The Trainer of Heroes

"So unless we make an alternate source of power, whatever I make with you will simply cease to exist when you create something else?"

"That's about it." Ambrosius said, hovering above the Staff, leaning back with his hands on the back of his head and with a content smile on his face.

Yevon frowned, not liking the limitations seemingly placed on this Staff of Creation but his mind was already racing to find possible loopholes in these rules the Spirit of Creation was bound by. "If you power the magic runes in the beginning, can an alternate power source be used to continue the process even if you are used to create something else?"

"Oh, this one thinks a great deal." Ambrosius turned over so now he was seemingly lying face down in the open air. "Well, I suppose it could be done but if the source dies out, so does the spell."

"And what if the source is preserved? Would it remain indefinite by then?" Yevon questioned.

"Sounds about right." Ambrosius nodded.

Yevon then turned and looked at the stone wall…with the surviving people from his dying kingdom embedded in it. "The spell of the Fayth keeps them perfectly preserved. Their memories will recreate the Kingdom of Spira as it once was thousands of years ago and even then their dreams can be called forth by the magic of the summoning glyphs to take form for us."

"Sounds about right." Ambrosius said and nodded again.

"Then all there is left to do is spread the word of the greatest kingdom this world will ever know has been reborn."

Xxx

"Father."

A young woman bowed before the cloaked man who turned to her. "Yunalesca, I am glad you are here. Have you done as I asked?"

"Yes, Father." The woman lifted her head. "Our followers have begun searching for recruits and building temples as you have instructed."

"Good." Yevon said, sounding pleased. "The glyph magic provided by the staff will allow us to regain our summoning heritage but if the staff is taken and used for something else, we will lose our only source of power unless an alternate source is found."

"An alternate source?" Yunalesca questioned.

"Yes." Yevon turned and faced his daughter. "We need to call upon the few to sacrifice for the many and those that do will be rewarded beyond their wildest dreams."

Xxx

The Heart and Soul are two vastly different things. Sure, they both as important to make somebody a Somebody, but that's about it."

Oscar, Neo, and Penny listened to Terra as he explained about the difference between the Heart and the Soul.

"The Soul is just energy that allows the body to move, similar to how a battery makes a phone-"

"A what?" Neo raised a brow while Oscar looked just as lost.

Fortunately, Penny came to the rescue.

"It is a device similar to a scroll." Penny supplied before noting the looks the others gave her. "Yggdrasil connects me to all the worlds made by the Brothers, in addition to the memories I gained when my Heart resided with in Drasil. Phones are common in worlds like Camp Campbell or Day 5."

"Anyways," Terra brought the conversation back on track. "The Soul also possess the ability to form memories, but without the Heart, it can't feel the emotions that come with."

"But, wouldn't they remember being upset?" Penny frowned. "I... had a Heart as a robot."

"That's different. From what I gathered, your father just transferred a part of his own Soul to you. The same way you can charge your phone on a computer by plugging the USB in." Terra explained. "Even then, nobody's born with a Heart. When they first come into existence, a metaphorical seed is planted and it blossoms into a Heart after a period of time.

Terra shook his... head. "You always had a Soul, but you didn't gain a Heart until you started forming real connections with your father."

"Souls are just energy to give a body life, the ability to use magic, keep the body living." Terra stated.

Perry thought it over before she smiled in gratitude. "Thank you, Terra."

Terra was unable to smile back so he simply nodded before looking at the portal. "What is happening with Aqua right now?"

Penny turned around and frowned at the image. "Another change in history…Brought about by Aqua's return to the past and then jumping forward."

"How so?" Oscar asked, leaning forward to get a better look.

"I think our world has become more integrated with the rest of the universe now." Penny answered with an uneasy look on her face.

Xxx

"People of this village." The woman stepped forward and spoke with tone that conveyed a deep sense of authority. "I am Lady Yunalesca and I bring to you the word of Yevon."

The surrounding villagers whispered to each other, looking at the woman and her group with looks of apprehension. Aqua and Poppy slowly stood up, both of them getting a feeling that something bad was going to happen.

"For too long, we have been plagued by the Creatures of Grimm, possessing no weapons or powers to defend ourselves, beyond what tools we hold in our hands. Now however, things have greatly changed for we have come across a power that can grant us…salvation." The woman named Yunalesca smiled as she stepped forward.

The villagers, needless to say, looked very skeptical of the woman's claim which she immediately picked up upon.

"I see a demonstration is in order." She said and closed her eyes.

Under her feet appeared a glowing glyph that spread out into a circle around her. The villagers looked surprised while Poppy and Aqua looked alarmed.

"Come forth, Shiva!"

From the glyph rose the spectral appearance of something that took on a more solid form once it had fully emerged.

It was a woman.

For a brief second, Aqua thought it was Jinn due to the blue hair and skin but it was actually someone…or something else. It resembled a woman like Jinn and wore limited clothing but that was nothing compared to the cold sensation radiating from it. She even exhaled cold breath as she floated next to Yunalesca who smiled.

"This is Shiva, my summon." She introduced to the villagers. "A being of great power that can protect me and anyone else from the Creatures of Grimm."

She made a gesture with her hand and Shiva held out one hand to the water and a second later, a layer of ice traveled down the water from the beach and leading several yards out into the sea.

Everyone was stunned into silence, including Poppy while Aqua remained composed.

"Now then, who wishes to join me in spreading the word of Yevon?" Yunalesca asked with a satisfied smile.

Poppy watched as the people whispered to each other, some open to the idea while others were still skeptical.

She leaned in to whisper to Aqua. "So what are we going to do?"

Aqua looked at the woman with the strange summon…

Xxx

"Nothing?! We're going to do nothing?!"

After gathering some much needed supplies, Aqua and Poppy set off from the village, moving on like they had done since beginning this journey.

"You can't tell me you didn't think something was not fishy with that woman." Poppy argued, trailing after Aqua with an scowl on her face.

"Maybe there is but even then this isn't something we should just rush in to and start a fight." Aqua replied, keeping her gaze forward as they walked down another path through a rocky canyon. "And we shouldn't start a fight over a mere suspicion."

"But that wasn't natural." Poppy caught up to Aqua and pointed back in the direction of the village they had just left. "You know it wasn't."

"And what would have me do, Poppy?" Aqua stopped and looked at the younger girl. "Go back there and start a fight with all those people in the middle of it? That's the very thing I'm trying to avoid."

Poppy opened her mouth to argue but stopped. "…Okay, you have a point there. Starting a fight with that thing in the middle of that village would be bad but we can't just do nothing. There has to be something we can do."

"We don't know enough about these…Yevonites to make a proper decision. Maybe they will offer protection from the Grimm." Aqua pointed out.

"Or they could be up to something bad." Poppy reasoned. "We could just be leaving another village to its fate."

"We? Another village?" Aqua raised an eyebrow. "Or is this about one village in particular?"

Poppy stopped herself and sighed as she looked down at the ground with an anguished look on her face. "…Okay, I might be. I brought the monster that killed my brother into my village and got my parents and everyone else there killed. I'll never forgive myself for that and nothing I do will ever make up for it…But if there is a chance to stop it from happening to someone else I have to take it."

Aqua simply stared at Poppy before looking away. "And how do you plan to do that?"

"You've been teaching me to defend myself for the last week since we started traveling but I know you have a lot more than that." Poppy looked back at Aqua. "I know you have some kind of special power."

"Poppy, this isn't something I can grant just because you ask." Aqua interrupted as she turned away. "It's only meant to be given to people who have proven themselves worthy of it. Please do not ask this of me."

Poppy could only watch as Aqua started walking again.

Xxx

When night finally fell, Aqua and Poppy set up camp and had a silent dinner.

For Aqua, she had been constantly thinking over what Poppy had said and the more she thought about it, the more her master's words echoed in her mind.

'Remember that order must be kept. You cannot tell anyone there are other worlds.'

That's right, the World Order.

She was sworn as a Keyblade Master to never break that rule.

The only exception would be if she took on an apprentice.

'Neo was actually my first apprentice, despite the circumstances that led to us meeting.' Aqua thought, recalling having trained Neo how to wield the Keyblade she had found and given to her in the Realm of Darkness. 'Do I dare take a new apprentice this soon and not to mention in the deep past long before Neo and the others were even born?'

She shouldn't be thinking of this as it threatened to cross several lines she was already very close to. By using the Power of Waking, she had piggybacked on Ozma's heart as he died and was then reborn in a new time much different from the one they both remembered. Using a power meant to travel to other worlds that she had only just learned of and she was potentially misusing it.

But if she hadn't the world would be destroyed by the Heartless, left in slumber or destroyed by Salem as a Heartless.

She wanted to believe she was still carrying out her duty as a Key Wielder. She was worried though, how far she would go to justify herself if she started going against what she had been taught.

Like Xehanort.

Aqua grimaced at the mere thought of being like Xehanort, especially since he had killed her master, his best friend in cold blood.

'Still, I've been teaching Poppy to defend herself. I can at least help her learn how to use a simple sword.' Aqua conceded to herself.

But would it be enough?

By the time the fire was out, Aqua and Poppy had turned in for the night but Aqua found herself looking up at the stars.

She held out a hand over her face and stared at the palm.

'Do I consider taking Poppy as an apprentice? If I do, how far should I go?' The lost master thought to herself.

She could activate Poppy's Aura for her and teach her how to awaken her Semblance. After all, it was the natural power of this world but would that change history too much?

Where did Aura even originate from?

She had no idea when Aura finally manifested itself on this world after magic had disappeared.

What if she ended causing a disaster while trying to do something good?

'Terra, Ven, Neo, I wish any of you were here to help me.' She thought, summoning a glyph on her hand that first turned bronze, then green and then pink. 'The color of the glyphs created by my Semblance represents the bonds I have forged with people I consider friends.'

She then had to wonder what about the friends she had made during her journey across the worlds.

Prince Philip.

The Fairy Godmother.

Hercules.

Philoctetes.

Zack.

Experiment 626.

Peter Pan.

Tinkerbell.

Mickey Mouse.

Master Eraqus…

'Aqua.'

Aqua's eyes widened upon hearing a very familiar voice. "Master."

She noticed the star glyph on her hand had become black in color and for a second she thought she was hallucinating.

But then she heard his voice again.

'Aqua.'

Aqua suddenly felt like she was falling and when she looked down she gasped, seeing a platform with a glass mural of herself drawn on it.

This was her Station of Awakening.

Aqua landed softly on the platform and looked around. "Master, are you here?"

"I am here, Aqua."

Aqua spun around, watching in complete surprise as her deceased Master Eraqus approached. "...Master Eraqus."

"It is good to see you, Aqua." Eraqus said with a smile.

"How is this possible?" Aqua questioned.

"You recall Terra telling you what has happened to him since your battle with Xehanort in the graveyard?" Eraqus asked to which Aqua nodded. "For the next ten years he was in Radiant Garden, having lost his memories from his battle against you. While the body was capable of movement and thought Terra and Xehanort were locked in battle over control of the heart due to sealing himself and Xehanort in his own body as you saw in your battle. Unfortunately Xehanort is eventually released with the aid of his Keyblade and in the process I was released as well."

"You?" Aqua questioned.

"My heart took shelter in Terra's at the time of my death to protect him from Xehanort." Eraqus answered. "And when you released his heart from the darkness I was released with it and I chose to follow you on this journey you have taken. You are conflicted by what your choice might be as you wander this world, traveling through time itself."

Aqua nodded as she turned away. "I have made many mistakes reaching this point. I'm afraid what mistakes I might make down the road. That I might do something that could cause more harm than good."

"That is good because it means you are carefully choosing what you must do." Eraqus reached out, placing a hand on her shoulder. "And perhaps I can help."

Aqua turned her head to look at him over her shoulder. "How?"

"This new power you have, your Semblance. It allows to you to call upon the bonds you have made with people you have befriended." Eraqus slowly explained. "In fact, it has also played a role in how I am able to speak with you now."

"It did?" Aqua asked, turning to face her former master now.

"Your Semblance calls upon the strength of the hearts you have bonded with, including mine. I believe it can help you best in this new world and on your journey." Eraqus explained. "Use it now to reach out to my heart."

Aqua stepped and closed her eyes, focusing on her Semblance. A black star glyph appeared underneath her feet and she summoned her Keyblade, taking a stance. Only it wasn't her stance, but the one her master had favored.

"That's it. Feel my heart loaning you strength." Eraqus instructed, holding out his hand and summoned his Keyblade.

Or rather a replica of his Keyblade.

He then lunged at Aqua, preforming a quick strike that came with his style. Aqua immediately blocked and followed up with a quick strike of her own. Master and apprentice would duel around the glass mural platform that represented Aqua's heart. Aqua could hardly believe she was dueling her own master or the fact that she was moving faster than she was used to.

Was this the true power of her Semblance?

Relying on the power of the hearts she considered close to her.

Despite the fact that he was an old man by the time of his death, Eraqus was as strong and agile as she was. If anyone was watching, they would have compared this battle to a dance as they spun, ducked, traded and dodged each other's strikes. Eraqus had the speed and agility of a ninja while Aqua moved like a ballerina dancer.

Eraqus would block a slash and spin to the side, blocking a follow-up slash.

Aqua would push herself off the ground, placing one hand on her master's shoulder and landing behind him.

Eraqus would immediately duck and spin, slashing at Aqua's legs.

As Aqua brought her Keyblade to block, a spark of light appeared at the end…

Followed by a pillar of light that blocked Eraqus' Keyblade and causing both to jump back.

Aqua's eyes widened at the familiar sight, knowing that pillar. "Master…That's…"

"Yes." Eraqus nodded as he stood up, dismissing his weapon. "This comes from my control over the power of Light. Your Semblance functions much like the Dimension Link you created when you created those Wayfinder charms for yourself, Terra and Ven. Only this is much deeper."

"My D-Links?" Aqua wondered to herself.

"Yes, Aqua." Eraqus nodded with a smile as he started to fade. "I believe this is the first step to finding your place in this world. Think of someone who is a mentor aside from me, who trains people to be warriors without a Keyblade. With any luck, this will be your new beginning."

"Master!" Aqua called out but Eraqus was already gone, leaving her alone in her Station of Awakening.

Looking around, Aqua thought carefully of his words regarding her Semblance and how it might help.

'Think of someone who is a mentor to people wanting to become warriors…' Aqua's eyes widened as she recalled someone like that.

Philoctetes!

The trainer of heroes!

Aqua closed her eyes and focused her Semblance on Philoctetes, better known as Phil.

An orange glyph appeared underneath her…

Xxx

Morning came quickly for Poppy when the sun shined down on her face, causing her to quickly wake up with a groan.

"Poppy!"

Poppy sat up with an alerted look on her face, seeing Aqua was already cooking up breakfast for the two of them. "…Aqua?"

"You still want to train to be a warrior?" Aqua asked with her back facing Poppy.

Poppy simply stared. "…Yeah."

"Then you might want to hurry and have breakfast." Aqua simply said as she stood up and turned around, facing Poppy with a stern gaze. "Because our training starts as soon as breakfast is over."

Poppy just stared with widened eyes. "What?"

"You might want to hurry." Aqua said with a small smile. "Breakfast is getting cold."

Poppy immediately got up and had breakfast, staring at Aqua for the most part. When they were done, Aqua led Poppy out into an open field.

"Okay, this will do nicely." Aqua muttered softly.

"For what?" Poppy asked, still confused.

"For this." Aqua summoned an orange glowing glyph.

From it appeared a small, fat half man and half…goat made of what looked like orange glass. Poppy just stared at the strange image before her while the creature just stared back before getting to work. And by work, it started by cutting up the grass, conjuring energy that removed other patches of grass to make into a circular track and then started gathering rocks to place around the field.

"What is that and what is it doing?" Poppy finally asked the question on her mind.

"His name is Philoctetes." Aqua answered with a smile. "I guess you could say he is my familiar."

While it wasn't the real Philoctetes, Aqua was still pleased to see him. Her Semblance had summoned a what was essentially a copy of the real Phil who set out to create a training ground for her and Poppy. She found that the glyph representing Phil was meant to call upon his experience in training heroes like he had done in his world with Hercules. The familiar represented her bond with Phil and his heart's desire to one train the greatest of heroes.

Soon enough, a training ground had been made and the Phil familiar was not done as it started setting up an obstacle course for the two, even showing them how to made simple weapons like wooden spears and bows along with arrows.

"Well, Poppy. You wanted to be trained." Aqua stepped forward, casting a serious gaze over her shoulder at the young red head. "And that's what you're going to get."

Poppy continued to stare in stunned silence…before smiling.

She had no idea how eager she was to start training to become a real warrior.

Someone her parents and brother could be proud of.

"Before we begin, we have one task to accomplish." Aqua held out her hand to Poppy who saw it glowing. "Once you accept this gift, Poppy there is no going back. Think long and hard about what you want."

Poppy stared at the hand for a moment…

And then shook it.

"I want this…Like I've wanted nothing else in my life." Poppy said in a resolute tone.

Aqua nodded. "Then we better get started."

Xxx

Aqua's Semblance: Wayfinder

Orange Glyph: Philoctetes

Description: Representing the trainer of heroes, this glyph summons a glass copy with Phil's knowledge and experience in training heroes on his world, the Olympic Coliseum. Unlike the real Phil, this copy is physically stronger as it can lift large rocks but has no fighting application. Instead it uses the real Phil's knowledge to train anyone it has been ordered to through Phil's heroes rules and training routines.