Reaching the top of the staircase, Gabriel wasn't at all surprised to find himself inside of Yen Sid's tower. Opening the door, the raven greeted the wizard with a smile. "Master Yen Sid! Good to see you," Gabriel said.
Yen Sid gave a nod. "The same to you, Dream Keeper. I see that Percy made sure that your Fantasia magic was still working as intended." He held out a hand. "Now then, if you could hand over the book to me."
Gabriel took out the Hundred Acre Wood book, looking down at it before carefully placing it on the table. "Be careful with it. I have friends that live in there," he said.
"I will make sure that no harm comes to Pooh Bear and his friends," Yen Sid promised. "Now then, it is time for you to begin your second task. Do you have any questions before we start?"
"I'm not going to have to fight floating balls of light, am I?" Gabriel asked. "Because that's what Terra and Aqua had to do, and I don't think that's a good way to show mastery of a Keyblade."
"No, we will be doing something different," Yen Sid shook his head. "You may recall that for Riku and Sora's Mark of Mastery Exam, I sent the two into the Sleeping Worlds to pull those worlds back into the realm of light. You will be doing something similar on your journey today."
"Oh cool!" Gabriel cheered, before stopping himself. "Wait, don't I need a Keyblade to do that? I thought this test was for me to earn my Keyblade?"
"I will be providing you with an ally to help you on your quest," Yen Sid explained. "Percy gave you a medal before arriving here. With it, you will be able to summon a Keyblade Wielder that will act as your mentor on this journey. Choose carefully."
Gabriel took out the medal, focusing on it. 'Who do I want as my mentor?' he thought. 'Kairi is still in training, and while Riku or Aqua would be cool, I don't think they'd be a good fit for me. Hm… Maybe… Perhaps…' The raven spun around and held out the medal to the door leading out of the room, a beam of light striking the door as it opened into a portal of light.
Out of the portal stepped a young man with curly silver hair and cyan eyes, wearing a black and grey vest, black pants and boots, and a red scarf around his neck with a tan pouch at his waist. "Interesting choice," Yen Sid mused.
"Woah, I didn't expect to be called on today," the boy said, looking around the room. "Never been here either."
"Hey there, Ephemer," Gabriel greeted, holding out a hand. "I'm Gabriel the Dream Keeper, and I called upon you to be my mentor in the art of the Keyblade."
"You want me to train you?" Ephemer said, surprise in his voice. "I don't think I'm the kind of person that you want to be mentoring you."
"But you were a great Union Leader, I've seen your adventures for myself," Gabriel said. He put a hand to his heart. "No, I lived those adventures alongside you. The story of you and your friends is tragic, but you never gave up on them. You can be brash when you fight, but you have one of the kindest hearts right next to Sora. Even if we've never met before, I consider you a friend."
Ephemer placed a hand to his own heart. "You know, there was this one Keyblade Wielder that was part of our Union… well, they weren't part of my Union, but they were a good friend, and they gave up everything to fight against the Darkness in our final battle. Their face always changes in my mind, but when I look at certain people here in the Magical World, I can still feel the connection in my heart to that wielder. I get that same feeling with you, Gabriel."
"I can see that you two will get along just fine then," Yen Sid said. "Now then, with your new ally established, you can properly start your second task: travel to the sleeping world of your choice."
Gabriel tilted his head. "And how am I supposed to do that? I don't think Ephemer can just opening a Corridor of Light to a sleeping world."
Yen Sid gave a sly smile. "I'm sure you will figure something out, Dream Keeper. Once you arrive at the sleeping world, your third task will be to find the Boss Nightmare in the world. The fourth task will then be to defeat the Boss Nightmare and awaken the world from its hold. You will then return here to complete your final task."
"So we have to get to this sleeping world, track down the boss, and defeat it. Got it," Ephemer gave a thumb's up. "Then what are we waiting around for? Let's go!"
[***]
Outside of the Mysterious Tower, Gabriel and Ephemer stood on the edge of the island, looking out into the vastness of the Lanes Between. "Normally I could just open a Corridor of Light for us, but I don't think we can enter dreams that way," the Union Leader said.
Gabriel smiled. "Don't worry, I think I can get us a ride. I just a need a song for it- and a special friend of mine." Pulling out his phone, the raven pressed a button on it, causing a ping to be sent out into the universe. Soon enough a cloudy portal opened next to them, with a little black owl popping out of it. "There you are, Jameson."
"Hey Gabriel!" Jameson waved. "Who's your new friend?"
"Ephemer, a Keyblade Wielder," Ephemer introduced. He bent down and started squishing Jameson's cheeks. "Your friend is super cute, Gabriel! He reminds me of my Chirithy."
"Hey, stop that!" Jameson wined, backing up as he blushed. "I know I'm adorable, but I'm still a Dream Warrior!"
"And it's those skills that we need, Jameson. I'm on a quest to earn my Keyblade, but to do that I need to get to the Sleeping Worlds," Gabriel explained. "Think you can help with that?"
The owl gave a salute. "Can do! I'll provide you the portal, but just as a warning, you'll have to make the dive down there yourself. I'd love to help more, but the last time I went to the Sleeping Worlds there were… consequences. If I mess around in the Sleeping Worlds, those altered dreams can leak out into the waking ones."
"Oh come on, it can't have been that bad," Gabriel scoffed.
"I… may have been the reason the Live-Action Remakes happened," Jameson admitted.
Ephemer shrugged. "I heard that they aren't all that bad. Not as good as the original, but still watchable."
"Specifically… the Mulan remake," Jameson clarified.
Gabriel and Ephemer both cringed at that. "Oof. Yeah, okay, I can see why you don't want to come with us now." Gabriel said. "I'll make sure we don't cause damage to the Sleeping Worlds, Jameson. I just have to find and defeat the Boss Nightmare, like when we saved Poe's dream that one time." Looking out into the starry sky, the raven held out his wings, closing his eyes. "Okay Fantasia, give me something to work with here…"
Gabriel conducted a tune, the stars twinkling as spectral magic began to take form. In front of the trio a roller coaster car was created, specifically one of the cars from the Space Mountain attraction. "Huh, it looks like one of the Attraction Flow abilities that Sora uses. Guess I'll be able to use those as well."
Ephemer hopped in the back seat of the car. "Well then, let's get going! To the sleeping worlds!"
"Gabriel, before you go, take this," Jameson said, handing the raven a whistle. "It's a Spirit Whistle. Whenever you're in trouble, one blow from this will summon a Spirit Dream Eater to your side. I meant to give this to you on Christmas, but I totally forgot. Sorry about that."
"Hey, a late gift is just fine," Gabriel smiled, pocketing the whistle. "I can't want to see which Spirit you made for me!" Hopping into the rocket, the Dream Keeper powered up the vehicle, the engines roaring to life. "Hold tight, Ephemer, this vehicle is powered by Fantasia!" Jameson opened a portal to the Sleeping Worlds, with the rocket blasting through the clouds as a song started play around them.
Where was I when the rockets came to life
And carried you away into the alligator sky?
Even though I'll never know what's up ahead
I'm never letting go, I'm never letting go!
Pushing through the clouds, Gabriel looked around in amazement at all the stars surrounding them.
Remember to breathe 'cause it'll take your breath away
When the engines cough
And you blast off
Ignite the night with a firecracker flash
Passing by comets, Gabriel held out a wing, shivering as he felt the cold, icy surface of the object.
Remember to live 'cause you're gonna be thrilled to death
When the stars collide
And your eyes grow wide
Take it in with your breath against the glass
Giving a cheer, the raven carefully steered the rocket through the shower of shooting stars.
Remember to dream 'cause it's gonna be a starry night
Over every town
As you look down
So harmonize with the singing satellites
"Look at all the worlds around us!" Ephemer called, pointing out the various worlds that existed within the realm of dreams.
And remember to scream 'cause you're gonna be lost for words
When the sparks erupt
And they light you up
Dip your toes in the galaxy 'cause it's yours to explore tonight
"Say hello to my friends for me!" Gabriel called as they swooped around the various dream spaces. "We're going to need to go deeper to get to the Sleeping Worlds!"
Where was I when the rockets came to life
And carried you away into the alligator sky?
Even though I'll never know what's up ahead
I'm never letting go, I'm never letting go!
"Do you have a world in mind you want to visit?" Ephemer asked.
"Well, a Sleeping World means that it originally fell to Darkness, right? That means we'll have to pick from ones we know for sure are still down here," Gabriel explained.
Roller-coaster through the atmosphere
(I'm drowning in this starry serenade…)
Where ecstasy becomes cavalier
(My imagination's taking me away…)
As they went deeper, the raven saw a twinkle off in the distance, steering the rocket to head towards it.
Reverie whisper in my ear
(I'm scared to death that I'll never be afraid…)
Roller-coaster through the atmosphere.
(My imagination's taking me away!)
"I think we've got our Sleeping World!" the raven exclaimed.
Let's hear it for the Universe
Where it never hurts
Diving in head-first
Take a taste of the melting Milky Way
The two flew closer to the Sleeping World, seeing that within its bubble was a beautiful forest.
And remember to laugh 'cause you're living in a crazy world
Where you'll never guess
What could happen next
Give the outer limits my regards as you float to fly away
"I think I know this one," Gabriel said with a smile.
"Then let's go and make sure this world wakes up safely!" Ephemer cheered.
Where was I when the rockets came to life
And carried you away into the alligator sky?
Even though I'll never know what's up ahead
I'm never letting go, I'm never letting go!
Flying towards the Sleeping World, Gabriel hollered in delight as they sped down the space ways into the atmosphere.
Where was I when the rockets came to life
And carried you away into the alligator sky?
Even though I'll never know what's up ahead
I'm never letting go, I'm never letting go!
"Wildwood Heart, here we come!" Gabriel called as they came in for a landing.
In the alligator sky….
In the alligator sky….
In the alligator sky…
Author's Note
These Exam chapters are going to be shorter, but that's partially because I'm using this month as a break month for myself. We have the big 100 Years of Disney celebration this year, so there will be plenty of time for big events!
Ephemer is from the mobile game "Kingdom Hearts: Union Cross" which has a really good story for just being a phone game. He's a favorite of mine and even got to cameo in "Kingdom Hearts 3" so I hope you enjoy his mentorship of Gabriel this arc!
Jameson pops in to give us some help, and we have a bit of fun poking fun at the live-action remakes. I honestly think most of them are passable as movies, other than the Mulan one. I know a lot of us want there to be differences between the old and new versions, but sometimes it goes so far off from the original that it feels insulting to associate the movie with that title…
The song this time is "Alligator Sky" by Owl City, specifically the "No Rap" version of the song. It's a dreamy song, as is a lot of Owl City's works, and it captures space flight beautifully in my opinion.
Next Time: Gabriel and Ephemer adventure through Wildwood Heart and meet a royal who will aid them on their quest!