Kingdom Hearts III: The Origin
Sora, Riku, and Kairi were standing in front of King Mickey in his throne room at Disney Castle. The King was about to knight them and formally give them positions among the King's army. Sora and the gang were training for months after they received the letter from King Mickey.
Flashback…
"Look, we got a letter, and it seems pretty important," Kairi told Sora and Riku. Holding it to them Sora notices the King's crest on the letter.
As Sora begins to read the letter his face begins to change expressions. "This doesn't sound too good," Sora notes.
Dear Sora, Riku, and Kairi,
Ever since you defeated Xemnas a great deal of peace has come over the worlds as the balance of light and darkness was restored and the doorway to Kingdom Hearts was sealed. We all have you to thank for this but unfortunately it's not all good news. Recently Donald and his team of mystics have been noticing signs of incoming danger. Even Merlin is feeling a presence in the air that is giving off a threatening feeling. I need you to come to the castle right away for the purpose of accepting you in a special task force for this upcoming threat. You will be given a few months of formal combat training while we monitor the situation. I fear the worst has yet to come.
Sign,
King Mickey
"If the King is this worried about those signs then we will be in for one of the biggest battles in history," Riku says somberly. "If he really wants us out on the battlefield with only a few months of his formal training."
"If that's the case than I say we don't waste anytime, everyday and every second counts," Sora said, "Besides, we beat both Xemnas and Xehanort, how much harder can this next thing be?"
End Flashback...
And for the past 4 and a half months Sora, Riku, and Kairi have been training like mad in the hopes of being fully prepared for whatever will come. Sora and Riku were being trained in strategy and techniques while Kairi focused on general combat as she had the least fighting experience. Mickey oversaw their combat training, Donald oversaw their use of magic, which Kairi seemed to excel in, and Goofy oversaw their strength training. The culmination of their experiences and exercises started to pay off as the day came when the three of them became members of the Disney Castle Court.
"Thank you all for coming, let say that, though the training was hard, you all have shown high levels of skills for your age," King Mickey addressed. "Now comes the day when your training with us ends today. From now on, you shall be sent on missions and shall be recognized as full soldiers."
"You will have your own rank and title and shall be head of the task force mean to combat this threat," Capt. Goofy mentioned
(AU: I don't feel like typing in the Goofy-accent so just picture all the *hyuks* and all that in the right places because lord know I'll screw it up.)
King Mickey continued "I hereby award all three of you the rank of Commander in the presence of myself, the Court Wizard, the Captain of the Royal Knights. As such, I appoint you as head of the Secret Task Force."
The newly appointed commanders kneeled in front of the king while the queen approached with the metals and attached it to their chests. "These metals shall allow you access to the Castle's resources, including the computer's data, technology, and records among other thing," Queen Minnie said.
"Your first mission shall be the exploration of new worlds while gathering more allies," King Mickey began. "The heartless are gaining access to more worlds, worlds with powerful beings that, should they be turned into heartless or nobodies, they will become extremely dangerous. But it would also mean they can become great allies."
"How will we be split up, and what form of transportation shall we take?" Riku asked.
"Sora, Riku, and Kairi shall act as one team and you can use a custom gummi ship made specially for you," the king answered.
"Wait, what about Donald and Goofy, aren't you guys coming too?" Sora asked in a disappointed tone.
"We'll be with his majesty making contact with all our past comrades in order to warn them and ask for their help," Donald mentioned. "We're already getting ready to depart for China to meet with Mulan."
"We may not physically be with you—" Goofy began
"But no matter what we'll always be comrades, friends, fighting the same battle," Sora finished. While Sora felt disappointed because he's been with them through so much, he knew that they also had a responsibility to King Mickey as the highest ranking members of the King's Court. Besides, he knew better than anyone that they were both capable fighters.
King Mickey than addressed Kairi, "Before you head off, Kairi, there is something I need to give you," King Mickey than proceeded to materializing his Keyblade. "I must now pass this Keyblade to you as the rightful owner."
"B… But… that is your keyblade, I can't possibly—" Kairi started.
"This Keyblade was merely a loaner for me. I was borrowing its power until you, the rightful owner, were ready for it," the king explained. "It was always meant for you three to be the holders of the original Keyblades."
King Mickey tossed the keyblade to Kairi who clumsily caught it. She instantly felt as if the keyblade became an extension of her own body. As if she finally became whole after a long time.
"You feeling as if the keyblade is an extension of yourself aren't you?" King Mickey said as he saw Kairi's reaction. "That's proof enough that you were meant to wield that keyblade."
Riku began to wonder the meaning of this and of what he said earlier as he and Sora drew their keyblades. "What does this all mean. Kairi getting your keyblade, 'the original' keyblades, how are we all connected?"
Mickey sighed with his head down, "We aren't entirely sure ourselves, all that we have on this subject is very limited," pointing at their keyblades, "What we do know is those are the original keyblades that were created eons ago. All other keyblades are merely copies that, while having unique abilities depending on the world they were created in, are overall inferior to those three. The Kingdom Key, the Key of Hearts, and finally, Way to the Dawn. All three of them represent the three essentials of life and existance: land, water, and sea; or more accurately light, darkness, and void."
"But what about my keyblade, Riku was supposed to use it in the beginning. But since he joined the darkness he lost it to me," Sora inquired.
Mickey looked at Sora, "The keyblades are mysterious things, they seem to have a sentience about them and choose the wielder, or choose the path leading to them. In either event, what happened in Radiant Gardens, then Hollow Bastion, was that the keyblade saw your true power and you earned the right to wield it."
Riku was about to ask more about his circumstances, but later realized that he was meant to wield the power of darkness and that he shouldn't be afraid of it. The darkness is a necessary part of the universe and should be accepted and respected.
"I thank you for this keyblade, the Key of Hearts, and I shall prove that I am worthy of it," Kairi said to the King.
Sheathing their keyblades (just for show, really making them disappear), they salute the king and the Court and headed off to their gummi ship for their first mission. King Mickey, Donald, Goofy, as well as Queen Minnie and Daisy bade them good luck and a safe journey.
They arrive at the hanger for their ship and meet Chip and Dale, the Castle engineers and mechanics and they show them to their custom ship.
"Your ship was custom designed by yours truly and has the latest in gummi technology," Chip began, "For starters the T600 Warp Drive that we just acquired is the latest design that allows the fastest speed while having the greatest control."
"It's also silent as the wind, great for speeding through without alerting your enemies," Dale cut in.
"And the armament it has?" Riku asked.
"Besides an assortment of thunder, fire, blizzard, and other gummi blocks, it sports two P38 5 meter laser assault guns, artillery class, that fire about 40 rounds a second," Dale began explaining. Dale knew a lot about fire arms and artillery, "The concussion blasters are of my own design and fire blasts of 45 yards in radius and reach 15 miles."
Sora whistled at the sound of it all and was impressed with all the features. Riku was the same and couldn't wait to ride it. Kairi was the only one who didn't get it and couldn't get the boys' anticipation. As they walked into the port with their new ship they were awestruck as they saw how great it looked.
"It's called the Imperial and a full tutorial is in the on-board computer explaining, in full detail, the workings of the ship," Chip said.
"Well, it's time for us to depart, we're behind schedule as it is," said Sora
Ready for their new journey, they boarded their new ship and launched into space. Searching for new worlds, new friends, and for whatever threat is out there.