A Dark Key to Bright Places
Disclaimer: Trust me I don't own the rights to any of the involved properties found in this story. They all belong to either Disney or Square Enix. I fear the mouse too much to tread on his toes.
Chapter 2
"Put that away fool!" With a shrill squeak Marco dropped the key, which vanished with a small flash. Head darting this way and that he searched for the source of the voice. Then recognition dawned on him, it was the same voice from the dream.
"A keyblade will draw heartless like moths to a flame. Hopefully that wasn't enough to bring them straight to our doorstep." With every word from the enigmatic voice, Marco was being worked into a frenzy. Holding his head, he desperately searched for any evidence of someone in his room.
"This can't be happening. I'm only fourteen, I can't be going crazy. Maybe I'm just hallucinating. Yeah that's it, Janna must've put something in my food yesterday. Oh ha ha ha Janna, very funny. Haha haha haa." His laughter had turned manic as he began to ramble, Marco was clearly not in the best of places.
"Kid… Kid!... MARCO!" The shout rang in his skull and saw Marco freezing stock still.
"Relax boy, take a deep breath. You're not going crazy and nobody slipped you anything. Listen just don't try and summon the keyblade again. We'll talk tonight. For now I'm gonna take a nap. Go to school, put this out of your mind, and stop acting like a looney. I don't want to have to help you break out of a funny farm so soon after naming you my successor." Following the advice of voices in your head wasn't usually recommended but in this case, Marco decided to run with it.
Xxx
School was spent juggling maintaining the status quo and trying to forget what was coming. At least at first. After a little bit of thinking though Marco wasn't sure that this was something to be scared of.
"This could be really cool. I mean if this is real then I can do everything that I did in the dream last night." Looking down at his hand, Marco was sorely tempted to reach for the weapon he now knew as the keyblade. But the voice's warning was still fresh.
"Heartless huh? Are those what those shadow creatures were?" Ultimately Marco decided to wait until later that night. The remainder of his school day was spent almost in a state of auto pilot. Marco barely noticed when he passed up an invitation to play a new game with Ferg and Alfonso.
Even when he had gotten home the whole time he was looking forward to his dreams. His parents were not so blind as to not notice their preoccupied child. But any questions they had were brushed off with Marco just stating that he was tired.
Blazing through his homework, prepping for bed, and waiting for the sounds of his mother's snores; Marco was so anxious to find out what was going on.
"Hello? Are you there voice?" Marco whispered, standing in the dark in the middle of his room.
"Oook so we're gonna stop that right there. You can call me Master Oswald. Also you really don't have to talk out loud. I'm in your head. Just think what you want to say. You're seriously bound and determined to make yourself look nuts aren't you?" Marco's cheeks tinged with a bit of redness in embarrassment.
"Sorry. I just have so many questions that I want to ask you. I've been thinking about this all day." Marco was grinning in excitement, pacing around his room.
"Yeah trust me I know. It was hard to get much sleep with your mind going at full tilt most of the day. Anyways if you want answers, calm your rear down, get into bed, and go to sleep." Marco moved to follow the order but didn't think he'd be nodding off any time soon.
"I don't think that I can just go to sleep so easily. I'm just too wound up. Can't you answer some of my questions?" An aggravated sigh filtered out from Oswald.
"Uggh seriously, ok patience was Mickey's thing not mine. Lights out kiddo!" With that, something hit Marco and his eyes drooped instantly. A yawn and a turn of his head saw Marco welcoming the gift of the sandman.
Xxx
Eyes blinking Marco found himself in his school's courtyard.
"You really should have tried to just go to sleep on your own. Using magic like I just did is gonna make you groggy all day tomorrow."
Looking around, Marco sought out the source of the voice. He was beginning to be a little put out to still be talking to air and then to be made out to be a nut, by the very voice in his head. Like nailing someone with a water balloon and then mocking them for being wet.
"Are we gonna keep talking like this? Cuz this is getting old. It's kind of hard to not look like a crazy person when the person I'm trying to have a conversation with is pulling off a ventriloquist act. Can't we just talk face to face?" A sharp rap to one of his shins saw Marco hopping up and down, grasping his leg in pain.
"Well now we can talk face to face. That hit feel real enough for you? Turn around." Releasing his bruised his shin, Marco turned around to lay his eyes on the source of all this wackiness.
Standing at maybe three feet tall, not including his ears, was an anthropomorphic rabbit. A black trench coat with silver chains covered much of his person. Dark eyes were set in a mask of white, black fur surrounding said mask. Lastly what looked like a keyblade was held in rabbit's right hand.
An oddly shaped weapon, it was almost more staff than blade. A white cylinder made up most of its length, turning grey and then black with neon blue spiraling, as it reached the tip of the weapon. At its head was a black crook, with a bright neon blue interior. Held at its center was a black and blue star. To one side of the crook two small wings curved off, black plumage becoming more of that bright blue at the edges. Coming off the top of the head to then spiral down the entirety of the blade were streams of inky substance holding more of that same blue coloring. Wrapping their way down from the crown of the crook the two ribbons of ink danced their way around the weapon even forming a cross guard towards the base. Lastly at the base of the weapon was a small black chain that lead down to a pendent similar to Marco's. The only difference was that the larger circle was topped with what could only be rabbit ears.
Marco having taken all of this in, his brain coming up with a million and one questions, was left with only one at the forefront of his mind.
"I've been losing my mind for the past twenty four hours because of a bunny?"
Whack
"Ow! Hey stop hitting me!" Oswald let loose a sigh of exasperation.
"First of all it's Master Oswald. Remember it. Second I am a rabbit not a bunny. Thirdly… was that honestly the first question you wanted to ask?" Eyebrow cocked he took in the sheepish look the boy wore on his face.
"You're killing me kiddo. Now seriously let's get to it. What do you want to know?" Marco having gotten a hold of his thought process once more decided to start with the obvious.
"Who are you?" Looking to the hoodie clad boy, Oswald smiled and nodded at the boy.
"As good a place to start as any. My name is Oswald Lucky Tlaw. Keyblade Master, Guardian of the Tower of Mysteries, and son of the illustrious and powerful Master Yen Sid. Though I guess most of that wouldn't mean much to you huh?" Marco shook his head to the negative in response.
"Sorry but I have no idea what you're talking about. I mean what even is a keyblade?" Oswald crossed his arms and gave a contemplative nod.
"Yes, I suppose that's a pretty important bit. Keyblades are weapons of immense power, capable of locking or unlocking just about anything, and are magnificent conduits for magic. As a side note you can summon the blade here without fear. We're in your head, or heart as the case may be. The heartless won't be able to sense it. Only a strong heart can wield a keyblade. You can be proud of that, Marco Diaz." The boy in question puffed up a tiny bit with pride and the contemplative look he had been wearing was traded for one of joy.
"Easy there kiddo, don't go getting too big for your britches. Anyways one of the most import aspects of being a keyblade wielder is the maintenance of worlds, through the eradication of any invading darkness." Curiosity returned, Marco perked up and posed a query for the rabbit.
"So wait when you say "worlds" do you mean other planets? Like you're an alien? *Gasp* Does that mean I get to go to other planets." Some part of Marco's brain was screaming at him that this could potentially be very dangerous. It was however overruled by the combined factors of the potential for adventure and seeing far off places, combined with his overwhelming need to try and help people.
"Well yes but there's more to it than that. You see when I say worlds, I'm not talking about another planet in your universe. I'm talking about another branch of existence." Marco's head cocked to the side in perplexity. Oswald chuckled at the boy's face and continued.
"Yeah this next part threw me for a loop too when my Master first explained it to me. Easiest way to think about it is this. At the beginning of every reality is the Core. The single defining moment in which every existence came to be. All realities share this single beginning. Think of it like the trunk of a tree. Now from that trunk sprung infinite limbs, and on those limbs sprung infinite branches. Each limb is what we refer to as a "world" and the branches are what you could consider alternate realities. So while I am in fact from another planet, it's not in the sense that you were probably thinking. And yes if you choose to go through with this then you will be venturing to places that no one from your planet will have ever set foot on." Marco took all of this in with eyes wide and jaw dropped. It was a massive thing to comprehend and completely boggled his mind. While his brain attempted a reboot, Oswald continued. Now pacing back in forth as he spoke.
"Onto why I'm here. I have been out of commission for quite some time. In fact due to a very serious injury I can't even physically interact with my surroundings at the moment. Which is where you come in. Should you accept this task, then I will be training and guiding you as you take up the duties of a keyblade warrior. Protecting worlds from darkness, driving out existing infestations, and keeping watch for those mad few that seek to weaponize the hearts of peoples and their worlds." Oswald stopped pacing to look at his new potential pupil and grew a mite concerned.
Marco was twitching and looking a little …. frazzled. Oswald snapped his fingers around the boy a few times, trying to get his attention. After getting no response, Oswald raised his keyblade with a deadpan look. The hum of electrical current filled the air and with one tap Oswald broke Marco out of his stupor.
"Yowch! Why'd you shock me?"
"Oh good you're not brain dead. You weren't really responding." Oswald said nonchalantly. Marco huffed, rubbing his now stinging arm.
"Well how was I supposed to respond? I'm still not sure that I'm not just dreaming or if I really am losing my mind. Now you tell me that I'm supposed be some kind of world traveling super hero. I just started high school, I'm still scared of talking to my crush. Are you sure you got the right person?" Oswald moved to a nearby bench and sat, arms crossed.
"Positive. You have a strong heart and an inherent need to see people safe. As for your age, trust me when I say that you aren't the youngest to take up the mantle. Besides what happened to all your enthusiasm? I thought you wanted to prove you were more than just the safe kid, to see fantastic sights, and be a warrior?" Eyes downcast, Marco worried at his lip; obviously conflicted over all of this.
"Am I really the best choice though? I bet there are loads of better options out there." Oswald looked with sympathy to the boy. The question of one's worth was not unfamiliar to the rabbit.
"Kiddo I'll be honest with you. I didn't pick you. I was hiding from enemies in the keyblade to protect myself after being wounded. But it meant that my injuries went untreated. I tried to rest and hoped to recuperate. But when I woke up I was so weak that if I didn't find a heart I could retreat to then I would have become a heartless. So I let the Kingdom Key find a suitable candidate. It chose you. Out of who knows how many people, that blade chose you. So I have to believe that you are the best choice. You should too." Marco raised his head to the rabbit before looking down to his hand and reaching out.
With a burst of light and a chime, the golden weapon appeared in his palm. His gaze was light and a small smile graced his face.
"The Kingdom Key huh?" Oswald gave the weapon a look that Marco wasn't able to quite wrap his head around.
"Well one of them anyways, it's part of a set but don't worry about that." Marco hummed, his mind still elsewhere.
"And those things I fought last night; were those Heartless?" Oswald gave an affirmative nod.
"They were; or rather they were memory replicas of them. A technique keyblade masters often employ to test their students. Heartless is actually a misnomer playing off the fact that they are nothing more than hearts. A person's raw emotions, corrupted and contained by the darkness. If allowed Heartless will invade a world, attacking its occupants to turn them into even more Heartless. If they aren't stopped then Heartless will eventually work their way to the heart of a world. Once that has been consumed it becomes all but impossible to save that world. The world will eventually fall into the realm of darkness and be lost forever. This is what you would be fighting against." Marco stared down at the blade in his hand. Biting his lip, he looked up to the rabbit.
"Is there anyone else?" Oswald shook his head sadly.
"Not that I'm aware of. I believe I'm the last. I can't force you to take up this job, but if you don't then innocent people could be hurt while the Kingdom Key searches for another wielder." Marco took in a deep, slow breath before looking up to the black clad master.
"This is still a lot to take in but …. I can't turn it down. Not when people could use my help. So where do we start Master Oswald." Oswald hopped to his feet, a proud smile stretched across his face.
"Excellent! That's what I wanted to hear. First things first we need to visit the Tower of Mysteries before we can get down to business. There are some things I need to check up on and it has resources we'll need for your training. It should also be a great idea of what you'll be in for when you travel to other worlds." Jumping down from the bench, Oswald walked towards the center of the courtyard, gesturing for Marco to follow.
"Alright I'll guide you with the memory of the world we'll be going to but you'll have to be the one to get us there. Take hold of the Kingdom Key and imagine you're placing it in the keyhole of a door. Then when I give you the memory, unlock the door. Got it, kiddo?" A nod in the affirmative from his new pupil and Oswald watched on as Marco followed his instructions.
When Marco placed the key forwards, there was an odd sensation. To his eyes noting was there but the resistance coming from the end of the keyblade said otherwise. Awaiting the memory, Marco looked down to see Oswald had vanished. Oswald was quick to calm him.
"I'm still here kiddo. It's best for both of us if no one knows I'm with you. Now here's the memory." A moment later and a vision of a grand tower with multiple turrets, on a floating island, sparse foliage surrounding it.
Destination in mind, Marco unlocked the unseen door. Lines of light carved their way into the air itself and formed an open doorway. The tower itself lay on the other side. As his foot fell through the doorway, Oswald chimed in once more.
"Oh and mind the drop." Marco blinked, even as he felt his leg tugged through.
"Drop?" Marco's unfortunate query was answered just a moment later.
Falling with great speed, Marco was cut off guard for a moment. Marco found himself in an enormous tunnel, debris and floating items scattered throughout. Blinking his eyes to adjust to the sensation of falling, the reality of the situation hit him. Leaving Marco with really only one option.
"AAAAAAHHHHHHH!" At least until Oswald's cackling cut through in his head. Realizing he'd been duped Marco's eye began twitching like mad.
"Are you kidding me! You knew this would happen didn't you?!" The rabbit worked to choke back his laughter as he tried to answer Marco.
"Hahahahaha honestly I didn't remember until the last moment. But it's fine. Use the keyblade to guide yourself like a rudder and smash anything that you can't avoid. It's not difficult." Marco doubted those words.
"I feel as though you're making this out to be easier than it is. Will going to different worlds always be like this?" So saying he managed to direct himself away from oncoming debris. A stray piece of rubble a little too close was quickly smashed out of the way via keyblade.
"No they won't all be this way. Some will be worse, hehehe. The first time you go to a new world it will be like this. At least for sleeping worlds. Be thankful that there are enchantments around the Tower to keep the drop safe from darkness. Otherwise you'd be too busy to complain." Marco grumbled about wacky rabbits but returned to focusing on the drop.
After about two minutes of smashing and evading debris, Marco spotted a large opening ahead. In its center was the Tower of Mysteries.
Bracing for impact as he approached the opening, Marco felt a sudden deceleration. An abrupt stop and earth beneath his feet left Marco stumbling for a moment before the small hand of Oswald grabbed the back of his hoodie. Once steadied, Oswald let go to move towards the great Tower now before them.
The ancient domicile was entirely too silent for his liking.
'Not like it was ever the liveliest. But still; even after Mickey and I left there was always something about the place that felt alive. Some experiment humming, smoke rising from one of the chimneys, heck I can't even hear any of the cleaning enchantments running. Mickey wasn't Master Yen Sid but he was a powerful sorcerer. How long have I been gone?' Lost in his reminiscing, Oswald failed to notice Marco walking up beside him.
"So you mentioned this place. The Tower of Mysteries right? What is this place exactly?" Shaking out of his solemn moment, Oswald looked up to the boy at his side.
"This was the domain of my old Master, the man that raised me, Keyblade Master Yen Sid. One of the greatest Keyblade Masters to ever live. He was one of, if not the greatest sorcerers of his time. The old man seemed to know just about everything about everything. Luckily for us he also kept records of all that knowledge. Now come on let's get inside." So saying, Oswald walked up to the entrance with Marco behind.
Xxx
Walking inside the two traveled through a small corridor for a moment. Exiting the corridor the two came out into a massive, marble hall. Several dozen, two story tall columns lead up to a vaulted ceiling. Every inch of wall space was occupied by books. Bookcases lined the walls, wrapped around the columns, and farther down even found their place on the side of great winding staircases. Marco took it all in gaping like fish. Oswald recognized that face of awe and wonder. Long ago he had shared that very same look. But it had been even more wonderful then, with dozens of examples of magic working everywhere.
'I really need to see how long I've been gone. I'll grab the initiate's set of spells and let Marco go over them. That'll give me some time to check on things.' Turning back to Marco, he found the boy still marveling over their surroundings.
"Yeah; it's something isn't it?" Marco's head idly bobbed while gawking. Looking to the smaller Keyblade Master he had to voice some of his curiosity.
"How? I mean the tower doesn't look anywhere near big enough for …. I mean just look at it!" Oswald took this moment to give a cheeky grin before waving both his hands.
As his hands moved they left a trail of floating ice in their wake. Flames curled around the ice without melting it. The ice spelled together to form one word.
Magic.
Marco's eyes narrowed at the word and the grinning Oswald. Raising his hand to object, he paused mouth still open, put his hand down, raised it once more, gained a confused look, and then dropped both it and his head in exasperation.
"I walked right into that one huh?" Oswald gave a hearty laugh at the boy's embarrassment.
"Hahaha don't worry Marco. You aren't the first to be blown away by this place. But let's get going, I want to get you started with your first spells." So saying he started walking down the hall. A moment to register their destination, and Marco hurried after the rabbit.
"Wait! Spells as in magic? I get to learn magic?!" Marco was giddy with excitement almost dancing in place. Oswald watched with amusement as they walked towards a staircase.
"Of course! I do believe I remember telling you that just because you gave up the rod doesn't mean ya can't use magic. In fact it's even more important for you to learn some spells right now then it is to learn to wield the keyblade." Marco considered that for a moment.
"Any reason why it's so important? I kinda feel like I'm missing something."
Having reached the staircase, Oswald placed his keyblade on the nearby banister. With the exception of the first step, the rest folded in on themselves creating a smooth surface. Gesturing for Marco to join him on the first step Oswald tapped the banister once more.
"Floor of spells and sorcery." The banister lit green and rails came up around the step. Slowly at first but with increasing speed the step made its ascent. After the two steadied themselves against the speed, Oswald made to answer the earlier question.
"Do you remember what I said earlier in the morning? About the keyblade attracting Heartless? Well allow me to elaborate. Keyblades are beacons that dispel darkness with their mere presence. That beacon is felt by any Heartless that happen to be nearby. Even a world away the Heartless can sense it. They both fear and loath keyblades and will attempt to destroy their wielder whenever found. That is why you should be very careful about summoning yours. It is also why teaching you the Initiate spells is important. You don't need to summon the keyblade to use magic. So if that stunt earlier does draw in heartless, you'll be able to get rid of them without attracting even more." Marco wore a solemn face, contemplating the information he'd been provided. A question came to mind.
"So ultimately, am I supposed to destroy all the Heartless or something?" Oswald did a double take before giving a disbelieving laugh. Turning to watch as they moved up the winding staircase, having passed several floors already, the rabbit shook his head.
"By the stars, no! That's impossible; the Heartless always have been and always will be. So long as a single person in all the realities is willing to give themselves up to the darkness then there will always be Heartless. No, you're job will be to fight them off if they come knocking. Keep out unwanted guests so to say. Occasionally you'll run into folks that think they can use the Heartless to take what they want. Those are the really bad ones. Heartless given direction are bad news." The step was beginning to decelerate as it approached its destination.
"So I just step in when a world is under attack? Doesn't that seem a little, I don't know, lazy to you?" Oswald tutted in exasperation. The step coming to a halt, one of the rails lowered; allowing the two of them off.
The floor they were on was filled with yet more books, leaving Marco to wonder how one man could possibly have so much knowledge much less write all of these. Scattered throughout the many bookshelves, Marco could see some tables and chairs. Occasionally a wall would be spared a bookshelf to present some diagram of an arcane ritual or maybe the formula of some concoction. The wooden floorboards, rugs, and warmth gave off a more homely atmosphere than the aesthetically pleasing, but cold entry hall.
Marching on with destination in mind, Oswald lectured his young pupil.
"Listen here, if that was all we did then you'd be right but there's more to it than booting some Heartless. Every time you visit a world, you'll need to use your keyblade to lock the door to that world. Do that and the only people that can get in are those with keyblades. At least not without breakin the door down. And even if someone does break it down, you'll know immediately." Their destination came into view as Oswald lead them to an antechamber, to the side of the massive library.
Four doors marked with the corresponding Roman numerals sat in a row against the back of the antechamber. Oswald moved to the first and with a tap of his keyblade, the door opened.
Following Oswald through the door, Marco found himself in what looked to be a large study. Large shelves lined three of the walls and a table set with a variety of writing supplies and instruments sat in the middle. About a quarter of the room on one side appeared to Marco to be some kind of odd racquet ball court, cut off by a large glass wall. A lone dummy sat inside.
Oswald himself continued towards one of the shelves. There were five in total, each a separate color. On one wall a red shelf sat next to its blue fellow. On the wall opposite were a yellow and a green counterpart. Lastly taking up the entire wall between them was an enormous black bookshelf.
With the exception of the black shelf, each of the shelves held a central compartment. Locked metal grating kept ancient tomes inside. Oswald went to each and removed the books inside, opening the grates with a tap of his keyblade.
Gesturing for Marco to have a seat, Oswald placed the four books on the table. Sitting down across from his student, the height difference was made clear. A snickering Marco was silenced when Oswald flexed his magic and the chair raised itself.
"Ahem, now then the four tomes you see before you are spell books that make up the Initiate's set. A group of spells that are taught to all novice keyblade wielders. The red one holds the spell of Fire, allowing the caster to launch fireballs at enemies. The blue has the spell Blizzard, with it the caster can send dense shards of ice flying through multiple Heartless. The yellow tome contains the spell Thunder, funny enough it actually calls down lightning to strike any jerks around you. Finally we have the green book of Cure, a healing spell useful for keeping you breathing." Marco's eyes had taken a disturbing look to them as he gazed hungrily at the tomes and the potential laying in front of him.
Reaching tentatively for the Thunder tome, Marco shook with anticipation. However the moment his fingers brushed the cover, the dam broke. Snatching it up, Marco opened the book and began reading with a vengeance.
"The walled off area is designed to practice spells in. The dummy in there will fix itself up if you give it a minute. Or you can practice Cure on it. I've got some things to check on but I'll send a guide to you later. Do us both a favor and stay here until it gets here okay? Don't need you getting lost in here." A noncommittal nod and some muttering was as good as Oswald was going to get. Marco was far too engrossed in his reading.
'Well at least he's eager.' Oswald left Marco to his studies and ventured back to the staircase.
Reaching the steps, Oswald tapped the banister once more.
"Floor of the Master." And off he went.
Xxx
Arriving at his destination, Oswald found himself in a room with a set of forest green doors and a few chairs.
He recalled sitting in those chairs. Waiting impatiently for Master Yen Sid to open the door. Sometimes he was in trouble, a prank or cruel word he'd said to Mickey. Sometimes the old man was in a meeting. Visiting royalty, adventuring heroes, great minds, and downtrodden souls. All looking for assistance. But the times he remembered best were when he and Mickey sat anxiously waiting for the closest thing they had to a father to wrap up his studies, grab the two boys, and venture forth with them to unknown wonders.
A lone tear escaped Oswald's eye and the dampness broke him from his reverie. With a sniff he trudged towards the door, rubbing at his eyes.
'I can't think about that right now, I've gotta make sure of what happened after I left.'
Walking through the door, Oswald took in his Master's personal sanctuary. The same large wooden desk, high backed chair with light green upholstery, books of course, a grandfather clock, and a globe in the corner. It was to the clock that Oswald went first. His hand paused at the glass door to the clocks innards. Fear of what he'd find was working against him and what he knew he had to face.
Forcing his way through, he opened the time piece and pulled on one of the weights. The hands on the clock begin to spin and the numbers on its face came to life and projected themselves outwards. The numbers rolled… and rolled… and rolled. And with each second Oswald's heart dropped that much more. Finally they stopped, and Oswald could see how long it had been since he'd last been in this room.
Horror, enough to make him ill. It filled him the moment the number's registered in his brain. Thirty three seconds, twenty four minutes, two hours, four days, two weeks, three months, and the years, the digits that brought Oswald's world crashing down. One. Zero. Zero. Zero.
'Oh stars… a thousand…. I think .. I think I'm going to be sick.' Rushing to the window Oswald took in heaps of air to try and calm himself. Trying desperately to keep hold of his bowels.
Calming himself as best he could, Oswald snapped his head to the globe in the corner. Bouncing from the window to the globe, a series of taps saw the globe spin and glow. A numberless amount of golden lights found themselves dancing around the room. Oswald's hand moved the globe, causing the lights to blur seeking out Oswald's target location.
"The Magic Kingdom." When the lights halted, Oswald found naught but a great dark void.
"Traverse Town." Darkness. Oswald's breathe quickened.
"Atlantica?" Darkness.
"Olympus Coliseum. Please…" Darkness.
"Radiant Garden." Darkness.
Oswald's hand fell from the globe and he allowed himself to drop. He'd suspected but hadn't wanted to believe.
'They're all gone. All of them. Every world I've ever known I'd bet. I have no idea what's out there anymore. I don't know if I can keep my promise, Mickey. I can't guide Marco if I don't know what's out there. The darkness swallowed everything. The darkness…. The darkness! Is that at least the same?" Scrambling back up, he moved back to the globe.
Hand dancing across its surface once more, he searched for his quarry. Dimming lights or even a silver one. There! A dimmer made Oswald stop on the spot, bringing the world to view.
Gazing at a large forest, Oswald allowed the image to flitter to his will. Deep into the forest it went, where the shade from the trees blocked out the sun. And there were the familiar faces he was looking for.
'Shadows, Soldiers, and a few Archers, but nothing I haven't seen before. What a relief! The Heartless haven't changed. At least from what I can see. How about…'
Globe spinning again, he was quick to find what he was looking for. In fact he wasn't sure how he'd missed them before. Silver lights shined everywhere. Stopping on one, a city was brought to view. Massive with a diverse populace, Oswald pushed past the distracting denizens to find his prize. In a secluded alley he located what he was looking for.
'Yama Sheep, Yoggy Rams, and a few Me Me Bunnies. Again nothing new. Thank the stars. Guiding Marco will be hard enough without any more troubles. I just need to focus on my promise. Don't think about how bad this is Oswald. You can do this, you've got to make sure kiddo has you at your best. If only I could help him more. I don't have any idea what kind of worlds he'll be visiting. If I could watch his back it would make this easier.' Pondering the dilemma, Oswald's solution was presented to him when movement on the view caught the corner of his eye.
Slapping the globe, the lights vanished and Oswald returned it to its corner. Booking it back to the staircase; Oswald tapped the banister and announced his destination.
"Hall of Synthesis!"
Xxx
Marco leaned back in one of the study's chairs, catching his breath. After spending about an hour reading up on the spells, just enough to understand what he was doing, Marco had entered the practice area and let loose on the unfortunate training dummy.
A half hour later found Marco in his current state, still high off the rush of power coursing through his veins. A dopey grin split his face as he glanced down to the Kingdom Key on the table.
"I'm still not sure I was the best choice, but I'm not gonna complain. That was easily the coolest thing I've ever done. I can't wait to try some of that back home. You have gotta be the most awesome key ever." The golden key just lay there passively, a slight sheen passing down the blade. Trick of the light or not Marco took it as a good sign.
"I wonder where Master Oswald is. It's been a while, shouldn't that guide be here by now?" A glance to the door only served to disappoint him. His need to improve meant that sitting around waiting wasn't an option. So with a sigh Marco made to enter the practice area.
As if answering a call, the door to the study chose that moment to open. In walked the cherry to top all the madness that Marco had wrapped his head around in the past twenty four hours. A broom, with little wooden arms and hands, stood there on its bristles, gesturing for Marco to follow it. Blinking for a moment to ensure his continued sanity, Marco followed the walking cleaning utensil.
"Hi there, do you … uh.. live here?" Getting no response Marco huffed a bit and dropped his head.
"Yeah… I just tried to talk with a broom. Maybe I am going crazy. Well at least when they cart me off, I'll have plenty to write about. I could be like Vincent Van Gogh only with books! Annnnd both ears, I kinda like both my ears." The echoes of his own voice served to creep Marco out a bit and silenced any further voiced ponderings. Though when the two reached the staircase Marco did have to wonder.
'How does a broom tell the stairs where to go?' He might have been a tad concerned as the step sped off.
Xxx
When the step let the two off at their destination Marco found himself in a floor that seemed like a spice shop or maybe a candy store. Aisle upon aisle of jars were full to the brim with ingredients for who knows what. Dozens of strange smells filled the air and Marco was overwhelmed by his senses.
The broom lead him between the aisles to a large kitchen, or perhaps a laboratory of some kind. Kitchen islands placed throughout held cooking ware, utensils, and appliances ranging from commonplace to absolutely bizarre. A series of clatters filled the air as they approached. The accompanied muttering let Marco know he'd come upon Oswald.
"Master Oswald? Where are you?" Marco called out for his vertically challenged teacher. A series of even louder percussive noises filled the air followed by some mumbling that Marco suspected was not meant for young ears.
"Blast it all, Marco! Do I need to put a bell on you? It's rude to sneak up on people you know. Here I'll turn on one of the stove lights. Head towards it." A light turned on towards a corner farther back and Marco noticed a cauldron was bubbling, steam rising into the air.
Reaching the rabbit, Marco found Oswald with a collection ingredients and a book. Idly looking through the book before turning to the ingredients. Each time he would look hard at his collection of components shake his head and turn the page. A few repeats of this and Marco spoke up.
"Uhh Master Oswald, what are you doing?" Oswald paused for a moment to look back at his student, almost as if he'd forgotten the boy was there.
"Right, I guess this must look strange to you." Marco's eyebrow raised and he worked to keep his thoughts to himself.
'Not even close to the strangest thing I've seen in the past twenty four hours.' Regardless Oswald carried on.
"I am attempting to synthesize a partner for you. But I can't manage to find any recipe that I've got all the ingredients to. It seems like a good number were taken from the stores at one point without being restocked." This was all news to Marco and the whole thing wasn't making much sense.
"You lost me there Master. How are you going to "make" me a partner? It kinda sounds like you're baking a cake. Which I could help with if you need me to. I'm a pretty decent cook." Oswald looked back up to the boy and waved to a nearby stack of books.
"Grab a book and see if any of the recipes match up with the ingredients. As for how, well a long time ago a Keyblade Master managed come up with a process capable of creating companions using ingredients left behind by destroyed Dream Eaters; a form darkness takes on sleeping worlds. These companions, known as Spirits, took the forms of Dream Eaters and were formidable allies. It'll be good for you to have someone to watch your back." Catching on, Marco picked up a book and assisted his Master in the endeavor.
Twenty minutes later and Marco found what they were looking for. It would even work out back home and with a little work no one would even look twice.
Xxx
Back in Marco's bedroom a shadow snuck across the floor. Creeping ever closer it closed in on its prey. A hand reached out to Marco's sleeping form. Silent it pulled back the covers. And a photo was taken of the boy and his stuffed bunny Estevan.
Janna grinned down at her hapless target. She'd noticed the boy's absentmindedness throughout the day. Something was bothering him and she'd use her *ahem* talents to snap the boy out of it. She liked her Marco peppy and concerned with the world. A distracted dopey Marco just wasn't the same to sneak up on and rob blind.
The first day of school had certainly been an unfortunate series of events for Marco. But nothing worked better to knock Marco out of his funk then a little genuine, loving harassment from his favorite stalker. Looking down at her target she spotted the small grin, Marco was sporting in his sleep.
'Well at least you're having pleasant dreams. Wonder what's got you grinning?' At that moment a small light, the size of a dime, came into the being by Marco's head.
Janna's head tilted as she watched in confusion and the light bobbed up and down for a moment. The light shot to the end of the bed and grew, blinding Janna for a moment. When her eyes adjusted once more, her jaw dropped. At the end of the bed was a rolly polly, white and blue dog…. cat… thing with a horn on its head. It blinked at her cutely and Janna had to work hard to not conform to gender stereotypes and cuddle the ever loving crap out of it. Tearing her gaze from the creature she gave Marco a hard look.
'Oh Marco, Marco, Marco. You've got some explaining to do.' Janna's grin turned predatory as she turned and snuck out the way she came.
Xxx
A/N: And that's a rap for now. I'd wanted to get this out sooner but Christmas is here and shopping took up most of this past weekend. So if you want an idea of what Oswald's keyblade looks like, google Tyson Tan Oswald. The first image has the blade in question over his shoulder. The design of course belongs to him. There may be some grammar errors here as I'm not really proof reading this one as it's almost 4 in the morning. I'll go back later and get on that. Anyways next chapter will feature Marco's first world, a small confrontation with Janna, and a brief look at what Star is up to after feeling the of the Kingdom Key woke her up. Oh and that is the Kingdom Key D that Marco has not the Kingdom Key Sora wields. This chapter is really here to set up an important location and give some context as to why none of the worlds featured in the current Kingdom Hearts games will appear. Oh and for those who don't know Oswald is not an OC.