Dynamisches Universum

Dynamisches Universum archive.

Accel ACE presents 2006/7 Create-Your-Own-Adventure

-=Dynamisches Universum=-

(Prologue)

"Once, long before any of this mess began, there was one universe. One solid, whole universe. It had its share of problems, but it was a good universe for the most part. And near the beginning there were two twins born of an ancient race. Both grew up to inherit all the powers of their race, effectively becoming the most powerful beings in the universe. Their names were Genesis and Exodus. Over time, their stories seemed to become warped, and they were hailed as gods, which is untrue but I suppose it really doesn't matter in the end. Anyway, there was a problem... Both were raised separately from each other, Genesis (the girl) was raised by the mother, and Exodus (the boy) was raised by the father. Now, this still doesn't sound like that big of a deal, but the thing is... Well let's just say Exodus' upbringing wasn't exactly a good one, and leave it at that. So, thousands of years pass, and the two have inherited all the powers of their ancient race, like I said... Well, Exodus having a rough childhood haunted him for a good long time, and after thousands of years of staying in the background, he pretty much began to go insane, one could say. Seeing the evils of mankind, while not looking at the good they bring, he eventually decided it was time to end mankind's corruption... Of course, not in the good way, in the bad way, by destroying them. This didn't set to well with Genesis, who was quite the opposite, she had grown up to be a benevolent, pure-hearted defender of mankind, using her powers for the cause of good, anyway, I'm getting carried away with details here. Eventually, the two clashed in an epic struggle to determine the fate of mankind, the thing you read about in books and watch on TV, as stereotypical as that may sound. In the end however, it was Exodus who prevailed, and mankind's darkest hour seemed at hand... But, in a twist of fate, it was mankind itself that struck back at Exodus, the power of a clan known as the Tsukis was used to weaken him, allowing Genesis to seal her twin brother away for good... Well anyway, that's all fine and good, but there was another problem. The universal balance had been damaged during the battle of the two "gods", and things got knocked all out of sync. Soon, thousands of parallel universes were created, souls were being duplicated, or just flat out being born in the wrong universe, and things were a huge mess. ...That's how I was created, and how you were created too, neither of us were supposed to exist at all. So, along with the damage done to the universal balance, additional damage seems to have been caused periodically throughout time in different universes, time travelers, sadistic wizards, and all sorts of crap like that keeps making things worse... At the rate things are going, something bad is bound to happen if the creation of new universes isn't stopped, and that's where I, no... WE come in."

"...Um, alright, but could we do this tomorrow? I have exams today..."

"...Kid, you've got alot more to worry about than a stupid exam...

You wake up promptly after that remark. What an odd dream, yet it somehow felt strangely real. Huh, well... It's 6:00 am and you have to get to school in an hour, time to get ready! You get out of bed and get cleaned up and dressed and head out the door. You grab your school ID along with the rest of your stuff. Ah man, why is your ID so dirty? You wipe it off, so that you can read it...

....... senior class, block A-2.

Oh hey, you just realized you never actually wrote your name on your school ID before. You wonder how you never got in trouble for this, but shrug it off. You take out a pen and proceed to write your name on the ID...

Kerrick Ryle, a fine name (rolls right off the tongue quite nicely, try saying it!)

You put your ID in your pocket and head out the door, and start walking towards school, it's only about a 15 minute walk, and you've done it hundreds of times before, but somehow you feel something is a bit... different...

-Meanwhile-

"Everything is ready, we can begin once you are ready, m'lord." "...Yes, our time of ascension is at hand! Begin the ritual!"

Eight men in black grabs, wearing ornate masks on their faces form a circle around an archaic symbol covered in candles lit with black flames. They begin to chant in an ancient tongue, and begin to circle around the symbol still chanting in monotone. The black flames from the candles begin to rise, and soon it engulfs the symbol, the masked men kneel down, each drawing blood from their arms, feeding it to the fire. The fire grows and grows, and soon the chamber begins to rumble.

"At last...!"

The flames soon sprout up, bursting through the ceiling, and the chamber shakes greatly, soon the entire planet begins to shake...

"Now come together worlds, form together to create that which I will of you, so that I may obtain that which I desire!!"

-Back on Kerrick's planet-

"Wh-what's going on?!"

The entire planet begins to shake, and soon there is a blinding white flash, and an earth-shattering crash...

...And then, darkness.

... ... ...

(Am I dead? ...No, wait I can still feel the ground where I fell, okay... hey what's this? I can feel someone next to me...)

Kerrick awakens some time after, his vision slowly returning, and the ringing in his ears steadily dissipating. He looks around, seeing things are vastly... Different... He looks to the person laying beside him, also unconscious.

You look to the green haired woman laying next to you, she has a sword strapped around her waist, and is wearing an unusual garb, looks kind of like a battle garb, most certainly not the normal kind of outfit you see around here.

"Umm..."

She looks like she'll be okay, but she's not regaining consciousness. You have a weird feeling you are being watched but it is most likely paranoia.

You attempt to wake her, she groans and opens her eyes, looking around.

"....liwood? Hector? ...Where am I?"

She begins to speak, but promptly falls back into unconsciousness. At least she's alive. You look around, you begin to regain your senses and your thoughts begin to clear. You should probably get help for this girl, but you need to find out just what the heck is going on here. And you still feel like somebody is watching you...

You lift her up onto your back, she's surprisingly light. You head back home, but when you arrive, nobody is there. You set the woman on a couch and look around. Where did everyone go?

(Relax relax, dad's probably at work and mom's most likely out shopping...)

You look for signs of a struggle despite trying to remain calm. Something is telling you that things have gone very much awry. You look at the clock, and notice it's a little past noon. Apparently you were unconscious for almost six hours.

Your paranoia kicks back in, you can almost "feel" someone watching you...

Ignoring your paranoia, you grab the telephone. Hmm, that's odd, it's dead.

(Great, that means the internet is down too, damned dial-up.)

You're low on options, you aren't just going to shrug this off and go to school, and there's only roughly 2 hours left in the school day anyways. The woman seems to be waking up, you walk over to her.

"Hey, are you al---"

In mid-sentence, the woman suddenly leaps forward and has you at sword-point.

"What's going on here? Where am I, and who are you?!" she stares at you angrily, but eases up, and sheathes her sword. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

Relieved she put the sword away you ease up. "My name's Kerrick Ryle, this is my house. I found you unconscious outside after, um... SOMETHING happened."

With a sigh, she looks out the window. "Well, then we're both equally clueless here, aren't we?"

You nod, "It would seem that way, wish I could say more. Uh, are you sure you're okay?"

She smiles and nods to you, "I'm certain, I've been through worse. My name is Lyndis by the way. Just call me Lyn."

"So, what do we do now?"

"There's some weird stuff going on right now, but I think we should go look around outside.

She nods, "Guess I'll tag along with you for now, since you're familiar with this area."

You head outside, people are running around, scared and confused. You hear a scream from a nearby alley.

You run down into the alley, you see Julia, a friend from your school, being assaulted by a large shirtless man with an axe. He approaches, grinning.

"I don't know where I am, but you sure are a pretty one, now be a good girl and quiet down while I have my fun with you, hehehehe..."

Lyndis draws her sword. "Stay back, I'll handle him."

Without another word, Lyndis leaps between the man and Julia.

(Battle, Lyndis wins)

Lyndis sheathes her sword as you walk forward to Julia.

"Hey, are you okay? It's fine now, that guy isn't going to be bothering you now."

Wiping a tear from her face, she nods. "Thank you Kerrick, and um... what's your friend's name?" You look to Lyndis, who is busy checking if the brigand is still alive. "She's Lyndis. She's from some place named 'Elibe'...? Anyway, she's just as confused as we are. We're trying to figure out just what happened earlier."

"Julia, you might want to come with us, we'll keep you safe." She nods, "A-alright..." Lyndis looks to you, "We'll need to organize our ranks if we're going to be walking around in a group. Just running around randomly will get us killed, I somehow get the feeling there's going to be more dangerous people out and about like this thug."

Kerrick: "There might be someone in the library that knows what's going on, it's usually the most crowded place right around now, and they might have an internet connection..."

Julia: "Sounds good to me."

Lyn: "Alright, let's go."

The group heads towards the library. Looking around, you see the computers lined up against the east wall, and a large maze-like arrangement of book cases to the north and to the west.

You head over to the computers and sit down. You browse through some news sites, until you find an article that catches your attention. You read through the article, unable to believe your eyes.

Kerrick: "From what I've gathered... the world has, um..." ???: "This world has merged with fifteen other worlds, so that a a dark cult can harvest the souls of sixteen fated beings so that they can awaken a dark force that once plagued a far off universe, to use its power for their dark deeds, it's fairly simple, don't you think?"

You turn, a man with silvery gray hair standing behind you. He grins, nodding his head. "Oh, did I startle you?"

Kerrick: "Who are you?" Man: "You can call me Xiel, I suppose, that's what everyone else seems to like calling me."

You don't know why, but this man seems strangely familiar to you. You open your mouth to speak, but suddenly feel a cold chill down your spine, everything fades from sight, and you soon appear in a dark void, you look in every direction with nothing in sight...

You call out for Lyndis, or Julia, but get no response other than your own echo. You put two and two together and assume Xiel must have done ... something to bring you here. You call out for Xiel, and feel a tap on your shoulder. You spin around, surprised. Xiel stands behind you, grinning widely.

"Looks like you're pretty sharp, most people would panic and never put together that it must've been me that brought you here. Now tell me, what are you going to do now that I've brought you here?"

Good question, what WILL you do?

Kerrick: "Why did you bring me here? Do you have something to do with that strange flash?"

Xiel chuckles to himself, and pats you on the shoulder.

Xiel: "Kid, you really ARE sharp. No, I'm not the one that caused the merging of the worlds..." Kerrick: "Merging of the worlds? What are you talking about?" Xiel: "Eh, don't make me explain it, I already explained this to you. ...Maybe you need a refresher, hang on a sec."

Xiel clears his throat.

A recap of what I already bloody friggin' told you. The super abridged version. By: Xiel

There were these two "gods", as they were called, named Exodus and Genesis. Genesis was good, Exodus turned evil. The two fought, and the universal balance was screwed the hell up because of it. Soon, parallel universes were being made left and right, souls were being duplicated and/or being born into the wrong universe, and some souls were even being created that were never supposed to exist, much like myself. Anyway, things just keep getting worse and worse, as people in each universe seem to be screwing things up even worse, unknowingly or otherwise. In a parallel universe to this one, an evil cult tapped into the power of a sealed dark force (not to be confused with Exodus, apparently sealed dark entities are the "in" thing this season), and are using its power to rip worlds from different universes and are slamming them all together along with their own world so that they can steal the souls of sixteen fated inhabitants of each world to awaken the dark force and steal its power to enslave each universe under their might.

The End.

Kerrick: "Uhh, alright then..."

Xiel: "Look, it probably sounds weird, but think about it logically, it's the only explanation you've heard thusfar, and you've seen evidence of new and unusual people showing up shortly after the flash, right?"

Kerrick: "I guess so, but this is a little hard to grasp, what exactly is my role in all this? You sure seem to have an interest in me."

Xiel: "Well, scattered throughout the universes I've discovered there is one born with a unique soul, one born with natural talents and a hidden potential that may be the key to ending the turmoil throughout each of the universes. You; Kerrick Ryle, are one of those "keys". I need you to stop all this nonsense, Kerrick... Are you with me?"

Kerrick: "This is a bit much to take in at once, you know."

Xiel: "I understand... Hm, maybe if I showed you some of your hidden potential you'd be convinced... Very well, I'm going to ask you a few questions, and you tell me honestly what you would do in each situation, alright?"

(Three questions were answered, these determined stat gains)

Kerrick: "Erm - so what was the point of those questions, again?"

Xiel: "I had to ask you those questions to peer into your potential... those questions, along with the actions you made even before I asked you anything, have shown me your potential... And I shall unlock it now!"

Xiel places his palm on Kerrick's forehead, a moment later, Kerrick falls to his knees and begins to shake violently.

Kerrick: "Gahh!! What did you do to me?!"

Xiel: "This is odd... Normally the after effects aren't as severe. (He really IS the key...) Don't worry, it will wear off in a moment, and then you'll feel like a million bucks."

A minute that feels like an eternity to Kerrick passes, and he stands, looking to Xiel with a look of astonishment on his face.

Kerrick: "...I feel... stronger. You're for real, aren't you?" Xiel: "Well, duh."

Kerrick steps back, feeling a new power within him.

Kerrick: "...So, if I am the "key" you are searching for... what is it I have to do?" Xiel: "I can't force you into this, you have to trust your instincts. Do you really want to go through with this?" Kerrick: "...I don't know why but... I somehow feel that this is my duty, my calling... I'll do it, but I don't know what it is I have to do."

Xiel: "Don't worry, I'll guide you. On your quest, you are going to adventure through fourteen different worlds, in each world there is a creature hidden within it that only you, the key, can defeat. In defeating this creature, you will weaken the grip the cult has on each world, and when the fifteen creatures are destroyed, the turmoil will have been defeated, and the balance of this universe will be restored. ...But, at the same time the cult is looking for the destined souls of each world, if they manage to steal the souls of each, all will be for naught. So in the end, its a race against time."

Kerrick: "...I see..."

Xiel: "Here, you'll be needing this."

Received "V-Blade" from Xiel!

Xiel: "This V-Blade (short for Variable Blade) will greatly assist you on your quest, with its power to shape shift, it will grant you powers you will need in each world to survive. In your essentially normal world the v-blade will keep its basic shape, and remain a normal sword, but in other worlds... Well, you'll see."

Kerrick: "So, where do I go from here?" Xiel: "I thought you'd never ask. Your first task is in your world, remember how I said there were fifteen creatures, but you'll be visiting fourteen new worlds?"

Kerrick: "So one of those creatures are in my world, right?"

Xiel: "You ARE a smart one. Yes indeed, there is one in your world. I'll send you back to the library now, your friends may be a great help to you, the one named Lyndis is actually from one of the fourteen worlds you will be visiting, you should certainly bring her with you."

Kerrick: "Alright, thank you Xiel. I'm still not entirely sure about all of this, but... I can't just sit around and do nothing after hearing all of this. I've always enjoyed adventure stories, and now it seems I'm a part of the biggest one of all."

Xiel: "Heh, you're a good kid. Alright, I'm sending you back now. I'll meet back up with you soon, you're going to want to head north, out of town, there's a mountain range there side effect of merging each world it would seem."

Kerrick: "Understood. Thank you, Xiel."

A moment later, you re-appear back in the library with Lyn and Julia.

Julia: "...Kerrick?" Kerrick: "Huh? Lyn: "You zoned out for a minute there, are you okay?"

You explain everything to Lyndis and Julia, they are a bit skeptical, but they seem convinced.

You look to Lyndis, you figure Xiel was right about her, and if she is from one of the worlds you will be adventuring to, you'll need her with you. But Julia...

You ask Julia if she wants to come with you, either leaving her or bringing her along is dangerous, but at least this way you can keep an eye on her. She agrees that is the smartest course of action, and comes with you.

Though Xiel told you to go directly to the mountains, you feel guilty about just leaving your friends behind during all this chaos. And now that you have the power to do so, you decide helping out is the best course of action.

You survey the area. You hear screams coming from the east, and see smoke rising from the west. You only have time to go investigate one of them, which will it be?

You head towards the smoke, when you arrive, you see that a building has caught fire. The fire department is trying its best to put it out, but to no avail.

Kerrick: "Wait a minute...!"

You recognize this building, you used to live in this apartment complex before you moved a year ago! You ask a firefighter if everyone is safe, and he says there are three others inside that they haven't managed to get out yet.

The building won't last much longer like this, it would be suicidal to run in there, but you can't just let the three people trapped inside to burn...

Kerrick: "Lyndis, Julia. Stay here please." Julia: "Kerrick Ryle, you aren't planning on running into that building are you!?" Lyn: "That... that's very noble of you but..." Kerrick: "I have to, I couldn't live with myself if I did nothing!"

Without another word, you jolt past Lyn, Julia, and the firefighters and rush boldly into the burning building.

(One person is saved from the burning building)

You head back the way you came, then to the north. After you reach the city limits, sure enough like Xiel said, a mountainside has sprouted up. You climb the base of the mountain with relative ease, until you come across a path. One way leads into a cave, the other is a path that seems to wind up the mountain.

You walk the path up the mountain. On your way up you see two men wearing what you can only describe as "science fiction-y" looking armor. They see you.

Armored man #1: "Humans?" Armored man #2: "Hmph, let's kill 'em, they'll get in our way."

If it wasn't obvious enough yet, they aren't friendly.

(Battle, team wins)

Strangely enough, when defeated, the men explode into bits of mechanical parts. You can only assume they were from another world. You continue up the path, until you reach a large, circular section of the path, there are picnic tables here, this appears to be some kind of rest area. Your paranoia kicks in, you feel as if you are being watched. You look around, and feel a tap on your shoulder. You spin around, to see Xiel standing behind you, grinning widely.

Xiel: "That was some nice work back there, taking down those Mavericks.. I see you brought Lyndis with you, but... The other girl too? ... (Why do I get such a strange vibe coming from this girl? Bah, it's probably nothing). So, now that you are here, I can lead you to the first creature. If you feel you are ready, we can go now, but remember that you are the only one that can hurt it, Mr. key-to-saving-the-multiverse, so I'll have to ask your friends to stay here with me. Don't worry, they'll be fine."

You look to Lyndis and Julia, who seem to understand.

Kerrick: "Alright, show me the way." Xiel: "Nicely put. Just one second..."

Xiel turns to the rocky wall behind him. He places his hand on it, and a moment later, it dissipates, a dark vortex left in its place.

Xiel: "Each creature resides in a portal that only I have the ability to unlock. I have to remain focused however or it will close, and that could prove disastrous to you.

You wield your v-blade, and enter the vortex...

You appear before a giant lion-like beast. You can sense its evil energy flowing wildly. You've never sensed anything like this before. It roars, slamming its giant paws onto the ground. You'll need to destroy it to weaken evil's grip on your world.

(Boss Battle, Kerrick wins.)

You sit on the ground covered in the beast's blood, gasping for air. You hear Xiel's voice calling to you.

Xiel: "Good job kid! Now get out of there quick!"

You rise to your aching feet, and exit through the vortex, returning to the mountainside.

You gasp for air on the hard rocky mountain path, still covered in beast blood. Julia runs to your side worried, with Lyn soon joining her.

Julia: "Are you okay?" Lyn: "Relax, this blood... this isn't human blood."

You look up to the sound of clapping hands, Xiel stands there, his usual wide grin spread across his face.

Xiel: "You most certainly are the one I was looking for, any doubt I might have had was completely wiped away the moment you were able to even touch that beast. ...You look a bit roughed up though, perhaps it was stronger than I had anticipated..." (That's not a good sign, I had thought the influence over this part of the world was weak, but have I underestimated their power? ...No matter.)

Kerrick: *still gasping for air* "So... what is... next?"

Xiel: "That is up to you. From here there are three ways we can go..."

Xiel turns, waving his hand. Three circular portals appear.

Xiel: "Each of these portals lead to a new part of the world in which another beast awaits. Which one we go to first is up to you."

Kerrick: "The people on that island may need our help. I choose the third portal, the island covered in darkness."

Xiel: "Very well. But know that once I bring you there, getting back here will not be easy. If anybody wants to back out..."

There was an awkward silence.

Xiel: "I see, very well then. Please step through the portal."

Regaining his composure, Kerrick returns to his feet, and leaps through the portal. Lyndis and Julia following close behind him. They disappear, and the portals close.

Xiel: "...And so it begins... This should prove interesting."

End Prologue Chapter.

You awaken on the island you saw in the portal. Your comrades lay beside you, just waking up too.

Kerrick: "Well, we're here. Now where is Xiel...?"

You look around, seeing nothing but darkness and beach sand. Suddenly, four small shadow creatures bleed out from under the ground, needless to say, they aren't friendly.

You wield your v-blade, and it begins to glow.

Kerrick: "What the...?!"

The v-blade retains its hilt, but the tip of the blade morphs into an odd shape, it almost looks like a key.

Kerrick: "...Alright, let's take it to them!"

(Battle, team wins.)

Kerrick slashes through the final shadow with the v-keyblade, clearing the darkness in the area somewhat.

Kerrick: "Looks like those things are influencing the darkness shrouding the island..."

Xiel's voice enters your mind.

Kerrick! We have a problem... opening those three portals drained my energy more than I thought, it seems the combined force of the darkness shrouding the island and the cult's influence is more draining than I had thought. You'll need to clear the darkness from the island before I can get to you. Your V-Blade should have changed shape by now, it'll help you clear the darkness. Wish I could help you more than this, sorry... Well, good luck!

Kerrick: (Well that's just great...)

Just as the coast seems clear, ten more shadow creatures appear.

Kerrick: "Damn it, there are way too many of these things...!" Lyn: "We've no choice, we have to fight through them to clear the darkness!"

Just as things were beginning to look bad, suddenly four of the creatures vanish into nothingness, emerging from the darkness is a boy with spikey brown hair, and a tall boy with light blue hair, both wielding weapons similar to your V-Keyblade.

Brown-Haired Boy: "Hey are you three alright?!" Blue-Haired Boy: "Sora! Don't let your guard down, here they come!" Sora: "Riku, let's take 'em out!"

Kerrick: "Hang on, we'll help too!"

Sora and Riku have joined the team!

(Battle, team wins.)

Sora: *phew* "Are you alright?" Kerrick: *panting* "Yeah, thanks to you two." Riku: "I've never seen you around the Island before, who are you?"

You explain your story to Sora and Riku, and, oddly enough, they don't seem to find it weird in the slightest. As Sora opens his mouth to speak, a scream is heard to the North.

Sora: "That sounded like Kairi!" Riku: "Come on, Sora! Let's go!" Kerrick: "Wait a second! We'll go with you!"

The team runs off to the North...

You follow Riku and Kairi into the deep fog of darkness while cutting through a few shadows. Eventually making your way to a large group of the shadows assaulting a red-haired girl. A few of the shadows seem larger, wearing light armor.

Riku: "Look out, soldiers are stronger than shadows!" Sora: "If you can guess which direction they're going to strike from, you can counter their attack, but if you mess up... it'll hurt!"

(Battle, team wins.)

The girl stands, gasping for air.

Girl: "Thank you..." Sora: "Kairi, are you hurt?" Riku: "Why aren't you in the cabin?" Kairi: "I was worried about you guys, it's always been the three of us together, If something happened to you, and I wasn't even there to support you, I'd never forgive myself."

Kerrick: "The dark fog is clearing up somewhat here. Is it always like this, Sora?" Sora: "No, we thought the island was safe again, we cleaned thing up long ago, but..." Riku: "There was a bright flash, and we all fell unconscious, when we awoke, the darkness had returned."

Kerrick (Looks like merging the worlds together awakened something in this world, are all the worlds in turmoil now...?)

Lyndis: "Well, at any rate, we have to clear up the darkness here so Xiel can show us the way to the next beast, so I suppose we're allies." Sora: "It looks that way, thanks for all your help." Riku: "We should get going. Kairi, go back to the cabin." Kairi: "Didn't you hear me?! I'm coming with you if you like it or not!" Riku: *sigh* "You're right, I'm sorry. Just... be careful."

Kairi has joined the party!

World Map:

There are outbreaks of heartless all over the island, you will need to clear all of them in order to progress. Which part of the island will you head to first?

(A, north was selected)

You head to the north sector of the island, and confront 4 soldiers.

(Battle, team wins.)

You head to the east sector of the island.

Riku: "Hey that's...!"

A creature like none you've seen stands before you, being assaulted by heartless. Though tall and lanky like a human, he has a long face and bucked teeth, and seems to be wielding... a shield?

Sora: "Goofy!!"

The strange dog-like creature turns, as if he had suddenly forgotten about the heartless attacking him.

Goofy: "Gawrsh, Sora! Good to see ya!" Kairi: "Look out!" Goofy: "eh?"

Goofy turns back around, and is promptly smacked in the head by one of the soldiers, sending him flying back, landing on the ground.

Sora: "Goofy, are you ok!?" Goofy: "Ha-hyuck, you know I get hit in the head all time, Sora!"

Goofy stands, shaking his head.

Kerrick: "Uhh... friend of yours, Sora?" Sora: "Yeah, he helped us when we fought the heartless before! ...But what are you doing here?" Goofy: "Uh well Donald and I were comin' to see ya when all of a sudden there was this big ol' flash of light, our gummi ship went out of control, and we crashed. When I woke up, these here heartless were after me! Gawrsh, I don't know where Donald went, I hope he's okay.."

Riku: "Here they come!!"

Goofy joins the party as an assist character!

(Battle, team wins.)

Sora: "Glad we found you when we did, Goofy!" Goofy: "Gawrsh, I wonder where Donald is, he can handle himself awlright with his magic, but against all of these heartless, well..."

Kerrick: (I want to help them find their friend, but we need to finish off the heartless as soon as possible...)

You decide to help look for Donald. As you search through the gradually thinning clouds of darkness, you find a stick with a small figurine wearing a long hat in front of a cave.

Goofy: "That's..." Sora: "Donald's wand!"

You can only assume Donald must have retreated into the cave in a hurry. You enter the cave, and after some time it splits into two routes.

Riku: "Looks like we'll need to split into two groups... I say Kerrick and Sora lead each team.." Kerrick: "Sounds good to me."

Teams split into:

Kerrick, Lyndis Sora, Riku, Kairi, Goofy

Kerrick's squad takes the left path, occasionally calling out for Donald. You come to an elevated slope, there is a large rock that looks like it could be pushed. There is also a group of soldiers clanking about in formation here, as if looking for something.

You push the boulder forward, and it crushes the soldiers marching about. Good job!

From here, there are two paths.

You take the east path. The floor seems damp here, you hear the sound of flowing water here, which strikes you as odd. The ground seems a bit soft here, too, now that you think of it...

Suddenly, some soldiers appear from the darkness!

(Battle, Kerrick/Lyndis win.)

You manage to destroy the last soldier with your v-keyblade, it quickly dissolves into nothingness

You wind down the cavern pathway, it begins to wind upwards somewhat, the flow of water seems to have stopped, it was possibly just a small reservoir you tapped into. Either way, you continue onward. After a long walk, you come across a gap in the path. You look down the gap, it's a long way down... You see what looks like a stone platform on top of a pillar, but it is too low to be of any use to you...

While you ponder about what to do next, let's see what Sora and the others are up to...

(Switch to Sora's team)

As you walk down the dark, dank path, several heartless materialize before you, blocking your path.

Riku: "Kairi, get back! Sora, c'mon!" Sora: (Wait, wasn't I supposed to be the leader?)

You quickly assess the enemy group, there are a three soldiers and two shadows, nothing you shouldn't be able to handle...

(Battle, team wins.)

The last shadow skitters off and you rush in to assist Riku. The two of you fend off the soldiers easily together.

With your combined force, you slay one of the soldiers. As you fight, the shadow that pulled back sneaks up behind you.

But, as it attacks, Goofy blocks it with his shield, preventing it from damaging you. You easily dispose of it with a counter attack, meanwhile, Riku disposes of another soldier. The last one begins to flee...

You chase after the soldier, you aren't going to let it get away!

You chase it into a small room, where four more soldiers ambush you. Great...

Your allies catch up, but not before you take some punishment from the superior numbers.

Riku: "Sora, don't be so reckless!"

Riku slices through one of the soldiers, joining back up with you. The two of you manage to finish off the soldiers, Goofy's shield saves you from a hit in the process.

After you finally defeat the soldiers, you return back the way you came, then head farther down the main path.

At the end of the path it is a dead end. Upon closer investigation, you also notice a... switch?