trying to remember each individual symbol.

"Let's see. Well, there were lots of symbols. 7 of them. They were all really strange looking as well. One was shaped like a lightening bolt, another like a cloud. There was also one that was shaped like a spiral. Umm... anothing was shaped like a bir-" Suddenly, Amy jumped up. She began sweating and breathing rapidly.

"A... spiral?" Amy gasped.

"Umm... yes." I responded, standing up as well. "What's wrong."

"I need to get out of here!" She freaked. She ran to the door and outside. I quickly followed, but by the time I got outside, she was already on the other side of the street.

"Amy!' I yelled. I chased after her. She ran down the street and through the dirt alley that connected to the next street over. I went in after her, but something stopped me halfway through the alley. I stopped and looked around. I felt the eyes she was talking about. Then I heard a twig snap and turned. Suddenly, someone hit me in the head from behind, knocking me out. I fell to the ground as the shadow walked in Amy's direction.

Amy stopped after running for almost a mile. She turned around, no one was in sight. She sighed before looking at her covered arm, where the scar was. Was it the same scar? Suddenly, a man appeared in front of her and she fell to the ground. She looked up, catching the eyes of the man, and screamed loudly.

anime627 · January 20, 2013

Book 1: Genesis

Chapter 5: Return of the Keyblade

The man approached Amy. Amy took note of his look, with his midnight black hair and black eyes. He wore a red overcoat over a black vest and buttondown. He kept walking towards her, and she continued to back up. Amy looked around, but no one was in sight. There weren't even any cars parked on the street. It was absolutely silent. Not even a dog was barking. It was as if he had planned to intercept her here.

"Cooper!" Amy screamed. There was no response.

"I already took care of your friend," the man moaned monotonously. Amy began to tear up. Cooper was taken care of? She backed up more, but she was trapped, with the alley wall on her back. She slid to the ground, shivering in fear.

"Cooper!" Amy screamed even louder. The man sighed loudly.

"Sorry princess, but your prince won't be arriving any time soon. You'll never see him again." With that, the man took out a swordlike like object shaped like a key. He got closer to her.

"COOPER!"

I woke up when someone tapped me on the back. I looked up, and a couple of kids were poking me with a stick. "What happened?" I mumbled. My head was killing me.

"We found you lying here mister," one of the kids said. I stood up, stretching out my body, which was cramped and uncomfortable. I tried to think back to what had happened. Amy freaked out about my dreams and ran away. When I chased after her, someone hit me from behind, knocking me out. I gasped. Amy! Amy was in trouble and I needed to help her.

"Thanks kid!" I yelled back, running down to the end of the alley. When I reached the road, I skidded to a stop. Where did she go? I looked both ways, but there was no one there.

"Cooper!" I heard a girl's voice scream. It was Amy's voice! I ran towards the noise, hearing the screaming as I got closer and closer.

"Save me" I heard a voice. But this one wasn't Amy's. It was a voice I'd heard before, but I couldn't quite remember from where. It didn't matter. I needed to save Amy. "Save me," the voice repeated. I gritted my teeth. "Shut up! Shut up!" I called outloud. Now, the screaming was close. I turned the corner, and there I saw Amy, who was backed into a corner by a tall man.

"Amy!" I yelled. Amy looked my way and smiled, tears rolling down her face. The man also turned. He didn't smile nor frown. He looked at me as if I was nothing. Just another pest.

"Cooper!" Amy yelled. I began running towards her when the man stepped in my way. He knocked me down easily.

"I suppose I'll just have to take care of the both of you." He lifted his sword and smashed it into the ground. Suddenly, from the ground, creatures appeared. I gasped and screamed. These weren't just creatures, but the same creature as the one that was found the other way. 4 of them appeared, their beady yellow eyes staring at Cooper. I froze again.

"Save me," the voice called again.

"Cooper!" Amy yelled, running towards me. She grabbed onto me as I began sweating, turning paler at the second. "What are they!?" she asked the man.

"These are heartless. Abominable creatures that have lost their hearts at some point. Now they just roam around, trying to devour the hearts of others. Looks like you two are the next pair of victims." The heartless began crawling towards us. Amy screamed even louder. I remained frozen, unable to move.

"If I give you my power," the voice called again, "will you save me?" I looked into the sky. I swallowed hard and nodded my head.

"Yes! I promise!" I yelled into the sky. Amy and the man flinched.

"So shall it be," the voice called. Suddenly, the heartless pounced. They jumped at us, getting closer every minute. Amy screamed as her life was almost over. I closed my eyes. "I behold, the Keyblade." the voice called quicky. Suddenly, there was a flash of light. The man closed his eyes. When the light disappeared, the heartless were knocked back and I was standing up again. My face was colorful again, and all the sweat on my face was gone. The heartless hissed violently. I looked down and I was holding something. It was a sword that was shaped like a key, very similar to the one of the other guy.

"Keyblade," I gasped. The man cracked a smile.

"Very interesting."

Lady Aleister · January 21, 2013

This is really good!

anime627 · January 24, 2013

Book 1: Genesis

Chapter 6: Questions and Answers

There was a slight pause in everyones movements. The heartless crawled to regroup after be swung away by the keyblade. Meanwhile, the man stared at it, smiling with greed and excitement. Even Amy was distracted by the golden yellow glow of the handle of the keyblade. I looked at it a second, tightening my grip around it. Was this the work of the voice I heard earlier?

The man straightened out, wiping away the smile and making a straight face. "My my, how interesting," the man sighed. "At first I thought this task was going to be simple. I come here, kill some people, and leave. But now that I'm dealing with a keyblade master, this could become a little fun." I paused. I just obtained the keyblade, yet I was already a keyblade master?

"What is this task you keep mentioning?" Amy asked from behind me.

"I'm afraid that's classified for now, princess" the man smirked.

"I think killing us is a pretty good reason to know," Amy yelled angrily. The man laughed.

"Sorry, but I don't even tell the people I kill why I kill them." The man signaled to one of the heartless. The heartless crawled slowly toward us before jumping quickly. However, with one swing of the keyblade, it disappeared in a puff of smoke. "So it's the real thing."

"Tell us!" I growled. The fear was washing away slowly as I gained confidence. the creatures I were so afraid of were nothing to the keyblade. I didn't have to be afraid anymore.

"This wasn't even your game in the first place, boy." The man took a step towards us. "I was only meant to kill the girl." Amy flinched.

"It's my fault," she mumbled slowly. I rested my arm on her shoulder.

"It's no one's fault but this guys," I told her. She relaxed a little, nodding quickly. "I suppose you won't even give us a name?" The man brushed his hand through his hair and smiled.

"Kurume Saito" the man smiled. I smiled back uncomrfortably.

"Cooper" I responded. Suddenly, all the heartless that grouped around him dispersed, running off in different directions. "Where are they going?" Kurume shrugged.

"I don't need them anymore, so I let them go."

"But now those beasts will go running around eating everybody's hearts!" the man sighed.

"Even if you stopped those five heartless, now that the world is connected, heartless will just continue to appear. In a matter of time, this entire world will be shrouded in the darkness." Amy gasped. I clenched my grip, running at him.

"I won't let you!" I swung at him, but he disappeared. I looked and he was already behind me.

"You may be a keyblade master," the man started. Suddenly, my arms and face were covered in cuts, as I fell to the ground. "But, I'm also a keyblade master." He resheathed his keyblade and walked to Amy, who remained still with fear. "Now my girl, die." He held her face with his hands before taking hold of his keyblade.

"Stop!" I yelled. Kurume turned as I held my keyblade at him from right behind.

"You really think you can stop me?" he asked. Suddenly, there was a bright pink glow from behind him. He turned to see Army's arm glowing. Even Amy was surprised by it. "What?" Suddenly, the sleeve of Amy's coat was torn to shreds as the glow brightened. Amy screamed as there was a large blast of light and explosion. The man pushed me back and jumped to the other side of the alley. When the smoke cleared, Amy remained fine, but all the clothes on her arm were torn off, revealing her birthmark. "So you're powers are finally awakening? Well I think it's best if I left this for now. See you later, Cooper , princess." With that, the man disappeared.

There was another moment of silence before I got up. I stared at her birthmark. It was a spiral, just like the one I imagined in my dreams. Before I could talk, she walked over and checked my wounds.

"Let's go to the hospital," she said grimly. She knew her secret was out, and I wanted to talk to her about it, but I couldn't. After all that had happened, it wasn't the time. We were almost just killed. She helped me up and held me while we walked down the street in silence. He stared at the ground, our mind flowing with questions, knowing that this was far from being over.

Keyblade101 · March 18, 2013

This is good. Keep going.

anime627 · March 28, 2013

Sorry it's been so long since I last posted.

Book 1: Genesis

Chapter 7: Unknown

I sat down and wrote in my journal on the lab table:

These past two weeks have been fruitless. When I took the job to research this creature, I had assumed it was because I was the only one smart enough to research it. Now it has come to my attention that I myself may not be capable of discerning it's origin. In fact, no one in this world will be able to do so. First, I tried to research that residue it left behind when it...wrote my name. Sadly, the residue disappeared within minutes of being written. How did know my name? Even if it somehow heard my name somewhere, the fact that it was able to comprehend what was said as well as spell it correctly is horrifyingly astounding. If all of these creatures are this intelligent, no wonder they hadn't been discovered yet. Then I tried to get a blood sample. I poked it with a needle and withdrew some of the blood. Or should I call it the creature's composition, because when I withdrew it, the color was completely black and when I examined it, there were no molecules or even atoms of elements known to the scientific world. His makeup was not of this world. Next, I tried to x-ray it. However when I got the picture, all that showed was black. It was as if there was nothing within the body. It was all made up of that black substance unknown to this world. If this is so, then how does it survive? Does it survive off of oxygen? That's impossible because the creature does not have anything resembling a mouth. No. All that's discernible are those beady yellow eyes, that stare at me night and day.

At this point, my assistant, Trevor, came in. He brought with him a tray of coffee and bread. He smiled politely, looking at the creature and at me. "I hope your efforts have been beneficial." He smiled. He then bowed and left the room again. I growled, throwing the bread to the ground. Then, I continued to write:

That Trevor is a nuisance. He is suppose to be my assistant, and yet all he does is supply me with my meals and other necessities. He does not actual research. All he does is give me that fake smile. On the outside, it looks like respect, but on the inside I can see that odious twit is laughing at me. It is embarassing for me to be at such a loss and he knows it. He enjoys my pain. One day I'll teach him. I'll teach everyone that put me in my position!

The creature hissed, drawing closer to me inside his cage. I turned and growled, then resumed:

This seems to happen everytime I go on a rant. Anytime I feel hatred or anger, the creature seems to hiss with enjoyment. He just loves it when there's tension in the air...could that be it? Instead of living off the elements in the surroundings, could he survive based solely on the feelings of others, specifically those of anger? It almost implausible, but as it appears that this creature's entire existence is implausible it might just make sense. The government has also asked me to give the creature a name, or at least a temporary name to the public. For the public, I'll call it a "shadow", as it's makeup is not discernible and it is just a creature entirely colored black. However, I will not tell them of my theories about the hatred absorption just yet. Those dunderheads will think I'm the crazy one and take me off the job. Personally, I think that, given my theories and his love of hatred and his makeup, "heartless" would be a better fitting name. Yes. Heartless. He has no organs and he is cold-blooded. Heartless. I like the ring of it.

I turned to the creature and smiled at it. "Do you like your new name? Heartless?" The creature hissed loudly, as if agreeing with my choice of name. I chuckled a little. What a strange devil this heartless was. I knew then that from this point on all research will remain to myself. I will continue to tell the public that the creature is being difficult to deal with, but that I need him alive in order to at least research it's behavior. To the public, the "shadow" will be a terrifying monster that spontaneously attacks people and objects. To me, this "heartless" will be a work of art. Once everything is research and I can prove my theories, I will then tell the world of my research and they will applaude me. I will forever be known as the man that revolutionised the world. As I thought of this, the creature hissed again. I smiled, placing my hand on the wall of the cage. "If you're so smart, why'd you get captured?" The heartless remained still. "You're smart enough to avoid people for centuries and can comprehend language and English, and yet you finally get caught out of the sighting of one dunderhead explorer? Something tells me you wanted to get caught. But why?" The creature still remained motionless. I sighed, sitting back at my table and finished the journal:

I have decided to travel to the origin of the spotting of the heartless. The government agreed to my request and I will be leaving in a matter of days. I will leave my journal here, so I will not write again until I have returned. I hope to learn a lot more about the heartless by going to the jungle. I can feel it calling to me.

-Dr. Hert

I stood up and looked one more time at this strange creature in front of my eyes. I will be a god to the people when I learn more about this heartless. Just wait and see.

anime627 · March 30, 2013

Book 1: Genesis

Chapter 8: Birthmark and Keyblade

I exited the hospital with Amy. The sun was already rising when we left and neither of us had slept while in the waiting room. Now I was covered from head to toe in bandages and couldn't even think straight.

The two of us hadn't talked the entire time we were in the hospital, and things remained silent for most of our walk home. When we got to the main intersection in town, Amy stopped.

"This was my fault," Amy sniffled. I walked over and rested my arm on her.

"What was I suppose to do? Let you get killed by that madman? None of this is your fault." I told her with confidence. She looked at me for a second, then rolled up her sleeve. On her arm was a bandage wrapped around a length of her arm. She untied it and there, on her arm, was the spiral drawing I imagined in my dreams. I flinched for a second. It was exactly the same as the one from the dream.

"How did you get that mark?" I asked her. She looked at the ground.

"I'm not sure. I know I wasn't born with it. One day, when I was little, I remember walking down the street after school ended. I remember hearing a rustle in the bushes, and then I blackout. The next thing I know, I'm laying at home on my bed with this mark on me. My parents told me that a neighbor had found me in the woods, nowhere near where I blacked out. They assumed I must have fallen and scratched myself on the nearby rocks or something and this spiral mark was a scar. I don't think I ever believed it, but what was I suppose to think instead? I thought it didn't mean anything." There was another brief silence, until I began to speak again.

"That man kept calling you a princess. What does he mean?" I asked. Amy shrugged. "What about those flashes of light that came from your arm?" Amy shrugged again. "What did he mean when he said your powers were awakened?"

"I don't know!!" Amy yelled angrily. I took a step back. I sighed, realizing I had just bombarded her with questions I knew she didn't know the answers to. I turned away.

"I'm sorry. It's just that... this whole thing... I just don't get it. First my dreams began, then that heartless or whatever the guy called them was captured by the government, then your mark, then that keyblade showing up, and then that guy attacking us with more of those heartless? In the span of a week my entire life has been turned upside down." We crossed the street and continued on for a little while longer in silence. Then, when we reached the school, Amy stopped again.

"Can you bring it out?" She asked. I looked at her with confusion. "The keyblade I mean. Can you bring it out?" I sighed and closed my eyes. I thought of that voice from earlier, and the feelings I had boiled up inside of me. Then, with a flick of my wrist, I felt myself holding something. I opened my eyes again and there it was.The keyblade. Amy and I stared at it for a good 2 minutes before she looked at me again. "How did you get it?"

"I don't quite know. While I was chasing after you, this voice kept ringing inside my head. It was a girl's voice and one I had never heard before. She kept asking me to save her."

"Save her?"

"Yeah, but I had no idea what I was suppose to save her from. She kept repeating that until I had caught up with you. When we were in trouble, she asked that if she lent me her power, I would save her. I agreed and then that's when the keyblade showed up."

"What does it mean?"

"I think that voice was the same girl from my dream. There's no other way to think about it." We heard the school bell ring in the distance, but neither of us had any intention of going to school today.

Suddenly, we heard a rustle in the bushes. We turned and out of nowhere a heartless jumped out. Amy screamed and ran behind me. It began crawling towards us. That cold feeling came over me again and I went pale. This thing wanted to kill us.

"Cooper!" Amy yelled. I gulped then jumped at it, swinging my keyblade. The keyblade sliced the creature in half, and it dissipated into gas. Then there was silence as I stood up straight and loosened up.

"Don't be afraid," I told her. "This is going to happen all the time from now on. From this point on, you are to never leave my side. I don't want you getting hurt." Amy froze for a minute, and then walked over to me, laying her head on my shoulder as she began to cry. I patted her back and looked up at the sky. So many things neither of us knew then. "We should hurry inside. I fear there's a storm coming." I said as the dark clouds rumbled in. Amy wiped her eyes then the two of us walked back to my house.

If only I had known. If only I had known that those last two weeks would be the last peaceful ones I would ever have. If only I could go back to that time. If only I could see Amy's smile one more time. If only I had realized that this was only the beginning of our journey.

Keyblade101 · March 30, 2013

Great chapter.

anime627 · March 30, 2013

Thanks!

Book 1: Genesis

Chapter 9: Discovery

When I returned to the lab, I quickly dropped my bag and ran to my desk. The heartless remained unchanged in its cage. It just stared at me as I sat the at the stool and opened my journal:

Big news! Strange news, but big news nonetheless! I thought this trip to the forest would be just as fruitless as my typical research, but I ended up learning a lot more than I expected. At least, I believe I learned something.

When I first arrived at the jungle, I had learned that my neanderthal of a pilot had accidentally put my luggage on the wrong plane. Without a change of clothes, I went straight into the jungle. Once we arrived at the spot of the discovery, I told my guides to go back. I told them it was because I could not be disturbed, but in truth, I didn't want them to learn what I was trying to find out. I needed to figure out if my theory was correct or not. With a little bit of argument, the guides finally left and I was all alone. While I looked around, there was complete silence. For a jungle, that is not normal. Typically, there would at least be the sounds of birds and such, but not here. There was not an animal in sight. I ignored the strange feeling and looked around. In the dirt, I could see the footprints of the man that discovered the heartless. Opposite them was the tracks of the heartless. They weren't anything discernible, but they were an interesting oval shape. From the way the tracks were going, the man saw the heartless and then began backing up while the heartless followed him. Soon he fell to the ground and tried crawling away, as shown by the sudden end of the footprints and large clumps of dirt moved around. When the heartless tracks end, that is probably when the heartless pounced.

Once I understood what happened, I began to retrace the steps of the heartless, in hopes of finding the origin of the creature. I walked along the tracks of the heartless, through several bushes and rivers. It was interesting that the tracks have remained here this long. In most cases, other animals or weather would erode the tracks and they would disappear. If they're still here, what had been happening to the jungle?

I followed them for a long distance, finally reaching the side of a large cliff. Up to that point, I still hadn't seen nor heard any animals. I remained focused on the tracks until my head almost hit the cliff. The tracks went into the cliff. I thought that it wasn't possible. I tapped around the rock, but it didn't sound fake or hollow. How was this possible? Suddenly, I heard a twig behind me snap. I turned and I was staring at two people. The first was a young man with black hair and eyes. He wore a red overcoat with a black vest. The second figure was indistinguishable under the black coat the person was wearing. I couldn't even make out if it was a boy or a girl. My question was answered when the person in the coat began to speak. "He seems like a good one" the voice said. It was a girl's voice.

"Are you sure this is the best we can come up with?" the young man asked her. She nodded. I looked at them and adjusted my glasses.

"How did you get here?" I asked them. They didn't even turn my way.

"What should we do now?" the man asked. The woman finally looked my way and waved her hand. Suddenly, behind me, there was a loud rumbling noise. I turned to see a large chunk of the rock wall was gone. When I turned back, the two of them were gone. Leaving no time to think about this event, I walked right into the cave that was now vacant in the cliff. I continued to follow the path of the tracks through the straightforward cave. It was almost completely dark when I finally hit the end. Another dead end. I sighed, hoping this wasn't all there was. "Why did you come here?" a voice asked. I turned and the man from before was leaning against the wall.

"I'm here to research the creatures," I told him. He smirked.

"And what have you learned?" I scowled.

"Nothing. I only have theories." I looked away. He clapped his hands together.

"Cheer up, you'll learn a lot more about them soon enough. After all, we chose you." I paused and walked over to him.

"Chose me? for what?"

"Again, you'll soon find out."

"Where did the other one go?" I looked around. The girl wasn't in sight.

"Oh, her? She went back to the other world."

"The other world!?" I gasped. What did that mean? Was there other worlds besides ours that had this level of lifeforms?

"I'm sure you'll go there at some point as well." With that, the man pushed himself off the wall and began walking back outside.

"Where are you going?" I yelled. He smiled back.

"Away. But don't worry because we will meet again. At that time, you and I will be best buds." He snapped his finger and continued walking.

"Are there any more of the creatures?" I yellef lastly.

"Of course. Afterall, the doors been opened." I stood there for a second as he disappeared. What door? How much did this person know about the creature? I looked behind me and realize the cave now continued. I didn't know what the man did, but now I could continue with my exploration. I continued along the path until I finally reached the end of the tracks. There, in front of me, was a large door. There wasn't a doorknob, just the wooden door. I knocked on it, but nothing happened. Was this the door the man was talking about? Suddenly, I felt a strange shock run through my body. I think then I blacked out. When I woke up, I was at my hotel. The strange thing was the receptionist said that I walked in on my own. Did that happen? How did I not remember that? I tried going back, but the tracks made by the creature were nowhere to be found. The rest of the days were fruitless. However, weird things have happened. I've been hearing strange noises, coming out of the weirdest places. I only hear whispers, but they sting my ears and I can feel the voices breathing on me. What does this mean?

-Dr.Hert

I sighed and turned towards the creature once more. It looked at me peculiarly. What was I chosen for? Am I suppose to represent all of mankind or something?

No. I flinched. That voice was back again, but this time it was clear. I looked around, but nobody was there. I'm right here. I looked in front of me. The creature was staring back at me. I laughed wickedly. Impossible. That was impossible. I closed my journal and began walking out. I needed sleep. Yes. That was what I needed. I quickly left the room.

Goodnight, Dr. Hert.

Keyblade101 · March 30, 2013

Whoa! Am I the only one who felt this latest chapter was something outta the Twilight Zone?

anime627 · March 31, 2013

Book 1: Genesis

Chapter 10: Conference

It had been two days since we left the hospital. Almost all of my injuries were healed, so I was finally back in school. The weather outside had been dreadful since that day, with rain pouring down so hard it sounded like feet stomping on the roof of the school. All the kids acted like it was normal or typical, but I couldn't shake the feeling that this storm was unusual. I didn't know what it was that made me feel this way, but I just knew that something was happening.

"Cooper!" Amy yelled, running into my classroom after school. I waved to her in a polite manner. Since that day, Amy and I had been attacked three times. It was getting so ridiculous that we actually got used to it. Even though Amy cried when I told her we had to get used to this, it was much easier than we thought. These heartless only came in singles or pairs and were pretty simple to deal with.

"What's up?" I asked her. My other friends waved goodbye and left the classroom, leaving only me and Amy in the room.

"In the next town over, there's going to be a conference about the heartless."

"So what?"

"That professor, Dr. Hert, is going to be there to talk about what he has learned!"

"So? It's not like he learned anything. I mean everytime they come up with an update on the creature, they say the same thing. Nothing has been learned."

"Exactly! If we go to him and tell him everything we know, then maybe he can help us in finding a way to get rid of them."

"But he can't. The only thing that can defeat them is the keyblade and I'm the only one who has it. It has to be me."

"Can we at least warn him of the dangers of being with that heartless. It could devour his heart at any moment." I sighed. She was right. If the world was being filled with these heartless, then anyone could be attacked and killed. If we warned the government about the danger, they could at least try to find a way to protect everyone.

"Fine. Let's go warn this Dr. Hert." The two of us left the classroom and ran to my car through the heavy rain and fog. We drove to the town hall in the town next door, where the conference was being held. There were crowds of people in front and it was impossible for us to get in.

"What are we going to do?" Amy asked, trying to push through the people.

"Let's try and get him on the way out!" We stopped what we were doing and ran around the back of the town hall, where celebrities who visit are usually picked up by car. While we were walking, a heartless jumped out of the bushes. I quickly decimated it before it could pounce. We stopped for a second to breathe.

"How many do you think are out there?" Amy asked me.

"I don't know. Kurume Saito said that this world would be engulfed by them and the darkness. When that happens, there could by millions of them crawling around. Maybe even billions!"

"Another reason for us to tell them!" I nodded in agreement. It was rather interesting. The fact that the heartless attacking us barely affected our emotions. This just showed how used to being attacked we were by then. We sat out back, listening to the cacauphony of noises that we coming from within. Everyone knew that he would probably say the same thing as usual, and yet everyone was still so excited.

It had been about an hour or so when the barrage of reporters slammed through the doors, following a very rushed Dr. Hert. "There he is! I recognize him from the television." Amy yelled. We ran over, trying to make our way through the crowd of reporters. However, the crowd was too thick and neither of us could even slip a word in edge wise. We were walking for almost a quarter mile when Amy tripped.

"Amy!" I ran to help her up. By the time we dusted her off, the crowd was gone.

"What are we gonna do now?" Amy gasped. Suddenly, I had an idea. I dragged Amy around several corners until he reached a dirt road between the rows of buildings. "What are you doing?" I silenced her when a car drove by. Right when it was in front of us, I ran up, punching the window car. The window shattered, and luckily none of the glass stabbed my hand. The car halted to stop as Amy ran over to me. "What was that!?"

"I had to get his attention somehow!" I was right on the money. Dr. Hert climbd out of the car and ran over to me. He growled, hitting me on the head.

"How idiotic does a brat have to be to do something that ridiculous?!" Dr. Hert scowled. I brushed my head, ignoring the hurtful language.

"Dr. Hert, we came here to warn you about those creatures!" Amy told him.

"I don't have time to listen to your primitive theories." Dr. Hert began to walk away. "As I said, nothing new has been learned."

"They're called heartless!" I yelled. Dr. Hert suddenly stopped.

"What did you call them?" He turned his head.

"Heartless. They are dangerous creatures from another world!" I responded. Dr.Hert paused for a moment, as if deep in thought. Then he shook his head.

"That's ridiculous." He began walking again.

"It's the truth. The heartless have the need to devour peoples' hearts. If we don't find a way to stop them, they could kill people. We've already run into tons of them."

"How many?"

"What?" Amy hesitated. Dr. Hert walked over, grabbing her face. He leaned in real close, with a threatening look on his face.

"I said how many heartless have you seen you imbecile?!" He growled. Amy gulped, pushing her away out of his hands.

"About ten of them," I answered for her, pushing Amy behind me. Dr. Hert got closer for a second, and then ran back to his car.

"Ridiculous," he said. WIth that, the car drove off into the distance. Amy sighed.

"What was wrong with him?" Amy yelled, getting angry at the creepy doctor.

"He knew," I said.

"What?"

"The way he reacted. He knew everything. Why hasn't he told the public yet?" Amy and I stared off at where the car was driving. What did Dr.Hert know? Was he even on our side? Did he want the world to end? If only I could known sooner.

anime627 · April 6, 2013

Book 1: Genesis

Chapter 11: Eleventh Hour

I slammed my hand on the lab table. "Dammit! How could that boy know about the heartless? I have kept my research top secret! Could there have been someone who squeeled to the world!?" I growled.

Just relax, a voice called. I hit myself on the head. Where was this voice coming from? I got off my stool and walked to my pile of papers to find any hints as to what to do next. You are the chosen one, it said again. I growled, throwing my pile of papers on the ground, all the papers dispersing around the room.

"Shut up!" I yelled. But no one was there. Just that heartless staring at me from within the cage. It's beady eyes.... staring at me. They were looking right through me. I ran up to it, sweat dripping down my neck. "Why was I chosen!? Chosen for what!?" I yelled at it. There was no response. I dried my head and walked back to the table. "It has been about two weeks since that boy from the conference confronted me. Why does it seem like he knows more than me?"

Because he is your enemy, the voice rang out again. I hit the table again. "Stop it! He is just a human boy! He's inferior to me and you know it too!"

Come now Dr. Hert. Don't be so angered, the voice remained calm. I turned around. "How am I suppose to react! If this boy knows everything, then my research, my trip to the jungle, that doorway, was all for naught!"

No, it was for a good reason. I looked around. Who was this voice? This noise was constantly barking at me. From nowhere, someone was watching me. They've always been watching me. "And how so?" I responded with a deep breath.

Because you opened the door, and you are now connected, the voice told me. Suddenly, a felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned around, but there was nobody there. "Connected?" I asked, trying to ignore the feeling of those cold, wet hands.

You are now connected to the darkness. That is why I can talk to you. I gasped. I looked at the heartless, which remained in the same place this entire time. Was it really the heartless talking to me? Impossible.

Not impossible, it called out suddenly. I jumped. Now it was reading my mind? Impossible! This had to be my imagination. I felt the hand on my shoulder. I turned and for a second, I saw it. I saw that boy. That boy that has been torturing me with his knowledge. Suddenly, I heard the door open. I turned to see Trevor come in with a tray of bread and tea.

"Are you okay, Dr. Hert?" Trevor asked sarcastically. He smiled wickedly before leaving the room again. I walked to the tray and pushed it off the table.

"Damn that Trevor. How he mocks me with his every word! He wishes he was in my position! I am the superior one!" I saw him again, that boy. He stood on the other side of the table. "And you! How dare you make me feel idiotic! I swear, you will pay for your mockery! All of you!"

That's it, the voice encouraged me. I turned back to the heartless, but I gasped. The heartless was gone. The cage was empty. But what shocked me more was what was behind the cage. Out from behind came a figure. It was me. At least, it looked exactly like me except for pale gray hair. Also his eyes. His eyes were completely black, except for small yellow pupils. Was this... the heartless?

"Who are you?" I asked.

"It is I, the voice you despise so much." the figure said. I shook my head. Impossible. "You should stop thinking of things as impossible. You won't get anywhere with that notion." I wiped my eyes. Was this real? Was this more of my imagination playing a trick on me? Ever since I touched that door, this has been happening. But why? WHY?

"Get away! I don't want you here!" I screamed. The figure smiled and walked closer.

"You may not want me, but you need me."

"What do you mean?"

"I can help you. You say the problem is that you are inferior? Well I can make you more superior than anyone else." I flinched.

"What?"

"That is correct. I can make you strong! I can make the public bow down to you out of pure fear! Together, we can make this world and all the others ours!" I cracked a smile. The entire world? I liked the sound of that.

"All right. You have a deal. But of we are going to be partners, I need to know your name." He turned away.

"I don't have a real name; however, if it is important, then you may call me by my masters name."

"And that name was?"

"Ansem." With that he disappeared in a flash. I stood there, in the silence, for a few minutes. I looked and the heartless was back in the cage. I smiled. Ansem. What an interesting name. I walked over to the gate to the cage. Yes, this was the thing I needed to do. I needed that power, and this was my ticket to it. I laughed a little. I was the lucky one to get this job after all. I slowly opened the gate to the cage and crawled in. The heartless didn't back up. It remained perfectly still as I got closer. When I was inches away, it held out its hand. I paused. Yes. I want this power! I need this power!

"It's nice to meet you, Ansem." With that I put my hand on the heartless' and there was a flash of light.

The next thing I remember, Trevor came into the room again. "Will that be all, Dr. Hert?" He asked. When he looked up, he dropped his clipboard. I looked in a mirror and saw it. I was only half myself. My entire right was normal, but then my left was completely black. My left was bulding and the claws of the heartless replaced my hand. I smiled. If this look was the payoff for the power, then so be it. I turned to Trevor, who fell to the floor.

"There's one last thing you can do for me, Trevor." I said, in a voice that was a mix of Ansem's and my own. "You can die." I held up my left hand, which was growing larger as time grew on. With a sudden thrust, a large black shockwave flew out of the palm of my hand. Then, there was an explosion.

I stood on the street in Washington D.C. In the distance, I could see my laboratory and the entire district up in flames. It was a beautiful sight. I did that with a single blast. Suddenly, I heard a noise behind me. I turned, ready to shoot, when it turned out to be the man from the jungle. He leaned on the nearby building and smiled.

"Looks like someone got a major makeover." the man chuckled. I cracked a smile.

"Are you going to get in my way?" I asked. He walked closer.

"Of course not, after all. I did tell you the next time we'd meet we'd be best buds. From this point on, we are partners." He held out his hand. I paused before shacking it with my human hand. "My name's Kurume" the man said as we shook hands.

"You may call me Hert." I responded. "Now what are we going to do?" Kuruma smiled.

"Now we are going to get some sweet revenge."

anime627 · June 13, 2013

Last chapter of Book 1!

Book 1: Genesis

Chapter 12: The End of the Beginning

That night, I stayed up late. Thinking

It had been two weeks since we've gotten out of the hospital. Two weeks since my life made a turn for the weird and I had put my life in danger. Now I could barely leave my house without summoning my keyblade for protection. Heartless just continued to appear wherever Amy and I went. It was exhausting.

I sat next to my window as the moon began to rise into the sky. I was beat. How long was I going to live like this until the heartless finally just kill us? Maybe I should just let them devour me so that I could finally rest in peace...

I slapped myself on the head, waking myself up from that horrible thought. How could I leave Amy alone like that? She would probably hate me forever. No, I couldn't do that to her. Besides, I wanna find out more about that tattoo of hers. Kurume called her a princess and that she was "awakening." What does that mean? Amy doesn't have an idea, so how could I learn more?

Suddenly, my cell phone rang. I picked it up and answered. "Hello?" I asked.

"It's Amy," the voice said. She sounded just as exhausted as me.

"How are you? I didn't see you today."

"Yeah, I decided to stay home in order to catch up on some stuff."

"I mean, how have you ACTUALLY been?" She paused for a moment.

"The pain has worn down, but the scar still burns sometimes. Whenever a heartless appears, it seems to grow more and more painf-" A burst of lightning flashed through the sky, followed by a loud rumble, interrupting Amy. "It's fine now, though."

"That's good, we should meet up tomorrow in order to think things out."

"Like we've done everyday?" Amy giggled. We both laughed for a minute. I smiled. I haven't laughed in a while thanks to all the trouble. All the pessimistic thoughts that were just inside my head had washed away. Amy truly was my savior just like I'm hers.

"So what's new with your family?"

"Well, yesterday my little sister went to th-" Suddenly, there was another loud rumbling. I looked outside, but there was no lightning. Where did that sound come from? Suddenly, I could hear Amy screaming from the other side of the call.

"Amy? What's wrong!?" I yelled.

"It's him! It's that guy! It's Kuru-" the call ended. I growled, opening my window. I jumped out of window and landed on the ground. It wasn't raining, but it was so dark that I could barely see in front of me. Putting that thought aside, I began running to Amy's house.

As I ran, it occurred to me that something strange was going on. My house was in the middle of a suburban neighborhood, and yet as I ran past all of the houses, I noticed that there were no lights on. Everyone was home, but it was completely pitch black in each house. At the same time, it was incredibly quiet. No dogs were barking, no car horns in the distance, no nothing. Just the sound of the lightning and thunder roaring above.

About half a mile from Amy's a few heartless appeared. I quickly drew my keyblade and swung at them, disintegrating them. But, three more appeared after them. I killed them in a few seconds as well. It wasn't until the third group of five heartless appeared that I finally realized. Looking up and down the streets, I could see heartless crawling around. They were no longer in hiding. But why? What caused them to come out and run rampant in the streets. I dismissed the question, knowing that right now I had to get to Amy. I dispatched the last group of heartless and then continued running. I ignored all heartless after that, who then came running after me, soon turning into a large group of over twenty.

When I got close, I could hear Amy's screaming. I made it to the front of her house, where I saw the scene. Her house now had a gaping hole where the front door used to be. I could see heartless coming in and out. In front of that hole stood Amy, who was being held onto by this weird monster thing. It looked like Dr. Hert, but this guy had a monstrous left arm and hand, that was much bigger than the human half. It was definitely Dr. Hert.

"Amy!" I yelled. Dr. Hert looked my way, his left eye black with a little yellow pupil. A chill went down my spine. I felt the same way I did when I saw that heartless on TV. Pure terror. "Dr. Hert?"

"Hmm... the boy seems to have grown stronger," Dr. Hert grinned. He turned towards me completely, still holding onto Amy, who was covered in bruises.

"What did you do to her!?" I growled.

"Trust me, this is nothing compared to what will happen to you and her from now on." He dropped Amy onto the ground and pointed his hand at me. Suddenly, a huge blast shot out and came straight at me.

"COOPER!" Amy screamed. I jumped to the ground and the blast shot over me, hitting the ground far behind me. But the explosion was so big it almost hit me from behind. I was scared stiff. But I couldn't let Amy die. I got up and redrew my keyblade.

"I'm not going to let you have her!" I yelled. I jumped at him and began to swing. Suddenly, Kurume appeared, blocking my path.

"Not so fast, little boy."

"I knew you would be behind this, Kurume!"

"Please, this was almost all Dr. Hert's idea. I just gave him some advice." He pushed me off and snapped his finger. All the heartless that chased after me suddenly stopped. Then they began jumping onto each other, turning into one big glob. In a few seconds, they formed into giant heartless, shaped like a human. "Have fun. See you at the end of the world."

"What!?" I asked, but he had then moved next to Dr. Hert.

"We should go now. This world will be done with soon." Kurume told him.

"But what about these two!?" he growled.

"They'll be killed along with the rest of these humans. Besides, killing a princess is dangerous. It's safer to let this heartless do it." Dr. Hert paused.

"Fine." Kurume held up his hand and a large purple cloud appeared. He looked back at me one more time before entering the cloud along with Dr. Hert. Soon, the cloud disappeared and they were gone. I looked at the empty space for a minute before running to Amy's side. I helped her up and she started crying into my chest.

"They're gone. My family is gone! Eaten by the heartless..." she sobbed even louder. I wanted to console her, but I needed to deal with this heartless. I set her down on the ground and confronted the giant thing.

"Well... here goes nothing!" I jumped at it, swinging my key blade. But with one flick of its hand I was sent to the side. I attacked again, this time from the back. I slashed its back and the monster howled. He flicked his hand behind him and kit me once more. I was sent back Amy, now covered in injuries. She grabbed me.

"What do we do!?" She cried. I froze. This was heartless was impossible. How could I defeat such a thing? No I couldn't. As Kurume said, this world really was going to end. We looked up as the monster lifted his hands. Suddenly, a huge purple ball began forming in its hands. Suddenly, everything began to get sucked in, as if it was some sort of tornado. Amy continued to cry and soon tears began strolling down my face. This was the end and we both knew it.

Suddenly, there was a flash of light from Amy's arm. Her sleeve was torn off once more and Amy was screaming in pain. I got up and grabbed her shoulder's shaking them so that she would stop. "Amy! Calm down!" But the light grew bigger as time grew on. Soon, it blinded me and I couldn't see.

When I opened my eyes again, there was light. But it was coming from a lamp hanging on the ceiling... ceiling? I got up and looked around. I was in a small room, made out of wood. There was a green closet to my right, and a glass table and sofa on the opposite side. There on the couch was Amy, still passed out. I ran over and shook her. "Amy, wake up!"

"Wha?" she said, dazed. I helped her sit up and we looked around. "Where are we?" Suddenly, a man appeared through the door that I was standing in front of and hadn't noticed. He was short and had longish white hair. He had a blue gown and a tall blue hat the bent over itself since it was so long it couldn't support itself. He smiled and waved at us.

"Why, you're in Twilight Town!"

-End of Book 1-

anime627 · June 20, 2013

Book 2: Gathering

Chapter 1: Legend Reborn

"Twi-Twilight Town?" I swallowed. The man nodded in agreement. I walked over to him, Amy trailing behind me. "Where is that?"

"What do you mean?" he asked curiously.

"On Earth, where is that? I've never heard of a town called Twilight Town where we live." The man sighed and shook his head.

"I see. You are still a little confused. Come with me, and I will explain everything." He motioned us to follow him through the door. We paused unsure of what to do. I looked at Amy, who stared back at me. We quickly followed through the door.

Once outside, I gasped. It was completely different from where we were. The street, buildings, everything was made out of stone and wood. The houses and buildings were closely packed together around this house, which seemed to be in the middle of this circle of buildings. In front of us was a set of stairs that led to a town square, which I assumed it was. The square was bordered by street lamps and a large stone wall that seemed to border the entire town. On the left side of the square was a pretty large door, which the man was walking towards. We quickly chased after him.

"Cooper, look!" Amy tugged on my shirt. I looked to where she was pointing, and there, walking on the opposite side of the square, was a small white teddy bear like thing. From its head, a string with a red orb at the end hung over his face. I took a step back.

"What is that thing?" I shivered.

"Oh, that's a Moogle. I think you'll be seeing a lot more of them from now on," the man said, not even looking. We stared for another second before realizing the man had already walked through the door. We opened it and saw another section of the city. This part seemed to have a lot less buildings, with electrical tubes and wires running along the sides. To our left was a ramp that led up to an elevated area with another door and two tall buildings. Instead of going up there, we followed the man to a small alleyway across the area. There, at the dead end, was a red door with a fire symbol painted on it. The man mumbled some words and the door opened slowly, rising into the wall above. He looked at us and smiled before entering through. When we went in, we realized that we were now in a large cave. As we walked through, the cave opened up into a large cavern. There, in the center of the large cave dome was a lake and in the center of that, an old, rusted house that was half gone, completely open.

When the man reached the edge of the lake, we mumbled some more words and suddenly a rock path rose from below the water and connected us to the house. We walked along the path until we reached the house, where we just walked in through the gaping hole on the side. "What is this place?" Amy asked.

"This house belonged to my great great grandfather, who lived here over 100 years ago." the man said, dusting off some of the items in the house. The house was circular and along the outside wall were desks and bookshelves covered in mold. "One second please." the man held his hand up to us. He mumbled some more words I couldn't understand, and suddenly there was a blast of wind. The wind was so powerful it covered our eyes, forcing us to close them. When we opened them, all the items in the house were cleaned off and the lamps were lit.

"How'd you do that!?" I jumped.

"Magic of course!" the man smiled. "I AM the descendant of Merlin, the greatest wizard of all time after all." He stated that as if I understood what he was talking about. "Now let's see here...where was it?" He began searching through the piles of books around the house.

"What are you looking for?" Amy wondered. The man didn't respond.

"I know it must be here somewhere," he continued. He jumped up to the elevated platform in the middle, where there stood a small desk and a red chair. There, he gasped with delight. "There you are!" He stuffed his hand into the chair and pulled out an orb the size of my head. He motioned to us to come over to him, which we did immediately. He placed the orb on the stand on the desk, rubbed his hands over it, and chanted a few more words. Then, with the snap of his fingers, the room went black and all we could see was the orb. We couldn't even see the ground below us. Suddenly, the orb began floating into the air.

"Now," the man said, looking at us for the first time since we met. "Allow me an introduction. My name is Rubenthor. As I said I am the descendant of Merlin, the greatest wizard of all time."

"My name's Cooper and this is Am-" I began.

"Amy. Yes I know who you two are." Rubenthor interrupted me. "You are the princess and the keyblade wielder. I watched you two battle that giant heartless. Looked quite painful."

"How did you see it?" I asked, embarrassed from him seeing my terrible fighting skills.

"With magic of course!"

"Anyways, you never told me where we are? I've never seen a place like this on Earth in my life." Rubenthor sighed. Suddenly, a picture of Earth appeared above the orb in some type of hologram fashion.

"I'm afraid we are no longer on Earth my dear boy." I paused. "In fact, that planet is gone, eaten by the darkness."

"What do you mean!?" Amy cried.

"Did you notice a bunch of heartless in your world?" Rubenthor asked. I looked down.

"Yes. Usually I would see one or two, but that night I ran into dozens of them."

"It's because the door to your world was opened completely."

"What does that mean?"

"There are in fact many worlds in this universe and such. Twilight Town is another world. All these worlds are naturally connected, typically allowing passage from one to the other. However, in order to prevent dangerous beings from passing through, ancient guardians locked the passages away. Their weapons were the keyblades." I looked down at my keyblade. So I wasn't the first keyblade wielder? "However, 100 years ago, during the age of Merlin, the heartless along with evil beings who wanted to control them opened the passages and started devouring the worlds into darkness. They were finally stopped by a group of legendary keyblade masters, led by a boy named Sora. Now, however, they have opened the passages again and are devouring the worlds once more. I believe you met one of those evil men." The picture of Earth disappeared and instead, Kurume appeared.

"Kurume!" I growled.

"Kurume is part of a group of people that intend to take over all the worlds."

"But... why did they want to kill me?" Amy asked. The man looked at her.

"You see, there are in fact seven princesses. If they come together and combine their power, they can unlock the gate to kingdom hearts. As history discovered 100 years ago, Kingdom Hearts is a world full of light, something that can be used to crush all the heartless. This would ruin Kurume's plans, so killing the princesses is the only way."

"But....why were we saved from Earth?" I asked.

"Amy, please pull up your sleeve," Rubenthor commanded. She did so, and we both jumped to see that her scar had grown. Her entire upper arm was covered with a strange design, the swirl remaining the same. "Your princess powers have awakened. One of those powers includes the transportation between the worlds. With this, you can travel to the many worlds, and save us from the heartless!" We paused for another second in awkward silence.

"But, what are we suppose to do?" I asked. Rubenthor changed the picture again, this time to a large stone slab. There was a lot of writing on it, but it was in a different language I didn't know.

"Merlin's son, my great grandfather, Khar, was a great traveler. He went to several worlds, exploring their culture and philosophy. On one world, he found this slab. It was written on the wall of a stone temple left behind from ancient times. On it, the writing describes another terrifying event happening at this very moment. It states that the seven keyblade wielders must reunite once more, along with the seven princesses, in order to defeat the humanoid heartless and revive the lost one."

"Humanoid heartless?" I asked. Then I gasped. Dr. Hert. He must be what the slab is referring to.

"That man, Dr. Hert, also escaped and is residing in one of the worlds. He is the humanoid heartless you must defeat."

"So what's our job?" Amy asked.

"You must search the other worlds for the other 6 princesses and keyblade wielders."

"How are we suppose to find them?"

"Don't worry, you'll know when you found them."

"Also, who's the 'lost one'?" Amy asked. He shrugged.

"It didn't say, nor did Khar ever figure it out. I guess we'll just have to find out when it happens. So, up for the task?" There was a long silence. It took a moment for all the information we just got to play inside our minds. Other worlds? This didn't make any sense.

"If we defeat them, will our world come back?" Amy asked. Rubenthor nodded. We looked at each other, our eyes saying the same thing.

"We're in!" we agreed. However, if only we knew that this was going to be a long, long journey.

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Text The Change of Hearts Book 1

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