Kingdom of Dreams - Kingdom Hearts Fanfic ****PENDING REWRITE****

Chapter Eighteen: The Power Rests Within You

After a while, the girls stop giggling and Melanie thinks about what she saw. The boy was cute, but she wonders how she ended up seeing him. Normally the alley gave her the creeps could it have been because of the weird little creatures he was attacking? As soon as he destroyed them, the eerie feeling vanished so that had to be it.

A few days later, the following weekend, Melanie walks with her friends down the alley. The other girls make jokes and Melanie looks around as they walk. More of the little dark creatures appear around her like ghosts and she gasps. She looks at her friends.

"Why don't we keep moving?" Melanie asks and moves her two friends along by gently pushing them. They make it to the campground plenty of time before dark to get their tents set up and Melanie takes a deep breath.

[Later That Night]

Her two friends suggest doing scary stories and the three girls take turns telling their own scary stories. When it is Melanie's turn she grins before she stands up for her turn. She places one foot on the log they sat on and she gets ready to tell the same scary story she told when she went camping. It frightened the girls every time they heard it.

"There are legends and stories that on a night like this one, a great monster will come to steal the souls of the young children that cross its paths!" Melanie says before continuing her story. The fire creates a shadow of her behind her and her friends gasp in shock as a giant Shadow monster appears behind her. She finishes her story and looks at her friends. They were terrified.

"What?" Melanie asks, "You've heard that story so many times, how does it still scare you?"

"Melanie..." The first girl breathes out, pointing behind Melanie.

"What?" Melanie asks and she slowly turns to look behind her. The Shadow creature roars and the girls scream as Melanie jumps and rolls out of the way as it comes down on where Melanie was standing.

"How did you do that?" The second girl exclaims.

"GO!" Melanie yells and the three girls take off running. Melanie was bringing up the rear of her friends as she pushed them ahead of her. The Shadow creature roars and summons other shadow creatures that give chase to her. Melanie finds herself taking a different path and ends up on the beach of the lake on the mountain. The shadow creatures come after her and she looks around at where to go as she has her back to the lake now.

"That is just a story, what the heck?!" Melanie asks. The creature converges on her and she screams as she manages to dodge the giant one's attack. She screams once more when the giant shadow creature begins to attack her again and comes down with an attack from above. A bright light suddenly surrounds her like a force field. Melanie's eyes widened as she saw the shadow creatures were being driven back.

'A deep power rests inside you. Should you agree to take grasp of it; know that it's not just your destiny that hangs in the balance.' A voice says and Melanie's eyes widen as an image of Aya appears in her mind before Melanie feels a warm feeling in her chest.

'It's you...' Melanie's thoughts say.

'I'm here to stand by your side, Melanie. Through your power, our hearts make up the Princess of Dreams.' Aya's voice explains.

'I dreamt of you as a girl.' Melanie's thoughts responds.

'Yes, my heart was ripped from my body. But you offered your heart to me. Inside you, you have a way to stop this monster. Reach deep inside yourself! The power is there.' Aya's voice explains.

'Deep inside me...' Melanie's thoughts reply as she places her hand against her chest. Melanie closes her eyes as Aya flashes over her body and Melanie subconsciously holds out her arms as she returns to herself as butterfly wings seem to appear onto her back and she holds one hand up in front of her before it resonates with a bright light. The light takes the form of a staff that looked like it had a butterfly on it. Melanie's eyes flash open and she gasps in shock as she holds it in her hand.