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Rating: 15+ for bad language and a few... uh... other things.
Extremely Long Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy. I also do not own any of the various media that is directly referenced, tributed to, or vaguely hinted at throughout the series. In fact, only six characters directly belong to me and you'll probably know them when you see them. This was written for fun and for my friends, and no copyright infringement is desired or implied. Additional disclaimers will probably pop up as the book goes on.
Spoiler Warnings: Every Kingdom Hearts game. Don't read if you (for some reason) haven't played them all and don't want the endings to be spoiled.
Timeline: A year after Kingdom Hearts II ends.
Feedback: Positive feedback will earn a cookie. All flames will used to keep my house warm in the wintertime.
Length: Epic, dude.
A/N: Please be nice to me. This is the first time I've posted a fic on a public thingamajig. Thanks to my co-author xXx_CaNdYcAnEmAdNeSs_XxX (I call her, I get ideas) and other people (YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE!) for beta-ing the story. You're all my buddies!!!
A/N 2 (4/14/09): Edits have been made. Updated Neko's UN, changed wordings in a whole bunch of places.

Prologue
Sora stared at the circled date on his calendar as he crossed off the day two spaces before it. Two more days, he thought to himself, a sinking feeling in his stomach. Two more days until he’d see if the King’s prophecy would come true. Two more days, he tried to prevent himself from thinking, until the end of the world.

He crossed to his desk in the corner of his room, pulling off the blue plaid tie on his school uniform and slinging it over his chair. He opened the desk drawer and pulled out a glass bottle, scratched up from numerous handlings over the past year. He and his two best friends, Riku and Kairi, had read the letter inside at least twice a day, trying to make sure they had all read it correctly the last seven hundred and twenty six times before. Sora was about to bring that number of double-checks to seven hundred and twenty seven.

He uncorked the bottle and shook the rolled-up paper out onto his desk as he turned on his desk light.

“Sora, do you have any homework? Do you need to study at all?” he heard his mom shout from downstairs.

“No, Mom,” Sora responded, a little annoyed. “I’ll be fine!” Well, he wasn’t so sure, but if the letter meant what he and his friends thought it did, finals wouldn’t matter a whole heck of a lot.

“Alright then, dinner’s in an hour.”

Sora smiled a little exasperatedly, running a hand through his spiky brown hair. His mom had no idea what was coming. If he warned her, he’d have to tell her what he’d been doing when he went missing last year. And if he told her that, he’d probably get stuck with meetings with the shrink again for the rest of his life.

Because no one but the people who’d seen what happened would ever believe it. And the only ones who’d seen it were himself, Riku, and Kairi. He wished he could warn his mother what might be coming.

He unrolled the parchment and stared at the single sentence written in flowing script. “A year from now, it will happen again.”

Sora looked over his shoulder at his calendar again. A year ago two days from now, Kairi had found the bottle with the letter on the beach, waiting for her. He sighed, massaging his forehead. It was going to be a very long week. Sora opened up the blinds on the window in front of him. He stared up at the sunset enhanced by the view of the ocean, the colors reflected in his blue eyes. He took it in as best he could, because in two days, that sunset might be gone.

He stood and headed to his closet, throwing the door open. Leaning against the wall, glowing in its own light in the darkness, a giant key leaned against the wall. He picked it up by its hilt and held it out in front of him like a sword.

He turned, grabbed the phone on his desk, and dialed a number. Two rings, then someone picked up.

“Yo,” said his best friend’s voice disrespectfully. “What’s up, Sora?”

“I’m coming over, Riku,” Sora told him.

“I thought you were going to ask about studying for once,” Riku replied a little scornfully. “No, always practicing with you.”

“We could play video games if you want,” Sora suggested, smiling.

“Hell no,” Riku chuckled. “Video games pale in comparison to what we’re going through. Come on over, moron, the parents are out at work.”

“Actually, I was thinking of going out to the island.”

“Fine then. Usual spot?”

“You got it. See ya round, Riku. We’re doing it for real this time.”

“In that case, I’m calling Kairi. She needs more practice, too.” The line went dead at almost the same time Sora hung up.

He turned to the door and held the key tighter. It vanished in a small explosion of white sparkles. It would be there when he needed it. He put the paper back into the bottle and stuck the bottle back into his desk drawer.

“Mom, I’m going to the island! I’ll be home soon!” He was out of the house before his mom could stop him.

Because if the world was ending, it was time for the Keyblade’s Chosen One to get back into shape again.