DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING EXCEPT MY ORIGINAL CHARACTERS!

A/N: So... after nearly a Month of waiting, Chapter 39 has FINALLY arrived! I HOPE you're not Too disappointed with such an extensive wait. I had to overcome technical difficulties - Microsoft Word has started to give me trouble and my computer is started to SIGNIFICANTLY slow down on me - -, and LOTS of recent changes.
Overall, I've had TOO MUCH of my time taken away by all these other issues, so I wasn't able to write as often as I had wanted to.

Nevertheless, I am BACK! AND I DID BRING CHAPTER 39 WITH ME! IT'S A LONG ONE, SO I'LL TRY TO KEEP THIS SHORT!

Just so you are aware, THE NUMBER OF REQUIRED REVIEWS HAS INCREASED, SLIGHTLY! INSTEAD OF 100, IT IS NOW 107! YET, IF 120 ARE POSTED, I WILL ADD A "SNEAK PEEK" FOR THIS STORY'S SEQUEL - I HAVE PLANNED IT OUT ALREADY!

Somewhere in this particular Chapter, I have included some "FAMILIAR" Characters! IF YOU HAVE READ THIS STORY SO FAR, YOU MIGHT BE ABLE TO FIGURE OUT WHO THEY ARE!

Either way, GO ON! IT'S TIME FOR SOME READING!
So, READ TO YOUR HEART'S CONTENT! DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW - PLEASE; WITH A DUCK AND DINOSAUR ON TOP!

CHAPTER 39
Taking A Wrong Turn

Sora didn't waste any time summoning his Keyblade. He stared at the music stand carrying the golden-yellow songbook with determination evident both on his face and in his eyes. He started to spin his weapon in the form of a windmill in a powerful gust of wind. His right foot moved one step closer to the stand as his Keyblade stopped spinning and pointed directly at the songbook. A beam of Light immediately formed at the tip of the weapon, shone out, and struck the book. The lovely music filled all five of his senses as a series of quarter notes and half-quarter notes came floating around him. The brown-haired youth closed his eyes as he was gulfed into the interior of the songbook.

He was ready to retrieve a second "Sound Idea" for Mickey.

~Pomp And Circumstance~
By Sir Edward Elgar

The second Sora set foot on the beige ground, the soles of his shoes sank roughly two or three inches into what turned out to be sand. He shook his head; those shoes were two and a half sizes too big anyway. Despite that, they tended to remain on his feet, which was probably thanks to the buckled straps they possessed.

He shoved the contemplation aside and proceeded to survey the landscape. Although he could tell he was situated at the peak of a high-rise dune, Sora couldn't make out a single speck of the terrain far below. It didn't help any when he realized the sun wasn't even shining. He paused, waiting for something to happen.

'I thought Mickey said he had a friend in here… somewhere.'

The loud blast of a trumpet filled his ears. The entire landscape lit up in an instant. It was so sudden, the startled Sora swayed to keep his balance upon the dune. He was unsuccessful and tumbled head-over-heels off the sandy mound. He landed on his chest at the base. The trumpet or bugle (whatever it was) played two additional blasts. A melody began playing calmly in the background.

Sora listened for a few moments. The song strongly seemed like a sentimental version of a march. Then again, it also sounded somewhat familiar… he just could not place it anywhere.

'Where have I heard that tune before?'

A pair of brown-furred kangaroos came hopping past. They were followed by a pair of elephants stomping several feet away. Sora lifted his head in surprise. He glanced back, only to stare.

A crowd of various types of animals were slowly crossing the land. The brown-haired teenager spotted a pair of giraffes, a pair of lions (one resembled his friend, Simba), a pair of brown bears, a pair of alligators, a pair of rhinoceros… the list went on. There also were at least one duo of each type of bird. A pair of turtles remained somewhere in front alongside a pair of snakes slithering rapidly to keep their lead. Sora was amazed at the sight of all the animals trekking across the ground. In the distance, a large range of purple mountains could be seen; Sora hardly noticed them.

'What a zoo! Where're they going?'

His eyes followed a pair of bald eagles as they soared overhead. The pair of animals swooped lower as they approached a humungous, gigantic brown shape in the middle of an otherwise flat plain. Sora stared in wonder.

'Whoa! What is that?!'

The spikey, brown-headed Keyblade wielder took off running in the direction of the shape. He sprinted down a small knoll to reach it. That was when Sora realized the "shape" was made entirely from wood. For that matter, it appeared to be some type of ship. The size of the vessel indicated it was slightly smaller than the famous Titanic Sora had learned about from class (though he could only remember some of its story). Unlike the luxury liner, this wooden ship had been constructed in the middle of a desert, and was probably not designed to be unsinkable. He continued to run closer to get a better look.

Another loud trumpet echoed from above. Sora stopped in his footsteps and cringed his neck back to gaze upward. From the top of the ship's railing, a very, very old man with a long white beard that stretched down and a little over the handrail was blowing a horn of some kind. He stared with total puzzlement.

'Who's this guy? What's he doing?'

Sora could only conclude the man seemed similar to Merlin. Unfortunately, there didn't seem to be any relation whatsoever! The spikey-haired youth remained staring at the man; he failed to notice all the animals from before gathering all around. When he finally did take note, Sora was surrounded every-which-way by a mixture of birds, mammals, reptiles… the list went on — again.

'Where are they doing here?'

The music seemed on the verge of picking up speed. Sora saw the man on the railing sweep his eyes in the crowd below. With a silent GROAN (literally, of course), the man headed down below and exited the ship through a ramp-like doorway; the animals formed a pathway for him to step through.

Wondering where the man was going, Sora instantly decided to follow. He was careful to watch his step as he hurriedly strode around the animals resting in the field to reach the open pathway. The brown-headed Keyblader proceeded down the path and up to a small structure at the top of a small rise.

In an instant, Sora realized the building was a house shaped similar to an igloo. It was built around a small cluster of palm trees swaying in the breeze and surrounded by a thick patch of sharp grass. Sora only discovered it was sharp by touching them. He gently shoved the blades aside as he and the man reached the other side. The music began to near a small climaxing moment.

When he finally reached the other side, the man gazed into a clearing in front of the house; Sora peered through the opening. The latter stared in complete surprise. Half-snoozing in a navy-blue hammock tied between two of the trees was a white-feathered duck with a yellowish bill, yellow feet, and light-blue eyes. He was sipping from a coconut-made cup with a straw and a miniature red umbrella. Sora immediately recognized the duck.

'No way! It's… it's… Donald!'

It was at that exact second when Donald turned his semi-shut eyes at the two. The sound of a drumbeat filled the air while the duck tried to leap from his hammock, only to spin around in it very comically before landing on the ground; the loudest drum occurred here. Sora tried to cover his eyes; Donald had apparently been relaxing — without any clothing on! Fortunately, Sora had decided not to watch, even though the duck had hurriedly hidden himself behind the hammock.

The door to the house opened a second later, revealing a girl duck with a nearly-identical design to Donald and wearing a light-blue robe (like monks in the Middle Ages) stepped out. Seeing a reddish-robe lying on the ground between the hammock and the doorway, she rapidly scooped it up and handed it to Donald — he took it in the blink of an eye and pulled it on over his head. Sora uncovered his eyes, recognizing the girl duck, too.

'It's Daisy! Didn't Goofy say she's Donald's sweetheart?'

Donald speedily approached the older man, his cheeks containing slight splotches of pink. The sight made Sora shake his head and smile. Donald did seem to be a little absent-minded, which was similar to Goofy. Too bad the duck had never taken that in consideration before. He simply would scold the knight for something or other. Such events had been rare, but not impossible.

Sora watched as the man held up a piece of parchment and pointed at a symbol on the top. To the surprise of the sixteen-year-old Keyblade wielder, the symbol resembled a thundercloud with a lightning bolt. He gazed up; there wasn't a cloud in the sky.

'Is he saying it's gonna rain? But there isn't a cloud in sight!'

Donald glanced at the burning-hot sun. He pointed at it and started laughing mockingly at the man. A loud clash of cymbals echoed when a flash of white light lit up the terrain. Sora was impressed; the man now seemed more like Merlin — he could even predict when it was going to rain! Could he be a wizard, too?

A shower of water droplets poured onto Donald; he stopped laughing and staring in realization. With a glare, the duck took the parchment, rolled it up, and stubbornly marched in the direction of where the animals were gathered close by. He tripped over a pair of ducks and landed flat on his face in a puddle in the damp sand. Sora and Daisy rushed over to ensure he was alright. When Daisy reached into her pocket, Sora took into account the gold chain around her neck; at the end was a golden heart-shaped locket. She yanked out a handkerchief, only to watch as the locket fell from the chain and landed into the puddle. Donald carefully picked it up and handed it back to her while Sora helped to duck to his feet. With the locket back in her possession, Daisy gave Donald a kiss on the cheek. Donald turned back, only to see Daisy waving "goodbye" and holding a dark-violet umbrella. Donald waved back with a friendly smile.

Observing the whole display, Sora had to smirk a grin. He recalled how Daisy had once chased Donald all around the Cornerstone of Light for forgetting their date and neglecting to write to her during the quest to save the worlds. Donald had even considered heading into the past, but Merlin had put a stop to that scheme. Instead, Sora and the others had watched the chase with and lots and lots of giggles, chuckling, and out loud laughing.

'Those two haven't changed… '

Sora followed Donald as the latter approached the animals closest to the house. In the background, the music seemed to be getting a bit louder and somewhat faster — as though leading up to a chorus. Sora was still wondering as to where he had heard the melody before….

Donald strode straight up to the animals. He unrolled the parchment and pointed at a drawing of animals walking up a ramp and into a huge, wooden ship. He nodded cheerfully at the animals, only to receive shakes of disapprovals from all the creatures. He furled up the parchment and glared at the disobeying animals. A stubborn Donald pointed angrily at the not-too-distant ship. Once again, the animals shook their heads in return. Donald was so frustrated, he threw the parchment onto the ground and started to stomp on it. The animals continued to shake in disagreement. Sora rolled his eyes and shook his head.

A flash of lightning from behind the animals grabbed the brown, spikey-haired teenager's focus. Every single creature in the group took off running with terror on their faces. Donald glanced around in alarm when he realized the animals had left. Spotting the creatures hurrying for the ship's entrance, the duck smiled proudly.

The image of seeing Donald unknowingly taking credit for something he didn't do was no surprise to Sora. More than once, the duck had also tricked others to believing something that wasn't true. This "scheming" nature of his had nearly caused serious trouble once. Three flying girls had quit working for Maleficent some time ago, so Sora suggested they help Leon, Aerith, Yuffie, Cid, and all the others defending Hollow Bastion from the waves of Heartless and Nobodies invading the town. The girls had asked if Leon owned any "treasure", to which Donald had immediately said, "Yeah! Lots of stuff!"

The girls had agreed to help, but Sora had wondered of Leon really did possess any treasure. It wasn't until later when the three girls had confronted Sora, Donald, and Goofy. Not only had Leon not had any treasure, but the girls were planning to take everything Sora's team had. Goofy had scolded Donald, only to have the latter say, "Well… I had to tell them something!"

'It's true what they say! 'Some things will never change!''

Sora casually followed Donald back toward the humungous ship. As the first animals started to climb the steady-incline of the ramp leading inside, the song's true melody started to play. Sora stared in recognition; now the music sounded just like the piece played at the school's graduation ceremony. He nodded, recalling how Riku had dragged him there because the silver-haired youth's older brother had completed High School. It had been performed at the very beginning of the ceremony. Sora had dozed off soon after Riku's brother had crossed the stage (it was during the first three or four rows). Nevertheless, the song had always remained somewhere in his mind.

'I knew that song sounded familiar!'

As Sora was nearing the vessel, he noticed Donald had run on ahead. Now the duck was behaving like he was directing traffic. The pair of kangaroos from earlier hopped up the ramp once the duck had allowed them to. It was then Donald stared at a duo of ducks — the same ones he had stumbled over previously. Donald stared straight ahead in confusion; it almost looked as though he had seen some kind of a ghost. Sora had simply given a quick shake of his head.

Through the corner of his eye, the spikey-headed teen saw some extremely peculiar creatures. He glanced to the left where a giant, blue dragon was sitting on the summit of a tall sand dune. Beside the dragon was a pinkish-white unicorn and a large, green half-human and half-bat being — Sora realized it was a griffin. All three creatures seemed to be laughing in mockery at the ship, the animals boarding it, and Donald leading them inside. This made Sora glare in disapproval.

'Don't you dare make fun of Donald!'

He summoned his Keyblade. The creatures ignored the spikey-haired teenager as he snuck closer to attack. For all Sora knew, these three were Nightmares in disguise. He felt a tap on the shoulder. Sora spun around, only to see Daisy standing behind him and pointing to the ship. He realized what she meant; most of the animals had already boarded. With a nod of understanding, Sora took off for the ship's ramp leading inside.

When he stepped through the open doorway, Sora swept his eyes around the immense interior of the vessel.

'Whoa!'

Sora was astounded. All throughout the interior framework of the ship were roped walkways, special-designed cages with bamboo bars, and numerous ladders leading to the upper levels. Every which way, birds were perched in different groups upon the pieces of frame, some monkeys were clambering on the ladders, and snakes were slithering along the rope bridges. What stood out the most to Sora was the enormous amount of shadows on the ceiling and above. The feeling from looking into the darkness made the spikey, brown-haired Keyblader wonder if a Heartless… Nobody… or even Nightmare could be lurking somewhere way up there… or beyond. He shuddered at the very thought of seeing the strange guy in the black-hooded coat — again.

Perhaps he was getting all worked up for nothing. That guy could very well be a simple figment — an illusion of the dreams. Hopefully Sora would never have worry about him ever again.

'He must be an illusion! I hope… '

It was at that moment Sora spotted Donald standing beside the open doorway. The parchment the man had initially given the duck was now mounted on the wall and rolled out completely. Judging from the pictures on the parchment, Donald's actions, and a feather in the duck's hand, Sora concluded the duck was checking off each pair of animals as they entered the ship. He shook his head, knowing this was probably another thing he should have expected Donald to do in the first place.

As the song started to play the melody of its main chorus one more time, Donald froze and stared at the image on the list. He gave a silent GASP before rushing out the entrance. Sora was perplexed; why had the duck ran out? He caught a glimpse of the next picture on the checklist; he stared in comprehension. It was Daisy; Sora understood why — she hadn't boarded the ship. Last he recalled, she had been wandering near the trio of mythical creatures. For all Donald knew, Daisy was still inside the house.

Determined to inform Donald how Daisy was already on her way to the ship, Sora rushed out the entrance in turn. He reached the top of the ramp in time to see Donald a short distance away from the ship's entrance. He gave a nod of acknowledgement, although he was not quite sure why he was giving it.

The chorus ended and the music started to pick up drastically. From beyond the horizon a gigantic wall of seawater rose into the air. The wave towered over the landscape, which made Sora realize it was on the verge of crashing into the house where Donald was heading for.

'Oh no! I've got to do something!'

Sora watched in alarm as Donald dashed for the ramp. To the former's horror, the gangway was rising in a hurry. The duck leapt into the air and grabbed onto the walkway. He pulled himself inside — just as the wave struck the house; the song swiftly jumped into an intense piece of music. Sora trailed Donald as the latter rushed to a nearby window, only to watch what was left of the house get swept away and disappear from sight.

Donald looked down in depression. Sora gave a muted sigh. Even if he was absolutely positive Daisy was safely aboard the ship, the brown-haired teenager wasn't sure how to communicate such information to the duck. He would just have to keep an eye out for Daisy and point her out to Donald.

'She has to be somewhere on this ship!'

The vessel started to rock back and forth once the floodwaters had lifted it from the ground. Through the window, Sora took note of how heavy the rainfall was, not to mention the numerous flashes of lightning. He was able to conclude the storm was beyond a severe classification; it was worse than a violent thunderstorm — let alone a standard hurricane. He shuddered at the idea of being caught unprepared in such weather.

At once, Donald sped of down the walkway. Sora followed the duck to a section of the ship below the waterline. It was here they found two woodpeckers poking their peaks into the side of the hull. Donald shooed the birds away, only to have water come spouting out through the holes the animals had pecked; the duck used his hands to plug them up. Sora tried to keep his balance as the boat rocked around all the more. A cage for a pair of elephants broke open, sending one of the enormous animals straight for Donald; the duck saw it and was now on the verge of entering panic mode. Sora leapt to one side. At the last second, the boat began rocking in the opposite direction, causing the elephant to slide back for its cage and allowing Donald to give a sigh of relief.

The moment was very short-lived. Before Sora's eyes, a variety of animals including a polar bear, a giraffe, and a rhinoceros came tumbling down from their now-open cages and all slammed into Donald. Sora nearly slapped his hand upon his face; the duck was buried at the bottom of the pile. This was one of those times he would've expected Donald to say, "…Aw phooey!"

'Yup! Some things will never change!'

The intense music came to an abrupt halt. A softer, calmer song containing the original melody started to play. Sora got a glimpse through the still-open window; the rain had ceased and the sun was shining down directly overhead. He followed Donald up a nearby ladder and through a hatch leading to the upper deck. As the two approached the railing, a clear, blue sky could be seen in any direction. Beneath the expanse was an ocean so vast it appeared to be continuous in every single direction. What stood out the most for Sora was how the sea was smoother than a mirror; he could see his reflection perfectly.

The whole concept of the ocean being so flat reminded the spikey-headed youth of how the accounts from many of the survivors of the Titanic disaster had stated the sea had been "dead calm" the night of the tragedy. There also had been no moon and there was a lack of binoculars for the lookouts. All these things — plus some ignored iceberg warnings and the sea's freezing temperature — had resulted in one of the greatest maritime disasters in recorded history! His mind froze suddenly.

'Why is this going through my mind? I'm not at school!'

As Sora stood at the wooden rail, the boat tipped heavily to one side. The section he was at rose several feet up into the air. He swung his head back and stared in astonishment. On the other end of the ship's deck, most of the large animals had exited through a doorway and gathered at the railing. Their combined weight had been plenty to tilt the entire vessel like something that tended to occur only in cartoons. Talk about being comical!

Sora shook his head and turned his head back. He noticed Donald to his left holding a white dove. The duck raised his hands into the air, causing the dove to take off. As Donald gently relaxed on the rail, Sora spotted the dove circling back and landing on a barrel; the animal cuddled up to another white dove. It was then the spikey, brown-haired Keyblade wielder realized the dove Donald had been holding was a boy; the other was a girl.

A moment later, Donald turned around and stared with astounded eyes. He grabbed the boy dove, but the animals refused to separate. The duck was stronger than the pair of doves and succeeded in breaking them apart; he glared at the scared face of the boy dove now in his hand. With a thrust full of rage, Donald threw the dove over the railing and straight for the distant horizon. When Donald turned back, he saw the same thing Sora had already taken note of; the girl dove was now sobbing. It had only taken one glance at her for Donald to show signs of guilt on his face. He spun around and pulled out a piece of parchment. Sora peered over the duck's shoulder and his pupils grew.

It was an image of Donald and Daisy hugging each other with lots of caring and love; Sora thought Donald looked a little awkward. The whole picture was outlined by a heart-shaped frame. Donald gave a deep SIGH; Sora instantly knew what the former was feeling… loneliness.

'He really does miss Daisy. Could this be… love?'

Donald glanced back at the other animals on the deck. Tears started to form in his eyes when he noticed how each of them had a mate and were cuddling together. He stared down at the wooden floorboards of the deck and marched over to the open hatchway. He headed down the ladder, shutting the hatch behind.

Sora was flabbergasted. Standing at the railing beyond the hatchway was a duck with yellow feet and a matching bill, white feathers, and the same eye color of Donald Duck. The only notable differences were how they were dressed in a blue robe with a hood and had long, black eyelashes. When she sighed deeply and turned to face the other animals gathered together on the deck, Sora immediately realized who it was.

'Daisy is safe and sound! I knew it!'

Sora casually stepped over to her. It was then he realized Daisy was looking at something in her hands… something golden. He recognized the heart-shaped locket from before. Inside was a picture of Donald and Daisy hugging together — the same one Donald had been carrying around. On the other side was a picture of Donald standing happily by himself. He nodded slightly in comprehension. The feeling was mutual.

'I feel the same way about Kairi.'

With a silent SIGH, Sora reached into his pocket. His hand came out with a small item made from pink thalassic shells in the form of a star. The background music seemed to be in the perfect mood for the thoughts of the girl who gave him the charm. Sora took a few moments to recall some of the major events from his previous two quests….

Sora recalled how he had unlocked his heart to save Kairi. Soon after, he had been restored from a Heartless thanks to the connection he shared with her. To ensure he would succeed in stopping Ansem, the Seeker of Darkness… Xehanort's Heartless, Kairi had given him her good-luck charm. After he had helped seal the Door To Darkness, he promised to return to the islands — once he had rescued Riku (and King Mickey, too!).

About a year later, he learned Kairi had been abducted by a member of Organization XIII, who turned out to be Axel. In the end, Sora had learned Axel had kidnapped Kairi from the islands to keep her away from Saïx — another member who wanted to use her as "bait" and force Sora to fight Heartless and help the Organization achieve their goal. Fortunately, Riku had saved Kairi from the castle dungeon and Sora was relieved to learn both of his childhood friends were alright. They had returned to the island only for another adventure to happen about two weeks later.

Nevertheless, there was still one thing Sora hadn't forgotten from the time he was a Heartless. When he had approached Kairi, Donald, and Goofy, the duck magician had pulled out his wand and clobbered Sora's Heartless on the head. Now he really wanted to know why the duck had taken so long to recognize him; Goofy and Kairi realized who it was fairly quick. After all, Donald had even snarled, "Confounded Heartless! Get lost, will ya?!"

'Yeah… I should ask Donald about that!'

His deep contemplation came to an end as Daisy closed up the locket; he put Kairi's charm back into his pocket. It was also at that precise moment when the white dove Donald had thrown returned to the ship and cuddled up with his mate. Daisy took notice of the pair of doves having a small reunion. She wiped away a tear and smiled a little.

Sora then took note of how the male was also carrying a tiny twig from a plant of some sort; on the end was a small, black olive. He immediately realized it was an olive branch. Observing the lush, green leaves, the brown-headed teenager realized it was from a newer plant — not one that had been washed away in the raging waters of the flood. He wondered what this could mean.

'Is the flood almost over?'

All at once, the song hit a swift crescendo. The calm water surrounding the gigantic boat dropped significantly, revealing a nearly-desolate landscape below. Except for the obvious formations of mountains, rivers, and valleys, all trace of the land from before the flood had seemingly vanished. In fact, the water had disappeared so suddenly, the boat landed upon the top of a peaked mountain. It set down so abruptly, a violent tremor shook the entire vessel. The vibration reminded Sora of an earthquake. The music also seemed to be depicting a super-fast movement.

The tremor had been plenty to send Sora bouncing down the hatchway (it had popped open), down the ladder, across a few walkways and additional ladders, and onto the hard floor below. He was momentarily stunned. When Sora had gotten back to his feet, he watched as Donald suddenly flew through the air and slammed full-force into the folded-up gangway sealing the exit.

The impact was enough to send the ramp slowly descending as Donald slid down it. The duck slid across the floor as well. When he neared Sora, the sixteen-year-old Keyblader prepared to leap to the side. At the last second, Donald's foot got snagged on a rope and was yanked into the air. He zoomed past a roped bridge higher up. A startled Daisy peered down from above. Sora shook his head, knowing the two had missed each other again.

The rope ended up pulling Donald through a set of gears (which happened to resemble Mickey Mouse's head and ears) before releasing him. Donald rapidly fell to the wooden floor. Sora and the animals looked at him in shock. The duck wasn't dead; he was simply in a complete daze. This made Sora shake his head once more.

'He acts just like Goofy… '

Once Donald had regained consciousness (which wasn't too long), the same melody Sora had heard when the animals were boarding the ship started playing in the background. Only this time, it was much louder and seemed to contain some vocal effects, too. Still, it was apparent it was the same sentimental march song from before. Two-by-two, the animals marched down the ramp and onto the gradual-sloped mountain for the rest of the world. The first pair to leave were the lions, which was no surprise to Sora; Simba was a lion and the King of the Pride Lands. Clearly, a lion truly was the king of the animals. As the other land animals proceeded down the ramp, all the birds took flight. Away they flew into the blue expanse above.

Sora was watching Donald, too. The duck was trying to avoid being trampled by the other animals. When a whole family of rabbits bounced over him, he grew frustrated and started to take out his anger on them. Sora was not shocked to see Donald hopping in place and waving his fists at the bunnies; it was actually a fairly common sight to see. A pair of elephants approached from behind. Before Sora's eyes, one of them stepped directly onto the furious duck. When they lifted their leg, a hole in the floor could be seen. Sora shook his head as Daisy sadly strode out from behind the elephants and jumped over the hole. As she proceeded outside, a dazed Donald poked his out from below.

Sora had to smirk. It was all too perfect for a coincidence.

'Those two just keep missing one another… '

Once all the animals had disembarked from the ship, the older man walked up to Donald and patted the latter's head. Sora had to shake his head once more. It was clear, Donald was the other guy's assistant. As the man, a woman, and several others strode off the vessel, Donald pulled out the picture of Daisy and him. He stared at it for a few seconds before looking down sadly. Sora had to cross his arms at the sight. For all Donald knew, he would never see Daisy again.

Sora gave another inaudible SIGH. He knew there wasn't anything worse about losing a friend than never being able to see them again. More than once that feeling had taken its toll during his journey through the Realm of Sleep. In The Grid, Sam's dad had informed everyone about Tron being de-rezzed by CLU; Sora had fallen into a state of depression until it was later learned Tron had been reprogramed into the hostile program, Rinzler. Even so, Sora had seemingly succeeded in restoring Tron's memory back to him, and it would appear Tron was safe and sound, too. Inside the world of The 100-Acre Wood, Sora had seen Pooh his friends feel helpless and hopeless without Christopher Robin. The whole story had seemed extremely similar to when Sora had fixed the book after the Heartless had torn out the pages and restored Pooh's memory of all his friend — including Sora. In the recently-awakened Country of The Musketeers, it had nearly seemed like Mickey was going to drown in the dungeons of Mont-Saint Michel. Thanks to the super-fast actions of Donald, Goofy, and Shelly, the mouse was saved for a horrible fate.

'If only I could tell Donald how Daisy's okay… '

A few chimes began playing as Donald picked up a broom and started to sweep the numerous strands of hay off the ramp. As he did so, something shiny caught his complete attention. Sora stepped outside, noticing the gold heart-shaped locket Daisy had been carrying around. Realizing it had come off her chain again, Sora wondered if Daisy was currently searching for it.

Donald bent down and placed his hand onto the locket. At the same time, Daisy rushed over and placed her hand onto it. The two rose to their feet and met eyes; they were beyond speechless. They smiled brilliantly, even though Donald had to rub his eyes to believe he was really seeing her. Before Sora's eyes, Daisy pulled Donald into her arms and gave him a kiss on the cheek. A totally thrilled Donald leapt into air; his feet started to flap like an angel's wings. Daisy secretly giggled at the sight, which made Sora place his hands behind his head and give his famous grin.

'They're back together… and Donald sure is a 'lovebird'!'

The song hit its true climax. Reunited once more, Donald took Daisy's hand and the two started to stroll down the mountain for the valley far below. With a wave of his hand in the air, Donald gestured to an enormous rainbow now forming in the sky above. Now only were the colors clearing the mountains, but they were starting on a cloud and ending on another one. To Sora, it almost looked like a drawing or painting compared to real.

The rainbow started to glow. Before Sora's amazed eyes, the glow started to move closer to him. It began descending as the song played one final, long note. As it drew closer, Sora could see the glow was coming from a golden-yellow piece of music with furled ends. He immediately realized what it was.

'The 'Sound Idea'!'

Sora held out his hands for the musical score. When the item was just inches from his fingers, a blur of pink appeared and snatched it. Sora swerved his head to the left and gave a silent gasp. Happily fluttering down the mountain was a pinkish-red flamingo. Sora was shocked.

'He took the 'Sound Idea'! I've got to get it back!'

Sora rushed down the mountain. Even though there now wasn't any music playing around him, his footsteps echoed into the valley below. He soon started panting… aloud.

"Wait," the brown-haired youth exclaimed. "How can I talk inside a musical world?!"

Sora was now well beyond astonished. One moment, he was experiencing the world inside a piece of music. The next, he was talking aloud and trying to retrieve the "Sound Idea" he needed to save Mickey from the Spellican Nightmare's spell. How could so much happen in such a short amount of time?

When Sora finally reached a ledge about halfway down the mountain, he skidded to a stop and stared in alarm. There was the flamingo, playing with a small, green yo-yo. The animal was standing beside a man wearing a black-hooded coat. The spikey-headed teen didn't waste a second to summon his Keyblade and glare at the figure. The man pulled down his hood, revealing a long, black ponytail and small, round eyeglasses. He gave a dark smile at the sixteen-year-old Keyblade wielder before him.

Sora's eyes lit up in recognition. "Aren't you the one I saw in the Musketeer training ground?"

The man's voice contained a high-pitched, nasal-type tone. "Yes, I am." He paused for a few moments, his eyes sweeping across the landscape as though admiring it. Sora knew better.

"Quite a lovely set is it? It almost feels like we're in the same dreamland."

Sora had heard enough. "Why are you and that other guy following me around?" he demanded.

The man stared at Sora. "Is it not obvious? Are you convinced you're taking some 'test'? We're not part of the dreams. If you don't believe me, ask yourself: 'How do we know where you are?' Answer that question, and it'll be crystal-clear."

Sora's glare intensified. "Cut the stupid riddles!"

The man shook his head and turned to gaze at the sky in the opposite direction. "Do not worry! The time to see the results of this little experiment is nearly here."

Sora was shocked. "What… 'experiment'?"

It was at that moment, the man disappeared through a dark portal. The flamingo released its grip on the "Sound Idea" before marching down the rest of the mountain. Sora's eyes followed the musical score as it drew closer; he held out his hands. Unlike the first time, the item drifted to Sora's chest and vanished. The glow from the object engulfed Sora, causing him to hastily look over himself in awe. He knew the "Sound Idea" was inside of him.

As he was about to decide what to do next, another song started playing. There was a long, low note. As it played, the land behind Sora disappeared. A second long, low note echoed into his ears; everything before Sora's eyes vanished. Now he was standing in the middle of a completely-darkened world. As he swung his head around in shock, the solid land beneath his feet vanished, too. With a scream of fright, Sora went tumbling down into the endless abyss of darkness.

Once Sora had ventured into the musical score, Riku turned his focus over to the dullish-orange songbook. After summoning his Keyblade, the silver-headed teenager spun his weapon in a similar manner to how King Mickey tended to attack an enemy. He pointed it at the music stand. A beam of Light formed at the tip of the weapon and shone out. The beam struck the songbook and caused nice, peaceful music to fill Riku's senses. Some eighth and half-eighth notes appeared around him as he was engulfed inside.

~The Firebird Suite — 1919 Version~
By Igor Stravinsky

A soft, gentle piece of music started to play in the background. Riku took a few minutes to survey his new surroundings. He was standing in a thick forest with patches of snow on the tops of the trees — many of which were lacking any leaves. His shoes left footprints in the snow-covered ground as he took a few steps down a smooth slope. In the distance, a gigantic, rugged mountain (also coated in snow) blotted out a good portion of the sky to the north. From the looks of things, the forest was so vast it extended as far as the mountain's base and continued throughout the remaining wilderness. A calm breeze flew through the air, forcing Riku to tuck his arms in and rub his hands on them. His teeth began chattering a little; this was not the type of weather conditions he was accustomed to.

'Must be… w-w-winnnnnter!'

A little flute began playing a melody for the song. It was also then the silver-haired teenager spotted a large animal carefully trudging through the snow close by. He stared at it for a second. The creature strongly resembled a deer with longer antlers, a thick black mane like a lion, a head shaped similar to a cow, and… he paused, knowing what it really was. An elk.

When the elk continued through the forest, Riku's mind started to move. Where was the animal going? Was something going to happen? To top it off, where was the "Sound Idea" he was searching for? He stopped a few more moments to ponder.

'Perhaps I should follow that elk.'

Riku took off in the direction of the animal. It wasn't long before he found the elk at the base of the slope, standing at the edge of a decent-sized pool of liquid water. The silver-headed youth's eyes followed the water to see where it came from. He finally spotted a stream flowing so steadily, the water looked more like it was covered by a thick layer of ice.

After a brief pause, the elk proceeded into the water. Riku was seconds behind. He nearly froze in alarm; the water was downright freezing. Now he knew how Sora had felt when the brown-haired teenager had ran through the fountain back in Traverse Town. Violet had taken notice of Sora's shivering and declared he was about to catch "hypothermia". Riku's thoughts continued as he trailed the elk toward a large opening in a tall pillar of rock that seemed to be looming over the stream.

''Hypothermia'… I've gotta be careful not to get too cold.'

Once inside the opening, Riku found himself following the elk through a large, short tunnel and into a cavern with a low ceiling. The area was dark, except for a gentle glow coming from a long icicle dangling from above. For a moment, the silver-haired Keyblader wondered if the "Sound Idea" was frozen within.

The elk strode up to the icicle. With a deep breath, the animal blew some warm air onto the ice. It started to melt a little. A droplet of water gathered at the tip before sliding off and landing in the stream below. As ripples started forming, a watery creature began moving. Riku paused to examine the strange being, noticing it was a faded blue color and contained spaghetti-like hair. The elk leaned in close to the creature, allowing the latter to grasp the animal's antlers with a pair of human hands.

'Wait! That creature does look like a human… '

When the elk moved its head back up, Riku could now see the creature had the face of a girl and appeared to possess a wavy body. Riku realized the creature was probably supposed to be a young woman. However, he was totally unsure what type of being she was. He shrugged it off and followed the elk out of the cave and back to the stream's edge.

As the silver-haired youth placed his now-damp shoes onto the snow, he caught a glimpse of the girl-like creature leaping from the elk's snout and taking flight. Riku watched in amazement as she spread her arms out and her body covered the land. As she moved through the air, the snow on the ground behind her instantly melted and healthy, green grass appeared in its place. A few, small flowers with red petals sprouted in the process. To say Riku was amazed would clearly be an understatement.

'It's like she's the life of the forest!'

As Riku continued to watch, a small flock of butterflies flew over and landed onto the girl-creature's long hair. She peeked out from behind with a smile full of happiness. The silver-haired Keyblade wielder trailed the creature as she proceeded to approach a tiny seedling at the base of an extremely tall tree. Cupping together what appeared to be her hands, she blew onto the sprouting. Before Riku's eyes, the plant grew with such speed, it seemed to be under a magical spell.

When the plant had reached its full height — about two inches below the seventeen-year-old's eye level — it bloomed, revealing little blue petals. The girl-being looked displeased by its appearance; she rubbed the stem and petals several times before it grew several inches taller and produced huge yellow petals that seemed to glow. In the background, Riku could barely make out what sounded like a faint melody in the music.

'Why's the song so soft?'

Riku continued to follow the girl-creature until the two reached a short, wide tree in the middle of a clearing. It was here the silver-headed teen recognized the elk from before standing beside it; the animal was nodding in the direction of the tree's bare branches. The girl-being leapt onto the branches and gave them a gentle touch or two. As she jumped into the air, the tree's limbs rapidly were covered by a mass of pink blossoms.

For a moment, Riku began dreading having to dance with the flowers — again. The ones in the last musical score he had entered had spun him around so fast and so frequently, he had nearly collapsed from so much whirling, twirling, spinning….

'I don't want to think about it!'

Noticing how the girl-creature had risen high into the air, Riku had to run to keep up with her. For all he knew, she might very likely be leading him to where the next "Sound Idea" was located. As he hurried along behind, the silver-haired Keyblader witnessed the entire forest around him transforming from snow-covered pines to lush green leaves in the blink of an eye. One second, the ground would have appeared to be slippery. The next, it was covered in green grass and the sun was shining down. Although Riku was starting to sweat in the sudden heatwave, he continued to trail the girl-being close behind as she neared the gigantic mountain he had noticed earlier.

As the girl-creature rushed up the side of the mountain, Riku saw something unexpected take place. Not only had the background music seemingly dropped off to an almost silent volume, but the grass created by the magic had only gone about a third up the rocky incline. When the girl-being noticed what had taken place, she hurried back down and tried to magically cause the grass to grow again. No change occurred, which made Riku wonder what was wrong. Was something interfering with her magical powers? Or was it something entirely different?

It was at that moment, the girl-creature gazed up at the top of the mountain. Gazing up at the same time, Riku's sense of smell detected something he could easily recognize from miles away.

'That smell… it's the scent of Darkness!'

The girl-creature seemed to have a curious glimmer in her shocked eyes as she calmly floating to the summit. As he watched her soar upwards, Riku spotted a column of smoke drifting from the mountain's peak. He knew this could mean only one thing. The mountain was a volcano. As the silver-haired youth began thinking of all the possible explanations for a volcano to possess Darkness, he suddenly realized what it probably meant.

'A Nightmare must be waiting inside! I have to warn her!'

A soft, ominous tune was playing in the background as Riku speedily climbed the mountain's steep slope. After all the running he had done to keep up with the girl-creature, he was beginning to feel very, very, very worn out. It didn't matter how tired he got. He had to warn the girl-being of the danger she was unknowingly putting herself into.

By the time Riku reached the rim of the volcano, he was silently huffing and puffing — literally. As he peered down into the massive crater, he saw what strongly-resembled the impact site of where a meteorite had once crashed down. The opening appeared to be nearly five hundred feet across and roughly two hundred feet or so deep. At the very bottom of the crater, the silver-headed teenager's eyes landed on a strange formation of rock that seemed to be hunched over. The shape of it seemed to resemble the wings and head of a bird. One sniff was all it took for Riku to realize the Darkness he had detected was coming from the rocky formation down below.

'So, where's that girl?'

At that exact second, Riku spotted the girl-being flying in close to the rock formation. His eyes grew wide with alarm as she stared at it for a brief moment and reached out her hand. Riku cupped his hands over his mouth to shout into the crater.

'Hey! Don't touch that! It's dangerous!'

The girl-creature continued to reach her hand closer and closer to the formation. Riku gave an inaudible SIGH, realizing he had completely forgotten he could not talk aloud while inside the musical score. No wonder she had not heard his warning!

Knowing his only chance to warn the girl-being was to physically step in front of the rock formation, Riku leapt onto a ledge a few feet down. He was about to run down what seemed to be a series of steps leading from one ledge to the next all the way to the bottom when the ledge he was standing on gave way. Reacting quickly, Riku grabbed the edge of the volcano's rim and clung to it while the ledge silently descended.

Now knowing he wouldn't be able to reach the girl-creature in time, Riku could only watch in alarm as the girl-being's hand touched the formation. The background music faded out for a brief moment. All at once, a loud, violent piece of music began playing. As he looked down, Riku wished he hadn't. At the bottom of the crater amidst a cloud of black smoke was a pair of glowing red eyes; they were glaring at the girl-creature.

'Perfect! She awakened the Nightmare!'

Despite his condition of exhaustion, Riku hastily pulled himself up onto the rim of the crater. As he clambered on top, the song's intense melody grew. A pillar of red-hot molten matter shot out from below. Glancing down into the forest below, Riku immediately realized nightfall had descended upon the entire landscape below. There was no sign of the elk, although the silver-haired Keyblade wielder knew this was because he was too small to be seen from such an altitude.

When the girl-creature leaped out of the volcano's interior, Riku saw the terror in her eyes and spun around. A humungous creature with black coating on the outside emerged from within the crater. Its head was shaped like a hawk with glaring, fiery eyes. Before Riku and the girl-being's eyes, the creature opened its enormous wings, revealing itself to be covered entirely with flame and oozing with lava. The tension of the music hit a climax.

'The Nightmare! It's a 'Fire-Bird'!'

Almost instinctively, Riku's Keyblade appeared in his hand. He swung it at the Darkness-covered creature as the girl-being rushed down the mountainside. Although he was able to deal a few solid hits, Riku was suddenly blown off his feet as the fiery-creature dashed down the mountain in pursuit of the girl.

When Riku landed in the branches of a tree at the volcano's base, he turned his attention back at the mountainside. There was the girl-creature hurrying along as the fiery-demon-like-being gave chase. Without warning, the monster opened its beak, sending a column of fire at the girl like a laser. The girl-being leapt into the air as the fire struck the land behind her.

Not willing to give up so easily, Riku rapidly climbed down the tree and sped over to where the girl-creature was now entering the forest. As she darted further in, the fiery-monster rushed into the woods. Riku watched as multiple trees were struck by the creature's body and burst into flames. His heart skipped a beat.

'That Nightmare is destroying the forest! I have to stop it!'

Riku ran up a small knoll where the fiery-monster was now advancing over. Despite the flames, the silver-headed Keyblade wielder's clothing remained untouched. Even though the air was full of smoke and volcanic ash, Riku realized he could breathe normally. He figured it had to be because he was in a dream.

At the top of hill, Riku found the fiery creature looming over an extremely tall tree. Staring at the top of the tree, Riku spotted the girl-creature frozen with fright. As the monster was on the verge of striking the tree and (possibly) disintegrating it and the girl-being with it, Riku rushed over and raised his weapon. He jumped into the air and slashed his Keyblade clear through the fiery monster. The creature began quaking from such an attack, allowing Riku to conclude he had successfully defeated it.

'Good riddance!'

To Riku's shock and disbelief, the fiery creature remained unharmed. It was then the silver-haired seventeen-year-old realized he hadn't been fighting a Nightmare at all. It was a being that had already existed within the song itself!

'What?! What's going to happen now?!'

As the background music struck another suspenseful climax, Riku stared in horror as the fiery-creature bore down on the tree. The girl-being cling to the plant's highest spot and ducked her head down as the flames covered it in a flash. Riku was blown away from them by an unforeseen shockwave. At that precise moment, everything went dark. The music stopped.

'Is it over?! I still need to find the 'Sound Idea'!'

When Riku reopened his eyes, he was lying in a pile of burnt wood and bark. The air above was covered in a thick cloud of ash and tiny pieces of plants. He slowly sat up and looked around. Every direction he looked in was covered by the stumps of what had once been the giant trees of the forest. As the ash cloud started to clear away, the not-too-distant mountain — volcano — came into focus. The entire right side of the mountain had been blown off during the eruption and an extremely thin pillar of smoke was coming from within.

Riku rose to his feet and began pondering over where he was and what had taken place. He recalled having entered a musical score to retrieve another "Sound Idea" to break the spell the Spellican Nightmare had placed onto Mickey. At first, the area he had set foot in was snow-forest. After a few small events had passed, the silver-haired youth had followed a green girl-like creature through the woods as she magically transformed them into what appeared to be Springtime. Then, there was the mishap at the volcano. The girl-being had touched a strange rock formation Riku had noticed stunk of Darkness. The result was the fiery-bird-demon chasing the girl-creature into the forest. Now it seemed the monster had vanished and left the entire forest in ruins.

'Wait! What happened to her?!'

Riku quickly surveyed his surroundings. He really wished he could call out for the girl-being to appear, but things apparently didn't work that way inside the musical realm.

His eyes fell upon a familiar-looking elk marching carefully through the destroyed forest. Wondering if the animal might be searching for the girl-creature, Riku headed in its direction. The elk seemed a bit surprised to see the silver-haired teenager. When the animal leaned forwards a little, Riku sensed its peaceful heart from within. He gently patted the creature's nose with a smile. The two proceeded along as a much softer melody started playing in the background; it sounded very solemn.

At the base of a small knoll, the two found a glowing patch of matter on the ground. While Riku pondered over what it could be, the elk bent down beside it. A figure emerged from the matter. To Riku's amazement, it looked just like a girl with spaghetti-like hair and a wavy-type body. He gave a silent GASP, realizing she was the same girl-creature he had encountered before. Still, her bright green color had faded and she appeared to have shrunk after the disaster had ended. Her arms were wrapped around her body as though shivering. Her eyes helped Riku understand she was in a state of complete hopelessness.

'She's ready to give up… Just like Roxas might've felt.'

Riku gave a silent SIGH as he remembered how Roxas had behaved when the two had battled each other at that skyscraper. Roxas had claimed he was going to free Kingdom Hearts so he could spend time with Axel and… what was her name again? Ever since the explosion at Organization XIII's castle, Riku had seemingly lost some of his memories from when he was wandering around in the Darkness. Either way, Riku knew he had to prevent Roxas from doing anything as stupid as bringing down the Organization single-handedly.

During the fight, Riku recalled Roxas striking the former's left wrist, which forced Riku to have to give into the Darkness and transform into Ansem — Xehanort's Heartless. While he was transformed, Riku had placed a bandage on his left wrist. Later, when he had thought about everything that had been said, he realized Roxas had only wanted to be with his friends — just like Riku himself had at the time.

'He and I were no different… '

The elk turned and looked in the direction of the short, wide tree the girl-creature had blossom earlier. Riku took note of how the girl-being was looking out across the remains of what had once been the forest. He knelt down beside her and extended his hand. The girl-creature glanced at Riku for a couple seconds before she clambered onto his arm. The silver-haired Keyblade wielder walked carefully through the burned debris as the elk led the way to the tree.

As they strolled along, Riku noticed the girl-being giving a tear. The drop rolled off her face and split into three smaller droplets. The water struck the ground in three side-by-side spots. As if by magic, three tiny, green stems sprouted from the ground. Although the elk and the silver-haired Keyblader continued along, they barely noticed the girl-being taking flight from her perch on Riku's arm. She soared into the air and turned a greyish color. Riku and the elk stared at her in surprise; she had a large smile.

'What's she doing?'

The girl-creature continued to spread her wavy form out across the landscape. Before Riku's astonished eyes, a shower of rain descended from above. As the rain struck the ground, plants began popping up all over the terrain. Riku and the elk rushed up a small rocky hill overlooking the valley. Before their eyes, the plants grew super-fast, causing massive trees to appear all over the place. The music became steadily louder with the same melody evident. With a look of realization in his eyes, Riku smiled.

'She's restoring the forest!'

In one long movement, the girl-creature spread her arms out and zoomed over the terrain. A whole new forest appeared behind her. The song in the background neared its climax and began slowing its rapid pace, making the melody more obvious.

Riku's grin became brighter as he watched the girl-being swoop through the air with joy. At one point, she opened her mouth as though laughing cheerfully. It wasn't long before the entire forest had been restored to its former peaceful and beautiful state. As the girl-being soared over the volcano, her magic caused lush, green grass to grow all around the mountain slopes.

The song was hitting one last, long note while the girl-creature flew closer to where Riku and the elk were spectating. She started to disappear as the song began getting softer. Riku watched as the girl-creature tossed an item in his direction. The song ended as Riku reached out for the glowing item. His eyes grew when he realized it was a dullish-orange piece of furled paper with musical notes written all over it.

'It's the 'Sound Idea'!'

Less than a second later, the glowing piece of music vanished before Riku's eyes and his body began giving the same glow. Immediately realizing this meant the "Sound Idea" was now inside of him, the silver-headed Keyblader glanced over his physic in wonder. This was better than he had anticipated.

'Whoa!'

Riku gave an audible awe from amazement. He froze, realizing he had just spoken out loud. He swung his head around, noticing the elk and the girl-creature had both disappeared. For a couple seconds, it appeared he was the only one for miles around. He stood there in perplexity, gazing out from the rocky tower overlooking the forested valley.

The sound of footsteps filled his ears. Spinning around, Riku found himself face-to-face with a young man in a black-hooded coat. Since his hood was down, it was clear the man had short, red hair with spikes at the end of each strand partially shrouding his face and keeping his eyes hidden in a light shadow. His eyes seemed to be glowing yellow, orange, or maybe a combination of the two. To top it off, he was giving a sinister smile.

Riku gasped in recognition. "You're the guy who attacked us in the treetops!"

The man's smile grew. He reached out his right hand, revealing a small, purple-colored apple. As he gazed at it, the man spoke,

"'When the war of the beasts brings about the world's end.

The goddess descends from the sky.

Wings of light and dark spread afar.

She guides us to bliss, her gift everlasting.'"

Riku had heard enough. "Riddles were never my thing!" he demanded. "Try again!"

The man turned to face the seventeen-year-old. His smile faded away. "Why won't you abandon this pointless journey? 'We' have the gift of the goddess on our side. You can too — if you just welcome the Darkness in."

Riku summoned his Keyblade and pointed it straight at the man. "Who are you? Are you with Ansem?!"

The man's expression transitioned into a glare. "You can't hold back forever! Bow in terror, Keyblade wielder!"

Out of nowhere, another song started playing. A long, low note filled the pair's ears as the landscape behind Riku vanished from sight. A second long, low note was directly behind. As it echoed in the air, the scenery behind the man disappeared before Riku's speechless eyes. With another sinister grin, a dark portal appeared and consumed the man. Riku shouted, "Wait!"

He tried to rush over and jump in, but the portal disappeared seconds before he could. His Keyblade vanished from his hand when he realized he was standing in mid-air. A moment later, Riku found himself plunging straight into a seemingly-endless abyss of complete darkness. A scream left his mouth as he fell.

After watching Sora and Riku alike enter their own musical scores, Violet moved her focus to the third music stand. Sitting on it was the dark-scarlet songbook. Not five minutes ago, she had sensed a powerful Darkness lingering from somewhere inside. Despite trying to contain her anxiety, Violet was showing a few signs of discomfort on her face.

"Don't worry, Violet!" Mickey's voice called through the air. "There is a strong Darkness inside that musical score, but I'm sure you can overcome it! Trust me — I know how you feel!"

Violet gazed at the mouse. He was still stuck in the same trance he had been in since the group had arrived in the seventh and final Sleeping World. "The dilemma is," she confessed. "I have never encountered something possessing power of that magnitude before now."

"Darkness can be scary," Mickey reassured the angel. "But Light is still powerful enough to overcome any Darkness! You should know that better than anyone else."

Violet nodded before giving a smile. It was true; being the Angel of Dreams, she was well aware how Darkness tended to be at its weakest whenever Light was around. Somehow Mickey had discovered she was a "specialized angel" — even though she hadn't told him anything beside her name. She allowed herself to conclude he was simply able to detect the Light she was radiating.

Violet's smile quickly transformed into a look of determination. "In that case, I shall return from within those musical notes with a 'Sound Idea' successfully retrieved!"

With that, she returned her attention to the musical score. After summoning her Keyblade, Violet pointed the blade directly at the dark-scarlet songbook. A beam of Light gathered at the weapon's tip and shone out. It struck the songbook, resulting in tranquil music filling her senses. A series of sixteenth notes and half-sixteenth notes floated around her as the angel closed her eyes. It wasn't long before Violet had been transported into the inside of the songbook.

~The Rite of Spring~
By Igor Stravinsky

It was pitch dark. So dark, Violet believed she could feel it. Despite her illumination, she couldn't see anything. As she tried to take a step, she ended up spinning through air. When she finally stopped, the angel realized she was floating. It was then Violet noticed all the feeling from her wings had disappeared. She glanced back and realized her wings weren't moving. This was definitely unusual. Not only could she not feel her wings, but she was floating in mid-air and they weren't moving at all.

'What is occurring?! Why am I unable to flap my wings?'

Violet paused to think over what had happened. Her thoughts were instantly interrupted when a soft, ominous song started to play in the background. It almost sounded like the type of music performed by native tribes. It was so mysterious…

'What style of music have I entered?

A faint, bluish light came into view from below. As she peered down, Violet spotted an enormous spiral-shaped mass in the distance. As far as she could tell, it seemed to be constructed from giant clouds of dust. Throughout the mass, the dots of light from millions or billions of stars could be seen.

The angel's eyes lit up in realization. This wasn't some random dust-bunny. It was a galaxy full of stars. She gave a silent GASP when it dawned on her she was drifting through outer space. Violet stared down and a sensation of excitement flooded her eyes.

'It would be fantastic to explore an undiscovered galaxy!'

All of a sudden, Violet felt a familiar sensation surge through her. She smiled with delight; she had regained control of her wings. Following a couple flaps to ensure nothing would go wrong, the angel dove directly for the spiral galaxy. As she zoomed closer and closer, the shape of the arms disappeared and Violet found herself soaring through empty space between stars. Her wings continued to propel her along while the angel started to wonder where she should venture first.

The song picked up a little as Violet approached a gigantic dust cloud. Not wishing to get covered by the filthy particles, she tried to slow down, but rapidly realized she was unable to. Instead, she swerved at the last second and sailed on. She stared straight ahead in alarm. Directly in her path was a humungous, greenish-yellow star; flames were drifting off into space from the corona. Violet turned herself slightly to the left as the music continued to crescendo. A few flames nearly struck her as she dashed past the star and headed back into open space. The volume instantly decreased and the creepy melody resumed its place in the background.

'That was definitely a truly close encounter!'

Violet allowed herself to relax a little as she proceeded onwards. A tiny, yellowish-orange object up ahead caught her eye. As she continued along, it became apparent the object was a planet — one orbiting the star she had barely avoided moments before. Her mind started to focus on the celestial body.

'That planet… perhaps I should start my exploration there.'

Detecting a patch of Darkness from somewhere on the planet, Violet realized that was where the Darkness she had sensed previously was coming from. She was on the verge of turning back and exploring elsewhere when Mickey's reassurance crossed her mind. She turned her eyes back at the planet.

'I sincerely hope my Light is capable of eliminating that powerful source of Darkness… '

With a silent SIGH, Violet soared in the direction of the planet. As she drew nearer, the music began to crescendo again. A small, glowing object zoomed into view. A second one came from the same direction, followed by a few more. For a moment, the angel thought the glowing objects were comets or maybe real shooting stars.

Her assumptions were shattered when the objects swooped into the planet's atmosphere and caused numerous explosions in what turned out to be yellow-orange clouds. As the music grew louder with each collision, Violet soared into the clouds. All around her, two or three of the glowing objects burst into explosive fireballs and started to disintegrate. Her heart almost skipped a beat, realizing the burning objects had been rocks — meteors.

As the angel tucked her arms in and straightened her legs to dive faster, the rocks began picking up speed even quicker. They zoomed past her and (what was left of them) slammed into the planet's surface far below. Violet gave a silent sigh of relief as the volume of the music subsided and its steady melody returned.

'That encounter was incontrovertibly too close for comfort!'

As Violet glanced down from the strange-shaped clouds, she took note of a vast, rugged landscape below. The ground was barren, without any indication of life, and every inch of it was a darkened shade of red. The view made the angel's anxiety start to return. She shoved it aside and cautiously swooped down below.

It was easy to set down in a valley. Everywhere Violet looked around her were massive mountains with steep sides. The air was somewhat foggy and she wasn't sure what type of chemical had created it — except it clearly wasn't water vapor. As she continued to take in her surroundings, Violet started to question where she had landed.

'This planet is desolate! There's no trace of life here!'

Her thoughts were interrupted by what sounded like drums in the song. Violet surveyed the immediate area. Seeing nothing happening, she turned towards one end of the valley and started walking. Once more, the same drums occurred in the background. She swung her head back; nothing had changed. Now feeling a tad uneasy, the angel picked up her pace as she headed along.

The drums steadily grew louder. A few trumpets accompanied them. It was then Violet noticed sparks of fire coming from the peak of one of the mountains. Flames shot out from within another. When she spotted a column of air swirling in the top of another mountain, Violet watched as it filled with fire repeatedly at the gradual pace of the music. She stared in alarm.

'Those are not mountains! They are volcanic!'

Although there wasn't any lava flowing down any of the volcanos' sides, Violet refused to take any chances. She ran down the valley. When she reached the bottom, the angel slid to an abrupt halt. She stared in surprise. Directly before her was a pool of molten matter. The music continued at a steady pace as bubbles formed into the pool and burst. It almost looked as though the pool was filled with red, gooey slime.

Violet took the opportunity to sniff the air. To her relief, she could not pick up a single poisonous chemical in the atmosphere. Deep down inside, the angel was certain deadly poisons were all around her. She already knew why she was unable to detect any.

'It is the dreams. So typical… '

The drums and trumpets continued for a couple more seconds before one, deafening blast of music filled the air. Flames and chemicals shot out from the tops of every volcano in the vicinity. The ground suddenly crumbled open in one, violent explosion. As an even greater explosion sent a humungous ash cloud several miles into the atmosphere, Violet was thrown into the air.

Next thing she knew, the angel had landed upon the rim of a gigantic, massively-wide volcano several miles from the site of the explosion. The song continued to play at its loud volume while Violet peered into the volcano's crater, only to stare in alarm. A deep pool of magma was boiling around within. To make matters worse, it was rising with extreme haste. She immediately realized what this meant.

'This volcano is on the verge of erupting! I must evacuate!'

Fearing the worst, Violet leapt from her place and hurried down the mountainside with super-paced speed. As she darted around a few ledges and piles of boulders, the angel heard the background music's tempo starting to increase. She swung her head back for a brief instant and wished she hadn't.

In the distance was the unmistakable sight of a lava flow. The molten rock was rapidly picking up speed as it rushed down the side of the volcano. Several boulders and tiny pieces of smashed rock began bouncing as the lava dragged them along.

Assuming the worst, Violet turned back and attempted to run faster. It wasn't long before she could feel the heat of the molten matter as it gave chase. She started to silently gasp for breath as the edge of a cliff came into view. The angel came to a halt at the edge and bent down to catch her breath. She glanced back and realized the lava was now less than two hundred feet away and closing in extra rapidly. Violet gazed over the side of the cliff, unsure what to do. What she saw was astounding.

'Water? It must be the sea! I have to take flight!'

Rising to her feet, Violet took one look back. The lava was now just fifteen feet away. She nodded as her wings began flapping. Turning back, the angel jumped into the air and started to soar. She glanced down in time to watch the lava flow over the cliff's side and straight down into the ocean below. The song's pace decelerated so dramatically, Violet was able to release a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding.

'What a relief! Now… where is the 'Sound Idea'?'

A thick cloud of steam rose from the water as the lava made contact. Violet rapidly found herself trapped in it. As she struggled to find her way, the angel heard the music transitioning into what sounded more like a violent windstorm. It contained a thunderous horn-like sound.

The steam cleared. As Violet took a quick look around, she found herself blown away by an extremely powerful gust of wind. She felt a few drops of water land onto her face and realized the wind was really water! She peered straight down, only to stare in complete shock.

The sea was raging. Water was being blown around and swirling with the wind. To top it off, Violet herself was being carried along with it. She tried to regain control of her flight, but it immediately became apparent it was impossible. Away the angel went — tumbling around as the strong gale blew the angry water onto the nearby shore. To Violet's surprise, the seawater rose over the cliff and rushed across the ground. It grew higher and higher. In a matter of moments, the volcano the angel had evacuated from earlier was now miles below the surface.

Violet was so amazed by everything going on around her, she failed to notice a pinch of frost forming on her wings. The ice started to spread and quickly gained weight. By the time the angel realized what was occurring, her wings were entirely frosted and began pulling her down. She could do nothing but watch as she descended into the raging sea. With a silent SPLASH, she plunged head-first into the waves and was hastily sucked several thousand feet below the surface. Realizing it was pointless to try and reach the surface, Violet opened her mouth to scream. To her total bafflement and relief, she was able to breathe normally.

'I can breathe underwater?! Thankyou, dreams!'

Her wings frosted and entirely water-logged, Violet was forced to descend straight down to the seafloor. The violent, loud song in the background faded out. In its place came a calm, yet eerie, melody. However, the water's temperature swiftly dropped to almost freezing.

Violet reached the seafloor in seconds. As she glanced around through the otherwise inky darkness (except for her violet glow of course), a tiny creature caught her eye. Staring at it for a few moments, the angel saw what appeared to be a transparent blob sporting one reddish eye and a long tongue-like strand. She concluded it was probably a single-celled being; she didn't know what else to identify it as.

Continuing to watch the little creature, Violet saw it approach another being with the same exact design and shape. The two approached each other and their strands touched. Before the angel's eyes, they each split in half — creating four identical beings in their exact shape and design. Gazing around, Violet spotted several other such creatures doing the exact same thing. As she continued to watch the little creatures, the angel relaxed and gave a friendly smile.

'They all look so adorable… '

Without any prior notification, the song grew louder. In the process, a thick, dark cloud came into view. Violet was so startled, she accidentally stumbled over a large rock. She fell backwards and landed on something soft. The cloud disappeared and the song became softer. When the angel looked again, she saw numerous jellyfish and jelly-like fish swimming about. As she rose to her feet, Violet realized she had landed onto a living sponge. She glanced around in awe. A few feet away was a mound of rocky-looking creatures — coral.

'They all appear to be so peaceful… '

As she approached a rocky column rising towards the surface, Violet wondered if she could climb up and spot the "Sound Idea" from above. Before she could reach it, the thick, dark cloud returned and covered everything in sight. The volume increased momentarily, but it was enough for Violet to give an inaudible sigh of disappointment.

'How can I locate the 'Sound Idea' if I cannot search for it?'

As expected, the cloud dispersed as the music softened, revealing a whole new assortment of sea creatures. When she glanced around and spotted the same sea sponge she had tripped over, Violet realized she was somehow witnessing the passage of time. Not only did the fish appear to have developed over time, but new coral had grown over the previous ones. To top it off, long vines of seaweed were sprouting from the seafloor and crab-like critters were crawling along the seabed.

Curious to know what else was around there, Violet strolled off to explore. She passed a large group of sea anemones clinging to an enormous archway before nearing a large slope steadily leading upwards. Certain this incline would allow access to the surface, the angel proceeded along it. As she walked up, the water grew brighter and the colder temperature from below became warmer. It wasn't long before the ocean was a navy blue color.

As Violet neared what seemed to be the sunlit surface, a greenish-brown blur swam clear past her head. She turned to see what it was and spotted a greenish-brown fish zigzagging its way towards the surface. In the process, a light-greyish fish sporting sharp teeth and a fin on its back swam out from a hidden grotto and began chasing it. Violet realized the smaller fish was being pursued by a shark and tried to rush over to help.

It didn't matter; the smaller fish had hopped out of the water and seemingly vanished. The shark was so surprised its prey had escaped, it gave up the hunt and swam back into its grotto.

Wondering where the fish had gone, Violet clambered up the last few feet of the incline before poking her head out of the water. Spotting a sandy beach on the edge of a thick, tropical jungle, she swam over and crawled onto the shore. Her hair was drenched and antennae were drooping (a little), her clothing was soaked, her wings were still completely waterlogged… Violet didn't mind. Finally, she had gotten out of the sea.

'It virtually felt like I would have to remain in the sea forever!'

The background music continued to play a soft, yet ominous melody. As her hair, clothes, and wings started to dry out in the sun's heat, Violet sat up. She took a few moments to survey her new surroundings. The sky was a strange yellow color. In the distance was a gigantic mountain rising from the sea. Still, what had caught the angel's eye was how the mount was also located on the edge of a vast bay. The beach she was sitting on was on the opposite end of the shoreline.

To the left, she noticed a small group of strange creatures that appeared to resemble lizards… or reptiles for that matter. The main difference was how they also had fins and spikes along their backs and tails. She watched as they headed into the bay and descended into the water. One of the animals turned its gaze toward the angel; Violet began feeling very uncomfortable when her eyes met the creature's red pupils. Opening its jaw to reveal rows of sharp teeth, the animal headed into the bay after the others. Though the creature had left, Violet remained anxious.

'That almost seemed like a monster was watching me… '

An earsplitting sound echoed in the song, causing Violet to swing her head to the right. Soaring through the air was a winged creature possessing a bat-like appearance. Yet, it seemed to be half-bird and half-bat. The main notable difference was the horn on the back of its head. As it swiftly swooped in closer, the angel ducked as low as she could. Fortunately, the animal missed her and scooped up a small lizard being from the sand.

Violet stared at the hunter in astonishment. One moment, it appeared the creature was going to attack her. The next, it had grabbed something beside her. She silently sighed with relief and watched as the flying animal soared across the bay. A humungous, sharp-toothed sea creature suddenly rose from below and snatched the flyer by its head. Unable to escape, the winged creature stopped moving and was pulled under the water's surface by the predator's massive jaws.

'That predator just became the victim of another carnivore!'

Now Violet was shivering with discomfort. Having just watched the hunter become the hunted, she didn't wish to stick around. For all she knew, a creature could sneak up on her from behind and… she didn't want to think about it!

Rapidly rising to her feet, the angel hurried down the beach before it dawned on her how she was standing in the open. Throughout the dreams she had ventured through time and time again, Violet had come to believe anything could happen if you're out in the open.

'I must take cover! Still, where can I locate some?!'

Recalling the tropical jungle she had noticed while emerged from the sea, Violet whirled her head to the right. There it was, the thick vines and looming palm trees she had seen. She was about to step in when a sensation of approaching Darkness stole her attention. Swinging her head back, the angel spotted one of the winged flyers diving straight at her — its mouth full of jagged teeth. She stared at it for a second, noting how its body was a blood-red color, wings were a dullish green, and its eyes and bill were both a golden-yellow. She silently gasped.

'That creature is a Nightmare!'

A few magical sparkles floated in the air in the shape of a key seconds before her Keyblade appeared. Clutching the weapon with both her hands, the angel reached it back like a baseball player about to swing. The Nightmare closed in with such speed, Violet had to time her next move. When the opportunity came, she swung her Keyblade straight over her shoulder as though slamming an axe into a piece of wood. The blade slashed clear through the monster's head, causing it to explode into a flurry of transparent bubbles. They popped one-by-one until none were left. Violet wiped a little sweat from her forehead as her Keyblade disappeared. She gave a hint of a smile.

'That is much safer!'

With the Nightmare eliminated, Violet quickly disappeared into the dense, tropical jungle. As she trudged through, it became clear how the song's melody seemed to have become much more foreboding. Stepping past some strange-looking plants, the angel wondered if she was being watched. Several times she spun around when she thought she sensed something behind her; something… dark. Yet, each time she glanced back, there was nothing in sight.

'How peculiar… Am I being stalked?'

The very concept of being shadowed made Violet's anxiety increase all the more. For all she knew, the strange guy in the black-hooded coat might be spying on her or… perhaps one of the creatures was awaiting the chance to get its prey. Whatever the case, she did know nothing would happen if she kept moving.

As the angel cautiously clambered through a small patch of bushes, she felt a glob of sweat slide down her cheek. Looking around, it was clear the surrounding environment was probably covered by swampland. Insects of various shapes and sizes were silently buzzing around. The only two Violet recognized were the mosquitos and a couple dragonflies. Nevertheless, the dragonflies themselves were quite large. In fact, they had zoomed into view so suddenly, the angel had been forced to duck down. As the pair of insects soared away, Violet started to wonder what other mysterious beings were living inside the jungle.

'This place is becoming more uncanny all the time.'

As she proceeded further into the thick foliage, Violet took note of how her hair had dried out; her stick-like antennae was no longer drooping. Her long-sleeved dress was no longer damp and her wings were dry and had defrosted, too — they only felt a little sticky in the humid, tropical air.

A strange shape caught her eye. She halted in her footsteps and backtracked a few steps. Pushing aside a thick patch of what seemed to vines, the angel gazed out across a long, steady river. What she saw amongst the trees on the other side was something she had never anticipated would be possible in a dream (unless it was a nightmare)!

Two or three giant reptiles were standing on the bank. Their long necks were bending down into the water so they could scoop some up with their tongues. Each of the animals was so massive, several of the palm trees could've stood on top of each other and still not reach the full height. Their skin was a very dark shade of grey, although their eyes were a yellow color.

One glance and Violet recalled how she had also travelled through many dreams and saved them by battling such creatures. She instantly remembered what they had been called.

''Dinosaurs'… those are dinosaurs!'

Unlike the ferocious monsters she had fought in those other dreams, Violet took into account how these ones were behaving quite peacefully. She had been well-informed how the term "Dinosaur" meant "terrible lizard", but wasn't sure why these particular dinosaurs weren't so dangerous.

As the angel continued to watch the seemingly harmless beings before her, she stepped out from behind the bushes and strode to the opposite riverbank. She stood there until one of the dinosaurs took notice. With a nervous smile, Violet waved at the giant animal. The creature leaned closer, making the angel want to step back. She held her ground as the dinosaur looked directly at her. Violet noticed how there wasn't any indication of fury; all she saw was curiosity in the animal's eyes. When she placed her hand on its nose, the dinosaur gave a tiny smile. This helped the angel relax and show a friendly smile.

'I suppose dinosaurs were friendlier than anyone imagined.'

After spending a couple seconds with the friendly dinosaur, Violet noticed a group of smaller creatures walking along the riverbank. She smiled at the sight of such innocent-looking dinosaurs playing together.

That's when the angel noticed how each of the dinosaurs looked different both in shape… and they were colorful! One was light-grey and had a long neck. Another was a small, brown flyer (like the one from the beach). There was a yellow one with a frill and a horn on its nose. Another had a light-greenish body with a tail and a mini horn on the back of its head. The last one was green and shaped a little like a turtle; it was grabbing a few plants from the ground and eating them as it moved along.

Spectating such a display, all Violet could do was shake her head and smile.

'Those dinosaurs are no dissimilar to little kids.'

The background music suddenly stopped. Overhead, long dark clouds had come into view and a few droplets of rain started to fall. As the dinosaurs she had been with raised their necks up, Violet could make out fear in their eyes. All around, dinosaurs of various shapes and sizes poked their heads out through the treetops and stared toward the top of a nearby hill. As Violet wondered what was happening, the sensation of a strong Darkness returned — and this time, it was close by.

'Yikes! There must be a powerful Nightmare nearby!'

Reacting as rapidly as she could, Violet took to the sky. As she hovered over the treetops, she let out a silent gasp. Perched on the hilltop all the dinosaurs were staring at was a dark, forbidding shape. Following a flash of lightning and a sudden suspenseful melody in the background music, Violet's heart skipped several beats and continued to beat faster and faster.

The silhouette she had seen was really an enormous dinosaur with a large head, tiny arms with claws, and sharp teeth. Its skin was a faded green and it had reddish-glowing eyes. Its toes were yellow and the teeth were orange. Detecting the strong Darkness the dinosaur was radiating, Violet had a difficult time believing what she was seeing was real.

'It IS a Nightmare! And a powerful one, too!'

The dinosaur Nightmare marched across the ground at the same pace as the music was playing. Most of the dinosaurs immediately dove for cover as the monster advanced. The sky quickly became so dark, it looked like night had fallen.

From where she was hovering, Violet watched in alarm as one large dinosaur with plates on its back and spikes on its tail was unable to flee. Instead, the animal was forced to defend itself from the Nightmare. The angel was nearly in panic mode; she knew the dinosaur (she had heard it was called a "Stegosaurus") would not stand a chance against such a strong Nightmare.

'I must defend the Stegosaurus from that Nightmare!'

With a sudden wave of determination, Violet summoned her Keyblade. It took seconds for her to glide over the confrontation on the hill. Seeing how terrified the Stegosaurus was, the angel swooped down from above and landed directly between the two.

That's when she saw the Nightmare's glowing red eyes glaring down at her. The anxiety returned, causing Violet to freeze in alarm. The moment seemed to go on for eons before her Keyblade began glowing brilliantly. Violet stared at it in total surprise. She heard a strange voice amidst the loud, intense background music, which was the last thing she had expected.

"Giving up already? Come on! I thought youwere stronger than that!"

'I can sense it… I am not battling alone!'

With her confidence restored, Violet pointed her Keyblade straight at the Nightmare. A beam of Light shone straight from the weapon and struck the enemy. At the same time, the Stegosaurus swung its spiked tail and struck the monster's head. As the music hit an extremelyloud climax, the Nightmare fell sideways onto the ground and exploded into Darkness. Violet was astounded; not only had she saved the Stegosaurus from harm, but the dinosaur Nightmare had been obliterated. She now knew, despite the powerful Darkness it had contained, the Nightmare had proved to be no match for the power of Light.

Through her peripheral vision, the angel noticed all the other dinosaurs staring at her in shock and amazement. As the climax filled the air once more, a flash of lightning brightened the landscape, revealing how nothing had really changed since the storm started. Violet gave a silent sigh of relief while the clouds dispersed, the sunlight returned, and the dinosaurs resumed their usual instinctive behaviors.

'There! It is exactly the way it should be!'

Following one final climatic blow in the background music, the song came to an abrupt halt. All the dinosaurs vanished from their places. Violet stared in alarm. That's when she saw it — a glowing dark-scarlet musical score drifting through the air.

'The 'Sound Idea'!'

As she watched the piece of paper draw closer, a pink-furred vulture swooped into view and snatched it. Violet gasped in alarm.

"That vulture… it looks familiar!" she stated. She froze, realizing she had spoken for the first time since entering the musical score. Wondering where the "Sound Idea" had gone, Violet took to the sky and glided after the vulture. The latter tried to throw the angel off its trail by making sharp turns, but Violet was too clever to fall for such an obvious trick.

After the chase continued for several laps, the vulture descended into a clearing. Violet was seconds behind it. When she touched the ground, she froze in both shock and surprise.

Directly before the angel's eyes was the vulture, sitting on the shoulder of a tall figure with alien-green skin, a long, pointed chin, oval eyes with black pupils, and a black wig. He was wearing a white shirt, tiny black pants with small feet, a purple-colored cape fastened by a miniature black bowtie, and a small pocket with three ball-point pens. Beside him stood a pair of green robotic beings with black lining around their eyes. One was short and wide while with other was tall with a long snout and horns that buzzed with electricity.

Violet gasped, instantly recognizing the three. "Hacker! Buzz and Delete!" she shouted in alarm.

"That's 'The Hacker' to you!" Hacker snapped back.

"Yeah!" Delete called out. "He's the boss — almost!"

Buzz glared at his companion. "Delete!"

Hacker glared at them both. "Knock it off, ya couple of Dunce Buckets! I warned you about mocking me!"

Violet rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. It was clear to her this dispute would not be ending anytime soon. Instead of waiting for it to even cool down, she said, "So, what technique did you apply to enter this musical world?"

The three villains stopped arguing long enough to stare questioningly at the angel. "'Musical'?!" Hacker scoffed. "I don't hear any songs playing!"

"It already reached its conclusion!" Violet informed them.

"But boss," Buzz spoke up. "We don't know how we even got in here."

"Yeah," Delete added. "You said we were lost!"

"Pipe down!" Hacker snarled at the pair of henchmen. "If I've told you once, I've told you two thousand times! It doesn't matter what happened after we left that town! We're gonna get back to the Northern Frontier and make another plan to stop Motherboard!"

Noticing how the villains were distracted by all the heated arguing, Violet took the opportunity to sneak over, grab the vulture from Hacker's shoulder, clamp her hand over its beak, and release the "Sound Idea" from its claws. The object vanished as it drifted into the angel's chest. A bright glow engulfed her body; it was even brighter than her own illumination. She smiled, knowing the "Sound Idea" was inside of her.

Hacker, Buzz, and Delete spun around at the sight of the glow. Hacker gasped in alarm when he realized the angel was so bright. Turning to the vulture, he shouted, "Scratch! Lead the way outta here!"

The villains turned to run when the ground began vibrating very violently. Without warning, a crevice formed. While Violet took to the sky, Hacker, Buzz, and Delete all lost their footing and fell into the opening. As their screaming echoed in the air around her, Violet was speechless. Before long, the three villains had disappeared from sight. In turn, the vulture — Scratch — dove into the crevice after them.

Violet set down at the edge of the canyon and peered inside. With shock evident in her voice, she was barely able to say, "How terrible! Please let them be uninjured!"

As the angel continued to peer down, a long, low note echoed in the background; another song was starting. The landscape behind Violet disappeared. As a second long, low note filled the air, the scenery before her eyes vanished. Now the angel was standing in a pitch-dark abyss; even her natural glow wasn't enough to illuminate the entire area.

Her footing gave way, causing the angel to descend rapidly. She tried to utilize her wings, but it was pointless. Away Violet plummeted into the darkness far below. How or why this had taken place, she was completely in the dark.

A/N: And... THERE YOU HAVE IT! ANOTHER CHAPTER DOWN! THAT MAKES... APPROXIMATELY 10 MORE TO GO! REMEMBER WHAT I SAID ABOUT THE NUMBER OF REVIEWS!

Before I sign off, I wanted to point out a FEW things which MAY have crossed your mind during this Chapter:
(1.) Yes! I know Sora was thinking about the TITANIC! I HAVE been wanting to include such a reference at some point in this story, so I did it here!
(2.) The Flamingo that stole Sora's "Sound Idea" is from "The Carnival of The Animals, Finale" from FANTASIA 2000 (1999)!
(3.) I know Violet's "The Rite of Spring" segment may have dragged on for a while. However, that may be because it happens to be my LEAST-FAVORITE Segment in all of Fantasia AND Fantasia 2000! It may not have EXACTLY followed the Movie, but I decided to make a "PLOT TWIST" to move the story along! Overall, I'd say it turned out well!
(4.) The strangers in the black coats who Sora and Riku encounter are both from the FINAL FANTASY 7 Series, and have appeared in other parts of my story, too! See if you can find them!
(5.) The "Colorful" Dinosaurs Violet notices are references to the animated movie series, "THE LAND BEFORE TIME" - in case you were wondering!
(6.) Don't worry! Hacker, Buzz, and Delete aren't "dead"! They MAY appear somewhere else - LATER in this story OR the next!
(7.) To be expected; PLEASE DON'T LEAVE WITHOUT REVIEWING! THE FATE OF THIS STORY DEPENDS ON IT!

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