Daybreak Town's underground waterways (including those that led to the true clock tower entrance) were scheduled to be drained on the first week of every month for cleaning. Unlike many things that the Foretellers were told to do by the Master, this was not one of them. Ava saw it as an opportunity.

Not that long ago, the Master had placed Ava in charge of a very special role. She was to find, recruit, and train exceptional Keyblade wielders for a new world. They were to be the surviving light of hope. Her lights. Her Dandelions. To find them, Ava had mentally set aside rules for herself. One of which involved these very waterways; should a wielder come to investigate the area well known to be off limits, then she would test them.

The only setback was that she had to keep watch of the area. She knew a few charms that would alert her of a breach, but other than that, she had to physically walk down to keep an eye out. It was honestly rather boring. The lies she gave the others were pretty weak as well. She knew full well that Invi (and maybe even Gula) knew she came down here- but she wasn't sure they knew why exactly.

It was during one of these boring excursions during the draining period that Ava saw something different. At first, she simply dismissed it as a Heartless. But upon stopping in her pacing to get a better look, she realized that it was a different creature. She laughed when she recognized the creature as a turtle. An incredibly small one too, as if it were nothing more than a hatchling, with an oval shaped shell colored in shades of dark green and muddy brown.

Not caring a lick of who could be watching, Ava smiled as she started to make her way into the canal. She held her robe up a bit as to not get the ends wet, even though she had drained the area of water a good two days prior. She got close enough to the turtle to stand next to it- admiring its little gait as it continued on its mission. Whatever that could have been.

Her awe made her bend down- an effort to get closer to its eye range. It still didn't pay her much mind.

"Where are you off to in a place like this?" she softly asked the creature.

The turtle paused mid-step. It set down its foot before craning its neck up to look at Ava. If she didn't know any better, Ava could have said that it gave her a look of utter contempt. Its attitude was further solidified when it gave her a series of clicks that indicated what it was doing, as if Ava had a way of knowing what it was.

"You won't be going very far," she then told it. "All the water is drained. When it comes back, we treat it with a special chemical so it stays clear and sparkling- even in winter. It won't be safe for you here."

Such news made the turtle pause in thought. He looked down at the tiled canal before looking back up at Ava. Giving a series of clicks once more, Ava came to realize something.

"You don't have a home, do you?"

The turtle shook its head. A quick idea ran through Ava's head right after. She smiled as she thought about it- no one ever said that she wasn't the most impulsive of the
Master's apprentices.

"How about you come with me and see my home?" she offered. "Maybe we can even get you a little spot to rest before we relocate you somewhere else?"

The turtle thought this over for a moment before giving Ava a confident nod. Ava's smile grew even wider.

"Great!" she declared. She then very carefully used one hand to lift the turtle by the bottom of his shell, then used another to place on top. As Ava carried the small (he was barely larger than her hand) turtle, she made sure to keep him close to her body. The little turtle gave several happy clicks from his new height. He could see so much!

Ava's instinct upon going back into the clock tower was the head for the Foreteller's chambers. She wasn't even aware that everyone was there until she looked up.

"Hey everyone!" she called out, "Guess what I found in the waterways!"

Ira, Invi, Aced, and Gula all looked up from what they were doing and looked at her. It took a moment for them to realize that she was holding something. The turtle had decided to go inside his shell for the ride over, and so he looked nothing more than an odd shaped rock. At least, he could have to the untrained eye.

"Ava…" Invi sighed, "Not this again."

Hearing such a disapproving tone, the turtle came out of his shell. No one had really anticipated the movement, and they all recoiled or jumped back in some way.

"What is that?!" Aced was the first to shout in surprise.

"It's a turtle." Ava cheerfully replied, holding the creature a bit closer to the flinching Aced. "I think I'm going to name him Shelby."

"Oh, so Chirithy wasn't enough for you?" Gula teased. "I see how it is. You're always everyone's favorite, Ava."

"What? No!" Ava exclaimed in near fright. "I'm not…! He isn't going to replace Chirithy. I just… want him to have a good home, that's all."

"A valiant attempt," Invi agreed, "Although I doubt we have room for him here."

"The Master has made it a rule that no other being can be in the tower than us." Ira also piped up.

"I did say that. Moreover, I don't think a turtle counts as a 'being', more like a 'creature'. But that's semantics."

"Master!" the five of them declared as they got to their feet.

"At ease, soldiers." their master told them, given them a wave of his hand. "Lemme see the little guy. You say his name is Shelby?"

Ava gave a quick nod before moving closer to the Master. She presented the turtle to him with a careful flourish. Shelby tilted its head at the black coated man. The hood of the coat was up, making it impossible to know what the man's face looked like. Not that Shelby was going to care.

"I found him in the waterway, Master." Ava even explained. "He doesn't have a home, so I was wondering…"

"You always did wear your heart on your sleeve." the Master mused, cutting Ava off, as he placed a hand on her fox mask. He then moved his hand to place it under what amounted to the turtle's chin. The Master even moved a bit closer to be eye to eye with the creature. Shelby gave him a hard stare back.

"We're keeping him."

"Master!" Aced and Ira exclaimed at the same time. But their master only returned their concerns with a shrug. Gula had let out a rather loud snort, while Invi only gave a refraining sigh. Ava, on the other hand, happily squealed as she spun her and Shelby around. The Master gave a small smirk himself as he left the room. He could have stayed behind to further pester his apprentices, but he had a meeting for another apprentice. One who had a job almost as important as Ava's.

Several months then went by from when Ava first adopted Shelby to the day the Master disappeared. In fact, Shelby was one of the last people to even see the Master before that. The turtle had near free reign as he lived in the clock tower with the others. His wanderings that day led him into the Master's chambers were the Master himself was just finishing placing something into a black box. The Master was even humming some chipper tune as he locked the box up tight. When the Master realized that Shelby was there, he let out a sharp, horrified gasp.

"Shelby! How dare you sneak up on me like that!"

The turtle blinked. He gave a few clicks of his beak that indicated he had no idea what the Master was talking about.

"You of all people!" the Master went on, starting to make his way over, "Looking for spoilers before I go away. I knew the others would try to stop me, but you? You?! I trusted you Shelby Copernicus! I trusted you full heartedly and yet you still betrayed me. Unbelievable."

Shelby just continued to stare in what could have counted as disbelief. The Master gave a little laugh at himself before he bent down to pick the turtle up. The little turtle didn't exactly want to be picked up at the moment, but it had no choice but to do as the taller people wanted.

"You know," the Master then noted, his tone a bit more somber, "Ava's heart has really connected to yours. Everyone else's too, really. But her heart is the one I see most with yours."

Shelby tilted his head at the Master in confusion. The Master just gave a short chuckle before gently stroking the top of Shelby's head.

"Just sleep, little fella." the Master soothed. "You'll be there when Ava needs you most. I'll make sure of it."

Shelby closed his little turtle eyes and went into a dreamless, undisturbed slumber.

…

Something felt off when Ava returned from training her Dandelions. When she couldn't find Shelby in his play area or just roaming around, she knew that something was wrong. The pit in her stomach only seemed to grow when she walked into the Foreteller chambers and found that the others were there as well, apparently waiting around for her.

"Has anyone seen Shelby?" she asked. Her hands were wrung in each other out of nervous habit. "He's gone missing."

It was Ira who turned to look at her first. "We have far more concerning matters to address, Ava." he informed her- his voice far more stern than usual.

"Why?" she then asked, looking around the room. "What happened?"

"Coincidentally enough," Gula smirked, "The Master has gone missing too."

"What?"

"How can any of us act so surprised?" Invi asked in a cool tone. "We all knew this day was going to happen."

"Y-yeah, but…"

"None of us expected Luxu to disappear either." Aced cut in, slamming his hands on the table. "How could he just abandon us like that? We were all the Master's apprentices!"

"Calm down, Aced." Invi admonished. "We're just as shaken as you are. Ira, what should our next course of action be? You are our leader now, after all."

As Ira went on with how the five of them would lead their Unions now, Ava took her usual seat and tried to listen. Her mind was buzzing with all this information. The Master and Luxu were gone now. It must have been a coincidence that they left the same day she couldn't find Shelby. Had to. Even if it wasn't, she had a feeling they'd all find each other again one day; may their hearts be their guiding key.