A Little Bit of Light

He didn't know what possessed him to go to this world full of light, that shined so brightly. After all, he was darkness. A big, spiraling void of it.

It was so… beautiful out here. The palm trees, the big blue sky, the constant crashing of the waves. He looked around, spotting all of the structures. Despite this, the island seemed to be uninhabited. There was a bridge connecting to a smaller island with a bent-over tree, perfect for sitting on. He crossed, and plopped down on the tree. It had strange, star-shaped fruits.

The ocean sea breeze tempted him. It wouldn't hurt to take his mask off for a little bit, enjoy the air and the colors…

It had been a while since he'd breathed fresh air.

The sunset was gorgeous, like a fire. He felt his eyelids get heavy. Despite himself, he allowed them to close.

"Hello? Mister? Are you okay?"

He blinked his eyes open. A little, brown-haired boy with large blue eyes was above him. He couldn't be more than 4. "Yeah, I'm fine." He snapped grabbing for his helmet. It wasn't there. "Wh- where's my helmet?"

The boy blinked. "That helmet?" He asked, pointing over the water. There it was, floating on the waves. "I'll go get it for you!"

The boy jumped from the tree into the water. He started to flail towards it, but a wave came and pulled him under. The boy probably hadn't had much experience swimming, if at all. He cursed.

He jumped in the water.

He pulled the little boy (and the helmet) to shore, barely breaking a sweat. The little boy was a featherweight.

The boy coughed out water, looking up at him with wide cerulean eyes. "I almost drowned."

He nodded.

"My name's Sora, mister. Thank you!"

He couldn't help it, but a smile grew on his face. The boy didn't even flinch, like even Xehanort did when he smiled. "You're welcome. People call me Vanitas."

Sora split into a grin. "Have you ever swam before? 'Cause you were great! Not as great as Wakka, but great! Oh, and I'm four. How old are you?"

This boy was a little bundle of energy. "I've swam a couple of times before. And I'm… fourteen." That's how old Ventus was, at least. Techincally, he was four also, as he had been seperated from Ventus when Ventus was ten.

Sora suddenly looked thoughtful. "You're not from around here, are you? I've never seen you on the Destiny Islands before."

The Destiny Islands. So that's what this world was called. "…No. I'm from a different world." He didn't know what it was, but something about this boy made him want to open up, to tell him.

Sora's eyes widened. "Wow, a different world? There are different worlds? So the legend is true, that each star is a world? Wow, that is so cool! Which one are you from? How did you get here? How are you going to get back? What was…" Sora probably would have gone on for hours, if another voice hadn't interrupted him.

"Sora? Sora, are you here? You're mom's calling you. It's time for bed."

Sora visibly wilted. "I thought they wouldn't think to find me here. Oh, that's my friend Riku. Do you want to come meet him?"

Vanitas smiled, and shook his head. "Nah, I can't. Sorry. But maybe you'll see me again, eventually."

Sora smiled, perked up again. "I hope so! Bye, Mister Vanitas!" And he started to run off, but was stopped by Vanitas.

"Wait just a second. Don't you want to see something cool?"

Sora's eyes were filled with curiosity. "Sure!"

Vanitas summoned the Void Gear. "In your hand, take this Key. So long as you have the makings, then through this simple act of taking, its wielder you shall one day be."

Sora looked at him for a moment, wondering what the poem meant. Then he took hold of the handle. "What is this thing? It's really cool!" A burst of light fired out wards, into a small cave by a waterfall. "Oops…"

Van laughed. "It's okay. Someday, you might get one of these, and you'll do heart things. But right now, you should get to bed."

"Thanks! Bye!"

As soon as the little boy was out of sight, he opened up a portal. He quickly memorized this world's coordinates. He'd have to come back sometimes.

As he traveled, he wondered dimly why he had bothered to save the little boy's life. He was all darkness, he shouldn't want to do light things like that. That little boy just brought the best out of him.

Maybe even he had a little bit of light inside him, after all.