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#eraqus went off on his own mission just to try to see her again even knowing she went willingly and was with someone trustworthy
goldensunset · 2 years
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i’m pushing the ‘vor as a beloved little sister to everyone but especially eraqus’ agenda
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kessielrg · 2 years
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[Kingdom Hearts] Stronger Dreams
Summary: Before Lost Lights, before the Thinner Disaster, Wasteland was a world already in hurt. As Eraqus is soon to find out, the truth of why is a lot more complicated than what he or Yen Sid had first anticipated. Even if the world does not want to separate from its healing heart, then perhaps it will accept a compromise instead? 
Rating: K
Word Count: 2,326 words
If you liked this story, please reblog!
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“Do you have to go?”
Eraqus looked up, then over to wear Terra was standing. The young boy, no more than seven now, tightly held his wooden Keyblade as he stared at his master with intent. Eraqus gave the child a smile. He walked over to him to give a reassuring pat on the head.
“I won’t be long.” Eraqus promised. “Yen Sid wants me to investigate a certain matter that he is personally unable to attend to right now. It should only be two days in our world- perhaps three.”
“When do I get to go with you?” Terra then asked. His young face illustrating a rather relenting seriousness.
“When you’re older, and when you become a Keyblade Master.”
The annoyed grunt the child gave made Eraqus laugh.
“While I am gone, you are to resume your studies.” he then reminded the child. “Be nice to your teacher- they’re an old friend of mine.”
“Yes Master.”
Eraqus gave Terra a kind smile as he got down to his height. Terra didn’t seem to notice at first- his gaze had been turned down, his expression still rather bitter that he wasn’t able to do anything more interesting.
“Don’t give in to that darkness, Terra.” the master gently told his student. “Keep your faith, and keep your light burning strong. I promise you that I’ll be back as soon as I’m able. Keep your light strong for me, and I guarantee that I’ll come back every time. Understand?”
For this, Terra finally looked up at his master. The corner of his mouth twitched as he tried to find some way to argue against it. But there was a sincerity to Master Eraqus’s gaze that made Terra relax. The boy’s face slowly went from apprehensive to a bright smile. He even placed a hand over his heart as he looked up at Eraqus.
“May your heart be your guiding key.” he recited with certainty. Hearing the phrase gave Eraqus a small start. Beyond the day that it was first introduced to Terra, he had never once used it before. He was using it now to wish his master good luck. The sentiment immediately put a smile on Eraqus’s face.
“May your heart be your guiding key,” the master replied.
. . .
Even if Eraqus thought young Terra could handle being in this world, he still would not have let him come. The world Eraqus was set to visit sat very close to the darkness. The Keyblade master didn’t quite appreciate this until he actually touched down on the world. You could feel it in the air- more electrifying than any open current. Even the place where he landed -a plaza-like area with a modest train station at one end, and several businesses here and there- had an uncanny feeling of being on edge. He could be wrong, but it felt like a proverbial damn was destined to break here, but no one knew when or even if they should be caring or not. It was all rather… discomforting.
Eraqus cautiously made his way down the street. There weren’t many of the land’s natives out today. It only made the place even more eerie- a natural ghosttown. (Never minding that there were actual ghosts around here, from his understanding.) Still, his mission required him to go underground. Eraqus found the entrance to this world’s underground and went in without a second thought. The feeling of something being slightly off did not leave in this new environment. If anything, it almost got worse.
The Keyblade Master had to squint at first as his eyes adjusted to the much dimmer lighting here. There was a makeshift path ahead of him, one that likely wasn’t all too safe, that he chose to follow. When a flash of blue crossed his sight, Eraqus had assumed he was only seeing things. At the second flash of blue, Eraqus paused. He was looking around before seeing several more flashes of blue. The longer he looked, he noticed there were a few streaks of green along the path as well. The Keyblade Master observed these orbs of light with suspicion. They weren’t doing anything that easily spelled trouble for him. He figured after a few moments of observation that they were harmless, so he kept going onward.
But the orbs still wanted his attention.
Several more of the orbs in both blue and green whizzed by his face. Eraqus honestly considered swatting them away before remembering the world order; who knew how important these creatures were. He certainly didn’t, and he wasn’t going to push his luck. It might have been the better thing not to mess with them too- they were guiding him through the underground.
It wasn’t anything Eraqus noticed right away. The mysterious orbs were trying to guide him, but in a silent, nudging sort of way. They made sure that they were in his path enough for him to follow. If he went in the wrong direction, one of the green orbs would touch his skin. He learned very quickly that, while little, they packed quite the sting. At some point, Eraqus even started to talk to them. Most of it was just to make sure that he was going in the right direction and avoid the green orbs’ wrath.
When the dull underground passage opened up to a large cavern, Eraqus had to take a moment to fully take in the new surroundings. Several natural waterfalls came down on the area, reflecting its patterns onto the walls. As Eraqus took several cautious steps out in this new area, he realized that below him was an active lava flow. There were several metal panels above the main lava river that led up to some sort of machine meant to capture the heat.
This place was actually rather overwhelming. The intense difference between the two areas seemed to exemplify this world’s off-edge feeling. Moreso because the guiding blue and green orbs seemed a lot more animated here.
“Of course,” Eraqus mumbled to himself, “They originate here. This is their home.”
The orbs jumped at his recognition. They went into a small frenzy as if they were incredibly excited about something. Several hit the dirt beneath Eraqus’s feet to scratch out their name.
‘Guardians. Tints. Turps.’
Eraqus let out a thoughtful hum as he read the words. Several of the blue orbs hovered over the word ‘Tints’. Several of the green orbs hovered over the word ‘Turps’. After a few moments, they all rushed to him like they expected him to understand. It reminded the Keyblade Master of Terra when he wanted Eraqus to immediately look at something.
“Guardians.” Eraqus repeated back to the sprites. “You are divided by two species; Tints, and Turps. I understand.”
The Guardians went into another frenzy- looking a lot like fireworks in the process. Eraqus couldn’t help a smile.
“You must be the ones that Yen Sid told me about.” he decided. “The one whose heart is hurting.”
At this, the Guardians suddenly froze. Eraqus frowned at their reaction. Then, just as he was about to request them more, the Guardians started to carefully arrange themselves into a silhouette of something. It took him a moment, but when Eraqus recognized what they were forming, his heart jumped into his throat.
A girl.
The Guardians had formed the absent silhouette of a young girl.
“Who is she?” Eraqus questioned. It sounded a lot more forceful than he intended, but he had been in shock. This absent silhouette didn’t look to be much older than what Terra was now. What could have caused a heart so young to be hurting so badly?
To answer him, a few more Guardians appeared. They formed the outline of a heart. The heart started to break apart, pieces of which floated aimlessly until he reached a different, much bigger, heart. Together, the large heart held the smaller heart inside itself, allowing the two to become even bigger than before.
“Her heart is sleeping inside the heart belonging to this world?” Eraqus pondered. He placed a hand over his mouth in thought. “That… certainly complicates things.”
Eraqus took a look back at the absent silhouette. A faint memory of his grandfather came to mind. It was a story about hearts from the Age of Fairytales; at the end of their time, the wielders were given the choice of going to sleep or being melted into another heart. He wondered if this child had chosen the latter. Would it really have been possible for the heart of a world and the heart of a wielder to become one?
Suddenly feeling unease once more, Eraqus carefully offered out his hand to the absent silhouette.
“I can help you. You do not have to be the same entity.”
He moved his hand closer in further goodwill, but the Guardians dispersed in a frenzy just before he made contact. Eraqus studied their reaction with a frown.
“I see.” he mumbled to himself. To the Guardians proper, he then asked, “Is the heart that you are protecting that damaged?”
The Guardians did not answer him. In fact, they seemed to have left his general vicinity altogether. Eraqus let out a heavy sigh. This really did complicate things. He’d have to reconvene with Master Yen Sid on this matter- although he was unsure if there was anything they could do about the situation. He wanted to be able to do something, though. It felt wrong just leaving these creatures just like that.
“If you will not allow me to help separate you two,” he then said- more to the empty air than anything in particular, “Then allow me to place a spell of protection on her heart. When time comes that she is strong enough to be on her own again, then the separation can occur naturally. It can only happen with someone you trust with her. Does that sound better to you?”
A few Tints came up from the ground again. They hovered at Eraqus’s eye level as if to judge if he was deceiving them or not. It took them awhile, but they seemed to come to an agreement in a gesture not unlike a nod.
“Thank you,” Eraqus said to them. He summoned his Keyblade (an act that seemed to surprise the Guardians, making them jump a bit) and followed its lead to where he could best apply the spell. Its guidance led him to face a rock face. Eraqus knew better than to question the direction, instead pointing his Keyblade directly at the rock. A shot of light went from the Keyblade to the rock as the spell was cast. Not even a second later, the air around them changed in a new way. It felt less… stifling than before. As if something, somewhere, had taken in a large sigh of relief. Eraqus had taken this as a sign that the spell had worked.
“There.” he mused, “That should keep both your hearts steady until hers is ready to depart again.”
Eraqus turned around and found himself startled at the Guardians floating not far from his face. The Tints and Turps had made themselves form a new outline; one that looked a lot like a fedora-like hat with a feather sticking out from it. The Keyblade Master could feel his body tense at seeing it.
“My grandfather used to have a hat like that.” he carefully said. “I might still have it somewhere. Did he come here?”
The Guardians arranged themselves so that the girl from earlier was proudly wearing the fedora. It admittedly took Eraqus a moment to understand its meaning. When he did understand, a grin started to etch his way onto his face.
“So now it all becomes clear,” he snorted. “This was why Yen Sid wanted me to investigate this world; I have distant ties to this heart.” Eraqus let out another chortle before telling the Guardians, “Don’t worry. Her heart will be safe. A part of her will always be with this land, and vice versa. May your heart be your guiding key.”
If he didn’t know any better, Eraqus would have believed that the Guardians had smiled.
. . .
Eraqus touched down at the Land of Departure again well after nightfall. He grinned in realizing that Terra had gone to sleep waiting for him at the steps. The boy must have started waiting for him after supper. Eraqus carefully picked up Terra to take him to his room. Never once breaking his slumber, the child clung close to Eraqus, a small hum coming from his lips.
After laying Terra down in his bed, Eraqus went to his own room and immediately crashed on his mattress. Sleep came easy for him, and within it he had a dream. He had taken the body of his grandfather (who had been much younger in this dream) and was sitting beside a girl not unlike what the Guardians had presented to him earlier. She was a pretty little thing- long, black hair with dark brown eyes that looked back at him with an intense focus.
“Why did you do it?” she questioned.
“Because I had to.” he replied back, giving a careless half shrug. “You would have done the same for me.”
“Maybe I wanted to stay asleep.”
“Maybe you wanted to wake up.”
The two looked at each other- the girl glaring rather darkly while he returned it with a friendly grin. After awhile, the girl fiercely looked away again.
“I’ll wake up when I feel like it next time- not because you wanted me to.”
“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” he said back. He reached over to ruffle her hair- an act that got a noise of disgust out of her. Eraqus laughed. He didn’t know if this dream was just a dream, or some sort of vision from the past- but he did know something. Her heart was safe, and that’s all that mattered.
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sixwingedbee · 3 years
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Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Kingdom Hearts (Video Games) Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Characters: Baldr (Kingdom Hearts), Odin (Kingdom Hearts) Additional Tags: Angst, Drama, Summary:
Baldr begs Odin to be honest with him.
fic below cut as well.
Master Odin peered down at the student that remained in his classroom. The boy stood tall, with an untouchable air around him. A child whose silver eyes searched the worn lines on the Master's face, studying him. As if he could see the million words turning in his head.
A student who had asked a simple question.
And Odin had no answers.
So, he asked it again. “Where is my sister?”
The desperation in Baldr's voice was obvious. Everyone knew that Baldr waited by the gates, every day. Waiting for when his sister and the other upperclassmen would return to Scala ad Caelum. To celebrate the passing of their Mark of Mastery. More and more time passed, and Baldr could only worry.
And then the others were being sent off world on missions. Without him. Master Odin kept him away with work that was of no consequence. Baldr knew it was just busywork. Something to keep him out of arm's reach while his friends left him behind. He would ask Master Odin why he could not join the other six, never getting a satisfying answer.
Something was wrong, and Baldr was not blind.
For a moment he doubted himself. Was it because he was not strong enough? That somehow he had slipped behind in his studies that Master Odin was ashamed of him? But that couldn't be it. The others would be there, to help him get back to even ground. There was nothing wrong wit him. It was all Odin.
He knew it.
And as these thoughts ran through his mind he only received silence from the man in front of him. His left hand clenched into a fist, feeling something tug at his heart. “Master!”
The single gray eye peering from beneath the wide brim hat held so many secrets. It was the gaze many of the student clamored to be under, to be noticed and recognized for their talents.
And today it only held sorrow on top of those lies.
“Baldr.” His voice was soft, caring. Like a father. “She is with the others on her Mark of Mastery Exam, you know this.”
That wasn't good enough. “They should have been back by now.” This was true. An Exam never took this long before. Baldr had already been waiting weeks, worry growing heavy in his heart. Every day the ache bore deeper, taking root like a horrible weed.
“The Exam is different every year,” said Odin, trying to assure the young man. “It gets tougher with each generation. It may take longer-”
“No, you're lying!”
Baldr was not one for raising his voice. Usually, his tone as as soft as his looks. He never spoke out against his teacher. But he knew with his whole heart that he was being lied to.
“Please, Master. Just be honest with me.” Baldr begged, lifting his right hand up to his chest, resting it right over his heart. “I know something happened. And I know you know.” He was so sure.
Odin did not waver. His gaze stayed on Baldr, as steady as the one embedded within the ancient Keyblade high upon the wall behind him. All stared at the boy in silence as seconds ticked by.
Baldr stared back, feeling his lower lip tremble as he tried to keep himself under control.
“Baldr, I swear to you.”
That twisting feeling in his heart tightened, almost hurting. At any moment he felt his heart would drop into his stomach.
Odin saw Baldr's mouth moved, but the sound didn't reach him.
It was drowned out by the sound of a Keyblade being summoned to the lad's left hand, light drowning the form of his arm for just a moment. Odin froze, eyes wide as he stared down the blade of a Keyblade that was not Baldr's.
In the boy's white-knuckled grip was not the training Keyblade his class used. Instead it was more intricate, suited for a powerful magic user. His sister's weapon.
His inheritance.
She was gone.
White magic swirled along the point, like smoldering smoke, and Baldr repeated himself. “I gave you a chance.” Rage lived in those bright silver eyes, burning like new stars. “Remember that.” He pulled the weapon away, not intending to use it here. Not now. His free hand went to the golden symbol he wore on his coat, tearing it off and throwing it upon the desk. A sign of being a student, of his loyalty to Scala ad Caelum.
Before Odin could stop him he was gone. The bright flash of a Lane Between being opened and Baldr disappearing into it, with no armor.
Silence filled the room, moments passing like an eternity.
“Master.”
Odin wasn't aware he had stood up, of the panic filling his form, until a single voice spoke up.
At the door stood Eraqus, his hands up to his mouth to hide the sick feeling horror of what he had glimpsed. The pain he saw in his friend's face. The anger that was being birthed within Baldr's heart.
“Master, what will we do?”
Once again, Odin had no answers for his student.
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Terraqua :))))))))
1. How do much do I ship it?: Never heard of it/ Notp / Dislike / used to ship / maybe / ship it / aww / otp / IS IT CANON YET?
This rating applies to canon. Just want to clarify, since I'm going to also talk headcanons for different AUs (go to the asterisk reference sections at the bottom if you want a little explanation of AUs)  in some answers, and, in those situations, feelings are different.
2. What non sexual activities do they like to do together?
KH Post Canon: Learning how to be adults together. I know it's not the most "fun" answer, and they deserve a break, but even if things stay stable, they aren't getting one as such. Aqua is now the Master in Residence at the Land of Departure and someone all the Guardians of Light will look to as an authority (and Yensid will reinforce it!) , and Terra will get a lot of the same treatment from multiple factions.
 Not only will the GoL look at him as someone knowledgeable (Him! The screw up who not only isn't a master but has a lot less off-world experience where he was actually conscious than most of his new comrades), but, when it comes to the recompleted former Org members, while it's clear he is definitely not "The Superior" and they don't want him to be, even those that glance by Roxas/Sora/Ventus etc. as green behind the ears or "kids" despite their experience are naturally inclined to view him as an equal and/or someone to ask guidance from even if only on a subconscious level because he shares Xemnas features. 
And neither has the first clue what they are doing. Hell, they lived sheltered with Eraqus and the Land of Departure Castle probably taking care of a lot of their needs. So, yeah, Aqua and Terra learn to cook together, hone vocabulary and speaking style to sound "like a real adult" and not like teenagers who are using bigger and bigger words to sound mature, practice how to lead meetings without voice shaking and how to make people feel heard (and refrain from interrupting with "you're wrong and also stupid because of Xyz"), read up on history and powers of old keyblade masters like they are cramming for exams (because even stuff they were taught by Eraqus...it's kind of been awhile), bitch together over how to simultaneously be 28 and 18, and basically bond over "fooling" everyone into thinking they are competent. 
Then they indulge in a bunch of "childish" things they never did because they were always in a rush to grow up when they were actually younger. They slide down bannisters and have food fights and swing from the rings in the training area, feet lifted and knees near to knocking the ground.
Lost Masters AU*: Finishing growing up in the Mysterious Tower under Yensid's comparatively lax supervision, obviously effected their hobbies as much as their outlook on life. They escaped often to the book(s) where Fantasia sleeps and so they are used to music made through flora, fauna, and movements of their own body. Creating symphonies that are part sparring, part dancing, part gardening and finding out what creates the best music was a passion and it carries on beyond the Tower and beyond having (snuck) access to Yensid's books. Even in adulthood, they both have a tendency to dance when nobody's watching, and, wherever they settle there is a carefully cultivated flower bed they can be found tending to (and humming to them the whole time, teaching them the notes they should be playing but mostly refuse to)  when not on mission.
Grass is Greener**:  If you asked the couple themselves this question, (more politely phrased of course because you don't say the phrase "nonsexual things" in conversation) Aqua would beam and talk about going out on the boat...that they don't own anymore (Xem bought it off baby sister out of pity. He drew the short straw between him and Ansem), and didn't use much when they did. Terra would shrug and say he hardly remembers anymore, honesty slipping out because he forgets to be guarded until Aqua grips his arm too tight and says that he's joking on his behalf. 
With some prompting, Terra will slowly come up with the latest Netlfix series they are binging...separately. Not that he'll say they watch separately, because that's not anyone else's business, and it's not even a reflection on their relationship, just like not remembering what they do for fun isn't as bad as it sounds (Is it? Now he'll brood too much on it). With Aqua working days that start early and Terra working mostly nights, they hardly see each other. Even before that, before Terra's breakdown, which he is more apt to explain away than she is if they ever talk about it (which they try not to at all costs), he was doing his residency at the hospital and worked a lot of odd hours. Med school is actually...wow...more of a blur than Terra realized....but they had fun? Once? Together? Since the college days? Of course they did. They have many activities together. Lots of stuff. Common interests. That's what they do. Common interests.
3. Who does chores around the house?
In General/Canonverse: Split right down the middle. Some tasks they trade off on, and some become full time assignments, like, for instance, Aqua cooks and Terra does the dishes. 
Grass is Greener: Terra. Period. It's not discussed, and Aqua would adamantly refute this, but in Terra's mind he has to do everything. He did even when he was working/studying to be a doctor. Aqua knows how blessed she is to have a husband that just full stop doesn't let her lift a finger (because he loves her! And he likes doing house things), but not fully. Eraqus is old money (and so was Aqua's mom, though she barely remembers her before she took off) and Xehanort's "new money" only bolstered it, and besides just living on that kind of cushion, she was the only child with Eraqus who also had to "make up" for being a single parent for awhile, and then the youngest child and only girl when the family became blended, so she was never made to do anything in her life and kind of still believes in the cleaning fairy. She knows housework is difficult, but in the same way she knows what it's like to live paycheck to paycheck now that she and Terra don't accept any help from Eraqus and Xehanort....just live in one of their houses (to take care of it for them!) without paying a dime even towards taxes and insurance much less rent...and Aqua's car insurance is paid for six months at a time as a birthday gift in the fall and an anniversary gift in the spring...but scorn handouts otherwise. 
4. Who’s the better cook?
Canonverse/General: Aqua. 
Lost Masters: Terra. It starts off being Aqua, but, you know, you forget a lot of things once you're a Nobody. 
Grass is Greener: Terra.  Though Aqua starts to catch up once they start a couple's cooking class that Terra keeps canceling on, leaving her to take Tifa or Aerith
5. Who’s the funniest drunk?
Aqua, all universes. Terra just gets very quiet and stares at the wall to make sure it doesn't move. Aqua becomes the life of the party. Not a small task, considering their friends.
6. Do they have kids?
Canonverse/In general: Absolutely, eventually, and more than one. It would vary story to story how many, the sexes, and the ages, but they will have at least two.
Lost Masters:  I wasn't planning on it, but damn if I don't now want to rework the timeline.
Grass is Greener: "When are you guys going to have kids?" That question is the bane of their existence. "You've been together for a long time." "You'd be such great parents." There's a lot of pressure, but no baby and there's not going to be.
7. Do they have any traditions?
Canon-verse: Even though Eraqus's grave is near enough they pass by it regularly, they (and Ventus) have a yearly celebration of remembrance of his life where they gather by the gravesite and tell stories. Over time they even get comfortable enough to share negative memories. It's not disrespectful. It's remembering the whole man and learning every lesson he taught. Terra and Aqua also go all out decorating the castle for solstices, though Terra takes lead with jokes about how the one time Aqua changed the castle's decor on her own she went a little overboard. Each year picking a different world they went to separately to vacation at and re-experience together in peace.
Grass is Greener: Beach vacation every year. This is carried on from Aqua's family who used to rent a condo on the beach for the first week or so of July (or, when they got older, multiple condos, next door units so there was some pretense of supervision, Aqua, Xemnas, and Ansem sometimes getting to invite friends to come meet them/stay over for part of the time). Aqua and Terra usually do a shorter time because of schedules.  They also go all out for Halloween, turning most of the house into a haunted house for touring Halloween and the preceding or following weekend--and Aqua actually does most of the work on this, it's a grand creative project.  Ansem's for New Year's. The Dads' for Thanksgiving. Christmas tree hunting for all the households with the Dads, Ansem, and Xemnas.  Terra's family for Christmas Eve dinner and service, and then Xemnas's for Christmas because The Dads passed hosting on to him. 
8. What do they fight about?
 Canon/General: Projecting their own insecurities/sensitivities on to each other and expecting to hear things the other would never say. Take care of yourself statements twisted into assuming Aqua is worried about Terra falling prey to darkness again. Observations that everyone seems to be re-adjusting well to relatively normal/new normal life read as "Stay out of their lives and stop meddling, Aqua. You're what causes things to go wrong" 
Lost Masters: There's only the one fight planned. I don't know what smaller fights may be. Aqua handles being passed over for Master while Terra advances worse than Terra does when the opposite happens in canon. It doesn't help that Yensid takes her demands to be given another test right away badly. Terra tries to comfort her. It does not go well. 
Grass is Greener: Fight? They don't fight. They didn't fight when Terra was struggling even in his first semesters in med school (with what he wanted in life more than with the program itself, but there was a fair bit of both), confided it to Aqua, and she gently reminded him of what The Plan was--the plan that so much work and her fathers' money when someone lost some of their scholarships was put toward. They didn't fight when Aqua threw her side of The Plan out and decided it would be fun to be a teacher instead of following after Xemnas and going to law school. They didn't fight when Terra discarded more of The Plan after even more work, money, and time wasted, and started bartending of all things when even if he wasn't going to be a doctor there were so many other careers he could build. It's temporary, Aqua tells herself. He's happier, Aqua tells herself. So she's happy for him and she will not mention it and they will not fight. They don't fight over kids, or lack of kids even though that was on The Plan too that they should have one already--so they could space them out and also because Aqua had calculated the optimal age. They don't fight over money. They don't fight over hardly getting to see each other and how one or the other always seem to be late or make other plans when they do schedule off nights to be together. They just simply never argue. They are happy. Couple goals.
9. What would they do if they found their paring tag on tumblr? (If they have one)
General/Canon: They would first worry over who was watching them but then they'd get into pointing out cute art to each other and they may even write their own memoir to pass off as fanfic. It's uncomfortable how often they are the parents or aunt and uncle of the group--they aren't even completely comfortable being leaders like I said before, though they want to try their best--and even more awkward because the other Guardians of Light largely find it hilarious and tease them relentlessly. 
Lost Masters: If they find it while they are together, it's cute and a sign that everything will turn out alright. If they find it later, it's devastating for Terra, and ammunition for Dark Aqua 
Grass is Greener: Aqua doesn't really get a lot of the content but she likes how they seem to be popular, and she really likes her hair short. She should go back to wearing it short. Terra is into the fantasy anime vibes, and it's reassuring to think they may be together and in love in another universe. He thinks they are canon at least from how a lot of the tag is. It's validating.
10. Who cried at the end of Marley and me?
Neither, though they ended up talking about how Ventus definitely would have cried.
11. Who always wins at Mario kart?
Terra mostly. Aqua will have a well strategized/lucky race once in awhile though
12. One thing I like about this ship?
Even in the moments where they doubt or misunderstand each other or act stubborn, I feel like you can feel love, respect, and just the barest pining tinge even before everything goes wrong and it's cranked up. I'll break examples down when I get to games that include them on my replay I am sure. 
13. One thing I don’t like about the ship?
That they are treated as the default and even if you ship them with other people it has to be just for fun or an extra ship because at the end of the day everyone agrees with Terraqua. That's just a lowkey pet peeve though, and for “no reason” since, at the end of the day, I agree with Terraqua. 
I dislike the idea that they are "mom and dad" in a lot of people's eyes...in case I didn't give off that vibe already. Let them rest. Whether you see them are near 30 or as 18, they still deserve to just only be responsible for themselves. And, guess what, some of the kiddos have more life experience than them. 
14. The song I would say fits them?
You come into my house and keep asking me this question? Be gone with you!
15. Another headcanon about the paring? (Free space)
General: They adopt a bunch of animals. Since they are often on missions and not the most stable parents of even fur babies in the first years post KH3, this, in practice, consists of claiming animals on several worlds and visiting them every time they are there to spoil them and bring them gifts. Prince Eric's dog Max? Terra and Aqua's. Nemo and his father? Marlin resents the implication, but they are their fish. Thomas O'Malley the Alley Cat? You shouldn't be allowed to call yourself a pet owner when you also turn into a cat when you go to visit them, but, yes, he is part of the family.
Lost Masters: Instead of making large wayfinder charms, since it is just the two of them, Aqua makes smaller charms that hang from woven macrame bracelets that morph meaning as they get older. Terra continues to wear his up until "present." Aqua's comes with her even when she's a Nobody, but eventually gets confiscated by Ventus though it somehow ends up with Xigbar who doesn't hesitate to literally dangle the reminder of her human life over her. 
GiG: People tend to think Terra not Aqua is the one related to Xemnas and Ansem unless they specifically know better. Sometimes Terra goes along with this. He hasn't found a way to parlay this into some funny prank so far, but is on the look out for a way. Aqua doesn't see (or refuses to see) that Terra resembles Xem a little. Vehement denial is better for the sanity. 
*Lost Masters AU is the name for the canon divergence where Xehaqus eloped/ Xehanort chose love over power or darkness, and it changed everyone's fate--though fate still demanded both villains and heroes. Canon divergent post Xehanort's little jaunt to the future and spanning that time of Young Xehanort and Eraqus and up through the sage so far, though, you know, skipping around the years with different protags. Yeah, ambitious, but it would be so cool. I've decided I'm waiting until after I beat Melody of Memory to consider further whether I'm writing it or just posting a skeleton  in case we get some Radiant Garden/Ansem the Wise and apprentices/Kairi background I want to work in. Want to know more? Hit me up
**Grass is Greener is a modern au/soap opera-ish au created between me and Shaky. It's on both of our blogs, tagged Grass is Greener Verse.
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midnight0stars · 3 years
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YAS! Downright giddy to get more for these two. Thank you so much for the request!
If you’d like to read Someday in it’s entirety, you can find it HERE
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**Someday Ch4 ~ Aqua x M!Reader NSFW**
Words:  3201
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Wind rustled through the leaves of the towering trees above you, and thin beams of sunlight peeked through the brush. You plucked a white flower growing on a branch and twirled the stem between your fingers as you listened to Terra talking with Aqua a few feet in front of you. The three of you were on an off world mission to Prydain to check on its stability. From what you had seen, it was a forest based world. Even though the three of you had been walking for hours, you had yet to encounter another person and it was obvious that all of you were growing weary.
You glanced up at Aqua when she laughed. She peeked back at you over her shoulder, her hands clasped in front of her. “Are you alright, Y/N?”
“Of course,” you smiled softly. “Just starting to get a bit tired.”
“The sun will be going down soon.” She replied with a sigh as she looked back forward. “I had hoped we would have met some of the residents of this world before nightfall.”
“Yeah, but looks like we aren’t anywhere near the settlements.” Terra pointed out, slowing to a stop and crossing his arms as he looked around. “Let’s just set up camp for the night. We’ll get an early start tomorrow morning.”
“Sounds like a plan to me.” You stretched with a yawn.
“I think I see a clearing up ahead.” Terra walked forward, leaving you alone with Aqua.
Her eyes met with yours, a sweet smile on her lips as she turned to follow. You reached forward and grabbed her hand, giving it a squeeze as you walked alongside her. She hummed, squeezing back before pulling her hand away and pausing. You kept walking as she opened her hand, seeing you had left a small white flower in her palm. Peeking over your shoulder, you saw the warmth on her cheeks as she tucked the flower away in her bag.
You followed Terra to the clearing he spoke about. There was a break in the trees, the darkening sky in perfect view and you briefly looked forward to gazing at the stars later that night. Plush grass covered the ground, speckled with flowers and berry bushes. It seemed like the perfect spot to call it a night.
Satisfied with the area, the three of you got to work on setting up camp. You and Aqua collected firewood as Terra created a makeshift fire pit in the center of the area. As he sparked the flames with a simple spell, you sat down, leaning back on your hands while you watched the growing flickers in the fire. Aqua sat beside you, just far enough away where neither of you could touch.
She talked with Terra about the mission and anything that came to her mind. You occasionally joined in, your thoughts dwelling elsewhere. The sun continued to set as you talked and just as the sky was blending into hues of reds and orange Aqua stood up, brushing off her clothes.
“I think I’m going to go for a walk.” She told both of you. “There was a pond I saw as we were hiking, I might go wash up there.”
“Sure,” Terra shrugged, “Don’t stay out too long, or we’ll eat without you.” He chuckled at the look she sent him.
“I’ll make sure to keep that in mind.” She laughed softly in return. Her eyes met with yours, a smirk on her lips as she turned and walked away.
You looked after her, wishing you could accompany her. The thought of joining her in the pond warmed your cheeks and you almost jumped up to run after her anyways, until Terra brought you back to reality.
“I thought I had told you that you needed to be careful.” He mentioned, getting your attention.
You looked over, seeing him tossing in another stick into the fire before his eyes met with yours, one of his eyebrows quirked up. “Am… I not being careful?” you asked.
He scoffed with a breathy laugh, “You both are so clueless.”
Letting out a long breath, you leaned back and looked at the sky, admiring the puffs of clouds that seemed painted with the warm colors of the sky. “It’s… getting a lot harder to hide the way I feel about her.” You admitted with a quiet voice.
“Figured as much,” he nodded, bringing his knee up and leaning his arm over it. “You know why Master sent me along with you guys for the mission, right?”
You cringed, wishing you didn’t have to address it, but you nodded all the same. “He’s starting to suspect that something’s off.”
“Like I said, you need to be more careful.” He sighed, “Who knows what would happen if he caught you guys?”
“I’d take the heat for it.” You assured him, your eyes falling back to the flames. “No way I’d let her take the blame.”
Terra hummed, before asking, “So you were the one that started it then, huh?”
“What?”
“The whole thing between you,” he motioned his hand towards you, “You’re the one that initiated it?”
“I… I’m actually not sure who started it,” you realized, laughing under your breath. “Just… sort of happened on it’s own.” You watched the flames, a smile growing. “I’ve loved her for a long time, though.”
“Loved, huh?”
You flicked your eyes up to him, seeing a smile. “Yeah,” you admitted with a soft laugh. “This is the real deal.”
Terra’s eyes focused on the embers in the wood, obvious conflict in his gaze. “I don’t think it’s right for anyone to get in the way of that.”
“You and me both,” you sighed. “If Master Eraqus does find out, I might just tell him what a stupid rule it is.”
Terra snorted, making you laugh as well. “Good luck with that.”
“I’ll need it,” you laughed.
“I hope things work out though,” he admitted. “Aqua is obviously happy with you.”
A warmth deepened on your cheeks and in a sudden movement, you stood up. “I’m going after her.”
Terra looked up at you in surprise from the abrupt decision, before chuckling. “Can’t stay away?”
“You made me miss her,” you shrugged with a laugh. “Plus,” you looked up at the almost night sky “it’s getting dark. I don’t want her out there by herself.”
“I won’t tell her you said that,” he shook his head. “You’d get a lecture about how she can take care of herself.”
“Yeah, I know.” You smirked at the thought. “I’ll be back.”
“Don’t be too loud.” He called after you, “Really don’t want to hear that.”
You scoffed, “I’m just making sure she’s alright, sheesh.”
“Uh-huh.”
Shaking your head, you disappeared into the forest. You remembered the pond Aqua had mentioned and tried to retrace your steps to get there. The splash of a waterfall helped guide you and pushing past the dropping branches of a willow, you saw the pond. The surface sparkled from the last bits of sunlight, perfectly reflecting the warm colors of the sky. It was along the bottom of a rocky cliff, the rocks black and smoothed from the waterfall pouring down. Aqua knelt near the edge of the water, dipping her fingertips into it and causing ripples.
She stood with a gasp when she heard you, her surprised expression melding into a warm smile. “I was wondering if you were ever going to follow.”
Your smile grew into a grin as you walked towards her and wrapped your arms around the back of her waist. Her hands slid behind your neck, her body relaxing completely in your embrace.
“You were expecting me?” You asked with a soft voice, leaning down and meeting your lips with hers.
She hummed, her arms pulling you just a bit closer before she pulled her lips back from yours. “Maybe a little.” Her eyes went between to your lips, before kissing you again. “I had been looking forward to a mission alone again.”
“Me too,” you sighed, your forehead leaned against hers. “Terra thinks we might be too obvious with our feelings for each other. That’s why Master sent him along with us.”
Her body tensed, her hands slipping down to your chest. “…What do you think?”
“I think…” You stood up straighter, your gaze focused on the water as Aqua’s eyes stayed on you. “I’m starting not to care anymore…”
“Y/N,” she scolded, lightly smacking your chest before pulling away and walking to the water’s edge, her back to you. “I think Terra’s right. We keep trying to hide it, but…” Her voice trailed off.
“Aqua,” you walked to her side, running your hand along her back. “I can’t keep pretending I’m not in love with you.” Her eyes slipped shut as you continued. “I don’t care what Master has to say about it, I’d… do anything to be with you.”
“Don’t say things like that…” She whispered, the slightest strain of emotion in her voice.
“It’s true.” You simply told her, grabbing her shoulders and gently turning her towards you. Her eyes were averted as you placed your hand under her chin and tipped her face up to meet your gaze. You smiled gently, “I’ll keep telling you it until you believe me.”
Her eyes softened as she grabbed your hand on her chin and kissed your palm. “I know it’s true.” She whispered, keeping her gaze on your hand in hers.
“Then trust me.” Your smile grew as she looked back up to you. “Don’t worry about what anyone else sees or thinks. I’ll handle anything that comes our way.”
The tips of her lips curved up, a warmth creeping up her cheeks as she giggled. “I love how confidently you can say that. Usually I’m the one making the promises.”
“Yeah, well sometimes I need to make some, too.” You told her, bringing your hand to her face and running your thumb along her cheek.
She leaned into your touch, her eyes slipping shut and you took the opportunity to take her lips into your own. You felt her tensed body slowly beginning to relax again as she kissed your back, stepping closer to remove the space between you. Her hands clenched your shirt, her lips moving perfectly against yours as you wrapped your other arm around her waist.
“I love you,” she mumbled, her lips just in front of yours.
You hummed, kissing her again for a moment, before replying, “I love you, too.”
“Come with me into the water?” She asked, her eyes fluttering up to yours.
“I thought you’d never ask,” you kissed her once more, before letting her step back.
She untied the sash around her hips, draping the fabric over a low branch of a tree. As her fingers worked at undoing the lace of her corset, you went forward and kissed her jawline, undoing the laces with practiced ease. She sighed as her eyes slid closed, lolling her head back to allow you more room for your lips to explore as you pulled off her corset and tossed it towards the branch. Her sleeves were removed next, along with the metal clasp over her top. Soon all she was left in was her cropped halter and black shorts. You glided your fingers along the sides of her waist, your lips along her collarbone, before she stepped back.
You reached out for her out of instinct, but stopped when you saw the playful smirk on her lips as she turned and stepped into the water. Fireflies floated around her as she went to the middle of the pond, the water up to her ribs. Stars speckled the sky, and reflected off the water’s surface, surrounding Aqua in gorgeous starlight. Your heart swelled from the sight, finding her even more beautiful than you ever had before. She cleared her throat, making you shake your head as you realized you had been staring in a daze.
A giggle escaped her as you threw off your boots and quickly pulled your shirt over your head. You could feel her eyes on you as you undid your pants, leaving you only in your undergarments as you followed her into the water. It was warmer than you had expected, the perfect temperature as you waded over to Aqua. She trailed her hands up your chest as you came to a stop in front of her. Her fingertips traced your muscles and scars as your hands slid around her waist, setting on her hips.
She smiled up at you, leaning on her toes to kiss you, before trailing her lips along your jaw down your neck and collarbone. You pulled her closer to you as your eyes slid shut, never tiring of the sensation of her touching you. A light moan slipped past her lips when your hands ran along her backside, before sliding back up her back. The sound of her voice caused a rush of shivers to pulse through you and you whispered out her name. Her hands trailed down your chest in response, disappearing under the water to toy with the hem of your boxers. You rolled your hips against her, causing her to moan louder than before.  
A sigh slipped out of you and you breathed out, “I love this side of you.”
She kissed your shoulder as her fingers dipped past the elastic of your boxers, “What side is that?”
Your breath hitched, the anticipation coiling in your gut. “Taking control, doing whatever you want.” You grabbed her hair, gently tugging her head up so you could kiss her, groaning into her mouth when her hand grasped your erection. “It’s so damn hot.” You murmured against her lips.
A hum of satisfaction escaped her, followed by a soft giggle when you bucked your hips into her hand. “Yeah?” She asked coyly, her smile only growing when you nodded. “I really love it, too.” She kissed you again. “It’s not often I get to do whatever I want with you.”
You moved your hands to her breasts, taking them into your grasp and smirking at the way she gasped. “I know the feeling.”
She responded by meeting your lips back together, her hand running along your length as you kneaded and massaged her breasts. Soft moans and sighs escaped between you, melding with the splash of the waterfall and the chitter of creatures in the forest around you. You took her bottom lip into your mouth, running your tongue along it as your hand trailed down her waist to between her legs. A hum vibrated through you at the whimper that came from her throat. Both of you rolled your hips into the other’s palm, as her other hand laced into your hair, tugging you further against her mouth so her tongue could meet with yours.
As your fingers pressed harder against her shorts, she broke your liplock with a cry, her head slinging back. “Y-Y/N,” she stammered out with a shaking voice.
“Hmm?” You hummed, kissing and suckling her neck.
“I-I… need you inside of me… please!”
You groaned, your arms wrapping around her and pulling her fully against your body. She moaned, her hands tight in your hair.
“B-By the waterfall,” she whispered.
Without even needing to ask permission, you grabbed her thighs, hoisting her up, Her legs wrapped around you as she speckled your face and neck with kisses, while you carried her over to the smooth rocks beside the waterfall. At first, you leaned her back against the smoothest one you noticed, but she shook her head.
“No, turn around.” She hopped down, kissing you before she spun your around and sat you back on a large rock jutting out from the cliff.
You sat back, feeling the coolness of the rock against your flushed skin. Aqua pulled down her shorts and undergarments, tossing them to the shore before climbing on top of you. Your half-lidded eyes locked with hers, ignoring the cool droplets of water from the waterfall that splashed on you. She kissed you, pulling down your boxers just enough so your shaft would be freed. You moaned in her mouth as her soft hand grasped it, her thumb running along the tip.
“I love you, so much…” she whispered, looking into your eyes as she situated.
“I-I love you, t–ahhh,” your voice melted into a moan as you slid inside of her.
Her voice hitched, her hands clenched against your chest as she rolled her hips against you. A groan rumbled through your chest as you grabbed her hips and thrusted up into her. She sat up, your hands on her hips completely supporting her as you rolled in and out of her. Your eyes roved over her, noticing the way her lips parted with ecstasy as she struggled to catch a breath between her sighs and moans, the way her breasts bounced with each thrust, and how the moonlight made her look as if she were a glowing goddess.
“Aqua,” you moaned out her name under your breath, your eyes slipping shut as your head rolled back against the rocks. Her name continued to slip from your lips as the pleasure in your gut swelled deeper and deeper.
With one more thrust, you both spasmed. Her voice cracked, a moan that filled your entire being falling out of her. You sat up, pulling her to your mouth, devouring her lips in yours as you both rode out the climax. Satisfied hums vibrated between the two of you as her body went limp against yours. You broke the kiss, leaning your head back against the rocks as she settled against your chest, the sound of the waterfall calming your racing hearts.
Your hand ran along her back as you looked out at the starry sky from your little haven underneath the waterfall. Aqua’s breaths evened out against you as she nuzzled further against you.
“We can’t sleep here, Aqua.” You told her with a soft laugh.
“Hmm, I know,” she sighed, “I just… want to enjoy this moment, before we have head back to reality.”
“Yeah…” You pulled her closer, leaning your cheek against her head. “I think we can spare a few more minutes.”
“Thank you,” she whispered, smiling when you hummed in response. “…Y/N?”
“Hmm?”
“I wanted to let you know,” she sat up, her tired, contented eyes meeting with yours, a sweet smile on her lips. “I’d… do anything to be with you, too.”
You blinked, a warmth filling your chest as you smiled back and took her lips in yours. “I know you would.” You murmured, kissing her nose when you pulled back. “But–” your voice trailed off, your eyes glancing back to the stars “if anything ever does happen. If Master ever finds out… let me take the blame, alright?”
“What?” she sat up further. “No, I won’t let you do that. Whatever happens, we face together.”
“Aqua–”
“There’s no exceptions.” She interjected, a firm look in her eyes. “Promise me, we’ll face it together.”
You looked into her eyes, feeling your resolve fizzle away as you nodded. “I promise.”
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mimiplaysgames · 4 years
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Beloved Memories, in Notes (Vol. VII)
Pairing: Aqua/Terra Rating: T (for horror elements) Word Count: 11,074
Summary: His mission was to be her friend, but she didn’t want any. Terra and Aqua meet. Terra is 9, Aqua is 8.
Read on AO3
A/N: This chapter was always going to be the angsty one of this collection (kind of, it ends well). This specific story is honestly my favorite in this collection, and I’m so excited to move on with it. I’m very proud of the ending to this tale, and I just want to be able to cover it lmao.
****
A Tale of Stars, Pt. 2
It was hot, and it sucked.
There was still hay sticking to Terra's arms after he brushed them all off, his sweat just as sticky as the humidity that clinched him. The Master was in just as much of a grumpy mood.
Cows always made Terra laugh though, and Abigail's moos were a welcome cheer for a morning that could either go really well or really badly. Terra needed to be on his best behavior, for this was his very first mission - and he barely even started real Keyblade training.
He already had a to-do list to make him successful. The first step (and the most important): to be Aqua's friend.
But this was also the hardest.
Aqua was in the backyard, pumping water into a pail out of an iron press, before dragging it back to the Widow Tweed's quaint farmhouse, with Tod the fox tailing her feet closely. He noticed that she barely gave either of them the courtesy of a glance when they strolled out of Abigail's barn.
An owl stood at a tree watching them, and Terra didn't know which was weirder: that an owl was out at dawn, or that it enjoyed the company of a sparrow and a woodpecker.
Mrs. Tweed handed them their breakfast (plain old sausage with a sprinkle of salt), and Terra only finished half when Aqua appeared again, hair in classic long pigtails as usual, with Tod following her like he was her best friend. She straggled toward the woods in a daze that made her seem more like a zombie than anything, as if this was the most basic routine for the most basic day and she didn't know what else there was to do.
"You should join her," he heard the Master say.
Terra chewed on his meat with spite. "She doesn't like me."
"She does not know you as a person."
"Still hates me."
"Then she'd be the fool," Eraqus said with confidence. "To pass judgment on mere glance would say much about her and nothing of you… You still have your responsibilities, however, so you must try."
Terra stopped a piece from reaching his mouth, his fingers grasped tightly around his fork. "What if she says no?"
"Then you respect her decision."
A more frightening possibility crept into his mind. "What if she says yes?"
"Then you join her." Like it was the easiest thing in the world.
Terra stuffed as much sausage into his mouth until his cheeks almost burst because he hated all the answers and pouted at his Master. It didn't work.
"Continue with that and your cheeks will sag," the Master grinned.
The image of long flabby cheeks terrified him, so brave Terra faced his fears, swallowed all the sausage at once (which hurt), and raced over before she disappeared into the trees. This was still a mission, and he was still being tested.
"Aqua," he panted, and she at least treated him with the decency of acknowledging his presence. "Are you going out to play?"
"Yeah," she said lowly. Honestly, she looked super-exhausted, despite that it was morning.
"Can I join you?"
She turned and left him behind. "Sure."
Now what was Terra supposed to do? Follow, he supposed.
Aqua walked with the grace of someone who memorized where all the uplifted tree roots would snag her, barely putting any thought of where to step her feet while Terra took an extra second or two just to make sure he wouldn't trip. Tod led the way, excitedly rushing onward only to have to come back because they were going too slow for him.
They walked in silence - Terra didn't know what to talk about.
Toys - does she still have any? Pets - I don't know a thing about them, much less foxes. School - well, we obviously don't take the same classes, and I don't study math, so we can't even talk about something we hate.
Her silence sucked just as much as the heat, and why, oh why did Terra have to deal with this?
They reached a pond, where a creek ran the end of its trail into its reservoir, and willow trees overlooking the surface and dragonflies dancing on longrass.
"Do you want to skip rocks?" Terra asked. "It's really fun."
She sat on a log, bringing her knees to her chin and saying nothing in return.
Tod went ahead and buried his nose in the crooks of pebbles that littered the ground, sometimes yipping at something he found, which were mostly uninteresting - frogs, maybe.
"It's really hot," Terra said, and he didn't know if she agreed - she said nothing.
"Maybe we can swim?" he asked, and immediately blushed. Normally he'd strip to his shorts but he probably shouldn't be asking girls to take off their clothes to go swimming with him.
Again, she said nothing, her eyes drifting off into some made-up land. Terra had never seen a child, even at the orphanage, who looked this horrible.
The adults running the orphanage always said that having parents was the best thing that could ever happen, and that each child could have a pair as long as they behaved well. Terra never really wondered if having them (or losing them) would hurt just as much, too.
It was suddenly too quiet. Tod stopped his hustling of innocent forest insects, and slumped his shoulders while he waited.
He and Aqua looked the same: abandoned.
Finally, she spoke. "Copper is late."
"The hounddog?"
"He always comes," she said with a tighter grip around her knees, like she was remembering a punishment.
Copper was late and Tod was sad about it, too. That was what hurt them: missing someone.
Aqua huffed, willing whatever cloudy thoughts that haunted her to go away and stood up with her head held high, marching deeper into the forest. If Terra didn't know any better, he'd say that she was ready to punch somebody.
He and Tod followed, and it turned out that they hiked somewhere uphill, where they eventually reached a rundown farm within several acres of empty land, half-neglected and half-loved.
She gasped - Copper was there, a rope tied around his neck for a leash, where the weight of an empty barrel kept him grounded. Nearby, a much, much bigger gray dog snuggled in his own barrel and snored.
The children sneaked up to the wooden fence that marked the beginning of the forest and the end of this farm's territory. Aqua held Tod closely, quieting his fidgeting and stopping him from racing across to the dogs.
"Mr. Slade is so mean," she whispered with disdain. "He's always trying to keep Copper and Tod apart. Who would do such a thing?"
It was still Terra's opinion that a fox and a hound were strange friends indeed considering their nature.
Maybe he expected Aqua to know better, and yet here she was on the verge of going back to hiding in her mind.
Well, his mission was to be her friend, and he read in books in that friends made each other happy. If she wanted Tod and Copper to play together, as weird as that was, then he was going to do just that.
"What are you doing?" she hissed, Tod squirming more in her arms.
Terra had lifted one leg in between the logs barring up the fence, and ducked under to get to the other side. "I'm getting Copper, what does it look like?"
"Chief will hear you."
If she was talking about the snoring dog, then he didn't know what she was so worried about. Terra was training to be a Keyblade Master, after all, what was a mangey old mutt going to do?
"I can sneak."
"You're going to get in trouble," she barked like a mean teacher.
"No, I won't."
"Yes, you will."
He liked her less when she talked.
"Calm down." He dismissed her with a wave and crept, keeping his body close to the ground as he waddled over, the grass patches taller than him. This farm really needed a lawnmower.
Aqua huddled behind a bush, watching him closely and mumbling small prayers to herself as she kept a firm hand around Tod's snout. She worried too much.
Terra, on the other hand, crawled confidently - he was more afraid of Mr. Slade catching him in the act than of an old, tired dog sniffing him out.
He chose to do this for her, and was going to see it through.
Copper was very smart and perceptive, understanding the consequences of being caught by a large quadruped such as Chief, so he shied away from Terra at first.
Of course, Copper was still a young puppy, and the moment Terra followed through on some unspoken promise of releasing him from his prison, he yipped.
"Shhh," Terra said, ever so gently holding Copper's snout. He held his breath for a few seconds, Chief wiggling and kicking his feet from the sudden noise -
Only to go back to sleep.
Terra was more relieved than he wanted to admit. "Don't you wanna play with your friend?" he whispered, and started to head back to Aqua and Tod with the puppy riding in his arms.
But then Chief finally got a whiff, and finally started barking.
Chief spit, Chief noticed exactly who was in Terra's arms, and when he did, Chief lunged with a loud growl. Terra's heart jumped straight up into his throat at the sight of such carnivores, and he swallowed it back into place.
Luck smiled on him though, since Terra only managed to escape because Chief, too, was leashed.
Aqua immediately bolted back into the thicket, with Terra and a pup in his arms following closely, the bark of an angry, old man inching closer, throwing a gunshot for a warning but even then, that faded into the background, too.
*****
Tod and Copper reuniting turned Aqua into a different person - though she was still stuffy, ungrateful at worst, as she yapped about how they were teaching these little innocent animals terrible lessons that could get them into trouble later on, and wasn't this considered dognapping, blah blah blah.
(Honestly, it wasn't dognapping if they were going to return Copper, right?)
But - and that was a huge but - Aqua was at least more willing to talk, more brave to look him in the eye when she did (he realized she had very large, bright eyes, making it hard not to stare).
Who knew that all he had to do was steal someone's pet to open her up?
He could have snarked back by saying that she wasn't a perfect princess either since she was now happy that Tod and Copper were together, but he kept his mouth shut.
She did make some good points, after all. If the Master ever found out what he did, he'd fail the mission.
But... if he didn't do this for her, then she would definitely refuse to be his friend, and that meant he failed, too.
Ugh, Mr. Slade shouldn't have been a jerk in the first place because he made Terra's life miserable (and everyone else's included).
As Tod and Copper rolled in the dirt, Terra kicked a rock and said, "No one should know."
She fiddled with her apron, her dress sprawled over the log they sat on. "Okay. I won't tell a soul."
The worst feeling was keeping this from the Master, and Terra never expected this would ever happen in his entire life.
Was it worth it?
He didn't know. He knew he felt content when Copper approached him with a wagging tail, when the pup crawled onto his lap for a short snooze, alongside his best friend Tod, who helped himself to Aqua's lap.
They looked peaceful, like they had been given a second chance at something important to them. Terra felt like he was a hero, which was always what he wanted to be… and the Master did always say to do what was his heart told him was right.
So would he really get into that much trouble if Terra argued that this was the right thing to do?
Maybe.
That uncertainty was too much of a risk, and Terra didn't know how to feel.
It suddenly dawned on him - this was his first secret that he shared with someone else. Anyone else in his entire nine-year-life!
Wait, it wasn't like they actually promised to keep it to themselves - they merely agreed to never speak about it. She gave him a simple nod when she complied, afraid of the consequences that would chase her if it ever got out. It was not a pinky-squeeze, not a handspit, or a blood oath.
He understood perfectly. This was about survival, not friendship.
*****
By evening, Mr. Slade blamed Tod for the dognapping - he didn't actually see the fox though, and therefore had no basis for his arguments.
The Master's presence was imposing enough to shut it all down. Eraqus was so much taller than Amos Slade that a shotgun to the chest didn't really diminish how intimidating he was, and since everyone thought of him as an investigator, his dismissal of the Case of the Missing Puppy was final.
By morning, it was time for Aqua to go back to school, and Eraqus offered to take her (for protection protocol).
The three of them traversed twisted, muddy backroads to the town square, since the main road would take her right by her destroyed house and it was best to avoid all of that for now. It would have been a pretty stroll, tucked away in the forest trees with the sun shining through the canopies, if it wasn't for the heat. Terra couldn't wait to leave this world and never come back.
It didn't help that Aqua wasn't very receptive to Eraqus trying to open conversations with her, and it left Terra feeling like he had to start back at square one all over again. It was a wonder how the Master didn't feel so personally attacked by her silence.
Being such a small world where everyone knew everything, the people in town cast looks on Aqua as they walked by, whispering gossip and identifiers as they pointed to the girl whose parents were brutally murdered in a town where such things never happened.
When they approached the schoolhouse, children gathered in the windows to look down on her as she crept closer to the entrance, and while Terra couldn't hear what they were saying, they were absolutely riled up like she was a spectacle at a zoo. It was rude.
Since Terra couldn't join her because he wasn't a student, Eraqus took him to the public library - a small wooden thing that was pathetic in comparison to the castle's massive archive.
Eraqus left him behind so Terra wouldn't be in danger, since he was going straight to the outskirts of the town to investigate the last sightings of the demon wrecking this town apart, appearing as a man seemingly named Ardyn.
The Master had only one request: "Let us not kidnap any more puppies today, shall we?"
Terra feigned innocence. "Sir?" When that didn't work, he continued, "Yes, sir."
Equipped with only one ceiling fan for reprieve (it barely worked to keep him cool), Terra busied himself to a number of random books; a good Keyblade wielder spent his time studying about the world he was investigating, as it helped him fit in better.
He tried really hard to be quiet - really, he did. He was the only one there aside from the librarian, a young woman wearing a bun and glasses that made her look older. But he did a spectacular job at being noisy even though it wasn't his fault; the wooden floorboards under him just wouldn't stop squeaking with every step he took.
It turned out that Terra didn't have to be so respectful with keeping up the integrity of the library - a young guy marched into the library, his muddy boots stomping like crackling whips onto the wood beneath.
Immediately, he and the librarian hit it off like they were flirting, and Terra wondered why he ever tried so hard being quiet.
Much of the talk was boring - news of someone's married cousin, and whether she had time Saturday night to go look at some horses… Hopefully she realized that this guy chatting her up was the lamest of the lame and she wouldn't agree to it.
She dodged his question entirely by changing the subject, acting like she didn't hear him. This was where it got interesting - she brought up the subject of the murderer, and asked the guy if he heard anything new.
"Yer tellin' me you didn' hear?" he gargled. His teeth were yellow. "They found the preacher's daughter."
The librarian hesitated. "Is she…?"
He shook his head. "All mangled up by the river. Funny thing is the fog's still rollin' when it shouldn'." He wasn't creeped out about the death, but acted like he was important enough to deliver such news. "Word is she was covered in oil when they found her."
The librarian at least had the decency to be upset. "The poor thing. Who found her?"
"That investigator comin' from the city." They were talking about the Master. Terra pretended to read, with one stack of finished books to his left, and a dwindling shorter stack of unread ones to his right, but he inched a little closer to listen more. The man continued, "If he hadn' found her, she'd continue ter sit there and rot."
Images of the Master finding a dead body burned in Terra's mind. Eraqus was strong, always had been - a hero had adopted Terra the day they met. But suddenly it scared him to think about the Master following Ardyn's trail.
"Makes me wonder," the man continued, his finger lifted in the air as if to make a point, "if Jim Bob'll get his fair share."
"Jim Bob, was that the one who beat his horses?"
"Is that what you 'eard?" He pulled on his suspenders. "Ha! I 'eard he poisoned 'em."
"Well, I don't believe any of it. Jim Bob loves his horses, I figured that nastiness was the work of that creeper."
"Did ya hear? Jim Bob claims the creeper doin' all of this lives in his paintings. Crazy loon. And 'pparently the creeper fancies hisself a fedora. Can you believe that?"
The librarian leaned forward, making sure she heard correctly. "You don't say?"
At this, Terra stood up, and the two adults suddenly quieted, as if their conversation was too inappropriate for a kid.
Not like Terra cared, waltzing up to the front desk with a very specific task in mind.
"Ma'am," he began, giving her a smile. "May I ask for a book about fedoras?"
She blushed at the proof that he heard their every word. "W-what are you needing, exactly?"
"I want to know what one looks like." Terra smiled wider, ignoring the way the man cleaned his own teeth with his tongue.
The librarian nodded quickly, like she had just been given orders by someone very important, and rushed off to find a book from a nearby shelf. She did Terra the favor of flipping through it for him, handing it over with pages showing off hats: fedoras, some with large rims, others short, all of them with similar dips at the top.
"You're a very smart boy," he heard her say, making him look up.
"Thank you, ma'am."
She squealed with glee. "And so very polite, too, they don't make kids like you these days no more." She leaned on her hands, looking down on him from her desk. "I've never seen you 'round here before."
Terra cleared his throat. He was instructed to tell very specific stories should anyone ask. "I'm from the city, miss."
She leaned further at the sound of his answer, like he was just as much of a specimen - it reminded him of the way people gawked at Aqua. "You don't happen to be the investigator's son now, are you?"
My dad?
That was right, if anyone asked, he was supposed to agree. Eraqus was so focused on proper obedience that the most proper way to address him was always "Master," and Terra wondered if it meant he was doing something bad if he lied about their relationship.
Was he, really, if he was lying for a mission?
Either way, it made him feel good to say yes.
*****
When school was over, Terra had instructions to find her.
He'd spent so long being the only kid at the Land of Departure that seeing a mass of children rummaging through the school grounds was like a punch to his heart, reminding him of the orphanage. It made him wonder how the ones he left behind were doing… did they find parents? Did they still hope for some or did they give up? What about Miss Quistis, the lady who ran the orphanage - was she still there? She always smiled.
Terra spotted Aqua, surrounded by other girls and one boy, who asked her incessant questions and ate all of her answers. Aqua was either uncomfortable or shy - he couldn't tell.
This was where Terra was completely useless, making new friends. He was going to be a Keyblade Master, a hero and savior to anyone who needed help, so sure, he'd be brave in the face of danger, or in the game between life and death.
But he remembered the lesson he kept facing again and again at the orphanage: other kids didn't want him around.
So he did what he thought he'd never do again: sit on a bench by himself and watch the others talk and play ball.
He was already so good at staring at rocks that he didn't notice that another child approached him -
Aqua, with her hand extended. He almost thought she wanted him to save her from her nosy friends, but he wasn't going to be fooled that he was necessary in a predicament like this.
"Come play with us," she said.
What was that about being a savior when she was the one to save him?
He was shaking when he took her hand, and didn't know if he was shaking harder as she led him through groups of wandering kids that broke off into their own cliques. Mostly he just stood there when she introduced him to her friends, and needed verbal permission to play skip rope with them.
Terra was smart and got the hang of it, and let himself enjoy some of the games - that is, until the other kids gaped with eyes wide open at someone behind him. The yard surrounding the school dulled into silence - and it wasn't because the kids went home.
Some pudgy kid with a round face, a mean look, a swollen eye, and oily hair approached their group, and with such vigor that everyone else made space for him, like he was king and they were terrified of him, and he knew he terrified them and he took pride in that.
"Looks like the cursed girl is back," he chipped in, and no one had anything to retort.
"Shut up, Pap," Aqua snarked, and the other kids stared in shock.
"Best be on the lookout or else being 'round her will curse your parents, too," he said with cackle, searching for nods of agreement from the other children nearby. He was a giant of a child, definitely a head taller than Terra.
What was most surprising was how literally no one mentioned how cruel that was to say - it nearly made Terra want to punch this Pap in the face… but adults always punished him for getting into fights.
Aqua's lip quivered for a moment before she went cold. "The only reason why no one went after your dad was because his breath stinks. Who'd go near him?"
Pap's face twitched at the sound of giggles from the other kids. "You know," he said with a crunch of his knuckles, "Preacher said your parents must have sinned an awful lot to get what was coming to 'em."
Terra searched for any adults who might be watching. There was no one.
Pap continued his crap. "So yer one to talk. I normally don't hit girls."
"Try me!" Aqua shrieked, pushing him like she didn't care in the world what could happen to her.
That pissed Pap off.
He went ahead, fist in the air for a clean strike.
Despite urging him on, Aqua scrunched her fists into her skirt, like she didn't know what she got herself into.
Terra had no choice.
Grabbing the fist, twisting the arm over, and tripping Pap by the ankle came so fluidly, so naturally, that all the children blinked once just to realize that his huge butt landed on the ground before he even got close to Aqua.
"That was easy," Terra smirked, now standing in between an idiot covered in dirt and Aqua.
It was easy. No one compared to Master Eraqus.
There were some loud gasps and name-calling from the crowd, followed by silence.
"Y-you don't belong here, ain't got no reason to-" Pap's surprised stutters and the drool coming out of his mouth was the first sign of him turning his heel and leaving them alone, yelling something like "I'mma tell my pa!" before he disappeared.
The crowd dissipated slowly, giving Terra and Aqua stares like they were the next most dangerous thing. Like they were freaks, even though Terra had just stood up to the one bully terrorizing them. Why? Not even her friends wanted to be near her, acting like she wasn't even there.
Aqua sniffled behind him, but she just left him alone when he asked if she was okay, taking a place on a bench near the road.
Maybe Terra was used to that by now, but he followed her, paying no mind how she refused to look at him. "Don't think about Pap, he's stupid," he said.
"He is stupid," she croaked, before raising her voice to a yell. "And school is stupid and everything is stupid."
She glared at her lap and Terra didn't know what to say. The other children eventually left the school in droves, some walking together to wherever they've decided to go, while others had their parents pick them up.
"Who usually picks you up?" Terra asked after a while, hating the silence.
Aqua raised her head to meet him in the eye. She didn't cry, but she looked like a pet anxiously waiting at a windowsill for its owner. She looked like Tod.
"My daddy."
Terra didn't have a good reply to that. Eraqus wasn't around - Eraqus wasn't around, and a horrid thought lurked in his stomach. What if they were both now left alone here for good?
It lasted for merely a second. Thankfully.
"I apologize for my late arrival," the Master said, which didn't matter. He still came and Terra found his breath again. "Would any of you like treats? Maybe some flavored ice for this dastardly weather?" He wiped his brow with a handkerchief.
Aqua didn't reply, but reached out to hold his hand with both of hers, and hid her face in his robe. Terra was still processing whatever it was that made him nauseous.
Eraqus smiled but acted like nothing out of the ordinary happened. "I am quite fond of lemon flavor myself."
******
The walk back to Mrs. Tweed's farm seemed longer, and the Master filled it with random stories of the games he used to play as a child. Terra had heard some stories about the past before, but Eraqus left out certain key details that would have marked him as a foreigner to this world, and one day Terra would have to do the same.
Aqua didn't say much, just gripped the Master's hand tightly as she followed him, her eyes lazy and missing, like the road she was staring at didn't exist.
It didn't matter that she never spoke back, the Master kept looking over his shoulder to see if she was listening, smiling at her like she gave him acknowledgement of his words.
Then, she stopped on her feet, and the Master complied. By now, the sun was halfway down to setting.
"I told them," she whimpered.
"Told who what?" the Master asked.
"I told my parents about the bad man."
What dropped first was the Master's smile, then he knelt before her. "The bad man?"
"Mm-hmm," she nodded. "We met him at the summer fair. At night. He sat at a table drinking ale and we passed by him. He asked about me, and my parents answered some questions like I went to school and I danced."
"Was that all?"
She shook her head. "I told them he was bad."
Eraqus cocked his head, more attentive than ever. "How did you know this?"
Her face contorted, her brows scrunching into wrinkles and her lips bending at the center. "I just knew he was bad. I pulled on mama and told daddy to stay away, but they said I was rude."
Then the first tears Terra saw on her face fell, and she struggled to breathe. "They didn't believe me," she said.
She wailed, the most horrid sound Terra had ever heard, and it was so loud that it filled his ears and invaded his chest, and he nearly cried from it, too. It hurt to hear it and it hurt to think about why.
Eraqus picked her up, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and her legs around his waist, with words that said, There, there, you are safe and sound, safe, safe, safe, as they trudged down the road, leaving Terra to carry her bookbag.
She was limp, all her energy seeping into sobs on the Master's shoulder, and all the noise she made frightened the rabbits and the birds nearby.
******
Since they got back, Abigail fussed hard like the air was suffocating her.
"She's doing a little better," the Master observed when he found Terra alone in the barn, brushing the cow, which really helped her calm down.
But now it was Terra willed into silence, Abigail's chewing of hay filling the room.
"Are you alright?"
Terra nodded. "Is it true you found the preacher's daughter?"
Eraqus' nostrils flared and he inhaled. "Word surely spreads far in this world. Yes, Terra, I did."
The Master took his place on a short stool normally setup for milking, but instead of fetching a pail, he rubbed on the hairs of his mustache with his thumb and forefinger.
"This man, if he could still be called one, is very predatory… I saw him today."
Terra nearly dropped the brush. "What?"
"Ardyn, I came into contact with him at the horse farmer's home. It's become a dreary place. Even with the sunshine, the halls of that house stay dark." Eraqus cleared his throat and took the milking pail, though he did nothing with it. "A terrible thing, the darkness. Being near it for too long will compel anyone to commit atrocities they otherwise would not do with a sane mind." He raised a finger at Terra, ready to lecture. "This is why you must never tread on that path, lest you want regrets, Terra."
"Yes, sir."
"Ardyn had found refuge within the oil paintings across the farmer's house, and I've chased him. He would appear and disappear at a whim, taking occupancy in frames he didn't belong… until he stepped out of one."
"And then what happened?" Terra asked quietly. "Did you fight?"
Eraqus nodded, and Terra's stomach dropped. "Unfortunately, he melted into his own shadows, escaping." He took a side glance. "I do not believe this beast is blind like it describes in my records."
"Sir?"
"Terra, do you remember your lessons about the nature of light and darkness?"
Of course he did, he was a good student. He recited, "Light attracts darkness, and darkness will hunt down the light. They are designed to recognize each other."
"Yes. Yes, indeed." Eraqus stared at nothing, gathering thoughts before he put them to words. "Aqua's intuition in recognizing the darkness only asserts my suspicions - I believe he hunted her down for the immensely bright light within her."
"... Why did he go after her parents?"
"Hmmm… the more I ponder over it, the more I see why the records have him labeled as blind. As a hunter, he is barely decent. When I fought him, nothing about his movements and his aversions to my presence gave me the impression that he couldn't see. It was more of… he can sense light when it is near. It alarms him but it deceives him. What I have noticed is his breath, it is so deep when he fights it as though he is drowning."
"So he sniffs the light when it's around?"
"In a way. He approached Aqua's house in daylight, when she was in school, so it would be sensible that her presence would be smeared all over her home, where her parents resided unaware."
"Then why doesn't he find her now?"
Eraqus, pensive and tense this entire time, sighed, like he just remembered that he was talking about human beings. "She is grieving. We all have light and darkness within us, Terra. Grief and rage will cloak our very best selves, and while she is under that state, it hides her from him.
"This is why," Eraqus continued, needing Terra's attention, "it is important that she understands there are others who care about her. To give her inner light a chance to shine again, and remember what it feels like to be happy. A dark mind lends to a dark heart and too much of that will warp her. Do you understand what I am saying, Terra?"
"Yes, sir. I've been trying to make her smile."
"Good. I know I can count on you." Eraqus' smile was brief as if he didn't have the time for it. "As for the preacher's daughter, unfortunately I believe she was mere collateral. A source of light that he found confusing, and he attacked her as such. There is so much darkness to be found in many worlds, Terra, and they wear many faces but this is the most gruesome that I've seen in my lifetime."
So Ardyn could find anyone with enough light, and just… end it all.
"Why?" Terra choked. "Why would anyone do that?"
Eraqus rubbed his student's head. "The reason will differ for each, but it is all senseless and primitive."
The tears were hot and Terra wasn't strong enough to stop them.
Eraqus reached to hold him, alarmed at the sight. "What has gotten into you? Are you frightened?"
Terra sniffed quietly and nodded, using his forearm to wipe his face.
"What if you die?" he squeaked.
"Terra, look at me." He was gentle, but firm. "I will not die."
"Aqua's parents died. And the preacher's daughter."
His Master sighed, rubbing Terra's arms before brushing his hair out of his tear-stained face. "Terra… they had no means of defending themselves, but I am very different. You have no reason to fear. Dry those tears."
He swallowed. "Y-yes, sir."
"If this is too much for you, I can send you home where you'll feel safe."
"No, sir." He stared at his Master's shoes. Under no circumstances did Terra want to go home, abandoning the mission, wondering for days if everyone was okay. And Aqua was so sad, today. "If I leave, then Aqua will be all alone, and I want to be brave."
"You possess an extraordinary amount of courage, capable and necessary for any true Keyblade wielder." Eraqus leaned over to make sure that Terra understood correctly. "The amulet I gave you, Terra, do you still mind it?"
"Y-yes, sir." Terra hurried to pull the knotted, looped cross from under his shirt. "I don't even take it off for a bath."
"Very good. You remember what I told you?"
"If anything-" He swallowed. He didn't want anything to happen. Now he wanted to go home and have Eraqus all to himself. "If anything happened, I need to stay calm and find you."
"And it will protect you. Be mindful of the fickleness of protection spells, Terra. They are powerful but they expire."
"Yes, sir."
The Master wiped Terra's face with his robe, and brushed through his hair with his fingers. Then he took the pail near him, ready to take on Abigail. "You are dismissed, Terra. Take some fresh air outside." He gave a smirk. "Let us hope the next time we speak of such evils, you would be a stronger, braver Keybearer ready to take on the challenge."
"Yes, sir."
******
Dragging his feet on the ground as he welcomed the cool breeze that hit his face, the vastness of the stars above him made this world seem bigger than it truly was. The forests beyond faded into darkness, the shadows mean under the moonlight.
At least Aqua was there, settled in the grass where Tod curled on her lap, his bright red fur the only spec of color to be seen in a night like this one. She was watching the forest but she was not really on her guard, like she didn't consider that something dangerous could be hiding where she couldn't see.
She wasn't crying anymore but her face was still puffy, and Terra took a spot next to her. She nudged over to give him more space, lending him a half-smile as a greeting. The grass was soft but itchy, too tall and in need of grooming.
"Everyone at school now knows me as the girl with no parents," Aqua said, eyes downcast with her hand sunk in Tod's vibrant red fur, and a tone that said she'd rather be known as literally anything else. She sounded tired, too - sick of being sad.
"I don't have any parents either."
She gaped at him with a pity he didn't comprehend. "Mr. Eraqus…?"
For once, Terra shook his head. "He's my teacher."
"Oh…" And there she was again, sad, and he got the notion that it was for him even though he didn't need it. "What happened to them?"
"They gave me up when I was a baby," he said simply. He lived with this knowledge all his life; it wasn't a big deal. Well… it kind of was. All the children went through a phase at some point that maybe they didn't deserve to have a family. But it really wasn't that big of a deal. It wasn't. "I grew up in an orphanage… but I have Master Eraqus now. Everything's great."
"But you live with your teacher."
"The best teacher ever."
She quieted. "...Do you even go to school?"
Terra didn't know what to say. He was supposed to talk about Eraqus being his father this entire time that he didn't have backup answers. "Sorta. I'm his only apprentice. We live in a special academy up in the mountains."
"Really?" She eyed the West, toward the direction of what these townspeople called mountains in this world. "Where?"
"Uh, very far away."
"Hm. So is it a lie that you're from the city?"
"No!" He said too quickly. "I come from a city - a really big one. All the buildings there are taller than your mountains here."
She gave him a… snooty look. "There's no such thing as a city like that."
"Yes, there is."
"No, there isn't."
"It's true," he pleaded. She was such a hard nut to crack. "Okay fine, there's more to it but... can you keep a secret?"
She lit up. "Yeah."
"You have to promise not to tell anyone, or I'll get in trouble."
"Cross my heart."
If she put her heart on the line, then she was serious. "The Master and I aren't from around here."
"Well," she scoffed, "duh."
"No, I mean…" He waved to the sky above them, stars twinkling like they wanted to be noticed. "We're from very, very far away."
It took her a second to think about what he was saying, then she rolled her eyes. "Are you saying you're aliens? That's ridiculous."
He laughed – it wasn't the response he expected, but it wasn't exactly the wrong interpretation either. "Kind of? We are from a distant star, and we flew from there."
"Pfft."
"I'm not lying."
"Sure, you're an alien."
Why she had to be such a snob at all times, he didn't know. Still, Terra felt like a complete idiot – here was someone finally willing to listen to him, to share a secret with and be his friend, and he blew it. He hated the silence penetrating between them now.
Aqua suddenly threw her hands in the air, as if she had enough exasperation to last her the day. "Aliens are supposed to have green skin, okay? They look like bugs, with antennas, and they're bald-"
Like she was the expert.
She said it in a way as if asking him to prove her wrong, and he swayed right back into smiling. Maybe he didn't blow it after all.
"There's more to the stars than you think," he said smugly.
Aqua crossed her arms and studied him for a bit.
What she said next surprised him - not because she believed him, or because she had her own secret to tell, but because he never really experienced someone who missed him before.
"Does that mean you'll have to leave soon?"
Those brief moments where she was smiling were so short.
"Maybe…" And Terra found himself sad, too. "Yeah. When the Master catches Ardyn, we'll have to go back home."
He didn't know if she was going to cry, but she didn't. She turned her nose up at him.
"You can't leave."
"Why not?"
"Because you're my friend now, and I won't let you."
Terra laughed because he had no other reaction. He didn't want to leave either, but he didn't say that out loud. What he realized instead was why she was so attached to Tod and Copper staying together: friendship meant a lot to her, maybe even as much as him, even though he didn't have any.
"We should find Copper tomorrow," he said. "It's wrong that they're separated."
She lit up. "Tod is lonely without him."
And Terra didn't want Tod to be lonely. "We could think of ways to get him back so we aren't caught."
"Promise?" She leaned near him, scanning his eyes for his oath.
Terra traced over his heart with one finger, and swore his first promise to someone who wasn't Eraqus. "Cross my heart."
******
After school the next day, Aqua minded her chores with such focus and speed that she finished earlier than expected and sought out Master Eraqus in the barn.
When she asked, "Mr. Eraqus, can Terra come out to play?" it was proof that yes, Terra did have a new friend. She was ready for the woods, replacing her dress with overalls and an excitable Tod by her feet.
Eraqus of course was pleased to hear that and sent Terra a smug grin before agreeing, which was probably the first time that Terra could remember being let go from his chores early.
Finding Copper was easy, and getting him out wasn't as hard as anticipated. Amos Slade relied too much on his intimidations, apparently, because Copper was there just the same. It took stealing a dog muzzle to contain Chief's barking so no one would be alerted.
Terra felt bad. He promised Chief that they'd all come back, even though Aqua told him that Chief hated Tod and wasn't nice either to anyone either.
Little Copper though was delighted.
And it turned out, babysitting small animals was tiring, and the two of them still went at it with their games while Terra and Aqua took turns lazily guessing the shapes of clouds.
They even talked some more about what he did as Eraqus' apprentice: what kind of classes he took, how far into defense training he had progressed so far, and whether he ever had to tolerate something dumb like math.
His answers were pretty honest except he never once mentioned the word Keyblade. It was a Keybearer's most important clause to keep that secret.
Watching dog and fox toss and tumble, practicing their survival skills on each other, gave Aqua a peculiar idea.
"Can you teach me how to fight?"
"That'd be fun. You're gonna show Pap's who's boss?"
"It's something I've always wanted to do, but Mama said it wasn't ladylike. It's too ferocious."
Terra stood up, at the ready. "It's not hard."
She hopped to a stance, her hands already in lifted. "Then show me."
"Well first…" He grabbed her wrists and brought them closer to her face. "You need to always protect yourself, and this will make it easier."
Then he lifted one open palm. "Try hitting me."
She threw her fist, and it smacked enough to sting.
"Ow," he whined.
Aqua's knuckles were already red from one punch, and she winced.
Terra shook his hand to relieve the pressure. "You hit hard, which isn't bad, but you're also hurting yourself." He lifted his other palm to spare the first. He remembered the way Eraqus spoke to him when he taught, going back to his earliest lessons. "Try thinking about your strength coming from your back, and use that to direct the punch."
It took several times, and Terra often switched palms for her to strike (it helped ease his pain). But Aqua took his lessons much faster than he expected, honestly, finally getting the proper amount of force in her punches without expecting her fingers to break.
"We use the same advice in ballet," she said.
"Really?"
"It's to make sure you're in alignment and you're moving properly."
"Oh!" He dropped a hand after she finished another throw straight into the center of it, now leveled off so that it didn't sting him anymore. "The Master and I talk about that stuff all the time. I didn't think it'd be useful in dance."
"Pfft." Suddenly she leaned off her focus on slugging and stood as straight as a rod. "Observe."
With feet turned out and a curve at her elbows, Aqua started to… well, bend her knees repeatedly.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
"It's called a plié," she said as though he should know better. "Try it with me."
Turning out his feet was more uncomfortable than it looked, and he copied her movements, even when she brought one arm out to her side and swept the other across and over her head.
It looked easy to copy and honestly he got bored, but she started laughing -
He realized he never really heard her laugh before. It sounded like small bells, with a sparkle to her eyes. She looked different, alive almost.
"What's so funny?"
She mimicked what he was doing: hunched over, with his arms so curved that it looked like he was about to scratch his side and his head. "You look like a monkey."
"I do not."
He gave up, stomped his foot on the ground and swore to himself that he'd never dance again.
"Aww," she breathed, swallowing the rest of her loose laughs to regain some composure. "I didn't mean it that way. We can try something different."
"How about this," he interrupted, with a finger to command her attention. "We do a little competition and whoever wins gets to decide what game we should play."
Terra already had an idea in mind where he was sure he'd win.
"That sounds fun! What should we do?"
"Whoever does a handstand the longest wins."
Initially, he expected her to be intimidated, but she replied with, "That sounds easy. Let's do it."
It sunk his stomach, but he knew that he was good with this, so he should still be fine.
They bent over, and on his count of three, they lifted their legs into the air and balanced on their hands.
The blood rushed to his head, but he'd done this so many times that he breathed through it.
"Should we count it out?" he heard her say, his gaze somewhere off to the forest where Tod and Copper took a break from their roughhousing.
"What?"
"Count it out, like how many seconds it takes to do this?"
What was harder than breathing was talking in this position. "Nah."
"Okay." She sounded like she had no struggle in the world. "I used to take lots of gymnastics. I really miss it."
He really wished she would stop talking so he could concentrate on staying still.
"Cool," he muttered.
"I had a teacher who thought I would do well in competing," she continued, "but Papa wanted me to stay in school."
"Okay," he huffed.
"I've always wondered-"
He groaned, falling over onto his stomach into the thick grass underneath him, his head light. She glanced behind her, and with a smirk, gracefully went back on her feet and looked over him.
"I win!"
"Obviously."
"And I choose the game of…" She took a finger to her chin, very proud and very dismissive of his utter disappointment. "Hide and seek."
"Seriously?" He was going to refuse because he had pride and hurting it made him fume.
"I won, so we have to play. But Tod and Copper stay with you."
"Why?"
She waved her arm at him, already on her way, like he asked her a silly question. "They'd give my location away, and I'm not gonna let you cheat."
"Fine." He buried his face in arms against a tree and started to count out loud, listening closely to the direction of her steps so he had as many clues as possible; he was going to find her so quickly, she'd know immediately that he was worthy of respect, and she shouldn't ever laugh at him again.
"... Eight, nine, ten. Ready or not, here I come!" he yelled, the branches and bushes that surround him lightly swaying to a song he couldn't hear. The wind was just as gentle, leaving him alone to hear his own breath.
Copper sniffed the air, and Terra had the sinister thought of asking him to track her down - but that would be cheating, and Terra was better than that.
When he started his trek, the animals took notice. Tod's ears perked a little too much, like trying to decipher a sound that was garbled.
Terra went down the trail he believed she took. "Aqua?" he called - this never worked in hide and seek, but maybe it would trick her into giggling.
Tod and Copper followed closely at his ankles, never running ahead, never falling behind - which was weird, wouldn't they immediately react if she was nearby?
"Aqua," he called again, listening in for any ruffling.
It was quiet, like the forest was dead despite its lush green vitality, despite that it was daylight.
At this point, Tod's fluffy tail curled underneath him, and Copper dagged himself too close to the ground, chasing a scent in the dirt that took him in circles.
At this point, Terra spotted an owl - an owl - up at this hour, watching him like he was prey.
Getting into a staring contest with an owl was useless, and the longer Terra looked at her, the more he realized that she was waiting for something to happen.
The owl hooted, and against such quiet, it was thundered in his ears. Tod and Copper perked up at the warning -
And split from him, sprinting so quickly it was like they had to win a race to be allowed to live.
"Wait a min-"
They were gone, the owl leaving with them.
Aqua probably would yell at him for losing them.
If he'd ever talk to her again, that is.
"Aqua?" he called again, desperate for an answer. Praying that he'd find her fast, tripping over loose tree branches, hearing nothing but the noise of his own footsteps.
"Looking for someone?"
The voice came from behind.
A tall, tall man watched him with a diabolic smile. Wavy hair to his shoulders the same color as wine like it begged to be touched, thickly dressed in messy layers like he was homeless, like he was cold (it was way too hot for that).
Terra's heart beat and it went cold the moment he noticed the large-brimmed fedora.
"I-" Terra swallowed. A Keybearer was supposed to be brave. "I'm not, mister."
"Hmm," the man named Ardyn rubbed his chin. "I was wondering if you could point me in the correct direction," he said, words clearly pronounced and laced with an amusement that'd never die even if threatened. "I seem to have lost my way."
Terra nearly asked to please not hurt him, he didn't do anything wrong. "Town's over that way, mister." He pointed north, away from the Widow Tweed's farm.
Another voice rushed to his side. "Terra, don't!"
It was Aqua, breathless when she grabbed his hand. Her pupils shrunk to the size of flies, and she whispered to his ear, "It's the bad man."
"Aha!" Ardyn exclaimed like greeting an old friend he forgot about. "How long it has been to see you, Aqua." Ardyn slipped off his hat and bowed his head to give her a more respectful greeting.
Aqua shuddered, her grip on Terra's hand cutting off circulation to his fingers.
Terra didn't know what to do. This man looked bigger than his Master, and Terra never defeated his teacher in hand-to-hand combat before.
So he froze.
Worse - the moment Ardyn straightened out, his face was different: glowing yellow eyes, black oil seeping from them and from his scalp and from his mouth. He was already a dead man who spoke.
"It's been a pleasure," he said as he wore his hat again. "Good night, sweet child. Sleep will certainly hurt less."
Terra gripped her hand back.
Aqua hid behind his shoulder.
Ardyn raised a palm, the glow of magenta and black puffs of smoke electrifying at his fingertips.
Terra looked away, shut his eyes, got closer to her.
It hurt. It was sore like a dull hit to his chest and it banged loudly -
But he flew, with Aqua grabbing him by the waist and flying with him, as the blast threw them background and they used the momentum to float away, past the trees, past Tod and Copper who were still running, until they were dropped to the ground, rolling in a mess of fallen leaves.
Terra was alive, and finally he breathed. They were near Mrs. Tweed's house, her chimney sticking up above the trees.
He scurried to his knees and fiddled with his necklace, pulling out the knotted symbol. It disintegrated into dust after carrying them here.
The plan! Stay calm. Find the Master. Immediately he stood on his feet, and slipped on leaves.
The mission! He still had to protect the mission. He turned heel and went back to Aqua.
"What was that?" he heard Aqua mumble. She was still picking herself up, removing leaves from her hair.
"Magic. C'mon." He grabbed her by the wrist and dragged her, running as fast as he could.
"Master!" he cried when they got near the farmhouse, Tod and Copper yipping from their fright.
Abigail fussed and she was loud enough that they heard her from the barn. In the distance, Chief wouldn't stop barking. The wind howled, and the clouds darkened. A gunshot ruptured in the distance.
Eraqus stepped off the front porch, telling the widow to stay indoors. "Step inside," he instructed Terra and Aqua. "And stay inside."
"Master-"
"Now."
Another gunshot, closer this time.
Copper and Tod followed them inside the house, rushing under furniture. Mrs. Tweed locked the door behind them as Eraqus continued his way into the field. Terra climbed the kitchen counter to take a look.
"Stay away from the windows!" she commanded, and Terra jumped off to head upstairs.
"Wait for me," he heard Aqua squeak but he paid no attention to her.
He rushed through the upstairs hallway, into the master bedroom, right to the windows where he threw the curtains open.
Moments ago it was broad daylight but now it threatened to storm.
Eraqus summoned his Keyblade in a crackle of light, Ardyn now creeping close.
The demon hunched over, the oil dripping out of his coat-sleeve. Sparks of purple light surrounding him, and the ghosts of swords and axes and cleavers swirled in the air in a cycle, a record of ages that passed by for how long this thing had been living.
He used them to strike the Master, slicing and dicing and scratching metal with metal.
Deflected, far enough to strike a tree nearby the second-floor window and Terra and Aqua had to duck.
"Your Master is a sorcerer?" she asked.
It wasn't incorrect. "Eh?"
"I read about them in books," she said as they peeked over the windowsill.
"Shh."
Eraqus summoned chains, gold and blinding and huge, to whip Ardyn - it was the coolest thing Terra had ever seen him do.
Ardyn said something indecipherable, and with a yell, Eraqus summoned something larger: a giant warp that swallowed the demon away before reshaping into a giant keyhole in the sky.
One that the Master promptly locked, the sound of the turnkey snapping everything into silence.
The sun fought through the clouds, and the wind calmed slowly.
Eraqus trudged back to the house, holding his arm as he dismissed his Keyblade, and he limped enough for Terra to bolt back downstairs, leaving Aqua to follow him once again.
The house was messier, like it survived a small earthquake with books toppled over and desks in the wrong position.
He found the Master settled on a loveseat while Mrs. Tweed rushed to get him water.
"I was unable to vanquish him," Eraqus said through large breaths. "But he has been barred from ever coming back to this world."
"Miracles do exist!" Mrs. Tweed exclaimed as she handed him a mug. "Bless you, good sir. I never in my life expected such a spectacle when you showed up around here."
"Miracles," the Master repeated. That was going to be the story for the rest of time to these people, of a man who came from nowhere to perform miracles that saved the town, Mrs. Tweed being the only witness to a harsh storm that raged and died in a matter of minutes.
Terra sat closely to his Master, not to take his hand or to hug him, but to listen to him calm down.
In the chaos, Terra didn't realize that it made him scared to watch Eraqus march his way to battle. Knowing now that everything was alright, it took all his strength to look like he wasn't overwhelmed.
Now the people of this world were safe, and Eraqus was the hero. The thing about his Master was that he showed no fear in the heat of battle, when Terra nearly wet his pants earlier. If he was ever going to get better, he had a long way to go.
Mainly, Terra was just happy that he still had family at the end of it all.
"I want to do what you do," he heard a small voice pipe up.
Aqua stared hard at Eraqus, determination on fire in her eyes, awed and fierce and hopeful.
The Master wasn't surprised by her admission. "You want to save people?"
"Yes," she said simply.
Mrs. Tweed threw her hand to her chest. "In all my life-"
"I want to banish demons," Aqua continued.
"That sounds perfectly unsafe," Mrs. Tweed said.
Eraqus chuckled. Terra thought that he may have succeeded his first mission because it gave the Master what he wanted - a new, promising student. "It can be a dangerous life, but I assure you that she would be safe with me."
Mrs. Tweed eyed Terra, suspicions mounting in her mind. "The young boy, he is…?"
"Yes, ma'am," Terra said. "I'm his apprentice, and I'm training to do the very same thing."
"Aqua," Mrs. Tweed implored, "you are certain?"
A sad cloud hovered over Aqua's eyes before dissipating in an instant. "Thank you so much for taking care of me, Mrs. Tweed… but I've been called a hippie all my life for my name. I don't belong here. I never did."
Eraqus stood straighter, interlacing his fingers and addressing the widow. "I only take children who have no families nor a place to go, children who I am certain will perform spectacularly."
Aqua leaned forward with a hand to her heart. "Please take me. I'll be a good student. I can do ballet and gymnastics, I'll make perfect grades and-"
"You have a strong heart," Eraqus said to her with a warm smile.
She blinked, not understanding what he really meant but she nodded anyway.
And Terra saw it - or felt it, he wasn't sure. It was like a tug to his own heart, a flash and a tickle before it faded. This was what Eraqus was talking about.
He saw the light within Aqua, a warm, strong embrace, like he was meant to feel safe with her and meant to keep it protected.
It was pretty even though he couldn't really see it.
And Terra wondered if he emanated the same. He thought that one night when he tried to bring it out of himself and he couldn't, and how he went to sleep wondering if he had it at all.
He wondered if his was as strong as hers, and if he was doomed to fail because it wasn't.
******
Aqua said she cried more than she expected when she said goodbye to Mrs. Tweed, even though Terra never saw anything.
She was stronger when she said goodbye to Tod, rubbing the fur on his chest a little while longer because she never wanted to forget the way it felt.
"Do you think they'll stay friends forever?" she asked Terra.
If she was talking about Copper… "Of course they will." A fox and a hound were opposites by nature, in a violent cycle that would never end but friendship was supposed to be strong and indestructible, and Tod and Copper were the very best of friends. Nothing would tear them apart.
"Always stay together, okay Tod?" she whispered to the fox, before giving him a quiet farewell.
This was a few days after the battle with Ardyn. By this time, people started visiting the farmhouse to ask Eraqus all sorts of questions: if he was a magician, if he was sent from the heavens, if he was the devil, if all the demonic stuff was nonsense, if the murderer was killed…
Either way, Eraqus respected the laws of the world and they all had to wait until papers were written, agreed upon, and signed for his protection over Aqua as one of his own.
Today was the day to finally take her to the Land of Departure. She didn't have much: one pack of luggage, and one hard, gray folder.
When Terra asked what was inside, she said it was the only picture of her parents that survived the fire.
The three of them hiked into the woods. She started asking the basic need-to-know: what a Keyblade was, the eternal fight between light and darkness, where the Land of Departure was located -
"We're going to fly there, right?" Aqua asked.
Eraqus shot Terra a look, now that she admitted that she knew information she wasn't supposed to know.
"We are indeed." Eraqus stopped the hike, halting the other two behind him, and bent to his knees. "I have one question left for you, Aqua."
By the sound of his voice, Terra knew he was testing her.
"In the deepest part of your heart, why is it that you want to wield the Keyblade?" he asked.
She took a moment, the folder with her parent's photo wrapped in her arms. "I want to make my parents proud. I want to make sure nothing like this ever happens again to someone else."
By the way the Master nodded, she passed. "The Keyblade is a powerful weapon, Aqua. You are still young, and you won't be able to conjure your own for a few years, but you must always know that your strength is bright and strong. It is not to be used for purposes of vengeance."
Aqua nodded. "Revenge feels yucky to me."
With that, the Master was relieved. He patted her head. "Admirable. When we arrive at the castle, you will spend the rest of the day for leisure, but tomorrow we will start your first formal class."
She beamed, and Terra remembered similar excitement at the thought of starting classes with Eraqus, too. He used to be called a nerd for liking school.
"We're going to be students in the same class," she said to Terra, like she was looking forward to it.
Terra didn't know how to respond. Class was class, students were students. Friends were… they acted like they cared. "Uh, yeah."
"I can't wait, Mr. Eraqus," she said. "I'm going to make the best grades."
"W-wha?" Terra stuttered.
"First I must start your bequeathing, Aqua. Come." He gestured to her over by the nearby creek.
"This is going to be fun," she said to Terra before hopping over.
He watched the bequeathing, similar to how he went through it for the first time years ago, when the Master summoned a giant key and spoke a few fancy words. The energy from the magic passed from the weapon through his fingertips, up to his heart to ignite something that Terra later realized was probably always there.
The Keyblade was picky about who it chose and it chose Aqua today.
What it'd be like to wake up to a new person in his home, Terra had no idea what to expect. They would play and swap stories, he'd have a new fighting partner. Maybe he'd be allowed to go into the woods without supervision.
Something about it bugged him, though. Was it possible that he could be kicked out of the academy if he didn't measure up? What if Eraqus liked her better and liquified his adoption?
What would happen once Eraqus found out that her light was brighter than Terra's?
Suddenly, having a friend sounded like more trouble than it's worth.
To be continued...
This chapter makes references to the Fox and the Hound (1981).
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nadziejastar · 4 years
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Yeah, I remember hearing that KH3D was originally imagined as part of KH3. I wouldn’t be surprised if KH3D was made because they wanted to cut back on the number of Disney worlds in KH3, due to time and budget reasons. I always thought KH3D felt less “substantial” than say, KH2 or BBS. So, it being conceived as KH3 Part 1 makes sense. If KH3D and KH3 were combined into one game, then TWTNW would be the mid point. And like the original poster said, it would be a good climax, on par with the 1000 Heartless portion of KH3. Makes sense. I don’t disagree with that at all. If KH3 had an unlimited budget, they probably would have done that.
I guess my biggest issue is not the idea: it’s that even if you combine KH3D and KH3 into one game, to me it STILL doesn’t really feel like it offered any sense of closure to the Dark Seeker Saga. In a lot of ways, KH3 didn’t feel anything like the grand finale OR the continuation KH3D. It felt more like a teaser for KH4′s new arc, which feels disconnected from the Xehanort arc. I’m sure that wasn’t how it was originally supposed to be. I’m sure KH3 would still have left some unanswered questions, but it seems like it just offered nothing on its own. My own personal opinion is that the higher ups thought the lore was getting too confusing and they wanted KH3 as simplified as possible, since they wanted to target a mainstream casual audience, many who only played KH1 and KH2. So, instead of resolving a lot of things, they got altered and will be now be given a new explanation in the future.
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Joshua: Hello there, Riku. Portals are like gateways that link up our worlds. Apparently, the world you and I are standing in right now–well, there are two copies of it. It’s been sort of split in half. Portals are what let folks like us cross between them.
Riku: There can be two of a world?
Joshua: The world is as many things as people need it to be. The concept that we all live in the same world–that’s just in our heads. Surely you knew?
For instance, the time travel stuff. I know people complained about the time travel aspect being confusing, but it seems like it was absolutely fundamental to the plot of KH3. I think it would have been a lot less confusing if it actually got explained. That was the main problem. I replayed KH3D a few weeks ago, and I couldn’t believe how much stuff was in there that was left unexplained.
Joshua: He’s right inside this projection, in another imagining of this world.
Sora: You mean…another Traverse Town? Can I get there with your Portal thing?
Joshua: Sad to say, it won’t work for you. My “Portal thing” only opens for the one with Rhyme’s dreams. In this projection, you’re seeing another chain of events, in another world trapped by the Dream Eaters. As for how the world got split in two…I have a feeling you’ll need to ask this guy.
Young Xehanort wasn’t just traveling through time. He was a “portal”. And he split the world in two.
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Joshua: These two Traverse Towns separated by the Portal… I was under the impression they were parallel worlds, but it looks like I was wrong.
Riku: Wrong how?
Joshua: That’s where it gets tricky. After you and Sora left, Shiki crossed the Portal to join her Game partner. Did you notice Players have a mission timer inscribed on their hands? Well, when she got to the other side, Shiki had more time left on her clock than her partner. And when Beat’s partner crossed over from the other side, she had LESS time left.
Riku: So time flows differently here and there? So what? That’s true of any two worlds. Their home world would be running on a different time axis, too.
He split the Toy Story world in two. He also said he had a vessel he was trying to reclaim and the Toy Story world was supposed to offer a clue. Was it ever explained what he meant by this? NO! I think that was because the plot of the Toy Story world was originally written a LONG time ago, before the story got changed.
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Joshua: Yes, I understand that. But if these Traverse Towns were parallel worlds, then time would flow the same in both. But it doesn’t, ergo they are not parallel worlds.
Riku: You mean there’s a past…and a future.
Joshua: No. Impossible. The worlds are clearly separate–it’s not just time that sets them apart. As you yourself noted, every world flows at its own pace, which tells me that for all their similarities, these are two distinct worlds.
Riku: Distinct worlds?
Joshua: Yes…but this is all conjecture. It’s like the same world imagined by two people. What does that tell you? That we’re in…
Riku: A dream…
Joshua: Yes. Bravo again, Riku. In which case none of this may matter one bit to me or my friends. But to you and Sora, I think it might be a vital clue.
Seriously. All of this parallel world/dream stuff felt USELESS in KH3′s shitty dumbed down plot. It seems that originally, Nomura had an elaborate plot thought up for KH3, inspired by the “many worlds theory”. It would involve the Datascape, parallel worlds, the plot of Re:Coded, time travel, the plot of Union X. Everything. BUT. It was all supposed to be resolved in KH3 with the defeat of Xehanort.
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According to the many worlds theory, the universe splits into two distinct universes to accommodate each possible outcome. If an action has more than one possible outcome, then – if Everett’s theory is correct – the universe splits when that action is taken. This holds true even when a person chooses not to take an action. For instance, if you have ever found yourself in a situation where death was a possible outcome, then in a universe parallel to ours, you are dead.
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It is the unraveling of two realities that were previously just possible futures of a single reality. Everett referred to it as the “splitting” of worlds.
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This leads me to think that the different Xehanorts were probably all from different timelines and that was supposed to be very important. They might not even be the “real” Xehanort, but possible Xehanorts.
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Now, I still have to beat KH3 again to refresh myself on the finer details (I’m in the Caribbean), but I specifically remember that the key to beating Master Xehanort was a portal leading to Scala ad Caelum. This really confused me because it was never explained WHY. After beating MX, he just happily gives up, leading to many rightfully pissed off fans.
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It seemed like Xehanort got way too happy of an ending for all the shit he did. But it occurred to me recently. Defeating him in Scala ad Caelum might have had some time travel effect. So, when we see Young Xehanort reunite with Eraqus, maybe that is the version of him that never went evil to begin with. Something like that. I don’t know for sure if that was the idea or not. It was probably very convoluted in any case. But my point is that the dream/time travel stuff brought up in KH3D—it should have had an actual conclusion in KH3, relating to XEHANORT and the 13 Seekers of Darkness. Not just bringing back the lost masters at the very end and teasing Yozora (who I heard might be an alternate timeline Sora or Riku) and KH4. You can’t really say that the Xehanort Saga is complete if you end it like that…
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lyssala · 5 years
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Your Heart is the Only Place
Pairing: Terra/Aqua, Kingdom Hearts
Setting: One month after the previous chapter
Rating: K
Notes: LISTEN It’s my birthday so have some sappy sappy fluff cause what better way for me to celebrate hahaha We’re getting real close till I can finally actually write the babies! Not quite there yet, but soon. I actually like how this one came out though I was stuck on it for a little while. I just wanted a quiet moment with the Wayfinder Trio more than anything <3
Previous Chapter / AO3
7. Warmth
“And then, we got pushed right into the chalk drawing, like it came to life all around us.”
Out of the corner of Terra’s eyes he could see Ven waving his arms around frantically like that would describe adequately what was going on in his story. It didn’t, even to people who had eyes to see him, but Terra appreciated the effort Ven was going through to keep Aqua entertained.
“It almost had a strange feel to it,” Ven continued. “Like we could tell it was a world inside a world, which is I guess why we got asked to go in the first place. Something like that wasn’t heard of in other worlds so they wanted to make sure nothing was bad about it.”
“I see,” Aqua said. She sounded alert and interested to what Ven was saying but there was also a layer of exhaustion to her voice.
“Well, the only thing bad was the outfit Terra had to wear. I wish I had been smart enough to remember to take a picture to show you. You’d all probably cackle about as much as I did.”
“I think you did enough cackling for all five of us,” Terra said, trying to focus on the papers scattered over the desk but the words were blurring together. He reached up to rub his forehead, letting his eyes close for a second. How late was it?
“That’s true,” Ven snickered.
“Even though you had to wear the same outfit.”
“Yeah, but I pulled it off spectacularly.”
“Real cute, Ven,” Terra yawned. The temptation to just keep his eyes closed and fall asleep right on the desk was tempting but he forced his eyes back open to look down at the reports he was supposed to be finishing. He used to wonder what Eraqus did in his study all the times that he wasn’t teaching or training with them; Terra didn’t quite have to wonder anymore.
“I’m sure you were,” Aqua said and he didn’t even have to look to hear the amusement in her voice. “Both of you.”
That only sent Ven into a spiral of laughter again.
It was a warm night, summer coming in fiercely. Terra had the windows in his room open, the night air blowing in and hopefully taking out some of the humidity. It smelt almost like it would rain, but every time he looked the stars and the moon were clear, not a cloud in sight.
“But everything was…” She cut off with an exasperated sigh. “Ven, do you mind, getting…”
Terra turned around in his chair looking over to the bed where Aqua was trying to push herself up to sit better.
“Got it,” Ven said, leaning backwards almost off his spot on the bed to grab an extra pillow that must’ve fallen off at some point. “Here, lean up a little more.”
Aqua did as he asked while he secured the pillow behind her lower back. She sighed again when she leaned back against the pillows that were already propped up against the headboard of the bed, but this time she at least seemed a little more comfortable. “Thank you,” she said. “But everything was okay? On the mission?”
“Everything was fine,” Terra said, resting his arm on the back of his chair even though he knew the faster he got this paperwork done the faster he could go to bed. “No problems.”
“No problems at all,” Ven nodded as to support the statement. “It was fun even. Have you ever seen penguins wear suits before?”
Aqua laughed, and though it was breathy and tired, she still had a smile on her face as she looked to Ven. “Suits, really?”
“Really! They even danced.”
“Oh? Will you show me?”
Ven reached a hand to the back of his head, like he was suddenly embarrassed. “I dunno, I don’t remember.”
“Don’t be modest,” Terra said. “I’m sure you could do it off memory.”
“Hey, you’re just teasing now,” Ven huffed. “How about you do it.”
“No, Aqua already knows what a terrible dancer I am. I don’t think she needs a reminder.”
“I beg to differ,” she chuckled, though it was broken with a sharp breath, her hand fluttering down to the side of her stomach.
“What’s wrong?” Ven asked, quickly leaning forward to her.
Nights like these Terra was thankful that Ven liked to hang out with them more than he liked to sleep. Aqua refused to let Terra abandon any sort of work for her, but she was also having a difficult time getting any sleep. He knew it only came with the territory; she was eight months pregnant and the bigger the babies got the more active they were at all hours of the night. Not to mention the additional strain it put on every inch of her body let alone being comfortable enough to fall asleep. When Ven was here to keep her company and look after her if she had any discomfort made Terra feel a little more at ease, even if he’d gladly leave his work any chance he got.
“Oh, nothing,” she said, though her voice was strained slightly, gesturing for Ven to give her his hand. “They just don’t seem to understand what sleep means.”
Ven let her place his hand over to the side of her stomach and he must’ve felt them moving around because his blue eyes lit up. “Not even a little bit.” Ven leaned in a little bit, rubbing his hand gently against her. “We’re going to have so much fun, you know that right?”
Terra yawned again, leaning his chin against his arm as Aqua reached her other hand up to Ven’s head, brushing some of his bangs from his face. The babies must’ve done something in reaction to his voice because he was grinning as he looked up to Aqua.
“I think they do,” Aqua said.
Ven gave her another quick few taps before he flopped down on his back on the bed “Since it’s so close now, what do you think of the genders? Staying the same? Changed at all?”
“You’re only asking because I know you guys have a bet going,” Terra snorted.
Ven placed a hand on his chest, looking a little outraged. “Excuse me, how dare you think I’d profit on my future nieces or nephews.”
Terra arched his eyebrows.
“And because we all know I’m going to win so it’s pointless to discuss that fact.”
“That’s what I thought.” Terra glanced over to Aqua who was laughing slightly but was also already watching him. She didn’t say anything about him essentially abandoning his paperwork but it was also like…
He glanced to the clock in the corner of the room. It was already nearing two o’clock in the morning, so maybe she already understood he probably wasn’t finishing it tonight.
“I’m still the same,” Aqua said, tapping her fingers absent mindedly. “I think its girls. I couldn’t tell you why, I always thought it was a girl before I found out there were two so I figure there could be two just as easily.
“I know I probably should listen to you,” Terra said.
Aqua got this look on her face, which despite her exhaustion was so familiar a teasing face he saw countless times. “When have you ever?”
Ven clapped his hands over his mouth trying not to laugh.
“Yeah, yeah.” Terra rolled his eyes, even though he was just happy that she felt well enough to still have that personality of hers he loved so much. “I’m only saying I remember how I was as a kid, only boys could cause you as much trouble and annoyance as they have.”
“He has a fair point,” Ven said.
“Well what about you then,” Aqua said, reaching over to push lightly at his head.
“The best of both worlds, a boy and a girl.”
“Why?” Terra asked, more curious than accusing. It was reasonable enough he supposed, and it’s not like he never thought about it either but Ven sounded so sure in the fact that there had to be some reasoning behind it.
“Because, you guys were like meant to be together,” he said. “I always knew that before I even knew that I knew that, so I think it would be destiny’s way of…I dunno, making things right after things went wrong for so long.”
Okay, well, that wasn’t quite what Terra was expecting but still felt a smile on his lips; both from the sentiment and from how mature Ven sounded when he said it. Sometimes it was hard to realize how much he grew up, that he wasn’t that scared little boy any more, that he was ready to be a master in his own right but Terra found himself more proud than sad.
“That’s sweet, Ven,” Aqua said, her eyes looking a little watery. “I like that.”
He waved her off slightly, be the smile from the approval was clear on his face. Terra loved that the castle had so many residents again, that there would be even more. He loved that his family, both through friendship and now blood, continued to grow but there was something special to him about the three of them. It was how his life started really.
Terra didn’t really remember his parents, they died when he was young but ever since he was brought to the Land of Departure with Eraqus it was home, they were family. Aqua came after and while they butted heads a lot as they both tried to figure out how to be friends with each other, once they understood how the other operated, what made them happy, what made them mad, what made them laugh, they were inseparable. When Ven came into their lives he was like the little brother neither ever had; their own unique family that couldn’t be broken apart even when outside forces tried their damnedest. Sure they were missing one important family member, but only in body not in heart.
Terra often felt like Eraqus was still with them in the quietest of the halls, in the warm breezes that blew around their hair, in the moonlight that kept the darkness at bay at nights. He knew he wasn’t the only one; Ven often said because they left their wayfinders on Eraqus’ memorial they left him a way to always come back to them, even if they couldn’t see him. Aqua would hum in approval, the thought of him being still with them comforting. Terra knew because he felt the same way about it.
He hoped it was true, because in a month and a half he was going to need all the help he could get, especially from the only dad he ever knew. Terra tried not to worry about it, but late at night when he realized that he’d never even held a baby before how was he supposed to know to take care of his own kids it wasn’t exactly easy. He saw the lives of two kids who trained under the same master, and how one was led to darkness while the other embraced light. How was he supposed to lead anyone down the right paths when he himself wasn’t always on the right path?
The comfort of Aqua and Ven talking, of their presence was starting to fade, leaving Terra’s chest clenched, making it feel hard to breath. He didn’t have time to push off the what ifs any more when every day came closer to the reality that he was going to have two lives in his hands.
“Terra,” Aqua said, making him blink his eyes. Both Aqua and Ven were watching him, and Terra wondered just how long he had zoned out. “C’mon, I know you’re about to fall asleep on that chair.”  
Ven looked like he was about to laugh at catching Terra passing out at his desk but Aqua looked a little more knowingly; despite the smile her forehead was furrowed. Maybe not knowing exactly what he was thinking, but something along the lines.
“Alright,” Terra said, pushing himself up from the chair to walk over to the bed that was already looking a little full; considering Ven rolled over on his side to face Aqua it was clear he had no thought of leaving.
She carefully inched herself forward on the bed, moving aside some of the pillows so there was room for him. Terra did his best not to jostle her too much as he climbed in behind, kicking his legs up on the bed on either side of her. She laid back against him with a small sigh, but one he at least knew was a content one as he placed his hands over her stomach.
He could easily feel them moving around, clearly the reason she was still awake. It made his chest feel warm for a moment, feeling living proof that they were there and they were real never got old, but he couldn’t shake his previous mindset that easily. Terra leaned his head down slightly, placing a quick kiss to the side of her head, letting the easy comfort of Aqua’s presence try and make him relax.
“Do you have names yet?” Ven asked, tapping his finger against the blanket under him.
“Not since yesterday when you asked last,” Aqua chuckled, though she was sounding significantly more tired.
“C’mon,” he said. “You need names, names like make it so real.”
“Believe me, Ven. It’s plenty real to me.”
Terra snorted, closing his eyes, his head still leaned up against hers.
They were all quiet for a moment and Terra thought the two of them might’ve actually fallen asleep this time, but the babies were still moving around and Ven was shifting on the bed.
“Hey,” he said, though his voice was much quieter than before. “Can I ask you guys something personal?”
That question could be alarming coming from a teenager but Terra knew from his own embarrassing experience, Eraqus was plenty adept in giving those sorts of talks. Ven was already plenty aware of what went into actually having kids.
“Of course,” Aqua said. “You know we’ll always be honest with you, Ven.”
He was quiet, hesitant almost. Ven was always curious and always open with that curiosity so it was strange to see him nervous to ask them something. Terra opened his eyes, turning his head to look at Ven who was picking at the blanket.
“Do you guys ever get scared? Like about all of this?”
Terra swallowed the lump in his throat, afraid that maybe he accidentally spoke aloud when he was lost in his mind a few minutes ago but it wasn’t directed just at him. He knew he was afraid, and often afraid for that matter, but voicing that to the two people he loved the most was a lot harder.
“Oh, Ven,” Aqua said in that soft tone of hers. “Of course, absolutely.”
It wasn’t like he didn’t know, but there was something about the honesty in her tone that made him feel not quite as alone in his own fears.
“I get scared sometimes too,” Ven said, not looking up at them. “That like something bad might happen to you or them, and then I don’t know what I’d do. I don’t know if I could do it again.”
“It’s okay,” she said. “It’s okay to feel that way, that’s what love is. You don’t want anything bad to happen to the people you love so much so that it hurts sometimes. You know what makes me feel better?”
Ven did look up that time.
“You,” she said, reaching her hand out to ruffle his hair. “Terra, and Sora, Kairi, Riku, and Lea all people who I know if anything ever happened to me would not only take care of our children, but would take care of each other and that’s all I’d ever want.”
“Okay,” Ven said, a small smile on his lips.
“And I know…” Aqua said as she reached for Terra’s hand, lacing her fingers with his. “Terra gets scared sometimes too, it’s not just me.”
“I am right here,” he said, though he wasn’t actually upset; it was the truth after all.
“Yeah, I know but you’d never actually say it.”
He couldn’t ever say she didn’t know him.
“For the same reasons?” Ven asked, glancing up to Terra.
“Mostly,” he said, also not a lie. The fear of something happening to him again and not only leaving Aqua and Ven but two small children now was enough to keep him up at night at times.
“He gets worried he won’t know what do to as a father, that he won’t make the right choices or won’t be able to be there for them like he wants to be but he should know he’s wrong.”
Terra shook his head and laughed despite himself. He supposed it was pointless to keep anything from her. “Am I now?”
“Absolutely. I know it because I’ve had bandages put on my knees by you, and I’ve watched you encourage Ven to be the best person he could be, I’ve seen you make special meals for Sora, Kairi and Riku that reminded them of their home, and I’ve seen you keep Lea on his toes in training like Master used to do to you. All not your biological children, sure, but that doesn’t matter. You do all those things without thinking, so stop thinking.”
“Should be easy for you, Ter,” Ven chuckled.
He supposed it was the mark of their own family bonds that he could reach out to gently hit Ven in the head as he leaned in to press a kiss to Aqua’s cheek. It didn’t make all the worries that swirled around in his head and the pit of his stomach vanish, but it did make him feel more at ease that in the least she believed in him just fine.
Ven was careful about it, but he scooted in, wrapping his arms around them as best as he could as his head rested on Terra’s other arm. “Well, I know you’re the best parents I ever had so I think any kids of yours are lucky. I know I was.”
Aqua hummed as she reached an arm around him but it sounded slightly choked. Terra closed his eyes as he leaned his head against the headboard, breathing out slightly.
It was scary most all the time, the closer she got to her due date the harder it got but at the same time no matter what they had each other. They already went through the worse and here they were, still awake at two am in one of their rooms keeping each other company. He supposed he should know they could get through anything as long as they were together, and in this case it was a good thing, a very good thing.
He looked back down to try and see if they wanted to move but it was too late. Terra noticed the babies had settled under his hands, Aqua’s eyes were already closed, her breathing rhythmic. Ven didn’t make it much better; he was snuggled up next to them, his head buried but Terra could see Ven’s side’s rising and falling. Also Terra’s arm had already fallen asleep.
Of course, how did he not see this one coming?
He carefully untangled his hand from Aqua’s, moving to flip off the lamp on the night stand next to him. The darkness wasn’t quite as scary as it used to be, plus the moonlight was shining in through the window.
Terra sighed as he leaned against the headboard again, eyes glancing towards the open window. His family really was much bigger now, his world even so much bigger and yet these were the times he’d cherish the most, when it was the three of them.
A warm breeze blew in through the window; blowing over them and making him close his eyes with a small smile. Ah, of course, how could he forget?
When it was the four of them.
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lightlorn · 4 years
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i played several levels while my patient was asleep today, let’s get back to my bbs thoughts.
eraqus:
the ‘what did you do?’ as ventus lost it in flashback just flashes me back to mine and henry’s interpretation of his master. where ‘what did you do?’ was a common question posed to xehanort, the answer of nothing usually followed up with ‘BULLSHIT.’ the canon apple is not falling far from the hc tree.
this could probably be said more under aqua’s header, but it occurs to me. ‘the master doesn’t distrust you, he just worries’ [not an exact quote, but the general sentiment] just shows me, if nothing else, the kids got their inability to communicate from their master. 
no shit, sherlock, i hear you all cry.
there is no way eraqus was sitting on his ass during this time wringing his hands waiting for his students to return, but i just can’t fathom what canon implies he is doing besides that. he kind of blinks into existence as needed to bring about complications or show how wrong the ongoing dichotomy of light vs dark is, and how both sides create zealots, but... come on nomura.
the lil talk with yen sid says that all three of the old masters -- eraqus, xehanort, and yen sid -- drifted apart. it’s said in such a way that implies they are all totally separate entities at this point, something we see for sure in eraqus’ flashback to the divorce with xehanort. but what went down between yen sid and the other two?
there’s a lot said with yen sid and terra’s cutscene that speaks volumes as well. how much did yen sid know in backstory? he outright says he hopes that xehanort’s heart would no longer lead him astray. is xehanort widely known as something of a heretic, a seeker of darkness, or did eraqus let him know? is yen sid referring to separate incidents altogether?
i want answers, yen sid.
tell me the name of god you fungal piece of shit.
speaking of old men, terra calling merlin ‘your elderness’ has to be an eraqus-ism. that is the terminology of a man who is not fossilizing at the same rate as his good friends.
xehanort is a master manipulator. you see that in his ‘explanation’ scene, where he offers up a slanted history of vanitas’ creation. but even if he was the worst player in the game, eraqus would have been taken by him wholly from the start. 
even at the end, with the facts staring him in the face, eraqus was backstabbed by xehanort.
i am not fucking ready for future levels someone hold me.
aqua:
wow at the cinderella level scene between she and terra. it was awkward. it was weird. i’ll stay and look for clues. honey aren’t you supposed to keep an eye on terra? i get the larger mission statement is ‘investigate unversed’ but that still. wow. 
i am so glad that holland and dohring’s chemistry picks up through fragmentary passage and 3.
also to be fair i’m playing aqua’s story last, so maybe the timeline isn’t the same, but if aqua also went to enchanted dominion first and heard what terra stood accused of -- an act of darkness, when she is supposed to be dragging him back from that edge -- then again... why not... keep a better eye on him...
also the little look terra gives aqua when ven hands out the disney passes. my shipper heart can’t take this game. just the little body language things murder me in my own home.
aqua is so self righteous and i still love her. it’s such a fascinating flaw to have because she can be overbearing without really being mean or trying to prop herself off but it still slithers in. she drags terra out in the open after the armored boss fight, and i know she does it again later trying to appeal to terra in the graveyard. she dresses others down to try and get them to shape up, but it’s the last thing anyone needs at either moment. 
she’s trying so hard and i think she really, truly takes after eraqus in this -- at least, the eraqus she knows, the master, the stern parent who is so sure of their own righteousness.
i have only seen aqua less than a handful of times so far but she remains my favorite. this is why i have her keychain on my purse always.
isa:
there is no way he and lea didn’t hang out around the fountain court a lot growing up. it was probably a good place to convene during the summer. one can only imagine how many harebrained castle infiltration schemes were born in those shallow waters.
can’t wait to meet this little shit on my next playthrough!!!
kokoro: 
'darkness always finds its way into a wounded heart' 
ohhhhhhhhhh kokoro 
sweet baby
you never stood a chance.
random:
radiant garden is a beautiful world and i love it.
i need to brush up on my lore from other games, though, is there a stated reason why it is the city of light?
SOMEONE PLEASE EXPLAIN TO VENTUS WHAT IS GOING ON I’M SO FRUSTRATED FOR HIM HE MAKES SO MANY MISTAKES BECAUSE NO ONE WILL COMMUNICATE WITH THIS BOY GOD DAMN IT.
every time mickey shows up i laugh my ass off because i forget he’s in this. i’m so sorry mickey.
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mimiplaysgames · 5 years
Text
Strength to Protect the Things That Matter (Ch. 25)
Pairing: Terra/Aqua Rating: T Word Count: 5,631
Summary: Terra has prayed for years for relief from having no one to talk to in the dark, except with the monster of a man who stole his life. One day, when two boys chase a lead, he gets his chance - less than a week - to set things right before he loses everything again.
AO3        FFnet
A/N: I had a flashback scene of Terra interacting with Ventus that was supposed to appear in Ch. 15, “Confession,” toward the end. It seemed like a footnote after the flashback with Aqua in that chapter, so I removed it. I then moved it to Ch. 17, “Vacation.” Terra was supposed to think about this scene right before he helps Sora stand up, finding out where Ventus has been all along. But it lengthened it too much (in a chapter that was so damn long anyway), that I moved it to the beginning of this chapter. And it stuck out like a sore thumb. So this scene will not appear in this specific fic at all and will have to find a place somewhere else, lmao! I can’t believe I am at this part now. It’s almost done! Also, I will be posting WIP updates on Mondays and Thursdays (with the occasional extra Saturday). I put up a dated schedule that you can access here.
Fall
“You have to admit,” Terra said as Aqua dipped two fingers into a small tin of black paint, “you’re having fun.”
Swirling them into the paint, Aqua attempted to muster some strength to keep herself from grinning. But she failed.
“When the Master said we needed to restore the natural balance by retrieving a living boy from the Land of the Dead,” she said, “I don’t think he ever expected us to be doing this.”
She finished painting his eyes, and moved on to his nose. 
The last time they made such a colorful mess together, they finger-painted goblins dancing on flowers, on a corner wall tucked away in the castle by the piano. Eraqus spared them the lecture and actually kept their mural all these years. 
The last time they touched this much, they were young, long before Terra had developed blood-pumping feelings at the feel of her skin, or from being so close to her. They used to play-fight and wrestle, before he avoided such activity with her nowadays.
Two months until their Mark of Mastery exam, they were now in the Land of the Dead, where she was tracing his nose cartilage. They were on a mission, but Terra admitted he was grateful it gave him the allowance to enjoy so much contact with her.
It turned out that the Land of the Dead had gorgeous streets full of light and vibrant color. It featured buildings for homes, festivals, art shows, museums, and anything designed for entertaining all types of personalities. It was like a tourist attraction, and it had everything a person looking for fun and adventure would expect. Except rain. It didn’t rain here. The dark belly under a bridge where they were hiding for now harbored no puddles.
The people here, of course, were all skeletons. It didn’t take much effort to find the boy, Miguel, the person of interest in a world he didn’t belong. Which brought another problem – Terra and Aqua, too, had warm skin and pulses.
Aqua was against Miguel’s wish to reconnect with one of his famous singing ancestors, believing it too much of a risk for his own life. (She was very sympathetic to his need to pursue music, for she, too, adored it.) When Miguel’s family members, who were his ticket back home, didn’t approve of his obsession, she believed that they could be reasoned with. 
Terra agreed with Miguel, believing that the boy had a right to follow his passion no matter what anyone said. He was aware that Miguel had a very limited time in this realm, which could be fatal, but they had enough time, and this created a similar dynamic to all the times Terra and Ventus tag-teamed against her. Essentially pushed into a corner, Aqua went ahead and agreed to do it their way.
The plan was to blend in. A dead friend of Miguel’s, Héctor, went off to find them some clothes large enough to hide their breathing bodies.
Aqua was painting a calavera on Terra’s face to make him look like a skeleton. She traced one finger to make lines across his lips. The paint felt goopy and thick, but her touch was brisk, graceful, yet determined. It was so like her to move this way, and he had to keep reminding himself to stay calm and not let his mind wander on the touch. There were definitely some things he’d like her to do with his lips, and tracing them was not a typical thing best friends did together, right?
Neither was touching the neck this much, but she had to give the illusion that he didn’t have flesh anymore. She was careful enough not to push onto his laryngeal prominence, at the very least. But no care could be given to ease how he was feeling anyway.
Terra, if anything, felt immensely grateful when Miguel, who already had his calavera finished and was wearing a red hoodie to hide the rest, arrived to check up on her progress. An empty, cool feeling lingered on his collarbone as she finished her work.
Miguel burst into a fit of laughter. “I think you would even scare away la parca… the Grim Reaper.”
“What?” He picked up a cracked and foggy mirror laying on the ground next to him. 
Aqua had traced and covered his brows with black paint when she hollowed out his eyes. What looked back at him was a very angry skeleton, where the black color gave the impression that his eyes were even darker.
“What gives? You made me look so scary,” Terra told her.
She covered her mouth with her wrist as she giggled, careful not to mess her bare face up. “I’m sorry, I was trying to trace your face to make it look natural,” she said. 
When Terra attempted to swipe the tin can away, she evaded – which was usual. Ten years growing up and sparring together, she became a master at dodging him.
“I’ll fix it, I’ll fix it,” she said, swatting his hand away.
“You can add loops and dots.” Miguel traced his finger in the air as an example. “Or maybe something cute to trick the children,” he said with an impish grin.
She dipped her finger into the tin again and quickly went over some lines on his cheekbones and forehead. The mirror showed that she drew some loops around his imagined eye sockets, and a heart right above the bridge of his nose. His chest skipped a beat, careful not to read too much into why she picked a heart for him. But it didn’t make him look any sweeter.
“Now I look like the Evil Lord of Love,” Terra said.
She snorted and Miguel held his stomach, out of breath from his laughter.
“It’s the best I can do,” she said. It was most likely far from the truth. She was probably way too entertained to fix it for real. “My turn now.” She pushed her hair off her face and handed the tin over to Terra.
Ten years growing up and sparring together didn’t prepare Terra for this, but he became a master at hiding his emotions anyway. Each time he traced a brow or a cheekbone in black, or rubbed white onto her cheeks, he consciously breathed out of his nose. It made him look more relaxed and focused that way.
Which proved to be difficult when he finished painting her eyelids. She opened them, and the darkness gave just enough contrast to make her bright, beautiful eyes pop. They might as well be jewels. He wasn’t even aware he was staring until she asked him if something didn’t look right.
Calm and collected, his voice was smooth enough that there wasn’t an ounce of shake to it. “I was checking to see if everything was even,” he said simply.
He was aware of his posture, careful not to lean into her. Even though he really wanted to, especially when tracing her lips. Soft and supple, he had often wanted to feel them. Once wasn’t enough either. Each time he dipped his finger back into the paint was another chance at learning what her lips were like. 
He made sure to give her the same amount of care when tracing her neck too. Looking at her head lean back that way, tracing her chin, and coloring down to her crevice – it was better, as painful as it was, to finish the job than to let it drag.
It hurt enough to make Terra almost consider asking Eraqus to assign them on missions separately. Almost. There was too much enjoyment thrown into the mix as well.
The wave of relief that came when he finally closed the tin can was like being salvaged from hunger. Aqua looked into the mirror and approved of his work. Terra even gave her some doodles of small, simple flowers on her temples. Now she looked like everyone else in this world.
A skeleton soon approached them, wearing a straw hat and clothes that were so worn down they had rips and holes. Illuminated from the decorative lights of the streets, Héctor carried a couple of pieces of garments with hoods that he collected for them.
He handed Terra a bomber jacket, to hide the machismo, and stared at Aqua’s artistry on his face. “You trying to romance a demon?” he asked.
“Don’t ask,” Terra said, quickly putting on the jacket, wanting very much to keep any attention away from himself.
“And for the lady,” Héctor said, “a large cloak to hide all the... well, todo eso. Everything.” He made gestures as if to suggest curvature.
The cloak was such a dark brown that it almost seemed black. It was meant for a very tall person: it hung loosely off her shoulders, and dragged onto the floor with the sleeves draping off her fingers.
“I look ridiculous,” she said.
It was Terra’s instinct to cover her mouth for politeness’ sake, but then he’d have to trace her lips again with paint. Truthfully, she looked adorable - though he’d never say it out loud, or she would slap him with excess sleeve.
“It’s more important we blend in,” Terra said.
“Tiene razón. He has reason,” Héctor said. He glanced back and forth between Terra and Aqua, judging them. “Bueno…” he said in a way to suggest that he had no choice but to work with what he got, “You do both look like Fulano y Fulana de Tal.”
Terra’s head shook ever so slightly as his eyes narrowed. “What?”
Miguel dug his hands into his pockets. “He called you some dudes that came from nowhere.”
“Well, if it works…” Aqua mumbled to herself, following the others as they emerged from under the bridge. Her sleeves flopped back and forth as she walked.
The Land of the Dead kept a record of time. The buildings were so tall they were like skyscrapers, with each ascension more modern than the foundation it leaned on. It was as if they kept building on top of old structures, with the bottom floors a remnant of some ancient past. The music and the fireworks, all prepared to celebrate Día de los Muertos, told Terra that death was just a passage to something more exciting beyond what life could give.
It was comforting to know that whenever it was time for Master Eraqus to go, it wouldn’t be a place of suffering (or even boredom). But the separation still had to leave a scar to those left behind, right?
The people here were enjoying themselves, yes. Probably waiting for their own loved ones to join them and make the experience even better.
Héctor led them to the slums. Huts, boats, and wood houses gathered at the harbor down below the city, where the forgotten spirits dwelled. A neighborhood for those who didn’t have their photos propped up on their families’ ofrenda, a shrine where the living honor and remember their deceased relatives. These spirits therefore found family with each other.
The goal was to get Miguel a guitar. The nearby festival was set up in honor of Miguel’s relative, and he needed a musical instrument to enter the competition - and actually get a chance to meet.
The guitar was kept by Chicharrón, a friend of Héctor’s who lived in a wooden house at the end of the dock. He had to have been a hoarder, considering the stacks of random junk inside. Everything looked discarded, as if he was too exhausted to keep it all organized. As if he was the kind of person to desperately find something to hold onto through objects. Only the moonlight illuminated the entirely of the hut, as if he shunned away the joy and bright lights that paraded outside. It reflected on him as well – the bone on his skull and knuckles look sanded down, as if he wasn’t well-preserved.
Chicharrón, lying in a hammock buried under a pile of even more random trinkets, scowled when he took one look at Terra’s face. “Héctor, who gave you the right to bring el diablo here?”
“Even I don’t have the skill to convince the devil to do anything. He came on his own, acere,” Héctor said, as if addressing a friend. 
They both argued over the guitar, and agreed that Miguel could use it under one specific condition: that Héctor would sing a song. His friend wanted to savor some enjoyment left, because the guitar was the last thing that was able to give him just that.
And so Héctor sang. A folk song about a woman everyone knew named Juanita. It sounded like a beautiful love song at first. Miguel sat on his knees, in awe of the talent. Aqua had her hand to her chest, her eyes watering over the sweetness of the composition. Juanita was someone whose teeth stuck out, and a chin that caved inward. She wore her hair like shrubbery, and walked funny.
But the songwriter believed himself so ugly that she wouldn’t have considered him a proper suitor.
Terra had expected the song to end sarcastically, but the revelation of such adoration left a hard lump in his throat. What would it have taken for Aqua to give him a chance like that?
The song ended. Chicharrón, satisfied and making peace with whatever was in his mind, disintegrated into dust, the wind carrying away his remnants. He left behind a mess of all he thought was important, now discarded and unaccounted for, alone on that hammock.
It was the Second Death, a process for all whose living family members have forgotten they existed. He didn’t have anyone left in the Land of the Living who cared for him.
It wasn’t gory or terrifying. If anything, it was a pretty sight, but it was the most gruesome thing Terra ever witnessed.
The only source illuminating the clown and the streets around them is the moonlight. Kefka takes one step forward, and Terra prepares a lunge forward, aiming for the knees. 
But there is a swish, and a sphere of a gravitational contortion to push the beast back. The young version of Xehanort jumps from the roof he has been patiently waiting on, throwing all of his magical strength onto Kefka with that glowing, teal Keyblade of his.
Terra takes this opportunity to sprint towards the end of the block, where the hospital meets an alleyway, and places the duffel bag of elixirs into a nook. Away from the battlefield. Safe. Hopefully. 
Garnet follows close by, and he expects that it will be this way – he will fight, and she will mend his injuries from behind. They just need to survive ten minutes. Leave too soon and Kefka will follow them back to the others.
Xehanort lands near them, resting his Keyblade on his shoulder as Kefka stands back up. “Of all the people you lug around after our warning,” he says, “you follow the one target that pits you in such danger. It’s reckless.”
Terra is about to bark that he will not tolerate any word from Xehanort’s mouth, but there is the clown to mind. Xehanort doesn’t give Terra any chance to say anything, quickly turning his attention on the Heartless.
Xehanort’s powers of teleportation aid him in evading each and every attack, at no cost to his energy. His magic is explosive, and he takes any opportunity to hit at Kefka’s ankles and knees in order to bring it down. Kefka’s body is, of course, sturdy like diamonds.
Terra doesn’t want to ally with him. If anything, Xehanort is just as much as a threat. If he doesn’t stay focused, he might lose his body again. And he can’t afford it. Not tonight. Not ever. Not until Aqua is free can he relax and let go. Not until Garnet is safe.
He swings Ends of the Earth to let out a shockwave of light that sears the cobblestones of the streets. He follows it with a swipe of the old man’s nameless Keyblade, letting out a blow of darkness that doubles the force, ravaging all in its path. It’s certainly an aid to all of Xehanort’s acrobatics. The bastard proves himself a worthy front man to be thrown at risk, so that Terra doesn’t have to put himself or Garnet in the direct line of danger. 
But he’s too good to dispose himself.
And yet Terra is not giving out his full effort. Use the darkness, damn it, but not too much. He can’t lose control. The old man will use it to wrest his body back.
Already, there is a headache forming.
He must be stumbling too much, because Garnet seems to keep getting the impression that he is injured. He feels her healing magic envelope around him, and it takes away the hair-pulling headache. So he continues this pattern. Throw light and darkness, dodge, get tired and stumble from the pain, have her heal him. Continue.
Kefka changes its pattern to dance, creating random explosions throughout the area in an attempt to hit Xehanort. Debris crumbles, shaking the ground and tripping Garnet. It’s like an instinct, and Terra forgets he has two enemies near him, shielding her until the explosions stop.
“The bombs won’t ignite!” she says as she looks up at him. “I must have wired them incorrectly.”
She has a remote in her hand. The electric bombs planted in the office building across the street are still. Unless they can get Kefka to ram into them, they will stay silent.
She yelps. The reason why, he sees approaching them. Heartless waggle in patterns as if they can’t tell what they are aiming for. Maybe the potion still has some effect, and the Heartless cannot target them specifically. But it’s still a huge problem.
It takes too much thinking and concentration during such a heated moment to tap into Xemnas’ powers, but he tries anyway. The smaller debris floats up and above the ground, and with a wave of both Keyblades, he sends them flying to smack the various types of monstrosities that are invading the battle space.
“Terra, I need your aid!”
The voice is from behind. Xehanort blocks attacks from Kefka’s six poisonous swords. 
Pfft. Let him die. Let him suffer the way Rydia is.
... But then if he’s not there, Kefka would go after them.
Terra focuses his mind on larger masses of plaster, glass, and brick that used to be part of the hospital. They are harder to move, and sweat drops trickle down his forehead. He points his Keyblades at them, as though they are wands to help him take control. They float higher, and with huge swings toward the direction of the clown, he manages to hurl them. Kefka falls back. 
But not far enough to hit the office building, where the bombs lay waiting. Terra has managed to hit it in the face. The clown will soon come for him later.
Xehanort flashes him a look of disbelief, disgust emanating from his round eyes. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“Terra, they’re surrounding us!” he hears Garnet yelling from behind. Heartless continue to come in droves.
Fight. Or protect. Dammit, why can’t I have both?
It’s like a stupor that stops him from doing anything as he thinks about his next move. A Heartless lunges at her. 
As though his body is responding, a straight wall of bright, electric energy erects in front of the princess. The monster gets shocked by this aggressive barrier, and it all disappears.
It doesn’t hurt. It’s like the fireball he made appear out of nothing. This has to be Xemnas’ powers.
“Stay close to me!” Terra says.
She stands back-to-back with him, and he waves his arms one by one, a Keyblade in each hand, in swift movements that gesture from the ground toward the sky. He visualizes this new kind of barrier forming as fast as a lightning bolt, and it follows. Against any direction where a Heartless is wandering too close.
To be so effective at protecting, while attacking at the same time... It’s like cheating, and it’s great. If only it is more intuitive so that he can do it faster. If only he doesn’t have to think about it, so he wouldn’t get so tired.
Kefka charges toward him. It prepares a force of energy and sends a fistful of it. Terra prays that the barrier will stick around this time. Kefka’s hand meets his wall, electricity sparking to and fro that Terra feels the pain of it in his forearms, as he wills it keep standing.
Something, some kind of energy flickers throughout his skin and reverberates his entire body. Silence.
Everything around him is frozen in time. There is Kefka’s screwed mask for a face, its glowing yellow eyes staring down on him, its smile glued. His barrier is still there, the electricity coming out of it, but it’s stuck in some never-ending moment. The Heartless stuck in postures, as if they are living photographs. Garnet behind him, also immobilized, holding her shortstaff close to her chest, meeting eye-to-eye with some tall shadow that stares back at her.
He has never seen time magic this effective and this far-reaching.
Xehanort pants, adjusting his black cloak. “Why do you insist on holding yourself back when you have all this power at your disposal?” he asks as he approaches.
This can’t be the time when Terra loses, all alone in a timeless space with the one man who will take away everything. He can’t touch Garnet without potentially harming her, the velocity of his movement too fast in relation to the paralyzed state she’s in.
“Unfreeze her,” he commands.
“I was under the impression you wanted to have control over your own body,” Xehanort says, wiping dirt off a sleeve.
“Unfreeze her, now.”
“So the puppet is finally given the chance at controlling the strings that once possessed him, but he hasn’t the courage to take advantage of it?”
“I’d rather cut them.” He stares hard at Xehanort. Perhaps this is foolish, considering that he doesn’t know how long the spell will last. If Kefka unfreezes now, it’s all over anyway. But if he takes his eyes off Xehanort…
Xehanort smirks. “That still assumes you are in control. You won’t be able to have it if my older self is still the puppeteer. You want to rely on powers of nothingness, which you have little understanding of, when darkness will give you all the endless possibilities for power you seek.”
This hits too close to home, darkness tied to all of his limbs. Loss of control and he’s a doll for someone else’s benefit again.
Furthermore, he wishes Xehanort would stop talking to him like he’s stupid. To use darkness too much is the one thing that will make him fall. He grips both Keyblades. Perhaps he has an advantage since he has one more weapon. “It’s just hatred and rage, and I don’t need it.”
Xehanort widens his eyes. “Is that what you think it is? How infantile.” His eyes glass over, and he cocks his head gently, like he’s talking to a child. “It is merely a first step to tap into powers of darkness through negative emotions, with fear being the wildcard because it is the only emotion that is useless as a weapon. But you – and whoever taught you that – are mistaken.
“Fear is only useful in reminding you of threats. It is the one thing that will make you weak. Not darkness. You want your life back? Then take control of it. You may use your anger and your hatred of Kefka to strengthen your power. But to imply that is all there is – do you think it was love that motivated Eraqus to wield light in his attempt to murder Ventus?”
“Don’t talk about them!” Terra barks.
“Light and darkness are all part of the same existence. In the end, they are simple tools. Do not aim to convince yourself that darkness is nothing but horrid impulses. You can love and protect with darkness. You can be driven mad by the blinding power of light.”
Riku comes to mind. Use darkness and turn it into light, he has said. To build the strength to protect what matters. Is this what he means? Is it enough to have good intentions? Or does the old man have too much experience with such things that it’s futile to try to take the strings for himself?
Garnet is the first to unfreeze. “Terra, what in the world-”
“Move!” He holds her bicep and escorts her down the street.
He hears the blast Kefka has prepared for them, crushing a mob of minor Heartless instead. 
Garnet screams his name. A Darkside, looming tall over them, contemplates its next move. It digs its hand into the ground and a portal opens up, a swarm of Shadows crawling out of it.
They run away. Worse still is the inky blackness that surrounds them and covers the entire street. He can’t see anything, except for yellow eyes squirming around everywhere. And suddenly he’s alone, the princess no longer by his side.
He hears Kefka’s footsteps, stomping the ground underneath it. It moves slowly, like it doesn’t know what to attack next. So it dances, explosions taking random pot shots in any direction.
One blows up behind him, and Garnet’s protection spell vibrates from the blast as he feels the cold street brace against his face. Hands grip his arm and help him stand up.
“Can you walk?” he hears Xehanort ask.
Terra rips his shoulder away. “Garnet!” he calls out.
Xehanort shushes him in a snake-like snarl. “We have the advantage. And I’m interested in keeping you alive.”
“Not without her.”
Xehanort holds a cold stare, his golden eyes a faint gleam in the shadow. Definitely not the kind of person to roll his eyes. 
Garnet’s pillar of light bursts through with such a power that everything trembles. It also dissipates the darkness, giving them the ability to see what has been happening. A mass of Heartless that have surrounded her are thrown back by her power. Of course, she is left exhausted and shaking from such use of magic.
And Kefka notices. It laughs, sending horrific pain throughout Terra’s head, so awful it feels like his eyeballs will burst. Xehanort yells along with Terra, clutching his hand to his chest. Garnet grips her head tightly, slumped on the ground.
Kefka moves to srtike. She is wide-eyed.
This can’t happen. Not another failure.
Terra sprints forward. He needs to get there first. To have more power. To cheat.
A portal of swirling shadows opens up on the ground in front of him. He drops inside. 
Here, there is no earth. No solid obstacle to keep him from her. Here he can fly. And up he ascends from another opening, putting him right in between a princess and a clown.
No need for a second Keyblade. Out from his left hand, all the dark impulses materialize into a deep red claw extending from his elbow, hitting Kefka upward at the chin. 
This sends it back - but still, not enough. So he throws another claw, oozing flickering shadows through his arm and body, sending the clown flying. It lands on its back, rolling. But it misses the office building.
This was the exact move, long ago, used against his Master. With good intentions, he once swore. Powerful, instinctual, impulsive. Dark. It’s a natural glove that fits, unlike nothingness.
“I’m actually impressed,” he hears Xehanort say.
A compliment from the monster. Not again. 
Terra slouches over and coughs out bile.
“Are you alright?” Garnet asks, hovering her hand at the base of his neck. Warmth radiates like waves throughout his body, as though she is healing his nervous system. The headache and the nausea lift up and away.
Kefka stands up, and screeches. It’s time to move again. Behind some bushes. Xehanort follows and covers his mouth and nose with his cloak. 
The poisonous gas releases from its joints and neck, and they all wait until it dissipates into the air.
“I grow tired of this,” Xehanort says.
“Let’s trip it.” Terra summons the nameless Keyblade again into his left hand. “Or are you incapable of that?”
Xehanort glares, disappearing into his own portal, only to reappear behind the clown as it stumbles its way back toward them. He hits one ankle with a burst - which seems like it took way too much out of him. 
Kefka trips onto one knee.
“Not enough!” Terra yells. He eyes Garnet, who is hesitant at first. He nods, as if to give her his blessing.
She sends healing magic to Xehanort. He takes a deep breath before striking the other ankle with his might. The clown falls to its face.
The prime opportunity. Terra allows darkness to swirl around him, and he growls as he grips both Keyblades in the hardest blow he’s ever given, directly onto the clown’s face, like vehicles crashing.
It screams, like metal grinding.
Two gashes now stain its once indestructible face, showing the black skin underneath.
It attempts to grab Terra in a fury, and Garnet steps in front to summon another pillar of light so that it fails, falling to her knees when she’s finished.
Kefka grabs its own face, as if in pain. As if it was human again. 
But Garnet screams.
Two more Darksides approach them, bringing forth more Heartless.
“No…” Terra groans. He doesn’t have to tell her to run away, for she’s already doing so, although she is tumbling. She heads toward the alleyway by the hospital, where he placed the elixir minutes before.
Kefka comes to and makes its way to Terra, who pants harder just to keep himself standing straight. Xehanort growls loudly and twirls his Keyblade, a sphere of time energy rupturing throughout.
It’s quiet and frozen again. Except for Xehanort, who adjusts himself with such a frustration that it’s like watching a spiteful mother clean up a child.
“That impudent, minuscule, subordinate, worthless neophyte of a clown,” he says, throwing around fancy insults at the Heartless that is clearly striking a nerve with him tonight.
The first thing Terra looks for is the princess. In the alleyway, on the ground, looking up at a swarm of Heartless about to pounce. Her shortstaff is to her chest, her eyes exhausted and teary.
He attacks the Heartless, although the Stop magic doesn’t doesn’t give way to their destruction. Not yet, anyway. They barely move from his force. But he hits enough to be sure they’d be gone when time moves forward again. 
He checks the clock tower. Less than two minutes left until Kefka is gone for the night.
Terra takes a deep breath, his muscles sore and shaking from weariness. They are almost there.
Footsteps behind him. Xehanort eyes the clock tower as well, looking just as grateful.
“At last,” he says. He forms a grip into the air. Terra is thrown up against the wall telepathically, his wrists cemented to the brick behind him, both Keyblades gone in a crackle.
“I’ve been advised to practice patience, but no longer,” Xehanort says through his teeth, standing in front of Terra with his Keyblade in hand. “You’re too much trouble.”
Terra tries to wrestle with the invisible force, but he can’t. He can’t move anything. He cries out, because this can’t be the end. Xehanort holds his Keyblade in the air, aiming for the chest.
Garnet jumps from behind him and rams her shortstaff right into the back of Xehanort’s knee. He staggers and backhands her, where she collapses. She crawls back against the wall opposite, holding her hand up in fear in a futile attempt to protect herself.
“You insignificant brat,” Xehanort says as he raises his Keyblade against her.
But her hit releases Terra, and he tackles. One arm around the bastard’s chest, another twisting the armed wrist until the Keyblade is let go. Xehanort is a touch shorter than Terra, but he’s much thinner. He has no strength when magic is not involved. 
Terra throws him, slamming him onto the ground which makes him bounce and roll away.
With Garnet following, Terra grabs the duffel bag of elixirs on the way and slings them over his shoulder. Kefka begins moving again. They runs across the street until they get situated close enough to the office building.
“Stand your ground,” he tells Garnet.
“What are you going to do?” She holds her place directly by his side.
Kefka follows them with its gaze, and walks forward. The gashes make it uglier, its neck ruffle and shoulder pads burnt.
“Just trust me,” Terra says. He summons both Keyblades and waits.
“Terra?” she says, her voice shaking with nervousness. Xehanort comes to and is running out toward them.
“Stand your ground.”
The clown comes close enough.
Terra thrusts the teeth of both Keyblades into the ground. The earth pops and spews, breaking the mended stones in a trail until it reaches the office building -  specifically the corner wall where she planted the bomb on the first floor.
It explodes as Kefka steps right past it. The building starts to crumble, triggering the second bomb to go off by the clown’s face. It screams like before, deafening the quake as the earth opens up the cobblestones underneath him and the princess.
They fall as the ground gives up. Garnet lets out a high-pitched scream, but she’s barely audible in comparison to the ruckus. 
Xehanort slides to the edge of the open pit. He wears the face of someone who desperately missed his target, watching them splash into a rush of water below.
This chapter references Pixar’s Coco (2017).
A/N: I have defined the Spanish words and phrases used with context clues, but I wanted to make a note that some of it is Cuban slang (I can’t help it). There were definitely times where I had to be careful of what I was writing. For example, for “calavera” I nearly used “calabaza.” In Spanish, that means “pumpkin,” but Cubans use the names of food to describe lots of things. We use “calabaza” to mean sugar skull, and that’s why many people look at us like we’re crazy. For example, in the movie, Frida Kahlo prepares a papaya that she makes her clone dancers crawl out of. For us, a papaya is the word we use for the woman’s nether-regions. You can imagine what kind of context we understood those scenes to mean, LMAO.
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