Roxas: [Looking through a large booklet labled "lyokoMARVELanime's Story Ideas and Other Similar Stuff"] Wow, the stuff this guy comes up with even when he's in the middle of either finishing a long-running work or starting a new one like this. I mean, three different Spider-Man crossover story ideas? Seriously, that is kinda impressive.
AN: [walks into the room and pauses when he sees Roxas looking through the booklet] Uh, Roxas? What're you doing here?
Roxas: Oh, hey lyokoMARVELanime. Sorry I'm late, but I just heard about your new Kingdom Hearts story the other day and came as quick as I could. I'm surprised I didn't hear about this sooner. So, when's my first big scene, and how do I get introduced? Same way as before, or maybe an epic battle sequence?
AN: Um, Roxas, you're not in this story.
Roxas:...what?
AN: Yeah, dude, this story takes place during Kingdom Hearts I, and you didn't technically show up in the series until Kingdom Hearts II. So...you're not in this story.
Roxas: But I was around during and a little bit before what happened in Chain of Memories, so wouldn't that.
AN: Again, this is only taking place during the first game. Not any of the others. You're gonna show up in this series, but it won't be until this story's sequel.
Roxas: Aw, come on, man! Please? Help a brother out! People love me!
AN: Yeah...I'm gonna act like you are not whining like a little baby and just get ready to...Oh crap, the readers are already here. Uh, hey guys! Round of applause for our very unexpected guest, the Key of Destiny himself, Roxas!
[audience applause]
Roxas: Thank you, thank you! Now back to my appearance in this story.
AN: The answer's still no. Just wait until the sequel for this thing at most so you can really shine.
Roxas: Ha! Shine. I see what you did there.
AN: What?...Oh, yeah, I just realized that actually. No light-related pun intended. Oh, and I suppose this also answers the question of reviewer "Jibanyan with Komasan" about whether or not there will be a Kingdom Hearts II adaption for this series, and yes, Ventus and Roxas will meet in that story, which will be the direct sequel to this story. Now, let's get you all rolling to the story. [looks over to Roxas to see that he's still holding the booklet] And you, gimme that! Seriously, I keep this under lock and key for a reason, man.
Roxas: Sorry, I just got really curious about what keeps you from updating some stories for a while. Your mind is way too active when it comes to thinking of new ideas for these stories.
AN: Yeah, tell me about it. It's a blessing and a curse.
I do not own anything from Kingdom Hearts or any other franchise mentioned in this story.
Chapter III
While things were all going well with the heroes in Traverse Town, especially in regards to the new team of four, a much more dark and sinister meeting was taking place amongst some of the worst, most dangerous beings in all the worlds. They had all gathered together for the promise of receiving a power that would allow them to not only defeat their greatest oppositions and gain power over their own worlds, but to gain control of all the worlds, and for a time it had seemed as though they would go unopposed in this regard. That is not to say that they were fools that believed that there was not any chance of someone interfering at all, but any chances of there actually being anything that could prove to be a true, potential threat to them had not once come about, until now.
"That little squirt took down that Heartless! Who'd have thought it," a large man with grey skin and blue flames for hair growled in disbelief while glaring at the image of Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Ven that was being projected on the table the group had gathered around.
"Such is the power of the Keyblade. The child's strength is not his own," scoffed a very regal sounding man dressed in an equally royal looking outfit while carrying a snake-head staff. "And don't forget, the brat had help from a Keyblade Master, though this master is clearly very young and just coming into his title."
"Why don't we turn them both into Heartless? That'll settle things quick enough," suggested a large woman who appeared to be half octopus given how she had tentacles instead of legs.
"And the brat's friends are the king's lackeys," a hook handed man in a pirate outfit snarled, his face scowling as he looked on at the blonde Keyblade Master of the group. "Swoggle me eyes, they're all bilge rats by the look of them, but that blonde lad is trouble. I know from personal experience."
"I'm surprised you even know that word at all, and besides, you're no prize yourself," laughed a creature that looked like a living sack.
"Shut up," the pirate snapped as he raised his hook towards the living sack in a threatening manner.
"You know, I've actually gotta go with the captain on this one," nodded the man with blue fire for hair. "I remember when I dealt with both him and his pals, Chickenheart and the little bluebird years ago, and let me tell ya, even for one such as myself, they were a pain dealing with. Seriously, don't get me started on how infuriating it was dealing with them. I mean…"
"Enough," ordered the woman who had assembled these villains together in a voice that seemed to echo even without the aid of the impressively large room. Stepping forward into a better light, everyone could clearly see the horned headdress and black robes with a dark purple trim inside she wore, along with her pale green skin, evil yellow eyes, red lipstick, and the staff she carried that had a glowing green orb at the tip, all of which identified her as one of the most powerful beings of darkness in all the worlds: Maleficent. "The Keyblade has chosen the boy and little Ventus has now grown up and returned at last, now as a master of the Keyblade, but no matter. He cannot begin to fathom the power he will be facing this time, even with the boy's help. So, will it be they who conquer the darkness, or will the darkness swallow them both? Either way, they could prove quite useful."
After gathering together with the rest of his new friends in Traverse Town, Ven took a moment to bid each of them goodbye after explaining the situation to them on why he had to go, and while none of them wanted to see their friend leave, they all understood the reasons for his departure from this strange world. That did not stop Yuffie from giving him one of the tightest bear hugs he ever received in his life while playfully crying about how she was going to miss her favorite pranking partner, and when Cid and Leon both shot him small questioning looks at said remark, he could only smile as innocently as possible while whispering to the ninja something about a promise to not tell the two. Afterwards, Ven let the group speak with Sora for a little bit, smirking a little when he heard Yuffie mention something about how Sora had managed to defeat Leon in a fight earlier as he did, and as he was waiting, he could have sworn that he felt a small glimmer of a familiar and powerful light at the edge of his senses. He would have just shrugged it off as his imagination had he not picked up on it again a few seconds later, and despite knowing that it should not have been possible, he knew that somehow, this familiar light he was sensing was somehow coming from Sora.
The question of how such a light was coming from the new Keyblade Wielder was one that Ven ultimately had to put aside for the moment, as Donald and Goofy had finally stepped back into the conversation to say that they were all ready to return to the Gummi Ship and head out for the next world, so with one last goodbye to their friends, the two quickly joined both the sorcerer and the knight and headed for the ship that was resting in a dock just outside the main gate of Traverse Town. Looking over the ship from the outside, you would be hard pressed to believe that it really was a ship for traveling to other worlds, because it honestly looked like it was built using giant building blocks, a glass dome, and a pair of rocket engines, but Ven and Sora both knew better than to judge a book by its cover, and quickly boarded the vessel so that they could get a real look at the ship.
"Welcome aboard the Gummi Ship Kingdom," Donald announced dramatically once they had reached the bridge.
Ven could not help but smile a little at the way Sora was looking around the place like he was in the middle of the most amazing thing to ever exist, but he was able to keep himself from outright laughing at the kid since this was most likely the first time he had seen something like this outside of a movie or comic book and simply looked to Donald and asked, "So I take it everything's working alright for the moment?"
"Aside from the unexpected way we had launched out of the castle, yeah. Everything's been a-okay, Ven, and Donald's been doing a great job flying the ship too," Goofy reported.
Ven gave a mental sigh of relief when he heard Goofy say that Donald was the one manning the flight controls of the ship, and quickly nodded in response to what Goofy said before anyone could figure out that he had done so. Before anyone could say anything else, a new, small voice suddenly said, "Well, I can see real big adventures coming our way already. Looks like it's up to me to make sure I keep good track of it all in my journal."
"Who said that," Sora asked, voicing the very same question that Ven had just been thinking, as both of them started looking around for the person that just spoke.
"Hey! Over here," the voice called out again, and Sora and Ven were both quick to redirect their gazes to the middle of the ship's control board just in time to see a rather well-dressed cricket jumping up and down while waving his arms to get their attention. When he saw the two looking at him, the little guy immediately tipped his hat to the two and announced, "Cricket's the name. Jiminy Cricket, at your service."
"Oh, hey Jiminy. I wasn't expecting to see you coming along with us," Ven waved with a smile.
"Well, when Queen Minnie asked me to come along to chronicle your journey, I just couldn't say no," Jiminy shrugged in response.
"Uh…who…" Sora stuttered, not entirely sure what to think of the newly introduced individual.
"Oh, right," Ven remembered before turning to face him. "Jiminy, this is Sora, the newest wielder of the Keyblade, and my apprentice. Sora, Jiminy is the royal chronicler of Disney Castle for King Mickey."
"Nice to meet you, Sora," Jiminy nodded.
"Yeah, you too," Sora smiled in reply.
"Well, now that we've got that settled, how about you and I go claim our rooms on the ship before I take you on a small tour of the ship. We can start your first lesson after that if you'd like," Ven offered.
"Okay, sure," Sora immediately nodded in excitement.
Just before the two raced out of the room, with Jiminy jumping up onto Sora's shoulder so he could come with them, Ven looked back to the other two and said, "Set course for the closest world you guys can find. We'll start our searches there, and please try not to crash into anything or fly us into trouble."
"We'll do our best, Ven," Donald and Goofy saluted.
While that was not entirely reassuring for Ven, given what he knew about the two, it was good enough for the moment, and he immediately turned to lead Sora to both the ship's living quarters and on the tour he had promised his apprentice, all the while still wondering about the powerful light he had sensed within Sora that did not seem to be his own.
The tour of the ship ended up serving an additional purpose aside from allowing Sora to become familiarized with the Gummi Ship's layout, because it also allowed Ventus to finally determine once and for all what the strange light he had been sensing from Sora was. While they were in the engine room, Ven hung back a little bit to allow Chip and Dale to explain some of the more technical aspects of the ship that he would need to know if he ever needed to patch a hull breach or anything like that and focused his senses on Sora's heart, searching for the light that lay within it. He was already well aware of the fact that Sora's heart already carried an additional, powerful light aside from his own, but what Ven did not expect to find, was that there was yet another light within Sora's heart, one that could only belong to one type of person: a Princess of Heart. This discovery was truly surprising to Ven, not only because Sora seemed to be carrying the heart of one of the only beings in all the worlds to possess no trace of darkness within their hearts, but because he also recognized the light of this particular Princess of Heart as that of one he had met many years ago during the final days of his journey with his best friends and the king. How that person's heart had ended up inside of Sora, Ven could only begin to guess, but it did not matter what the explanation was, because this discovery made it all the more imperative that Ven begin Sora's training as quickly as possible while making sure that Sora did not come to any harm.
Of course, that did also raise the question as to whether or not Ven should mention his discovery to Sora. On the one hand, Sora should probably know about what he currently held inside of him, especially given that said heart belonged to one of his friends, but Ven could not help but think that if Sora was aware of this, he would end up becoming far too cautious than was necessary at the moment, to the point where he would even hesitate to enter a battle out of fear for that heart's safety. Then again, not telling Sora could backfire as well, because if he was not careful at all, it could spell just as much trouble for all the worlds if not more. Truly this was a puzzle that Ven was having a difficult time solving, and he found himself wishing that one particular friend of his was there with him at the moment, because she always seemed to know what to do in these situations.
"Stop it, Ventus," the blonde quietly snapped at himself as he made his way to Sora's room on the ship when said thought had entered his head. "You can't go thinking like that and start waiting for someone else to tell you want to do, or start making decisions based on what others would do in this situation. The best thing you can do right now is what you think is best. Mickey already taught you that lesson a long time ago."
After calming his nerves down a bit, Ven decided that it would probably be better for him to keep quiet about this information for now, thinking that it would be better to tell Sora at a time when he was a bit stronger and more skilled with the Keyblade, and with his decision made, the Keyblade Master entered his apprentice's quarters in full confidence, save for the fact that he was still a bit nervous about his first day as a real teacher for someone in this regard. Upon entering the room though, Ven quickly saw that Sora had quite the apprehensive look on his face, and he had a good guess as to what he was thinking right now.
"What's the matter, Sora? I thought you understood that this boat runs on happy faces," Ven joked as he came to stand before his pupil.
"I know that. I guess I'm just nervous about what you're going to teach me," Sora admitted. "They didn't exactly teach this kind of thing back at my school."
"Hey don't sweat it too much. I'm actually just as nervous as you are," Ven admitted.
"Huh? How come?"
"This is the first time I've ever been a teacher, and I'm really a lot more used to being the student, so I'm really hoping I at least do a decent job," Ven chuckled. This answer had left Sora stunned, but after a minute, he was laughing a little right along with Ventus. "Anyway, don't worry too much. There's not really much room on the ship for me to teach you anything too big at the moment, so for now, we're just going to start off small with some basic things and a bit of history behind the Keyblade. Sound good?"
"Yeah, that works for me," Sora agreed.
"Okay then," Ven nodded before he took a seat across from Sora, while the apprentice of the two sat on his bed. "So why don't you start by telling me what you already know about the Keyblade."
"Well I know that it's able to destroy the Heartless, it can open any lock, it chooses its master, and apparently, it's appearance is different for every wielder," Sora recited.
"How'd you come to that last conclusion," Ven asked.
"Well, I just figured that was the case since your Keyblade looks different than mine," Sora shrugged.
Ven had no problem with letting a very impressed look cross his face as he said, "That's actually not a bad guess. You're right in saying that the Keyblade is different for every person, be it the basic level one that a wielder starts out with when they first awaken the Keyblade, or the evolved form it may or may not take on later when its wielder reaches a certain level in their skill, and that's because it's reflective of the nature of people's hearts. No two Keyblades are truly alike, just as no two hearts are the same." He then paused for a minute to let that sit before adding, "Aside from that, it sounds like you've got a pretty good understanding of the basics in what the Keyblade is capable of, except for one thing. With the Keyblade, you also have the ability to use magic."
"Magic," Sora gasped, clearly getting a bit more excited by the minute.
"That's right, but I doubt that what I mean is what you're thinking of. The magic one can use as a Keyblade Wielder is not like sawing somebody in half or any other thing that you've probably seen magicians do, but it is incredibly powerful. Most of the magic we can wield is used for various scenarios in battle, and it is often very easy to use. The simplest way to put it is to say that when we use magic, it usually requires us to want something. Take the three simplest spells that all wielders start out with for example: Fire, Blizzard, and Thunder. The names pretty much speak for themselves as to what element they are, but more importantly, when you cast Blizzard, you must want to cause your opponent to freeze. Understand?"
"I think so," Sora slowly nodded. "To use Blizzard, I have to want something to freeze, so if I want to use the fire spell, do I have to want something to burn?"
"Yeah, I suppose that's about right," Ven confirmed. "Keep in mind though, there are a large variety of spells out there with their own abilities, such as healing or freezing time around an opponent, and some spells are simply just more powerful versions of the basic spells that you start out with."
"So why not teach me some of the more powerful spells, or at least teaching me how to heal in case any of us are hurt," Sora asked.
"Hold on there, Sora. You can't just go and try using any spell you want, especially since you're just starting out as a Keyblade Wielder. The Keyblade may grant you the ability to use magic, but the spells still require a great deal of magical energy that you draw from inside yourself, and before you can use any of the more advanced spells, you need to build up that energy by using the magic you can already do," Ven cautioned. "Think of it like how you exercise to build up your muscles. If you can't lift something really heavy, then you shouldn't strain yourself trying to since you might tire yourself out or get hurt doing so."
"So the more I use the spells I can already do, the stronger my ability to use magic will become, and that will let me cast more powerful spells," Sora asked to make sure he understood right.
"Exactly, but don't try to get too far ahead of yourself. You still need to actually cast a spell before anything else, and considering the kind of damage that even the basic level spells can cause to the ship, I'd wait until we reach our next destination before making your first attempt if I were you," Ven suggested. When Sora nodded to show he understood, Ven then moved on to the next part of his lesson. "Now then, it's time I give you a brief history lesson on the Keyblade itself, such as its origins and how it came to be."
"Okay, but how would this help me become a Keyblade Master," Sora asked.
"Knowing the history of the Keyblade can prove to be just as important as knowing how to fight with it and more importantly, history has always been one of the greatest teachers in all the worlds," Ven replied. After those words had left his lips, Ven's face instantly grew far more serious, and this action immediately gained him Sora's undivided attention as he told the spiky-haired boy the tale that had been unfolding for years and years. "When the Keyblades were first created, it was not for the same noble purpose we use them for today; they had been created as weapons for the most devastating war in all the worlds. Since the beginning of time, legends have spoken of a powerful light unlike any other, and after a time, many began to seek this light out for themselves. In order to do this, they forged powerful weapons in the image of the blade that acted as the counterpart and the protector of this great light, and thus, the very first Keyblade War raged until it had all but destroyed the worlds as we once knew them, and the blade that acted as that great light's defender was splintered into seven fragments of light and thirteen shards of darkness. Eventually, the lights of the new generation found a way to restore life to the lost world, leading to the rise of the worlds that we know today, but sadly, darkness will always exist so long as there is a single light to cast shadows. Knowing this, the surviving Keyblade Masters took up their blades once again so that they could act as defenders of the light, and teach the new generations of Keyblade Wielders that would follow them how to do the same, so that the balance between light and darkness would never again fall into as great a threat as the Keyblade War."
"So does that mean that there are other masters out there besides you and your master, Ven," Sora asked.
"No," Ven replied. "Sadly, the number of Keyblade Masters has faded over the years since that time, and now, only three masters remain, including me. Well, I suppose that you could also count the king's teacher, but he retired from the life of a Keyblade Master some time ago."
"So who're the other two masters," Sora inquired.
Ven fell silent at this question, but he managed to keep himself together and answered, "The others are King Mickey of Disney Castle, who is also the same king that Donald and Goofy are searching for and my final master before achieving the title as well, and…a very dear friend of mine who disappeared ten years ago. She's lost somewhere in the Realm of Darkness. Where exactly, no one knows, but I know that she's still out there, and even in that vast, unending void of shadows, the light of her heart is still as strong and as radiant as it's ever been."
Some have often said that Sora was a bit dense and oblivious when it came to certain matters, likely because he had not realized by now that Kairi shares his feelings, but even he was able to pick up on the heavy emotion in Ven's voice at the end when he spoke of this missing friend of his, and he knew that it could only mean one thing. Ventus was in love with this lost master, whoever she was. Seeing this, Sora smiled a bit and said, "Well then, I guess we'll just have to help you find her too, along with Riku, Kairi, and the king."
Ven's gaze immediately jumped back to Sora in shock, having not expected him to suddenly say that, but in the end, he could not help but smile in appreciation for this new promise of Sora's. Somehow, he just knew that Sora would be able to help follow through on that promise, or rather, it would be more accurate to say that he believed that he would be able to. "Thank you, Sora," Ven nodded. "Now then, I think that's enough history for one day, since I don't want you to fall asleep listening to such things, so what do you say we start helping you get a feel for the energy inside of you that you'll need to tap into in order to use magic."
Sora laughed a bit at Ven's remark about him falling asleep if they kept going with the Keyblade History lesson, and then nodded excitedly for whatever Ven had in mind for helping him learn how to harness magic. He honestly could not wait to try whatever awesome idea Ven had for helping him learn to cast spells like he had seen Donald doing during the battle against the Guard Armor back in Traverse Town, and he was sure he would have it down in no time.
"I just can't get it," Sora moaned, completely exasperated and utterly bored out of his mind.
It took everything Ven had to not roll his eyes or sigh in irritation to this complaint, but once he had, he reminded Sora once again, "There's nothing to really get. You just simply need to calm your mind, look inside yourself, and find a small point of energy that is now steadily growing within you."
"But how is meditation supposed to help with any of that," Sora asked, not moving from where he was seated Indian-style across from the blonde.
"Many great warriors will often meditate for the same purpose of calming their minds. It helps them be able to keep their focus and channel their emotions in battle, and for wielders of the Keyblade, it can also help to keep the darkness in our hearts in check so that it never gains a foothold that would allow it to overcome us. In the case of Keyblade Wielders that are just starting out like you, it will allow you to discover the source of your magical powers so that you can effectively cast spells, be it in general, or in the heat of battle. Knowing where you draw that power from can be of great benefit later on, because doing otherwise would lead you to draw from the energy you would likely need to keep fighting, and that can leave you exhausted at a critical moment. More than that, it requires you to put more focus into that while drawing a great deal attention away from the fight itself."
"But we've been at this for hours and I haven't felt anything. I don't think I'm doing it right," Sora pointed out.
The boy was not wrong. They had indeed been meditating like this for quite a while now, and Sora still had not managed to find the central point of where he would draw his magic energy from. It is true that he had never even known about such things before now, but Ven had been sure that would not hinder their efforts in this by so much. Now he was beginning to reconsider, especially since it had not taken even Terra this long to learn how to draw out his magical energies. "Well you can't expect everything to just come to you in an instant. Some of these things take time, no matter how much you want it," Ven advised. He then looked over Sora's form for a minute, analyzing him carefully to see if there was anything there that could indicate what the problem was, and he was quick to discover just that. "Right now though, you're too tense and trying to force something out, and if you keep straining yourself you'll never be able to draw from the natural source of magic inside of you that was awakened by the Keyblade. Just take a deep breath, relax your muscles, and allow your senses to help quiet your mind."
Sora was not willing to just leave it at that and said, "Are you sure there isn't something else we can do for this?"
This time, Ven did allow a reaction to come forth, but this one came in the form of a humoring chuckle as he revealed, "Believe me, if there was, I would've had you doing it by now. Trust me, you're not the first one to complain about this part of the training. I should know since I did my own fair share of it when I had to do this the first time and probably then some."
Hearing this seemed to encourage Sora into continuing with the meditation training, and he then said, "Alright, I'll give it another try then."
"No. Do or do not. There is no try," Ven said.
"What does that even mean," Sora asked.
Ven became a little sheepish at this question before he hesitantly replied, "I…actually have no idea. Master Eraqus and Aqua used to say it a lot whenever I would say I would only be trying my best, so it must mean something important. I'm pretty sure they both got it from a movie though."
Sora chuckled a little at that last remark, but his curiosity was a bit peaked at a certain point that he had to ask about. "Who're Master Eraqus and Aqua?"
A nostalgic, sad smile formed on Ven's face at that question before he replied, "Master Eraqus was my teacher before the king, and the man who my two best friends and I considered to be a like a father to us, and Aqua is…she's one of the most important people in my life and the Keyblade Master I mentioned earlier. The one who is currently lost somewhere in the Realm of Darkness."
"Why didn't you mention Master Eraqus earlier though? I thought you said that there were only three Keyblade Masters left including you," Sora asked.
"And there are. Master Eraqus was killed many years ago," Ven revealed.
"Oh…I'm sorry, Ven. I didn't mean to bring it up like that," Sora apologized.
"It's okay. He cared a great deal about both us and the worlds, and I like to think that even though the actions he was taking weren't the best ones at the time, he had still left us doing what he could to defend the worlds from darkness," Ven waved off. "Now, enough sad stuff. This boat runs on happy faces after all, so let's get back on task. Just relax yourself, steady your breathing, and quiet your mind as you look inside yourself. Once you feel the magical energy inside of you, try to pull it to the surface."
Sora did as he asked, and after taking a deep breath to help calm his nerves, he began his meditation again, searching for that magical energy inside of him that had been awakened the moment he had gained the Keyblade. At first he could not feel anything different at all, just like before, but after a minute or so, he registered a strange feeling coming from somewhere inside of him. He was not sure what it was, but he knew that it felt warm and calming, so he could only assume that this was what Ven was talking about whenever he mentioned the magical energies inside of him, so he focused on it, letting it come closer and closer to his senses, until it felt like it was close enough for him to grasp hold of, and he immediately began to pull it up to the surface.
"Yeah, there you go! Keep doing that," Ven suddenly cheered, but Sora did not let it distract him and instead did as his master instructed. A few seconds later, he could feel something warm settling in his cupped hands, and he opened his eyes to see what looked like a small orb of light pulsating between his palms. "That's it! You've got it," Ven cheered once again. "Well done, Sora. Now, just try to hold that there until it feels effortless to do so."
Sora nodded in understanding and immediately began to focus on doing as Ven asked, and after holding that energy there for what felt like ages, Sora found that it barely even seemed like he was trying anymore to keep that ball of energy where it was. Upon letting it fade away so he could test it to see how true this was, Sora was happy to discover that he did not even have to do all that much to create a second orb like the first one in only a few seconds, earning him an approving nod from Ventus in result. "Congratulations Sora. You've taken the first step in learning how to use magic with the Keyblade. Now we just need to teach you how to use the actual spells," Ven informed the young boy.
Before either of them could say anything more on the matter though, Donald's voice suddenly called out over the ship's intercom, "We're approaching our destination! Repeat, all hands, we're approaching our destination. Ven, come on up to the cockpit to see for yourself."
Hearing this announcement made both Keyblade Wielders wonder just how long they had been meditating, since Donald had told them it would be several hours before they had arrived at the next closest world to Traverse Town, but they shrugged it off and decided to continue the lesson at a later time, and then immediately raced out the door and up to the cockpit. Upon reaching their destination, Ven immediately walked over to Donald and asked, "Not too much trouble getting here?"
"No, just some meteors that we had to blast through," Donald replied.
"Hey, check it out," Goofy called, drawing everyone's attention to the world that was now before them. Looking over this world, the first thing that immediately came to mind was that it looked rather weird, with an oddly shaped house on one end, and a castle on the other. In addition to this, the four could see what looked like a large hedge in that had the top half of a heart shape, a few trees positioned in various places, and strangest of all, a few playing cards with heads. "Have you ever been to this world before, Ven," Goofy asked, knowing that Ven had been to more worlds than anyone else in their group.
"No, I can't say that I have," Ven replied. "Although, I think I recognize it from what I read about some of the other worlds out there while training with Mickey."
"Well what do you remember," Donald asked.
"I believe this is the world known as Wonderland, and from what I can remember reading about this world, a lot of really weird and crazy things happen here," Ven said.
"Weird how," Sora asked.
"Hmm…I can't really say exactly, but one thing that the king said about this place does come to mind," Ven revealed. "He said that if anyone came here, then they had better be ready to jump down the rabbit hole and into madness."
That left everyone a little puzzled, but they did not linger on the question for very long, as Sora said, "Well, only one way to find out. Let's go down there and see what it's like."
Everyone immediately nodded in agreement with that sentiment, and after parking the ship in a stable orbit around Wonderland, Donald led the group over to the ship's teleporter. When Sora asked why they were using a teleporter to go down to the world instead of landing the ship like they had done at Traverse Town, Goofy explained, "Traverse Town has Gummi Ships coming and going all the time, and the people who live there know all about other worlds since they all come from different worlds. Since this world isn't like that, we've got to keep quiet and not let on where we're from. We've gotta protect the world border."
"Uh, I think you mean 'world order', Goofy," Ven corrected.
"Oh right, world order," Goofy chuckled, while Donald just sighed at how he had just reminded Goofy of that not too long ago. "Anyways, using the teleporter lets us get onto a world without raising suspicion by parking the Gummi Ship somewhere that everyone can see it."
Sora looked hesitantly at the device before him and then asked, "Are you sure this thing is safe?"
"Don't worry, Sora. It's perfectly safe. The king and I used to use it all the time back when my training required him to bring me to another world for some reason," Ven reassured his apprentice.
With that reassurance, Sora slowly stepped onto the pad after a nervous swallow, followed by Ven, Goofy, and Donald, and in a flash of light, the four had disappeared from the ship. When they reappeared on the world below, they were all shocked to find that they were dropped somewhere in midair, but what was even more surprising was the fact that they were falling very slowly. After falling for a few minutes, the four had landed softly on the floor, except for Goofy, who had ended up falling asleep at some point during their descent and ended up being jarred awake again after falling flat on his face. Glancing around, they could all see that the place certainly looked like a very lavish rabbit hole of some kind, with oddly shaped furnishings decorating the room around them, though the ones on the floor seemed be as flat as a pancake for the most part.
"Guess Mickey meant it very literally when he said people would be going down a rabbit hole and into madness," Ven muttered aloud.
"Oh, my fur and whiskers! I'm late, I'm late, I'm late," a new voice exclaimed, drawing everyone to turn and see a white rabbit in a suit and a large pocket watch in his hand running through the room. "Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear! I'm here, I should be there. I'm late, I'm late, I'm late! The queen, she'll have my head for sure!"
"Uh…what do you think he's late for," Donald asked.
"Gawrsh, I hope what he said about the queen having his head was just a metaphor," Goofy added, feeling quite worried for the little guy.
"Well we're not going to get any answers by standing around here, so let's follow him," Ven told the others, and they started after the white rabbit, following him deeper and deeper into the strange rabbit hole.
The strangeness of the world only continued to unfold the further they went in, from the odd arrangements of furniture, to the door that opened up to doors that were each smaller in size than the one before it, but the four did their best to pay as little attention to such things as possible, knowing that it would only distract them from what they were currently doing. Soon enough, they had followed the rabbit hole into a small room with a bed at one side and a dresser on the other, and they quickly spotted rabbit running towards the door on the opposite end of the room. The odd thing was that the door the rabbit was running towards was much smaller in size than the one they just came through, and the white rabbit himself had somehow shrunk down to be just the right size to get through.
"How did he get so small," Sora asked as he walked over and kneeled in front of the door.
"Uh no, you're simply too big," the doorknob of all things suddenly corrected, surprising all four members of the little group.
"Wak! It talks," Donald exclaimed.
"Said the talking duck sorcerer," Ven pointed out.
"What's your point," Donald questioned, clearly not getting the irony behind his statement.
"Must you be so loud? You woke me up," the doorknob yawned before the two could go any further.
"Good morning," Goofy waved.
"Good night! I need a bit more sleep," the doorknob retorted drowsily.
"Wait, what do we have to do to grow small," Sora asked before the doorknob could nod off completely.
"Why don't you try the bottle…over there," the doorknob yawned once again, directing everyone's attention to something behind them before it fell asleep again. None of them could see what he meant at first, until a white table and chair suddenly sprang up from the floor with two bottles resting on the table. Walking over to the table, the group could see the two bottles were labeled to indicate which one would make them shrink and which would return them to normal size again, making it easy for them to know which one they should try.
"Okay so I doubt we're likely to get through the tiny door, since he's fallen asleep again, so before we drink this we should look around the room for any other ways through," Ven suggested, looking at the door and its snoring doorknob. When he turned back to the others though, he was surprised to see that they had disappeared. "Sora? Donald? Goofy?"
"Hey Ven, down here," Sora's voice called, and the blonde immediately looked down at the floor to see that the three had already drank from the bottle to shrink down, and now just about reached the top of his feet in height at minimum.
"Really," Ven asked. "You guys couldn't wait a few seconds before drinking the thing?"
"Sorry Ven, but we really need to get moving," Sora shrugged.
"Hey fellers! I think there's a way through behind the bed," Goofy called out, and they all turned to see the captain of Disney Castle's royal guard trying to push the bed aside so they could get through.
Ven just let the three tiny heroes try their luck at pushing the now too heavy bed aside, before he finally took pity on them and walked over to push it out of the way himself, thankful that there was a cavity in the wall that they could push the bed into so that it was not in the way of anything else. With that done, Ven walked back over to the table and drank the shrinking potion so that he would be the same size as the others, and once he was, they all raced through. They were surprised to find that they came out in a hedge maze that appeared to be just outside the nearby castle, which they could have sworn had been at the other end of the world judging by its position from the ship, but they put it aside for now and immediately started walking towards the castle, thinking that the White Rabbit had gone in that direction since he had mentioned being in trouble with the queen if he was late.
Their hunch was spot on, seeing as they arrived in an open courtyard, which seemed to be rearranged to look similar to a court of justice, and they immediately spotted the White Rabbit running up a nearby podium with a horn in his hand. In addition to this, they also saw a blonde girl in a blue dress and a white apron standing at the witness stand, while a large woman in a crown and a red and black dress sat in the judge's seat with a scowl on her face while a number of guards, who all looked like playing cards with arms, legs, and heads stood around the perimeter. Seeing all this quickly gave them all a very bad feeling about what was going on here, and that feeling only grew stronger when they heard the rabbit speak again after blowing the horn in his hand.
"Court is now in session," the rabbit declared.
"I'm on trial? But why," the girl at the witness stand gasped.
The White Rabbit paid her no mind as he continued, "Her Majesty, the Queen of Hearts, presiding!"
Looking at said queen, Ven could already tell that this woman was not likely to give a very fair trial, even without sensing the darkness within her heart, and his suspicion was immediately proven true when the Queen of Hearts declared, "This girl is the culprit. There's no doubt about it, and the reason is…because I say so, that's why!"
"That is so unfair," the girl protested.
"Well, have you anything to say in your defense," the queen questioned.
"Of course! I've done absolutely nothing wrong," the girl nodded in full conviction. "You may be queen, but I'm afraid that doesn't give you the right to be so…so mean!"
"Oh, that's not gonna go over well," Ven muttered, earning nods from both Donald and Goofy, since they too could see where this was going.
"Silence! You dare defy me," the Queen of Hearts shouted, completely red in the face.
"Hey, guys, we should help her out," Sora then stated.
"Yeah, but the…" Donald started to say, not noticing how Ven had started staring at the accused girl so intently, like he had just recently noticed something.
"We're outsiders, so wouldn't that be muddling," Goofy asked.
"'Meddling'," Donald corrected.
"Oh, yeah, and that's against the rules," Goofy nodded.
Clearly Sora did not like hearing that they had to just sit back and watch as this girl was wrongly accused of something she did not do, whatever it was, but before he could protest, Ven suddenly muttered, "Definitely seems to fit the personality profile…and I can feel the light from here…without a trace of darkness…"
"Ven? Is something wrong," Sora asked.
"That girl…I think she's one of the Princesses of Heart," Ven replied.
"Princesses of Heart? What's that?"
"Not what; who. The seven Princesses of Heart are some of the only beings in all of the worlds who don't have even the smallest hint of darkness in their hearts. They are the only ones who are naturally born with hearts of pure light, and they are also well known for the fact that they hold strong beliefs, are typically great judges of character, care about others, believe that dreams come true and that true love conquers all, and have no dark thoughts at all. Because of the fact that they do not possess any darkness in their hearts, they also can't become a Heartless if they were ever to lose their hearts, but if anything were to happen to any one or all of them, the results could have devastating effects on the worlds as we know them," Ven explained.
"And you think that girl over there is one of them," Sora asked. "But she doesn't seem to be a princess."
"Well the name 'Princess of Heart' is really just a title. The person in question does not have to be an actual princess, but they are usually referred to as such because a good number of the members are princesses," Ven clarified, hoping that would clear up the confusion.
"Then we've definitely got to help her!"
"No Sora. Goofy and Donald are right to say that we can't interfere. Not every problem between light and darkness needs to be solved by a Keyblade Wielder. Sometimes things must work out on their own," Ven insisted.
"The court finds the defendant guilty as charged for the crimes of assault and attempted theft of my heart. Off with her head," the Queen of Hearts decreed.
"And this would definitely not be one of those times," Ven quickly amended, and he immediately charged forward with Sora hot on his heels, and Goofy and Donald just behind him.
"Hold it right there," Sora shouted as they came to a stop before the witness stand just behind the girl on trial, the guards parting as they made their way through.
"Who are you? How dare you interfere with my court," the queen demanded.
"Please forgive the interruption, your majesty," Ven bowed as politely as possible, hoping that keeping up some form of courtesy might help them with their cause. "My name is Master Ventus. This is my apprentice, Sora, and our friends Donald and Goofy, and we know who the real culprit of the crime you're accusing this girl of is."
"Uh-huh. It's the Heartle…" Goofy started to say, but he immediately clamped his mouth shut before he said anything more, reminding each of the others that they could not reveal the exact nature of the creatures of darkness without causing more harm than good.
"Anyway, she's not the one you're looking for," Sora continued to insist all the same.
"That's nonsense," the queen scoffed. "Have you any proof?"
The four all exchanged sheepish glances between them at this question, providing the queen with all the answer she needed, but before she could order her guards to carry out the girl's sentence, Ven quickly said, "We don't have any proof right at the moment, but we can bring you some if you'll allow us some time to gather it!"
The queen seemed to study Ven very carefully, before she finally waved for her guards to stand down and said, "If you can truly find any, then bring me evidence of Alice's innocence. Fail, and it's off with all of your heads! Gather as much or as little as you please, and then come back here once you're ready."
Donald and Goofy both seemed very concerned about taking this deal, because it would mean that they would end up in just as much trouble as the girl was right now, but Sora and Ven were both more than confident that if the Heartless really were here, then they could find what they needed somewhere in Wonderland, and so, the two Keyblade Wielders both replied, "Deal!"
The queen then ordered her guards to lock Alice up in a nearby cage, and as she was being led away, the girl looked over to the group and said, "Thank you for this, but who are you?"
"I'm Sora, and this is Ventus," the younger Keyblade Wielder said.
"Call me Ven," the blonde insisted.
"I'm Goofy, and that there's Donald," the taller of the two cartoon characters nodded in greeting.
"Pleased to meet you, though I do wish it were under better circumstances," Alice nodded in return. "I'm sorry you got mixed up in this nonsense."
"Don't worry about it," Sora waved off. "We're happy to help.
"Yeah, and don't you worry. We'll have your name cleared in no time," Ven added in reassurance.
Alice nodded in thanks once again, and the four immediately headed off into the nearby forest to find whatever they could to prove that the girl was innocent, never noticing the young girl giving them a worried look as they left while the queen just scowled at them all.
"Okay," Ven sighed once they were all well into the forest. "So on the upside, we managed to keep Alice safe for the moment, but on the downside, well…"
"We need to find a way to prove the Heartless were responsible or we're all dead. Literally," Donald quacked in a near panic.
"Yes, thank you Donald, for the very blunt reminder of that fact," Ven deadpanned while throwing a matching look at the duck sorcerer.
"Well, where should we start," Sora asked. "I mean, should we just capture a Heartless and show it to the queen?"
"Definitely not," Ven replied while his posture stiffened to show how against that idea he was. "The Heartless may go after strong hearts full of light, but they are also drawn to hearts of darkness as well. A friend of mine once said that darkness will always find a way into a selfish and despicable heart, until it has turned them into something truly terrible, and trust me, that Queen of Hearts is definitely a person with a good deal of darkness in her heart, even without the Heartless around. If we bring a living Heartless to her as evidence, we'd risk causing it to consume her heart, and that would make us public enemy number one in all of Wonderland."
"Well what else can we do," Goofy asked.
"What indeed? Oh it's so hard to really see," a voice suddenly chuckled.
Everyone was immediately looking around for said voice until Sora suddenly jumped back in fright at the sight of a purple and pink cat's head suddenly appearing out of nowhere. The cat head then disappeared and reappeared again all over the area around them, until it finally materialized on top of a nearby, large tree stump with the rest of its purple and pink stripped body, smiling widely in a maniacal way like it had just heard the funniest joke ever, or like a prankster who had just come up with the craziest scheme of all time. The really freaky thing was that the head was not on top of the body, but instead, was actually sitting beneath its feet while the rest of his body balanced on it as though it were a ball, until the body jumped off and placed the head where it should be like it was no big deal.
"Who are you," Donald demanded, clearly ready to fight if it came down to it, with the others right behind him as they slowly began dropping into fighting stances.
"Who, indeed," the cat teased. "Poor Alice. Soon to lose her head, and she's not guilty of a thing."
"Hey, if you know who the culprit is, tell us," Sora requested.
"The Cheshire Cat has all the answers, but doesn't always tell. The answer, the culprit, and the cat all lie in darkness," the now identified cat replied with a nonchalant shrug before he disappeared once again.
"Hey wait," Ven shouted in an attempt to get the Cheshire Cat to halt in his departure, for what little good it did.
Oddly enough, even after the he had vanished, the Cheshire Cat's voice still seemed to echo out around them. "They've already left the forest. I won't tell which exit. There are four pieces of evidence in all. Three are a cinch to find. The fourth is tricky. Big reward if you find them all."
Hearing this new information left the group skeptical. On the one hand, they now had someone offering them some evidence if they could find where he had hidden it, but on the other hand, the cat had somewhat admitted that he resided in darkness, and there was just something about him that made them a little uneasy. "Should we trust him," Donald finally asked, voicing the group's thoughts with that one question.
"To trust, or not to trust. I trust you'll decide," the Cheshire Cat responded for them as he appeared once again, only to disappear after he had spoken.
After the Cheshire Cat disappeared again, the group stared at where he was in silence for a moment, not daring to say anything in case he was still around to hear them. When they had gone a few minutes without hearing one word from him, Sora looked at his new friends and said, "Well, it's the only real lead we have right now, so it's not like we have any other choice but to go after this evidence of his."
"Maybe, but we should still be careful," Ven warned, maintaining a very suspicious glare at where their unexpected help had just been, which did not go unnoticed by anyone.
"Are you okay, Ven," Sora asked.
"Fine. It's just…I've had some bad experiences when it comes to cats," Ven replied a bit cryptically, his mind quickly going back to some of the time he had spent on the world known as the Castle of Dreams, while Donald and Goofy both nodded in acknowledgement at the memory of another bad cat that they both knew quite well, and which Ven had been well acquainted with at one point. Sora was not really sure what to say in response to that, and when Ven saw the confused look, he waved it off and said, "That's a long story that we don't really have time for right now. Let's just find that cat's evidence and get back so we can save Alice."
Everyone nodded in agreement with the Keyblade Master, and they were quickly heading off to find the evidence that the Cheshire Cat had promised, each feeling a slightly uneasy feeling as they went about just what they would find if they were to follow said cat's advice.
Ventus's Journal Entry 1:
My very first real journey through the worlds, and it all ended in disaster. Well, maybe that would be putting it a little harsh. I mean, I did make a lot of new friends, and the bond between me, Aqua, and Terra is now stronger than ever after all the trials we've been through. Some parts were definitely weirder than others though, namely the points that had involved time travel and a very dark and terrible future, but in the end, I think we all became a lot better and stronger as Keyblade Wielders and as friends. I just wish that the price hadn't been so steep.
Terra's been possessed by Xehanort after losing his heart to darkness, leaving only an empty shell who's only purpose is to carry out and finish the mission that Terra had started. Mickey had told me that such a being was known as a Lingering Sentiment or something like that, but I think I was too broken up about what I had heard concerning my other friend to really notice. Aqua…sweet, beautiful, amazing Aqua…lost somewhere in the Realm of Darkness, all because Terra's body would have fallen into that realm had she not made that sacrifice. When I first heard this, I wanted so badly to find what was left of Xehanort, and tear him apart as painfully as possible, even if he was still possessing Terra, but I know that's not what Aqua would've wanted. More to the point, I know that Aqua's not dead. That's something that I didn't need Master Yen Sid or Mickey to tell me; I could feel it in my heart that she was still alive, looking for a way to get back home some day, and when she does find her way back, I intend to be able to really stand by her side as a true equal.
It was for that reason that I asked Master Yen Sid to help me finish my training to become a Keyblade Wielder, and while it was a little disappointing when he said that he could not do it, I was actually really glad when Mickey agreed to become my new teacher instead. Now, I'm spending my very first night at Disney Castle, eagerly awaiting my first day of training under King Mickey Mouse, looking over the dark red and bright pink, star-shaped charms that Aqua had made for two very special friends that we had made near the end of this terrible journey as I write down this entry. Mickey said that Aqua wanted me to make sure that these charms found their way back to their rightful owners when I met them again someday in the future if I woke up before she returned, and I don't intend to let her down anymore than I intend to give my training tomorrow anything less than my all.
Well, here's to that, and to my wish that I'll see all of my friends again someday soon.
AN: So that's the first world, which I'm really hoping to not spend so much time on, because Wonderland is really not my favorite world in the Kingdom Hearts series, we've seen the council of villains make their debut (don't worry, even though it doesn't seem like I added anyone, there will be other villains and worlds in this story besides the ones who were around in the original story), and Ven's given Sora a start on his training. Add in the fact that Ven's already figured out that Sora has Kairi's heart inside of him, or at least a heart that belongs to a Princess of Heart, and it looks like we may have a great deal of drama unfolding later on down the line.
Also, we got to hear Ven divulge a little bit about his past to Sora, or at least what he could tell him, and had him teach Sora a bit about both magic and the Princesses of Heart. I'm gonna be honest here, that little meditation bit was something that was partly inspired by Legend of Korra, because I could just see Sora having a hard time doing something like meditating.
Finally, the introduction of this story's version of the Yen Sid Reports: Ventus' Journal Entries. See these are actually here just for the sake of letting you all have a look at what has happened to the worlds from Ven's point of view since we left him at the end of Keyblades of Future Past, and will allow us a look into Ven's mind as he grew up and trained under Mickey, while also occasionally dealing with some of the stuff that Mickey dealt with before the events of the first game. I suppose you could say that they really serve very little purpose this time around other than telling you what Ven had been up to over the years that had passed, but it's not like there was really much else to be done there. Just wait until we get to the sequel if you want something like that which could actually be viewed as important.
Roxas: Important how?
AN: They'll see when we get there. Now, let's move on to...to...huh, I guess there really isn't anything else I could mention this time around.
Roxas: Well, it's not like you really changed that much aside from adding Ven in and what you've already mentioned.
AN: Yes, thank you for that, Captain Obvious. Well, I'll just let you all of you guys move along. Onto the Preview!...
The strange adventure in Wonderland continues, as our heroes struggle to deal with all the twists and turns of the world and its various leaps in logic. Even when they find what they're after though, things are not so easily solved due to the Queen of Hearts' selfishness and attitude, which leads to even bigger problems for our heroes. Can they save the day before something terrible happens to Alice, or will the Cheshire Cat play them for fools? And just what else is there to discover while they are on Wonderland? Find out next time.
Roxas: So you're just going to wrap up Wonderland with next chapter or something? That seems like a bit of a waste.
AN: Why are you still here?! Weren't you listening when I said that you're not in this story?
Roxas: I know, I know, but I just had a little question I wanted to ask about one of those story ideas I read about in your booklet.
AN: Okay. What's up?
Roxas: Are you really considering a Spider-Man & Final Fantasy XIII crossover like the one I read about in there?
AN: Yes. Yes I am. I think the idea has a bit of merit. Now with that out of the way...
Please read and review, and see ya real soon!