NL: I present to you all my latest original story (that is a new personal favorite next to Kingdom Hearts: Link to Life and Team Limit) – Tales of the Unknown War.

Mystery: Which stars No Limit's favorite number two favorite (me being first) original character: Rika Itonami of Link to Life fame!

NL: You're my favorite OC?

Mystery: (slaps his head) Enjoy the story, please!

Chapter 1 – A World Based on War

In a world with a variety of kingdoms, nations and lands one could always count on one thing:

War.

It was meant to be a means as creating and keeping peace, but that purpose has long since vanished. War is now like a living being that consumes and breeds – its diet being the lives of the world's people. It even resides in a single kingdom; where its very citizens fight each other for survival. Some are ignorant to this problem – believing that their world is just fine the way it is and even it wasn't, there's nothing they could do. The world is in a state of desolate despair and the hope of its populace is rapidly fading. There are no saviors. There are no heroes. There are no chosen ones. No knights in shining armor.

Nothing.

But that certainly doesn't mean there aren't people willing to finally end this eternal unknown war.

--

"Are you guys ready?"

"A-a-are you sure about this, R-R-Rika?"

"Have I ever steered you wrong before?"

"Y-ye-ye-ye, most definitely."

"Well…trust me on this one. I've done this dozens of times!"

"Just be sure to eat my dust, lady and gentle-pig!"

"D-D-Daffy…"

"LET'S GO!!"

Three figures leaped from the safety of the ledge along a snow-covered mountaintop that seemed to stretch down for thousands of miles as they rode on snowboards. "Ha, ha!" the only female of the three whooped, making zigzags in the snow with her blue board. She was about fourteen years of age which seemed to be reflected in a wide grin plastered on her face. Her eyes were a dark blue shade as they were hidden behind a pair of yellow visors. Her auburn hair was long and tied into a ponytail with a blue ribbon. Snowboarding required proper clothing, which she did prepare for – she wore a black and blue ski jacket, a pair of black, fingerless gloves, a black scarf and pants, and (obviously enough) ski boots that firmly connected her feet to the snowboard.

"N-n-now just keep your b-b-balance," an anthropomorphic pig muttered to himself in a stutter, attempting to keep himself from falling over with his pink board. He had pointy pig's ears, pig's feet with small black hooves, and pink skin. He simply wore a red sweater (strangely enough) and a little green and blue Santa hat on his head for this snowboarding experience.

"Just look at me, Porky!" an anthropomorphic duck with black feathers, an orange bill and orange webbed feet with a white collar around his neck shouted from his black and orange snowboard. He wore a full-body green, black, and white ski suit (complete with helmet) as he slid closer to Porky. "Screw balance! You just need to lean into it, like so…" He leaned forward and began gaining speed. "See?" he smirked pompously to the pig.

"D-D-Daffy! W-w-w-w-w-atch o-o-out-"

"Just spit it out, butterball!" Daffy snapped. "Sheesh." He rolled his eyes.

"TREES!"

"Wha-" He turned his head straight ahead and saw he was heading right for a whole grove of pine trees. "Yipe!" Daffy clumsily weaved and dodged the trees, narrowly hitting each one. Once he cleared the obstacles, Daffy sighed in relief as he wiped the sweat from his forehead. "Phew, that was close." He spoke too soon. His snowboard connected with a tiny rock that sent him flying through the air. Porky was calmly edging himself down the mountain as Daffy flew through the air. "WATCH OUT, SENIOR BACON!" Porky turned around just in time as Daffy collided with the pig. The two barn animals continued rolling down through the snow, collecting it along the way, and they became a giant snowball.

Rika, meanwhile, was well ahead of the two. "Heh, heh, looks like I'm gonna beat them to the jump," she smiled contently, but then perked up her ears. There seemed to be a strange sound coming from behind her. Rika turned her head briefly around for a moment and then returned to looking ahead. Her eyes bugged out and did a double take at the massive ball of snow containing her friends heading for her. "Oh, sonofvagunmaryjohnson!" Rika held up her left wrist that had a special watch on it. She punched down the face of the watch, lighting it up. Suddenly, a pair of rocket boosters revealed themselves from the back of her snowboard. They slowly hummed and exploded with a powerful thrust, blasting Rika speedily away.

But this wasn't enough as the boulder of snow was accelerating far too fast. Soon, it engulfed Rika as well. The ball continued rolling until it reached a ledge of the mountain – where a ski jump was waiting for it. Through sheer cartoon logic, the speeding snowball rolled over it and sent it flying across the air. Although they couldn't be heard, Rika, Daffy and Porky were screaming in terror inside. Reaching the base of the mountain, the snowball crashed with ground and sent the trio flying into seven feet of snow. Digging themselves out of the snow, their heads popped out as they gasped for air.

"Let's do that again!" Daffy grinned. Porky glared him askance.

"Princess Rika!!"

"Oh, crap…" Rika sighed glumly. Rushing toward them were three guards. One was a twelve-year old girl with long pink hair, green eyes and wore a pink kimono. Another was a sixteen-year-old boy with short black hair, wore a black robe, and strapped to his side is a katana in a sheath. The last one was another sixteen-year-old boy with messy black hair that hung over his eyes. He wore a black cloak with white lining, white boots and gloves, a black thin-stripe mask over his eyes and a pair of white goggles over them.

The guard with the goggles frantically shouted, "What were you thinking?! You could've gotten hurt, Your Majesty! King Sora would've had my butt chopped off and then placed over his fireplace mantle!!"

Rika awkwardly smiled. "Er, well, I'm okay. That's what counts, right?"

The other male guard sighed. "Essentially…yes."

"Then there's no problem, is there?" Rika pushed herself out and then pulled Daffy and Porky out of the snow, walking away with them. "Fish our snowboards off of the snow, will ya?"

"Ooh, that Rika…" the guard with goggles groaned. "When is she going to take on her royal responsibility as the princess of the Empire of Ooraka?"

"Give it a rest, No Limit," the lone female guard shrugged. "She's a carefree teenager like the rest of us."

"I've been dead for over a hundred years, Mystery," No Limit deadpanned.

"Good for you," she said sweetly, patting his shoulder. "But Rika's only fourteen. She's still figuring out who she is."

"Is she someone who always runs off with her bodyguards to do stupid stunts?" the other guard asked, slinging Rika, Daffy and Porky's snowboards over his shoulder.

"Maybe she is, Wolf," Mystery said. "But she'll learn what she has to do once she inherits the crown."

No Limit uncomfortably stroked his chin, looking in the direction Rika just left in. "I'm afraid she'll have to learn about it sooner than we thought…"

End of Chapter 1

NL: Well, there's chapter 1!

Mystery: So…what time period does this takes place in?

NL: It doesn't. It's an alternate universe that bridges on olden times and futuristic technology. Seems kinda cliché, but I'm gonna work on that. (smirks)

Mystery: Whatever. Read and Review, please!