Chapter 1: Preparations and Training

In what looks like a castle, the rays of the sun reach inside a room of the castle and the rays hit the blond boy, who is sleeping on a bed, making him open his eyes. His vision is blurry and groggy, as he lets out a huge yawn before going back to sleep. As the blond goes back to sleep, something hits him, causing him to wake up fully while screaming.

"Wh-What…?" The blond asked.

"'Bout time ya got up, Wart!" A voice said.

The blond turns to see someone and it's a young man with orange hair, green eyes, wearing a green tunic with a brown sleeveless vest, brown leather shoes, and carrying a quiver of arrows on his back.

"Ow… That really hurt, Kay…" The blond said, rubbing his head.

"Not my fault you were snoozin'. As usual, you were slackin' off!" Kay said.

"That's not true. I was in a really weird place and there was this black monster that was eating me. I couldn't do anything or…" The blond was cut off, as Kay hits his head even harder. "Oww…" The blond said, rubbing his head again.

"It was a dream, you insect! Now stop lazing around! Dad wants you downstairs! You got more chores to do! 'Course I COULD tell 'im you were dozing off and slackin'." Kay said.

"N-No! Please don't! I-I'll hurry!" The blond said.

"That's what I thought. I'm off on a huntin' trip and this time, I'll make sure YOU won't screw it up, like you do with everything else!" Kay said, leaving the room.

"Well, Arthur, here we go again…" Arthur said, getting off his bed and leaving his room.

(World of Camelot)

(Field Theme: Life in Camelot)

Arthur leaves his room and makes his way through the castle halls and starts going downstairs, where he finds a middle-age man with orange hair and mustache and wearing a yellow tunic with some armor.

"There you are, boy! What in the name of Uther were you doing?!" The man demanded.

"Um, well…" Arthur was cut off.

"Don't tell me. You were slacking off AGAIN! Kay told me when he came down here!" The man said and behind him is Kay, who smirks while crossing his arms.

"I-I'm really sorry, sir. I…" Arthur was cut off.

"I don't want to hear any excuses! You still have chores that need to be done! Consider this a demerit! These floors, dishes, and other parts of the castle are not gonna clean themselves with YOU loafing about!" The man said.

"Yes, sir. I'll get on it." Arthur said.

"This is what happens when you brought HIM here." Kay said.

"YOU mind yourself, Kay! If you have time to stand around, you have time to hunt! Don't disappoint me when you reach knighthood or you'll set a bad example for us!" The man said.

"Yeah, I got it." Kay said, leaving.

"As for you, boy! If I catch you slacking off even once, you'll be in for another demerit. Make sure everything is spotless before nightfall!" The man said.

"Yes, sir." Arthur said, as the man leaves and Arthur begins cleaning. "Just what was that place anyway? It was strange… It felt real. Maybe I should talk to Merlin about it." Arthur said, scrubbing the castle floors.

Meanwhile on an island, someone is lying on the sandy beach and it's a boy, who's fourteen-years-old, with spiky brown hair, blue eyes, wearing a red shirt and shorts with a zipper in the middle, black hoodie with white short sleeves over the red shirt, white fingerless gloves, yellow shoes, and a silver crown necklace. The sun's rays hit the boy's eyes, making him open them, as if he's waking up, but lets out a huge yawn before going back to sleep.

As the boy lies back down on the sand, someone appears in his face and it's a girl, who's also fourteen-years-old with short auburn hair, blue eyes, wearing a white sleeveless top with blue trims, purple skirt, white and blue shoes, and a yellow bracelet, causing the boy jump back in shock, making the girl giggle at the boy's reaction.

"Gimme a break, Kairi." The boy said slightly annoyed.

"Sora, you lazy bum. I knew I'd find you snoozing down here." Kairi said.

"No! This huge black THING swallowed me up! I couldn't breathe or…" Sora was cut off by a bonk on the head. "Oww…" Sora said.

"Are you still dreaming?" Kairi asked.

"It wasn't a dream, or was it? I dunno. What was that place? So bizarre…" Sora said.

"Yeah, sure." Kairi said, going for the ocean.

"Hey, Kairi, what was your hometown like? You know, where you grew up?" Sora asked.

"I told you before, Sora. I don't remember." Kairi said.

"Nothing at all?" Sora asked.

"Nothing." Kairi answered.

"You ever wanna go back?" Sora asked.

"Well, I'm happy here." Kairi said.

"Really?" Sora asked.

"But you know, I wouldn't mind going to see it." Kairi said.

"I wanna see it too. Along with any other worlds out there. I wanna see 'em all." Sora said.

"So, what're we waiting for?" Kairi asked.

"Hey! Aren't you guys forgetting about me?" A voice asked.

Sora and Kairi turn to see another boy, who's fifteen-years-old with semi-long silver hair, cyan eyes, wearing a yellow and black sleeveless shirt, blue pants, black and blue shoes, and black gloves carrying a log.

"Heh, 'course we wouldn't forget you, Riku. We obviously need you." Sora said.

"So, does that mean I'm the only one working on the raft?" Riku asked, tossing the log to Sora, making him fall over. "I swear, Kairi, even you can be as lazy as he is." Riku said.

"So, you noticed. Okay. We'll finish it together. I'll race you!" Kairi said.

"Huh?" Sora asked, getting the log off him.

"What? Are you kidding?" Riku asked.

"Ready? GO!" Kairi said.

Both Sora and Riku get up and start racing each other across the island beach while Kairi runs after them, laughing at their antics.

(World of Destiny Islands)

(Field Theme: Destiny Islands)

Later, Sora meets with Kairi so they can begin working on the raft.

"Okay, so we need some supplies to finish the raft. You're listening, right, Sora?" Kairi asked.

"Yeah, I'm listening." Sora said.

"Good, we need two logs, a cloth, and some rope." Kairi said.

"Got it!" Sora said, as he starts moving.

Meanwhile in Camelot, Arthur keeps cleaning the castle by scrubbing the floors, mopping the floors, washing the dishes, washing the dogs, and sweeping the castle halls and after managing to do enough cleaning, Arthur moves through the castle to find something else to do, but then, he opens a door, taking him to a room full of swords, axes, maces, and lances and examines them.

"Whoa…! Never thought Lord Ector would have a room like this." Arthur said, looking around and examines the swords. "If Kay can try and be a knight, who's to say I can't? I want to take a shot at it." Arthur said, as he finds a small sword and takes it. "I'd better go outside and try and get some practice." Arthur said, leaving the room.

Arthur makes his way through the castle hall without being seen by other people and so far, everything is clear, but he finds a couple of guards, so he sneaks his way through while they walk with their backs turned and continues moving through the castle halls. As Arthur keeps trying to sneak his way through the halls, he finds the castle doors, only to be guarded, so he finds a different route and finds another door, which he opens, taking him outside the castle and is in the courtyard. In the courtyard, Arthur finds other guards patrolling the courtyard, so he sneaks behind the courtyard's bushes to avoid being caught and after sneaking through the courtyard, Arthur finds what looks like a small hole. Arthur goes for the hole and manages to crawl through it to leave the courtyard and Arthur later leaves the courtyard and is now out of the castle.

"I did it! I got out! Now to head for the forest!" Arthur said, leaving the castle grounds.

Unknowing to Arthur, someone is watching him leave the castle grounds and it's a brown owl with yellow eyes.

"Looks like Arthur's leaving without permission. Should I go after him?" The owl asked, turning to an old man with white hair, mustache, and beard and wearing a blue hat and robes, who sighs.

"Just let him go for now. I'm rather disappointed he had to sneak out. The more he gets into these knight games, the more likely he'll be in danger. What's more is that the danger is looming and it's not far behind." The old man said.

"I think I'll keep watch, just in case he'll take his own eye out by accident or something." The owl said, flying away.

"Oh, Arthur… I fear for the fate that will bestow on you." The old man said.

Meanwhile in Destiny Islands, Sora begins searching for the supplies and he finds the first piece of log on the beach. Sora then searches the beach and later finds a piece of cloth in a small tree hut and also finds some rope on the beach's deck. Sora searches for the second piece of log and later finds it on a small island, where Riku is sitting on a palm tree, so he goes for the small island to take the small piece of log and takes it, but goes for Riku.

"Hey, Riku." Sora said.

"Did you get everything we need for the raft? I already gave my stuff to Kairi." Riku said.

"I'm working on that." Sora said.

"Well, how 'bout we have a quick round?" Riku asked, getting off the palm tree and takes out a wooden sword.

"You're on!" Sora said, also taking out his wooden sword.

(Battle Theme: Busting Up The Beach)

The two boys begin fighting each other with their wooden swords and Riku delivers a strike with his wooden sword, only for Sora to counter and strike back with a big swing, knocking Riku down. Riku gets back up with a kick, but Sora avoids the kick and is about to strike back, but Riku double swings his wooden sword followed by a big swing. Sora manages to counter the swing attack and strikes back at Riku, who blocks and counters, but Sora counters again and strikes with his wooden sword.

"Okay, okay. You have the match." Riku said.

"Heh, guess that's 1 to 0 for you." Sora said, grinning.

"Don't get cocky, Sora. You just got a win. Doesn't mean anything." Riku said.

"Whatever." Sora said annoyed.

Sora makes his way back to Kairi to bring the supplies.

Meanwhile in Camelot, Arthur makes his way through the village while passing many people, who ignore him and keeps moving until he arrives at the village exit, taking him to the forest and starts finding a good spot to train and later finds an open area with many trees.

"This looks like a good spot. Let's see what I can do." Arthur said, as he starts swinging the sword at one of the trees, leaving some slash marks on the barks. "C'mon, I can do this…" Arthur said, as he keeps swinging the sword at another tree, but as he delivers another swing, Arthur trips and falls while dropping the sword. "What's the use? I'll never get good at this, no matter what I try." Arthur said.

"Maybe you should stop trying to swing wildly?" A voice suggested.

"Huh? Who's there?" Arthur asked, looking around.

"Over here." The voice said and coming from behind a tree is the same boy, who appears to be thirteen-years-old with green eyes, semi-long black hair, wearing a sleeveless orange tunic, black trousers, black leather shoes, and black fingerless gloves.

"I remember him. He was in my dream." Arthur said in his mind.

"Sorry if I frightened you. I just happened to take a walk in the forest and I heard someone making sounds that sounded like sword swings. You're trying to swing that sword?" The boy asked.

"Um, yeah." Arthur said, getting up and picking up the sword.

"Listen, I like your spirit, but you're not gonna get anywhere if you're gonna swing like some wild fool. I was kinda watching you and you're trying too hard to move your body. To handle a sword properly, you gotta let your body move you. Treat your sword like a companion and help it guide its path on a direction. It's all about discipline. Understand?" The boy asked.

"Y-Yeah. I think so." Arthur said.

"Tell you what. Since I like your dedication, I'll give you some pointers on handling a sword. Sound fair?" The boy asked.

"Oh, you don't have to. I…" Arthur was cut off.

"Hey, don't worry. I like helping others. So, what's your name?" The boy asked.

"I'm Arthur, but everyone calls me Wart." Arthur introduced, bowing.

"Arthur, huh? Nice name, better than 'Wart' even, but you don't have to bow. I'm not royalty, you know. I'm Lancelot, but you can call me Lance for short." Lancelot said.

"Th-Thank you, Lancelot." Arthur said.

"Just call me Lance. Anyway, let's get started. Now, if you're handling a sword and if you get into a fight, you gotta give your opponent your all. I want you to attack that tree with everything you have and don't hold back either." Lancelot said.

"Okay, here goes." Arthur said.

Arthur begins attacking the tree with his sword and giving his all and keeps striking and then delivers a big swing.

"Pretty good, Artie." Lancelot said, smiling.

"A-Artie…?" Arthur asked.

"Sure, it sounds better than Arthur and even Wart, don't you think? Anyway, as you're probably aware, when in a fight, offense doesn't always get you anywhere. You need to rely on defense as well in order to do well in a fight." Lancelot said, taking out his own sword. "I'm gonna attack you, but I want you to block all my attacks." Lancelot said and Arthur nods.

Lancelot begins attacking Arthur, who starts blocking every attack with his sword and Lancelot continues attacking, but Arthur keeps blocking until Lancelot stops attacking.

"Knew you'd pull it off. Here's a good tactic; it's best to avoid your opponent's attacks. I try to attack you, but this time, try to avoid my attacks." Lancelot said.

"I can do that." Arthur said.

Lancelot tries to attack Arthur, who starts avoiding Lancelot's attacks, but Lancelot goes for Arthur to deliver a strike, only for Arthur to keep evading the attacks until Lancelot stops attacking.

"Nice work. Now, what I'd like you to do is deliver a good counterattack. When I strike, you time it right, and then strike back at me." Lancelot said and Arthur nods.

Lancelot starts attacking with his sword, but Arthur times the attack right and then delivers a strike back at Lancelot, who keeps attacking with his sword again, only for Arthur to time the attack right again and delivers another successful counter strike.

"Hey, you're pretty good, Artie. Now, let's put you to the test in a spar!" Lancelot said.

"Wait, what?" Arthur asked.

"Don't hold back, Artie!" Lancelot said.

(Battle Theme: Heart of the Warrior)

Lancelot delivers a strike with his sword, but Arthur blocks with his own sword and then delivers a counter attack at Lancelot with his sword, only for Lancelot to counter and strikes back with his sword, but Arthur evades the attacks and delivers two strikes with his sword. Lancelot delivers a leaping attack with his sword, only for Arthur to time the right moment and delivers another counter attack at Lancelot, who keeps attacking back with his sword, but Arthur attacks back with his sword and then delivers a big swing at Lancelot.

The two boys breathe heavily and Lancelot laughs.

"Nice job, Artie! You gave everything you got! That shows you're ready to use a sword!" Lancelot said.

"Thanks for all your help, Lance." Arthur said, bowing again.

"Again, you don't have to bow. By the way, why did you wanna learn how to use a sword anyway?" Lancelot asked.

"Oh, um, I have a dream of becoming a knight one day." Arthur said.

"Oh, you too, huh?" Lancelot asked.

"Huh? You wanna be a knight too?" Arthur asked.

"Yeah. It's been my dream since I was little. Going on adventures, fighting monsters, the good stuff. Must be nice to have the same dream." Lancelot said.

"Y-Yeah…" Arthur said.

"So, why do you wanna be a knight, Artie?" Lancelot asked.

"Um, well…" Arthur was cut off.

"Hey! What're YOU doin' out here, Wart?!" A voice demanded.

"Oh, no…" Arthur said.

"What's wrong? Who's that?" Lancelot asked, as they see someone arriving and it's Kay.

"K-Kay…" Arthur said fearfully.

"Who's this?" Lancelot asked.

"That's Kay, my foster brother." Arthur said.

"Aren't you supposed to be doin' your chores, Wart?! And what're you doin' with that?!" Kay demanded, looking at the sword Arthur's carrying.

"Oh, um, I was…" Arthur was cut off.

"ARTIE wanted to train himself with using a sword because he wants to be a knight one day!" Lancelot said, making Kay laugh.

"Wart? A knight?! You clearly aren't bright!" Kay said.

"No, YOU'RE the stupid one! Artie, show 'em!" Lancelot said.

"Okay, Wart, gimme your best shot." Kay said.

Arthur turns to Lancelot, who nods and Arthur goes try and attack Kay, who manages to dodge the sword attack, kick the sword out of Arthur's hand, and then punches Arthur's stomach, sending the blond to the ground and unknowing to them, the owl from before watches this.

"Oooh, I should do something…" The owl said.

"Yeah, I knew you're useless with that sword. It's wasted on the likes of you!" Kay said.

"You cheated!" Lancelot yelled.

"Shut it! Why you're with Wart in the first place is beyond me!" Kay said, grabbing Arthur by the arm to pick him up. "Get up, twerp! We're headin' back and you're gonna get some good demerits and I'll gladly watch!" Kay said.

"Wow, for a foster brother, you're complete garbage!" Lancelot said.

"I said shut it! Move it, Wart!" Kay yelled, shoving Arthur to make the blond move.

"B-Bye, Lance." Arthur said, as the two leave.

"Well, guess I'd better get going too." Lancelot said, also leaving the forest.

Meanwhile, Sora returns to Kairi and gives her the supplies.

"I brought the supplies for you." Sora said.

"Thanks, Sora! I knew I could count on you! Here, I found something for you too." Kairi said, giving Sora a potion.

"Thanks." Sora said.

"Looks like it's getting late. You wanna call it a day?" Kairi asked.

"Sure, we'll finish the raft tomorrow." Sora said and Kairi nods.

Later, the sun is starting to set in Destiny Islands and Sora, Riku, and Kairi are on Paopu Island watching the sunset.

"So, Kairi's world is out there somewhere, right?" Sora asked.

"Could be, but we'll never know by staying here." Riku said.

"But how far can a raft take us?" Sora asked.

"Who knows. If we have to, we'll think of something else." Riku said.

"So, suppose you go to another world, what would you do there?" Kairi asked.

"Well, I haven't really thought about it. It's just…I've always wondered why we're all here on this island. If there are any worlds out there, why did we end up in this one? And suppose there are other worlds, then ours is just a little piece of something much greater. So, we could've just as easily ended up somewhere else, right?" Riku asked.

"I dunno." Sora said, lazily leaning against the palm tree.

"Exactly. That's why we need to go out there and find out. Just sitting here won't change a thing. It's the same old stuff, so let's go." Riku said.

"You've been thinking a lot lately, haven't you?" Kairi asked.

"Thanks to you. If you hadn't come here, I never would've thought about any of this. Kairi, thanks." Riku said.

"You're welcome." Kairi said.

Later, Sora, Riku, and Kairi start to return home.

"Hey, Sora!" Riku called, making Sora turn and Riku throws a star-shaped fruit. "You wanted one, right?" Riku asked.

"A paopu fruit?" Sora asked, looking down at the fruit.

"If two people share it, their destinies become intertwined. They'll remain a part of each other's lives, no matter what. C'mon, I know you wanna try it." Riku said.

"What're you…" Sora was cut off by Riku's laughter, making Sora throw the fruit away and chases after Riku.

Meanwhile at Ector's castle, Arthur is talking to Ector and Kay while Ector is very angry.

"Not only did you slack on your chores AGAIN, but you had the gall to sneak into my weapon inventory, stole one of my swords, AND even snuck out of the castle to go playing around?! Do you have ANY idea how much trouble you're in?!" Ector demanded.

"I-I'm sorry, sir. I just wanted to…" Arthur was cut off.

"I don't want to put up with any more of your excuses! For your demerits, you have double time for chores, you are to go NOWHERE near my weapons, AND you are FORBIDDEN from stepping out of the castle!" Ector yelled while Kay is smirking.

"Y-Yes, sir. I'm sorry…" Arthur said.

"Get out of my sight!" Ector yelled, and Arthur leaves while a tear falls from his face.

"What a twerp. Dunno why he even exists. He shoulda just ended up in the gutter." Kay said.

"YOU watch your mouth, Kay! Sometimes, I don't know what to do with that boy." Ector said.

"Wanna hear the most ridiculous thing? He said he was training to be a knight!" Kay said, laughing.

"Enough out of you! Shouldn't you be training yourself tomorrow? Get some rest and don't slack yourself!" Ector said.

"Fine, fine." Kay said, leaving. "Not that it matters since this world's gonna be as good as finished very soon." Kay said, smirking.

"I said enough! Now, I need to meet with our new comrades." Ector said.

Arthur goes back to his room and lies on his bed.

"I'm such an idiot… I dunno what to do. I just want to be strong…" Arthur said, closing his eyes.

The next day at a different world, which is a giant white and blue castle, someone is walking through the castle halls and it's a short white-feathered duck wearing a blue wizard robe and purple wizard hat while passing walking brooms, who are carrying pales of water. The duck later stops at a giant purple door and proceeds to knock on the door, but no answer, so he opens the small portion of the door and enters the audience chamber.

"Good morning, Your Majesty!" The duck greeted, walking down the audience chamber. "It's nice to see you this morn… WHAT?!" The duck asked, seeing the throne empty.

Coming from behind the throne is a yellow dog with black ears and tail and wearing a green collar, who has a letter in his mouth.

"Pluto? What's that you got?" The duck asked, taking the letter and starts reading it.

After reading the letter, the duck runs out of the audience chamber and through the hallway screaming very loudly and later arrives at the castle courtyard, where he finds a black dog wearing knight's armor with a blue and orange tunic lying on the grass and sleeping and with him is another black dog, but younger and wearing the same armor with the orange and blue tunic.

"Um, mornin', Donald." The younger black dog said.

"Not now, Max! I need to have a word with your father! Wake up, Goofy! Wake up! This is serious!" Donald said, but Goofy continues sleeping, annoying the duck.

"Dad, wake up! Donald wants to tell ya something." Max said, but Goofy keeps sleeping, much to their annoyance. "Ugh, for the captain of the knights, he's such a heavy sleeper." Max said, crossing his arms.

"That's it! THUNDER!" Donald shouted, making a bolt of lightning strike down at Goofy, waking him up.

"Oh, hey, Donald! Maxie! Good mornin'." Goofy greeted.

"Dad, Donald wants to tell ya something." Max said.

"I'll take it from here, Max! We got a problem, Goofy! Don't tell anyone." Donald said.

"Queen Minnie?" Goofy asked, looking past Donald.

"Not even the Queen!" Donald said.

"Daisy?" Max asked, also looking past Donald.

"NOOOO! It's top secret!" Donald said.

"Um, good mornin', ladies!" Goofy said.

"Hiya, Your Highness!" Max greeted.

"What?" Donald asked, looking back to two find two females.

The first is a female black mouch wearing a red and pink dress, light pink gloves, and gold crown.

The second is a female white duck wearing a purple dress, lavender gloves, and a small tiara.

"And what exactly is top secret, Donald?" The female duck asked, putting her hands on her hips.

"Um, well, Daisy, I…" Donald stops talking and chuckles nervously.

"I think we should have a talk about what you found out today." The female mouse said.