Prologue; Connect
The blonde girl shuffled nervously on her feet, looking around the room. It was large, with three thrones near the front of the room. Otherwise, it was empty. She wished it wasn't. She wished there was anything to keep her distracted from the sinking feeling in her gut.
In her hand, she clutched a small plush that looked like a cat. She had refused to leave it with her other belongings. It was something the Master decided it was alright for her to keep as comfort. She was just a child anyway. A child a long way from home.
The sound of footsteps made the girl jump turning to look for the source. Seeing no one the girl cowered down, turning back to the thrones clutching the plush even tighter. The Master had told her to wait there while he went to gather his other apprentices. She was to be the fourth he had taken in.
"We're not supposed to be here." A girls voice hissed. The blonde snapped her head to find the source. Once again she didn't see anyone. The room was still empty beside herself. "The Master said to wait." The girl's voice hissed again.
"Come on, don't you want to meet her?" A boys voice replied. The blonde slowly crept towards the sound of the voices, eager to see who it was. They sounded like the other apprentices she would be training with.
"That's not the point. The Master said she's a little shaken. We shouldn't bother her until he's here." The girl's voice replied. The blonde came to a stop, standing beside the doorway into the room. She imagined the two arguing were just outside that door.
"Well, he's taking too long. Honestly, where is Ven that it's taking the Master this long to find him?" The boy asked. There was a pause in the conversation. "Hey, don't give me that look." The boy said.
"Ven was in the library. You know that's on the other side of the castle. He's probably on his way back now." The girl said. The blonde heard a huff that she guessed was the boy giving up. She sighed quietly, walking away from the door to the center of the room where she had been standing before.
The blonde was beginning to regret her decision. Though it wasn't entirely her decision. She had been pressured into following the Master. Why she wasn't sure. But she was homesick already. This place was so different. A huge castle for only five people. It seemed lonely. Where she came from there were so many more people. What if she didn't get along with the others already here? There weren't any others here to make friends with. She'd be on her own. A place she'd never been before. The girl found herself holding the plush to her chest tightly.
The sound of the door opening caught the blondes attention. She turned around to see a boy with brown hair entering the room.
"Terra!" The girl's voice called out in exasperation. The boy turned and motioned to the girl still on the other side of the door.
"What?" The boy asked.
"Get back here, right now!" The girl ordered. The blonde watched the brown-haired boy in interest. He glanced at her and smiled apologetically.
"Why bother? She's already seen me?" The boy asked. He turned his back to the door and turned towards the blonde. He smiled at her again in a welcoming manner. It calmed some of the nerves the blonde had since arriving at the new world. Her grip on the plush lessened. "You're the new apprentice, right?" The boy asked. The blonde nodded.
"Yeah, you're one of the older ones?" She asked though it was obvious. The boy smiled and nodded.
"Yeah, I'm Terra." The boy introduced himself. "Aqua's the girl standing outside the door, she's being a stickler for the rules." He continued pointing towards the door. A girl with blue hair was peeking in the door. She looked nervous.
"You know, the last time we talked to a new apprentice without permission they fell into a coma for a month." The blue haired girl said in annoyance. Terra rolled his eyes, ignoring her worry. The blonde haired girl, however, stepped back in concern.
"Ven was hurt, that's all it was. She looks fine." He said. Looking at the blonde he noticed her concern. He laughed a little. "Don't worry, you'll be fine." Before he could continue Aqua's voice cut him off.
"Master Eraqus!" Aqua said in surprise. "I tried to stop him, really." She said. The black haired master entered the room with Aqua and a blonde boy following him. He looked at Terra with a frown.
"Terra, I told you to wait outside the room." Master Eraqus said, disappointment clear in his voice. Terra looked down at his feet. He opened his mouth to speak, but the blonde spoke before he could.
"It's ok, I was getting lonely anyway." The blonde said stepping forward. The Master looked at her with interest. Terra looked at her with a smile, surprised that she stood up for him.
"Very well, however, I expect more obedience in the future." Master Eraqus decided. He gave the blonde a warm smile that settled her nerves. Maybe this place wasn't so bad. "Now, all of you." Master Eraqua said turning to the other three apprentices. "This is Y, she'll be training with us, as you're all aware of by this point. Please introduce yourselves."
Terra only waved, which made Y laugh. Master Eraqus didn't remark, but Y assumed that meant he knew Terra had already introduced himself. Aqua elbowed him playfully.
"I'm Aqua, though Terra already told you that." She said with a smile. Y smiled in return. The blonde boy of the group was looking at Y in interest.
"Why is your name Y?" The blonde asked. Terra covered his mouth while trying not to laugh. Aqua looked at the blonde in shock. Master Eraqus looked down at him and sighed in exasperation.
"Ven!' Aqua yelled. Y on the other hand laughed. The others looked at her in surprise.
"You have no idea how many times I asked that." Y said through her laughter. "I never got a good answer either." She continued. The blonde nodded.
"Oh, ok." He said. "I'm Ventus, but you can call me Ven." He greeted, smiling as he put his hands behind his head. Y smiled in return, surprised how much she was liking this group.
"It's nice to meet you all." She said. Maybe things really wouldn't be as lonely as she thought.
The blonde boy stumbled on to the ground. He fell to his knees, not at all surprised it had come to this. He wasn't even sure why he was running at this point. He had known this would happen for years now. It was only a matter of time. But still, every instinct inside of him told him to run. Maybe he could escape it. Maybe he didn't have to die.
The boy stood up and began running again. He ran through the woods he had always hidden in since his childhood. It was his home turf. If he was going to survive, this would be the place.
But luck wasn't on his side.
The blonde tripped again. This time he felt his ankle twist and heard a loud crack. He didn't have to try standing to know it had broken. He pushed himself into a sitting position muttering under his breath.
"Of course, not like I'm running for my life or anything." He growled. He dragged himself to a tree and sat back against it. He sighed looking up at the dark night sky. It seemed appropriate. He wondered, in the back of his mind, if she was looking at the sky at this moment. It would be nice to know she was thinking of him in his last moments.
"I found him!" A voice yelled. The blonde boy looked towards the voice. It belonged to an old friend who had turned on him so easily. A boy with black hair.
"Of course it's you." The blonde said sarcastically. "You think it could've been your sister? If I'm going to die I'd rather she did it. At least she doesn't think I'm a monster." He leaned his head back and closed his eyes.
"Be quiet. Stop complaining. You know this has to be done." The boy said. In his hand, he held a weapon shaped like a key. "Now tell me, where's your sister?" He asked.
"Gone, I don't know any more than you do." The blonde boy replied. He didn't move, he was waiting for the last blow. But to his surprise, there wasn't one. The kid was probably waiting for back up. He didn't think he could take the blonde out on his own.
"What the hell?" The black haired boy cried out suddenly. "Where did this beast come from?" Hearing that question the blonde opened a single eye. There was a black creature that looked almost humanoid, with long antenna and bright yellow eyes. The black-haired boy was gone. Probably ran away.
The blonde boy blinked at the creature.
"Well, I suppose there are worse ways to die." He decided. He closed his eyes yet again leaning his head back. He tried not to think about how much it would hurt. Instead, he focused on the pain he was currently in. It was weird, he thought. How he was focusing on current pain to keep his mind off the pain dying may or may not bring.
The black creature slowly approached the injured blonde. It watched him, with its yellow eyes focused on his heart. It stopped directly in front of the blonde. It paused for a minute as if to confirm something. After its short pause, the creature raised its hand and plunged its hand into the blonde's chest.
The blonde boy gasped in surprise, his eyes shooting open. It didn't hurt, surprisingly. But it was cold. Very cold. The cold crept from the creatures hand through the rest of his body. It felt like ice was flooding through his veins. He looked down as the creature removed its hand from his chest. In its hand was an orb of pure darkness that blended into the surrounding area.
The boy felt his eyes fall shut as if falling asleep. This was ok. It could be worse. At least it didn't hurt. His last thought was a rather sudden one.
I hope she's ok.
The blonde boy was very surprised when he opened his eyes. He didn't think his eyes would ever open again. But he had trouble placing why. Had something happened to him?
He pushed himself up. He was in an unfamiliar area. A wasteland of some kind. It didn't really make any sense. But at this point, the boy wasn't inclined to question what was going on. He looked down at himself. He was surprised to see a mark on the back of his left hand. A black heart, outlined in purple with a purple x through it.
"So you're finally up." A boys voice said. The blonde looked up to see a boy with raven hair looking at him from on top of a pile of rocks. The blonde frowned at the other boy.
"Where am I? What happened?" The blonde asked. The last thing he could remember was running. He couldn't really remember where he was running to, or exactly why he was running. But he had been running. The ravenette only rolled his eyes.
"Ask somebody else." He said. The blonde narrowed his eyes.
"Like who?" He asked.
"Ah, it seems our surprise visitor has awoken." A new voice said. The blonde turned to face the new voice. He was surprised to see an old man. He glared at him.
"What the hell is going on?" The blonde demanded. The old man chuckled at him.
"Calm down. We don't mean any harm." The old man said. The blonde grit his teeth. He clenched his fist, anger welling up inside him.
"That's not what I asked." He growled. "I asked what the hell was going on." Around him, he was surprised to see vortexes of darkness opening. From those vortexes, various creatures of black shadows appeared. He stepped back in fear and surprise, falling backward. The boy above him laughed. The creatures continued to appear, coming out of nowhere to mass around the blonde.
The blonde struggled to stand again, pushing away the creatures. He was afraid. He didn't understand what was happening.
"Get the hell away!" He yelled. To his surprise all of the creatures obeyed. Vanishing just the way they had come. The blonde panted heavily, still in shock.
"They responded to your anger. You can't control them yet." The old man said, earning the boys attention. The boy stood up again, brushing off the dirt.
"Yet?" He asked.
"I can teach you. If you will allow me. Of course, I require your assistance in return." The old man explained. The blonde frowned and considered it. But it didn't take him long to come to a conclusion.
"I'm in." He said, focusing on the old man. What could this old man need him for? Whatever it was, it couldn't be that bad. Maybe he could figure out the truth in the process, and fill the short gap in his memory.
It couldn't go too badly.