MEKA, which stands for Master Eraqus' Keyblade Academy, is located on the small and isolated world known as The Land of Departure. It is a school for a select few; keyblade wielders who are training to become masters. At the time our story begins, there is one wise master by the name of Master Eraqus teaching there and his two students, Terra and Aqua, are the only wielders currently enrolled at this great school. Master Eraqus has devoted his entire life to preparing the next generation of keyblade masters as his master had done before him, and his master's master before that. However, it seems each new generation shrinks as those worthy to hold the keyblade diminish in numbers. Sadly, keyblade wielders are so sparse the worlds have been forced to look after themselves and have begun to fear all outside influence. The power of the keyblade remains as strong as ever, but the darkness seems to have tarnished its pure light.
This is the story of the next generation. Those who will shape the future of the worlds band together at MEKA and, under the tutelage of Master Eraqus, they will become heroes of light who will reunite the worlds and bring peace to all walks of life. Or so would be the case if things had gone according to plan. But there is evil in this story. A darkness so powerful that the shadows themselves have come alive to join it. This story is the fight for light; a fight that must be won, whatever the cost may be. Will MEKA prepare its students to come out on top of the war for the worlds, or will they be woefully inadequate against the storm that is coming?
The stage is set.
The future is unclear.
And our heroes are scattered, unaware of their purpose in the coming war.
But there is no turning back. It has already begun.
Chapter 1 Perfection
"Come on you two, pick up the pace! Let's go! Move those feet! Terra I said move! You are not cemented to that spot! Aqua! I saw that! Hold your keyblade higher! Letting your keyblade drop like that leaves you wide open!" Master Eraqus barks out his commands while his two students spar in front of him. He is exaggerating. Terra has been on the balls of his feet the entire fight and Aqua had only lowered her keyblade half an inch. But what good of a teacher would he be if he let the little things slide? Perfection is his only standard, anything short of that is not allowed. These children-
He stops himself. He could no longer consider them children and he knows they would be offended if he were to say that they were out loud.
These young adults know his expectations and strive to achieve them. Sometimes he wonders if he is too critical and too selective in his praise, but as he watches, Terra moves around Aqua with new agility forcing her to spin around to meet him. However, Aqua, now focusing on keeping her guard up at all times, easily blocks Terra's keyblade and they continue their equally matched fight.
Master Eraqus smiles, proud. He has been Aqua and Terra's teacher since they were both five. He had been the one to bestow on them the keyblade which they had both proved themselves worthy of in the years they had spent with him at MEKA. To Master Eraqus, it is amazing and slightly sad to remember the young naive children Aqua and Terra had been and see how far they have come.
They are both excellent students. Aqua is the more focused and disciplined one, but Terra is physically stronger and a natural leader. Together they are unstoppable and Master Eraqus knows that he has succeeded as their master. He may be critical, but Aqua and Terra know how to take it in stride. He lets them fight for another five minutes, pointing out the smallest flaws in their technique, then he puts his fingers to his lips and lets out a piercing whistle.
Both immediately freeze mid fight, locked face to face with their keyblades pressing against each other, then relax. Panting, they let their keyblade drop to their sides and take a step forward towards one another. Terra holds out his hand and Aqua shakes it with a nod. Master Eraqus has always insisted they shake after every fight no matter the outcome because they are not fighting to win and he never wants them to forget to give their opponent the respect he or she deserves.
"Good job," Terra says between as he regains his breath. He lets his bulky keyblade vanish.
"You too," Aqua says wiping the sweat off her forehead with the back of her hand after letting her more slender keyblade disappear as well. They walk over to Master Eraqus slowly recovering from the long fighting session. He hands them each a bottle of water with a kind smile which they accept gratefully.
While they each gulp down the water he says, "You both fought well today. I think you will both agree that the match ended in a tie." They nod in agreement. "As always there is room for improvement, but very little." Terra coughs, choking on his water. "Are you alright Terra?" Master Eraqus asks.
After another cough Terra says, "I'm fine Master Eraqus. Just surprised. You always say we can still improve a great deal."
Master Eraqus nods solemnly, "And you have improved a great deal. I believe you are both almost ready for your Mark of Mastery exams."
Aqua and Terra look at each other in excited disbelief. Their goal has always been to pass the Mark and become full keyblade masters, but it has always seemed like a dream far off in the future. Now Master Eraqus is telling them they are close and it seems strange to think this life changing moment is almost upon them. "But now," Master Eraqus says, "I think you two should get yourselves cleaned up and prepare dinner. When we dine we can talk more about the future."
Knowing they are dismissed for now, the two turn and leave the sparring room headed for their bedrooms on the opposite side of the castle. The castle is much too big for the three people that live inside and they pass many doors that lead only to empty rooms along the way. They also pass windows which reveal that during the fighting session the sun had set and the stars had come out. They don't say much to each other, but the silence isn't awkward. They have lived nearly their whole lives together and find that sometimes it is amicable to just walk together in silence. When the hallway splits at a T junction, they go their separate ways. Aqua to the right and Terra to the left. Each walks into their own spacious bedroom complete with a bathroom. They both head for the showers to refresh from a tough lesson and consider with excitement what the future held for them
Meanwhile in his study, overlooking the front entrance and the beautiful front gardens, Master Eraqus sits with his back to the darkened windows reading through the stack of letters that have arrived by carrier pigeon that day. As a keyblade master he is responsible for knowing what is happening in all the worlds and he takes that duty very seriously. Even so, some days he finds it hard to concentrate on the minor problems various world leaders whine about in their letters to him. Today is one of those days and with a sigh he flips through the stack hoping to chance upon something important. The curly script one letter is addressed with catches his eye. He knows that writing anywhere. Master Yen Sid only writes when he senses something in the worlds that needs an immediate intervention of keyblade wielders. Curious, Master Eraqus quickly opens the letter and leans back in his chair his brow furrowing in concentration as he deciphers the cursive handwriting.
...
"Is it ready yet Aqua?" Terra asks opening the oven and peeking at the covered dish baking inside.
"I told you ten more minutes, but its going to take longer if you keep opening the oven door and letting the heat out!" Aqua replies exasperated at Terra's insistence on asking the same question every two minutes since the smell of cooking chicken had filled the air of the kitchen. "Now come over here and help me," she says. Terra closes the oven door with one last wistful look and walks over to the table where she is preparing the salad. She presses a ripe tomato still damp from being washed into his hand and with a sigh he grabs a cutting board and a knife then sits down beside her. They work in silence except for the slice of their knives.
Terra's stomach growls loudly. "Is it ready yet?" He asks desperately and Aqua laughs.
She tips her sliced cucumber into the bowl of lettuce and says, "Five more minutes."
Terra sighs again and goes back to his tomato while Aqua busies herself with getting the table set. When he finishes, Terra dumps his tomatoes into the salad and collects the cutting boards and knives taking them to the sink. He is busy scrubbing them clean when the timer on the oven wails loudly. He grins broadly and hurries over wiping his hands on a dish towel. Terra turns the timer off while Aqua carefully pulls the dish out. She places it on the stove top removing the lid. She stares down at it critically for a moment while Terra taps his foot impatiently. "It's done." She finally announces and Terra let's out a whoop of excitement. "Wow you really are in a good mood today," Aqua says to him as she lifts the casserole once more and brings it to the table.
"Of course I am! We are so close. It won't be long until the two of us are Keyblade Masters. Can you just imagine?" His eyes are far off. "Master Terra and Master Aqua. How cool is that!"
She smiles at him, "Very cool."
They sit down at the table just as Master Eraqus walks in. Terra barely glances at his master, he eyes focused on the casserole steaming in front of him.
"Master Eraqus is something wrong?" Hearing Aqua's worried voice Terra looks up seeing Master Eraqus standing next to the table with a strange look on his face.
"I am unsure. I got a letter from Yen Sid today. It was very strange and cryptic even for him." Eraqus sits down and helps himself to the casserole. It is a sign that this will be discussed while they eat. As soon as Master Eraqus has served himself, Terra give himself a generous helping and digs right in. Between bites Eraqus continues, "In his letter, Yen Sid expressed his concern with the world of Carinol. According to him there is a lot of darkness in the world. So much so that he is surprised it still exists and has not yet faded into the darkness. Yen Sid believes that there is some great light power there keeping the world from slipping away. This is where he got very cryptic. He said he had an idea of what was there but didn't offer up his theory. He did however say that the light had suddenly grown dim and was fading." Master Eraqus pauses gauging the reaction of his two students. They both seem a little confused but still concerned for the fading light. He continues, "Yen Sid has asked us to investigate the source of the light."
"So are we leaving tonight?" Aqua asks and Eraqus nods. At once Terra kicks into high gear trying to take in as much food as possible before they have to go.
"But it is not 'we'," Eraqus says. "The two of you will handle this on your own."
Terra swallows with some difficulty and asks, "Why aren't you coming?"
"I believe it is time for you to go on your first unsupervised mission. I have taught you all I know and it is time to see if any of it stuck." He smiles at the two young adults who are looking a little apprehensive. "I have full confidence that you both are ready for this. Finish your dinner and get packed quickly."
Terra quickly wolfs down the rest of his dinner and sprints back upstairs. He searches through his closet and finds a small black backpack. He shoves some spare clothes inside and hurries back to the kitchen. Only Eraqus is there, Aqua is presumably in her room packing her own bag. Eraqus helps Terra pack some food not knowing how long it will take them to find this light.
Aqua returns with a brown backpack slung over one shoulder. "I grabbed a first aid kit. Did you pack the food?"
"Yep. Got enough for at least two days," Terra says zipping his backpack shut and putting it on his back.
Master Eraqus leads the way outside and down the steps of the castle. He stares at the sky for a minute and then points. "That one is Carinol," Terra can't follow his finger exactly to the world Master Eraqus is pointing to but he got the gist of the direction they should head in.
"Alright," Terra says. Both he and Aqua summon their keyblades and toss them into the air. They travel in a large arc and as they return they grow larger and morph into gliders. As the gliders come back to them, Terra and Aqua press the button on the armor sleeve on each of their shoulders and in a flash of light their armor appears.
Terra hops aboard his glider and Aqua does the same on her own. They begin to rise in the air towards the stars in the sky. "Stay safe!" Master Eraqus' voice is distant and Terra looks back seeing how far off the ground they are. They continue to ascend and soon Master Eraqus and his home are left behind as he and Aqua pull away from their world heading off in the direction of Carinol.
First chapter done! I'm SO pumped for this story! I know not a whole lot happened in this chapter but I had to start somewhere.
I'm going to say this once and it goes for this entire story:
I DO NOT OWN KINGDOM HEARTS. I only own my original characters and original worlds as well as all original parts of the story line.
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