Truthfully, I've wanted to do a Birth by Sleep fanfic for a while now, but had trouble finding a good idea for one. My XC coach was the one who finally brought about the inspiration for this. So, enjoy.
Armor faded into the light as the Keyblade wielder faced his master. Ven, kneeling behind him, was certainly surprised at his friend's sudden appearance. Maybe even Terra himself was surprised. But Eraqus was sure that no one was more surprised than himself.
He looked at the oldest of his apprentices, barking out a question. "You will not heed your master?"
"I won't!"
Terra's reply was instant, surprising Eraqus further. He gritted his teeth. "Why do all my attempts to reach you fail?" he hissed out as he saw the familiar stubborn light glowing in his blue eyes. "If you cannot find it in your heart to obey, then you must share Ventus's fate."
He couldn't stop his mind, in that instant, from finding its way back, into a memory that seemed too far off to truly be his own…
Eraqus had thought that having an apprentice would be exciting, and truly show his role as a Keyblade Master. When he'd met the boy for the first time, he'd immediately seen the potential for greatness, and had quite willingly initiated the Keyblade Inheritance ceremony.
Perhaps he should have waited to really know the boy first.
He looked across the training field at his young new apprentice with a sigh. Terra was training with a wooden Keyblade, not yet sure how to summon a real one of his own. He wanted to become a Keyblade Master; Eraqus could see that as plain as the nose on his face. But he'd quickly found that the boy was true to his name. In many ways, he was as immoveable as the earth. In some situations, that was good. However…
"Master Eraqus!"
…in others, it just made things all the more difficult.
The Keyblade Master bent down to look at the apprentice that came running towards him. "Yes, Terra?"
"What are we going to do today?"
He looked at the boy's earnest blue eyes, and wondered at the reaction he'd get from what he was about to say. "Only chores today, Terra."
He wasn't surprised when he didn't get a verbal complaint. He saw the boy's eyes grow darker with disappointment, but all he said was, "Ok," and walked slowly off.
Eraqus sighed, looking after him. He'd been training with him for a few months now, and knew very well how the chores would be done. He closed his eyes, rubbing his temples. He just wasn't sure how he could motivate him. He'd tried explaining that doing what he was told would only make him a better Keyblade wielder in the end. He'd reminded him over and over that without proper training he'd never be able to summon his own Keyblade. He'd even tried some forms of bribery. All attempts failed.
When he wanted to be, Terra was a hard worker; he'd give him that much. The problem lay in that Terra wanted to do things his own way. "Perhaps a little friendly competition would help?" he wondered. With the new idea still bouncing around in his head, he walked slowly after his apprentice.
"Terra, this is Aqua. She's going to be training alongside you."
The boy looked at the new comer curiously. "Who's apprentice is she?"
"Mine."
He was surprised at the flicker of hurt he saw in Terra's eyes. "But…I thought…"
"You are both my apprentices," he said, quickly amending his mistake. The wide blue eyes glittered with sudden understanding, and he nodded. "Could you, perhaps, show her around?"
Terra gave a quiet sigh, one he almost missed. "Ok."
As Terra led his new companion away, Eraqus called after him, "Once you get back, I'll take you both out for some training."
He noticed the older apprentice brighten immediately. "Ok!"
Eraqus sighed as he watched his two apprentices walk off. He spent the time they walked around the Land of Departure preparing the training arena and thinking about what the two kids were doing, hoping that they were getting along.
He looked over as the two came into the training area. He nodded to them. "Did you show her everything?" he quizzed Terra.
"Yeah," the boy replied, almost sounding offended at the thought that he wouldn't have.
"He was a little quite sometimes," Aqua informed him. "But he made sure I knew where everything was."
He nodded his acknowledgement. "Good. Now, let's begin." He immediately summoned spheres of light that floated lethargically around the training arena. "Now, take your practice weapons," he said as the two picked up their wooden swords, "and try striking those spheres. Aqua, for you, this isn't so much a test of your skill, but a test to try and understand your fighting style." Aqua nodded, though he noticed Terra was looking slightly disappointed at the form of training he'd chosen for them. "Ready? Begin!"
The two kids launched themselves forward. Terra struck at the first one he met with his wooden sword, the strikes not overly fast but concealing a power that would only grow as he did. After a few moments of watching his oldest apprentice, he turned his gaze to Aqua. The girl, unlike her companion, had swifter strikes, though, at this point in training, poorly executed. He could easily see, though, the grace with which she moved, and knew that, if her skills were honed properly, she would be a tricky opponent to face.
His head whipped around in surprise as he heard a cry from Terra. His eyes narrowed in confusion as he saw the boy sitting on the ground and, for a moment, wondered what he was doing. Then, as Terra righted himself and lifted his head, the blue eyes of the boy grew wide. "Aqua, look out!"
And that's when Eraqus saw it. One of his spheres of light, ringed by darkness, coming menacingly close to his newest apprentice. He prepared to summon his Keyblade and knock it back, knowing his apprentices weren't yet ready for a true combat situation.
However, Terra got to it first. The boy had dropped his wooden weapon to allow for more speed and was running as fast as he could towards the girl who didn't appear entirely sure what to do. He stepped in front of her to block the blow…
…and suddenly, there was Keyblade in his hands. He was able to deflect the sphere with his weapon, though he wasn't able to keep it upheld for very long. Eraqus was hardly surprised. The weapon looked nearly as big as he was, no doubt making it to heavy for the young boy to keep upheld. But the master didn't care; his apprentice had finally summoned his Keyblade.
He quickly summoned his own, jumping forward to cut through the dark-lined sphere and dismissing the rest. He turned to look back at his apprentices. "Good job, you two," he praised. The two looked up at him, and he saw Terra's eyes brimming with barely contained excitement. "That's enough training for now." The two nodded, and began to walk away, Terra's newly obtained Keyblade returning to where it had once been.
"Terra," he called as an afterthought. His apprentice stopped and turned to look at him curiously. He walked forward and bent down, putting one hand on his shoulder. "You want to become a Keyblade Master?"
"Yes," the boy said, his eyes glittering with the sincerity of his words.
"Why?"
It was the first time he'd ever asked him those words, but it didn't take long for Terra to answer. "Because…I want to protect…"
Eraqus smiled slightly in understanding. "Then you must listen to me sometimes. And one day, I promise you, you'll have the power to protect your friends."
Terra gave a slow nod. "Ok."
He remembered watching him grow and train through all those years, alongside Aqua, and later, Ventus. He'd watched him mature from the stubborn child he'd first met to a disciplined young man. As he'd watched, he'd thought maybe the drive to protect his friends had been outweighed by the fear of losing.
But he should have never doubted his first thoughts. Terra had been afraid, but not of losing; of being unable to protect his friends. Deep down, he was still the same boy he'd met all those years ago. Seeing the fire in his eyes, he knew he'd fight to protect his friends, no matter the cost to him.
A single tear slipped out of Eraqus's eye. His apprentice had finally found his drive.
And now he'd have to destroy him for it.