DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING EXCEPT MY ORIGINAL CHARACTERS!

A/N: HELLO THERE! SO SORRY about posting this Chapter a little bit Late, but there were some "obstacles" I had to overcome. Nevertheless, I STILL KNEW I would be able to post it BEFORE the End of the Week!

So... Here It Is! I DO NOT have Much to say... Then again, maybe I Do.

I wanted to THANK ALL OF YOU WHO HAVE BEEN KEEPING UP WITH THIS STORY SO FAR! WE'RE LESS THAN 10 REVIEWS AWAY FROM THE GOAL OF 100 REVIEWS! IF THAT GOAL IS MET BY THE TIME THIS STORY ENDS - AND IT MOST-LIKELY WILL BE MET - THE NEXT STORY WILL BE POSTED SOON AFTER!

Also, I AM REALLY EXCITED ABOUT KINGDOM HEARTS -2.5 HD REMIX- BEING RELEASED ON DECEMBER 2ND, 2014 - AT LEAST HERE, IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!

Alright! I'm certain A LOT of you are eager to read. So... GO AHEAD! READ TO YOU HEART'S CONTENT!
GO ON! PLEASE READ - AND REVIEW - ALIKE!

CHAPTER 37
The Apprentice's Nightmare

The tunnel of exquisite tranquility seemed to go on for eternity. All around the three was nothing but warm, soothing Light. Sora had to fight the urge to relax; his mind was preoccupied — as usual. He was constantly looking at the piece of paper Shelly had given him seconds before he, Riku, and Violet had unlocked the Sleeping Keyhole and awakened the world of the Country of The Musketeers. It was a message written in what appeared to be neat, well-written handwriting.

Dear Shelly,
As you know, tomorrow your fellow Keyblade wielders will be taking their Mark of Mastery Exams. Should they both pass, you may be the only one still living here. Crystal has informed me she wishes to return home to her family should she succeed, and Carlos would like to be stationed someplace where he can keep an eye on the delicate balance of Light and Darkness.
Therefore, this means you may be alone here for a while longer. However, do not forget: Your heart is connected to theirs. Someday, you too shall be given the opportunity to become a Keyblade Master. When that time comes, you can choose to be with them or remain here to train a Keyblade wielder yourself.
- Master Yen Sid

Now Sora was feeling a tad puzzled. Based on the letter, Shelly was one of Crystal's friends in the photograph the latter had given him. He knew she had looked somewhat familiar. However, the letter also said Shelly had been training to become a "Keyblade Master" like her friends, Crystal and Carlos. Knowing Master Yen Sid had signed it, Sora was certain the sorcerer most-likely knew what had happened to Shelly and the others. Then again, the spikey, brown-haired youth was wondering why Shelly had given him the letter in the first place. Wouldn't she be needing it to remind her of what she was about to do? Then again, Sora assumed it was solely part of the dream itself that she gave him the letter to begin with.

His mind continued to wander all the more. Based on everything he had seen and learned, Shelly and Carlos were Crystal's two friends. Yet, exactly who was "Carlos"? Sora had only encountered Crystal and Shelly during the previous Sleeping World's dreams. Had Riku and Violet met him while the two were chasing down the Beagle Boys and stopping the trap? If so, they had not told Sora everything. At that point, Sora realized he had forgotten to ask Crystal why she had a scar bearing some hint of Darkness. Plus, he was once again pondering over whether or not there was any relation between Shelly and his mom's older sister — his Aunt Shelly — who had supposedly gone missing long before Sora was ever born. Was there any connection at all?

"Sora?"

Sora hastily left his deep contemplation to see Riku and Violet gazing straight at him. "Huh?" he replied. "What's up?"

"Violet was telling us the tunnel is about to end," Riku explained. "The next world is just beyond."

Staring down the tunnel of Light, Sora took note of how the tunnel was starting to reach a closure. He nodded before speaking. "This's the last world. Right?"

"Correct," Violet approved. "Once we locate the Sleeping Keyhole there, the entire mission will be accomplished. You two will both return back to where you first started."

Sora glanced at the angel. "And you'll be with us. Right?"

Violet seemed hesitant in her response. "Well, I am not sure… "

"You will be," Riku stated, placing his left hand upon the angel's right shoulder. "Once we awaken this last world, the three of us can celebrate at Yen Sid's tower. You can watch Sora and I become 'Keyblade Masters'. Count on it!"

Violet took a look over at Sora; the spikey-haired teenager gave a nod followed by a giant smile. The angel smiled brilliantly back. From Riku's perspective, her stick-like antennae appeared to be moving in circles as though waving with excitement. All the silver-headed youth could think of doing was giving his first smirked grin in a long while.

"It is settled!" Violet finally declared. "I shall be returning with you both!"

Sora and Riku both nodded in return. Sora said, "Wonder what the King, Donald, and Goofy will say?"

Riku glanced at his friend. "I'm sure they'll like her, too."

Violet shook her head and smiled all the more. She turned to gaze down the tunnel of Light, only to notice it was about to end any second. "We have arrived!" she called out.

With a series of nods at each other, Sora and Riku followed the Angel of Dreams directly through the opening leading into the last of the seven Sleeping Worlds.

Sora's oversized, yellow shoes set down upon a patch of dark-green grass. He glanced around, only to spot a few patches of trees and bushes lined along the edges of what appeared to be a magical, floating island. He looked straight up, realizing the sky above was an especially dark shade of blue and quickly transitioning into a black expanse full of stars.

He paused. For some unknown reason, the surrounding landscape seemed familiar in more ways than one. After the tunnel of Light had ended moments before, Sora had taken note of how the terrain gave the odd sensation of déjà vu. Was there a specific reason why he felt this way? Or was it simply another illusion from exploring dreams for too long? How would he know?

"Sora!"

Sora swung his head around. His eyes landed onto Riku and Violet; the two were a few feet behind him. Riku was staring straight up in surprise. Violet pointed up at something on the other side of the island. "Look over there!" she instructed.

Following the angel's finger, Sora turned his head. He froze. Standing on the opposite end of the floating island was a tall, slightly crooked, tower with peaked roofs. The walls were a faded gold color and the rooftops were a sea-green. What stood out the most about the structure's design was a large, crescent-moon shape on the side of the highest rooftop. It was accompanied by a few five-pointed stars. At the peak of the tower was a similar, golden moon in the form of a lightning rod with a golden star situated on either side of it. Overall, the entire building appeared to be a wizard's tower from the Medieval Era, which momentarily reminded Sora of the architecture for Sir Ector's castle in the now-awakened world of Camelot. Sora's eyes lit up, recognizing the tower before the group.

"Is this… " he stammered, almost unable to bring out the words. "Are we back at Master Yen Sid's tower?!"

Riku and Violet approached him. Spinning around, Sora took note of how Riku was still wearing the same white vest and blue pants he had since arriving in the Realm of Sleep long ago. Sora took a couple seconds to examine his own clothing; his red shirt with the large, black "X" shape, red shorts, and yellow shoes were exactly the same from when he had first found himself in Traverse Town at the start of the quest.

Realizing their outfits had failed to change back, Sora muttered, "Something seems off… "

"Yeah," Riku spoke up. "I'm wondering why Master Yen Sid's tower is sleeping, too."

Violet's eyes filled with amazement. "You mean this lonely tower is where your venture initially started?"

Riku gave a nod at the angel. "I don't know why it's asleep. I don't think it was ever lost to the Darkness."

Violet crossed her arms in thought. "Perhaps we should investigate that structure. This may be a trick constructed by the man in the black-hooded coat."

Riku nodded. "Alright," he agreed.

"Of course!" Sora added. "If that guy's trying to trick us with an illusion, we'll be able to handle him together!"

The three rushed to the front of the tower. As they marched up a short flight of faded-gold steps, Sora took into account a small group of stones forming what appeared to be a circle beside the trees to the right of the steps. A pipe from the outer wall of the tower was continuously spraying water into the middle of the stone circle. Sora's mind started to move — again. Why hadn't he ever noticed the spring before? Was it a complete figment of the dreams? Or was there some other logical explanation?

Riku was the first one to reach the large, wooden doors of the tower's entrance. Violet was moments behind with Sora seconds after. On the right door was a golden crescent-moon while the left door bore a golden five-pointed star. As Riku pulled open the door with the moon, both doors burst open, sending a wall of water cascading down the steps with a force slightly less than that of Niagara Falls. The two Keyblade wielders and the Angel of Dreams were swept along as the water rushed onto the ground outside. It rapidly dispersed, flowing off the edge of the landmass like a waterfall leading down into the middle of nowhere.

As he stood up from the damp ground, Sora noticed how Violet was in the process of squeezing the water out of her now-soaked wings. Still, Riku looked totally shocked; he had clearly not seen the wave of water coming from inside. As Sora turned his eyesight back to the now-open doorway, he noticed how water was continuing to flow down the steps and onto the ground. Although the river was relatively calm compared to a few seconds before, Sora started to wonder why the tower's interior had been full of water to begin with.

"That was weird," Sora murmured softly to himself.

"Could someone please inform me what just occurred?" an irritated Violet interrogated. She glanced at both the silver-haired and spikey, brown-headed Keybladers.

"I'm not sure," Sora answered, nearly speechless at the sight of seeing water coming from inside the tower. "This has never happened before. This's the place where I first met Pete, too."

"Really?!" an awestruck Violet exclaimed. "You initially encountered that villain at this doorstep?!"

Sora gave a nod of confirmation. "Donald and Goofy recognized him on the spot," he told the angel. "Goofy said me Pete had been causing trouble for years and was banished into another dimension by the King long ago. I remember Pete saying he had escaped thanks to Maleficent and was helping her rule over all the worlds with the Heartless."

Violet folded her arms across her chest. She paused for a few short minutes, tapping her right foot in the process. "For some reason," she finally said. "I believe I may have personally witnessed that event unfold."

Sora was shocked silent. If what Violet had claimed was accurate, then she had seen Maleficent help Pete escape from his banishment set by King Mickey. Perhaps she also knew of other events that had taken place around the same time period? Maybe some of them involved Sora and Riku themselves….

Riku watched his step as he strode in through the main entrance. Taking note of this, Sora and Violet followed suit. As she walked up the stairs leading to the doorway, Violet slipped and landed face-first onto the wet steps. Sora carefully helped the angel back to her feet before the two headed inside.

The inside of the tower's entrance was no different. Nearly the entire floor was covered in gently moving water. As he peered into it, Sora could barely make out the stone arc that led from the doorway to the stairs curving up towards Yen Sid's study. The stairs were another thing; water was flowing down the steps in a similar fashion to a miniature waterfall. Since the stairs curved to the right and up to the tower's upper rooms, there was no telling precisely where the water had originated from.

"Wow!" Sora exclaimed in astonishment.

"It's a flood," Riku realized. "Strange… "

Violet looked up to where the staircase curved out of sight. "Seems to me the water is coming from upstairs," she concluded. "Apparently someone left a faucet running."

Sora shook his head. "I don't think so," he denied. "This place doesn't have any faucets."

"We'll just have to go up there and see for ourselves," Riku stated. He started marching cautiously up the stairs. Sora and Violet were directly behind him. If the young man in black was luring them in, they had to be prepared for the worst.

Pushing open a wooden door with an arched top, Riku, Sora, and Violet finally reached a decent-sized room at the top of the tower. The chamber was circular with a crescent-moon shaped window on the other side and a few star-shaped windows alongside it. A small, green doorway was located to the right with a chalkboard set upon an easel beside it. Between the group and the easel was an overflowing cauldron full of water. In fact, the whole room was so flooded, the forest-green carpet Sora knew was in there was not visible through the liquid. At the center of the room was a large, wooden desk with a tall, green chair situated behind it.

Violet took note of a greenish-blue cuckoo clock slowly ticking on the wall of the room. The clock's hands were gradually moving slower and slower and the front was dripping wet from what appeared to have been a shower of water dumped onto it.

Riku immediately took into account a passing broom with stick-shaped arms strolling past the group with a pair of empty buckets. Was that single broom responsible for the water flooding the interior of the tower? That didn't make sense to him.

Sora's eyes had instantly descended onto the figure sitting in the chair at the desk. It was a mouse wearing a long-sleeved red cloak that was tied around the waist by a brown piece of cloth, dark-blue pants, pointed brown shoes, white gloves, and a blue-colored pointed hat bearing a yellow crescent-moon and a few yellow five-pointed stars; Sora thought the hat looked extremely similar to Master Yen Sid's. He was slouched in the chair with his feet on the desk. His eyes were shut tight and he seemed to be focused on something in his sleep; his arms were continuously moving in slow arcs from side-to-side.

"King Mickey!" Sora exclaimed in alarm, recognizing the mouse as the King of Disney Castle.

Violet and Riku took a closer look and were equally taken into amazement. "Mickey!" Riku declared.

Taking into account how the mouse was failing to acknowledge the group's presence, Violet spotted a music stand upright in the midst of the water around it. A reddish songbook was laying open upon it. A series of what appeared to be musical half eighth notes were drifting through the air around it. She pointed it out to the others. "Look!"

Sora approached the music stand, his face full of curiosity. "Is this what's troubling him?"

"Could be," Riku replied.

Sora summoned his Keyblade and glared at the songbook. "All right… "

With a thrust of his arm, Sora swung his weapon at the music stand. As the blade made contact with the songbook, a sudden shockwave blew out. Sora went flying backwards into the middle of the flooded room. His Keyblade landed directly beside him.

"Sora!" Riku shouted after watching his best friend getting blown back. He rushed over to where the brown-headed youth was now sitting upright in the water. Sora picked up his Keyblade and stared at the music stand.

Violet strode over and knelt down beside the sixteen-year-old Keyblade wielder. "Sora? Are you injured?"

Sora shook his head. "No," he admitted. "What was that?"

"I am not sure," the angel replied. "It appeared to be some type of shockwave that songbook composed."

"A 'shockwave'?" Sora questioned. "But… where did it come from?"

Before Violet could reply or Riku was able to speak, a higher-pitched voice echoed in the air around them. They froze, listening to each and every word.

"Gosh! Is that a 'Keyblade'?! Who're you three apprentices to? I'm Mickey — the Sorcerer's Apprentice."

The three whirled their focus straight at the desk. Although they had identified the voice as belonging to Mickey, the mouse had not shifted from the movement he had already been doing previously. Somehow, the mouse was communicating with them through the air. The only question was… how?

"'Apprentice'?" Sora said, crossing his arms in thought. "Are we in a world where the King was in training?"

"Yeah," Riku clarified, gradually scanning his eyes around the chamber. "This must be when he was training to be a Keyblade Master under Master Yen Sid."

Violet's eyes lit up with fascination. "Mickey is a Keyblade Master?!"

"Yes," Sora answered. "I knew Master Yen Sid was his teacher. I just didn't know when that was."

"What's wrong?" Mickey's voice inquired through the air.

Sora leapt to his feet. "Nothing! Um… I'm Sora."

"Riku," Riku introduced.

"My name is Violet," Violet said in turn as she rose back to her feet.

"We're the… um… 'pprentices of… um…," Sora stammered, unsure how to tell Mickey about how the current world was asleep and the mouse was a figment of its dreams. He had been dreading such an event taking place throughout the journey through the Realm of Sleep. Only now — in the last Sleeping World — had his fears finally come true.

"Listen," Sora blurted in an attempt to change the topic. "Your Maje—!"

He stopped suddenly, recalling how the mouse was not yet the King of Disney Castle. He looked down at the water-covered floor. "I've gotta stop that!" Sora sighed in annoyance.

Riku shook his head and gave a smirked grin. Up until recently, he had only known Sora to refer to Mickey as "The King", "Your Majesty", or "King Mickey". Now the spikey-haired sixteen-year-old was trying to call the mouse by his real name; "Mickey Mouse".

"Mickey," Sora continued, gazing back up at the mouse sitting in the chair. "What can we do to save you?"

"Gee thanks, Sora, Riku, Violet," Mickey's voice replied in its echo-y form. "But it's no use! A monster has possessed that music, and he's releasing Darkness that stops anybody from going in there to fight him!"

Riku's eyes lit up. "A 'monster'?" he questioned in surprise.

"It could be another Nightmare," Violet informed the other two. "That typically is what the 'monsters' are."

As the angel's words left her lips, her necklace started glowing brightly. Everyone eyes — except for Mickey's — swung around to notice it.

"Welp," Mickey's voice echoed in the room. "That light sure is bright!"

Violet nodded. "It means a flashback."

A beam of Light shone from the angel's necklace and created a large projection upon the wall of the room. Even though the wall was curved, the image it showed was not distorted. In the projection was the distinctive form of Mickey hauling two buckets of water into the chamber. To the surprise of the group, the entire room was dry — not a single droplet of water was to be seen. On top of that, the mouse was not wearing the pointed hat on his head.

As Mickey stepped through the doorway into the circular room, he set the buckets down onto the floor. He took a deep breath and wiped some sweat off his forehead. Before he picked them back up, he glanced at the desk in the middle of the chamber. Standing over the wooden tabletop was an older man with a long, dark-grey beard, a large nose, and thick dark-grey eyebrows over his oval eyes that seemed to be showing no hint of emotion. He was wearing a dark-bluish cloak with long sleeves and a matching pointed hat bearing a yellow crescent-moon and a few yellow five-pointed stars. As the man moved his hands over a cloud of magical dust, the particles rose into the air and formed a shape with blinking, yellow eyes.

As Mickey proceeded to dump the buckets of water into a large, gold cauldron on the side of the room, he watched as the man used his magical powers to add colors to the shape. The colors blended in, transforming the shape into a rainbow-colored butterfly. The upper parts of its wings contained orange and red spots with the lower sections having splotches of blue, indigo, and violet. Its upper half was a bright yellow that transitioned into a bright green on the lower half.

Mickey continued to watch as the man suddenly waved all the particles back toward himself. They landed onto the desk before vanishing in such a bright flash of white light, Mickey had to shield his eyes with his hands. When the mouse looked back, the man was yawning deeply. He removed his pointed hat and placed it upon the desk. Mickey's eyes wandered back and forth between the hat and the man now closing the doorway leading into the short hallway at the side of the chamber.

Once he was certain the man was no longer anywhere in sight, Mickey crept up to the pointed hat and placed it onto his head; the hat gave a slight glow. Turning to face a broom with a brown handle and a golden-yellow brush leaning against the wall, Mickey stared at it with a determined look in his eyes. With a wave of his arms, Mickey gestured straight at the broom. The object started to glow with magic before leaping forwards from its place. Mickey gestured for the broom to move closer; the broom obeyed simultaneously.

Once the broom was alongside the pair of wooden buckets in the room, Mickey pointed at the broom's sides. A pair of stick-like arms with hands appeared and picked up the buckets. Mickey started marching in place; the broom began doing the same seconds after. As Mickey marched for the door leading down the tower's steps, he gestured for the broom to follow. When the broom complied, the mouse's facial expression changed into one of a proud smile. Mickey continued to lead the broom out the door and down the curved staircase straight to the front entrance.

Outside, Mickey led the broom directly to a circular stone wall beside the tower's entrance. A pipe was spraying water into the middle of the stone circle. The mouse stopped at the side of the spring and gestured for the broom to scoop up the water within. The broom filled each bucket one-by-one as Mickey gestured for it to do so. Once the two buckets were full, the mouse led the broom back through the entranceway and straight up the curved staircase to the circular chamber.

Returning to the room, Mickey gestured for the broom to dump the pair of buckets into the golden cauldron. Once the task had been completed, Mickey led the broom back down the stairs and through the doorway outside. He held the door open as the broom strode through and returned to the spring.

Leaving the doorway cracked open for the broom to return, Mickey marched up the stairs excitedly. With all the magical powers now in his possession, he wondered if anything was possible for him to do! As he danced back into the circular room, the mouse left the wooden door open and headed straight for the desk at the center of the area. He jumped into the tall chair and slouched down — placing his feet upon the desk. He watched with enthusiasm as the broom re-entered the room carrying two buckets filled with water. Waving his hands back and forth, Mickey closed his eyes and imagined he was a real sorcerer. Before long, he gave a YAWN and dozed off.

As he slept, Mickey started to move his hands around in semi-circles. The broom continued to bring water from the spring and pour it into the cauldron. Without warning, a bright flash appeared through the windows. Outside, a large creature could be seen flying around. It strongly resembled a bird-shaped witch on a broomstick. The bird-witch had a blue beak, red hat with a curved top, orange feathered body, and green Y-shaped feet. Its broomstick was a green color while the brush at the base was a bluish color. It also had black and white wings that seemed to resemble a piano's keyboard and the tip of its broom-handle possessed a sphere containing what appeared to be a thick, half eighth musical note.

The creature flew in close to the window before seemingly disappearing. A moment later, Mickey started to show signs of discomfort while a musical stand magically appeared in the room with an open, red-colored songbook. In the meantime, the cauldron began overflowing. Without any other commands, the broom continued to bring in water and pour it into the cauldron. It wasn't long before the entire chamber was covered in water and some of it was flowing down the stairs and flooding the main entranceway of the tower.

Nevertheless, Mickey remained in a trance — unable to move as the creature had possessed the songbook and trapped him somewhere inside of it.

Sora was both shocked and discouraged. When the creature had suddenly appeared during the flashback, he immediately recognized it as the same Nightmare Riku and him had failed to defeat while in Traverse Town. He recalled how one of the enemies of the Cybersquad — Wicked — had summoned the monster to fight them; she had referred to it as "Spellican". The Nightmare had summoned some minions of its own… the flying-dinosaur creature Sora himself had struck down at the resort hotel in Traverse Town… the hawk-shaped monster Vidia had been controlling in Pixie Hollow… the pair of Nightmares that had attacked Pinocchio in the small clubroom and tried to freeze Monstro The Whale in Rascal's Dreamland combined into one… now it was here in another world.

Riku gave a sigh of disbelief. He remembered how the "Spellican" Nightmare had continuously put up a mystical shield to defend itself from the silver-haired seventeen-year-old's attacks. Multiple times had he and Sora been thrown back by those shields. Chances were, the Nightmare would most-likely be using the same technique once again.

Violet was astounded. Through the flashback, she had recognized the "Spellican" — a Nightmare summoned by Wicked ages ago back in Traverse Town. The angel knew the monster had turned into a coward when Wicked had ordered it to attack Sora and Riku directly and fled through what she had assumed was similar to a Sleeping Keyhole to another world. The world the Spellican had ventured off to was the place she and the others were now standing in.

"It's the Nightmare that escaped," Sora sighed. "The one Wicked created."

"It came here," Riku added. "And now it has Mickey trapped in a nightmare of music."

Violet looked at the other two; Sora and Riku gazed at her. "Let's eliminate it once and for all!" she announced with certainty.

"Yeah!" Riku nodded in agreement.

"We're not gonna let some Nightmare push us around!" Sora approved.

The three shifted their attention to where Mickey was still located in the chair. The mouse was clearly in a trance, even though a faint grin had appeared on his face. Sora, Riku, and Violet all smiled; Mickey was in favor of their decision.

"You'll all really help me?" the mouse's voice echoed.

"Of course!" Sora agreed.

"Yes!" Riku added.

"You can depend on us!" Violet stated in turn.

"Thank you!" Mickey echoed in response.

Sora gave his famous, enormous grin. "It's not every day Riku and I get to do a favor for the King!"

Riku stared in surprise. Had Sora entirely forgotten this was before Mickey was crowned the king of Disney Castle? Or was the spikey-headed teenager simply reacting on the spur of the moment? He wasn't sure which was the correct answer.

"Huh?" a perplexed Mickey echoed in reply to Sora's statement. "Didja say somethin'?"

Immediately realizing he had once again called Mickey "the King", a startled Sora rapidly changed the conversation. "Um… nothing!" he exclaimed in a hurry. "So… how can Riku, Violet, and I get rid of that Darkness?"

"Hmm… " Mickey's response echoed several seconds later. "To dispel the Darkness, we're gonna need some Sound Ideas."

Sora, Riku, and Violet all nodded in acknowledgement.

"So what precisely are these 'Sound Ideas'?" Violet inquired.

"And how can we get them?" Riku added.

At once, three clouds of magic appeared on the far side of the room behind the desk. When the clouds vanished, three additional music stands appeared, each with a different colored songbook. The one on the left had a bright-green songbook, the middle had a sea-blue songbook, and the one on the right held a deep-violet songbook. Calmly floating in the air amongst the stands were a series of black quarter notes — one group gathered around each songbook. The music stands landed gently on the floor and remained upright in the water.

"Inside each of these musical scores," Mickey's voice continued to echo. "Should be a power that can sweep away any Darkness! But you've gotta be careful! In between those clefs and notes are monsters. Not as strong as the big one, but still very strong! I don't know where the Sound Ideas are in there, but could you get 'em for me?"

"Yeah," Sora nodded. "See you in a jiff!"

"All right," Riku said. "Leave it to me!"

"Yes," Violet admitted in turn. "Allow me to retrieve a 'Sound Idea' for you!"

One by one, Sora, Riku, and Violet approached the music stands. Sora stepped straight up to the bright-green songbook. Riku neared the sea-blue book. Violet calmly strode up to the deep-violet one.

They had just started their mission in the last Sleeping World — the Symphony of Sorcery.

Staring directly at the green songbook before his eyes, Sora summoned his Keyblade and speedily pointed the blade at the music stand. A beam of Light formed at the tip of his weapon and struck the songbook. A dazzling glow containing the peaceful sounds of music filled the air as Sora was sucked into the calm, beautiful song inside.

~The "Pastoral" Symphony No. 6~
By Ludwig Van Beethoven

It was dawn. As Sora took a look around the new environment, he spotted the sun starting to shed light across a landscape of hills and one, gigantic mountain that rose far above the clouds. He heard the music of what appeared to be a group of violins and similar instruments playing a slow, graceful piece of music. As the sunlight illuminated more of the terrain, Sora opened his mouth to shout "Wow!" Nothing came out.

Sora was shocked silent — literally. He couldn't utter a single word. What would be the cause of such an unusual occurrence? That's when it dawned on him.

'Wait! Am I… inside the musical score?!'

Certain he was standing in a world within the songbook, Sora peered down into the valley. A bunch of low-lying hills could be seen amidst patches of colorful grass. Most of the patches were either green, orange, or a bright creamy color. Dozens of spherical green trees were clumped together across various parts of the region. From where the brown-haired Keyblade wielder stood, the whole area seemed peaceful. There was not a single Nightmare to be seen for miles around. Sora smiled comfortably.

'This is so nice… I could live here forever!'

Wanting to take a closer look, Sora found himself speed-walking down an incline and straight into the valley. It took him less than thirty seconds to reach the landscape below. Sweeping his eyes around the countryside, Sora spotted a group of creatures running along the ground nearby.

He halted in his footsteps and took a few moments to get a better look of the beings. To his surprise, Sora noticed how the creatures were small horses bearing horns; each with a different colored body. One was as white as a snowflake, another was a bright orange, and… there were too many shades to describe. One thing was for certain — they all had white manes.

All at once, the flock of unicorns (as Sora had learned they were identified as being) came to a stop on a hill overlooking the basin where Sora had been walking. Curious to know what had caused the animals to halt in their footsteps, Sora swung his head around. The music of someone playing a wind-like instrument filled his ears. What he saw next was even more shocking.

A little creature was leaping up and down upon a rock in the middle of the basin; in his hands was a set of musical pipes. The individual had whitish hair, pink legs, and pointed ears. One mere glimpse was all Sora needed to realize he was looking at a satyr — just like his friend Phil from Olympus Coliseum. As he continued to stare at the satyr, the spikey-headed teen was almost bumped into by another passing by. Sora jumped back a few steps, now seeing a whole group of satyrs were dancing around the low clearing; each playing their own set of musical pipes. As a group, the satyrs made a loud, yet pleasant melody that strongly felt to be stringed instruments rather than woodwinds.

Sora smiled as he watched the unicorns from the hill race down and start dancing among the satyrs. The sight made the brown, spikey-haired Keyblader feel relaxed and entertained.

'It's so peaceful here… '

One of satyrs — a blonde-headed creature with greyish legs — started playing around with a sky-blue unicorn. The pair caught Sora's attention. They began racing around a tree before the unicorn chased the satyr with its horn. As they approached a marble pillar sitting in the clearing, the satyr hid behind it. The unicorn slid to a stop, realizing the satyr was absent. From what Sora could see, the satyr was standing on the marble base and acting like a statue. The unicorn started to look around for its playmate. When the satyr blew its pipes at the animal, the unicorn spun around, only to find what appeared to be a statue. As the unicorn rushed to the other side of the pillar, the satyr blew into its pipes again. This time, the unicorn had realized the statue was the satyr and licked the latter's cheek. The satyr grinned at the unicorn in return. All Sora could do was shake his head and smile.

'Just like me and Riku… '

At that exact second, a series of gigantic shadows covered the ground. Everyone turned their gaze into the sky; even Sora wondered what was going on. To his surprise, the brown-haired sixteen-year-old found himself looking straight up at a group of flying horses with feathered wings. The one leading the group was a humungous, black creature while the others behind were much smaller and more colorful. There were five of them; two light-blue, two bright pink, and one orange.

One look at the flying horses, and Sora realized they were a family. He rubbed his eyes and stared in amazement. They all strongly resembled Pegasus — the flying horse his friend, Hercules, used to fly around.

As Sora watched, the flock circled the sky and flew past a nearby tree. There was a giant, golden nest situated in the tree's upper branches. Sora began walking closer, spotting an enormous white flying horse sitting in the nest. Peeking out from beneath its wings was a little, black one. Judging from the behavior of each flying horse, Sora concluded the giant, black one was the father and the giant, white one was the mother. Therefore, all the little, colorful ones were their children.

Seeing its siblings all gliding around through the endless, blue sky, the small, black flying horse leapt from the nest and tried to glide with the air currents. Unfortunately, there wasn't any wind and the animal landed onto a lower branch. Determined to try again, the flying horse jumped back into the air and started to glide once more. Unable to remain aloft, the animal began to panic and descended from above like a raindrop.

Realizing he was directly below where the animal was about to crash-land, Sora attempted to run out of the red, white, and blue flower patch he had strolled into. He stumbled and fell flat onto the ground; the flying horse landed on top of his back, pinning the Keyblade wielder down. The music in the background suddenly stopped on a loud, high note.

'…Could someone please help me up?'

A calm, graceful tune started playing. As Sora gazed back up from the flowers, he saw the large, white flying horse gliding down from the nest. The little, black one smiled up from below. The two creatures rubbed their noses together before the larger one helped the smaller horse off Sora's back. While Sora rose back to his feet, he noticed the two taking flight. In a matter of seconds, they were soaring with the rest of their family in the clouds above. All the spikey, brown-haired teenager could do was watch with a grin showing on his face. Once the animals had disappeared in the clouds above, Sora heard the music moving on a steady beat of ups and downs. He assumed this meant the flying horses were leaping over clouds.

Out of the blue, Sora took note of something in his peripheral vision. He whirled around and nearly jumped from shock. A large group of creatures were wandering around in a small meadow close by. In the middle of the clearing was a massive, wide barrel made of wood. Scattered in the area around it were the creatures; some resembled the flying horses, only with red wings, yellow manes, and cream-colored bodies. The rest of the group contained some small, sheep-like creatures with orange horns, yellow wool, and reddish eyes. From his distant observation, Sora realized what the creatures were in a flash.

'There are Nightmares here, too?!'

In one swift action, Sora summoned his Keyblade and raced off to where the monsters were located. As he approached, the flying horse-shaped monsters charged at him. Sora slashed his weapon through a few of them before he was thrown into the air. He landed into the enormous barrel in the middle of the meadow. Purple juice splattered all over his clothing as he made impact. Licking some of it from his hands, Sora realized he had ended up in a container of smashed grapes. Why was such a thing sitting in the middle of an otherwise deserted meadow? Who had left it there? Why was it full of grapes? Sora now had lots more questions travelling through his mind.

When the enemies charged at the barrel, Sora jumped out and slammed his Keyblade against them. One by one, the Nightmares exploded into showers of transparent bubbles. Once the flying horse-shaped monsters were gone, Sora turned his attention to the sheep-like creatures. He noticed how the enemies were all gathered in a circle around a large tree on the edge of the clearing. Taking advantage of this, Sora rushed over and used his weapon to swing around the tree. The Keyblade struck a branch, sending Sora into a group of the Nightmares; the monsters were annihilated in the blink of an eye. Sora proceeded to slash his Keyblade through the last of the enemies, vanquishing them all extremely rapidly. Before long, all the Nightmares had been eliminated.

'Good riddance!'

Sora was wiping some sweat from his forehead when something else caught his eye. Turning to look into the distance, he spotted the family of flying horses coming in for a landing in a nearby bay. Sora dashed over to the edge of the shoreline in time to see the flying horses land and hear the music become louder as they each did so. To his left, Sora saw the six, smaller flying horses setting down upon a marble pillar beside the water. Each of the animals took turns leaping from the pillar and splashing into the water below. The music became loud for a moment each time one of the horses hit the surface of what Sora assumed was a great, wide sea. The brown-haired youth gave yet another smile.

'This place is truly a nice, peaceful spot!'

Sora remained smiling as he placed his hands behind his head and started rocking back and forth. Nearby, he saw one of the satyrs from earlier sitting on a rock, blowing a set of musical pipes that the background music made sound like a whistle. Sora was starting to stroll closer when he spotted a small, red flower drifting in the air nearby. He began thinking deeply.

'Kairi would love to see that flower!'

Sora darted for the spot where he was certain the flower was about to land. He failed to notice the shoreline ending and fell into the water of the sea. As he was carried along by a current, Sora watched the flower land into his hand. He smiled, only to then notice a drop in what appeared to be a river rapidly coming up. Unable to swim to the bank fast enough, Sora now found himself descending over the waterfall and straight down onto a slower-moving river below. As he drifted along the current with the flower still in his hand, Sora laid on his back and shut his eyes. Before long, the exhaustion had seeped in and the spikey-haired Keyblade wielder had dozed off. The last thing he saw before he started to nap was a bright, golden sun with crooked flames extending off the corona. The music fell into a state of serenity.

The music started to play in its calm, graceful style, although the melody was slightly different from before. Sora reopened his eyes to see a nearly shrouded view of the sky through the treetops. His eyes became wide and alert. How long had he been asleep? He wasn't sure. All he knew was he had somehow floated down the river into a glen in the forest. As he laid on his back in thought, Sora drifted to the bank. He rolled over and clambered out of the water. He took a few moments to notice the grape stains had been washed away.

Turning around to see where he had ended up, Sora saw a group of what appeared to be girls gathered in the water. His eyes were still a tad blurry, so he couldn't tell for sure what he was seeing. After rubbing them, Sora nearly leapt back. The "girls" he had seen were now gathered on the river's edge; they each had the head, arms, and upper body of a human, but the lower body was just like a horse. Sora was astounded. These weren't ordinary girls — they were centaurs.

'Whoa! What're they doing here?'

As he scanned his eyesight around the immediate vicinity, Sora spotted a large group of what he assumed were angels (although they looked nothing like Violet) hovering around the centaurs. The angels were large and had tiny wings. One look, and Sora knew they were probably cherubim. He watched as a cherub used some pink berries to put make-up on a centaur's face. He saw another cherub using a torn piece of tree-bark to put a bunch of reddish flowers on another centaur's head. Still another cherub was using a pair of white doves to make a centaur's red hair stand out; Sora was not sure why.

At that instant, a cherub peering through an opening in the trees signaled for the others to come over. The angels all gathered at the opening. Curious to know what they all were looking at, Sora hurried over to see for himself. He squeezed his head through, only to stare with astonishment.

'Whoa!'

On the other side of the opening, a group of boy centaurs were dashing on over. Sora remained staring, realizing he was most-likely about to witness what everyone else had called the "Mating Season". He wasn't quite sure what such an event would entail, but was just as curious to find out. He followed the cherubs as they rushed behind what appeared to be a reddish-pink curtain decorated with multicolored flowers. Sora hurried to the other side in turn. He stayed to the side with his arms gestured at the curtain as though presenting something or other. He glanced at each of the boy centaurs, a giant smile evident on his face.

The curtain opened. One by one, each of the girl centaurs strolled forward. Sora watched in wonder; the girls seemed to be behaving like Kairi had at age twelve when she had taken part in a "beauty contest" at school. Sora and Riku had both attended, though the former had begun to doze off less than ten minutes into it. When Kairi had come forward in a sparkling, pink dress with matching shoes, Sora had jolted awake. He had never imagined the auburn-headed girl dressing up in such a detailed outfit like that. Of course, Sora had never imagined he would've ended up being a Keyblade wielder… fighting Heartless alongside Donald and Goofy… exploring dozens of worlds and making strong friendships with numerous individuals… battling Nobodies and bringing down Organization XIII… saving Kairi from Maleficent… saving all the worlds more than once… and awakening seven or more Sleeping Worlds in the Realm of Sleep — just to become a "True Keyblade Master".

'Man! A lot has happened! How time flies… '

As one of the female centaurs strolled into view, she turned and smiled at the male centaurs watching. With a flick of her wrist, she tossed a small, red rose onto the ground in their direction. One of the boy centaurs, a muscular, blue one with blonde hair, stepped over and scooped up the rose. He sniffed it before handing it back to the girl. The duo held each other's arms before walking off together.

Sora shook his head and smiled. So this was what the "Mating Season" was all about. Love and Romance… talk about being (what Sora had once heard) "Twitter-painted"! He continued to watch as the male centaurs each chose a female and started to either sit around together, or run off having fun. One pair was hanging around on a swing at a nearby tree. From the branches of the foliage, Sora noticed the cherubim all gathering together happily — knowing love truly was in the air. All Sora could do was smile, again.

'Well… that's that!'

It was at that precise instant when Sora's eyes fell upon a large, blue male centaur with dark-violet feet, black hair and a yellow hairband. The centaur was lying on the ground, his head resting against his right palm. From what the brown, spikey-haired Keyblader could tell, the boy centaur was discouraged as he had been unsuccessful in finding a girl for himself.

Sora gave a silent sigh. This was no different to how he felt whenever it appeared Riku was better at everything in comparison to himself. Many times it had appeared the silver-headed young man would end up winning Kairi's attention and thus marry her someday. If such an event were to ever occur, Sora would be feeling no different than the centaur before his eyes.

That's when he saw it. Through the corner of his eye, Sora spotted a small, light-blue female centaur with dark-blue feet, blonde hair with a few pink ribbons, and a faded orange tail. She looked just as discouraged as the male was. Certain those two were meant to be together, Sora strode up to where the cherubim were gathered. Gesturing at the two centaurs, Sora used his hands (in a form similar to sign language) to inform the cherubs of what he had in mind.

When the cherubim saw what Sora was referring to, three of them each picked up a golden clarinet-like instrument and headed for the girl centaur. Sora followed along behind to see what the cherubs were doing.

The trio of cherubs started to blow into the instruments over the girl centaur's head. Sora listened as the background music seemed to be just a series of woodwind instruments. The girl centaur followed as the three angels led her up to a spot halfway between where she had been and the male centaur. The female centaur noticed the boy centaur and smiled shyly. All Sora could do was shake his head.

Next, the three cherubs blew their instruments at the male centaur. He followed them a few feet before his eyes fell upon the female centaur. Even though the girl was acting a little shy, the boy casually strode up and took her hand. He gave it a kiss, which made Sora smile all the more.

'As usual! Love never loses!'

The music started to slow down and become softer and softer. The two centaurs marched together up a low-lying hill and into a small, round gazebo crafted from marble. Sora watched the cherubs pulling the reddish-pink curtain from earlier closed. Afterward, the three cherubim flew off to who-knows-where.

As the sunlight faded from the tops of the trees, Sora took note of a pinkish-red spotlight shining down from above. He gazed up and froze. Floating calmly down from above was a glowing, green-colored musical score. The ends of the piece of paper were curled up like a scroll. Sora knew exactly what it was.

While the last few, soft notes of the background music played, Sora held out his hands. The musical score landed gently into his open palms. He smiled brilliantly.

'This must be the 'Sound Idea' Mickey was talking about… '

A/N: AND... THERE YOU HAVE IT! THE SYMPHONY OF SORCERY HAS OFFICIALLY ARRIVED!
TO TOP IT OFF, SORA HAS ALREADY FOUND THE FIRST "SOUND IDEA"!

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL OF YOU WHO CORRECTLY GUESSED THE WORLD I HINTED AT IN THE RIDDLE!

WHAT'S THE SOURCE? Actually, for THIS Story, THE SYMPHONY OF SORCERY is based upon TWO DISNEY MOVIES!
These are: "FANTASIA (1940)" AND "FANTASIA 2000 (1999)"! However, MOST of the "FANTASIA 2000" Stuff won't appear until Later...

In the meantime, I just wanted to say One Last Thing; PLEASE DON'T LEAVE WITHOUT REVIEWING! THE FATE OF THIS STORY DEPENDS ON IT!

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