[Fanfic] Kingdom Hearts: Heart of fire
Title: Kingdom Hearts: Heart of fire
Author: tumnus__
Chapter: Prologue and Chapter 1
Pairing: Dawn(Original Character)/ ??? (She falls in love later on)
Rating: PG (Mild Blood)
Summary: Dawn Strike is just your average girl until she finds a sword with a blade of fire. Suddenly, she's thrown into a world filled with Heartless and an Organization with an evil scheme. Her two best friends, Naite and Vlad, accompany her on her Journey along with some old (well, to you they're old) and new faces.What is this Mysterious Sword? And what does it mean for Dawn and her home? (This series happens before,during,and after Sora is chosen by the Keyblade.)
Author's Notes: This is intended to be a LONG series. I suggest friending me to keep up with it. Feel free to point out any spelling and grammatical errors. I tried adding lyrics from a song (see disclaimer) to add a Kingdom Hearts opening feel to this. If you find it too distracting, tell me. If a majority agrees, i'll remove them. This is my first Fanfic. Go easy on me!
Kingdom Hearts: Heart of Fire
Prologue
Here's a chance to show you how I feel
Dawn wandered down the all too familiar hallway. She had seen this hallway once before - but when? Ominous portraits hung on both sides of the white walls. All of them bearing a gold frame and matching plaque underneath. As for the subjects of the paintings themselves, they all seemed to bear one theme: plain, simple clothes. Despite this, all but one had variated from this theme by adding only mere pieces of armor to their outfit and a sword with a blade of fire in one hand.
A chance for you to see it's real
She kept walking, only dimly taking in some of the names on those gold plaques. The light was so bright that there were hardly any shadows, and torches placed throughout the walls burned in vain. For their light was not what kept that place lit.
To see just what I feel inside and who it is that's by my side
Every Hallway has an end. At the end of this particular hallway, was a pure white double door that matched the rest of the hallway. She wrentched open the door with all her might. Inside, she found a dark room whose only light came from a strange spotlight illuminating the center of the room. She froze as her eyes took in what was beneath that light. A great, golden thone with a red velvet cushion sat atop a small, two-step platform before her. Sitting on that throne was a lifeless man, head slumped down on his left shoulder. His partially blood soaked, blonde bangs blocked his eyes from view, and the right side of his face was covered in blood. He much resembled the person in the last portrait before she came upon this room. His left arm had fallen somewhat awkwardly on the left arm rest. In that hand was the same sword that appeared in all of the paintings.
I will never change my mind
She felt it bidding her to come closer. It felt like the sword wanted her to take it up and avenge its fallen master. Dawn did indeed harken to its voice. She slid it out of the man's surprisingly warm hands and admired the sword in the spotlight. Transfixed by the beauty of the sword, she did not notice the walls around her and all other things therein fade away to reveal a beach. With a start, she realized the change in scenery. She turned round and round, taking in the beach. The beach's sand and water were two different shades of black, and shale rocks littered the water and sand. A full moon was the sole light source of this world. Something in the water caught her eye. It was a man clothed in a black cloak, and long, silver hair swirled around around him in the wind. He had his back to her, but he soon noticed her presence. He turned and held out a hand to her, smirking.
Try to torch me and you'll find
Dawn smiled a smile of recognition. "Riku..." she whispered. Her green eyes were reluctantly drawn away from his aqua ones when she saw a shadow moving. It was no shadow. A black wave was building its way toward Riku. She sprinted, sword still in her right hand, into the water. Free hand extended towards his, she splashed her way to him. Inches away from grabbing his hand, the wave consumed them both. Swirling, whirling, spinning, and flailing; her blonde hair wrapped itself around her head. She reached out to Riku's still visible hand, but grabbed nothing but water. She was pulled far away him by the currents. All was lost. She had lost her sword and Riku to the black waters. Her eyes slid closed and she was now on her back.
You can't turn me or deter me
She was falling...
Falling...
Falling...
Falling...
No matter how you try
NO! Dawn was not about to be lost to the darkness!
Her eyes burst open, and she saw it - a single light far above on the surface. It was most likely that full moon. She bagan to flail, reaching for that light. Dawn's arms soon grew tired. She, eyes closed in desperation, gave the water one last swipe before grabbing hold of something. It was the hilt of her sword! The water had no effect on the flame of the blade. The sword began to pull her up through the waters. The bright light that shone on the surface of the water was getting brighter and larger with every second before it was blinding.
You can't burn me
The light faded. She was standing in blazing sunlight. Her eyes grew accustomed to the light and began to take in the new scenery. She was now standing waist-deep in water on a different beach; a beach that belonged to Twilight Town. She heard someone call her name, and looked in the direction of where that person seemed to be. It was Naite and Vlad, beckoning her to them from the shore. She took a glance at her the sword in her hand before eagerly making her way to them.
I know where I stand and what'll happen if you try it
The dirty blonde (Naite) and brunette (Vlad) greeted her with big grins. Vlad turned as if to lead them to a different spot, but he stopped short. Naite and Dawn turned to see the problem. On the beach, was a shining, white portal in the shape of a rectangle. Leading to the portal was a set of foot prints. Though they were shaped like a human's, the sizzling flames and the red-hot sand left in each print made you wonder if it really did belong to a human. Dawn tightened her grip about her sword before striding towards the portal. For some reason, she was careful to make sure that her feet were put in the foot-prints left behind. The fires never consumed her feet.
I am Fireproof
The Portal led to a vast meadow filled with many paths made of dirt. The friends walked along the path they were already on, Dawn still shadowing the foot-prints. They passed two men in red standing side-by-side. One was wearing a red cape and had long,raven hair. He watched the travellers with unflinching, crimson eyes.The other also had a red cape, but wore a darker red cloth wrapped around his head, leaving a gap for one eye and his mouth. He had his back to the travellers. He glanced over his sholder at the three friends and gave small smile. "Go, Vincent." He whispered to his red caped companion. Vincent immediately stepped out on to the path and joined the friends. Dawn said nothing, knowing she could use all the support she could get.
I know my heart and I just can't deny it
Further down the road, She noticed four hooded men watching from afar amongst the grass. The tallest of them merely looked on. The shortest examined the friends with great interest. Th esecond shortest watched in quiet desperation, wishing with every fiber of his being to join Dawn. In his desperation, he unconsciously took a step foward.The second tallest immediately grabbed ahold of the desperate man's shoulder. This man shook his head disdainfully, all the while grinning knowingly. Dawn wanted to stay and find out more about these men, but she had a greater disire to continue on the path she had chosen.
I am Fireproof
Dawn continued down the road, axious to see who left the foot prints. Along the way, she passed a duck wearing a safari outfit and glasses. He too busy looking at a map and muttering to himself to pay the friends any attention. Next, were two more men. One was a cowboyhat-wearing brunette, and the other had wavy, silver hair and was fully suited in armor. The Brunette winked at Dawn, and the other man nodded warmly at the group. Dawn waved shyly at the men, Vlad returned the nod, and Naite said, "Hey." Vincent; meanwhile, ingored them.
I tried to tell you but you wouldn't be quiet
She soon reached a four-way cross road. Standing in the exactly spot where those paths met, the shortest of the mentioned hooded men examined. Suddenly, he sent a rain of thunder down on them. Dawn charged at the man. Her sword came down on him. He dissolved into colorful dust, floating off with the wind. She turned to her friends to express her confusion, but only to find that she was alone.
I am Fireproof
She looked around her, turning round and round. Dawn called worriedly for her friends. They were nowhere to be found. She began to run frantically the opposite way she had come. In her worry, she did not notice a stone on the path before tripping over it. A pair of shoes came into her vision;next, a hand. She craned her neck to get a look at the owner of the feet and hand. It was the man she had seen sitting dead on the throne. He wasn't dead after all? She looked into the blue eyes that had previosly been blocked by his bangs. Those bangs were no longer blood-stained.
I'll never bow down and you won't buy it
In fact, no blood was to be seen anywhere on him. She took his hand and was pulled up. As soon as she was steady, the man walked past her.He soon stopped just a few feet away from her,and he kept his back to Dawn. All the while, she watched wided-eyed. She reached out a hand to the man, trying to get his attention but froze when he abruptly glanced her over his shoulder. He threw her mischievous grin. Dawn replied by raising a brow. Unanticipatedly, he took off running down the way she going to begin with. For some reason that was even unknown to her, she chased down the man. She could not help but notice that he was leaving another set of fiery foot prints in the dirt. This intensified her resolve to catch up with the man. This resolve distracted her from noticing another rock on the road that she did not fail to trip over. This time, she picked herself off the ground. She gaped at the white double door that appeared on the path before her. Where did it come from? It had not been there before she tripped. It looked alot like the door at the of the white hallway she had wandered through. Nevertheless, the stranger's footprints led directly to that door. Dawn stepped forward and pulled open both sides of the door, revealing a blinding light that consumed her and everything else.
I am Fireproof
--------------------------------------------
Chapter 1
The Pyroblade
Dawn's eye slid open. "What a strange dream," she thought groggily. It had to be around six am atleast. She rolled over to look at the clock; only to find that it was ten 'o clock in the morning. "Close enough," she mumbled dryly to herself. She rolled back over to find that she was alone in her bed. Well, except for the note that lay on the pillow where her husband's head had been. She picked up the note and began to read it. It said:
Dear Sleepyhead,
I've gone out to give you sometime alone to start writing. I'll pick a soft pretzel up for you while i'm out.
Love,
You-know-who
She sat up, yawned, and stretched. Her eye found the found the pile of various opened gifts mixed with the paper they were wrapped in that was in the corner of the room. Slightly dazed, she slid off her bed and made her way to the pile. She dug through it until she found the diary she was looking for. She dragged herself over to her desk and sat down. She smiled warmly at the inscription on the inside cover of the diary before picking a pencil out of the pencil holder. And without further ado, she began to write.
Dear Diary,
I got you from my husband on my 25th Birthday (yesterday). He said I should write my memoirs for the next person who takes up the torch after i'm gone. So, here I go.
First of all, my name is Dawn. I was born (and that goes without saying) in Twilight Town on June 28th. Anyone who has been there can quickly figure out that it's a "born there, die there" kind of place. And finding someone from another world? Next to impossible. My best friend, Naithanel Demison Thompson, was one exception. He was nine years old when he came to Twilight Town. At first, no one knew what to think of him. He was hyperactive, talkative, and had a thing for noise. And when I say noise, I mean that he seemed to not be able to stand silence. He was constantly humming, drumming on tables, singing, and (most of all) playing his Sitar. Don't forget about his strange mullet-like hairstyle. Despite these things and our three year difference, I gave him a chance. Since then, he's always been by my side - if not literally,then in spirit. He lived with his Uncle, Thorne, and Aunt, Abigail. They also had a daughter named Caitrin. About a month into our friendship, he introduced me to one of his classmates, Vladimir. Vlad was cynical and not afraid to tell you what he thinks. He also had a softer,playful side that came out after we came to know each other. He showed this when he nick-named me "Blondie" (affectionately,of course). So, the duo became a trio, and an infamous trio at that.
Meanwhile, my parents were Wallace and Emily Strike. My father owned the weapons shop of Twilight Town. Concequently, I knew more about weapons than the alphabet by the time I was in Kindergarten. By the time I was eleven, I had a shift working the counter of the shop. While I was growing up, my dad would teach me (and some of the other nieghborhood kids,including Naite and Vlad) how to use weapons and some magic. I began to favor Swords and fire ;and before I knew it, I began to surpass my dad in both. Naite liked to incorporate his Sitar in battle while unleashing powerful water attacks. As for Vlad, he depended more on brute force using nothing but his fists and a baseball bat. He was able master what my dad calls "status spells" early on. Shield, protect, and armor break: these are just few of what he could do.
It's been awhile since i've thought about it, but the fact that I chose swords and fire was pure destiny. I didn't really think much about the future growing up. Life was just one big game in Twilight Town, and I was trying to win it by having a successful life. What exactly "successful" meant wasn't very clear to me. Our conversations were never really serious when pertaining to the future; atleast, until my 14th year of life.
"A rockstar, of course!" Naite replied with a wink when Vlad questioned us about our future jobs.
"Really...?" Vlad shot back sarcastically."...and you, Blondie?"
"That's an easy one! Run my dad's shop - what else?" I answered.
Naite leaned towards Vlad. "What about you, Doubter?"(Vlad always did doubt that Naite would be a rockstar)
Vlad sat back and thought about it. He gazed at the ocean on the beach of Twilight Town {Author Note: finally, the famed Twilight Town beach(that Roxas never got to go to)has now made an appearance} before replying, "I'd love to do what Mr.Strike does and teach kids how to defend themselves."
"Pfft. How are going to make living off of that?"Naite blurted out in that immature tone he would sometimes adopt. He instantly regretted saying that when it earned him a glare and a swift knock on the head from Vlad.
"Idiot. I'd make munny by charging munny for the lessons." Scolded Vlad in his I-don't-need-to-raise-my-voice-to-correct-you way that drove Naite nuts (that was only because this kind of scolding that worked on him)."By the way, how many times to have to tell you not to take that tone? It makes you sound like a brat."
From the beginning of our a friendship, Vlad seemed to make a solemn oath with himself to straighten out all of Naite's kinks. By the time I was ten, he had already done a pretty good job of doing just that. Vlad's Parents owned the shop across from my family's, The Item Shop. They -of course- got better business than our shop due to the simple fact that more people needed potions than weapons. He also had a little brother by the name Wantz. Vlad was an extremely unselfish person to the point that he made sure to take most of the shifts at the shop. He wanted to make sure his brother had plenty of time to be kid before he started working. It wasn't strange for us both to have a shift at our own shops at the time. It was during one of those times that the wierdest yet most wonderful thing happened to me.
I was fifteen years old then and was mere months away from sixteen. I was taking inveventory of a new box of weapons my dad had ordered. I was doing it inches away from the counter just in case I had a customer. Meanwhile, Vlad was just across the way, killing time by reading a book. Vlad was a brunette with slightly wavy layers falling artfully around his face just past his ears. As for Naite, he was most likely checking to see if the latest issue of Darkwing Duck was in stock at the comic store on the beach at the time. By this time, Naite had grown out his weird mullet and was sporting a shaggy hair style with light blue highlights sprinkled throughout his dirty blonde hair.
I ripped open the box and took out the order sheet. All the weapons were packed in cardboard boxes and stacked neatly in the box. Due to the various sizes of the boxes, some packing peanuts had to be put in the box. I picked up the smallest, top most box and set it off to side, mentally noting that it fit the discription on the sheet. When I did this, some of the peanuts spilled over on to the next box, revealing something shiny that peaked out of the thinned layer of peanuts. I instinctively picked it up with my right hand. It was the hilt of a sword. I found this extremely odd, to say the least. How would something like that happen? I remember thinking that I should be on the look out for the missing blade. I wanted to be careful that I didn't cut myself. My thoughts didn't get very from that before a steady stream of fire broke forth from the hilt. I also felt a strange feeling of power flow up my right arm from the sword. My reflexes kicked in, causing me to drop the sword as if it had burnt me. As soon as it left my hand, the flame ceased. I stared at the golden hilt that lay on the floor, waiting for my racing heart to slow down.
"Dawn, what's wrong?" I turned to find Vlad at the counter, brows twisted in worry. "You gave a cry," he continued.
"Did I?" I asked, not remembering whether I did. My head was swimming in confusion. I turned back to the hilt and gingerly picked it back up. As soon I touched it, the flames shot forth once more. For some reason, the flames didn't seem so large this time.
"Whoa, nice replica." Naite commented, seemingly popping out of nowhere at the counter.
"...Replica? Of what?" I replied. Naite's eyes darted from my confused face to Vlad's similar one. "You mean you have no idea what that sword is? It looks like the Pyroblade! Didn't your parents ever tell you about the Pyroblade wielders of old?" He inquired. He sighed heavily when all we could do was goggle at him. "Man, how sad. Hm...why have I never mentioned it?"
"Still," I said."This feels nothing like a replica. It's too real." Naite's face grew pale.
"Dawn, do you trust me?"
"Yes."
"Then put your hand in the flame."
"What?!?" Vlad and I snapped at the same time. Naite held up his hands as if we had pointed guns at him.
"Hear me out! I don't mean your whole hand - just the tip of your pinky or something." He pleaded. It was my turn to sigh heavily.
The truth is, Reader, i'm just chock full of faith. I had and still have faith in my friends. Which is the exact reason I inched my pinky towards the flame without need of further explanation. I felt no pain when it finally was engulfed by the flame, but I could still feel the fire. Yet, it did not feel like fire but like warm water flowing over my pinky. Emboldened, I thrust my whole hand into the flame. I looked up at my friends. Vlad's face was full of awe, and Naite's face was grim.
"So," Naite sighed. "You are the Pyroblade wielder of our generation."
"But what was that all about? And what is the Pyroblade?!" Vlad inquired, rather forcefully.
"I don't remember too much. You see, my dad would sometimes tell me about them before I went to bed. I would also read about them all the time. Despite me loving those books so much, my dad didn't allow me to bring them here. Because of that, I don't really remember the stories. I do remember the basic rules of being a wielder." He held up a finger. "Number one, the wielder must be pure of heart." Then, another finger. "Two, there can only be one wielder at one time, and they are a wielder until they die." He held up a third finger, but froze and his eyes widened.
"What is it now?" Vlad moaned.
"I just remembered. Though I don't remember alot of details of the stories, I do remember one thing that they had in common. Every time the Pyroblade appeared to its master for the first time, trouble was just around the corner."
-Continued in Chapter 2-