Black Imperial, yet again. Yeah, me and my friends were bored about a year ago and thought up this little hitch in the Heartless system. We all had/have stories running, so it took us (and by us I mean "me") a while to get it started. One of them, FireLuigi08 is his author name on Fanfiction, actually, finally talked me into writing it, so here it is. If you're confused as to who Mezzo is, read FireLuigi08's story about the Chasers and stuff, I can't remember which one it is right now, haha. I'll let you know on a later update, but just so you know now, he is the Light Chaser, but he won't play a major role in this at all.
Wind blew fiercely through the castle, causing a bone-chilling drop in temperature. The lone figure in the grand room seemed not to notice. He was a tall man garbed in gleaming white armor, and he paced part of the room with his hands clasped in the small of his back. He looked to be a handsome man in his mid-twenties, but his eyes held the wisdom of a much more ancient person. The man was on a raised platform at one end of the room, with a flight of stairs leading up to it on either side. Behind him, mounted on the wall, was a huge heart shaped symbol with a flared, three-pronged bottom and an "X" through the middle. Coming out from this was an array of pipes and wires that were of little concern to him at this point. He wasn't pacing impatiently, he was simply passing the time. He walked back and forth, back and forth, methodically, never breaking stride, never wavering from his path, for almost thirty minutes. Finally, footsteps sounded on the far end of the room, muffled by the whistling of the wind. They approached slowly and headed for one of the flights of stairs. Presently, the slender figure a female was visible coming up the dark stairway. A tightly wrapped scarf covered most of her face, and a long, thick coat of what seemed to be animal hair concealed the rest of her form, but it was definitely a young woman.
"Ah... here we are," said the armored man. "Belle."
"Yes," the woman replied. He voice was faint through the scarf. "What did you call me here for? What is this place?"
"Patience, patience my dear child," he said kindly. His mannerism reminded Belle of her kindly father.
Soon, a third woman joined them. The man's face lit up again.
"Ah, Jasmine, so nice of you to join us." This woman looked to be about sixteen or seventeen. She shivered furiously, for she only had on a few thin silks for clothes. Belle opened up her coat to share the warmth with her. Soon, a little girl that looked like she couldn't be more than twelve or thirteen bounded up the stairs, golden curls bouncing as she leaped from stair to stair. She was tightly bundled in an overcoat. The armored man gave her a nod of acknowledgment. After her, a group of three women, all around they're mid-twenties, stepped onto the platform, elegantly wrapped in furs and animal skins. Two had blond hair, the other coal black. The man at the head smiled at them. Lastly, a young, pretty girl of maybe fourteen or fifteen ascended the stairs. She had a thick ski jacket on that was a size or two too big, and thick wool pants. The armored man embraced her.
"Ah... Kairi. So glad you could make it, this concerns you most of all," he said warmly to her.
"Well, now that we are all here," he said to the group, a little louder than usual so as to be heard over the wind and the chattering teeth, "I bet you would like to know exactly why you are here, and where exactly here is."
A few stiff nods was the only response he got.
"The second question is easy to answer," he began. "This castle is called Hollow Bastion, formerly known as Radiant Garden. It has been evacuated because of the recent Heartless attacks. Now, as the heads of your respective worlds, you are all aware of the Heartless and their role in other worlds?"
Again, stiff nods were the only reply.
"As I thought. I am also to believe that you know about your roles as Princesses of Heart?"
None of them responded for a moment. Slowly, one by one, they shook their heads quizzically.
"Also as I presumed. That is why I called you here. You see, the Heartless are growing much stronger. Maleficent-" Aurora gave a more violent shudder than usual at the mention of the name "-has gained much power. I believe the keyblade is going to choose its next master soon." The women gasped.
"How soon?" Cinderella asked.
"I am not sure. It could be ten minutes, ten days, or ten decades from now. All I know is that it is weakening and is going to make its decision eventually. To continue, the new keyblade master will be very inexperienced and ignorant. At some point, he will have to confront the darkness, he has no choice, but until then, you all will need to provide assistance. You each have the power to hold back the darkness when need be, and that is how you will assist, but do not do it so much so that he does not learn anything about it. You will have to be his moderators."
They all gave yet another stiff nod, but this time with more conviction. Even Alice, the youngest, didn't seem intimidated. Mezzo smiled. "I knew I could count on all of you. Thank you."