I'm so excited for this chapter. I teased this concept some in Sweet and Salty Days, but now we get to see it all!

Enjoy!

Kingdom Hearts © to Disney and Square Enix!

Final Fantasy and Nier © to Square Enix!

My OCs © to me!

Chapter 12: Sunrise

"Do we really have to dress nice?"

"I mean," Terra chuckled, "we are meeting with delegates from other worlds. It would do well for us to make a good impression."

He'd gone into storage and decided to break out the GOOD robes for such a formal occasion.

Much to Ven's dismay.

However, Terra really liked this new look he'd pulled together. He got new clothes from his mother, including the new gray shirt, tan pants, and brown boots he wore now. The red belt around his waist held his heart symbol, and he'd taken to keeping his armor hidden under the white robe that used to belong to Master Eraqus. He'd even cut his hair shorter for this new season in life, and he'd stopped shaving completely, so a light bit of facial hair now covered his chin.

He liked it a lot.

Ven however, looked ready to ditch the nicer garb the SECOND he returned home.

"You better get moving." Aqua set down the book in her hands. "You don't want to be late."

"We know."

"All that worrying about being late and we're here first."

"Better to be early."

The two boys opened the doors to the magical tower that floated in a sea of stars.

Going up the stairs, a climb that seemed strangely shorter than they remembered, they found the wizard's office door open.

"Master?"

"Ah," came the old man's voice from the left side of the room, "it is good to see the two of you."

Ven glanced around. All the books, shelves, and even the desk that normally filled this space were nowhere to be seen. Instead, a large round table filled the room.

Fourteen chairs around it.

Two chairs bore the symbol of wayfinders etched, probably by magic, into the wood.

"Oh, I figured we'd be first."

The boys turned at the sound of a new voice.

A rabbit, dressed in blue, a paintbrush on his back, walked in. Beside him stood a cat in a pink dress.

"Ah, Oswald. It is nice to see you again." Yen Sid smiled from behind the chair with a moon on it.

The rabbit grinned. "Same to you. The last time I saw you, I left Disney Town behind. And who are you two?" He looked up at the boys.

"I'm Terra, and this is Ventus."

"Call me Ven."

"I'm Oswald." He reached up, shaking their hands. "And this is my wife, Ortensia."

"Pleasure."

"You know, you're exactly as my brother described."

"Oh, so you're King Mickey's brother!"

"Yep."

Ortensia moved to one of the chairs bearing the symbol of Disney Town. "I think I saw someone coming behind us."

"You did." Yen Sid looked past them as two more people entered the room.

A woman with blonde hair, wearing an orange dress entered, followed by a man in a black suit. "Nice place." The man smiled, his eyes quickly taking in every detail.

"And you must be some of the other delegates." The woman smiled. "I'm Quistis, and this is Reeve. We're from Radiant Garden." Terra and the others introduced themselves as the boy studied them.

Terra didn't immediately recognize them from old memories.

That was fine.

He'd like to make a good fresh impression on SOMEONE from Radiant Garden.

"Looks like we found the party." Came a chipper voice from the door.

Ven's smile widened as Sora's dad and Riku's mom walked inside. "Mr. Miyu! Mrs. Miyano. Good to see you."

"Ven right?" Irino walked over, his grin matching the one Sora wore much of the time. "Good to see you too. How are you doing?"

"Great. You?"

"We're doing well." His gaze betrayed the worry he felt for Sora.

Akiko walked over to Terra holding out a hand. "It's nice to see you again. We didn't get to talk last time. But Riku has told me about you."

"He has?"

"He's been at home for a few weeks." She sighed. "He's doing alright, but I'm a bit worried about him."

Terra blinked.

He'd have to call Riku later and check on him.

"Now this is an interesting group."

"Like we're ones to talk."

All eyes turned to the two new figures in the door. A man with white hair, wearing a professional uniform stood beside a woman wearing priestly white and gold robes, her long pink hair flowing behind her.

The woman bowed her head. "Hello, I am Sarfana." A soft smile peaked out from behind the veil that covered the bottom half of her face.

"My name is Hope Estheim." The man adjusted his tie. "We're from Traverse Town."

"We are glad you could join us." Yen Sid nodded as the two came further into the room.

Reeve walked over, shaking Hope's hand, smiling. "Nice to see you again, Hope. You've sure grown."

"Reeve? I saw your name and I wasn't sure if it was really you."

"You know each other?" Ortensia asked.

Hope nodded. "Many people from Radiant Garden lived in Traverse Town for a time. Most of them went back home. Reeve and I worked together for a while when he was there."

"And you decided to stay there."

"My home is a bit of a mess, so my friends and I thought it would be better to make a new home somewhere else, so we stayed." He smiled.

"Honestly, I'm more surprised to see you here and not on the Committee of Eight."

"One day." Hope laughed. "I think people are waiting for Roienbourg to retire."

"Makes sense."

"Well now, this seems like a lively crew."

Ven and Terra turned as Scrooge McDuck strode into the room, followed by a woman with brown hair who looked a little nervous and a woman with lavender hair in a ponytail.

The woman with lavender hair spoke first. "We're the delegates from Twilight Town. I'm Jenna Leigh, and this is Brielle Cooper."

"Hello."

Yen Sid nodded. "I believe everyone is here. Shall we take our seats?"

"I think so."

Everyone moved to their chairs. Terra and Ven's sat between the delegates of Traverse Town and Disney Town; directly to Ven's right sat Hope and directly on Terra's left sat Ortensia.

"Welcome all. Thank you for coming. Now shall we begin this first meeting of the Sunrise Coalition?" Yen Sid stood back up, looking around. "Now, for some of you this is your first time off your homeworld. I think it would serve us well to begin by introducing yourselves and describing your homeworlds."

He glanced to his left first before taking his seat again.

Standing up, Quistis gave a kind smile as Reeve stood up as well. "I'm Quistis Trepe and this is Reeve Tuesti. We are from Radiant Garden. It lives up to its name with gardens everywhere. We just finished rebuilding after our world was lost to darkness, so everything is brand new."

"What about yourselves?"

Reeve straightened his tie. "There isn't much to tell. We helped take care of people after our world fell and serve as part of the Radiant Garden Restoration Committee. I also have a magical gift to be able to manipulate and animate inorganic matter."

"How?"

His eyes slightly flashed to Terra. "There was an incident when I was younger with a group of scientists, but I'd rather not talk about it."

And then Terra remembered.

Reeve.

A memory of Xehanort's- a file full of potential experiment test subjects. And Reeve's name was on that list.

Meeting the man's eyes, he mouthed the words. 'I'm so sorry.' Reeve looked back and just smiled softly.

Quistis chimed in. "I was a teacher before being asked to take this position. There isn't much else to tell about me."

The playful look Reeve flashed her told otherwise, but no one pressed further as they sat down, and Jenna and Brielle stood up.

Jenna spoke, as Brielle nervously glanced around. "I am Jenna Leigh, and I formerly served as the vice mayor of Twilight Town but left the position to serve as the delegate." She looked over at her companion.

"I-I'm Brielle Cooper." The other woman gulped. "I'm not really used to this. Before this, I was just a single mom doing as much as I could to take care of my son, and then I was offered this position."

Jenna smiled, putting a hand on the other woman's shoulder. "Our world is quite large, but the inhabitable portion of it is small, so we're a very close community. There is a perpetual state of sunset on our world, with the sun only going down one week of the year. Other than that, there isn't much to say."

Everyone smiled at them, especially at Brielle who kept taking deep breaths to calm herself down as they both sat, and the two islanders stood up.

"Hi there." Sora's dad smiled. "I'm Irino Miyu. It's nice to meet everyone. Um, before this I was working as the athletics coordinator at our schools. The reason I offered to be the delegate is because of my son." He sighed. "Some of you may have heard of him. His name is Sora, and he's helped save the worlds a few times now."

As Terra and Ven glanced around, they saw expressions of recognition from everyone except Brielle and Jenna.

"My son is currently missing and… I want to do what I can to help the worlds in his stead."

"And my son, Riku," Akiko adjusted her glasses, "is Sora's best friend, and while he made some mistakes that some of you may have heard of, he's a good boy, and I want to help the worlds as well. I'm Akiko Miyano and I was formerly a biologist on our world. And our world is very small. There are just a few islands floating in a large ocean that goes on for a long time. Riku actually told me the ocean goes so far that it touches the edge of the Realm of Darkness."

Silently, the two sat down as Oswald and Ortensia stood up, eyes still fixed on the islanders. "Well," Ortensia spoke first, "I'm Ortensia and this is my husband, Oswald. We have been serving as, and still are, the king and queen of a place called The Wasteland. It's not really a true world on its own, but it serves as a place where Disney Town, our true home, discards things. Disney Town is incredibly magical and changes over time, and when it does, the old things slip into The Wasteland and it can be dangerous, so we watch over it. I use my magic to make The Wasteland as beautiful as I can for our people and our family."

"I'm honestly not much for strangers, but when the king of Disney Town, who happens to be my little brother, asked us to do this, I couldn't say no." Oswald sighed. "I do what I can to keep the mess of Wasteland under control and keep Ortensia and our 420 kids safe."

"FOUR HUNDRED AND TWENTY!?" Miyu leaned back in his chair. "Wow! And I thought raising one was hard!"

Ortensia giggled. "They're a bunch of sweethearts, all of them, if a handful sometimes."

"Sounds like an understatement to me."

Everyone laughed a little as Ortensia and Oswald sat down. Terra and Ven stood up.

"I'm Keyblade Master Terra Dohring. Originally, I was from the world The Spirit Land, but I now live in the Land of Departure with my friends, Ven and Aqua. Our world is very small and is used as a training ground for Keyblade Wielders."

"I'm Ventus, but you can call me Ven." He looked around. "I'm not a Keyblade master yet, but hopefully soon. Um, I don't know much about my past or where I'm from, but it probably doesn't help that my heart was asleep for the past twelve or so years, so… yeah."

Everyone's, save Master Yen Sid and the islanders', eyes widened at that last statement.

"He was asleep," Terra smirked, glancing at Reeve slightly, "and I was possessed by a madman during that time. But everything has finally gone back to normal again."

"Wow…" Terra met Reeve's gaze who just smiled, nodding slightly.

The two sat down as the last pair stood up.

"I am Sarafa, a princess formerly from the world known as The Cage. I wish not to recount my tale, as it is one of tragedy and pain. But I now live in Traverse Town, using my gift of foresight to help people there."

"And I am Hope Estheim. I'm originally from Cocoon, but I now live and work to protect Traverse Town from anyone who would threaten it. For the past few years, I've been helping train up new members of our peacekeepers."

The princess nodded. "Our world is quite unique as it is made up of refugees from countless worlds. Each one so varied and different."

"Wow…"

Scrooge needed no introduction as they sat down. They'd all been informed that he was a businessman interested in this coalition.

Quistis turned back toward Akiko. "I'm curious, you said your world is a small collection of islands."

"There's only four of them, and only one is big enough to hold a large town."

"That's all? Your world is so small. It sounds cozy."

"It is." Akiko smiled over at Quistis. "I've heard of Radiant Garden from Sora and Riku. It sounds nice."

Hope glanced over at Oswald. "And your world seems to have the only monarchy in the group. Though from what you said, the king and queen are equal in power?"

"Honestly," the rabbit laughed, "I love Mickey, but I fear Minnie more than him."

"You all speak so casually about your leaders." Sarafa noted. "It's a habit many of us in Traverse Town had to get used to."

"It doesn't help that lots of royalty from other worlds usually end up on our committee. Yourself included."

"True."

Jenna smirked. "Well, as Hope stated, there's only one monarchy represented here. The islands and our town are run by democratically elected mayors."

"And we're super casual with Risa since we all grew up with her." Miyu leaned on the table. "If we ever called her 'Mrs. Uchida', she'd probably think we were going nuts."

Ortensia giggled. "I think that's nice. Being so close to your leader makes it easy to bring requests, but it seems there is still a modicum of respect, and it's casual without being TOO casual."

Reeve nodded. "Our world just changed its government. We were a monarchy until recently. The king stepped down after he'd been missing for a while. Instead, he set up a chamber that has the members elected by the people. He's still in the government too, as part of the chamber."

"Interesting."

Akiko looked down at her notes she'd been taking as the meeting… well, more like a get-to-know-you gathering this first time. "So, we probably should get some business done or our bosses might be a little miffed."

"Probably." Hope straightened his tie. "Why not talk about resources?" Scrooge's head perked up at those words. "Our worlds probably have some unique resources that will be good for trade."

Brielle cleared her throat, looking down at her papers. "O-our world has a very large wine industry."

"No need to be so nervous." Ortensia gave the woman a smile.

"Sorry… I just. I'm nervous. I haven't had a job like this before."

"But you're the hardest working person in town and we all know it, that's why we picked you." Jenna stated.

Scrooge nodded. "She's right, lass."

Brielle blushed slightly as Miyu spoke up. "I mean, we're an island, so we've got insane amounts of fish, and also a ton of coconuts."

"What's a coconut?" Quistis asked.

"I will bring some next time."

"Sounds good."

Reeve muttered as he wrote. "Wine from Twilight Town. Fish and coconuts from Destiny Islands. We have tons of flowers, which can be used for teas and even for cooking."

"Also, we have been working on some technological advancements we can share. Ienzo has been working with Chip and Dale from your world." Quistis gestured to the delegates from Disney Town.

"Yep." The rabbit nodded. "We also have the gummi ships to do a lot of transporting. And not to mention all the other foods we have, as well as magical items. Most of the stuff we make is a combination of magic and science."

Hope nodded slowly. "We have a lot of textiles, jewelry, and other such things. Since we have people from many different worlds, they bring their own trades and craftsmanship with them, so our exports could be as diverse as our people."

Ven leaned forward, remembering what the three of them discussed before as their contribution. "We may not have much to trade, but we're here to help keep the peace. That's our job as Keyblade wielders anyway. Aqua said that we can act as a patrol for wielders. If there is a dire situation coming up, one of us three will go check it out. If we can handle it alone, we will, or if not, we will gather the others and deal with it. And if anyone manifests the ability to wield a Keyblade, we can train them."

"We won't be using many of the resources offered, since we don't really have many of our own." Terra explained. "But we will do what we can to help maintain balance and safety."

"And we appreciate that greatly."

Scrooge leaned back in his chair. "While we're on the topic of money, I have a proposal. What if the first thing that money is put into isn't trade?"

Oswald leapt up, pointing at the duck. "Who are you and what have you done with Scrooge McDuck!?"

"If you'll let me finish-" The duck huffed. "Sometimes you have to make long-term investments first. And I think a good allocation might be to education."

Jenna raised an eyebrow. "This wouldn't be connected to our situation back home, would it?"

"Perhaps."

"What situation?" Terra asked.

"It's nothing. We can han-"

"Oh no." Akiko cut in. "This is our whole job. If one world needs help, we help."

Murmurs of agreement crossed the table.

"Ok… fine." Jenna glared at Scrooge who smirked. He planned this. "We lost our school board and all the funding they gave, which allowed the school to have as many opportunities, staff, and resources as we could find."

"What happened?" Hope asked.

Brielle clenched her fists. "The old board was… problematic. They used their money to get what they wanted and to keep their children from being disciplined for their bad behavior. If their child got in trouble, the board would threaten to pull funds from the school."

"That's terrible!"

"Scumbags."

"Their children turned into horrible bullies. But the principal decided enough was enough and stood up to the board, refusing their demands. So they quit, and took all their funding with them."

Wait!

Axel and Isa, the last time Terra, Aqua, and Ven were there, mentioned something about bullies.

Was this about them?

Was this about Roxas and Xion?

"We have enough for this semester, but there will be cuts made for next semester."

"No there won't." Miyu looked over at Akiko. "I'm sure, until we as a group can make some sort of education fund or system across worlds, we could make a donation."

"Of course we can." The woman grinned at her friend.

Oswald nodded. "We can pitch in too."

Quistis glanced at Reeve. "I know we can as well."

"Easily."

"I think we'll all pitch in." Sarafa giggled as Hope nodded.

The two boys glanced at each other before nodding. Terra reached into his pocket and took out some munny. "We don't have the same funds, but I'm sure every bit helps." He tossed it over to Brielle.

"And don't think McDuck Enterprises won't assist as well." Scrooge tipped his hat.

Jenna and Brielle glanced at each other, tears welling in their eyes. "Thank you…"

"That's literally what we're here for!"

"It was no trouble at all."

Terra leaned across and asked. "This wouldn't happen to also involve two new students, would it?"

Brielle nodded. "I know you are friends with them. I saw you and them playing with my son when you came to visit."

"I thought as much."

The discussion turned to education and finance again, until another hour went by, and Yen Sid stood up.

"I believe we should bring this meeting to a close. We now are more understanding of each other and the worlds. However, perhaps there should be some sort of visit to each world."

"Great idea." Oswald nodded. "That will be our last decision today."

Ven piped up. "Well, we'll have to work on the scheduling because Terra and I might be gone sometimes." He gestured to Mr. Irino. "We're helping look for Sora, so sometimes we might not be available."

"Well," Jenna said, "you mentioned you've spent time in our world already, so perhaps that visit can take place when you're gone."

"That works."

"Actually, why don't all of you come to our world first? That way it's out of the way." Terra offered.

"I like that."

"When we get back, we're heading out again to look for Sora, but we can let you know when we're back."

"Perfect."

Nodding, Yen Sid waved his hand and brand-new gummi phones appeared before everyone except for Miyu, Terra, and Ven. "You can use these to communicate with each other."

"Awesome."

Quistis put her phone away, looking around. "Anything else we need to discuss?"

"Nope."

"Don't think so."

"Very well." Yen Sid nodded again. "Then let us conclude the first meeting of the Sunrise Coalition."

Yay! The first meeting is done!

And you got Terra's new look!

If you haven't read Sweet and Salty Days, go there if you want to know what happened in Twilight Town before this meeting.

VAs:

Oswald- Frank Welker (Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, Megatron, Fred Jones, Scooby-Doo)

Ortensia- Audrey Wasilewki (Ortensia, Tucker, Misty, Megan Olsen, Arlene, Terk, E.T.)

Quistis Trepe- Kristina Pesic (Quistis Trepe, Deirdre Lamb, Karen, Sandra, Sammie Harper)

Reeve Tuesti- Jon Root (Reeve Tuesti, Agent Ryan Whealon, Krill Pilot, Detective Roberts)

Sarafa- Anairis Quinones (Sarafa, Echidna, Nessa, Mirko, Kimberly, Rika Kawai, Iris)

Hope Estheim- Vincent Martella (Hope Estheim, Phineas, Robin/Jason Todd, Bradley)

Brielle Cooper- Laura Post (Kasumi Yoshizawa, Ragyo Kiryuin, Nozomi Tojo, Tamayo)

Jenna Leigh- Jeannie Tirado (Byleth, Android 21, Zera, Tristan, Pan, Kujou Sara, Endorsi Jahad)