Legitimate Game
Are you sure this is supposed to happen?

Promise: Prologue
(but one day, they weren't there)

--

Michael Arnyse, Rachelle Jenov and Alexis Hina always made promises they kept. Whether it was from sharing their snacks in kindergarten and vowing to go to the same school together, they were always fulfilled. But they didn't have the perfect fairytale life everybody wished for either. Life's usual troubles interfered from time to time, and as much arguments and cries of 'I wish you were never my friend!' they still stood strong. Then came a short period of time when boys found girls icky, and girls found boys stupid. Their group went apart for a while, but not without longing thoughts and mentions of when their friendship was still alive. In fact, they wanted it back so much, that without thinking properly of what the others would think, they went back together.

And it was that time at the age of fourteen when Michael stood in front of Rachelle's front door for their usual Video-Game Friday meeting, ready to tease his two best friends about beating them in another round – and they weren't there.

Only a note was pinned with messy handwriting to the static-buzzing TV.

'Michael (or whoever else is reading this):

We apologize for going missing. But Alexis got this crazy video game called 'Kingdom Hearts' and wanted to play it. And guess what?

We're gonna be gone for a while.

Apparently, demented voices kidnapping people into games are a usual thing.

Sorry again for not being here, and sorry for not taking you with us, Michael. Hopefully, we'll only be gone for a little while.

-Rachelle'

And for the first time, a promise was broken.

--

Friday, 4:38 PM, Jenov Residence

"Rachelle! Rachelle, open the damn door!"

A startled brunette girl ran through her high-ceiling apartment to her front door, instantly recognizing the yells of her best friend. Throwing open the wooden barrier between them, her glare was quickly replaced by a look of curiosity as she noticed the flat box clutched tightly in the girl's hands.

'Playstation 2:
Kingdom Hearts'

"Don't you think it sounds so cool?" Alexis squealed, her grey eyes twinkling in hyper-excitement behind her glasses. Not even waiting for an answer, she rushed into Rachelle's front hall and twirled around happily, the game still clutched ever so tightly to her chest.

"…"

She stopped when she noticed that the other girl stood silent a few meters behind her, leaning slightly on the now-closed door. Cocking her head in the childish manner that always sent older women smiling and pinching her cheeks (much to her annoyance), Alexis waited questioningly for the other girl's explanation.

The response that she got sent her flailing her arms about.

"Don't you think the name sounds a bit too stupid?"

Alexis stopped and glared at the brunette. "All right, so it might be a little on the childish side," she concluded. "But I still wanna play it. I mean, Square Enix created it, and they made the Final Fantasy games too…" She trailed off as Rachelle shrugged and walked down the hallway to her room, opening it and motioning for Alexis to follow. Doing so and grinning happily again she picked up her book bag that was laying sprawled on the polished floor (Rachelle's parents were super-cleanest-perfectionists, as their other best friend, Michael, found out when he brought over his dog on a day that just happened to be rainy) she plopped herself down beside her friend and gingerly opened the previously-closed box.

"I read some stuff about it before I bought it," she admitted as she handed the instructions booklet to Rachelle. "The controls don't sound too hard, and I'm sure they will be explained some time in the game." Sticking her tongue out when her friend snorted while leafing through the pages, she pressed the 'Restart' button on the Playstation 2 before holding up the controller and leaning forward expectantly.

She whistled slightly as the main screen came on, showing a young boy with spiky brown hair and wearing assorted clothes while chewing on a stick, waves overlapping at his ankles. "Whosa that?" She asked.

"Sora. Main Character. Age 14. As a teenager he has his share of concerns, but he manages to keep an upbeat attitude. He may seem simple-minded at times, but he has a strong sense of justice." Replied Rachelle, reading loudly from the character profiles. She coughed slightly in surprise a few seconds later. "…Alexis, did you know that this has Donald Duck and Goofy in it?"

Alexis nodded as she chose the game's difficulty. "Of course. They're on the cover. See?" She grinned cheekily at the twitching brunette, prodding the cover with a finger.

"And you do know," continued Rachelle, "That I practically hate those two?" Alexis nodded again, smiling guiltily this time.

"But I'm sure they wouldn't be that important!" She exclaimed, now clicking the X button as the screen asked her if her choices were okay.

"They're in the characters profiles," muttered Rachelle, glaring at the TV as Alexis shushed her. "And there's only six people on there!"

'I've been having these weird thoughts lately,' the TV started, the words appearing and disappearing. 'Like, is any of this for real, or not?' Despite herself, Rachelle leaned forward alongside her bouncing friend as the opening theme came on, the Sora character looking as if he was falling in water. A catchy tune started, bringing the two girls into a happier mood as the screen flashed in then out.

'You're giving me,' the song went, showing Sora now on a beach with luscious trees around him and wooden bridge behind him. A shot of a tall boy standing in the ocean, turning, then holding out his hand to Sora as a wave merged behind him sent Alexis squealing again and turning to her friend expectantly. "Whose he?" She asked, putting extra emphasis on the 'he'.

Rachelle rolled her eyes, seeing the fangirl glint in the girl's eyes before reading from the booklet again. "Riku," she started, "Age 15. He may seem cool and collected for his age, but he is far from the quiet type. Always curious about the unknown, he begins to question the small, closed world in which he lives."

Alexis giggled happily. "Whoever he is gonna be, I'm already a fan." She hooted, striking her fist in the air. Turning her attention back to the game, she pouted as she found the opening over and a dark screen before her. "We missed it," she mumbled sadly. "And it was looking so cool, too."

Minutes went by.

The screen remained blank.

"Alexis, are you sure this is a legitimate game?" Rachelle asked uncertainly. Alexis scowled.

"Of course it is! I bought it at the local store at the mall, and it was under the 'unused' section!"

More minutes went by.

You two.

"What?"

Come.

A one-minute countdown appeared on the screen as the girls stared at it for a few seconds, dumbfounded, the furniture in the room slowly disappearing one by one. Regaining her senses for a few minutes while her friend still stared dumbly at the screen – her book bag clutched in her hands – Rachelle snatched up a piece of paper from the floor and using a gel-pen she was twirling in her fingers before Alexis came, she started a note.

Michael…

a/n: usual disclaimers apply. (please review; they really do keep an author going. Suggestions and constructive criticism is welcome.)