Special thanks go to GuiltyKingOumaShu and miano53 for beta-ing.

Against the Grain

"And you are all well? There have been no further injuries since my last appearance, or any resurgence of the Heartless?"

"Oh, no! Everything's splendid, Master Eraqus! You did a fine job of ridding us of those beasts, and for that we are ever so grateful!"

Eraqus smiled as he walked side-by-side with the mayor of the nearby town. "There, is no need to thank me," the old master said. "I was merely performing my duty."

The mayor tsked-tsked, however. His moustache shook with repressed excitement. "I must disagree! We couldn't possibly let you go without a proper thank-you! Come along, now. They're all waiting for you!"

Eraqus only got out the first syllable of his protest before the mayor grabbed his hand and tugged him down the road. Before he knew it, they were in the town square, right before the mayor's office, boxed in on all sides by the smiling townspeople.

He said, "This is all quite unnecessary -!"

"Thank you, Master Eraqus!"

A banner unraveled from the top of the Mayor's office. Confetti, white, blue and red, burst into the air with a bang. The crowd surged forwards, and though the Mayor appeared as jolly and unconcerned as ever, Eraqus's body stiffened with the expectation of being crushed.

Thankfully, they slowed before he was trampled. Instead, Eraqus found himself bombarded with thanks and handshakes. People, eager to share their gratefulness, spun him from one side to the other until he was dizzy.

At last, he got a moment's break. "This is all quite wonderful," he told the mayor, "but I must take my leave."

"At least stay for dinner!" the mayor said. "We've already secured the funds to pay for a celebration."

Eraqus forced a smile onto his face. "I would love to, but I have a child I must return to."

"A child, eh?" The mayor gave an exaggerated sigh. "If you must. But at least let the children say goodbye!"

"Yes, of course!" Eraqus said, eager for anything that would let him get out of here faster.

The mayor clapped his hands. The crowd backed off.

Eraqus gaped; it was that easy?

"I'm afraid our guest must be leaving now!" the mayor said to the crowd's great disappointment. "But if the children would line up, Master Eraqus will say one last goodbye to you."

To the mayor, Eraqus horrified, hissed, "You wish for me to give a speech?"

"Not at all," the mayor said. "Just go down the line and shake their hands."

Very well. Certainly, he could do that much. Eraqus did as he was told, and shook hands with the children. It was a shame the townspeople hadn't done this earlier, because this was just so much easier to deal with.

He was near the end of the line, shaking hands with a bright-eyed, blue-haired girl, when it happened. Out of the blue, Master Keeper thrummed violently. He froze, eyes darting about. However, he appeared to be the only one who noticed. Confused, he went through the rest of the line, pondering over Master Keeper's odd behaviour.

The keyblade kept humming vigorously, until the townspeople had left his sight. By then, he still hadn't figured out what had caused it.

It finally hit him on the way home.

The last time Master Keeper had acted like that, it had been when he first found Terra.

That little girl had been a keyblade wielder.

Bringing the girl into his tutorage turned out to be easier than expected. The parents of the child (Aqua) were nobility themselves, and eager for the chance to improve their already exalted status. Their only request was for him to sign an official paper declaring that the couple's daughter was in training to become a Keyblade Master. A low price for such a brilliant find. So, a week after he had discovered her, he returned to his castle with Aqua riding on the front of his glider. At this point, he wasn't entirely sure what she thought of this, but she hadn't voiced an objection yet.

He showed Aqua to her room, then departed for his own, to give her some time to adjust. The two of them were home for approximately two minutes before a panicked Terra ran into his master's room and hid under the bed covers.

The master raised his eyebrows. "Terra?"

Terra peered out from the covers. "Master," he hissed, "there's a stranger in the castle."

Eraqus smiled. Why, he'd almost forgotten! "That is no stranger, Terra," he said. "That is your new partner-in-training."

"She's . . . she's an apprentice, too?" he asked.

"That, indeed," Eraqus said. "Her name is Aqua. Come, I will introduce you."

Terra's eyes became very wide. "Right now?"

"Yes, now."

He nearly had to drag Terra along. Thankfully, the boy wasn't very heavy, and before too long, they stood before Aqua. Terra was hiding behind Eraqus's legs; only the top half of his head was visible as he peeked at his fellow apprentice. Aqua just seemed puzzled, as if she wasn't sure whether or not Terra was a real person.

"Aqua, this is Terra." Eraqus neatly stepped out from in front of Terra, giving Aqua a full view of him. "He will be training with you."

"Hello," Aqua said, voice not entirely hostile, but still a little aloof. She extended her hand for a handshake.

Terra leaned away, like the hand was about to bite him. He looked at his master fearfully.

"Say hello, Terra," Eraqus said.

". . . Hi." Terra said that while looking at everywhere that wasn't her.

Aqua's hand returned to her side. She looked slightly suspicious.

"I'll leave you two to get to know each other," Eraqus said, ignoring Terra's horror.

He took a few steps out of the room before Terra rushed out, too. Terra stepped right into his master's path, blocking him, and clung to his clothes.

"Master, what am I supposed to do?" Terra whimpered.

"Talk with her," Eraqus said.

"About what? What do girls like to talk about?" The poor boy sounded seconds away from crying.

Eraqus gave him a paternal smile. "Why don't you ask her?"

Terra looked at him as though Eraqus had just told him to stick his hand in a crocodile's mouth. Unfortunately, Eraqus knew exactly why Terra was so nervous. Before Eraqus had found the boy, Terra had lived on the streets, having been abandoned by his parents. Any benevolent social encounters the boy had experienced had been limited, and to his knowledge, Terra never had a friend his age.

Still, Eraqus had hope. He prayed that Aqua would become the boy's first true friend.

The clang of metal keyblades rang across the land. Silhouetted by the blinding sun, two figures grappled with their weapons. Their blades were locked against each other; their bodies trembled as they pushed. Finally, one found the advantage, and with a mighty heave, shoved the other one onto their back.

Panting, Terra looked at the downed figure. "You okay?"

Aqua scrambled to her feet. "Again!"

Terra shrugged, but obediently swung at her. Far away, in the shade of an oak, Master Eraqus watched.

He smiled. Aqua had settled in wonderfully, and just as he had hoped, it hadn't taken long for her and Terra to bond. Once the initial awkwardness had been cleared away and Terra realized talking to Aqua was no different than talking to his Master, it hadn't taken long for the boy to adopt her. Somewhere, along the way, Terra had also discovered he was a year older than Aqua, and so, had happily taken on the title of Big Brother.

His keyblade pinged, alerting him to a foreign presence. About time. He moved out of the tree's shade, smoothed the wrinkles out of his clothes, and then waited for the visitor to land.

"Welcome, Master Ares," Eraqus said.

"Master Eraqus," the other master said, "it has been some time. The Council has received word that you have taken another student under your wing."

"That I have," he said, with no small amount of pride. "Terra, Aqua, come meet Master Ares!"

The two children ceased sparring and scampered over. They stared at the new master with wide eyes, although he was a new face only to Aqua.

"Hi, Master Ares!" Terra chirped.

"Good to see you again, Terra," Master Ares said. "How is your training going?"

"Good!" Terra said. "Master Eraqus is the best Master ever!"

Master Ares raised an eyebrow. Eraqus said, "I promise that I did not tell him to say that."

Master Ares smirked. "I am sure. And who is this . . .?"

"I'm Aqua," Aqua said happily. She held out her hand for him to shake.

Master Ares did take her hand, but he did so with an expression of utter bewilderment and shock. "Eraqus," he said slowly, "is this a girl?"

"I fail to understand your concern."

Master Ares whirled around, nearly slapping Eraqus in the face. "Eraqus, I know you haven't spoken with the Council for some time, but this . . . this law existed before either of us were born! How could you defy it so?"

Master Ares, so absorbed with his frantic hand gestures and dire warnings, nearly stumbled over the leg of Eraqus's deck. The two Masters were currently within Eraqus's office, where two tiny apprentices would be unable to overhear them. And Eraqus was sure they were not eavesdropping, for through the wide windows at the back of the room, he could see the two playing outside, carefree.

"What law?" Mentally, Eraqus went over everything he had done. He had secured an agreement with Aqua's parents, declared his intent to train a second apprentice and sent in the proper paperwork, received the official gold badge in return, made Aqua swear to use her keyblade for good and, yes, had confirmed that Aqua truly had a keyblade. What had he missed?

"What law?" The words came out as a low, almost incomprehensible hiss. "Eraqus, you can't train a girl!"

Eraqus blinked. "Pardon?"

"A girl, Eraqus! The keyblade is not meant to be used by those of the fairer sex!"

Eraqus didn't say anything. Those words, they sounded familiar, but only vaguely so. It was quite possible that he had been told that once long ago, and had since forgotten. Or, it was also possible that he had been told that, but had simply not been paying attention. He loathed admitting it, but in his teenage years, he hadn't taken his training as seriously as he should.

"I . . . forgot," he said lamely.

"I assumed so," Master Ares said. "No harm done, then. Just send the child on her way, and we'll be done here!"

"Send her away?" Eraqus mumbled. "But her parents, I already told them she would become a Keyblade Master."

"Well, tell them you made a mistake," Master Ares said. "Tell them you were wrong, tell then she doesn't have a keyblade, I don't care. Just tell them something and fix this!"

"But . . . she does have a keyblade," he said quietly.

Master Ares sighed. He was leaning over Eraqus's desk, hands on the tabletop. "I don't make the rules, Eraqus. The Council does. And they won't be happy about this. I won't lie for you."

Eraqus scoffed. "This is ridiculous –"

"Oh, no!" Master Ares took a step back. "Nice try, my friend, but you are not making me choose a side."

"But surely you –"

"I have no opinion on the matter," he said firmly.

Eraqus sighed. "Perhaps I can reason with the Council. Aqua has already demonstrated a remarkable affinity for her keyblade; it would be a shame for such potential to go to waste."

"You can try," Master Ares said, "but I doubt you will find much success."

"Nonsense. The Council will listen to reason."

Two weeks later, and Master Eraqus was seated at his desk. In his hand, he grasped a communication crystal, within which a narrow, hawk-like face stared at him. The man's thick eyebrows were slanted downwards, and his nose was crinkled in exasperation. His name was Roku, Grand Master of the Council of Keyblade Masters, the king of their small circle, so to say.

"Master Eraqus," Master Roku said, "the Council has discussed your request, and we have decided it would be best for everyone if your request was denied."

"Denied?" Eraqus repeated in disbelief. "But what of Aqua? The keyblade has clearly chosen her as one of its wielders; how could we possibly turn her away?"

"Everyone in this universe has the potential to wield a keyblade," Master Roku said. "Yet there are few of us, are there not? Just because the girl can summon a keyblade does not mean she is fit to use it."

"Come now," Eraqus said. His free hand curled around the armrest and squeezed it tight. "We both know that is a lie. The keyblade is certainly not available to any who seek it!"

That much was true. It took a certain strength of heart, of will, for the keyblade to take notice of someone, and not everyone was able to meet those qualifications. However, if everyone were to honestly strive towards earning a keyblade (and if its existence was common knowledge among the laymen), there certainly would be many more wielders than currently existed.

"It would be horribly unfair to turn her away now," Eraqus said. "She has already trained alongside Terra and I for two months. Her progress has been remarkable! I can assure you that she will mature into a very powerful wielder."

Master Roku sighed. "Master Eraqus that may be so. She may work hard, harder than any apprentice we have ever seen, but you forget that men and women are not the same. No matter her attitude, she will never be as strong as you are, or as strong as your other apprentice will be. It's physically impossible."

Eraqus swallowed. All of his instincts concurred with that statement, but he didn't want to admit it. He couldn't stop himself, however, from walking over to the window and staring outside at where Terra and Aqua were climbing trees. Already, Terra dwarfed his fellow apprentice, but that should be expected, yes? He was older.

But it couldn't be dismissed that easily. Eraqus knew that height difference would always exist. Likewise, although both would develop muscularly as well, he knew Terra's transformation would be significantly more dramatic than hers would. Both were facts he could not deny.

"Must that matter?" Eraqus said. "I understand that she will be weaker than I, but regardless, there can only be one that is the strongest anyways."

"Have you forgotten what we do?" Master Roku said. "Master Eraqus, we charge headfirst into danger against the most terrible, deadliest foes. Plenty of our comrades have perished in the line of duty, and those who do not must exert every bit of their power and skill to survive. Tell me, how many times have you faced death?"

He pinched the bridge of his nose. "That is an unfair question -!"

"How many?"

Reluctantly, he answered, "I have lost count."

Master Roku's sneer was an unpleasant one. It was the kind of sneer that the owner had attempted to hide, but still betrayed itself through the slight lifting of the tip of the lip. "Eraqus, it is no secret that even among us, you are remarkable. And yet you, as you so kindly put it, have lost count of the number of times that you have almost perished. Now, you want to send this girl into battle, crippled by her lack of strength, and expect that she will survive? Are you mad?"

Eraqus's heart pounded. Each beat sent another echo of Master Roku's question upwards, a question that smashed against a hard wedge in his throat and trickled back down in the form of chills. He was at once torn between defensive guilt and defiant outrage.

"Give her a chance," he said. He felt like a child begging to keep a puppy he had found on the street. "We do not know what she will turn out to be."

"And for that we should toss away her life? We are meant to protect the innocent, and yet you, Eraqus, would send this child to her death!" For the first time in the conversation, Master Roku sounded truly angry. No, not just angry, but revolted.

"I . . ." Try as he might, Eraqus could not conjure up a defense.

"Send the child home," Master Roku said. "That is an order."

The day passed by. Master Eraqus performed the preparations that were required of him. He wrote a heartfelt apology to Aqua's parents. He packed up some of the toys she left lying around. He took the picture she had drawn of him, framed it, and then placed in his desk drawer where any visiting Master wouldn't see it.

Then, he did it.

He took Aqua's badge back.

She handed the golden emblem back with shaking fingers, and Eraqus had never felt more like a monster. She didn't understand why she had to surrender it, why she had to give back the thing that marked her as a true keyblader. In the corner of his eye, he saw Terra peeking in from the hall. The boy appeared as disturbed as Aqua was, and kept rubbing the gold badge on his belt.

"Thank you, Aqua," he said. He closed his hand over the badge and slipped it into his pocket.

She stared at him. The light had gone from her eyes, replaced by despair. He wanted to badly to comfort her, to gather her up in his arms and hug her until everything was better. But he didn't, because things wouldn't be getting better. Not for her.

"Was I bad?" Aqua asked quietly.

"No," Eraqus said, "this isn't your fault. I just . . . I'm sorry, Aqua."

She backed away from him, tears dotting her face. Meanwhile, Terra was growing restless, his own anxiety feeding off Aqua's pain, just as Eraqus's was. Before things could go downhill any further, Eraqus let Aqua be and ushered Terra away.

As he threw the gold badge into the fireplace and watched it melt, it occurred to him that he had yet to tell Aqua she would be going home.

Days passed, and Eraqus knew he had to stop stalling. He couldn't help it; any time he thought of telling Aqua the truth, her teary eyes would flash into his face and he couldn't do it. He wasn't good with dealing with upset children, especially when he had been the source of their distress.

Alas, he was running out of time. The Council wouldn't wait forever for him. If need be, they would remove her themselves, and he wasn't sure they would be as kind about it as he would be. No, it was best she heard it from him. Best that he took care of the matter personally.

He chose to tell her on the neutral ground of the castle's front steps. Terra, to his knowledge, was still innocently in bed. Normally, Eraqus would have woken him by now, but he had decided that both of them would probably need a break once he spoke with Aqua.

"Good morning, Aqua," he said. The two were seated side by side, with Aqua's legs swinging back and forth with repressed energy. "How are you faring today?"

"Good, Master," she said.

As opposed to his usual reaction, Eraqus barely suppressed a frown. In the immediate days following the confiscation of her badge, Aqua had been sullen and quiet. She'd perked up recently though, and that was terrible because it only meant he would have to bring her down all over again. He only had himself to blame, however; he shouldn't have left this so long.

He didn't move as she leaned against him. Or, to be more accurate, he hardly moved, for he couldn't stop himself from reaching up and ruffling her hair. And again, with her so close, so vulnerable and visibly attached to him, he hated himself for what he had to do. A sense of doom swept over him, making his heart rattle in his chest.

He took a deep breath. "Aqua, there is something I must discuss with –"

He stopped short when he noticed what she was doing. Although she was listening to him, she was also fiddling with something in her hands. A familiar, golden something, in fact.

"Aqua," he said, "where did you get that?"

She gasped and held the badge close to her chest, folding her shirt over to try to hide it. "It's Terra's," she mumbled. "He said we could share."

Eraqus was speechless. Sure, Terra's actions weren't hard to understand - Terra, too, had no idea that Eraqus's confiscation of Aqua's badge was only the first part of a much grimmer scheme – nor were they much of a surprise. For the revelation to be during this moment, however, right before Eraqus had informed Aqua of her fate, seemed to be a message of some sort. A message of divine origin.

No, he should not be so bold. It was a mere coincidence. That was all.

"Aqua . . ." He took a deep breath. "There is something I need to speak to you about."

She caught the lingering sorrow in his tone, and cringed. She drew her knees up to her chest and curled, so that she appeared much smaller than she actually was.

She asked, "Did I do something bad?"

"No, no!" he said, louder than he meant to. "You have done nothing. It's . . . it's very complicated. There are factors at work that you cannot even begin . . ."

He shook his head, realizing that she was lost. "Aqua, it is time that you returned home."

Birds sang. A light breeze ruffled the grass. Aqua stared at her intertwined hands.

She finally looked up at him, tears rolling down her face. "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault." He grabbed her and held her tight to him. Her chin dug into the base of his shoulder. "Shh, Aqua. I promise, it wasn't you."

She sniffed. "Why?"

He swallowed. He owed her that much. "Becoming a keyblader is a very dangerous path," he said quietly. "We slay beings that should exist only in nightmares. It's too dangerous for a gi - . . . child like you."

She was silent for a long time.

Then, she said, "Terra's going home, too."

He winced. Looked around to make sure said apprentice wasn't near. "No, he will not be."

"B-but . . ." He could see her struggling with this knowledge. "He's a kid, too."

"It's complicated." The word felt sour on his tongue.

She frowned. "Isn't it dangerous for him, too?"

"It's not the same," he said. "You will not be as strong as he will."

"But Terra isn't as strong as you."

He groaned softly. On one hand, he had piqued her curiosity enough that she had temporarily forgotten about her impending departure. On the other hand, she was making the brilliant, innocent points that only a child could make.

"I wish it was that simple," he whispered.

She looked up at him suddenly and declared, "I want to be a keyblader."

"I know." He smoothed down her hair. "I know you do."

"Terra said we're going to explore the worlds together," she blabbered on. "He says bad guys won't stand a chance against us."

"That's wonderful . . ."

"I don't want to go home." And just like that, she was crying again. "Master, please, don't make me go."

He stared blankly at the world around him. She wanted this so badly, at least as much as Terra did. Although Master Roku had made his point, he still felt like he was doing something utterly horrendous. Monstrous.

"I'm so sorry, Aqua . . ."

"Master, please . . ."

He sighed, and held her closer.

He couldn't do it.

"It has been a month since our talk, Eraqus."

It took a great deal of effort not to react. Eraqus hadn't failed to notice that Master Roku had dropped his 'Master' prefix. Clearly, the Grand Master was not impressed with his disobedience.

"I am aware of that," Eraqus said simply.

Master Roku's already pinched face grew sterner. Deep wrinkles creased his forehead, seeming to pull back the skin around his eyes, making them unnaturally large. It wasn't a pleasant sight, and Eraqus found himself wishing they were speaking through a communication crystal instead. Alas, Master Roku had seen it fit to pay Eraqus a surprise visit, something that did not please Eraqus in the slightest. It had been bad enough that Master Roku had seen Aqua before Eraqus had a chance to admit his disobedience, but the Grand Master also hadn't conceal his anger well enough from the children. Consequently, Eraqus, guardian of the world and those who lived within it, was now standing in the castle's threshold, barring Master Roku from entering.

"She is still here."

"She is," he said quietly. "I find that I cannot remove her in good conscience."

Master Roku barked, "We had an agreement."

"No." A spark of anger made his lip curl automatically. "There was no agreement between us. You gave a command you had no right to give."

"No right?" Master Roku drew himself up high, and his thin body cast a long shadow. "Have you forgotten with whom you speak, Eraqus? And regardless of my title, I have told you of the Council's reason for our choice; a reason I doubt you can toss aside."

"Yes, quite a curious subject, that," Eraqus said. "I must wonder, Master Roku, did you give me a reason why Aqua should not be trained, or an excuse?"

The harsh shadows covering Roku's face made it hard to read his emotions. However, his tone said enough. "What are you saying?"

"I am not certain this decision was made solely for her benefit."

There was a very, very tense pause. Finally, his lips seeming to barely move," Master Roku growled, "Perhaps I was not clear enough before. The child needs to leave, now."

"I can't do that," Eraqus said.

"That was not a choice."

Master Roku took an aggressive step forward, making Eraqus move back. The moment his foot touched the ground again, Master Keeper flashed into his hand. He hesitated; he hadn't actually told the keyblade to appear, but it had. And if the low vibrations it made – like a growl – were anything to go by, the keyblade wasn't happy.

"You're making a mistake," Master Roku said.

Eraqus said nothing, and held his ground.

The Grand Master laughed; a harsh, derisive sound. "You think I am a stubborn fool, Eraqus. Confined by the old ways. Do you really think that you are the first to try to bring a female into our fold? I can tell you how this story will end. You will train her; you will watch her blossom; you will be so proud. And one day, at the worst possible moment, you will realize that she cannot do all the things that you do. That her body is not strong enough. And then she . . . it will be over. And you will be left alone with the ashes."

"We don't know that," Eraqus grated out.

"I do," Master Roku said. Slowly, the Grand Master backed down the stairs. "You have one week. If she is not gone by then, I will remove her by force."

"As much as I sympathize with you, Eraqus, you and your apprentices cannot hide here forever. You will have to –what is the saying? – face the music, so to speak."

"I understand that, Yen Sid. But it does not have to be now."

"Yes," Yen Sid said calmly, "it would be a shame if you left today. Then I would have to prepare my own dinner."

Eraqus scoffed . . . and then went back to cutting up vegetables. For years now, Yen Sid had always allowed Eraqus to spend the night, provided that Eraqus took the responsibility of cooking. Even if the wizard was perfectly capable of conjuring food (Yen Sid claimed summoned food was much blander than prepared food. Eraqus wasn't sure whether that was true, or Yen Sid was lying and just making him cook to bother him).

"I don't know what to do," Eraqus said. "I understand the Council believes I am endangering her, but the same could be said of Terra. This, sending her away, it doesn't feel right."

"In my opinion," Yen Sid said, "an untrained keyblade wielder is much more dangerous to themselves than any villain. Especially if their magic develops first. That said, I doubt you will be able to sway the Council."

"I know." He set the knife down. "And by this point, I am sure I am facing expulsion, regardless of my choice. The Council does not take kindly to insolence."

He worked in relative silence for a little while. Finally though, he could no longer contain his concern.

"Yen Sid, my friend, do you . . . are they right? Am I really sentencing Aqua to death?"

Yen Sid was slow to respond. When he did, Eraqus could tell that each word was carefully weighed. "I believe that ultimately, it should be Aqua's choice."

"Even if she is not old enough to understand?"

Yen Sid looked at him. "I think, Eraqus, you would be surprised how much some children do understand."

Before Eraqus could speak, someone walked into the tower. He was a very small figure, with black, rounded ears, a short snout, and fur. While most people would have been stunned to see a humanoid mouse, it hardly registered in Eraqus's mind. Instead, he was busy studying the mouse's keyblade.

"Hiya, Master Yen Sid!" the mouse said. "I hope ya don't mind, but I gotta leave early today. There's a big celebration going on at the castle, and it's my job to help decorate."

"That's fine, Mickey," Yen Sid said. "Now, Mickey, this is Master Eraqus. Master Eraqus, this is my apprentice, Mickey."

"Gosh, I didn't even see ya there!" Mickey said. "Nice to meet ya!"

"Nice to meet you," Eraqus said as he shook the mouse's hand. "Forgive me, but you are Yen Sid's apprentice?"

"I sure am!"

"And that is a keyblade you are holding, yes?"

"Yep! Her name's Star Seeker."

"I see . . ." Eraqus awkwardly broke the handshake with Mickey. Yen Sid's apprentice had a keyblade? But how could that be . . . ?

"Mickey," Yen Sid said, "take a few minutes, and warm up outside. There are some things I need to discuss with Master Eraqus."

"Sure thing, Master!"

The second Mickey was gone and the door shut behind him, Eraqus whirled around to face Yen Sid. "He has a keyblade!" Eraqus exclaimed. "I was never informed that you and the Council were on good terms again."

A shadow of a smirk spread across the old wizard's face. "We are not."

Eraqus blinked. "Then how did you receive permission from them to train an apprentice?"

"Ah, but see, therein lies the answer." Yen Sid smiled broadly. "Mickey is not a keyblader's apprentice, but a sorcerer's apprentice. The only permission I need is from the League of Magical Beings."

Eraqus grinned. "Which you control."

"No one 'controls' the League, Eraqus," Yen Sid corrected sternly. "Although," the stern face wavered, "I will admit that I carry much clout within that circle."

"That may be, but your apprentice uses a keyblade. Surely, the Council needs to be informed . . ."

"A keyblade?" A single, bushy eyebrow rose. "No, my friend. Mickey doesn't have a keyblade. That is merely his channeling instrument."

"His . . . what?" Eraqus's hand slipped, pushing a few vegetable scraps onto the floor.

Yen Sid waved his hand, and a broom trotted in to clean up the mess. "His channeling instrument. Some beings, such as the Fairy Godmother, use a wand. King Triton has his trident. Mickey happens to use a keyblade. And it so happens, that a keyblade being used as a channeling instrument does not fall under the jurisdiction of the Council. I believe we call it . . . a loophole."

"I see." Eraqus gave Yen Sid a calculating look. "If I wanted to join the League, what would I need to do . . .?"

The week was up. And he was ready.

Master Eraqus stood outside before the front doors of his castle, watching Master Roku and his allies as they dismounted their gliders. Terra and Aqua were safely inside, both having been informed not to step outside under any circumstances.

Smiling, Eraqus said, "Greetings, gentlemen."

He received no smiles back. "The girl, Eraqus."

"Her?" He pretended to think about it. "Ah, yes, I believe she is still asleep at this time."

"You remember what we spoke about," Master Roku said. Neither he nor his three companions had dismissed their keyblades, but they hadn't brandished them threateningly. Until now.

"I do," Eraqus said.

They seemed off-put by his calm demeanour. Master Roku and one of his companions exchanged a look, then Master Roku took a step forwards –

"I don't think you want to do that, lest you cause a quarrel between us and the League," Eraqus said. Pleasantly.

"I don't understand," one of the other Masters said.

"I have obeyed your directives," Eraqus said. "Aqua is no longer in training to be a Keyblade Master."

"But she is still here . . ."

"She is training to be a mage!"

The blank looks he got almost made everything worth it.

Then, Master Roku scowled. "I know what you are doing, Eraqus –"

"Then you will know to stand down," Eraqus said coldly.

A moment's silence. Then Master Roku spoke. "Do you think you can circumvent me without consequences? I thought you were beyond such childish games, Master Eraqus."

"I know exactly what I am doing," Eraqus said.

He could see frustration in the other's eyes. "It is a pity you think so little of Terra's future."

"He doesn't need you," Eraqus spat, "nor do I."

It had been something he thought about; once he defied the Council, he knew they may never induct Terra into their midst, or view him as a true Master. At first, it had troubled him, but once Terra learned what the Council had attempted to do to his friend, the boy had made it very clear he had no desire to be associated with them.

"This is your last chance, Eraqus," Master Roku said.

Eraqus glared at them. He took a step back.

He closed the doors.

The next month was tense. Eraqus was expecting the Council to declare outright war, or else appear in the middle of the night and abduct his charges. He set to reading up on every security spell he could find, perfecting them until he could sleep soundly knowing he would be alerted if someone even thought of harming his apprentices.

Terra and Aqua didn't seem to realize anything had happened. They continued training as they always had. However, one thing that he couldn't stop noticing was only one of his apprentices wore the official gold badge of the Keybladers.

So, he made another. It was the same design. The only difference was that this was silver instead of gold.

But she loved it. And that was all that mattered. And when Ventus came, he wanted a silver one, too.

In all that time, the Council never contacted him again. He understood the silent message for what it was: a severing of ties. He didn't care. He had no urge to seek them out.

(And so when Xehanort's plans finally came to fruition and the Council fell, he never found out why).

" . . . Eraqus's narrow-mindedness will alienate Terra, leaving him vulnerable. Once he is sent off-world, I will present myself as a wise, understanding figure. His isolation from his own master will lead him right into my hands. And Ventus . . . you know what to do with him. Understand, Vanitas?"

"Yes, Master."

Xehanort smirked. He was standing at the edge of a cliff, staring down at a barren, graveyard of keyblades, hands clasped behind his back. Vanitas was hanging back, masked, watching his Master.

Vanitas said, "Uh, Master, aren't you forgetting something?"

Xehanort glanced over his shoulder. "What?"

"What do we do about her?" When Xehanort continued to look confused, Vanitas said, "You know, the girl? Aqua?"

"Her?" Xehanort chuckled. "Do not worry about her. She is only a girl; what could she possibly do to stop us?"

And the moral is: don't dismiss someone just for being a girl, because then they'll turn around and ruin your plans for world domination!