Melvin let out an exhausted sigh as he guarded his friend's resting body and pet bird. Soon, he would have to leave the Realm of Darkness to find Princess Aurora. While the friends agreed to leave her in Traverse Town for a little while until they decided on what to do with Queen Minnie and Shinnosuke's heart fragment, Melvin couldn't help but worry about Fait and Shinnosuke. Maleficent would probably throw them in the dreaded Labyrinth for punishment if she found out that Princess Aurora was in a safe place. Tapping his foot nervously, he took a deep breath and pressed a button on his long-tailed coat. The button was attached to some type of mechanism that used gears and a clock. The gears turned to darkened silver and clunked across each other in slow rotation. The clock hands were unbearably slow. It was like each second took a thousand clicks before the next second came to slightly move the minute hand. Regardless of the time, Melvin's shape was changing.
His limbs were becoming longer and sturdier. His height was increasing and his chest was hardening. His face went from the traditional Shadow Heartless to a hazel-eyed, reddish orange-haired young man. It was safe to say that Melvin would rather his human form than his Heartless form, but Maleficent made it very clear that he had to be in the proper disguise while on a mission. Otherwise, he ran the risk of putting his family in danger. Fait and Shinnosuke had done too much for him. A disguise was nothing compared to their sacrifices. He turned to his resting friend, regretting that he might have to leave Fait behind to complete his mission and send Princess Aurora to the new world Maleficent was building her empire on now. Suddenly, Fait was gritting his teeth and clenching his eyes tightly. He was finally beginning to stir. When Melvin heard some slight moaning and clothes shuffling in the grass beneath him, he rushed to Fait's side and placed a hand on Fait's shoulder.
Fait put a hand atop Melvin's and removed the hood from his head to instead reveal a long-haired woman. Cynthum growled, alerting Fait's attention to him, and nuzzled his lengthy beak against Fait's cheek. She gently pet the large bird of prey and smiled at him. When Fait looked about to gage her surroundings, it wasn't hard to tell where she and her companions were located. The fact that there was no sky above them but a darkened void and foggy earth underneath them said it all. They were in the Realm of Darkness. While the patch of grass was pleasantly softer than the cold ground, it was sharp enough to irritate her skin and make her scratch her side. Her armor may have been made of fine leather, but it was far from stab-proof. When she saw thorny pillars and light bugs littered about, she could only assume that the world of Enchanted Dominion was stuck in the middle of the realms. It wasn't completely engulfed in darkness but it was no longer in the Realm of Light either. If parts of this world was crystallized, then the sleeping spell was a success and her mission now complete.
Fait hummed with thought and asked with a cracked voice, "Forest of Thorns, then?"
Melvin responded with a nod, "Yeah. 'Member this place?"
"Pfft! Man, do I? Been years since I've been here. How long was I out?" Fait asked, reaching into a utility pocket and retrieving a chunky wad of meat for Cynthum to eat. The bird was excited to see food and hopped about youthfully before grabbing the feed stick with an outstretched talon. When he ate it, Fait simply giggled at her friend and watched him chew. She then said, "Feels like I slept for hours."
"Not as long as I thought," Melvin answered, sitting down to face Fait. He removed his device from his coat and looked at the time. He then said, "It's almost lunchtime, I'd say, so a solid twenty minutes. Old faithful was hungry, huh? Need any healing?"
"Nah," Fait said, waving a hand and slowly rising to stand on her feet. "Just rusty is all. Thanks for watching my back, Mel."
Melvin smirked and chuckled softly, "It's a little thing. Gonna hafta leave you here, though. Princess Aurora's in Traverse Town. I have to bring her back to the chambers."
Fait nodded, held a hand out to pull Melvin up, and asked, "Make sure you have a decent alibi. Capturing a princess doesn't put you on the friend list. Do you remember which chamber to put her in? Maleficent said she wanted her in a particular station. We can't mix them up."
Melvin adjusted his mage's hat, took Fait's hand and used her assistance to stand up. He was several inches taller than Fait in human form but definitely shorter than Shinnosuke. Melvin turned to look at the pathway ahead of them and placed a hand in his pocket. He removed his hat for a moment to let out a sigh of relief and then replied, "Yeah, I know. She wants Aurora in the west wing. I probably shouldn't be telling you this, but I feel like you should know since your missions aren't going to link with mine or Shinnosuke's. You're gonna hafta keep this between us."
"What's up?" Fait probed, resting a hand on her belt.
"That new world that Maleficent's got is gonna harbor the princesses of heart... all of them," Melvin responded, earning Fait's interest when she hummed in question. He took a couple of steps back to look out into the distance and simply speak his mind before continuing. "Apparently, new ones have been taking the place of some of the older ones. The predecessors are going in the west wing. Successors in the east. I don't think you're meant to be involved with them because of this exam she's dumping on you. Otherwise, Shinnosuke and I wouldn't be needed. You're being set up to fight these other keyblade wielders for something big. The title of master doesn't mean anything to Maleficent in hindsight. Why she wants you to have it doesn't make any real sense. I've been trying to figure out what she could be doing all of this for but I keep hitting a road block. It might not effect you in any way, but... something's not adding up with any of this."
"Maleficent very rarely calls me out for a mission of this caliber," Fait said calmly, keeping her eyes on Melvin's body language. She can see he's uncomfortable with his new missions. While the trio have done countless jobs and training sessions under Maleficent's rule, this particular mission was the most calculated from the mistress of evil. She then continued, "I've been on assignments like this before. She'll send me out to some new world, give me time to adapt to that world, and challenge whoever is powerful enough (or foolish enough) to try to control the darkness. Usually, I'm the one who fights that person. It's more or less just a show of power. I'm thinking the reason she wants me to fight other keyblade wielders, who I wasn't allowed to interact with in any way beforehand, is probably the same thing. She doesn't want to just show masters of darkness that her power is greater than theirs. She wants to show masters of light that her powers can cross over, too."
"I don't get that, though," Melvin said with frustration. "Why bother with anyone protecting the light? Playing two sides is dangerous! If all you want are allies, just convince the allies that you're strong."
"That's the thing," Fait said, letting a doubtful breath. "I don't think I am playing two sides, and I don't want to be involved with the keyblade wielders anymore than you do. It's too risky, especially when it comes to the safety of our home world, but... what's really got my attention with this plan is the princesses of heart being involved. That's unusual."
"How so?" Melvin questioned, intrigued by Fait's observation.
"Maleficent never said we were supposed to be capturing them until the last minute, and I never had to interact with them before. Something caught her interest," Fait replied. "The mistress is very thorough in her planning. She's not the type to change them on the spot based on new information. Consider it, she'll do. I've even known her to setup a backup plan just in case, but she's never just thrown away a premeditated plan for a new one. I'm thinking the exam doesn't have anything to do with me at all. She already felt I was a master by my own right. She wouldn't benefit from some title and she knows I don't care about it. Hell, I could care less about the other wielders either! I agree she's doing something big but she's not setting this up for a fight. Not a small one and not one I wouldn't come out the victor in. My only other concern is the separation of the princesses. That's the part that really doesn't make any sense."
Melvin frowned, shook his head, and smiled brightly before walking up to pluck Fait's forehead playfully. He then said, "We'll worry about it later. My guess is we'll have to link up to share progress reports anyway. We can talk about it then. What are you gonna do while I'm gone?"
"Well, I'm already on my old training grounds," Fait responded, scratching the back of her head and looking ahead of her. "May as well get reacquainted. Get my strength back up to par. While I'm here, I can check to see if this world is moving to the Realm of Sleep. Maleficent didn't relay her new agenda to me, so I'm stuck right now until she finds me or I find her. OR! I could go scavenging. The holidays are coming up, y'know."
"Ah! I still gotta buy some presents for the girls!" Melvin hissed, slapping himself in the forehead and reminding himself of his hatred for shopping during busy seasons. "Totally forgot about that!"
"Oh, you know you love spoiling them!" Fait teased, plucking Melvin's ear gently before grinning widely.
"Yeah, I do. Want me to stay for backup?" Melvin asked, knowing his friend will refuse.
"C'mon, bro, you know me better than that!" Fait responded, playfully punching him in the arm. She winked and then hopped away from Melvin to start her new journey. Without turning around, she called out to her pet vulture and said, "Cynthum, scout ahead!"
Melvin chuckled at his friend's bout of silliness and opened a Corridor of Darkness to make his way to Traverse Town. He just hoped he remembered which way to go from the Realm of Darkness. Once Cynthum passed Fait, she started to take a trip down memory lane. Her start as a formal keyblade wielder was in the Forest of Thorns. Maleficent used to task her with defeating a certain number of Heartless each time with either her weapon or a magic spell. Sometimes, the mistress of evil would make her search for certain things like remnants of the castle or even Maleficent's Forbidden Mountain. Pete would accompany Fait on some of the missions, but he mostly fussed at her or complained that she was a baby. While Pete never bothered Fait emotionally, the more menacing Heartless and the shadows of Fait's heart were a different story. She was terrified of the Heartless then, especially the ones in the depths of this realm. They were far more aggressive. She wondered if she could defeat those Heartless easily now as opposed to when she was a child. Fait hadn't been in the Forest of Thorns in years. Cynthum made a sharp screeching sound to alert Fait of incoming danger. Emerging from the ground were her old friends, the Shadow Heartless.
"Man, it's been a long time since I've seen you guys," Fait said to herself, checking her sides to get a definitive number of enemies. She summoned the power of light into her hands and chose a defensive stance for battle. When she was ready and the Shadows leapt into the air for an ambush, she challenged, "Let's see if you can handle brute force!"
"Master Yen Sid! Terrible news! Just terrible, terrible news!"
The old man barely moved from his chair when he heard the Three Good Fairies enter his study. It seemed like bad news was always present, but, for the ladies to come in with fear etched into their faces, then it must be something ominous on the horizon. The Mysterious Tower had been at peace for some time now. No new Heartless arrivals or other form of darkness creeping up to Master Yen Sid's door. However, news of his apprentice's home world did reach him, and Yen Sid started feeling darkness rising rapidly until it suddenly dissipated. While King Mickey was reunited with Queen Minnie, the two have been forced to take refuge in Radiant Garden for an unprecedented time. The queen requested she stay with Leon and the Restoration Committee, so King Mickey would check on her as often as possible while consulting with him at the tower. Donald and Goofy are already on their way to retrieve Sora, Riku and Kairi. If the darkness stirred again like before, then Master Yen Sid decided he would send one of the Destiny Island trio to fetch others for help. Where the townsfolk of Disney Castle disappeared to was the biggest mystery to all. It seemed they were brought to some place practically untraceable. He did sense something out in the distance from his tower, but it felt like a strong force was moving between realms. It didn't feel like darkness was on the move again but something was definitely off. He opened his eyes and turned to Flora, the red fairy and leader of the three fairies, before humming with a patient frown on his face. Flora fluttered over to him and took a couple of deep breaths before speaking.
"Master Yen Sid, Maleficent has conquered Enchanted Dominion and kidnapped Princess Aurora!" Flora said, making Yen Sid gasp with shock. So that's what he was sensing? But how? He didn't sense darkness consuming a world. Flora then continued, "She also has an apprentice that she's sending to fight the keyblade wielders! She told us that she wanted you to prepare a student for battle as part of the Mark of Mastery exam. Her student can wield a keyblade, too."
"Maleficent, a teacher?" Master Yen Sid questioned with disbelief evident in his voice. "The unmitigated gall of her! As much as I would like to dismiss such a challenge, Maleficent is one of few people who knows the history of the keyblade extensively. While it may seem doubtful for a keyblade wielder to simply fall into her clutches, it is not impossible for her to have somehow collected a person of this stature. Riku is a perfect example. While he may not have been able to use the Kingdom Key at the time specifically, he was still able to wield a keyblade and proceeded to do her bidding in order to gain more power. Manipulative as she was, Maleficent was able to give Riku a taste of darkness and the power it commanded but at a grave cost. I imagine this apprentice of hers might have been tempted by the powers of darkness as well. Have you seen this pupil of hers?"
"No, we didn't, Master Yen Sid," Fauna, the green fairy, replied with a shake of her head. "She sent us away from our world before we could learn anything more. The message was the only thing left with us."
"Hmph!" Master Yen Sid inelegantly harrumphed. "When Mickey arrives, I may send him and Riku on a mission to investigate. Maleficent's pupil may not be using strictly darkness as a source of power. I did feel a strong disturbance earlier. While Mickey's world was consumed by darkness, I could also feel that the Cornerstone of Light was being moved elsewhere. The location of which is unknown and the power from that cornerstone is now too faint to detect by average means. The same with your world, Good Fairies. Only a movement was felt. I do not believe it has been consumed. This is not a power just anyone could obtain. This pupil of Maleficent was trained differently."
"Then, are you going to test this pupil per her request?" Merryweather asked.
"Master Yen Sid!" a familiar voice rang from the door.
Sora burst into the door, panting heavily. Donald and Goofy came tumbling in after him, giving him the stink eye for his lack of respect towards the wise one, but immediately stood at attention in front of the powerful mage. When Sora caught his breath and stood at attention, he was surprised that the Three Good Fairies were with them. He thought they had returned to their world or something.
Sora then asked, "What are you doing here? Didn't you go back to your home world?"
"Oh!" Fauna responded, covering her mouth.
"Their home world has been conquered by Maleficent," Master Yen Sid explained. "They were just explaining this to me."
"What?" Sora shouted more than questioned. "But how? Was it the same guy that sent Disney Castle to darkness?"
Master Yen Sid leaned over his desk in surprise and laid his hands on the desk to ask, "You've seen him? Was he with Maleficent?"
Sora shook his head in response and said softly, "No, he was by himself. It was a Heartless by the name of Shinnosuke. He said he met King Mickey before I got there."
"Before we got there!" Donald corrected.
"That doesn't matter right now!" Sora argued, bending down to Donald's height.
"He might not have been particularly strong against us but his powers were different," Goofy informed Master Yen Sid. "It felt like he was holding back. He said something about there being another person we were supposed to fight. Someone stronger than him."
"This Shinnosuke must know Maleficent's pupil then," Master Yen Sid said, returning to his seated position in his chair. "So, she has her own henchmen this time. Flora, Fauna, Merryweather. Did Maleficent mention there being more than one pupil?"
"No, Master Yen Sid," Flora answered, shaking her head. She placed a hand on her cheek in distress and turned to the girls. She then said, "She only mentioned there being one. She never said anything about other henchmen."
"Other than the ones that we know, dear," Fauna chimed, touching Flora's shoulder. "Remember she said she sent her henchmen to find Princess Aurora as a baby, but they found a different child. One with the power of the keyblade."
"Hang on, I'm lost," Sora interrupted, feeling tension in his head. "Maleficent found who? What's happening?"
"I think I might be able to help," a smaller voice sounded. It was Jiminy Cricket, now standing on Sora's shoulder. He then continued, "From the sounds of it, The Three Good Fairies had confronted Maleficent before their world, Enchanted Dominion, was taken over. Maleficent sent them off to tell Master Yen Sid that she now has a student who can wield a keyblade just like you, Sora. The Heartless that you fought on Disney Castle was someone else entirely, but that particular enemy (or rather Shinnosuke) somehow knew King Mickey and Queen Minnie beforehand. He asked to be forgiven before he disappeared along with Disney Castle."
"Uh..." Goofy started, scratching his head for a bit.
"Guess I should explain that part, huh?" another familiar voice rang.
Master Yen Sid could foresee more space being needed in the study if more people came in to give him news. He hummed with thought as his apprentice, King Mickey, and his successful examinee, Riku, entered the room. While Riku looked a tad concerned, King Mickey had a more serious expression on his face. Something was troubling him the most despite Queen Minnie's safe return. Master Yen Sid could only gather that it had something to do with this Shinnosuke.
"I don't know how much you all know now, but I do know Shinnosuke a little bit," Mickey informed, looking at Master Yen Sid. "Maleficent's working with a small group of Heartless to take over worlds now. I met one of them only because he spared Queen Minnie and went to talk to Merlin at Radiant Garden. She was trying to help Shinnosuke because he was trying to help his friends, but he didn't have a choice but to send the castle to darkness because of Maleficent's orders. I don't know what Maleficent would do to him if he disobeyed but it has to be something bad."
"Do you feel that he can be forgiven?" Master Yen Sid asked, surprising everyone. He was asking this because of Mickey, though. He seemed conflicted about it.
"Yes," King Mickey said with a frustrated sigh. "I think there is some good in Shinnosuke. He wouldn't have spared Minnie the way he did but Minnie knows the truth behind him more than I do. It's best if you hear it from her. However, I do know from Minnie that Shinnosuke has two friends. We haven't confronted them yet, but I have a feeling we will because of Maleficent."
"Indeed you shall," an eerily feminine voice chimed.
Maleficent herself didn't appear in the flesh nor did her crow companion. Everyone looked around to see where the dark witch would appear but she never materialized in the room. Instead, an orb of green flames fluttered through the window and slowly floated through the room until it was in the center. The flames very delicately caressed the Three Good Fairies on their cheeks and wings as if to gently show them gratitude before surrounding the flames of the candles in Master Yen Sid's study and changing them to green. Maleficent's very presence could be felt throughout the chamber and the shadows of the room became more intense. It was almost like Maleficent's dress was covering the study. Master Yen Sid looked to his sides before eyeing the orb of green flame, waiting for it to speak again.
"Pity I can't meet with you in person but I have some tasks to complete," Maleficent (or rather her equanimous tone of voice) said. "I needed reassurance that the three fools over there sent you my personal message."
"Maleficent," Master Yen Sid said with a distinctive growl in his voice. "Should I even bother to question what it is you are planning? Why would I ever consider your request?"
"I'm not forcing you to consider anything, Yen Sid," Maleficent said with a purr. "My plans are at your feet. I wanted you to examine my apprentice for the Mark of Mastery exam. That is all."
"And what about Shinnosuke?" Mickey questioned. "What's he got to do with this?"
"Shinnosuke helps my pupil with certain assignments," Maleficent replied without missing a beat. "He is a sparring partner you could say when they're not busy with other tasks. Does this mean you refuse to test my pupil, Yen Sid?"
"Why do you want him to be tested?" Yen Sid asked out of curiosity.
"The child can't remember anything about the keyblade like how it was obtained or anything. I think being around a master might jog the memory," Maleficent answered simply. "If you don't want to test the child, then I won't pester you. I'll continue my making my own plans instead. I'm still in search of a few things presently."
"I'll consider it... if the child shows some evidence that he is pure of heart," Master Yen Sid said with some confidence.
"Very well," the dark fairy responded with greater confidence, making Yen Sid incredulous. "I'll meet with sooner than you think."