Hello. :) In preparation for Kingdom Hearts III, I am officially making a Kingdom Hearts fanfiction story that will go in a different direction in Birth By Sleep. For now, you should expect the mystery behind this OC of mine. As the story goes on, though, he'll be explained more and more. And for future reference, I will make two more stories after this one, but the chapters won't be appearing as much, as it contains elements from Kingdom Hearts III and I don't want to risk spoiling it somehow. In all honesty, though, writing a story in more than one perspective is a bit difficult when it comes to Kingdom Hearts, hence the two extra stories. I hope I do okay on this. If you have any notes, just let me know and I will address any issue you have.

Prologue: Respite of the Broken Heart

At a desert landscape, a raven-haired sapphire-eyed man wearing a black and red coat that had short sleeves over the long sleeves as well, with the red colors lined across the suit and a small black armor shoulder pad on the right side, and red metal gloves and boots walked along the dusty storm towards a sandy palace as he recalled what his master told him before.

"In ancient times, people believed that light was a gift from an unseen land by the name of KingdomHearts. But KingdomHearts was safeguarded by its counterpart, the χ-Blade. Warriors vied for that previous light, thus beginning the Keyblade War. A violent clash shattered the χ-Blade into twenty pieces: seven of light, thirteen of darkness. And the only real KingdomHearts was swallowed by the darkness, never to surface again."

As he walked in with a gentle push on the door, he saw a spacious courtyard occupying a small child with spiky, light brown hair unconscious before he sighed heavily and tensed his fist at what he considered a tragic memory as he heard his words again.

"I hereby dub you... Keyblade Master."

With that, he got his nerve back together and scooped the boy up before summoning a weapon with its teeth resembling demonic wings, the hilt resembling a ram skull colored grey with its horns black with red lines, the guard being somewhat similar to its blade as it continued the black and grey design and the teeth of it, and the keychain is a pair of stained glass butterfly wings colored silver and red with the body of the insect replaced by a Gazing Eye similar to the one found near its teeth. With it, he turned the weapon upon the air before a small light came out and created a portal before he looked to his comatose friend.

"Ven... why did it have to happen like this?"

With that, he pushed his hand on the shoulder pad, encasing him in purple light before his armor revealed itself with the color of silver along the arms and legs while the metal gloves and boots remained. But the head of its wearer is masked by a silver spike helmet with a spike in between his face and two more protruding outward with the spikes pointing forward where his face looked, one spike for each side. And its holes for the eyes to see were narrow and extended down to his chin. After which he walked through the portal with the boy before he found the two of them at a small island at nighttime before he laid the boy on the sandy shore as he sighed, thinking of what could have been.

"I just wish you'd still be alive, Ven. But you're not. This is the best I can do for you now."

Unbeknownst to the man, the boy he called Ven was drifting into the dark before he found himself headed toward a small white pillar with a part of broken off and landed upon it before a voice spoke to him, as if it knew what he was going to ask.

"I'm a brand-new heart."

"But this is— Why are you in my heart?"

"The light brought me. I saw it shining in the distance... and I followed it here."

"Yeah. That was my light. But my heart is fractured. And now... the little I have left is slipping away."

"Then you should join your heart with mine."

"Huh?"

Suddenly, the broken off part of it got restored in a bright light before the voice spoke again.

"Now our hearts have touched. Nothing else will slip away. And one day... you'll be strong enough to win back the part that already did."

"Right. Thanks."

"It's time to wake up now. All we need to do is..."

"Open the door."

With that, the white light faded into petals before his station revealed itself to be a portrait of himself holding a Keyblade before he looked upward.

At the islands, the young man was surprised to see a small arm raise upward before summoning the same key in the portrait an shooting a beam of light at the sky, creating stars that twinkled in the night as the young man smiled and went over to him. Not sure what to make of the situation, the young man spoke softly to Ven.

"Ven... do you know me?"

As Ven looked at him, he slowly spoke his answer.

"T-Ten...?"

"Yeah, that's it, Ven. It's me. I'm Tenebris. Now, do you know who you are?"

As Ven got up slowly, he spoke again in the same manner.

"Ve— Ventus."

This further gave Tenebris cause to smile before he placed his hand on his shoulder.

"Yeah. That's right. C'mon, Ven. Let's go home."

SIX MONTHS LATER

Ventus was now lying in his bed at a desert temple at night as he sighed, having difficulty getting the sleep he lacked before looking at the sky and noticed a shooting star. To him, it meant one thing.

"A meteor shower!"

With that, he ran out of the room and out into the courtyard before a girl with blonde hair and blue eyes in a white and yellow robe, almost the opposite of Tenebris' robe as well as a girl with red-orange hair in a ponytail and the similar outfit as Ventus, except the white part was orange and the black color was bright red noticed him running out before the blonde turned to the redhead as she complained in her sleep.

"Ven... we have to sleep..."

"Wait, Ignis. Wasn't the meteor shower supposed to be tonight?"

This made Ignis sit up straight as she exclaimed, immediately jolted out of her sleepiness before she spoke.

"It is?! Well, why didn't you say so, Lux?! After that boy!"

Outside, Ventus went out in the courtyard, before he finally saw the stars again as they glowed in the night.

"Wow..."

With that, he began laying on the ground with his back as he pondered to himself this feeling as he eased into it.

"Why does this seem so familiar?"

As he gazed at the stars, he got sleepy and began to dream.

In his dream, Ventus saw a silhouetted being and Tenebris standing before him as he ran to his side.

"Huh?! Ten!"

"What is this place?! Answer me!"

Taken aback by his sudden anger as he was, Ventus still replied to him.

"How the heck should I know?! I don't even know where—"

Then, at this point, Ventus looked to see the silhouette speaking.

"Once a seat of power for the bloodline of Lucis. It is the nexus from which the Blood Royal and their people flourished. And it is here that I, and my twelve acolytes of darkness, can be one. United..."

As the voice echoed, Ventus and Tenebris looked up at the sky in awe, seeing a giant castle with a blue crystal at the center of it as he spoke onward.

"... in the Crown City of Lucis, Insomnia."

After hearing the last word echoing, Ventus startled awake from his sleep before sitting up and realizing what it all meant.

"Oh. I guess it was just a dream."

Then, Ventus yawned before he laid back down. Suddenly, Ignis leaned in front of him as he laid down, making him jump in surprise.

"Whoa!"

As Ventus sat up, Ignis laughed a bit at Ventus' sudden shock.

"Gimme a break, Iggy."

"Ven, you lazy dope. Look who made himself comfortable. Have you been dreaming about that Castle again?"

"Well, yeah. But— Did I dream that place up? It really felt like I'd been there before... looking up at the stars..."

Ignis pondered to herself about this as she happily smiled and spoke.

"Well... maybe it's Déjà Vu. Yeah! That's it."

Then, as Ignis sat down on the courtyard ground beside Ventus, he looked to her as she watched the sky.

"Hey, Iggy?"

"Yeah?"

"Y'ever wonder what stars are? Where light comes from?"

Ignis made a light giggle at this before she spoke.

"Really, Ven? You gotta ask that? You know I don't pay attention much. Y'know, except when I fight."

Then, Lux stepped up next as she spoke.

"Maybe I can answer that question."

As Ventus and Ignis turned to her, Lux continued to answer as she sat down.

"They day that every star up there is another world."

Ignis, even though she doesn't pay much attention to history lessons, knew she was on the mark.

"Yeah. I figured it's something like that. Thanks for pointing that out, Lux."

Then, Tenebris spoke up.

"Hey!"

"Uh-Oh..."

Hearing his voice made Ignis cringe a bit. She already got on his bad side just for ignoring written lessons, but to stay up late... it would make him her undertaker. However, Tenebris wasn't going for that role tonight.

"Aren't you guys forgetting about me?"

That statement was not what she expected as she quickly became confused.

"Huh? You mean... we're not in trouble?"

"Well, you'd know if you were paying attention."

"Hey! Not cool, teach."

This made everyone in the courtyard laugh as they looked at the stars for the shower. While they did, Tenebris remembered a certain event coming up the following day.

"Well, better get some rest. Lux, Ignis, you both have exams tomorrow. Ven, you'll just watch."

"What? Really, Ten?"

"Relax, Ven. Your day will come sooner or later."

Then, he turned to Ignis as she spoke.

"Ignis. Isn't there something you need to share?"

This made her shocked as she whined. Apparently, not even what she had in mind was safe from his apparent prying eye.

"What?! Oh, come on! They were supposed to be a surprise!"

With that, she got out four colored stars with the Gazing Eye in the center as she spoke.

"Well... I made these. They're our lucky charms."

As Ignis handed Lux a yellow star, Ventus a green one, and Tenebris a purple one, Ventus looked at it in awe as Lux spoke.

"The workmanship is so... incredible. How long have you been working on them?"

"All day and night."

This made sense to Tenebris as he solved the mystery of why she always seemed drowsy.

"Well, that solves the mystery of why you sleep during class."

This made her frown a bit as she spoke.

"It was worth it. Anyway, you guys know where I got them from? Somewhere out there, there's this tree with star-shaped fruit...and they represent, like, I don't know, a long-lasting friendship, or some other. So... this means as long as we have these, we won't forget who our friends are."

This made Lux question her ethics, despite her craftsmanship as she spoke.

"Uh, aren't they supposed to be made with seashells?"

"Hey! I did the best I could, okay?"

"Wait. So, you're saying... they aren't real good luck charms?"

Seeing Ventus' worried look, Ignis spoke up and tried to make him smile.

"Aw, relax, Ven. It's the thought that counts. Isn't it?"

"Yeah. I guess."

This made Tenebris smile as he shook his head before he spoke.

"Alright, you guys. Now, it's too late outside to spar for now. You both need to be well-rested for your exam. Got it?"

With that, Lux and Ignis gave him a salute while Ventus called him by his nickname.

"Yes, Master."

"Yeah, Ten. Uh, I mean, Master."

Normally, Tenebris wouldn't mind being called by his nickname. It was a mouthful after all. But there's also a time when formalities between Master and student that must be taken seriously. Something Ventus acknowledged the hard way. One time he went out of step, Ventus found himself grounded in his room. Granted, it was a suitable punishment, but still, it wasn't like he was his dad! Maybe he didn't know the difference. All the same, he couldn't blame him for trying to take being Keyblade Master so serious. He just wanted to live up to that role. So, with that, the students of Tenebris walked inside the temple from the courtyard before the teacher was left to look out at the sky as he looked at his good luck charm.

"A really nice thought. Still... I don't think that idea's gonna catch on with other trinkets. At least not too quickly. I'd be darned if I'm wrong, though."

After examining it, Tenebris placed his charm in his pocket before he went inside.

Meanwhile, a mouse in a silver attire was riding a book against the waves, bracing the trials before he ended up in a whirlpool and was knocked upward before the scene changed into a tower, in which he fell on his rump before he chuckled at his misstep as he walked to his master, a bearded fellow with a blue hat and a long beard as he pondered to himself of a dire situation to take place as he spoke.

"Mickey... I cannot shake the feeling something terrible is about to transpire."

As Mickey grew confused he leaned his head to the side before he spoke.

"Well... what do you think could happen?"

"That has yet to be seen. All that I do know, however, is that the key to it all... is Tenebris."