Disclaimer: Knosis is the only named character in this story that I have any claim to. All others are property of (in order of appearence): Disney, DreamWorks Pictures, Square Enix, and JK Rowling.

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The bacon was burning.

Ais pushed his hair out of his eyes before pulling the pan off of the stove and dumping the food on a plate. He'd only stepped out of the room for a moment, to wake up Izenu. Where did the bacon find the time to burn?

A yelp and a thump from upstairs told him his brother was deigning to join the waking world, namely by rolling off his bed. Ais's lips twitched; Izenu obviously hadn't been awake enough to realize he'd been positioned on the very edge of the mattress before Ais went back downstairs, a theory confirmed when the boy stomped into the kitchen nursing an arm.

"Jerk."

"A pleasant morning to you as well, Moonlight," Ais responded.

Izenu plopped in his seat, staring at his plate as if he wasn't sure what to do with it. Frowning, Ais set the bacon on the table and ruffled his brother's pale hair. "Have trouble sleeping or something, little brother?"

"Weird dreams," Izenu said He seemed to snap out of whatever trance he'd been in and scooped some eggs onto his plate, followed by slices of bacon. "You burnt it again?"

Ais took his own seat and helped himself to the food. "Maybe if you woke up in the mornings, you could cook it yourself," he suggested.

"When your food's made by Ais, who's cooking's off-base," Izenu sang under his breath. "It's not quite gourmet, and more like bad hay." His amber eyes sparkled mischievously at his brother, who simply shook his head.

"I'm going to strangle whichever Chaser taught you that, and encouraged you to sing," he said between bites. "Genius you might be, but your singing is far worse than my cooking." Switching topics, he asked, "What kind of weird dreams were you having, anyway?"

A shrug. "Weird stuff. Platforms and doors and a voice I couldn't hear. It wanted me to make choices," he added with a frown.

Ais raised an eyebrow at him. "A voice you couldn't hear? What kind of choices?"

"I don't remember what they were, really. Just that it was totally bizarre, but really important at the same time."

"I think you've been studying too much. Unless you're going crazy, that is."

Izenu gave him a glare, though the effect was rather ruined by the mouthful of bacon. Ais grinned back, secure in his position as Annoying Older Brother.

Once the breakfast dishes were washed and put away, Izenu announced that he would accompany Ais to the compound. Lessons, he said, had been canceled that day because the professor was ill. Ais didn't push the issue – even if the professor wasn't sick, Izenu wouldn't miss an important lesson, especially on the whim they both pretended this was. It wasn't a very long walk from their small home to the Chaser compound. They were nearly there when Izenu commented, "I'm fifteen now."

"Are you really, Moonlight?"

"Don't call me that," was the automatic response. He took a deep breath and let it out in a puff, forming a small cloud in the cold air. "I'm old enough to join the Chasers now."

"Did you get tired of being our mascot?"

Izenu sent a sideways look at his brother, not bothering to answer the question. "The problem is, I need a marked Chaser to sponsor me as their apprentice before I can join."

Ais rubbed a finger thoughtfully over the large 'X' tattooed right between his eyes. "Do you really now?" An exasperated sound and a glare were his only answers. Grinning broadly, Ais draped an arm over Izenu's shoulders and pulled him through the compound's open gateway, waving at the pair on duty. He didn't call out to them, since it was impossible to know who they were under the helmets, and some of the senior Chasers disapproved of fraternizing while in uniform. His smile vanished, however, and he came sharply to attention when he spotted the man standing in the center of the small courtyard. Beside him, he sensed Izenu do the same, and saw the man's face soften just a fraction in response. Izenu always looked just like their mother when he did that. Kid knew it, too. "Commander Knosis!"

"Chaser Ais. Who is this that you have brought to me?" As if the two of them hadn't rehearsed this for the last two weeks.

"This is Izenu, son of Ithem, sir! I wish to sponsor him as my apprentice." He heard a sharp inhalation next to him, and stole a glance at Izenu. Other than parted lips and his large eyes, he hadn't moved a muscle. Ais felt pride swell in him at the self-control.

Baby brother would make a fine Chaser.

hr

Much to Izenu's excitement, Ais's next call came only a day after the smithy finished fitting the armor to Izenu. It seemed a group of people were going around sealing worlds away with a key of some sorts. Ais doubted the process was as simple as the report claimed, since he had been to a few of the worlds now listed as "inaccessible". It would take a powerful device to prevent interplanetary travel, one that could not simply be flown about on a gummi ship. However these people were locking off worlds, though, they had to be stopped. Ais handed the report to his brother, saving the time and trouble of explaining it himself, and went to pack and begin readying the house for their absence.

An hour later, he went into Izenu's room and emptied out all of the texts on space travel and their destination from Izenu's suitcase. Tossing the standard-issue knapsack at him, Ais said, "Take only what can't be left. No books, no negotiation."

"But I need those!"

"Not when we're on a mission."

"Father-"

"Would tell you the same thing. When you're at home, you can do whatever you want. It's encouraged, in fact, to have a 'normal' life between missions. But once you put on that armor, you can't be a scholar or artist or parent. You have to be a Chaser, because anything else could get you killed out there. Now, get packed. We leave as soon as everything's ready." As he left the room, he called over his shoulder, "And put your armor on!"

Ais was brought up short when he went downstairs and discovered a visitor in their kitchen. "Commander Knosis," he said. "What brings you here?"

Knosis waved a hand dismissively. "There's no need for formality here, Ais. I came to talk to you about this." He set his hand on the mission details. "You've read it already?"

"Yes, we both have."

"Then I'm sure you'll agree with me when I say that you need a third Chaser with you. It's not a slight on your or Izenu," he said as Ais began to disagree. "It's acknowledgment of how dangerous this mission could be. If your parents had taken another person, they might not have disappeared."

Ais's fist clenched momentarily. "Or you might be missing as well. Either way, do you think this will require another Chaser?"

"While Izenu is highly talented, he is still inexperienced. You are very skilled and more experienced, but I've noticed that you tend to neglect battle magics."

"You want us to take a mage with us."

"No." Knosis set a knapsack, identical to the one he'd given Izenu, on the table. "I'm going with you."

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The jungles of El Dorado contained both vibrant life and sticky heat, a far cry from the mountain town the brothers had grown up in. As sweat trickled down his back, Ais recast the ice spell on his armor. Whoever had decided that Chasers had to wear the portable ovens at all times on missions was an idiot, he decided. The thick, dark capes that he and Knosis wore didn't help with the heat, either.

They only encountered one person that day, a native priest by the name of Tzekel-Kan, who was quite willing to talk to the Chasers. He had been banished, he said, due to the actions of three visitors from the stars. One of them carried what the three called a "Keyblade", a weapon-sized key the color of pure gold. They were looking for the door to the heart of the world, so they could seal it away. At that, Knosis crisply ordered Izenu to watch the man and pulled Ais out of earshot.

"We need to get into the city and stop these people before they manage to seal this world," he said.

"The priest can get us in easily enough, I'm sure," Ais replied. "But what do we do about this 'Keyblade'?" The term felt strange and unfamiliar on his tongue.

Knosis shrugged, expression hidden by his visor. "Stop its wielder at any cost."