Kingdom Hearts: Keys of Stardust

Chapter 1: Prologue

"Hmm… This is very interesting. Very interesting indeed." An aged man with light brown skin said while stroking his chin. He is bald except for thin eyebrows and a curled, silver goatee. His ears are pointed and his eyes are yellow. He has broad, hunched shoulders and a crooked back. He appears overall as a somewhat feeble old man, however he gives off the opposite with his malicious aura. His clothing is composed of a white and black coat with a red inner lining and black outer, which is worn over a white shirt with two thin black belts, as well as white gloves and calf-high black boots. He sat on the highest of thirteen solid white thrones, formed in a circle and extending up several yards into the air. The room he was in was completely white and looked as if to never end. The only distinctive feature around them was a grey upside down heart with a fleur-de-lis at its base but with several circular notches taken out of its edges. The symbol's base is shaped like an upside-down heart, while its top is a thin, spiked cross.

"What is it?" Asked the person sitting on the throne to the immediate right of the old man; his immediate response and impatient nature evident. "You have been observing that particular world for a long time. I presume it is because you have located another suitable vessel?" He gestured to the older man's hand, which the older man had been staring into, that was pulsating with a sort of dark energy, billowing purple/black miasma from it into the shape of a mirror around his palm with a watery texture. This person was a younger boy, no more than 18 or 19 years old that was strikingly similar to the older man. He had mildly tanned skin, golden eyes, and silver hair which both slightly spiked and fell past his shoulders in the back; coming out into four bangs framing his face, the back two thicker than the front two, and the topmost one slicked back. He wore a black coat that covered his entire body with a hood that partially shielded his head, along with dark black boots that were very large around the toes.

"Patience, young Xehanort. All good things come to those who wait. We have been planning this war for centuries. There is no need to rush." The older man responded in a nonchalant tone. He hushed the younger boy that he referred to as Xehanort before he could make another outburst. He then placed out his right hand in front of him, the one he had been staring into with his palm, with his palm pointing towards the center of the circle of thrones. From it, he shot the dark energy, leaving a trail of purple/black smoke, into the center and clenched his hand into a fist, causing the energy to simultaneously expand into a glowing orb, of the same property as its smaller counterpart, that took up the entire center of the circular room. "Observe, I have been watching this particular candidate for some time now…"

The dark orb now began to project a video feed of some kind in which it closed in on the face of a blond haired and incredibly muscular man. "Behold, this man's name is DIO." He continued while images flashed of this man. "Not unlike us, he too strives for an ultimate knowledge and being. And like us he is hindered time and time again by his bitter rival, a boy named Jonathan Joestar." An image of DIO fighting a man in a Tibetan monk martial arts outfit, substituting the GI for a navy blue tank-top with brown shoulder pads, appeared as he mentioned this. This other person was about as big and muscular as DIO, except with blue and shorter hair that spiked upwards instead of downwards like the latter. He was repeatedly trying to strike DIO with a sword of some kind that was emitting orange sparks that pulsated from the man's hand to the tip of the blade.

"Another 'Key'?" Xehanort questioned while gesturing to the charged sword in the vision, an intrigued look written on his face before the older man shook his head.

"No. Just a minor disturbance in his plans for conquest." The older man continued on. "For you see, this man was very foolish at first, to the point of nearly getting himself killed at the hands of his foe." An image of DIO getting struck with the "Joestar's" flaming fists and getting knocked off of a balcony showed. He then began to disintegrate as he fell from the roof of the castle they were at, firing what seemed to be lasers from his eyes in a last ditch effort to kill his foe before failing and plummeting to his seeming death as his body further disintegrated. Then the orb became black once more.

"Wait, if he is already dead, then how could we use him?" The younger asked with a look of incomprehension.

"Indeed. I myself had thought that he had perished on that night and ceased to observe him; for what use would a foolish man like he be to my master plan if he could not even handle his own petty feuds. But…" He said while gesturing to the now reactivated screen. "Our friend here has a knack for getting out of tight places." A view of DIO's head in a glass case being held by what looked to be a human with fangs displayed. They were on a boat and in front of them was the choking form of the one called Jonathan Joestar, with two eye sized holes leaking blood from the front of his neck. "He went to great lengths to survive; severing his own head so that he could survive and wreak his revenge… But not just that too…" The image changed to that of DIO lying in a coffin, submerged under the ocean. "He had also stolen the body of his own rival himself so as to continue on. That is where he is currently lying to this very day." The old man concluded, closing his open hand and retracting the dark orb back into his palm from which he dispersed it.

"I see… So I assume that you will be awakening him, my… elder self" Uttered Young Xehanort to the older man that he seemed to have regarded as his older counterpart.

"Yes… In a sense. I require you to journey to this world and spread the heartless. Awaken Dio Brando from his slumber and inform him of my plans. If all goes according to plan, we will be able to gain the last vessel, and possibly most powerful so far, to complete OUR TRUE ORGANIZATION XIII!" The Elder Xehanort concluded while raising his arms to the air and staring up into the endless roof, his younger self nodding in agreement. "But make haste, I believe that Joestar's decedents are alive and thriving. They may be weak in terms to you, but do not take any chances by alerting them to DIO's awakening."

"It will be as you say." Younger Xehanort uttered as he stood up onto his throne. He pulled the hood of his cloak over his head, blackening his entire face from anyone's view, and stuck out his hand in a similar fashion to how his older self-had done. This time however, a dark portal formed in front of his throne, into which he stepped into and disappeared; the portal closing soon afterwards.

Elder Xehanort reacted in no way to this, but instead clasped his hands together began to mumble to himself soon after his younger self-had left. "All of the pieces are coming together… Aren't they... Terra..."

"Hmm… not ready huh?" A young boy questioned to himself, the remnants of his voice echoing out among the vast ocean that he was staring out towards. He stood on the edge of a beach, a series of wooden shacks and tree buildings in a thick, forested area looming behind him. His gaze was focused on the the burning sunset as the sun slowly sank below the horizon of the forever spanning ocean; bathing himself and the waters in a scarlet light. The boy had spiky, caramel brown hair that branched off into many directions, along with deep blue, piercing eyes. He looked to be of average height, no more than 15 years old, with softly tanned skin, and slightly deep voice like that of a person nearing the end of his developmental ages. He was dressed in an outfit consisting of a pair of large yellow shoes, mostly covered in a black covering, a white and black over-jacket with small metal shoulder pads, as well as a red jumpsuit, also covered in a black over-covering on the baggy legs with a red pouch attached to each leg-sleeve, and a pair of black and yellow gloves with a silver chain wrapped around his neck holding a silver crown key-chain.

"Well, looks like its time to show the worlds the next new Keyblade Master... Me... Sora..." The boy called Sora said to himself, clenching his hand while clutching what looked to be a star-shaped charm made out of Thalassa seashells. He closed his eyes while holding the charm to his chest before sticking the arm with which he held the charm in out in front of him.

Suddenly, a bright, yellowish-white light emanated from the charm, and in a flash it disappeared as something emerged from the light.

CHHHHING!

A sound, that of a quickly unsheathed sword, rang through the quiet beach as where the boy had been holding a worthless looking charm, he now held what looked to be a large sword of some kind. This blade's shaft displayed two hearts, and its handle bearing two angel wings. One of the top ends of the blade had teeth like that of a key, fashioned in the shape of the Japanese Kanji symbol for "light" (光). The bottom of the handle had a chain coming out of it, and on the end had the charm he had previously held, like a sort of key chain. This object was a special sword of magical properties called the Keyblade. It is fashioned from the will and heart of its wielder and has the power to unlock any lock, be it physical or that of someone's heart and soul itself.

Sora pointed his Keyblade, in its current form called The Oathkeeper, at the setting sun as it disappeared over the horizon. From the end of it, a solid white, thin beam of light shot out and rushed at the horizon. It didn't travel but a few yards before halting, as if hitting an invisible wall. A wall of light formed in mid air, and formed into the shape of a black keyhole, outlined in white, before the inside of the shape shattered like glass to reveal a corridor of flowing yellowish-white energy on the inside. The Keyhole expanded to form a circular shape into which Sora walked through, before it closed just a soon as it had opened, leaving no trace of the Spiky-haired boy except for a pair of large foot prints left in the sand; which were instantly erased from the surface by the rushing waves.

A/N: I hope this keeps you guys hyped enough for the future to stick around. I once again apologize for the situation of the other stories I've created, and be sure to expect a continuation of them in around a month if things go according to plan. Stay snazzy and don't forget to like, favorite, and leave a review. As per usual, I will answer any questions from the review section in the A/N area after each chapter. See ya next chapter!