Chapter 1

Disclaimer:I do not own Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy X, or Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII. These great and honorable games belong to their creators, not me. Oh, yeah; if it's Disney character or Disney setting/place/background, I don't own that either. Honest. Don't sue, 'cause I'm broke anyway. I do, however, own the characters Dandella and Gabrielle. ;)

Oh, yeah. There's a mention of Power Rangers in this chapter. I don't own them either. In regards to said mention, remember when in PR Turbo they had all the outtakes? Remember the one where someone called, "Phone call for Jason David Frank," and he ran off and all the walking sushi guys acted like they were hit anyway? That's what I'm referring to. Thank you.

Warning: Fairly kid-friendly in this chapter. No where near as dark as the Prologue. Enjoy! ^^

Printing Warning: I don't seem capable of doing short stories, honest. This chapter is 9 Pages when printed out.

A/N: In this story, the realms of Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy X are like countries side-by-side in the same world…but don't come in this chapter. May add other realms of FF later.

This story starts during Kingdom Hearts (the first one) towards the end. If you haven't played (and beat) the game at all, there are spoilers…But then again, if you don't play the game, why would you be reading a fanfiction based on it?

O.o.O.o.O

It had been months since the young Apprentice Mage had seen her master. Even her best friend's master had left. Dandella paced outside the Queen's drawing room, lost in her thoughts. She felt at a complete unease since Master Mage Donald had left in search of the kingdom's King. Of course, he hadn't gone alone, but she still could not quell her worry.

Softly spoken words echoed ever so slightly through the heavy set doors leading to the drawing room. Two voices were discernable—Queen Minnie and Lady Daisy. Lady Daisy was the Lady-in-Waiting for the queen, not to mention the Master Mage's long-time girlfriend.

Dandella knew that she would get her ears boxed if she were caught eaves-dropping, but she was desperate for information. Hesitantly, she pressed her ear to the cool stone door. Despite her best efforts, very little of the hushed conversation could be discerned. She stepped back away from the door, feeling let down and slightly ashamed of her actions. She fully gave up the idea of listening after a moment. With a shrug, she strode purposefully down the long, straight corridor. Dandella sighed pitifully as she came to the main courtyard.

Of course, it seemed to figure that when she needed to talk to the extent of feeling like she would explode that her best friend, the Apprentice to the Captain of the Royal Guards, would be practicing with those who had all ready achieved the status of Royal Officer. The Apprentice Knight, Gabrielle, was on another adrenaline rush from sparring with the Senior Guards. It was obvious in her movements—at least to Dandella, who had seen her spar with Royal Knight Sir Goofy—that Gabrielle was going easy on the men.

As she watched the spectacle play out, her mind wandered to distant memories and old questions. She and Gabrielle had been friends for as long as she could remember. During their respective trainings, Dandella would try to teach Gabrielle spells as she learned them, while Gabrielle had taught her some very useful moves over the years. The Apprentice Knight's parents—who were highly respected warriors with astounding fighting abilities—had raised her since the age of four years old. Dandella was very grateful to the entire family for their kindness and compassion, yet she always yearned to know her own family.

What had her parents been like? Did she have siblings, or was she an only child? Did she have any living relatives at all? If so, did they care about her at all; to leave her with people they may not have known? The all-too-familiar questions buzzed around her brain, seemingly taunting her.

She shook her head as if to clear it before drawing out her magic staff. (She could store it on her clothing, just like her mentor, and summon it when needed.) The staff itself was a longer version of that of her master's; when the "butt" of the staff was on the ground, the very tip of the wizard's hat reached her shoulder. Only the stick part was cloudy blue instead of wooden brown. She gave it a few experimental twirls with one hand, then picked up the pace, using both hands to spin it around faster.

The practicing with her staff served to work out a little stress and stretch her arms out in case of a sudden sparring match. Dandella strode to the small knoll by the fountain, using her staff as a walking stick. She idly took notice of Max, Sir Goofy's son, trimming the shrubbery near the Gummi Ship Landing and Launching pad.

Seeing the door that led to the pad only served to remind her of two more friends that were away. Chip and Dale were the Gummi Ship mechanics of Disney Castle, and as such, left with Donald and Goofy to find the King. They were the most rambunctious chipmunks she had ever seen in all her thirteen years of life. Very intelligent, but also very hyper. Despite their quirks, the Apprentice Mage missed them dearly. They could always help to cheer her up.

Dandella was so lost in her thoughts just then that she was caught by surprise by Max's "Whooooaa, whooaaa!" of loosing his balance. She turned to him quickly, seeing that he was about to fall, when instinct kicked in and she cast a quick spell. "Aero!"

A powerful gust of wind pushed the boy away from the edge of his perch. He clung to the closest object available at that moment, which just so happened to be the bush he was trimming, before relaxing. He released his death-grip shakily and gave Dandella a thankful smile. "Th-thanks, Dandella. I thought I was gonna fall for sure. Your magic is really strong if you can control it like that. How you used 'Aero' to push me back, I mean. Usually, it's just a protective barrier, right?"

Dandella gave a small smile and a nod. "Never a problem, Max. I'm just happy it worked." She blushed a little as she continued, "That was the first time I did that, in all actuality. I had meant for it to form a protective shield around you to soften the fall, but it seems the wind had a better idea." She scratched the side of her neck in a nervous habit, looking away for a moment. When she looked to him again, her blush was under control. "Are you all right? You seemed pretty panicked for a bit there."

"Oh, I'm fine! May have gotten a few scratches from the bush, but it's no big deal." He glanced to the side, wondering if he should really ask his next question. "Have you heard anything about Master Mage Donald or my dad? They've been gone a while, and still no word."

The girl hung her head sadly. "Nae, I haven't. One would think that you would hear before me—after all, Sir Goofy is your father. Jiminy Cricket is with them, so we will surely get a full report once they return."

"Right," Max sighed. He'd had conversations similar to this once a week with either Dandella or Gabrielle. He didn't even bother asking the Acting Captain—Sir Fluffy, as the two girls and he had dubbed him—anymore, after getting the run around only to come to the conclusion that word had yet to come. He may not have been aura sensitive, but he could still see the gloom hanging off his friend. "Hang on a second; I'll be right down!"

He clambered down the ladder hurriedly, leaving the trimmers above. "Heh, I could use a break anyway, and you look about ready to pop from frustration." He was answered by a slight rose hue appearing on the girl's cheeks. He stepped off the last rung, turned to face her, and stopped short, breath hitching in his throat. He had to admit, he never quite got over his puppy love (no pun intended) toward the blonde girl in front of him, nor had she ever been aware of it.

Even looking miserable, she seemed breathtaking in his eyes. Long honey-blonde hair pulled back into a French braid, the bangs reached her eyebrows, and long soot-colored eyelashes framed large moss green eyes set in an oval face. She had the telling spiral pupils of the Al Bhed. Skin of pale peach with pink tinting her cheeks, her slim neck lead to narrow shoulders. Semi-long, thin arms hung at her sides, ending with dainty, almost delicate hands. Small feet connected to well-toned legs, which connected to trim hips, which lead to a slim waste, which lead his eyes to the forming bust, which connected with the aforementioned narrow shoulders. Quite lovely for a thirteen—almost fourteen—year-old.

Her clothes suited her well, both for her practice and her personal taste. A light blue, one-piece leotard-like garment (short sleeved shirt with crisscrossing ties binding the back combined with short shorts) covered her abdomen. That was partially covered by a slightly darker blue jacket that clasped by a small silver chain in the front; it had long sleeves that belled at the wrists and little slits cut just below the shoulders to allow more movement, a plain collar, and had twin coattails that ended in points just to the backs of her knees. She wore suede midnight blue boots that reached three inches shy of her knees and had blunt, half an inch heels.

Oh yeah, Max thought wryly, I still have a long way to go to get over that one. Instead, he plastered a smile on his face, hoping that the object of his affections didn't notice his slight stare. "So, Dandella, what's bothering you?" He tilted his head to the side, trying to see under the curtain of bangs.

She worried her lip a moment before answering. "I've been having these weird dreams lately. I was going to ask Gabrielle what she could make of it. Shall we have a sit atop the knoll and wait for her?" her voice had lost its depressed tone for the almost chipper sound. The Apprentice Mage peered up at Max through her bangs, not having any idea how cute it looked to the boy.

Max smile genuinely for the invitation, "Sure." He offered his arm in a playful gentlemanly gesture, and was rewarded by her giggle as she took the offered arm. They walked in companionable silence to the small grassy knoll. Continuing his near mocking of gentleman-ness, Max assisted the young lady into a sitting position before assuming one for himself. Dandella sat on her heels patiently waiting, while Max found himself with his rear on the ground and his legs straight out to the front.

At this point in Gabrielle's spar, one of the fiercer opponents found himself blinking as he went sailing through the air. Another lay sprawled flat on his back, chest heaving. A third received a playful kick to the derrière after he'd been spun in another direction from a hit. All this and Gabrielle was grinning like a mad woman.

Max was honestly terrified of the prospect of ever being on that girl's bad side. At sixteen, she was tall with well-toned and obviously powerful muscles. Average sized feet conjoined into long legs that connected to wide hips, to a slim waste, to a heavy bust, to slightly broad shoulders. Average sized hands connected with visibly strong arms that connected to those almost manly shoulders. "Daddy's frame and Mama's curves," was what the Apprentice Knight had always proclaimed with pride. Her neck was feminine enough, and lead to a very pretty face. Her skin was like fresh milk mixed with a bit of honey—pale but with a healthy glow. Red lips that were usually quirked into a smirk lay below a straight nose. Red irises with specks of brown; these eyes gave Max the creeps. Shaggy black hair with chestnut highlights cut into a short mixture of her parents hairstyles—long bangs that covered one eye, while the back barely touched the nape of her neck.

In the boy's mind, it was truly a wonder so many of the Royal Guard actually wanted to spar with Sir Goofy's Apprentice. As if her build wasn't obtrusive enough, her obvious lack of modesty put the youth on his guard. Boots as green as grass covered her feet and slouched around her ankles. A bit of silver armor covered from about mid-shin to mid-thigh on her right leg, a complicated hinge system at the knee. A short lime-green pleated skirt hung at her hips (slanting downward in the front to give it an enticing 'V' shape), and kept there by two crisscrossing belts of medium brown and a darker brown. A tough forest green, leather corset-like bustier covered and supported her impressive bust, while several straps of dark leather on the front and back attached it to shoulder guards, each bearing the Disney Castle crest. Fingerless gauntlets protected the backs of her hands and forearms from damage.

Max audibly gulped as Gabrielle summoned her shield to block a boa staff, then hit another man in the face with it in the same movement. The man with the staff soon received a fast kick to the stomach; the only thing that could be discerned to the viewer was a green streak in that direction. Max gulped again, Sheeesh! And this is going easy on them?

All eyes were on the girls when they sparred, occasionally wincing at the resounding clang of stern lacquered wood on cold tempered steel. Gabrielle always wore a grin reminiscent of the Cheshire Cat when engaged in heated battle; Dandella schooled her expression neutral no matter her opponent. While the two girls could certainly be fierce in battle, they were as friendly as could be when at ease. The Apprentice Knight was upbeat and outgoing to the point of being boisterous. The Apprentice Mage was considerably more reserved and formal, almost shy.

Gabrielle sent another of her opponents sailing high toward the outside of the designated practice area. The man had tried to spin so that he landed on his feet, but miscalculated his speed, thus skidding on his knees out-of-bounds. The last soldier blinked at his comrades (having all fallen to the teenaged Apprentice, they stood outside the ring), then returned his gaze to the obvious champion of the round. With a resigned shrug, he feigned taking a hit, thus performing a spinning jump backwards and crashed to the ground. (A/N: Think Power Rangers fight scene outtakes.) For a few precious seconds, the entire courtyard froze and stared in wonder…after those few seconds, the entire courtyard burst into uncontrollable laughter.

Max held his stomach as tears came to his eyes, he was laughing so hard. He noted that the blonde beside him had both of her hands over her mouth, trying vainly to suppress the giggles. He looked back out to the 'battlefield' to see many of the oh-so-professional warriors of the kingdom literally rolling with their laughter…even Sir Fluffy was bent double, shoulders heaving and mouth open wide.

What amused him the most was that the winner of the spar was rolling towards his position. Literally rolling. While the men rolling on ground rocked back and forth in their mirth, the Apprentice Knight was actually rolling in one direction—up the grassy knoll. This only caused the boy to laugh even harder—that and the blades of grass in her hair and armor. Fortunately, the belts at the girl's hips did their job and kept the tiny, pleated skirt in place.

Gabrielle's peels of glee became louder and louder as she approached the sitting pair. The dark-haired girl finally came to a stop before them, lying flat on her stomach with arms and legs waving franticly in her giggles. After a full minute, her fit subsided and her limbs came to a rest. "That was great…now if only we caught that on camera!" She shifted her head towards her friends with a gentle smile. The gentleness even reached her usually semi-fierce eyes.

Dandella gave a truly happy smile to her best friend. "You did well today." Her cheeks were flushed from her break in composure. A small breeze brushed past, causing their hair to drift for a moment. "This may not be the time, but I was hoping we could talk," she said quietly, head slightly lowered.

Noticing Gabrielle's look of piqued interest (slightly widened eyes were the key), Max decided to join the conversation. "Dandella mentioned having weird dreams." He paused to gauge the girls' reactions. Taking the blonde's nod and the dark-haired teen's raised eyebrow as signs to continue. "Eh, she mentioned wanting to see what you thought about it…right?" the last word was directed at the blue-clad girl.

The Apprentice Knight shifted so that she lay on her side, her head propped up by a hand. "You don't have to ask, Dandy. You know I'll always listen. Go ahead, shoot. I'm all ears." She draped her free arm across her exposed middle.

Dandella closed her eyes, getting her thoughts together. "I've been having this reoccurring dream. I start at a beautiful stained glass floor. There is no light to be seen or to see by, but for the floors. I wander as if being lead through an intricate maze. As the dream progresses, I'm lead to different floors, each holding a different scene. All the floors depict lovely young ladies in full-length gowns…but all the woman seem to be asleep. On the last floor, there is a large set of double doors. They are tall, ornate, and grey-ish in color with gold handles. The most bizarre thing about them is that they don't lead anywhere. It's just a set of doors in their frame that don't connect to anything." She took a deep breath, trying to focus on how she wanted to continue.

"At that floor, I hear a voice. It sounds like a boy. He always calls out for help. He calls for two people in particular, actually: 'Sora' and 'Kairi'. He seemed so desperately afraid and near panic, as if, if no one heard him and listened, someone would die. It echoes terribly in there, but it seemed like his voice was coming from the door. I looked around, trying to find him, but to no avail. Sometimes, there is the sound of a man cackling in the distance. I think he is mocking the boy."

Gabrielle let loose a low whistle. She shook her head, both eyebrows creeping up her forehead. "This can't be a coincidence. There's just no way," she muttered, eyeing the grass as if it did something to offend her.

Max sat up straighter suddenly. "You guy—err, girls have been having similar dreams again. Haven't you?" He looked them both over with a scrutinizing gaze. "So, Gabrielle, tell us about your dreams. Maybe together, they'll make sense."

The predominately green-clad girl turned her 'not happy' expression from the grass to her master's son. A smirk tugged at her lips when she heard him gulp quite audibly. "Fine. No light except for the glowing stained glass floors that depict girls in uncomfortable looking dresses. It's as if there's a string attached to my belt, tugging me along. On the second floor, I get to fight some low-level Heartless and move on. By the last floor, there's this huge set of double doors standing by themselves. There's this voice that sounds like a little boy hollering for 'Riku' and 'Kairi' to hang on because he's coming to the rescue, or something like that. One time, a few weeks ago, I heard a girl's voice. 'Sora, please save Riku,' she said real sad like. Anyway, soon after that I wake up." During her speech, she shifted onto her back with both hands behind her head, legs crossed at the ankles.

Max nodded, more to himself than anything. Silence reigned for a few moments while all three youths gathered their thoughts and stowed away the information. The boy broke the quiet in a soft voice, not wanting to startle the girls out of their own processing. "So, the boy Dandella hears is this 'Riku', and Gabrielle hears 'Sora' and 'Kairi.' Okay, that leaves the question of who is the creepy old guy. Got any ideas?"

Both Apprentices shook their heads in the universal sign for 'no', the blonde hung her slightly with the gesture. Gabrielle spoke softly, "The next question is pretty obvious. What does the door represent?"

"It may be that the door leads to another world. The seal between Elysium—the Dream World—and the unknown world may be imperfect or losing its substance, thus allowing the contact. Another possibility is that the door represents an unknown element." Dandella sighed, her eyes unfocused as she thought back to her dreams. "Maybe, we hear them because their hearts are calling for help..."

"And we're just receptive to their pleas," Gabrielle finished. She shifted to face her friends again. "I guess Dandy hears this 'Riku' because she's more of the sensitive type. I hear 'Kairi' and 'Sora' because…eh…I dunno. They need less morale support?" She was rewarded with a snort from Max and an amused expression from Dandella. "Seriously, though, I have no clue."

Max scanned the area with semi-tired eyes. He noted all the shrubbery that was still in need of a good trimming around the courtyard. Bringing his eyes back to his only female friends, he let loose a sigh. "Well, ladies, it was nice talking to you. But this fledgling still needs to get back to work. These bushes aren't going to trim themselves, you know. See you later, all right?" Receiving nods as reply, he clambered to his feet and headed back to where he left his trimmers. "…Now," he murmured, "which one of these dang bushes was it?"

The two girls remained in their spots upon the knoll. Both basked in the serenity of the quiet atmosphere. Gabrielle simply let her mind go blank as she stared into the nothing that would have been Max's stomach if he hadn't left. Dandella, however, was temporarily lost in her thoughts. When she spoke, it was very quiet. "I have a suspicion as to the identity of the man from my dream." This earned a questioning glance from the older girl. "I am in no way certain, of course, but…"

"But what, Dandella?" Gabrielle inquired just as softly. She could tell from the tone of voice and distracted expression that the Apprentice Mage did not want eaves-droppers for this conversation. "Who is it you suspect?"

"I…," the petite girl began in an unsure voice, "I read a book from the library a while ago—the book was about how Hollow Bastion fell to Darkness. The ruler of this world was a Wiseman. He had read every book and parchment he could get his hands on. One day, he pondered the heart—how it originated, how it became tainted with Darkness, and what happened to the heart once it was consumed by Darkness. Soon after, the Wiseman discovered the first Heartless to appear in Hallow Bastion. As a scientist, he performed experiments with the Heartless. He had seven apprentices that assisted him with such experiments, taking notes to assist him. There are no records as to what the Wiseman did in those experiments.

"Data indicates that after the discovery of the Heartless, several people went missing, and the families of the lab assistants never heard from them again. Over time, more and more people disappeared…Until finally, the townspeople formed a search party to examine the Wiseman's castle. They found nothing on the upper levels, but came across something horrible in the lower chambers. The book did not say what was found below the surface." Dandella had kept her eyes averted from her best friend as she spoke of the tragic story, not even looking up as she finished.

"Yeah, I remember reading that a long time ago. The Wiseman's name was 'Ansem', wasn't it? Any way, what does all that have to do with what's been goin' on?" Gabrielle searched the younger girl's face with a gentle expression

"The book I read mentioned that when the world was swallowed by Darkness, a star in the heavens was suddenly extinguished."

"Meaning what exactly?" Gabrielle shifted in unease. She definitely did not like where this conversation was going.

"The theory used most often today is that there is a world for every star in the heavens…That is, if the worlds are not the twinkling stars themselves." The Apprentice Mage remained motionless in her kneel upon the grass, the gentle breeze softly ruffling her hair and clothes. Her eyes remained trained at a seemingly distant location toward the northwest.

Gabrielle couldn't help her slight fidgeting at this point. What was said actually made sense, but that certainly didn't make her feel any better. "Uh-huh. So you're sayin' that the disappearing stars are caused by…" Here the Apprentice Knight couldn't quite find the right words.

"By their corresponding worlds being swallowed by the Darkness," Dandella finished for her. "Light cannot be seen if no light is emitted or reflected. That is why there are so few stars in the sky."

Gabrielle shook her head, "That makes a bizarre sort of sense…in a bad kind of way, I think. But hey, let's change subject, shall we? Hmmmn, different subject…How about you tell me more about the boy in your dreams? How old does he sound?" She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.

Dandella's moss green eyes came back into focus after a moment. "He sounds to be about…I don't know, between fourteen and sixteen. I'm really not sure, though. He seems to feel guilty about something and is trying to make up for it, at least that's the impression I got from the dreams. Other than that, I have nothing to go on."

The red-eyed girl could not hold back her smirk, "Sora seems like a pipsqueak trying to be a hero. He sounds about twelve to me, but you know I'm not that great at guessing ages."

The two girls sat and chatted atop the small, grassy knoll for some time more. They stood at the dusk's twilight and watched the bright sphere set behind the horizon as the fireflies came out to welcome the night. Gabrielle broke the companionable silence, "Do you think we'll be having those dreams again tonight, Dandy?"

Dandella nodded, a slight smile adorned her face. "I hope so. I want to tell off Ansem and try to give Riku hope. I would like to save that boy one day, but I'll settle for cheering him up for now."

With that, the girls parted ways. Gabrielle strode to the east. The Knight barracks were in the middle barrier protecting the castle from outside intruders. Dandella made her way to the south end of Disney Castle. It was there that the Mages' dormitory was located.

Translation Chart

English

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Al Bhed

Y P L T A V K R E Z G M S H U B X N C D I J F Q O W