DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING EXCEPT MY ORIGINAL CHARACTERS!

A/N: Alright! I'll be honest! I know I posted this Chapter two weeks late! I got busy with schoolwork (even had some over my Spring Break), and other things.

Anyway, I am BACK! And now I have brought CHAPTER 31! Since this particular Chapter contains a section of the movie I do not really enjoy as much as the rest, I was forced to modify it somewhat.

As it is, I certainly HOPE none of you were TOO SHAKEN by the suspenseful mood I was building into with Chapter 30. That's all!

By the way, I also wanted to inform you there IS a Final Fantasy Character hidden within THIS Chapter! I'll give you until about the time I FINISH this story - and I DO MEAN I'LL FINISH IT - to try and guess who it is.

Last, but not least, GO AHEAD AND ENJOY YOUR TIME READING CHAPTER 31!

CHAPTER 31
When One Door Closes…

The golden afternoon sun was shining down across the landscape. Even through the treetops, the rays could be seen peeking through to the underbrush far below. A slight breeze was filling the air and the birds were calmly chirping away. It almost seemed as though nothing could ruin the peaceful scenery of the forest. Nothing except a series of horrified shouts.

"Wait!"

"No!"

"Don't!"

"Wart, no!"

Leaping between a pair of tree branches was a small, light-brown squirrel. As he landed on the other side, the end of the twig snapped off. He suddenly fell. "Whoa! Wait! Whoa!"

Just in the nick of time, he was grabbed by a small, violet-glowing butterfly. The insect helped the squirrel back onto the branch he had fallen from. Turning to look back across the way, the two saw three other squirrels looking back. One had dark-brown fur with a reddish tail, another had yellowish fur with a silver tail, and the third was a faded-bluish color. It would only take an outsider about three looks to realize the dark-brown squirrel was Sora, the silver-tailed one was Riku, and the blue squirrel was Merlin. The main difference with the wizard was how he still had a tiny, white mustache showing upon his face and a miniature pair of eyeglasses, too.

Staring back at the three was what happened to be Wart (the light-brown squirrel) and Violet (the butterfly).

Merlin looked furious. "Now what did I tell you?" he lectured at Wart. "'Always look before you leap'!"

From where he stood, Riku gave a shake of his squirrel head. Now Wart was beginning to do what Sora had done previously back in the last few Sleeping Worlds. When the brown-haired teen had gotten the chance to roam free throughout Pleasure Island, he started to cheer excitedly — until Jiminy Cricket's voice stopped him in his tracks. A similar incident had occurred when Sora rushed off to avoid CLU's Black Guards, only to somehow get picked up by Quorra. Still later, Sora had almost ended up in trouble when he had attempted to rescue Wart from falling off a tree shortly after the group had arrived in Camelot. Perhaps the sixteen-year-old Keyblader's behavior pattern was beginning to rub off on Wart? Who knew for sure?

Gazing his head up in the direction of where Wart and Violet were, Riku gave a secret smirk. When Merlin had tried transforming everyone else into squirrels before doing the same for himself, his magic had accidentally turned Violet from an angel into a butterfly. Her violet glow was still present, however, along with her transparent wing design. The problem was she had not become a squirrel; she was an insect. Merlin had scratched his head for several minutes trying to figure out what had gone wrong. Unable to arrive at a logical explanation for the mishap, he simply let it be and proceeded to transform himself into a squirrel.

Since Violet was able to naturally fly, Riku had thought such a concept was particularly amusing — even as the Angel of Dreams showed indication of disregarding such a belief. She was a butterfly and could still fly around like the angel she truly was. A notable difference from Riku's perspective was how Violet now possessed antennae like a real butterfly, which seemed to poke their way out from under her still-present hair. The only time Riku had flown was when he had spontaneously turned into a fairy back in Pixie Hollow. Even then it was not exactly "easy". In fact, only Sora seemed to do it naturally. Riku had been unable to comprehend how this was the case, so he made up his mind to leave the issue up for debate some other time.

"Well," Wart called out from the other tree. "I made it, didn't I?"

"Yes, yes," Merlin admitted. "You did. But you can't always trust to luck, boy."

As he stepped up to a smaller gap, Merlin prepared to jump as he swung his arms back-and-forth. "It's best to start with the short jumps; gauging the distance carefully… and… "

When he leapt into the air, Merlin almost missed the branch and had to cling onto it. Fortunately, both Violet and Wart were available to provide assistance. "See?" Merlin continued. "Even then you can miss. So, don't take gravity too lightly or it will catch up on you."

"'Gravity'?" Sora inquired aloud. "What's that? Some magic spell?"

Riku gave another shake of his head. He recalled how he had once learned a magical attack called Gravity, which allowed him to drag a Heartless straight from the air and flat onto the ground. Yet, Sora had apparently not been paying attention during the last few days when the teacher, a young man named Mr. Deid, had been teaching about how the force of gravity worked. It seemed as though the only thing Sora had done besides circle random answers on quizzes and tests was disrupt class by staring out the window and wonder what was going on outside.

Riku even recollected the time Sora had drawn a picture of Donald, Goofy, and himself for an assignment for Art Class. The other students in the class had burst into laughter when the brown-haired youth had claimed the anthropomorphic duck and dog were his closest friends beyond Riku and Kairi. All this had made Sora do was long to travel back across the worlds, fighting the Heartless and bringing down Organization XIII — again. Of course, that had happened within a week of both Riku and Sora's return to their home on the Destiny Islands. School had just started less than two weeks before then and was still going on while the two were taking their Mark of Mastery Exams. Master Xehanort's return just had to interrupt the school year, didn't it?

"Gravity is what causes you to fall," Merlin explained as Riku left his continuous state of thought. The wizard was switching his eyes back and forth between Sora and Wart. He pointed down towards the ground far below them. The movement of the breeze against the branches made the view rather dizzying for Riku as he started to feel a tad nervous.

"Oh," Wart summarized. "You mean like a 'stumble' or a 'trip'?"

"Yes, yes," Merlin replied before hastily correcting himself. "I mean 'no, no'! Gravity is a part of the natural phenomenon in which two objects are drawn to one another."

Hearing Sora yawning to his right, Riku shook his head once more. Merlin's extensive explanations were obviously reminding the spikey, brown-haired Keyblade wielder how much he didn't enjoy school. The wizard was giving such lengthy lectures, Sora was now on the verge of dozing off.

At that moment, an excited chitter filled the air. Whirling their focus to the other side, Sora and Riku took notice of a thin, reddish squirrel with a sparkle in her eyes. When it occurred to him how she was smiling at Wart, Sora had the slightest feeling this girl squirrel was being drawn towards the boy.

"Well now," Merlin chuckled as Wart tried to back away from the new arrival, only to have the girl squirrel follow him. "That's a girl squirrel, and a red-head at that."

"Why's she stalking him?" Violet asked. Her eyes were full of perplexity and uncertainty.

"Once a girl squirrel chooses a mate," Merlin elaborated. "It's for life."

Wart was hesitant. "But I won't be a squirrel tomorrow."

"She doesn't know that," Merlin answered. "All she knows is you're a 'him', and she's a 'her'."

"Yeah," Sora agreed with a grin. "She's a girl! They're pretty… but weird."

His grin vanished when Riku scowled at him. "I don't think Kairi would appreciate that comment," the silver-haired teenager stated.

Sora looked down in humility. "Yeah… you're right, Riku."

From the other side of the gap, Violet was giggling at Sora's reaction. Deep down inside, she was aware of how both Sora seemed to have a separate story she was yet to discover. As for Riku, he seemed to be drawn to the angel for some unknown reason. For that matter, Violet herself sensed something inside she had never felt before. What could it be?

When the girl squirrel shoved Wart flat onto the branch, he snapped, "Leave me alone! I mean it!"

Merlin chuckled aloud, "It's a state of being — a most befuddling thing! To every being of every kind it's discomboomerating!"

"Go away!" Wart hollered as he ran down the branch. The girl squirrel gave chase the entire way. All this sight did was make Sora and Riku start to snicker softly. Violet giggled to herself as Merlin continued to chuckle away.

"It's a rough game — anyone knows!" Merlin continued to call out. "There's no logical explanation for this discomboomeration! It's a most illogical, most befuddling thing!"

Sora shook his head when he thought he heard another chitter coming from behind. Turning around, Sora froze in surprise. Standing directly behind him was a small, pinkish squirrel with an enormous smile. Staring into the animal's eyes, Sora had a feeling he sensed someone familiar staring back. The squirrel's blue eyes grew ever more friendly as he continued to stare before stepping a bit closer. "Kairi?" he said in a very soft voice.

"Sora! Look out!"

The shout broke Sora's concentration just in time to be yanked backward by Riku and Violet. "What're you doing?!" Sora snapped at the two. He tried to break free, but they held his tail firmly. When Sora gave in, he questioned, "What's going on?"

"It is a trap!" Violet replied, pointing down the branch.

Whirling his focus to where the other squirrel was, Sora caught a glimpse of a black-hooded coat staring back further down the branch. One wave of the figure's arm and the pink squirrel rapidly transformed into a half-pink half-yellow creature with a red tail. As he stared at it, Sora saw its blue eyes turn into a dark shade of amber. In no time, the squirrel was hunched over and clawing in the direction of the three. Sora was appalled. "What is it?"

Sensing the Darkness the animal was radiating, Violet spoke up, "It's a Nightmare!"

Now aware of what they were up against, Sora and Riku summoned their Keyblades before rushing over. The monster tried to slice its sharpened claws at them, but Sora quickly slid around it and shouted, "It's over!"

He spun around a tiny twig on the branch before he was sent spinning into the creature. At the same time, Riku slashed the enemy with his own weapon. The Nightmare was ill-prepared for the double assault and instantly exploded into a flurry of bubbles that were sent floating away before bursting upon contact with the numerous trees growing all around.

"Phew!" Sora panted as he used his squirrel tail to wipe some sweat from his forehead. "Never thought it would be so hard to fight as a squirrel."

"Yeah," Riku agreed as he took a deep breath. "And you were swinging around."

Sora crossed his tiny arms. "So? What's wrong with that?"

Riku smiled. "Nothing, that's what!"

The pair started to laugh amongst themselves. Further down the branch, Violet was watching them with a smile on her face. Even as they were squirrels, Violet could still sense Sora and Riku's unbreakable bond of friendship. Despite how much had happened since the angel had first encountered Riku and some members of the Cybersquad back in Traverse Town, Violet was still longing for the day when she would be able to possess dreams of her own. Now, she would have to add "wanting true friends" to that list as well. Whatever the secrets to such friendships were, she was determined to learn them all.

Spotting the figure in the black coat still standing at the end of the branch, Violet gliding over to Sora and Riku. After noticing she had their attention, Violet gestured at the figure. "Come on! Let's not let him get away this time!"

Sora and Riku both nodded before turning toward the figure. When he turned and took off running, Sora hollered, "Wait!"

Riku yelled, "Hey!"

"Stop!" Violet shouted in turn.

The trio rushed down the branch in pursuit. Seeing the group headed directly for him, the figure ran until they reached the end of the branch. As they realized they were at a dead end, the figure turned around, only to find Sora, Riku, and Violet only a few feet away and coming fast.

"You… can't… run!" Sora called out between gasps for air. His legs felt heavy as the landscape appeared to be moving in circles and becoming a blur of splotched paint upon a canvas. Despite this setback, he pressed on.

Riku was not feeling any better. His heart continued to pound almost as though he was in a running race. He panted as his breathing increased at an alarming rate. This continued to grow worse until he reached his target. He was determined to catch the strange figure and discover their purpose for interrupting the flow of Camelot's dreams.

A few feet above the two, Violet was gliding straight for the figure. Her arms were tucked in at her sides and her legs were aligned for a super-speedy movement. Her eyes were glaring at the stranger as she zoomed over and set foot before the latter.

When the figure started staring at the three, they froze in place. Summoning their Keybladers, Sora, Riku, and Violet waited for the figure to reveal their identity. In turn, the figure turned around and leaped into the air before landing on a branch on the next tree.

"Hey!" Sora hollered in frustration. "That's cheating!"

"Calm down, Sora," Riku demanded, shaking his friend violently. "There's nothing we can do."

"What do you mean?!" Sora countered with panic evident in his tone of voice. "We can't let him get away!"

"Leave this to me," Violet called out. She leapt into the air and flew over to the branch where the figure was standing. The stranger moved back several steps as the violet butterfly set foot before them. Staring into the figure's darkened hood, Violet interrogated, "Who are you?"

The figure gave a silent sigh before reaching up and removing their hood. To the astonishment of the group, the figure was a young man with short, red hair. The spikes at the end of each hair strand partially shrouded the man's face and kept his eyes hidden in a light shadow. From Riku's perspective, the man's eyes seemed to be glowing a little yellow, orange, or a combination of the two. He had a frown clearly evident upon his face. When he spoke up a moment later, his deep voice seemed to contain hints of irritation. His eyes remained locked onto the group as his glow appeared to be glaring at them. Violet jumped back to the branch where Sora and Riku were remaining motionless from a sudden wave of shock and puzzlement.

"You three have become quite the annoyance," the man sneered. "Why won't you let the dreams sweep you away?"

Although Sora was sensing something really atypical in the midst of this unprecedented visitor in the current Sleeping World, he managed to say, "What are you talking about? How can dreams 'sweep us away'?"

"Yeah," Riku approved, raising his Keyblade to its fighting pose position. "What's this all about?"

The man looked into the sky as he spread his arms wide and began speaking calmly as though reciting a piece of literature.

"'Dreams of the morrow hath the shattered soul.
Pride is lost.
Wings stripped away, the end is nigh.'"

Sora had heard enough. "Cut the riddles!" he snapped angrily. His Keyblade was pointed in the direction of the man's neck. "They don't mean anything to us!"

The man glanced towards Sora. "My apologies," he said. "I'll be on my way now. Farewell."

As a dark portal opened, the man placed his hood back over his head before strolling inside. The portal closed a second after.

Sora and Riku were equally baffled and bewildered. Who was the strange man? Why was he talking in mysterious riddles? What role was he playing in the Mark of Mastery Exam? For that matter, why was he wearing the signature black coat of the defeated Organization XIII?! There were now so many questions and too few answers.

Violet crossed her arms in thought. "Perhaps," she started to say. "That man was referring to how dangerous Nightmares are?"

Sora and Riku both stared at her. "You mean you don't know?" the former questioned.

Violet shook her head. "I have never heard such poetry before. It could apply to what is happening in this particular Sleeping World… yet, that is all simply a theory. I honestly cannot say for certain whether or not it is accurate."

"Okay…," Sora muttered softly. "That doesn't make any sense. It's like I'm reading Ansem's Report all over again."

Riku shook his head and smiled. He knew Sora had gathered together all the scraps of Ansem's Report about the Heartless. Nevertheless, the silver-haired teenager also was well aware of how Sora would not have been able to comprehend all the detailed information inscribed within the heavily-researched document. Perhaps Donald and Goofy had… no way! Those two were clearly not the "brightest bulbs of the bunch". Goofy was too clumsy and Donald was too much like a ticking time bomb waiting to explode.

"Merlin! Help!"

The shout filled the group's ears just as Riku was leaving his thought process. Recognizing the voice as Wart, the group hurried along the branches of the tree until they arrived at its source.

Sora was taken aback. Before the group's eyes was a tree limb being pulled down at a significant rate. Clinging to a branch attached to the limb was a squirrel that the group immediately realized was Wart. At the same time, Riku pointed out a strange-looking wolf marching into the clearing far below. It was a deep-yellow color with red paws, and orange ears. It opened its mouth excitedly, revealing a few rows of knife-pointed teeth bearing a strange crimson color. A bright blue tongue that seemed to give a faint glow licked the creature's lips before it leaned up to catch the squirrel about to plunge straight down.

Riku was the first to speak. "Another Nightmare!"

"Man," Sora complained aloud. "They're coming way too often. Give us a break!"

"Look, over there!" Violet called out, snatching the attention of the pair. Sora and Riku's eyes rapidly descended onto the red, girl squirrel who had seemingly fallen in love with Wart. When she realized Wart was about to fall into the mouth of the monster down below, the girl squirrel rushed over to the half-snapped limb and grabbed Wart's hand. Their grip wasn't strong enough to keep them together. The limb snapped free and plunged directly down onto the wolf-shaped Nightmare below.

"Wart!" Riku hollered down at the forest floor.

"Don't worry!" Sora added. "We're coming to get you!"

Before either of the two had a chance to react, Violet had taken to the air and summoned her Keyblade. As she swooped down into the underbrush far below, the angelic butterfly found the Nightmare unharmed and still trying to get its paws on Wart. When she took into account how Wart's squirrel tail was trapped beneath the branch itself, Violet dove faster. A few seconds before she could arrive at her destination, Violet witnessed an entirely unexpected scene unfold.

The girl squirrel had taken notice of how Wart was about to become the Nightmare's lunch and ran down the tree and across the ground in the blink of an eye. When she reached the monster, the squirrel nibbled on one of its legs. Following a sharp HOWL from the Nightmare, the creature started to chase the girl squirrel. Even though Violet wanted to get involved, all she could do was watch in amazement as the girl squirrel led the monster to the side of a cliff. The creature jumped after her, only to fall over the edge and slide down into a river far below. The instant it hit the water, the wolf-resembled Nightmare exploded into a flurry of bubbles which were immediately carried away by the wind and burst upon collision with the cliff's face.

To even declare Violet was impressed would be a total understatement. Never before had she thought a sight was possible. The girl squirrel was an illusion! How could she eliminate a creature as powerful as a Nightmare? Sometimes, the Angel of Dreams wondered how the dreams seemed to take care of themselves. Perhaps this was the answer?

After the girl squirrel had chirped angrily at the defeated Nightmare, she darted back across the ground. Violet followed behind, only to find the girl squirrel was hugging Wart tightly with a gigantic grin on her face. By the time Violet set down on the ground, Sora and Riku had clambered down a nearby tree trunk and were watching with humorous smiles. All the angel did was simply shake her head and give a smile of her own.

The rustling of leaves quickly grabbed the group's focus after only three minutes had gone by. Looming over them was the human version of Merlin. The wizard was grumbling to himself, "I've had enough of this nonsense!"

"Merlin!" Sora, Riku, and Violet all declared when they saw him towering over the ground.

When he saw how the girl squirrel was hugging Wart, Merlin gave a chuckle. "So, here you all are."

"Quick, Merlin!" Wart softly requested.

Taking his cane out once more, Merlin waved it over the group's heads. "Snick, Snack, Snarrol!"

With a poof of cloudy smoke, Sora, Riku, and Wart turned back into themselves. Glancing over at Violet, Sora and Riku took into account how the Angel of Dreams had transformed back into herself with one notable difference. Sticking out from beneath her hair were a pair of antennae with ball-shaped points at the end. They seemed to hover over Violet's head like she was an alien than an angel. When Violet saw how the two Keybladers were staring at her in alarm, she questioned, "What are you both staring at?"

Riku pointed at the angel's head. "Well," he stammered, hesitant about he should reveal how the angel had gone through a seemingly mutative process. "You have… antennae, Violet."

"Like an alien!" Sora blurted. Riku's scowl made the brown-haired sixteen-year-old wish he hadn't opened his mouth.

"Huh?!" Violet exclaimed in surprise. She gazed upward, noticing the two antennae still sticking out from the top of her head. With a scream of fright, Violet's face was full of discomfort. "What happened to me?!"

"No idea," Sora admitted, shaking his head.

When Merlin saw how Violet still had antennae, he sighed. "I was afraid of that… "

"What do you mean?" Sora asked in astonishment.

Merlin replied, "I was almost certain there'd be some kind of side effect after I turned her into a butterfly instead of a squirrel."

Violet was worried. "You mean," she stammered in alarm. "I'll have antennae forever?"

Merlin sighed deeply. "I'm afraid so. Not even magic can solve that problem easily."

Violet looked down in depression. Due to the wizard's magical spell, she was stuck with butterfly antennae. Hopefully no one would mistake her for an alien rather than an angel. Would Sora and Riku still want to be her friends? She did not know.

"Hey Violet," Riku spoke up as Violet looked back up. "It doesn't matter if you have antennae or not. You're still our friend."

"Yeah," Sora approved. "Once a friend, always a friend."

Violet smiled as her violet glow increased. "Thank you, Sora and Riku. You made my day."

"You see? I'm not a squirrel. I'm a boy. A human boy."

The voice stole the group's focus. They found Wart sitting on the ground with the girl squirrel staring at him in surprise. When the girl squirrel realized Wart wasn't a squirrel, she ran up a nearby tree and into a small opening. The sounds of crying and the shedding of tears could be heard.

Wart sighed. "If you could only understand."

Merlin placed his hand on the boy's shoulder. "You know lad, that love business is a powerful thing."

Wart was amazed. "Greater than 'Gravity'?"

"In it's way," Merlin acknowledged as the two started strolling off in the direction of the castle. "Yes. I'd say it's the greatest force on earth."

"Yeah," Sora agreed as he followed Riku and Violet. The procession proceeded out of the forest and off to the not-too-distant castle. As they were a short distance out of the woods, Sora paused for a moment to gaze back at the treetops. Perched upon one of the many trees was the red, girl squirrel watching with tears in her eyes. Sora sighed as he remembered how he had promised Kairi he would return once his quest to rescue those who were still hurting was completed. Although he still didn't know who was hurting, Sora was determined to save them and then return back home to see Kairi — no matter how dangerous it would be.

Roughly twenty minutes later, the group was walking up a darkened corridor to the kitchen. The occasionally torch was providing seldom enough light for them to see which way they were going. The remainder of the light was coming from the illumination Violet continuously was producing. As he stepped through the dimly-lit hallway, Sora glanced across the walls. He recalled how there had been similar lighting back when Donald, Goofy, and him were following the Beast as they trotted through the castle of Hollow Bastion to defeat Maleficent, rescue Kairi and Belle, and seal the world's Keyhole. Back then, the halls of the building were swamped with hordes of Heartless. Contrary to Camelot, the ruined castle Maleficent had controlled seemed much darker and forbidden than a random castle located in a far-off kingdom somewhere else.

As the group approached the doorway leading into the kitchen, Riku ordered the group to halt in their footsteps. When Violet asked what was wrong, Riku replied, "I hear voices in the next room."

Tip-toeing to the doorway, Sora placed his ear against the wood. He thought he could make out a series of shouts and all sorts of clattering and such. "I think," he concluded, whirling his attention to the others. "Someone's found the 'assembly line'."

"Oh, come on!" Merlin stated as he strolled up the door and grabbed the handle. "Pish-posh!"

The instant the wizard opened the door, his eyes filled with astonishment and perplexity. "Now what have we here?"

Everyone else was as equally amazed as Merlin. Riku exclaimed, "What?!"

"Jumping hart-toads!" Wart gasped in alarm.

"Yikes!" Violet called aloud.

"Man," Sora stammered in surprise. "What happened?!"

In the middle of the room was the same wooden bucket where the dishes had been dipping in to be rinsed off. Now a large man was sitting in it and the cleaning bushes and some of the pots and pans beside it were preventing him from getting out. On the floor nearby, a mop had taken another man hostage and wrapped up his head. Scattered all across the floor were pieces of shattered glass from broken plates and bowls. A few pieces of smashed iron were lying around in a small pile amongst the other debris.

Spotting all the unforeseen chaos unfolding, Merlin raised his cane high over his head. He shouted so loud, Violet had to cover her ears. "Alakazam!"

In the blink of an eye (and a white flash of magic), all the dishes and scrubbing brushes still in the air fell to the floor with an enormous clatter and crash. The man in the bucket scowled at Merlin. "There you are, you old goat!"

Sora, Riku, and Violet stared at each other in alarm. The man was Sir Ector. Having swallowed a huge amount of soap, bubbles were flying out with each word Ector was saying.

After the other man, Kay it turned out to be, helped Ector out of the bucket, the former lost his balance and tumbled head-first into the soapy water. With a dark glare in his eyes, Ector strolled clear up to Merlin. "What's the idea of flinging your evil spells all over the place, hmm?! What do you have to say for yourself?"

Merlin was both unamused and puzzled. "You call washing dishes and sweeping floors a work of evil?"

"I'll decide what's right or wrong around here!" Ector hollered angrily. His fury rapidly subsided. "Besides, that's the 'Wart's' job — one of his duties."

"Ya old geezer!" Kay snapped in anger as he climbed out of the wooden bucket. He pointed his right index finger at Merlin like a helpless victim making a false accusation. "If you ever come into this kitchen again, I'll—"

"Don't bother," Merlin cut him off. "I won't!"

With that last word, the wizard vanished in a cloud of blue smoke. Ector was as speechless as he had been when Merlin had convinced him the latter could disappear and still be around. All he could utter was, "By Jove!"

Kay turned to his dad. "We outta run that old geezer right out of the castle — that's what we outta do!"

"No!" Ector countered with fear evident in his voice. "He'd put an evil spell on all of us! Turn us all to stone! No telling what the old devil might do!"

"He's not an 'old devil'," Wart snapped with a scowl on his face. "He-he's good!"

"Yeah!" Sora agreed before Riku or Violet could stop him. "His magic's good, too! Why don't you just leave him alone?!"

Ector was astounded. It was clear he hadn't been challenged by Wart ever before. He scowled in anger. "Wart, that's three more demerits!"

"Hey!" Sora snapped out. "Don't punish him! Just because you can't understand stuff doesn't mean it's wrong!"

"Sora!" Riku yelled in alarm. "Stop it!"

Sora froze, realizing he had been talking back to someone he really did not know too well. A similar situation had sprung up when the brown, spikey-haired Keyblade wielder had demanded Axel inform him where Kairi was. When the Organization XIII member had refused to answer, Sora wanted to force the truth out of him — no matter what it took. Unfortunately, Saïx had shown up at that exact second, and well… Sora shoved the memory aside, not wanting to remember much of that very, very, very dark day.

Wart was not finished. "He's right! You make all the rules, an-and no one can say anything!"

"That's enough, Wart!" Ector demanded. "All that popping off just got your goose cooked! From now on, Hobs will be Kay's squire! You hear that?"

Through the corner of his eye, Riku thought he caught a glimpse of Kay showing a small smile. He turned his focus back to the situation in time to hear Wart say, "Y-Yes, sir… "

As Ector and Kay started for the door, Kay raised his sword and sliced the handle off the mop that had attacked him. "There," he snorted. "That outta teach ya to pop off, you little pipsqueak!"

Once the two had left the room, Sora instantly found himself being lectured by Riku and Violet. The spikey-haired Keyblade wielder was already so ashamed, he toned them out in a heartbeat. Finally, Sora questioned, "Just… how did they get in here?"

As if on cue, the symbol on Violet's necklace began glowing. Riku's eyes filled with surprise; he hadn't seen the angel's charm show a flashback since The Grid. That time, the group had learned how Sam Flynn's father had been betrayed by CLU, which was presented in a visual format to top it off. Even Sora had been impressed, until he had learned Tron had seemingly been "killed" by CLU and his guards. It wasn't until the group had arrived in CLU's Battleship that Sora found out Rinzler was really a reprogrammed Tron. The story went from there.

A beam of Light shone out from the charm, creating a projection upon the stone walls of the kitchen. Before Sora, Riku, and Violet's eyes, they saw Ector marching down the stairs leading from the Courtyard into the kitchen.

When he reached the bottom of the stairs, Sir Ector's eyes lit up with shock and surprise. "Gadzooks!"

In the middle of the room was an entire lineup of dishes floating in the air and being cleaned by some scrubbing brushes. As he watched in horror, Ector declared, "Black magic of the worst kind! C'mon, Kay! To the attack!"

Unaware of how his son was stepping into the room from behind, Ector raised his sword. The blade bumped against Kay's head, forcing him to pause in disbelief. Ector proceeded to slash his sword through multiple plates, spreading glass all across the floor. When it appeared the pots and pans were resisting him, Ector raised his sword and prepared to slice through them. The impact it resulted in was so powerful, the blade broke into pieces and left Ector wide open. The row of pots and pans sent the man flying into the bucket where he was scrubbed repeatedly by the brushes and dunked into the soapy water.

Nearby, Kay was attempting to cut the moving brooms down to size. After being poked by a mop a couple times, the mop wrapped its fluffy tail around Kay's head, pinning him to the floor and washing it from there.

At that moment, the door to the kitchen opened, and…

The flashback stopped with such an abrupt halt, Sora's eyes were full of eagerness. "What happened next?" he said.

"You know what happened," Riku clarified. "You yelled at Ector and got Wart into trouble."

"Oh," Sora sighed in realization. He hadn't meant to get Wart into trouble. It was unintentional. "I didn't mean to."

Violet knelt down beside the brown, spikey-haired youth. "We know you did not intend to do it," she said calmly. "It occurred without any prior notification."

Sora nodded with a small smirk showing up. "Yeah… you're right, Violet."

Riku had to shake his head. He turned his head when he caught a glimpse of Wart and Merlin. Wart was kneeling down beside the broken mop with his head slouched in depression. The silver-headed teenager pointed them out to Sora and Violet.

"I'm sorry, lad," Merlin said with a deep sigh. "I know being Kay's squire meant a great deal to you. I spoiled everything."

"Yeah," Sora confessed as the three approached. "Me, too."

Wart shook his head. "It's not your faults," he spoke up. "I shouldn't have popped off. Now I'm really done for."

"No, no," Merlin contradicted. "You're in a great spot, boy!"

"Huh?" Sora and Riku both exclaimed in surprise. Had Merlin made another mistake? Since when was it good to be in trouble? Whatever the wizard was thinking was clearly not part of the situation at hand.

"How is being punished 'great'?" a confused Violet inquired.

"There's a saying," Merlin explained, noticing he had the complete attention of everyone else. "'When one door closes, another opens.' He can't go down now; it can only be up from here."

Sora nodded, recollecting how King Mickey had informed him how "there's always a Door to the Light". With those words in his mind, Sora had believed he would locate both Riku and the King following the sealing of the Door to Darkness. Sure enough, about a year later, Sora, Donald, and Goofy were reunited with King Mickey; they found Riku soon after. Those events proved there had to be hope, even in the worst of situations.

Wart sighed all the more. "I sure wish I knew how… "

"Use your head, boy," Merlin encouraged. "An education! We'll show them! You'll see!"

Wart gave a small smile. "What else have I got to lose?"

Sora, Riku, and Violet all nodded together. If there was one thing Wart could still accomplish, it would be filling his head with knowledge.

A little while later, Sora, Riku, Violet, Wart, and Merlin were gathered together in the single chamber of the Northwest Tower. Sora was starting to yawn as he heard Merlin continue to discuss how the planet is round and such. All this did was remind the spikey-headed teenager of how much he dreaded school. All those boring homework assignments… useless projects… dull lectures… too much time wasted listening and being unable to say a solitary word… he hated everything about it! That is, everything except lunch and… and having Kairi sit in a seat beside him all the time. However, even those weren't enough to help Sora get through seven and a half hours of miscellaneous information. Even though he was aware of how Merlin had planned to be Wart's tutor, Sora could not help feeling a little sorry for the latter.

"Oh," Wart summarized when Merlin had finished speaking. "You mean it'll be round someday."

"No, no, it's round now! Man will discover this in centuries to come," Merlin stated. He approached an open window where he had set up a large telescope. "And, he will also discover the Earth is just a tiny speck in the universe."

Wart seemed totally mystified. "'Universe'?"

Riku had to shake his head. It was quite clear Wart was not able to comprehend everything Merlin was telling him. This was definitely no different to how Sora would have understood the so-called "school-only language".

At that moment, Archimedes came swooping out of his birdhouse. As he gently set down upon the back of a chair in the room, the owl scowled at Merlin. "You're only confusing the boy," he proclaimed aloud. "Before long, he'll be wearing his shoes on his head! Man has always learned from the past! You… you can't learn history in reverse!"

"I'd be willing to try," Sora spoke up. Nobody heard nor comprehended him. All their attention was on the heated debate between Merlin and Archimedes. When this finally occurred to him, Sora muttered softly, "Never mind."

In a state of sensing a challenge, Merlin snapped, "Fine, Archimedes! From now on, he's your pupil!"

As Merlin marched off in anger, he paused for a moment. Turning back to face the others, he asked, "By any chance, have any of you seen my 'flying contraption'?"

"What's this?!" Sora blurted as he patted his hand down upon a strange-looking gizmo. The shape of it resembled a rectangular prism with numerous buttons and switches. A small light bulb was placed at one corner. The entire electronic seemed to resemble a panel from one of the many science-fiction stories Sora and Riku had read when they were ten years younger.

When he saw the device, Merlin chuckled. "That, my boy, is a 'Gonkulator'!"***

"What is a 'Gun-calculator'?" Violet questioned. Her mispronunciation made both Riku and Sora snicker softly. The Angel of Dreams must have heard them, as she crossed her arms and stated firmly, "I have never heard of such a name before!"

"A 'Gonkulator'," Merlin elaborated. "Is a modified rabbit trap. A certain colonel I met in the future used this machine to trick the leader of a prison camp into believing it was a useful piece of equipment."

Merlin started chuckling louder. "If only that Klink feller had known what it was he was messing with… "

Sora and Riku stared at one another with blank looks. What was Merlin referring to now? Whatever the case, it sounded extremely random. In a state of annoyance, Archimedes snorted, "I'll have nothing to do with your futuristic fiddle-faddle!"

Once Merlin had stopped chuckling, Wart gazed up at the ceiling, a look of curiosity was in his eyes. "What's that thing up there?"

Turning their eyes to where the boy was pointing, the group spotted a small, red model airplane with a single propeller and bat-designed wings. The vehicle was hanging from the ceiling by a single rope. When he saw it, Merlin's eyes lit up with excitement. "Oh!" he said. "There it is!"

As Merlin wasted no time removing the plane from the ceiling, Wart inquired, "You mean, Man will fly in one of those someday?"

Archimedes snorted all the more. "If Man were meant to fly, he'd have been born with wings!"

"Please stop talking!" Violet snarled without warning. Both Sora and Riku were sent stepping back a few paces. "I happen to possess wings!"

"You're a 'girl'," Archimedes contradicted. "You don't apply here."

"I am sending you a warning notice," Violet struck back.

Despite the argument, Merlin proceeded to twirl the propeller with his finger. "I am about to prove otherwise," he stated with pride. "Time for take-off!"

Sora and the others watched as Merlin ran straight for the open window. At the last second, the wizard tripped and was found leaning over the side. He shouted, "No! No!"

Hurrying over to ensure Merlin was alright, the others realized Merlin had unknowingly wrapped his beard around the propeller and now the airplane was hovering in the air as the beard unwound from it. Once the beard had gotten free, the plane descended like a shooting star directly into the moat. The impact was enough to snap the wings off and sink it rapidly.

"Oh," Archimedes teased with a humungous smile on his face. "Man will fly all right — like a rock!"

As the owl continued to laugh uncontrollably, Merlin snarled, "It would've worked, if it weren't for this infernal beard! Man will fly one day! I have been there! I have seen it!"

"Really?" Sora questioned in wonder. As far as the sixteen-year-old Keyblader was concerned, the only method of flight available was by using a Gummi Ship to travel between worlds. Was there really another method he hadn't heard of before?

"Oh," Wart sighed as he stared out the window. "I hope so! Sometimes, I just wish I had wings and could soar like a bird."

"Yeah," Riku approved. "Freedom to see the outside world… that's what I always wanted, too."

When Merlin overheard these statements, he snuck up on the two gathered at the windowsill. With a wave of his cane, and an inaudible spell casting, the pair transformed into a pair of birds. Sora and Violet were speechless. Merlin's magic had turned Riku into a golden-yellow sparrow. Wart had also turned into a sparrow, except he was a duller color of yellow with brown tips on the feathers.

"Well," Wart finished. "I guess everybody dreams about flying."

It was at that exact moment when Riku and Wart realized Merlin had transformed them. "I'm a bird!" Wart exclaimed excitedly.

"Yeah," Riku agreed happily. "Me, too!"

"Well now," Merlin chuckled. "Remember, you don't have the instinct. You'll have to learn how to fly first."

"And since when do you know so much about birds?" Archimedes questioned.

"I have made an extensive study of birds in flight," Merlin answered.

"If you don't mind," an impatient Archimedes frowned. "I happen to be a bird!"

Knowing there was absolutely no way he could argue against the brown owl's point, Merlin replied, "Fine then! From now on, they're your pupils!"

As Merlin strode back into the room, Sora and Violet watched as Archimedes showed Wart and Riku how to prepare for take-off. When the three birds swooped away into the air, Sora watched with his typically-enormous smile on his face. It was a moment later when he noticed how Violet was stepping onto the windowsill.

"What're you doing?" Sora asked.

Violet glanced back with a smile. "I have wings. I belong in the sky."

Following a thrust of her body, Violet leapt into the open air. Her wings flapped as she soared into the sky. From the window, Sora continued to watch in awe until the angel and the three birds were out of sight. He really couldn't wait to tell Kairi about this.

As the three birds swooped around through the air, Riku smiled as he zoomed around both Archimedes and Wart. For a moment, it appeared Wart had lost his balance. Archimedes had told him to glide with the air currents, which actually helped the small sparrow remain aloft. As the hot sun bore down on them, Riku gave a sigh of relief. The endless expanse felt like how he had always wished the Destiny Islands had been.

"My boy," Archimedes marveled as he saw Riku glided effortlessly. "You are truly a natural flyer! Are you sure this isn't the first time you've flown?"

Riku shook his head. "Nope. It's not the first time, but it won't be the last."

As the three proceeded to cross over a forest, Riku thought he caught a glimpse of something far above. Turning his head slightly, Riku spotted a gigantic creature now blotting out the sunlight. The shape of it resembled the hawk-shaped Nightmare that had chased Tinker Bell back in Pixie Hollow. He asked, "What's that?"

When Archimedes saw the silhouette overhead, his eyes flooded with fear. "A hawk!" he screamed. "Look out, you two!"

Recalling how hawks often ate smaller birds, Riku darted into the treetops of the forest. Wart was seconds behind him. The last one in was Archimedes. A loud SCREECH could be heard as the hawk gave chase.

The instant the loud SCREECH reached her ears, Violet became full of concern. She flew quickly along the air currents to where the noise had come from. To her surprise and alarm, a gigantic, hawk-shaped creature was chasing both Wart and Riku into the forest below. It took less than a minute for the angel to realize the hawk had yellow wings, a red beak and claws, and an orange tail. She immediately arrived at a conclusion; the hawk was a Nightmare — possibly the same one that had appeared back in Pixie Hollow and was later summoned by the Spellican Nightmare in Traverse Town. Violet could only sigh in irritation.

"Why does this 'Warhawk' Nightmare keep reappearing?" she complained to no one in particular.

Summoning her Keyblade, Violet rushed in rapidly. As she dodged the trees and their sharp branches, the angel picked up speed. She found both Wart and Riku taking a rest break from the top of a chimney. Glancing down, Violet took into account how the building before her eyes strongly resembled the shape of Wicked's hat back in Traverse Town. Instead of being purplish, the roof was black.

At that moment, the Nightmare came swooping in from above and tried to snatch both of the two sparrows. Violet tossed her Keyblade into the monster's side, destroying it and causing a flurry of bubbles to appear. The collision caused such a shockwave, both Riku and Wart went tumbling into the chimney. As they fell, Wart shouted, "Whoa! What? Whoa!"

Wanting to make sure the two were uninjured, Violet flew down to one of the building's windows. Peering through the glass, she spotted a weird-looking, large woman with short, messy hair that was purple and green eyes. She was wearing a purple shirt with matching shoes and a crimson skirt.

Violet nearly leaped back in disgust. The strange woman was definitely what one might refer to as "an ugly old hag". She also seemed to be living in a house filled with shadows. When Violet heard the flapping of wings, she whirled around. She gave a relieved sigh; it was only Archimedes. When the owl peered in through the window, he jumped back in shock and complete alarm.

"Oh no!" Archimedes exclaimed. "It's… it's Madam Mim!"

A/N: WHOA! WHAT?! WHOA! TALK ABOUT A JAM-PACKED CHAPTER! A LOT HAPPENED IN SUCH A SHORT TIME!

Let's recap, shall we?

(1.) Sora, Riku, and Violet encountered a stranger in a black coat.
(2.) Three Distinct Nightmares crossed their paths.
(3.) A Flashback was shown.
(4.) Violet's appearance was altered slightly.
(5.) A Reference to an older T.V. Show was shown.
(6.) Riku got to fly again.
(7.) Madam Mim was hinted at the end.

That's a Total of... SEVEN THINGS! TALK ABOUT DETAILED, TOO!

By the way, I believe that was EVERYTHING I REALLY WANTED TO SAY TODAY.
The only exception was how Chapter 32 will probably be the FINAL CHAPTER for CAMELOT.
I've already heard some of you begging to see the "Wizard's Duel", so I'll just say you'll have to wait and see how the whole thing will play out.

And Finally, PLEASE DON'T LEAVE WITHOUT REVIEWING! THE FATE OF THIS STORY DEPENDS ON IT!

This is SoraLego278 saying, "See Ya Later, Keybladers!"

*** Reference To The HOGAN'S HEROES Episode, "Klink Versus The Gonkulator".