Disclaimer: I own nothing written about in this story.

Keybearers

AN: There are some minor changes I've made to certain characters (in appearance and personality) but the most notable is that any fragmented characters (who would otherwise not exist) have been born normally. I have also tweaked everyone's ages in respect to the time-line. I did this so that everyone is at a practical age for the (nonexistent) plot to work.

Chapter Two – Gathering – Part One

Two weeks after they had been caught engaging in their guilty pleasure, Terra and Aqua converged on the throne room after hearing the ringing of the summoning bell. The signal was only used for announcements or emergencies and this made them both excited as it usually meant they would be going to another world for one reason or another.

Although advanced in their peacekeeper training and poised to take their Mark of Mastery exams, the two students rarely had the opportunity to visit other worlds. Unfortunately the precepts were very clear about the matter, that meddling or even mentioning the existence of other worlds was forbidden. Travel itself was restricted unless the situation was dire or otherwise deemed necessary by the reigning master.

After entering the grand throne room together, the walls glinting with gold and turquoise, they both stood at attention before the three thrones. One remained empty, Xehanort occupied its opposite, while Eraqus stood in front of the central one. He nodded to his pupils in acknowledgment. "I just spoke with my old friend Yen Sid," he told them. "He has located a number of prospective wielders and entrusted me with the coordinates. Prepare for travel, my students. We leave immediately."

As far as towns went, Twilight Town was pretty sleepy. So far only a handful of people had wandered by, all of them bleary eyed and unsociable. It seemed that these people just took a little longer than usual to get started in the morning, Terra mused as he walked by another closed shop, Aqua at his side.

Upon arriving in the world, they had split up to search, Xehanort and Eraqus took off separately in their own directions while Aqua insisted on staying with him. Terra didn't mind one bit, although he did want to prove to the masters that he could be independent, he just couldn't say no to her. Besides, what fun was exploring if you didn't have a friend to enjoy it with? He gave his blue haired companion a sidelong glance as she too was sending the shops a curious look. Were they still friends? He felt like they were much more than that, but could never seem to find the words or the right opportunity to address the matter.

Aqua caught his lingering gaze and smirked knowingly at him. "What?" she questioned, a coy lilt in her voice.

Terra cleared his throat, hoping to clear out any stuttering that his former thoughts were prone to give him. "Nothing," he replied, imitating her smile and musical tone as he walked along. Settling himself with a firm expression, he was determined to stay focused on their mission and not get distracted with her inviting pink lips and that intoxicating lavender scent of hers that seemed to sweep only in his direction. No. They were here to find another Keyblade wielder and that is what he meant to do.

Blinking and scowling at the path in front of him, Terra forced himself to shut out Aqua's imposing presence on his senses and focused solely on their mission. She in turn seemed to catch the hint, looking just as serious and dutifully made to watch their surroundings carefully. Terra did, however, notice that tantalizing smile on her mouth and caught wind of her suppressed chuckle before she had taken his hint to focus.

The buildings and streets had been constructed and paved in a way not unlike a maze and Terra soon felt himself getting somewhat disoriented as he turned a corner. It was still taking all his willpower to ignore his companion and not whisk her off into some dark ally to do to her properly what his mind kept wandering off to fantasize about. He was so completely distracted by his inner struggle that he collided violently with someone that seemed to have been running full tilt for the same corner.

The stranger ricocheted off of Terra's torso and fell back onto his rump, while Terra merely staggered and regained his balance without much trouble. Startled, the brunet gazed down at the boy and dearly hoped he wasn't hurt. It wouldn't do to have to explain to the masters that he had caused trouble just by walking around.

"Ouch!" the stranger whined and rubbed his sore head, ruffling at vibrant, spiky blond hair that seemed to naturally sway to the left, from Terra's perspective that is. His clothes seemed a bit unusual, with the color scheme of his jacket white on one side and black on the other. His pants were somewhat baggy and gave way to black-gray shoes. "What are you made of, solid steel?" The boy stared up at Terra as though he were the world's seventh wonder or mystery. His bright, sapphire eyes gleamed with curiosity as well as an unusual radiance that made Terra blink with trepidation.

Aqua chuckled and knelt down to the boy. "Well, his head is." She gave Terra a wry look before turning back to the blond. "Are you alright?"

The boy grinned at her and suddenly Terra wasn't sure he liked it when another male paid special attention to his counterpart. It was a foreign feeling and he wasn't quite sure how to respond to it. This sort of thing didn't happen back home and their outward trips were too rare for it to occur regularly. Forcing down the uncomfortable feeling, he tried rather to focus on what the boy was saying. "Yeah, I'm always getting knocked around by my brother."

Beneath the irritation and tiny spark of jealousy, Terra felt a powerful tug as the boy laughed. It was almost as if the light within the blond was drawing him. Was this, by chance, the potential Keyblade wielder they had been looking for? He shared an inquisitive look with Aqua, about to say something when another disturbance broke his train of thought.

"Ventus!" another boy's voice growled from down the street, sounding identical to the boy on the ground. "I told you to slow down!"

"Roxas," the first boy said, sighing. "I know, I know! But I have to hurry, the shop opens soon!"

The one called Roxas appeared, in every way that Terra could tell, like the one called Ventus, who was still on the ground. Twins, he guessed? He even wore the same outfit, except what was black on the left was white, and what was white on the right was black. He was almost sure that if they stood and faced each other it would appear that they were facing a mirror.

Roxas came to stand beside his brother, arms crossed over his chest as he shook his head in dismay. "See what I have to put up with?" Close up, Terra could pick out very slight differences in the two, the most notable being their hair. Where Ventus' swayed to the left, Roxas' swung to the right. That aspect coupled with their mirrored clothing created a contrast that was almost comical.

"You?" Ventus yowled up at his brother, incredulous. "I have to deal with your nagging all day. As if that never gets old!"

"If I didn't nag then you'd really wind up in trouble," Roxas countered.

"Stop acting like you're older!"

"But I am older."

"By two minutes! Like that matters!"

"Um, boys?" Aqua interjected gently, causing them both to turn to her. "I'm Aqua and this is Terra." She gestured to him and he offered a nod at the prompt. "We're sorry if we've caused any problems. We're looking for someone with unique abilities, maybe you two can help us out?"

The twins blinked at her, soaking in her words as though it were the first drink of water they'd had in days. Before they could so much as open their mouths to reply, another presence approached, familiar and warm and it was followed closely by another, though it was still somewhat foreign. "Good work you two," came Master Eraqus' pleased voice. "We were closing in on them but it seems that they had been drawn to you from the start."

They? Terra inwardly questioned. He gazed at the two blonds. There had been two wielders here all along?

Eraqus came forth and nodded acknowledgment to the two boys. "Well met, my young friends. My name is Eraqus, this is Xehanort." The older man nodded as well, though he carefully scrutinized both boys, causing them to shy away from him a bit. "We come from a land very far away."

Overcoming his intimidation quickly, Ventus finally stood and introduced himself. "Call me Ven."

"Roxas," the other said, his uneasy gaze often meeting Xehanort's. "Please forgive my brother, he didn't mean any harm, he's just always in a hurry."

Eraqus was quick to wave a dismissive hand. "That was merely an inevitable occurrence. Think nothing of it." He gestured briefly to Terra and Aqua. "These two are my students."

Ventus opened his mouth to say something but Roxas held up a hand to silence him. "A pleasure to meet you all," he said, attempting to ease his brother away. "But we have work to get to."

Eraqus only smiled politely and plowed onward, as though he hadn't heard the boy's comment. "A friend of mine mentioned you two have unique abilities." He turned to Terra and Aqua and nodded a silent signal. They both called forth their Keyblades in response, causing both blonds to stagger back with a gasp. "We can help you hone those abilities."

"Roxas," Ven murmured, eyes drawn to the gleaming weapons in awe. "They can show us how to summon them!"

Roxas shifted on his feet uncomfortably, though his gaze was locked onto the materialized Keyblades as well. "Ours usually only appear when those monsters attack."

"Come with us," Aqua urged with a gentle tone and an equally soft smile. Terra noted with a twinge of unease how eager she seemed to want these boys to join them. "We can teach you how to fight the monsters so that no one ever gets hurt again."

Both boys looked straight at her then, bright blue eyes as intense as an ocean's violent riptide. Terra realized then that Aqua's words had struck a chord, and that she had somehow sensed their deep hurt while he himself had been completely oblivious to it.

"How old are you two?" Eraqus cut in gently, effectively drawing the twins' attention.

Roxas was suddenly very quiet, his gaze downcast. After Ven tried to catch his eye for guidance but received none, he finally answered. "Fourteen, sir."

"Your parents?"

Another pause, but Roxas was still too shaken, leaving Ven to once again give an answer. "Gone. We've been on our own for eight years."

Eraqus closed his eyes in a brief reverence before nodding. Terra noticed that he had been about to say something in condolence but Aqua beat him to it. After dismissing Rainfell, she stepped forward and placed a tender hand over each boy's blond head. "You've been through a lot," she said, her voice wavering with the emotion that was no doubt streaming down her cheeks. She had her back to Terra now, but he already knew she was crying for the twins; she was always so strongly connected to others that she often felt what they felt.

The boys shared a long, no doubt astounded, look between them before Ven finally told his brother, "I want to go with them."

Another tangible pause. "Ok," Roxas agreed with a nod. He looked to Eraqus from under Aqua's lingering touch. "We need to say goodbye to our friends."

The man nodded amiably and gestured for them to go. "Of course. But remember that you can return and visit later. You will see your friends again."

The boys nodded and took off, reluctantly pulling out of Aqua's gentle touch and disappearing behind a building. Eraqus came forward and placed a hand on his female pupil's shoulder. "Well done Aqua. You handled that like a master. I honestly couldn't have done better."

Aqua's expression lit up, despite the tears she was still wiping from her face. "Thank you Master. I just- their pain from losing their parents- it was mine. I couldn't help myself."

"I know," the master told her, a soft understanding lining his tone. "But you did well. I'm very proud of you."

Aqua nodded and moved to embrace their master, burying her sadness in his thick robes. He in turn welcomed her with a protective fatherly embrace, murmuring soothing words as she relived her own tragic past and the loss of her parents at an early age.

Terra felt his own sadness swarm upon him, the fate of his parents was unknown to him, but that didn't dull the ache in his heart to any degree. Their psychological wounds were old and faded, but it was a painful experience when they decided to resurface. He longed for Aqua to come to him for comfort, so that he might benefit from it too, but he also understood that she needed the master for this. She needed the only father they had.

Dwindling in the back of his mind, like a nagging itch, he felt another shadow of jealousy pass over him, like a thin cloud had just blocked out the sun. Instead of possessive though, it was directed at Aqua's achievement and a lack thereof on his part.

Before the feeling could magnify though, his attention snapped up at the sound of a rumbling voice. "Let us not forget Terra's part in finding the young wielders." Xehanort was watching him carefully, and if Terra didn't know better he'd have guessed the old master had been studying him for awhile. "A fine job, Terra."

Once Aqua had finally pulled away from the master she let out a broken laugh. "Yes, he did a fine job running into Ventus."

The shadow that had crept over his shoulder faded and vanished the instant Terra met Aqua's wry smile, her face glistening with former tears. He wanted desperately to wipe them off and kiss away her sorrow but knew it wasn't the time or place for such luxuries. He returned the smile.

He'd have to wait till they got home.