Author's Note: Hey! I'm basing this off of a wonderful fanfic for KH titled "Normalcy? Extremely Overrated." By The Unknowing Herald. I recommend a read, it's certainly worth it. And before you criticize me for doing this, know that I simply found Herald's AU so enchanting I couldn't get it out of my head. It spawned something in there, this being that. I do this with permission, so please bare with me. It won't be a carbon copy of Normalcy. I promise you that.

EDIT: This is the updated version of the first chapter, with help from my new beta-reader TorNathan. Thank him. I have. ^_^

Disclaimer: I own nothing except for the characters who you've never seen nor heard of before, unless you're just that out of tune with the world.

An Unknown Number of Weeks Ago...

"This boy is quite difficult to track down. I'm rather impressed you managed to locate him, Eraqus," said the bald, hunched-over old man as he glanced over the dossier on his old mentor's desk in the moonlight streaming in through the room's star and crescent shaped windows.

"It wasn't me, Xehanort. Praise his Highness, King Mickey for the accomplishment. He is the one who found the world. Truly our master's worthy final apprentice, having proven himself far more talented at finding candidates than either of us," responded the dark haired man garbed in a white, red lined haori, a light colored hakama, and a navy blue shirt with a big white X on it.

"Mickey? Truly?" Xehanort seemed to mull this information over for a minute before continuing, "Well, he was trained by one of the greatest Masters to have ever lived, bless his heart."

"Will you two stop talking as if I'm dead?" asked the third, much older, man. He had a pointy blue hat on his head decorated with stars and a long blue robe over which his long grey beard hung.

"Were we? I hadn't noticed. Were you aware of this, Xehanort?" Eraqus turned to his friend, amusement evident in his tone.

"I don't think so Eraqus." The two Keyblade Masters both began chuckling until all three were blinded momentarily as the light was suddenly flicked on.

The office, with its large wooden desk, the massive amount of books on their shelves, and, of course, the irritated looking young woman standing in the doorway. Quistis Trepe, Combat Theory instructor, dressed in her usual black skirt, dark blue dress shirt, and classy black heels. She whose glare made even the Nobodies feel fear.

"Use the lights, it's your office sir. Please stop acting like common criminals. It's...disturbing." A quick adjusting of the glasses and there it was; that glare they could only feel, not see, as the ceiling lights reflected off her lenses.

"Now, now Ms. Trepe, we were just enjoying the moonlight, that's all," Xehanort attempted to explain, but Quistis was having none of it. For some reason she was angry.

"That would be Instructor Trepe to you, Master Xehanort. And also..." She frowned at the three very powerful men, "you three enjoy being dramatic far too much for your own good. I wish you'd understand the value of subtlety more."

"I, uh, we apologize, Instructor Trepe. We were just a bit overly excited about this years incoming freshmen that we got a bit...carried away." Eraqus, ever the eloquent one, spoke up, complimenting his words with a perfect 45 degree bow.

"Good. Now, if you'll excuse me...I have work to do." The three men winced at the verbal barb hidden in her words. Subtlety was indeed a powerful weapon.

The three Keyblade Masters stayed up the rest of the night, arranging transportation for all of their special students who didn't yet know that they were enrolled at the universe-famous SeeD Institute.

Two Weeks Ago...

POV: Lady Sylph, Elven Keyblade Master, Beauty, Not very well known. NOT SHORT. ELVES ARE TALL.

The Lake of Beginnings...the world known to some as The Dive to the Heart. It turned out to be rather...disappointing. It was more of an asteroid, really. Most of it was covered in flowers. Blood red roses, yellow sunflowers, white lilies, purple everblooms, and many more flowers that I failed to recognized made up a beautiful rainbow that seemed to comprise every shade of every color.

Had I not been there for a specific reason, I'd likely have been awestruck at the beauty of the rock. My friends would joke that this is because I'm a single mother and I don't have a man in my life to distract me from such things...or a woman in my life, as one sorceress continually reminds them.

The only path cut through the flowers was lined with cherry blossom trees that were the size of a bonsai tree. They still coated the dirt in their breathtaking pink blossoms though. But I digress.

The rest of the asteroid was comprised of the lake containing the Stained Circles. The big stained glass circles the Key Bearers are tested on when they first gain their Keyblades if they aren't chosen by a Master.

On the lake was a small green shack atop some floating logs. I have no idea where they came from. Nor the wooden bridge leading out to it. Well, more of a dock, if I am to be honest.

Upon closer inspection, I took note that the paint was chipped and peeling in some places and that the shack was held together by shockingly well set screws at the corners, and I had hazarded a guess that there were support beams in the four corners. When one lives as long as I have, one knows such things.

Now, as I was crossing the bridge/dock in search of the boy I had been asked to retrieve by my colleagues, I heard him. My pointed ears picked up faint breathing and a lot of rapid movement judging by the sound of the air being pushed aside by a puzzling amount of fabric on the other side of the shack. I leapt over it to find myself...landing on one of several floating barrels, face to face with a heavily clothed teenaged male human. I hoped.

Not an inch of his skin was visible, even though his clothes were in tatters. In fact, there were tatters, rags held together by some unseen force or perhaps a touch of skilled needle work. His face was hidden by a white, featureless mask with two simple eyeholes on it, just enough so that he could see. It was the only immaculate part of his garb.

In each hand was a wooden sword, crudely made, but effective enough. I could tell that they had seen much usage over the years, and that their wielder knew just how accurate they were in size and shape. The rags covering his hands in a vaguely glove-like manner kept the splintering wood from piercing his skin, but the tips of the blades were split in several spots.

The grace with which he leapt back from me was a bit...lacking in my opinion, but he was certainly light on his feet. And experienced. He knew better than to waste energy on graceful movements in a sudden complication. "Who...who are you?! How did you get here?!"

"Relax, boy. I am merely here to take you to someplace better. You can't honestly be satisfied with this place, can you?" I asked, expressing my dislike for the shack he apparently called home. My nose was crinkled as my eyes glanced at it, and the boy again impressed me by not acting. He was either patient or had known I wasn't letting my guard down.

"That wasn't an answer...if you're with those freaks from the Organization, tell them to shove it. I'll kill myself if they come after me again. I'll never forget what those monsters did to me! To my family! My whole damn town! What they made me do...to..." He trailed off, leaving questions to appear in my mind, questions I'd put off for the time being. The boy's knowledge and anger surprised me. So much so that it actually showed in my expression.

"Organization? Boy, they were destroyed five years ago from what I've heard. I wasn't there, but my colleagues wouldn't lie. The only 'organization' I'm involved with is the SeeD Institute, where I aide in the teaching of sword play." My words both soothed the poor boy and caught his interest. I felt that I was on thin ice even so, and decided to wait until he had relaxed to speak more. Something clicked in his mind though. I could tell.

He knew.

"You...you're like me?" 'Twas barely a whisper, but I heard it. I nodded. "Will I be safe from...them?" I nodded again, smiling slightly. "Then I'll come with you. If you've found this place, they can't be far behind."

"So, you don't believe that they're gone?" I asked him, slightly confused.

"My heart tells me it isn't true." This response brought a twinkle to my eyes that even I am forced to acknowledge. I hate to say it but I was...very deeply impressed.

"Well, that is a very good response. Now, your name?" I asked. He looked at me a moment, as though wondering why I would come here looking for him without such knowledge...but I truly just prefer to hear such things from the person in question. I find it more polite for someone who I was going to be teaching.

"Noah. Noah Crossguard. Aged 14, male, human...Key Bearer."

"It is a pleasure to meet you. I am Lady Sylph Silverwind. Aged 27, female, elf...Keyblade Master."

Midgar, three weeks later…

POV: Sora Strife

Hi. I'm Sora Strife! S.S., I know, laugh it up. Just wait until Cloud gets back. He'll cleave you in two. Anyways, I guess I'm narrating this part, so without further ado…

"HEY, SORA!" Enter Roxas, "Cloud's back! C'mon, hurry up and get out of bed, he said he's got a surprise!" Now, that should have set off the alarm bells in my head. Cloud has never, ever liked surprises. He always bought our birthday and Christmas presents in front of us, for one thing. And those were the only times he ever got us something too.

He also never tries to wake me up early during summer break. Hey, what can I say? I loved to sleep, still do in fact.

"Sora!" Cloud was calling now, so I knew I had to get up out of bed and trudge over to the little elevator leading up to the bar. Yes, we lived in the basement of a bar, The 7th Heaven.

As I walked, my eyes took in the basement. Behind me was the bottom bunk I'd just rolled out of, the cerulean blue sheets that Mrs. Lockhart had gotten me because they matched my eyes a mess, my matching pillow lying on the floor. I paused to pick it up and make my bed.

As I stood up straight, satisfied with my work, I noticed that Roxas' bunk, the top one, was so immaculately well made it didn't even appear to have been slept in.

I cast a wary eye around the entire basement, dreading what I would see. It was clean. Last night when I'd gone to sleep the green carpeted floors had been heavily stained and there were half-eaten bags of chips and cheesy snacks everywhere. There was cake on the walls (food fight, duh) and there had been festive gift wrapping and boxes torn to shreds and thrown all around the room.

The grey couch had been flipped over and the cushions removed to build a food fight fort (my idea). The TV had been miraculously spared, old as it was, though it was probably because having one was a serious rarity down below the plates. It didn't really even work, it was more of a decoration.

The only door was to my right: a white painted wooden door leading to a cold, grey concrete bathroom with a crappy shower that I had grown to associate with home. And the toilet's funky smell was something I'd grown to ignore over the years.

The normally drab grey walls had been splashed with color from the various sauces, drinks, and the cake slices that were thrown about the big room. The elevator hadn't even worked properly by the time we were finished and everyone had to climb up a ladder.

It had been the debris from me and my twin brother's birthday bash. It wasn't usually so hectic, but for some reason fourteen was a special number. Even our neighbors got us gifts, which was a rare thing to do in the slums of Midgar.

Of course, they were just random machine parts for Roxas (which he was absolutely delighted with, since he uses some tools Mom left him to built things all the time) and a set of really varied tools that everyone in the neighborhood had scrounged together for me with Roxas' help making sure they would hold up for a while. I was excited about it since I was just as into mechanics as my brother.

Still, despite the unusually clean air the room held (which I blamed Roxas for since he hadn't bothered to wake me up before cleaning; honestly, he did stuff like this every year), it was home.

The Lockharts, who owned and ran the bar, let us move in after our parents died. Tifa, their twenty-one year old daughter, was a good friend of our older brother Cloud's, and the Lockharts were family in all but blood. It's just how things work in the slums of Midgar. Everyone is family.

I trudged over to the elevator, fighting off the return of my sleepiness from the late night partying. My naturally spiky hair bounced with each step and I stopped at the elevator to make sure I was still wearing my stained green/blue pajamas. Pants...check. Shirt...check. Hey, it happened once...and I still haven't lived it down.

I stepped onto the little square platform in the corner of the room and waited as it lifted me into the bar. Directly in front of me was the actual bar counter, where something that smelled delicious was waiting. I noticed Roxas and Cloud standing by the door, discussing something.

Roxas was dressed in black jeans and a black t-shirt. On his right wrist was a checkerboard sweatband. His golden-blonde hair was spiky, like Cloud's. Why is it that I'm the only one with brown hair? I thought to myself for the umpteenth time. The spotted me as the elevator clanked into place, the sole bit of metal in the mostly hardwood floor.

There were a few small round tables scattered around the room with rusty metal chairs around them covered by black cloth to make them seem more reliable. They hadn't broke once by then, so no one complained.

Behind the counter across from me was a staircase leading up to where the Lockharts' and Cloud's rooms were. But I had stopped being fully conscious at that point, actually falling asleep standing up. Even being fully awake for a moment like I was before was odd for me in the mornings back then.

"Welcome back to the land of the living bro," Roxas joked as I trudged, barely awake, over to the counter where a warm breakfast of bacon, eggs, and toast awaited. Ah, Mr. Lockhart's cooking…even her cooking doesn't compare. But that's not important…yet.

"Hurry up and eat your food Sora. Then get ready to go." Cloud, for all his calm monotone, seemed a bit more, well, lively than usual. I, being barely conscious, yawned and dug into my food with gusto. As usual.

I took note that Cloud was dressed in this really formal military jacket and pants, both a slightly darker shade of blue than the standard SOLDIER Third Class uniform. It was a SeeD uniform.

"Go? Where?" Ah, Roxas. My ever-reliable twin brother. Leave it to him to ask the questions I couldn't in my haze of sleep.

"SeeD. You've both been invited to attend, full ride. Don't blow it for the both of you by being late, Sora." Cloud's stern words were lost on me as I practically drank my food before bolting for the elevator to get to the shower in the basement. Cloud's chuckling also escaped my notice.

One quick shower and change of clothes later and we were almost ready to leave. Mr. and Mrs. Lockhart wanted to say their goodbyes to us though, so we stopped for tearful (joyous tears people) hugs and such.

Mrs. Lockhart, bless her soul, was a beautiful woman who was like a second mother to us. Her long black hair, white sundress, and...uh...well, we knew where Tifa got her looks from. I don't want to talk about my second mother like that.

Mr. Lockhart was this big black guy named Barrett, usually dressed in boots, green pants, an off-white shirt and a greasy apron, who was REALLY good in the kitchen. He makes the most delicious food I've ever tasted! He doesn't even add anything special into it; he cooks it like anyone else would. There's just some kind of magical zing to it all that makes life seem better when you take that first bite.

Once we'd said out goodbyes we stepped outside into the streets lined with garbage and piles of metallic debris, gazing fondly at the beat down exterior of the bar. It was the last time we'd be able to see that old baby blue paint job on the building with the metal sheets for a roof and the old orange neon sign '7TH HEAVEN'.

Once we got moving though, I raced ahead after Cloud mentioned where the Gummi Ship he'd come to get us in had landed. It would be the first time I would ever see something I'd become so used to in just a few short months.

Unfortunately, SHINRA troops, in their three-red-camera-things metal helmet glory and blue uniforms, had found the Gummi Ship and were harassing me and Roxas' older-sister figure: Tifa Lockhart, in all her leather-clad glory.

Leather sleeveless top that she filled out oh so well with her enormous assets, leather capris covering her smooth and muscled legs and perfect rear, leather gloves with metal studs on the knuckles…you get the idea. Hot biker chick was the look she was going for (and reaching). Zidane would have a cow if he were here to see how sparsely I am describing her to you, since he once wrote a full ten pages just on her looks. It was a description, not very pure and not simple at all.

"We're impounding this ship and that's final!" I really hated SHINRA's dogs back then. I hated SHINRA as a whole, to be honest. I blamed my mother's death on them. Roxas and Cloud didn't, but I did.

"No, you aren't! Look, we'll be gone soon enough; a minute more won't kill you." It was, indeed Tifa. I was excited to see her again, since, as I said before, she was like an older sister to me and Roxas. It was NOT because I was a hormonal teen. Please do not make such a disturbing joke. Last time that was brought up, I vomited. And that was recently. Then Rox and I beat the crap out of the guy who said such a thing.

So, anyways, I expressed my joy by executing a leaping hug, which was returned with one of the spine crushing variety, followed by a headlock as Tifa stormed over to Roxas to get him in on the fun once he and Cloud were in sight.

I have never seen Roxas turn so blue in the face nor Cloud look so mildly amused. It was hard to tell that he was, since the only sign was a slight raising of his left eyebrow.

See, me and Rox had developed this saying about Cloud's moods and his eyebrows: Left is best, right is fright, and actual facial expressions are the worst case, apocalyptic scenario that will bring about Ragnarok, the war of the gods that leads to the end of the world.

Speaking of which, Cloud had a few quiet words with the SHINRA guys and they backed off. I even heard them call him 'Mr. Strife', which was pretty cool. I mean, how many people have older brothers that get that kind of respect from older, more experienced, and, supposedly but not in any way truly, more powerful soldiers?

"Come on you three, John's probably getting tired of waiting." Cloud climbed up the ramp into the, now that I had taken a good look at it, rather sleek jet-like Gummi ship that looked about twice the size of the 7th Heaven bar. So it was big, yes. It was black and shaped like a huge triangle. The back had a bunch of tiny thrusters on it, as did the bottom. At least, along the outer edge of the craft. The cockpit was protected by tinted reinforced super-glass of some kind. I'm not a Gummi scientist, how should I know what that stuff is?

Anyways, Tifa unceremoniously dragged Roxas and I up the ramp that had folded out from the center of the underside of the Gummi ship. and into the ship in a position I'm guessing some of you would kill to be in. The inside wasn't all that posh; it was more like a military cargo plane. Big heavy tan netting flanking the inside of the ramp, seats with heavy duty straps lining the walls, and a wide open cockpit with two seats in it, and the ceilings and wall were all grey. The ceiling did have a number of monitors on it for viewing what was ahead of the aircraft, since apparently that was standard practice.

"Tifa, who is Cloud talking about?" Roxas, reliable twin he always has been, asked the question I'd had on my mind. And the answer came in the form of a certain green-armored SPARTAN; John-117, Master Chief, in all his manly glory. And yes, I am a guy, but it's Master Chief! He's only outranked on the manliness scale by two people! Jecht Ace...and Jecht Ace. Okay, one person, but he's just that much of a beast. A loud shout ripped itself from my mouth, thus ending this narrative on manliness.

"Holy crap…is…that…MASTER CHIEF?!" I had to. You know me, ever the goof and loudmouth. Roxas, of course, had passed out upon seeing one of his personal heroes. Master Chief was, after all, the man known as the destroyer of cities, the one-man army, and all-around god amongst men. Jecht was known as the-man-above-all-other-living-things-that-can-be- counted-as-male. Just so you know. He was one of my childhood heroes after all; of course I'd know that much. Sorry, back to the stuff you care about. Jecht-haters.

Tifa laughed loudly at Roxas' reaction, accidentally tightening her headlock on me and causing me to black out from lack of oxygen. Ah, oxygen. Why can't I live without you? Very obvious reasons, actually.

Thirty Minutes Later…Upper Midgar, the rim…

POV: Kairi Leonhart

Hey all! Finally, my turn. Now I can show you how badass I am! ...What? Were you expecting me to be some kind of dainty side-liner? Cheh, yeah right. I may not be one of the main characters this time, but I'm no pushover!

"Kairi, the Gummi ship is here!" my blonde, nearly identical, twin sister Naminé called up to me. I was a bit busy putting on my new outfit.

You see, I have a certain role model whom I idolize…and no, it isn't my older brother Squall…or Leon, as he prefers to call himself nowadays. My idol is Tifa Lockhart, SeeD Institute's famed martial arts prodigy. You can see where this is leading up to, right?

So I was trying to follower her example, and chose clothes both fashionable and practical. Black tank top, black capris and, you guessed it, black leather gloves with padded knuckles.

"Kai, come on!" Naminé sounded…impatient, which was odd. I put it down as excitement about going to the SeeD Institute and seeing our brother again. We hadn't even heard from him in years, so it was understandable. She'd been closer to him than I was, since they were both more quiet-okay, understatement, they were very quiet people, especially compared to me.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" I grabbed my bad as I ran out of my room and down the stairs of our family's townhouse. Living in the upper parts of Midgar wasn't always glam and shine after all, but I liked that.

The man standing in the doorway gave me a moment's pause. Spiky blonde hair, gruff manner, disinterested look, formal SeeD uniform…massive claymore strapped to his back. It was pretty clear I was looking at Cloud Strife.

"Come on. We've got one more stop to make, and I'd rather not keep a Keyblade Master waiting." He turned and headed out the door, leaving us to follow as he walked towards the ramp of a jet-like Gummi ship parked illegally in the middle of the street. No one seemed to care at the time.

Naminé had to lock up, since I was kinda…numb. I thought that if Cloud Strife was here, maybe, just maybe, my idol was too.

"Who's flying the ship?" I heard myself ask. Out of the corner of my eye, I took note of Naminé, wearing a similar outfit to mine, minus the gloves and white in color, catching up to us.

"John," was all Cloud said. And though that was technically not a very good answer, it was an answer that dragged my head down from cloud nine. No pun intended. Was there one there to begin with? Never mind.

At that point the three of us boarded the Gummi ship and the sight and sound of a certain energetic and, according to others, nosy young woman brought my head waaaaay up into the sky. Figuratively speaking, of course.

"Okay Sora, we're going into space now. You know the drill." Tifa Lockhart, in all her leather-clad glory. She was talking to this guy with spiked brown hair, who I assumed to be Sora and who I noticed resembled a cheerful version of Cloud, albeit with a different hair color. That sent shivers down my spine, though I wasn't too sure why.

Another spiky haired guy popped up, this one with blonde hair, instantly ending up in a somewhat quiet and awkward conversation with my sister, as he had evidently noticed my fan girl mode on sight. Probably used to it, since he seemed so…comfortable around two of the most famous college level members of SeeD.

I put the whole sibling thing together relatively quickly since they were dressed the same. Black shirts and jeans for the both of them, with only the blond spikes wearing a checkerboard sweatband on one wrist. I idly noted that it was the same brand as Naminé's jacket.

Then that voice came into my ears. It was just so damn cheerful and pleading at the same time! It instantly made me associate Sora with an adorable puppy that REALLY wanted to play. I have never stopped thinking of him as a playful dog since that day. Even if I don't mention it, it's the truth.

"Are you sure this is still necessary, Tifa? I meant, it doesn't happen when I look at the night sky anymore, so really-" Aaaaaaand vicious punch to the gut. The poor guy slumped down, knocked out, and Tifa caught him.

I felt a little jealous, but that's just kind of weird. It was like I either wanted to be the one she punched or…no, not going there just yet! I mean, I didn't even say a single word to the guy yet. How could THAT be remotely possible, right? I managed to convince myself that was the truth and put it down to the puppy voice.

I had a brief flash of fear at the thought of him combining that with puppy dog eyes. I wouldn't be able to resist such persuasive power. I doubted even the most vile living beings could. I have yet to be proven wrong.

And suddenly Tifa was speaking to me and my mind went numb.

"Hey, red? You're Kairi, right? Leon's martial arts enthusiast sister?" I could only nod as my entire being fought the urge to join Sora in dream-land. After I managed to calm down, she continued, "Can you do me a solid and keep an eye on Sora here? He can't be awake for the duration of the trip, for, uh, certain reasons. If he starts waking up, could you put him under again? As painlessly as possible, please?"

"S-sure. No problem!" I was relieved that I managed to finish with a smile. I saw it as a chance to show off how much I'd trained and studied while gaining a good image in my idol's eyes. How could I pass it up? It isn't because I want to sit next to the guy or anything.

Even though I was fourteen at the time, meeting my idol so suddenly after being led to expect her to NOT be there was a bit overwhelming, so my denial became second nature. As Naminé would later point out to me, I can only thank Tifa for taking advantage of my obvious idolization of her, and all that sprung from it. Aside from having a problem with being honest with myself.

"Thanks. I'd do it, but I have to co-pilot. Cloud's hopeless with directions unless you're looking for a certain healer…" And so, with the determination to succeed completely in the favor asked of me I failed to notice Tifa's mischievous look, the slight redness tinting the stoic Cloud's face at the jab she had made, or the extremely unusual but comfortable atmosphere my sister had established with the other blond spiky haired boy, who I was later to learn was named Roxas. AFTER the ship had arrived at SeeD Institute's closely guarded secret location.

Several hours later…Space…

Twenty-two times. Sora woke up twenty-two times. I was running out of acceptable pressure points to use. But, finally, we had arrived at our 'one-more stop'. By this point I was watching Sora like a hawk. An admittedly sleepy hawk.

I had learned the hard way ten pressure points ago that Sora and seeing space don't mix. He'd start quietly mumbling about a voice, then start screaming about his parents. It was the one time I permitted myself a short nap during the trip. The guy recovers absurdly fast, so it was really my fault.

But after that, putting two and two together really wasn't that hard…but, of course, I had no idea I was dealing with seven and thirteen all along. I didn't figure that out until much, much later.

Anyways, we had landed on an asteroid that looked like it had a lake on it and a lot of flowers; of course, I didn't see all that until something else happened. Once the ramp went down Cloud went to disembark, but Master Chief stopped him. Before anyone could speak though, Sora was barreling down the ramp.

I hadn't even noticed he was awake. A single second of inattentiveness at the sudden movement of the SPARTAN and…somehow the guy got out of the ridiculously difficult to undo harness on the seats in the grey interior of the Gummi ship. It took me a few seconds to fumble with my own harness before I was free and racing towards the ramp.

"I'll go get him!" I rushed out after him, slightly embarrassed and afraid of seeing Tifa angry at me for screwing up. I hadn't noticed that she seemed…happy when I left the ship, though whatever Master Chief had to say changed her opinion to 'overjoyed' by the time we would return.

I wandered around for a few minutes, looking for the spiky haired runaway amidst the sea of beautiful flowers before I gave up, silently berating myself for my mistake. Though for soem reason, my heart just felt calm and content. It was like I was supposed to do this, to lose him, to be here.

Suddenly, in the distance, I heard a woman shouting "What is going on here?!" She sounded angry, so I figured I knew where Sora was.

I ran towards the source and found myself at a lake with what appeared to be a green shack on it and several huge stained glass circles deep below the surface. And standing there staring at the water was Sora. He...definitely was having some kind of episode, but I didn't really know what to do with him other than get him back to the ship after wildly shaking him. So that was what I decided to do.

I would, in the next minute, regret my tunnel vision.

"Sora!" I ran over to him and shook his shoulder, trying to see if he was in the middle of one of his outbursts and was about to start screaming again. He was a lot harder to subdue when he started to freak out like that. After he didn't respond I realized two things: one, this was just another manifestation of his problem, and two, there was a tall woman and a...thing standing a few feet away staring at us. I flushed in embarrassment, not even thinking that they might be a threat. Luckily for me, they were far from it.

The woman was tall, beautiful, and clearly from some kind of nobility. She just had that air to her, even without a regal gown or something of the sort. She had pointed ears, long silky black hair, which quite literally cascading down her back, and pale white skin. She was dressed in a brown tunic made of silk with gold trim and matching pants. A silver piece of armor adorned her left shoulder and matching greaves and boots were her apparent choice of footwear.

I felt...awed by her. Like I had a new goal to live up to appearing in the depths of my heart, and my denial kicked in again burying. It was a new thing, yes, but strong. I was also a bit relieved as she seemed to calm a bit at the sight of me. Like my presence made it all click.

The one one, the...thing was covered from head to toe in rags and wore a featureless white mask with only two simple eyeholes. Behind those eyeholes were heterochromatic, or different colored, eyes; the left was normal looking, albeit with a black iris, but the right eye was the perfect reverse. As in, the white part was black and the iris and pupil were white instead. That seemed to be the only thing that he, she, or it was comfortable with showing the world, as not even a single hair was visible beneath the rags.

"I see now…so that is why," suddenly, the woman that I had assumed to be Lady Sylph, the Keyblade Master that Master Chief had told us we were retrieving along with a student of hers, smiled at us before leaving towards the direction I remembered the Gummi ship was in. The thing followed her without comment. I was a bit confused at the obvious conclusion that the thing was the student Master Chief had mentioned, but there were stranger things in the universe.

By the way, that was the single, largest, most completely foolish understatement of all time.

After a minute had passed I realized Sora and I ought to have gone back with them and I wrapped an arm around Sora's shoulders, turning him away from the lake and guiding him back to the ship, the black outline of which I could make out in the distance, muttering consoling words the whole way hoping I wouldn't need to knock him out and drag him back if he began to scream again.

One thought rang out in my head though: How big is this freaking asteroid?!

POV: Noah Crossguard

So, it's finally my turn. I bet you're all burning with curiosity as to why I wear so many layers of tattered rags. And the mask. And if I wear it at all times. And if I do, how I eat with it on. And what I've been eating for however long I've lived on that rock.

And what, exactly, it means that Cloud wasn't let off the ship. And whether or not Master Chief is not only a SPARTAN but a Keyblade Master. Hint: he doesn't need to be one in order to be epic, so the answer is no.

And how, exactly, I found myself on that asteroid with the materials and tools to build my very own luxury shack. That last thing I'll never tell; all I will say is that there was this guy who likes to say 'you're welcome'.

Anyways, I'm not going to answer those questions just yet. So, sorry, but you have to wait. There are a lot more important things in this tale than why I am who I am and all that jazz. That shit is just going to make you pity me, so I won't tell you right now because I'm mean. So hold onto your seats, ladies and gentlemen, because we're going for a depressingly short ride!

"Master Sylph, why did we leave those two back there?" I asked, truly confused. You see, back then I couldn't sense just what it was about those two was so special. Unfortunately for me, Master Sylph's only reaction was a knowing smile and a rather…graceful roll of the eyes. Bet you didn't realize it was possible to roll your eyes gracefully, did you? Neither did I, until I met her a few weeks prior.

"You'll see…eventually." And that was all I could get out of her. Even today I hate how she would always brush my questions aside like that. Luckily we boarded the Gummi ship (which baffled me in all honesty though I would never admit it to anyone else) and I avoided making a little scene by groaning, something I had learned earlier she disapproved of.

Then I saw 'her': Naminé. Instantly I had to fight the bile and the flashbacks of a different blonde woman who had done…terrible things to me in the past. And of that poor girl who was under that monster's control...and the sick things he did to her. Really, that just about offset the problem I have with blondes.

So don't go thinking I have a thing against Naminé herself, I have since learned she is a wonderful person, but even back then I had to force myself to give her the benefit of the doubt due to the aura of shyness she just seemed to exude. Just to explain why I'm so calm around her despite what you'll eventually learn about my past.

After fighting down my violent physical reactions to the presence of a blonde female, I managed to realize that Master Sylph had placed a hand on my shoulder, whether to reassure me or subdue me if I tried to attack her I don't know.

She knew what was hiding beneath my mask and all about my past. I made her swear to secrecy about it; she wouldn't even tell the other Masters. So don't think she'll tell you if she ever gets a narrative again.

Well, enough threats, warnings, and teasers, let's wrap things up here.

I met and was introduced to Cloud, Tifa, Naminé (we were about ten feet apart at this point, thankfully), Roxas, Master Chief (whom all but he himself and Master Sylph were shocked to learn I had never heard of), and Sora and Kairi were sort-of introduced as their absence was explained.

In a stroke of good luck, said two returned at that time; Kairi carrying a now officially unconscious Sora on her back. He'd fallen and passed out halfway back apparently. Earlier, when he had just shoved past me to stare at the lake, I had taken note of the dead look in his eyes. I knew even then something was destroying his psyche from the inside out. Something I would later reluctantly help to fix...indirectly of course.

Tifa took him and strapped him into a seat, and Kairi plopped into the one beside him as the ramp closed, strapping herself in at Tifa's insistence that it wasn't her fault he'd gotten loose.

Realizing I needed to strap my rag-cloaked self in, I looked around and noticed the only vacant seats were along the two sides of the ramp. Cloud was sitting in one on the side opposite me as I also strapped in, mimicking the actions I had seen. Miraculously, I got it right.

"Sleepga." And that was right when I realized that Master Sylph had put Sora, Kairi, Roxas, Naminé, apparently Cloud, and, though delayed, myself to sleep. See? Told you it would be short.

Author's Note: Thanks for reading this first chapter. I hope to get the next chapter out soon, but as they say, interest inspires. So please review, since at this point you've already clearly read it.

Next Time:

"Yo, rags."

"Do NOT try to take his mask again. Understood?"

"You can't read or write, can you?"

"YOU CALL THIS A NORMAL TEST?!"

Chapter 2: The Test To Begin All Future, and Hopefully Less Life Threatening, Tests.