Another quick update has arrived! XD I'm dishing these up pretty fast, huh? Well, in this Chap, we have some of the last few traces of our similar starting ground, and even then, the only REAL thing close is how Yen Sid explains the nobodies. I got a funny twist at the end of the Sora part of this chappy, though. :P Then, with Riku, we get to see Cait Sith! YAY! He has a minor role in this chapter, yes, but I couldn't resist putting him in. Later on we may see more of the little guy.

Disclaimer: It's not mine. Mmmkay?

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Chapter 3: A Sorcerer's Castle and the Forgotten Past

Creak! The door to the mysterious castle slid open as Sora, Donald, and Goofy slowly made their way inside. At first, everything was quiet and dark with not a thing in sight. Not even the slightest noise could be heard from this dark hallway. Because of the mood of this castle, the trio of friends couldn't help but feel somewhat nervous. They slowly paced forward, still a bit shaky.

"M-maybe nobody's here…" Goofy stuttered, continuing to look around with every step he took.

At first glance, the castle DID indeed appear abandoned. Perhaps it was just the darkness and empty hall that made it seem this way. Plus, the narrow hallway was chilly as well. Again, the only noise that could be heard was the sound of footsteps from the oversized dog and duck and their spiky haired companion.

After a bit of walking, a small tinge of light could be seen from a few yards away. It seemed that the place wasn't abandoned after all. At the sight of this glimmer, the three friends charged forward, not looking back. Finally they would be able to get out of this creepy old hall! Farther and farther Sora and his friends went until they spotted a door standing alone. Nothing else could be seen besides it.

"That's weird," Sora said quietly. "There's no walls or anything. Just this floor."

So, they had been walking on a solid path with no walls? How was that even possible? On the outside, the castle looked perfectly normal, walls, windows, and everything else you'd expect. Why was it that the entrance hall was any different? Well, whatever the reason, it was best to just ignore it. Speculation wouldn't get Sora and his two buds anywhere, right? So, without another word, the fifteen year old grabbed onto the handle of the wooden door and gave it a nice turn.

CREAK! As the door opened, it revealed something very, very strange. In the room said door revealed there were brooms marching back and forth with buckets in their… hands. Yes, these brooms had arms and hands, and they could even walk! If that wasn't enough to baffle someone, there was also a strange melody being carried throughout the room, while an unseen light illuminated the area. What contrast there was between this place and the hall!

Nervously, Sora made his way into this bizarre room with Donald and Goofy right behind him. Strangely enough, when the three were safely inside the room, the door behind them vanished, leaving them stuck, for now. Several of the brooms were now knocking into the trio, due to the fact that they acted on magic and didn't pay any attention to the visitors. One in particular ended up tripping and spilling its water on Donald, sending the duck into an angry fit.

"HEY!" squawked the duck angrily. "Just what's the big idea!"

The broom didn't say a word, as it could not speak. Instead, it simply picked up its bucket and continued to pace forward. All the brooms behind it did the same. Still ticked, the duck faced his friends while pointing a finger at the walking brooms, but the only response he received was a bit of teasing and laughter.

"Geez, Donald," Goofy chuckled, "I don't think those brooms can hear ya."

"Very decisive."

From the top of a balcony stood a man dressed in a blue robe. Atop his head was a tall, pointy hat with star shapes decorating it. He had a long, brown beard, and in his eyes was a serious look. His eyes were focused on Sora, Donald, and Goofy, and a slight smile could be seen on his face.

"I see that you have arrived," continued the sorcerer, waving his hands to halt the brooms. "Your King has informed me of your past endeavors. Very impressive, I must say. However, it seems that your journey has only begun."

Immediately, the trio tilted their heads upwards in order to see the master of the castle. To Sora, he looked a lot like Merlin. As for Donald and his goofy partner, they knew much more of this man. His name was Yen Sid, and he was a very skilled sorcerer. HE had quite the connection with King Mickey. In fact, at one time said mouse had been his apprentice. Of course, that was quite some time ago.

Anyway, Yen Sid's words gave Sora a sinking feeling in his gut. Here he had wanted to find his friend and go back to the island, but now he found that such a goal may have to wait. But, that was somewhat expected by the boy. After all, the stranger in black, his dreams, and everything else seemed to point out that his adventure was far from over.

"Wait!" Sora exclaimed. "What do you mean my journey has only begun?"

"It's quite simple, Sora," replied the master magician. "Did you not see a mysterious man in black earlier with a small army of white creatures?"

Wait a minute. Had the sorcerer just mentioned the same cloaked figure and dusks that Sora and his comrades had faced just earlier today? It seemed like the logical answer, but… how did he know? Something wasn't right about this guy…

"Y-yes…" muttered the Keybearer, stroking his spiky locks. "He was carrying some sort of gun, and sent the white things at my friends and I. But, you know, he seemed familiar… but I just don't know why."

"Ah yes, that would be one of the remaining members of Organization XIII. As for why he seemed so familiar, it's a very long story. One that you will have to uncover as you advance forth on your quest. I will tell you one thing, however: you woke up in Twilight Town for a reason. A while back, you and your friends lost a piece of your memories due to a restoration process."

Losing memories due to a RESTORATION process? How the heck did that work? If something was getting restored, why on earth would it be lost? One thing was for sure about this Yen Sid fellow, at least in Sora's mind, and that was that he was sure puzzling. Couldn't he just speak without leaving stuff in the mist?

"Wait a minute," Sora objected. "How could I lose memories by having them restored? And, what's Organization XIII?"

"The answer to your first question will come to you in due time, my boy," answered Yen Sid, keeping a calm expression. "But, I can and will tell you about Organization XIII. You see, the members of this organization are beings called nobodies. In other words, they are incomplete people seeking to be whole. The smaller white creatures are also nobodies, though much weaker.

Nobodies are created when one becomes a heartless. The body and soul of the person whose heart erodes with darkness take their own form and lives on their own as an independent creature. Those with the strongest hearts retain their human form. Said nobodies are the Organization members."

So, these nobodies were the remains of people who have changed into heartless… and they wanted to be complete? That made sense, sorta. The question that lingered in Sora's mind, though, was what did this Organization plan to be complete, and what lengths they would go to achieve their goal. Luckily, it seemed that this Yen Sid would be able to answer all his questions. But, for a moment, the spiky haired Keybearer looked back at his two companions, who appeared to be silent and still.

"Um… guys?" he whispered, only to get weird stares from the large fowl and canine.

"Shh!" Donald growled. "This is master Yen Sid! You have to respect him!"

Sora's response to his fowl friend was a simple shrug accompanied by a sigh. How was he supposed to know about this man's status when this was his first visit to the castle? The least Donald could do was be a little less aggressive with his response. Nonetheless, it seemed that this sorcerer had some reputation, and he seemed to know a lot too. Maybe HE could explain Sora's Roxas dream that he had!

"Umm, excuse me," whispered the fifteen year old. "But, I was wondering if you could explain something. You see, on the way here, I fainted all of the sudden, but while I was out, I had this weird dream about someone named Roxas. It seemed so… real. TOO real to be just a dream."

At first Yen Sid remained silent. Perhaps he was in deep thought. Either way, poor, eager Sora was becoming impatient, and he was even being a tad fidgety. Something deep inside was just telling him over and over that his dream was incredibly important. Luckily, though, the sorcerer finally budged from his position and prepared to answer his question, but… it wasn't exactly the answer Sora had been hoping for.

"Your dream has more meaning than you think," explained the magical man. "As for what that meaning is, you will have to uncover that on your own."

KERSPLAT! There went any hopes of a true explanation. Ok, he said that the dream had meaning, but WHAT? Sora had hoped for at LEAST a bit of info on Roxas and why he had the dream. On the other hand, at least this was proof that the dream wasn't just something of Sora's imagination. That was a plus, for sure. It was still a shame that the master magician hadn't explained at least a LITTLE more, though.

After his little explanation had been completed, Yen Sid finally made his way down from the balcony. With each step, it seemed that the floor lit up. Once again a strange melody played until the sorcerer had gotten down to the floor below. All at once, Donald and Goofy got down on their knees. Sora, on the other hand stayed in his place, since he still did not know much of the man and his rep. Of course, due to his 'lack of respect', the boy got even MORE weird glares, at least, from Donald.

Upon seeing the oversized bird's angry looking visage, the Keybearer decided it was best to do as his two friends were doing and bow. Besides, Donald the hothead had already been ticked off enough times for today. The unusual thing, though, was that either way, Yen Sid didn't seem to care. But still, if he had to show some respect for the man dressed in blue, Sora would do so.

"Now that I have given an explanation," continued the sorcerer, "I think it is about time you three headed out. I have already prepared a Gummi Ship for you, by your King's request. Just remember no matter how grim and dark things may seem, there is always a greater light within."

With that said and done, Yen Sid motioned the trio to follow him up to the top of the balcony. No objections were made, either, as Sora, Donald, and Goofy found themselves marching behind the master of magic. Just as before, the strange melody played whenever Yen Sid took a step, and the ground flashed beneath his feet. The only one to look back was Sora, who noticed that as they went upwards, the brooms had gone back to their mindless march with their water buckets.

The walk to the top of the balcony was over rather quick. Then again, it wasn't very high up in the first place. Even when Sora and company had safely reached the top, though, their walk wasn't over. Nope, it had seemed that master Yen Sid was planning on leading the threesome into the next room, which probably meant having to venture into yet another dark hallway.

SWOOSH! Simply by flicking his wrist, Yen Sid had opened the door to the second hallway with little effort. Unlike the previous hall, this one was actually lit, though it still appeared to lack any foundation. Instead, the surrounding area was simply made up of a colorful aura that never ended. The ground itself twisted and turned in many directions, making the walk a wild ride of sorts. For the master of the castle, this was nothing major, but the three heroes who were not quite used to the place seemed to be rather dizzy as they turned every few steps.

I don't get how someone could live in a place like this, Sora thought to himself. It's so… twisty…

Unknown to the spiky haired teenager, the look on his own face was that of someone who looked like they were about to barf. The way he was trotting also made him appear to be somewhat sick with dizziness. Being the more concerned of Sora's friends, Goofy caught the fifteen year old looking woozy and immediately questioned him.

"Somethin' wrong, Sora?" asked Sora's goofy companion.

"It's nothing, really," groaned Sora in response.

"If you say so…"

For the next few minutes, that was the last thing said. Yen Sid remained silent as a mouse, as he was intent on leading Sora and his friends to the Gummi Ship. Then there was Sora himself, who was not only woozy, but also caught up in his own thoughts. Lastly, Donald and Goofy just didn't have much to say at the moment, and they wanted to give Yen Sid an overdose of respect, as usual. So, all in all, the walk through the hall was a rather slow and quiet one.

Around five minutes or so passed until the group had finally reached the next room. This time, instead of being a whimsical place with dancing brooms and a strange melody, this room was rather bland. There was simply room for Gummi ships to pass and go, but other than that, it had appeared that the room had no other purpose. The walls seemed to have torn up wallpaper that was worn from age and a few small machines lining them.

Yen Sid led the trio into the center of the room before he stopped. Slowly, the sorcerer reached for the door of the Gummi ship and pulled it open. It was now obvious that the Keybearer and his anthromorphic friends would soon be departing from this world and off towards the next one.

"Here is your ship," explained the magical master of the castle. "Now, as you journey, you will find that even with the worlds spread apart, their bonds remain ever strong. Good luck on your adventure."

Well, now it appeared that Sora, Donald, and Goofy would finally be departing from this bizarre world and truly beginning their journey. Yen Sid had helped greatly, for sure, even if he hadn't fully explained everything. Now the threesome knew all about Organization XIII, and due to this, they would be fully aware while battling the heartless and any other enemies. Sure, a few things were unclear, but eventually those holes would fill in too, right?

Anyway, with their new Gummi Ship ready, Sora, Donald, and Goofy prepared to depart. Before doing so, though, they gave their final farewells to the sorcerer.

"See ya, master Yen Sid! A-hyuck!" giggled Goofy, waving with glee.

"Yeah! Thanks for the help!" added Sora with a smirk.

"Goodbye!" quacked the poultry mage known as Donald. "Sorry about Sora!"

With their final farewells said, Sora and company prepared to depart from the castle. SLAM! The Gummi ship door was shut immediately, while the engines were revved up. In just a matter of moments, the ship was ready to shoot off through space. On the inside, this Gummi was far more advanced than the ship that had been used on the Keybearer's last adventure. Not only was it larger in size, but the whole décor and technology was far more spiffy. Truly it would prove to be much more maneuverable than the last Gummi as well. Then again, there was only one way to find out…

CRINK! Without much hesitation, Donald began to pull some levers in the cockpit, while Goofy handled a few buttons. This ship was going to be blasting off in just a few seconds! While the poultry mage and dorky canine worked on starting up the engines, Sora sat in the driver's position. Even though he was only fifteen, he had learned how to steer the Gummi ship quite well, meaning that his two friends didn't have much to fret about as far as a safe ride went. Now, once all the buttons and other stuff had been attended to, the ship itself had begun to lift itself off of the ground. Yen Sid had already prepared an exit, so the Gummi wouldn't end up crashing into any walls.

So, now that everything was taken care of, it was time for the vehicle to zoom off! VROOM! The engines were revving up, as the ship started to move forward. At first the pace was somewhat slow, but as soon as it reached the exit, the bloody machine began to accelerate almost as fast as you could say Organization XIII. Soon, the Gummi was well out of the launch room and leaving Yen Sid's castle in its tracks. As the ship became a measly speck in the sky, the sorcerer himself wore a slightly maniacal grin.

"Fools."

XxXxXxXxxXXxxXxxxxXXxxXxXxXxXxX

Riku slowly made his way through the strange city, not even caring about the rain pouring down onto his dark cloak. His hair was now a soggy mess, with his bangs sticking to his skin, while the cloak he wore had grown damp and heavy. Right now none of that mattered, though. The important thing to the sixteen year old right now was finding a certain tavern in the middle of this bizarre place.

Due to the rainstorm, it was incredibly difficult for Riku to see where he was going. The surrounding buildings simply appeared as blurs of sorts with only their dim lights standing out through the countless droplets of rain. On the plus side, however, there did not seem to be much excitement going on right now, which meant that he could find this place with little trouble. At least, that's what the silver haired teen was hoping. For all he knew, though, such hopes were, well… hopeless, since in a dark and gritty town, who knows what kind of creeps could show their faces?

Brushing the bangs out of his face, Riku could faintly see a small building in the distance. There was some sort of sign lit up at the top, but it was very hard to see from first glance. With a slight sigh, he decided to squint while staring up at the sign. It read like so…

The Golden Chocobo: Open 24 hours

Carefully, Riku pulled out a slip of paper. On it was a note telling him to come to… the Golden Chocobo! So, this WAS the place. What a relief. After walking out in the middle of a storm for so gosh darn long, the silver haired teen could FINALLY get to his important business. So, tucking the paper back into his cloak, Riku ambled towards the Golden Chocobo, hoping to get things over with as quick as possible. However, he did not expect to be greeted by a certain talking cat known as Cait Sith.

"Hey, you!" hollered an obnoxious voice from inside the door of the tavern.

Riku stopped dead in his tracks. Right when he was about to hurry up with something incredibly quick and simple, some weirdo had to stop him. Heaving a heavy sigh, he turned around and faced the stranger. To his surprise, he was standing before a strange black cat who was wearing a crown upon his head, a red cape, and a pair of boots and gloves. If that wasn't strange enough, this cat was planted atop a huge pink plush moogle.

"What do you want?" Riku groaned, slowly trying to slip past the feline.

"Well," replied the cat, "I just noticed you around town and figured that perhaps you would like your fortune told? After all, strapping young boys like you could always use some knowledge of the future! Whoo!"

"Umm… no thanks."

Quickly, Riku tried to avoid Cait Sith and make his way farther into the tavern. Unfortunately, the talking feline wouldn't give up that easily. He was determined to con Riku into some cash while delivering his fortune telling 'skills'. It had worked with other people, so why not try it one just another kid?

"Wait, you don't know what you're missing!" shouted Cait Sith, forcing his Moogle mount to scamper behind Riku. "Don't you want to know if you get that girl of your dreams, or maybe that sexy car? Please! Just give me a chance!"

Great… this guy wouldn't give up, would he? At the moment, he was getting on Riku's nerves. Fortunes were the least of his cares right now, and no cheapskate feline would change that. On the other hand, Cait Sith didn't appear to be leaving the sixteen year old alone. What a predicament.

"Alright already!" snarled Riku with annoyance. "If you can tell the future, tell me… when will you SHUT UP!"

"Uh… I don't believe that counts… H-HEY!"

Riku's snappy statement had been the perfect way to sneak on past the pesky little cat and his giant plush toy. Immediately after he had said the little insult, the teen had rushed off into the main area of the tavern, leaving poor Cait Sith to wait for another person to annoy. That wasn't any of Riku's concern, though, since he had come to the Golden Chocobo for a reason. And, now that he was in the main area, he just had to wait for a certain acquaintance of his.

During the moment that Riku stood alone in the Golden Chocobo, he received many strange looks from the people near by. Were his looks really that strange? Sure dark skin and pure yellow eyes aren't exactly common, but, that had to be nothing compared to an obnoxious talking feline! On the other hand, in his current state, Riku DID appear to look a tad evil. The black cloak didn't help, either.

Maybe taking the hood off wasn't such a good idea, he thought to himself. Oh well…

Suddenly, a sound of footsteps could be heard from behind the silver haired sixteen year old. Whoever it was, they were hopefully not that idiotic cat again. The little pest was already hard enough to deal with once, and Riku sure didn't want to bump into him a second time. Luckily for the arrogant teenager, it was not Cait Sith, but instead, the very being he had been hoping to see.

"Riku?" squeaked a high pitched voice.

Finally…

Quickly, Riku turned to face the one who had spoken to him. Of course, it was King Mickey, who hadn't changed a bit since the last time the two had met. He still had that cheerful smile, huge, round ears, and all the other stuff that made the mouse king stand out, but instead of wearing his typical clothes, the mouse was covered in a black cloak almost identical to Riku's, just… at a smaller scale.

"I was wondering when you were going to get here," sighed the sixteen year old. "Anyway, how is Sora?"

Mickey's first response was that of a high pitched giggle. Plainly, the king was never one to be in a bad mood unless things truly were terrible. Instead, he was always there to brighten spirits and all that happy stuff you'd expect from such a character.

"Sora's doing just fine," replied the oversized mouse. "I informed my former master Yen Sid about him, so pretty soon he should be heading off on his journey again."

"What about his nobody?"

"Hmm. Well, I don't know," said the king with a shrug. "But, I don't think it really matters too much. Knowing Sora, he should be just fine on his own."

"Alright. So, is there anything else you wanted to tell me?"

The King said nothing, but instead he reached into his cloak to grab something. In his hand was a note. Instantly, the mouse handed the note over to Riku, who looked it over in confusion.

Elituf si ti

Sruo eb lliw straeh modgnik

Straeh sesealer edalbyek eht

Sseltraeh syals ti emit yreve

Su gnipleh ylno era saxor dna aros

Pu evig

- XIII noitazinagro

"It looks like gibberish to me…" Riku said, scratching his head. "Thanks, though. I just wonder what it means."

"It shouldn't be too hard to find out, Riku," replied the mouse king. "You just have to look at the note from a different direction. Anyway, I'd better get going."

Riku quietly nodded towards Mickey, as the mouse scampered off to who-knows-where. His appearance may have been short, but at least he had brought good news, as far as Sora went, and of course, the strange note. The King had mentioned reading the note in a different direction or something. But, what exactly was that supposed to mean?

Elsewhere

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"Ok, so maybe the kid wasn't THAT big of a dud, but, still. I've seen better Keybearers."

Back in the World that Never was, the remaining Organization XIII members were having yet another meeting. By now, Xigbar had returned with the results of his little 'test' that he had done to Sora back in Twilight town. Plainly, Sora had exceeded expectations for Xigbar as far as fighting skills went; but still, the free shooter wasn't swayed yet.

"Well, does it matter?" replied Xemnas, crossing his arms. "The boy wields a keyblade, and as long as he does, he will be able to help us build Kingdom Hearts. The same thing can be said for Roxas."

"Yeah, well, we should still be careful. I say that we have a bit of fun with our traitor, anyway.

"Fun with the traitor". Just what was Xigbar plotting now? Hadn't he had enough 'fun' with Sora? Then again, the Organization was very deeply involved with their goal, and simple tests were always good. Xiggy's suggestion did seem to be decent enough in Xemnas' eyes, though, as the Superior found himself glaring at one of the younger members, one who was mainly disliked: Demyx.

"Very well, Xigbar. But, you mustn't forget that the reason why Roxas was even recruited was because of his strength," explained Xemnas, keeping a calm tone of voice. "If we are going to mess with the traitor, we should send someone… unimportant. Right, Demyx?

Demyx always WAS chosen to carry out tasks that were too risky for the other members. This was mostly because there was no sympathy in the Organization, and pests like Demyx were the best to put at stake. If he had the gut to stand up for himself, the Melodious Nocturne may have become a traitor too, but the fact is: he was a coward.

"What!" squeaked the music obsessed nobody. "Why do I have to mess with the kid? Send Saix! He's a party pooper, anyway!"

"You'd best do what your Superior commands, kiddo," sneered Xigbar in response to Demyx's little objection.

"Um… yes, sir…"

End of Chapter

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AN: Hooray for more cliffies. XD And, if you didn't guess, the note is written backwards. Riku will figure that out soon, but not right after he reads it, sillies! Now, for my next chapter, I think I'll have fun with Roxas instead of Riku. The little blondey needs some action too!

Next chappy in KHII: DD: As Sora and the gang travel through space, they find that getting from world to world won't be as easy as it was the first time around. But, before they can truly start an adventure, they must first take a pit stop at Disney Castle, where they gat all their cool traveling stuff. And FINALLY Sora gets his new get up. But, as they leave the castle, a horrible chain reaction occurs, sending them into a world that is black and white. Meanwhile, Roxas has found himself in the middle of yet another random world: this time, we see him in the Underworld. -creepy music plays-

So, yeah. I have um… different plans for Timeless River. Anyway, hope ya enjoyed this chappy! And, don't forget to press the purple button!