"Will the rising forces of darkness ever stop?" a voice asked as old, crooked fingers trailing over a map completely drawn in ink. The voice and the fingers belonged to Yen Sid, the all-knowing wizard of Terra.

"Every day, new forces working for evil arise, and I don't know how much longer the Keyblade Warriors can keep them away..." Yen Sid sighed, his fingers caressing the hard covers of the spell books stacked on top of each other. "Sooner or later, they are going to find out about the secrets of Wasteland..."

The only door in the quiet little room opened gently, and Oswald the Lucky Rabbit peaked through. He saw the wizard memorizing the map, analyzing every detail about it.

"You... called for me, sir?" Oswald asked.

"Why yes," Yen Sid answered, placing his finger on a part of the island they were on. "The Mad Doctor has recently informed me about a mysterious tablet that he found on another part of this land. He claims it has the answers we're looking for. Fetch me Alex and the Gremlin Gus. I'll tell them where they can find the Mad Doctor."

"Can do, sir," Oswald responded, saluting the wizard before leaving out the door.

"And hurry," Yen Sid spoke. "I don't know how long it's going to take..."

In the outskirts of town on the island Yen Sid was studying at, Alex was walking down the street with Gremlin Gus, walking through the town market.

"You know, Gus?" Alex asked the gremlin. "I could get used to this place. I mean... it's got everything I need."

"You might not wanna get ahead of yourself, Alex," Gus spoke as Axel walked over to an open bakery stand with an anthropomorphic cow serving pastries to the young children on the street for pennies each.

"You are a Keyblade Warrior, after all," Gus continued, watching as Alex walked up to the stand where the cow was distracted by the children playing. "It is your destiny to protect Terra from the forces of the darkness, not... smuggle food from markets." Gus grabbed Alex's hand as soon as the reckless Keyblade Warrior grabbed an apple from the stand, presumably about to be used for a pie or strudel.

"Listen, Gus," Alex responded. "Living dangerously is my lifestyle. Also, who's the one willing to throw themselves into danger for me?" Without another word, Alex slipped out of Gus's grip, leaving the gremlin with the apple. As soon as the gremlin turned around, he was met with a whack to the face by a bristle broom from the cow, who thought that Gus was stealing her fruit.

"Alex, look," Gremlin Gus objected, running down the street to Alex with a bruised face. "You're going to have to learn to fix problems, not make them. I'm not always gonna be around to pull you out of danger. Besides, you still haven't paid rent for the house you bought. Why don't we start with some basic jobs, like - ooh! - a painter!" Alex looked down at the gremlin, sighing and shaking his head with disappointment.

"Gus, I know you're a good friend and everything," Alex responded, laying a hand on his little friend's shoulder. "You always help me carry heavy stuff and are able to climb up to the highest shelf when I can't. About stealing from markets, I do know the difference between right and wrong. Like I said, I need rent, but I gotta eat. And it's not like money is gonna grow on trees."

"That's precisely the point I was trying to make!" Gus spoke with an infuriated tone in his voice. "If you would just listen, there are more important things you need to worry about as a Keyblade Warrior, like helping the economy by giving the town's government what they want. Please... do it for me. Do it for Terra."

"Gus, I... It's been so long ever since I've been in Wasteland," Alex spoke, looking at the town behind his back. "Xenohart and his followers almost destroyed the world, and I think they were hinting towards a force greater than them. Ever since I was born in that forsaken realm, I didn't know what I would become. There was not much I could remember about the outside world before then, almost like it was… a memory. I think... Sora might be linked to all these past events..." Just then, Oswald rushed toward Alex and Gremlin Gus, stopping right at the Keyblade Warrior's feet.

"You need to come quick!" Oswald told the duo. "Yen Sid has told me to bring you two to his place. He says it's urgent."

"Why?" Alex asked. "What's wrong?"

"He said that the Mad Doctor has found something peculiar on a remote side of the island!" Oswald answered. "Yen Sid will give us the location of the Mad Doctor so we can see what's up! Come with me!" Without another word, Alex and Gremlin Gus followed Oswald the Lucky Rabbit down the street all the way to the castle where Yen Sid resided.

The trio made their way to Yen Sid's office, to which the wizard greeted them.

"Ah, welcome," Yen Sid spoke. "Please... take your seats." The three travelers sat down, ready to hear about what the wizard had to say.

"The Mad Doctor has found a mysterious tablet that could be the answer to our fight against the darkness," the wizard continued. "Everyday, these forces grow stronger by the minute, and it wouldn't be long before Sora learns the truth."

"You hear that, Alex?" Gus told the Keyblade Wielder. "This is your chance to prove you're better than some street rat!"

"I know, I know," Alex sighed with annoyance, turning towards the wizard on the other side of the table. "So... I appreciate the offer, but I think we could... take the location of said tablet and go from there."

"...I understand," Yen Sid responded, handing Alex a bauble. "Contact me should any concerns rise you, or if it's a life-threatening emergency. Meet up with the Mad Doctor on the other side of the mountain. Remember: you are a Keyblade Wielder. Never give in to the temptations of the darkness." As Alex took a good look at the bauble he was presented with, he looked back at Yen Sid, ready to take the offer.

"We won't let you down," Alex spoke.

"Good," Yen Sid finished. "Now head over to the Mad Doctor. Follow the light path the bauble had just created. And hurry." The door magically opened on its own, and the bauble suddenly created a path of faint blue light. Alex and Oswald ran out, and Gremlin Gus was just about to join them before Yen Sid called his name.

"Wait, Gus," Yen Sid spoke. The mustached gremlin turned around to hear what the wizard had to say. Yen Sid got up from his chair, walking towards a rather large chest. The wizard opened the chest, with a cloud of dust emerging out.

"Alex is a young warrior like Sora, but he's also reckless," Yen Sid continued. "I hear from you time and time again how this affects him, and you are right." The wizard pulled out a dusty book, walking towards the couch before setting the hard cover down and turned the pages.

"His behavior will be affected, and he'll eventually start to act to get his way," the wizard spoke. "The fact that he only knows about Wasteland worries me, because it could also be the gateway between multiple realities. And I only know of one such entity that could give what Alex wants." Yen Sid stopped at one of the pages, landing on an ancient text surrounding a circle containing a certain triangular entity.

"Wait..." Gus spoke with surprise. "You don't mean to tell me that...?"

"Bill Cipher has proven to be a dangerous foe as of late," Yen Sid responded, walking back to the open chest. "Before he lost his physical form at the human realm of his dimension, he was able to manipulate reality as he saw fit. Should the Heartless Creator reach out to him, Bill would be a dangerous opponent indeed. Chances are... they might have already gotten to him. However, there is a way you can protect the one you care about the most." Yen Sid pulled out another Keyblade, which was covered in a cloak.

"This weapon may be dull, but it's enough to protect Alex for what's to come," Yen Sid responded. "Give it to him once the tablet activates. He'll soon learn about his past." Gus was handed the weapon, and he quickly ran out with it over to the door before tripping.

"Sorry," Gus spoke as he got up. "I'm okay." The gremlin ran out with the covered Keyblade, leaving Yen Sid alone in the room. He looked at the open book, terrified by the simple yet dangerous shape of the one-eyed demon on the pages.

"Voluga has already gotten to you, hasn't he?" the wizard asked. "I never thought this day would come..."

Alex and Oswald arrived at where the bauble led them to: the current location of the Mad Doctor.

"Ah!" the Mad Doctor spoke, having just drilled a hole into the ground so he could fish the relic out with a mechanical crane. "Thank you for keeping me company! I was just about to pull out the tablet!" The claws of the crane dug underneath the dirtied relic, pulling it out from the ground.

"Well," Alex responded, "Yen Sid told us to meet you here, and he said it's an... emergency?"

"ACH! It's gonna be one once I'm too late to recognize its full potential!" the Mad Doctor responded, setting the tablet on the ground where Alex and Oswald were standing. The tablet was completely made out of stone, and there was some sort of ancient text written on it. Alex instantly crouched down to read the inscription, almost as if he recognized it.

"It's the language of the Wasteland," Alex spoke, wiping as much dirt as he could off the tablet. "I know it when I see it." The young Keyblade Wielder held the tablet high so he could clearly read it in the sun. However, just before he said another word, the tablet started glowing with a mysterious aqua-green aura.

"I... forgot to mention," the Mad Doctor spoke, adjusting his hair in the rising wind. "The tablet seems to activate under the blood of a being born in Wasteland. Didn't Yen Sid tell you?"

"I guess not," Oswald responded, watching the clouds in the sky suddenly cover up the sun and darken. The winds got stronger, and the island began to shake. The civilians down at the town stopped their activities to feel the trembling earth underneath them. The water from the fountains began to turn into an inky-black color, and anyone that was too late to back away from a refreshing drink was quickly transformed into a Heartless, causing some of the civilians to panic.

The ocean surrounding the island turned completely black, devouring the hearts of any fish and sailors swimming in it and transforming them into sea creatures. Another island of complete black rose out from the ocean, by which the rumbling stopping from its appearance.

"That's... not good, is it?" Alex asked seconds before Gus ran up to him with tired breaths.

"I knew this troublemaking would get to you, but you didn't listen!" Gus panted, resting the Keyblade on the ground. "I was trying to be nice, but nooooo!"

"Gus, I'm sorry," Alex spoke with guilt as he attached the tablet to the belt on his waist. "I didn't know what was gonna happen. Honest!"

"It's too late for apologies!" Gus spoke, uncovering the weapon. "Right now, you better head to that island and get some answers. Yen Sid told me to give you this as well!" Alex looked down to see the Rusted Keyblade, and he quickly picked it up to feel how it fitted his grip like a glove.

"You three... better head over there!" the Mad Doctor spoke, taking cover in his crane. "It's time you get to learn the truth from those we can't face!"

"Let's go," Alex spoke, heading over to the town with Oswald and Gremlin Gus. Once the three made it to town, there were plenty of Heartless just ready to attack them. Alex dashed over to them, his Rusted Keyblade coated with magic as they slashed through the first few Heartless.

Alex began casting magical spells from his fingertips, taking down a few more as Oswald and Gus began to lock up the civilians in their houses for safety. With a powerful shockwave from the Rusted Keyblade, Alex led Gus and Oswald to the ports to where they could see the inky-black sea rage in small waves.

The trio took one of the boats and untied it from the port, to which Oswald raised the sails and Gus pulled up the anchor. Alex steered the boat towards the island right before he slashed his Keyblade at a few Heartless who jumped towards them. Just when they thought they were safe, Alex sat down on the wooden raft as Gus helped steer the boat.

"Is... this what Yen Sid was mentioning?" Alex asked as he slashed at a few Heartless trying to climb onto the boat with his Rusted Keyblade. "Is this that he was talking about when he hinted one day we'll discover the truth?"

"Probably," Gus answered, keeping the boat steady. "I can't stay made at you forever."

"Wait..." Oswald objected, almost as if he was forgetting something. "Ortensia... WE FORGOT ABOUT HER! SHE'S TRAPPED IN THE CASTLE!"

"Don't worry," Alex spoke, trying to calm the rabbit down by stroking his long ears. "I'm sure Yen Sid is strong enough to protect the town - and your cat girlfriend - while we're gone. All we have to do is hope we win..." The young Keyblade Wielder watched the black island get larger the closer they got to it, ready to take on the challenge that was set for them.