I'm living my best life. This is self-indulgent as heck so it's not QUITE as… carefully thought out, but these games are loaded with weird symbolism ALREADY, so I'm still comfortably on my bs, gratuitously screwing with canon.

Minimal knowledge of Kingdom Hearts required to read this fic! It's set in the world, not set in the plot (Sora and Co. don't exist here — sorry Sora you know I love you). Actually the plot is a lot more like seasons 1 and 2, but with a generous whipped topping made of kh. You should probably know what a keyblade looks like, at least, though, haha. This is the equivalent of me grabbing you by the wrist and running into an Escher painting, yelling "I'll explain as we go!"

Ah, the first chapter is kind of clunky and expositiony - the others probably won't be this much. It's important setup though!

cheers!

"W- uhm, Master. I still don't understand. Real, actual monsters? Made of what? I- frankly - you know what, I don't - I don't even care, I'm going back for her-"

"Calm yourself, Kai. That would be unwise, when you just admitted you don't know what you're up against."

"Like you people could-"

"Hey! I'll have you know I'm very competent!"

"Plus, we know what the word 'Heartless' means."

"I know what it means."

…

"Fine. You can, I dunno, give me the tutorial level, or whatever. So long as we find my sister as soon as possible. Okay? So what's the deal with the twitchy shadow monsters."

"Seeing as you were unaware that other realms even existed, it would probably behoove us to start with the legend."

"What, a fairytale? Am I six?"

(someone elbows Kai, and he shuts up with a grumble.)

"Do not be so quick to judge a fairytale, young Kai. It is not so simple as a concoction of words made to entertain children - rather the opposite, in many cases. All fairytales have an element of truth to them. They can even be more real than we are."

"Sorry, Master. I… huh?"

"Sit down. You three can stay, too, if you like."

(there is a shuffle, and a deep, thoughtful breath.)

"Long before time had a name, there was the darkness and the light. The light created, and the darkness destroyed, and when the First Master saw this never-ending cycle, He gathered the powers together, and tipped the scales. From then on, people lived in peace, bathed in the warmth of light. They were happy. Then, however... people began to fight over it. They wanted to keep it for themselves, and from that selfish desire, darkness was born again in their hearts. And from the borne darkness, came destructive life. The darkness spread, swallowing the light and many people's hearts with it. It covered everything, and the world disappeared. But small fragments of light survived...in the hearts of children. With these fragments of light, children rebuilt the lost world. It's the world we live in now."

"Our world was built by kids?"

"Metaphorically. Shh."

"But the true light sleeps, deep within the darkness. That's why the worlds are still scattered, divided from each other. But someday, a door to the innermost darkness will open. And the true light will return. So listen, children. Even in the deepest darkness, there will always be a light to guide you. Believe in the light, and the darkness will never defeat you. Your heart will shine with its power and push the darkness away."

"...I'm… still confused. But… thank you. For the bedtime story. For the - get off, Jay - for telling me."

"Of course. Now. We should be going."

"B y m st t up."

…

"Wa e up."

…?

"Do ou know wh re you are?"

…

...no? The boy furrows his brows in concentration. He has the feeling he probably should know. It would be easier to see if he knew if the world would stop muting his thoughts and come into focus a little bit, if he could feel where he was. He blinks, slowly, not sure how to get rid of the blurriness. The boy can feel his eyelashes brush against something, dusty enough to drift into his nose, but luckily not make his vision worse. He takes a breath.

Oh, he's on the ground. Odd.

"Pay attention," the voice snaps. Was it saying something before? "Do you know who I am?"

It honestly hadn't occurred to the boy that there was a being behind the voice, but of course there was. That makes sense. He turns his head to focus on the person standing over him, strands of blonde hair sliding across his face and into the dust. The minuscule movement sends dull waves of some sensation spinning behind his eyes and through his body, like he's deep, deep underwater.

...no, he doesn't know who that is.

He must have said that out loud. Or tried to, at least, the dust makes his throat feel raw when he opens his mouth. The person's expression flashes in an incomprehensible emotion, and then softens into one of compassion, and they take one knee by his side.

"I'm afraid something terrible has happened, young one. Do you remember nothing?"

"...I don't… I don't think..." this time he knows he said that out loud. Still grates on his throat, but it's getting better. That's a good thing. By the way the person is looking at him, though, what he just said is a very sad thing. Should he not have said that?

"Poor thing. Worry not, child, you are safe with me."

Oh, good, he thinks. How kind.

The person considers something, for a moment, and lets out a deep sigh. "Your name is Lloyd, and from what I can tell, you are alone. You were attacked, and likely would have died if I had not stepped in. Are we following?"

Lloyd — he thinks he likes the name, it settles right where it should be in his chest — nods.

"You may refer to me only as Master. And I believe I just saved your life, where you had none."

The world is a little less shaky, now - he hadn't even realized it was. If this… the Master telling him things, it helps. Even if he didn't really understand much of what he was saying, because the words got all jumbled up in the uncoordinated mess of a linear thought process he has. He doesn't like that, much. If he goes with the Master, maybe it'll keep helping. Lloyd blinks the rest of the fog from his vision and shifts against the awkward positioning of his shoulder, gently propping himself up onto his elbows and twisting his legs under him. The tears in his jeans catch on tiny rocks underfoot.

The Master smiles, all teeth. His eyes are a sharp purple. Lloyd thinks he does know them, somewhere. "Come, boy. There is much to learn."

Curious eyes solidify in resolve. "...yes Master."

(nearly a year later)

"Morning, cheerful."

"Mmrfphrh," Kai grumbles, and stuffs a blueberry muffin in his mouth.

Nya smirks and swipes another muffin from the bread basket, turning back to the kitchen, while Kai tosses himself into the nearest chair and sighs. He's glad the Master is fine with him coming to breakfast in his pajamas, because honestly, baggy pants and a t-shirt are a lot more comfortable than a form-fitting turtleneck and protective shoulder armor. Admittedly he still wears kinda baggy pants, but… they fit with the look. They've got a belt.

Kai closes his eyes and leans back into the chair. The dining hall is huge - taller than it is wide, and it's pretty wide as it is - but it doesn't echo, blanketing the morning in a comfortable quiet. Sunlight filters through the white curtains, swaying gently in the warm spring breeze from the open windows. Faraway sounds of the village in the valley drift through as well, echoing off the white rock holding their somehow-floating island Monastery above the ground. This realm is so small, compared to Kai's homeworld, sparse sections of meadow and village surrounded by rivers and waterfalls that come from somewhere and fall into soft cloudy nothing off the edge of the world. It would be disconcerting if it weren't so peaceful.

A thunk comes from the kitchen, Nya stifling a snort as Zane sighs. It smells like he's making those egg pancake green onion things. Maybe he dropped an ingredient. Or maybe Nya tossed one at him. They've gotten a lot closer in the past eight months.

Kai's glad. They have friends here, friends and a purpose, aside from continuing the family business and making enough to survive and keep their scrappy little shop together. Kai is still blown away by the size of the Monastery, to say nothing of his own room. It's not a secret that he and Nya snuck into each others' quarters the first few months. Though, lately, they've gotten used to the idea that the Master has a literal ward of light protecting the place, and the idea that they can have privacy, if they want. And Nya kicks him in her sleep.

A hand scruffs up his bedhead. Kai grunts, swatting it off of him, and Cole laughs as he ignores the attempted swat for a second longer. Master Wu follows shortly behind, a small smile gracing his features. Ducking his head in acknowledgement sleepily, Kai turns his squint on Cole and exaggeratedly swipes off the crumbs he left in his hair. That only makes Cole grin more as he scoots the basket closer to his edge of the table.

"A prospective Keyblade Master should rise early, you know," he says.

"Hey, there's nothing in the rulebooks about enjoying that part," Kai says, straightening anyways.

"Still important. If you sleep in too much, all the rolls will be gone." Cole emphasizes the last part, loud enough to reach the stairway, at least.

A clatter, and a thundering of light footsteps that noticeably skip a number of stairs. Kai grins, and the Master raises an eyebrow at the source of the commotion.

"Good morning. In a rush?"

"AaauAAHhhgoodmorningMaster!" Jay spills out, tripping over Kai and launching himself at Cole, who yanks the last sweetbread roll way over his head and out of his reach.

"Cole!"

"Snooze you lose!" he crows, shoving Jay off of where he's trying to climb Cole like a jungle gym, and taking a big ol' bite of the roll. Jay's jaw drops in horror, and he snatches the half-eaten roll from Cole's momentarily distracted hand.

"Hey!"

"Hey yourself, you big teasing lug!"

"Boys," Master Wu chides, and the two separate obediently, if not for twin playful glares before they do.

"Go see if Zane requires assistance in the kitchen. I believe he's almost finished."

Cole brightens, and Jay gives a muffled "mm-hm!" from behind half a sweet roll, and the two make their way around the wall that separates the dining hall from the kitchen without punching each other more than twice.

The Master chuckles, slowly makes his way across the room, and takes a seat at the far end of the table, closing his eyes in thought. He always looks so at peace with the world. Fitting for a Master of Light, Kai guesses. But he'd be lying if he said being alone with Master Wu still made him… nervous. But that was because he'd seen what the Master could do, if he put his mind to it, he'd seen explosions of light and sparking blades of color wreak havoc through monsters who didn't even react to being impaled with a hot steel blade. Granted, that was because the Heartless couldn't be killed the normal way, they're very picky about what kills them, but, you know. He'd only seen the Master furious that once, and never since then. Being in the presence of such mysterious power… it's a lot. It ties him between wanting to take Nya and run somewhere it can't affect them, and wanting to learn everything about it.

"Why the concern, Kai?"

Kai snaps out of his second reverie of the morning. "Huh? Oh, it's- it's nothing."

"Ah," Master Wu says, leaning slightly forwards. "Whatever it is, I hope it's nothing too distracting. I have a feeling you'll enjoy today's training."

Was that a wink? It might have been. Kai opens his mouth to ask what he means by that, but at that point, Jay is parading a full plate of pajeon into the room, and Cole is making little trumpet noises over Zane pleading Jay not to drop the platter again, and Kai is distracted by the promise of breakfast.

Lloyd, hands in his newly-stolen jacket pockets, meanders through the market streets, his mask hanging at his hip. This village was so… small, and rural, that in lieu of parading around in his usual outfit, he had cast half a disguise spell and taken to blending in in order to observe. He blows a stray hair out of his eyes and jerks his head to get it to move, wishing he hadn't snapped his last hairtie last week. Someone nods back at him, smiling, and he blinks, getting halfway through another nod before looking away.

Yeesh, these people need to stop being polite. It's throwing him off. He's used to people staring at his clothes, or the monsters he brings with him, or people simply taking a look and running, or flashing him a smile and then doing a double-take as his bright gold eyes bore into them, their smile fading and tightening as they hurry themselves up. This is weird. Lloyd isn't sure if he's uncomfortable because he's surrounded by so much light, or if he's uncomfortable because without any resistance, it feels like a setup.

Aside from being polite, these people are beyond cheery, to the point of being a little ridiculous. Lloyd even saw one person throw open their window, take a deep breath, and say "good morning, Jamanakai!", which was so hilariously stupid he almost made a scene with how much he was holding in laughter. No one seemed to mind, though. Someone asked if he was okay. Lloyd didn't answer them.

He can see why the Master wanted to investigate this place. Such overwhelming light… it's almost revoltingly infectious. Lloyd physically itches with the need to leave, but if the Master sent him here, that means he can still carry out his mission. Somehow.

Maybe he could skip this one, though, he thinks, as a fourth person smiles at him from across the path. It's not like the village is very big, and aside from obnoxious displays of obviously-inflated cheerfulness, they're not doing much. Surely the Master wouldn't notice such a small speck of light untouched by physical darkness. There were a lot of those. And the Master only said to "spread discord" in a shopping list of places, which wasn't that specific.

...then again, the last time he went against the Master's orders, it didn't end well. Lloyd shakes his head, echoes rattling around in there as he pushes off that thought. The Master would notice. And he said it was important. And his hair is getting in his eyes again. He should cut it, but he kinda likes it, and he's not sure where to get scissors. Could just steal them, but then he'd have to steal a mirror, and—

"Oof-" deep in his thoughts, he runs smack dab into a squealing toddler clearly in the middle of some game of tag or something, sending the candied fruit in her tiny hands flying into the dirt, along with most of the rest of her. The kid takes one look at the sticky clump of inedible candy and scrunches her face into something dangerously close to tears, but it also kind of looks like she just bit into something extremely sour. The other little girl who was chasing her trips herself, falling onto her hands next to the candy, and she squints at it as well, eyes darting between it and her friend's rapidly-welling tears.

In spite of himself, Lloyd snickers. The toddlers are acting like they can reverse time by being sad enough at the ground, and obviously, it isn't working. He pulls his sneaker out from under her leg and cuffs the sticky blob further away from her, out of the market path and closer to a wall.

An adult - probably the kid's parent - suddenly turns and starts cooing at the child, picking her up and dusting her off. He shoots Lloyd a disappointed look - finally, some consistency - and he can't help the tug at the edges of his mouth.

Yeah, alright. He can work with that.

Despite the coy warning, training in the courtyard seems to go absolutely 100% As Normal for the first half of the day.

Kai shakes out his arm, brushing bits of hay off of it from a spinning strike gone slightly wrong. He picks a few pieces out of the end of his keyblade as well, glancing at Wu and Nya, who are talking conspiratorially on the sidelines and have been for the past half hour. Time has literally been passing slower than a snail through syrup. At least the Master isn't noticing him being completely and totally distracted instead of improving his form.

He wields one-handed, though he takes a lot of pride in being able to switch sword arms on command. Kai's keyblade, Spitfire (he named it - or it named itself, or both, the name just fits directly into the slot it should), is weighted slightly forwards. He he thought it was odd when he first summoned it, but now that he can actually swing in loops and patterns, he appreciates how it carries its momentum. Though he does wish it was a bit sharper. It looks kind of like the swords he used to help forge — single blade inscribed with runners and sigils — but at the base, oxidized metal flames curl up from the guard, and the key tip looks like he welded on half a metalcrafted gear. That part is sharp, like an axe, but he can't sharpen the keyblade itself. He and Nya figured that out pretty quick. They don't break, much less stay broken when you resummon them, which means they don't sharpen.

Rolling his shoulders, Kai steps back into position.

(The UI flashes - Kai's health and magic on the bottom right, command deck on the left, red text fading from a much more toned-down version of itself to its normal setup in a quick burst of flame. It flips for a moment, scrolling through movesets, before settling.)

Kai switches from forward strikes into a complicated taunt and flicks the stray bits from the practice hay bale into the air, jumping to meet them and slicing them in half in swooping arcs.

Well, this is cooler than a sword anyways.

Jay flashes him an instantly competitive look, clearly waiting for an excuse to do Something, Anything Else, and mouths watch this. Picking up a stray crabapple with the tip of his jagged blade, he flings it into the air and leaps after it, springing off of two adjacent hay bales — hey why does he get the super jump — and slices the thing clean in half and in half again with two almost cartwheel-like spins. He lands lightly on the ground, grinning profusely, while one fourth of the ninja'd fruit bops him on the head.

Cole and Zane slow ever so slightly in their practice, watching. Zane is still going through block drills perfectly somehow, but his focus is completely shifted. Kai risks a look back and the Master and his sister — they're still engrossed in some texts and maps or something.

Whipping back around to wink at Jay, Kai shakes the tip of his keyblade, sparking a tiny flame to life. Cole picks up another crabapple and gestures with it, motioning for Kai. He crouches, and Cole tosses it high above him. Kai tenses, twisting, and springs, leaving a tornado of red flames behind him in the air as he slashes through the fruit one, two, three, four, four and a half times in a row before landing, the magical flames extinguishing behind him. The apple bits make soft thunks into the grass, sizzling. Zane almost claps, but remembers that this is a quiet contest, and marshmallow-claps instead.

Jay scoffs and strikes his edged keyblade along a concrete wall, sparks gathering and coalescing into a Thunder spell that ricochets into the air. Six neat bolts of lightning crack through the air and strike the apple pieces on the ground, turning them into mushy charred blobs, and Kai rolls his eyes, ready to do something way cooler.

Unfortunately, Thunder is not a quiet spell.

"What part of 'run through the basics' is this?"

All four of them snap back to attention with varying degrees of "Sorry, Master!", to Nya's audible amusement.

A much more subdued smile quirks across the Master's face. "No matter," he says. "We were slightly distracted. It's high time we got to today's real activities, anyways."

Lloyd cannot for the life of him remember the last time he had this much fun.

Or this much candy, for that matter.

He supposes he feels a little childish as he swings upside-down from a pole and snatches some kid's lunchbox, quickly flipping back upright to balance on it like an annoying crow as he cackles down at the kid, who's caught somewhere between shocked, distraught, and confused. Lloyd revels in how inhuman he must look right now - oni mask covering his face, his disguise dropped and replaced with the sinewy texture of his way-more-practical suit. The edges of the skirt itself brush feather-like in the wind. He opens a corridor of darkness around him, melting through it and slipping out of the shadows beneath a fruit vendor's cart, and pushes his mask up briefly to stick a strawberry in his mouth. Wow, it's way easier to steal from people when they're busy running around screaming.

Lloyd dodges out of the way as a man runs past with papers flying out of his arms, chased by a small but agitated pack of Heartless. He doesn't trip him, but the man trips anyways, disappearing under the swarm of darkness with a half-choked yelp. A bright crystalline heart shape floats out of the shadows, almost lazily, confused, and then it too is swallowed up. The Heartless scatter with a sound like shifting seashells, one more for the masses.

Lloyd stomps down that nagging hot flash of guilt deep in the pit of his stomach, that little voice that says no, no wait, no, this is awful, you can't- because that voice is nothing but weakness. The voice is only there to distract him, it only makes him hesitate, and hesitation leads to hurt leads to powerlessness. He takes the bile rising in his throat and turns it into a laugh.

There's a scratch at his leg. One of the little shadows is trying to dig itself in somewhere, like a kitten at a door, and Lloyd kicks it off. It does not come off, instead curling around to poke at his ankle. Frustratingly, he can't tell them what to do yet — the Master says he should, but they just don't want to listen to him. Something about not being powerful enough, whatever. Lloyd growls at it. It cocks its head back, not caring or understanding in the slightest, but it seems to get distracted by a cacophony of noise that suddenly echoes from behind them. The Heartless skitters away down the alley, moving on stepped frames rather than smooth arcs, and Lloyd waves a hand after it.

Most of the chaos is in the main square by now. And it's chaos, which means his work here should be done! Nice. Snatching another handful of berries for the road, Lloyd hops up onto the roof of the stall, crossing his legs and waiting attentively for the Master's orders.

They don't come, yet, but he can wait. He can wait, and try to block out some of the screaming. It's worth it.

He pops another whole strawberry in his mouth and immediately spits it out in surprise, forgetting for a second that they have leaves.

Kai is going to explode if Wu doesn't stop explaining and let them go Right This Instant.

World travel. Traveling to somewhere else. A different world! On a mission! They get to fight on a mission! Wow, it's probably good the Master was all cryptic earlier, or Kai might have left himself after the third or fourth forward strike.

"Remember our lectures," Wu was saying. "The Worlds were fragmented as a result of the ancient Keyblade War, some of them trapped in loops of time, some of them cut off completely from their history. As such, the world you are visiting will not understand what a keyblade is, much less what the Heartless attacking its village are. Be discreet, use a disguise spell if you must," he nods at Zane, who returns the gesture. "and above all, be sure you eliminate the threat in completeness. You are prospective guardians of the light itself. Hold yourselves to that standard."

"Yes, Master," four voices chorus. Kai can't help but tap his feet, switching every few seconds.

"And finally, remember that I will not be accompanying you this time. Use your heads."

Cole nudges Jay, who flicks him back.

Irregardless of the formality (or eagerness) of the moment, Nya saunters up to stand by Wu's side, brandishing a wrench. "I shouldn't have to remind you, but since you all have different methods of travel, don't lose each other, okay? I put beacons onto the remaining physical pieces of armor you have on. Jay, since you don't have an armband, yours is on your left anklet. Don't shatter it when you click your heels and go Wizard of Oz-ing through the Darkness, okay?" She ignores Jay's splutter of indignation. "The Master and I have done some recon, it shouldn't be that bad. But if it does turn out that it's too much and you can't handle it, call me. And come straight back, okay?"

"Of course we can handle it!" Kai grins, and, absolutely unable to stand it any longer, he brings out his empty hand and cuffs the armor fragment wrapped around his shoulder. In a flash of light, the red and gold armor wraps around his entire body, ending in a sharp finned helmet that materializes around his hair and snaps closed. Kai flexes his fingers, the metal joints gliding smoothly across his hands, and switches his keyblade hand. Taking two short steps, he angles his body and flings the blade into the air like a frisbee, and retraces those steps and more to anticipate it. The blade sparks, glows, flashes, and in a burst of fire and stilted moving metal, transforms itself into a sleek glider that curves its way back to where Kai waits. He jumps onto it, and dissipates his helmet for a second, making motorcycle-revving motions and wearing a practically giddy smile plastered onto his face.

"Showoff," Nya snorts. "Don't wreck the engine this time, alright? The glider might be manifest from the heart, but the thing doesn't forget. Took way too long to figure out what even powered yours."

"No promises," Kai says, and slides the helmet back over his head.

Cole and Zane do the same with their shoulder armor, and Jay stomps a foot, light enveloping all three of them. The ground rumbles with the idling energy exuded by Kai's cycle, Zane's standing glider, Cole's drill-like frontrunner, and Jay's board glider. Nya salutes, and Wu raises one arm, a flash of sparkling golden light signaling the summon of his keyblade. He swirls it in an arc, sparks following, growing almost too bright to look at until the light coalesces at the tip, shooting off into the sky and opening a portal into the darkness between worlds. With one last whoop, Kai takes off, leading the charge into the void.