This chapter might sound a little confusing for some people, but bear with me, it will make sense in due time. In the meantime, let me know that you think! Tell me what I should do better with, things you liked, etc. Happy reading!
Rain poured down hard in the cold, deserted world. Buildings towered high, although none were accompanied by people. Shadows darted in and out from the sides of old structures, though no life dwindled on the street. Walking down the lane, I look up and examine a castle in the distance. The moon above was the only light, and the only light I needed. Then I paused. Buzzing sounds of inhuman chatter arose all around me and globs of darkness stalked me. I reached out and revealed my weapon- the Keyblade. In a fit of excitement, they all lunged at me. All at once.
"Wake up!"
The command awoke me from my sleep. I stared at the sky as the night vanished from the world and the sun lit the sky. The sight of a shooting star made me sit up and release a breath I didn't know I held. I found myself lying on the grass outside the castle. No one was here, I was alone. I tried to remember my dream to no avail. Laying down once more on the fresh morning grass, I closed my eyes and tried to will myself to sleep again. Opening my eyes for a second after hearing slight movement behind me, I was surprised to see a girl looking down at me.
"Whoa!" I jumped from my seat and stood to face the intruder. She giggled. "Aqua? What are you doing here?"
She finished laughing and replied with a smile, "You slept in, silly. Master wanted you to be there when we took our Mark of Mastery exam today. You are a Master after all."
"Oh yeah..." I remembered Eraqus telling me that I had to watch and decide who had the Mark with him and another Master. "I almost forgot. To tell the truth though, I fell asleep thinking about it. And I had the strangest dream-"
"Aqua, where did you go?" a voice called from outside. "Did you get him yet?"
"Out here, Terra!" Aqua called out. A boy came out, brown hair spiked back with red armor crawling down his arm.
"There you are, Havoc. We've been looking for you all morning...who knew you'd be this hard to find on a small world like this?"
"Sorry guys..." I apologized sincerely. "I'll be there shortly. I just have to get dressed."
"Don't be late," Terra smirked, walking up to me. "I'll need you to be there to officially announce how awesome I am."
"What about me?" Aqua chimed in.
"Both of you could make it, or none of you. We'll see. I'm not holding back either, even if you guys are my friends."
"Will I get a pass?" a boy arrived behind me, smiling innocently.
"Hmm... maybe. But only if you do some errands for me-"
"NOT FAIR!" Aqua and Terra interrupted me. I smiled at them.
"Just kidding! Sorry Ven, you're gonna have to try even harder than these guys, because my standard for you is way higher than what I have for them."
"What's that supposed to mean? You don't think we can do it?" Terra challenged me, trying to hide his own smile.
"I'm just saying that he'd gonna have to show himself a little more than you guys, is all. The only way to do that is to be better in almost every way possible- therefore, higher standards are required." I said, patting Ven on the back.
"Alright guys, it's gonna start any time now." Aqua split us up. "You guys can continue this later,"
"Right. Good luck guys, honestly. I hope you both have the Mark." I said as they all went inside. I put on my normal clothes, with part of my armor showing across my shoulders and around my neck. A cape came down from the armor and drifted along the ground as I ran to the main building. As I hurried inside, a portal tore through the air and hovered on the front steps of the castle. An old man came through, followed by a boy with dark armor on, also covering his face with a helmet. They were talking about something and didn't notice me until the boy pointed at me, leaning against the stairway.
Feeling like I was in the way, I made my way up the steps and found Eraqus in his chair, facing Terra and Aqua and Ven.
"Our guest is here," I announced to him. He nodded and urged Ventus to stand and watch by the wall. The old man made his way up the stairs, but the boy was gone. I didn't question him, but I felt his glare on my back as I took my seat. He sat on the other side of Eraqus as Terra and Aqua stood with attention towards us. I gave them a thumbs up before Eraqus started to make his speech. I couldn't help but shift my attention to the other Master, whom Eraqus described as Xehanort, who looked on with gold, anticipating eyes.
I suddenly felt sick to my stomach. My head rang and hurt like someone hit me hard. I tried to hide it, but Aqua pointed me out and Eraqus paused to speak with me. Pulling me aside and joined by Ventus (who also saw me), he asked me if I was okay.
"I don't know. I was fine until... I just don't know,"
"We can postpone it a while until this blows over," he said.
"No, I'll be fine. They've been waiting a lifetime to make it here. I won't make them wait anymore than they have to because of me. I'll get through it."
"Don't push yourself." Ven exclaimed.
I ruffled his hair. "I won't- I'll be just fine." I just hoped my smile didn't look as fake as it was. My body hurt. I couldn't focus for too long before I was hit with a headache. But I wasn't gonna make my friends wait, even if they wanted me to wait for them.
Going back, I noticed Xehanort's head- on stare. His eyes pierced my soul and made me feel even more sick. I was sure he knew what was going on, but I didn't dare say anything during my friend's exam.
A little bit later, Aqua and Terra were going at each other in a duel. Out of no where, floating black figures started attacking them, and interrupted everything.
"I'm on it!" Ven yelled before pulling out his Keyblade. I stood and went to the side and did the same before Eraqus could say anything. As I fought, Xehanort looked on, a corrupted smile on his face that really, really pissed me off.
When it was all over, I watched the rest of the duel before me and the other Masters concluded on our answer. I felt a little sad, but I said that I'd be honest. I did try to convince the elders to agree on both of them, but Eraqus really deemed only one of them fitted to the part of Master.
"There's only one," I spoke for all of the Masters this time. My face must have let them know that I was serious, and sad with the decision. "Aqua, you have proven yourself to have the Mark of Mastery. During the little 'problem'," I coughed, "you didn't let your darkness get control over you, nor did you respond using your own darkness. Great job." She gave a small smile.
I turned to Terra. "I'm sorry, Terra, but you didn't exactly meet all of the requirements. You let your darkness out, and although you soon got it under control, that fact is, it shouldn't have come out in the first place." I wanted to leave- the last thing I wanted to do was tell me best friend that he couldn't accomplish his dream yet. "You may leave the room for now, Terra."
After that, everything spun out of control. We learned about the Keyblade war and the 13 darkness against the 7 light. Terra ran away, and did very bad things under Xehanort's order to try and become a Master by Xehanort's standards. Ventus and I went off after him, despite Eraqus' and Aqua's orders. We did our best to rewrite the wrongs Terra did, and in the end things were a little better off. We found ourselves in an empty world surrounded by unwielded Keyblades. Secrets were revealed and a mighty fight took place there. Terra went against the deceitful Master Xehanort, while the rest of us battled Vanitas, Ventus' dark other half, and another masked villain. During the fight, the X-Blade was forged from Ventus fusing with Vanitas. We were a little outnumbered in power, but we still fought on, our hearts withstanding the pull of the darkness.
One last thing happened before that battle ended. That masked villain briefly fused with me, and it revealed troubling amounts of memories to be flooded into my mind. Something gave way within my mind, and I no longer had control.
I don't know if it was darkness, but I never want to use that forbidden power ever again. I lost my friends because I lost control, but never again will that happen to me.