Phew! Sorry it took so long to post... I don't post a chapter of this until I have the NEXT chapter written, and the chapter after this one gave me some trouble. But fret not! I have NO intention of abandoning this story!

Disney and Square Enix own Kingdom Hearts not me.

It is with great pleasure that I present you... Ember's adventure in the Dwarf Woodlands.

Ember closed her eyes behind her faceplate and tightened her grip slightly on her Rider. The Worlds were spiraling out of balance; and she didn't know how to stop it. A sick feeling was growing in her chest, her Heart seemed to be aching over something that hadn't happened yet.

Another World appeared in her line of sight and she took a deep breath before heading towards it. She landed in a forest and banished both her Keyblade and Armor. It was… strangely quiet here. Ember wandered idly, not really looking for anything, but still on her guard. She soon came to a small cottage, a young woman with inky black hair was hanging some clothes out to dry. Ember's eyes widened, what were the chances of running into two people with hearts that full of Light?

"Oh, Hello!" the woman turned around and smiled sweetly at Ember. "Who are you?"

"I'm Ember, and you?"

"My name is Snow White." She pauses for a moment, then "Oh! You're one of Ven's friends?"

Ember straightened quickly. "You know Ven?"

"Oh, yes." Snow agreed. "He was such a big help to me when I was lost in the woods."

Ember smiled, "Yeah, that sounds like Ven. Do you know if he's still around?"

"I'm sorry, but he left a little while ago."

Ember sighed, typical. "Oh, well. I'm sure I'll run into him at some point."

"Would you like to come in?" Snow asked.

Just as Ember was about to respond, a voice interrupted her. "Hey! You! Git away from her!" Ember spun around, only barely managing to avoid summoning her Keyblade at the angry voice. Seven small men - dwarves - stood not far, several of them wielding pickaxes. The speaker was dressed in faded red and wearing a scowl. "You one of the Queen's spies? Come to hurt our Princess?"

"Oh no!" Snow interjected, "Ember is a friend of Ven's. She won't hurt me."

"How can you be sure, Snow?" another of the men asked.

"I swear, I don't know anything about any 'Queen'. Who is she?"

"She's the Evil Queen. She tried to kill Snow." Yawn. "All because Snow is prettier than she is." Yet another of the men answered, lowering his weapon.

Ember snorted. "That's a stupid reason to hate someone."

Snow soon ushered everyone inside and served soup, completely ignoring Ember's protests that she didn't want to intrude. The Dwarves - introduced as Happy, Sleepy, Grumpy, Doc, Dopey, Bashful, and Sneezy - told the Keybearer the whole story of how Snow White had come to live with them. Ember was intrigued by the whole thing, as well as the fact that both Terra and Ven had beaten her here, and had already left.

"It's getting late." Snow commented, looking out the window.

"Then I should be going, thank you for dinner." Ember made to stand, only to be stopped by a pale hand.

"Oh no. You will stay here tonight."

And that was that.

The next morning Ember helped Snow make breakfast for the Dwarves and then watched amusedly as she bade them goodbye.

"Now remember," Grumpy scolded, "don' you let anyone in the house, y'hear?" Snow promised she would be careful, and then the Dwarves left for work.

"I'm going to look around, alright Snow?" Ember had been feeling uneasy lately and couldn't decide if she wanted there to be any problems or not. Because on the one hand, the Unversed were an incredibly good way to work out her aggression, and on the other, Unversed in the area would mean Snow and the Dwarves could be in danger.

"Have fun!" The Princess encouraged, heading back into the cottage.

The immediate area surrounding the cottage was clear; Ven probably wiped them out earlier. A little farther out though she ran into a swarm of Unversed, mostly Floods, but there were a good number of Bruisers and Scrappers along with the occasional Hareraiser. "Alright then. Misplaced aggression it is."

If she was honest with herself; she rather enjoyed the strain of battle. "Gather!" She called, using Magnet to pull a bunch of Floods into the air, then beat them into oblivion. Just because she could. Jumping backwards, Ember activated her Shotlock, Pyro Spark, she locked on fifteen times, the maximum this particular attack has, and released a wave of small orbs of fire that destroyed the last of the Unversed she was fighting.

As she finished gathering the munny and items dropped from the creatures, she noticed an old woman making her way through the trees. "What's that all about?" the fire-mage muttered, her instincts telling her to follow.

And follow she did, right to the Dwarves Cottage. She got there in time to see Snow assisting the black-clad woman into the house; a sick feeling rose in her chest. "Snow!" Unversed appeared in her way, confirming her fears.

"I don't have time for this!" She snarled, launching into the battle, she used mostly Fire and Thunder based spells. Soon, with a sound reminiscent of the sound barrier breaking, she went into her Command Style, Supernova; an orange and yellow aura appeared around her and she moved almost as a blur, leaving plasma explosions in her wake. The battle was brief, but it was long enough.

Ember ran into the house just in time to watch Snow White collapse, an apple rolling from her hand.

"Now I'll be Fairest in the Land!" What was once a Queen gloated.

"Fairest, huh?" Ember quipped, falling into her battle stance - her feet shoulder width apart, left foot slightly forward, her Keyblade on an upwards angle across her body and her right hand in a fist by her side. "All I see is a jealous hag."

The first attack threw Ember back outside and she sat up rubbing her chest. "Ow. Alright then, we'll play that way." She flipped to her feet just in time to dodge the second attack, then returned fire with a barrage of ice. "Blizzard!" A few more spells and she was able to get in close enough for some good old-fashioned hacking and slashing. The hag fell back from the attack, then summoned a bolt of lightning that Ember didn't quite manage to dodge. "Okay… ow…" she cast Cure, making the pain fade and some of her strength return. Dodging the next attack, she moved back into the battle.

Ember lost track of time. All she really noticed was the witch in front of her and the fact that their surroundings had changed slightly. A Dark aura appeared around the woman and the next time Ember moved in for a physical attack her Keyblade glanced off. Backflipping away, Ember pulled out her Wayfinder. "Terra!" A flood of raw power entered her and she charged again, this time with her friend's sheer strength to back her up. She broke through the shield around her opponent and threw her nearly twenty feet away.

She fired off some Firagas as she moved closer, then activated Landbreaker: Terra's finisher. As the rocks of Landbreaker faded away, the combatants realized they were at the edge of a cliff. The ground crumbled beneath the Evil Queen and she fell, screaming into the ravine.

Breathing hard, Ember pulled an elixir from her belt and drank it. "I guess even the most beautiful appearance can't hide an evil Heart for long." She then turned away and ran back towards the Dwarves Cottage, she had to see if Snow was alright.

When she got there the dwarves were all crying. "We can't wake her up!" Bashful mourned. "We've tried everything…"

Ember laid a hand on the Princess' forehead, then summoned her Keyblade. "Cure." A flower bloomed momentarily over the sleeping girl, but nothing else changed. "Sorry." She whispered, a single tear escaping to fall down her cheek. "I can't help her." She knelt down and brought her ear close to Snow's heart, a few moments later she sat up. "She's still alive. Just trapped in some sort of sleep. Maybe… if she's given enough reason to she will wake up..." She trailed off, not sure why the words meant so much to her.

"We'll keep her safe until she does wake up." Grumpy stated, no room for argument in his tone, even though no one was going to argue with that sentiment.

Ember stepped away. "I need to be going." The dwarves looked at her, vague understanding in their eyes. "Just keep believing in her, and she'll be okay." She turned and walked away. "Someday."

"Ember! Wait!" Ember turned to see Doc running up to her. "We wanted to gift a give - I mean, give a gift - to ya. To thank you for your help." He handed her a ruby sphere about half the size of her fist.

"Thank you." The man nodded and ran back to the others. Ember opened her palm and stared at the gem, written in gold was the name, Treasure Trove. "Another Keyblade, another world.

Another World down! Woo-hoo!

Ugh. Radiant Garden is giving me fits! Grr...

Next Chapter: Enchanted Dominion