It was a nice, peaceful morning on the islands. The sky was still pink and orange, and everyone was just barely waking up...except for a whole lot of teenagers looking to build a raft to set sail for other worlds, that is.

@Crimson Flame As most of the teens were hard at work at this task, however, Lucian is asleep...and when he wakes up, he finds himself literally lying on a colorful mosaic of his mom, dressed in a blue ballgown.

Lucian started to stir, his eyes fluttered open. He sat up and stretched. It took him a minute, but by the time he was fully awake he realized, he was not in his bed. Or even on the Destiny Islands for that matter.

He stood up slowly, rubbing his eyes as he tried to get his bearings and figure out what was going on. Then, he looked down, he gasped at what he saw. Beneath him was a colorful mosaic. A beautiful image of a woman, her golden hair done up, dressed in an elegant blue ballgown. Lucian stared at the mosaic for a moment, his heart racing. The woman in the mosaic was someone he knew all too well. His mother.

“Mom…?” He whispered.

The mosaic seemed to glow faintly, as though responding to his presence, and Lucian’s heart pounded even harder. What is this place? he wondered. He looked around, but there was nothing. No walls, no sky, no nothing. Just him, and this mosaic of his mother.

He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. “Alright Lucian, don’t panic… There has to be a reason for this.” Slowly, he began to walk forward. His mind racing with thoughts at what this could possibly mean.

Levi came around the far end of the beach, his deep breaths matching the rhythm of his steps, and the music playing through the headphones he wore. Be wore a broad smile as he finished up his morning run, which he'd started about an hour ago, before the sun had started to rise. He stopped as he came onto the beach, having run a full lap around the island as he started to walk across the sand.

He went to check up on the others, who he'd assumed were going to be here. They mentioned offhandedly that their plan to build a raft was today, so he decided to make sure there weren't any incoming storms the night prior. He would've hated to have a repeat of...

... Regardless, he made his way up the beach to see them hard at work. Having caught his breath, he stretched for a couple minutes as he watched them moving about their proud vessel made of mostly driftwood and rope. Finishing up his stretches, he made his way towards the people working on the raft, as he paused the cassette player at his hip, and took his headphones off, letting them rest on the back of his neck.

Levi quietly waved at any who acknowledged him, as he eyed up the ramshackle craft. He guessed it wouldn't make it very far out to sea as it was, much less to other worlds, however he wasn't about to say it out loud.

Morgan had been up for some time. She liked the morning chill that came with being near the sea, the dense fog, the quietness of nobody else being around... of course, that was hours ago. The sun had swept away the fog, and while it wasn't quite up yet, the early morning was certainly coming to an end.

Morgan herself sat a distance away from the raft, not entirely disinterested in it, but not willing to take part either. She thought it was dumb... why build a raft when there were perfectly good boats tied up at the docks that others had used to go to and from the island? Well it wasn't like she was a boating expert, those little boats would probably tip over the moment they actually got out to sea... and a raft could hold more people but, it was far from the most appealing way to sail the sea. It was like a floating floor and nothing else, the chances of falling over were-

Needless to say she had overthought all the negatives of this plan, and she really didn't think it would work. She certainly wasn't going to be the first one to try it out, and would be here with a good spot to watch as whoever took it for its test sail inevitably had to swim themselves back to shore. She was sure it would happen.

That was her excuse at least... Truth be told, she wasn't even paying attention to the raft. She was staring off at the horizon that the sun as rising from. Lost in her own thoughts, not a single bit of attention spared for anything or anyone around her. She had thoroughly thought through every possible reason why this raft was most certainly not going to work, let alone get them to another world. But in the back of her mind that thought still lingered. Was it so simple? Was another world waiting on that horizon? Having simple woken up on the shore of this island as if a survivor from a shipwreck, had she simply drifted here from another world?

It couldn't be that simple.

Earlier that morning Alias found himself staring off into the horizon as the sun began to rise above it. He wasn't exactly sure what he was feeling, but something was coming. He didn't like the feeling it gave him. He had been feeling it for a while and it was now closer than ever. He was so focused that he couldn't even hear his dad calling his name.

"Alias!" The Mayor yelled once again while placing his hand on his son's shoulder.

Alias was startled back to reality at the touch. He took the wooden sword in his hand and whipped himself around to stab whoever it was in the neck. He stopped just short of his father's neck. "Oh. I'm sorry, father. You startled me."

The Mayor nervously rubbed his neck before letting off a laugh. "My dear boy, what on Earth do you have to be so scared of?"

Alias put the sword in his waistband. "Nothing, I hope. I was just lost in thought. Did you need something?"

"Oh, yes. I'm going to be very busy today. You and your friends be safe with your raft building."

Alias's eyes widened. He knew!? "You knew?"

The Mayor laughed. "Of course I knew. I know about everything on our humble island. I know you believe you're from another world, but you are a gift from another island. We couldn't find your parents, but I'm sure they're out there somewhere."

Alias shook his head. "My parents... You're the only parent I need. But I know I'm from another world. I don't know how I know. I just feel it and Tsu has to be out there on another world, too. We're going to find him and bring him back."

The Mayor knew there was no convincing his son. He gave him a smile and a warm hug. "I love you, son. If you truly believe an adventure in other worlds awaits you I'll trust you as well. Just protect your friends with all your might and come back home."

Alias smirked. "Come on, dad. I'm Alias, King of the Beach. That's guaranteed."

---

Alias was putting in work on the raft. It felt nice being able to bond over this. He still couldn't believe that he managed to convince them this was a good idea and that there were other worlds out there. They had gathered a lot of wood for the base of it. They needed the space and the ability to hold all of their weight. He still wasn't sure exactly how all of this was supposed to work, but if he could arrive here as a baby, Tsu could leave, and Morgan could come here from the sea then the sea was their way out. He just hoped it didn't require them somehow going underwater just to make it to another world. He could swim, he just wouldn't want to risk everyone drowning so far out at sea.

When Levi approached he turned to wave at him before going back to roping the wood in place. "Thank you guys for helping out and entertaining this crazy idea of ours. You really didn't have to."

---

@Bacon@Sadu

---

---

Far from the serene, crystal blue oceans of Destiny Island, a lone ship sailed among the stars. It was a simple ship, bronze, silver, and dark brown in color, bearing the shape of an arrowhead. While it appeared to be made of solid panels and plates, if one were to look closely, they would see that it was actually made of blocks of varying sizes and shapes, fit together so well they almost appeared seamless. Inside the cockpit, the pilot and lone traveler lounged in his seat, napping the hours away as the autopilot took him to his next destination. He quietly groaned, however, as he opened his eyes and slowly rewoke, having never been able to nap for long in his ship. The seats were comfortable, of course, but not for napping, he had discovered.

Zacary Yoxall sat up and rubbed his bleary eyes before turning his attention to the instruments on his control console. He nodded after a moment, satisfied that everything still seemed to be running well, and stood up with a stretch. "I gotta figure out how to get a coffee maker on this thing," he muttered as he paced around the small, three-seat cockpit in an effort to revitalize himself. As he did, he thought back to the last world he visited. It had been an interesting one, to the say the least, what with the flying monkeys and a city that seemed to be made entirely out of emerald.

He was in the middle of reminiscing while he continued to pace when his ship suddenly shook. He glanced up through the glass canopy of his ship just in time to see a ship speed past. "Well, crap," he muttered, suddenly wide awake as he sat back down in his seat. As he readied his ship for combat, he muttered, "It's too early for this..."

The weapons on the wings of his ship came to life, ready to take on the enemy. His ship lurched forward with a burst of speed as Zac activated the afterburner and gave chase after the ship that attacked him. The two flew through space, weaving through and around obstacles. The enemy ship tried to shake Zac off, but the young man proved to be a superior pilot, easily keeping up with it. Once he had the enemy in his sights, Zac fired a short burst from his forward-facing guns, blasting his enemy to kingdom come. He let out a sigh, only to feel his ship shudder again as three more enemies approached. "Alright, I guess we're not done playing, yet!" he responded as his ship sped forward, this time on the wrong end of the chase.

The battle lasted longer than the first time around. Zac had no choice but to play defensively, using the asteroid field he found himself in to his advantage as much as he could. He was able to shake off pursuit a couple of times, destroying two enemies using hit-and-run tactics. His ship took a few hits, which Zac assumed to be nothing worth worrying over since they didn't seem to be an immediate issue. Eventually, he managed to take down the last enemy and sat back in relief...for about three seconds. Suddenly, the cockpit was bathed in red light as an alert blared. He turned to a screen that showed his ship's diagnostics and simply muttered, "Well. That's not good."

@Bacon @King Kindred @Little Bird

Taivas

Taivas could feel his body floating. He did not know; all he knew was that it floated like he was above water. He could hear a voice calling to him in the distance, saying his name and wanting him to come over. Eventually, he found himself in some mosaic. He didn’t know where this place was, but the surrounding area was covered in darkness. An extensive set of stairs connected the mosaic he was on to another one a few feet away. The voice was coming from the other mosaic. With nowhere else to go, Taivas took the stairs, feeling obliged to follow the voice. As he got onto the other mosaic, he could see a large wooden door in the middle. Looking at the door and wondering what this place was, and where the door leads into. Beside the door was a pedestal with a strange weapon on top of it. To him, it looked like a key of some kind. “Pick it up.” The voice spoke, and feeling his body not being in his control, he walked over towards the pedestal. Picking it up and wondering how this could be used as a weapon. But it felt oddly quite familiar to him as if he had used the weapon before.

Looking at the door, he felt obliged to open it in the middle of the room. The voice again called his name and told him to open the door. The voice sounded familiar, but he couldn’t figure out whose voice it was. As he opened the door, he noticed the other side of the door was pure black. It was like a black void on the other side of the door. He felt a sense of dread filling his body as he went through it. Hearing the same voice screaming in his ear. “WAKE UP!!!” His eyes opened, and he scanned his surroundings. Noticing that he was lying on his back on a sandy beach. Holding his head, feeling his head throbbing like someone had slammed his head repeatedly and quite hard.

“Where am I? What a strange dream.” he said to himself while looking around. He had no memory of how he got onto the island or even his memories. He slowly stood up and started limping forward, wanting to speak to someone who might know what was happening. Walking past a kid with a stupid haircut and a ball before approaching three people working on a raft. He thought he could steal it to get off the island. “Hi, do you know what this place is called? And do you know how I can get off this island?” He said, scanning them with his eyes. He felt he may have met them before but couldn’t put his finger on it.

Alias turned his head so fast he was afraid it might fall off once he heard Hoshi's voice. Things had been a bit complicated between them lately. As they grew older and out of Tsu's shadow their feelings for each other started to grow and change. There were times when Alias found himself awkwardly staring at her in mesmerization. Things got better once their focus shifted solely to getting off the island and finding out if Kitsu was alive in another world. He really hoped he was. He'd hate to put Hoshi through losing her brother twice.

“Hey!” He finally said in response, but noticed her look. He recognized it all too well. They needed to talk. He was starting to stand up when a stranger appeared and asked if they knew how to get off the island. Alias gave Hoshi a curious look. Was this someone else confirming their other worlds theory?

“This is Destiny Islands.” Alias finally said, answering the strange man. He seemed to be only a few years older than them. But his appearance here now of all times couldn't be a coincidence. “We're actually working on that right now. I'm Alias and these are my friends, Hoshi, Levi, and Morgan. Can you hold on for a sec?”

Hoshi exchanged the quizzical glance that Alias had given her, and shrugged her shoulders, falling to a loss of words at the sudden appearance of the stranger. Nonetheless, when she turned to face the newcomer, she expressed a welcoming smile, waving as Alias introduced her. “Yeah,” she said with a nod. “Alias and I just need a minute. A lot to figure out. I’m sure Levi wouldn’t mind showing you around if you want though.” She threw Levi a half-begging glance, hoping he’d understand before she turned and began walking the short distance away.

Alias stood up fully and walked over to Hoshi and followed her. He wasn't sure what she wanted to talk about, but things were really about to get interesting. “So that's interesting, huh? The day we're preparing to leave someone shows up and asks how to. You think he's from another world, too?”

“Hmmm.” Hoshi held her chin thoughtfully for a second. She stole an inconspicuous look back at the stranger, and turned back to Alias. “I mean, I’ve never seen him around before. Have you?”

Alias shook his head. “No and I'm pretty sure I've seen everyone by this point. My dad would say he's probably from another island, but I don't know. I've been getting this really weird feeling today…” He paused, taking a moment to glance towards the ocean. He still felt like something or someone was coming. This stranger wasn't going to be their last visitor before the day was done. He returned his attention to Hoshi. “We can focus on that later. You wanted to talk about something?”

“Oh… Yeah.” Hoshi’s face turned a subtle shade of red. The stranger’s appearance had pushed the thought of her dream to the back of her mind; next to the thought of a visitor from another world, the dream felt insignificant. “Just… well… kinda feeling the same way I guess. Like something is about to happen. Something big.” She put a hand to her chest, averting her gaze and looking at the ground. “It’s almost like he’s calling out to me. I don’t know how, but I know it’s him.” She looked back up at her friend. “I guess there’s only one way to find out for sure. You really think the raft will get us far enough?”

Alias watched her full of intrigue. Her blush caught him off guard triggering his own hint of a blush in response. When she mentioned Tsu was calling out to her his eyes widened. Had that been what he was feeling this entire time? His friend? His brother? No. It couldn't have been. What he was feeling felt cold, almost dark? He wasn't even sure how he knew what that felt like. “It has to. I've been feeling something or someone calling out to me, too. I don't think mine is Tsu. I've always felt mine, but now it feels closer than ever. This might be our last chance.”

Hoshi paused in silence. She pulled her eyes from Alias and looked at the raft. “You’re right,” she said after some thought. “It’s the best we’ve got.” She forced out a laugh and cracked a fresh smile. “I haven’t said anything to my parents about it; better they don’t know. After what happened to Tsu they barely let me out in the boat by myself.”

“My dad knows.” Alias started. “I didn't tell him. He just figured it out. But he's not stopping us. He just wants to make sure we're safe.” Alias paused to look at the water again. He recalled Tsu's disappearance and the effect it had on them and the island. Would they be putting their families through the same thing again? “Ready to head back and figure out who this new guy is?”

“Yeah,” Hoshi said, now eying the stranger. Her voice hinted to a mild worry; if the mayor had found out about their plans, would he have told her parents? She couldn't be sure. Even if he wouldn’t stop Alias from setting sail, he’d surely think it proper for Hoshi’s family to stop her going if they saw fit to; even if they didn’t know, was it right for her to put them through the same kind of loss they went through when Tsu went missing? “Yeah,” Hoshi repeated. “Maybe he knows about other worlds.”

Alias could hear the small hint of worry in her voice and saw her mind racing through the twitching movements of her eyes. “Maybe. There's only one way to find out. Who knows? Maybe he even met Tsu out there. But everything's gonna be okay. Trust me.” Getting Hoshi to trust him would be easy on a normal day. This wasn't a normal day. It was the day their lives were going to change forever. Pushing any thoughts of fear and doubt to the back of his mind, Alias pressed forward, returning to their friends and their raft.

Hoshi stood still, hanging for a second on the thought of the stranger knowing Tsu. She responded with a quick nod, and followed Alias back to the raft.

Levi pulled hard on the rope he was holding, ensuring there wasn't any slack on one of the few lengths of rope that held the actual main body of the raft together. He then grabbed the excess rope by the knot and pulled hard, tightening it that extra little bit, before tossing the end onto the raft's main body to be secured. He then looked up at the two, and shrugged. "Sure, I can show him around." He started to walk towards Taivas, then turned to face the others. "But I want to check those knots before you set sail. Wouldn't want your raft fall apart two minutes after shoving off." He said with a smile, but a tone that implied that he wasn't taking no for an answer on that. "C'mon then, stranger. I can show you around a bit while they work."

Levi kept a smile on his face as he almost offhandedly pointed out small points of interest, such as the cliffside's cave, their little obstacle course, and the assorted wooden pathways made up of rope and wood that filled the canopies of the trees that ran along the cliffside. As he led the man down the beach, Levi's demeanor shifted slightly as they left both sight and earshot of the others. "Alright, stranger, let me level with you here." He said, his smile diminishing. "I don't know who you are, where you came from, or why you ended up here. And frankly, I don't care right now. But those three back there? They're practically family. And there's a fourth... once he gets down here... who's in the same camp."

He then clapped a hand on Taivas' shoulder, his face darkening significantly as he looked Taivas in the eye with a near-emotionlessness expression, and a serious tone. "I want to make sure there aren't any misunderstanding here. I don't mind you being around, and assuming you're a decent guy, I wouldn't mind being friends. But if you come within so much as ten yards of any of them with ill intent, I will break every bone in your body." For a moment while he spoke, he gripped Taivas with just enough force to keep him from pulling away. Once Levi had made his point he released the man's shoulder and walked towards one of the several Paupu trees, before kicking it hard enough to knock a couple of it's fruit down, catching one and picking the other off the sand.

He tossed the one he caught to Taivas, before brushing the sand off the one that fell. "So long as you understand that, you and I will have no problems here." He then took a bite out of the fruit, with his smile and carefree demeanor slowly returning. "I'm Levi, by the way."

---

@Eviledd1984

@King Kindred @Bacon

Taivas

Taivas watched the three of them working on a raft. Part of him wondered how this dinky little raft would make it a few feet in the water. But he didn’t want to ruin their hopes by saying it was stupid. “Destiny Island…” He muttered to himself. Trying to think of where he had heard that name before. Taking a moment to look at his surroundings, wondering if he had somehow been here before. No memories of this place came to his mind. Perhaps he just couldn’t remember yet if he had been here before. Looked at the three of them while Alias introduced them. “My name is Taivas.” He said curtly while staring and studying their faces. Taivas thought perhaps a tour could help jog his memory. But there was a chance his hunch could be wrong, and he had not been on this island before.

Taivas turned his attention towards Levi. He was walking along with him, listening to every word he said. He was taking in his surroundings, trying to see if these locations unlocked some memory. Turning his head towards what looked like an entrance to a cavern, he had a strange feeling that he had been in that area before. But he wasn’t sure if this was true or not. A part of him admired Levi’s dedication and loyalty towards his friends. But the other part of him wanted to strangle him for the threat. Chuckling loudly from Levi's comment. “Right i'm sure you could. But I don't think we're gonna have a problem. We have very similar goals, so we should be working together. I can help you get off this island in return for helping me find my acquaintances.” He said sarcastically rolling his eyes. He though he could easily beat Levi in a fight. But perhaps that wouldn't be a goood idea. He needed to escape this island, and perhaps these kids could help him.

"Come...on!!" Zac growled as he did his best to keep control of his ship. Shortly after his last skirmish, alarms had started to blare and he saw from the ship's diagnostics that not only was the left aileron straight-up gone, hydraulic control for the right was gradually leaking, both secondary engines had failed, the primary one was stuck on full throttle, and the Stardust Core was malfunctioning. The last part wasn't a big deal, of course. It only powered everything in the ship from the engine to the shield and to the lights in the head (i.e. bathroom). No big deal.

"I only got hit a few times! You've been through worse without a complaint, why now?!" he shouted at his ship, only for it to reply with a shudder that did not feel like a good thing. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a blue speck of light and glanced at it before checking his radar. "A world. Perfect! Crash landing is definitely better than hurtling through space for the rest of my life," he remarked as he did his best to maneuver his ship toward the point of light, bracing one foot against the control console to improve his leverage. It resisted, but gradually obeyed as it slowly swiveled to the world. "Just a bit longer, sweetheart," he muttered. "It's gonna hurt, but I promise to patch you up as soon as I can."

The ship began to shake and rattle as it approached the world, taken in by its gravitational pull as panels began to fly off of the ship, exposing the wiring and structure underneath. He winced and squinted his eyes as the cockpit was suddenly filled by a bright light as his ship ignited while entering the atmosphere, at least until the canopy automatically tinted. ”At least that still works,” he muttered as he pulled back on the flightstick, doing his best to pull the ship up. When the flames cleared, he saw that he was approaching a small island, surrounded by crystal blue water. He lowered the ship a bit, aiming for the water in an attempt to slow himself down so he didn’t end up a pancake if he hit the island.

At that moment, the primary engine suddenly cut out. Now gliding, it was all Zac could do to insure that his ship didn’t flip over as it hit the water, skipping like a stone. The ship bounced once, twice, then a third time before he realized he was still coming in too hot. As he hurtled toward the island, he bent over, his head between his knees just before crashing into a cluster of palm trees, not noticing the makeshift raft or the people working on it as he flew over their heads. The ship sat there, propped up by the palm trees as smoke billowed from the primary engine.

The canopy, still tinted from reentry, began to lurch open, the actuators whirring almost painfully. Zac leaned against the edge of the cockpit and let out a groan. ”Any landing you can walk away from…,” he muttered before finally noticing the other people on the beach. He smiled and gave a wave. ”Hey,” he greeted.

Suddenly three platforms rose from the ground to surround Lucian. One in front of him, one to his right, and one to his left. They all shared the same strange three images, but above them floated a single weapon each. A sword, a shield, and a wand. Light shone down above to highlight these weapons.

Suddenly a discombobulated voice spoke. “Power sleeps within you. If you give it form it will give you strength. Which will you choose? Power of the Guardian? Kindness to aid friends. A shield to repel all. Or the Power of the Mystic? Inner Strength. A staff of wonder and ruin. Or the Power of the Warrior? Invincible Courage. A sword of terrible destruction. What is the power you seek, young Prince?”

Lucian was still trying to process just what exactly was going on, when the voice asked him the question. He stared at the floating weapons, his heart raced, as his gaze shifted between each of the three choices.

He took a breath to calm himself, his hands trembling as he reached toward the platform with the shield. “The Power of the Guardian…” he murmured to himself. He wasn’t interested in destruction and ruin. What he wanted was to protect his loved ones. But then he hesitated, glancing toward the other weapons. The sword represents courage, and the staff represents inner strength. Both were powerful, and both important too…

After a moment of thought, he continued reaching for the shield. “I choose the Power of the Guardian,” he said, more confidently this time. “I want to protect those who can’t protect themselves. To be the shield that stands between those I love, and anything that might try to harm them.”

The shield disappeared suddenly in his hand, finding its place deep within Lucian’s heart.

“Your path is set. Now, what will you give up in exchange?” The voice said, letting the young Prince know that he still had another choice to make.

Lucian’s eyes widened as the shield vanished from his grip. Before he could process the feeling, the voice told him he had to make another choice.

He looked at the sword and the staff. Both of them represented qualities he would need, and valued in other people. He closed his eyes, centering himself, thinking of what truly mattered to him. I chose the Path of the Guardian because I want to protect, and protection means more than just fighting.

With a steady breath, he opened his eyes and looked at the sword. “I’ll give up the Power of the Warrior,” he said, his voice quiet but certain. “Strength can take many forms, but the power to protect others doesn’t always need courage in battle. I’ll rely on inner strength instead.”

“You’ve chosen the Power of the Guardian. You’ve given up the Power of the Warrior.”

Suddenly the platforms forced themselves back into the ground. This seemingly caused the mosaic ground to shatter completely, causing Lucian to plummet into the dark depths below.

There was a light at the bottom, and upon closer look, Lucian would see… himself? Except he was wearing regal attire and surrounded by a carriage, the silhouette of a woman, some mice, and his parents. He landed softly on his feet, and before he could fully react to this, his shield appeared in his hand.

“You’ve gained the power to fight. There will be times you have to fight. Keep your light burning strong.” Three small shadow figures appeared from the floor and immediately began to attack Lucian.

As the platforms disappeared, the mosaic of his mother shattered beneath him, causing him to fall to the depths below. He landed on a new mosaic. This mosaic was one of him in princely attire. It was more regal than anything he had ever worn on the Destiny Islands. He was surrounded by his parents, a royal-looking carriage, and mice? First, the voice kept calling him young prince; now this. What did it mean?

He had no time to question that further, when the shield he had chosen appeared in his hands, and three shadowy figures appeared in front of him. Instinctively, Lucian raised his shield in front of him, hitting the creature with a loud CLANG, that sent the shadow reeling back.

He gripped the shield tightly and took a breath. I can do this. He’d never considered himself a fighter, but he knew he couldn’t back down now. He stepped forward, as another one of the creatures lunged at him. He swung his shield at them. The force of which caused them to disintegrate into the darkness.

The last shadow paused, and then lunged. This time, Lucian met it head-on, bracing himself and swinging the shield in one fluid motion. With a flash, the shadow burst apart, leaving only silence and the glow of the mosaic beneath him.

The mosaic is then swallowed by shadows, and Lucian drops through the darkness, appearing back on Destiny Islands. Memory fragments of his friends stood around him. Alias, Hoshi, Levi, and Morgan.

“What are you so afraid of?” Alias asked him.

Lucian hesitated, his heart pounding. He never thought much about it—never wanted to. But here, surrounded by these echoes of his friends, he couldn’t avoid it.

“I’m… afraid of failing,” he admitted quietly. He looked down, his fingers curling into fists. “Everyone else seems so certain, so ready to face whatever comes. But… what if I’m not? What if I let everyone down when they need me most?”

Alias asked a rhetorical question in response. “Failure’s inevitable, isn’t it? Is it that you’re afraid you’re not perfect?”

No. That wasn’t right. Something was wrong. Before Lucian could answer or think about it, Hoshi stepped forward.

“What do you want in life?” she asked with a smile, changing the tone from the previous question.

The sudden shift in tone was jarring; it almost caught Lucian off balance. Still, he let himself answer. “I… I want to find love,” he said quietly. It was a dream he had never really admitted to anyone. “Someone who understands me, who I can be myself with. I want someone to share everything with. My life, my dreams… my heart.”

“Love is beautiful,” Hoshi responded. “But be careful of who you give your heart to. Hearts are way too precious. Strong, but fragile.”

Levi stepped forward next. “What’s most important to you? What do you hold dear? What drives you?”

Lucian paused, Levi’s questions piercing through his thoughts. He thought of his friends, of the moments they shared together. He thought of his family, of his parents who had raised him with love.

“My friends, my family,” he said, voice steady. “They’re everything to me. They’re what keep me going. Without them, none of this would matter.”

Levi was about to respond when Morgan appeared behind Lucian. “Who would you be if you didn’t have them? Tell me, Little Prince. Are you afraid of the darkness inside you? Your own… shadow?” The smile on her face turned into something dark and twisted.

“You’re not supposed to be here.” The discombobulated voice from earlier said.

Lucian fell through a hole of darkness, appearing on yet another mosaic. This one had the silhouettes of him in the middle with six silhouettes of princesses around him.

A pair of stairs in the same pattern appeared to lead somewhere.

“The closer you get to the light, the greater your shadow becomes.”

Before Lucian could ascend the stairs, his shadow started to grow and manifest its own body, similar to his at first before transforming into a giant faceless Heartless.

It summoned five small Heartless to attack him while it charged an orb of shadows in its right hand.

“Don’t be afraid and don’t forget… You have the greatest weapon of all.”

Lucian’s heart raced as he stared at the massive shadowy creature before him. Taking a deep breath, he raised the shield in front of him, steadying himself. I can do this. The doubt lingered; he was determined to overcome it. He would face his shadow.

One of the small Heartless lunged at him, but he sidestepped, swinging his shield in a wide arc to get rid of it. The Heartless disintegrated into shadowy wisps, and he turned just in time to block an attack from another. Hitting the little shadows was the easy part. It was the bigger shadow he was really worried about.

It raised its hand, charging the orb of shadows. Lucian’s eyes widened, and he braced himself, lifting his shield as the Heartless hurled the orb down at him. The impact pushed him back, nearly knocking him off balance, but he held firm, digging his heels into the ground. He grit his teeth, feeling the force of the shadowy blast. His heart was pounding, a reminder of the fear inside of him—the fear of failing, of not being enough. The creature in front of him was more than just a Heartless; it was a manifestation of his own doubts, his own darkness.

It loomed over him, preparing another attack, but Lucian clenched his fists around the shield. He couldn’t let this shadow of himself consume him. Not now, not ever.

With a cry, he charged forward, dodging another blast of shadows as he closed the distance between himself and the giant Heartless. He struck out with his shield, landing a solid hit against its leg. The creature shuddered, taking a step back as if the blow had made an impact.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Lucian swung again, and again, and again. Each blow grew stronger and more confident. The giant Heartless staggered, dark wisps trailing from where his blows landed. The darkness was weakening.

Lucian took a deep breath, steadying himself for one final attack. He lifted his shield. With all the strength he could muster, he brought the shield down, striking the Heartless squarely in its gut.

A burst of light erupted from the impact, enveloping the shadow in a blinding glow. The Heartless let out a roar, before dissolving into fragments. And then it was gone… Lucian lowered his shield, catching his breath, his heart still racing. He’d faced his shadow and emerged stronger for it.

Then, he took a step on the stairs. As soon as he did, they started to shatter.

Then, Lucian jolted awake. The sun on his face, the sand beneath his fingers, he was back on the beach, surrounded by the familiar sights and sounds of Destiny Islands.

“Was it… real?” he murmured to himself, rubbing the back of his neck. What did it all mean? Whether that was real or not, this was not something he could keep to himself. He needed to talk to his friends about this. He stood up, dusted the sand off his clothes, and went to find them.

Before he could start searching, a large and strange machine came hurtling from the sky before crashing into a now flattened pile of palm trees. Lucian remembered that’s where his friends were going to work on their raft. Without hesitation, he sprinted for the area. “Please be okay…”

Lucian arrived at the scene to see that thankfully no one was dead. He walked over to the machine curiously. “What in the world is this?”

Morgan was silent all the while that others went about their fun. It was like she could... feel something, coming from the mainland. Her eyes were locked on it, or rather, the hills that overlooked the town. Well if there were anything there it wasn't like she could see it from here. She just felt, something. And for a moment it got worse, before disappearing altogether. It was only once that feeling had gone, that she realized anything was happening at all.

Her response to the so called, meteor, was as odd as ever. Perhaps she didn't fully understand what was going on... a meteor? Absurd, what would be the chances... More importantly, Morgan could clearly see that this ball of fire had wings. Strange wings... She was already well beyond its impact area from where she had sat herself, but she still pulled herself up to pat herself down, brushing away the sand from the clothes she had been given when she first arrived here.

Clearly the others were not as learned as she was in these sorts of things... it was obviously a dragon!

Without hesitation Morgan walked up to the beast. It seemed dead... well from what she could tell from far below it. What a pitiful beast it was... she had seen much larger ones in her time, she was sure. She didn't know how she was sure but, the word still came to her mind as she turned to look at the others. "You have dragons here too?" Yup, that was the conclusion she came to. Wings, fire, smoke... what else could it be? Then something opened, and someone came out. "Oh, it looks like it ate someone..." was her first assumption.

Her first instinct was to walk up to the person who had emerged from the beast, quickly asking them "Are you a Knight? Did you slay that dragon from the inside after being swallowed by it?" She had read of knights doing such things in the old days, before... before... her head started to hurt, everything around her grew fuzzy as she tried to remember. Her mind hyper focused on trying to remember that little detail. Where had the dragons gone-

Morgan suddenly looked dizzy. If the new arrival had said anything in response, she hadn't heard it, the world around her becoming muffled, and a loud ringing in her ears, before finally she collapsed down onto her knees, hands coming up to hold her head. This same thing had happened once before, when she was first found on the island, and was asked where she had come from. Since then... everyone thought it best not to push her for answers. The problem now was, her own mind was trying to find those answers itself in the void that was her memory.

Then she simply collapsed, falling onto her side. It was so hot on this beach, the sun shining so brightly all the time. And yet she felt so very cold... Everything all had to go wrong all at once, didn't it.

As soon an Levi heard the loud crash, he turned and saw the plume of smoke rising over the cliff and trees that kept him from seeing...

The raft.

Levi didn't think, not caring about inquiring more about Taivas or giving him the grand tour in that moment. He allowed himself a fraction of a second to swear under his breath, before turning and launching himself down the beach, his shoes kicking up sand behind him as he set off at a dead sprint.

"Please be okay... please be okay... please be okay..." He muttered between breaths, as he made his way down the beach at a breakneck pace. He knew this beach like the back of his hand, knowing exactly where to turn, and what not to run into. As he finally reached the beach (and breaking his last speed record in the process, not that he cared right now), his first though was running to the raft. He quickly got a headcount, letting out a sigh of relief when he noticed no one was missing. "Is everyone okay?" He asked, as he surveyed the group and let his blood pressure drop. Upon scanning the group, he noticed the arrival of Lucian. "Hey, bud. Glad to see you up and about. Now, would someone please explain to me what the..." He caught himself, before continuing. "...blazes... is going on here?"

Finally, he turned to face yet another newcomer. From what he could tell, that was some kind of vessel he just climbed out of, despite what Morgan was saying about it being a dragon. It looked too metallic, and he was pretty sure dragons weren't supposed to self-immolate. He had half a mind to beat the breaks off of this guy for nearly flattening his friends, but figured that wouldn't exactly set the best example. And besides, Morgan had just fallen over.

He made his way over to quickly check that she was breathing, and hadn't be struck by shrapnel launched from that thing's rough landing. Fortunately, she was fine, seemingly just unconscious. At first he thought that lack of air might be the problem, concussion and all that, but he could breath fine here so that wasn't the issue. He finally decided that she wasn't, in fact, dying, and turned his attention to the guy fishing himself out of the wreckage of that ship(?). He then sighed and quickly made his way over, intending to give the man a hand in getting himself out of the wreckage and away from the fire. He assumed that... whatever it was... that wasn't the intended way to land it and the man probably wasn't in the best shape. "You still in one piece, buddy?"

Zac held up his hands and said with a chuckle, "Hey, one at a time. I know you guys have questions and I'll be glad to answer them all, but I just fell from the sky. I need a moment." He then pointed at the unconscious girl and asked, "She's gonna be okay, right?"

He held a hand up to the blonde guy offering assistance and added, "Oh, I'm good. I'm made of some pretty tough stuff. Besides, this isn't the first time I've crashed." With that, he stepped up onto the edge of the cockpit and dropped down. He brushed himself off and checked for any injuries he might have sustained when he was too busy focusing on the crash. Satisfied he was, indeed, still in one piece, he took a deep breath, preparing himself, and turned to face his ship. "Sigrid, my poor baby!" he cried as he rushed back over to his ship, which was currently propped up by several palm trees that had helped cushion the impact. Several panels were missing and there was the occasional spark from broken wires. Smoke continued to roll out from the primary engine and, just as the diagnostics had told him, the left aileron was completely missing. "Don't worry girl, I'll get you fixed up as soon as I can," he said, running his hand along the wing, as if reassuring the broken machine. "I'm sure I can patch you up with the stuff I have in the cargo bay. At least enough to get you space-worthy, again. We'll have to take you to a garage to get you fully fixed up, though."

He then turned back to the crowd and put his hands on his hips as he said, "Anyway. Nice to meet you all. The name's Zacary Yoxall, but you can all call me 'Zac.' This," he pointed his thumb over his shoulder back at his ship, "isn't a dragon or anything like that. She's my ship. Just a word of warning, don't get too close to her for the time being. She took some damage and I'm not sure how stable her core is, right now. That said, I'm more than happy to answer any of your questions, but I'm gonna work on her while I do so she doesn't atomize this island."

That said, he turned back to the ship and opened up a compartment near the cockpit, where he began to pull out various tools and materials.