Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, and all other forms of life and creature alike, welcome to another tale in a grand saga from the mind of lyokoMARVELanime! If you loved the non-stop, Keyblade swingin', world-saving action of Keyblades of Future Past, then you'll love this new story that continues on from where that left off! And now, here's your host, the man, the legend, the comeback kid, I'm talkin' about lyokoMARVELanime is in da house!

[audience applause mixed in with someone shouting "we love you lyokoMARVELanime!"]

AN: Yes, thank you, thank you! Thank you all! You're awesome! No you rock! And yes, I am back after a two week stint of absence from all things fanfiction. I know, some of you regular followers were probably worried about me taking a hiatus from everything or something, but as you can clearly see, I am very much alive and well. See the thing there is I was actually on vacation down in the most magical place on Earth, (That's Walt Disney World for those of you who've been asleep or in a coma for the last, oh forever), and well, I just didn't want to spoil any of it by clashing my story ideas with the fun and excitement of all things Disney. Oh, and I left my computer at home too, so there was also that.

[audience laughter]

Hahaha, yeah, well funny stuff aside, after spending a lot of time down in Disney World, which only continues to get more and more awesome every time I go by the way, it was only natural that my ideas start running back towards some of my more Disney-related story ideas, like the Kingdom Hearts ideas, and thus, my first move on here is to post this first chapter of my newest Kingdom Hearts story.

Now just a little quick info, like Mister Announcer Guy just said, this story is a continuation of where my last Kingdom Hearts story, Keyblades of Future Past had left off, not in the new future where Sora and Kairi ended up, but rather where we last saw our boy Ven at, so think of this as the new continuity's version of the first Kingdom Hearts game. If you haven't read Keyblades of Future Past, I wouldn't worry about it too much. There shouldn't be too many things in here that will throw you off, but it would probably help if you go back and read through that one so that you're not completely lost on some things.

Now, why are you all still reading this? Go on and get to the story already! Oh right. Disclaimer. Hehe. Run it!

I do not own anything from Kingdom Hearts or any other franchise mentioned in this story.

Prologue

The night can be both a beautiful time and a scary time as well. It is beautiful because of how silent it is save for the occasional cricket chirp or an owl's hoot, and it grants one the chance to see the many stars that light up the sky and act as the one true sign that there are other worlds out there aside from their own, reminding us that even if ours is just one tiny world, it is still a part of a much bigger one. However, it is also scary because it is also when the world is completely eclipsed in a brief darkness, and it is always within darkness that the most frightening of things will lurk, waiting to pounce on an unsuspecting soul, be it in their strongest or weakest of moments. Though many prefer to lean towards the scarier aspects of the night, there are still just as many who can truly appreciate its beauty, because those are the people who know that even the darkest of places have a small light hidden away somewhere that can bring one a sense of peace.

Nobody knows such things better than a certain blonde, young man who was currently lying back on the rooftop of the castle he currently called home, relaxing with a bit of stargazing after he had completed a brief little workout with the mystical weapon known as the Keyblade, for like all those before him who had wielded this weapon, he knew full well that darkness and light go hand-in-hand with each other, but neither can ever become more dominant than the other. His name is Ventus, but his friends know him better as Ven, and he was once a pupil under the fallen Master Xehanort, and then the late Master Eraqus alongside his two closest of best friends, before he finally came to be a student to his current master after a long, hard journey that had cost him far too much. This journey led him, his friends, and his current master into very difficult trials, and very strange encounters, even for a Keyblade Wielder, and the only thing left to signify that any of it had ever happened were the star-shaped charms that Ven diligently carried with him. One of these charms was his of course, but two of them belonged to a pair of friends that Ven had made during the final stages of his journey; two friends that he had promised to return the charms to when they eventually met again.

That was about ten years ago now, and as he sat in his current location gazing up at the stars that were so similar yet so different from the ones he had known growing up on the world known as the Land of Departure, Ven could not help but find himself wondering if the day would ever come when he finally did meet those particular two friends again. Perhaps it was wrong of him to hope that it would happen, because if he did ever meet them, he knew it would likely mean that there was something threatening the worlds, but still, a chance to meet old friends was never something that Ven would ever find himself not wishing for. The chance for his wish to be granted finally came at last when a squeaky voice suddenly cut through the peaceful silence of the night and said, "I had a feeling I would find you up here."

"WHOA," Ven exclaimed as he jumped into an upright sitting position before turning to face the speaker, who turned out to be the king of the castle he currently called home, his current master, a very good friend, and most importantly of all, a very large, cartoon mouse. "You know Mickey, for a guy who's heart has about as much light as a Princess of Heart, you really know how to come out of nowhere like some kind of ninja," Ven joked.

"Ah, sorry about that Ven," Mickey chuckled, but a moment later, his tone grew much more serious as he added, "but there was something that I just had to talk to you about that couldn't wait a moment longer."

Ven knew that tone of voice all too well, seeing as it was one that Mickey Mouse rarely used outside of training, and it always meant that something very serious was going on. Of course, Ven had a pretty good idea what it was that Mickey wanted to talk to him about. "I'm guessing it has something to do with the fact that a lot of stars have been going out all of sudden recently," Ven said.

"You'd guess right, pal," Mickey nodded, not surprised in the least that Ven already knew about such a thing. After all, stargazing was an old hobby of Ven's ever since his time in the Land of Departure. "Each time one of those stars had gone out, a world had disappeared, and some of the first worlds to do so were the homes of a Princess of Heart."

"Have you talked to Ansem the Wise about this," Ven asked, knowing that the mouse king had been talking with the ruler of Radiant Garden quite a bit in some of the recent years.

"Actually, it's been a long time since I heard anything from Ansem," Mickey admitted. "A few years to be honest and a short time before I lost touch with him, Radiant Garden's star had…well, I wouldn't say that it went out, exactly, but it's not exactly as bright as it once was either."

"Yeah, I noticed that myself, and every time I try to reach out towards that world with my senses, I feel overwhelmed with feelings of dread…numbing cold…and really any other sense you can gain from darkness, almost like the whole place had become consumed by it," Ven nodded as he looked towards the area he knew to be the star that was once Radiant Garden. "What do you think it means?"

"I really don't know for sure, but I do have a few theories, and I think you already know what some of them are," Mickey replied with a knowing look. When Ven nodded in reply, Mickey went on to say, "In that case, I'll spare us both the trouble of going into full detail and just cut to the chase. I intend to go my own way so that I can find a way to stop what's happening from another angle, and while I'm doing that, I'd like you to go to a world called Traverse Town."

"I don't think I've ever heard of that place before," Ven admitted.

"Well I can't say that I blame ya. It's a relatively new world that has formed from the remains of the worlds that have fallen into darkness, and its where a lot of the people from those worlds have ended up," Mickey explained before continuing with his instructions. "Anyway, once you get there, I want you to help keep the people who live there safe, at least until they can handle things on their own, because I have a feeling that a certain key you and I both know will be arriving there soon. Oh, and Ven, once you get there, don't use your Keyblade Glider to travel to any other worlds for a while."

"What? Why," Ven questioned. This was a very odd request because traveling by Keyblade Glider had always been one of the safest and fastest ways for a Keyblade Wielder to travel outside the use of powerful artifacts like the Star Shard that Mickey would sometimes use.

"Ven, there may be a chance that whoever is responsible can track where you go through your Keyblade so long as it is being used, and as such, they may see your use of the Keyblade Glider to travel between worlds as a moment when you're most vulnerable, at which point they will swarm over your location endlessly," Mickey explained.

Ven did not want to admit it, but he could see Mickey's point, so he reluctantly nodded in acceptance and said, "I understand Mickey."

Seeing his friend was a bit depressed and probably worried about how he would get around without his most trusted method of transportation, Mickey immediately added, "Ah, don't worry pal. I'll be sending Donald and Goofy along after ya in a Gummi Ship, and besides, you should still be able to use the Keyblade Glider to move around while you're on a world without any problem."

While hearing that he would be sending him some extra help and a ship to get to other worlds did ease Ven's worries a little, hearing about who Mickey would be sending did raise some flags of concern for him. "You're not going to have Goofy pilot the thing are you? Those Gummi Ships make me a bit nervous enough as is, but when he's flying them…"

Neither master nor student could stop the small shivers that went up their spines at the memory of the last time Mickey's captain of the guard had attempted to fly a Gummi Ship, and Mickey quickly reassured his friend, "Don't worry, I'm sure that Donald will know full well to not let Goofy man the flight controls, so you just worry about finding that future apprentice of yours."

At hearing what followed the reassurance, Ven found himself gaining a new set of worries, because he knew exactly what Mickey meant by this. "I know I've passed the exam and all a short while back, but do you really think I'm ready to take a student now?"

"Ven, I can only think of one person who could serve as a better teacher for this future Keyblade Wielder than you, and well…you know what happened to her," Mickey hesitantly reminded the blonde, knowing full well that this particular subject was not something one should bring up to Ventus unless they wanted him in a sour mood for a while. Still, that did not mean he did not press on in making his point. "Even so, you are definitely ready for this responsibility, so I know you can do it."

Ven did indeed gain an aura of depression at the near mentioning of his lost friend, but when he heard how confident Mickey seemed to be in his abilities, he immediately gave a strong nod in reply to this as he smiled and said, "Okay then, I guess I'd better be off so that I can be there when my future apprentice arrives."

"When you arrive at Traverse Town, find a man named Leon. He can tell you the full story on the situation there and about where your abilities would best help," Mickey advised as Ven moved to the edge of the roof.

"Leon; got it," Ven repeated in confirmation before he slapped the center of the armor piece on his left shoulder, instantly summoning a full suit of armor onto his being. He then spared one last look to Mickey and nodded as he said, "Good luck Master Mickey."

"And to you as well…Master Ventus," Mickey replied, and he then watched as his former student-turned fellow master leapt into the air as his Keyblade transformed into winged waveboard and then rocketed away into the starry sky, flying off for the destination that the cartoon mouse had given him. After staring at the point in the sky that Ven had vanished into, Mickey finally let out a small sigh and turned to head back into his castle as he said, "After ten years it's finally starting to happen. Here's hoping I can keep my promise to those two…Well, only time will tell the answer to that. Right now, I've got a letter to finish. I just hope Donald doesn't accidentally do something that leads Minnie to find out about why I'm leaving. She'll be really worried if she does."

Not long after Ven's departure, far away on a distant, tiny world, three friends were about to prepare for their chance to live out a dream that they had shared for just as many years, and one of them was about to have a dream that would change all of their lives forever.

AN: Well it may be a little short, but hey its a start. So yeah, as you've all probably figured out from this, Ven's off to Traverse Town, and I think we all know who he's going to end up meeting there aside from who Mickey mentioned. And yeah, he's a full-fledged Keyblade Master now; like I was really gonna have him just go through ten years of training and not let him get anything out of it. In all honesty I really just threw this chapter in so that I could make it clear that this was following up from where we had last seen Ven at the end of Keyblades of Future Past, but don't worry, we'll be seeing a bit more fun in the next chapter.

And for those of you who are probably upset by the fact that I'm not updating or finishing any of my other stories before starting on this one, well let me just say that the Gundam SEED Prime: Chaos Hunters is at the point where it is almost complete, and when it comes to everything else...well, I believe a certain snow queen said, or should I say sang it best.

Elsa: Let it go! Let it go! Can't hold it back anymore~. Let it go! Let it go! Turn away and slam the door~! I don't care what they're going to say~! Let the storm rage on. The cold never bothered me anyway~.

AN: Yes, ahem. Thank you for that Elsa.

Elsa: It was my pleasure lyokoMARVELanime. Though I must ask, when is my first scene in this story?

AN: Ooooh. [looks sheepish] Yeah, about that...you're actually not in this story.

Elsa: I...I'm not?

AN: No, see...uh, come here a minute. [waves Elsa over so she can see a booklet he had on his desk] You see like right here in the outline?

Elsa: Oh. I see. Well that's completely understandable.

AN: Well it's nothing personal, because I honestly would've liked to have included you in this.

Elsa: Well thank you. You're too kind sir.

AN: Ehehehehehe. Ahem, anyways, sorry for you Frozen fans who were hoping to see anything like that in this story, but I promise, Elsa will be playing a part in the series that I've begun to unleash here on ol' fanfiction dot net later on, and we'll definitely be seeing some new faces this time around that weren't a part of the original adventure in the first Kingdom Hearts game. If you want a hint, let's just say that one of them's a real marvel while the other is from an entire galaxy of adventure and excitement! Yeah, I know that'll probably make it pretty obvious, but it's not like I'm coming right out and saying anybody's names or anything. Any other questions you may have on this story right now, you can send via PM or in your review, or just wait a little while to see if I answer them in upcoming chapters.

Well I think that covers everything I wanted to say here. Oh, I almost forgot. For those of you who have read Keyblades of Future Past, you all remember the Yen Sid Reports I sometimes did at the end of a chapter in that story? Well expect something similar to that to be featured here as well, and it's not going to be the Ansem Reports. You'll find out what I mean later on when we get to the first chapter to feature the thing. For now though, you lot just get a move on. Onto the Preview that is!...

The story's true beginning is unveiled as we travel from Disney Castle to the world of Destiny Islands, where our hero is found…taking a nap. Yeah, I know what it looks like, but we all know what's really going on during his brief moment of peaceful rest, and what will follow afterwards with his two best friends. Find out if anything changes or if everything stays the same, next time.

What? It's not like I could really say much here for the moment. Gotta do the more relaxed and peaceful stuff before we can get into the really good and adventurous stuff that makes up a Kingdom Hearts story. Anyways...

Please read and review, and in the words of Mickey Mouse, see ya real soon!