Hi guys!

This chapter will set up before the first Disney world.

Hope you like it!

Kingdom Hearts © to Disney and Square Enix!

OCs © to me!

Chapter 8

Oh. This was not going to be fun.

This was going to be horrible.

Sato looked up at the lone tower under the stars. Yen Sid was going to be mad. He walked up the long spiral staircase to the top of the tower.

Many memories came back to the man as he strode up. He remembered coming by here quite often.

As the door swung open he felt those hard, beady eyes staring at him. "Master."

"Sato." Yen Sid sat at a table with another wizard with a long beard and three fairies. "You are welcome to join us."

Oh joy. He got other powerful magicians to back him up.

The master sat down. "It's been so long since I've been here. I should come back more often."

"I agree," Merryweather huffed slightly, "you and Master Yen Sid were trained by the same master."

Sato smiled.

She was right.

(Many years before)

Yen Sid looked over as the tower door opened. A woman, young looking, but with deep eyes that seemed far older than herself. "Good morning, my old pupil."

"Master Jager. You are looking well."

Due Jager's wolf tail swished back and forth as she stepped closer. "I don't know how much time I have left. But, I wanted to come and see you. I am sorry that we never found the anti-spell for your friend(1)."

"Master. If you truly believe your magic will kill you soon, then please stay here and rest."

"Oh, I could never do that. I'm too much of a workaholic. That's why I've taken on another pupil."

"Master…"

She sighed. "I think he's the one. The one to give No Name to." Her old eyes sighed. "I want you to help me train him. If I use too much magic and my body gives out(2) I want him to know you well so he is alright with training under you."

Yen Sid smiled sadly. His master really was a workaholic… "I will help you Master. Tell me, what is the boy's name?"

"Fuji Sato."

"I know why you called me here, Yen Sid."

"I'm aware."

Merlin took a sip of his tea, his eyebrows furrowed deep in concern. "Seiðr is not a magic you should be messing with."

"Oh, I think we're a bit harsh. Young Eraqus probably missed his mother. There's no harm in him seeing her."

"I agree, but one must be careful."

Sato's leg bounced nervously. "In all honesty, I did go seeking Freya and Seiðr. But not for myself. I know the magic hurts and corrupts the one who uses it if they use too much(3), but it was an emergency."

"What kind of emergency." Thank goodness for Fauna. She was the only one not glaring in his direction for disobeying orders.

"My new student." Sato placed his hands on his legs to stop the nervous twitching. "He was dying. His body was rejecting his heart. I knew our magic could do nothing, but Seiðr could."

"His body was rejecting his heart?" Yen Sid raised an eyebrow.

Sato nodded. "Yes. And he didn't tell me this might happen. I was caught off guard and had to act quickly to save his life. I apologize for disregarding your instructions."

Fauna smiled, sipping her tea. "See, I knew there had to be an explanation."

"I still don't like it."

Yen Sid closed his eyes, his expression unreadable as he sat in silence. Sato never liked it when he did this. Always made him uncomfortable. "Sato…"

"Yes?"

"I can understand your reasoning. And I would like to meet this boy. What is his name?"

"Xehanort."

"Once he is well, bring him here."

The younger master nodded. "I will." He stood up, bowing sharply before he smiled. "I will be heading back to Yggdrasil now. I hope to see you all again soon when I bring Xehanort and Eraqus over."

"We will see you then."

Sato hurried back down the stairs, his mind more at ease, but he was happy to be out of the same room with all of them. He loved them all dearly, but the thought that any of them could turn him into a toad in half a second always put him on edge.

Now, hopefully he could get back to his students… and hopefully they kept themselves out of trouble.

But, of course, that didn't happen.

Now, here he stood on the other side of the Bifrost with Freya glaring at the two tired, dirty, and scratched up boys.

At least Xehanort looked better.

But this day couldn't get any worse...

"Explain. Now."

…

It got worse.

"You put one of the seven Princess of Heart in danger!? Of all the…" His leg began to twitch again. "And you went into a dangerous place and Xehanort doesn't even have a weapons…"

"Eraqus, you should know better!" Freya scolded, swatting the back of the boy's head. "Sato. Please, let me deal with these boys."

"Go ahead. I've about had it with today anyway. Anything so that I don't have to do anything."

The goddess turned on the two boys. "Follow me."

Eraqus and Xehanort did so without question. Well, until she went around behind the giant turtle, under which she lived and lifted some sort of spell.

There lay a giant, and I mean massive, pile of stinking… something.

Turtle poop.

"You two will gather this entire pile into bags and set it by my garden for fertilizer."

"Mother!?"

She handed them two pitchforks. "The sacks are over there. Get to it! Now!" The air shuddered at her command, sending chills through the boys as they grabbed the pitchforks.

This was a long day indeed.

Sato sat by the fire with Freya, looking at the two boys who lay passed out on the floor. After their disgusting punishment and subsequent bath in the river, the goddess gave them some clothes while theirs dried after a good wash.

Two mats and blankets were all they needed before both boys fell asleep.

"They're brave boys."

"Indeed." Sato smiled. "Thank you again for letting us stay longer."

She smiled back. "Anything to spend more time with Eraqus. After the loss of my dear Hnoss and Gersemi and after Baldur deserted me(4), I felt so alone. I couldn't repeat my mistake with Baldur again, but when I found Eraqus, I couldn't help but care for him. I am glad to see him happy. Now, why don't you get some rest, Sato."

"I will."

Magically, another mat and blanket appeared on the floor. The Keyblade master lay down, ready for this day to be over and done with.

He had a peaceful night. Dreams of good times with old friends.

Until a crash shattered that.

"I'm so sorry!"

Sato sat up to see Xehanort bending over to pick up a shattered bowl. Freya smiled gently at the boy. "No. It's alright. It's just a bowl."

"Morning Master!" Eraqus grinned from his position by the fire. His arm stirred what smelled to be porridge cooking.

"Good morning." The master sat up, watching the two boys bustle about with Freya. "After breakfast, we need to go."

"Already!?"

Sato nodded. "Yeah. Master Yen Sid wants to meet Xehanort."

"Who?"

"An old Keyblade master and wizard!" Eraqus smiled.

Freya huffed, turning away. "He can be quite the pain honestly. Always sticking his nose where it doesn't belong."

"Mother…"

Breakfast passed in silence, but a tension hung in the air. Freya scooped up all the dirty dishes before turning back. "You should go, before that old bat gets annoyed." Taking a long sigh, she knelt down before Eraqus. "You be safe. Listen to your master and come visit me soon."

"I will." The boy threw his arms around her neck, his throat choking up as he fought back tears.

Sato laid a hand on the shoulders of both boys and they walked out the front door. The giant turtle settled back over the entrance, moaning slightly in farewell.

"How do we get to Master Yen Sid?" Xehanort asked.

"Did you notice this?" Sato tapped the armor on the boy's shoulder.

Xehanort gave a slight gasp as he noticed the silver metal attached to the top of his arm. "What is this?"

"Hit it."

The boy felt around the armor piece until he felt what seemed to be a button on the outer portion. Drawing back his hand, he brought his fist down against it.

Light rushed over him, encasing his body in warmth. He blinked. Something darkened his vision. His hands came up, and he saw them covered in armor. "Whoa!"

Light flashed in his peripheral and he turned to see Eraqus dawning a golden armor and Sato wearing his own armor. "We'll take my glider." Sato threw his Keyblade into the air, and it transformed into a glider. The master climbed on and the two boys after him. "Hold on!"

Xehanort held up a hand as they flew through space. He felt like he could reach out and touch every star in the heavens. As he did so, he felt something.

Something cold.

Something… that called to him.

Something mysterious.

"Why do we wear the armor, Master?"

"It protects us. Darkness is stronger here and without it, we would be exposed."

"Darkness?" Xehanort looked out at the blackness between the stars. What would the darkness do if they were exposed to it?

What… what really was darkness? He'd read about it as a child, but this… this was different. This was… enticing. This was exciting.

The glider pulled to a stop beside… well the strangest thing Xehanort had ever seen. A lone floating rock with a lone tower.

"Is this it?"

"This is it!" Eraqus ran toward the tower.

Sato and Xehanort followed behind slowly. They walked up the flight of stairs.

Seriously, who needed this many stairs? The door at the top of the stairs stood open, and voices talked amongst themselves. As the two entered the room, Eraqus stood beside Merlin, talking.

Xehanort looked around the room. Three short women: one in red, one in green, and one in blue stood in one corner. An old man with a long beard stood with Eraqus, and a taller man with a long beard, but not as long as the other man's, stood behind a desk, wearing a pointed hat.

The boy could feel power as soon as he stepped into the room.

So much magic.

"You must be Xehanort." The man behind the desk turned, looking the boy over.

He looked intimidating…

Xehanort bowed. "Yes sir."

"Come closer," the boy walked over, "I am Master Yen Sid. This is my friend, the wizard Merlin, and the three good fairies: Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather. I was informed that your body was rejecting your heart. It is good to see you have recovered."

"Thanks to Freya." The boy spoke softly. He felt so nervous. He didn't even know this man, but something told him that this man deserved a lot of respect.

"Tell me how you came to have this condition, or were you not aware of it."

Xehanort could feel all eyes on him. "I was born with a malformed heart, so the doctors had to perform a heart transplant the day I was born. Apparently, my heart didn't graft correctly, so two years ago my body began to reject it. I was given three years to live."

"I see. Well, I am glad that you are recovered, and I hope to see you more. I simply wished to make your acquaintance. And I am always willing to answer questions that you might have. You, like Eraqus, are welcome to contact and visit me anytime should you have need of it."

Oh.

This guy might not be as scary as he appeared.

Xehanort bowed. "Thank you, Master."

"Sato, what are you plans for his training?"

Sato looked at the older master and smiled. "Well, tomorrow I'm taking him to a new world to teach him a few things."

Yen Sid nodded. "Very well. I look forward to hearing how it goes."

"Thank you, Master."

Dear Xay,

I miss you dearly.

Your father and mother have been out of their minds searching for you, but I did as you asked and didn't tell them. I hope you're having more fun out there than I am here. Dad says he's happy you're gone, but I'm not.

I wish I was with you.

Wherever you are.

Please… come home soon.

Your dear friend,

Vee

Anyone wanna guess the first Disney world (If I already told you, shhhh tell no one).

Please review!

Footnotes:

(1) This is a reference to Yen Sid's past which is explained in my KH3 fic.

(2) This is my reasoning for Yen Sid living so long. His body, and his master's as well are being kept alive by using so much magic, but they will soon die of magical exhaustion.

(3) I'm going off this because in the God of War game Freya's tattoos get darker the more she uses magic.

(4) Hnoss and Gersemi were Freya's daughters. It's speculated that they died which is why she is so protective of her son Baldur. Protective enough to cast a spell on him to make him invulnerable to nearly everything. However, the spell also makes it so that he can feel no pain at all and he hates her for it.