#“There were ghosts in KHDR I can work with this” <- my entire thought process

[starlightwayfinder]

For the ask game: How about a fic where Brain gets to meet an older, BBS-era Eraqus (with potential cameos from the Wayfinders, haha)?

~

“Master.”

Eraqus found Master Odin on the tower’s balcony. The other islands could be seen in the distance; each one connected by cables that vanished into a sea of billowing clouds.

The Keyblade Master turned to his student and watched as Eraqus bowed, his silence prompting him to continue.

“I’ve come to request permission to travel off-world,” he explained. “There’s something that’s been weighing on my mind. …I have to go back.”

“To which world?”

“Olympus Coliseum. Since I’ve been before, I—”

Odin held up his hand, and the long sleeve of his robe fluttered in the wind.

“…You will not find them.”

He spoke with the broken voice of that unrecognizable, glum old man Eraqus still wasn’t accustomed to hearing. 

“But… I know it’s possible to talk to the others there,” he insisted, his own voice tinged with desperation. “That’s how Hoder was able to come back with us.”

“You were able to converse with Hoder because she still resided in the Final World.”

“The Final World?”

“Once a heart has left the Final World, they can no longer be reached. Certainly by now your friends have passed on.”

Eraqus felt his heart sink. It was as if everyone he’d lost had slipped out of reach once more.

“They can really never return?”

“It is said that spirits traverse through the dark corridors, but I am certain you understand why any attempts to find them there would be ill-advised…”

Eraqus thought back to the unbearable despair of the corridor they’d been trapped in. Even fully armored, he’d nearly died. 

“No good will come from seeking out the departed. Focus instead on those who remain, as they have much more need of your help.”

Eraqus looked down remorsefully.

Right… 

Xehanort is the one I should be looking out for.

“I will. …Thank you, Master.”

~

65 years later—

Terra waited outside the guest bedroom; a room that, up until today, they’d had no use for. He peered in through the doorframe to see the younger boy asleep on the bed, soft blankets pulled up over his chest and blond hair carefully brushed out of his face. Ventus seemed serene, at least, and Terra allowed some of his guilt to turn to relief. Master Eraqus closed the door and put a comforting hand on the shoulder of his student, guiding him away as they returned to the main hall.

“Is he hurt?” 

“It seems he may be, but not by your doing,” Eraqus assured. 

Terra sighed, then explained earnestly. “I didn’t mean to scare him. I just wanted to know who he was. And… who was that man that brought him here?”

Eraqus paused before answering. “That was Master Xehanort. We trained together, long ago. Ventus was his apprentice, but from today on he will stay with us.”

Terra took a moment to absorb the new information, a trace of concern in his dark blue eyes. “But…Why doesn’t he remember anything?” 

“I do not know.” Eraqus stopped walking to emphasize his next words. “But…When the boy wakes, do not press him any further. We must act as though he has always lived with us.”

“You mean… We have to lie to him?”

“It’s for his own safety,” he replied, then instructed, “Go, and inform Aqua as well.”

Terra frowned, but nodded nonetheless. “All right.”

~

How much of what Xehanort had said could be trusted?

A special boy…  ‘The Child of Destiny…’ 

It was exactly the sort of thing he would claim, if only to convince Eraqus to take the child in. After all, how could a guardian of light turn away the supposed savior of the World? 

But no, he didn’t believe it. Rather, it was caution that had pushed him to agree. Or perhaps sympathy, for the boy caught up in Xehanort’s schemes.

Whatever Xehanort’s true interest in Ventus had been, it was better left in the past; forgotten. 

Eraqus carried a glass of water to Ventus’ room. It seemed the least he could offer him, for the time being. 

A stillness had fallen over the Land of Departure, even the usual chirp of crickets was absent tonight. Almost as though the world somehow knew an outsider had arrived, hushing itself, as not to disturb him.

Eraqus pushed the door open—and was immediately caught off guard.

A man sat in the chair at the side of Ventus’ bed.

“Who are you?” Eraqus demanded.

The man didn’t shift his gaze, replying without revealing his face. 

“An old friend said I’d find him here. …They saw him, passing through.”

Eraqus resisted the urge to summon his Keyblade. “Then… You know Ventus?”

He nodded. “I know Ven. Not that he’d recognize me… I thought you might, at least.”

“What are you saying..?”

The stranger turned slowly, resting his arm on the back of the chair.

“Impossible!”

A small smile appeared on Blaine’s face when he looked at his grandson, but it soon turned solemn again.

“I guess everyone gets scarred, eventually…” 

He looked back at Ventus. “Sometimes too soon.”

Eraqus felt at a loss for words, but managed to ask: “Why are you here?”

“Just to say goodbye. And I’ve already overstayed my welcome.”

“Wait! Who is he? Is he really..?”

Blaine raised an eyebrow.

“Xehanort; he claimed that Ventus was the Child of Destiny.”

“He said that? Interesting…”

“Then, it’s true?”

“Maybe. Maybe not. But if anyone can save the World from Darkness… I figure it might as well be someone like Ven.”

He stood up, taking another look at the sleeping boy.

“Take care of him, all right?”

“I… Of course.”

Blaine disappeared, leaving only sparkling lights where he once stood.

Eraqus was frozen in shock for a moment, but eventually placed the glass of water on a small table and forced himself to leave the room, wondering whether the interaction had really occurred at all…

(Some light comes from the past.)