Hey there, another chapter is ready to go. As a reminder, spoken dialogue is ", thoughts are ', and _ will indicate change in point of view, or lapse in time.

Disclaimer: Dissidia: Final Fantasy, the Kingdom Hearts series, and Dissidia 012 Duodecim: Final Fantasy were created by Squaresoft.

Chapter III: An Unexpected Journey-Part 1

Aqua and Ventus arranged a basic training session for Serenia and Tyler, Sora watched over the proceedings as his daughter was listening to Aqua's instructions"Basically, you'll be staying here a couple days at a time, Serenia. My teacher let me, Ven and Terra live here for our training".

"I can handle it, I really want to become a Keyblade Master like my father, is that a problem?" inquired the young red head.

Aqua shook her head"No, but it takes great commitment to train almost every day. Now, why don't you and Tyler pair up for this exercise? The two of you will show me your skill with your wooden blades, this practice duel will end when one of you gets too tired, or you tap your oppenent very lightly."

The two teens walked to the center of the chamber. Sora, Aqua, Kairi and Ventus watched as Serenia and Tyler faced each other. The dark blue haired teen spoke"Hey, no hard feelings if one of us loses, okay?"

"Same to you" said Serenia.

The two took out their training weapons. The sparring session lasted for five minutes as Serenia and Tyler parried and lightly swung at each other. Tyler began to hold back, only to have his practice sword knocked out of his hand, the small red head was confused"Why did you hold back, Tyler?"

The male student shrugged"I just didn't have the nerve to hit a girl."

"If you don't go all out, how will you learn?" sighed Ventus.

Aqua interjected"You're both pretty good, but not all of our sessions will involve using your keyblade. Serenia, you and Tyler have the potential to make it as true Keyblade Masters, I expect nothing more then your best. Now, Serenia, do you know how to use restoractive magic? I'm afraid you nicked Tyler in the wrist."

The red haired pupil flushed, then remembered the basic curactive magic lessions she'd learned from Sora. Serenia focused, then cast cure on her classmate, healing a small bruise she had caused. Sora watched the whole thing, then addressed Aqua"Well, Cid should be back with the Ragnarok II bu now, how was it?"

Aqua replied"It was all I could think of for the entry test. Anyway, without a keyblade, Serenia won't get much of an education. Tyler inherited the Bright Crest blade, which chose him shortly after Ven performed the ceremony for him. Sora, do you have an extra key?"

Sora thought for a moment, then addressed Kairi"We still have the Oathkeeper, right?"

"Yeah, but I'm not sure Serenia is old enough to have a Keyblade of her own" sighed Kairi.

The younger red head piped up"I'll try to be careful with it. But how exactly do Keyblade Masters get their first Keyblade?"

Aqua replied"Good question, Ven already had his when he studied under two different Keyblade Masters, each at a different point in life. Some I believe inherited their keyblades from previous masters, other occasions are where the keyblade chose it's wielder. We all know that a Keyblade can choose who it wants to belong to, so the latter happened more often then the former."

Sora summoned the Oathkeeper Keyblade and motioned to Serenia"You ready for this? The ceremony I'm about to do is just a recommendation to the key from what Riku and I discovered, that was part of the reason the Kingdom Key chose me and not him. Serenia, will you accept it, even though it won't necessarily guarantee that you'll be able to wield the keyblade?"

Serenia nodded, then walked closer to her father. The brown haired man knelt and held the keyblade out, Aqua had helped Sora learn how to properly do the ceremony during a prior visit for future reference. Sora instructed the small teenage girl"In your hand, take this key. So long as you have the makings, then through this simple act of taking... its wielder you shall one day be."

As Serenia placed her hand on the Oathkeeper's handle, her father smiled"You're really growing up fast, Serenia. I'd say I've rubbed off on you."

Serenia giggled as she released her hold on the Oathkeeper"So you noticed."

Just then, Cid entered the room"Sorry to keep you, we're ready to go when you are, Sora."

Sora nodded, then he and Kairi turned to Aqua. The blue haired Keyblade Master spoke"I'll be happy to look after Serenia if you need me to."

"We're going to be pretty busy, I'll tell my mother that Serenia is staying here" said the brunette hero.

"Can't I come?" inquired Serenia.

Sora shook his head, but put a hand on her shoulder"It might be too dangerous at your age, but maybe when you're older we'll go on an adventure together. I will leave the Oathkeeper here, you'll be in safe hands."

The two hugged, then parted as Kairi addressed her daughter"Be good for Aqua, okay Serenia? Roxas and Xion will also be here."

"I promise, mom" said the younger red head. Kairi smiled and hugged her daughter briefly.

As Sora and Kairi left with Cid, Aqua turned to Serenia"There aren't that many rooms in this castle, so would you be okay sharing one with Tyler? I hope you'll become good friends."

Serenia nodded, then said"Yes, Master Aqua."

The two kids were led by their teacher to one of the rooms in the Land of Departure's castle, Aqua addressed them"This is where you'll be staying together. Whenever you need to change clothes, one of you will need to wait outside while the other changes. I will have a sleeping bag sent in tonight."

"Thanks, but when are we going to learn something new?" inquired Serenia.

Aqua replied"Tomorrow, perhaps. I've seen your skill in the keyblade so far, you're as bright as your parents, Serenia. Would you like to join me, Ven, Roxas and Xion for lunch this afternoon?"

"Sure" beamed Serenia.

Sora and Kairi took off in the Ragnarok II and flew to the Disney Castle. Sora addressed Kairi"I just realized, shouldn't we take you back to Radiant Garden?"

"It's okay, Leon and the others can handle the everyday stuff" his wife replied.

When they landed at the grounds, Sora was greeted by a familiar duck mage and dog knight.

"Hey there, Sora" smiled the dog humanoid.

"Donald, Goofy, it's great to see you again" said Sora.

"How's your kiddo?" inquired Goofy.

Sora replied"Serenia's doing fine, she's starting her training at the Land of Departure."

Goofy smiled"Ya' must be mighty proud."

Sora responded"I didn't want to leave her behind, but we got word that the worlds are in trouble again."

"If it's Heartless or Nobodies, we can take 'em. King Mickey had a bad feeling about something yesterday and contacted Riku" said Goofy.

"He's here already?" gasped Kairi.

Donald replied"You bet, the gang's getting together again. Riku came here by the king's Gummi Ship with Mickey."

The friends walked through the grounds and into the castle. They made their way to the throne room where King Mickey, Queen Minnie and Riku were waiting.

"Hello, Sora" smiled the king of Disney Castle.

Sora beamed"King Mickey, it's nice to see you. Hey Riku, how are things at the islands?"

"Same as ever" replied the silver haired Keyblade Master.

Sora addressed Mickey"Did you hear the news?"

Mickey shrugged"Trouble's brewing somewhere, Master Yen Sid contacted me telepathically. The stars apparently told him that an unknown force is bent on upsetting the balance between darkness and light, what's more is that it's the work of an ancient soul from the past."

Sora replied"The Deity of Harmony, Cosmos told me a bit about it. The culprit's name is Sanhille, but we don't know what he's after besides something called the Stone of Secrets."

"Oh no!" squeaked a voice as two chimpmunks entered the throne room.

"What's wrong, Chip?" Minnie addressed one of the chipmunks.

Chip replied"The sky's gone all wierdish, it really scared the daylights out of me and Dale!"

Sora interjected"Let's go check it out."

The group rushed out of the throne room to find a silvery light piercing the center of the courtyard. What was worse, several Samurai Nobodies appeared. Sora summoned his Kingdom Keyblade"Think you can win?"

The Samurai Nobodies lunged at the group. Riku took down two, while Sora and Mickey dueled two more Samurais. Donald held another Samurai at bay while Goofy tossed his shield at it. As they wiped out the Nobodies, the pillar of light spread to the sky, Sora was astonished"Is this part of the Apocalype?"

"I'll open the chamber to the Hall of the Cornerstone, the Cornerstone's power should hold that encroaching light back" said Minnie.

"Take me with you" said Riku.

As Minnie and Riku rushed back into the castle, Sora fought off a group of Shadow Heartless which suddenly appeared. A group of Darkballs appeared in their place, which Sora took out with an expert Rising Sun technique.

"What's taking Riku so long?" sighed Donald as he kept his allies on their feet with his magic.

"Let's just hope we can stop the flow of heartless" replied Goofy.

The skirmish lasted for what seemed ages, Riku and Minnie had run into trouble in the castle with some powerful Heartless. But Sora and his group were beginning to tire as they now fought Defender Heartless and a group of Dragoon Nobodies, even though they did their best to fight back.

Sora sighed"I could take on a thousand heartless any day, but this is ridiculous!"

Just then, as a defender Hearless stomped towards Sora, it disappeared as something smashed it in the neck. The rest of the heartless were obliterated by magic, as light emerged from Disney Castle. When the dust settled, Kairi and Sora saw a mysterious light brown haired warrior standing there, accompanied by two more people.

Sora gasped"Thanks, but who are you?"

"I'm Noel Kreiss" said the warrior.

"Sora, It's me, Serah Farron" interjected one of the other two people.

"Serah? How did you get here?" said the brunette Keyblade Master.

"I brought them here" said the third, but familliar newcomer, who had blond hair.

"Vaan! How've you been?" said Kairi, recognizing the man.

The Sky pirate grinned"I saw that weird light emmiting in the Lanes Between, so I came here. I picked up Noel and Serah, who are looking for Lightning."

"Lightning's missing?" gasped Sora.

Vaan shook his head"Not exactly, Terra is still with her as far as I know, they probably had some trouble they they needed to take care of. Penelo and Laguna were also picked up, they're in my ship, which is back in the hanger. It malfunctioned from that strange light, though."

"Well, any friend of Sora's is welcome here. Would you like to stay with us?" chirped Mickey.

"Thank" said Vaan, heading back to his ship to let the rest of his party know.

Sora sighed as he thought about revent events'Is that what Cosmos warned me about?'

Kairi put an arm around him"I guess we're now on, huh?"

"You bet" said Sora.

Mickey shrugged"Well, let's take a breather in the castle and discuss our strategy."

At the Land of Departure, Serenia and Tyler spent three days training under Aqua and Ventus's tutelege. Serenia learned a variety of basic spells, while Tyler learned some of his father's wind-based techniques.

One night, Serenia was having a strange dream. In the dream, she saw flashbacks of a man with violet hair, flecked with white. In another part of the dream, she saw Terra, Aqua, Ventus and many others warring in the background against a horde of monsters of unknown origin.

At the dream's end, she saw herself, Sora, and several others facing the monstrous form of some unknown armored figure, a flash of light emmited from it. The dream shot her awake, she was in a bed in one of the castle's rooms, while Tyler was resting in a sleeping bag nearby.

The red head frowned'That was bizarre, I wonder if- Father! He could be in danger!'

As she got up, Serenia walked over to Tyler and shook him"Hey, wake up."

"What's wrong?" yawned the blue haired boy.

Serenia replied"It's important, I had a strange dream. We gotta go, I fear the worst for my parents."

Tyler stood up"You're not thinking of going out are you? We're only apprentices, you know. If we get caught sneaking out, we might get punished. Besides, this is Sora we're talking about, I heard he's a great warrior."

"I know, but I have to do something. A man who I never even saw before has appeared in my dream, I fear that he might be after everyone" said Serenia.

Tyler relented"All right, but the Oathkeeper is kept in the master room. We might get caught, but we can try sneaking there."

Serenia sighed"Well, here we go."

The two went out into the hallway and went left umtil they came to a closed door. Tyler whispered to his friend"I'll open the door as quietly as I can."

The male student opened it slowly, the pair snuck into the room where they saw something encased on a nearby table. Suddenly, a voice whispered behind the pair"Hey, just because you're Aqua's students dosen't give you the right to just roam the place before morning, got it memorized?"

Serenia spun around"Lea?"

The spikey haired red head smirked"Surprised? I was assigned patrol duty for the night."

"Something wrong?" the light turned on, and Ventus stood there, yawning briefly.

Tyler looked sheepish"Um, hey dad. Serenia had a vision of some kind."

"What kind of vision?" frowned Aqua, who was now awake.

Serenia explained the dream to Aqua, who was perplexed"I sensed it, too. Sora might need more help then ever."

Tyler shrugged"So now what, mom? Am I grounded?"

"No, Tyler. But you two will remain here with us until we can rally the defense force. Serenia, try calling the keyblade your father left with your mental power, maybe it will accept you as it's owner" said Aqua.

Serenia focused as she outstretched her arm. When she opened them, the Oathkeeper Keyblade materialized in her hand. Ventus was astonished"Like father like daughter, it looks like you're in for something great."

"Really?" said the young red head.

Aqua replied"Maybe it's your destiny to become the Oathkeeper's new wielder, Serenia. Let's meet in the kitchen in an hour, we have a lot to do, and we can't just abandon your training."

Serenia turned to the right and swung it lightly, surprised at how light it seemed. Ventus smiled"You're becoming a true Keyblade Master now, Sora may be surprised."

My apologies for the cliffhanger, it was getting late. The next chapter will take place where this left off.

Anyway, please feel free to review.