The next morning Ven and I ran as fast as we could to the main hall where Terra and Aqua's Mark of Mastery Exam was going to take place. We stood in a corner of the room next to each other, while Terra and Aqua stood in the middle of the room awaiting Master Eraqus's instructions. Master Eraqus was sitting on one of three chairs. The middle chair was unoccupied and in the other chair was a man I had never seen before. All I know is that his name is Master Xehanort. Master Xehanort appears as an old man, bald except for thin eyebrows and a curled, silver goatee. His ears are pointed and his eyes are yellow. He has broad, hunched shoulders and a crooked back. I know he's supposed to by a Keyblade Master, but something about him made me shiver. Like when I first met Terra, except it was darker.

Then Master Eraqus stood up from his chair and said, "Today you will be examined for the Mark of Mastery. Not one but two of the Keyblade's chosen stand here as candidates, but this is neither a competition nor a battle for supremacy, not a test of wills, but a test of heart. Both of you will prevail or neither. But I'm sure our guest, Master Xehanort, did not travel all this way to see our youngest prospects in years fall short of the Mark. I trust you are ready."

"Yes," said Aqua and Terra.

"Then let the examination begin," said Eraqus as he pulled out his keyblade.

Master Eraqus's keyblade was called Master Keeper, which is grey in coloration. It has the appearance of an old fashioned skeleton key, and the teeth are shaped like an "E". Its Keychain is the Mark of Mastery symbol. With it he summoned a bunch of balls of light, but something happened that made me shiver again. The balls of light were slightly covered in a dark shroud. I clenched my fists to my chest nervous of what might happen. As Aqua and Terra proceeded with the exam one of the balls came at us.

"Ven! Deli!" yelled Aqua and Terra.

Ven was faster than me and quickly pulled out his keyblade and struck down the ball.

"Don't worry about us," said Ven, "You two just focus on the Exam!"

"But Ven, you're in danger here," said Aqua, "Take Deli and go wait in your room!"

"No way we've been looking forward to this, seeing you two become Masters," said Ven, "We're not going to miss it now! Right Hao?"

"Uh, right," I said preparing for battle.

"They can take care of themselves," said Terra, "They've been training just as hard as us."

"Yeah!" said Ven.

"Stay sharp you two!" said Aqua.

"You ready Hao?" asked Ven.

"I...I don't know Ven," I said uncertain, "Maybe we should...."

"Don't worry Hao," said Ven, "I'll make sure you don't get hurt. Trust me."

I look at my keyblade, "Ok."

A couple of the balls came for us, Ven jumped ahead and attacked them. I held my Keyblade out in front of me, preparing to defend myself. Then a ball came charging for Ven, I quickly rushed behind him blocking the ball. I then slashed the ball with my keyblade, making it vanish.

"Thanks Hao," said Ven realizing what had happened.

I smiled then we heard a humming above us, it was another ball charging up for an attack. We looked at each other and nodded. Ven used his Aero to shoot me in the air as I struck it down from above.

When I landed Ven smiled, "That was awesome!"

I blushed covering my mouth with my hands, "You think so?"

"Definitely," said Ven.

We looked around and saw Terra and Aqua just finishing up the first part of the test. When they finished, Terra and Aqua stood at the center of the again.

"That was unexpected," said Master Eraqus, "But one must keep a still heart even in the most trying of circumstances. It was an excellent test, one I chose to let unfold. Which brings us to your next trial. Now, Terra and Aqua, the two of you will face each other in combat. Remember, there are no winners, only truths, for when equal powers clash, their nature is revealed. Begin!"

Aqua and Terra began to battle, it was amazing. The two weren't holding anything back, giving this their all. Neither one could land a hit on the other. Then when Aqua began to charge for Terra again his left hand was covered in a dark, eerie glow. That same feeling as before, terrified me and I hid my face behind Ven.

"Hao?" asked Ven.

I said nothing and remained behind him, until they had finished fighting. Both Masters stood in front of Terra and Aqua.

"We have deliberated and reached a decision," said Master Eraqus, "Terra, Aqua, you both performed commendably. However, only Aqua has shown the Mark of Mastery. Terra, you failed to keep the darkness inside you sufficiently in check. But there is always next time. That is all. Aqua, as our newest Keyblade Master, you are entitled to certain knowledge. Please wait here for further instruction."

Master Xehanort and Master Eraqus left after he was finished. Ven and I ran to Terra to try and comfort him.

"Terra, I'm sorry," said Ven.

"The darkness," said Terra, "Where did it come from?"

I felt something strange coming from a certain direction, I looked and saw Master Xehanort smiling towards us. I clenched my fists against my chest again. I don't know why, but something seemed wrong, very wrong indeed.

"Sorry," said Terra leaving the room, "But I need some time alone."

Ven left to his room, but I didn't notice I was still thinking about that strange feeling I was having.

"Deli?" said Aqua, "Are you ok?"

I said nothing, then she placed her hand on my shoulder making me jump, "Don't worry, Terra will be just fine. You'll see."

I shifted my eyes to the ground, "Yeah. I'm going to head back to my room."

"Ok," said Aqua, "You sure you're alright?"

"Yeah," I said.

When I got back to my room, I was lying on my bed looking out the window. That feeling, it was stronger this time. When I met Terra the first time, it wasn't this bad. Master Xehanort, he was giving off some form of darkness. Then I felt that same darkness in Terra. What could it mean? Then the castle bells rang, telling everyone to gather in the main hall. As I was running toward the hall, I saw Ven darting out of his room and a guy walked out behind him.

He was wearing a black and red organic-looking bodysuit and a silver helmet covered with dark glass, hiding his face from view. His entire aura was filled with darkness, it took all I had just to stay standing.

He turned toward me and said, "Oh look it's the fake. Still pretending to be a keyblade wielder? Pathetic."

"Who...who are you?" I asked nervously.

"That's no concern of yours, however if you intend on getting in the way, you'll find out the hard way," said the masked boy.

"What do you mean by that?" I asked more nervous than before.

The boy opened a dark portal and said as he walked in, "If you're smart you'll stay out of this."

After he left, I wondered what he meant. Stay out of what? What was he talking about? Ven might know something! So I rushed off to find Ven.

I went to the front yard, and saw Terra fly off in his armor into a portal. Where is he going? Then Ven changed into his armor and left in Terra's portal. Aqua tried to stop him, but it was too late. Then Aqua changed into her armor after the Master Eraqus came and told her to bring Ven back. She then left through the portal.

Where are they going? Could this be what the guy was talking about? I got to make sure they're going to be ok! I summoned my armor and threw my keyblade into the air. My keyblade changed into a armored hang glider with boosters on the end. It had a pole underneath it and looked like a giant, upside down fan was attached to it at the top, so there was a place for my hands to hold on. There was also a tailfin on the end for me to place my feet. The armor had finally appeared on my body, it was similar to Aqua's armor except that it was yellowish white. I ran down the stairs and jumped onto my glider and went to find my friends.