"Upon reflection, my life underwent the most considerable sea-change when I arrived at that place. Yes, it began when I found a Master, and another I would later call my brother—when I found a new home."- Xehanort Report I


A gust of wind blew the ancient page into the air as a dark haired boy repeatedly shook Xehanort in an attempt to wake him. The page flew lazily in the air going higher and higher before finally landing on a balcony belonging to one of the higher towers. The page laid there for a moment before it was picked up by with a man who had just stepped out onto the balcony. The man wore an ornate red cloak with an elegant hood that covered his blonde hair. His amber eyes looked over the page with mild interest before widening with shock. He stepped forward and looked over the balcony to see his pupil interacting with another young man he had never seen before. He watched as the new arrival materialized Aura Weapons. Much to the man's surprise, the boy's weapons were Ethereal Blades. The man looked back towards the page taking in the words that had appeared on it. As he read them a look of curiosity crossed his face. There was a sudden interruption as a young man came out to the balcony.

"Master I was sent to find you. A boy he fell from the sky-"

The man held his hand up to silence the boy. The boy handed him a knapsack which held a tag on it. The tag bore only the name Xehanort. Once more the man's eyes widened; a momentary flicker of fear flashed in his bright eyes.

"Bring him into the castle. Have one of the rooms prepared," he said.

"Yes sir," said the young boy.

After the boy left the man's eyes turned to the page once again taking in what it said.

"The ark had finally arrived at the Land of Departure. A herald to the rise of darkness.

The shattered remains prepared to surface, all the pieces destined to appear.

A great destiny to be fulfilled alone.

Guided by the light of the first piece, Xehanort would continue on the path his heart had laid out."

"Could this mean?" the man asked aloud.

He tucked the page within his robes and walked back into the castle.

...

Xehanort came to the next morning and found himself in the comfort of a large bed. The memory of everything came flooding back to him. The torn page, the storm, and finally the arrival in a new world. Xehanort felt a pang of sadness at the realization that he may never see his family again. A lone tear slid down his cheek at the thought of his father's desperate screams for Xehanort to return. He thought about how his mother would react when his father would tell her that her only son was lost at sea. His only consolation was that he at least secured the ship and gave his father a safe way to get back home. Although Xehanort was filled with a deep sadness at his loss a part of him could not help but be excited at what he gained in return. The ancient page he found had told the truth, he had finally managed to reach another world. He got out of bed and looked around his room. Neither his knapsack or his page were anywhere to be found. He then walked over to the window and marveled at the view. Just as he presumed Xehanort was inside the castle he saw when he first arrived. He took the time to take in the magnificent landscape that surrounded the castle. He looked down and saw the courtyard that he landed on when he first arrived. His thoughts suddenly drifted to the dark haired boy who had found him. He wondered who he was. The boy had said that this was his master's castle which made Xehanort wonder if he was some kind of servant. There was a sudden knock on the door as it swung open revealing the boy from the previous day. The dark haired boy gave Xehanort a look of surprise as he spoke.

"Oh, I didn't expect you to be awake. Good to see you're not in a coma," he said with a short laugh.

Xehanort observed the boy who couldn't have been any older than fifteen. He had long black hair pulled in a ponytail with the remaining of his stray bangs that hanging over his forehead. He wore a long white hooded coat over a blue sleeveless shirt and rather large traditional looking pants. The most striking thing about him was he had a look of absolute cheerfulness that somewhat annoyed Xehanort. The boy walked over and he too looked out the large window.

"It sure is beautiful huh?" he asked.

Xehanort, however, continued to stare at the boy's attire.

"What's with the weird pants?" Xehanort asked rather rudely.

The boy narrowed his eyes giving Xehanort the notion he was extremely annoyed.

"What gives? I'll have you know this is very traditional gear. You don't see me making fun of your gray hair," he said defensively.

The boy looked had such a stern look and was so serious that Xehanort burst out with laughter. The boy looked at him for a long moment before laughing himself.

"Well I suppose to an outsider these pants are a tad bit over the top, " he said with a cheeky grin.

He put both of hands behind his head and leaned against the wall. "I'm sorry if I startled you the other day. It's not every day you see someone drop out of the sky. I was only making sure you were still alive," he said.

Xehanort crossed his arms and joined the boy on the wall.

"It's okay in all fairness I kind of overreacted," he replied.

There was a slight pause before the boy spoke again.

"So do you have a name?" he asked.

"Yes it's Xehanort," Xehanort said.

There was another momentary pause before the other boy finally addressed what was on his mind.

"So judging by the fact people around here usually travel by foot rather than falling from the sky... I'm guessing you're not from around here," he said nonchalantly.

Xehanort chuckled a bit at the boy's sense of humor.

"Yeah I guess you could say I'm from... out of town," he said with a smirk.

The boy raised an eyebrow as a curious look crossed his face.

"Well to be perfectly honest..." Xehanort said with a pause.

"The truth is I came from another world," he continued.

The boy cocked his head slightly, raising his eyebrows even further

"Really?" he asked.

Xehanort nodded. "Yeah, it's a long story."

The boy walked over to the desk and pulled out one of the chairs.

"Well I got some time to kill," he said with a grin.

In spite of just meeting him, Xehanort couldn't help but trust the boy. There was a pull kinship that he couldn't but feeling towards him. He didn't have many friends back on the islands because he always felt different from the rest of his peers. This boy was different and the similarities between the two were certainly visible to Xehanort. The ease at which the boy was able to talk to Xehanort didn't feel forced either. It was natural like they had been friends all their lives. For this reason, Xehanort sat down and told the boy his tale. He told about how he had come from the islands and the bits of his strange dream that he was still able to remember. He told him about finding the mysterious page and how it led him to row out into the middle of the sea during a storm. Finally how he crashed his boat and swam into the dark portal that somehow transported him here. After he finished the boy let out a long low whistle.

"Wow, that's quite a story. I can't decide if you're really brave, really stupid, or you just really hated that island," he said.

There was another pause between the two followed by another bout of laughter.

"Well, to be fair that was a pretty out of character thing for me to do. But when destiny calls.." Xehanort said, trailing off.

"Well I can respect how fearless you are even if that was pretty stupid," said the boy with a slight chuckle. "Although that just means I have someone else around here that is not afraid of a little danger. Unlike the rest of the stiffs around here."

With what was beginning to seem like his trademark grin he got up and extended his hand.

"Regardless of how you got here, I feel like it was meant to be. So I figure having a friend might make the transition easier," he said.

Xehanort looked at the boy with a grin and shook his hand.

"By the way, you never told me what your name was," said Xehanort.

"Oh, " he said with a slight pause."My name is Eraqus."

He stood up and motioned for Xehanort to do the same. "Come on I'll show you around," he said.

Xehanort got up and followed as the two boys set off ready for whatever adventure that fate had in store for them.


A/N: Hey guys I would like to apologize for not updating in a while. I've had an extremely taxing couple of months with everything going on in my personal life. I've also had an extreme case of writer's block which is in of itself ironic considering the entire plot of this story is already fleshed out. At any rate, I'm back to regular updates and I hope you guys will enjoy what's in store.