Chapter 6

The first world was Light Mountain and the second was Kumandra. Two worlds that were hardly explored by Keyblade Wielders before. Riku however was not alone. He now had Ajay to the group, a mysterious young Keyblade Wielder and Denahi, a resident of Light Mountain and a brave hunter. Riku wondered how he managed to find friends so fast. Unlike his friend Sora, Riku was aloof, and he didn't have very good social skills. How he managed to find two companions was a mystery to him. Then again, when he was in the Mark of Mastery Exam, he made many new friends in the Sleeping Worlds. There was the brave Quasimodo, Sam Flynn, Gepetto and his son Pinocchio, and a younger Mickey.

"There's a portal up ahead." said Ajay.

Riku looked up to see an opening.

"So it is." replied Riku distantly. Something about the world up ahead got his attention. He thought he saw what appeared to be a coffin with flowers.

"You seem like your in a good mood." said Denahi, poking at Riku's arm.

"It's that world up ahead. I've seen it before. But I don't remember if I did or not." said Riku.

"Then you probably saw it once." said Ajay.

"I've never been to that world." said Riku.

"Let's give it a try." said Denahi as he ran up ahead.

"Wait!" cried Riku.

They ran after Denahi and the three young men wound up in a forest.

"Are we back in Light Mountain?" asked Riku.

"Nope. This forest looks very different from the one I know." said Denahi.

Riku turned around to see that Ajay was nowhere in sight.

"Ajay?" asked Riku.

"Up here."

Riku looked up and saw Ajay on a tree branch. "H-how did you…" Riku was saying.

"We are in a Kingdom. But by the look of things, it appears things don't look so well. The castle up ahead has Heartless Soldiers flying around it. This means that whoever is in control of this world has fallen into darkness." said Ajay.

"Good observations!" said Denahi.

"Be that as it may, I'm going to scout ahead. You two can wait right here, or better yet, walk up to that cottage right to the south of here." said Ajay.

"Cottage?" asked Riku.

"A house. Good. We can rest for a while. We have been alert back in Kumandra." said Denahi.

"It's not like we did anything," said Riku.

They looked up but Ajay was gone.

"He's got this under control." said Denahi.

"Right." replied Riku.

Ajay was quick on his feet. He quickly got a ride on a wagon, unbeknownst to the driver. The old man was going straight to the castle. As he parked the wagon next to a fountain, Ajay slipped out of sight and hid among the walls. He knew he was exposed with his outwardly clothes. He quickly saw another man doing chores, and Ajay knocked him out using the back of his Sleeping Lion Keyblade.

He silently slipped into the man's simple and plain clothes, but this was perfect for what Ajay was going to do next. He saw an open door and he quickly slid into the darkness. Much to Ajay's advantage, the inside of the castle was dark and gloomy. The only bad thing was that it was surrounded by wicked Heartless. Mere fodder for Ajay, who could easily swipe his Keyblade against them. However, if he was to sneak into the castle, he had to be ultra quiet.

Ajay resisted the urge to use his Keyblade against the Heartless and hid among the shadows. Eventually, he managed to find a good spot to spy on what was going on inside…..

"Do you trust him?" asked Denahi to Riku as they were walking in the forest glen.

"I do. Somehow I know he'll be alright." said Riku.

"He looked like a good guy to me." said Denahi.

Riku stood silent. As usual. But Denahi kept talking. Which was a good thing. Riku didn't feel lonely.

"This forest is very different from home. There are hardly any animals. Plus, the atmosphere here is very safe and wholesome. Back home there are mountains, and crazy weather changes." said Denahi.

"I bet." said Riku.

"Yeah. Kumandra looked bleak don't you think?" asked Denahi.

"It did. Ajay himself was there for a while. He didn't seem to like it." said Riku.

Just then, they heard Ajay's voice. "I'm over here."

They looked up to see him coming down from a tree. He gracefully landed on his two feet using some form of acrobatic skill that impressed Denahi.

"Wow! Your bones are either made of rubber or you've got good survivor skills." said Denahi.

"Survivor skills." replied Ajay with a small smile.

"You seem well trained," said Riku.

"I had some training back in Twilight Town, and at Olympus." said Ajay.

"Olympus?" asked Denahi.

"It's a world where people train to fight. They have excellent teachers there." said Ajay.

"Woah! I need to go there someday." said Denahi.

"What did you find?" asked Riku, hoping to know more of this world they were in.

"Riku, Denahi, this world is in mortal danger." said Ajay.

"What kind of danger?" asked Riku.

"This world happens to be the Dwarf Woodlands. There was a woman in that castle, speaking to a mirror with a demonic looking face." said Ajay.

Riku felt like cold water was creeping on his back. "Did this woman have two horns and wore purple and black robes by any chance?" asked Riku.

"I did not see horns, but I did see purple robes with a long black cape." said Ajay.

"What is she? A witch?" asked Denahi.

"It appears so. She speaks to a talking mirror." said Ajay.

"Queen Grimhilde." said Riku.

"You heard of her?" asked Ajay.

"She is known as the Fairest of them all." said Riku.

"Fairest? The witch? I don't believe that. Between you and me guys, the Shaman women back home aren't exactly easy to the eyes. The majority of them are old ladies with weird stuff in their homes." said Denahi.

"Trust me Denahi. You won't believe your eyes when you see this woman. To top it all off, she's summoning Heartless." said Ajay.

"Then we have to stop her. If she is doing this, then the world is in trouble." said Riku.

"Where could the Heartless spawn? The forest here is very tranquil." said Denahi.

"Yes, Denahi's got a point. Heartless spawn everywhere they please. How come they haven't appeared here?" said Ajay.

Riku wanted to answer that, but in all honesty he wasn't sure. The forest they were in did seem different and very out of the ordinary. He looked around and saw that the cottage wasn't too far off.

"Maybe they know?" asked Riku pointing ahead.

"Wow, you guys haven't gone to the cottage yet? I feel like I spent hours in the castle." said Ajay.

"We did take our time looking at the scenery." said Denahi.

Riku nodded and the three boys walked up ahead to the cottage.

As they approached, they saw a tombstone in front of a tree. A tombstone that read a name. "David."

"Huh? Who was he?" asked Denahi.

"Maybe the man who once lived here?" said Ajay.

Riku ignored the tombstone and walked to the door of the cottage. He knocked gently and the door opened.

Standing in front was a little man wearing a green shirt and sporting a large purple hat.

"Who's at the door Dopey?" asked another voice from inside. A man's voice.

"Pardon me and my friends. We are from the town." said Riku, trying not to scare the owner.

Out came another little man, with a long beard. "Not another one of you! I told you all to scram and leave us alone. We don't know where the heck the Queen is!" cried the Grumpy man.

"You think we are in league with Grimhilde?" asked Ajay.

"Don't say that horrible name." snapped Grumpy.

"We are not! Trust us, we have nothing to do with that person." said Denahi.

Grumpy looked at Denahi and then at Riku, and at Ajay. He scoffed.

"I see. You three are from the outside world." he said.

Riku saw no point in lying. Apparently some people knew the existence of outside worlds before. Legends of the Princesses of Heart, the Heartless and the brave Keyblade Wielders have reached worlds far and wide.

"Yes. We are." said Riku.

"Look, I ain't telling you where the Queen is. I'm not sure if I can trust you or not." said Grumpy.

"I'm friends with Sora." said Riku.

"Who?" asked Grumpy.

Riku chuckled. Not everyone met Sora. So far, most of the people Riku has met either knew him or probably met him once.

"I'm a Keyblade Wielder." said Riku quickly.

Grumpy looked up at Riku with his arms folded. "Be that as it may, not all Keyblade Wielders are good." he said.

"Look, we want to stop the Heartless. The reason why I knocked is because I'm wondering what I'm feeling. Me and my friends feel some sort of light in this part of the forest." said Riku.

"It's true. Something is keeping the Heartless away. Perhaps we can learn how to do that." said Ajay.

"And we can hunt the Heartless down for you. I'll pin them down with my spear." said Denahi.

"I like your style young man, but I'm not sure about telling you the truth." said Grumpy.

Dopey patted his back and Grumpy looked at him. "Dopey, don't give me that look."

Dopey smiled and Grumpy rolled his eyes. "Fine. The forest is protected by light by the Queen. Snow White is one of the seven Princesses of Hearts. She's using her powers to keep this place safe." said Grumpy.

"Great. Where is she? Perhaps she can help us." said Riku.

"Snow White can't help right now. She is currently grieving the loss of her husband, who we buried right over there." said Grumpy, pointing at the tombstone.

Denahi turned to see it and shook his head. "I'm sorry." he said.

"The King tried to protect the world from the Evil Queen when she somehow was brought back to life. It seems that the mirror of hers did it. She killed him with her army of Heartless. In her grief, Snow White used her powers to create a force field big enough to cover this part of the land with light." said Grumpy.

"The mirror is the cause of this? Then if that's true, we should destroy it." said Ajay.

"But how can a mirror do that?" asked Denahi.

"It's magic," said Riku.

"I know that. But if it brought this Queen from the dead, could it do the same on other mortals?" asked Denahi.

"No. Grimhilde was not human. She was a monster who gave her life to another monster." said Grumpy.

"It's incredible there is such a thing as bad magic in this world." said Denahi.

"What does it look like in your world?" asked Ajay.

"The Spirits watch over our world. It would seem that each world has it's laws." said Denahi.

Riku listened in to their conversation and he agreed how each world was different. The Dwarf Woodlands looked very ancient compared to San Fransokyo, a world he read about in a map. He wondered how that world looked like.

Up ahead from where they were, they saw a fountain with flowers blooming. They also saw other little men, but they were not dwarves. They looked like little elves. And sitting on a throne was a beautiful woman, who greeted the three young men.

"Hello Riku. Ajay, and Denahi welcome." she said in a graceful voice.

"Are you Snow White?" asked Ajay, enchanted by this woman's beauty.

"I am not. I am Persophone, the Goddess of Spring. And Snow White is in grave danger."