"So what do you intend to do with that?" Eraqus said as his eager new pupil entered a battle stance.

Terra was holding a roughly crafted wooden imitation of a Keyblade. "I made it myself, since I don't have one like yours yet I decided to make my own to beat you."

It had been a few days since their encounter. While he was obstinate, Terra began to truly warm up to this stranger. Having no one else in town who'd give him the light of day, he was eager to see Eraqus. While the fires in his eyes were still that of a lion's, this predator had now gone from protecting what little he had to seeking out greater heights.

"And what if you lose? How will you then conquer your own heart?" Eraqus inquired as he stroked his chin.

"Keep talking big, but once I beat you I'll prove I'm worthy of having a keyblade!" Terra said as he approached his unimpressed sensei.

With a single parry, Terra was flat on his back, his new weapon laying on top of him.

"Well I must say, it holds up better than your last sword." Eraqus mocked.

"Laugh it up old man, I will only get stronger." Terra groaned as he got back on his feet.

Eraqus looked upon the boy and could feel the balance of light and darkness within him continue to stir. He thought for a moment in what way he could reach him to understand. The thought of teaching him combat techniques frightened him with the boy being as brash as he was.

"Terra, strength doesn't come from power alone. A heart seeking only power begets darkness. Darkness lurks in every heart, do not invite it carelessly even in combat."

He then remembered the words of his own master. "Before you think about the destruction of your foe, think about what you may learn from friend and foe alike and how you can better yourself."

"Friends…" The word brought back less than welcome memories. For as long as he could remember he didn't even have parents with which he could speak let alone friends. Choosing rather than submit to his own loneliness, to find pride in having been able to survive on his own was his resolve. "I don't have any of those." He practically spat out folding his arms in defiance.

"Hmmm…." Eraqus let a moment of quiet pass. But only a moment.

"Then learn from me."

The words shocked Terra. "In due time, there will be few who can resist the light that will shine through you."

Terra stood in silence, looking into the pits of his own heart. He had never seen anything in there before, but he wondered if all he really needed to do was stare a little harder to see this light Eraqus spoke of. His lips couldn't resist forming a slight smile. A thought came to him and he looked towards Eraqus.

"I don't even know that much about you, old man. You're not from this place are you?"

"That's Master Eraqus." He corrected. He paused for a moment and exhaled a deep breath.

"Terra what I'm about to tell you is strictly confidential. I'm trusting you to keep this secret." His tone made it clear this was no joke.

"Of course, I won't say a word, now tell me." Terra said getting excited nonetheless.

"You are correct, I've ventured here from another world. I've travelled many worlds combatting the forces of darkness and keeping the peace in the realms."

"So you've been to a lot of cool places right? Wow…." His boyish heart went aflutter at the thought of travelling the skies in search of new worlds, living a brand-new life. "If I get a keyblade, one day, I'll be able to travel to a bunch of different worlds too, right?"

"It is part of our job as Keyblade Masters."

"Keyblade…Master?" The words tickled his lips as he spoke them.

"I can't wait to leave this stupid town!" He suddenly bellowed despite his master's demands for secrecy. "I've always felt so trapped here, but I know somewhere out there is the place for me." His excitement then quickly changed to confusion.

"Wait a minute, what brought you to this world in the first place? Was it…really to meet me?"

Eraqus paused. He had been thinking about it these past days.

"I came because I sensed a great darkness from this world growing but I feel I was misinformed. ."

"Mis…informed?" An ugly thought rose in Terra's head. "Wait did the guy who lives in the manor tell you anything?"

Eraqus was quiet, but his silence spoke for him.

"It was, wasn't it?" Terra deduced.

"I've been to his place before. I saw something weird there once. In the library, he had a secret passage to some underground lab. He caught me there and I barely escaped. That guy has wanted me gone ever since I snuck into his place. He's up to something."

"Hmmm, I had my suspicions when I met him. But I stayed my hand as I didn't want to disturb the order of this world with conflict with their leader. I also didn't feel any darkness from him. In fact, it was like there was a light protecting him."

"Come on old man, if there's darkness anywhere in this town it'd be there." Terra began towards the forest.

"Wait." Eraqus said.

Terra halted himself, confused and impatient. Eraqus lingered on him for a moment, for some reason desperately looking for a reason to the deny the boy in joining him.

"You can't continue running around in such seedy attire. I'm getting you some new clothes first."

Terra's jaw practically dropped. "What? Come on old man, we have darkness to destroy, the clothes can wait."

"It's Master Eraqus, and a Keyblade warrior must also present himself as such." Eraqus insisted.

"I can't rush this. If there is darkness there he's too eager to meet it." Eraqus thought as Terra dragged his feet to follow him. "All of this makes me uneasy."

The garden in front of The Mansion was looking quite barren today. The bushes had grown a sickly brown far from the autumn season, and the soil broke like stone. Despite this Lord Ulmaria stood among it all brimming with confidence. Behind him, Aqua closely followed. Unlike before her face made her feeling of unease clear.

"Everything appears to be in order. Aqua I trust you're ready."

"Yes…my lord." `

Ulmaria raised one of his arms into the air. Soon a vortex of dark energy appeared beneath the shivering Aqua.

"Lord Ulmaria…it's-" Aqua struggled against its pull.

"Do not resist it. The connection must remain intact." Ulmaria immediately ordered.

He began to glow a translucent pink, humming in ecstasy as a tornado of cherry blossoms formed around him. One blossom fell into his raised hand, which immediately grasped the delicate petal. In an instant, an enormous green staff with a pink pointed tip emerged to replace it in his hand.

Carrying the tool with ease, He brought the end crashing down into the ground in front of him, drawing in power. Aqua began to feel faint, as the vortex below her dissipated. Soon a white vortex of energy began to flow from below the staff. Cherry blossoms erupted from beneath the growing portal. Soon the bushes seemed to be reborn, blooming a cavalcade of colors and aromas.

New flowers began to decorate the landscape pushing aside the now rich soil with ease as they emerged. When it was all over an aroma of roses and spring filled the air, and petals danced in the breeze until they painted the ground.

Feeling triumphant, Ulmaria dispatched the staff into a flurry of blossoms.

"Excellent, one of the first tools has been acquired. If Eraqus is who I believe him to be, then it may be realized much sooner than I anticipated." He pondered. "It has been too long since I began my research, it cannot come soon enough."

He then turned around, finally remembering an important piece in this victory. He walked over to Aqua who had collapsed.

"Come now Aqua, you must not lose yourself to something like this. You must grow stronger if I'm to proceed."

Aqua slowly tried to pick herself up, clearly still light headed from the odd ritual that took place. Before anything else she tried to wipe the small tears that had formed during her anguish, less her lord see them. She managed to rise to her knees but couldn't muster the strength to stand firmly.

"After all, who else am I to rely on? You wouldn't let your dear lord down, would you?"

The words worked like a spell, that forced Aqua's body to obey as she rose to her feet. She quickly tidied herself and resumed her servantly stance.

"I'm sorry my lord. I will become stronger for you."

Ulmaria gently pet her head. Aqua took no joy in this showing of approval. For her it was a merely a necessity she acts in a way that would meet Ulmaria's standards. Somewhere in her mind she saw happiness as a sign of selfishness and tucked that emotion away, for the sake of her lord. Perhaps due in part to this lack of emotional complication, she had a keen eye and noticed the man at the gate.

"My lord, visitors."

They approached the gate to see Eraqus speaking with the two guards on duty, requesting entry. They wore matching white jackets and pants adorned with pink markings in the form of pins and badges. The markings were shaped like three diamonds frayed out like flower petals, the largest badge rested on their chest. Each carried a spear similar in design to Ulmaria's staff differing only in color as these were a boring grey.

"Lord Ulmaria is busy at the moment." One claimed.

"Stand aside." Ulmaria ordered. After a brief moment of frazzle, they obeyed without a word.

"Master Eraqus! You've returned unharmed. I trust this means that you've routed the darkness plaguing this town." Ulmaria said, still feeling his earlier high.

"Actually, I've returned to discuss that particular topic."

After hearing these words, Ulmaria's smile faded and he began to pay closer attention.

"Surely there was no problem for a man of your skill." That's when he noticed Terra behind Eraqus. He was now wearing a brown and red T shirt, and baggy blue pants with red trimmings on the bottom. He was glaring at Ulmaria.

"…So is that it? You were swayed by the darkness of this street garbage yourself." Ulmaria said changing his tone to a sinister one.

"Wanna say that again you-" Before he could finish Terra was stopped by only a hand from Master Eraqus.

"I believe…you may have made an error in your earlier deductions on the source of darkness." Eraqus began. "I fully intend to fulfill my duty to find this source and erase it, however this boy is not the evil in this town."

"So then what would bring you back here, and bringing the lost mongrel with you no less? Do you believe a forced apology from him will coerce me to change my mind?"

"Your research, I wanted to know more about it. Darkness often seeks those with either weak hearts, and those curious enough to open its doors themselves."

The atmosphere of the beautiful garden died in an instant and a sinister air replaced it.

"You would accuse me, of harboring darkness? Such nerve!" Ulmaria exclaimed. The guards recognizing their lord's ire backed further away from the conversation.

"Your saying you're not? I know you're up to something here!" Terra was unable to contain himself any longer.

Ulmaria began to quiver. There was an unsettlingly silence, followed by a low cackle. The cackle then erupted into raucous laughter. Ulmaria's laugh echoed throughout the entire surrounding forest.

"I…misjudged you." He began finally calming down. "The simple truth is…you're incompetent."

"Why you-!" As soon as the words left his mouth, Terra suddenly felt ensnared.

"Be silent, and wilt."

It came in like a whisper sending a chill down his spine. When he could no longer feel the stale heat of its breath, he remained with a feeling of hollowness. It happened so quickly he could barely tell the voice was Ulmaria's. As much as he tried to speak, his body wasn't listening anymore, shaken from the shock of it all.

"What just.." Terra thought, restrained to his own mind.

"To allow yourself to be swayed by a child of the alleys, to throw implications of villainy with no due cause, but most of all to disrespect your lord with such a pathetic request. Perhaps I was wrong to trust you with such a task." Ulmaria said regaining his cool composure.

"I will forgive you though, surely anyone would start nipping at the bit when they've utterly failed. But only on one condition." Ulmaria said as he approached Eraqus. He then whispered in Eraqus ear. Ulmaria spoke for what seemed like an eternity in those few seconds, his message leaving even Eraqus shaken.

"That's a simple request is it not? I trust even you would be capable of that." Ulmaria said as he turned his back on the two. "The next time I see you at my gates I hope it'll be with good news."

"What?" Terra said in disbelief. "Master we have to-"

"Hold your tongue Terra!" Eraqus shockingly snapped back.

Eraqus and Terra took a step back at the accusation.

With this declaration Ulmaria closed the gates tight and walked away. Aqua stared at the two outside the gate for a moment. She was disgusted by the rage in the young boy's eyes. She soon lost interest and followed her master.

Terra clenched his fist in fury and was prepared to lunge himself at the condescending lord. But he held himself back, secretly wishing his master would make the first move. Eraqus remained stoic.

"Who does that guy think he is? Why didn't you do anything?"

"Because my job is to fight the darkness, not to create it." Eraqus said as he began walking away.

"What did he say to you? Where are you going?"

"It isn't something that concerns you Terra. The darkness isn't here. That's all there is to it. I don't want to hear another word of it."

Terra looked upon the mansion, clenching his fist in frustration. When his anger built to a point he could no longer take, he ran to chase after his master.

Although the mellow rays of the twilight sky never stopped shining, the people of this world knew when it was evening. In these hours, Terra made his way through the woods again, his wooden keyblade in hand.

"That bastard. He did something to the old man, I know it." He thought as he crept up to the clearing. There were now 4 guards stationed at the gate, patrolling. "He must be hiding something in there, and I'm gonna find out what, even if I have to beat it out of him."

"It's gonna be a lot trickier getting in than last time. Especially after today. No…I want his attention. This time, I'm gonna bring him out to me!"

He threw a rock at one of the guards while remaining hidden in the forest. The rock missed but the sound put them on full alert. Two of the guards scoured the clearing while two remained at the gate. As the two guards approached closer to the woods, Terra immediately knocked one of them out with an overhead strike. The second guard tried to retaliate with his spear, but Terra was too quick for him, falling to his knees after struck with a powerful horizontal "slice" and finished by a thrust.

The remaining two guards charged Terra but he intercepted them by throwing his keyblade at one of them, knocking them out with the surprise attack. Terra immediately ran after his launched weapon, prompting the last guard to try and intercept him. Terra jumped catching his still spinning "keyblade" in the air as well as dodging the guard's attack. After a flip over the guard Terra strikes him down like the other with a two-handed diagonal strike.

"I'm not gonna lose to weaklings like you guys." With cockiness in his stride, he approached the gate. He managed to climb over it with relative ease and dropped down on the other side.

"He's probably holed up in that secret room I saw, if I beat enough guards he'll have to come out." Terra thought as he approached the mansion. "I'm sure I could get proof for the old man."

As he planned out his route, bubbles started to float around him. Noticing them, he was more annoyed then confused. Frustration getting the better of him he tried swatting one, only to have it burst with a force powerful enough to knock him back. The two other bubbles chased him before exploding themselves. Terra barely managed to dodge them.

"What was that?" He said to himself, but he quickly regained composure when he heard footsteps approaching him.

"You're not allowed here. Leave at once!"

The stern warning unexpectedly came from the servant girl Aqua, who seemed to be waiting for him at the front door.

"I'm not leaving until I see your jerk of a boss! He's hiding something and I'm gonna find out what!" Terra declared. "Plus…he has to pay for what he said!"

"I will not let anyone hurt my lord. Especially not a scoundrel like you." She took a firm stance as if her tiny body was protecting the entire mansion.

"Tough talk for a little girl. I don't wanna waste time with you, so why don't you just step aside so you don't get hurt?" Terra brandished his weapon, taking his stance.

"This is your last warning." She revealed a wand from under her sleeve. She plucked the pink crystal star from her necklace and placed it on the wand, brandishing it now as a complete weapon. "Leave now, or pay the price!"

"You asked for it!" Terra rushed towards her.

"Water!"

Suddenly more bubbles appeared, this time around Aqua. After waving her wand, the bubbles began flying towards Terra.

Terra dodged them, now that he was familiar with their pattern, being sure to close in on the defenseless girl.

After dodging the final two bubbles, Terra was within range for a powerful two handed strike.

"You're done!"

Terra was surprised to find his keyblade didn't meet with her, but a translucent shield instead.

"What?"

"Reflect!" She charged back.

In an instant, the force of his strike was sent right back at him blowing him away. Terra slowly tried to pull himself back on his feet, using his sword as an anchor.

"There's no way…" He thought as he felt the shame of actually being winded by this frail looking girl. Despite being at least a head taller than her, he realized from his buckled stance he had to look up at her condescending face from below.

"I'm losing to her!" He felt a pit burning in his core. Like it was melting his body from the inside out. He felt the heat well up throughout his body.

Aqua sent another storm of bubbles towards Terra, waving her wand like a conductor.

"GWAAAARGH!" Terra charged straight towards her this time, slicing right through the bubbles and running through the explosions. For a moment Aqua was shocked at his straight forward assault. She quickly regained her composure and aimed for the raging boy again.

"Ice!"

Before Terra could finish his attack his palm was frozen solid. The force of the magic blast knocked the keyblade out of his hand. In added frustration Terra tried punching her with his still free hand, but unfortunately for him it hit the shield just the same as his keyblade before it.

"Freeze!"

Down went one of his legs. Terra fell to his knees, feeling the shame of defeat once again. Aqua found herself short of breath for a moment but slowly regained her confidence. Seeing Terra struggle to free his frozen leg assured her of her victory and with it an unhealthy amount of arrogance.

"You shouldn't be so eager to fight if you're so weak." She spat at him.

Terra could feel his already loose grip on his rage tear completely. As if channeling the dark heat welling inside of him like power itself, he burst through the ice encasing him. He picked up his keyblade prepared to do more than just continue the fight. But suddenly his master's words came into his mind.

"A heart seeking only power begets darkness. Before you think about how you can defeat your opponent think about what you may learn from friend and foe alike and how you can better yourself."

Aqua was shaken by his sudden surge of power, but remained in her stance and vigilant. Terra had gone still. He was still holding his keyblade as if prepared to attack.

"I'll be back…" He finally forced out. He brought down his weapon and stared right into Aqua's eyes, a faint yellow glow reverting to blue as they shot deep into Aqua's. "And then… I'll make you eat those words!"

His fist returned to its familiar clench, only this time, he didn't run away. He walked away, each step heavy enough to move the earth itself.

Aqua watched him as he left, still shocked by the amounts of hate and rage in his heart. After he had cleared the gate, she brought her hands close to her heart and exhaled. She would always do it after particularly stressful encounters or thoughts, a habit she wasn't aware of.

"Aqua what happened?"

Aqua immediately entered her servile state upon hearing her lord's voice.

"I'm sorry my lord, there was an intruder trying to break into the mansion." She said bowing. "It was…that scoundrel again."

Ulmaria looked disgusted upon hearing the news.

"Hmm, Eraqus wouldn't be that foolish would he? Or perhaps he found a way..."

Aqua listened as she knew to do when the master spoke. But there was a stinging feeling in her head she couldn't shake. The image of the boys weapon.

"He was carrying something…that looked like the picture." She spoke without realizing.

Ulmaria paused, at first confused by her words. Then as the pieces came together in his mind he kneeled down and placed his hands on her shoulders.

"He was holding one? A Keyblade?"

Aqua looked terrified as Ulmaria practically shook her down for the answer. She hesitantly nodded her head.

"Hmmm…you know too well the consequence for lying." He said convinced of her words. He rose back to his feet. "But knowing this you allowed him to get away."

"I'm sorry lord Ulmaria!" Aqua practically crashed her head through the floor with her bow.

"However, that boy may end up being useful after all. You have a chance to redeem yourself as well, Aqua."

He caressed her head, sliding his hand until it landed on her cheek.

"I have a very important task for you."