Disclaimer: The following series and characters belong to their respective corporations: Nintendo, Disney, and Square-Enix, including their respectful developers. The following characters of this fic: Kyle Nasher, Dirk Lionheart, Alana (Lana) Blade, Drew Devin, and Nived Werd belong to author Mace the Manakete in agreement to his written consent.

Nintendo. Disney. Square-Enix
Kingdom Hearts Chronicles: Vol.1
KINGDOM BLESSINGS

—CHAPTER 10—
The Hyrule Festival

-Hyrule Town-

The heroes, with Zelda and Link in tow, entered a lively small town with the streets decorated in balloons and confetti. Men, women, and children alike were either enjoying each other's company or playing their favorite outdoor games either close to their homes or close to where their parents were. An upbeat, folk music was heard playing as the setting's background noise, orchestrated by ocarinas, harps, and various quiet instruments.

"Well, this is Hyrule Town." Zelda introduced the place.

"Quite a lively place, wouldn't you say?" Link said.

"Very alive." Kyle breathed in awe.

"So where's this acclaimed tournament?" Bowser looked around, desperately searching for a space wide enough to be an arena.

Goofy nervously laughed, "Gawrsh, Bowser, I thought you were worried about Princess Toadstool's whereabouts. And now you are totally onto a different subject."

"The moment he forgets about her, the better." Mario murmured. Although Minnie had allowed Bowser to travel with the gang, Mario still was unable to trust the Koopa due to their past, and possibly, future histories.

"Can we go sightseeing?" Dirk desperately asked Zelda, "I'm craving for some adventure here."

"Sure!" Zelda smiled, "Feel free to look around."

"Oh boy! Oh boy!" Donald jumped of joy before taking off to his direction of interest, dragging Goofy along. Mario did the same with his brother Luigi, and Bowser went his separate way with Kyle and Dirk, carrying them over his bulky shoulders.

"Bowser! What's the deal?" Kyle shouted.

"Yeah! You know we can walk!" Dirk yelled.

"Cork it!" Bowser yelled back, "You two are worthy warriors and you are going to help me with this tournament!"

Link and Zelda looked at each other. Link shrugged, "What's wrong with these guys?"

"Oh, Link." Zelda giggled, "Come on; let's go get ready for the tournament."

Zelda and Link went straight north toward their destination, unaware of Vaati appearing behind them, stalking.

Donald spotted an unusual yet rainbow-colorful tent with a crystal ball adorned at the top, "Goofy, look!" Donald pointed Goofy the tent.

"Is that a fortune-teller's tent?" Goofy mumbled.

Donald mischievously glared at Goofy, "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

Goofy scratched his head, giving Donald a puzzling look, "Donald…I don't know. Don't you think that fortune-telling is a little silly?"

"Maybe for you, but not for me." Donald stated, "Don't forget, I'm the Imperial Sage of the Disney Empire. I know plenty about magic. Come on."

Donald dragged Goofy into the tent. Once inside the tent, Donald and Goofy saw in front of them a large transparent indigo curtain. Behind the curtain is a counter and a crystal ball sitting at its midst. Potions of all kinds are seen lined up inside opened cabinets behind the counter and the curtain. A laugh was heard behind the counter. Donald and Goofy immediately spotted a figure behind the counter and approached the figure.

"Welcome, welcome, welcome to Raven's See-it-All Fortune Telling" The figure approached toward the light, revealing herself to Donald and Goofy as Raven Baxter, a cheery teenager who possess psychic powers. Raven's garments made her look more modern and unique then an old-fashioned psychic person. She had on a dark blue jacket over her scarlet blouse and slim jeans, adorned in flowers at the end, to match the jacket. She also wore ivory colored high heels shoes.

"Raven!" Donald and Goofy's eyes shot up at the sight of Raven.

"Donald? Goofy?" Raven exclaimed, "Oh snap! What are you two doing here at Hyrule?"

"What are you doing here at Hyrule?" Goofy asked.

Raven smiled, "Just traveling around honing my psychic skills. Besides, aren't you two supposed to be watching the Empire?"

Donald and Goofy look at each other then back at Raven, "I'm not sure if you're already aware, but something came up that forced us to leave the Empire." Donald said.

"It concerned the Emperor." Goofy added.

Raven suddenly stared into space, her eyes glow radiant red for a minute. The glow faded out and she looked at Donald and Goofy, disturbed, "Oh my goodness, this is terrible. I saw the Emperor…I saw some figures in ivory cloaks…I saw heartless…Wire Frames…"

"Figure in ivory cloaks? Heartless? Wire Frames?" Donald exclaimed.

"Wh…what else did you see?" Goofy asked.

"I wish I could give you much more details of what I saw," Raven said, "But, I can tell you one thing: I also saw this… gate in the sky. It had the shape of a keyhole. Through the keyhole, the air, the atmosphere, it was all dark-violet."

Donald and Goofy look at each other, concerned. Raven continued, "I also saw a witch. She was all white. I'm thinking she must be responsible for that dark gate in the sky."

"What about the emperor?" Donald exclaimed.

"I thought you said you saw the Emperor!" Goofy exclaimed.

"Yes. I did saw the Emperor in my vision..." Raven paused for a second then shook her head, "but I couldn't get a clear shot of what he was doing. I'm sorry."

Donald and Goofy sighed, but that didn't bother them to smile at the psychic teen, "It's okay, Raven." Donald said, "At least the good news is that you saw Emperor Mickey safe and sound."

"Yeah, we won't bother you anymore." Goofy said, but then began to bit his nails, "But I'm kinda worried about that dark gate stuff."

"Ah yes." Raven smiled, "I wouldn't worry too much about the dark gate just as long as it gets sealed by a Keyblade. Otherwise, things will get so wrong."

Donald and Goofy exclaimed, "Keyblade?" The duo look at each other, knowing what's on their minds: the Sacred Keyblade Kyle is wielding. What if Kyle is the chosen gate guardian? What if he and his friends Dirk, Lana, and Drew are among the chosen Four Warriors of Light?

Meanwhile, Bowser was running around the town of Hyrule, still carrying Kyle and Dirk.

"Bowser, would you please settle us down?" Kyle begged.

"Not until we find that tournament!" Bowser replied.

"All you gotta do is ask!" Dirk complained, "Not pull us at your mercy!"

Bowser stopped running, and dropped the two teens on the ground to catch his breath. Kyle and Dirk got up and brushed the sands off them. Dirk crossed his arms and smiled at Bowser, "Exhausted?"

Bowser stared at him "Don't be a wise bum, bub." He said, "Just because you asked me nicely to ask around for the Hyrule Tournament's directions, doesn't mean you get to gloat."

"Man, you're funny!" Dirk laughed, "I don't know why Mario and Luigi thinks you're one of the bad guys."

Bowser strangely looked at Dirk. Except for his fellow Koopas, he has never met someone who thought of him as someone, who is supposed to be a brutal villain, funny, innocent, and harmlessly reckless. He then faced Kyle with a questionable look. Kyle looked lost, "Are we still talking about finding that tournament or have we changing subjects?"

Bowser felt moved in reply. He hugged the boys, literally squishing them, "I can't believe this! Two people, that I have no knowledge of, thinks of me as the good guy? This is a cry moment!"

"We might end up crying if you stop hugging us!" Kyle moaned in pain.

"I, however, might end up screaming!" Dirk moaned in pain as well.

Bowser quickly released them, "Oh. I'm…sorry about that. Now, to find this tournament…"

"Excuse me." A creepy voice spoke behind the trio. Bowser, Kyle, and Dirk turned around and saw Vaati approaching them, "I couldn't help but overhearing, but are you looking for the place where they will be holding the Hyrule Tournament?"

"Yes!" Bowser exclaimed, "Do you know where it is?"

"I sure do." Vaati replied, "It's at Hyrule Castle. Commencement is in progress at the Castle's Garden and the tournament itself will be held shortly at the Castle's Courtyard following the Commencement. The Winner's Circle Ceremony will take place tomorrow afternoon at the exact same setting as where the Commencement took place."

"Actually, we only wanted to know where it takes place." Dirk said.

"Oh?" Vaati chuckled under his breath, "Then, I guess I spilled some beans."

"How do you know all of that anyway?" Kyle asked Vaati, "That sounded creepy so to speak."

"I'm simply a traveling connoisseur." Vaati replied, "And besides, I should bid you good luck on the tournament. Who knows what twist of fate might happen if we meet again."

Vaati turned around and took leave. Dirk, Kyle, and Bowser looked at each other.

"Okay, I have to admit, he is creepy." Kyle pointed out.

"Who cares if he's creepy or freaky or just plain ugly?" Bowser scoffed, "What we care about is the tournament. And to the tournament we go." Bowser headed out straight for Hyrule Castle. Kyle and Dirk followed.

-Hyrule Castle Gardens-

Trumpets were sounding and drums were drumming during the ceremonial opening of the Hyrule Tournament. Fanfares and a large crowd filled up the castle gardens and standing at the very end near the castle's entrance is King Hyrule. Link and Zelda stood side by side besides the king. At the far left was Minister Potho and at the far right stands two Hyrulean soldiers.

The King approached the podium, "Greetings, fellow Hyrulean and welcome to our fifth annual Hyrulean Tournament. Now, we are anticipating new warriors and returning ones for this tournament will be even more exciting than the last."

Mario and Luigi stood among the crowd. Mario was licking on a cone of sea-salt ice cream while Luigi focused his attention on the speech.

"Say Mario. Do you think we will enter the tournament? Bowser seems pretty excited about it." Luigi asked his brother, his eyes still on the king, making his speech.

Mario glanced over to Luigi, "Why are you thinking like Bowser? Anything Bowser thinks about is nothing but evil and off-putting."

Luigi looked at his brother crossly, "Off-putting? You're the one who's licking on a melting sea-salt ice cream!"

"Imported from Radiant Gardens." Mario proudly said and licked the melting ice cream, dribbling down his hand. "Mmm… salty, yet delicious." He sighed dreamily. Luigi rolled his eyes.

"Something is not right here." The voice of Sora came from behind the Mario brothers. Mario and Luigi turned around and saw Final Form Sora, his eyes closed, his arms crossed and his back turned.

"You think?" Mario asked puzzlingly.

"Of course something is not right here." Luigi replied to Sora's comment then faced Mario, "Mario is dribbling ice cream all over the place."

Mario scolded, "You're just jealous because this was the last ice cream and I took it instead of you."

"Oh sure, blame it on the second in line, the banshee, the rejected, the banished like me!" Luigi retorted, "Because you are popular! Well, guess what, Mario Mario, Kyle Nasher is popular now, not you."

"No, I'm saying that something is not right here in this place." Sora said. Luigi and Mario turned their attention to Sora. Sora continued, "I have a bad feeling about this." He faced the Mario brothers, "I think we should investigate this place further. Start by entering the tournament."

"What? Are you sure?" Mario asked.

"I would be lying if I wasn't sure." Sora frowned, then in a twinkle, he disappeared once more. Bowser, Kyle and Dirk entered the scene at the exact moment.

"Did we miss anything?" Bowser asked.

"A visit from Sora." Luigi said.

"What? What did he say?" Dirk asked.

"Something about something not going right." Mario added, "He also told us that we should join this tournament for investigation purposes."

"Really?" Bowser exclaimed, "Now that's two in favor! Thank you, Sora!"

At the same time, Donald and Goofy came in the scene as well. The duo looked very excited about their news from Raven. As they reached the heroes, they immediately turned their attention to Kyle, "Kyle, you're not going to believe it." Donald huffed.

"We may have found the Keyblade's purpose!" Goofy exclaimed.

Kyle brought up a hopeful smile, "What? Really?" The heroes eagerly huddled up to hear what Donald and Goofy have to say.

"Yes. But you all have to listen carefully…" Donald said in a hush tone.

Before Donald got the chance to speak, King Hyrule announced, "Registration for the Hyrulean tournament is underway now at the audience chamber. So what are you waiting for, ladies and gentlemen, let the tournament begins."

Everyone roared in a wild applause. Bowser looked around in panic, "What? What did they say about the tournament? I didn't hear the rules and regulations!"

"I wouldn't worry about that Bowser." Dirk said, "We still can hear it at the tournament."

"We're joining a tournament?" Goofy exclaimed.

"Something suspicious is happening here according to Sora," Kyle said, "and so, we're deciding to investigate by joining in."

"I'm not joining." Mario said.

"Oh really?" Bowser said, "Are you scared of battling me again in front of all of this people?"

Mario scowled, "Oh, you're on."

The heroes took off for registration. Donald frowned before running after them angrily, "Hey! What about my news? Where are you going?"

Link noticed Vaati entering the courtyard and heading out for registration as well. Link stared at Vaati questionably.

"Link?"

Zelda caught Link's attention, "Are you all right? You don't look so good." she asked him.

"Oh…Zelda. Y…yeah. I'm fine. Totally fine." Link replied. He turned around to see Vaati again but he's gone. Link pondered

Why have I seen that person before?

Coming up: The heroes enter the tournament and everything goes breezily, until the arrival of Vaati at the arena that is. Who is he? Why does he hate working for the Dark League so much? And why does he seek Zelda's blessing, the Holy Triforce, for himself? The epic continues.

NeXt ChApTeR