Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

He was from another world where the night would never fall upon the sky. That was his home, and even though he never wondered what was beyond the sky, he did often wonder why this entire world was called Twilight Town, for it wasn’t a small town, but many towns intervening. His town was known as Sunrise Beach, although the ocean was only a train drive away. He and his fellow orphans weren’t allowed to travel that far.

It was annoying, to say at least, more so when he was reaching the age where a child would try to find their own path and figure out where they belong in this wide world. But those running the orphanage wouldn’t allow him to leave and told them they needed him to care for the younger children. He often objected and begged the boss of the building to let him at least try and get a job, but he was shut down every time.

“Your place is here, and you will help the others take care of the younger children.” The boss told him hard, adding much to his frustration. “Be happy you have this, Terra. Otherwise, you would’ve been living on the streets. Becoming the very person who turned you into an orphan.”

“I would never become like that person!” He retorted, but the boss was set in his view, and in defeat, he returned to his duties. He started to loathe the boss and the other workers, but never the children. Terra knew they never asked for this; none of them did. He took a lot of them under his wing, became their rock of security, and always told them that even if they won’t be taken in by a new family, their path wasn’t yet carved.

“But won’t we be forced to stay like you?” One of the girls asked.

“I don’t know.” He admitted to her, but even though he was told to stay, Terra refused to do that. He wanted to see more of Twilight Town and be a part of the community and not just someone who is seeking pity from others. “But I am not planning on staying here, waiting for someone to adopt me.” Terra knew he wasn’t the smartest kid, but he knew enough that he had long reached the age where a couple would adopt him. Most people wanted children, not preteens, so it would be best for him to make his own life beyond these walls.

Against the boss’s wishes, he left the orphanage, went to the market, and began asking for a place to work. It took some time, but a man allowed him to help at a small scrap yard. It wasn’t the job he had been hoping for, but Terra had long learned that a boy like him really cannot be picky. Instead, he went to prove his worth by working extra hard. It impressed his new boss, while the one at the orphanage seemly got more annoyed. He wasn’t sure why the boss of the orphanage wanted him to stay inside those walls, waiting for some miracle when he could make his own future.

Well, he got his answer a small year later. A man, very unlike those who came to this place in search of a child to adopt. This man was reaching the twilight years, yet Terra still sensed that this man could beat anyone up if messed with. Though he sensed this stranger wouldn't do that; he had this soothing calmness around him.
The boss welcomed this stranger like an honored guest, confusing Terra further as he had never seen that elderly man before.
“Did you see that guy’s clothing? It’s so weird.” One of the boys said, and he could only nod in agreement. The boss and that stranger returned to the playground, where the boss called for him.
“Terra is in trouble~” another boy sing-sang; he gave that one a small push and went over to see what all of this was about and why the boss wanted him to approach this elderly, weirdly dressed, and scarred man.

“Terra, this is Eraqus,” the boss introduced him, and to his utter surprise, “he will take care of you now.”

“What?” he asked, unsure if he wanted to be adopted anymore. “I don’t need someone to pity me.” He added quickly to the frowning man, “No offense, sir.”

This Eraqus chuckled. “None taken, young one. And it pleases me that you do not consider this an old man’s pity. Instead,” Terra blinked when this man put his hands on his shoulders, “consider it an opportunity. You have a lot of light in your heart, and with the right guidance, you will make a great guardian.”

He tilted his head at this, not entirely sure what this Eraqus fully meant, but something told him that he should try and see what it was about. Better than staying and working in the scrap yard, he guesses. “Okay, I’ll go with you.” Eraqus smiled; this man exchanged a look with the boss and a nod from him; Eraqus gestured for him to follow. Terra did, not bothering to take anything with him as he really didn’t own anything and figured the children could put his stuff to good use.

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She practiced magic with her fellow acolyte, gentle yet steadfast in making this raw power dance around the fountain in the shape of water. It took a lot out of her, but she wanted to complete this test. Waving the staff, she guided the water into the fountain and, with another spell, made the water flow upward.

“Well done, Aqua.” Her teacher praised her; someone old, wise, and very powerful. She turned around, smiling, “You will make a great mage someday.”

She bowed in a sign of respect to her teacher. “Thank you, but I still got a lot to learn.”

“That you have.” her teacher agreed. He took a sip of his tea and waved his hand to one of the younger students, stopping him from attempting the same spell. “You’re not ready, Eros; magic is not a toy, but a force that may shape the world, but can just as easily tear you apart.” the young student froze up, fear in his purple eyes. “Practice on the first level elemental spells when you have mastered them, then we can—“

A knock on the door, and one of the servants appeared, “Sorry for the interruption, sir, but the Master of the castle wishes to speak with you.” this made the irritated look on her teacher’s face disappear, and her curiosity peaked.
Aqua has heard tales about the people living in the castle up in the mountains. No one was allowed up there other than the Chosen.

Their teacher got up from his chair. “I want you all to study your spell books; no spells while I am gone.” with those words, he left to meet up with this Master.

She and the others do as told; her reading was, however, interrupted when one of the other girls asked in a hushed voice. “Do you think this Master would pick one of us?”

“I don’t know,” Aqua admitted; she had heard that this Master would sometimes leave the castle and seek the valleys in search of a student. Only one student has ever returned from the castle, and according to the stories, the Master would train this chosen to become a great protector, but other than that, the student couldn’t tell. Aqua often wondered if the students made some sort of oath that they never could reveal the castle’s secrets, what would be so important that no student ever stayed if they returned to their home? It was honestly fascinating, more so when it seemed the tales were true. “But it will be interesting to see this Master in person.” her fellow acolyte nodded in agreement.

It turned out that she got that wish; one of the servants called for her, and at first, wondering if she needed to tutor some other acolyte, got broken when the servant took her to the Archmage’s quarters. She hesitated, never before stepping inside, but not wanting to make the archmage wait, she knocked on the door, and the moment the voice inside permitted, she walked inside. The room was to be expected, filled with all kinds of magical instruments and display of what great power this feeble man held in his hands. Her teacher signed her to approach, and she did, trying but unable to cast that other man, not near as old, but she sensed great magic coming from him.
“This is the best student in my school.” The archmage introduced her.

This scarred man eyed her, “What is your name, young lady?”

“Aqua, sir,” she introduced herself and was unsure as to why, but that man suddenly got very intrigued by her.

The man mused something to himself she didn’t hear, but when he addressed her again, “Aqua, it would honor me if you would become my student up in the castle.” That offer took her greatly by surprise; this man offered her— her of all people to become a student of the castle.

She knew it was a great honor, but all she could think about was all the people she would leave behind. “can… can I think about it, sir?” she asked him, and from the look her teacher sent, she knew it was very disrespectful of her. But this wasn’t just leaving and going to another magical school. She might never see her fellow acolyte anymore.

Fortunately, this man was very understanding. “Of course.” he smiled, the same way her old caretaker would’ve. “How long do you need?”

Both wanted some time but also not wishing to push this too long. “A week.” She replied; the man nodded and left with the words that he would return in a week.
With the Master of the castle gone, the archmage pointed out to her: “Declining his offer would be highly disrespectful, Aqua.” she was very aware of that, and if she chose to say no, most likely everyone in this valley would jeer her for turning such a great honor down.

That night, she told her fellow acolyte’s what happened and wasn’t entirely sure if she should be relieved or disappointed in how everyone told her to take the offer. “But… I might never see you guys again.” She argued.

“I say that’s a sacrifice worth this honor,” she considered her closest friend said, and hearing those words coming from her of all people hurt a lot more than if it had been from anyone else. “You should never let others stop you from reaching the top.”

“How can you say such a thing?” she demanded, hurt and angry by such a lack of empathy.

“Because it’s the truth.” her supposal friend pointed out, “You’re just too naïve to see it, Aqua.”

That week was a lot harder than she thought, everyone wanted her to leave, and although some did admit they would be sad to see her go, they still said that declining the Master of the castle would be a stupid idea. She was well aware of that and honestly wasn’t planning on declining, but she still thought her fellow acolyte— her friends would put up more of a fight.
At the week’s end, most of those she lived with were already acting as if she was gone and asked in surprise, “Haven’t you left already?” when they noticed her. Which hurt a lot more than it already did.

The master came, and she took his offer and left everything she knew behind, but it wasn’t as she thought it would be. She thought her fellow acolyte would throw her a small party or at least come and say goodbye. But no one came to send her off; they just carried on with their lives.
“I know this is hard on you.” the master said as they left the village, her very home. “It was hard on me too when my master took me away from everything I knew.” He looked at her with such a gentle gaze. “He never allowed us to visit our home, but I won’t do that. If you ever feel homesick, you’re welcome to pay your friends and family a visit.”

That would’ve meant a lot to her, but from how her supposal family acted… “There’s no use for me to go back.” she replied while trying not to start sobbing at how they treated her. “They don’t really care about me, only the honor I will bring them.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.” she can only nod. The rest of the walk happened in silence, and when they reached the castle, she was too upset about her friend's sendoff that she didn’t take notice of this castle's grandeur. Only did when her new master suddenly addressed someone else. “Aqua, this is Terra.” She blinked and realized that a rather tall for his age, preteen stood not far from them. “He will be a fellow student.” This Terra stared at her as if she was a strange creature and not a fellow student.

Aqua found herself a bit offended but wanted to at least give a good first impression. “Pleasure to meet you, Terra.” She bowed in greeting.

Terra stared at her with a face of confusion, and a thought struck her ‘He’s not from another magical school.’ which only increased when he said uncertainly. “Uh, yeah, a pleasure to meet you too, uh, Aqua.”
Her past offense was brushed aside, now replaced with curiosity about where the master found this awkward-standing boy.

The master of the castle introduced himself as Master Eraqus and was kind enough to allow her a day to adjust to her new settings. Not that she needed that, but the thought was appreciated. The next day, Master Eraqus brought her and Terra to a grand room with three throne-like chairs at the end of this magnificent room. Here, he summoned a key-shaped sword. Aqua noticed that Terra jumped in surprise, which made her wonder; ‘Where has he lived if not seen a simple weapon summoning spell?’ but did quickly ignore her fellow student when their master spoke: “This is a keyblade, a powerful weapon guardian have used to protect the worlds and the light against evil.” Master Eraqus turned his keyblade so the handle was in front, and he went over to the very taken-aback Terra. “In your hand, take this Key. So long as you have the makings, then through this simple act of taking, its wielder, you shall one day be.” Both she and Terra stared at Master Eraqus, unsure and confused about what clearly felt like some sort of ceremony. Eraqus didn’t explain, way busier completing these initiation words. “With the power I now grant you, use it for good and protection the light so none shall suffer from the darkness.” Terra hesitated but slowly took hold of Master Eraqus’s keyblade; for a moment, he just held it like that, only letting go when Master Eraqus said, “Your ceremony is complete.” He then walked over to her and used the same words. Now knowing what was going on, Aqua didn’t hesitate to take hold of the keyblade. She was surprised to sense a sort of mysterious power coming from this weapon, and a small part of it seemed to enter her. The moment she felt that, Master Eraqus spoke. “Your ceremony is complete.” And this time, he dismissed the keyblade. “In time, you will be able to summon your own keyblade, but until then, we will use simple training swords.”

The training began; they practiced wielding a sword most of the time. It was a struggle for her as the acolytes never wielded any weapon other than the magic staff. At least Terra was having issues wielding the training sword as well. He sure seemed annoyed not to be able to get the hang of how to swing it properly.
They hadn’t spoken much since they got introduced to one another, and Terra seemed unsure of what to talk about. She dreaded she and Terra wouldn’t connect about anything, and this loneliness would be a constant companion. At least it seemed he, too, dealt with that, as Aqua often found him sitting on a wall outside, watching the valleys below.
Unlike the acolytes, she wasn’t sure how to talk with him. Terra knew nothing about magic and was much more on hand with things, something she was trained not to do.

One night, Aqua wanted something to drink and left her room to get some, but forgot briefly about it when she noticed that Terra still got the light turned on inside his room. Curious but also worried, she knocked gently on his door, but when she got no response, Aqua left him alone. It did nag her throughout their training session and when Master Eraqus allowed them to take a break. “Hey, I noticed your lights were still on last night.”
Terra instantly avoided her eyes, not out of anger but more embarrassment. “Something has been bothering you?” She asked, truly wanting to find just some common ground with her fellow student.

Terra hesitated for a painfully long time “… I’m… I’m not used to nights.” He spoke quietly. Aqua blinked, confused about what he meant by that, and fortunately, Terra did explain, “My world, it does not have nights. The sun never left the sky.”

Oh, that explains a lot about Terra’s at time strange behavior and knowing he’s not just a day away from his home but worlds apart. “I’m sor—“

“Don’t,” Aqua blinks; Terra gives her a hard look as if she had just cursed at him. “I don’t need anyone’s pity.” Oh… guess he’s from a poor upbringing.

It’s hard not to feel sorry, but she tries not to let it show as it only will grind his gear. Instead, she tries to make him see the beauty of the night. “I take you hadn’t seen stars before you came here.” his disproval tension eases up from his confusion. Aqua takes that as her opportunity. “It’s quite beautiful” She didn’t have more time to tell him as Master Eraqus called them to resume their training, but this did give her something to hopefully break the ice between her and Terra.

When darkness fell over the land, Aqua left her room and knocked on Terra’s door; a moment later, the tall boy opened the door. Unlike during the training, where he stood tall, now he is hunched, possibly from how uncomfortable the night made him. Aqua hopes she can change his views on that. “Come, I want to show you something.” She speaks and begins to leave; Terra hesitates but follows her. He did stop when they reached the doors leading outside. She stopped as well and gave him an assuring smile. “Don’t worry; there’s nothing to be afraid of.” Adding, “I will be by your side all the way.” He hesitated but fortunately followed her.
Aqua had a hard time imagining how it must’ve been to live in a place where the sun never sets and how scary the night must be for Terra. So seeing him go outside, even though it clearly makes him uncomfortable. “You’re very brave.”

“What makes you say that?” Terra asked.

“If it had been me, I wouldn’t have dared go outside.” Aqua admitted, figuring that he deserves that much after having revealed his own fears. “Wouldn’t do anything unless accompanied by some other….” Terra gives her a look, “I don’t like to be alone.” so her nights are also hard on her. Aqua is used to a whole room full of acolytes, and not having the sounds of others sleeping around her was putting her on edge.

“I know the feeling.” Terra said, but he didn’t go into details of what he meant. Instead, he started to look around the dark training area. “Everything looks so different in darkness. Hard to know what is what…”

“Still the same.” She pointed out, and after a quick check, good, there weren’t any clouds. “Hey, Terra.” He turned back to her and was kinda excited; Aqua looked up to the sky. “Look up.”

He looked up, and the before nervous gaze turned wide from the awe he felt at seeing the countless stars meeting him. “Whoa…” he gasped lightly; Aqua let him take this new thing in, and when he was ready. “What are those lights?”

“They are called stars,” Aqua explained, following his eyes to the starry sky as well. “Mages use them a lot when practicing magic.”

“Why?”

Opening her mouth to answer but realizes that her teachers never explained why stars are often connected to magic. “I’m not sure.” she admitted, and it made her wonder out loud, “Maybe they are the source of magic?”

“I wouldn’t know.” Terra mused while still keeping his wide eyes on the starry sky. “I didn’t know about magic before coming here.”

“I’m surprised you have taken everything this calmly.” Aqua remarked; if it had been her, she would most likely have had a mental breakdown. Things are different from what she’s used to, but not as much as it must’ve been for Terra. Her fellow student breaks his gaze from the night sky with a shrug. She’s honestly impressed by his show of tolerance. They watched the night sky for a while longer before she suggested they better head to bed. “I rather not be tired during training.”

“Right.”

They each head into their rooms, Aqua has trouble sleeping due to this eerie silence, but it did make her hear someone approaching her door. Still jumped at the knock and was quite surprised to see Terra step inside, having a quilt over his shoulders. “Something wrong, Terra?”

“I was wondering if you wanted some company.” Terra spoke quietly. He didn’t avoid her eyes this time but was still obviously nervous about this.

At first, taken aback but quickly realized that Terra merely wanted to return the extended hand of friendship. Aqua smiled, hopeful that she and Terra might become friends after all. “Sure.” She helped make a makeshift bed, and for once, her sleep was peaceful even though it was far from a quiet one. Terra snores quite loudly.

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The room was quiet other than the muffled sobbing coming from the bed. He tried not to let it show, but it was hard. He wanted to make his parents proud, to become a keyblade wielder, but Master Xehanort’s training left him hurt in more ways than he liked to admit. If not for the Master’s healing, his body would’ve been scarred from all the time the training left him with deep cuts and broken bones. But no magic could fix the cuts his Master left on his very psyche… he wanted to go home, leave everything behind, but… he couldn’t. He couldn’t make those black portals Master Xehanort could nor change his keyblade into a vehicle like his mother. He was trapped.

The sound of the door, but instead of Master Xehanort’s calm yet harsh words. He heard the voiceless words of his only friend. Asking if he was all right?
He looked up from the pillow and was sort of happy that the chain his Master put on his pet didn’t hold more than a couple of hours. Still well aware, the Master Xehanort wouldn’t be happy by Draco’s unfettered personality and how no one, not even he, could say what this mighty beast could and could not do. “You should’ve stayed.” He told his pet. But like always, Draco didn’t care about those rules; it only cared about him.
Draco jumped up in the bed, lying beside him like an odd big cat. It will protect him, the creature said, and he knew it would. Knowing his pet was here, it made things easier. Wrapping his arms around the neck of Draco and burying his face into the marine blue pelt, he fell asleep feeling a bit more at ease.

Master wasn’t happy to see his pet had escaped the chain, and Draco, like always when Master Xehanort would lecture him like that, responded by roaring.
His Master didn’t like his pet but, for some reason, never tried to harm the creature. “Control the beast boy.”
“Behave, Draco.” He tried lecturing his pet, but it was connected to his heart; he knew he didn’t mean those words and went to lie to him. “Draco, no! Bad animal!” All the while trying not to laugh at his pet’s goofy behavior.

Master Xehanort was not pleased. “Perhaps going without breakfast might teach you how to control your little pet.” He instantly stopped, knowing how hard training would be on an empty stomach before he could try and make promises, he would try. His Master had already left. He tried not to cry, but it was hard not to of how frustrating his situation was.

Master brought him to the training grounds— according to him, an ancient battlefield for countless keyblade wielders. All who fought each other in an attempt to gain the greatest keyblade of all. He didn’t like this place; he felt like the hatred and despair of the past still lingered even after so many years. But he knew that arguing wouldn’t matter.
“Chain your pet.” Master Xehanort commanded him, something he started when Draco jumped in to protect him during training. He did as told, and even though his pet made quite a fuss about it, he still chained Draco and went over to start training. He knew today’s training would be miserable.
Mater Xehanort told him to warm up, and he did, trying his best to ignore how his stomach growled for food, aware he would only get some if he exceeded his training.
After the warm-up, “Now, I want you to embrace your frustrations, give into them and turn them into a weapon.” He waved his hand, and black humanoid creatures with glowing yellow eyes appeared from the ground.

He prepared his weapon but was terrified, even though he had been trained mercilessly to fight; this was the first time he stood before a “live” target and looked into those glowing orbs. He froze up. More and more of these black creatures appeared, soon surrounding him. Draco roared at him, warning him that these are dark beings that won’t hesitate to take his heart. It didn’t make it better, but it did snap him out of the paralyzing terror and knowing the real danger he was in. “Please don’t do this, Master!” he called up to his Master, afraid that he won’t get away from this with only a few broken bones. One of the beings appeared a tad too close to him, he hit it with his keyblade, but the dark being barely reacted. Jumping away, he called up to Master, “I’m not strong enough!”

“No. It is because you are trying to hold it in.” Master replies, not making any more to save him from this. Which only made his fear spike, and with no other option, he tried to keep an eye on all these dark beings, hoping Draco would get free in time. “Let the dark impulses waken in the pit of your heart.”
Master did mention using his frustrations as a weapon, but how is he supposed to do that? It’s only making him cry.
“Release them, here and now!” Master Xehanort beckons him, “Sharpen your fear into rage.”
How?? Anger comes very hard to him as it is, and now Master wants him to turn fear into rage? That’s… that’s impossible!

“I can’t!” He cried back, turning to where his protector was, and Draco was doing a whole dance to get free from its chain. Roaring at him that it won’t let him die. He knew it won’t, but… looking at the approaching dark creatures, he did not think his pet could save him from this.

“You must!” Master Xehanort responded, “If you do not let the storm within you run its course,” One of the dark beings jumped after him, and he only barely dodged. He whimpered from the scratch it left on his arm. “It will wipe from the face of the world, make no mistake!”

Draco roared. It wouldn’t allow that to happen, it pulled harder against the chain, and it started to give in.

The dark beings got closer and closer, “Do it. embrace the darkness!” Master Xehanort called from his spot; right that moment, the dark beings attacked all at once. He screamed and could do nothing more than try and shield himself. They tore into his flesh; something cold and dark reached for his heart.

Draco broke the chain and ran full speed into the dark beings, throwing them left and right by just running into them. It stopped right above the Master and roared at the dark beings to leave, or it would tear them to pieces. They didn’t listen, and Draco kept its word; teeth and claws tore into their bodies, shredded them into smaller blobs of darkness, which faded away shortly after. One of them got onto its back, claws scratching, but it quickly stopped them by throwing itself to the ground and then chomping on the head. With the last taken care of, Draco turned to their master, whimpering at how it could feel how this attack of darkness had seriously wounded its young master.
It gently licks the boy, calling through their connection to please wake up. The young master doesn’t. Approaching footsteps, Draco snaps around, snarling loudly at the one who caused this. The Master was wise to stop a safe distance, for what little its master made it from attacking this obvious threat was now gone. And Draco would do the same to this man it did to the dark beings if he came any closer.

“You would rather die than use your true power?” The man spoke; Draco put its paws before the master, snarling that its master wasn’t yet ready for the power within their bond. Of course, the man couldn’t hear its voice. Only master could. “Feckless neophyte.” A moment of silence that was only broken by Draco’s sneering. “You have pushed my patience far enough. If I must…” The man summoned his keyblade and waved his hand before the eye; the Masterless came, charging Draco at the man's command. Draco jumped at Masterless’s face, but its claws held little effect on the metal protecting this one, and before it could try and go for the neck, Masterless metal grabbed and threw it to the ground, restraining it from getting back to Master.
The man walked over to the Master, ignoring Draco’s roars from staying away from the boy. “I will extract the power from within you myself.” He aimed the keyblade at the unmoving Master, Draco fought against Masterless, but the other one wouldn’t budge. “I will give your darkness form, and like through legends, your two sides will clash to create the X-blade.” The power of the keyblade hit the Master’s heart, separating light and darkness. The boy was too hurt to react much, but Draco screamed out the sheer agony of how it felt.
The connection it shared got broken, tainted by this unnatural separation, and the feral crawled into its mind. Draco knew that it needed to be corrupted like its Master if having any hope of continuing its First Master’s command. So with no other option, it tore itself apart, and the specks latched onto what little connection the two sides now shared.

He landed on the ground, and the first emotion that struck him; was sadness. He was sad to be split from his light, sad that his beloved pet had to kill itself. He eyed his light and felt sad to see him like that. But soon that sadness got replaced with anger, for if his light had just fought, he wouldn’t be here but still part of him.
The dark beings returned, and Master said, “Turn your fear into rage; strike them down, or you will perish.” He was afraid, but this fear was more to let his family down but also to letting these dark beings take his current mortally wounded light. His fear didn’t become the rage, but it did become his weapon to defend himself. He summoned a keyblade, like himself, twisted and wrong, yet still held a clue to the power he and his light held within. He fought the dark beings; each slash was to defend his light and to live. His light had lost his way and couldn’t see, but he could and refused to die, not here, and not today.

With the last slain, Master approaches him, “Empty creature from Ventus riven…” which happened because of this old man, but the memories of his light, the fear his light felt, now becoming his. It kept him from pointing that fact out. “To you, the name Vanitas shall be given.”
It felt wrong to have another name than the one his light carried, but he figured it would be unwise to confront Master about this, especially after what he did to them. The darkness, now named Vanitas, looked down to his light, which had become only a flicker from the trauma the separation caused. The sadness returned at watching this alive but just as empty as him, boy. “He’s nothing but an empty shell.” Well aware that his light was like this because he was missing from his heart. The sadness got replaced with anger, anger at Ventus. If he had just tried to fight, try and save his own life, this wouldn’t have happened. “You fucking moron.” He told his light and loathed how weak his light was. But he still wanted to keep it safe; Ventus was his light, after all.

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Master wanted them to fight; yeah, sure, he got his outburst on Ventus, hard not as his cowardice led to this painful separation. Every moment of his existence, the pain from his heart was a constant reminder of his Light’s weakness. But even though he loathed Ventus's action and gave the comatose boy his share of beatings. Vanitas could never raise his keyblade at him, all from the simple fact that Ventus is his light, and it was in his very nature to keep it close and safe from direct harm.
Xehanort didn’t care what he did to Ventus as long he didn’t kill him. Vanitas hated this new form of existence, but at least Xehanort allowed him to be near the boy where he came from, gave just a small ease in the agony that was his heart, and kept the small monsters, the Unversed, from spawning from his essence. Taking care of Ventus, not entirely sure why, but it gave Vanitas a sort of role. He wanted to be strong, and with his perseverance instincts so high, it was quite obvious that he wanted to keep his other half alive and safe.
Of course, Vanitas hid his true feeling towards the Master. If Xehanort knew that being this close to Ventus eased his rage and pain, he would separate them, and Vanitas couldn’t bear that thought.

His light eased his negative emotions, but being close to Ventus also reminded him of why he was suffering and why Ventus was nothing but a husk. It pissed him off, and sometimes he hurt Ventus, but it was never enough to draw blood.
When not taking care of his light or training, Vanitas preferred sitting right beside Ventus, figuring it was due to the fact that he’s the shadow of Ventus’s light.
While he sat like this, a Flood appeared, but unlike when he was out training, the Unversed created when he’s near Ventus always lacked their usual negativity. Instead, they would become affectionate. Like the other times, this Flood nudged itself under Vanitas’s hand and went to sleep under it. He eyed the monster of his creation and figured that he must be tired from how the Unversed reacted, and this was the only time he wouldn’t kill the thing.
Ventus, ever so slowly, turned his empty gaze down to the sleeping Flood as well, but other than that, he wasn’t moving.
Vanitas wondered if Ventus was aware of what was going around him and just too weak to do anything or if he was so far gone that only his body reacted to stimuli. He was not sure which one he preferred, only that if Ventus died, then there was no hope for him. “You better not die.” He grabbed the sleeping Flood and shoved it against his light’s chest. “Only if we clash and create the X-blade, all of this will end.” Ventus slowly took the whistling Flood and, with it on the lap, met his eyes. Vanitas met them with his own glaring red. “You know this is all your fault. If you just had fought back instead of giving up, I would still have been with you.”

Ventus didn’t reply verbally, only put his hands on the again calm Flood. And focusing on it instead of Vanitas, but this darkness was pretty used to that sort of behavior. “Get better, idiot.” He hit Ventus over the head before lying down but sleep never came easy. His heart hurt too much for such a thing; he was not sure he needed it, though. Hard to tell how much of the bodily need his artificial body required. He couldn’t sleep, but the close proximity to Ventus did allow him a rare moment of relaxation. At least until he heard the sound of a dark portal, and he killed the friendly Unversed; he bit his teeth from the pain he felt as its body got torn apart by his keyblade. Did cause the creation of several Tornbites, didn’t matter; they were acting normal, and thus, Xehanort wouldn’t see anything wrong. He jumped on his feet and pretended to stand to watch for an inmate instead of his own light.
To his surprise, Ventus also got on his feet, though slow and wobbly.

Master Xehanort walked into the small cave he left them in, a faint smile on his lips “Ah, finally, a sign of recovery. In time, your clash will be at hand.” Vanitas responded by pushing his light so Ventus fell back onto the ground, his way of saying that there was a long way before they could even attempt a simple spar.
Xehanort didn’t seem to care; he wanted him to start forcing Ventus to move around more.

He did, and his light could walk, but Ventus only seemed to react on him and the Unversed; everything else was invisible to him. Vanitas found that strangely amusing and, when Master wasn’t looking, made his light fetch the smaller Unversed for him.

Ventus tried to pick up a Scrapper, but it just kept scratching him since that particular one was created when he was extra frustrated at his light. Vanitas showed Ventus away from it and commanded the Scrapper to buzz off; with it gone, he went over to Ventus. “You’re such an oblivious idiot.” He told his light and healed the scratched-up hands; his healing magic wasn’t that good, but it did the trick.
Vanitas noticed that Xehanort was approaching and quickly left Ventus. Instead, he went over to his Bruiser and jumped onto it, acting like he didn’t care. Ventus, of course, followed and stared up at him like some sort of lost puppy.
Xehanort walked over to them; after watching Ventus for a moment, the old man asked: “How is his development?”

“So much a zombie now can.” He replied offhand, “Walk, grab crap, and be overall stupid.”

There was a moment of silence before Xehanort turned around, “Follow me, Ventus,” and walked out; Vanitas watched his light and snorted, bemused that his light didn’t react at all on the command. Master quickly noticed the lack of following students, turned back around, and after another moment of silence from the old man. “Vanitas, come.” He jumped off the Bruiser, over Ventus, and walked over to the Master. Ventus stood for a moment before he turned and started walking over to where he was, only stopping right beside him.
“He is attracted to your darkness.” Xehanort commented; Vanitas gave him a ‘duh’ look, though unsure if it came across as he didn’t have a human face. “He desires for his heart to be mended.” He left the cave; Vanitas knew he should follow, so he did.
Outside and among the rusty keyblades, “Through the clash of equal forces, the X-blade will be created, and your heart will be united once again.” Xehanort stopped and turned to him, Vanitas stopped, and his light did as well. “Ventus’s body might never recover, but you only need his heart. His essence of darkness, commend the battle with Ventus’s heart and claim his light as your own!” Xehanort pointed at the comatose standing Ventus. He turned to his light, unsure, as something in the back of his mind said it was a bad idea.

But his desperation to be whole overruled that small dread; he grabbed Ventus and opened his heart, allowing his body to pulse with darkness. At first, Ventus didn’t react other than his eyes widen ever so slightly. Then he felt it, the light, warm, and what would stop the pain. Vanitas heart reached for it, but instead, being a gentle shadow as he usually was to Ventus’ light. He forced the light to clash with his darkness. Unlike darkness, which acted like a wave, Ventus’s light reacted like fire, but instead of weakening, it just got stronger. The sense he got before returned, this time screaming at him of the danger, but he did not understand why he got that sense of dread. So he continued to force his heart to clash with Ventus, throwing more fuel to this fire the light had become. Only when the two forces neared equal grounds, Vanitas realized the grave mistake. Ventus’s eyes faded out, the light in him had gotten out of control, having no darkness to quell it, and thus, it started to harm the already weak body. Vanitas felt the light harm Ventus in ways that never could be fixed; he didn’t think, only reacted to what the darkness in him knew it had to do. He grabbed the boy, pulled him into a hug, and stopped hammering his darkness against the light, instead engulfing it like he does to the now limp body. It was brief, but his darkness got that light under control, and when Vanitas let go of Ventus… the other body dropped to the ground, lying unmoving. His eyes were open, but, Vanitas knew that his once body was much, much worse off than when he was sifted away and torn from him.
“He’s not strong enough.” He told Xehanort, refusing to accept that Ventus most likely wasn’t going to survive this. Guilt was an emotion he felt a lot back when he was part of Ventus’s heart, the first time he felt it without his other half.
Xehanort said no word, not even a question; he merely took Ventus’s body and left. Vanitas stares at where the old man disappeared with what remained of his light, dreading that would be the last time he ever would see that boy.

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He felt it happen; another heart had touched Ventus’s; he felt the mending and was so glad Xehanort wasn’t around when it happened. He collapsed onto the ground, unable to move from the incredible sense of this bond formed between them. It was so strong that it even affected him; his body shifted in reaction to that other heart. It hurt, but not the same way as his heart hurt from separation. His fractured heart welcomed this light, but how that heart changed him. That was what hurt.
It only lasted about a minute, but it was all it took. Vanitas got back on his feet, knowing this other heart had changed him. If he hadn’t already known by that connection formed, then the now raven-colored locks of hair covering partly his eyes would be a good indication. Hands shaking, Vanitas touched his face, skin met his fingers, no longer a humanoid looking Unversed he was, but a boy with a face given by whoever’s heart saved the other part of his. “What the… What the hell did you do to me?” He asked in disbelief at how this new light changed his entire appearance. It was incredibly off-putting. “Who did you allow into your heart?” He pondered, and admittedly curious what made that other heart allow Ventus to touch theirs to this extent. It pisses him off that Ventus allowed some other heart in while his light had rejected him. Whatever the case, it saved his light from fading completely away and with the connection formed between him and his light. Hopefully, he can now keep the dangerous side of the light in check.

Chapter Text

He never witnessed the devastations of the Keyblade War, only told by Master Ava that a handful of the thousands that fought had survived; those few, along with the organization called the Dandelions, became his and four others' responsibility. Master Ava had chosen him, his younger sister, and three more to become the leaders of the Dandelions, and each was given a rulebook to follow.

“Think they’re set in stone or more like guidelines?” One of the leaders, a bright boy named Brain, asked not long after they were left to their new duty by the Foretellers.

A good friend of his, a girl named Skuld, had replied: “They are rules; of course, they are.” His sister had been very unsure about that; she had mentioned to him that she did not fancy the idea of having the keyblade wielders fight one another just because the rules said so. But he agreed with Skuld; rules are rules.

They set the place up to house not only all of the Dandelions but also the survivors of the Keyblade War; for some reason, they got just enough room for everyone, even though he was certain that house hadn’t a room the last time he checked. He had brushed it off fairly quickly, much rather wanting to focus on his given job as a fellow leader of the Dandelions.
The job was relatively easy; the people they should lead only needed support from what they had witnessed in the destruction of the World, and honestly, the biggest problem he and the other leaders dealt with was the rules they were given.

His sister didn’t fancy pitting the members against one another. “It reminds me too much how it all started.” He supposed it made sense; in the months before the war, the Union members constantly got at each other throats and raised their blades at one another.

“But it’s not like we have any choice; it’s in the book,” Brain argued. And turned to the one they all choose as the leader among the leaders: Ephemer, “and as Skuld said, it is set in stone.”

Ephemer agreed they had to follow the rules but came up with a solution that didn’t make the people they were supposed to lead, turn their blades against one another. “Someone might help us with this little problem” He brought them to the town square and there, was a blond boy neither recognized. Ephemer introduced them to this stranger. “this is Joshua. He’s… well, he is sort of the architect of this town.” He and the others greeted this other boy, and Ephemer then explained to Joshua their little issue; finishing up, he asked. “Can you help us?”

“I might have a solution, but it does require a bit of work on your part.” The blond boy replied to them and explained they all needed to make their dreams take shape. “and these Spirits will be used for the friendly competition.”
It didn’t make much sense, but along with the plan, they did.

That’s how the whole game of battling with one Spirit began, bringing people together; it pleased them all, Skuld mostly. “I’m relieved we could find another way and still follow the rules.” She picked up her Spirit, which had taken the form of a wolf with a moon icon on its forehead. “We got these adorable creatures!” He had found it quite amusing. However, he admitted that he liked his own Spirit very much. Brain made fun of him and only did it because he was on top of the scoreboard of the Spirit Arena battle.

There were other rules that made things a bit tricky; one of them was training the Dandelions to strengthen the light in them, but none really knew how to do it. Fortunately, Ephemer, along with Brain, concluded that it probably meant the strength of someone’s heart and the bond a single person shared with others. They spent a lot of time focusing on that, ensuring everyone got along. It was a slow progress, but everyone became able to put their differences aside and focus on what they were trained to do by Master Ava.

Then one day, Master Ava came to them and told them it was time to fulfill their destiny as seeds of light.

“There are still people suffering from what they saw in the war.” He had argued; one of them was a friend of his sister, and though they hadn’t spoken, he knew his sister wouldn’t want them to leave that friend or the others behind. “I humbly request to stay behind and tend to those people.”

“I wish to stay with my brother.” His sister spoke.

Master Ava had hesitated but granted their request, so they stayed while the Dandelions went out to recreate the world. He knew they had made the right choice, for not long after, more people that needed a place to recover came. One of them was a dear friend of theirs. She didn’t remember him, though, but he quickly changed that, and it was somewhat fun to become friends all over again.
He and his sister stayed as the remaining leaders, and as Ephemer wanted, stuck to the rules and kept not only the Spirit battle arena going but made sure people got along.

Brain visited them; he looked older and told him that the Dandelions have created countless worlds, completing their mission Master Ava put them on. “She told us we are now free to carve our own destiny. This will most likely be the last time you see me, but not my legacy.” And the now adult man explained that he was planning on creating a legacy of blood, one he had already started.

It felt strange knowing that he would most likely meet one of these descendants of his friend but hearing how Brain spoke about it, he knew it was what this former Dandelion leader wanted. They shook hands and bid each other farewell, for as Brain said, it would be the last time they saw each other in person. He didn’t know what happened to Ephemer or Skuld, only that they, too, were making their own legacy. When his job would end, he agreed with himself to find the answer to that question.

He had no idea how much time passed, this place was always night, and for some reason, the clocks around would never show the same; it was like time held no meaning; in fact, many things didn’t make sense in this realm. His magic was one of those things; it had changed throughout his time here. Joshua said it was a payment from have kept the people residing there in check, and he will admit, he liked how it had become; it felt much more part of him than his before simple earth magic was.

Then the time came, the last person had left. And for a time, it was only him, his sister, and his dear partner. But it wasn’t Master Ava who came and told him it was time to leave. Instead, it was his former Union leader, Master Invi. She said to him that he needed to stay in the world he and the others would step onto for a time until a Master would arrive, and he needed to be that Master’s student. “it is time you join destiny’s path” The Foreteller told him, and he accepted his new role in life.

He left along with his two companions, and for the first time, for who knows how long, they saw the sun again. It was weird to be in the realm of light again and merely a fraction of what once was a grand world. But his partner sure looked happy to see the sun again, so he guessed it was not all that bad.
As per Master Invi’s command, he, his sister, and their shared friend stayed in this world. Spend most of their time walking at the beach and tending a bit of this world’s flowers, though it was mostly just him and his sister doing that. It was and always would be their form of bonding.
A very young child once butted in their bonding session and started climbing on him, which his sister and friend found incredibly amusing. The kid was cute, but he was glad when the parents came to retrieve their son and spare him from being that kid’s climbing tree. Did sense strong light coming from that child, so maybe he just met a future keyblade wielder. It would be amusing if that boy would be chosen to wield such a weapon.

One day, the Master he was told about came. She was very old but still knew what he carried the moment she laid eyes on him. “What name do you go by, young man?” She asked, and he told her his name; she then asked if he wished to become her student? He replied he would and asked, “A request, I would wish my sister— a wielder of the keyblade as well, and my dear friend to accompany me in this training.” The Master agreed to his request, and so, Master Freyr brought him, his sister, and his friend to their new home; where his destiny will await.
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Now, three years later, he has not only earned the title Master but has become the teacher to the next keyblade wielders that will come to this second training ground for the mighty keyblade. No new Keys have arrived, and he is starting to wonder if he should do like Master Freyr and check the other Core worlds in search of a student. A thought crossed him to perhaps check up on that child living on the island world, but he quickly brushed that aside since that boy was still much too young for a keyblade bequeathing ceremony. He would have to find himself a student soon, but that will have to wait for a while. As it stands now, the Master of the other keyblade training world has invited him to attend a Mark of Mastery. He is curious to see the making of new keyblade masters. He has heard a lot about Terra and Aqua from one of his friend’s ascendance, a man going by the name Master Eraqus. It’s nice to know Brain’s legacy is going strong, and it won’t surprise him if more of that bloodline goes in the other Core worlds. His fellow companion always had the tendency to think three times ahead; he sure proved that when they got overrun by Nightmare Dream Eaters, created by those people there who survived the war. Good thing Master Ava had chosen him as a fellow leader.
A knock on the door breaks Lauriam’s thoughts down memory lane, and he turns to the door.

His four year younger sister steps carefully through the door; he recognizes that look and waits patiently for whatever request she wishes to ask of him. “You’re not too busy, are you?” She asks him quietly; he smiles and shakes his head, it’s hard to be busy when he got no students to train, and he does not think mentoring his own sister count as a Master duty. That’s a family duty. “If you wouldn’t mind, can you join Elrena and me in watching the meteor shower?”

Ah, so Strelitzia dragged her into it as well; it must be pretty special, then. “I wouldn’t mind at all." He replies, closing the old dairy in how things were before the war; if they have turned better or worse, he cannot really say.

His sister beams, “You’re the best.” and she leaves, saying: “I gonna grab the blanket.”

He chuckles but decides to help Strelitzia with this night picnic, he grabs the large blanket and the sushi he made last night in case they get a bit hungry. With those in hand, he and his sister leave the castle-like building that can house at least four more people and passes the ordinary people dotting the streets of this beautiful yet void of any keyblade wielders. This world, it is one of his friend's legacy. He stops briefly before the statue of the founder of this city. He looks much older, but Lauriam still recognizes Ephemer. His friend made this world for future keyblade wielders, and he plans to return that status quote. Not sure what happened to the past keyblade masters, only that Master Freyr spent a lot of her time at the graveyard, speaking to several of the stones. Brushing these thoughts aside, Lauriam leaves the large stature and follows his sister to the tram.

They take it to one of the smaller islands; here, on a grassy hill, they find Elrena. And the moment their third companion notices them. “Oh look, he’s still alive.”

Lauriam rolls his eyes and throws the blanket with: “Come now, you saw me last night; when you double-checked the fish.”

Elrena laughed at how she tore that piece of meat to shreds with her new knives, which made quite a mess, but the look on Lauriam’s face made it worth the cleaning. She helps set up this nightly picnic and points out to her close friend, “Had to make sure it was dead, can’t have we lose our important Master.” adding when taking on the sushi pieces, “How did the master die? Oh it was so horrible.” She acted like she is in great distress, “He was killed by a fish we thought already was slain. Such a tragedy.”
Strelitzia giggles, and even Lauriam laughs at this mock joke of hers.

“It’s more your cooking that’s going to be the death of me.” He points out. Elrena responds by sticking her tongue at him; they both share a laugh again before a comfortable silence falls over the small group. His sister leans against his side, and Lauriam puts an arm over her shoulder, exchanging a knowing look with his friend before gazing up at the night sky. At first, only the endless sight of stars that is a world, the fragment of the once grand World. It makes Lauriam think about the past, and he remembers that the World didn’t have a night sky like this; not many went outside when the sun would set. People were wary of the dark as they thought it was, where the realm of darkness was at its strongest. Lauriam is not sure that’s the case, but he will admit that with all the stars in the black sky, the night no longer feels as threatening. Then the meteor shower starts, and both he and Elrena smiles at how Strelitzia ‘aww’ at the sight, and he must admit. “It’s beautiful, not something we saw back in the Dream realm.”

‘Or in the World.’ Strelitzia thinks, but since Elrena does not remember that anymore, she and her brother made an agreement not to speak about how the worlds once were one large World. Not sure why Lauriam did it, but she does it so as not to make her big sister feel left out. She eyes Elrena when she remarks, shrugging: “We didn’t see the sun there at all. I'm so glad we’re out from there; being pale like snow is not my style.” Strelitzia smiles weakly at those words, not going to point out that such things wouldn’t have mattered in that realm. From what she understood, the Dream realm had different rules than the realm of Light, but like Elrena, she is glad they finally left that place. In the Dream realm, they merely existed; here, they are living, and her big brother is a Master. Speaking of which. “Do you look forward to watching the Mark of Mastery tomorrow?” She asks her older brother.

“I do.” Lauriam replies. He has considered bringing his two female companions to the exam in Land of Departure but reconsidered as he got an idea that they might distract Aqua and Terra in their exam. Elrena has a tendency to play with people, and that’s not something two soon-to-be Masters need, no matter how fun that might be. “I am curious about how Master Eraqus will execute the exam compared to how Master Freyr did mine.”

“Do you think they will pass?” Strelitzia asks, shifting position from the cold crawling up around her legs.

Noticing this, Elrena puts her jacket onto the young woman and takes this as the opportunity to answer this other keyblade wielder. “That depends on their Master, but ask your big brother; he can tell you that the exam is only the first step to becoming a true Master.”

Lauriam nods that his friend got that one right. “The title only allows certain perks, such as performing the Keyblade Inheritance Ceremony on potential wielders.”

Ah, so, like what the Masters did when they chose what Union they wished to follow. Strelitzia does hope these two keyblade wielders will earn the title Master, at least so Lauriam can have people his age instead of a bunch of old people.

Around midnight, Strelitzia falls asleep, and with the exam, he has to witness tomorrow. “Time to call it at night.” Lauriam points out and carefully carries his sleeping sister back to the castle.
Elena takes the plate and blanket, following him back: “You better tell me all the juicy details,”

He smiles and answers his close friend, “Down to every strike of their blades, my dear.”

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Early the next day, Lauriam travels to the Land of Departure and greets not only the Master of the two students but another one called Master Xehanort. “Ah, you must be Master Freyr protégée.” Master Xehanort speaks after the traditional greeting between Masters. “My sincere condolence for your loss.”

But Lauriam cannot see the reason for feeling sorry for this loss. “My Master had lived a long and fulfilling life. She died in a time of peace, and that is something every master of the key would meet their end instead amid a battlefield.” He knows that part far too well; even though he never joined the Keyblade War, he still lost a lot of friends.

“Indeed, I am sure she passed on peacefully.” Master Xehanort nods in agreement before he walks over to his seat.

Lauriam takes a seat at the chair to the left, letting Master Eraqus take a seat in the middle since this will be his students for the important Mark of Mastery. The two students and a blond boy a couple of years younger than his sister appear. Lauriam does not pay that boy much mind, instead takes a better look at Aqua and Terra. By his observation, they both seem around his age. Terra is broad-shouldered and gives off the air that he relies more on strength than magic, as Aqua seems to do. ‘This is going to be an interesting matchup.’ he realizes if they are going to be pinned against one another like he was against Elrena during his exam. Lauriam takes notice that the two are eyeing him curiously, which is not really a surprise, for he is just as interested in them as they are in him. ‘I do hope they will succeed. Be nice to have fellow aged Masters around.’ He must admit that he feels a bit out of place when sharing chairs with two very old people, and from how Master Xehanort is glancing at him, that old Master must be thinking the same.
His focus on the other keyblade wielders is broken and turned to Master Eraqus when the man gets up from his chair and walks over to address his two students.

“Today, you will be examined for the Mark of Mastery. Not one but two of the keyblade’s chosen to stand here as candidates…” which has become quite the rarity as of late, much to Master Eraqus's sadness, so he is pleased two of his students now will be tested to see if they have what it takes to be a Master. “but this is neither a competition nor a battle for supremacy—“

Lauriam shifts ever so slightly in his seat, those words reminded him of how the Keyblade War started, but that is long in the past. Now he can instead be pleased that keyblade wielders are protecting the world order.

“not a test of wills, but a test of heart. Both of you may prevail, or neither.” Eyeing his two students, both looking more than ready for this test and hopefully they will succeed. “But I am sure our two guests, Master Xehanort and Master Lauriam…” He glances to the two other Masters. “Did not travel all this way to see our youngest prospects in years fall short of the Mark.” The two Masters give Aqua and Terra a small nod. And turning back to his students, “I trust you are ready.”

“Yes.” Both replies are devoted to completing this next step of being a keyblade-chosen one.

Master Eraqus begins the exam by summoning several light orbs made to show the two attendance Terra and Aqua’s fighting style. However, suddenly the spheres are surrounded by darkness, flying all over the place, even going after his youngest student, Ventus.

Lauriam is about to step in and protect the keyblade wielder in training but learns back to his chair when the blond boy is capable of handling these wayward orbs. It gives him a chance to watch that boy’s fighting style. ‘He relies on speed over power, hm, reminds me a bit of how Elrena used to fight before she mastered lightning magic.’ And he turns his attention back to Aqua and Terra; his past observance proves correct. Terra focuses on landing a devastating attack that should, in most cases, end the battle quickly, and Aqua has an excellent array of spells she can throw around. ‘Quite the interesting trio. I wonder if they ever learned each other weaknesses in their fighting styles.’ He will see soon enough, for with the last running amok orb gone, Master Eraqus goes for the next part of the test.

“Now, Terra and Aqua, the two of you will face each other in combat.” And Master Eraqus reminds his two students, “Remember, there are no winners— only truth, for when equal powers clash, their nature is revealed. Begin!” His two students begin to clash their blades against one another.

Okay, it looks like Aqua has noted that her magic-based attack style is at a disadvantage against Terra’s might; she has changed her attack to more speedy, giving her the edge. Lauriam is intrigued by how Terra will tackle that— hold up, did Terra just conjure up darkness? Lauriam jerked his head up slightly at what he just saw, and although it had been over millennia since that war occurred, it only felt like a couple of years for him. So seeing one using darkness instantly puts him on edge, for it was darkness from keyblade wielders that destroyed the World and tore it into the millions of pieces now seen today.
After the battle between the two, Eraqus asks them to wait and requests he and Master Xehanort follow so they can discuss who deserves the title of Master. Lauriam has seen enough to know that Terra is not suited for that title. “Darkness appeared from Terra during the Trial of Combat. My apology, but I cannot trust one using darkness.” He tells Master Eraqus. Darkness inside of people is never a good sign, so with Terra showing he has darkness, Lauriam knows that unless that young man conquers that darkness, it will claim him as its servant. He has seen that happen; not a pretty sight.

“But Terra showed potential.” Master Xehanort points out, remarking to his old friend and this young Master. “Let him retake the Mark next year.”

Master Eraqus nods, agreeing with both that Terra is not ready to receive the Master title, but maybe next year Mark, he will have gotten that darkness under control. That leads to his other student. “What about Aqua?”

See, there’s someone who gave the sense of being Master material. After a moment of ponder about that fellow aged keyblade wielder. “She still has a lot to learn and perhaps not ready to seek out a student, but I sensed she got the right aptitude.” Lauriam speaks up
Master Xehanort nods in agreement, though he does not have anything to say in the matter.

With the two other masters saying their piece, Master Eraqus walks out to his awaiting students and the moment they all have taken their position. He speaks: “We have deliberated and reached a decision. Terra, Aqua. You both performed commendably. However, only Aqua has shown the Mark of Mastery.” It shocks Terra, and Eraqus explains why the young man didn’t receive his mark “Terra, you failed to keep the darkness within you in check.”

This is the greatest disappointment he has ever received, especially when he trained hard to reach this goal. Terra eyes the two other Masters behind their Master, Xehanort is watching them calmly while this fellow aged Master, one coming from another keyblade wielder training ground, is watching him with suspicions in his blue eyes, and Terra concludes that this Master Lauriam was the one who made Master come to the decision that he does not deserve the Master title. It angers him, but Terra is smart enough not to start yelling at a Master, so he keeps his mouth shut. Master Eraqus’s words that there is always next time did not help his disappointment and anger; all he can think about is how big of a failure he felt from not receiving his Mark.

“Aqua, as our newest keyblade Master, you are entitled to certain knowledge. Please wait here for further instruction.” Master Eraqus tells Aqua, not really bothered that Xehanort walks off. He instead turns to Master Lauriam and gestures for him to follow, which the young man does. And when out of his student's hearing range. “How far in your Master training are you?”

“It’s complete, sir.” Lauriam replies to the elderly man.

“Impressive, considering you have only been under Master Freyr's mentorship for three years.” Master Eraqus points out and is honestly quite suspicious about it. “I’m surprised you took to the training that quickly.”

Lauriam smiles at the hint and tells the descendant of a fellow Dandelion leader, “I was under another Master’s training before I came under Master Freyr’s; she merely gave me the Mark of Mastery and the training to take over her duty as the next teacher of Scala ad Caelum.”

That makes more sense; still, that does leave the question. “And who was this Master?” Eraqus asks, not noticing Xehanort is nearby and able to hear the conversation. Xehanort turns around from Lauriam’s reply: “Legends say she was one of the Ancient Masters; if that is true or not, I do not know” This takes Eraqus by surprise; everyone has heard about these first keyblade masters, but Master Lauriam might just have been trained by another keyblade master. It’s unclear how many are left out in the worlds. “Whoever your teacher was, I am glad we have a keyblade master at the other training grounds.”

That he can agree on, “Indeed, it would be a pity if we lost the keyblade legacy.”

The old man narrows his eyes slightly, pondering if there is more to this Lauriam than he first thought. It’s worth checking out, for if this young man is indeed a living legacy, then it’s worth keeping him close.

With the exam complete, Lauriam thinks it’s time for him to return to the world he’s tasked to be the Master of. “I will be taking my leave,” he bows to the other Master. “Thank you for letting me witness this Mark of Mastery.”

Eraqus nods. “It was my pleasure, and I hope that the next time, Terra will join the rank of Master, and perhaps you have found yourself a student.” The young Master chuckles, saying with a small head-bob towards him, “I plan on doing so. Like this world, Scala ad Caelum is meant to house and teach future keyblade wielders.” And with those words, Master Lauriam heads out, leaving Mater Eraqus to share some knowledge with Aqua now she has gained the rank of Master.

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He has been watching the show from the shadows, gaining crucial information against his opponents. But most importantly, see that his pathetic light is aware of his surroundings again. He can fight but is still ridiculously weak. Even after all these years, his light is weak. It feels him with rage, but Vanitas is now able to keep his emotions in check; unleash them when he needs to spread the Unversed.

Master approaches his small hiding spot; he leaves the shadows and leans up against the nearby wall, waiting for Master to speak. “What do you make of Ventus?” The old man asks.

“He ain’t gonna cut it.” He replies Master, and the urge to truly hurt his light is great. Over the years, his anger against Ventus has turned into hatred; Master has nurtured his loneliness and transformed it into jealousy. A weapon he will use against anyone who dares to cross his path. Ventus especially. “I need to cut that loser in. Toughing him up.”

This is what Master Xehanort wants, but he will not allow such a fight to happen in this world. Vanitas has never cared much for collaborative damage. “Not here, you won’t.” He tells the darkness of his former student. “I have to keep up appearances.” He starts to leave the building, the sound of Vanitas putting on the mask that will conceal his face, one which changed when he left Ventus to die at the Destiny Islands. How it happened, Xehanort does not— nor cares to know.

“I know that.” He replies, somewhat annoyed, both that Master thinks he cannot keep his destructive urges in check but also that he can’t beat Ventus right here and now. Fortunately, he can do the latter very soon. “He just needs a little push to leave home.” He knows exactly what push that pathetic light needs. “He is close to Terra, and will follow him anywhere.”

Master Xehanort stops, but what he is thinking about that Vanitas does not know. “Go to the worlds of the Princesses of light. Spread your essence of darkness.” He nods and disappears through a dark portal to fulfill such a command.

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He had hoped things would stay as they had, but Ventus guesses that’s just a wish thinking. Since the exam, Terra has been acting glum and not his usual happy self. He and Aqua did try and cheer him up, but with Aqua now having the title Master, Master Eraqus often took her aside for new kinds of training, which really didn’t help on Terra’s mood.
All of this really bummed Ventus out; he’s starting to miss their past training sessions and their hanging out, chatting, and laughing like the close friends they are. That exam has changed their dynamics, but Ventus does not have in mind letting that change anything between them. He finds Terra at the training grounds, hitting one of the dummies quite aggressively. ‘I have never seen him like this.’ Ventus muses to himself as he approaches his friend. “Hey, Terra.” He calls.

“What is it?” Terra asks, not missing the beat at his strikes on the dummy. “Is Master asking for me?”

“No, he’s busy training Aqua.” Ventus shakes his head, Terra starts hitting the dummy harder, and he gets the sense he said something wrong. So in an attempt to cheer Terra up, “Hey, what about we train together?” he asks with a smile, summoning his keyblade. “I could use advice on how to transform it.”

That made Terra stop beating up the dummy; he let out a small sigh before turning to him. “Alright, which one do you have trouble with?”

“Um, all of them?” Ventus replies sheepishly, smiling with a hand behind his head. It did make Terra chuckle, which is a win for him. “I don’t really understand the trick.” He swings the back-hand keyblade around, trying to imagine it as another weapon. “Should I change my stance or view of how it should be used? Like if I wanted my keyblade to become something else?”

“Sort of.” Terra admits. He walks beside Ventus and summons his own keyblade. “Our keyblades are connected to our hearts, and by our will, the keyblade will change to our need.” Ventus looks at him, confused, not entirely sure what his friend means. Terra notices it and chews the inside of his mouth, a sign he is pondering how to explain this best to him. Then his eyes light up. “What about this,” he trots over to the glider they got from the market back when they visited the town below the mountain. Terra grabs the glider, a toy Ventus loves to play with. “Try transforming your keyblade into a glider.” Ventus blinks, and his friend explains, “You know how it works, so imaged your keyblade in such a shape.”

Okay, guess he can do that. Ventus nods and closes his eyes, holding the image of the glider. After a moment of doing this, he’s starting to feel a bit silly. “Nothing happening.” He opens his eyes at the sense of Terra taking a gentle hold of his hand, guiding him to wave it like throwing a Frisbee.

“Keep the image in mind, then, like when we do magic, throw the keyblade.” Terra lets go, walks a bit away, and after having summoned his own keyblade. “Like this.” He throws it into the air, and it takes the form of a very bulky glider.

“Wow!” Ventus awes at the keyblade transformation, and with the encouraged nod from Terra, he keeps the glider in mind, hurls it into the air, and it changes shape into one! The keyblade glider lands not far from him, and Ventus can’t stop bouncing in joy at this victory. “I did it!” Terra smiles, clearly proud that he has succeeded. Ventus jumps onto his glider and begins to fly around on it.

On the ground and now much closer to his old cheerful self. “Don’t get too high up!” Terra calls after him, “It’s a long way down if you fall!”

“Good thing I know you’ll catch me!” Ventus calls, laughing back, to which Terra responds with an amused head roll.
After having flown on his keyblade glider for a while, he lands and follows Terra to the spot where they and Aqua often would spend their free time, watching the valleys below. He takes a seat beside Terra, “Thanks for teaching me.” he smiles at his friend.

Terra smiles in return, though it slowly fades, and his gaze goes to the horizon. “Guess I would have to do that, now Master Eraqus will be busy teaching Aqua her Master duties.”

Ventus's smile drops, and wanting to cheer up his friend. ”You will get it the next time.” Terra nods slowly. After a moment of silence, he admits to Terra, “It’s been weird not having Aqua around. I thought… I thought being a Master wouldn’t change anything.”

“I figured it would.” Terra replies quietly; Ventus eyes him, confused but also a bit sad about this fact. “Maybe she will join us when through her new training, or, well, she might be gone for a long extent of time in search of a student.”

Parts of him do not want that. Aqua, Terra, and Master Eraqus are the families he only knows. What happened before he came here? Ventus does not remember. “Is it wrong of me to wish she didn’t leave?” He asks Terra.

“Makes it better I’m not going anywhere for a time.” Terra says in a tone Ventus has never heard him use before. It’s quiet but stern, a combination he hasn’t gotten from Terra before. When his voice turns hard, Terra is usually annoyed or angry. While quiet is often used when he is either sad or tries to comfort someone. Before Ventus can ask, Terra gets up and begins to leave, “I better get back to training.” this time in a stern tone.

This confuses Ventus, but also he feels hurt. He does not recall to have said something to make Terra angry. “Did I… say something wrong?” He asks both himself and Terra, but his friend is too far away to hear, and Ventus is reluctant to approach him to ask. So, he leaves the training grounds and would’ve liked to speak with Aqua or Master Eraqus about it, but they both seem busy talking, so he returns to his room.

Ventus picks up the training sword Terra gave him at the start of his keyblade training and, with it in hand, plums onto the bed, where he starts swinging it around. All the time pondering what he said to make Terra angry at him, nothing sprung up to earn such a sudden sternness. He sighs, and even though he does not know, Ventus still thinks he should apologize later. ‘Better safe than sorry.’ He sighs, but his gloomy thoughts are quickly brushed aside when the enchanted bells start chiming. Master explained they only did it if danger was approaching. He quickly gets up from the bed and hurries to the door.

“Better hurry, Ventus.” A dark, calm, and not-at-all-familiar voice speaks.

It made Ventus stop and turn around to where the voice came from. To his confusion, the voice came from a boy seemly his age, dressed in some weird black body suit, which was tinted red around the chest, arms, and legs. The face is obscured by a creepy helmet, making it impossible to see the face. This boy wasn’t there a moment ago, which made Ventus instantly wary. “Who are you?” he asks this intruder. “How did you get in here?”

The black-dressed person completely ignores his questions, “Or you’ll never see Terra again.” he speaks.

“What?” Ventus asks, confused, thought quickly replaced with anger at what this stranger had said. “Get real. I can see Terra anytime I want.” His friend will be sticking around so he can prepare himself for the next exam. And even when both he and Aqua would succeed, Ventus knows his two friends still will have time for him.

This masked person steps away from the shelf he’s leaning up against. “Like right now?” He asks Ventus in an almost mocking tone. “He’s leaving you behind,” The masked boy takes a step towards him. It takes everything in Ventus not to summon his keyblade. “and if you ever manage to catch up to him. He won’t be the person you remember.” The other boy tells him, foreboding as if he knows this will happen, whether Ventus wants it or not.

But there is one thing this stranger does not have, hours upon hours of time spent with Terra. Ventus knows his friend. “Look— whoever you are— you don’t know Terra like I do.” Ventus briefly touches the training sword Terra gave him, a precious gift from his friend. “Me and him will always be a team. Nothing is going to change that.”

“Oh, grow up.” The masked spits back at him, like Ventus said something incredibly childish. “This little bond you have won’t hold when put to the test.” He walks over to the other side of the room, and so confident in that Ventus won’t attack, the masked keeps his back to him. “But if you don’t believe me, then why not go out and look for yourself?” Ventus hesitates, not entirely sure what this masked person means. The masked boy took his hesitating as his answer, and clearly rolling his eyes from that tone, “Come on, what could you possibly know when you’re stuck here,” The masked boy turned his head slightly back to him. “while your friends are leaving you behind.” and with those words, some sort of black portal appears, and the masked boy disappear through it.

Ventus does not like one bit what this masked person has said about his friends, Aqua and Terra, is his whole world. He recalls all the time they spent together, training, goofing around, and sticking up for one another. They are his family, and losing them… no, Ventus cannot bear that sheer thought. ‘I have to speak with Terra.’ Ventus decides he needs Terra to tell him that what the masked boy said isn’t true and everything will be alright. He spins around and hurries to find Terra.
Ventus passes Aqua having some sort of talk with Master Eraqus but does not pay them any mind; he’s much busier to reach Terra, who has gone outside. Ventus runs down the stairs past the large door, calling “Terra!” making his friend stop. Only close, Ventus stop his sprint but is so out of breath that he can’t form a coherent sentence.

Before he can try and voice his worries, Terra ruffles his heart with a calm, “It’s okay.” and in the past, this might have eased Ventus's worries. But this time is different. That masked boy’s words hit him hard, but looking up to Terra, who smiled encouragingly, yet seemed troubled by something as well. Before he can ask, Terra turns around, walks a few steps away, and hits the armor on his left shoulder. Activating it, and not long after, Terra is clad in reddish and golden armor. Ventus steps over but stops when Terra raises his keyblade, sending a beam up to the sky. Ventus recognizes that Terra has opened a portal to the outside world, then he transforms his keyblade into that bulky glider. It impresses Ventus, but it also makes him realize that what the masked boy said might be true, and knowing his friend is going to leave, Ventus starts to run. “Terra, wait!” He calls, but it’s too late. His friend takes off and disappears through the portal. Disappointed but mostly worried, Ventus decides to go against Master’s wishes that he should stay in this world. For the first time, he activates his own armor and summons it; Ventus only takes a moment to awe at his armor before transforming his keyblade and pursuing Terra, hoping he can get to him before that masked boy would.

Chapter Text

They sat at the dinner table, eating dinner while listening to Lauriam
re-explain how the exam went, and Strelitzia must say that she really wanted to see it but understands why her older brother didn’t bring her. What if she did something wrong, and that would make Lauriam look bad? It would be so— the sounds of bells, which have a spell that does they only chime if the danger has arrived. Lauriam leaves the table and walks over to the communication gem that links the Core worlds and, thus, also the other Masters.

“Hm, I wonder what is causing trouble out in the world.” Elrena muses while playing a bit with her salad,

Strelitzia turns to her and says quietly, “I hope it’s nothing serious…” and Elrena assures her, “If it is, there are a lot of people, including yours truly, who can deal with it.” She smiles at the teen girl confidently. It does ease Strelitzia's worries, for even she is a powerful keyblade wielder and can handle herself in a fight.

Noticing that Lauriam is returning and the frown on his usual gentle features. “Frowning does not look good on you.” Elrena points out that it does ease the furrow on the man somewhat, but it must mean it is rather serious. “What’s the issue?”

“Some creatures of darkness— attracted by negativity is threatening the current Princesses of Light.” Lauriam explains, and that’s not all he got from Master Eraqus and this other old— but retired Master. “That’s not all; a Master named Xehanort has become unreachable, and news has it that a woman with a giant flaming eagle has captured him.” he eyes his sister, asking her gloomy. “Sounds familiar?”

Strelitzia nods slowly; the threat Tarsha made still rings in her mind but the last time she saw that fierce woman, she was so docile, not like her old self. “But she was so mellowed out during the time in Traverse Town.” Strelitzia softly argues that even with the threat, she does not believe it can be the owner of that giant eagle. “It can’t be her.”

No idea who they are talking about and honestly do not care; from how Lauriam spoke about this Tarsha, it sounds like that woman got issues with gentle Strelitzia, and that instantly puts that bitch on her black list. “Whatever, it’s worth investigating.” She votes for herself on this search mission: “I will find her and see if she took this Xehanort guy.”

He has known Elrena long enough to know that arguing is just a waste of time and energy. “All right, but don’t underestimate her. That eagle of hers is not one to mess around with.”

“Neither am I.”

Lauriam quirks a smile at his friend’s confidence; not even the realm of darkness could break her spirit, and that’s what he likes so much about her. He conjures a blue flower from the unique magic the dream realm granted him and hands it to Elrena. “Here, it will take you to the worlds outside the Core worlds. Don’t overuse it, though; it only got so many portals stored inside.”

Attaching the flower to her shirt, Elrena tells both him and Strelitzia, “I leave you to do the monster hunting,” adding to the teenage girl in a teasing manner. “and while you’re at it, practice the brashness I taught you around your brother.”

“… Don’t give her any ideas.” Lauriam, deadpan, embarrassed at the thought that his shy, gentle sister would cause him any trouble. His sister giggles at the hint Elrena gave her, and after a quick hug, they all head out to deal with this issue the world is dealing with.

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Deciding to split up as that will make them cover more worlds. Lauriam is confident that his sister can handle these monsters named the Unversed, and if she happens to encounter Tarsha, then he is confident she can handle that woman, too. Tarsma has lost the ability to use the keyblade and would rely on that giant flaming eagle to attack, and he is positive Strelitzia can defeat that beast. While his sister goes to a world called Agrabah, he goes to one named Dwarves Woodlands, as he knows that there's a Princess of Heart living here with a rather nasty queen. He does not find the queen or the princess, but he fairly quickly picks up a trace of a person with this unique light and follows it into the forest.
“I wonder what made her go in here?” Lauriam asks himself if this forest is dark, and for a girl such as this princess, it will be a terrible, scary place. Suddenly, he hears a scream of fright and runs over to where it came from. He spots a girl, and from what he can sense, she is the Princess of Pure Heart. Lauriam opens his mouth but stops when he senses another pure heart; this time, it feels a bit… unnatural. He turns and realizes it’s that young student of Eraqus. Ventus, he thinks.

This youngest student of Master Eraqus is somewhat surprised to see this master who came to watch Aqua and Terra’s Mark of Mastery here in the forest. Remembering his status and not wanting to be impolite towards a Master, Ventus quickly puts a hand on his chest and does a slight bow as a greeting. Master Lauriam responds with a nod that the gesture is accepted before the pink-haired man turns to the crying girl, asking her: “What are you doing this far from your home, princess?” it surprises Ventus once again to know that this crying girl is a princess.

“I was out picking flowers, and there was a stranger there. Then these monsters came and— oh, now I am trapped in this dreaded place.” The princess sobs, frightened. “These horrible trees—they tried to grab me.” Out of the corner of her eyes, she notices a hand and, turning, she sees it’s a young man dressed a bit like the one she met out on the flower field, except he has pink hair and a strange armor around the chest.

Lauriam isn't sure who this stranger is, and it does not matter at the moment. “You’re safe now with us.” He assures her, and the young student, Ventus, tells her softly, “You were probably just seeing things. it happens to all of us when we’re afraid.” The princess takes his offered hand, and he helps her back on her feet.

“Oh, thank you. I feel quite better now.”

Lauriam turns to the path leading back to the castle, but with the light and darkness spell still going, he can sense darkness coming that way, which is a very deep-rooted one. The princess’s light wouldn’t be safe around such darkness. “The castle isn’t safe; best we find you another place of sanctuary.” He tells the princess.

Ventus has no idea how Master Lauriam knew that, but he figures out what comes with the title of being a Master and wanting to be helpful: “Well, I saw a house just up ahead.” Ventus suggests and starts walking down the path. “Come, I’ll take you there.”

“Thank you. Oh, what do I call my two saviors?” The princess asks and introduces herself. “My name’s Snow White.”

“I’m Ventus; call me Ven.” Ventus replies.

“My name is Lauriam, malady.” And said Master suggests, “Let us bring you to this place Ventus suggested.” The boy casts him a look to have used his full name, but Lauriam does not really do nicknames, and it is not Master-like in his opinion. The princess nods, and Ventus, who is the guide, escorts Snow White to this other sanctuary. They do encounter monsters with blood-red eyes and bearing a pointing heart sigil, making Snow White very frightened. “Bring Snow White to this house.” He summons his keyblade and surrounds the Unversed with a wave of flower petals, not only trapping but also draining their strength.

He is very close to saying he can help but quickly reminds himself that this guy is a Master, so not only is Lauriam strong enough to handle these monsters. Also, Ventus knows that it will be incredibly disrespectful to disobey a command. “Got it.” He nods to Master Lauriam, and takes Snow White, leading her to the cottage.
Inside, Ventus tells the princess: “I’m pretty sure you’ll be safe here.” but wants to be sure, so he takes a look around the area, and when nothing proves to be there. Ventus returns, only to find the seven small men standing before Snow White, the same one he encountered inside the crystal mine, and, like last time, rather distrusting of him.

“Couldn’t stay away, could ya? And who invited you in, ya rotten thief?” The angry one exclaims.

Snow White tries to defend Ven. “Oh no, he’s not a thief. He rescued me.”

“You fussing’t be mooled— uh, mustn’t be fooled by him, princess.” The one with the glasses speaks.

Snow White begs these kind, small men not to send Ven away and explains that he and another older male have helped her out of the freighting woods. “One of them is still out there, risking his life for me.”

Oh, maybe he should go back and check on— right there, Master Lauriam steps inside the cottage, much to the anger of that angry dwarf.

“Another thief! You won’t take any of our stuff!”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.” Lauriam replies in a simple yet still polite manner; he eyes the student briefly. “Well done, Ventus.” The boy nods, and he turns to the princess, asking her, “Could you explain how you got yourself lost inside the woods?”

“Well, I was picking flowers by the wood, and there was a stranger there. He had a sword, but it was like a key— and then these monsters came, and I ran into the woods— I didn’t know else what to do…”

Sword looking like a key? “Could it have been Terra?” Ventus asks himself, getting annoyed when the small man with glasses had the gall to suggest Terra was the one who sent the monsters at Snow White. “Terra would never do that!”

He might not trust this Terra with the title of Master, but Lauriam doubts the darkness in that young man was so bad that he would try to hurt a princess of light. “Ventus is right; this isn’t Terra’s style.” Waving his hand to the princess, “He must likely tried to protect Snow White against these monsters.” Ventus nods in agreement.

“Oh, yes, I think I did hear him call after me when I ran… I feel bad, but I was so frightened.” Snow White replies, feeling sorry for this Terra fella, who most likely just wanted to protect her.

“Princess, you mustn’t be so musting— er, trusting.” The man with the glasses tells her, with the angry one calling out, “He’s lying! Mark my words.”

He cannot believe these guys…! “I’ll prove it!” Ventus exclaims back and runs out to find his friend.

‘Still needs training on self-control.’ Lauriam observes how young Ventus exploded on these people, who did have every right to be distrusting of them. “A request if I may;” He turns to the seven dwarves, “take good care of the princess.” and leaves the house to find that boy before he gets himself into trouble.

“Ventus!” The call of Master Lauriam makes him stop his run in search of Terra and prove to those mean small men that his friend is not the one who attacked Snow White. He turns to the calm approaching Master, who lectures him lightly. “Don’t let your emotions run wild like that.”
Ventus nods and sighs, but he still wants to find his friend. “I need to find Terra.”

No surprise there; it’s only natural for fellow students to worry for one another. “Of course, according to the princess, he was last seen at the flower fields outside these woods.” and guides Ventus that way. They do encounter a huge Unversed in the shape of a tree, and here Lauriam takes the chance to observe how far young Ventus is in his training. He has learned most things, and although he hasn’t mastered any of the skills, Ventus does use the keyblade to its fullest. With the Unversed down, “You certainly have the aptitude for a Master in the making.”

“You really think so?” Ventus asks, and the Master nods, which is a huge compliment coming from this very calm Master. “Thanks, Terra and Aqua always included me in their training.” He smiles and feels a bit bad that Terra didn’t become a Master during the Mark of Mastery.
They leave the forest, and forgetting about the small lecture Master Lauriam gave him, Ventus runs further out to the fields and calls loudly after Terra but gets no response from his friend. All he gets is a look from the pink-haired man, and Ventus winches in embarrassment “…Sorry.” he apologizes.

Turning away from the kid, Lauriam scans the flower fields, but he highly doubts Terra will be here. Otherwise, Ventus's yelling would’ve caught the man’s attention. He does spot an elderly woman carrying a basket of apples, and it looks like she had dropped one of them, for Ventus approaches her with a red apple in hand. He allows the boy to do this without him breathing down the kid’s neck.

“Excuse me, ma’am?” Ventus calls, making the black-roped old woman turn around, and he hands her this brightly red apple. “You dropped this.”

“Oh, why to thank you, my pet.” The old woman replies, relieved, and claims the red apple, admitting. “To tell the truth, I really don’t know what I would have done without that.”

And since she’s the only one around and maybe seen his friend, “Have you seen someone dressed kinda like me, about this tall” he signs how tall Terra is.

The old woman ponders for a bit before replying, “Oh, yes, yes… I recall someone fitting that description. That ruffian pointed a key-shaped sword at me, asking about some “Xehanort”—“ much to the surprise of Ventus. “My poor heart nearly stopped.”

“That doesn’t sound like him at all…” Ventus muses, and what that masked boy told him springs to mind, increasing his worry and need to find Terra. “Ma’am, did you see where he went?”

“I’m sure I have no idea…” The old woman replies and asks tiredly, “Must you all menace a poor granny so?” Ventus is surprised she thinks that way, and he tells her, “No, I was just…” but he never gets to finish his explanation for the old woman turns around and begins to leave.

Ventus is worried and scared of the truth about what Terra did; he walks over to Master Lauriam, who has been keeping a distance and allowing him to speak with that woman.

“Did she tell you something useful?”

Ventus hesitates, not sure if what she told him was helpful, making him more worried, and it leads to this question. “Master Lauriam, you don’t think Terra would hurt anyone, right?”

“I do not think he will harm Snow White, but I cannot say the same if people start to aggravate him.” Lauriam replies honestly. The darkness in Terra did appear when Aqua pushed him back during their battle. That young man believes too much in strength, something he unfortunately has in common with a certain Foreteller. Watching the sad look on Ventus’s face, Lauriam suggests to the kid helpfully. “Believe in him, Ventus; maybe your friend only needs his friend's light to guide him back.”

That cheers Ventus up, not entirely, but enough for him to stay determent finding Terra. “I will, thanks.” Master Lauriam nods, and they both go their separate ways.

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In one of the worlds that houses one of the Princesses of Pure Heart, Terra is searching to rid the place of the threat called Unversed. Instead, he finds a young woman inside a garden, crying her poor heart out.
The young keyblade wielder approaches this woman, not sure but going to find out why she is crying. “Is something wrong?” He asks.

“It’s just that my friends made me the most beautiful dress,” The crying young woman explains, unaware another is watching them inside the forest with its piercing blue eyes. “but my stepmother and stepsisters ruined it. And I was so looking forward to the ball.”
The creature shifts its attention to the young keyblade wielder; it can feel the darkness inside that one, a very strong light, but also a connection of some sort.

Terra finds himself thinking about what his Master always tells him when some of his friends are dealing with utter disappointment, a teaching this young woman might need now: “Darkness always finds a way into a wounded heart. You have to be strong.”

The creature tilts its head slightly but narrows its eyes as this keyblade wielder speaks about darkness. It takes that as a bad sign, but there seems to be hope for that one as he continues.

“Strength of heart will carry you through the hardest of trials.”

“But I…” the woman cries, so heartbroken she does not see the appearance of the Unversed, attached by her negative emotions of despair and sorrow.

The creature snaps its attention to the bluish monsters, growling deeply, like thunder, a clear warning that this world is off-limits.

Terra hears the growl as well, startled by what made that sound, getting a bit nervous when the Unversed sensed the apparent threat and disappeared back to wherever they came from. He scans the area for what scared the monster off, and that’s where he saw it. A huge brown bear with stony armor on its shoulders, back, and down around the paws. On the shoulders is a symbol he has never seen before— like an armored heart and those eyes… ice-blue with a striking blue surrounding the slit pupil, one that is staring straight at him. Terra prepares himself for a battle, but this huge bear does not move. Instead, it lowers its head like a bow of respect. He stares a bit startled at this gesture; it reminds him a bit of how a Master greets a student, and figuring it’s no threat to him, Terra returns back to the crying woman.

“I can’t believe… not anymore.” The woman sobs, and he has no idea what he should do to make her feel better. Terra snaps out from his pondering when the light starts appearing, following an elderly woman's voice: “Strength of heart is important, but that’s not all you need.” He jumps when this light gathers around and becomes an elderly woman dressed in a blue coat.

The crying woman didn’t see or notice that she was now sobbing into someone’s lab: “There’s nothing left to believe in… nothing.”

“Nothing, my dear? Now, you don’t really mean that; if you did, I wouldn’t be here.” The woman looks up just as the blue-dressed and elderly one declares; “And here I am.” she then helps the young woman up on her feet, telling her that she shouldn’t be crying and: “You can’t go to the ball looking like that.”

“The ball?” the young woman looks down at her ruined dress. “Oh, but I’m not…”

“Of course you are,” The blue-dressed woman says. “but we’ll have to hurry.” She pulls out a wand and, with some magic words, transforms a pumpkin into a carriage. And as if always been aware of its presence, calls over. “Oh, you don’t suppose I could ask for your aid?”
The big bear leaves the forest, catching the young woman off guard; it walks over to the blue-dressed magic user as if she just heard it talk. The elderly woman claps the bear’s neck. “Thank you, I know it’s not what you usually do, but it will make Cinderella so happy.” The bear hums and shrinks down to horse-sized and lets itself be attached to the carriage by the blue-dressed woman.

Terra is sure that the bear looks embarrassed by being in this situation; he would, too, if that was him. The elderly woman thanks the bear again and, with another spell, turns the young woman— Cinderella’s ruined dress into a beautiful white one. Terra blinks, sensing the light in the woman's heart has spiked, and if he had been blind, then he wouldn’t have been able to know this was the same as the one who cried a moment ago.
The elderly woman sends Cinderella off, and the embarrassed bear trots towards the castle, clearly wanting to be over with it as soon as possible.
Terra chats with the elderly woman, and she asks him a question: “In your heart, do you believe that dreams can come true?” He replies that he does but also; “You have to make an effort to make them come true.” He learned that at an early age, and although he didn’t work to become Master Earaqus’s student, Terra had to work hard if he wanted to become a Master.

The blue-dressed elderly woman agrees that is very true. “But sometimes just believing in dreams is easier said than done.” the blue-dressed woman points out, turning to the radiant castle on the horizon, explaining to this young man, “Cinderella believes her dreams can come true. I wanted her to see that she is right.”

Ah, so that is what made her shine, Terra muses to himself, and it does make him wonder how much such a strong faith in one's dreams can make one overcome. The blue-dressed woman suggests he should follow Cinderella and watch her at the ball, and Terra is curious enough about this young woman that he agrees to do so.

At the castle, Terra spots the woman walk inside. He follows, but a man, not only older but bigger than him, appears. He is dressed in a red cheery-wood west that has light grey fur at the opening and around the neck, underneath a long-sleeved and sand-colored tunic, held together with three metal pieces on the torso. The dark rosewood pants have leather attached to the lower parts of the legs, held there by two buttons on each leg, as well as the brown boots.
The young keyblade wielder tenses up, not sure if that scowl is because that older man is angry at him for some reason or the scars over the left side of the face and eye have caused some nerve damage. “Who are you?” He asks the other man but never gets an answer. Instead, Terra get a huge shock when this man summons the biggest stone ax he has ever seen! And next, he blocks this large weapon with his own keyblade. Terra always considered himself a strong person, but he got nothing when it comes to this guy!
It’s a struggle to withstand the simple act of their weapons being locked together; he dreads to think what this guy can do if it indeed comes to a fight.

“You are strong, but doubt is holding you back.” The other man speaks, in a tone he is not the type to ever hold his tongue. “It’s this doubt that is weakening your heart.” The man pushes harder onto the blade, forcing Terra to put more weight onto his left leg in order to keep standing. “Focus your mind, boy! Your strength means little if there’s nothing for which to use it! What do you need this power for?” He demands.

Terra’s eyes widen at those words, and his mind goes back to his two friends. For a moment, going to the exam where, for a short moment, he wanted to truly fight against one of his best friends— No, he wants to protect his friends, no matter the cost! He suddenly finds himself pushing the battle-ax wielder back, and this seems to please this dark brown-haired man. “That’s it, boy, that keyblade is not for glory or oppression of others but to protect everything that matters to one's heart.” Slowly, the tension between their weapons eases, and Terra steps back, finding himself again wondering, “Who are you?”

The other man casts him a look, along with an unforthcoming smile, but he gets no answer; the man throws something over. A rock in the shape of a bear head. “The bear you saw before lives inside this totem.” Terra jerks in surprise that he is holding the very thing that could scare the Unversed by merely growling. “It will aid you if you ever need more strength to protect those you care about.” And then the man puts a hand to his chest, saying solemnly, “May your heart be your guiding key.” and with that, he disappears, leaving a very dumbfounded keyblade wielder behind.

Looking at the bear totem, he can feel the creature inside. “The power to protect, huh?” Yes, it sounds like something he can use, and it’s also a friendly reminder that he shouldn’t be seeking power just for the sake of it. Terra puts his new item into his pocket and heads inside the castle. He walks into the large ballroom and finds Cinderella dancing with someone he presumes to be the prince. Watching the young woman, he can feel how her heart seems to shine. “Maybe just believing is enough.” That does give him something to think about; he has been so set on training that, well, he hasn’t really taken the time to stop and merely believe. Maybe he should try and— right there, he notices Unversed, crawling around on the balcony. Quickly, he asks how to get up there so he can rid this place of those things, and by the sense of it, that bear wants the same thing.

Terra gets to the area, and an Unversed dressed like a maestro summons three instruments, a trumpet, a drum, and a violin. The music created magic out of the same negativity these monsters were made from. As this magic is about to cause Terra harm, the bear totem is surrounded by some strange magic, and following that, a large brown bear with the stone armor jumps right at the Unversed, slamming it to the floor down below with its massive claws.
Terra stares, flabbergasted, down at the bear from the balcony, surprised at how it had come without him calling for it. The bear eyes him down there, and for some reason, Terra feels like it is telling him to get onto its back. He only hesitates for a second before he jumps over the edge and lands on its stony back. The bear lets out a terrifying roar at the Unversed. The guests of the party are smart enough to get out of the way. Right there, the bear raises on its hind legs, and when it slams its front paws into the ground, several stone pillars shoot up and hit the Unversed, stunning it and making the opening for the bear to get in and bite it over the head, holding it down with both teeth and claws. The instrument starts playing, harming the creature, so Terra attacks them with powerful strikes, even using some of his earth magic, which the bear seems to approve of how it was watching him.
With the instruments taken care of, he goes for the grabbled Unversed and, thanks to that bear’s might, easily defeats it. The bear turns back into a totem, and when the danger is over, the young man takes it and puts it back into his pocket. Not sure why, but he’s glad that man gave him this bear to help protect those who do not have the strength to defend themselves.

Terra heads over to the man who had guided them up to the balcony and asks about the arrival of the Unversed. The man replies, “They began to appear shortly after a boy in a mask arrived in our kingdom. Those that saw him said the monsters obeyed his every command. But…” the man hesitates but does explain, “But it’s only tonight they have gotten this close to endangering anyone.”

“How come?” Terra asks, and to his surprise, the man explains, “Well, a huge man, looking a bit like you, my good sir, except rumors have it he is badly scarred, and he was the one accompanied by that great beast.” So it looks like that man who gave him the bear totem has been protecting this world against the Unversed; for some reason, Terra is not surprised. ‘That guy definitely has the strength to handle the Unversed.’ But he still cannot fully understand why that man gave him this bear with rock armor. Wouldn’t he need it more?
The other thing this man said… “A boy in a mask?” being the one who unleashed the Unversed? It sounds like something that needs to be dealt with as soon as possible. “Do you know where he is now?”

“Well… no, I don’t believe anyone has seen him since then.”

It makes him wonder if this masked boy knows how to travel between— “No, come back, please come back!” The call of the prince breaks Terra’s train of thought, and he watches Cinderella run away. He is not sure why, though. The man he spoke with takes pursuit, and Terra walks after them. At the exit to the castle’s ground, he watches Cinderella drop a glass slipper but leaves it in exchange for getting away. Terra also spots someone else, “Aqua!” he calls and goes down to meet his friend. At her side, Aqua explains, “Terra… Ven ran away from home.” it caught him off guard, and he wonders out loud why their young friend would do such a thing?

Aqua has an idea as to why: “I think he left to go find you. Do you have any idea why?” for she sure does not.

“No…” Terra shakes his head, but then he recalls something right before he left in search for Xehanort. “Actually… just before I left, he tried to tell me something.” And now he feels like such a terrible friend. “I should have listened to what he had to say.” But he was just… so disappointed in failing his exam and wanted so badly to prove that he was worthy of the title of Master.

Silence and it feels rather weird between the two like some invisible wall has been made between them, and yet none is sure why. he is so used to them being able to talk about anything, even whatever troubled them. But now, Terra doesn’t feel like they stand on equal ground anymore… he does not like this feeling but is not sure how to fix it.

Aqua decides to break this awkward silence between them: “So… did you manage to locate Master Xehanort?” Terra explains he hasn’t found Master Xehanort, but it seems the man is looking for pure hearts. Aqua blinked at what her friend said. “Pure hearts… filled with light…”

Sort of glad about the topic change, “All I can tell you is that his search hasn’t taken him here.” Terra tells Aqua, and knowing her wanting to keep people safe, he quickly assures her. “But the pure heart residing here is safe. Someone else has been protecting this world.”

“Who?” Aqua asks, pondering if it’s another keyblade wielder they haven’t heard of. Surely, there must be more out there. “A keyblade wielder?”

Terra shakes his head. “No, he wasn’t chosen by the keyblade, but…” he takes the bear totem that man gave him. “he definitely had the strength of one.”

“I see.” Aqua nods and is curious about this seeming protector of this world but also about the talk of pure heart: “I’ll stay and see if I can find more clues.” She tells Terra, and, based on his suggestion, she turns to ask the prince of this castle a few questions.

“Aqua.”

She stops and turns to Terra, blinking when he asks her: “You still have the same dream?” It confuses her a bit, mostly because she has already reached this dream, but… well, she does not feel like a Master at the moment, so she thinks. “Well… yes.” It is still a dream yet to be reached.

That is good to hear, for after having met Cinderella: “She made me realize how powerful it is just to believe. No matter how impossible things seem…” Aqua turns to him, but Terra does not really notice his small speech: “A powerful enough dream will always be enough to light the darkness.”

Hearing this from Terra warms her heart, and Aqua surely will fulfill her friend’s request in thanking this Cinderella for making Terra realize this. And watching Terra leave, Aqua feels much more assured that her friend will be all right. “he won’t give in to it.”

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After making sure the princess living in Agrabah is not in harm’s way, Strelitzia travels and arrives in another world that houses a princess of light. However, as she sets foot into this world, she feels that something is not right, and she cannot say what this wrongness is. She walks into the forest, where she spots a young man heading towards a small cottage. It takes a moment, but Strelitzia realizes that this wrongness comes from that cottage. She runs over and steps in between the man and the cottage, telling the surprised man, “Don’t go in there,” and from the confused look he gives her. “Something is wrong.”

“What do you mean?” The man asks, but Strelitzia cannot answer what this feeling means. Only it is the same eerie sense she got right after Master Ira and Master Aced struck one another, and it made the bell chime. The man stares at her for a moment, then, much to her horror, ignores her warning, “I need to see her again,” and walks over to the cottage.

Strelitzia reaches out to stop him again, but before she can, an arm wraps around her throat, and a familiar woman's voice speaks into her ear. “Little girl wanna play hero?” Her eyes wide to who that voice belongs to, but Strelitzia cannot fight back for Tarsha’s grip is blocking her air, and in a matter of seconds, she is out cold.
Strelitzia wakes inside a dungeon, chained up in a manner that even if she did summon her keyblade, she cannot use it to get free. This sense of helplessness is not new to her, but the other times she couldn’t get out of a situation, her brother or Elrena would be nearby and help her out. But they are literally worlds away from her, and Strelitzia does not like it one bit.

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Meanwhile, Aqua had just arrived in this world as well; she spotted a strange creature, an enormous fire-colored eagle with a sigil she did not recognize. Aqua decided to go and check it out, and not long after, a portal and another woman around her age, though with blond hair and clothing lacking any kind of armor.
“Who are you?” She asks this newly arrived woman, adding curiously since that portal looked very much like that one with a keyblade would make. “are you a keyblade wielder?”

The woman laughs as if she just said a funny joke. “Oh, I do not need such a toy to have my share of fun.” She looks Aqua up and down and says, much to the new keyblade Master’s surprise, “Wow, he wasn’t kidding when he said the new Master lacked confidence.”

“What?” Aqua asks, very hard not to be offended by that woman’s remark. “Who told you this?”

The woman gives him a playful smirk, saying, “I’ll let you figure that one out, Aqua.” So she even knows her name; who is this woman? “but what I can tell you is that I’m Elrena, and don’t think I need any sort of protection just because I don’t have an overgrown key for a weapon.”

Dully noted… “What brings you here, Elrena?” Aqua asks, blinking when the blond woman points, still with that confident smile, up to where that giant eagle is flying around. “That eagle, something strange about it…” she muses to herself. Hoping Elrena knows more about this giant eagle. “Do you know what it is?” She asks the blond woman.

“All you need to know is that it is bad news, and I will deal with it and its master.” Elrena replies and begins to move towards the ominous castle. “But I suppose you can accompany me.” She waves her hand lazily, adding with a giggle. “You might learn a few things.”

Aqua is not sure if she wants to learn anything from this woman, but since she also needs to investigate that castle. Aqua supposes she just has to deal with Elrena's attitude for now. Inside, they encounter a lot of goons, though they don’t stand much of a chance against her or Elrena. Aqua can now see what this woman means by she didn’t need any protection. Her strength can measure up to a keyblade wielder with no problem, and Elrena has mastered lighting magic in ways she didn’t think possible.

Spotting stairs that lead to that flaming eagle and possibly where this Tarsha resides. “This is where you must go on your own.” Aqua turns to her, giving her a somewhat deadpan look, and it amuses Elrena enough that she feels like giving her this advice. “You’re a Master, and you sure deserved that title. So stand tall, girl, and be proud of your title.” She playfully flicks her finger at this newly-fledged master.

Aqua blinks at this— she thinks it was a vote of confidence, but it’s a bit hard out from the way Elrena said it. “Right.” She replies simply and walks off. Thought does take this advice somewhat to heart; she did prove herself as a master. Otherwise, Master Eraqus wouldn’t have given her this great responsibility if he hadn’t felt she could handle it.

She watches Aqua run off to play somewhere else, and when she’s out of sight. Elrena smirks. ‘Time to deal with this bitch.’ Elrena walks up to this small tower, on top she spots a woman, a few years older, with long flaming red hair and dressed in a dress shirt with feathers around the collar; both her hands have armored gloves and taking an extra check— yup, those are her weapons.

“Instead of coming after me himself, ‘Master’ Flower sent his little lackey.” Tarsha speaks the word master like it’s a joke, and she turns to Elrena, her orange eyes filled with hatred.

Elrena snorts at what this woman called her and is quick to throw back at Tarsha. “Oh sweetie, you must’ve misunderstood. A lackey is below someone like you are to whoever you obey at the moment.” The red-haired woman scowls deeply at this; Elrena smirks and points at herself. “I am his partner, his equal, and Lauriam knows I can handle you myself just fine.”

“You? Don’t make me laugh. You don’t even have the strength to wield a keyblade!” Tarsha retorts and angrily waves out her own hand, making three long blades appear from the armored gloves, “You’re nothing compared to me!” and with those words, she attacks. Elrena did expect this, and using her speed, she dodges this other woman and notices that Tarsha hasn’t mastered using these toys of hers.

Using that as her advantage, Elrena summons her own knives. With them brimming in thunder magic, she strikes Tarsha and, just for good measure, kicks her over the chest as well. “You should’ve stuck to whatever you had before; it might have given you the boost to keep up with me.” She mocks this other woman and again leaps out of the way of Tarsha, jumping onto the roof. Only then did she realize that this redhead wanted her to get up there. Right there, that flaming eagle appeared, crashing into the roof, and if not for her quick reflexes, then it would’ve caught her with its talons. Landing on what now remains of the roof, Elrena glares after Tarsha, who is now riding on that eagle. No matter, she can still share the pain. She throws out her knives right as the eagle comes for her, and using them as a conduit, Elrena unleashes a powerful lighting strike. Hitting the eagle’s right wing and screeching in pain, it crashes to the ground. Elrena smirks and walks down to finish the job, one she is going to enjoy doing.
Getting to the area where Tarsha and her giant bird crashed, Elrena prepares another lighting attack. But right there, the bird burst through the rubble, forcing her to jump back. Before she can get away, the eagle catches her by the beak and throws her into a nearby wall, tackling her, crashing the wall, and leaving Elrena with a lot of bruises after that hit. ‘Okay, so that pet of hers is stronger than I expected.’ She won’t make that mistake again.

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Elrena isn't the only one having trouble with her adversary. The evil witch Maleficent has told both Aqua and Ventus some grave information about Terra, which neither of them wants to believe. Ventus leaves to find their friend while Aqua stays behind to confront Maleficent, which only ends up with her getting captured. But it seems it was luck in a bad situation; down in this cell, Aqua found two prisoners, one of which is a keyblade wielder like her, and the young man revealed he could break whatever curse the evil witch had put on the Princess of Light residing in this world. Three good fairies arrive, and they are startled to see that the Princess of Light's crush is Prince Philip.

While Aqua gets the young keyblade wielder girl free, the good fairy dressed in red explains to the prince. “The road to true love may be harrowed by many more dangers which you alone will have to face.” But Aqua is not letting Phillip do this alone. “I’m going with you.” She declares to the prince and fairies, “There’s something I need to know, and Maleficent has the answer.”

“Yes, of course, dear.” The red-dressed fairy replies and looks up when a large tremor hits the castle. The one dressed in green asks what is probably on everyone’s mind: “What was that?”

Aqua has an idea of what might have caused it, “It must be Elrena fighting that flaming eagle,” and she sure hopes that the woman is handling more than she can chew. She blinks when the young keyblade wielder gasps and turns to her.

“Elrena is here?”

“Yes, do you know her?” Aqua asks, and the girl nods, replying, “She is like a big sister to me.” Oh, well, in that case. “Maybe it’s best you accompany us.” The girl nods, and Aqua decides to introduce herself. “I’m Aqua.”

So this is Aqua. Strelitzia smiles, “I’m Strelitzia,” and reveals proudly, “younger sister to Master Lauriam.”

Aqua blinks at this reveal and takes a better look at this old teen girl, ‘I can see the resembles.’ does make her wonder why she didn’t see Strelitzia during the exam.

Another tremor and the red fairy suggests they better hurry; they all quickly leave the dungeon. The three good fairies give Prince Phillip a shield and sword so he can fight and protect himself. The prince follows the two keyblade wielders, and soon, his new weapon is put to good use when Maleficent's raven alarms the goons of their escape. But these kinds of goons do not stand a chance against a determent to reach his love, prince, and two well-trained keyblade wielders, but the giant eagle does prove a challenge when it appears and sets itself on fire. The eagle’s slit eyes are on Strelitzia, and it goes straight at the tense girl.

Aqua is quick to get in between and, using her Shotlock, fires waves of magical projectiles at this eagle, making it back off and screeching in both pain and frustration that it was denied its target, flies back up to the sky. “Let’s hurry before it returns.” She suggests the two others, and they quickly move on.
Just as they leave the castle, a loud crack of thunder and Elrena crashes onto the bridge. The left arm and part of her face have scorch marks, and she also gets a nasty cut over the right thigh. The young girl, Strelitzia, hurries over to Elrena, who is pretty surprised to see her here. Strelitzia explains to her briefly. “Master Aqua helped me get out of the prison I was stuck in.”

Aqua walks over and casts a healing spell over the blond woman; unsurprisingly, she doesn’t receive thanks for the healing instead:

“Thanks for helping Strelitzia out.” Aqua nods. Elrena gets back on her feet, and the other woman stares up at the flaming eagle and its master at Tarsha; that woman is staring at them from the building she’s standing on, then turns her giant pet and flies off. ‘Figures she knows this wouldn’t be a winning battle.’ and speaks out loud. “There goes my target.”

Aqua watches the flaming eagle disappear out to the Lanes between worlds and asks this fierce woman, “What will you do now?” Elena gives her a deadpan look, but it softens when she turns to Strelitzia, telling the teenager: “Don’t get in more prisoners, alright, kiddo.” The young keyblade wielder nods, and, with a ‘see you’ wave, Elrena disappears by the portal. Aqua does not really fancy that woman, but glancing at the old teen, it’s clear Strelitzia looks up to Elrena. Strelitzia decides to follow her and Prince Phillip in their mission to save the princess of this world. Nearing the castle, Maleficent uses her magic to engulf the whole area in blackthorns; getting through was tough, but slowly, they got past, but the evil witch is not done with them as she appears, stopping them from reaching the castle and thus, Princess Aurora. And since the witch is here. “Maleficent! What did Master Xehanort tell you?” Aqua demands her.

But instead of answering her questions. Maleficent decides to push her button further: “Such a pity, child, that you don’t have Terra’s gift for obedience. Nor can you see how easy it was for him.”

Aqua refuses to believe Terra helped this evil fairy out of his free will. “Terra would never do anything to help you!”

“Quite the contrary.” Maleficent insists on her words that Terra helped her own on his own accord. “He fully embraced the darkness within himself.” But when Aqua refuses to believe her, the dark witch changes tactics by turning herself into a giant black dragon.

The two wielders of the keyblade and the prince goes for the giant beast Maleficent turned herself into, slowly cutting down her health; the dragon takes flight and uses her green flames to set the thorns on fire. Phillip is quick to think and, with a quick exchange with Aqua, gives the newly named keyblade Master the boost to get onto Maleficent's back and piece her blade down, making the dragon rear in pain. Phillip and Strelitzia used this opening to hurl both of their weapons right at Maleficent’s chest, forcing the badly wounded witch to revert into her human shape, and the blackthorns disappeared as well.

Strelitzia watches the evil witch leave; not a threat at the moment, but past training has taught her not to show beings of darkness any mercy. But this witch is human, not a monster like the Unversed. She is not sure what to do, but, Master Aqua makes that choice for her: “Go, ancompany prince Phillipe, I’ll catch up.” Strelitzia hesitates but, knowing how disrespectful it would be to disobey a master, nods and follows the prince up to the castle. Leaving Aqua to deal with Maleficent.
She decides to stay at the door when Prince Phillip walks over to wake this prince of light with a kiss, and when she wakes, Strelitzia quietly leaves the two. At the entrance to the castle, she encounters Aqua, and the older woman asks her: “Do your brother know you’re out fighting the Unversed?” in a voice that makes Strelitzia think of a worried sibling, catches her a bit off guard for honestly, Strelitzia is not used to hear such a tone. She nods, answering Aqua, “He knows,” Elrena never voices her worries, as she thinks such feelings are beneath her and her brother… well, he is kind of a particular case, meaning certain emotions do not come naturally to him.

Can’t say she fully approves. Strelitzia here seems only a year older than Ventus, and he wasn’t supposed to be out in the world like this. This reminds her. ‘I really have to get him home.' Since Master Lauriam did allow his younger sister to be out here, Aqua won't argue, even if she does not agree with the other Master's choice. “All right, but promise me you will be careful.”

“I will.”

And so, Aqua leaves Strelitzia in search of Ventus.

Chapter Text

“Terra, come and see me at once.”

Called by Master Xehanort, Terra heads to a wasteland of a world; for some reason, it made the bear totem very cold. Confused by this but unable to do anything about it. Terra walks over to Master Xehanort and tells the man, confused about this man’s actions he has witnessed. “I have been to other worlds. I know all about the things you’ve done. I just don’t understand why.” Why would Master Xehanort tell Maleficent about the Pure Hearts and the keyblade? Why is he so interested in these princesses? Terra waits for Master Xehanort’s reply, and hopefully, it will be a legitimate one.

Master Xehanort closes his eyes for a moment before he answers, “Someone had to safeguard the light… from the demon I unleashed.” Terra blinks at this, and the old Master elaborates on what he means. “You must know about the boy by now, the one in the mask. “His name is Vanitas. A creature of pure darkness. One of my making,” and through Xehanort’s explanation, it turns out that he created this Vanitas out of Ventus’s heart. “Not long after his creation, Vanitas started to attack the grievously wounded Ventus. I didn’t have a choice, I brought Ventus to Eraqus and did everything in my power to keep this monster to Vanitas contained.”

Terra could barely believe something like that boy would be coming from someone as sweet as Ventus, so surely, the old Master had his best intentions when he sifted such terrible darkness from his friend, but that leaves one question: “Master… why is Vanitas still free?”

“I did my best to contain him, but Vanitas is tenacious…”

“So, he managed to escape.”

The old Master nods and explains to Terra, “Vanitas uses the keyblade to sow seeds of darkness. And now, you see- the worlds teem with his ghastly underlings.”

Terra opens his mouth to speak, but a sudden spike occurs, and he sees the eyes of the bear right before his before they are gone. This confuses him a lot and almost makes him unable to hear Master Xehanort’s request:

“Led me your strength, Terra. Right this wrong that I have wrought.”

He will help, of course, but… “I have no idea where to find him.” another spike, and he suddenly sees Master Xehanort, holding his keyblade against him, behind the old man, a huge dark-gray goat with swirling metal vines at its front legs. ‘What was that?’ Terra shakes his head.

“—his darkness is drawn to the light, which he seeks to disrupt and then destroy.”

He hears Master Xehanort say, and right there, he sees himself shooting darkness at some raven-haired man with a torn red scarf, removing that one’s right eye and later tearing off half the cheek by the same darkness. It shifts, and he sees a boy with a mask running past Master Xehanort. Jumping down, he tries to stop that boy. He then sees his own reflection but with yellow eyes and white hair. He shakes those very vivid images away, not entirely sure of why he’s seeing that. Not sure what those were, but it has left him with a horrible feeling.

“It stands to a reason that he will strike next in the city of light, Radiant Garden.”

Terra bows, promising the old Master, “Don’t worry, Master. I’ll take care of Vanitas,” and leaves to find this darkness of Ventus, though mostly unnerved by whatever the heck he saw.
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By the command of his Master, Vanitas went to the bright world of Radiant Garden to release the Unversed. It wasn’t something new, just another part of his master’s plan and if it could get him closer to his salvation. Then Vanitas is all up for it. Why bother with the pain of his Unversed destruction if it leads to mending his fractured heart? He will do anything to be released from the living torment, which is his very existence.

However, as he lands on the world, he instantly feels a presence. It’s not darkness but not light either, but something else entirely. Vanitas scans the area, but at first, he cannot find the source, only that it is close. Too close for comfort. He decides to ignore this presence and instead do what his Master told him to do, which is unleashing his Unversed. However, just as he has released some of the weaker kind, Vanitas notices a shift from the nearby tree and, in the last second, summons his keyblade and jumps into battle position when the tree disappears, replaced with a yellow fox that has an aurora light around the neck and being part of the tail. This creature stalks around him, and Vanitas hears no— it is more like sensing the voice. Warning him that he had better leave as this world was under its protection. Vanitas laughs, “No one tells me what to do.” and do think he will find this battle interesting.
Well, not really. The fox refused to get close to him, instead firing fire, lighting, ice, and earth attacks at his face, and every time he thought he got it, the fox he hit proved to be an illusion, and the real deal hit him from behind. He slowly figures out its movements, and in a desperate attempt, as this creature has worn him down, he hits the real fox. It winches in pain, and the next second, he gets every element in the book thrown at him. Vanitas crashes onto the ground and passes out for a moment.
He hears that ‘voice’ again, warning him that if he returns, then there won’t be any mercy.
Vanitas wakes outside the world, in the lanes between them, and even though everything in him wants to go back and show that creature, he’s not weak. He does have a survival instinct, which currently screams at him not to get near that world, for that fox will kill him. Reluctantly, Vanitas leaves this world alone.

With the threat over, the fox turns and jumps onto the roof, leaping from roof to roof in an incredibly graceful manner. It stops when noticing two teenage boys and, with magic in colors of blue and purple, turns closer in size to an actual fox. It leaps off the roof and makes sure to land right on the blue-haired boy, making him crash into the ground but careful so as not to hurt him. It startles the red-haired teen, and the fox jumps gracefully and in a manner that will draw out a child’s curiosity around both of them before running off.
The red-haired boy stares in awe after that beautiful yellow fox. A large grin appears, and he turns in an excited jump to his still-floored companion. “Isa, did you see that?”

The boy named Isa sits up. “No, I felt that,” he points out, miffed to be jumped on. But like his friend, he is excited to see this creature being actually real. He gets onto his feet, remarking to his friend. “Never thought the legends of the aurora fox were true.” Isa says, not having any plans to let it get away, and grabs his friend’s shirt. “Let’s go, Lea before it disappears for good.” and they both hurry after the fox.
Right there, Ventus arrives in this world, primarily by accident, as a fellow comrade of the keyblade, one named Mickey, transported him to this world by an object called the Star Shard. His looking around got hilariously interrupted when he spots a strange fox with a flowing rainbow scarf and tail, playfully leaping towards him, and close behind, two boys his age are running after it. The red-haired notices him and calls; “Hey, catch it before it gets away!”
No idea what is going on, but feeling like helping out, Ventus runs at the fox, and right as it tries to jump over him, he jumps and catches its tail, making it land right onto him, and he gets a face full of that weird flowing tail.

Lea laughs, “Nice one!” he and his friend run over to the boy who caught the aurora fox. Here, Isa lifts the fox off the other boy, saying in a relatively flat voice, “Dibs.” which makes it sound so funny as he claims dibs on a legend in their home.
Lea snaps to him. “Hey, you can’t call dibs on a legendary beast!” he argues.

“I just did.” Isa points out, giving his friend a smug look while keeping the fox firmly trapped in his arms.

Lea rolls his eyes, “Yeah, whatever.” he turns to the other teenager and gives that one a smile. “It was a nice catch, I’m Lea, and mister I-call-dibs is Isa.” His friend merely nods, busier holding the very wiggly fox. Focus back on the blond teen he hasn’t seen in the area before; then again, this is a vast city, so it’s hard to know everyone. “What’s your name?”

Getting up, “Ventus.” he introduced himself. “But most call me Ven.” He turns to the weird fox, intrigued as he has never seen an animal like that before. “What is that?”

“A legend, that’s what!” Lea laughs; right at that moment, Terra arrives, and the fox gets free from Isa’s grip, running up towards the castle. Lea is quick to action, “Now I call dibs on it!” and runs after the fox with Isa close behind, who calls after him: “Not if I catch it first!”
Ventus, not aware of Terra, laughs and takes the pursuit of the two fellow aged boys. ”Hey, wait for me!”

Terra only spots his young friend when he has gone too far to hear his call, so Terra follows. He finds the three climbing into a window and has no wish to allow this form of trespassing, especially not from Ventus. Terra runs over. “Hey, what do you think you’re doing?” he calls.

“Terra?” Ventus asks, but before he can jump back outside, the boy named Lea grabs him with an urging, “Move it before he catches us!” the red-haired boy takes the run for it, confused but very much wanting to catch that fox again, Ventus follow Lea’s example.

Isa follows as well, but he’s not as fast as the two others, so that young man catches him with: “You shouldn’t trespass!” it sounds like a lame lecture. He is not going to let Lea and that other boy, Ventus, have all the fun. “Bug off!” He wiggles himself free and somehow manages to kick this older boy right in the stomach.

The kick didn’t hurt per se; it did catch him so much off guard, and his mind went back to a time when he wasn’t a trained keyblade wielder. Terra often dealt with bratty kids back at the orphanage, but that was ages ago, and Terra now realizes how easy Ven was compared to this new contender. One who could care less about what he had to say.
The blue-haired teen gets free and runs into the castle, being an utter brat! “Get lost and mind your own business, old man!” Recovering reasonably quickly, Terra follows, ticked by that name-calling. “Who are you calling old, you little brat?!” He yells back and chases after that one. “Come back now, or I swear I will drag you outta here!”

“I'd like to see you try!” Isa taunts him back and notices his friend at the end of the hallway.

Knowing that look, Lea smirks, picks out one of his frisbees, and throws it at that young man, hitting him straight in the face and stopping him from chasing Isa. His friend quickly picks up the ‘weapon’ and gets over to him and Ventus. “Nice one,” he throws the frisbee back to him, and with a grin, Lea grabs Ventus and follows Isa deeper into the castle.

Now feeling really bad for Terra, Ventus wants to go back, but Lea is not really letting him, and besides, doubt a mere toy would do much harm, so Ventus fairly quickly brushes it off and resumes the chase with the two other boys. Must admit it is pretty fun.
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Utterly unaware of the shenanigans going on inside the castle. Aqua arrives in this beautiful world, and after having traveled and battled so many Unversed, she really needs a small break. Aqua walks around the streets of the world, shopping a bit and admiring the plants decorating this city as she wanders around.
“Not a single Unversed.” Aqua is relieved about this observation. She comes to the castle’s grounds, where Aqua notices two young children. A girl with an intense light picking flowers and a boy with steel-blue hair help her in this little task. Watching them, Aqua is reminded how she, Terra, and Ven would scour the bushes for berries. Ventus had a silly habit of munching on the berries, ending up with her or Terra having to scold him, but it often led to them just laughing as their young friend always got berry juice all over his face. Aqua laughs softly at the small memory. “When this is all over, we should go and do that.” She notes herself, figuring that baking a cake would be excellent for all of them.

Suddenly, her slight daydreaming is interrupted by a fox with an aurora tail and around its neck like a scarf lands in the flowerbed where the two children are, throwing several of them into the air. The children stare in surprise at this sudden arrival, more so when the fox begins to trot around them in a playful manner. The girl giggles while the boy just titles his head at it in wonder. Then, the fox leaps over Aqua, shooting a few ice crystals at her. They didn’t do much harm, but enough to make her a bit protective of the children. It lands before her, staring with its creepy blue eyes, then, after having fired some flames at her, runs inside the castle. Not wanting a creature that can harm others around roaming freely inside the castle,

Aqua runs over to follow but stops when the young boy suddenly stands beside her, meeting her eyes with his own piercing blue. The young girl walks over as well, pointing out innocently, “Strangers is not allowed inside; the scary guards stops them.”

Aqua kneels down before the two children and explains them. “I need to get inside before that creature hurts someone.” To her surprise, the boy points out: “I know a secret path.” He gestures for her to follow, and Aqua does. This boy brings her over to a door that is well hidden behind some bushes; he pushes a seemingly random brick, and the door opens. Aqua is admittedly surprised this boy knew about this, “How did you…”

“Saw Dilan use this during another visit.” The boy shrugs as if it’s not a big deal, and the girl reveals with a giggle: “Ienzo showed me, and now, I pick pretty flowers every time I want.” The boy- Ienzo, gives her a look, then trots inside. The little girl follows with the bemused Aqua close behind.

Walking down the hallway, the little girl says, “I’m Kairi.”

“Nice meeting you, Kairi; I’m Aqua.” The keyblade wielder introduced herself and eyed this seemly sneaky boy. “Do you sneak out often from the castle, Ienzo?”

“I only snuck out because Kairi wished to collect flowers.” The boy replies in a matter-of-fact voice, after a moment of silence “I usually stay in the library during the visits.”

“Or play with me.” Kairi pipes up, and the older boy merely nods.
Aqua smiles at what Ienzo said. Amused that he risked getting into trouble for the sake of the friendship he shares with Kairi here. That’s really sweet and reminds her how Terra would take the blame if she or Ventus did something Master Eraqus would greatly disapprove of. He was always there for them, and now, Aqua feels like it's her turn to be there for him.

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Meanwhile, a bit further inside the castle, Terra has managed to catch the trio of troublemakers. Scolding all three, it’s not okay to trespass. Only Ventus shows he’s feeling bad about all of this.

“Sorry, Terra…”

While the two others: “What are you? His deadbeat brother?” Lea asks, with Isa saying, having a small smile on his lips, “More like his father.” causing his red-haired friend to burst out laughing.

More than a little miffed at those two rascals. “Now you listen you—“

“How did you get in here?!” Someone shouts; the group turns, and a muscular man with raven dreadlocks storms enraged over to them. Then notices the local troublemakers: “You two again! How many times do I have to knock it into your—”

Trying to talk his way out of this misunderstanding. “W-wait, sir… we didn’t mean to—“ the obnoxious sassy boy never gave him the chance, as that boy grabs his arm and pulls him away from the enraged and clearly not going to listen guard: “Shut up and run!” the boy told him.
Lea does the same with Ventus, who does not make such a hassle and follows the red-haired in fleeing from the very pissed guard.

Terra, wanting to solve this misunderstanding as an adult and not some mischievous kid, puts his heels down, stopping that kid from dragging him. “Now hold on…” but right there, another guard arrives, this one much bigger. One look from that man’s eyes shows that Terra suddenly feels like a child who has been caught doing something stupid and about to get his ass handed. Didn’t make it better that the other guard shouts: “Aeleus, grab them!!”
Without thinking, Terra hauls the brat onto his shoulders and takes the run for it, following Ventus and that other boy in fleeing from the angry guards.

“Hey, put me down!” Isa exclaims from suddenly being thrown over that young man’s shoulders; the other one ignores him completely.
Right at that moment, Aqua and the two children leave the hallway, stopping at the strangest sight ever; Ventus and Lea come speeding past, both yelling: “Aaaaggghhhhh!!”

Moments later, Terra, carrying a now cheeky Isa that, has the nerves to tell the running young man, “Aw come on! My grandpa runs faster than this!” with Terra yelling at him, “You, be quiet!” seconds after that, a pissed guard with dreadlocks and wielding a spear appears, shouting out loud: “Where the hell is Braig?! He’s supposed to be guarding this hallway!” Passing the dumbfounded Aqua and the two children, both having a face that this is apparently something they see fairly often.
Moments later, a huge guard appears; he is the only one who notices the three and stops, giving Aqua an inconvenienced look. Aqua responds with a timid wave with Kairi hiding behind her, clearly scared of this huge man, and Aqua does not blame the young girl.

Ienzo, on the other hand, Aqua blinks when the boy walks over to this mountain of a man and titles his head ever so slightly with: “Please don’t tell the others about this; I promise not to cause any trouble.” The big man stares down at the small boy for a moment. Then, with a sigh, he leaves them alone, much to Aqua’s surprise.
She can’t help but giggle at this, realizing that Ienzo has that large man wrapped around his fingers. The little boy turns to her, then trots the way the whole parade came from. Aqua casts one glance to where her two friends ran down but decides to leave them to solve their own shenanigans and instead follows the two children in search of that fox.

They indeed find that strange fox, jumping around inside an entranceway and messing the whole place up with its elemental magic.
“Ohhh, pretty~” Kairi awes at the sight while Ienzo only tilts his head curiously at the sighs. The two children yelp in surprise when the fox suddenly appears right before them like a furry jack-in-the-box.

“Stay back, you two.” Aqua tells the two children and summons her keyblade. She doesn’t notice that the girl, Kairi, is touching the handle of her keyblade before she leaps after the fox, at first trying to see if she can merely chase this troublemaker off as this fox did not seem as deadly as the Unversed, more like a wayward creature that happens to know magic. The fox leaps away from her, and Aqua follows, not even trying to swing her keyblade at the fox but merely using it to block the weak spells the creature at times throws at her. The chase leads all over the place, leading to a grand hallway of a sort. The fox catches Aqua’s leg with its jaws and throws her into a statue, making a white box drop to the floor. Aqua recovers quickly and is not hurt at all, as this fox is really not strong enough to hurt her. This whole ‘fight’ feels more like a game than actual combat. The fox spins around itself, forming a pillar of the rainbow aurora, where it bursts into several foxes. All are running around Aqua, and two excited children, but no sign of which is the true one can be spotted.

This illusion spell is the best she has ever seen, but Aqua does have a spell to break illusions. Her left-hand lights up, and she throws it at the fox running around Kairi, making it disappear.
She throws the spell at another fox, again proving not to be the right one.
Right as she is about to cast a spell on another, a weaker version of this spell is suddenly cast— by that young boy. Aqua blinks in surprise. This spell might not take much mana, but it’s pretty tricky to cast, so seeing a boy at that age cast is impressive. Aqua recalls that only a handful of students back at her former home could do magic at a young age. She was one of those children, so meeting another possible magical protégé is quite interesting. Lowering her hand, she is now intrigued about this child. “Did you do that?” He nods and has an air of fluster, but those blue eyes are watching her rather sharply, waiting for her following response.
Aqua gives the somewhat tense boy a smile. “You have a talent for magic. Not many people can cast magic at your age.” The boy blinks, then he smiles, and Aqua wishes to encourage such a hidden talent further. “Can you do it again?”

“Sure.” He nods eagerly and casts the spell again, removing yet another illusion fox.

Young Kairi tries to do the same, but all she can make is a faint glow around her body. Aqua senses that this girl has a unique heart. One that is very pure, and she feels she should need special protection as there are people who might want to use such an intense light.
Letting Ienzo deal with the illusions, Aqua casts a spell on Kairi’s necklace, making sure that if this girl ever gets in trouble, her light will lead her to one who will protect her.
To avoid leaving Ienzo out, Aqua finds a blank book and, with a spell, fills the pages with all the spells she knows. And since this will be gifted to a child, Aqua made sure he wouldn’t be able to cast the spell until he got enough mana for them. She hands this book to little Ienzo, explaining it holds a lot of spells he can try out, adding. “I made sure that no matter how many spells you add, there always will be a page for it.”

“Wow… thanks.” Ienzo replies in awe, then notices the title written on the book's spine. “Arcanum?”

“It means secret.” Aqua replies to the boy, and right as she’s about to explain why she chose that name, Aqua realizes that not only are all of the illusions gone, but the fox is no longer around. “Huh, where did it go?” She wonders out loud, but that question will never be answered. Aqua turns her attention back to the two children. Ienzo is already face-deep in his new book, and Kairi has picked up a white box. Now that the play-fight is over, Aqua notices the strange magic coming from that box; it’s neither light nor darkness, something else entirely. Aqua gently takes the box from the young girl, but it won’t open. She then tries to tap it with the keyblade, but even there, it won’t open. “Strange, a keyblade should open any lock.” She scans the mystery box in her hands. “So why not this one?” Did another keyblade wielder lock this box?

“What are you doing here?” A male voice asks. It should sound hostile, but Aqua notices the wary hint in the tone.
Aqua turns around and sees three people. The one who spoke is a man with long blond hair and green eyes and dressed in a white lab coat. The two others are dressed in more casual clothing, and Aqua has a feeling of who they are from the resemblances they share with a certain boy.

These three are walking towards her; before she can answer, the man’s green eyes go down to the two children when Kairi; in an innocent matter of fact only a child can do, “This nice lady asked to get the fox out from the castle, the guards don’t let strangers inside, so Ienzo—“

“You didn’t consider that we do not let strangers inside for a reason?” The man asks with a hint of irritation in his voice.

Kairi blinks, not really seeing the big deal, while Ienzo casts a look at the two others and shifts embarrassingly on his feet, clutching his new book to his chest. Aqua decides to step in before these two get into trouble. “Sir, don’t blame my trespassing on the children.” The man turns to her, brow raised. “I was merely trying to chase out a fox that held the power of spell casting. If not for Ienzo and Kairi, I wouldn’t have found it.”

The other male is in more casual clothing, his hair a darker shade of gray, and most of it sleeked towards the right side of his face, looking very much like the boy. Behind the horn-rimmed glasses, the man raises a brow down to Ienzo, clearly more amused than irritated by his misdeed. “And how did you get past the guards?” The man asks the little boy.

“… The backdoor.” Ienzo replies quietly. The plum woman, who has bobbed light brown hair and a much sterner look with the same piercing blue eyes as the blond man gave the child. Ienzo winches at the look and muses in an even quieter voice, “I didn’t mean to cause trouble… I just…”

The woman shakes her head at the boy and looks at the seemly scientist of the three. “Looks like you need to change the entrance code.” The woman points out, eyeing her son again. “This time, let it be something our little genius won’t figure out in a matter of hours.” The man, presumably her husband, chuckles, which makes the boy blush in embarrassment.

The man in the lab coat lightly facepalms with a sigh before turning to Aqua. “I suppose I can overlook this. You did help us see a breach in security.” Eyeing the now abashed red-faced boy, he adds to the children, mostly Kairi, “But next time, tell one of us before you drag a stranger inside.” Kairi and Ienzo nod, the latter clutching the book tighter when the man points out. “And Ienzo, you know you’re not supposed to take the books from the library.”

“It's a gift from me.” Aqua steps in, “He showed talent in spell casting.”

The man in the lab coat blinks in surprise, while Ienzo’s mother's stern look seems to melt away. “The apple does not fall far from the tree.” She smiles, which made the boy smile. The man in the lab coat watches the children for a moment before he asks the parents, “Why don’t you two take the children out for a while?” They nod and gesture to the two kids to accompany them. Kairi is quick to follow, while Ienzo gives them one look before trotting after his parents.
The man then turns to Aqua. “I’m surprised you made such a discovery with Ienzo. Aside from constantly breaching our security, he hasn’t shown any sign of magical potential.” He speaks in a dry voice as if this is a daily issue, and Aqua has trouble keeping a straight face.

But trying not to be rude towards this man, less so when he did overlook her intrusion. “I see,” Casting a look at the girl, who is currently chatting with Ienzo’s father with no care in the world. “What about the girl, Kairi?”

“She lives here with her grandmother and is very special to all in Radiant Garden.” He casts a look at this woman, and he is pretty sure she has sensed it, too. “Her heart is very special, full of light. We do our best to keep her safe, some people would use this light for their own use.”

“Yes, I thought the same thing.” Aqua nods and is glad the people at the castle are already doing what they can to protect Kairi. but now, Aqua thinks she has been intruding long enough: “Sorry for my trespassing, I will be leaving now.” She returns the white box to the man and leaves the same way the small group did.
Aqua is just close enough to hear Kairi ask the man, “Can you tell me the story grandmother used to tell?”

The man eyes the girl his wife walks hand in hand with. “You really like that story, don’t you?” Kairi nods, and the man relents with a chuckle. “All right, “Long ago, people lived in peace, bathed in the warmth of light. Everyone loved the light.” They came outside, and the way the man spoke made Aqua stop and look around the city, feeling the light of this beautiful city. Then the man’s tone shifts, “Then people began to fight over it. They wanted to keep it for themselves. And darkness was born in their hearts.” It made even the small, harmless clouds feel dark and ominous. As the man continued on this story. “The darkness spread, swallowing the light and many people's hearts. It covered everything, and the World disappeared. But small fragments of light survived... in the hearts of children.” Aqua returns her attention to the small group, or rather, these two children. “With these fragments of light, children rebuilt the lost world. It's the world we live in now. But the true light sleeps deep within the darkness.” The man stops, looking up, and so do the children as well, enthralled by the story. “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.” He kneels down to the two, smiling, even bringing the watching Aqua a sort of comfort. “Even in the deepest darkness, there will always be a light to guide you. Remember this; believe in the light, and the darkness will never defeat you.” The man playfully ruffles his son’s hair but eyes on the little girl. “Your heart shines true light, and it will push the darkness away.”
Kairi smiles, and although far too young to understand the power of her pure heart, she is simply happy to have reheard this story. Something that feels like a legend in the ears of Aqua.

As she watches the two adults leave, Aqua finds herself hoping that Kairi and Ienzo will grow into two extraordinary adults and she will meet them again one day.

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Meanwhile, Terra, Ventus, and the two local troublemakers have succeeded in ditching the guards and are now once again outside the castle. Terra glares, annoyed at the two teenagers who are laughing at this whole ordeal. “You’ll be lucky I don’t tell your parents this.” Did get some satisfaction that the red-haired boy stopped laughing instantly and winched at that thought.

Wish he could say the same for the bluenette. “Good luck with that. There are only five thousand families to choose from.”

“Don’t tempt me, brat!”

“Now I really want to see you do it. I’ll be sure to watch you every step of the way.”

Terra is about to retort something back, but a sudden flash of him sends yellow-eyed monsters at this boy, who is trying to shield his wounded friend. It startles and unnerves him enough that he does not hear the smug remark coming from the boy; Terra only notices this blue-haired boy runs off with his friend and, deep down, hopes that boy never will be subjected to whatever that disturbing sight means. Sure, he was a brat, but he didn’t deserve to become lunch for a pack of monsters.

“They didn’t cause you too much trouble?”

Terra blinks, and first there he realizes that Aqua has arrived in this world as well. Brushing that vision aside, he points out to his fellow aged and female friend. “You know, now I am happy Ven does not cause trouble on purpose.” Glancing to where the two local teenagers run off to probably cause a headache on some other poor sod. “Dealing with those two was such a hassle.” This reminds him, “You’re not off the hook yet.” Terra points to Ventus; he might not have started it, but he still trespassed and almost got them in trouble with those guards.

Ventus puts his hands behind his head, letting out a small sheepish laugh, though he will admit that it was worth getting in trouble for.

Aqua lets out a light giggle and turns to their younger friend, who does not look overly regretful of his action. “Be careful, Terra. I think Ven got a taste of troublemaking.”

“I do not!” Ventus argues embarrassing his two friends thinks that. “Getting chased by those guards wasn’t fun.” But he can’t deny, “but it was fun to play with kids at my age.”

Terra and Aqua let out a small laugh; the latter is the first to break it, remembering her main goal. “Listen to me, Ven… we need to get you home—“

But Ventus does not think that is necessary. “It’s okay, Aqua. Trust me, that guy in the mask is history.” He smiles at Terra, which that bully kept saying wouldn’t be him anymore. “He will never bad-mouth Terra again.”

Hearing that Ventus has met the personification of his darkness and remembering what Xehanort said, Vanitas has attacked Ventus— his light, worries Terra. He steps over and puts a hand on Ventus’s shoulder, demanding the boy. “You saw the boy in the mask?”

This reaction caught Ventus kinda off guard, “Y-Yes?”

Speaking the dark boy’s name, “Vanitas,” Terra practically commands Ventus, “You let Aqua take you home.”

“No way. I wanna go with you guys.” Ventus argues that he wants to be with his friends and see more worlds. “We can visit more worlds, just like we did back when we visited your homeworld.” He speaks to Terra, which is one of his most treasured memories.

But this isn’t like that; this time, they aren’t sightseeing or are safe. There are dangers around them, not only from the Unversed but also from Vanitas. That’s why Terra refuses to let Ventus tag along. “You can’t. We have a dangerous task ahead of us. I don’t want you to get hurt.” He tells the boy, not sure what he will do if this darkness happens to harm Ventus.

“And what is this dangerous task, Terra?” Aqua asks; she hates to say this, but… “It doesn’t sound like what the Master told you to do.” which was to quell the Unversed and find Master Xehanort, but that’s not what she heard when visiting the same worlds as him. And she isn’t eased by Terra’s reply; he is fighting the darkness. She might've believed him before, but doubts have seeped in after her "chat" with Maleficent. “I’m not so sure. I’ve been to the same worlds as you, and I’ve seen what you’ve done.” She eyes her friend with, “You shouldn’t put yourself so close to the darkness.”

Ventus starts arguing, but Terra stops him by asking Aqua hard. “You mean you’ve been spying on me? Is that what he said to do? The Master’s orders?”

“He was only…”

Terra thought so… “I get it.” Master Xehanort was right. Master Eraqus never would consider him worthy of a Master. He leaves and snaps at Ventus to not follow when the younger boy tries. “I’m on my own now, all right?” He tells them both hard, sad, and angry about the lack of trust he is getting from the people who were supposed to be there for him.

“Terra, please, listen!” Aqua calls after her friend, trying to reason with him, “The Master has no reason to distrust you, really! He was just worried!” but Terra does not stop; instead, she continues walking off.

“You’re awful, Aqua.” Ventus tells her, still not believing she did this, and it did not make it much better in Aqua, reminding him that Master Eraqus loves Terra. It only makes him wonder, “Were you also “ordered” to take me home?” the look on Aqua’s face is enough to answer. “Aqua… now that you’re a keyblade Master, you’ve let it go to your head…. I’m gonna find Terra,” he tells her and runs off to do just that.

Chapter Text

His bit aimless wandering stops when Terra notices that the bear totem is acting a bit strange; it feels warm, and a sense of greeting comes from it. This confuses Terra, but before he can reach into his pocket for it, a voice suddenly speaks; “You must be Terra.” He turns and is not far away. A man dressed like those guards with the difference of wearing a red, torn scarf around the neck. Terra freezes up, recognizing this man from the vision he got of that wasteland.

“It’s that old cook— he won’t stop asking for you.” This raven-haired man points out that he is annoyed to have come all this way just to please someone. And right as that thought struck Terra, the man remarks, “I came all the way out here to get you just so he’d clam up.”

“What do you mean?” Terra asks, having trouble focusing on this sudden conversation as this guy looks like the one from one of those visions of his.

The man barks a quick laugh and asks him mockingly, “Do I have to spell it out? Xehanort, whatever he’s called. You know, my prisoner.”

Brushing his worries aside, Terra points out to this guy, “You’re dressed like the guards from the castle, I don’t think they would be happy with you taking prisoners without a good reason. And besides, Master Xehanort would never let himself be caught by a thug like you.”

“Well, I have done a bit of mercenary work lately.” The man smirks, having a strange glint in his brown eyes. “And if you do not believe I got the old geezer at my mercy, come and see for yourself.” He gestures to the pathway he’s standing before. “I’m holding him underneath the Outer Gardens. You better show up before I lose my patience.” The man points out, turns around, and, with a “ciao.” walks off.

Terra highly doubts this guy caught Master Xehanort, for even though that man is very old, he is still a master of the keyblade. ‘But I guess there’s no harm in checking.’ Terra thinks and follows where this man left off. The man notices him and smirks before leading him to the spot. At a platform underneath the city, giving a grand sight of the water filtration system, the man stops and nods up. Terra turns and, to his utter shock, spots Master Xehanort, who is chained to one of the giant water pipes.

He gasps and spins back around when the man speaks cockily. “The old coot certainly knows how to take punishment.” He proves able to do basic summoning magic when a crossbow small enough to be held by a single hand appears in his right palm. “Just like I know how to deal it out.”

Okay, so this guy is not just talking. And if he caught Master Xehanort, he'd be a more significant threat than expected. “You monster!” Terra sneers enraged this guy has been bold enough to harm Master Xehanort. “What are you after?” He demands, summoning his keyblade.

The man points at the keyblade. “That thing right there. It’s called the keyblade, isn’t it?” The man smirks down at the keyblade. “Yep, it seems like these days everybody’s got one of those…” He looks up to where Master Xehanort is chained. “Even grandpa there. When I nabbed him, he told me all about it— what a weapon like that can do.” He turns his attention back down to Terra, asking, but it sounds like it is more aimed at himself, “How could I not want one?”

“Well, you’ll find they’re picky about their owners.” Terra points out. This guy might know magic and be stronger than first anticipated, but “I doubt you can get one.”

The man laughs, “As if, I can get one just fine.” He assures him so confident that it catches Terra a bit off guard. The man chuckles and brushes a hand over his head. “If I heard that old guy right, you’re what they call keyblade Master material.” He points the crossbow at a random pipe, “So if I defeat you, that makes me the real keys linger if you catch my drift.” He waves teasingly at Terra.

Oh, so this guy thinks that defeating one in battle will automatically earn him a keyblade. Yeah, that’s not going to happen. Delusional, that’s what he is.

“Not the most polite way to go about it…” the man speaks, then smirks as he points the crossbow at Terra. “But what can you do?” Terra internally rolls his eyes and going to prove that he is much out of this guy’s league; Terra goes for the attack but does stop when the man jumps back, saying, “Ah-ah, hit me, and the coot goes boom.” Much to the shock of Terra. “You think I’m gonna fight fair? As if! That key’s too powerful for us to go mano a mano.”

Terra does not like it one bit, but he can’t risk harming Master Xehanort, so he does not even try hitting this guy; he can only block the rain of bullets. He does try to make the rock bear appear, but for some reason, it refuses to aid him in this battle. It resolves he ends up pretty wounded.

The man snorts at him. “For a keyblade Master, you’re not very— what’s the word— good?”

Terra slowly sits up. He hates being defenseless like this, but this is for the sake of— “What are you doing, Terra? Fight!” Master Xehanort starts to yell at him. Startled, Terra argues, but the old master tells him hard, “You must fight! You can’t let this ruffian win. Think of your Master, Eraqus— the shame he and your fellow pupils would be forced to bear!”
No, he can’t let that happen, not when Master Eraqus already thinks so lowly of him, to begin with. That and forced to watch pity in Aqua and Ventus’s eyes; he; he won’t let that happen! Terra turns back to the man, enraged by Xehanort's words, to notice the look in the man’s eyes and how cold the bear totem has become. All he can think about is the consequence Master Xehanort said would happen if he lost this fight.

The man snorts, “So much for the bluff.” before he fires another mirage of bullets at Terra, who this time comes straight at him, ignoring the bullets. Terra would’ve hit him, but this guy proves to have adept space magic from how he could teleport away. Terra is not letting him get away and keeps pursuing the guy, not holding back in any of his attacks, not caring he might seriously hurt this guy. He is too angry to remember the rule Master Eraqus taught him to never use the keyblade to harm fellow human beings. His own mirage of attacks got the guy down but trapped in his rage, Terra just wants to hurt this guy and uses his keyblade to unleash the darkness holding over his heart, hitting the man straight in the eye. Terra only snaps out from it when he notices the disturbing déjà vu of this scene of this raven-haired man holding over his right eye, which is now gone. Terra's mind goes back to that vision of him taking that one’s eye and then leaving a nasty mark over the left cheek. The darkness flutters, then fades, and the second shot never happens. In horror at his action, Terra lowers his keyblade. “I… I didn’t mean…” He stutters, but the harm is done; he has permanently scarred this man.

The man somehow ignores the deep pain he must be in and uses that space magic of his to jump away like some sort of human grasshopper; Terra can’t blame him, though… “What have I done…?” and it frightens him further, knowing that those disturbing visions he has gotten lately are sights of the future. The only silver lining there is in all of this is that he can change it, for that poor thug never got his left cheek scarred by him.

“Well done, Terra.” Master Xehanort speaks, somehow gotten free from his chains. “You have taken yet another step forward.”

Knowing what those sights now mean, he thought to those where he saw Master Xehanort point his keyblade at him with a dark grey goat bearing the same sigil as the bear. The sight of Master Xehanort commanding the boy in the mask to kill Aqua and seriously hurt Ventus. ‘He’s not one to be trusted.’ Terra realizes. Looking down at his keyblade, “Was this what you wanted me to do? Be consumed by hatred? To use the power of darkness— I hurt someone beyond forgiveness!” He cries out, and although that guy was a thug and a jerk, he did not deserve that!

“You only did it to protect me.” Master Xehanort tells him. “You channeled the darkness by doing so.”

“No… I succumbed to it.” Terra corrects the man and feels horrible about his actions. ‘Now I see why Master made Aqua spy on me… why Master Lauriam gave me that look.’ Because they sensed this darkness of his, and he gave into it… “Just like when I stole Princess Aurora’s heart of light. I can never return home now. I’m a failure.”

“Then don’t. You could be my pupil.” Master Xehanort suggests; this takes Terra off guard, letting the man speak, “Master Eraqus, you see, is so afraid of the darkness that he, too, has succumbed—not to darkness, but to light.” The old man lifts and fists his left hand. “Master Lauriam is no better; he will never see you as an equal; it was he who persuaded Eraqus not to let you pass the Mark.”

Anger swells up in Terra to hear this, but he pushes aside the reminders about the visions he has gotten, and right there, he gets another one, this time of Master Xehanort unleashing his own heart and sending it straight at him. That is enough to distrust this man’s plans for him. “I can’t.” Terra tells Xehanort and backs away; the man blinks, a bit taken by surprise by his decline. “I want to fight the darkness.”

“Light and darkness, they are a balance, Terra.” Master Xehanort reminds him, “Light beckons darkness. With Eraqus, Aqua, and Ventus’s light shining so brightly, it’s only natural they cast a shadow over yours.” Terra stops, closing his eyes to what this Master is saying: that he was fated to be darkness from the very start. “Terra… you are the one who shows the true Mark of Mastery.” Terra slowly opens his eyes. A large part of him wants to accept the Mark from Xehanort and become a Master, but he can’t…

“I’m not a master.” he replies and walks away. Even though he can sense Xehanort staring after him, Terra refuses to glance back, afraid he might join this man if he does.

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Riding on his transformed keyblade through the lanes of in-between, Ventus almost falls off when something big passes him pretty fast; at first, he has trouble seeing what it is and is close to mistaking it for an Unversed. But when this creature turns, the long hair gets enough out of the way for him to see the shape of this creature. “Whoa~!” It’s a unicorn! On its back is a man with long steel-blue hair, dressed in a light grey tunic with long sleeves, a cornflower-blue band of cloth folded around the shoulder, edge coated in gold. A leather brown belt holding a light grey-blue and silky drape, which, like the cloth on the shoulders, has golden lines at the edges. The pants are dark steel-blue, folded above the brown boots that have metal around the ankles and underneath the sole. This man steers the unicorn over to him and tells Ventus in a solemn voice. “You and I need to speak; follow me.” and the unicorn runs off. Ventus is not entirely sure what this is about, but it sounds important, so he changes direction and follows the man riding on that huge unicorn.
To his surprise, the man riding the unicorn brought him to a world Ventus had been in once before. “Hey, this is Terra’s home world.” He realized, looking around this warm-colored town where the sun would never set. He recalls the time he, Aqua, and Terra came here. The first time, his two friends deliberately went against Master’s wishes.

,,,,,,,,,,,

“You may leave, but I cannot allow Ventus. It’s too dangerous for him.” Master Eraqus had said, and no word could convince him to change his mind. He was so disappointed with that decision. Ventus had wanted to see another world for so long, but it seemed that wasn’t going to happen anytime soon.
“It’s all right, you go,” he told his friends, trying to hide how much it bothered him behind a smile. Ventus went to his room, unable to hide his disappointment.
To his surprise, Terra came into his room and opened the window. “This way.” Terra said and jumped out of the window, much to Ventus’ confusion. Still, he followed, and at the top of the mountain was Aqua. She opened a portal with her keyblade, “Let’s go before Master discovers you left.” That’s when Ventus realized what was going on, and excitedly, he ran through the portal. Which took him to a world quite unlike the Land of Departure. The buildings were all in a warm reddish tint and a lot more people than compared to the town below the mountain. Terra and Aqua joined him not long after, with Terra saying: “Welcome to my home world.”

“It’s very… sunny.” Aqua remarked after a moment of looking around. “What’s it called?”

“Twilight Town. The citadel of this world.” Terra explained and started walking. “But I have never been in that part. This area is called Sunrise Beach.”

“Is every sector of this world called after the sun?” Aqua asked, and Ventus trotted excitingly after them, right as Terra replied with a shrug: “I think so; it’s not like the sun ever sets.” This took Ventus by surprise, but that explained why his male friend always had lights on in his room during the night.

They went down to the beach, where Aqua brought them watermelons, and while eating their small treat, Ventus asked Terra, “Are we going to visit your family?”

Terra shook his head. “No, and it has nothing to do with the world order.” He finished up his watermelon and was quite indifferent. “I simply don’t have any family— other than you two and Master.”

“Ooh, that’s so sweet.” Aqua cooed, clearly teasing him. Terra gave her a look but did laugh softly.

Ventus shared the same thoughts about family as Terra. Except he does not know if he has any, and it does not matter anymore; Ventus’s happy where he is. He ran down to the waters and had fun splashing around. Aqua and Terra soon joined him, and they had a lot of fun messing around. They couldn’t stay for long, but for those short hours, they were the best.
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Ventus smiles at the memory and hopes, “Maybe someday, we can go without having to sneak behind Master’s back.” It would be nice. Checking the area, he notices that he does not recognize this part of Twilight Town; it’s not Sunrise Beach. There are a lot more trams and buildings closer to one another and a lot more people, too. Ventus starts walking, searching for the man who rode on the unicorn. He sports him at the marketplace, watching him for a moment before the man heads to a tall wall.
He follows the man and leads him into a forest area, and past the forest is a mansion with a lot of unicorn symbols. ‘Must be his home.’ The young keyblade wielder observes. He walks over to the man, who waits for him at the mansion’s gate.
Stopping before this man with the scarred forehead, “You needed to talk?” Ventus asks, a bit confused.

The man nods. “Yes, but there is a lot to speak about. So, best be comfortable.” He replies, and Ventus follows him inside the mansion. The man uses magic that conjures food and tea at the oak table; Ventus takes a bit of the food, and, after the man has served himself some tea, he introduces himself. “My name is Ira. I am the guardian of this world.” The man leans back into his chair. “I have the power of foresight, and you, Ventus, are privileged to know parts of your fate.”

Ventus blinks, entirely caught off guard by what this Ira fella has just told him. “My… fate?”

“Yes, one you were set on the day your mother gifted you the Guardian.”

This statement actually made Ventus rather sad; he does not remember the faces of his parents anymore. All he does remember is the time he spent with Terra and Aqua. Another thing this man said, it plainly confuses him. “What guardian?” He asks, wondering what this man meant of him having a guardian.

Ira puts his cup onto the table, watching his own reflection from the tea. “It was meant to keep you safe, but at his creation, the Guardian got cast into oblivion… it was what connected you to the ancient past, but now, that piece… not even we can reach it.”

Ventus tilts his head in confusion, but when the man does not speak further, he asks something that has been bothering him for a while now. “You said you have the foresight. Does that mean you know about the masked boy?” Ira nods; in that case, “What is the deal with him? Why does he say Terra won’t be him anymore?”

Taking a sip of his tea, Ira speaks very carefully. “That boy… his name is Vanitas, and… you two share more similarities than you might think.”

“What? I am nothing like him.” Ventus argues.

“You are light; he is darkness. Two sides of the same coin.” Ira’s latte brown eyes meet Ventus’s bright blue, and the man asks the young boy. “Ventus, I do not say this to disrespect your Master, but he is wrong that darkness needs to be destroyed.” And stops the boy from arguing as he clearly looks like he wants. “Let me explain.”
Ventus closes his mouth, allowing him. “Every heart is born in darkness. It gives us a sense of self; it is focused on actions and intents. It is the rage that stirs us into action. Fears that drive us away from danger. Sadness that brings us closer to others, and desires to see what lies beyond our small worlds. In too many doses, darkness can be incredibly dangerous. The emotions that would drive us forward can become our very downfall.
A heart gains more light as they become more experienced and taught how to acknowledge others. Without darkness, we are not whole. For if we have only light, a person’s life is solely for others. It is great empathy and compassion. It is joy, a bond shaped between people. Light is the source of the keyblade.”

“Having only light does not sound so bad.” Ventus voices.

The man eyes him calmly, and yet there is a strange gleam in those eyes. “True, but without darkness, you wouldn’t know how to feel truly sad if someone you deeply cared about got hurt. You won’t fear death; instead, throw yourself into danger even though there’s no need to pick a fight. With only compassion, how can you stop someone from constantly hurting— or using you for their own use? Your entire life will be for others; you will never be able to grow as a person; there won’t be a ‘you,’ only a husk that constantly seeks to please and serve others. You would be unable to properly connect with others as that requires some self-awareness. You would be all alone, but even then; light won’t allow you to feel lonely.” The man crosses his arms on the table, his gaze not breaking as he speaks about the two forces that affect everything around them. “You never seek change; always be complacent with your life no matter how horrible it might be. You won’t be alive, merely just ‘be.’”

Ventus’s eyes are comprehensive at what darkness truly is.
The man retakes a sip of his tea before he continues.
“Only through the darkness can we appreciate what light gives us. There can’t be goodness without the bad.” Ira explains in a voice as if he is doing a history lesson. “Without either, we are not whole."

Oh, when he says it like that… “I suppose we do need darkness, but…”

“Yes, darkness can be devastating, overwhelming, and dangerous. Vanitas has proved as much to you. He is a boy of darkness, filled with as much negativity as you are with positivity.”

Ventus blinks at this: “But… I can feel negative emotions.” He can get angry, sad, and lonely. He wants to see more worlds, not be stuck in the Land of Departure.

Ira sighs and turns his head, staring into space in a manner that makes Ventus wonder what he sees at this very moment; then Ira speaks again. “The boy you have encountered in your travels. It is the result of a lonely, sad, and extremely misguided fate. Ever since his creation, Vanitas has been suffering, but his master has trained him to push aside everything that is considered a weakness. He no longer cries, for in his mind, tears are a sign of weakness. He no longer calls for someone to take his hand and pull him up from the hole of despair, for he believes only his own strength can pull him up from there when, in reality, he is falling deeper into self-suffering. Any sign of weakness from himself or anyone else will make him lash out. Attacking the problem is the only thing he knows. He believes destroying the problem will make the constant pain he feels stop, but the pain will never stop. Vanitas is trapped in an endless circle of suffering, one his master is determined to keep him in.” The young boy’s eyes are wide in shock, then shift to a deep pity, and Ira points out softly. “Pity will make him lash out as well. But only because he does not understand this emotion, and thus, considers it a weakness.”

Is this man really saying that he should just accept that Vanitas is a lost cause? That he is destined to suffer for eternity until someone strikes him down one last time… “Then why did you tell me this?” Ventus demands softly, for now knowing partly of what is causing that masked boy to be such a big jerk. “I would’ve been better off not knowing; now I won’t be able to fight him, knowing he is suffering.” No one deserves such a life, not even his worst enemy.

“You will fight him. Vanitas will not give you any choice. He is naturally drawn to your light, and his master made him believe that clashing his keyblade with yours will be his salvation.” Ira points out, and now to the actual reason why he told Ventus this. “Fight for him, Ventus, for only you can reach him and make Vanitas open up. Accept the help he desperately needs. It will be hard, but if you can accept Vanitas as a brother, never let go. He will take the hand, and when he is ready, you will regain the power sifted away from your heart.”

“…. I don’t understand…” Ventus quietly asks how he is supposed to accept someone like Vanitas as his brother when that boy has done nothing to hurt him and his friends. He doubts Vanitas will even receive his help if he considers any sympathy to be a weakness.

“You will in time.” Ira speaks softly; he drinks the tea again, putting it down long enough to say, “You have more questions.”

He does indeed, and it feels like Ira here is the only one willing to give him some answers. “Is Terra going to change?” His fear spikes from how this scarred man with the long hair is hesitating on the answer. “Please, tell me what I can do!” Ventus does not want to lose Terra to whatever Vanitas spoke about.

“Your friend will face a challenge that will test his heart’s strength and mind’s endurance to their very limits.” Ira finally speaks. “You cannot get him away from this challenge; only believe in him that he can, in time, overcome it.” He puts down the now empty cup. “That is all I can tell you about your friend.” the man raises from his chair. “I have kept you long enough; best you return on your journey.”

Ventus nods, gets up, and starts to leave the room; he does stop at the door. “Mind if I ask another question?” He asks this man who has given him something to really think about.

Ira nods from his spot. “You may.”

“Is Vanitas really my brother, or is it more figurative speaking?”

Ira gives him a weak smile, one that almost makes him look sad, but he’s not; it's more like wondering about something. “You could call him the brother of your heart.”

Not sure what the heart part is about, only that Ira pretty much said that Vanitas is indeed his brother. ‘He might be the only real family I have left.’ So, well, he will try and help Vanitas. Still, if that one tries to hurt his friends again, then he won’t hesitate and hit him with the keyblade. “Thank you.” Ventus bows and leaves the mansion along this world that has the never-setting sun.

Chapter Text

Flying on the Lanes that separate the worlds, Aqua notices these monsters Master called Unversed, attacking an odd and enormous ship that is trawling on the Lanes as well. "Is nowhere safe from them?" She asks herself, but since it's her duty to rid the worlds of these foul creatures. Aqua takes pursuit, and when coming inside this ship, she removes the armor and goes to work cleaning the house of the Unversed.
With the last one gone, Aqua notices a strange object, one that has many crude metal parts but the form... "This looks like the Wayfinder." Aqua observes, but it does not answer why such an object is in a far-off place like this ship. "How did it get here?"
Suddenly, a blue and orange blur snatches this crude Wayfinder; startled and thinking it to be another Unversed, Aqua summons her keyblade, but the thief turns out to be one of the inhabitants, and it is clutching the crude Wayfiner in its upper claws. It is growling menacingly at her, but Aqua notices how protective this strange creature is of the object. Does that mean it belongs to this creature? "Tell me, where did you get that?" she asks the creature.

It growls, hyperfocused on the keyblade, so smart enough to know it's a threat. But then, it stops and titles its head as if realizing something. Before Aqua can figure out what made this creature seemly calm down. "Come out, you little trog!" Someone shouts, causing the creature to flee, disappearing through the ventilation shafts. Aqua calls for it to stop, but the creature is more interested in avoiding the one who called out that insult than in continuing on this small talk.
The owner of the voice is a giant humanoid being with a semi-shark-looking face. "You there." he starts looking around the room. "Has Experiment 626 passed through this area?" the being asks, proving to be just as sentient as a person.

However, what he said did not make much sense to Aqua. "I don't understand. Experiment what?" she says, doing her best to be polite.

The shark-man does not return the politeness, though. "Don't be dense." He patronizes her, but Aqua keeps it calm as she is new to this world and its rules. At least this kinda rude being explains her somewhat the situation: "Dr. Jumba Jookiba's genetic abomination —626. Small? Blue? Vicious?"

Two of those things point at the creature she just met, the one who possibly made his own Wayfinder. But that last part, "Him? But, he didn't look vicious." Aqua didn't feel threatened by this 626 at all, and he was more curious as to where he learned about the Wayfinder shape.

"Ah. So you have seen him!" the shark-man observes by her comment.

And since this guy is an authority figure and most likely his ship as well. Aqua feels like she should reveal where 626 left. "Yes, he's in the ventilation system." that annoyed the shark-man, and by his grumbling: "Blast! He got away again!" it sounds like this being has been chasing 626 for quite a while.

Aqua turns to leave, mostly so to make sure no more Unversed are lurking about, but stops when the shark-man starts asking, "Why don't I know you? What section are you from?" questions Aqua cannot answer as she is not from this world. It caused the shark-man to pull out his weapon. "Trying to store away like the rest, are we?" Aqua blinks at that comment, making her wonder if either Terra or Ventus are here as well. "Stay close, and no funny business." Aqua does as told, having no wish to cause trouble.
The shark-man, being as big as he is, Aqua needs to take three steps for a single one of his, making her fall behind pretty quickly. Something the shark-man found quite annoying, "I said; stay close." She sped up her walk, trying to keep up with this fella.

Passing a room, an elderly female demands, "What is the meaning of this?" making the shark-man turn around. Aqua looks as well; inside is another humanoid, but not a human being. This one has long animal-like legs but is closer to ordinary human size. "Captain Gantu, did I not order you to apprehend the fugitives immediately?" She asks the shark-man, whose name is apparently Gantu.

"Yes, and I will have them in custody soon." Captain Gantu replies, now much more polite, signing this other one overrank Gantu. "They'd be locked up already if those wretched monsters would just—" Captain Gantu stops himself, and although it's hard to tell, Aqua thinks she senses some fluster as the giant before she speaks. "I mean, if I hadn't uncovered this other storeaway."

Aqua decides to make her case, as she has a strong feeling this other humanoid being is much more likely to hear her out than Gantu is. "I wasn't trying to sneak on board." She tells the other female. As she approached the other one, "My name is Aqua." the humanoid being titled her head ever so slightly, a sign she had her full attention. By how this one stayed politely quiet, Aqua sensed she could continue on making her case. "and those monsters—I followed them here. Please, I can handle this threat." This is why Master sent her and Terra out to the worlds, to eliminate the threat of the Unversed. "Just give me a chance."

In the corner of the room, unseen and unheard, another pair of ears are listening in, and this one smiles as a chance of potential has shown itself. Something making things a lot less risky and much more enjoyable. If the newcomer would hear his case, it shouldn't be hard, considering her reasoning for being here and the weapon that chose to be wielded by her hands.

Aqua stops before this elderly humanoid being, one who is much more willing to hear her out. "The weapon I carry is the only one that can stop them."

"Our weapons are of no use against them?" The elderly being asks, surprised by what Aqua revealed. She then turns her gaze to the captain, still standing at the door. "Is this true?"

Captain Gantu hesitates but still answers the question. "Well, we haven't explored all our options—"

"Nor do we have time to." the Grand Councilwoman replies, and the unseen chuckles as he finds those words quite amusing, considering the element he has the mastery of.

The apparent top ranking of this ship turns back to her; much to Aqua's relief, this other woman has accepted her case to be legit: "We are fortunate you are here, Aqua. Your assistance would be most welcome."

"But Grand Councilwoman," Captain Gantu objects to this new turn of events, "you can't honestly believe what this stowaway says?"

"I think you'll find I can." The Grand Councilwoman's tone is stern, and because Gantu does not object further, it's clear to Aqua that this one has the highest authority on this ship. The Grand Councilwoman returns back to her, explaining the situation they are dealing with: "We have a crisis. Jumba and 626 remain at large… and these monsters are obstructing attempts to apprehend them." Her piercing eyes go over to Captain Gantu, a scowl over the elderly face. "Or did I mishear your latest excuse as to why you've again failed to carry out your duties, captain?" Aqua feels a bit sorry for this shark-man, but not too much, due to his former attitude towards her. Captain Gantu grunts but, again, does not try to defend himself and his former failures further. The Grand Councilwoman then asks her. "Will you help us?"

It is nice to be shown the courtesy once in a while, "of course." Aqua replies that she would have done this no matter the outcome. But she is glad she does not have to make an enemy out of the inhabitants of this ship while doing her sworn duty. "Defeating them is my job. It's what I do best, ma'am."

The Grand Councilwoman smiles, though it fades as she folds her six slender fingers before her slim chest. "Then might I make one other request?" Aqua nods, and the other being turns around; on the screen appears the creature named 626, trapped inside a glass dome; before him is a very round-built being, this one has four eyes and is dressed in a prison suit. "Should you happen upon our fugitives… please do whatever you can to apprehend them intact."

Well, this is a bit of a turn of events. "You want me to capture Dr. Jumba and Experiment 626?" Aqua asks, mainly to be sure she got the request correct. She turns around at Captain Gantu's enraged outburst: "You can't just— that's my job!" he is clearly not happy about this, and Aqua can't entirely blame him.

"You had your chance, Captain Gantu." the Grand Councilwoman simply says about her decision, and with the command. "Now, you will stand down and await orders." Aqua does not think this is something that should be argued. The Grand Councilwoman addresses her again, "We will monitor the location of the monsters and keep you apprised." Aqua nods, relieved she did not have to search the ship in the old-fashioned manner. The Grand Councilwoman is also relieved to have her on this cleaning case. "Thank you for your help, Aqua."

Leaving the room to go about her mission, Aqua cannot stop thinking about how Experiment 626 came across the Wayfinder shape. 'Are Terra and Ven here, too?' She ponders and sort of hopes she will find one of them here. Suddenly, everything in the room stops. Captain Gantu and the Grand Councilwoman stop moving altogether, and none of the lights from the computer blink anymore. Aqua looks around, confused by this, more so when her magical aptitude allows her to sense that an incredibly powerful Stop spell is at play.

"A moment of your time." Out from a strange portal, one that cracks, Aqua senses more of this powerful time magic. A man with short blond hair, dressed in a gray jacket suit with a black square pattern around the chest. He smiles at her as if he just won a big prize. "I happen to carry a request for your considerate good nature and, of course, the mighty blade in your possession."

This guy knows about the keyblade? This makes her wary; only a few know about it. "Who are you?" She asks this stranger, one who can stop time with such ease, something even she would struggle with.

"A simple gambler of self-made games." the man responds, still smiling. Out of seemingly nowhere, a pair of dice appear in his palms. "My current game got a tad out of hand. My fellow participant put too much on his bets and ended up getting apprehended by that charming fella." He looks up to Captain Gantu and, thanks to the still-in-effect Stop spell, utterly unaware of what is going on right beside him. "I was planning on getting him out on my own. But my only weapon is my wit, my cards." Several cards appear in his hand, and he picks one of them and throws that one over to her. Aqua catches the card and is shocked to feel powerful time magic inside this card. "and my power over time itself. Not the best options for a daring rescue."

Aqua agrees that time magic is fickle to deal with; one misstep and consequences can be dire. "It's very bold of you to use time magic like this." She comments, all while keeping onto this card powered by time magic. "Do you know what happens if you fail to control it?"

"Few chances have turned out to be the wrong choice." the man admits, though do not look to have suffered any sort of backlash of time magic. Or maybe he has, for Aqua senses that this man is surrounded by the magic as if he's part of it. He chuckles and approaches her, "Best not I make such chances with fragile walls. Not when the destiny of a wielder of the mighty keyblade has appeared, so graciously offering her assistance to the inhabitants." He stops before her, claiming his card with; "What harm could a little escort do to your list of duties?"

Something about this guy unnerves her; the time magic surrounding him makes her uneasy. But Aqua also senses an intense light coming from this stranger, and aside from his immense power of time magic. He seems harmless enough. "All right, I'll see if I can find your friend."

The man smiles wide at her, accepting his request. "Excellent, he should be kept in the holding area. Filled with the monsters of darkness." he steps to the side, allowing her to walk in that direction. As she does; a single snap with the finger, and the Stop spell is gone, and so is this stranger. Captain Gantu turns around, grumbling as she walks away. Aqua does not pay him any mind; her mind is more focused on the talk she had with this stranger and the power he possesses.

"The monsters have been spotted attacking the hull of the ship." The voice of the Grand Councilwoman appears over the intercom. Aqua stops, looking up at the speakers. "Aqua, go to the door to the right, through the containment block." Ahe nods and hurries that way. Reaching a door that got every warning will lead to the outside, the space between the worlds. Aqua activates her armor, and only with it on does she go outside to fight the Unversed.

She indeed finds the monsters attacking the outside of the ship, transforming her keyblade; Aqua goes on the offense; these Unversed are tricky to catch, so if it wasn't for the glider form of her keyblade, catching them would've been straight out impossible. She speeds around, slicing them up when getting in close, and when they are too far off, she transforms her glider into a bow and arrow, forcing them to move and be more open for Aqua's more devastating attacks. With the last one defeated Aqua noticed one of the Unversed was carrying something. Flying closer, she realizes it was the Wayfinder Experiment 626 was carrying around. "did they take it from him?" She wonders out loud and is a bit worried about 626 well-being if the Unversed managed to get this from him. She flies back to the ship, hoping to find the blue being, and hopefully, he isn't severely wounded.

"Well done, Aqua." The voice of the Grand Councilwoman comes over the intercom. "I have received news that the monsters are swarming the prison block. Please get rid of them."
Aqua moves to do so, but does stop when the stranger, once again, appears from this time portal that cracks the air.

Eyeing the man, "Your friend is at that place, correct?"

He nods. "Indeed. And the monsters are lured by the terror that haunts his heart." The man explains; for once, his smile is no more, and those blue eyes meet her somewhat seriously. "Perhaps he is the source as to why they are attacking the ship."

Master Yin Sid did mention that the Unversed are attracted to negative emotions and for so many to be here. This stranger's friend must be feeling some strong negative emotions. According to the stranger, his friend is scared. "Will you leave when I have freed him?"

"That is my plan." The man replies, adding as they approach the door to the prison block. "If you permit, I can offer you a bit of assistance. My magic can ensure the monsters won't overwhelm you."

That will definitely come in handy, especially when Stop magic is much harder to mess up, mainly if only used in small doses. "Thanks, but please only do it when I tell you to." she'd rather not end up getting frozen by a misfired Stop spell.

"As you wish." the man smiles. She takes the lead, and when entering the prison block, the place is indeed swarmed by Unversed, but there's another in here as well: Experiment 626. the little guy looks unharmed, though he seems to be looking for something. "All path leads the same destination." the stranger comments.

Aqua gives him a look before turning her attention to 626. To her shock, the little fella is so busy searching that he does not notice the Flood Unversed coming straight at him. "Watch out!" Ahe cries out, summoning her keyblade, and manages to strike the three Flood down before they reach 626. more Unversed appear, and this time, 626 notices and is ready to rumble; he jumps at one of the larger Unversed, clawing into it while crying out something she does not understand. Aqua cannot think about it, as more Unversed are coming to fight. "Time to deal with them." she runs at them and uses every trick she has learned so far. For a time, she could keep them at bay, but at one point, the Unversed starts to swarm her, and becoming worried, Aqua looks over to the stranger, who is keeping those around him busy by constantly using his time magic to freeze and then hurt them by throwing his dices at them. "Now!" She calls; he looks over, smirks, and throws several of the time-powered cards, hitting up to ten Unversed, freezing them in their track, and allowing her to fire off her stronger magic. Aqua then spots an Unversed coming at the stranger from behind, one he hasn't seen, "Behind you!" and right as it strikes, he is gone, only to appear somewhere else entirely.
Aqua cannot stop herself from feeling disrupted by how everything this man does is related to time magic, worried that he will lose control and they all might end up as dust. But so far, he seems to have a handle on it, and the Unversed leaves little room for deeper thoughts. So, Aqua focuses on them and trusts this man knows what he is doing with all that time magic.

With the last one defeated, Aqua walks over to Experiment 626, who is, once again, searching the area for something. "Thanks for the help." she decides to start, but has to break it to him. "Sadly, I have orders to take you in."

626 does not seem to understand her words, as he merely stares; then, to her shock, "Terra!" He cries out, then goes out to search again. This time, it makes more sense, yet still, it surprises Aqua that 626 apparently knows Terra. She follows him. "Wait, how do you know Terra?" she calls after Experiment 626. he stops, but right that moment, more Unversed appear. Though, they seem to focus on a cell further up.

"Ah, there he is." The stranger voices; he looks over to her and 626, currently surrounded. "I will remove the current source of this flood of animosity."

"Right." She nods, and the man runs off to free his friend.

626 attacks the Unversed, and Aqua goes at the rest. Her keyblade gets surrounded by energy as the Blade Charge activates, and she uses it to slice these monsters in half. While the stranger uses the elevator to reach his friend, throwing the occasional Unversed off by his magic-powered card. After a while and a lot of magic throwing and keyblade swinging. Aqua spots another person, one around her age, and by the posture, very freaked out but relieved to be out of the cell. "I thank you for the assistance!" The stranger calls down to her, "I trust there will be fewer monsters with our departure!" and with air cracking around the two, they are gone. The Unversed quickly loses interest in that area, instead going at her and Experiment 626, but no more arrive, which meant that the stranger was correct in that his friend was the source of the Unversed being here in the first place.

Aqua is glad but still has one mystery to solve, which is how 626 knows Terra. After some work, the two defeat the remaining Unversed, allowing them time to talk. "Thanks, I owe you." 626 starts searching the area again. Most likely, it is for Terra, which leads to the question, "How do you know Terra?"
626 turns around, but she does not understand his answer. Before she can ask further, he jumps up a wall and climbs away, leaving Aqua to have to search for him once again. Perhaps the next time she sees this creature, 626 might tell her how he knows Terra and if it was her friend who showed him the Wayfinder shape.

*

At the request of the Grand Councilwoman, Aqua returns to the room where she first spoke with the leader of this giant ship. Here, the Grand Councilwoman praises her on the excellent work of removing the Unversed but also has another request: "Dr. Jumpa and Experiment 626 have been sighted. At that time, the two of them were wandering around the launch deck. Would you see that they're secured?"

Aqua is not the type to argue the authority of either the world or the facility. But perhaps Ventus's little rebellion has rubbed off on her, or maybe Aqua saw a side of that little creature others haven't. "Is Experiment 626… really that dangerous of a creature?" she asks the Grand Councilwoman, for what she witnessed in the time encountering the creature. 626 seemed confused and not that interested in causing destruction like the Unversed.

"We must assume so." The Grand Councilwoman replies.

That's how far Aqua can make herself argue against authority. "All right, then. I'll head over there now." She's not Terra; he can argue with Master for hours if he does not consider Master's choices fair. Usually, he mainly steps out like that when it comes to her and Ventus. One of the things Aqua really likes about Terra, and why she does not think he's falling into the darkness. No one from darkness would stick their neck out like that for their friend's sake.

Aqua heads to the area the Grand Councilwoman informed her of. Unlike last time, she didn't encounter the Unversed, so either she got them all, or they have moved on to somewhere else entirely.
Arriving at the Launch Deck and from the elevated spot, she entered. Aqua spots a short and stocky being, but Aqua has already saw that people here look much different than she's used to. This one approaches Experiment 626, who is staring rather intensely at the other one as if knowing them already.
’Can that be Dr. Jumpa?’ Aqua wonders; this being does have the same shape as this doctor the Grand Councilwoman wanted her to apprehend, but with how diverse everyone here looks. Aqua can easily make a mistake of identity.

Has to be, for the stocky one speaks to Experiment 626 as if the creature is just that; an experiment. "—then I will fix abnormality, and ridiculous behavior stops." 626 didn't like that and yelled words Aqua didn't understand, as did Dr. Jumpa, who didn't like whatever 626 was saying.

Aqua decides to interrupt before they either leave the area or if the little blue creature starts getting physical. She had seen the strength of that tiny body when 626 fought the Unversed alongside her. "Hold it right there!" Dr. Jumpa turns around, surprised as he hasn't heard nor seen her coming. Seeing his face, Aqua is certain this is the right guy. “Dr. Jumpa, Experiment 626. I've been authorized to take you into custody."

Experiment 626 stiffens for a second, then yells, "Terra!" and, with incredible speed, snatches the crude Wayfinder she found outside the ship. Holding it like the most prized possession. Aqua is touched by this show of care for a simple item. More so when 626 somehow connects this shape with Terra. "Where have you seen that shape?" She ponders out loud, "Did Terra show it to you?" Hence, why does 626 know her friend's name?

"That's correct." Dr. Jumpa affirms though he seems annoyed by this. "It is a copy he made of a good luck charm that boy Terra showed to him." he walks over to 626, who is busier snuggling with his Wayfinder than focusing on anyone else in the room. "Terra said a friend gave him a charm and was very protective of it."

"He really said that to you?" Aqua is touched by what Terra did here. This is the Terra she knows, one who is protective of the gifts he was given by friends, even if he rarely outwardly shows. For Aqua, to hear her friend being protective of the Wayfinder is a sign that Terra is still all right.

Dr. Jumpa is, however, not as pleased by the effect Terra had on Experiment 626. "Because of Terra and his little bauble; my genius creation is hesitating in his genetically programmed destructive instincts." the doctor gestures at his Experiment. "Just look at him."

But Aqua is more pleased to hear that Terra had such an effect on something meant to destroy. She knows he has his way with kids, even those giving him attitude. But seeing him being able to sway a being of sheer destruction to a more peaceful route. "I didn't know Terra could do such a thing." Aqua hopes she will see Terra soon, as she really wants to know his side of this encounter.
A plasma shot almost hits Experiment 626, and looking up, Aqua is surprised to see Captain Gantu, looking ready to rampage through the room. "What are you doing?" She calls up to the large shark-looking being, one that just tried to kill 626. "Iur orders are to capture them alive!"

"I've decided to take a new approach." Captain Gantu responds, so it sounds like he went against the Grand Councilwoman's command. "All right, you two…" Captain Gantu turns his attention to the doctor and his creation. "Any last words before I blast you into a million pieces?" 626 yells something in a tone that sounds cheeky but clearly an insult by how Captain Gantu responds; "I am just big-boned!" he jumps inside the room, focusing on 626 as he chases the little creature into the launch pad.

He manages to corner the blue creature, but Aqua will not stand and watch. "Stop it!" she runs into the room, keyblade summoned. "I will not let you harm Experiment 626."

But Captain Gantu is not backing out. "I'm warning you. Stay out of it!"

And neither is she. Aqua is not entirely sure what the main reason for her action. Is it because the Grand Councilwoman wanted the two apprehended alive, or is it because she wishes no harm to a creature that is going against his very nature, all thanks to Terra's influence. Hard to tell, only that Aqua is more than ready to fight Gantu for this. She runs at him, and although Captain Gantu is big, he is rather nimble for his size. His build does give him a lot of blind spots, which both she and Experiment 626 use to their full advantage. Gantu is tough, but Aqua has fought a lot of enemies in her short time outside Land of Departure; he didn't stand much of a chance, considering Gantu's fighting style was rather predictable.

Soon enough, he's down but stubbornly refuses to admit defeat. Aqua does worry she might have to cause some serious harm before this one stops giving her and Experiment 626 trouble. But right as Gantu aims his weapon at her and Aqua prepares a spell to deflect said plasma shot. "Enough!" both turn, and Captain Gantu is by far most surprised to see the Grand Councilwoman enter the room; several other guards, much smaller than Gantu, follow right behind her. "I observed everything on the monitor," she states, ignoring Captain Gantu's attempt to explain his reasoning for going against her direct command. But the Grand Councilwoman ignores him, to instead favor addressing her: "You've been of great service, Aqua. Thank you." Aqua is glad to hear that she helped these beings with the Unversed problem, making life and their possible travel through the Lanes much easier. However, this whole event has been somewhat bittersweet, for the little blue creature is viewed as dangerous, a threat. But Aqua saw a better side of him, a side that shows Experiment 626 to be able to be more than he was created for.
"Captain Gantu." the Grand Councilwoman addressed Gantu with a stern tone, a sign she had not forgotten about his disobedience. But for now, she, the Grand Councilwoman, is more focused on what needs to be done and not what punishment will be fitting for the captain. "Escort 626 to the asteroid to which he's been banished." That sounds rather harsh and far from where a kinder nature will be nurtured. But Aqua is not sure if it's her place to try and lighten the punishment for 626. "When you return, you're back on patrol."

Captain Gantu drops his head, exclaiming, "Not patrol…!" demoralized by the Grand Councilwoman's command. Still, he does as told.

As they leave, Aqua knows in her heart she cannot stand and watch without at least trying. "Please, Your Highness." she stops the Grand Councilwoman. "would you consider sparing Experiment 626?"

"Spare him?" the Grand Councilwoman is understandably surprised by this request. "He's an extremely dangerous creature. I cannot release such a menace."

But she hasn't seen the kinder side of the creature, all thanks to Terra's actions. Aqua has, and she wants to give him a chance, even if it's a small one. "But it seems to me he's at least trying to make friends." Aqua argues that how he wasn't as destructive and dangerous as the Unversed. "he helped me against the monsters, and he may be dangerous." Aqua places a hand on her chest, speaking from the heart. "But, I really believe he can succeed going against the destructive instinct he was created with."

The Grand Councilwoman hums, pondering for a moment. And to Aqua's relief, "Very well, Aqua." the Grand Councilwoman considers her request. "If he behaves himself. I will consider shortening his exile. "

It's better than forever being stuck on an asteroid, with no one around to keep him company. "Thank you, ma'am." by her request, the Grand Councilwoman allows Aqua to speak with 626. Captain Gantu is not happy about it but is smart enough not to test the Grand Councilwoman's patience. Aqua kneels down before Experiment 626, who is still holding onto his made Wayfinder. Gently, Aqua places her hand onto the object, confusing the creature, but thankfully, he is not acting aggressively at her touching his prized possession. It's as if 626 knows she won't harm his wayfinder. He looks up at her, and Aqua smiles at this creature that was created for evil but, against all odds, has light in his heart. "I like the charm you made." She states to him, genuine with her words, as the shape and meaning of the Wayfinder are what keeps her going in this daunting mission Master gave her. And now, she will share the meaning with 626 by showing him her Wayfinder charm. "You made it after Terra's, right?" 626 nods and stares curiously at her Wayfinder. Do focus on her again at her question, "Do you think my circle of friends could become part of yours?" He seems a tad confused, so it possibly went a bit over his head. So Aqua tries another approach as 626 has connected the shape with the bond he shares with Terra. "My name is Aqua. My friends are Terra and Ventus."

626 eyes go from her to his Wayfinder charm, and the creature's face lightens up. "Ah—koo—wah." He struggles to speak her name but does seem to understand what she told him. "fren." she nods, and Experiment looks at her Wayfinder. "Terra… Ven. Fren."

Aqua giggles lightly at 626 and has gained some understanding of the bond she shares with Terra and Ventus. In time, he can make some real friends on his own by the understanding both she and Terra left to him. 626 returns it with a toothy smile before he's taken away by the many guards. They are rough on him, which makes his destructive nature surface once again. Aqua can only hope he can overcome his nature over time, but sadly, she won't be around to help him.

She has to keep moving, has to find her friends, and rid the worlds of the Unversed. Unlike Experiment 626, there's no redemption for those mindless monsters.

Chapter Text

Terra had barely arrived in this world before he got to save some kid from the Unversed; after the rescue and the usual thanks, this old teen asks him: "You're pretty tough. Are you here to enter the Games?" Before Terra can even ask what this young man means, a familiar voice speaks.

"Yes, it's the perfect way to test his might."

Terra turns around and is startled to see the true owner of the bear totem here in this world; the young man behind him does not know and makes a mistake, "Oh, are you his trainer to become a hero? I got one too—" and right as he said it, said trainer of this young man calls him, and the young man runs off, calling. "I hope I get to see you fight there sometime!"

With this kid gone, Terra turns back to the scarred man, who has walked over to him, and before he can ask, the man speaks. "You are showing great promise, but I am getting tired of your petty fear of the darkness, boy."
Terra wants to argue but can't make himself do it. The man walks around him as if he's checking something, and whatever he sees does not please this mountain of a man. "Tell me, why do you want to rid yourself of the darkness?"

"Darkness is the power of evil." Terra replies to the man; repeating the lessons he was taught during his training. "Hatred and rage are what powers it. I succumbed to it, and if I ever wish to return back to Master Eraqus, I must find a way to remove my own darkness."

"Like Xehanort did to your friend?"

Terra jerks his head in shock at what the man said, but he is also surprised he knew about this. "How did you—" he never gets to finish the question right there; the man throws him to the ground so hard it knocks the air out of him. Startled, Terra stares up into this man's hard bronze-colored eyes, not sure what got this guy this angry.

"Join the game, test your might, and see if you can overcome the darkness in you:" The man reclaims the bear totem and walks away. "You may be worthy of the bear."

It feels weird not having the bear totem near; it's like a part of him is missing. "It looks like I'm going to join the games." Terra walks over to the area and takes a look at the many matches set up for these Games. Terra notices that one of the contenders of these matches is named Ursus. 'Can that be the name of that man?' Terra wonders, blinking when someone else speaks beside him. "How sad is this?" Terra turns but sees no one from the side. He hears the voice, and then the voice speaks on his right: "It pains me to see it." He turns, and a tall guy with flaming blue hair stands there.
"All that power going to waste." This guy speaks and turns to Terra when he asks who he is, replying quick like a manner he has said this many times before. "Names is Hades, Lord of the Dead, god of the Underworld, yadda yadda, how ya doing?" to then change to subject, saying something very familiar to the owner of the bear totem. "Hey, lemme guess, you're trying to put the kibosh on the darkness inside you." He walks a few steps away, still talking, and is a bit taken aback by Terra as this guy is not giving him any chance to digest what's being said to him. "Am I right? Of course, I'm right. Well, anyway, bad idea."

His Master always said darkness is evil and needs to be vanquished, but all the people he meets always say otherwise, even that ax-wielding guy. And yet, Terra has seen the bad it can do; he does not know what to think anymore… "What do you mean?" he asks this Hades guy cautiously but still polite.

"Okay, stay with me here—darkness is inside… everybody. Nothing to be ashamed of." Hades waves excessively his hands to make his point: "You play nice with it, and darkness will be your best friend. But if you go and get all self-conscious and refuse to face it, the darkness will run over you like a debutante at a toga sale."

Terra closes his eyes, still haunted at how he succumbed to his own darkness and, in turn, took a man's eye. He can still recall the visions he got; all of him succumbed to darkness and seriously hurting people, his friends included.

"Now me, I look at you, and I see potential," Hades speaks, utterly breaking Terra's personal space and putting his ash-colored fingers onto his armor. Apparently, not seeing the annoyed stare coming from him, for Hades does not back off and continues. "That's right, kid—"What's with people calling him a kid? He's twenty-one. "You got the potential to conquer the darkness inside you."

"How do I conquer the darkness?" Terra asks this guy; he wants to control it and not the other way around; he just… does not know how. And something must be to these Games, for Hades too suggested he entered. So Terra guess that's what he would be doing.

After having signed up, Terra begins to fight whoever else has entered the matches. Most of the people were no match against him, and he quickly reached the finals. In the last game before the final match against Ursus, Terra is up against a young man, dressed like the others but much smaller compared to those brutes. They both go into battle position and when called, they let their swords clash. This young man proved to be quite the pushover, which surprised Terra as this one got so high up the rank. Defeating him was easy, but right as Terra leaves the arena. The young man comes at him again, this time with much stronger and more ferocious attacks. "Stop it! The match is over!" Terra calls, but the young warrior does not seem to hear him.

Confused by this sudden change, "It's not… me…" the young man speaks with a struggling voice, catching Terra by surprise, and to his horror, "I'm not… doing this…" He realizes this young soldier is being controlled.
Right there, Hades appears, boasting that this poor young man is his new super-soldier. "Right here, this is the power of darkness." and that guy has the gall to say, "It could've been yours. If you open up to it!"

He wants to overcome the darkness, rid himself of this anger, and be able to face his family again. But this is not the way! "No, I'm not going to be someone's plaything!" Terra shouts back; it was bad enough that the witch used his darkness against him. No way Terra will let someone else do it. "The darkness," he pushes the controlled young man away, "will never have me!"

The young man goes in battle position, "Help me… you've gotta… set my heart free…" and Terra will. He goes at the young man, fighting to free him from this control. The young soldier does have to endure quite the beatings, but it should be worth it as the young man's wounded state allows Terra to shoot a beam of light at the soldier's chest, releasing the dark hold Hades held on him.

That victory greatly annoyed Hades, and with a huff, "Forget it. It looks like I bet on the wrong dark horse. You don't have what it takes to handle the darkness," and he teleported away.

Ignoring that thug's words, Terra offers the young warrior a hand. "You gonna make it?" the young man nods but is pissed. Hades got him like that: "Man, how could I let a guy like him control me? I'll never live it down!"

Terra knows how that feels far too well… "I know the feeling," He replies, and together with this young man, he leaves the area for the next match.

"I'm Zack, and you are?"

"Terra"

The young man smiles, and, much to Terra's surprise, "You're exactly what I pictured a hero would be," Zack wouldn't hear that he didn't consider himself a hero. It was flattering, and Terra wished he held such confidence in himself as Zack had put him on.

The final match, and it's against the owner of that stone bear. 'this is it, time to conquer the darkness within me.'

Terra goes at him and must've been lulled into a sense he could handle everything from the other matches, for the moment he hit the blade with Ursus, he was taken greatly off guard by the power behind that ax, and it got him one hell of a hit by that guy. "That's all you got, boy?" Ursus demands, putting his ax onto his shoulders. Terra gets up and runs at the man again, this time prepared that he is fighting against someone stronger than him. He tries to stay clear of Ursus's weapon by using his speed, but it proves that Ursus can beat him in that, too, for suddenly, the guy runs up to him as if he were nimble as Ventus. Terra would have gotten his arm broken if he hadn't cast the shield spell. Not very good magic, though, so the spell shatters right after it blocks the hit, and he is forced to hit out after the man in an attempt to get him away, but to his shock, Ursus quickly caught his keyblade by hand "predictable" and punches him straight in the face.

Terra rolls a few times over the ground, dropping his keyblade; when he does stop, Terra struggles back onto his feet, getting angry when this man asks him. "You think this lousy performance would displease your Master?" Terra runs at the man again with a roar, but he just cannot get a hit in! Right as darkness swirls around him, Ursus catches his arm and pins him to the ground. "Focus, boy! Listen to the roar inside of you." Terra struggles. He just wants to hurt this guy, but Ursus has him firmly pinned down, and slowly, he hears this roar the darkness makes inside his heart. He is terrified to disappoint Master, to be a failure… that all of his training is for nothing! He will go back to the dull existence of his life before he was chosen to wield the keyblade. But he has every reason to have such a fear— he has to prove he is worthy! That Master Eraqus made the right choice.

"Don't fight it, Terra." Ursus tells him and lets go, allowing him to get back up. "Accept your flaws."

Terra is still angry. At what he is not really sure of. "You want me to accept my weakness?!" he snaps at the man. "Why? So I can wallow in self-pity?"

The larger man is quick to retort back. "Only when one accepts their weakness can they work on it. Turn it into strength." He prepares his weapon, and Terra quickly blocks the large ax. "Ignore the voice of your darkness, and it will force itself into your heart. Accept it, but never succumb to it. That's the power of darkness!" Terra stares up at the man, noticing through those eyes that Ursus is speaking from experience. His anger slowly subsides, returning back to the fear of being a failure.

"I... I can't fail him." he tells Ursus.

"We all fail at some point." The large man blasts him to the ground with an incredibly powerful shockwave spell. "True strength is getting back up and learning from one's failure." He shifts his weapon, posing for a soon-to-be devastating strike. "Are you going to give up and wallow in self-pity, or will you keep fighting for what you believe in?"

Terra does not move from his spot, stewing on Ursus's words. 'What do I believe in?' which leads to the question, 'Why do I want to be a keyblade Master?' to please Master Eraqus? Maybe in the start, but now, Terra thinks of all the people he has met on this journey and how he has befriended, protected, and even inspired some. Terra gets back on his feet, glancing at his keyblade, and for some reason, it does not feel so heavy anymore. "I fight… to protect what matters," he replies, both to himself and to Ursus. Terra takes a deep breath, reaching inside, and when opening his eyes again, Terra turns determent over to the large man. This time, Ursus seems pleased with what he sees. He's not sure what it is; all Terra knows is that he highly doubts he can win this match, but winning does not matter anymore. That does not mean he won't be giving his all.

Against all odds, Terra somehow won over Ursus and destroyed the man's ax with his keyblade— which, to his great shock, grew bigger and, by the feels of it, stronger. Staring, startled at the turned keyblade, he's never heard of a keyblade change form without a change of keychain. He barely heard the crowd cheer at his victory; all he heard "You are worthy." Ursus gets back onto his feet and throws the bear totem back over to him. Catching it, Terra feels strangely happy to have it back. "The bear Keeper will be by your side in the coming trials. You have proven yourself of its powers. Congratulations, Master Terra." The man bows the same way a fellow Master would another.

Terra blinks but gets the feeling that this man is not just a guy with a huge-ass stone ax. "Who are you?"

The man walks over, palm out like a quiet demand, and Terra, at first, hesitates but hands over his keyblade. He is somehow not surprised to see that Ursus is able to wield it. This time, he got the answer from the larger man. "I am Master Aced, one of the first keyblade Masters, and you, Terra," Aced, return the keyblade back to him, "will be the first of my legacy." Terra stares in awe at Aced, unable to comprehend that he not only stands before a Master but one of the firsts— and he received his Mark of Mastery from this guy! Terra quickly shakes out from it and bows like a student would a Master, and then he notices the raised brow.
Oh...
Terra hesitates but shifts his posture by bowing to a Master. Master Aced smiles and nods. He then walks over to his broken ax— which he easily repairs with a quick spell and leaves the arena.

Terra stares after him and snaps out from it when the bear suddenly appears and gives him a look, reminding him that he still has a mission to focus on. It surprises him to hear a voice coming from it— and in a tone very much like Master Aced. Terra smiles weakly to the bear, "Right," but does wonder, "Do you think my Master will accept this found?" the bear snorts, pointing out that it no longer matters if his Master will accept this or not; he is a Master now and can walk this path if so chooses.
Terra doubts it will be easy, but he thinks he will try to walk on this path a bit further and see if the darkness can be used for good. "I will convince him… somehow." Master Eraqus thinks darkness is pure evil, and Terra will admit he still has his doubts, but it is worth checking out. Maybe darkness is only dangerous if one does not know how to deal with it. Something Terra is set on teaching his Master, for he really does not want others to grow up thinking that negative thoughts are forbidden to be felt as he did.

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Sensing his sister, who is nearby, Lauriam decides to make a detour in his quest to make sure all of the current princesses of light are safe, to see how Strelitzia is doing instead. In a flash of light, he dismisses both his rose-colored armor and keyblade glider, landing gracefully on the ground, and it only takes him a small scan of the area before he spots her. Strelitzia gasps, leaves the two boys she is accompanying side, and trots over to him, where she gives a hug as a greeting. Lauriam returns it and asks her with a smile. "How is the mission going?"

Stepping away from her brother, Strelitzia replies, "It's going fine, but it's clear I still have a lot to learn." He smiles at that but knows the only thing holding his sister back is her own doubt.

"Hey, who is this?" a kid in a fox costume asks, making the brother and sister pair turn to him and the chubby boy in the bear costume.

"This is my older brother." Strelitzia replies. The two and Lauriam make a polite bow as a greeting. Glancing sheepishly to her brother when the boy in the bear costume asks: "Are you here for the treasure map, too?"

"Can't say I am." Lauriam chuckles but can see his sister has gotten a little distracted in this game; he does not really mind. Nice to see his sister relax instead of overworking herself as she tends to do. "but I won't stop you from continuing your little quest." He winks down to his sister; she smiles and leaves along with the two boys. Lauriam follows in a relaxed pace.

Walking into the Indian camp, the boy dressed as a bear spots the map. "Over there!" and hurries over to grab it., both boys crying excitedly. "I'm gonna be a leader!" Strelitzia follows, but another gets the map before them, much to the surprise of Strelitzia.

Curious, Aqua scans this folded paper and then blinks when she spots not only two boys dressed like animals but also Strelitzia and her brother. The younger sister of the pair gives her a small wave as a hello, and before Aqua can return it:

"Too bad, men. Tough break." Everyone looks up to the green-dressed boy who spoke. Flying down to Aqua, and lands before her. The two boys try to argue, but this older boy tells them in a matter-of-fact tone. "You know the rules. The first one to find and claim the treasure map gets to be the leader." he walks over to Aqua, declaring, "And that's you."

Aqua tilts her head in confusion about what these children are talking about, and the animal-dressed children explain the rules of this game. "I'm sorry, but I have something else I need to take care of." Aqua explains to them and hands the green-dressed boy the treasure map. "Here, you keep it."

But the green-dressed boy won't hear of it. "Too bad… but rules are rules." He turns to the two boys and Strelitzia, crossing his arms. "I guess we'll just have to call off the treasure hunt." Much to the dismay of the two boys.

Seeing the look of utter disappointment on the two boys and Strelitzia being bit down by this as well, Aqua casts a glance at Master Lauriam; he meets her eyes and makes a 'go for it' gesture. Looks like even a Master can goof off from time to time it seems. For some reason, it is a relief. "All right, you win." She tells the group of children. "I'll join you for one "expatition"" although pretty sure the fox boy meant expedition. The two boys cheer loudly, and Strelitzia smiles, relieved that the game is still on. She opens the map and begins to decode where the treasure is; when getting an idea of their location, Aqua is about to bring them to where the map tells them to go. But the green-dressed boy stops her, "Wait a second. We still don't even know our leader's name!" and he introduces himself. "I'm Peter Pan. The jealous one over here is Tinker Bell." He points at the pixie, who does not look at all happy to have two other females on the team. "And you are?"

"Aqua." She replies and turns to the other Master when he decides to introduce himself as well. "I am Lauriam, pleasure all mine." Master Lauriam makes a polite bow to the boys.

"Oh, nice knowing the faces of the two of you!" Peter Pan exclaims, delighted as if he had heard their names before. Before any of them can ask, he starts floating midair, declaring, "First stop— Mermaid Lagoon!" and he flies off.

Taking the lead, as that is apparently her role in this game, Aqua leads the others through the island. She glances over to the two siblings when Strelitzia suddenly giggles, and she can't help but smile when Master Lauriam shows a softer side around his sister by using magic to conjure up a handful of beautiful flowers, all which he shapes into a wristband to Strelitzia. That is incredibly sweet, and Aqua feels privileged to see the strong bond that the two share. The sweet moment is broken when someone further ahead starts shouting: "I have you now, Peter Pan!" finding the source, it proves to be a somewhat fancy-dressed red pirate with a right-hand hook.

"Today's the day I shall be rid of you forever!" This pirate yells at Peter Pan, who can't really be bothered to entertain this guy, and tells him so much: "I'm busy right now, Hook. We're on an expedition. Can't I show you up some other day?"

Hook did not like that one bit. "You'll show me up now! Give back my treasure!"

"Who's that?" Aqua asks, and Peter explains to her and the two others about the deal of Hook, not seeing this pirate as much of a threat as the boy measly continues on their little game quest. Figuring these kids know best when it comes to their own home world, Aqua follows, ignoring Hook's angry cries. He did prove not to be much trouble, but the cannon balls getting fired at them sure was. "We're sitting ducks out here. Run!" She turns heel and takes the run for it along with the others.

Following Aqua's example, not because this proves much of a threat but to make sure they are doing everything correctly with the world order. However, the moment Lauriam notices that one of the cannon balls is going to hit the entire group in the direction they are running now. He decides to meddle here, so making a swift wave and a shockwave of cherry blossoms makes the cannonball lose enough speed that it drops into the water instead of onto their path.

"What kind of magic was that?" Aqua asks; this burst of magic didn't feel anything like what she's used to. In fact, it felt much closer to whatever was in that white box.

He only replies when they are safe from getting shot at: "A gift for my service." Lauriam vaguely says, looking down at his hand, "If I ever were to try ridding myself of it, I won't be me anymore."
Aqua nods slowly in understanding; almost all people have a close affiliation to a specific power or element, and by the looks of it, this magic is Master Lauriam's.
"You have the same with your magic, am I wrong?" the other Master eyes her knowingly.

Aqua tilts her head with a smile. "Yes, but I won't say it's part of my heart." It's more just a preferable fighting style. She picks up her Wayfinder, and every time she looks at it, she thinks of her two friends.

"Terra and Ventus are part of your heart," Lauriam observes; Aqua glances at him, a bit surprised, but quickly recovers and nods that he indeed stands correct.

"Like your sister, and Elrena is part of yours."

"Ah, so you have met my partner of mischief." Lauriam chuckles, and, by the look on Master Aqua's face. "Don't pay too much mind to her teasing. She likes to get a reaction out from people."

She wouldn't have called that teasing… but not wanting to be rude, Aqua simply nods and is so glad she does not have to deal with that woman daily; Lauriam must have the most extensive patience if he's not at all bothered by it. They catch up to the others, and Aqua takes notice of how the two boys are staring up a cliff. "What is it?" she asks.

"The mark on the map points all the way up there." The boy in the bear costume replies, sounding somewhat fearful of having to go up there. Aqua is not really sure about getting up there without risking some serious harm, even if Peter Pan claims they can easily get up there with Pixie dust, which will make them fly.

The chubby boy argues: "But… we've never had to fly that high before!"

"What if we fall?" the boy in the fox costume asks.

"Hey, when did you two turn into cowards?" Peter Pan calls them out, something Aqua doesn't really approve of. She thinks he asks too much from the two younger kids, but Peter Pan tells her off and returns to the two boys. Reminding them, "Men, only the bravest of the brave can claim that treasure."

The two boys reluctantly agreed, and after the still-miffed Tinker Bell surrounded the cliff with pixie dust, the two boys flew up to the top. Aqua stayed back, glancing worriedly at the hesitant Strelitzia. The older teen did start flying, and the moment she got too off balance in her flight, the ever-patient and loving brother of Lauriam caught her hand gently and gave her just enough support to complete this bit strange trial. Aqua titles her head at that sight but can't help but smile at how those two are around one another. Aqua follows them and really has to restrain from giggling at how Lauriam is playfully scolding his sister while pulling her cheek, much to the embarrassment of Strelitzia. Still, it's clear that it's all in good fun. 'It reminds me of how Terra and Ven are towards one another. and it really makes her hope that Terra is going to be alright.

Once again taking the lead, Aqua follows the map to their location, and much to her confusion, they end back at the Mermaid Lagoon. "Hey, aren't we back where we started?" she ponders out loud.

"Looks like it." Lauriam replies.

The fox boy then asks, disappointed, "You mean we went all the way around Never Land for nothing?"

But Peter Pan thinks otherwise: "Well, ya conquered all sorts of obstacles to get here. And to me, that's certainly not nothing."

"Elrena once mentioned it's the journey itself that matters, not the end goal." Strelitzia speaks quietly up to her brother, who smiles and replies only for her ears, "Sounds like she spoke wise words for once." She didn't mean to but did giggle at this joke about their fierce friend.

What Peter Pan told the two boys… "You know, I had you all wrong:" Aqua admits; she can now see this boy was only looking out for his younger companions. And being a good leader by giving them just the right push. Suddenly, they again hear Hook yells, and the pirate stands on a rock formation with a treasure chest before him.

"I'll be taking what's mine now." Hook declares smugly and commands Smee to secure the treasure; they both get an unpleased surprise, though, for it turns out the gold they were after has been replaced with toys. "Odd's fish! It's all junk!" Hook cries out

That offense Peter Pan and the boy a lot, for they were the ones who filled the chest with those things. "those are our treasures, Hook!"

"but what did you do with MY treasure?!" Hook demands, not at all happy to hear that these brats lost all of the gold. "You scurvy brats have crossed me for the last time!" but before he can even consider going down there to teach them a painful lesson, the dreadful ticking sound of that crocodile appeared. It turns out the crocodile has come after him, and he is utterly terrified of that thing. Hook is quick to skedaddle.

The whole group laughs at the sight, greatly amused by the entire scene. And with Hook out of the way, they claim the treasure box. Aqua is surprised to find the training sword Terra gave Ventus all those years back. Peter Pan is kind enough to explain why it is here: "Oh, Ventus left that here. I guess it's a special keepsake or something. But don't worry about him. He said he would be all right without it." Yeah, Aqua thinks he will— a sudden dark and menacing aura has appeared, one she has felt before.

Lauriam senses it too and narrows his eyes at sensing this sort of darkness again. "A Darkling?" he wonders out loud. He ignores the "What's the matter?" from the boys. Instead, Lauriam turns to Master Aqua; they both nod to one another, and she tells the group, "Best you stay here; let me and Lauriam deal with this," and he addresses his sister, "Same goes for you." For it this is indeed one of the Darklings he thinks this is… it is not something he wants Strelitzia to face. Not before she's stronger. As a master of the keyblade, it's his duty to rid the worlds of these foul beings. It's been long since he last faced a keyblade wielder fallen to the darkness, but experience tells him it is best to vanquish this Darkling as soon as possible before it grows too strong.

Sensing this is rather serious, for usually, her brother does not mind letting her fight beings of darkness, but whatever has arrived has made the incredibly rare serious frown appear on Lauriam. "Okay." she nods. The two run off to face what darkness has arrived in this world.
Strelitzia turns to the three boys— talking about what else they can put in the treasure box. The boy in the fox costume then turns to her and asks. "Hey, do you have anything to put in there?" She fiddles with the wristband her brother conjured. It is a lovely gift, but he can always make a new one for her. Strelitzia takes it off and wraps it around one of the wooded swords, smiling that she, too, could put something in this box. The boys are, too, but soon are off to do another game. "Come, join us!" she hesitates but decides to do so.

Unaware that an old rival is watching her from the top of a cliff, a menacing smirk appears across her face as she watches Strelitzia head out to play with some brats.

Following the sense, the two Masters arrive back at the Indian camp. At first, they cannot find the source, but there is no need; the darkness itself has decided to approach them of his free will. "So, have a good time hanging out with the kiddies?" A dark, menacing voice of a boy speaks; the two Masters turn around, and the dark boy, Vanitas, approaches them, holding not only Ventus's training sword but also the flower wristband.

Recognizing both, Aqua demands this boy, "How'd you get those?" fearing that Vanitas has gone out and harmed the children they left behind in order to protect. Glancing at Lauriam, it surprises Aqua that he does not look worried at all; the only change is a frown and his blue eyes staring sharply at this boy. 'How can he be so calm?' she wonders; if that had been Ventus left behind there, she would've been worried sick.

Ignoring Aqua's question, Vanitas lifts the wooded sword, "I think that kid's outgrown such a childish toy," he grabs it with both hands and says: "if you ask my opinion." He snaps it in half to then destroy that flower wristband "along with silly trinkets."

Only Aqua reacted in anger to the destruction of these two sentimental items. It did not make any better when this boy had the nerve to say: "Just like I've outgrown my need for you." And summons his keyblade.

"You freak!" Aqua yells at him and summons her own keyblade, more than ready to fight Vanitas to make sure he is not going to harm anyone.
Lauriam summons his own keyblade, though it takes all of this calmer than one should expect in not knowing what has happened to his own sister. She decides to brush that aside for now and instead focus on this freak of a Vanitas.

Both she and Lauriam go to the dark boy, who starts the fight by firing dark lighting at them both. Aqua jumps back and fires several ice spells at him while Lauriam spins his keyblade and hurls it at their opponent. Vanitas teleports off to appear behind her and leaves a nasty slash over her back, a quick heal, and Aqua goes at him, setting up a reflect spell right as he strikes out, and her spell reflects the attack right back at him. Lauriam lifts his keyblade, and thorny vines appear from the ground, grabbing Vanitas and giving her a chance to get some solid hits in. He does get free with several fire spells and goes after Lauriam, who blocks the first attack. Still, that obnoxious teleporting trick did leave him with a bleeding left arm. This Master wasn't going to take it, though, so with an almost uncanny speed, he gets beside Vanitas and strikes him with that cherry blossom shockwave of his that throws the dark boy flat to the ground. Aqua charges up a Shock-lock and fires several magical bullets at him.

Vanitas falls to the ground, and his keyblade disappears in a smoke of darkness. But even with him down, Lauriam is not letting this humanoid Darknling roam free; he walks over to the dark boy, preparing his keyblade to finish this one off for good.

"What are you doing?" Aqua asks, surprised as the battle is over. they defeated this boy of darkness.

"Everyone succumbed to darkness must be vanquished, so light can be protected." Lauriam replies, aiming his keyblade at the boy, ignoring Aqua's argument: "He may be darkness, but it's still just a boy!" not in his eyes. He strikes, but right that second, the dark boy teleports away, appearing a bit further away from them.

"With someone of pure light, you sure are a cruel bastard." Vanitas laughs; he struggles but gets back on his feet; he 'eyes' Aqua. "Consider this your lucky break," and he disappears by the portal.

Watching the spot for a moment, Lauriam turns around and starts walking back to where he left his sister. Aqua follows him, and back at the Lagoon, they don't find the boys but instead, a red-haired woman holding an unconscious Strelitzia in her arms. Lauriam narrows his eyes at this and summons his keyblade again, demanding this known face. "Let her go, Tarsha."

"What about you make me?" Tarsha throws back and warns him. "Better be careful, or you might hit your precious sister." As expected, he does not strike.

"Who are you? What do you want with Strelitzia?" Aqua demands this newly arrived woman, worried what she might do to the girl. The woman's fiery eyes meet her ocean blue.

But instead of answering her question, Tarsha asks her. "Have you noticed something strange about 'Master' Lauriam? That he does not react as one should when someone is quite literally threatening his sister. For trust me, I will hurt her." She darkly assures Lauriam and Aqua cannot believe in how calmly he is taking all of this. Why isn't he getting upset or angry? Tarsha speaks up again. "His heart is pure light; you all think it is sooo good, but look what a truly pure heart does to a person!" Aqua stares at the hard-staring but uncanny calm man. All of this seems to amuse the woman further, as she smugly reveals. "He cannot feel fear, thus unable to be worried for his sister's safety, and when I snuff her light out. Lauriam will not be able to feel the rage of my action or the sorrow from losing her." Tarsha turns her eyes back to the horrified Aqua. "But that's what you all want, right? A world with no pain or suffering? That is what his life is like." Nodding to Lauriam. "Must be a perfect existence."

Aqua, not wanting to let Tarsha prove her words correct that Lauriam is somehow unable to feel such things, rushes over, summoning her keyblade. "I won't let you—" Her words and attempt to rescue Strelitzia are halted when that giant eagle suddenly appears and throws her away with one of its wings.

Lauriam runs over to stop Tarsha, but it is forced to stop when that eagle sets itself on fire, giving the woman enough time to leave by a dark portal, and the eagle flies away. He stares after it, wondering what world Tarsha possibly has taken his sister. He has to find her and get Strelitzia back.

"I'm sorry, Lauriam…" Aqua apologizes to the man, "I tried…"

"It's alright," he assures her, opening his own portal with a keyblade. "I'm going to find her."

"Lauriam…" he stops, eyeing this other Master calmly; she has a strange look in her eyes, one he cannot name. "What she said… is it true? You can't feel anger and sadness?"

He turns entirely to her, "How do those two emotions feel like?" he asks curiously.

"Anger is like you got a tense fire inside of you, and sadness… like you're drowning in your own emotions." Aqua explains, baffled she had to explain such basic emotions for an adult man, but understandable when he replies after a moment of pondering, much to her shock: "No, I have never felt such emotions."

"You didn't feel sad when your Master passed?" Lauriam shakes his head, and Aqua can't help but pity this man. Is… is this what it means to be pure light? Not able to truly appreciate the bonds one shares? "What happened to you to end up like this?"

Why does she ask such trivial questions? "I have always been like this. Now, I must really get Strelitzia out of Tarsha's grip. I'd rather not lose her." He activates his armor and heads out, not really bothered by what Tarsha said; after all, he is unable to comprehend such dark emotions. But he is set to protect and save his sister, as he do care deeply about her.

Aqua puts a hand on her chest, trying but has so much trouble even comprehending how life must be without such emotions. The only name she can come up with for such a life is empty. Is that what true light really means? Then how are the princesses of light able to feel such emotions if someone like Lauriam is unable to do so? Aqua does not like these questions one bit; it is making her question her Master and his view on light and darkness.

Chapter Text

In Land of Departure, a large purple snake is curled around one of the mountains that dot the landscape, seemingly sleeping, but the moment it senses someone arriving at the place where future Keyblade wielders have been trained for thousands of years. It moves its head and stares down at the entrance leading into the castle. The purple snake narrows its eyes, but it does not move from its spot; instead, it stays and watches things unfold.

Ventus arrives back home but is far from happy being here, his mind troubled by what Master Xehanort has revealed about what tool he's supposed to be. He does not want to confront Master Eraqus, but he needs answers; he needs to know if… his Master knew about this and was the reason why he was never allowed to leave. Master Eraqus arrives, surprised to see him alone. "I thought Aqua would— well, what matters is that you're home." Eraqus speaks, taking a hold around his shoulders that should've been comforting, but now Ventus can only feel the firmness in his Master's grip. "You don't belong outside this world yet. You need to stay here where you can learn—"

"in your prison?" Ventus interrupts him but is too upset that his dreads have been proven correct. Caring about being respectful towards his Master is no longer a priority. "That's your excuse… for keeping me imprisoned here, isn't it?" He demands.

"What did you hear?" Master Eraqus asks the upset boy.

"That I'm supposed to be some weapon…" Ventus replies, going into a battle stage towards the now tense man. "some kind of…. "X-blade"!"

He feared as much when Xehanort brought the comatose boy to Ventus. His friend— he just couldn't let it go… he is obsessed with the legends of the Keyblade War and the X-blade, the talk of the destruction of the worlds; the true light will return back to them. Eraqus tried to stop him back then, but it ended up with Xehanort scarring him. He had hoped Xehanort had dropped this whole thing; that's why he invited his old friend to the exam, but… it turns out he was gravely mistaken. "I had the chance to stop him and couldn't do it." He eyes Ventus, such a sweet boy but he is part of Xehanort's plan of mass destruction. "But I will not fail again." Eraqus summons his keyblade, pointing it at the now nervous boy.

Caught off guard and afraid, Ventus did not expect such a reaction from Master Eraqus. "Master! What are you…"

The snake on the mountain tenses up at what it is seeing; it looks up to the sky, calling out to one who can stop the destruction of the boy, as it is not allowed to meddle directly in this.
Someone else gets the call and hurries to this world as fast as he can.

"The X-blade has no place in this or any world. Xehanort has made his purpose clear…" Eraqus explains to Ventus. He hates to do this, but for the sake of the worlds. "and I am left with no choice. Forgive me," he charges up his keyblade, "but you must exist no more!" and fires at Ventus.

Seeing that right as he arrived, "Ven!" Terra has never moved this fast before, but it does enable him to block the attack aimed at his young friend. In disbelief of what he has just stopped Master Eraqus from doing, "Master, have you gone mad?" Terra demands enranged of what has just happened.

"Terra! I command you— step aside!"

But even if he hadn't earned the title of Master, Terra's answer would have been the same: "No!" he dismisses his armor as his Master asks him, "You will not heed your Master?" and Terra replies he won't, telling Eraqus hard. "I won't let you hurt my friend!"

Master Eraqus drops his head in sadness that Terra refuses to obey and sees that this is necessary. "If you don't have it in your heart to obey… then you will have to share Ventus's fate." He tells the young man before him. A single tear falls at this great sadness, but he is more set on never letting darkness win than the bond he shares with these two. Eraqus attacks and Terra keeps refusing to let him near Ventus; jumping back, he unleashes a powerful light attack, which knocks Ventus unconscious while Terra only gets pushed back.

Seeing his friend hurt enrages Terra, more so when Master Eraqus is set on killing them both in his delusional thoughts. He can feel the darkness stirring, but this time, he does not fight it; taking a deep breath, he allows this anger to rise, for he is going to need it in this unavoidable fight.
"You may be my Master… but I will not…" darkness surrounds him for a moment, wanting to turn his anger into rage, but he won't let it. This time… he will ride on this anger, it won't control him. For the light in him demands that he protect one of those close to his heart. "Let you hurt my friend!" Terra shouts at Eraqus.

Seeing the darkness swirl around his student, the deep anger in those blue eyes. "Has the darkness taken you, Terra?" Eraqus demands appalled.

Terra opens a portal and throws his friend in there. At least there, he won't be in harm's way of Eraqus. With the portal closed, Terra goes to his Master; this time, he does not hesitate, using the darkness of his anger as a weapon.
Master Eraqus honestly tried, but he did not stand much of a chance against him. Not only has his new view on darkness given him better strength to fight, but he has also gained full access to these future sights, and it allowed him to see his Master's attacks before they would arrive. A sight of a strike that would seriously hurt Eraqus, and Terra forces himself to stop. To quell his anger, he takes a deep breath to calm himself. Still angry at his Master, though. "Master, what is the point in all of this?!" He demands Eraqus. "Why did you attack Ven? You always said you saw us as your kids, but what kind of father strikes at his children?!"

Struggling to stand, baffled at how strong Terra has suddenly become. "W-Where did you get such power?" He asks his student. "it was darkness, and yet, you controlled it." which should have been impossiple when it overtakes a heart like that.

Terra sights and walks over to his wounded Master. He reaches out and helps him to stand. "I learned that darkness is part of every heart, powered by negative thoughts such as rage, but it's alright." He smiles weakly to his Master. "I am in control of my darkness now." The smile does drop, but it has to be addressed: "Master… my darkness, it was powered by my fear of failing you. Later… this fear turned into rage."

"I see… no one to blame but myself for how out of control your own darkness had become." Eraqus feels terrible that his teachings have almost made one of his students fall into darkness. He lets Terra help him towards the castle, "and now I've done worse… in my own fear towards the darkness, raised my keyblade against you and Ventus. My own heart is darkness…!"

Terra smiles weakly. "Someone taught me a very important lesson about darkness." He pulls up the bear totem, "a Lost Master." Eraqus's eyes wide at what he has said, and he opens his mouth, but with a sudden jolt from his Master, to his horror, Eraqus collapses onto the ground, revealing a large wound on his back, clean around the edges, only one kind of weapon could make such a wound. "Master!" Terra cries and tries, but he uses up all of his magic during their fight. He cannot close this wound! All he can do is helplessly watch Eraqus bleed out; his Master reaches out to him, whispering weakly, "…Take…. my… strength…” Terra takes the hand and closes his eyes when letting his Master's heart inside his body. The body disappears in light, a reaction to no longer having a heart or spirit keeping it in this world.
Terra opens his now tearful eyes, for even if he allowed his Master's heart inside him, Eraqus is still dead; all his heart can do is offer him support for a future he keeps seeing but is planning to stop from happening.

"What a sight."

Terra glares up at the one who struck his Master down, still with tears in his eyes, sorrow, and rage building up as his Master's murderer has the gall to ask him, "Why do you trouble yourself with remorse, Terra? The man was bent on doing harm to your friend, his own pupil!"

"Why Xehanort?!" Terra demands, darkness surrounding him for a moment. "He was changing his view on darkness! Isn't that what you wanted?! To have balance!"

Xehanort turns away from the enraged and grieving young man, pleased to see him allow darkness to engulf him this easily now, but, "You know, at times, I find your progress quite striking. But you still fall short." He walks away, urging this young man to stop fighting back on the anger he clearly has inside his heart. "Give your heart over to darkness!"

Terra jumps on his feet and summons his keyblade, declaring to one he now is certain is an enemy: "I am in control of my darkness! I will not give in to it!"

"Still so blind." He keeps trying to resist, but that is no chance for this stubborn boy to change his destiny; it has been sealed the moment he failed the exam. "But I will make you see. Come to the place where all keyblade wielder leaves their mark on fate— the Keyblade Graveyard!" Xehanort summons his keyblade and gives Terra the reason to come. "There you will watch your dear Ventus, and Aqua meets their ends, and the last light within you will die!" He aims the keyblade up to the sky and opens a massive portal to the Realm of Darkness. The weather changes instantly into stormy clouds, and large chunks of this world get dragged into the other realm. Terra can only helplessly watch as the place he has called home gets torn to pieces by what Xehanort did, his mind unable to comprehend how many townspeople in the valleys will either get hurt or, worse, killed because of this old Master's action.

At the mountain where the purple snake was before, now a woman dressed very much like Aqua, though the armor on the arm looks more like Terra's, stands in its place. She narrows her eyes as this world gets torn apart, yet being one of the Core worlds, its heart will endure this onslaught.

Xehanort is not yet aware of this; he thinks a Core world will fall like any other world if introduced to the Realm of Darkness. "You won't need a home anymore where you're going!" He declares to Terra and before the young man can stop him, he leaves by a portal.

The bear appears and turns to the distraught Terra, revealing that this world will endure, but repairs will have to wait. Terra forces himself to look away from the destruction going on around him, instead turning to the bear, nodding, "You're right. I have to stop Xehanort."
The bear reminds him that Xehanort is too strong of a force to change his destiny, so he should be ready for this great test of endurance. The bear continues that thanks to his better understanding and thus control over his darkness, Xehanort won't have as tight a grip around him as he would have if not taught this crucial lesson.

Terra nods slowly, "Whatever it takes…" and after having turned the bear back into its totem form, Terra leaves home, painfully aware he won't see it for a very long time.

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In a search through another world, Elrena encounters Lauriam, and by the frown he got, this must be serious. And indeed, it is. "Tarsha got my sister." That is enough explanation, and she joins him in the search; during this search, he tells what Tarsha said, musing, "Is she doing all of this to prove a point?"

Elrena is very positive that this is the case. "It won't surprise me; you and the others were a bit messed up." She voices her opinions with no regard for insulting the other leaders from Traverse Town. The only one who wasn't this all righteous: "Only Ephemer was semi-normal, and that's saying a lot when it came to you leaders."

"He was chosen to keep the rest of us from straying from our role." Laurium replies, and now that he thinks about it, Ephemer often acted out, which confused him and the others, but they listened to his words, and maybe that's what kept their group from falling apart during their time there. And what Elrena said, "What do you mean by "messed up"? Do you agree with Tarsha?"

"As much as I hate to say it, yeah, I agree that how you are acting this very moment is really messed up— how you and the others reacted to things in the Dream World." Elrena eyes her friend, and he watches her curiously. She does, at times, wish he could get a better reaction than just raising a brow at her offensive words towards him. "Lauriam, I care a lot for you. But there is a reason why I find other people funnier to play around with. You barely react to anything, and it's boring as hell. If I hadn't known you better, I would've thought you didn't care about anything and only do things for the glory."

He ponders on her and Tarsha's words for a moment, back to all of the friends he lost because of the darkness. He isn't sad; he simply accepts they are gone, and he has to move on. He sincerely wants to save his sister, but if she is to die. Then Lauriam knows he will do the exact same thing as he did when losing friends and even their parents. And the glory part? Maybe it is for the glory; all Lauriam knows is that everything he does, his training, strength, and title, is what people expect of him, and thus, he will continue to walk down this path. "My heart is pure light. All I fight for is to defend those who can't. I cannot understand why people get so worked up if they fail their duty or the people close to them fall. Doesn't they know that the time spent with them is what matters?"

"Is that how you're going to view it if Tarsha slays your sister?" Elrena asks him; she does not look happy at all about this conversation. Maybe because they are wasting precious time.

Lauriam lightly touches his chest. Parts of him are aware that Elrena wants him to say that he will act differently, but that would be lying, and his close friend does not deserve such treatment. "I have lost a lot of good friends. Some to war, others to time itself. They are all part of my heart." Elrena huffs and looks away. She's tense, and he figures it's because they are stalling. "We better hurry; Tarsha is seriously going to hurt Strelitzia." and takes the lead once again.

Elrena sighs but follows. She has long accepted that Lauriam is unable to feel certain emotions; he is pure light, and thus, pain is not part of his vocabulary. His strengths are earned from those he has served, and he has never once asked for them. Simply given because of his deep devotion. Elrena can see why someone like Tarsha would be jealous of her friend. If she didn't know him this well, then Elrena is certain she, too, would have a chip on her shoulder. Still, Lauriam can be incredibly infuriating in how he lives his life. He was given everything on a silver platter, and his life is perfect, yet he is annoyingly indifferent about those people close to his heart.
Lauriam may not be capable of rage, but Elrena is, and she fears that if they are too late. She will unleash a fury worthy of a lightning storm, never be able to forgive herself if that bitch hurts that sweet girl.

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"You used to be too broken to talk back."

And those words from Vanitas trigger something inside Ventus, memories of him being under Master Xehanorts training, surrounded by black monsters with yellow eyes, the great fear he felt, how Xehanort told him to unleash his darkness if he wanted to live. He was too afraid and got almost killed by those creatures, and then… Ventus saw the truth as to why this Ira fella called Vanitas his 'brother of the heart' because he IS part of his heart, the darkness of his heart. Ventus also saw the guardian Ira spoke about; it looked like a light-purple feline with draconic features. It died when the bond was severed as his darkness was sifted away from his heart.
Ventus struggles through the major headache this sudden burst of memories brought back, and he turns slowly back up to Vanitas, the personification of his darkness. "You're… you're my darkness."

Vanitas nods and reveals to him, "How long I have waited to get back what was stolen from me." Spreading out his arms down to Ventus. "Little Light of mine, I will give you a reason to clash your blade with mine. You're gonna see me choke the life out of Terra and Aqua unless you stop playing the pacifist and forge the X-blade with me. Your beloved friends will die at my hand." And with those words, Vanitas leaves.

"Wait!" Ventus calls but cannot reach his darkness fast enough; he has no choice; he has to go to this place in order to stop Vanitas from hurting his friends.

He arrives at this dreadful place; it feels like a frozen memory of rage and hatred but also a terrible fear. Each of those keyblades, even in the stage of his training, can feel that these countless keyblades lying around have utterly lost their power; they are not much stronger than an ordinary weapon. He dreads knowing the history of this place. Quietly, he moves on, searching for his two friends.

In the middle of a crossroad created by countless keyblades, all but six have lost their powers. Six keyblades, all different in shape but with two things in common, the keychain has a demonic blue eye, and each has a head of an animal. Cobra for the purple with leaves, fox for the rainbow-colored, leopard of the lightning-based blade, white and having waves as the handle got a unicorn, a grey with purple flames have a scorpion, and lastly, the biggest with blue rocks got the bear. Terra recognizes that one and wonders, 'What made him abandon his keyblade here?' But that question is most likely never going to get answered.
He glances at Aqua, who briefly touches the keyblade, having the fox at the start of the handle, but like him, senses these keyblades are not theirs to wield, so she lets them all be.

Ventus approaches his two friends, both leaving those six mysterious keyblades be and when close enough to them, he sadly explains what he has discovered: "Xehanort wants me and Vanitas to fight and make some kind of "X-blade." But the Master said we can't let that happen… and he tried to kill me for it."

Aqua gasps, Terra did tell her that Master Eraqus attacked Ventus, but straight out wanting to kill him?

Ventus continues, "I still don't know exactly what it is. But… it scares me to death. Even just the thought of it." He is scared of what would happen if this X-blade gets forged, but he is also scared of the thought that he might have to destroy his own darkness— one who has suffered ever since his creation— to keep that from happening.

Terra steps over and puts a hand of comfort onto Ventus's shoulder, assuring his young friend, "Relax, Ven. We're here, and we're gonna take care of you."

"I may have to fight Vanitas after all." Ventus muses, for Vanitas, was set on forging this thing, but he gets this weird sense that his darkness just wants to go back to him. But… he does not think that's possible anymore… they have been separated for too long. "If I do, guys… I want you to—"

"The three of us can never be torn apart, all right?" Terra interrupts his young friend, not going to hear whatever terrible thing Ventus is going to ask them. "I'll always find a way." his hand on Ventus's shoulder tightened; he may not be able to escape his fate, but he sure hell is going to keep Ventus from facing his. Aqua kneels down before their young friend and gently puts a hand on his cheek as a sign he also has her support.

But Ventus does not need comfort; he needs an assurance that this X-blade will never come to be… he removes both of his friend's hands. "I'm asking you, as a friend…" he has trouble meeting their eyes when asking them this, "just… put an end to me and Vanitas." End both of their suffering, once and for all.

Neither Aqua nor Terra can make them even consider doing what their young friend requested; the sheer thought is incomprehensible. A shift in the wind makes them turn, and down one of the roads created by these countless of keyblade, Master Xehanort approaches.
A brief pulse of darkness and Vanitas arrive as well, already having a keyblade in hand.
Stopping before the three, Xehanort gestures out to the sea of keyblades surrounding them. "Behold. These lifeless keys used to be full of power— united with the hearts of their masters. On this barren soil, keyblade wielders and mighty beasts of legend were locked in combat… as a great keyblade war raged."

Terra, Aqua, and Ventus briefly look around, getting a grander view of how many keyblade wielders of the past have perished and how the landscape around them bore deep scars from this ancient battle.

"countless keyblade wielders gave up their lives, all in search of one ultimate key. And it will soon belong to me." Xehanort points at Ventus. "X-blade!" the three respond by summoning their armor. Ventus moves but is stopped by Terra, who charges at him. Xehanort stops this reckless boy by making a cliff burst up from the ground. This whole place is very susceptible to being manipulated around, and Xehanort uses that to his very advantage. He makes another, taller cliff and, by the power of wind, takes hold of a lot of keyblades, though the six, looking much like his, refuse to budge; no matter, he sends these dead keyblades at Aqua and Ventus.

This took the three very much off guard; they all tried to get away from these waves of keyblades, but all got hit at one point. Aqua's helmet got thrown off when another wave of keyblades hit her from below, but she did not have time to check for injuries; Terra was in trouble. Calling his name, Aqua fires a shield spell at her friend, saving him from being pummeled down by those rusty but still dangerous keyblades.

Ventus hurries over to help Terra. He easily reaches the spot, but his attempted hit on Xehanort fails as the old man sees him coming and catches him around the helmet. No matter how much he struggled, he couldn't get free.
Seeing Ventus trapped in Xehanort's grip, Terra runs over to protect his friend but gets thrown off the cliff by a wave of the fallen keyblade wielder's weapons; Terra struggles onto his feet, enraged and afraid as he has seen many visions of what his fate will be if he fails. Yes, it is doubtful he can avoid it, but he will give his all to prevent it! If not… he will hurt Aqua, manipulate people, and throw their hearts into the darkness, unleash the Dark Realm into this realm, and drag so, so many worlds into darkness. He will harm that cheeky boy… harm so many innocent people. Terra will not let that happen! "Give me your strength!" he calls; the totem activates, and the bear jumps into the air, scaling the cliff wall with its stone element while he is riding on its stony back.

Xehanort freezes Ventus with magic and drops him. Terra was just about to jump after him, but when Aqua caught their young friend and brought him safely down to the ground. Terra decides to finish the very person who has been the source of so much pain and misery.
The creature lands hard on the platform where Xehanort and Vanitas are standing; it straightens up, and both it and Terra turn their glaring eyes to the two.
Xehanort seems surprised by the bear's arrival but recovers quickly as he speaks in his calm but misleading voice: "Admirably done. I knew this was a journey you could make— over the unseen wall that divides darkness and light." The old Master eyes the bear once and declares with a large smirk, "And I was not wrong, Terra!"

Terra sneers; he jumps off the bear, stepping right before it in a manner so the large beast can tower behind him like a totem of the strength he is going to need. "My friend Ven," he summons his keyblade, "you tell me Xehanort— what did you do to him?!"

"Why, I did him a favor and freed the darkness inside of him. Alas, poor Ventus never had the fortitude for such strenuous trials." Xehanort replies, in other words, this man is the reason why Ventus was nothing more than a zombie when he first came to Land of Departure, why his friend cannot remember anything from before. Xehanort is the reason so why Ventus begged him and Aqua to strike him down! "Xehanort!!" Terra roars, closely followed by the bear roaring at the two.

Along with the bear, Terra runs at the two, aiming for Xehanort and letting the bear take care of Vanitas. The old man is powerful, but his age is making him slow, and Terra is counting on him. He strikes with everything he has on the man, not holding back as he will not allow Xehanort to do whatever magic to make him hurt innocent people.

A sudden flash of the future vision shows Terra how Vanitas will strike at his head, which would make him disoriented for the rest of the fight. Terra snaps his head and sees the dark boy has dodged the bear's rock strikes, and if not for that sight, he would've been hit. Terra jumps back in the last second, and before Vanitas can get him. The bear turns into a stone ball and rolls right into the masked boy, throwing Vanitas into the air. Terra turns his attention back to Xehanort, blocking the dark ice shards, but does not have any chance to block the rapid and incredibly powerful slashes of the old Master's blade. Another sight and Terra reacts by throwing his keyblade, stunning Xehanort before he could even do a Shot lock on him.

Xehanort is not sure how Terra does that, but the young man seems able to predict certain attacks before they even happen. It is making it difficult, and that bear is not making it easier. Looks like he has to summon it. "Awaken!" Xehanort calls, waving his hand over the blue eye of his keyblade that seems to come to life.

Terra stops at the portal and arrives behind Xehanort; he knows what is about to come: "Oh no!" but he has no chance of stopping it from coming. But at least he can stall that thing. "Help me out!" he calls for the bear. It strikes Vanitas once with its claws before charging over to the portal. It steers, and its paws strike onto the metal horns of a dark grey goat, bearing the same symbol on its back as the bear does on its shoulders.
The goat struggles against the weight of the bear; then, the metal vines on its front legs move to the sides, and the bear roars as those four vines stab into its hind legs. The goat then bashes the bear away, turning its full attention on Terra, glaring at him with its single eye while the right one gives a disturbing view into a void of purple and blue. Looking at it makes guilt spike for a moment at the reminder of what he did to that man, though he quickly brushes it off as the sights prove that the raven-haired man is a villain. Terra readies himself as the goat charges at him, but just to his luck, Vanitas jumps onto the goat's back and right as the large creature tries to headbutt him with those horns. The dark boy jumps off and fires several dark fireballs at him. Terra yelps in pain and tries to retaliate, but the goat just won't let him. Its metal vines slash at him, and Vanitas follows suit by hitting him with the keyblade.

The bear cannot help, for Xehanort is keeping it busy.
After many powerful hits, the bear dissolves back into its totem form. "No!" Terra cries, only to scream in pain when the goat slams him to the ground by headbutting him and keeps him down by repeating its attacks.

Xehanort picks up the rock that looks like a bear's head but drops it when the being inside emits great hostility against him. "So, you refuse to submit to me." He muses and wonders how Terra got this kind of creature— no matter, he will soon have that one when he claims Terra as his vessel. Xehanort leaves the totem and walks over to the goat that keeps on attacking Terra; that's the reason he rarely summons it. That creature has no self-control; all it knows is fighting. He eyes Vanitas, telling the boy of darkness, "Go take what Ventus owes you." adding, "and take Aqua's life."

"No!" Terra cries and blocks the goat's attack with his keyblade, but that thing just keeps repeating its attacks; he does not have any openings!

"you see how powerless you are to save them?" Xehanort speaks between metal horns hitting his keyblade.

Terra has enough! He will not let Xehanort take his friends as well! "Wasn't my Master— no, my father not enough for you?!" he roars, and right as the goat comes at him again, Terra strikes, tearing past the metal and slicing his dark-infused blade into its head, revealing that this creature's whole body is made of that strange magic.
The goat screeches and falls, dissolving back into Xehanorts keyblade. Terra lands, and with darkness from his deep rage gushing out from him, "Leave my friends alone!"

Xehanort has the nerve to taunt him, "Yes, more! Let your whole heart blacken with anger!"

He is so close to letting out all of his rage, but those visions he got before of him not only hurt Aqua but so many innocent people. It's making the light of him; the need to protect dampens his darkness, if only just slightly. Terra runs at the old man, "You won't hurt any more people, Xehanort!"

Meanwhile, down below the cliff, Aqua is holding a deeply frozen Ventus. He is unable to move, but fortunately, this deep freeze Xehanort did to him hasn't left any permanent damage.

Suddenly, a new voice speaks: "How about you leave the popsicle with me," Aqua looks up and sees a man dressed like one of those guards from Radiant Garden, though he has the extra thing of a torn red scarf. Not to mention he is missing the right eye, and the left cheek got a nasty and still healing slash scar. "so you can go and have your little fight with Terra? You can't be too happy about him deep-sixing your Master." The way this man smirks, Aqua has a strong feeling this guy is on Xehanort's side; it's the only way he could've known.

"Who are you?" She asks, and the man's yellow-eyed stare intensifies; Aqua blinks when she suddenly feels a spike of a heart's power. Is it… coming from this man?

"You think you two have some grand role to play." This man smirks wide slightly. "As if. You're only here so that when I finish you off… Terra will succumb to the darkness. So… who wants to go first?" He asks them cocky.

This deeply enrages Ventus; never before has he been this angry at someone like this guy. "Shut up!" he shouts at this scarred man. The man makes a mock gesture he is scared of him, not making it better with the words: "Oh, so this kiddo thinks he's a full-fledged keyblade wielder?" which only makes Ventus glare harder at him. "He got the angry look down."

Aqua is not as angry as Ventus; the last conversation with Terra has assured her that he has better control over his dark impulses: "Go ahead if you want to waste your time. Keep trying to drive us apart with your mind games." She tells the man hard, gently puts the frozen Ventus down, and prepares herself for battle. "Terra will prove to you he's stronger!"

"Ha! I have seen his strength, and it's not the power he lacks." The man points at his missing eye, hinting that it was Terra who did this. "It's self-control. Lose one's temper in the heat of battle, and people are getting hurt."

"Enough!" Aqua snaps and runs at the man. He summons his two crossbows, and right when she is about to hit him with the keyblade, he teleports away, "Nice try!" and hits her with several bullets. She manages to block some of them, and as he runs around, shooting at her shield, Aqua notices that this man is adept at space magic. She notes that she should keep an eye on her back. Shooting several ice shards at him, the man teleports off, gets upside down, and, putting his two crossbows together, creates one larger bullet. She dodges it, activates a boost of fire, and blasts several fireballs at him; a few of them hit, but, to her utter shock, this guy slaps one of them away with his mere hand. This takes her off guard; space magic shouldn't be able to do that, and not even she would have the power to hit a fully powered spell aside as if it were a novice spell.

"How did you—" The man appears behind her and forces her to the ground with a gravity spell; it shocks her how powerful it is; how is a mere guard able to do such magic and at such a level? She eyes the man; the smirk on his lips fades, and the eyes flicker for a second. Right there, she feels the spell break and not waste a second, for this guy is a lot stronger than he appears. Aqua goes at him. Then he jumps away, and fires several bullets, but when he jumps into the air to hang up there, he grunts in pain, drops to the ground. He's wheezing and struggles to get back up. Aqua blinks, but then it hits her: 'He used up all of his magic on those two spells.'
That makes sense; they were incredibly powerful and would've drained any other normal person. She has the advantage of being a keyblade master; having a keyblade grants one extra boost in magic. She fires a mirage of spells at him, and with him drained of magic, unable to use his space abilities, this guy is quickly defeated.

Jumping away, breathing heavily for air. Still, he smirks cocky "I keep forgetting— don't mess with keyblade wielders. But you know what? That just means I choose the right path!" Aqua goes at him again, but he does not seem bothered, really. "Well… he wanted me to buy time, and I'd say he got it." And with those words, he turns heel and runs off, much to Aqua's confusion. That last part he said worries her, though. "Ven!" she calls and runs over, fearing this man spoke about hurting her frozen friend.

Still struggling to get out of his frozen armor, he forgets about it when he sees his darkness speed down from the cliff, going right at Aqua. He tries to warn her, but Vanitas strikes her; blood flies everywhere from the slash he made over her face and chest. Ventus stares in horror. Aqua drops to the ground, unmoving, and only the sound of the chest plates moving shows she is still alive. Ventus truly begins to struggle against his frozen state as Vanitas approaches her, painfully aware that his darkness will kill his friend. Using the light within him, he melts through the ice, and right before Vanitas, he is about to piece his keyblade into Aqua. "STOP!!" Ventus shouts, glaring with all his might at Vanitas. At this very moment, he does not care that Vanitas is his darkness— and is still suffering; he dared to hurt his friend and is going to pay for it. Ventus fights with all of his might, and although it's the toughest fight he's ever been in. Ventus does, in the end, defeat Vanitas.

"You've done it, Ventus." Vanitas praises his light and allows Ventus to see his face. It is not Ventus's face but of a boy with longer spiky hair, raven black, and his yellow eyes filled with an immeasurable cruelness. "Now that my body is about to perish… you and I will have to join together! The X-blade will be forged!" Ventus is so surprised to see another face underneath that mask that he doesn't have the time to say that he still refuses to forge that thing. Vanitas wasn't giving him much of a choice, for right there, darkness surrounds him, and out from them, several Unversed pins Ventus down.

Ventus tries to fight them off, but they are not budging. "The Unversed… come from you?" he asks, his darkness shocked.

Vanitas chuckles lightly, that menacing smirk not faltering for a second. "It happened when you and I were split into two. By the destruction of the guardian, and the negativity of what I feel took shape as these monsters." Ventus's eyes are wide in horror at hearing that the guardian of theirs had turned into the Unversed, and what's worse: "They are what I feel— a horde of fledgling emotions under my control. I released them in all the worlds I could, and with that little push, you went out to fight these perfect opponents to make you stronger. And better yet, no matter how many times you defeat them… their negativity flows right back into me."

"You mean you felt every Unversed we destroyed?"

Vanitas nods but does not look bothered by it one bit; what bothers him is the look of pity in his light eyes. The smirk is replaced with a scowl. "Is that pity I detect, oh Ventus, always so naïve." He puts a hand on Ventus's chest. "This was what got us split in the first place!"

It was a hard fight, but Terra managed to defeat Xehanort. Still, he did not let his guard down, knowing that those visions might still come true.
A sudden explosion makes him prepare his weapon, ready to fight, but by Xehanort's words, he turns around and sees a pillar of light and darkness.
"The X-blade has been forged!" Xehanort declares victorious.

"Ven!" Terra cries. He doesn't see this in his visions, but when Xehanort speaks, the strongest of his visions flashes over his eyes. "And now, Terra, it is time for the final union!" Terra freezes up, shakes out from it, and spins around like a nasty déjà vu; he sees Xehanort has released his own heart with his keyblade.
"Now it is your darkness that shall be the ark that sustains me!" Xehanort declares and makes the heart go straight at him. Terra knows that instant that he cannot escape, so instead, he activates his armor and focuses his heart and mind on his friends and those innocent people from his visions. It will be what will keep him from fully succumbing to Xehanort's heart; it will make him continue to fight.

Terra isn't the only one who fights for control of his own body; Ventus is doing the same, not caring that he might end up killing himself for the sake of his two friends; he will destroy that X-blade in his darkness hand.

"It's all about your friends, isn't it?" Vanitas asks, mocking during their fight for control of his body.

Slashing out after the X-blade, Ventus retorts back. "At least I have some!" He jumps over the strike his darkness is trying to land, telling him hard, "I've become a part of their heart, just as they've become a part of mine. My friends are my power, and I'm theirs— yours as well, for you know what: you are part of my heart!"

"Then join me!" Vanitas beckons him.

"I will not!" Ventus retorts back, both with words and keyblade, "I won't be his pawn, and I know, deep down, you don't want that either." He gets hit by Vanitas, and the dark boy glares coldly at him, demanding: "How do you know what I feel? You haven't felt me since he saved your scrawny hide." No idea who his darkness is talking about, but Ventus needs to get through to him somehow. They keep attacking one another, trying to overpower the other, till finally, the X-blade breaks, along with the shared pillar that is their heart. Ventus can feel his heart leaving his body and looking at Vanitas, who finally shows his true emotions. Desperation and fear. "Vanitas!"
Ventus reaches out and catches the other one's hand.

Vanitas snaps away from the breaking X-blade and over to the light that has continued to deny him. Seeing pity in those eyes and knowing he will fade away because of this idiot, he snaps. "Stop looking at me like that! I do not need anyone's pity, least of all from a weakling like you!"

And Ventus is quick to retort back. "I may be weak, and you can hate me all you want, but I will not let go!" his grip around his darkness tightens, keeping him from fading away, and instead brings Vanitas with him into the unknown. "We are brothers! We are connected, whether you like it or not!"

Vanitas blinks in confusion, "Brothers?" he smirks, for the first time, in acceptance. "Heh, well then, brother, I look forward to the day we will meet again."

Both their bodies disappear in light and darkness, leaving the body together.
Among the shattered parts of the platform representing Ventus' heart, a spark and, for a moment, a portal to a new realm opens.

The armor of Terra, now holding the will to fight his possessed body and one day return, walks over to the bear totem, which one Xehanort, even with his body, was unable to claim. The armor picks up the totem, and with only the promise, 'One day, I will make this right.' The armor goes into a kneeling position, waiting for the day that his body will return to these lands. When that day happens, the Lingering Will of Terra will reclaim what belongs to him.

Alongside Mickey, Aqua has been battling Ventus's possessed body, and with her keyblade, growing in size at the strength of her heart, she breaks the X-blade the possessed Ventus held, and when he drops it,
the X-blade starts going haywire. Ventus cries out, light and darkness surrounding him, before he collapses onto the ground, unmoving and in danger of getting hit by the going haywire X-blade. Aqua tries to get over, but the powerful puling from the breaking apart X-blade keeps her from doing so. Then, the pool of darkness appears, becomes a sphere, and when it disappears, an Unversed looking very much like a Flood has arrived; it does have more the shape of a cat and is not as edged in features as a Flood usually is. This Unversed falters on its feet but, for some reason, is determined to get over to Ventus. "Get away from him!" she cries as it reaches him. She gasps when this Unversed tries to shield Ventus from the X-blade energy beams.

Mickey, who has been helping her in defeating the possessed Ventus, is startled to see this as well. "Is it…" to then jump in surprise when the Unversed suddenly takes a bigger form, holding Ventus in place as the X-blade sends out a powerful shockwave, and when that blade finally shatters, this Unversed collapses beside Ventus, retaking its smaller form and weakly crawls onto his back.

Baffled by what she has just witnessed, Aqua slowly approaches her friend and this very strange Unversed. She tries to push it off, but it refuses to move, and its whistling turns into growling, and it gets more and more set on protecting Ventus. Sensing this Unversed wishes no harm to her friend, Aqua decides to leave it be. She picks both Ventus and the cat looking Flood up— that has stopped glaring at her. She turns to the just as confused Mickey, and he takes them all away by the Star Shard.

Chapter Text

Unaware of what is happening in the ancient graveyard of keyblade wielders, Lauriam, and his lifelong friend have found the woman who took his sister. He transforms his keyblade into a scythe and cuts that eagle’s head off. With a screech, it disappears, and a ruby necklace drops to the ground, disappearing into this dense forest. He then turns to Elrena, who has, in all of her anger, left Tarsha lying bloody and with scorch marks all over her body from the endless blasts of electricity. And yet, even with her defeat, that red-haired woman is laughing. “I fail to see the humor in this.” He tells her.

“You!” Tarsha laughs at Lauriam, how his reaction to everything proves her entire point! “How do you feel? Any good emotions now you no longer have to deal with that sister of yours?” Lauriam does not answer, but he does not have to. “No, I think you’re feeling pretty apathetic by now, and it’s only going to get worse. Soon, this pure light of yours will burn you up and transform you into a Hollow! You, Lauriam, are doomed, and there is nothing your little lackey can do to stop it!” She spreads out her arm in glee at this success. “The last legacy of the World will die; no more will light consume our hearts—“

Elrena shuts her up by plunging four of her knives up through Tarsha’s throat. The woman drops to the ground, long dead, before she touches this leafy surface. She eyes her friend, but he is busier, staring at Strelitzia’s body. Poor girl, she’s still warm, which makes it only worse. If they had just arrived a little sooner… Elrena wished Strelitzia had fought back, but it’s clear that the kiddo didn’t have a chance. “Dammit!” She curses and throws a bolt of lightning at Tarsha’s body “Darn you!” Elrena turns to Lauriam, but other than stoically picking up his sister’s body. He shows no signs of grieving at this significant loss. Elrena hates it… hates that bitch spoke the truth about Lauriam... “She’s your sister…!” She sneers, wishing that he would show some anger; hell, even some sadness would be better than this! “You don’t care about her at all!” Elrena roars and would’ve kicked Lauriam if he wasn’t holding Strelitzia.

He watches Elrena get worked up, and he can sympathize with her, but he does not understand why Elrena is mad at him. “We did everything we could.” He tells her. His attempt to cheer her up didn’t work, though. Elrena still looks greatly aggravated. “Let’s go home.” Elrena glares at him, then, with a sigh of defeat, nods and opens a portal that will lead them back to their home world.

Here, he brings her to the vast graveyard, prepares a spot for her, and with now her name engraved into the maple stone, he takes Strelitzia’s keyblade and puts it beside her stone. “Goodbye, sister. May we meet again on the other side.” He turns to Elrena, and she stares at the grave with a glare he does not know the name of, only it’s the same look she held when they battled Tarsha.

Something tells him that she needs to be alone, so Lauriam leaves. He passes through the buzzing streets, not bothering to chat with the ordinary people living here. His focus is more on making Elrena feel better, but this unfortunate loss is affecting her greatly. He buys ingredients for her favorite meal and prepares it back at the castle. Elrena returns late that night, sitting at a window, staring out to the sea. Lauriam approaches her, “Do you want to talk?” he asks. Elrena does not answer; I guess she needs more time to get used to not having his sister around. He puts down the plate beside her. “I’ll be outside.” And turns to go out and have a ‘talk’ to Ephemer’s stature.

He never gets that far, though. he grunts in pain when he suddenly gets hit by several high-powered thundraga spells, closely followed by a punch straight to the face. He ends up on the floor, a bit confused, and looks up at Elrena. She glares at him as if he were Tarsha. “You heartless freak!” She sneers at him and strikes again with her thunder spells. “How can someone as cold as you be of pure light?! You don’t even miss her!!”
She throws her knives at him.

Lauriam blocks them with his keyblade, jumps up, and tries to de-escalate this unnecessary fight. “At ease, Elrena.”

“Don’t you give me that crap!”

He jumps away from a large bolt of lightning, not sure why she went off on him. “I wasn’t the one who struck Strelitzia down.” Elrena blitzes, and she gets his right arm sliced up. Okay, this is getting out of hand. “Elrena!” He throws her away with a shockwave, and before she can throw more lightning at him. Lauriam takes hold of both her arms so if she tries to cast a spell, they both will be electrocuted. “What’s gotten into you? I am not your enemy.”

“I hate you!” Elrena screams at him, tears starting to appear at the edges of her eyes. “You live this perfect life with no pain and only light. But this light…” She gets free and starts hitting his chest, but Lauriam does not stop her this time. These hits are weak, and his friend is crying so hard. He feels sorry for her. “It’s keeping you from knowing what you have lost…! Don’t you get it, Lauriam? Strelitzia— your sister, she is gone!” Another hit, but the fist stays connected to his armored chest. “We’re never going to see her again… and you don’t care…” Elrena steps away, still crying, but the glare is back. “You don’t care at all.”

He does not understand why she looks at him as if he’s the enemy. What he does know is that Elrena is blaming him for acting this way. But… how else is he supposed to be? What can he do to make her feel better? “We did everything we could to save her.” He voices, figuring that’s what she wanted to hear. “You have every right to feel what you feel. And if it helps you, I will take further hits from you.”

“Don’t try to make me feel better, Lauriam!” Elrena snaps at him; she turns around, hands fisted and shaking. “I’m going to be fine, so why not try and feel sorry for yourself?!”

Lauriam raises a brow, confused as to why he should feel sorry for himself. “It’s you who are hurting.” He points out, earning him a throwing knife and hitting his chest armor. Of course, it bounces off and drops harmlessly to the floor. He stares down at the knife for a moment before looking back up at his friend. He does not recognize emotion in her cyan eyes; it only makes him think of a lightning storm. “What do you need from me to recover?”

“You are impossible.” Elrena sighs and walks off. “I need to be alone.”

“Take all the time you need. I’ll be waiting.” Lauriam calls softly after her, simply relieved that this fight is over. He returns to his studies, taking out his oldest journal. In some of the earliest pages, details about the monster Tarsha claimed he would become are written. Lauriam stares at the word; Hollow.

These monsters do not exist anymore; they only were around when the World was still a thing. Unlike the Darklings and Unversed, Hollows were beautiful but just as dangerous. Like a Darkling, a Hollow originated from a keyblade wielder, but Lauriam does not know why some would become these monsters of plasma and gentle cruelty. Tarsha said he was fated to become a Hollow, and maybe that’s true. He is a remnant of a long-forgotten era, and perhaps he inherited it from his parents. They both turned into Hollows when he and Strelitzia were young, so maybe he’s fated to become one, too. If that happens, then Elrena has to strike him down before he ends up hurting too many people. He should prepare her in case Tarsha’s words hold some truth to them, but not now. “I should discuss this with her when she recovers.” Not sure how long that’s going to take. People with darkness in their hearts need much more time to recover from an unfortunate loss.
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Braig found a young man out in the gardens, so severely wounded that he could only utter his name. Ansem the wise thought it was best to bring this young man into the castle, allow him to heal and see what caused such severe injuries. “Bring him to the castle,” He commands the two guards. Braig carries the wounded young man, while Dilan takes the strange armor and the strange key-like sword that was lying not far from this injured man.

Back at the castle, Ansem watches the young man, now lying in bed. “Any idea who he is?” He asks the one who found him.

“Not a clue,” Braig replies; he eyes this Xehanort with his remaining eye. “Maybe he can tell us when he wakes?”

Ansem sure hopes so; he leaves the room and goes to his office. Here, he finds his most trusted scientist, reading through some of their research files. He notices that Even seems annoyed about something. “What troubles you, Even?”

The head scientist briefly jerks his head towards him before going back to mull over the notes from past experiments. “The light of our Princess of Heart, it confounds me.” The man begins to walk around the room, still nose-deep in the folder. “Latest tests show that she is of pure light, yet the light in her does not truly belong to her. Moreover, this light has a strong connection to another realm. A place of endless darkness. Realm of Darkness, perhaps?” Even finally meets his eyes with a gleam that he is hooked on these experiments. “Very fascinating and worth studying further into.”

Ansem chuckles at Even’s zeal to further their research; however, “Take it easy, Even, we do not fully understand this Realm of Darkness, as you like to call it. We do not know what lives there. What dangers lurk in such a place.”

“We’re not getting any results if we keep being cautious.” Even snorts, but one look from him and the head scientist admits defeat. “If it makes you feel better, I guess we can continue on these minor tests about the link Kairi shares with this realm.”

“See to you do, but keep in mind you are dealing with a child.” Ansem reminds him, and speaking about children. “On topic about children—“

“I have already spoken with Dilan about Ienzo’s shenanigans.” Even interrupts him.

Not what he wanted to speak about exactly, more that Ansem is hoping that the boy’s parents will let him revisit the castle soon. Ienzo is quite the smart boy, and he adores to spoil that child. Pretty sure Ienzo enjoys their time together as well. But since they are on the topic, “Any idea how he found out about the secret passage?”

“Kid is too curious for his own good. Not to mention he’s smart; it’s a terrible combination.”

Ansem chuckles and finds quite the irony in this: “Curious, that’s how I can describe you.” Even shoots him a ‘you gotta be joking’ look, which only makes him laugh further. “It’s too bad you don’t fancy children.”
Even merely huffs, attention goes back to past research notes. Anyways, Ansem figures he better give his trusting scientist a heads-up. “The guards found a young man out on the streets. He is terribly wounded, and so far, we only know his name: Xehanort.”

“I will get hold of someone to tend this man’s wounds.” Even replies, clearly not going to vote himself for this task. Ansem would’ve been kind of annoyed by this lack of empathy— if he hadn’t already known that Even is not a man who follows his heart but one who depends highly on logic.

Most likely, in Even’s eyes, his suggestion is the best way to help Xehanort. After all, Even does not care to get friends, only to get the job done most effectually. “Please do.” and he leaves to check up on the other scientists in the laps. Out of the corner of his eyes, he sees Even head down the other hallway, hopefully going to get a healer for Xehanort.

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It took a couple of days before their new guest woke from whatever happened to him. Ansem was told about Xehanort’s awakening from Braig, and he went to speak with the man. But it turns out that answers might not come easily, for it turns out, “You do not remember anything?” Ansem asks the still bedridden young man.

“No, everything I recall is my own name.” Xehanort replies quietly; he lifts one of his bandaged hands, looking at it. “I do not remember what caused these injuries nor why I ended up here.”

Well, it’s a pity, but there is nothing they can do about that. For now at least, “Perhaps your heart holds the answers.” Ansem suggests and ends up explaining that he and many more at the castle are researching the secrets a heart holds. “By your permission, I would like to perform a few tests: see if we can recover your lost memory.”

Xehanort stares at him with a pair of calm and calculating yellow gazes; slowly, he drops it, musing, “Perhaps it can restore what I have lost, return the life I once had.” Their gazes meet again. “You have my permission.”

Ansem nods and leaves the room. “I will inform the scientists, but for now, rest. We can speak further about this after your full recovery.”

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Xehanort recovered fairly quickly, and with his permission, Even and the other scientists began conducting tests in an attempt to figure out clues of who Xehanort was, or at least uncover where he came from.
Ansem made sure to follow up on the information closely. Even wrote down and joined in several of the experiments.
It wasn’t that he always could join the others in the labs; as ruler over Radiant Garden, Ansem had a duty to keep people safe. This means he spent an equal amount of time talking with the guards, mainly the head guard, Dilan. Most often, the man would complain about the two rascal boys who got the idea to sneak into the castle. Fortunately, they don’t leave behind any mess, by the sounds of it. Ansem wagers those two trespassers are merely curious to uncover the castle’s secrets and bold enough to ignore the rules. He didn’t pay them much attention, simply letting Dilan handle those two the way he thought was best.

However, another problem has arrived, one Ansem pays a lot more attention to. There have been talks about strange occurrences happening around the city. Rumors of strange creatures roaming the darker parts, but so far, no one has gotten hurt. Still, that didn’t stop certain people from causing trouble for others. “We have to take the buildings at the Marble Wall district into deep consideration.” Dilan points out.
It is an occasional topic they speak about. That district is one of the few places that has old buildings from before Radiant Garden got its name. Most of the buildings are out of wood and weren’t built with original power lines. Such things got stuffed into them over the decades, and now, Ansem is dealing with such problems as crude maintenance as his predecessors did. “I’m getting reports that the power grid has gotten unstable due to the heat. The water flow is still functional, but the people living there do experience power outages, meaning we cannot warn them if any dangers may arrive.” Dilan explains, and Ansem can see why the head guard kept insisting they should demolish that entire section and construct new, safer buildings.

Ansem would love to start on such a task, but he has to be realistic. Their budget won’t allow that kind of grand task, for it’s not only the buildings he has to think about but the people living there. Still, that section is a problem; it’s where crime is highest, as it’s the cheapest place to rent in the entire city. “It is a problem— it has been for a long time now.”

“I’m aware.” Dilan voices, “The city guards keep handing me reports of the constant trouble they encounter in that section.” The man crosses his arms, a deep scowl on his face. “But I am also aware that there’s only so much you can do. Still, I do wish to see if we can persuade people to move out of that area. We may have to force them, but it’s for their own good.”

Always trying to be there for the people, even though Dilan can be rather harsh with his intentions. But Ansem knows that this firm handling is what made Dilan the best for the title of head guard. It’s not like Braig is going to take such duties seriously. Besides, Braig’s better at interacting with the common folks. “Send Braig, and he may have a better chance of convincing the inhabitants to follow up on your plan.”

The head guard makes a small bow, causing his dreadlock ponytail to glide closer to his shoulders. The man leaves, and Ansem wishes he could do more, but he has to leave this department in Dilan’s hands. Ansem returns to his office, but on the way, he gets a pleasured surprise. Even comes walking down the hallway with little Ienzo, and the moment the boy notices him, he trots over. “Hello again, Ienzo.” Ansem smiles and kneels down to be closer to the boy’s height. “What brings you here this time around?”
For he cannot see any of Ienzo’s parents, only a bit disgruntled Even.

“Mom and Dad wanted some alone time; they will be gone for a few days.” Ienzo replies with an amusing ‘what can you do about it?’ shrug, which further amuses Ansem as the boy looks up to Even with a smile. “Even looks after me in the meantime.”

That is strange; usually, when such visitations arrive, Even will give him a heads up. “It’s not like you to jump such things on me,” Ansem remarks, saying that, of course, he does not mind when his subordinates bring their children. He adores these visits, but only Dilan brings his daughter without warning. Not that Ansem blames the man; it can’t be fun going through a divorce with someone Dilan did care much about. Even does not deal with such things, he never seemed interested in romantic relationships. And with a scowl on the head scientist’s face. “They jumped this on you?”

Even nods and instantly assures him, “I will be keeping an eye on him. Ienzo won’t be in the way while we perform the more sensitive tests.” he then looks down to the boy, “Even if I have to drag him with me all the time.”

“You’ll let me into the labs?” Ienzo asks, looking quite excited about that.

“We shall see. I doubt I can trust Aeleus to keep you out of trouble.” Even remarks, and the child gets a look of bashful glee.

Ansem can’t help but chuckle, “I wouldn’t mind if little Ienzo joined us. I’m sure he will behave nicely.” he raises a brow at the cough his head scientist made but does not openly question if that was a laugh or an actual cough. Instead, he turns down this sweet boy. “Won’t you, Ienzo?”

“Of course.” the boy smiles sweetly up to him. Even then leaves and, with a wave, “See you.” Ienzo trots after Even. Further down the hallway, the kid suddenly asks, “Oh, Even did you bring Arcanum?”

“No. I don’t want you to flaunt magic around inside the castle.”

“Awww….”

Ansem laughs, feeling a bit sorry for the joykill the boy has to be around, but he is sure Even has other things that can entertain the child.

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There was an attack down in the Outer Gardens; the city guards weren’t able to handle the attackers, so Dilan, Aeleus, and Braig had to go out and help. Ansem can only wait anxiously for news on what kind of attack has happened in that section of his city. It must’ve been awful, for Aeleus returned, briefly reporting, “Some sort of monsters, and they’ve killed.” To then ask, “Have you seen Even?”
Ansem is not sure why the guards need Even. He’s no warrior, but perhaps they want him to investigate these monsters. “In the library.” He replies to the man, and Aeleus leaves to find Even straight away.
It did not take long before the head scientist came to him, with a very confused Ienzo right behind him. before Even can ask, “I’ll look after Ienzo.” That is clearly what Even is going to ask of him.

“Thank you,” and Even leaves along with Aeleus.

Ansem exchanges a look with the child, who is understandably confused and worried about what is going on. He gives Ienzo a small smile, “Would you like to see the labs?” and, as hoped, erases the child’s worries. Ienzo nods excitedly and with his hand in his. Ansem brings Ienzo to the labs where they conduct the physical examinations of volunteers; the boy listens with great interest as he explains what the different machines and tools are used for. Finishing the tour, Ansem is about to suggest they go out to buy ice cream, but the return of the guards puts a stop to those plans. It startles him to see the three guards in this beaten-up state, quickly leaving Ienzo in his office. Ansem asks Dilan, “What happened?”

“Monsters.” The head guard replies, eyeing Braig and Aeleus, both with their share of wounds. “We managed to kill them all, but not without causalities.” Dilan turns back to him, a hard gleam in his eyes. “Even is currently investigating who the victims were, but there is a big possibility…” The purple orb goes to his office, then with a sigh. “Aeleus thinks it may have been Ienzo’s parents.” Said guard drops his head, and Ansem feels a cold shiver run down his spine that little Ienzo may have lost his mother and father.

There might still be a chance it’s not. “Not a word to anyone before I know all the details.” He commands the three guards, adding to Dilan, “I want your report on my desk as soon as possible. Leave no details out.”

“As you wish.”

A quick check and Ansem commands. “Braig, get your arm looked at." Braig huffs but nods, as his left arm is bleeding too much for comfort. "Aeleus, look after Ienzo.” The man nods towards him, and Ansem heads out to get a vocal report from Even. He finds the man in the city morgue, standing beside two covered bodies, but even from a decent distance, Ansem can see that these two victims’ have been torn to shreds.
He asks the woman who usually tends to the deceased to please leave and with her out. “Even do you know who the victims’ are?”

A long silence, Ansem notices that Even’s hands are shaking, and the man is clearly struggling to say his words. “They… it’s…” Even looks at the covered bodies. “They… bear a striking resemblance to Ienzo’s parents…”

Oh no… Ansem feared it would be the case. He steps closer to the deceased, not even going to lift the sheets. Their shapes are missing a lot of parts, and he would instead hold the mental image of them walking alongside their son than what has become of them now. “I had hoped Aeleus was wrong…” He muses, but they must’ve been recognizable enough for the younger guard to realize it was them. Footsteps make Ansem turn around. Even walks over to the table where the equipment for a proper autopsy lies. The man is physically shaky, and Ansem realizes how close his head scientist must’ve been to Ienzo’s parents. “My deepest condolence.”

“I’m fine.” Even snaps back; he looks as if wanting to say more but is clearly too shaken up to speak. Most likely, he is still in denial that he has lost his perhaps only friends. “I know— this is not… the hell with it!” He throws a tray into the nearest wall. This sudden action startles Ansem; he knows Even has little patience for most people and can, at times, be short-tempered, but never before has he seen him show this form of physical aggression.

He stares at the shaking man and can only imagine what is going on inside his head. Ansem eyes the bodies and thinks it’s unfair for Even to examine his friends’ bodies. “You don’t have to do this, Even. There are others who can examine the injuries the monsters made.” Right now, Even feelings are more important than clues in how to defend themselves better if the monsters were to return.

But Even passes him over to the covered bodies. “No, I can do this.”

“Even—“

“I have to do this!” The head scientist snaps at him; Ansem is startled at the glare. Even shot his way. A determination unlike any other, a rage of unknown kind.

He does not think it’s a good idea to let Even do this. He is clearly upset and has any reason to be so. “No, this affects you too much.” Even opens his mouth, but Ansem stops him. “Return to the castle. Give yourself time to grieve.”

Even does not move from his spot; he stares at the sheet covering what remains of his friends. “It’s the only way… please, let me do this.” The begging takes Ansem more off guard than the angry outburst. Even is not the type of person to beg for anything. “I have to do it.”

“Why Even? Why do you must be the person to examine the bodies of your friends?”

Even in silence for a very long time, his hands turn white from how tense he has become. Then, finally, he speaks, “For my own sanity’s sake. I can’t rest knowing…” he goes quiet but with a sigh of utter defeat, “…knowing I didn’t do my part to protect the city.”

“Even…” Ansem feels deeply sorry for his trusted co-worker, one whose whole life seems to involve science, now feels forced he has to do this for the city’s sake.

“Let me do this.”

He sighs but has to surrender to Even’s wish. Perhaps it is his way of accepting his friends are gone and making their demise into something constructive. It’s a terrible way of doing it, but maybe that’s Even a way to grieve. “All right, but know you can walk away. I’m not commanding you to do this.”

Even nods slowly, but his eyes are unwavering from the bodies. “I’m aware.”

He leaves Even, figuring they can discuss the issue with Ienzo when the man has gotten through this morbid way of accepting his friends' demise.

Two reports came to him the next day. Neither was he particularly excited to read, but that is part of the job description of being the king of this city. Ansem opens Even’s report first, like their talk from yesterday. Even’s hand has been shaking, so bad that it is hard to figure out what he has been writing. The report isn’t as detailed as Even usually makes them, but Ansem glosses over that this time around. Sympathizing that this was incredibly hard for the man. Reading Dilan’s report, the picture of these monsters becomes clearer. They attacked with speed, precision, and deadly claws. The injuries on Ienzo’s parents reveal that these claws on the monsters were more than sharp enough to slice through flesh like a knife through butter. They didn’t stand a chance… the guards had similar injuries, only their training kept them from suffering the same fate.
A knock on the door, followed by Even’s voice “You wanted to see me?”

Another thing he isn’t particularly excited about, but it has to be addressed. “I would’ve liked to have given you more time, but” Ansem puts down the reports and looks at Even with folded hands over the papers with details of how those two poor people met their end. Leaving behind a child. “we have to discuss what is going to happen to Ienzo.” Even jerks his head away from him; that glare from yesterday is back. “Do you know if the child has any next of kin?” Ansem asks. It would be best for Ienzo to be around family, especially with the pain he’s soon going to experience.

A long, painful silence, again with Even’s fisted hand trembling. Ansem does not speak; he waits patiently for Even to answer his question. Figuring the man still hasn’t fully accepted, they are gone. He even crosses his left arm and the right hand resting over his mouth, and there is rage and pain in his green eyes. “Chana’s father is too weak to handle a child, and Silvo… he’s an orphan. That’s why they… curse them…” He swears under his breath, understandably upset about this whole thing. Even begins to wander back and forward, mumbling something Ansem cannot hear, only that his head scientist is not happy about the subject.

“Even,” Ansem calls. He is troubled by his subordinates’ behavior, but they have to tend to a child’s needs. “is there anyone who can take him?”

The man stops, curses, and finally reveals, “Yes. After a close call four years ago… they…” he sighs but refuses to look at him. “They named me Ienzo’s godfather.” Ansem blinks at what Even has just told him; he wasn’t aware the man was this close to that little family. One looks, and Even must’ve intercepted his thoughts, for he grumbles, “It’s more of a title, a sign I was part of their little family. I’m not exactly the best option, considering my work schedule.”

“But Ienzo knows you.” Ansem points out, to be honest, “He knows all of us. He won’t be alone with this.” it’s just too bad that this visit is going to be semi-permanent. And honestly, “If you weren’t his godfather, Ienzo still would’ve stayed. I would’ve taken the child in instead.” Even does not answer, but there’s no need to. Instead, Ansem goes to the next part of this unfortunate plan of schedule and from how Even has been acting. “I can break this unfortunate news for him; I don’t think it’s fair you have to take on this burden.”

Hand under his chin, a deep furrow across the forehead. “No, I don’t think it is.” Even admits after a moment of silence, “But I have to accept this is both our new reality.” Ansem nods in somber agreement. He wishes they didn’t have to do this, but he thinks Ienzo would be better off staying here than being sent to the orphanage and later to a family he does not know. At least here, he has people he trusts. People who Ienzo knows care about him. Even leaves the room, but Ansem does not try to stop him, figuring the man needs more time to grieve— accept that he has to care for Ienzo now that his parents can’t.

Ansem asks Aeleus to bring Ienzo to his office. The guard does, and Ansem hates to break this onto this sweet boy, but it’s not fair to leave Ienzo thinking he will be going home tomorrow. “Ienzo, there was an attack by monsters.” He kneels down before the confused child, “Two were killed…”

The boy’s eyes dart in confusion as to why he is saying this, but the child is bright, and it did not take long before Ienzo understood what was going on. The visible blue eyes are wide in horror and disbelief, and then the boy cries out. “N-No, no! They can’t be—they can’t be dead!” Understandably, Ienzo is in denial that he has lost his beloved mother and father. Ansem puts a hand on the boy’s tiny shoulders; Ienzo jerks away and spins around to Aeleus, “They aren’t gone!” Aeleus drops his gaze, and the yelling turns into a whisper. “Please tell me they survived...” Ienzo’s words are of one begging to be removed from this fast-approaching pain, his blue eyes damp and tears threatening to fall at any moment.

He wishes it could’ve been different, but something just cannot be changed. “I’m sorry, Ienzo. They are gone.” Ansem tells the child, his voice soft and sympathetic towards this small but brilliant boy. Again, he puts his hands on Ienzo’s shoulders, which is a sign that he’s here for him. “I am so sorry.” Ienzo looks at him, eyes filled with tears. Ansem pulls the boy into a hug, and the child soon begins to sob quietly against his chest, the tiny hands holding onto his scarf as if life depended on it. He knows it’s not much of a consolation, but it may not leave the upcoming future too bleak. “I know it’s not the same, but the castle will be your new home.”

Aeleus lifts his head at hearing this but does not say anything about it. Ienzo’s sobbing slowly eases up, replaced with apathetic grief. Ansem does not blame the child for shutting himself off like this but does hope Ienzo will recover and show his sweeter side again. Lifting the child up in his arms. Ansem carries Ienzo back to the room he was given as his time as a guest. Now… it’s going to be his permanent living quarters. Stepping inside, Ansem is reminded to make this guest room into something that should feel more at home. He puts Ienzo down on his bed and asks Aeleus, who has followed him here. “Stay here for him.” The guard nods, and Ansem leaves to figure out what kind of stuff Ienzo can use for his room. Unfortunately, Ansem does not know much about the child’s life outside the few visits to the castle. Only that Ienzo is smart and he loves to read.
Even is in the labs, the man is understandably distracted by whatever thoughts are going through his mind. “Even.” The man looks up from the notes he was trying to write, and once again, the hand is shaking. “Could you get something for Ienzo’s room? Whatever that may make him feel at home?”

Even looks down at the notebook and closes it somewhat hard: “He shouldn’t be removed from his home.” He is still in denial, but they have to face the harsh reality.

“You know he can’t. Unless you live there as well.” Ansem replies, and by the appalled look, it’s clear that Even does not want to live in his friends’ house. “It’s best he stays at the castle, but with his parents gone…”

“I’m not going to sell the house,” Even points out bluntly. Ansem blinks, but he thinks where the head scientist is going. And right as he was, “It’s Ienzo’s home, it belongs to… it belongs to him.”

Perhaps it will bring the boy some joy from the memories he shared with his parents when he came of age: “Do what you feel is right, Even. I will not meddle.” He replies, for if this is what Even thinks will be best for Ienzo, then who is he to judge? What Ansem will have a say in, however, “But he needs personal belongings. You may not like it, but you have to bring it here from his former home.”

“Fine.” Even grumbles.

“And see if you can find him a suitable lab coat.” To be snapped at by Even: “I’m not letting a child inside the labs!” Usually, Ansem would agree, but they can’t leave Ienzo to roam on his own. Besides, that boy needs company now more than ever. “I insist, Even. Don’t make me turn it into a command.” His trusting subordinate grumbles but, fortunately, does not continue to argue.

“If you insist.” but Even, like the proud man he is, he won’t drop the subject before he at least has one victory. “Then I must insist: you’ll make a proper password this time.” Ansem raises a brow. Why is Even so worked up about his choice of passwords? It’s not like everyone in Radiant Garden knows about his love for sweets. Even is quick to explain why he made such a demand: “Ienzo has already breached our security several times, and I don’t want that child snooping around the computer.”

What? Is Even saying that sweet and polite Ienzo has a mischievous streak? No, that can’t be right. “Are you sure it’s not the two boys Dilan and the guards are dealing with?” Ansem asks; in his eyes, little Ienzo isn’t the type to pull off such shenanigans. “He’s the most well-behaved boy I know.” Never does anything to stir up trouble, and he does always do what people tell him.

A large eye roll and Even remarks grumpy. “You won’t say that for much longer.” Ansem blinks, but the man brushes his confusion off by demanding again, “Change the passwords, and for the love of the light, make them harder!”

“Has someone hacked through the computer?” Ansem turns around and is pleasantly surprised to see that Xehanort is up and about. He looks much healthier, though still having that gleam of ignorance. It is not a surprise; all Xehanort has about himself is a name.

“No one you need to worry about, Xehanort.” Even replies snidely, still acting coldly to the man, but then again, his head scientist is currently going through a rough patch. So understandable, Even is most likely not in the mood to act polite towards Xehanort. The silver-haired young man nods slowly, and Even turns back to him with a short. “If you excuse me.” And leaves before anyone can stop him.

Ansem sighs; he fully understands Even’s behavior and feels deeply sorry for his head scientist. The same goes for their new residence. Poor Ienzo, losing his parents at such a young age. “Did I do something to warrant this treatment?” Xehanort quietly asks.

Eyeing the young man, Ansem shakes his head. “No, Even is currently going through a rough patch. Leave him be for the time.” Xehanort nods slowly, and since he’s here. “Have any of your memories returned?”
Xehanort shakes his head. That is too bad, but with how Even is. “There won’t be future tests. Not until Even has recovered from his personal… grief.”

Xehanort nods; he turns to where Even left. “I understand, but it’s not why I am here.” Ansem turns back to him, and the young man explains why he has come to the labs. “I have come to ask to become an apprentice under your service, sir. Not only in the hope of recovering my lost memories but also of helping people like you have helped me.”

Ansem is, for some reason, not surprised to hear this request from this young man. Already a week after the guards found Xehanort, this young man has shown to have an incredibly sharp mind. He is perhaps ignorant when it comes to his own life, unaware of the World surrounding them. But that hasn’t stopped his natural intuition from shining through. Before the monster disaster, Even remarked that he was impressed by how well Xehanort could understand the source of the experiments and how quick he was to put clues together. Ansem can see why Xehanort wanted to join them: “Request granted, I am sure Even would apprentice having another scientist on the team.” He does feel like warning Xehanort. “Try not to take some of his comments personally. Even is short-tempered and at times strict, but he is very informed when it comes to this field and I would like you to show him the respect he deserves.” Even is mostly polite to volunteers, but to co-workers, he demands respect and 100% focus on their given task. That man is his head scientist for a reason, and he trusts Even with a lot of the more delicate experiments. But with current events, “He might not be in the right head-space to mentor you at the moment. I will do my best to mentor you, but I am not always there during the tests. In those times, simply watch what the others are doing and listen to what Even tells you.”

“I’ll put that in mind.” Xehanort replies and bows, “Thank you for giving me this chance.” He then leaves, and Ansem thinks this young man will be a good extra addition to the science team.

Chapter Text

Now in a laboratory coat, Xehanort heads straight to the computer room, where he has been tasked to input the new data from the science team's latest experiments. It's way below his skills, but for now, he has to accept that he's the lowest— "Hey, mister master!" and someone rather forcefully put an arm over his shoulder. Turning to his right, one of the guards is the one who made the jump on him. What does this man want? "Oh c'mon, you don't even know your pal?" The guard asks in amused disbelief, "Please tell me the amnesia was just a sick joke." What is this fool on about? The man drops his head, practically leaning over him. "Boy, this is some cliché." he tries to remove the man's hand, having a strange sense this person knows something he does not. But when he tries, the guard takes a firmer hold, pulling him closer. The man stares at him with his singular yellow eye. The smirk is gone, and he asks, "Hey, you're not… Terra?"
Xehanort narrows his eyes, getting a bit tired of this man. A part of his heart does know what he's talking about, but it won't yet reveal what it is. "Just gotta check." the man responds, with a laugh and slaps on the shoulder. "As if. Well, don't sweat it. I got your back." Not sure why though, but something back in Xehanort's mind tells him that this guard is on his side. He may be worth keeping around, even if he has to deal with that obnoxious attitude.

At the computer room, Xehanort begins his task, doing his best to ignore the guard leaning up against the window, watching him with that sharp eye of his. Finishing up on the first task and getting annoyed by this hovering. "Don't you have better things than watching my back?"

The man snorts a laugh. "Getting tired of me already, amnesiac?" He narrows his eyes at the name-calling, which seems to be this guy's characteristics, "As if. I'm here to make sure you don't mess things up. Not that I blame the king; he thinks every new guy needs a babysitter." How considerate of the sage kind, but couldn't Ansem have sent someone less annoying? At least he's not talking further, allowing Xehanort to finish up and save the files inside the computer. He would've liked to look at the data hiding in there, but with the guard watching. He shouldn't try. Maybe in the near future, he can get rid of this babysitter. Xehanort returns to the labs, and the man follows him. "Say, do you remember my name?"

"I don't." He replied curtly.

"Well, it's Braig, and being a guard, it's part of my job to keep your empty mind safe." Xehanort casts the man a look at the teasing insult. Braig responds by smirking. It does drop, and the man stops, staring down to the entrance hall.
Xehanort stops, too, curious about what made this guard react this suddenly and on something he cannot see. Braig stares out into space for a weirdly long time, and then he suddenly summons a sort of crossbow and fires at the hallway beside them. Following the shot, Xehanort spots a humanoid figure. It looks like a child, but the shape isn't solid and definitely not human; the shot went right through it. "This is going to be a problem." Xehanort turns away from this child-like figure and over to Braig. The man has a menacing smirk, glaring at the figure. "We got another intruder, and this time." The man meets his eyes. "It's not human."

Xehanort glances over to where the figure is, but it is gone. He can, however, still 'sense' this entity is near. Some sort of essence, not sure what it is, though. He tries to pinpoint it but is unable. "Curious. What kind of entity has entered the castle?"

"Guess it's your job to find out." Braig replies with a smirk, lifting his finger into the air, "If we can catch it."
Xehanort hums and wonders what kind of secrets this entity is hiding.

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The guards were warned about this new intruder, but other than having Braig's words for it, none of the other guards ever saw this person.
Instead, they got their share of trouble from two teenagers, two who have increased their break-in a lot more over the passing weeks.

The two kids, Lea and Isa, dared to get in there, not to discover the castle's secrets. They stopped that after their second visit. Instead, they went inside these forbidden grounds to help a friend they made in there. Like many other times, they found her hiding near where they snuck inside. They cannot truly see her face or body; their friend is always stuck in the shadows, too shy to come out.
Lea and Isa have, over the weeks of knowing her, been trying to get the girl to follow them outside of the castle, but it never worked. Something is keeping her here, and since she's not talking, the boys cannot know why she insists on staying. They didn't even know her name, so Lea insisted they call her friend. Isa found it silly, but since the girl seemed to like being called that, he admitted defeat and stuck to this nickname.

Their castle friend likes to follow them around, though never getting too close. Lea and Isa went out of their way to ease the girl's shyness, and slowly, she allowed brief contact.
That's where the boys found out about her power. Each time they touched her offered hand, a colorful animal would appear. They are all cute, weird, and very cuddly. They both got a favorite of these colorful animals; Lea liked the mischievous two-legged lizard, while Isa had fun riding around the long-teethed big cat.

Their friend seemed to enjoy them playing around with these colorful creatures. The guards…. Not so much.

"Heads up!" Lea calls grinningly and throws his ammo at the guard who found them this time around. The lizard whoops excitedly as it flies over to the scary guard with the dreadlocks, the one who is by far the worst to be caught by.

Dilan gets some weird and very colorful lizard thrown at him by one of those two brats. He blocks with his spear, only for the lizard to curl around it and spit some sort of smokescreen at him. He angrily waves it off and turns to the two— wait, there's another, a girl. "When I get my hands on you!" He shouts as he throws this strange lizard away.

Lea yelps and takes the run for it. "More ammo, more ammo! This guy is gonna kill me!" He cries, having no wish to be caught by this guy again. Isa points in the direction they should run. Their friend hesitates, so Isa takes her hand, and another creature appears. Lea snatches the fish that appeared and hurls it at the guard. "Go fish!" Hitting the man right in the face.

He had it with these children! Not only are they continually trespassing, but they are now throwing weird colorful animals. "Are you fucking kidding me?!" Dilan roars as he pieces the fish with his spear, making it disappear in a burst of bobbles. "Where do these animals come from?!" He notices these brats are heading outside, about to reach the lifts down to the city. It must've been how they got in this time around. "Get back here!"

They reach the lifts, but Lea isn't on, so he can't make it leave. "Hurry up!" Isa calls for Lea. Their friend is staring quietly at the running like crazy Lea. "Or do you want to get your butt kicked?!"

"Shut up!" Lea shouts back and jumps onto the platform. Isa hits the crystal like he has never hit before. The platform moves away, leaving that mean guard behind. "Better luck next time!" Isa calls mockingly after him, Lea is grinning widely, though still not gotten back on his feet from that epic jump. They didn't get to see as much of the castle as they wanted today, but they can always return when they don't have a guard chasing them. Still, they did it. They got their friend— but when Isa turns, she is gone. "Where did she go?" he asks.

Lea looks around the decent-sized platform but is equally confused as well. "You don't think… she jumped off?" Both hurry over to the edge, but the electricity surrounding it won't allow them to pass. Lea turns to his friend, fully admitting, "I like her and all, but gosh, she is so weird!" Isa can only nod in agreement and still has no clue as to how she keeps disappearing like that.

Meanwhile, inside the castle, "There you are!" Braig calls and jumps down before the entity. It stops and looks up at him; the form is more stable than the last time he saw it.

"Did you get one of them?" Dilan asks as he returns back inside, looking mighty pissed the boys got away again.

Braig nods, "Yup," and steps to the side so his boss can see her. "though not exactly a child."

Dilan frowns at what looks to be a girl, but something is odd about her. It's like something is wrong with the shape; it does not seem solid, and it's impossible to get a proper look at the face. "What is she?" he asks; the girl reaches a hand out to him, and he is not sure why, but feeling compelled, he takes her hand.
Right that moment, another of these colorful creatures appears, this time a multicolored shark. This one is, however, not harmless like those the boys threw at him. This shark starts attacking, forcing him and Braig away from the girl. He never thought it was the mystery girl who summoned them. "She's the source of those creatures?" Dilan exclaims, surprised by this fact.
The shark attempts to tackle him, but Braig puts that to a halt by a mirage of bullets, and it 'swims' away for the moment.

Landing beside Dilan, who stares at their opponent in disbelief. "That's not something you see every day." Braig chuckles, more amused than worried about this whole thing. Sure, that shark is much bigger than what they usually get thrown at them, but they would be lousy castle guards if they can't defeat a rainbow-colored shark.

Shooting the badly scarred man a glare, he summons two more spears and, with his wind magic, hurls them at this shark. It dodges two, but the third hits its side. The shark jerks, but other than that, it does not react to the spear now sticking out from its side. It charges at them, jaws wide open for a bite. Dilan quickly summons another spear and uses it to block the jaw from taking a bite out from him. Braig uses that moment to teleport to a more wanted position and shoot the thing dead. Like any of these weird animals, the shark dissolves into bubbles, and still with a spear in hand, Dilan eyes this strange child. Her form has become more unstable, and now it's like looking at a person through moving water. "What is she? One of those monsters?" He asks, this time using a spear to keep this strange girl in check.

"She is something else." Braig calls out and lands beside the girl, catching her arm.

"Don't touch her!" Dilan warns the other guard, but it's too late. Like when he touched her, a colorful animal appears. However, this time, the animal is surrounded by some intense magic, making it impossible to see the form of the newly arrived creature.

The magic mist disappears, revealing a multicolored- though mostly gray scorpion. It stares at him, not moving, and even though it's not his, he can feel the connection. "Oh, you gotta be kidding me..." Braig shakes his head and has been taken so much off guard that the scorpion hits him with its stinger, throwing him across the room. He gets back up, briefly touching the scarf around his neck. His own wants to fight, but Braig won't let it. He can handle this weaker version just fine. But still, "This is just plain cruel" he muses but gets back up and puts his two arrowguns into a sniper rifle.

Not sure why Braig just stood like a fool, but he's fine so it doesn't matter. Dilan turns his gaze to this strange girl, currently getting protected by this colorful scorpion. "It looks like this girl can summon beasts. Explains where the two boys got the smaller ones." Dilan observes, and fortunately, these creatures are easy to defeat. "Let's take this freak down."

"As if!"

He's getting tired of this annoying new phrase Braig is starting to use. It's subtle, but that man changed after he got those injuries. Not sure what caused it; maybe someone finally got under Braig's skin. That's where he notices the deep frown on Braig's scarred face, and it better not be this: "Don't tell me you're scared of insects."

"First, scorpions aren't insects; they are arachnids." Braig points at him, for some reason annoyed that he didn't know the differences between the two things, but Dilan never cared for the insect world. "Second," Braig aims his weapon at the scorpion. "I adore these buggers, so I hate to kill it, but I rather not be stung by it either."

Ah, that makes sense. Never heard Braig talk about the fascination of scorpions, but it's not like Dilan talks about his interests on the job either. "Better get this over with." He summons three spears, and both guards go at it.
The scorpion dodges Braig's bullets, but it gets too distracted with him that it doesn't notice Dilan come at it from above, and he plunges all three spears into its back; he takes notice of the strange sigil, and it does not look like those the monsters that killed Ienzo's parents had. All of these multi-colored creatures did share the same sigil, but what they are must be a mystery for the scientists. His attack stunned the scorpion long enough for Braig to blast it with a powerful, charged shot, one that took Dilan off guard.
Landing back on the ground as the scorpion dissolved, "When did you learn to do that?"

"Ah, come on, do you really think I'm slacking off on the training fields?" Braig makes an outburst of fake offense, still grinning like a fool.

"Apparently not." Dilan replies deadpan but is glad he was wrong, and Braig did, in fact, use those hours to practice. Now, with the beast dealt with, he turns to the girl, blinking when her form seems to falter.

Seeing that too, "No, you don't," and Braig captures her inside a sort of force field of the space element; at least she does not struggle against these restraints.

Walking over to the now trapped girl, watching how her form seems disembodied like she is a ghost or something. He is no scientist, but even this catches his curiosity. "What are you...?" Dilan muses to himself, then turns to Braig and tells the younger male, "Bring her to the laps; the scientists might figure out what she is." Braig nods and brings the trapped girl to Even and the others. Dilan walks over to where the shark disappeared and picks up his spear, finding it strange that there is not any sign of blood or anything for that matter left behind on the blades. "Curious indeed." He muses to himself yet again before dismissing his spear in a small flash of light.

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Helping Even out in the laps would've usually excited him, but Ienzo did not feel like having such emotions at that moment. It still weighs heavy on him about his parents. He much rather wants to stay in his room— no, he wants to go home. But... this is his home now... He gets up from bed and, after putting the slightly too-big lap coat over his tiny shoulders, heads to the labs. None of the scientists notice him at the start; they are way busier writing down whatever their scanning tells them about this girl the guards caught. Ienzo is too depressed to really think about how scared this girl must be; all he can do is walk over to one of the shelves and start sorting the files.

"This lap is not built for these sorts of tests." Ienzo hears Even complain, "And this… whatever it is! It's making all of the readings incomparable!" The other scientists try to come up with reasons why these readings are weird, but Even is one of— what his father called them: one of his temper tantrums, and the head scientist wouldn't hear a word and instead went on a rant in how unsuited this laboratory is.
Ienzo would've found it funny in the past, but now his mind is too clouded in his depressive state.
"Get me the files about the human structure." Even commands someone, Ienzo grabs that file and hands it to one of the other scientists. The woman pats his head as thanks before walking over and handing it to Even. The head scientist takes it and starts flipping through the pages on what makes up a human body. Ienzo casts a glance at this girl inside the containment field, and he notices that she does not look afraid at all. Merely watching him with a pair of eyes that reminds him of that fox.

"What do you see?"

Ienzo turns to Xehanort; the man is watching him curiously, not sure why, and honestly... he does not care why. Ienzo merely stares back for a few seconds before going back to his file sorting task.

Ignoring the child, Xehanort straightens up and suggests to the leading man of these experiments. "We may need a bigger lap." He raises a brow when Even snorts, still nose deep in the file, telling him: "Ansem does not think it's necessarily with the experiments of understanding the human heart. Besides, only the basement has enough space, and I doubt people would allow themselves to be submitted to any tests down there." Xehanort titles his head slightly at what the head scientist has said. "Surely they must know we're doing it to help people understand the world surrounding us."

Even sighs, wishing more people would see it that way. "True, but people are afraid of what they do not understand. That is why we're here and why the human testing is strictly in this room." He gestures to this very open room. It does make the more delicate tests difficult, but Ansem wanted people to feel safe.
"People first, the experiments second, as our dear ruler likes to say." Even grumbles out the last part. It's really annoying having these restrictions, but he respects the Sage-king, though do often question Ansem's decisions. "Enough chatter, Xehanort; what do you get from the scans?" Even is already expecting them to be just as weird as the scans involving this girl's heart. Honestly, it is as if she does not have a heart, but that's just ridiculous.

It was proven correct, and that caused a lot of frustrations and headaches, so it was only during lunch break that Even truly realized that Ienzo had been in the labs. It was startling but also heart-wrenching that his friend's son, one who was such a talkative boy, hadn't spoken a single word. In fact, Even realizes that Ienzo hasn't spoken since Ansem broke the news about his parents. The lunch is quickly forgotten, and Even heads back to the lap; he finds the boy there, still working on sorting the files. "Ienzo." The boy turns to him. The sharp eyes have become dull and filled with so much pain.

Even gestures for him to come over, and the boy does; he then kneels down, trying to remember how Ienzo's parents did this when the boy would get upset. "How did they say it…? Something about your emotions overwhelming your mind?" He eyes Ienzo, and the child is avoiding his gaze. Usually, Ienzo will meet people's eyes, even when he's lying. Not this time; it must mean he's stuck in an emotional overload. Ugh, why did they saddle him with such a duty? Not that it matters as it stands now; Even is the only one who truly understands Ienzo. Watching the child, Even sees the many scenes where he has watched either Chana or Silvo do their parental magic on this boy. Now… it's his turn. Even tries to remember how Chana would do this. He gently but firmly makes Ienzo look at him. "Don't fight against your emotions; accept them all." He remembers Chana saying that line when Ienzo would go mute because of his emotions overwhelming him. The boy starts to tremble, then, as if Even just opened a door holding all the pain the boy felt, Ienzo breaks into tears. Even hesitates, but knowing Ienzo's father, he figures Silvo would do this. He pulls the boy over, awkwardly holding him in a hug. The kid's tears make his lab coat wet, but Even just has to deal with it.

"I miss them…" Ienzo finally speaks, croaked and weak after not having used his voice for almost a whole month.
Even does not move, the hand on his shoulder isn't as comforting as when his father does this. Not even Ansem can make him feel like his father's simple touch would. Maybe it's because both Ansem and Even have this sterile smell, the same as the labs. Ansem does, at times, get another scent, one of ice cream. But never the scent of the gardens, the soothing smell of wet grass, turned mulch, or the pages of a book… he misses that scent. He misses his mother's words, her explaining the best she can on whatever question comes to mind. Her eyes. Strong and firm, but they always made him feel safe.

"So do I." Even replies; it sounds forced, though, and that does not help Ienzo's already fragile mood.

He wishes Even would share his sadness with him and give him someone to share this pain with. "Even… you're lying." He muses, he feels Even tense up. Ienzo does, however, not move away from the man, for he is the only link he has left of the life he once had. "Talk to me about them… I want to hear you talk about Mom and Dad…" he wants to hear Even share his memories about them, whether it be the irritations of the many pranks or the cheesy words of encouragement his dad liked to throw at Even. He wants to hear Even talk warmly about his mother, how she's one of the few people who can make him leave his job and act like an ordinary person.

However, Even does not speak about them. instead, he straightens up, "There is no need." Even looks like he wants to say more, but does not. Now suddenly very annoyed, "Come along, child. I could use a pair of extra hands."
Ienzo is confused and disappointed as to why Even refused to speak about them; it's like he's in denial. Maybe he just needs time… Ienzo follows Even, hoping the man one day soon will talk about his parents. Allowing him to share their memory with someone who actually was close to them.

Even takes him to one of the rooms where they store recent data; he hands one of the folders to Ienzo: "I need you to read through and see if anything is incoherent for future use." Ienzo nods and begins to read.
Even watches the child and hopes this only has to be for the time being. He has no wish to be the boy's guardian more than necessary. He just has to solve one mystery, and everything can go back to normal.
It's hard, though, because of what the Lady of the Castle did to him. He cannot reveal this crucial secret to anyone; it is stuck in his head, and it is driving him insane. He hates to pretend and hates to lie when he knows the truth. Knows that Ienzo does not have to suffer, but he can't… say it!
'She said only when Ienzo knows the truth. I can speak about it.' He looks down at the boy, one he promised his best friend and obnoxious dumb-dumb to care for. And he will, for now at least. 'Whatever it takes, I will show him the truth of what truly happened to them.' So Even can end this curse put on him and things can go back to normal once again.

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He finds himself once again before the wall at the end of the Great Hall, staring at the keyhole that has appeared. He knows what it is; this keyhole is the gateway to this world's heart.

"Are you done staring at the wall, or do you want more time?"

Xehanort turns around and goes over to the wall Braig is leaning up against. Watching him with a mix of boredom and intense observation. The man knows his plans for this world's heart, and yet he does not truly understand. "Tell me, what do you see?" He gestures at the wall, right where the keyhole resides.

"I see a plain wall, one you are weirdly obsessed about," Braig answers, so it seems only he can see this keyhole. Interesting. The guard leaves his spot. "So what's so fascinating about this place? It's only interesting when our sage king pulls up a party." He grins. Yeah, Braig does look like the type of person who would enjoy such a time.

Xehanort returns and stares into the keyhole; he can see— feel an immense power. The power of this world's heart. "The door to the world."

"Come again?"

"This very room is the gateway to this world's heart. The power it holds must be… unlike anything we have ever felt." And that makes him wonder about the monsters they had managed to create in the labs. Entities from the realm of darkness. "What would happen if the Heartless got hold on this power? They are the essence of darkness, seeking out hearts of what they lack."

"You're not planning on letting those buggers free from containment?" Braig asks him and with a sarcastic laugh, "If you do, tell me, so I can save your sorry ass— or maybe I will let the Heartless take your heart first. Even might appreciate having a volunteer."

Hm, yes, they haven't yet figured out what happens if these Heartless end up attacking people. Ansem the Wise has been very strict in not going further with these tests and instead observing the two Heartless they got. Ansem is afraid of the Heartless, unaware of the power they wield, being the very essence of Darkness. "There are more to the Heartless than we know." He has suggested they perform further tests. Even is all for it, but Ansem's words are the rule. And he is commanding them to cease on this part of the experiments. But Xehanort cannot stop, he will use the Heartless and reach the power lying deep inside the darkness. Starting with this world's heart. "I need more test results; we cannot stop now."

Braig laughs from his spot. "Yeah, good luck with that. If I recall correctly," the man rolls his hand mockingly at him. "our Excellency made it abundantly clear you are not to pursue this heart of world thing."

"It is an issue, though a minor one." Xehanort muses; he leaves the keyhole be. Returning back to the hallways upstairs. "I will make him see this is worth researching."

"As if, if you keep this up," The guard claps him hard on the shoulder and waves as he heads the other way. "you might end up booted out from the team, and then where will you go next? It's not like you have a home!"

Xehanort narrow his eyes at what the man said; his dominant side finds it annoying that Braig keeps poking the weaker side of his heart. If Braig isn't so useful with his great source of information on what is going on around. Then Xehanort would've shut him up permanently a long time ago. Still, the man is loyal and has a good sense of what is useful information. Just wish he would stop spewing out secrets during his taunts, but for now, the others haven't caught on. So Xehanort leaves it be. He heads to Ansem the Wise's office; he can hear the sage king speaking to someone but can't make out the voice. Xehanort knocks, and the voices stop as he steps inside. The king has company, an anthropomorphic mouse, one he recognizes as the king of another world. But a name does not come up. Ignoring the sentient mouse, Xehanort bows and begins his attempt to persuade Ansem to continue the experiments. "Regarding the experiment, I presented the other day." How the Heartless are attracted to people's hearts. But what they do to those hearts when captured, they yet do not know. "With your permission. I'd like to proceed—"

"I forbid it!" Ansem shouts, getting up from his chair. Angry that Xehanort continues to insist on going down this dark path. Knowing about the realm of darkness and the creatures living there is enough. No need to mess further with this barrier separating the two realms. "Forget this talk of doors and the heart of all worlds. That place must not be defiled."

But how else can they ever understand the powers of the hearts if they aren't allowed to study the source of all hearts? "But, Master Ansem!" Xehanort argues, why can't this man see what he's trying to accomplish? "I've been thinking—"

But Ansem won't hear of it, the old man shakes his head. "Those thoughts are best forgotten."

Xehanort wants to argue and explain his reasons, but the look Ansem the Wise gives him, and he realizes that there's no point in arguing. This old fool will never permit him. Enraged but keeping his anger hidden. Xehanort bows, and with a huff, he leaves. Walking down the hallway, he encounters Braig again. The man is leaning against a wall, smirking as he passes him. "Ansem told you off, didn't he?" Xehanort continues to walk, too pissed at Ansem to humor this guard. However, he stops at Braig's following words: "Too bad you don't have a child's charm. He's a sucker for the kiddies."

Kids, he says? Hmm, that may be the key. Xehanort knows of three kids he has seen around the sage king. The princess of light, Dilan's daughter, and then the little quiet boy. But which one is the best option? "Which kid does he fancy the most?"

"Beats me." Braig chuckles. "I only look after them when told. I'm a bit too old to understand their lines of thoughts if you catch my meaning."
Xehanort eyes him, not entirely sure what Braig meant by that. He's not as old as Even and Ansem. He is at the age where Braig could easily have been someone's father. "I do mostly know Dilan's kid. With what he's dealing with, I often get saddled with that brat. And speaking of a brat," Braig begins to walk, "I better get back and check up on her; no wish letting Dilan catch me that I have been ditching his girl at the training grounds."

Xehanort decides to accompany Braig to the area, watching the man lecture this young teen on how to use her choice of weapon; a bow and arrow. The dominant side of him sees a potential target, one who clearly wants to live up to her father's image. Something he could use to his advantage. However, another part of him. One which is most of the time dormant but does stir at the most inconvenient of times. This part of him recognizes that this girl is headstrong and already knows what she wants. Xehanort mulls over these new thoughts, watching the girl being difficult towards Braig, who merely laughs her off. "Hmm, perhaps, but only if there aren't other options."
For him to use her properly, Xehanort needs to know her weakness better; the head guard himself. And Dilan is the kind of man who keeps his job and private life firmly separated. The only clue to what the head guard does in his free time is those nature magazines he likes to read when on break. Getting him to open up will require too much time, same with his daughter, who inherited Dilan's headstrong personality.

Then there's the little girl. One who carries a pure light in her. She's been part of a few experiments, but when they do those, Ansem is always around to make sure they don't scare the girl. Xehanort has noticed that everyone is protective of this girl, and perhaps she is too pure for what he wants. That child is better left to future experiments.

Xehanort leaves the area and stops when noticing Even walking with another child. That quiet boy. This kid is smart, hence why he's with them in the labs and, like Dilan's girl, doing everything to earn the approval of the adults. The other side of him makes the observation that this child is grieving, not in a clear headspace. Xehanort smirks. "That may be what I need."

When sure Even has left the area, Xehanort walks into Ienzo's room and stops in surprise to find what looks to be stars surrounding the whole room. He turns to the bed and realizes that this child has been the one who made them. "Impressive." Ienzo notices him, the illusion disappears, and the kid shyly hides behind that large red book. Xehanort walks over and takes a seat on the bed, meeting his yellow with the boy's sharp blue. "I'm starting to see why Even let you help out in the laps; not many people, less so at your age, can make spells like this." Ienzo smiles weakly but still does not say a single word. Xehanort wonders if this kid can even talk. Never heard him speak, but he is curious to try. "Did your parents teach you?" The boy drops his gaze, clutching the book tighter like it's his most prized possession.
Xehanort watches this reaction, considering every single observation, and uses it in his next words. "You're lucky to have known them. Compared to me, I don't even know if I still have parents." The boy does not meet his eyes, but it looks like it got the wheels turning. "I wish there was some way for me to remember, but with how the labs are now... I don't think that is ever going to happen." He sighs and turns away from the boy. A moment of silence before he speaks again. "There are many mysteries about the heart, how it dictates our thoughts with emotions. Stores our most precious memories, and yet, it can be so cruel at the same time. Turn a boy mute out of sorrow and make a man into only a shadow of his former self? Why, oh, why does the heart do this? What is the purpose behind it?"

He does not move at the sound of faint shuffling, only when a small hand is on his right arm and the boy is sitting beside him, sympathy in those tearful eyes. Xehanort smiles weakly back, though inwardly; it is a smirk from having gotten this boy on his side. Ready for his use. "Do you want to help me regain my memories?" The boy nods. He puts each hand on Ienzo's shoulders, grip firm but making sure he is not hurting the child. "Then I need you to break your silence and speak to Master Ansem. We need better laps; we need to go deeper into the research of the heart." Ienzo hesitates, but with a determent nod, he gets off the bed and trots out to find Ansem.
Xehanort smirks and after a moment, leaves the room as well.

As hoped, Ienzo managed to sweet-talk his way through the old fool. Whatever the boy said, it made Ansem consider the suggestion of creating an underground lab. And in time, with Ienzo's words controlling the king's actions. They will soon be able to perform the proper research and understand the power of the heart.

"You couldn't persuade him yourself, so ya gonna use a child instead?" Braigs asks him; like so many other times, the guard seems to know everything that's going on inside these walls. The guard glances over to Ienzo, being all sweet towards Ansem, who is utterly unaware he's being swayed by that very child. "Knowing that kid, Ienzo will spin Ansem along with no problem. He got quite the silver tongue— when he talks, at least."

"This boy. He chooses his words carefully, shaping the world around him with them." Xehanort replies at what he has observed. Ienzo notices his staring and looks back at him. Those eyes, Ienzo is aware of what he is doing, and yet... he gives the child an approving nod, something every child craves for. The boy blinks, then, with a smile, walks after the king. Continues spinning the ruler around the path he wants. "He seeks confirmation, and I will gladly give him such, as long he does as I ask."

Braig eyes him, still smirking, though his yellow eye is a bit sharper around the edges. "Looks like you got yourself a follower. But hey, not that I blame him." he shrugs and walks off. "You do have the charisma of a true leader."

"You should know, Braig," Xehanort replies, though it was never meant for the guard's ears. This man is annoying but a worthy follower as he hears things he wouldn't get otherwise.

Chapter Text

The bells chime; sign danger has arrived to the worlds. Lauriam looks up from the ice tea he has been drinking; instantly, it is forgotten, and he goes out to perform his duty. Before he can reach the door, Elrena bursts through, exclaiming urgently. “Shit just hit the fan!” She stops, in a bit of a surprise at how close she almost bumped into him. Elrena does recover quickly and reports, “Word is that the barrier to the Realm of Darkness has been cracked right open in Radiant Garden!”

This is not good news, Radiant Garden; it is a Core world. This means that Darkness can’t invade without someone openly letting it in. “Someone did this.” He states to his friend. Lauriam passes her and enters the outside of the castle. “I am going to stop them.” He activates his armor, but before heading out, he requests. “Can you get hold on the others in Land of Departure? I may need their help.” He’s not stupid enough to think that he can handle such a breach and defeat the flood of Darklings that are surely coming out from the Realm of Darkness.

“Already tried. But I got no response from that world.” Elrena replies and follows her friend. She’s still angry at him, but it won’t stop her from worrying that there’s no way Lauriam can do this alone. “We’re on our own.” but if he is going to die, then she will be there right beside him. “Let’s go.”

“No, I need you to go to the Land of Departure and see why they aren’t responding.” He points his keyblade and opens a portal, “I will hold the Darkness off as long as I can.” Noticing that Elrena is about to argue. “I cannot turn away from my duty. Move swiftly, my friend.”

She sneers, enraged, but fortunately admits defeat. “You better not die on me, or I am going to drag you back so I can kill you myself!” Elrena snaps back at him before running over to the pathway that will bring her to the other training grounds.

Lauriam quirks a smile, “Wouldn’t have it any other way, my dear.” and heads out to protect Radiant Garden from falling.

Arriving, it quickly becomes apparent that this darkness is too great, and even though Radiant Garden is a Core world, it will fall. Scanning the area, Lauriam sees a lot of people, all trying to either fight off the Darklings or flee by the few vehicles that can take them off world. Knowing his duty as a guardian of the worlds, Lauriam shoots at the portal, making it bigger so more can pass through it. “Over here!” he calls for the people. They stop for a moment but quickly understand what he’s done and start running through. Lauriam makes sure these small Darklings won’t be following. He stops when a Darkling, one bearing a sigil, appears. He has never seen a Darkling with a sigil before, and he has no idea why they suddenly have one; it makes him wonder if the wielders from the past got this symbol when they would turn into a Darkling if not strong enough to withstand the darkness. He has no idea, and now is really not the time to think about it. Lauriam is not planning to let these emblem Darklings reclaim his heart. He strikes every Darkling he meets down with his keyblade, allowing people to escape. A tremor and the portal falter. “Hurry!” he calls for the people.
Many get through, reaching the safety of the world he was tasked to look over, but with a maelstrom of Darklings fast approaching, Lairuam is forced to close the portal. He cannot allow them to invade Scala ad Caelum. It has to be a place of security, a place where future keyblade wielders can train in peace, away from the troubles of the surrounding worlds.

There are still people, but there is nothing Lauriam can do for them now. They just have to fend for themselves. He looks up to the castle and wonders, “Is the keyhole in there like it is in my world?” most likely, for the darkness definitely seems to be attracted to that building. He runs up to the castle in search for the keyhole. Someone must have opened it; otherwise, the Darkness wouldn’t be invading a Core world like this. “It must be inside the castle.” He observes, for the Darklings are stronger and more aggressive here. Getting inside, he walks past a man with black dreadlocks who has been taken by the darkness; nothing he can do for that one either, but with his light-sensing ability, Lauriam notices there are two strong lights not far away. He follows it and, in the last second, finds two teenagers getting attacked by a stronger Darkling. Spinning his keyblade, Lauriam destroys the thing and scans the area, but he sees no further threats in the nearby area.

“Whoa...”

Lauriam turns back down to the two kids, and being this close, he can feel the strength of both their hearts. ‘They should be worthy.’ It’s best to pass down the legacy in case he won’t survive. He slowly turns the keyblade, making the handle point at the two ruffled-up kids. “In your hand, take this key. So long as you have the makings, then through this simple act of taking...” The two kids stare at the offered keyblade in confusion, then at him when he finishes this little speech that is part of the ceremony. “It wieder you shall one day be.” adding to them, “May you use it to keep yourself and those close to your heart safe.”
The two boys exchange a look with one another; the red-haired boy hesitates, but when the blue-haired one takes hold, that one does the same. Lauriam let them hold it for a moment, making sure the inheritance ceremony sticks. Then, slowly, he lets go of the keyblade. It does not go back to him, and it pleases him to see that both are worthy. “Now,” He recalls the keyblade back to his hand, the two still very confused boys look up to his covered face. “Let me get you two out from here.” It will be risky, but these two future wielders need to reach Scala ad Caelum, where they will learn how to summon their keyblades. After that, Lauriam can see if he can save Radiant Garden from falling into the Realm of Darkness.

“There is a girl.” the blue-haired speaks, trying to head into the Darkling-infested castle, but Lauriam stops him. The boy shoots a glare up to him, “Let me go! We have to—”

“There are no one else. Darkness has claimed every heart in there.” Lauriam tells him and pushes this hardy kid towards the exit. “And if we do not leave, the two of you will share their fate.” Their safety is right now a priority, more so as Lauriaum does not think he will survive this battle. The two boys reluctantly follow. The red-haired one muses to his friend, “We tried...”

“It wasn’t good enough.”

“you did everything you could,” Lauriam tells the two like he had Elrena when they failed at saving his sister. The two kids do not speak further, but they follow, which is good. Scanning the area, Lauriam scans the area for a good place where he can make a portal that will get these two boys away from this place, but with so many strong Darknlings around the castle. Lauriam can see that he cannot risk making one here. He spots an area of waterfalls flowing upward due to magic. That place should offer some decent protection. “This way.“ He calls for the teens, but before they can reach the waterfall area. Lauriam senses a potent surge of darkness coming right at them. Lauriam quickly reacts; he spins around and blocks the attack. The Darkling is, however, stronger than expected, and he gets knocked into the nearby wall. Struggling to get up, he calls for the children, “Get out from here!” They fortunately listen, giving him the space to fight and not having to think about them getting caught in the crossfire. He goes at this man having full control over this Darkling, able to measure up to him, right until the Darkling catches and forces an ice-chilly darkness into his body. The light of his heart reacts, and with a burst of it, the Darkling lets go, but he is dazed and finds himself unsure of what he is doing here.

“Your heart is different; there is no darkness, and it is pure of light, yet not like the Princess of Light.” The Darkling slams him to the ground, throwing off the helmet. Lauriam is trying to fight, but... he can’t summon— summon what? He knows he should use something, but it’s slipping away. All he recalls are all the friends he met throughout his life, all the small good moments, yet the images are starting to get harder to see inside his mind as it feels like he’s looking straight at the sun. “How strange." The man who controls the darkling hums, sounding intrigued by him for some reason. "Your very light, bright, and pure. Your body... nothing but a vessel for the light within you.” By the command of this man, the Darkling tightens its grip around him. “How did you end up like this, I wonder?”

He cannot answer, for he has none. Always been like this, but this is the first time the light in him has been this intense. Because of the light, Lauriam is unable to be scared of what is happening. He only knows he needs to fight this threat before him, as it’s his duty. But whatever power he needs is no longer coming to him. So all Lauriam can do is try and wrestle this monster in an attempt to make it go off him.

That’s the scene she saw when coming to his aid. Fear does, however, not paralyze Elrena. Instead, it gets her into action, as she has no wish to bury him either. “Lauriam!” a powerful bolt of lightning strikes down on the man with the Darkling, stunning him just long enough for Elrena to grab her friend and use a portal of the flower he gave her, taking them both away from this world. Back at Scala ad Caelum, Elrena notes there's a lot more chaos going around. She's not sure why a bunch of people are running around, crying and yelling after another person. Right now, she does not care about this mystery; all Elrena cares about is helping her friend as he is badly hurt. She drags Lauriam to the medical wing of the castle and starts to remove his armor, but the moment her hands make contact with his skin, she jerks for it feels like she just stuck her hand into the fire. “What the hell?” Elrena asks, startled. Why did his skin burn?

Lauriam sits up and looks at her, but his eyes are entirely white, like he’s gone blind. But he’s not blind, as he is looking straight at her. “who… are… you?” He asks slowly, as if about to fall asleep.

Shaking off the shock that his eyes have lost all color. “What do you mean by ‘who are you?’” She demands, trying to hide her fear of what is going on with her friend. “Don’t you remember your best gall?” Lauriam hesitates, then slowly reaches out for her. Elrena takes his hand but flinches at how it burns. He does not let go, and she really has to struggle so not to scream at how much it hurts. Somehow, his mere touch is burning her skin, and he does not even seem to notice!
He gets up, still not letting go of the now blistering skin where he holds her.
Elrena has no idea what is up with him, only that if he does not let go, he will burn through her flesh. “Lauriam, let go!” She demands and forces him away with a strike of lightning. He does let go, but now eerie quiet, he approaches her again. His skin is starting to peel off, like paint falling off an old wall, and underneath it is skin that looks like snow during sunlight. It is beautiful yet empty. His before gentle blue eyes are now emitting an intense light, with no emotions on his face, only a cold indifference. Light is glowing out from him, forming a cape of calm flames, and she can feel the intense heat coming from him. For the first time in her life, Elrena freezes up and can only watch her friend turn into some kind of beautiful monster. He grabs her arm again. The gentle light in him now has turned into the harsh sun, and as if someone is foolish enough to get too close to the sun, Elrena is getting burned by the plasma coming out from his very skin. The smell of burned flesh hits her nostrils, and the pain is sheer agony, but Elrena cannot move. “...Lauriam…” She can only whisper, for unlike a monster of darkness, this one still has her friend’s gentle face.

It all happens so quickly; one moment, she is about to get killed by her best friend, and next, someone appears, wielding a black and strange-looking keyblade, which that person stabs Lauriam with it. The last thing she sees is her friend’s body surrounded by darkness before passing out.
Elrena wakes in great pain but alive and— much to her confusion, on a makeshift medical bed. Some random man notices her and walks over, telling her as she tries to sit up. “Please, try not to move. If it weren’t for that man, you would’ve—”

“What man?” She interrupts him, and ignoring his warnings, Elrena gets out of bed. Lying down and being wounded is so not her style, thought the pain from where Lauriam touched her makes her stop for a moment. Not even a Curaga can mend this hand-shaped burn mark, meaning she's stuck with it.
The man hesitates but gets the hint and instead replies to her question. “He carried you out from the castle, tall, clothing much like yours, though he had some strange armor around the chest.”

What...? but he... how is he still alive? “Did he have long pink hair and a handsome look?” The man nods. She utterly ignores his confused stares as she starts laughing from a mix of disbelief and joy. “That bastard.” Elrena has no idea how, but she should’ve known that those leaders were stronger than the rest. He could overcome whatever had happened to him; he even survived being surrounded by darkness. “Where did he go?” the man points, and she hurries over to the large sea area of this world, passing so many people, all of them confused and lost. Elrena does not bother with them and is more focused on getting to Lauriam. She finds him sitting on a rock, staring out into the sea. Elrena finds herself hesitating, but in case he is going to attack her again. she summons her knives, “Lauriam!” she calls, and he turns. He looks like himself again, which is a great relief. Something off about his eyes, though. They are void of any emotions, cold, and showing no sign of recognition of her. Another person appears beside him, the same woman who put them on this path.
What was her name again?— screw it, it doesn’t matter. “Lauriam!” She begins to run, but the woman with the snake mask opens a portal, says something to Lauriam, and without even a moment of hesitating. He follows her. The portal closes right before her nose. Elrena stops, confused but mostly angry at what just happened. “What the hell? You better not be avoiding me!” She calls out; whether he can hear her or not does not matter. “I am going to find you, even if I have to jump into the darkness for it!” Less so when he decided to give her the biggest scare in her life. Her left arm has two hand burns on it, and Elrena is going to kick Lauriam’s ass for having scarred her this way. He better have a good apology. Otherwise, Elrena is going to put that fancy keyblade right up his fancy ass. “Mark my words, Lauriam, you’re not getting rid of me that easily!”

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Unaware of the fate that had befallen their brief savior, Lea, and Isa, fearfully, yet still determined to get out from this living nightmare alive, carefully head towards the exit. But right as they reach the way out, one of the apprentices appears. The same silver-haired man who attacked the guy in that reddish armor. “Submit your hearts to the Darkness.” The man says, and more of those monsters appear, attacking the two boys by his command.

They try to run away, but one of the sphere monsters catches Lea and shakes him around in its jaws before dropping the boy and going after the released heart instead. “Lea!” Isa called, running over to his fallen friend; he can do nothing but watch the red-haired boy get taken by the darkness.
He sees the man approach him. He knows it’s too late for Lea, but Isa is trapped in denial that his friend is gone. “Don’t come near him!” he sneers at this apprentice of the king.

“Fight if you must, but it will be all in vain.” The man tells him, approaching the boy calmly, “The rage in your heart beckons the darkness.” He stops when this teenage boy suddenly is surrounded by a blue mist. The Heartless is not affecting him as much as they should. It takes him by surprise, but mostly curiosity, as this strange aura seems to give this kid some sort of resistance toward darkness. The man crosses his arms. “You will do,” and right behind him, a large, more humanoid monster appears, roaring before it strikes the boy.

Isa didn’t stand a chance, but at least… it brought him to what remained of his friend.

They were found by one of the guards who used to kick them out of the castle. They were brought before the same man who attacked them, and he gave them a new name.
They didn’t call each other those names though; for them, they would always be Lea and Isa.
“We will get through this and, somehow, get back what we lost,” Isa told his friend, Lea only nodded, still too upset about what had happened to them and the uncertainty of what had happened to their families.

It took some time, but they did more or less recover from the trauma of how they lost their hearts, and although it is at times hard without genuine emotions, Lea and Isa still did a good job in being their old rascal self, much too the annoyance of the Senior staff. They tried to drag the young boy they had from time to time played with back home, but he was entirely into whatever Xemnas was spewing and didn't hesitate using them for whatever diabolical ideas he got, so they soon enough stayed clear from the other boy.

They got their share of punishments, whether it be tough missions or a beating during training. They didn’t care, though; Lea and Isa promised each other they would stick together and get the best out of this existence. “They should be thanking us for living things up,” Lea laughed. Isa simply chuckled in agreement.

The two troublemakers made a discovery in Twilight Town; it seemed sea-salt ice cream existed in this world as well, and pretty soon after, eating ice cream on the clock tower became their thing. In their opinion, using their munny on a good treat is way better than a boring upgrade to their given weapons, as they could get those by slaughtering some Heartless.
Things were pretty decent for Lea and Isa, considering their unfortunate situation, but things wouldn’t stay like that for long.

For one day, Xemnas would get enough of their shenanigans and punish them both severely, forcing both to accept their Nobody names and status in the Organization.

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The Realm of Darkness is rapidly spreading across the Realm of Light, swallowing whatever world it comes in contact with, so many hearts are lost to the Darkness.
It’s hard to keep up with it. To be honest, he never knew which world would fall and which would survive the onslaught of the darkness. But still, he and Myde kept on moving from world to world, staying away from these yellow-eyed monsters. Having a mastery of time sure helped them out and gave them the time needed to get off the world and escape the spreading darkness. But it seems that fate itself had other plans.

They had barely gotten to this new world before they got attacked by someone incredibly powerful. Even with his power over time, Ludor is unable to save Myde from being attacked by this newcomer and thrown into a portal of darkness, which turns Myde into one of those beings of darkness. His heart is claimed by the Realm of Darkness like so many others. He tries to rewind time and stop this from happening, but the attacker stops his attempt, stabbing him with this dark-inducing keyblade. A very familiar sense, though much colder as the darkness braided itself into his flesh, at least he is unharmed, seems to be immune towards whatever this man did to him.
Still, knowing this person is a great threat, Ludor summons his Apatosaurus Keeper, and it unleashes a devastating attack, but it does not turn this man into dust as it should.

The attacker proves why his attacks have no effect when a known Keeper, the shape of a unicorn, appears and defeats his own with tusami-like attacks. Before Ludor can get away, this Foreteller has him thrown to the ground, holding the pocket watch on which his whole existence depends. “Who gave you this Keeper?” Master Ira demands, void of the patient tone he was known for. Instead, it is replaced with a barely controlled rage and with a spear pointed at his throat; Ludor knows that he should be wise not to play around with this person. It may have been countless lifetimes ago, but Ludor still remembers that day as if it happened yesterday. The Keyblade War is the very thing that created this universe of separated worlds. He remembers seeing Master Ira fight and knows that this man won’t hesitate to kill him if he does not play after his fiddle. Such people… are too powerful for someone like him.

“I do not know the name of this person. All I know is he is a keyblade wielder.” He answers the man, still quite bemused that he finally sees what lies underneath that unicorn mask. This Union leader is much younger than he expected.

Master Ira watches him intensely for a long, painful moment, and then slowly, he asks in a deadly, calm tone, “And how would you describe this keyblade wielder?”

“Short, I guess around the twenties. Orange hair, yellow eyes, and has a no-nonsense and sarcastic attitude.” He describes the boss. Ludor knows the Boss has a Keeper, but only Myde has seen it. From how this Foreteller’s eyes wide, it seems like the man knew this person. For a moment, Ludor thinks Master Ira is going to kill him right there, but the man takes a step back and turns his gaze out to the horizon. When he speaks again, the voice is slow, like he’s choosing his words carefully. “Why did he give you this Keeper?”

Ludor hesitates, this time, with the answer. Master Ira is unaware that Myde also has a Keeper and has the role of teaching others how to summon one. At first, it was because the Boss wanted it, but after this long walk through time, Ludor admits he has come to consider that kid a good friend. And he’s no proper man if he betrays friends when threatened a bit. “To observe and watch over the young man you killed.” He replies, only saying parts of the truth. The Boss is not going to be happy about this failure, that’s for sure.

“Why?”

“He never told me, and I have been fine living in ignorance.” That is true. Ludor never truly cared for the large scheme of things; he is simply content as long he can play some of his games and be in a realm where destruction does not follow— which hasn’t been the case these three years of running from world to world. Master Ira slowly removes the spear from his throat. Still, Ludor does not move; he does not dare in case the man decides to take any move from him as a provocation.

Looking at the watch, that is the passive form of his Keeper. “Your heart is inside this watch.” Before he can answer, Master Ira drops it, and a dark portal swallows it. Ludor can only stare at the spot, feeling the link be severed, and the time magic in him is slowly fading away. He knows that when too much of it fades, he will be scattered to the winds, never again able to take a solid form. When this cruel fate will happen, that is the question. “I believe you are merely an observer, but I feel more at ease knowing you cannot rewrite history.” The man then starts to walk away, leaving Ludor, and for the first time after many, many years, he has no clue what to do. He has not only lost the very person he was supposed to keep alive but also lost the very source of his power and existence. So… he just starts walking, only using his powers if needed. Ludor knows he has to be careful, for if he uses too much, then he will be at time’s mercy.

This aimless walk stops when a portal of darkness appears before him one day. A man with broad shoulders and dreadlocks walks out from the portal and offers him a chance to regain his heart. “The Organization can help you, in exchange, your loyalty.” Ludor does not need to think much about if taking this offer is a good idea. He won’t be able to find his Keeper on his own, and what's better way than having more eyes and ears around for the clue of where the Master of the Unicorn sent it? So he agrees to join of that very reason.

He is given a new name, a title— which he finds very amusing, but most importantly, he discovers that Myde hasn’t perished. Now bearing the name Luxord, he approaches the young man and tells him quietly, “Among all the bad luck, there is still a single golden coin.”

“Yeah…” his partner nods and glances over to a young man with blue hair and a fresh X-shaped scar on his face, “But I would prefer not to be here. So much work and no point to it.” the young man huffs, "think I like being aimless wander over this..."

Luxord hasn’t been here long enough to know about that, and when it comes to work, he takes Myde—Demyx’s words with a pinch of salt. “One must endure if wishing to come on top of the game.”

“Can’t you just rewind time to before I lost my heart?” Demyx sighs, like so many other times, going for the easy way out.

But Luxord no longer can give his companion that. “Unfortunately, I have lost my own heart. It is now lost in the Realm of Darkness, and when my Keeper leaves,” he eyes his friend and partner, “the link is too broken for me to call for it. We are in the same boat. You need to regain your heart, and if luck is with us, we will find my Keeper before I have quite literally run out of time.” Demyx gulps; slowly, he nods but does not look comfortable at all. Luxord does not really blame him, but there is nothing they can do about it; staying with the Organization holds the best chance to regain what they have lost.

Chapter Text

Deep inside the Realm of Darkness, Aqua has been walking, trying to find a way out, but all she ever encounters are endless hordes of enemies. She knows something is wrong, for portals to the Light open once in a while, dragging something down, but there is no chance for her to leave through those portals; they are always too far away and will close long before she can get close enough.

However, through one of those portals, something fell, and when getting to the spot, Aqua picks up a golden pocket watch. She can sense a presence, a heart filled with light. Then, to her shock, magic, very much the same as the white box had, and the golden watch transforms into a giant creature. An Apatosaurus, bright green, golden marks down its body, golden plates attached to the back of its head, around the shoulders, and the end of its back, tree roots clinging to its huge body, and an armored heart symbol is on each of its hind legs. Aqua summons her Master's keyblade, ready to fight but for the first time. It proves she finally stands before a friendly being. The Apatosaurus lets out a mournful-sounding hum, lowering its head down to her level, staring with those blue cat eyes. She senses this creature wants to help her out for a time.

She graciously accepts it. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been before a friendly face.” She tells the dinosaur, grabs the golden plate, and lets the Apatosaurus haul her up onto its neck. It starts walking through this realm; it’s slow, but Aqua is more thankful that she has some sort of company in this depressing realm.

This unexpected but much-welcomed companion proves to have some incredible power over time. Aqua got hit by it many times when the creature defended itself against the monsters residing in this realm. All she can honestly hope is that these hits of time she took won’t cause her body and inner time some lasting damage. She is, however, glad to have found this creature as the Apatosaurus gives her some much-needed rest; it destroys the dark monsters by stepping on them when frozen by its time magic, and the bigger ones are pummeled by its long— whip-like tail.

She did have to help her huge companion out when a larger monster, resembling the Unversed that protected Ventus, emerges from the darkness and began to attack them. Again, that time magic proves incredibly useful, and with her Master's keyblade, she destroys the thing. To her shock, the heart it held, for a moment, takes the form of a known face.

“Lauriam?” She asks and reaches out to the ghostly figure of the fellow Master. He meets her eyes and stops her with a single gesture. Confused, she does. “What happened to you?”

“I do not recall.” He replies to her, the voice like an echo. He looks at his transparent hands. “Only that my own light almost removed everything that made me who I am. But then the Darkness came and now… I am here—“ He gasps as he remembers something and looks up to the black sky, eyes suddenly turned intense, much more than she has ever seen him, and it scares Aqua a bit. “I’m sorry, but I have to go.” He eyes her, and the hardness proves to be an iron determination. “I have kept her waiting for too long already.” His shape disappears, and the heart flies away.

Aqua calls out after him, but the heart of this Master is much busier in reaching this ‘her’ he spoke about. Though she has a feeling who it might be. Slowly, Aqua drops her reach-out hand and can honestly only say… “Good luck finding your sister.” And she returns to the waiting dinosaur, continuing on her walk in the Realm of Darkness.

Arriving at a known castle, Aqua fears what would happen in the Realm of Light if the Castle of Dreams were here in the Realm of Darkness. The Apatosaurus walks steadily through the empty streets of this taken world; sitting on its back, Aqua glances to each side of a world so full of dreams. Now… “I took it for granted. I thought I had nothing in life to lose.” She speaks, partly to herself, partly to her giant companion. The Apatosaurus eyes her briefly, sign it is listening to her words. She thinks about her friends, all the people she met on her journey, and how she aided them, and they, in turn, left a little bit of themselves in her heart. Aqua opens her eyes, and the memories fade, letting her eyes gaze over the brimming castle in all of this gloomy darkness. “Everyone in this world thought that they were safe. Not just the people… but the dog waiting for his owner… the cat curled up in her nook… so much life. Trees and flowers.” The dinosaur briefly looks inside one of the windows as it passes by, but there is nothing inside; this whole world is empty. Aqua sighs and pulls her legs up to her chest, leaning up against her large companion’s bright green neck, telling it sad. “There’s no deeper sadness than discovering all that you knew is gone.”
She can barely fathom the grief this place holds, it feels like the Darkness is eating it up whole.

Approaching the castle, the Apatosaurus jerks when the clock starts to chime, and the whole road collapses. Aqua knows that her huge companion won’t be fast enough to flee but does not want to abandon it either. Right as the road is about to disappear, she gets an idea: “I’m sorry!” She summons her Master’s keyblade and strikes the golden plates, the very ones that pulse with time magic. The creature cries, but the hit causes it to unleash a shockwave of time magic; Aqua is thrown onto her back. She can feel the magic affecting her, too, but hopefully, not too much. Whatever the case, this pulse of time brought back the road, and the Apatosaurus is safe from falling deeper into this hostile realm. It hesitates but starts walking again.

Getting back on her feet, Aqua gently puts a hand on its neck. “I am really sorry, but it was all I could think about.” She tells the creature, and it eyes her; fortunately, it appears to understand why she did it. Aqua jumps off the Apatosaurus when reaching the stairs leading to the castle; she takes a few steps, telling her companion; “What I wouldn’t give to turn back time.” It merely watches her, almost curiously. She explains what she means. “To spend one more night beneath the stars with my best friends.” The creature slowly lifts its leg, and when putting it back down, a faint pulse of its time magic bursts out.

“Aqua.” To her shock, Terra walks down the stairs to her; for a short moment, Aqua thinks it is really him, but then she realizes this is the very scene when she encountered Terra in this world. “Aqua, do you still have the same dream?” This memory of him asks, and Aqua finds herself replying somberly: “No, now I only dream about coming back to the Realm of Light.” Terra disappears like a mist, leaving her once again alone.

Slowly, she turns to the long-necked dinosaur, knowing it was its doing, and can’t help but wonder. “Are you… trying to tell me not to lose heart?” The Apatosaurus merely watches her with a slightly titles head. She sighs, leaves the stairs, and returns back to walking in this depressive realm. The creature follows her, and Aqua can find some comfort in feeling its heavy steps.

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The search for Laurium indeed led her to darkness, as the random world she had searched for him was claimed by the darkness and pulled into the very realm from which the enemy of Light came from. The Darklings were too many, and Elrena tried to fight them off, but they overwhelmed her, tore her body to shreds, and yet, she kept on fighting.

She woke up in much physical pain and strangely emotionally numb.

“Got out from that and still retain your human form; you’re tough, I’ll give you that.” A voice speaks, and she spins around, walking over to her; a middle-aged man, right eye missing and a large nasty scar on the left cheek. He smirks and points out in a cocky yet laid-back laid-back tone, “The Organization could use someone like you.”

“Yeah, I don’t work well with other people.” She snorts and turns around to leave but stops when this man tells her. “You might reconsider your options. See, you didn’t go fully unescaped by those Heartless. They took your heart.” Her heart? Wait, is that why she is feeling so emotionally numb? She touches her chest, where she no longer feels a heartbeat. This prompted the man to continue with that smug tone that made Elrena want to kick him in the teeth.
“Yup, you have no heart, meaning no emotions, and the only thing keeping you from turning into a husk is your sheer will. Heartless people like us are called Nobodies, and if you think your old body has issues with Light and Darkness, well, now it’s worse." The man comes into her line of sight, walking as if all this information dumping is not a big deal. That her entire way of being has been changed into something unfamiliar and much worse off than she was before. "But don’t worry, the Organization’s goal is for people like you and me to regain our hearts and become human again.”

She turns her head slightly towards this old man, still not fully on board with this whole Organization joining. “What’s the catch?” Well aware these people won't be doing it out of the goodness of their hearts— so to speak. Elrena has gained a strong sense of when people try to manipulate and use others for their own gain. Had to since Lauriam was the type to help others before figuring out what's their deal is.

“Well, for starters, you have to be a team player, obey the higher-ups and all that.” The one-eyed man smirks. “No avoiding that, but if you ask me. That is a small price to pay.”

She does not really care much about regaining her heart; Elrena would much rather want to feel this numbness than the anger, grief, and sheer pain of having lost two people she considers family, but if what the man said is true… “Fine.” She snaps back at the man but will say this straight out: “But you better be worth my time.” Otherwise, she will start causing trouble.

“Oh, it will.” The man replies and throws her a black coat, the same as the one he wears. “Here, it will protect you from the darkness.” He then opens a portal and gestures for her to walk inside. Elrena puts on the coat and does as told. He brings her to a too-white-for-her-taste castle with a bunch of people, all wearing the same black coat. She stops for a moment when she spots a familiar face. ‘Lauriam.’ He meets her eyes and shows a mild form of recognition. At least enough to follow her with his gaze as the old man brings her to ‘the boss.’

The boss— Xemnas, was boring as hell to listen to; she didn’t care much about what he said, only that apparently she now would be known as Larxene and going by the title Savage Nymph, which she very much liked. As much a literal heartless woman like her now could.

She wanted to find Lauriam but didn’t spot him again after a couple of days, and already, after so few missions, she knew this place would be boring as hell.
Larxene finds her partner walking down, like everything else, a white corridor. “What’s the hurry, pretty boy?” She teases him, and he stops and turns to her. Larxene walks up to him, smiling confidently. “Are you really that eager to go on these lame missions?”

“Not particularly.” He admits, having no idea why. Still, he finds himself at ease speaking his mind to this new member. “But our superior wouldn’t be pleased if we skipped our so-called duties. We all should work together to find a way of regaining our hearts.” The woman snorts. He, too, can say, “It’s preposterous; only one wielding a keyblade can hope to gather the heart we so lack. Yet, none of us has such an ability.”

This catches her attention: “Not a single person?” Has he lost the ability to wield his keyblade? Lauriam shakes his head, does not seem to recall he can, as he starts pondering out loud: “But, hope is not all lost. There is a wielder out there, young and naive. The senior staff is aiming to claim that keyblade as their own, but how, we haven’t been told.”

A keyblade wielder, huh? Well, she is bored and figuring that maybe having one wielding a keyblade around might spark some of her friend’s memories about his own. “Why don’t we snatch that keyblade wielder for ourselves?” Larxene asks and rests her elbow on his shoulder. Lauriam blinks at her action, and she returns it with a smile. “You would make a much better boss over that deadbeat to Xemnas.”

She got his attention. “Oh, do tell.” He smirks back, but first, “But of what names go you by?”

“Call me Larxene. And what did he name you?”

“Marluxia, it’s a pleasure meeting you, Larxene.” He greets her and gets the sense that he has a partner in crime he can trust or at least have some fun with. Marluxia does not know why, but he wants to rebel against Xemnas and the entire Organization. For what reason, his empty mind will not tell, and for now, he just has to leave it at that.

But when the opportunity arrives, Marluxa will see to it that Xemnas gets overthrown from the throne. He sits among these people without a heart. Marluxia will claim the throne for himself, one way or another.

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A battle against several monsters that almost measured the size of the Apatosaurus. Aqua is exhausted, and from how her only companion is moaning, it’s clear this battle took a lot out of both of them. Still, she carries on, and the dinosaur follows, having no wish to be left alone in this realm.
Further ahead, much to her shock, Aqua spots her two friends. She runs over, calling; “Terra, Ven,” but only Terra reacts, and he turns around to her.

“Aqua, you’re—“

“Terra, you spoke?” Aqua is dumbfounded that what she believes to be another memory recalled by the Apatosaurus, in fact, reacts to her.

Terra is just as surprised to hear his friend’s voice. “Can you see me?”

“Of course! I see Ven too,” Aqua replies, just so happy to see her friends again in this gloomy place.

This takes Terra off guard. “Ven? He’s here? But he was supposed to be…” He trails off, finding himself unsure of what he sometimes saw in the two people Xehanort created from his body.

“Terra, what’s wrong?” Aqua asks her friend, gesturing to the other friend standing completely still. “Don’t you see him?”

Shaking his head, “No, all I can see is the darkness that is holding me imprisoned.” He explains briefly; this place is where he always got sent to, a place where Xehanort would hope he wouldn’t resurface and cause trouble. Terra has learned to be very patient over the years that have passed. He would wait and watch, and the moment he sensed a connection, he would jump in and fight with all his might. “What do you see?” He asks Aqua’s voice.

“A world the Darkness has consumed. It’s Enchanted Dominion.” Aqua replies.

Oh, yeah… he is sad he couldn’t stop that, but he was too unfocused and enraged to put up much of a fight at that point. “I see… unfortunately, a lot more worlds have fallen, the Darkness is still spreading,” He explains to his friends, and sadly, “and I am not in a position to stop it…”

This confuses and scares Aqua deeply. “What’s gotten into you?” She asks. The last time she saw him, Terra was taken over by someone; his hair had turned white, and his eyes were golden. She is still unsure if that truly was her friend— unsure of who is standing before her is her friend. “How do I know that you’re Terra?” She puts a hand on her chest and her quivering heart from being in this realm for what has felt like a lifetime. “And not the weakness that’s in my heart playing more tricks?” She goes over to her other friend. Still, no matter how much she tries, Ventus does not react to her.

Terra can only hear her words, and with everything that has been going on with him lately, he does not blame Aqua’s uncertainty about his existence. Sometimes, Terra even wonders if he is still the same person anymore. “Aqua, listen. I promise this is me. But I’m not myself.” He assures and warns her at the same time.

“What do you mean?” Aqua asks, confused about what Terra meant by that, and it confuses her further when Terra suddenly jerks his head to the side as if he had just been hit over the head.

Xehanort has caught on that he’s talking to Aqua and has to make this quick. “Xehanort is using my body for his own agenda. Thrown my heart into the shadows.” He explains, putting a hand on his own heart. “I have been fighting for control ever since, but it has gotten much harder now that my heart and spirit are separated. What you see now is how you remember me. But, Aqua, listen, I sense that Xehanort knows about our conversation. I don’t know why, but he is very interested in finding Ven.”

This is way worse than she thought, but at least Terra is fighting, so that’s good. As for Ventus. “Don’t worry, he’ll never find him. I hid Ven well.” Aqua assures him, remembering that strange Unversed that was unusually protective of their younger friend. “And he is protected.”

“Protected? By what?” Terra asks, a little confused, more so when Aqua tells him: “By an Unversed.” He wants to ask more about this protector, but the darkness of Xehanort is pushing down his mind. And as he is still recovering from the fight his soul did to protect that cheeky boy, now a young man, Terra knows he won’t be able to fight against this. “Aqua, you need to get away!” He tells his friend, struggling to regain control.

Aqua jumps in shock when Terra is surrounded by darkness, his hair turning white and his eyes turning yellow. And when he speaks: “Is he hidden in the Chamber of Waking?” it is smooth and so unlike Terra’s bit rough voice. Aqua does not answer; she steps in between Ventus and whoever she presumes is Xehanort, taking control over Terra. “Xehanort, let my friend go!”

The man laughs softly and menacingly. “His heart has succumbed; this vessel now belongs to—“Terra appears behind and takes his body in a stranglehold, telling Xehanort hard: “You haven’t won over me!”

“Terra!”

Sensing she is trying to approach, “No! Stand back, Aqua!” Terra warns her, struggling to hold this part of Xehanort in check, “This is a fight I have to do on my own. Get away! Find your way out. Only there you can—“

“Silence!” Xehanort roars and the whole realm reacts to his darkness, causing the earth to tremble and break. It makes Terra lose his footing, and Xehanort grabs the man’s face, lifting him up, irritated to have to continue dealing with this one. “Still, you struggle!”

Aqua runs over to help but comes on other thoughts when a large, black hand grabs Ventus. She spins around, and another being of darkness appears. The Apatosaurus swings its tail at it, but this large monster grabs the dinosaur around the throat, forcing it to step back before Aqua can do anything. Her large companion falls into the debts of the realm. All Aqua can do in an attempt to save it is shooting a beam from her keyblade at it. Whether she succeeds or not, Aqua will never know, for the large humanoid monster grabs her, and Aqua screams in pain from how tightly it grips her body.

Hearing her cries of pain, followed by Xehanort declaring victorious: “Now you can be one with the darkness!” Terra snaps and reaches for the powers of his father. He unleashes a shockwave of these unique chains Master Eraqus was known to make. “That’s is enough!” He shouts at Xehanort and uses these chains to restrain his enemy, forcing him to stop the assault he had made on his friends. It will put his heart into a coma for some time, but hopefully, this will allow Aqua to escape.

It does; Aqua manages to get free and cut the monster’s hand so it would let go of Ventus. This illusion of him faded away, and with the hard “GO!” command from Terra, Aqua reluctantly flees this area, leaving the fight to Terra. She can only hope with her heart that she won’t lose…

She knows she cannot stop her own fight either; they all have to keep going if they ever hope to be reunited once again.