-SPOILERS FOR BIRTH BY SLEEP-

|||Birth By Sleep|||

Terra:

Terra's world was a quiet world. It fell near the edge of the light realm, and darkness reached fingers onto the edges of Eraqus' sightline, taunting, haunting, whispering lies and fears. It wouldn't be a bad place to grow up, Eraqus supposed, were it not for the shadows in the corners and the prevalent pickpockets in the alleys.

Eraqus had been on his own for a long time. Master Yen Sid rarely ever left the Mysterious Tower anymore, and his messages were few and far between. Xehanort was gone, the only evidences of his leaving the scars on Eraqus' face. He was the only one to protect the Realms now, to protect the balance.

It was a heavy burden. A weary, lonely job.

He did it without a murmur. Because he was the only one who could.

But when a rumor of some troublesome mages reached his ears in the tavern he frequented, the tavern where world-travelers congregated to swap stories and goods, and Eraqus found himself in this murky, gray-tinged world, a new job appeared to him.

The boy wasn't more than eight years old. He had no parents, or at least none who cared enough to watch over him. He was too proud to beg, and too good to steal, so he wandered the street corners to try to find jobs. A mane of spiky brown hair obscured it at first, but his face was bruised, and his knuckles were bloody—from fights he'd gotten into, the boy later told Eraqus. Fights to protect the younger kids from the streets. Fights to defend his honor, or get back at bullies.

The boy ran into him as Eraqus entered the slums of the biggest town, his skin more dirt than anything else, and there was a split-second where the boy's shocked, piercing cobalt eyes locked with his own brown ones, and Eraqus was overwhelmed by a rush of rightness. The boy was meant to stumble into his knees and Eraqus was meant to catch him and send the older ruffians chasing him again into the shadows with a glare.

The boy met his gaze, half-challenging and half-unsure. Eraqus could feel the magic locked away inside his chest, an inner strength firmer than the earth. The thought hit him like a train.

This boy is to be my apprentice.

It sunk into him. It felt right. Eraqus knew it was meant to be. This boy was to be his apprentice, he was to train him to control the seething emotions within him. The Land of Departure would have more than one occupant, would be full of the sizzle of magic and the clang of practicing Keyblades once again.

Eraqus stopped the boy from leaving with a hand on his shoulder. "Wait just a moment."

The boy stared at him, on guard but undeniably curious. "Who're you?" He shot out, and Eraqus saw that his eyes had flicked to Master Keeper. The weapon seemed to hold the boy's attention, but only for a moment. He looked back up at Eraqus, his interest overwhelming his caution.

"My name is Eraqus." He replied. "And you are?"

"I'm Terra."

.

Aqua:

Aqua's world was gentle and her city floats on top of its biggest lake. The people were cheery and self-absorbed, merchants by trade and sailors by heart. They were less-advanced, perhaps, than many of the more prominent worlds, but he'd heard stories that monsters were seen in the underwater levels—a pointless chase, as no monsters were to be found. Eraqus was ready to portal back to the Land of Departure where he had reluctantly left Terra for the day, but was distracted by the sound of gasping.

He looked down the street he was passing and saw four children in a cluster around a fifth, a young girl with bright blue hair and a hand-me-down dress. Over her outstretched palm, a small ball of fire hovered, its hue that of a conjured flame. One of the others was smiling and eager, but the other three looked shocked, and almost scared. "What is that?" The eldest demanded, a high note in his voice that spoke of fear. Eraqus stopped. Something was off.

The girl in the middle shrugged, and the shy smile she had worn was slipping, and her magic faded into nonexistence. "A-a trick," she said, fumbling with the words.

"No, that was magic," the older one accused, and the word was a curse. The other children backed away faster than Eraqus could blink, and the girl shook her head rapidly. "N-no," she protested, and looked around her for help. "I just… My friend taught me how to—"

Again, one of the others stepped back. "No one can do that! That's magic!"

The girl shook in fear now at the word. "I-I didn't mean..."

"Get away!" One yelled, getting close enough to shove her.

"I'm sorry!" She gasped, and then she looked around once more for help, and her eyes found Eraqus.

Again, that lightning strike of clarity. The girl and her magic ability were not meant to languish in this still-growing world. Eraqus was to take her with him to join Terra in training.

He had crossed the distance between them with two strides, and loomed over the other children with the glare he'd learned from Yen Sid. "Go." It was a one-word order, but Eraqus had mastered a voice which produced results within days of Terra's arrival, especially after hearing it himself so often as he trained.

They scampered, and Eraqus turned to look at the blue-haired girl, who didn't quite shrink away from him but regarded him with surprise and a measure of curiosity. Her heart overflowed with magic, with potential. Her bright blue eyes had a gentle strength but her limbs were skinny and her mouth underfed, her hands rough and blistered from labor. Her parents had been killed in a boat accident years before and whatever orphanage she belonged to did not want her, she later told him.

"Thank you," she whispered, and faltered back. "I won't do it again. I-I didn't mean to do anything wrong…"

Eraqus shook his head. "You did nothing wrong." Her eyes found his in disbelief. "In fact, what you can do is a rare skill."

Her eyes grew wider. "I can help you learn to use it, if you would like."

The girl nodded, eagerly. But then she blinked, and furrowed her brows. "Who are you?"

"I am Master Eraqus," the title felt easy now, after having Terra with him.

The offer to learn magic was irresistible, and she left with him easily. But first, before he asked her to join the world of Keybearers, the girl smiled in return, and replied, "I'm Aqua."

.

Ven:

Xehanort never told him what Ventus' homeworld had been like, and Eraqus never asked. He had not been exactly willing to speak with his old friend after their parting, but the fact that he was accompanied by an empty, fumbling boy at his side gave Eraqus enough pause for the other Master to explain.

Ventus' heart had nearly been lost, his spirit torn asunder, and there was a gripping regret in Xehanort's eyes as he told Eraqus of the accident. Eraqus had heard stories of certain black creatures lacking hearts which were found in darker worlds, and they had somehow crept up on Xehanort and Ventus. Xehanort blamed himself for not being able to protect the boy, even though he had done all that he could to repair him. Without help, all Xehanort had been able to do was strip the darkness from him.

But the Ventus whom Xehanort had first found was a bright boy with a willing spirit, ready to help and always smiling with the eager grin of a chosen heart. Signs of a Keybearer waiting.

He had barely had time to absorb the change in perspective about his old friend when screaming echoed from the atrium, and they rushed out to find all three young apprentices waiting where only Ventus had stood. Now, the blonde boy was crumpled on the floor, and Eraqus could feel the cracks in the boy's heart splitting further. Terra and Aqua stood next to him, speechless, scared, guilty.

His anger was more from the whirling emotions of seeing Xehanort again than against his apprentices, but they shrank away anyway. Terra stuttered out apologies, but Eraqus shook his head. Ventus cannot remember anything.

And as he looked down on the broken boy with the broken yet incredibly bright heart, he did not feel the strike of clarity like he had those years before with his other apprentices. What he felt was undeniable compassion and the knowledge that he could not turn him away. Ventus deserved the chance to train and live without being haunted by this accident. He couldn't do that with Xehanort.

So Eraqus made him a room across from Terra's, Xehanort left after profuse gratitude, Aqua hovered over the boy like a worried mother, and Terra tiptoed in the background as if afraid to hurt him again.

When Aqua burst into his and Terra's lesson a few days later, gasping that Ventus had woken, he was the first in the room to meet the boy's blank, glazed stare. "Good to see you're awake," he said, and the boy sat up to look at him, unblinking. It was almost eerie.

"My name is Master Eraqus," he went on, and the words seemed to connect with the boy. Finally, Ventus blinked and a measure of color returned to his face.

The reply was breathless and almost emotionless, but it gave him back the slightest edge of consciousness.

"I'm Ventus."

~fin~

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A/N: Yes, another drabble thing from me instead of actual updates, sorry! But thank you for putting up with my weird updating schedule and my current obsession with Kingdom Hearts.

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Unrelated news, how many of you are playing KH Unchained X? I am completely obsessed with it.

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Thank you, miano53, for reviewing and favoriting!

And thank all of you for reading!