Broken backed up in fear. "Whoa, wait a minute. I'm this so-called 'Chosen One'?! Why me?!"

"It must be you. Right there in your hand, the Master Sword. Only one may truly wield it. Therefore, you must be that one." Auron explained.

"I didn't ask for any of this!"

"You don't have a choice; the Master Sword chose you, for some weird reason. Like or not, you're the wielder." Rikku pointed out.

"…" Broken decided to just deal with it. For now. "Fine. So what's my first step?"

Auron grinned. "Funny you should mention that." He opened the hotel room's side door. "Here are your partners."

At the same time Auron and Rikku were explaining things to Broken, Yuna was telling the same thing to Mia and Presea.

"Ah! So you're the Master Sword's wielder. I am Mia, from the village of Imil. Nice to meet you."

"My name is Presea Combatir. It's a pleasure."

"I'm Broken. And…uh…yeah. Same here.""

"They have orders from their King." Yuna said. "Orders concerning you."

Presea explained. "His Majesty said 'Find the one who wields the Master Sword. Follow him, and defeat the Heartless along with whoever commands them.' So that is what we'll do."

"The Heartless are very serious about this." Mia frowned. "They seek the hearts of worlds and capture them. This causes that world to be destroyed. So the King has ordered us to stop them and reduce the damage. Also, if possible, we should try and reverse what they've already done."

"So worlds have been destroyed…" Then Broken panicked. "Wait a sec! My world! The Destiny Islands! Shadow! Pan! No…"

"Your friends are alive." Rikku assured. "You survived, didn't ya? They're out there somewhere. Trust me."

"Go with Mia and Presea." Auron advised. "Especially if you want to find your friends."

Broken sighed. "Yeah…I guess…"

Mia didn't want to start off on this journey on a sad note. "We'll find them. Come, now. Cheer up."

Presea recited an old proverb. "A Dwarven Vow says 'Let us all work together for a peaceful world.' We will succeed."

Broken smiled. "Thanks, you two."

Traverse Town – 1st District

"I bet you're wondering how we're going to travel to other worlds." Mia assumed.

"Yeah. I just didn't want to say anything that makes me look like a pessimist."

"Makes sense." Presea agreed. "Do you have any guess as to how we do it?"

"I'm going to assume it's not a stupid wooden raft." Broken laughed.

Presea and Mia looked at each other in confusion. "Huh?"

"My friends on the island, Shadow and my sister Pan…we worked together to build a raft that was supposed to take us to other worlds. It was just a boat! Now I can't believe we thought it would work."

"0.05 probability of that plan succeeding." Presea informed. "Our ship is much more efficient."

"So…what? Do you two have a cruise liner or a speed boat?"

Mia grinned. "Not quite." She activated a remote controller. A large, spaceship-like structure flew down! It seemed to shine, as it was built entirely out of colored gems. The colors included many greens, some yellows, reds, purples, several silvers, and two golds.

Presea activated the boarding teleporter. "Welcome to the Rupee Ship."

Space – Sector 1

"Wow! This is so cool!" Broken yelled.

"The Rupee ship conveniently has rooms for five and a large cargo hold. The King himself directed and oversaw its construction. It's our home away from home." Presea informed.

"Home…" Broken repeated, looking out the window.

Mia and Presea looked at each other worriedly. They knew he was thinking of the islands he lived on.

Mia tried to comfort him. "Listen, I know you miss home. We miss ours as well. But we'll find yours. A man named Ansem once did much research on the Heartless and the worlds. He found out about many useful things. One of them is this: 'A heart swallowed by the darkness is never completely lost for good.' If the heart of your world was taken by the Heartless, then your islands are still out there somewhere."

"Well…that's a bit of a relief. Did he mention where lost hearts were? And where is this Ansem guy anyway?"

Mia frowned. "His research was very vague on a few parts. And, on top of that, he vanished one day. Rumor has it that he got a little too close in his Heartless research and…well, they finally did him in."

"So, it's up to us to find out where lost hearts go, instead of asking him." Presea finished. "But the probability of us finding your world within the next year is-"

"100 percent." Mia interrupted. "In one year at most, you'll see your island again. I promise."

"…" Presea didn't like things that were uncertain.

"Thanks, Mia."

"Sure. Now for our first destination…Navi?"

A little ball of blue light flew up from within the ship. She seemed to be a fairy, using her fairy-dust to write a message.

"Navi was a companion of our King's on a journey long ago. She has an incredible memory, but used to talk for hours on end." Mia explained. "Needless to say, his Majesty had the crap annoyed out of him. So he found a spell that converted all of Navi's words into text messages. She's an excellent source of information, and will be chronicling this adventure."

Presea looked at the message. "We're going to…my homeworld."

"Why would the king be there?" Broken asked.

"He's probably not." Mia agreed. "But we need to go to as many worlds as we see and free them from the Heartless."

"Makes sense. So how do we do that?"

Presea explained. "Your Master Sword can seal up a world's Keyhole. A Keyhole is where the Heartless enter a world from. By sealing the Keyhole of a world, no more Heartless may enter. 90 of the time, that world never sees another one again."

"Basically, it saves that world." Mia summed up.

"Right then. Let's seal that Keyhole."

"It's more of your job than ours, Broken." Presea reminded.

Sylvarant – Tower of Salvation

Inside the tower there was a single platform with 6 pillars surrounding it, except one had been knocked down. An altar was at the top, and a strange portal-like tile in the center. Both above and below, there seemed to be an endless abyss.

"Oh. We've made a mistake." Presea sighed.

"Hmm?" Broken asked.

"This world is called Sylvealla, but it's actually a binary world. There are two lands attached to it: Sylvarant and Tethealla." Mia explained. "Presea's homeworld is Tethealla. We accidentally landed on Sylvarant."

"So…what? Do we go back to the Rupee Ship?"

"No, we're actually at a link between the two worlds." Presea said. "The Tower of Salvation is the gate between them. We can just jump off here." She leapt into the abyss!

"Whoa, what?!" Broken demanded.

"Don't worry, it's perfectly secure." Mia assured, jumping off as well.

Broken hesitated. "…They're crazy." He jumped too. Into the green pit, he fell and fell. Soon, he saw a platform exactly like the one they had jumped off of. Presea and Mia landed with ease, but Broken hit the ground hard.

"Oomph!"

"…" The girls sighed. They helped him back on his feet.

"You'll get used to it." Mia assured.

"So…it looks exactly the same." Broken looked around. Even the broken pillar was still there.

Presea closed her eyes, seeming to concentrate. "Yes, but this is definitely Tethealla. I can feel the mana stronger here."

"Mana?"

Presea sighed. Broken didn't know about many of the things that were familiar to them. "Mana is energy…and more. Life cannot exist without it. The two worlds quarrel over it. The Chosen of Mana's job is to journey to bring mana to their world…at the cost of draining it from the other. Maybe I'll explain it a bit more later on."

"So…let me get this straight. The two worlds are like an hourglass; mana always pouring from one world to the other. And the Chosen flips it, bringing the mana flow to their side?"

"A bit more complex than that, but you've done an excellent job summarizing it." As they began to walk, Presea began to think about Broken. He knows so little, yet can understand such difficult concepts. It took Mia about an hour to get as far in comprehension of the two-world system as he has in less than a minute. He may not know, but he can learn. Perhaps he CAN save the universe after all. I was a fool to doubt one Chosen by the Master Sword itself. Maybe we actually stand a chance. Maybe we can really do this…

Tethealla – Meltokio – Central Plaza

"Welcome to the largest city in all of Tethealla: Meltokio." Presea announced. Unfortunately, it didn't seem very crowded today. Very few people were around.

"It's certainly big enough…" Broken looked around, noticing a bulletin board telling about a public trial. It featured a blond girl in white traveler's clothes. The caption read "Sylvarant's Chosen of Mana: Colette Brunel. Accused of attempting to destroy Tethealla."

"H-hey, Presea! Isn't this the same Chosen you were talking about?"

"…Yes it is. But how in Martel's name did she enter Tethealla? This doesn't make any sense."

"Martel?"

"Never mind. The people on Sylvealla worship her as a goddess. That's all you need to know."

Mia took a second look at the board. "It says the trial's today! At the Church of Martel. The judge is the Pope."

"Well, that explains why there aren't a lot of people around here…" Broken observed.

"Let's go check it out." Mia decided.

As they approached the church, Heartless appeared! "Augh! It's them again!" Broken pulled out his Buskgrowlsh Blade.

But Mia held him back. "Not this time. We'll show you how we fight. Would you like to do the honors, Presea?"

"Yes. Let's go!" She jumped into the middle of the Heartless. "Punishment!" With one huge swoop of her axe, she defeated every last one! Or so she thought…

Mia shot an ice blast right over Presea's shoulder with her staff! "You missed one." Now they were all gone.

"You two are pro's." Broken complimented.

"Thank you. I'm the King's Head of Security and also his top General in wartime." Presea revealed. "And Mia's the Court Mage and Royal Advisor."

"So we've naturally had the best training and experience." Mia finished. "Of course, you may even surpass us with time."

"Oh! That reminds me." Presea gave Broken a small green crystal. "Crush it and it will teach you Blade Swirl. It's like my Punishment attack, except with a sword."

"And here's the attack I used." Mia gave him another crystal, except it was blue. "That allows you to learn Blizzard, the same spell I shot that last Heartless with."

"Thanks!" Broken crushed the jewels, activating their effects. "Wow, I feel stronger already!"

"You'll find a few more and naturally learn a lot as we go on." Mia assured.

Tethealla – Meltokio – Church of Martel

The only thing larger than the church was the amount of people inside it today. All of Meltokio had come to see the Chosen of the other world and learn her fate. Colette had taken to the stand.

"Order! Order!" The Pope banged the javelin. "Colette Brunel, you are the Chosen of Mana from Sylvarant, are you not?"

"Yes, I am."

"Is your goal to bring prosperity to Sylvarant?"

"Yes, but-"

"Silence! You have heard it yourselves! By wishing Sylvarant to prosper, she will destroy Tethealla's golden age!"

"Wait! I'm trying to find a way to bring happiness to both worlds! Not destroy Tethealla!"

A young man with long, girly hair spoke. "You know there is no such method! Your dream is impossible."

"Tethealla's Chosen is correct; impossible." The Pope agreed. "And besides, no person can bear such a burden to try so. I sentence Colette Brunel to-"

Angry, Broken pushed through the crowd. "Wait! What proof do you have that she's not that selfless?!"

"What?!"

"You heard me! Maybe she is that kind! How do you know she's not?!"

The Pope grinned. "Apparently you can prove me wrong. What is your name, boy?"

"Broken."

"Last name?"

He paused. "Um…I don't have one. No one does where I come from."

"Where do you come from then?"

"Er…an island very far from Meltokio."

The Pope stared Broken down for a minute, trying to guess at his story. He failed. "Very well then, Broken of Far Island. I charge you with finding 4 pieces of evidence, proving Colette's selflessness, kindness, and/or sympathy. And evidence showing she really means no harm to Tethealla will also be helpful to your case. You are to return here with the evidence within 24 hours. At that time, court will resume. We will keep Colette in prison for the time being. Trail will go on hold until then." He banged the javelin one more time. "Dismissed."

Broken stood there in disbelief as the population exited behind him. Needless to say, Mia and Presea were NOT happy.

"Well, this is a fine mess you've gotten us into." Mia sighed.

"5 probability of suc-"

"Will you stop it with the percentages?!" Broken demanded of Presea. "At least be thankful that my name's the only one they put down!"

"They have my name on their records as well." Presea revealed.

"What?! You've been in trouble with the law?!"

"N-no. It's…it's nothing. Anyway, you've got a point. We can't just let the innocent be guilty for nothing. Let us split up and search."

"No, we can't let Broken wander around here alone." Mia insisted.

"And exactly what is that supposed to mean?" Broken glared.

"I'm saying Tethealla is a big world and you don't know your way around. You'll get lost."

"And you do, Mia?"

"Yes! Presea has shown me maps. I've studied and memorized them."

"…"

"I know this world better than either of you do. Broken and I will search together." Presea decided.

"Sounds like a plan…" Mia agreed.