Another new story for the new year. For those familiar with some of the previous works I did, it'll probably look familiar. Anyway, all characters are owned by their respective properties.

-miano53

"Thousands of years ago, there was one Heart. It went by many names, but the belief was that it was the Heart of the World. One day, the Great Heart was shattered, its shards taken by an unknown force. Upon shattering, reality itself did the same. Worlds where animals walk as humans, technology being at the forefront and darkness reigns supreme were created, among others. Those who survived the Shattering were called the Dandelions and were charged with restoring the Heart of the World. The Dandelions' legacy is our heritage, and we strive to follow it."

-Grandmaster Ingus Freyer, knight of Sasune

Chapter One: Insolitus Initium

60 years ago…

"Xehanort! Please!"

"Eraqus, go home."

"No, I won't. Please, you must come back to the campus. Master Odin didn't mean…"

"Sure, he didn't. Sure. He didn't mean to say that it was my fault that Urd…"

"Seriously, it wasn't your fault that we got ambushed by that Heartless. If anything, your Animus found it before any of us noticed."

"Still…They're all gone because I…Just…I just can't be there anymore. The masters were right. They took a chance on someone like me, only to wind up with eleven students gone…"

"Their prejudices are unjustified. Baldr and I were there and we saw what happened. You tried to save them, but…"

"Eraqus. Enough. Just…I'll return once all this…nomad hatred dissipates. And if not, then I'll see you when I see you."

Present day, South Gate station…

Situated in the middle of the Aerbs Mountain Range, South Gate station was a large train station that connected the mountainous cities to each other. A mainline led to another station that served the same purpose as the entire world was filled with mountains and deep valleys. No one knew why it was like that, but no one questioned it either.

Standing in the summit station and watching the next batch of passengers leaving the train, a red-haired girl dressed in a white sweater and purple bottoms munched on the station's specialty: South Gate Bundt Cake. On the table next to the box of cake was a white hamster with a star on her head. The hamster, or what seemed to be one, looked into the box and asked, "Are you sure that you should eat all that? Shouldn't you share some with Sora and Riku when they get here?"

Kairi shrugged at the hamster-like creature, not really thinking about sharing. The two could get a cake themselves. And it was too good to share. So, no, she thought.

Guilt welled up and the hamster looked up, her blue eyes welling with tears. Kairi sighed and said, "Okay. Okay. You didn't have to guilt trip me, Naminé. I'll share."

"Good. And now Sora won't complain that you didn't share," Naminé said, looking pleased.

Kairi had left the Departure campus in the north and took the train to the summit station. She did because she had received a letter from Sora, saying that he and Riku's families were in the area and they wanted to visit. Due to persistent prejudice, but not as terrible as it was in the past, families like their received in the cities, the nomads tried not to move in large groups. Only a few small groups at a time, thus Sora and Riku were able to move about as their families were at most three in number.

Quickly growing bored, as she had arrived at the station nearly an hour ago, Kairi started staring at the various masonry that was the station. Like most stations, it was built long ago and was only maintained through the peace between the nations of Lindblum, Alexandria, Eternia, the Azys Lla, and Alfitaria regions. Departure was at the center of it and maintained the peace through the college.

Statues of a hooded woman with angelic wings flanked the columns, a representation of the Holy Mother, Cosmos. And due to the age of the building and the many travelers, the columns were worn down and covered in nail marks from long torn-off posters. Large stained-glass windows brought a lot of light into the area and Mist-powered lamps further illuminated the place.

Four large openings allowed for the influx of passengers to enter the waiting area. Shops, including the one where Kairi bought the South Gate, were also present and the smells from the food shops permeated the air. Looking at the opening at the western end of the building, she saw more passengers leaving their train and entering the rest area. But the silver-haired Riku and spikey-haired Sora were nowhere to be found.

"Seriously, where are they?" Kairi asked.

Naminé looked around, still not seeing the pair. The clock chimed noon and still no Sora or Riku and Kairi started to get discouraged. Maybe their parents didn't allow them away from their families or maybe they faced danger on the road. Or maybe…

"No, don't think like that. They'll be here, I'm sure of it," Naminé told her.

"What is that?" a redhaired child in white asked.

Staring at a small mirror she found in the college chapel's vault, the little girl was drawn to it. Despite radiating dark power there was something…off about it. Like it didn't feel evil, just misguided. Next to her was her Anima, a white hamster with a small star on her head named Naminé.

The hamster Anima dropped to the floor, morphing into a cat on the way down. She looked around, seeing the black vines that kept the object suspended. There were also various other treasures, which included shelves filled with ancient books, old weapons, and even a treasure chest.

Leaping and morphing into a small flying fairy in white, Namine flew towards the mirror and quickly flew back to the redhead. The little girl caught her as she turned back into hamster form, the Anima shaking in terror.

"What's wrong?" the girl asked.

"T-The mi-mirror…Something's in the mirror, Kairi!" Namine cried.

Kairi approached the mirror and gasped, not seeing her reflection. Instead, she saw a hooded figure standing in the room's reflection. The figure was browsing the books, the skin on its hands covered in black scales. They seemed to notice the girl and turned to face her.

Yellow eyes met blue ones and the girl backed away, screaming. When nothing else happened, the child reapproached the object. The figure and room's visage disappeared and the girl was relieved. It was probably her imagination.

"Kairi! Kairi! Get away from there!"

A group of guards found the girl and joining them was a woman in a pink and black dress with long, red hair. She scooped up the child, telling her, "Kairi. You cannot be in here."

"But-But, Mama I…!" Kairi said.

"Please, never come back down here. Listen to me as its for your own good," Kairi's mother told her, carrying her out of the chamber.

"Oh, come on!" a silver-haired youth in yellow and black shouted, irate.

He, along with a brown-haired youth in red and black, climbed up a set of stairs that led to South Gate. There, the two saw guards dressed in green and white uniforms with Rottweiler Animi. The shorter of the two stopped them and the silver-haired's grey wolf Animus looked at him and said, "Well, this awkward…"

"Not awkward. They're just being 'xenoparic', Kiba," the hawk Animus on the brown-haired youth's shoulder said.

"Xenophobic, or we can say they're flat out racist…" the silver-haired one said, glowering.

"Oy, kid! We ain't racists!" the taller guard said.

The shorter guard apologized, saying, "Under Alexandrian orders, we have to inspect anyone that's crossed through the valleys and arrived at the mountain base. And you two just so happen to be nomads, so it's kind of a coincidence."

The two checked their traveling packs and the silver-haired teen stamped his foot. He hated going through inspections, especially since guards would take more time inspecting their things due to them being from nomadic tribes. Whenever it happened, they would receive suspicious looks from the "Goddess' faithful" and inspections would take up to an hour.

Due to the one the two boys were subjected to, they had missed the train to Departure College, a place where their parents allowed them to go to school. The nomads' hope was that sending their kids there would show people that nomadic nations were just as "civilized" as they were and valued education just as they did.

"Hmm, what's this?" the tall guard asked as his shorter counterpart pulled out a small bowl of…something from the brunet's pack.

The brunet grinned and said, "That's…"

"Sora you don't have to explain. It's just fruit," the silver-haired one told him.

Sora looked at his friend and said, "Well, it's just a bowl of pineapples and orange slices."

"Pineapples?" the shorter guard asked.

The silver-haired one sighed and said, "I told you that you didn't need to explain…"

The shorter guard took off the lid of the container and saw the yellow and orange fruits. He then closed the lid and said, "Looks harmless enough. Alright, you may pass."

"Aw, I thought we could take some…" the short guard's Animus whined.

After handing them back their things and passes, the guards opened the gate and allowed them to pass. Entering the town and seeing workers rushing about, trying to fix the old stone walls, Sora looked to his friend and said, "That went better than I thought it would."

"Yeah, but we could've gotten arrested. I told you going through the valleys under the Mist was a bad idea," the older boy said.

"Man, you worry too much, Riku," Sora said, taking the bowl and munching on the fruit.

The brunet hadn't eaten and Riku shook his head, not seeing why his friend was so carefree and not worrying about the horrible alternatives their nations had faced. If those guards weren't merciful, they could've had them arrested for crossing the Mist. Or even arrested on false charges. Anything that he could think of, they would've gotten arrested over, whether or not if it was true.

"Well, the good thing is that we didn't," Kiba told him.

"But we could have and that's what I'm worried about," Riku said.

"Well, you're a worrywart. Just like Zeru," Sora said, still eating.

The hawk Animus scoffed, telling the boy, "If I wasn't a worrywart, where would you be?"

"Probably in the belly of a Heartless," Riku said.

Departure College, 4th floor study room…

Returning home, Kairi was disappointed that Riku and Sora didn't show up. Sora had sent her a letter that their parents were letting them return for the school year, but the trains came and gone and the boys didn't arrive. Others such as the Farron sisters had settled into their rooms. But Kairi was so sure that her nomadic friends would be there.

"Well, maybe they were held up by something," Namine said, also wondering what happened to the boys.

Worried, as she heard horror stories from other kids from nomadic tribes, Kairi thought to go back to the train station. But it was getting late and Master Eraqus wouldn't let her go back to South Gate at such an hour. He didn't let her do much, Kairi realized. Ever since her mother died and he became her guardian, the man was overprotective, and she didn't know why.

"I'm sure that he has a good reason, but…"

That voice that popped into her head was a familiar one and Namine glowered, morphing into fairy form. She flew in front of Kairi's face, saying, "No, no, no. No-nono! We can't go down there! Not at this hour."

"So, you still don't trust me after all these years?"

"Um…you really want to talk to me?" Kairi asked the voice, her volume barely a whisper.

The voice belonged to someone that Master Eraqus forbade her to speak to, especially after the first encounter. She was four years old when she came across a mirror in the college's treasure chamber, surrounded by black vines. Namine had went to inspect it, only to come crashing back to her , terrified at the image in the mirror. When Kairi went to investigate, she saw nothing and was grabbed by Departure security and her mother. She was then forbidden to return to the vault, but after her mother died when she was six…she disobeyed that order and returned.

The day she did, she saw the hooded figure that Namine had seen and they didn't seemed to notice that Kairi had been staring at them. The figure went through the books in what seemed to be a library and they looked bored. After several seconds, the figure disappeared and Kairi peered deeper into the mirror. Seconds later, a pale hand appeared in the mirror and Kairi fell back screaming. She then took off, running back to her room and not returning until three weeks later.

"I said I was sorry. Are you still bitter over that?"

"Well, I was only six and you scared me," Kairi said to the voice, arriving at the entrance to the vault.

Due to her remembering the routines of the guards and how one of them had a penchant for napping, Kairi was able to slip past them and got through the restricted access halls virtually undetected. Namine kept urging not to go as she had a bad feeling. But she always had a bad feeling whenever she would go and visit the one trapped in the mirror.

Readying to shimmy the door open, Kairi was surprised to see that the door was unlocked and slightly open. Slowly pushing it further open and closing it quietly behind her, Kairi slowly went through the vault, passing by halls filled with treasure chests, old bookshelves with books that had a script that was exceptionally ancient, and old barrels filled with some stuff Kairi dared not open.

Hearing voices, she ducked behind a wall near a large bookshelf. The voice belonged to Master Eraqus and Kairi peeked from behind the wall, seeing him in front of the mirror. Dark mist poured out of it and the headmaster said, "Why do you insist on speaking with her? She will not release you from your bonds. And you know what will happen if you do."

The mist grew thicker and the area started to become foggy. Kairi found it hard to breathe, as if she was having an asthma attack, and Namine whispered for her to leave. But Kairi had to know why Master Eraqus was talking with the mirror, or at least she assumed he was speaking to the hooded one in it. And why did so much darkness pour out of the thing? She had to know and wasn't leaving until she found out.

"I suggest that you calm yourself before your power backfires on yourself," the older master said, a stern look on his face.

The mist dissipated and Kairi tried not to release a gasp as she could breathe again. With a huff, Master Eraqus left with a final warning. He said to the hooded one, "Do not ask her to release you and stop contacting her. If you do, I will have no choice but to destroy the mirror."

A great feeling of panic welled up and Kairi knew it wasn't her own. She looked at the mirror and saw that the dark mist became a purple light, flickering rapidly as if using code. The older man left and the doors to the vault shut.

"What was that all about?" Kairi asked, relieved she could breathe.

"Please, let's just go. If Master Eraqus was here, then he probably knows that you frequently come here to speak with…" Namine warned, the fairy Anima pulling at Kairi's hair to move her.

It didn't work and Kairi went to the mirror. There, she saw the hooded one with his hood off, revealing white hair, black horns, and the scales on his pale white skin. He looked perturbed and Kairi asked, "What's wrong?"

"Oh. You made it…" he said, looking at her for a few seconds before looking away.

The feeling of panic was still there and Kairi figured it was coming from him. She then asked, "So, how does the headmaster know…?"

"It's a long story. One that I don't want to talk about…" the figure said, glowering.

"Maybe that's our cue to leave, Kairi," Namine said, still wanting to go.

He heard her and said, "If I had known you were there, I would've calmed myself earlier. And the panic you feel is mine after I realized you were here and that man threatened to destroy this…place."

"Why?" Kairi asked.

A sigh and the figure said, "I don't remember how I came to be here, but I do know that I can't leave. So, this place, this mirror, is a prison. I…If I could…I would leave and see all the places that are in these books…"

"I'm sure it wouldn't be a good idea to go, Arkan…" Namine said, frowning a bit.

"Yes, discriminate against one that looks like me…I cannot help my appearance…" the figure snapped, glaring as his eyes started glowing a vibrant yellow.

Kairi rolled her eyes and said, "Well, whatever happened to you…I'm sure that you can show that you mean well, right?"

"Kairi, he's of the dark, can't you tell? Nothing good comes from that…" Namine whispered.

"Quite the master's pupil…" Arkan said, offended.

He turned away, the image in the mirror disappearing. Kairi looked at Namine, who fluttered in her face. Shaking her head, she said, "Nice going there, Nami…"

Departure College, gates…

"Finally…" Riku said as he and Sora stepped into familiar territory.

The two had to go through another inspection in Scala ad Caelum, the city that surrounded the College. At least there they didn't get weird looks or go through hours of inspections. Also, there were more academics and those of varying cultures in that city, thus the Animi were of different varieties. After passing through the streets and not getting any odd looks, the two nomads and their Animi arrived at the gates of the college.

The guards there were shocked to see them, one asking, "Uh, you boys okay?"

"Yes," Riku replied.

Sora started crying, yelling, "That took so long…Why…?"

"Well, you did want to stop at that café for South Gate Bundt Cake," Zeru reminded.

"And then the many inspections," Kiba added.

"And you just had to take us through the Mist…" Riku said.

"Okay, okay! I get it! I'll leave the pathfinding and adventuring to you from now on, Riku," Sora said.

The guards, after seeing their passes, helped them into the college. The headmaster was adamant about letting students from all walks of life into the area, thus did families of all kinds come to live in Scala ad Caelum. And there were even faculty members of mixed "races" teaching there. The man seemed to want to erase the terrible history of Departure College and their discrimination against those that weren't of the "Goddess' Faithful". Good, but there was still much more work to be done, Riku thought.

Stopping in the massive castle's vestibule, the boys noticed how late it had gotten. They most likely missed dinner and the college's cafeteria probably only had a few snacks left. It was move-in day and they were the last ones to arrive. Stomach growling, Riku glowered at Sora. Sure, his mother told him to be nice and let Sora take the lead in getting there.

Kiba looked at him and the wolf Animus said, "Don't blame her. Sora's getting better at directions."

"If you call getting lost for twelve hours in the ice caves getting better, then sure," Riku muttered.

"Ah, there you two are."

An older man in white, silver, and tan samurai-like clothes appeared, descending the stairs leading to the second floor. His dark and greyish hair was tied up, making him look more like a samurai from the mangas Riku and Sora would read. Sora looked up at the man and said, "Hi Master Eraqus."

Master Eraqus, a "half-breed" from the Wolf Nations of Eblan and Wutai, looked at them and said, "I thought you'd arrive earlier. Your parents told me your route to get here."

"Yeah, but Sora wanted to 'take a shortcut'," Zeru admitted, the Hawk Animus getting his feathers ruffled.

Riku explained how they had started off in Lindblum and traveled through the Mist instead of taking the train to Alexandria station directly. Sora argued that it was the more "scenic" route, but instead, it got the boys lost as they hadn't traveled through the Mist valleys before. After their explanation turned into an argument, Master Eraqus led them to the college's kitchens for them to get something to eat and settle down.

And there's chapter one. A bit short, but it introduces a few of our main characters.