Guardians' Tales

Prologue: Where to Start

Era: Tranquil-Mystic Calendar

Cycle: unknown

Time: 12:00 Galactic Standard Time

Star Cluster: HUB

Planet: Resident

Location: SOLDIER University Headmasters Office

Unknown POV

"So where do we begin?" My cocoa skinned dorm mate started. He is unusually calm for what we just went through. Then again, I don't know how he can remain cheerful after that.

"Why don't you start from the beginning?" The man in the blue robe asked us. There were nine of us in the office now. The upperclassmen had already given their reports and left before we entered.

"And how are we supposed to do that?" The silverette asked. He condescending tone evident in his words. "We don't even know how this mess started!" He had a point, I'm not even sure of what had just transpired.

"How about calming down Mister Fair? A clear head always finds its answer, even in the most trying of times." The wizard advised. It seemed to calm him down a little.

"Answers..." The ruby haired girl breathed out absentmindedly. She was stealing glances at our cocoa skinned dorm mate with the platinum tribal markings on his arms. After learning what we just had, it's a miracle that she was so calm, but it was scary how confused she was. Then again, that was a pretty big bomb shell.

"..." Her blonde haired sister just rubbed her back in an attempt to comfort her.

"If I had to guess where everything went wrong, it was probably when the Monarch showed up." The curly blonde ponytail girl suggested.

"That...thing...was not the Monarch we knew." My raven haired sister added. She had a gauss rapping around her head, a small blood stain seeped through on her left temple. I guess that monster didn't do as much damage as we first thought, but we were all in pretty rough shape: Tattered clothes, bandages on our arms and legs, even my cousin had a bandage on his face from that scar Seifer gave him.

"Maybe we didn't know the Monarch as well as we thought." The cocoa skinned boy replied with a tired sigh. It was the wrong thing to say to us given what we had just learned about him of all people.

The ruby haired girl shot a death glare at the our dorm mate at this point. "You're one to talk!" Saw that one coming, I think everyone did. She stood from her chair and got dangerously close to him.

"..." He just kept silent. I don't know what was going through his head right now, but I'm sure he was feeling somewhat guilty…and probably scared. Know I'd be with her in my face. That is, assuming I can go off what I have seen up till now, and I'm not even certain about that.

"Calm down, Sis." The blonde tried to reason with her ruby haired amazon of a sister, but I knew it was useless and I'm sure she did too. She already showed us that she can be very stubborn, and extremely aggressive.

"You prance around pretending to be our friend, but you've been one of them this whole time."

"..." He just kept silent. How can he be so calm with everything that's happened? He's been like that ever since we got back from that weird planet. 'A planet of ghosts best left forgotten.' That should have been a clue right there. Then again, a lot things that he's said should have been a clue from the very start.

"Aren't you going to say something? You've kept us in the dark long enough." The silverette cut in.

"You almost got us killed out there." Our brunette hunter cut in this time.

"Don't you guys think you're being too hard on him? He was just trying to save Radiant Garden." The raven haired girl tried to alleviate some of the tension, but I doubt even she could diffuse this situation. Even I was upset at the whole thing, and I don't get angered that easily. The only reason I'm still calm is because he saved Xion from that fall.

"Oh come on, Xion!" The silverette exploded from his chair. "You of all people should be furious at this guy! Just look at you!" He indicated the wrapping on her head.

"Miss Kokoro, Mister Fair, I would advise you two calm yourselves..." The former head master cut in sternly, but even he couldn't quell this riot.

"And you!" The ruby haired girl exclaimed at the former Headmaster. She really does have guts to yell at the most powerful wizard in the galaxy. "You knew!" She accused. "You knew all this time and didn't tell us!"

"I felt it better to let you discover the truth about your friend naturally, rather than force you to accept the truth at face value." He replied quickly, being the former Headmaster and the King of Disney Castle's teacher must have given him a lot of practice in quick responses. Though at this point it's little more than a load of bull.

"Cut the crap old man!" The silverette interjected. "Why would you need to keep something this big from us to begin with?"

"Would you have listened to me if he did?" Our cocoa skinned companion finally piped up, gaining the room's attention. "If I had told you the truth about me, would you have listened to my advice during the battle?" Now it was our turn to fall silent. "Would you have thought up a better plan immediately? Could you have thought up a better plan?" We just remained silent. I wanted to say yes, I could tell our silver haired dorm mate wanted to say yes, too, scream it even. I'm certain he was trying to think up an idea that could have worked on that gauntlet of a fight we just finished, but it's a lost cause at this point. "If you could, would it have saved everyone's lives? Even our classmates that now lie in the infirmary?"

The way he spoke those last words, the cold and crushingly blunt reality his tone carried. This is not the guy I shared a dorm with at school. He would sing a different song every day. He was always goofing around, even more so than me. This guy…this person…was cold like ice and calculating like a droid. That Clown was right, he was a ruthless killer. The perfect child soldier.

"I thought not." Our two standing dorm mates returned to their seats and he released an exhausted sigh as he held himself up with one hand on his lap and the other rubbing his head, probably his condition flaring up. "I understand your...irritation...at this whole ordeal." That's an understatement. "But for now, let's deal with the mission debrief. I'm sure our dorm supervisors will want to hear my tale as well."

"You better believe they will." The ruby haired girl seethed out in a dark whisper.

"For now, we focus on the debrief."

"Yes, now tell us Mister Gospel, what happened on that planet?"

"We all want to hear this explanation." My blonde look-a-like added.

"..." He was still silent. I guess even he didn't know how to explain it. "The Monarch, he…turned into this…thing. I'm not sure what it was. Hell I'm not even sure that was the real Monarch." To be fair, none of us knew for sure.

"He said he was looking for something, a door I thing." I finally said my part after keeping silent through the whole thing. I don't think I could have added to the previous conversation anyway.

"Yes, I think it was called the Cradle." Xion replied.

"I thought it was called Kingdom Hearts." The curly blonde with the ponytail cut in. Either way, the former headmaster was not pleased to hear about this.

"I see..." The Headmaster spoke in a low, dark tone.

"What is it Master Yen Sid?" The ponytail girl asked.

"Miss Branford, I fear your dorm has stumbled upon something that the Time Lords and the Celestials have feared since time immemorial." He replied ominously.

"And what would that be?" I asked.

"That, Mister Hikari, would be-"

"The end everything." My cocoa skinned dorm mate interrupted. "And that planet, is the biggest key of all."