Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts and everything else belongs to Walt Disney and Square-Enix.

The OCs and their alter-ego that appear in this story belong to their respective authors. More information about them are found in the "Original Characters' Intro" chapter.

::KINGDOM HEARTS III Online HD::

-The Sorcerer's Newest Apprentice-

Mysterious Tower

The ghost train stopped at the Mysterious Tower from a couple of steps, disembarking Mickey and Rian. The ghost train took off.

"Good thing these ghost trains exist." Rian said, "They're quite convenient for the weary passenger. Where do you think the train heads off to in its usual route?"

"It can take you to so many places: towns, ports, towers, even schools." Mickey said, "One such school is a magical one called Akademia. You would love it there."

"Pssht! Please." Rian chuckled, "School, magical or not, are boring with a capital B. If I am compelled to learn one thing basic or advanced, I will fall fast asleep."

Mickey faced Rian, stunned by what he heard. Rian nodded on cue, "Yeah, no really! I can go night-night like that!" he snapped his fingers on cue to make a point.

Woof! Woof!

The duo saw Pluto coming toward them.

"Hey, it's my pal, Pluto!" Mickey said excitedly. Pluto jumped on Mickey and started slogging his face with his tongue. Mickey laughed, "Oh, stop it Pluto! Stop it, pal!"

"It really is Pluto! Wow!" Rian was amazed to see Mickey's trusty dog right in front of him.

"Pluto, let me introduce you to—!"

GRRRRR! ARF! ARF!

Pluto menacingly approached Rian. "Hey, whoa! Why the hate, man? What did I do?"

"Pluto! Easy! Don't rip his face off!" Mickey quickly grabbed Pluto by his collar, restraining him from jumping on Rian.

"Rip… my face… off?" Rian squealed.

"He thinks you're Thunder." Mickey replied.

"That explains the hate!"

ARF! ARF! GRRR…. ARF!

"Pluto. Easy, boy." Mickey finally calmed Pluto down, "This is not Thunder. This is Rian. His Earthy Twin. Please… behave."

Pluto warily glared at Rian. He slowly approached him, cornering Rian to a nearby tree. After a couple of whiffs, he jumped on Rian.

"KYAAA!"

"PLUTO!"

The screaming Rian suddenly started laughing, noticing that Pluto was not chewing on his face, but slogging it with its tongue of joy. Mickey sighed with relief.

"Pluto, please! Stop! You're tickling me!" Rian laughed out loud.

"Phew… at least Pluto noticed the difference." Mickey smiled.

Finally. Rian and Mickey entered the tower with Pluto. They crossed the entryway, passed through the wayward stairs, and reached the Moon Chamber, where they were surprised to see Yen Sid there.

"Whoa!" Rian jumped.

"Master Yen Sid." Mickey said.

"Mickey." Yen Sid greeted, "It is good to see you again. Safe and sound."

"Likewise, Master." Mickey greeted back, "And happy to see that your Tower is free from all enemies."

As Yen Sid and Mickey were catching up, Rian couldn't stop staring at Yen Sid with utter amazement. "I cannot believe I am actually seeing Yen Sid in front of me. In flesh… and in blood…!"

Yen Sid smiled at him, "You must be Thunder's Earthy twin, Rian Rivers, Keyblade Bearer of Lightning."

"And you are surely Master Yen Sid, Mickey's Master in the Magic and Keyblade Arts! Aw, man! What an HONOR!" The excited Rian rushed to Yen Sid and violently shook his hand.

"You… are… definitely… not… like your… twin…" Yen Sid stuttered.

Rian quickly let go of Yen Sid, "Oh, dude! My bad, sir. Where are my manners? Hope I didn't throw them in the trashcan! Ha-ha! Get it? My manners… in the trashcan…! Ha!"

Yen Sid and Mickey glanced at each other then back at Rian, silent. Rian noticed they weren't laughing and quickly stopped laughing.

Yen Sid pointed his finger on the ground and drew a sigil surrounding Mickey, Rian, Pluto and himself. The sigil glowed and the gang vanished, teleporting back to Yen Sid's Loft.

"I am glad that you two came to the tower without any trouble. Care for some tea? They're spicy." Yen Sid snapped a finger, and teacups and a thermos flew besides the three guests. The thermos magically poured some tea onto the teacups to Rian's surprise.

"Well… Master Yen Sid" Mickey began, taking his cup full of tea. "I wouldn't be too sure about that."

His statement peeked on the master's interest. "See, before we came here, a floating image came to Rian. I was able to see the image too, but the image Rian saw, was projecting from his eyes."

Rian nodded, "Yeah, and I had this really… sharp headache…" Rian slowed down on his words, his attention still on the flying tea dishes. The teacup full of tea hovered toward him, waiting to be picked up. He quickly shook his head back to reality, "I mean…" He quickly picked the teacup, "I thought I was gonna die. Yeah. It was scary! What does this all mean?"

"Mm…" Yen Sid rubbed his beard in deep thought. He looked away from his guests, still deep in thought, "…just as I was expecting."

Mickey and Rian glanced at each other.

"That image…" Yen Sid began, "… it was a glimpse of what was currently happening, from across distance… and across worlds. You could say it was a foresight."

"A faux what?" Rian asked.

"A vision." Mickey clarified, and Yen Sid nodded.

"Whoa, whoa, wait! What does that mean, a vision? Am I getting visions?" Rian exclaimed, "Like that psychic girl Raven?"

"You could say that." Yen Sid said, "But your case is different. Rian… you are gaining a very special ability. The ability of Presight."

"Presight?"

"Presight let you witness current happenings from across distances and dimensions. You are now able to see what is happening right now, at a specific place…"

"…even when I'm not there?" Rian exclaimed, "…whoa…"

"There are three Keyblade Wielders' special powers unique and rare to this world, and only the strongest of these wielders can earn it: Pastsight, Presight, and Foresight. Pastsight lets you see past events, though the person has no control of the past he or she sees; Presight lets you see current events, which you may or may not be able to change it depending on the situation; and Foresight lets you see the future, which of course you can mostly change it depending on the situation. You twin Thunder has that same ability as you. And your friend Keyblade Wielder of Fire, Talen, has the Foresight ability—!"

Rian spewed the drink all over Yen Sid's table till his jaws dropped.

"Wait, whoa! Back up now. TALEN?" he yelped, "Talen can see the FUTURE?"

"Apparently." Mickey confirmed, cringing at the mess Rian just made. Rian grinned nervously. Yen Sid snapped his finger again and the mess was no more.

"He had gained the ability not long ago." Mickey went on, "It won't be a matter of time till another Keybearer friend yours gains the last ability Presight. I can predict either the Keybearer of Ice, or the Keybearer of Stealth."

"Talen seeing the future has changed everything." Yen Sid said, "If it wasn't for his ability, you wouldn't be standing here by now. You would've been erased."

It was when Yen Sid said that, that Rian reminisced the night at the Homecoming. He could remember his friends who were trapped by Phantamis' binding spell, screaming in panic and trying their best to break free of the spell to save Rian, but alas, they felt forced to watch him disintegrate.

"RIAN, NO!" Taylor was screaming amongst the panicked friends.

Rian gave up on cry of help, as he was losing his breath. He then noticed Talen who suddenly had that strong urge that he GOTTA to do something… FAST!

"NO!" Talen cried out, putting all of his force on the magic that bounded him until he finally broke it and took a mad dash. "Talen!" Sierra shouted.

"I won't let you get away with this!" Talen jumped into the beam in front of Rian and everyone screamed, "NOO!"

The beam struck Talen and Talen immediately transformed into his Keybearer. But then the power impact caused a massive explosion of light that raided the entire gym…

…and before Rian knew it, he saw nothing. Nothing, but darkness, and void.

He gulped, "I can't believe this. Talen… he… died for me…"

Mickey and Yen Sid noticed Rian's solemn look. Rian quickly corrected himself, remembering his last vision: Talen didn't die, but was trapped.

"I… I mean, he… almost died for me. And he's trapped at that Dominion Place!" he then faced Yen Sid, "Master Yen Sid, please! You gotta let me avenge my friend! I mean, rescue him! Gaah, what am I saying? I can't stay here!"

Rian took off in a mad dash. Yen Sid waved his arm clockwise, and Rian stopped. The door that was right in front of him had vanished and he was now facing a wall, "What the—!"

"You can't go outside either." Yen Sid said, "You're not ready yet."

"Yes. And Thunder has taken your place too. So you cannot expose the secret of the Keyblade Riders." Mickey added.

"Then, what am I supposed to do in the meantime?" Rian exclaimed, "Have more tea with you two and talk about our feelings? By the way, that tea was SUPER spicy!"

Yen Sid scoffed, "No… but thanks for reminding me. I shall put that on my To-do list." He snapped his fingers and a flying parchment paper and feather pen appeared to him, magically scribbling the task down. Pluto curiously approached it to stare at it and whiff it.

"But we need to focus on your magic, your Presight, and your ability to use the Keyblade." Yen Sid kept talking.

The To-do list and pen suddenly vanished, scaring Pluto. Pluto jumped behind Rian.

"Uh… Why?" Rian asked Yen Sid, eyebrow raised.

"So that you can be ready for the final battle." Mickey said.

"And based on your past experience, your powers need polishing, young warrior." Yen Sid said, "You need proper training."

Rian smirked, "Please, Master Yen Sid. I don't need training. My powers are totally fine." He threw a hand in dismissal, and a laser firework shot from it. The laser bounced at every corner of Yen Sid's loft, shattering lightbulbs from the ceiling and his desk lamp, almost striking Mickey, Pluto, Rian, and Yen Sid, burning books on shelves to crisp, and suddenly set Donald on fire, who just arrived at the scene with Goofy. He started screaming and running around, causing everyone to panic and Pluto to chase him. Mickey stepped in front of Donald, pointed at him and water stream shot from his finger, dousing the duck. There was an awkward silence when all eyes turned to a blackened duck, who glared back at Rian and coughed up a smoke. Then everyone turned their attention to Rian.

"Maaybe I do need training." Rian grinned nervously.

"Ya think?" Donald mumbled, almost sounding like Miley Stewart.

Rian beamed at his two friends, "DONALD! GOOFY!" he exclaimed, "So good to see you all!"

Goofy gleefully waved at his friend, while Donald muttered, "The feeling's mutual," with a huffed tone.

"So, shall we get started?" Yen Sid said, "On your first assignment?"

-Wardrobe-

The gang were in the Wardrobe, the large room next to Yen Sid's Loft.

"You want me to clean this place up?" Rian exclaimed at the sight of the Sorcerer's study chamber.

The whole place was a mess. There were books, papers, and journals—scribbled and blanks—lying around, used snacks, and drinks left on tables and desks, and stains all around. What was striking about the room was the dozen of brooms and mops sitting at the corners, waiting to be used to clean up the place.

"This place's a dump!" Rian exclaimed. He then quickly added upon meeting Yen Sid's gaze, "and by dump, I mean cool. Like when someone says 'This is sick' or 'This is bad' it actually means this is uh, y'know… cool, you know… what I'm… okay."

"Your first assignment is to clean this place up." Yen Sid revealed, to Rian's shock and disgust, "I've provided brooms to sweep, mops to mop, dusters to dust, and some soaps and water on buckets. But you're not gonna use them all. Instead, you're gonna use magic."

Rian's jaws dropped, "You—! You want me to clean this place up? By using magic?"

Yen Sid nodded.

"I barely know how to cast Fire!" Rian yelped.

"Then we get to see your talents!" Donald smiled, almost evilly, while Goofy chuckled.

"Good luck, young apprentice." Yen Sid said.

"Uh, thanks. But what should I—!"

Yen Sid and the gang were gone. Rian was all alone. "What? Wh—? HEEEY! I HAD A QUESTION!"

Rian looked again at the messy wardrobe. "Sheesh, how is this gonna work? I don't know much spells…" he wondered.

He then looked at his Keyblade and its Command Cards inside the key's bow, "Hey, maybe I can use some Command spells to—!"

"Oh, did I forget to tell you, Rian." Yen Sid was heard inside the wardrobe, "No Keyblade or Command spells."

"WHHHAAAAAAAT?" Rian's face went pale. He shouted to the air, "ARE YOU CRAZZY? That's my only source of magic!"

"Your only source of magic must come from within! Command spells are just training wheels until you master them."

"I didn't even master ONE! Awwgh…" Rian suddenly felt sick in the stomach and reluctantly made his Keyblade vanish. He had to clean up all this mess in the wardrobe with just magic, and he can't even use the only magic he got from his Command spells deck and Keyblade. What crazy training was that?

He looked over at a broom, then a mop, then a sponge and bucket of water sitting firmly at the corner.

"Okay… what should I do?" he thought out loud, "Should I start with the broom? Brooms sweep. Nah, maybe I should clean that window with the sponge and water. It looks dirty… crud." He then glanced over the pile of books by a table, "…maybe arranging some books."

"Don't dawdle there, young apprentice." Yen Sid was heard again, "Cast a spell already."

"All right, all right! Don't rush me." Rian whined. He approached the pile of books and swung his arm on it.

PRATACK!

AAAAOWWW!

The books fell off the table, at the cost of Rian hurting his hand badly. Rian hopped on one foot, shaking his hand in pain, not realizing another shot of his magic flew off from his finger. The magic ricocheted off the floor then the top corner of the ceiling then struck a mop behind him.

The mop slowly stood up. Animated, the mop looked around and watched Rian still hopping and yelling in pain. The mop looked over at the bucket of water and hopped over to it. The bucket of water suddenly came alive on contact of the mop and dragged the mop across the wardrobe.

Rian with a tear over his eyes finally subdued his pain and looked behind him. He saw nothing. "Man, never do that again." He sniffled, unaware that the mop and bucket of water were sliding across the wardrobe.

The mop and water bucket came on contact with a broom, and the broom came alive. The mop pulled its head out of the water bucket and started moping one side of the room while the broom that just came alive began sweeping another side of the room.

The broom came on contact with a set of brooms and all the brooms started sweeping. Some brooms came on contact with dusters. Dusters came on contact with towels, towels with sponges and soaps, even the sponges came on contact with the leftover snacks, debris, and books and such left on the table.

Almost all the cleaning objects were performing their chores while humming in tune to 'The Sorcerer's Apprentice': the snacks and debris toss themselves away, the books arranged themselves, the brooms were sweeping every corner of the wardrobe, the mops were mopping floors clean, the windows were washed by the sponges and water, the water buckets were filling up with water all the way to the top… the whole wardrobe got animated. And Rian still had no idea there was a clean-up party right behind him.

"How can a teenage boy like me clean this whole place up with just—WHOOAA!" He slipped and fell on a wet floor. He finally snapped out of his thought and saw the working crew going at it. His jaws dropped.

"HEEIN?" He quickly stood up, "But…but how—? How did I DO that?"

The objects were still performing their chores. Rian beamed, "HEY, that's AWESOME! I did it! Without even knowing it!" he then yelled out in the air, "HEY, Yen Sid! I did it! I'm cleaning the place up! By magic!"

"No you're not!" Yen Sid was heard.

"What do you mean I'm not?"

"You animated your objects to perform your deeds. Now you must control their every move!"

"Oh, that's easy!" Rian cracked his knuckles and turned to a mop who was doing its chore. He directed the mop to go clean out another corner of the room and it did. He then directed a sponge and soap to wash another dirty window.

"HA-HA! I did it! I'm doing it!" Rian laughed. He moved his fingers in rhythm of the entire clean-up crew doing their chores. "Okay, time to clean up! Water buckets, that's enough water!"

The water buckets were filling up water. But instead of stopping to the top, the water kept overflowing.

"Okay, water buckets, that's enough water now!"

The buckets weren't listening. Their waters kept overflowing. Rian shot a magic spell at the buckets and the buckets richocheted the spell. The spell bounced across the wardrobe everywhere and struck a couple of mops and brooms. The clean-up crew quickly got out of control, working nonstop.

"I thought I said that's enough!" Rian ran to a water bucket and grabbed its handle, "That's enough man! Stop! Please!"

The water bucket got angry and ducked about a flood of water on Rian. Quickly the wardrobe got flooded with water. But that didn't stop the clean-up crew from continuing their chores like workaholics.

"GUYS! STOP! I COMMAND Y'ALL TO STOP!" Rian quickly grabbed a mop and started tugging on it, "Hey, you! Tell your friends to stop that mess up!"

The mop slapped Rian across the face, forcing him to let go. Rian fell on the body of water that quickly reached the volume of a pool.

"HAAAH! HEEELP! GUYS, STOP PLEASE! HEEEEELLLLP!"

Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Pluto and Yen Sid were watching from the Loft on a big screen HDTV. Donald and Goofy had 3D glasses and were eating popcorn.

"Master Yen Sid! We gotta stop this! Can we stop this?" Mickey asked, concern.

"Why should we? This is better than 'The Sorcerer's Apprentice'" Donald exclaimed, chewing on some popcorn.

Mickey glowered at Donald, knowing that he was talking about him.

"…except that experience was not funny…" Donald changed tune.

"All right that's it!" Rian exclaimed before summoning his Keyblade. "Time for some drastic measures." He pointed his Keyblade in the air, "Thundara!"

"NOOO!" everyone except Yen Sid yelled.

A surge of Thundara escaped the blade's tip and entered the water. The water conducted the spell and electrocuted Rian and the objects.

BBBZZZZZTTT!

KYYYYAAAAAAAAAA!

The animated objects suddenly worked twice as fast in response to the electrocution, but Rian was unresponsive.

"All right, it's official." Yen Sid said before pointing a finger to the HDTV. A magical sigil drew on the wardrobe floor and suddenly absorbed all the water out. The animated cleaning crew stopped moving again and the entire wardrobe got overwhelmed by a powerful radiant light. The light vanished, leaving the wardrobe spotlessly clean.

"Ughh…" Rian groaned.

Yen Sid, Mickey, Donald, Goofy and Pluto teleported back in the wardrobe. Donald and Goofy helped Rian on his feet.

"Gawrsh, you're okay Rian?" Goofy asked.

"You took quite a hit." Mickey said.

"A big hit." Donald joked.

"A big hit of failure." Yen Sid said. "You still got much more to learn young apprentice."

"Much more to learn?" Rian groaned angrily, "You know what I just learned? I hate this training. And I hate staying here! Y'know what, I'm done." He left the wardrobe, shoulders slumped. Mickey and the gang looked worried.

xXx

Donald and Goofy found Rian at the tower's balcony, watching the night sky.

"Hey, there you are." Donald said to him, "King Mickey was looking all over for you."

"Uhh… Donald. You mean we were looking all over for him." Goofy corrected him.

"Goofy. Not now." Donald grumbled, "I don't wanna look like a sensitive duck here!"

Rian sighed, shifting Donald and Goofy's attention.

"You're still bummed out about that training huh?" Donald asked.

"Master Yen Sid was right." Rian sighed, "I'm a failure."

"What? You're not a failure!" Goofy exclaimed.

"Of course not!" Donald exclaimed. "It's just training. You'll be fine."

"Fine? What's the point of being fine?" Rian mumbled, "If I can't control a bunch of mops and brooms to clean up a room, how am I supposed to save the world? I mean, what's this stupid cleaning-up-using-magic got to do with the fate of the world?"

"Perhaps I can answer that." Mickey joined in the conversation. "Long ago, Yen Sid trained me in magic and Keyblade. I had that same doubt as you, Rian."

"Really?" Rian asked.

Mickey nodded, "But then I eventually learned the true purpose behind my trainings. As you should. You saw the mops and brooms moving right? Now imagine you facing a group of heartless in that same fashion? What would you do?"

Rian shrugged, "Easy. I use my Keyblade."

"Okay." Yen Sid who finally joined in, responded to Rian's answer. He then added, "But imagine you facing that same group of heartless, but you can't use your Keyblade. Your Keyblade powers get sealed."

That statement struck Rian. He hesitated, "Uhh…"

"Rian. You are about to face a very difficult adversary. They have powers very similar to yours, for they were also Keyblade Masters. But their powers were corrupted by the darkness, and are bound to be twice as powerful as you and your friends. Plus, they have a nasty spell that disables your Keyblade magic."

"If you can't use your Keyblade, then you won't be able to fight your enemies at all." Mickey added.

"Take that example from Sora." Donald said, reminiscing the day Sora lost his Keyblade back at Hollow Bastion.

Rian nodded, taking all that advice to consideration, "Okay. Got that part." He said, "But… if the mops and brooms are like, representation of my enemies, the heartless… then, how come I have to control these mops and brooms… err… the heartless? They're our enemies. Are we not allowed to control them?"

"That training sometimes got to do with what I've told you. But it sometimes got to do with something else." Yen Sid said with a smile.

Rian cocked his head on one side, "Are you speaking in riddles?"

"He means that you'll find out the true purpose of this training soon enough." Mickey said.

"One thing you have to keep in mind, Rian," Yen Sid said, "You're not a failure. You're just a young apprentice, with a great potential waiting to be unleashed from within you. You just need more time to exert your powers to its fullest."

"Okay…" Rian suddenly stopped talking and stared into space. The gang looked bleakly at Rian then tried to find out what he was staring at.

"…uhh, am I missing something?"

Rian's eyes suddenly turned white, frightening everyone. Goofy jumped on Donald's arms and Pluto hid behind Mickey, quivering.

"Another vision." Yen Sid declared.

An image suddenly projected out of Rian's eyes, freaking everyone out. This time the image was showing Keyblade Graveyard, captivated by various eerie cries of help.

Rian's eyes returned to normal and the image vanished. Rian looked tensed.

"What was that?" Donald exclaimed.

"A cry of help…" Rian wondered, before facing Yen Sid, "Master Yen Sid. Love to stay, but this can't wait."

Rian took off running out of the balcony, and the gang followed. They zoomed across the loft, crossed through the Moon Chamber via the wayward stairs, reached the entryway, and busted out of the tower.

"RIAN! Where are you go—what's going—? HEYY!" Mickey exclaimed, noticing Rian had a Star Shard on hand.

Rian raised the star shard to the air. Mickey, Donald and Goofy panicked, "RIAAN!"

"I'm sorry guys! But I'll be back! Promise!" The star shard glowed and Rian vanished into a shooting star that took off into the air.

"A Star Shard?" Mickey, Donald, and Goofy yelled before facing Yen Sid, "Why does he have a Star Shard?"

"I gave one to him." Yen Sid revealed.

"WHAAAAT?"

Yen Sid smiled, "Rian may be different than Thunder, but he still has that stubbornness in him. I knew that he'll bail someday from this tower, so why should we keep him here like a prisoner."

"BUT HE'S NOT IN PRISON!" Donald exclaimed, "but he's gonna be when he GETS BACK!"

"Donald." Mickey faced the duck, "He means we have to trust Rian in doing the right thing."

"But… he's gonna blow the Keyblade Riders' secret!" Goofy said.

"How do you know that?" Yen Sid asked Goofy, but then hesitated.

"Rian is not like any other people you've met. He's a hero at heart. And that vision he just had has nothing to do with the secret." Yen Sid went on, "He just felt compelled to help someone who desperately needed help. Someone who could soon be his new ally or future enemy. That is the heart of a true Keyblade Rider. Now go, my fellow guardians of the light. Find Rian and the others. The quest for salvation is not over."

"Thanks, Master Yen Sid." Mickey smiled at him, before facing Donald and Goofy, "Come on everybody!"

The trio took off.

On the Next upcoming Chapters of KH3 Online HD
(scenes subject to change in the episodes)

Beast was watching Thunder, Taylor and Matt with wrathful rage filling up his eyes.

The traitors… he growled.

xXx

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait! You're breaking up?" Thunder exclaimed, "You two can't break up!"

xXx

"Okay, is there's something that you're not telling me?" The angry princess Belle asked, hands on her hips.

"Maybe there is something that you're not telling me, princess." Thunder smiled at Belle, raising his eyebrow flirtatiously.

"Aw, come on!" Taylor and Donald hollered in disgust, and Belle looked on flabbergasted.

Next Chapter:: Beauty and the Beast's Anniversary