ok this story is shit but ok im still gonna write it im gonna do work

every chapter is named after a song if u didnt notice

"Ven! What-What in the...hang on..." I put my hands on my knees as I tried to catch my breath, my legs burning and threatening to buckle. "you just...took off! Why?"

He looked surprised to see me, and I wasn't sure if it was because of my panting or because I followed him all the way from home to here. Wherever here was, anyway. It was just as colorful as the Land of Departure, so I didn't expect much difference— just that this world was a lot more green. As in, there was a lot more flowers and fields and grass, and I didn't see any houses or castles anywhere. I had finally stood to my height when he answered, "Cadence, I didn't know you followed me! I didn't even see you put on your armor—"

"Armor shmarmor!" I quickly cut him off, remembering not to let my corridor of darkness secret out, "I'm here, aren't I? But you didn't answer my question— why did you leave all of a sudden? You sure scared the Master and Aqua, not to mention me."

"I'm sorry," the kicked puppy look was too much, "it's just...something happened. I needed to to talk to Terra about something, but he just left without giving me a chance to talk to him."

I raised an eyebrow as we started walking side by side. "What happened?"

"There was this guy in a mask. He said that if Terra left, he wouldn't be the same person again. I had to ask him about it; I couldn't just sit there and listen to this guy say stupid stuff like that." He kicked a stray pebble from the ground as we walked, and I shoved my hands into the pockets of my skirt.

"A guy in a mask?" I knew I had to sound like I never heard of him, so I had to ask. Hopefully Vanitas didn't do anything too rash already. "I dunno, maybe you were just...seein' things, Ven."

"I did see him! He was in my room, and I don't know how he got there, but he left through a portal."

"What's his name?"

"He didn't say."

I chewed on my bottom lip. "We should be careful, then."

"We?" The blond's tone of voice changed then, and I could hear the hopeful smile in his voice. "You mean, you're coming with me?"

"You didn't think I would just let you run off by yourself, did you?" I laughed, punching his arm playfully. "It's not everyday I see you rebel."

We stopped walking once we came across a mine, or what looked like a mine. It seemed like a cave from the outside, but the several mining carts outside gave away that it was more. Carefully, we stepped inside, minding ourselves of the sharp shards poking out of the walls and the different pickaxes littered across the floor. The walls all shined and glittered with different jewels and gems, and I had to resist the urge to pluck a few for myself. As I wandered around the mine, I heard a voice suddenly call out, "Huh? Who are you?"

It sounded familiar, for some reason, and I looked to what seemed to be a shorter, smaller person, wearing a hat and small glasses perched on top of his rather comical nose. Huh, for a second, he sort of looked like—

"D-Doc!" I sputtered after rubbing my eyes a few times to make sure it was actually the cartoon character. The shock made me jump and I landed lightly on the ground, "You're—!"

"Diamond thieves!" Another dwarf, Grumpy, yelled as he spotted Ven and I, "Run, ya fools!"

The other dwarves, which were probably busy picking away at the walls, suddenly dropped their axes and scurried off to hide behind a few jagged rocks. Both Ven and I shared an embarrassed glance. Well, mine was embarrassed. I wonder if he heard me nearly scream. How in the world - or, worlds - were there the actual dwarves from Snow freaking White real? And if they're real, then that means that this whole world was Snow White's movie. That means Snow White is actually real! And the Evil Queen! I was getting dizzy from thinking about all of this, and I was pretty sure I almost threw up were it not for Ven speaking up.

"Um...sorry if we scared you," he offered, rubbing the back of his neck. "We just wanted to—"

"To steal our diamonds? Well, fat chance!" Grumpy yelled out angrily, shaking his fist.

"Hey, we're not thieves," I chimed in, "We're just looking for someone. He's dressed sorta like us, and is," I stood up and brushed some pebbles from my skirt, reaching up about a foot from my head, "about yay tall..."

Grumpy interrupted us again, "We haven't seen him! Now git!"

The blond and I shared an exasperated glance. Most of these guys weren't even angry, they were just scared of us— but Grumpy was the one answering for them. "Come on," I tried, taking a step towards them, "can you just, I don't know, come out here so we can actually see you? Well, Grumpy can stay behind, but the rest of you should come on out."

"It's a trap!" Guess who yelled that out. "Don't listen to 'em!"

I sighed before looking over at Ven with a raised eyebrow. "Should we just leave them here?"

"Nah," he replied, his keyblade flashing into his hand with a ray of light, "We'll just have to do this the hard way!"

"That's what I'm talking about." I laughed before making a swiping motion towards a cart full of jewels, pulling out a bright green color to mold into a bow and some arrows. "Let's get 'em!"

After a few hours of trying to get these dwarves to cooperate— which consisted of intense chasing and knocking them out of their mining carts— we finally had them all huddled together with scowls on their faces staring up at us. Well, their scowls were more cute than menacing, but it still was annoying to have them think of us as thieves. And Snow White was one of my favorite movies!

Which brought up another question: how in the worlds were we in the movie Snow White? At this point, it wasn't worth asking, since I had already been pulled from my average life, but it still threw me off. So the other worlds out there that Vanitas was telling me about were Disney worlds? I wasn't complaining one bit, I love Disney movies, even if they were far fetched. I wondered if we were going to meet every character from the movies, and if they were going to actually sing.

If they started singing, I don't think I could be able to hold myself back.

Back to the situation we had gotten ourselves into. Even after all the chasing and yelling and cursing, they still didn't believe that we weren't thieves.

"What kind of thieves would just waltz in and announce themselves?" I asked, crossing my arms over my chest.

"The kind who think they can trick us!" was Grumpy's response, turning his back on us to huff.

"Alright, we get it, we'll leave," Ven sighed, beginning to turn on his heel. "Come on, Cadence."

I rolled my eyes before turning to walk back towards the entrance of the mine, a small part of me growing excited now that I knew where we were. Before we stepped through the entrance, I turned around, "Wait, before we leave, do you guys know anywhere we can ask some other people?"

"Well, there's the Queen's castle just beyond the chorus - I mean, forest." Doc replied, and I almost laughed at his mix up.

"Queen's castle? As in, the evil- I mean, thanks!" Maybe it was better if I kept quiet about knowing these movies and what was going to happen. Of course I had heard of stuff like this, this is sort of like time traveling in the sense that I could possibly mess up one of the most beloved movies of all time... even if I was in it myself now. I figured I shouldn't do more damage and just keep quiet about knowing anything.

Ven was already walking towards the forest, and I jogged to catch up. "They said there was a castle up ahead."

The blond nodded, and before long we came across a small cottage— which I immediately recognized as the dwarves' cottage. It was even cuter in person! The doors and windows were so short that Ven and I had to crouch down to look into the house from the window. It looked just as dusty and dirty as before Snow White cleaned it up.

"This must be where those little men live," Ven's eyes shined with curiosity, "it's so small!"

"It's so cute!" I giggled, "but super dirty."

A high pitched scream made both of us jump out of our skin. We looked towards the entrance to the forest and dashed off immediately, and I had a feeling I knew who we were about to meet.

The forest was just as creepy as it was in the movie— tall trees hunched over you, branches like claws, and it really did feel as if they were looking at you. Now I knew why Snow White was so freaked out when she went into this forest, I was freaked out just walking through it with someone else. Luckily, Ventus wasn't that scared, by some amazing force, and lead us through the forest with ease. Pretty soon we reached clearing, and just as I suspected, there, shivering and terrified, was Snow White. The Snow White. She wasn't really one of my favorite Disney princesses, but I did like the movie and her overall story. While I didn't like her specifically, her happy ending was too cute for words. I'm a sucker for happy endings.

"What's wrong?" Ventus asked, concern written over his face.

"Those horrible trees— they tried to grab me," came her quivering reply, and I was reminded of how high her voice was. Another reason I wasn't a fan of Snow White.

He reached a hand out towards her, offering to help her up. "Aw, it's okay. You were probably just seeing things."

"It happens to all of us when we're scared, you know," I piped up, trying a half smile as she took Ven's offered hand.

She started to smile a slow but radiant smile, and my heart almost leaped out of my throat. This was way better than meeting a look-a-like princess at Disneyworld! She lightly dusted off her dress before replying, "Thank you. I feel quite better now! I'm sure I'll get along somehow," suddenly her smile was gone and replaced by a worried look, "but I still need a place to sleep at night. Do you two know anywhere that I might?"

"There was this cottage we came across just a while ago," I jerked a thumb back towards the direction we came, "you could crash there for a while."

Ven nodded, "Oh, she's Cadence, and my name's Ventus. Call me Ven for short!"

"Thank you Ven, Cadence," her brown eyes gave a bright shine, "my name's Snow White."

And with that we started on our way back through the forest. It was less scary now that Snow White was with us, since she gave off this sort of light— well, more of a radiance that kept the darkness of the trees at bay. I was reminded of the light that Xehanort was always talking about; could she have one of those hearts that are full of light?

"Woah!" I nearly tripped on my own feet when something suddenly popped out of the ground. It was a...monster? That was the only way I could describe them, seeing as they didn't look like any animals I've seen before. They were different colors and shapes and overall just looked a bit menacing, and I think most of that came from their expressions. Their eyes were a bright red color, and some looked to be angry, while others were sad, and others were happy. It was almost as if they were...emotions. But I didn't have time to think about them too much, I had to protect Snow White!

"Ven, what are these things?" I swiped a dark blue color from the ground below me and formed a bow and arrow quickly.

"I dunno!" he answered after slashing through one swiftly, "I've never seen 'em before!"

One by one I shot them down, with Ven's help, of course, while Snow White stayed behind us safely. I noticed the monsters would disappear into a cloud of black ink and seep into the ground before another popped up. No matter how many times I sent an arrow into one of their heads, another would just pop up to take its place! We started to focus on getting through the darker parts of the forest instead of getting rid of them all at once after a while, and pretty soon we got to a brighter part of the forest. They stopped popping up so frequently, and we were able to take a breather as we reached the end of the forest.

"Whatever they were, they weren't no pushovers," I said once the cottage was in sight.

"I wonder where they came from," the blonde mused aloud, "the Master never mentioned monsters before."

We forgot the topic of monsters once we reached the cottage. We stepped through first, and it was a tight fit, lemme tell you! I knew the dwarves were small, but I didn't think they were that small. At least we had enough room to stand up in.

It was empty, for the most part, save for the endless pile of dishes and dusty old chairs and furniture. After looking around a little, Ven turned to Snow, "Well, the coast's clear, no monster in sight. But we'll check around a bit just to be sure."

I followed him outside as Snow began to look through the cottage herself, and I knew this was the point in the movie where she fell asleep on the dwarves' beds. I couldn't believe we were the "forest animals" who helped her through the forest. As Ven and I checked in the area around the cottage, I started thinking about those monsters we fought earlier. I didn't plan on monsters popping up out of no where on this journey, but I guess that's what I should have expected when I left home. Vanitas didn't tell me of any monsters, either, which I think is weird— he usually gave me pointers on what to expect outside of the Land of Departure.

"Find anything?" I was snapped from my thoughts by Ven's question.

"Nope. That's a good thing, I guess."

"I wonder if Terra knows what those things were. You think he's in this world?"

"Can't say for sure. Those dwarves hadn't heard of him, but I'm sure they're not the only ones who live here. We should ask Snow White."

"Good idea!" For his sake, I hoped we would find Terra soon. I'd hate to see Ven upset— he was like the brother I never had.

Apparently we weren't the most alert when we were checking around the cottage. When we both returned to check on Snow White, the dwarves had already found her. They were crowded around her, asking question after question when they noticed us come in. Each glared, except for Dopey and Snow White, and grew defensive— well, namely Grumpy.

"Couldn't stay away, could ya?" He snapped, "Who invited you two in, ya rotten thieves?"

"Oh no, they're not thieves! They rescued me," Snow answered, shaking her head.

"You fussn't be mooled— er, mustn't be fooled by them, princess!" Doc spoke up, and I had to roll my eyes again. These guys were impossible!

Just as Grumpy yelled at us to leave, Snow White looked on the verge of tears, "Please don't send them away! You see, they helped me when I was lost and oh-so very frightened."

That got Ven's attention. I didn't ask because I knew what happened: the hunter was sent by the Evil Queen to cut out her heart, but he got cold feet and instead sent her away. At least, that's how I remember the story going. "What happened?"

Snow thought for a bit before answering, "Well, I was picking flowers by the wood, and there was a stranger there. He had a sword, but it was like a key— and then these monsters came—"

"A sword like a key?" I repeated, definitely not remembering this being part of the story. The only people I know with key-shaped swords are...

"Terra!" Ven and I realized in unison, albeit surprised. Did Terra really send those monsters after her? I doubt it, but with that little darkness show he had during the exam, I wouldn't be too sure.

"You mean this stranger saw ya and sent his horde of evil demons after ya?" Doc asked.

Ven was quick to respond, "Terra would never do that!"

Snow White blinked in surprise and almost realization, "Oh, of course, I'm sure he wouldn't. Not if he's someone who's your friend." Leave it to Snow White to assume the best in people. Not that I thought Terra would actually do something like that, I mean the guy is pretty much harmless, despite his appearance. I thought back to the exam this morning and bit my lip, second guessing my thoughts.

Doc spoke up again, shaking his head, "Princess! You trustn't be so musting— er, trusting."

"I'll prove it!" The blonde suddenly turned on his heel and stormed out of the cottage, and I had to play catch-up again. If bad-mouthing Terra really set him on edge like that, I could only picture what he'd be like if Terra really did do that stuff.

I caught a glimpse of Ven running back into the forest as I closed the door to the cottage. This kid had some energy, alright. Before I could chase after him, the soft sound of tiny paws padding through the grass got my attention; I didn't expect a visit so soon from Vanitas.

"What, miss me already?" I asked as the cat dissolved into a black puddle and came back up as a boy.

"Missing the peace and quiet of not having you around," he coolly replied before nodding towards the forest, "the kid's off looking for Terra, again?"

"Yeah. The guys back there were bad-mouthing him, and Ven freaked."

He scoffed, "Figures."

"Hey, Van, there's actually something else that happened, when we were saving Snow White," I remembered, turning to face him, "there were these... monster type things. We had no problem fighting them, but I didn't think there'd be any... like, threats."

The raven-haired boy blinked before stating simply, "Oh, those. They're from me."

I raised an eyebrow, waiting for more explanation. When he just crossed his arms over his chest and waited for my response, I asked, "From you? Like, you made them?"

He sighed (over-dramatically, if I may add) and held out his arm. "Pinch me."

"Pinch you?"

"Pinch me or I'll pinch you, Cadence."

"Alright, alright, sheesh." I quickly pinched him— not too hard, but enough to make him wince slightly. When he winced, though, something weird happened: some black thing seeped out of him, and fell to the floor to form itself into one of the monsters I saw earlier with Ven. It was a small, blue creature with bright red eyes and tiny legs and feet that twitched every now and then. It was kind of cute, to be honest, but it wasn't completely harmless.

"So they... they do come from you," I stood, staring at the small thing with wide eyes, "what are they?"

"Unversed," Vanitas answered simply, watching it scurry around with a bored expression. "They're what I feel. So when you pinched me, I felt pain, and... that came out." He summoned his keyblade and easily slashed through it, the creature disappearing in a cloud of black ink.

"So, they're you, basically," I crossed my arms over my chest. "Well, doesn't it hurt when we kill 'em?"

My question must have surprised him, because he took a small pause before answering, "That doesn't matter. What matters is getting your new 'best friend' to fight them in every world you visit."

"Do I have to fight them, too?"

"You wanna stay alive, I'm guessing?" He rolled his eyes, "They won't recognize you. They'll attack you even if you're working with me."

I nodded and ran a hand through my hair. All of this new information was a bit overwhelming, but it was also kind of exciting. This must mean that the old man trusts me even more if he's letting me in on the plan a bit more— but why was it so important that Ven fought the Unversed? I'm sure Aqua and Terra, wherever they were, were fighting them off, too, but was it also important for them to keep fighting? I was about to ask Vanitas when I heard footsteps coming up fast from the forest.

I whirled around just in time to see Ven back, but no Terra. Figures, I thought to myself, but I was more worried about him seeing me with Vanitas. I glanced back, and instead of a boy there was a black cat by my legs. Phew!

"Cadence! I was wondering where you were," the blond panted lightly as he approached me. "I didn't see you following me out to the glen."

"Oh, I, uh..." Think, Cadence, think! "Got lost in the woods, so I figured I'd wait back here. Did you find Terra?"

He shook his head, but kept a hopeful glimmer in his eyes, "No, but I know he was here. I met this old lady out by the flowers, and she told me some... stuff that Terra did."

I could only guess what that "stuff" was. "Don't tell me he did something crazy..."

"It doesn't matter. Terra is still Terra, even if he makes little mistakes here and there." Well, I couldn't argue with that.

The cat by my ankles stayed still the entire time, tail swishing slowly. Ven finally noticed and absolutely lit up like a Christmas tree. He crouched down, a big grin on his face, "A cat! Where'd you get it, Cadence? Was it around here?"

"Um, yeah! It was wandering around and I guess it, uh, took a liking to me," I laughed nervously, rubbing the back of my neck. I reached down and took the biggest risk of my life: scratching behind its ears. Of course, it let me, but I knew Vanitas was going to kill me later. To look like an ordinary house cat being fawned over must be a major shot to his ego. "He's pretty chill. I think."

I stood back up to my full height and he darted off into the woods, no doubt to take out his anger on something. I turned back to Ven, "Well, what now?"

"We go someplace else and keep looking!"

i rly wanna skip all of this but i know i cant but i have a lot of stuff written out about other stuff but its still terrible so ok

song is magic - mystery skulls