~*Impossible As It Seems*~

Sometimes the unbelievable can come true.

~***~

Prologue: The Black Apprentice

WARNING: Spoilers for Vanitas's face, unmasked. You have been warned.

The Land of Departure housed a good deal of the few Keybearers left in the universe. In its elegant gardens, raised mountains, and regal white castle suspended slightly in the air by long golden chains, a Master and his three apprentices made their home.

Well, soon it would be four apprentices. Then Eraqus would have his hands full trying to teach the only Keyblade Wielders left besides himself and a small handful of other Masters.

There used to be a lot more of the Chosen, those that were lucky enough to receive the Keyblade. Unfortunately, a fight over Kingdom Hearts—the heart of all worlds and therefore almost unlimited power would be granted to whomever could harness the energy—resulted in a violent war that left behind legions of Keyblades…without their masters. It resulted in utter decimation for both sides.

All Aqua knew, lounging in one of the castle gardens on her back and watching the clouds pass by since Eraqus was too busy to teach them today, was that the new disciple and their soon-to-be colleague had been the apprentice of Master Xehanort, an old acquaintance of Eraqus's. The two had been taught by the same master, and had been students together. Xehanort had perished in the Keyblade War, and his student had been thought dead also.

However, a recent, very thorough search through all of the bodies and debris—Eraqus had purposely kept his trainees away from the war and therefore they had been in no danger—had uncovered the unconscious but very much alive Vanitas.

The volunteers from various worlds that had begun burying the dead took the darkly clad apprentice to Master Eraqus, and out of both pity for the boy and respect to Xehanort's memory, he had decided to finish his training.

They had yet to meet him. This was all Aqua, Terra, and Ventus knew. The boy had been recovering in one of the spare rooms of the Castle, and no one was allowed to see him. Now, he was well enough to meet them, and Eraqus had instructed his pupils to wait outside.

Terra, tall, broad shouldered, brown haired, sun-bronzed skin, folded his arms behind his head and lounged nearby the lone female apprentice, peeking at her when he thought she wasn't watching. Strong, occasionally short tempered, normally feigning a constant façade of seriousness. That was him.

Ventus, or Ven as he liked to be called, was the youngest. Spiky swept up blonde hair, bright blue eyes, fair skinned; he usually was either talking excitedly or withdrawing in on himself in a strange, melancholy mood. Thoughtful.

Aqua was, as she sometimes joked, the responsible one. Short blue hair, glassy azure eyes, a thin but athletic build like Ven's, frequently in a meditative mood. She was both serious and playful, depending on the situation. Unlike Terra and Ven, her strength laid in magic more than anything else.

"So," Terra spoke at last, shattering the fragile silence. He pushed himself up onto his hands, supporting his weight. The grass left green stains on his tan and dark blue outfit. "What's the first impression you guys have of this 'Vanitas'? You know about Xehanort, right?"

Aqua knew. She assumed a thoughtful position, chin in hand, drumming her fingers against her cheek. "Master Xehanort used Darkness, didn't he?"

"They say it was his downfall," Ven waved his fingers ominously before grinning.

"But does his apprentice use it too?" Aqua asked carefully. "You guys know Master Eraqus is a devout believer of the Light, right?"

"His opinion must have clashed with Xehanort's," Terra pointed out. "But maybe he's hoping to straighten this guy out."

"Is Darkness all bad?" Ven inquired curiously.

"I'd say." Aqua shrugged. "But I don't know."

The warm sun and cool breeze was making the girl feel sluggish. She wanted to get up and do something, anything, to relieve the boredom.

Luckily, she didn't have to.

"All three of you. Come here," Eraqus commanded, though not unkindly. The apprentices turned to see their Master standing a short distance away, back on the path that curved to the Castle. He had his hand on a boy's shoulder that was about Ven's age.

Aqua got up and moved closer to investigate, Terra behind her, and Ven ahead. The blonde drew to a stop and stared curiously at Vanitas. The girl did the same, and her skin crawled.

He had a muscular build, like Terra, that showed a strength that belied his small frame. His outfit was made out of black and red crisscrossing bands; the suit covered his entire body and seemed eerily organic, like an outer skin instead of clothing. He had a young, pale face with an uncontrolled shock of wild black hair framing slightly slanted eyes and a thin mouth.

Most astonishing of all, though were the eyes themselves.

Brilliant. Bright. Vividly colored.

A light shade of glowing yellow.

Aqua hung back even when her friends stepped forward. Something was nagging her. She had an acute sensitivity to magic since it was the object she had chosen at her Awakening, and she could feel the cold tendrils trailing through the air. Darkness.

If Eraqus noticed her hesitation, he did not address it. "Terra, Aqua, Ventus. This is Vanitas. Vanitas, these are my current apprentices and your new allies. I trust you will all get along well."

Ven didn't show a trace of wariness as he stepped forward and offered the boy his hand. "Hey there," he greeted cheerfully. "My name's Ven. Pleasure to meet ya, Vanitas! Can I call you Van?"

The handshake was returned, his black fingers coiling around the blonde's like a vice. "I'd rather you didn't," he spoke for the first time.

Aqua's first reaction to his voice was something like fear. It was a male's all right, sure, with the right masculine edges and qualities you would expect. What she hadn't anticipated was the odd timbre that infused his tone, almost like an accent, but different. It sounded sinister, or just one step away from it. Distorted, even.

Ven frowned briefly when his hand was released, flexing the digits. "Quite a grip you've got there," he muttered, rubbing at his fingers.

Terra exchanged a short glance with Aqua before traversing the small distance between himself and the black apprentice. "My name's Terra," he offered politely.

Vanitas completed the handshake, and if his grip was as vicious with Terra as it was with Ven, it didn't faze the brown headed warrior. "Nice to meet you," the dark male said evenly.

Noticing now that Aqua didn't speak to Vanitas, Eraqus cleared his throat in warning.

She shook herself guiltily out of her trance, reluctantly raising her hand but giving the boy an honest smile nonetheless. "I'm Aqua, Vanitas."

He nodded, and when his cold fingers curved around hers, she snatched her hand back in shock. She resisted the urge to moan or scream aloud; instead she bunched her digits into a fist and let out an abrupt gasp.

"What did you do?" Terra snarled suddenly, stepping between Vanitas and Aqua, drawing his Keyblade in the same motion.

Ven put his hands up. "Whoa, calm down, Terra!"

"I did nothing!" Vanitas protested, something in his tone decreed the truth in his words.

Aqua let the pain fade before lifting her palm, looking at the new black lines that scoured her hand. Vanitas's grip was imprinted on her skin, and though the agony of it had gone, she could almost feel its echo, like an ethereal heartbeat.

"Vanitas," Eraqus began slowly. "You did not intend that?"

"No," was the flat reply.

Terra still growled slightly and settled near Aqua, rocking a little on his heels, ready for action.

"We may need to talk. Come." Eraqus turned and led Vanitas away, and the girl raised her eyes in time to meet Vanitas's golden gaze.

She expected a wicked grin or something, but all she got was an apologetic stare that showed the boy thought his first meeting with the three apprentices had gone wrong, wrong, wrong.

~***~

Oh dear God. Don't hurt me. I know this is the crackiest idea ever--if it is, I win bonus points! I live for crack. Apparenty, so does my friend.

This story is dedicated to Dani-Chan-Sprite-Monster -13-. If you haven't noticed already, this is a Partial Alternate Universe. AU Canon you could say. I'm using canon concepts from the Kingdom Hearts universe--the Keyblade, Darkness, Light, etc--with completely made up stuff. i.e., Vanitas as a "good guy". A massive What If that defies Kingdom Hearts laws.

Stupid idea? Then I'm still pleased.

EDIT...this story has been changed from a love triangle to a love rectangle. The world's first VanitasxAquaxTerraxVentus Love Rectangle. Bring it on.

Whomever Aqua ends up with depends on you as the reviewer and Dani. =P So review.

Omni-Disclaimer time. I don't own Kingdom Hearts. If I did, Xion would still be here.