"Darkness Becomes Light, Light Falls Into Darkness.
Dreams are connected to each other.
When you fall into a dream
You are connected through dreams to "The world enclosed in sleep".
And if you open the "Keyhole of sleep" in that world...
The world will be released..."
—Yen Sid
"Congratulations. Riku," Master Yen Sid applauds the young boy, "you have completed the quest with great courage, and so you will be named a Keyblade Master!"
Sora and Riku had just finished their Mastery exam. There were plenty of obstacles, most of which Yen Sid was unprepared for, such as dream eaters and a newly resurrected Ansem and Xemnes. Nevertheless both showed great courage and were able to rescue all of the worlds that had fallen into a deep sleep.
It's hard for Riku to contain his shock and excitement. This had been everything he has ever wanted, and he didn't think it would ever be possible, consider the darkness that was supressed inside him.
He certainly didn't think he would out-beat Sora either.
"Th-thank you!" Riku finally speaks.
"Way to go Riku!" Sora says excitedly, praising his friend with an arm around his shoulder.
"I knew you had it in you Riku," King Mickey says matter-of-factly.
Riku smiled with satisfaction.
"Well, I won't be far behind," Axel says from across the room.
Axel is a member of Organization XIII but he had come to Sora and Riku's rescue more than once when they had been in a tight fix, so you could say they were closer with him than any other member for that matter.
Sora snorts, "you're going to be a Keyblade wielder?"
Axel grins, "well, yeah. I've been practicing while you guys were taking you exam."
"Seriously!?" Both Sora and Riku say in unison.
Axel holds out his hand. "Mhm. I was going to come rescue you, Keyblade in hand and all. But I just couldn't seem to get mine to materialize- Oh!"
Just as soon as the words were spoken, Axel produces one of the most beautiful Keyblades Sora has ever seen.
"WOAH!"
Everyone was equally shocked at the fact Axel was able to wield a Keyblade so quickly. Despite his past, Axel was shaping up to be a perfect hero for the perilous fight against the leader of the Organization; Xehanort.
"Hey, neat!" Axel says excitedly.
"Funny, I think that's exactly what I said when I first discovered my Keyblade," Sora laughs.
Master Yen Sid cleared his throat and the room fell into a silent hush.
"Now listen here. I don't think it's a shock to any of you that Xehanort is planning something big. He must be stopped at all cost."
Everyone exchanged glances and Yen Sid continued, "It's not going to be easy, but given what we know about his plan we are going to need to gather 7 Keyblade wielders in order to stop Xehanort's plan of bringing about another Keyblade war."
Mickey sighs deeply, "We can't have that happen again."
Dark memories of the last Keyblade war come to the King's mind. "I will not lose my friends like I did the last time!"
Sora gives Mickey a confused glance. "Hold up, there was a war before this? What happened?"
The room is silent. It is clear both Mickey and Yen Sid don't want to talk about it but the King knows that revealing the information to the perspective heroes is probably for the best.
Mickey smiles a bit, "Okay you guys. I'll tell you the story. But fair warning, it doesn't have a very happy ending."
And so Micky begins to tell the three about the events that took place 10 years ago. The birth of the Keyblade, and of his friends; Aqua, Terra and Ventus. He told them about Xehanort's plan back then, to use Ven's heart to create a final Keyblade known as an X-blade and use that X-blade to unlock Kingdom Hearts.
"His plan was pretty much the same then as it is now," Yen Sid explains.
Sora scratches his head, "But what happen during battle?"
Mickey sighs, "You see, the battle wasn't going to well for us Keyblade wielders. Terra had mistakenly opened his mind to the Darkness, which allowed Xehanort to unlock his own heart and successfully transfer it into Terra's body. Ven was possessed by Xehanort's apprentice, Vanitas and Aqua was knocked unconscious. Terra's mind still lingered in his armour and he was able to defeat Xehanort, but when Vanitas took hold of Ven's mind, he created the X-blade."
Sora gasps, "No way, so Xehanort actually succeeded?"
Mickey nods, "But I was able to wake Aqua up, and we destroyed the X-blade together while Ven won the battle between him and Vanitas. Although, unfortunately, Ven's heart was lost in the process."
Nobody says anything for a while, until finally Riku speaks up. "So what happened to them. The Keyblade wielders?"
"Once learning about Ven's heart, Aqua created Castle Oblivion and left him sleeping in there until she could awaken him. I haven't heard much about Terra but I have a sinking feeling Xehanort is still in possession of him, if Terra hasn't been completely swallowed by the Darkness".
"What about Aqua?" Sora asks quietly, though he knows the answer could not be anything but an adversity.
Mickey shakes his head. "I don't know. I don't have the slightest clue what happened to Aqua."
Silence fills the room once again, but Yen Sid breaks it by clapping his hands together once.
"Well, we need to find them!"
Mickey looks up with a disbelieving look on his face, "What? But how? I don't even know where Aqua is and who knows how far deep Terra is in Darkness."
Sora starts getting jumpy, "But we can head to castle Oblivion and see if Ven is still there, right?"
Axel shakes his head and mutters, "Even if Ven is there, how we are going to retrieve his heart, we don't even know where it is."
Sora isn't even listening anymore. Once he gets an idea into his head, he sticks with it.
"We'll just have to cross that bridge when we get there. At least we can get Ven out," he says.
"If he is in there," Axel says back, a hint of doubt in his voice.
"It is a stretch…a big stretch," Riku states thoughtfully, but Sora can see a smile playing on his lips.
Riku is in for sure.
Master Yen Sid clears his throat once more to get everyone's attention.
"Alright, alright," He smiles lightly, "Sora, you're right. Either way we need to find the three original Keyblade worriers in order to defeat Xehanort. I think checking Castle Oblivion is a good place to start."
Sora nods gleefully, then turns to Mickey with a serious expression, "Mickey. I promise I will get your friends back."
Mickey grins at him, "Thank you Sora."
"Alright off you go then," Yen Sid says to Sora and Mickey.
Riku pipes up, "I'm going with you."
Sora looks uncomfortable, "Erm… well, are you sure, Riku? It's going to be dangerous."
Riku returns Sora's comment with a devilish grin, "You think I'd sit here and wait while you have all the fun? Get real."
Sora laughs just as Axel stands up.
"I guess I'm going too," He states.
"Eh?" Sora makes a face.
"What? Who's going to protect you guys against all those dangerous….well whatever. I got you out of the mud last time, you're really going to tell me to stay put?"
Sora knows there is no way he could convince Axel otherwise.
"Alright," Yen Sid interrupts, "Time for you all to get going. I'll be keeping close eyes on all of you."
With a small shake of his wrist, Sora's mind starts fading until there is nothing but darkness consuming him.