Chapter I: Interlude in Darkness
The Dark Meriden
An old man sat on a dark beach. Destiny had led him here, his whole life a preparation for this one event. Though many would deny it, a war was brewing. An undercurrent ran through all the worlds, a feeling never obvious, never violent, but always there, brooding and building to a breaking point.
This moment, the man knew, was the catalyst, the breaking point of the whole of the realms. This one act, the instance, would send all the worlds careening into a war that they would never recover from. If he failed, a clash of Light and Darkness would rip apart the worlds, and send them spinning down the abyss of chaos. This was why the Kingdom Key chose him. He would not fail.
He looked down at his hands, old and worn. They were weathered from a lifetime of protecting the Light, and he would not stop in his duty because he was old, not after all that. He would stay and fight on to the last.
To his left, across the beach, a bright flash of light shined out for a moment, and from it stepped a tall man in hooded cloak. The old man gave a sigh and, looking once more out at the white moon, stood to face his adversary. The other man gave a derisive snort and shook his head.
"Hear how your anchient bones crackle! You have aged badly, old one!" He sneered. "When I knew I was going to be facing High Master Yochi I was expecting something more, but this? This is pathetic!"
Yochi shrugged, almost apologetic. "I'm sorry if I disappoint. However, if I might make an observation; if you thought you could fight me and win, we would not yet be standing here. So, if you wish it." Yochi stood and shrugged off his cloak, "Let us begin." Yochi summoned to his hand the Kingdom Key, shining brilliantly despite the tepid moonlight. The other man brought forth the Strength of Steel and stood ready.
Several seconds passed while the gathered strength for the first blow, and then they leapt at each other with a yell. Their blades met with a resounding clang as they clashed at the center of the beach. For a few moments they strained against one another, trying to gain the upper hand. Under the pressure, Yochi let one hand fall from his hilt and stepped back a couple of paces. The man let out a cry of triumph and moved in for the kill.
Yochi laughed and brought his hand up, placing it firmly on the man's chest. "Fire." Yochi said and his hand erupted in a blaze, shooting a fireball directly at the man's chest. The man was blasted backwards across the beach, dropping his Keyblade as he rolled head over heels. He sprang to his feet, patting out the smoldering robes and cursing. Placing his hand over the wound, the man murmured a few words and was instantly healed.
During the commotion, the man's hood had been swept back, revealing him to be, not the leader of the dark Keyblade wielders like Yochi had expected, but a mere apprentice, and one Yochi knew at that. Before he could say anything, the boy summoned the Strength of Steel back to him and threw it in a wide, spinning arc towards Yochi. Yochi deftly flicked the Kingdom Key through the air and pinned the spinning blade to the ground through the hilt. The boy glared at Yochi from behind his black bangs and held out his hand.
"Return to me." He commanded confidently. When nothing happened he gestured more forcefully and snarled. "I said RETURN TO ME!" Yochi gave a small chuckle and clasped his hands behind his back, like he was lecturing an apprentice.
"You lost your right to wield that Keyblade when you turned to darkness. It will no longer willingly serve you, nor return when you call. Of course, you should know this, having trained at the Academy all your life. "While Yochi was talking, he did not notice the portal of darkness that appeared behind him, nor the second hooded man that stepped out.
"Enough talk." The man said and, moving so swiftly he appeared to teleport, ran Yochi through with a Keyblade of his own. The newcomer dismissed his blade and Yochi fell to the ground. The youth donned his hood and moved to recover his Keyblade. Upon seeing the look on his master's face, he stopped and dropped to one knee.
"This old relic should have presented no problem for you, and here I am, stepping in to save you once again." The master shook his head disappointedly. The youth said nothing, keeping his head bowed and his form penitent. "I had faith in your abilities, but it seems I overestimated you. You must train harder, for the next task to end in failure will also end in myself, searching for a new apprentice. Understood?"
"Yes master." The apprentice looked up, and then grinned. "But it's finished! The Kingdom Key will no longer impede our plans to create the X-Blade!" The master could not help but grin at his apprentice's youthful enthusiasm.
"Yes, our plans will certainly go smoother now that the power of the Kingdom Key is broken. Yochi was old, and had no heirs to receive its power." The apprentice rose up and collected his Keyblade. They both went off to the portal of darkness, laughing all the way. They were unaware that the Kingdom Key was slowly dissolving in a swirl of light, for its time was not ended. It was not fated to lie forever in the unholy place. A Keyblade chooses its master, when times are most dire. And times were indeed dire.