Disclaimer: I do not own any people, places, etc. from Kingdom Hearts. It all belongs to its respectful owners.

Prologue

A distant past, Daybreak Town…

"Are you sure this is the only way?" The red cloaked figure turned to his companion, the girl shrouded in a pink cloak, watching as she nodded before glancing back at the corridor of light. Her appearance was hidden by a white and blue fox mask; with the only thing able to be seen being her mouth, her expression hidden from view.

"Would I really be sending you away if there was any other choice?" Despite the girl's answer, it still seemed that she was rather hesitant about the whole plan in the first place.

"I know; you'd miss me too much to bear it, right?" The teen's tone turned teasing towards the girl, as he walked a bit closer to inspect the portal.

As he turned back towards the pink-clad figure, she could see the beginnings of a smirk on his face; and she knew that he wanted her to admit that he was right. Instead of allowing him his victory, she turned sharply away from him, glancing around to make sure no one had followed them. The dark fog of the morning seemed to hide them well, not to mention the spells that she had conjured up, but it was always possible that the traitor might have found a way in.

Or something worse… The thought made her shudder, causing the boy to glance over at her in concern.

"Are you sure you're ok?" Her companion was suddenly beside her, most likely a product of his magic, resting a black-gloved hand on her shoulder. "Using this much magic must be taking its toll."

She shrugged the hand off, trying to distance herself from him. Their… relationship, if one could call it that was too bizarre, too forbidden, for anything to happen.

"I'm fine. There's a reason I'm a Master and you're not, remember?" The red-clad figure let out a laugh, finding her response humorous to say the least.

"Ouch, was that really necessary?" She allowed a small smile to appear on her face, one that he kept peeking at to see. She would miss these interactions that they had after he left.

"Completely." She turned around, shoving him in the direction of the portal, her tone serious as she watched him stumble slightly. "You'd better hurry. The portal can only stay open so long and I doubt I'll have enough magic to cast another one anytime soon."

The figure waved his hand in the air nonchalantly a few times as he went back towards the portal.

"I'm going, I'm going. No need to make me rush."

She did leave out a little laugh at that, causing the teen to shoot her a smile. Her heart fluttered a bit but she ignored it, instead watching as he stopped in front of the portal, one hand near the entrance.

"You'll be able to protect them, right? To protect this world from the War?" His tone was serious, causing her to nod, her thoughts grim. The only way the war could be stopped was by him leaving.

They need him more than we do right now… Despite the thought, her stomach was tight at the thought of never seeing the teen again. He had been a light to her all these years, when she had been chosen to fulfill a role that she had never felt ready for. And now it's his turn…

"I'll keep them safe, I promise." Her acclamation seemed to calm him a bit, give him strength for the journey ahead, and she watched as he nodded his head. He turned towards her, this time his smile sad, so different from the way that he normally looked that it made her heart ache.

"Well then, until the next time we see each other."

She nodded, finding that tears were suddenly in her eyes, causing her to be glad that her friend couldn't see them.

"Until then." She repeated, trying to steal her nerves against what her heart was telling her. They would never meet again, at least not in this time, if not at all. The teen paused once more, glancing back at her, causing her to look away, staring at the canopy of trees that surrounded them instead.

"Goodbye, A-." The boy cut off, his Keyblade being summoned in a flash as they both sensed the presence of someone entering the girl's illusion.

The Keyblade's guard being a deep blue with an indigo handle, containing a metal shaft the color of gold that leads to a crescent-moon shape at the end. A gold and purple star made up the blade's edge, with the other side being shaped similar to a golden crown design. Off the handle, there were deep blue and purple spikes, leading to a star the exact same structure as the blade in the middle at the top of the handle. A chain led down from the handle to a star-shaped pendant, the coloration the same as the blade.

The girl summoned her Keyblade as well, glancing around the canopy, waiting for someone to appear. It seemed like they were close but she was unable to sense where exactly they were.

They're here for the portal…

Despite the style of the girl's Keyblade, it fit comfortably in her hand, a fox insignia just above the handle signified her Keyblade's unique design. The colors yellow, pale blue, pale green, and pale pink, making their way all throughout her weapon's design.

"You need to leave, now!" She shouted towards her companion, her pink cloak flapping around her as wind suddenly picked up. Her friend had summoned a tornado-like spell to surround them, hopefully giving them more time to escape.

"No way am I-!" He began cutting off a moment later, twisting around to block a strike aimed at him from a vicious looking Keyblade. The hilt was completely black, it's sharp and wicked design following throughout the weapon. A blue eye was near the top of the Keyblade, at the same level as the blade's edge. The girl tensed up, ready to spring across and help her friend, before dodging a spell that came at her from the opposite direction.

There's two of them?!

"I didn't think you'd actually be able to block that strike." She whipped her head around to stare at the man attacking her friend, surprise and horror filling her when she saw the pure black cloak that the man was wearing. Her friend pushed back against the strike, getting his Keyblade to unlock with the enemy's, allowing him to move father away from the man.

"Yeah, well I've been practicing." The malice was clear in her friend's voice, but the man didn't seem to take notice, nor did it seem like he cared, merely letting out a laugh at the boy's implications.

Why should he? She glanced over at her friend, getting into a fighting stance herself, but found that she couldn't move her legs. Terror seemed to flow from her, making her wonder where all this fear was coming from. He's no match for him…

"Yes, well I suppose that you have." The man shot her a glance, not that she could see his face, before returning his gaze back towards the red-cloaked boy in front of him. "After all, how many worlds have you been to? Five, maybe six?"

Both of them tensed up when the man suddenly disappeared, causing them to cast their gazes fervently around the small grove. The two's gazes met, causing her to nod towards the portal, the boy taking a sprint towards the small circle of light at her command.

Where could he have-? Her thought cut off when she saw a flash appear behind her companion.

"Look out!" Her cry caused the boy to whip around, trying to fend against the attack. Her warning was too slow, and she dashed towards him, as the figure appeared, the black Keyblade slicing down towards her friend. She only caught the look of surprise on her friend's face before she saw his Keyblade go flying, hitting a tree and disappearing in a flash, as he was flung away from the portal. "Ephemera!" The cry came out of her mouth before she could stop it, making the black hooded figure turn towards her.

"So that's who this is…" The man's casually remarked as the girl used her magic to teleport herself over to her friend lying on the ground. "I thought that you would have chosen one of the others but apparently I was wrong."

She stumbled slightly as she reached him, feeling her vision fade slightly.

Not now…

She fell towards the ground, kneeling at his side as he began to move, trying to stand back up but only getting onto his knees before falling back down. His cloak had been mostly torn off, leaving the red scarf from beneath as the only remnant of the tattered garment, showing off his curly silver-colored hair. His standard white shirt and black pants could now be seen, as well as the black jacket that he wore over the t-shirt. His breathing came in ragged gasps, causing her to try and push him back towards the ground, which was quickly being covered in blood.

"I-It burns, Ava. What did he-?" She shushed him, glaring back at the man who was watching them with amusement before pushing against her friend gently.

"I'll let you know in a moment. Let me take a look first." She glanced towards the wound, trying not to wince at all the blood. She used the sleeves of her cloak to try and wipe away some of the blood, with it welling up just as quickly, to see a deep, jagged cut from the boy's waist to his shoulder. She winced as his body stiffened up when she touched it, trying to get a closer look. It almost seemed like…

No… She glanced at the glowing red symbol in horror. No wonder he says it burns, this spell…

Holding her shaking hands over the wound, trying not to aggravate the torn up skin more than it was, she focused, trying to heal at least some of the cut. What came out was a small stream of green light; barely enough to heal a small cut, making her head swim. She was forced to stop a moment later, her breaths coming in ragged gasps.

I've used up too much magic keeping the portal open…

"As you can probably see, even if he manages to get through the portal, he won't last long." She glared over at the man, who was slowly advancing towards them. "It would be better to just accept defeat here."

She took a breath, summoning the last of her magic, casting her gaze towards the fading portal.

If I can just…

She put her hand carefully underneath the silver-haired boy beside her, helping him up despite the moan that came out of him as she did so. If she couldn't stop the bleeding quickly…

Someone on the other side will help him, they just have to…

"Never!" At that word, she used the last of her strength to teleport them so that they were in front of the corridor of light. Her vision faded, causing her to shake her head, fixing her gaze on her friend. "Ephemera, you have to survive. Stop the Keyblade War, it's the only way." She didn't know if he had heard her, but she hoped that he did, with her last action being to shove him into the light as it disappeared completely.

Be safe, Ephemera… I'll do what I can from here…

A gasp left her throat when she felt something being shoved through her chest, causing her to lean up against whatever was behind her for support.

"You think you've won?" The man's voice was right next to her ear, causing her to realize that it was him that she was leaning against, his Keyblade going through her body. Her vision began to fade, causing the man to shake her. "I know you can hear me. This isn't your real body, just an illusion."

"T-then if you knew, why did you come here?" Her voice sounded far away, she knew she couldn't keep this up much longer without the damage being sustained to her real body.

"It was to show you that things couldn't be changed. Your plans mean nothing." The weight behind her suddenly vanished, as well as the weapon through her chest, making her fall to the ground. He was bending over her then, watching her through her fading vision. "You really think that one of my students could hide something from me? It just goes to show-." That man cut off, glancing towards where the portal was, his emotion turning to one of pure anger.

A smile appeared on her face then, causing her to let out a weak laugh.

"You can sense that too, can't you?" She taunted, her awareness already being cut off from the vessel. "He's going to change the outcome." The man's angry gaze focused on her, his Keyblade coming down on her a moment later.

"He won't win that easily."

"That was unexpected… but one must keep a still heart even in the most trying of circumstances." Ventus watched from the sidelines as Master Eraqus continued, feeling excitement well up in his chest. "It was an excellent test, one that I chose to let unfold. Which brings us to your next trial."

They're going to become Keyblade Masters, I just know it!

His friends moved at their Master's words, going towards the opposite area of the massive hall that they were in, facing each other a longer distance apart. Their Keyblades were held at ready, showing the preparation and dedication that the two older apprentices had dedicated to the test.

"Now, Terra and Aqua, the two of you will face each other in combat. Remember there are no winners-." The Master paused, his gaze turning sharply towards where the stained glass window was, causing the others in the room to follow. Ven felt confusion hit him when nothing happened for a moment, causing him to glance nervously at his friends. As far as the blonde knew, this wasn't the way that the ceremony was supposed to go…

What could the Master be-? The youngest apprentice's thoughts cut off when a bright light suddenly began to shine, eclipsing the image on the stained glass window. The light continued to shine, causing the blonde to have to shield his eyes from most of the glare, as it suddenly turned into what seemed to be a portal.

What-?!

The light moved down away from the stained glass, more towards the ground before disappearing all together, leaving a figure behind. The strange occurrence left the younger boy stumped as what to do, causing him to stand in place and stare at what- or rather who- had appeared. From where he was he could see the glint of silver hair, the main colors of the figure's outfit consisting of white, black, and red. But something did seem off the more he stared at the figure as his friends and Master ran over to the unconscious teen.

That's too much red…

"Master!" Aqua's cry of distress caused the younger boy to startle out of his haze, taking concerned steps towards his friends.

"I know! Aqua, begin using heal! Terra, go get some warm water and cloths," The Master began, leaning down towards the prone figure, who was now blocked from Ven's view, his gaze turning a moment later towards the youngest. "Ventus, go get the first aid kit!"

"R-right!" He automatically turned around, running the other way as worry hit him. If the Master was asking for extra supplies besides using spells then…

Whatever's wrong must be really bad…

Note: I know next to nothing about Kingdom Hearts Unchained X since I haven't gotten very far in the game. I'm taking characters from what I saw in the Kingdom Hearts 2.8 E3 2016 trailer and my own speculation about certain stuff I've read. I hope no one finds that offensive as much about this fanfiction regarding the game will most likely be incorrect, henceforth making it an AU.

So this chapter is basically the teaser that I released later in 2016 but I figured that I'd still post it based on the fact that it can still be considered the starting point of this fanfiction. As I stated above, I really haven't played much of Unchained X, now rebranded as Union X, although I do try to read up on certain events pertaining to the player's character. Despite this, things will still be quite different since I started planning on this back before the Back Cover was released and not much was known about the game. I still hope that you can enjoy it despite its differences! Sorry if characters are a bit OOC, I just haven't had the time to replay BBS yet.

-AnimeWolfGirl16